Say a word no more

My Lone-Star Adventure - Part 1

2012-02-04T17:50:00.002+08:00

TEXAS... (2011)

... one of the states in USA that has its own remarkable identity (known as the Lone Star State). Is it a common touristy state? I'm not sure... maybe not so much, compared to NY,DC,CA..

Well, my visit to Texas was not really a touristy one either. I went there to visit my friends... 2 of them in 2 different cities of Texas. I brought along my laptop and work, and stayed with Elen for 3 days... and we didnt really go out. It was my 3rd month in the US, and I was quite homesick, so it was very therapeutic to see familiar "homey" faces.

From Charlotte to Dallas: Transit in Atlanta (AirTran)

then back from Houston, direct flight to Charlotte. (US Airways)

Another friend, Eli, lived in Houston (now pindah dah)... While I was speaking to Eli about the arrangement to go there, since I planned to take the bus ride, she did suggest I make a de-tour to San Antonio, maybe a few hours stop, but I was not quite confident to go sightseeing all by myself. She told me it's safe to travel... and later suggested one night stay if I want to have a better look of that place, maybe if she might be able to arrange to come over if her husband were to be on leave. After series of phone calls, I needed to confirm and buy my tickets... so assuming it's okay, and thinking of the possibility of her coming over, I bought a ticket from Dallas to San Antonio, and from San Antonio to Houston on the next day. But, later it was confirmed she can't come over... and I was like.... erk... Miscommunication 101... Ok.... "I'm going to San Antonio all by myself?" For someone who is not really a risk taker, this is even a shock to myself.

Travelled with Greyhound Bus

Bus Ride from Dallas (from Richardson)... they stopped in Waco, and Austin on the way

Bus Ride from San Antonio, straight to Houston (but the bus was delayed for 3 hours) :|| !!

I asked myself a few times.... How confident am I? How good am I in learning my ways in new places? How strong am I to face obstacles that might come along the way? I decided to go ahead... I did pray, Du'a a lot that everything will go smoothly.

One day adventure... a Lone Ranger in the Lone-star State...

So... ok... let's go break a leg.

A small town known as Richardson, next to Plano. Took the bus from here, then to Dallas city (half an hour)....

It was Sunday. Some big cities in the US.... they are kinda dead on weekends. (same goes with Charlotte downtown). So yaa... it feels like "I am Legend" movie set :P

I had 1 hour + in Dallas... so I just walked around some streets to get some shots

I am Legend movie set... Will Smith in the car (according to my fantasy) :P

"I am a stranger traveling from the East, seeking that which is lost....
I am a stranger traveling from the West, it is I whom you seek...." (movie dialog :P)

Ok... walking back to the Greyhound Station....

This street is near memorial JFK (didnt know it was just next to the red building). He was shot 2 blocks from here.

Ok...
Hop on the bus

real cow aar????

no laa... this one oni real maa...

Hehe... Good decision to take the bus... get to see the views...

Waco:

Continue the journey...

Cowboy Hatsss.... waaa...nakk

5 hours bus ride....
I reached San Antonio around 5pm....
:-)

So basically what I did in Plano (Elen place), was.... cook, eat, chat, and do work. Haha...
Love the chat part...... It's been years since I last met her, or had time to really talk to her...
I missed her so much.... so it was so so great to see her, and her family :-)

Thank you elen... for having me :*

End of part 1... yeehaw!

Online or offline buddies?

2012-02-01T02:40:00.022+08:00

When I was in states, I missed-out some events that happened kat tanah tumpah ayaq. Tapi dengan adanya internet, (ok, facebook ler tuhh), macam sentiasa akan dapat update di samping YahooMsg, Skype, Blogs dan email. Just 3years back, not many of my friends and I used/had Facebook. But of course those were the days when Friendster ruled, and even that, Friendster trend came only at the end of my undergraduate final year .

Before that, campus life was free from social networking sites (well... almost. The trend was beginning back then with forum sites and forum groups, but wasnt a major hype). Anyway...Those were the days. It seemed nice and simpler come to think of it now. I'm glad that I have experienced campus life without too much of this internet-based chaotic world.

But can u imagine if right now, we dont have all these social networking services? (lets not imagine time before internet, it just seemed too long ago, unlikely and prehistoric :P). Imagine we have internet but without social networking (SN).

If until now, lets say we have internet and smartphones that connects to internet, but online social networking were unheard of, how would it be? Haha... Hey, of course lah we would be just fine, we will survive just fine, ye dok :)) Btw, even at present, not everyone is connected to internet frequently, and not everyone registered to SN kan....

Speaking in general, for regular users of SN... how would it be like without SN?
On postive note,

Don't have to think of having to update our activities (status), or not thinking of what our frens (or even anon/strangers) have to say about our life described OnLy in words n pictures.
Not as much judgements... or get affected by judgments when dat happen
More privacy in life, which, is very important....not having this medium, u wont be tempted to showcase every single thing you do, or some information that was supposed to be private. Temptation is evil... they seduce you :)) Haha
Your phones wont be buzzing all the time with updates (for mobile SN users)
Spend more time with real people in front of you rather than eyes locked to the laptop/phone screeen... (Or: keep on tweeeeting / checking phone for updates when u are suppose to spend quality time with someone who is right in front of you. This scenario can vary from a date, lepak-lepak or even family bonding time)
We won't be so nosy or kaypoh-chi as well... of other people's life. HAHAHA.

But then...

most likely... you wont keep in touch with your friends as much. Once you finish school/college, you will move on.... and keeping in touch would be hard n tedious.
When u are far from home (outstation/overseas), you depend on direct communicati like phone, email, online chat/call (but with SN, i.e. I can log in to facebook and get many updates from many people at one go)
How to share pictures taken especially with those who are in those pictures with u? email em? pheww...such a hassle.
where to channel ur narciscism...(bila time tgh syok sendiri) and sudden excitement? Not sure if this is 'healthy' though, hahaha... but ouh well... :P
When u have things/ events to share, whether initiating it or found one that your friends would be happy to join.... should I call them one by one? ok.. maybe I can use email... but still..

(bab-bab list nie, mesti ada byk lagi... just throwing in some)

I do miss the times when I had 'less-online' life. At the same time,being online is just as important for me.

Recently, I did try to deactivate my facebook.... and that lasted for 21days! Wow.... it was so liberating. I almost didnt want to activate back my facebook.

But, one of the strongest reason to go back was: the contacts. Some of them, I only have fb as the bridge to connect us. That shows how I rely on such services too much. What would happen if one day, Facebook (since its the most widely used SN) goes haywire, and decided to go down? Haha like wat Friendster did... tiba-tiba jadi gamesite, and all data was wiped-out, even their blogsites.

Do you have a backup contact of your friends that you interact with, through FB? I do have some friends who I interact with frequently in facebook, but I dont have their handphone numbers, or email address... especially those who are not geographically near. (so, ok I have to make effort to have some other options). I dont really have online friends who I don't know in real life... so somehow I can find them eventually... as long as I know at least one or few of the mutual friends' contacts. But I did have a few online friends back then... from early blogging years and then added to friendster. So when friendster decided to "evolve", some friendships end up dead... (just like how dinosaurs died with evolution :P)

Kesimpulannya... no matter how fun and trendy SN is.... its so unpredictable, who knows if this december 2012, facebook decides to commit suicide? jeng jeng

Kesimpulannya lagi... dont rely on it too much. Make sure we have backup or other ways to contact a friend, if that friend matters to you :-) If u have time and opportunities, make time to meet friends offline too :D and most importantly dont get stuck with being more online while doing so :P

sekian :D

Sawadee Ka

2011-12-05T12:02:00.001+08:00

Recently, I joined a working trip to Surat Thani, Thailand.

This is my first time in Thailand. Thailand is just few hours (approx 3hrs) from my hometown, but the closest I ever been to Thailand was the border town, Msia side - PadangBesar, Perlis.

So I was very thrilled :D

We went by a mini bus, I think in Msia we call it Van besaq lah. It was comfy and spacious... as there were 8 of us (the delegates) while the Van can fit up to 11 people (excluding driver).

far left, the mini bus @ van - near Changlun border

We went into Thai through Changlun (another border town). Changlun is in Kedah, and the name of this Town is in Thai language which means the 'fallen elephant'. I was sleepy all the way, as I took motion sickness pill before the journey. Instead of enjoying the view, I was sleeping every now and then. But manage to peep through the window once a while. My impression.... "La, sama macam Kedah ja, mcm tak kuar Msia pun" Hahaha... yeah, felt like we are still in Msia, environment same with Kedah and Perlis :D but of course that make sense since they share same heritage back in those days.

There were few slightly flooded villages and that gave us chills... praying that the rain would stop and it would not reach hazardous level especially in surat thani, or on our way back.

We stopped in Hatyai for breakfast.. 10am thai time. It's a muslim restaurant, deco looks flashy... but with moderate price range... food not bad ;-)

Continue.....
Stopped in Nakkon Si Thammarat for lunch. A small restaurant by the road, that has one of the best Tomyam I ever tasted :P Kawwww

Ok... Go on....
Reached Surat Thani around 5pm Thai time = 6pm MY time. We left Penang around 8am... we travelled 10hours on road. We treated ourselves with seafood dinner blast! haha... the Udang sangat mengujakan :P

The next day, after the meeting was over, we took Seatran Ferry to Ko Samui.

Another good thing was.... it didnt rain. It did rain for a while while we were having meeting... then it stopped :D Alhamdulillah, our journey made easy.

The journey took about 1hour30mins... I think... I was not wearing a watch, my phone was switched off and I was not really aware of the time LOL... what a way to travel huh :P But then, since there were quite a number of us, and the trip was planned by the project manager, it felt relaxing n quite liberating to just follow along and forget about everything else. (One of my buddy was using temporary Thai number during the trip, which we shared.... so I just passed the number to my family if they were to contact me) What ever plans they had, we just followed along. But hehe.. i did have a request on one thing "I want to ride an elephant" and was keen and determined to do that during the trip :P The journey was smooth despite high tides and windy day. We almost went all wet when the ferry hit the high tide, splashing on us. For the record, we were standing on the 3rd floor of the ferry okayy... wow. haha

Ko Samui (ko means island / pulau), once we stepped foot on the island... i felt at peace. Maybe the atmosphere. It was clean, and fresh air. The environment, in my opinion, is kinda similar to Pulau Pangkor. But of course, in KoSamui you'll have a lil bit more entertainment to look out for. However, the types of entertainment doesnt really coincide with my preferences... so, ok... let's just do some sightseeing and relaxing only kay ;-) Full moon party? No, thank you lah, heheh... oh ya btw, this famous party takes place in another island next to Samui known as Ko Pangan.

The resort's room was mabeles. Each block (ours: 2 floors, with 5 rooms in each floor) has its own swimming pool. We got the room at ground floor, and our door opened out to the pool. So.... first agenda! a dip in the pool lah! haha...

Check out the resort: http://www.floristresort.com/

Night came, we walked around the street in Chaweng. Lots of gift shops, sorvenir stuff, tatoo shops, fast food chains, pubs, and Spas... yeahh Spa :) But we kept that for next day... walking along the street... and knowing me, looking for Fridge Magnets lor!

Up (left&right) : Chaweng streets at night
Below (left): Banana Pancake @ Roti canai pisang, prepared in many interesting ways
below (right): chaweng, daytime

Morning... the tide was still high. Breakfast by the beach.... nice!

We went on Island-road tour and stopped by some temples to learn about the people and the island and get some nice pix shots.

We also stopped by some of the beaches. One of the place is famous for the "grandfather and grandmother rock". It's in the shape of somthing that will be rated 18sx if blogs have movie-rating system... huhu. Google if u want, coz im not posting the pixxies here, haha! Another famous thing in Ko-Samui is the coconut... the dodol... and this... Coconut Ice-cream. It's delicious... but I got tummy ache after eating it.. must be my bad diet management, dont blame the coconut :D

Ok.... the most exciting part - the elephant Farm :-)
It costed 700 baht (+- RM70) per person.

At first, after sitting on the elephanto.. I felt kinda guilty. I asked the guide whether he/she (the elephant) was okay with our weight combination and all that. The guide assured us it's ok for her.... ouh it's a female... and her name is Tetya. She would stop and raise her trunk... it means she's happy and wanted to say thank you (as was told by the guide)... and she did that quite a number of times, she must be happy that we kept on complimenting her :P Ouh, I really hope she was, as I enjoyed the ride so much. We went on jungle trek, and in middle of the trek, the guide went down and snapped pictures of us, with Tetya giving out so many different poses...haha, cute. Then the guide asked if we want to 'drive' the elephant, to which I quickly agreed and moved to the front... Kinda scary when the track went a lil bit downhill, scared I might just fall off like dat.. ayyaa... But whoa, it was great experience. Thanx Tetya :*

Left: at the back of the elephant. Right:Tetya carrying other tourists

After elephant farm, we stopped by a waterfall area... then proceeded to Chaweng area again. Its SPA time! I took the body massage for 1 hour package. Ouh wow..... interesting :)) Btw, the prices:

Then later, we just hang around the beach... and walked on the streets again. This part of the streets was further up than the area we were at last night.

I found a celebrity there! can u guess.... who .?
Found him lying on the Chewang beach.....wow... awak sunbathing ker???

Then went back to the resort.... rested for a while, had a dip again... (tried to swim... still not able to swim correctly :P)

Night.. walked around Chaweng again :-) last minute shopping and coffee... and back to the resort.
Next morning, the sea was calmer, no high tides... kinda miss the windy weather :P

We rushed to the jetty and got our ferry.... Hmm, it was a hot, humid day...yeahhh... the previous days' windy weather was better :P On the ferry, Felt like I was in a vacuum, like the air barely moved (ok, exaggerating a lil here ..) Hehe... I slept for half'n hour before going back to the railings, enjoying the view....

HOkayy.... back in SuratThani..... and back we go!
Journey back. Tried to read some papers.. before feeling dizzy and Zzzzzz... hahhahaha. But hey, no more motion sickness pill ok....

Stopped in Hatyai again. for lunch. Hmmm... nyamnesss lunchhhhh... me loikeee...

Stopped in Danok (Thai border), got some Longan and Mampalam :D
Back in Malaysia... Weee

Reached Penang at 9pm.... so tired :P

Phew..ouh wait..
I almost forgot....

the celebrity I found in Ko Samui....in Chaweng beach...

found him lying on the sand... but from my observation, he looked kinda... dead....

Why spongie? nickelodeon not paying u enuff aar?? :(
RIP Spongie.... sob sob sob

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

Summary of Ko-Samui. Interesting , beautiful, clean place. But I prefer Langkawi ;-) But jetty langkawi and Jetty kuala kedah need to improve a bit la, in terms of cleanliness aar :D tanggungjawab bersama kan yg ini :P

Would love to see Krabi and Phuket. There's another trip to these 2 places next year January, the student society is organising it... but haih... due to time and budget constraint, I can't follow that one. maybe some other time in future la kan.

Kapun Ka .

mengidam ...

2011-08-23T15:37:00.000+08:00

Balik kampung
ho ho ho balik kampung
hati girang

Transit Taipei, again....

Sesudah sampai Penang....

perkara pertama dilakukan: Hentam Durian!

Tu durian udang merah..... pergh.... lembuuuutt , sedappp

Few days after day, jemputan rumah irfan kenduri doa selamat... dan boleh kata semua jenis makanan dah ada... so sekali harung la... apa yg di idam2 seme tu...

Earlier that day....pergi joging kt Mengkuang Dam.... rupa-rupanya....
mengkuang dam ni akan ditutup selama 5th utk baik semula... wat... 5thn tu...... perghh... lama
sedih, hilang satu tmpt nak joging... and i bet... the place will look different and tak senostalgia skang :(

Then yg paling penting.....
TEBU
ayaq tebu

mengidam selama berbulan2 ni....
sini ada dua jenis tebu....
dua dua pun LIKE.....
dan lg best... yg minum tebu dengan makan pasemboq..... aaaa nikmatnyaa........

hohoho....

Getting ready for the long haul flight back

2011-07-13T11:45:00.000+08:00

Wow....
Time flies.....
Can't describe my feelings now....

It was.....

Winter....

Spring came and went...

and now

it's Summer...

and its time

to Fly...

back home

Student Union (winter)

Student Union (summer)

Near Belk Tower

Winter

Spring

Summer

I miss home...

but once I'm back

I'm gonna miss you :-)

Disneyworld- part III Epcot

2011-07-05T04:44:00.006+08:00

9th March 2011
We left animal kingdom around 3-ish
4pm, we were at Epcot.

There are 2 sections.

Front (The future World): more on Science n Technology n Future

Back (The World Showcase): Remake of some Countries in Parks

We went to visit the countries first, starting from the left side (Canada first). It was good strategy as these places had more spring sceneries and we were trying to get as much as we can in daylight.

The Globe is the centerpiece for Epcot.

Ouh... Italia..... me likey

By the time we reach China, it was getting dark.

And in Norway, it was already night :-)

We stopped in a this Viking Cafe to have our short break @ dinner.

Last country in the list: Mexico. The open-space market concept is cool. and i think it fit the night atmosphere perfectly.

Ohya, all these countries, they have shops, mostly restaurants and sorvenir shops. In certain places and at certain time, there will be some performances. We were able to catch some performance in morocco and Japan.

The food... I was told, some of them are really good.... but hehehe.. we didnt have time or budget to lavish on food this time :-) But some of them... they smell reallll gooood.... pergh...

THen we went to Futuristic section, and was able to get on sime really cool rides.

9 pm - fireworks... but this was not as awesome as the one they had in Magic Kingdom. If you want a climatic end to your disney trip, make sure u make magic kingdom as your final destination. But, it worked perfectly fine the way we had it as well....

at the end of the trip.. we were darn tired... but very satisfied...fulfilled. We managed to make it to all 4 parks, and had a great time.

Link to map: http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/epcot.htm

DisneyWorld Part II - Animal kingdom

2011-07-05T02:34:00.014+08:00

DisneyWorld Part II - Animal Kingdom

The nextday (9th March), we went to animal kingdom first and arrived early before the gate opened. And the crowd had already started to grow.

The park opened with greetings by mickey, minney, and frens wearing camp outfits (on a slow moving jeep). From wat i heard from voices in d crowd, most of the em were headed to "Africa". We decided to go to Dinoland first, the nearest and possibly less crowd.

in Dinoland... as u can see.. no crowd yet :P

After dat. we went to "India".

And went on this famous ride in Animal kingdom *(a must do) - called Expedition Everest.

I took pictures and video while riding on this coaster... hoho....

So.. hey, I've reached the summit of everest! Huahuahua....

Love the details....

Next, Africa.

awesome!!!!!

Took this train ride to a mini zoo. (Rafiki Planet Watch)

Mr.KingKong?
romantic as always eh... staring right into ur eyes... with flower in his mouth.. auwww...

Last but not least,
the Camp Minney-Mickey

We were on time to catch the Lion King Show:

A very spectacular, colorful show.....

Minney!!!
Mickey too busy...

ouh wait.. another last but not least.. haha.. the Discovery Island
where lies the big tree (centrepiece)
under the big tree - entering to catch the "Its tough to be Bug" show. Its 'creepy' in an interesting way.. haha..

The carvings on the man-made tree.

The big tree...

and goodbye animal kingdom -

next destination - Epcot!

go to map:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/AK.htm

DisneyWorld - Part 1

2011-05-07T07:19:00.007+08:00

The Spring Break trip's (March 2011) main destination is Orlando, Florida (Fl.) but how each of us plan to spend our time there was made flexible by the organizer.

We moved from campus on Sat, midnight, reaching Jacksonville, FL on Sunday morning, where we spent the day in Kennedy Space Centre. Evening, we went down south to Orlando, checked in our hotel, and for the following 4 days we were given a few options on how we'd like to have the trip. The organizers did encourage to take the 2-days pass to Disneyworld, coz if we had enough people, the group rate wud be cheaper for each individuals. Of course, some didnt. There are a lot more other fun things to look fwd to in Orlando, which include SeaWorld, Universal Studios, some other fun parks like Wet n Wild, Ripleys.. etc. You have to have more than a week if you were to cover all of these places.

First.... I was not very keen on going to Disney as I thot I am over the disney phase of life. Man... I couldnt be more wrong...

After considering it... I opted for the Disney 2 days pass....

Fyi, Disneyworld is very huge, compared to Disneyland (California). Both are special in their own ways, Disneyland being the original and Disneyworld for being huge (and has many more parks).

There are 4 major theme parks in Disneyworld - [Magic Kingdom], [Animal Kingdom], [Disney's Hollywood Studios], and [Epcot]. I was determined to cover all of them since the 2 days pass allow us to hop in between parks for 2 days. So, I thought, 2 parks a day can be possible. I didnt have friends when I first joined the trip, but met some in the process :-) At first, Uyanga and Xinrong both planned to just go for 1 day Disney trip and then decide on next, later. But, if they were to do that, it will not be as efficient as they will only be allowed to do one park a day, and it costs around $80+ per day for one park... whereas it's only arnd $130 for 2 days park hopper (can hop between parks). I seduced them into joining the 2days pass, and go together to try cover all 4 parks in 2 days.....and yey! We did!

First day started a bit late as we had to wait for all the rest to gather (causing some delay), as well as there was some ticketing problem that cost us some time as well. As soon as we got our tickets (at the ticketing centre), the 3 of us ran to the bus area, to catch next bus to Disney's MGM Hollywood Studios. Felt like we were in a Amazing Race or some sort.. haha.

*shuttle bus within these parks are free.

the centre of MGM studios (the magic hat is the centrepiece for this park),

Pixar studios, Disney animations
the Indiana Jones show - best gile

I carried a pamplet that has map of each of the parks. So every park we 'touched down', we go by the map. This was to ensure all parts of the parks were covered :P However, we were not able to go on all rides. Actually, it was almost impossible as it was during SpringBreak, crowd was crazy and most of the Rides have almost more than an hour waiting Time! We were not going to waste our time waiting. Though some Rides seemed to be interesting, but they are merely Rides.... more or less like any other Rides in theme parks. Ok... ok.... but with some interesting twist to it lar. I would have taken all the rides if I had one whole week to spend in Disneyworld :P Anyway, we did cover all the places, managed to catch some shows (ouh, I especially love the Indiana Jones show... coz I love Indiana movies so so much since I was a kid), hop on some rides and took a lot of pictures :-)

We arrived at this park at around 10.30am and left the park at around 1pm...... and headed back (by bus) to the Ticketing Centre.... our next destination was Magic Kingdom, and we had to take either a monorail or a ferryboat from the Ticketing Centre to this park.

Monorail sounds faster.......but oh wait... we toook the ferryboat :P

... because the monorail was closed for a while when we arrived.... No waiting policy, we went straight to the dock, and it took about 10minutes before the next ferry came, and about 15minutes to get to Magic Kingdom. It was just perfect.... at least we get to take the ferry ride. Wonderful ride, it was windy in the scorching sun and excitement racing through my inner childly imaginations as the boat get nearer to our destination.

I was so excited.... Ouh I felt like a Kid again....

the Main street Philharmonic was playing when we arrived.

as I walked to the centre... where the Magic Castle stands...

suddenly... I felt some drop of tears.....

I miss my niece and nephew so much!!!!!! This is something I would love to do with my family. Then, I remember my unfulfilled promise to my niece to bring her to Universal Studios Singapore.... ouh, it breaks my heart! :( And I am here all by myself.......... *cricket sounds...**

I was awaken by the sound of the moving crowd, kids shouting in joy. I quickly got back on my feet. Ouh, I was not going to ruin the day... so I decided to enjoy to the fullest... on their behalf too rite, hehe... and also, the child in me deserve it just as much :P

Back to disney advnture.

We got another pamplet from the park, that listed all shows / attractions, and we were just in time for the "Dream Along with Mickey" show, that took place at the Magic Castle. So kiutt.. hihihhi.... njoyed it very much :D

After the show, we proceeded to another area but keeping close to the 'parade trails' as the Parade was just an hour away. We got a shady spot, and waited... and there they were again.

Then we spent the rest of the day in Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom is sooo big, hoho... adeh... and has the most attractions compared to other parks.

The crowd was just crazy...... too many people @_@ but well... we brushed through anyway. Again, some of the rides could take forever just for waiting. We did some rides and went in for some shows, we even enjoyed ourselves with the flashmob they had.

And nite folds in.....

Its time for the Main Street Electrical Parade.

It was getting chilly.... but everyone waited in patience, getting a good spot to see the parade. Fortunately, it was worth the wait (sambil mengetap bibir kesejukan)... :D

Then the fireworks!

The problem was, we were told to be at the bus parking lot (which is at the ticketing area)... by 9.30pm. I kinda feel it was a bit inconsiderate since magic kingdom opens until midnight. They could have made it 10.30pm or 10pm.... because the "Wishes Nighttime Spectacular" (fireworks) starts at 9pm every night, and take about 15 minutes.

Would we have enough time to get back in 15minutes time??? We didnt even know how long the monorail would take to get back to the ticketing centre... but we took the risk... confident that we would make it on time. So we quickly strategized our exit plan. We started to walk back on Main street heading towards the exit but making sure we didnt lose sight of the magic castle, where the fireworks would be fired from. Main Street has a good view..... but the challenge is the thousand or zillions of people in the crowd...so we really had to tiptoe or find the best angle.

As the fireworks splashed some colors in the dark sky....we walked... we stopped to admire.. then we walked again... until we were quite near the exit.

It was a perfect ending for the day!!

We waited until the firework show officially ended.. Looking at each other....
.....

"Ok.... LET's RUN FOR IT"

And we ran.... the crowd were moving too, some walking fast to reach the exit... but we ran like we were running for our lives... hahaha... while searching for the monorail....and raced to the monorail. We got in the monorail, without having to wait in a long queue... constantly checking the time.
9.20pm.

We walked fast / ran a lil back to the bus, and we made it right on time 9.30pm sharp! Haha....

But... we had to wait for others, who came after 10mins and the last guy... it was 10pm++ by the time he made it to the bus. Then we were informed that for the next day, our bus would not be driving us there, instead we could catch a shuttle bus from the hotel. Only then, we knew there was free bus service going to/from the hotel, and the latest bus from the ticketing place was at 11pm. What? why weren't we informed earlier? Hmmm.... welll..... it's ok... We did really utilize our time to the best and did everything we wanted, so no regrets there. Kinda adventurous now that I think of it.... hahahaha....

amazing race asia, anyone? :P

SpringBreak 2011 - Kennedy Space Centre

2011-04-07T12:36:00.003+08:00

SpringBreak 2011.
Trip to Florida

First Stop. Kennedy Space Centre - 7thMarch2011.

Lawatan sambil belajar yg menarik.
more info? here

An experience not to miss: (more-info)

Real gadjets used for Apollo/Saturn V (from 1967 until 1973)

the Saturn V rocket

Kennedy Space Launching Pad

:D :D :D :D

How to make and improvise Sambal Telur.....

2011-03-31T14:20:00.002+08:00

It started from this picture of my sambal telur.... which I think look very premature, I mean it's still in the pan... so cincai looking.... But Jessie got teruja with this and wanted to make Sambal Telur too... to surprise her hubby some more... I was so flattered. She wanted my recipe... auwww...

I took the recipe from a few web... I was reading a few recipes and picked out ingredients that r available and suited me, cewah :P... since some igredients are hard to get here. So I came up with my own version...and I didnt have it written anywhere.. so when she asked, I quickly came up with a recipe... and passed to her.

And... while making the sambal, she did her very own alteration and came up with her version of sambal... which I think loooked more Sexy and tempting....

Alteration are needed as some ingredients here i.e. the chillies do not 'taste' the same like back home.. not as spicy or etc. the trick with sambal would be playing around with the amount of chillies ( i think) ... which I myself havent mastered yet :P But the experiments we had... between Jessie and I.. was fun... haha... the recipe keep improvising....

Ok so here's the edited original message of recipe I sent her...
haha as you can see, the writing is not professional... not food blog worthy :)) Hahaha
manglish some more wor... waakakaka...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Ingredients:

~ 4-5 hard boiled eggs... fry for a while... until kulit kembang2 a bit :P
~ 4 potatoes- cut into smaller pieces... fry lightly

Sambal Ingredients:

~12 pieces of dried chili (cabai kering) - cut, boil a while to get rid most of the biji2, then blend....
~10 cili merah - washed, blended... or if u dont have, substitute with 1tbs of ciliboh /nyonya sambal cili
~Red Onions... depends how many u want em.. cut em into small pcs
(if med sized onion- use one, you have shallots, use 3-4-)
~ Salt
~Asam keping or Air asam - 1/4 cup (pure Tamarind Juice)
~ Coconut milk - (if the ones in cans, 1 tablespoon).

Method:

-Heat Oil on heated pan
-Add the blended chilli.... kacau-kacau until naik bau... haha (stir well..)
-Add the red onion... stir until onion becomes yellowish/masak
-Add air asam... if u dont have this.. its ok.. but if u still want a bit of masam taste, can replace with squashed tomato (use 1 here)
- add some maggi chicken granules (Jessie's touch :P)
-Add the eggs and potatoes.... stir stir n keep stirring... please shake and sing too if u like.
- add hot water a bit...just to make sure sambal not too dry.
-Add salt a bit too
-Add santan (coconut milk).... and stir the sambal until all kacau nicely...
- try taste sikit, if too pedas for u, alter by adding sugar a bit n water
-let be on heat for a while... then wokay.. stopppp

U can present the sambal, by cutting the each egg into two... (dont cut before cooking, if not all come out :P) if u have celery or daun bawang, can add as hiasan haha....

DONE !

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

= The Italic font shows Jessie's alterations... and if u have those items, do add them... coz it will make your sambal look sexy like this:

The cilantro (sekadar hiasan) adalah hasil tanaman jessie...

NyAM Nyammmmm.....

Satu kali makan
Mesti nak lagi....

:*

jom ke DuPont State Forest plak...

2011-02-25T06:02:00.005+08:00

Howdy blogiedy.... Since hiking has made its way to my heart (fuyyoo...) as one of my current 'hobbies'... I decided to look for similar activities here. :D It does feel good to 'struggle', "sweat" and 'smell', to be in touch with nature :-) and bonus point if these places have spectacular views. perfekto!

Hiking kt Malaysia- the weather, Hot and humid, rainy sometimes. So, when u hike, u sweat a lot.... For me, it makes me feel so healthy and bergaya gituh (while hiking and exercising only, hate it when it happens in daily life :P). Having said that, I wouldn't say I dont like it otherwise... (pulak dah :P) Kinabalu climb was superfun because its colder and u dont really sweat as much, until Laban Rata... but it was too cold for my likings from LabanRata to the top, about 2-4celcius I think? gigilllll....

I joined a hiking trip organised by a group called "Venture" in campus. Ala2 mcm KRU kt uni back home, but they organise trips for smaller group of people - usually around 9-11 slots, depending on the activity.

We went to the DuPont State Forest, near a place known as FlatRock village located in Hendersonville N.Carolina. Its about 2-3 hours drive from Charlotte. There were 11 of us. I was worried I might not able to keep up as I have not been in shape or in good stamina lately.... but it was ok since it was a mild hike, not very strenuous kind.

The sceneries are just breathtaking! This place is known for its beautiful waterfalls.
Upper Left: Triple Falls. Upper Right: High Falls.
Lower LEft: getting nearer to the triple falls. Lower Right: The HighFalls upclose.

ashlyn, mallory and i with Highfalls as background.

So Tempting... feel like nak melompat masukkk.... but water was freeezing cold. nehi nehiiii

Kuda breed "Tennesse walker"... cara dia jalan adalah sgt seksi okk
Besides hiking, people come for horseriding, fishing and mountain biking as well....

Further up: Covered Bridge

After HighFalls, we followed the trail that goes pass covered bridge (which is on top of the HighFalls), and hike to this Lake, known as Lake Dense. Cantekknyee... if only airnya tak sejuk banget.

Ayaq clearrr kaan!

After spending an hour plus here, for lunch, solat (for me) and sunbathing :))... we headed to the next and final falls for our trip that day, the Grassy Creek Falls

Left Upper,Lower: at Lake Dense

Right: Grassy Creek Falls (the final waterfalls)

Then we followed a different trail back to HighFalls. From there, we hiked back using the same trail we came from back to the parking lot!

Finally, all of us in a picture!

It was tiring... what more with the bulky camera I brought along... which I'm glad I did :-) Coz the sceneries are too good to pass for shots :P

On way back.... lotsa Farmvilles along the road :D

It was a great experience.

The weather was good dat day, temperature around 10-12 celcius, not too windy and not too sunny... just nice :D

The trail for the day:

Yellow line: trailing forward
Pinky line: trailing back.
Arrows: The stops :-
Triple Falls, High Falls, Covered Bridge, Lake Dense, and Grassy Creek Falls

Side Refences (Hiking in Penang):
Kerachut Beach
Monkey Beach + Muka Head Light House
Bukit Bendera
Bukit Mertajam Hill / Tokun Hill
Bukit Jambul
Mengkuang Dam (jogging not much of hiking)

Mai pakat- pakat pi Tanjung (penang) :D ngeh ngeh ngeh

@ Iklan tak berbayar
Sekian...

Holiday on Ice

2011-02-14T19:00:00.008+08:00

I had this childhood fantasy of "holiday on ice" talcum powder... haha... I laughed when I figured how relevant it was when Mardhiyah asked me if I wanted to join a skiing trip. Though in present i don't fancy the idea of skiing, (I prefer sports that require less equipment handling), I did it for my childhood memories... plus a little bit of 'new' adventure once a while will be good, rite :P

I joined this program organized by muslim student association of NC unis, to the Beech mountain ski resort, NC. We can choose between Skiing, Snowboarding, and Tubing. Snowboarding sounds too scary, Tubing sounds too cute, so Ski it is! :P senang tak buat decision?... hohoho.

Look at the crowd... since winter is ending soon, I guess ramai berpusu-pusu to njoy as much as they can :D

and they have ski school for beginners (like me). But I kan berlagak terrer, haha... tak aar, amik syarat dpt ski pun cukup, even dengan gaya ayam itik skalipun :P

kaki terkepak kepak

Apparently, I dont have any inborn talent or superficial powers for skiing! Keep falling which is quite common for beginners... so that's what I happily did for most of my time there. Seriously... it was fun falling on snow coz its soft...but of course later u deal with your muscle ache la kan. Then, knowing me, I even felt when I was not skiing. on earthground, not on snow... passing by the cafetaria when out of sudden, a girl gleefully asked me "Did you have great time?!!" Kedeboom, jatuh! grrrr... And again knowing me, I am good at 'speed recovery' and got up, gave a bimbotic laugh (cover malu), "yeahh, I guess I did, huhhh" and kontrol macho... dalam hati, huwaaaa..............why whyyy

so lesson learned... to all of u out there: Toksah dok gempak mami laghu tu noh... haih...adeh... well hidupku tanpa drama adalah tak sah, kan.....

This is the lift, that goes to the highest trail... erk, tiba-tiba acrophobia looking at this. nehi nehi. There are 'less extreme' trails, and separate lifts for that. Unfortunately (for me), when you hop on this lifts, u have to ski/snowboard down... u can't hve the return ride on this lifts. I really wanted to go on it, but since my skiing is bad, (I can't stop while going down slopes), I can't jeopardize my safety as well as others' on my path.

Anyways, I had fun learning how to ski at less steeper areas. When I got tired, I played around with snow (tindakan refleks bagi org khatulistiwa yang jupe snow kan) and went to check out the snowtube side... oh my, looks fun and cute :P tubies tubies teletubbies cute :D but i heard from those who did it, it was kinda rough as well :P

Last but not least, it was a great experience.

A part of it was also coz I met bunch of new friends, all young and energetic!! They are juz so cool... made my day! Thank girlss ;-)

winter's gonna be over soon... its getting warmer these days..yeahhh!

Proses Adaptasi...

2011-01-27T13:03:00.009+08:00

The first 2 days were dedicated to get over the jetlag, but we did drop by the university on my second day here, and I was introduced to Kak Ita.

Thursday 13th, I met my supervisor and was shown around the department and lab... and on that same day, I confirmed my apartment, and moved in. I had to make a quick detour to Walmart again to get some important stuff (supaya tak menggigil di malam ari):

Friday 14th... marked the start of my days in Charlotte all by myself = to be independent and resourceful (i hope!) There are few people who have offered to help (especially rides) if I needed any... like Fifa who teman me to get the 'hidup bujang trang tang tang' starter kit - which consist of a lot, lot of stuff like periuk, sudu, pencuci muka, pencuci mangkuk tandas, kain lap meja, roti, susu, ubat gegat, bakul sampah, butter, rice, air freshner... bla bla blaaaaaa....

Other than settling down, there's some adaptation I need to make.

1. The weather!

When I have to walk out when it's windy.... yikessss! when the temp dropss, even the heater's not helping (still afraid to tamper with it)... masa tu la terbayang-bayang suasana penang tercinta tatkala elektrik takda... alangkah nikmatnya! Haih, rindunya nak berpeluh... huhu.... After 2 weeks, I'm getting used to it now :-) not that bad after all.
Cabaran: waking up! hybernating under the sheets n comforter iz juz irresistable.

2. The measuring units.

awatla depa tamo pakai metric system? everything needs to be converted, fahrenheit to celcius (ooo skang rajin cek temperature n weather...) then gallon to litre..... miles to km... pounds to kg....

pros: trus la jadi terer mengkali darab bahagi segala skang ni :P

cons: I will look confused and blur .. i.e "its not that far, just half a mile from here..." So I'll be like... a mile... yeker not far? (and start converting and calculating)....

3. The road system
this one pun, its oppposite way than us... and since I walk most of the times, I've got to be more cautious and alert.

4. Language

It's ok, but sometimes some of them talk too fast plus accent lagi, and I'll be like lost sikit coz takleh pick up exactly wht they are saying. This one time, at the store's counter, I said 'pardon?', and the lady gimmie a blank expression, and when I rephrased it "i'm sorry, what did u just say"... and she got it and repeated. They understand if u say pardon, but it's not very common here..
I was having a chat with my labmate, I told him about my accident with a lorry.. he was like "Lorry? whatss dat??"...only then it striked me "Ouuhh... u dont call it lorry right... aaaa its a truck!" haha... And also I figured that they dont say "black coffee or white coffee" here... just go by with cream or no cream/milk... Since we are brought up with british-english, there are some differences but not that obvious I guess :)

5. Food

I am not very fussy when it comes to food... and I have always loved to try new food. But there's one restriction though... it has got to be halal :-) So I cant just rush into Walmart and pick everything I want, but must check the labels and ingredients first. So far, I don't have problem with food, and I am starting to cook my own meals... haha... masak ntah hapa2 ntah.... There are few Halal Meat stores around, and there's few asian stores as well.. selling spices and stuff... However.... I kinda misssssss the food we have back home. I am from Penang weiiiii!!! what do u expect?! :P

Hmm.. well... that's about it.. for now!
plus minus plus minus.... I kinda like this place :-) hope to make the best out of my time here.

merentasi lautan pasifik...

2011-01-18T14:06:00.006+08:00

Dear Blog, (cewah)

I have safely arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina and after a week here, I have found myself an apartment near campus and have settled most of the things (habis harta beli barang2 basic jaaa...swipe swipe pastu menitis air hingus tgk baki).... and have started my day at the lab.

A big thanx Prof and his wife, as well as Kak Ita, a Malaysian and her daughter Fifa, for their helps and concerns to get me settled.

Before this, I never travelled further than south east asia, with Bandung Indonesia being the furthest city I've been (out of country)... and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah the longest flight I had taken. (the longer flight to KK was the one from Penang), which took around 2 hours 45 mins. So when my attachment has been confirmed, I have been warned about long haul flight. Erk...yikes!

Then the weather... Charlotte shouldnt be that bad coz it doesnt snow dat much, so maybe not so cold down there :P I guessed wrong. Lucky thing, I did get one winter jacket!

Saying goodbye... its hard... I never left Penang for more than 3 weeks. The longest stay out of Penang, I think was the PKTR camp for 2 weeks+. So now I'll be away for 6 months?? and to a location where I can't get home in just few hours of bus-ride? Oh my.. I think I must have gone crazy when I decided to apply for this attachment. Ok mcm dramatik sgt la plak.. Its not a big deal, ppl do this all the time, but kan... for me, who have been in mycomfort zone for almost 3 decades :P (aikk yeke 3 dekad, lom lg aar)

Tho I can be a lil unpredictable every now n then...I usually prefer to be "Safe and Sound" most of the time... so I shocked myself with my decision... but I hope its for the best. The thing that worries me is not the fact I was a bit "pampered" with the comfort zone I had all these years, but more for the fact that I'm leaving my parents all to themselves (since both my sisters are in KL). But, them being positive and supportive gave me enough confidence to go through with this.

My Flight itinery:

Penang -- KL(KLIA) -- Taiwan, Taipei Airport (transit 1 hour plus) -- LA (LAX) -- Charlotte (CLT)

= 40 mins + 3 hours (at KLIA) + 18 hours 50 mins (include taipei transit) + 4 hours (at LAX) + 4 hours

= 30 hours 30 mins (mak aihhh...)

Penang to KL... didnt sleep

at KLIA...
I met my sistas and kiddos...second round of saying babai

Oh ya just as I reached KL, I got a text from my boss... she forwarded an urgent email frm Prof...

"Please note that due to possible snow storm in North Carolina, especially in Charlotte area, your flight from Los Angles can be delayed! Therefore, keep my home and cell phone numbers handy so that you can contact us. We will try our best to arrive at the airport by 6:30 am, it will be still dark and early morning! , But it is also a possibility that due to snow and ice some roads may be closed and that can further delay our arrival at the airport. Please be confident and stay calm, you can make phone calls from the help desk at the airport to inform us or checking our arrival time. Be confident and Insha’Allah, you will be received at the airport. Have a safe flight"

Alamak.... oh ooh.... Kept praying that it wouldnt be that bad....

KL to Taipei...
I got a seat by the window... and there's no one beside me... ahaaa.. yey! Didnt sleep.. sibuk melayan movies berbagai...

at taipei airport... went online while waiting at the transit room.. haha sempat lg tuh

Taipei to LAX, no more empty seat beside me..

Put some songs in the playlist and kebummm...Zzzzzzz... ilang dibawa hangin pasifik melayan mimpi indah...slept for a few hours... Oh yaa, the flight attendant and kapten pun announced dat we would land an hour later than the scheduled time...beacuse of the weather.

Dalam dok bangun sat-sat, jenguk luar a few times - sometimes its dark, then cerah balik then dark balik, sbb melawan arah time zone kan. There's this snow flakes on my window... nyaman terasa, ahaks :-) Ok, sambung tido.... then sampei lah kt Los Angeles Airport @ LAX.

Passed the security with flying colors.. hihik... even my bags are spared...which is a good thing coz I didnt bring anything sangat pun except for packed food, but if they were to inspect in and out... would be a headache for me to reorganize em back....so dat was a huge relief :-) then my next flight was from Terminal one via Us Airways. I had to walk out from the current terminal and 10-15mins walk to terminal 1 which was like 2 buildings away.

ok la gak jalan, layan blues jap....

aaaa... dekat dah....

....

I had roughly 2hours plus after custom clearance, checking in with us airways and all... so I entertained myself with a cuppa of kopi and just looking at people moving in and out... but buat expressi monotonous je coz didnt want to look like budak sesat sorang2 or terkebil-kebil excited dengan environment baru :)) hoho

the next flight was on-time... no delays... legaa....

Off we gooooo to charlotte... and bubye LA for now....

Tried to sleep in da flight but mcm tido2 ayam aje....

Then d plane landed safely... but took somtime to look for available gates coz most of the flights out were cancelled thus many planes still hybernating in the airport.

got all my bags... ok now... where do I go now from here?

My phone was roaming but restricted any calls out, or maybe I didnt put the right country code or somthing. I did try calling him from 'what looked like a public phone' but it didnt get through as well. There were 2 ladies seated somewhere near and they were kind enough to give me coins change and when dat failed, one of them borrowed me their phone to make a call to Prof and it got through... It seemed that the weather was kinda bad before I arrived and they couldnt drive out from their house because there were frozen ice along the pathway. Ok... cuak sket dah time tu :P They asked me to take a taxi from the airport and assured that it will be safe (I had doubts coz I don't really take taxis back home... hoho...) ouhh well... Man vs.Wild 101 - go and get a taxi now already will ya!

And the taxi driver was alllll grumpyy when I told him that the address would lead him to a housing area. He at first thought that I was heading to the uptown area.

He kept on driving though... so I just have to tahan sikit dengan all his grumbles... but deep down inside, I berdoa-doa dah... please, just take me there! and was practically preparing myself to embrace the 'wild'.. haha.. in case he were to drop me off somewhere in the middle of the road...

Lucky me, I didnt have to go through Man vs.Wild 102.... phewww.... He brought me safely to Prof's home, he dropped me off by the main road in front of Prof's home coz the pathway to his house was all icy and slippery... prof and his wife were there to welcome me. sempatt la ber "ice-skating" bbrapa meter utk masuk ke dalam rumah... Alhamdulillah, selamat sampai.

the housing area. p/s: not prof's house

So cosy inside.... and warmerrr... legaa ok.
Had breakfast....with this as the view....

Lovely....

Went online and Mas was online, asked her to call my parents to get online...though I had called them from prof's place and sent sms to them... I still wanted them to feel more assured...so we Skyped... they looked happy that I arrived safely.... but I can see tears in their eyes.... I know they have already starting to miss me... coz I have been missing them too since I depart from Penang...

here n there...

2010-12-22T23:12:00.003+08:00

Hallo...saya Shakiera... and imma boy...

slps bbrapa siri penyiasatan... rasanya.. dia ni lelaki... opsss... takpa laa.. nama dia tetap Shakiera dan boleh la letak nickname Shark kan...

To dream a dream? :)

Is Shakiera a female?

2010-12-09T02:08:00.001+08:00

I wrote an Ayam post last year... the event where my niece made my parents bought a chick happened again...somehow... i have a feeling this is beginning to be a anniversary thingy.. erk...and again... they bought 2 of em, and again I freaked out and again after a while, put away my "ego" and start to feel passion for the chicks.... Then in one unfortunate event.. one died on their second day with us.... (kesejukan)... sad aaar... so nekad, have to take care of the survivor...She survived day 3... then day 4....

Day5 - still fur fur gitu - is it called fur?hmmm.. well lets just assume lah :P

By day 5... she has a name... Shakiera! named by my niece... And we had no idea of its gender :)) My dad said this is not a chicken but a quail... but just to make sure, I did some googling... and yeah... fathers know best :P

This babe is known as COTURNIX QUAIL or better known as Burung Puyuh :D

Day 8 - evidence of feathers coming out

Day 12 - more feathers replacing its fur

Day 12 - shakiera's playpen :P

We got Shakiera another playpen@ homie. During the visit to a petshop, I asked the owner, how to identify the gender of burung puyuh? He xplained dat one way to find out is to observe its behaviour. If it moves its neck upwards and actively most of the time, it might be a male, as female puyuh are known to be 'quite'. Then I became kinda sure shakiera's a male.. alamak.... gender confusion tu beb.. nanti he will grow up to be a troubled teenage puyuh pulak coz of the confusing name given? how....howw ??? erk....

Day 17: staring rite back at ya!

When I told Ainaa that Shakiera might be a guy... she refused to believe me... she is very confident that her Shakiera is a girl... hmmmm ....

Day 17: new housie... hmmm...so male u think?

Then again... I googled:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Happy-Homesteader/Sex-Of-Quails.aspx
http://farmingfriends.com/quail-gender-identification/

Now I think... Shakiera might be a female after-all.... hmmm.... So I guess I dont have to change her name to Shah Kiran then... hmmm.. hopefully I am correct this time :P

in the midst of insignificance...

2010-11-27T02:58:00.005+08:00

Just one of those insignificant events - I parked my car, went to settle some matters/work, came out, approached by the parking attendant, he charged me, I paid, he issued me a receipt, and I was out of there.

But that day was quite different.... I was greeted by this much older man... Very old, his frame looked fragile. Very old you would imagine he would prefer to sit at home and relax in this golden years of his. Instead, he was all energetic and lively and seemed to enjoy his job. When he first approached me, I didnt know he was the parking attendant. He had the "friendly-neighbour" aura...

"Helllo Miss... going back already?" in a happy, joyful tone.

I was like "ermmm......" didnt know how to respon, huhu... a bit weird for someone u didnt know to be that friendly out of nowhere...ritee? to top that, I can't see his face clearly at that time.

"Going back? Do you have your car here, miss?" and as he asked and came nearer, I saw him taking out the parking ticket book from his small sling bag. Oooo.... parking ticket rupanya...

"Ooo just here... haa there..." pointing towards my car, 4-5 metres away. He followed me and took the yellow ticket and gave out a small laugh, "Haha, not very long...Hmmm, ok. that'll be only 30cents, miss"

uncle ni.... friendly and speaks english in a very polite manner..I handed him the coins and said thank you.

"Wait a minute ya, miss.. I will write you the receipt" wrote and gave it to me "Okeyyy, done...here is your receipt... Have a nice day, miss..."

"Same to you, thank you....thank you yaa" went into my car and lifted my hand as a gesture of appreciation and he waved back at me and then to the next car behind me, stopping the fella's car, to issue the ticket.... all with smiles and the consistent "friendly, happy" face :D

That uncle, he reminds me of the good old days... 15-20 years back, when people are friendlier... Well that uncle actually brings me back a lil more to the past, through colonial times, clearly shown from the way he speaks english which is different from our generation these days :P But above all, worthy of note.... is how his positive attitude made me smile that day :-)

From this so called insignificant event, I learn that if you are happy with what you are doing, or stay positive, you project positive energy to only to yourself but also people around you. Memang betul lah bak kata pepatah,

Senyum itu Sedekah
A smile is a curve that sets everything straight ~ Phyllis Diller

Penang Bridge Marathon 2010.

2010-11-22T00:40:00.010+08:00

First time join a real Marathon.... Haha... I never thought of joining this year or anytime soon...Zuraini invited us to join her mission to run in this Marathon... and tup tap... here we go, with Kak Ilah and Mar.

Since we are all first-timer, we opted for 10km run...

(other categories: Full Marathon (42km),
Half Marathon (21km),
FunRun (10km but with no qualifying time/medal))

Those who manage to complete their marathon within the given time, they get a medal.
Full Marathon - 7 hours, Half - 3.5 hours, 10km - 1.5 hours.

and when Zue said she wanted to target the medal... I laughed.... and I told her, I will be lucky enough if I can finish the run.

The route map for 10km.... i edited a lil, coz there's a change in the route compared to the map they provided earlier.

I walked for like 70% of my marathon :P coz

1. my stamina not that superb

2. I happen to have mild muscle strain at my right thigh joint, so i dare not stress out the muscle too much.

10km run started at 6.15 am.

as shown in the map... first part, we ran on the highway that goes straight to the bridge. At the fork towards the bridge, I bumped into Mar, and asked for the time and was told it was 6.30am. I quickly made some calculation, and figured I might be able to make it on time if I maintain the speed. But, my muscle started to sore a lil. Afraid I might end up hurt thus not able to finish... I walked, but in highest speed I could and berlari-lari anak a few times :P On the way, I asked 2 random people for time, just to check whether I was on the right 'track'. I maintained the same walking speed from the bridge towards the end. About 10 metres from finishing line, I ran :)) so that I won't feel like I did walkathon instead of marathon... miahahaha...

Finally, 7.30 am - I reached the finish line, took me 1 hour 19 mins. phewww..... Mar was just behind me in less a minute, then followed by Zue, just 2 minutes away. We bumped into each other a lot on the way... aku potong ko, ko potong aku, dan potong memotong sambil share ayaq :D Kak Ilah was nowhere to be seen, vanish into thin air gitue... haha... No lar, She finished earlier than us, took her 59 minutes oni...tak terkejar beb! :))

And all 4 of us managed to get medals.............. shared happiness is the best one ;-)

Thanksss u ollsss.... for various reasons i.e the invitation, lodging, motivations, jokes... etc etc

Hmmm... will I do it again? Hmmmmm...... we'll see... kalau ada kaki-kaki... maybe lah :P

p/s: PErghhhh... KAGUM lah.... those who did Half/Full Marathon.... cannot imagine myself braving thru 3-8 hours of marathon??? oucchhh

p/s/s: Adik-adik sekolah (junior category) sungguh incredible... they started 15minutes after us... but quite a number of them overtook us... ewah2.. mentang2 la metabolisme stamina korang masih tip top kan.... eksen nooh :P ahhahaa... cute nonetheless :D

Last but not least...

Tiring but Heppi!

Back to School again

2010-10-19T20:37:00.005+08:00

Back to School again.This photo taken by Lena, a whiteboard somewhere in d school compound. The lyrics of the classic edelweis song:

Reminds me of Primary School days..and also RedCrescent... where we had bunch of classics and other multi-lingual cheerings during gatherings/events :-P

I drew some numbers for lucky draw.. and the first draw.... was my own number... Erk... I am my own luck? a bit paiseh tho. Then one of the numbers hit this aunty's number... she is form 1965 batch. She said to me "This is my first time ever winning lucky draw"... wow... and its very flattering that I drew that number for her.

Business in the motion

2010-10-07T00:46:00.003+08:00

.....last year....

Niecey nicey: Aunty, open the light... I want to pass motion...
Zleeenz: What....?
Niecey nicey: I want to pass motion pleaaaseeee... please open the light
Zleeenz: Huh? Pass motion.... what's pass motion?
Niecey nicey: Pass motion is go to "uuu-uuuk" laa... teacher Mary teach me... u dunno aar?
Zleeenz: Haaa... yaka? tak pernah dengaq pon, yeke Maa (turning to my mom....)
Amma: Yap.... U didnt know all these while? (translated from tamil)
Zleeenz: Pass motion?? biaq betuiii....
Amma: Ya laa... abes tu hangpa ckp apa?
Zleeenz: Erk...... ntah...tak ingat pun cikgu ajaq? hmm... bahasa zaman dulu kot... (confident je, coz I know teacher Mary would be at least 15 years older than me)
Niecey nicey: Aunty faster laaa... open the light!
Zleenz: its ON the light, not open the light...( Klik...)
Zleenzz: Okeii... you can go pass motion now...

Erk... did the term skipped a generation. Coz, bein curious and tak puas hati, I asked my sisters and they didnt know too... both my Mom and Dad knows....
maybe it was taught but then I/we forgot... i donnooo....

baidawayy... how did we say it back then, in school ? In a more "so called polite" way?
Big Business or Small Business... or... "we want to do business with Mr.Tan...."
bisness minded generation we are!

How to build ant colonies... yg bleh tolan.

2010-09-06T22:12:00.006+08:00

My obsession with 80's recipe is not new to my family and some of my frenz. Having done 8 cookies altogether, I figured that should be enough. But then recently I was goin thru websites, (blogs n fotopages sharing recipes) and.. I found myself scouting for more recipes... and I fell in love with biskut makmur and biskut sarang semut. These are considered as evergreen, especially makmur. Sarang semut was famous in the 90s I think... hoho... but still evergreen gituw. Looking at the recipe... I realised I could still afford to make another cookies, and I chose sarang semut as most of the ingredients are already available.

When I searched the net, most of the recipes are the same. So here I share one of the links from a famous foodblog. http://hanieliza.fotopages.com/?entry=901155 . I rewrote... konon kasi variety sket dan takla copy paste je kan :P btw can also refer to the link for the resepi, in case mine tak clear sgt :P

The Ingredients:

350 gm wheat flour
100 gm corn flour
250 gm butter
100 gm castor sugar
1 egg (just the eggyolk)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For Deco:

Chocolate rice

Things you need (other than the normal baking stuff):

Grater
Small Paper cups

Method:

Sift wheat flour and corn flour together.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggyolk and add vanilla essense.
Blend in the dry ingredients (both the flours) gradually. Add and mix well.
Form into big doughs so that it will be easier to grate the doughs.
Grate the doughs into a bowl
Take a spoonful (/or accordingly) of the grated doughs into the paper cups.
Spread some chocolate rice for decoration.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes in hot oven at around 160-180 celcius.
DONE !

Guidelines to use Grater:

As seen in the photoblog, Ms.Hanie used this :

seems handy and easy right. But I dont have one of these!

therefore... I resort to this:

less blades huh.... imagine the efforts needed :P

But it was not that troublesome... So here's a demo of how Zleenz did it... cewah:

har har har... as u can see... I'm not using the dough. As this demo was done after the cookies dah siap! So I used Ainaa'a plasticine instead :)) huahuahua....

And your final result... would look something like this:

inset: how it looks like inside.

The Ant-Queen will be very excited!

So Am I !! Siok sendiri kuasa dua :P

New habits for highly ineffective people

2010-08-30T23:18:00.005+08:00

title mcm tajuk buku glemer tu kan.... ahaks.. well....

New habit on Sundays...

Browse thru sunday star, and go time travelling back to when I was 15... hehe... :P

There's a section in the paper for Science n Maths for PMR... and I'll do the exam questions, monitored by my 6 years old niece. (more like tukang cek i dah abes ke belom) I can say my "PMR knowledge' is not that bad lah, tak la terlalu berkarat... But my prob is language... coz the terms were in Malay back then. so i kinda have problem tryin to figure out some of the terms :P

would i do better if the questions are in malay like how I was familiar with. Or should I be concerned that I can't relate to some of the Qs because of language issues? :P

My math still not that lost... coz most of it involves numbers n equations rather than terms. Some unfamiliar terms, just make assumptions :P

Ok... wait...
Has they changed Math n Science back to Malay? Tak sure plak...x keep myself up to date with current affairs :P Huhu... but inconsistency can be quite confusing eh?

New habit with the dough....

Haha... blame my niece. She always "forces" me to make something out of the plasticine. Chickens laa.. horse laa... tiger la.. cat laa... She will help by making some other props.... like this one-sarang ayam:

Somehow the habit got a bit uncontrolled and out of home. Like this one: completed with the help of a fren and some kids I played with, ranging from 5 to 10 years. The 10 year old Atikah made the Apatosaurus, Octopus, snake, mouse and a fish to feed the cat :P We made a Zoo... land and water creatures combined :P hahaha

Ok.... now is it my Niece or myself who got carried away? Hmmmm.......

Newest collection.... I bought this mini colorful doughs. I got my sis Mely to work with me in making another Zoo a reality :)) Of course, the happiest person would be my niece :)) Can u list the animals correctly?

my personal fvourite :P

New habit with the dough (Raya version)....

Hehehe... doughs again... but eatable ones.
cookies... a.k.a biskut Raya
OK.... but my doughs are very very not commercial-able :))
and not very friendly to diabetic patients... erk...

but I like to eat them.... my own made cookies...

Siok sendiri yang mengenyangkan... i like....

okies... off I go.. to make another cookies tonite. nama biskut.. Biskut boubourn :)) apa punya nama daa.. biskut di atas pula bernama biskut badam bonbon... tak tipu, semua adalah mengikut resepi (tahun 80-an). Sekian Terima Kasih :*

Nostalgia berpuasa...

2010-08-12T18:42:00.002+08:00

Di bulan Ramadhan ni, tiba-tiba nostalgia lama kembali dlm ingatan. Cewah.... Ini kira first time belajar nak puasa, when i was 7 in Standard 1. Ye lah, dah masuk skolah, malu dgn kawan kalau cakap tak puasa, kan. So confident je thot I was ready nak puasa. With Azira, my partner in crime… we challenged each other, siapa boleh puasa lagi banyak hari. Lepas dah berjinak-jinak puasa tu (walaupun separuh hari masa tu), tiba-tiba pula dengar rumors yang kalau puasa, air liur pun takleh telan. Kalau telan, batal posa.

So ada skali tu masa recess-time, tengah main- main kt mangosteen trees tepi volleyball court, sebab tak pi kantin… Then suddenly terkuar issue air liur nie, Azira and I both tiba – tiba dah cuak.... cam mana ni, kena stop menelan air liur lah, kalau tak batal nih. Tanpa merujuk pada pihak ketiga, kami nekad! So kami berdua tahan air liur tu, bila dah banyak terkumpul (eeeeuuu).. tatau nak spit kat mana pulak. Tiba-tiba... masa tu jugak la *bellRing (loceng bunyi untuk ke dewan untuk perhimpunan lepas recess). ALAMAK ! Dlm kekalutan dan sambil bercakap dengan mulut penuh takungan, dok gabra gaduh tatau nak ludah kat mana? Banyak giler, semulut dah ada… Pengawas plak dah datang, dgn muka garang suruh masuk dewan… So, dalam kekalutan dan suasana tegang itu, kami pun bersama-sama decide menelan aje air liur ditakung tu… hua hua hua… eeYuckkkk! Banyak giler tuh! Wek wek wek.... Perasaan geli tuh takleh lupa sampai skang! Pengajarannya di sini, lenkali jgn nak pandai-pandai buat/ikut fatwa yang takde kesahihannya.

Darjah dua masih curi-curi minum air bila orang tak nampak. Darjah tiga dah puasa betul – betul, tapi maybe ada la skip beberapa hari. Darjah empat dah belajar puasa penuh. Dugaan besar, time sekolah sesi petang. Dah umur 13, patut dah terer puasa ni…. Tapi sebab dah penat dok kt skolah sampai lewat petang, dah tu bas sekolah aku lak sampai sangat la lambat dan kami terpaksa tunggu lama, jadi makin exhausting. Sekali sekala sambil tunggu bas tu, dok ushar satu rumah ni dekat kawasan menunggu tu… rumah dia ada halaman luas, dan jauh di sudut ada sebuah tempayan di sebelah sebuah kolah. Bila time-time dah penat sangat, renung je kolah dan tempayan tu… dah terbayang dah mandi air sejuk tu dan betapa besnya minum air tempayan sejuk tu…kalau dpt setitik dua pun j...PooonPooon… eh bas dah sampai! bila tersedar dr lamunan tu, termalu lah sendiri dgn fantasi kolah dan tempayan aku tu… erk…

Makin membesar, dah dapat atasi fantasi-fantasi mcm tu…. Kalau tengah puasa dan orang makan kfc kt sebelah pun tak heranz. Hmmm yeke… Yer Bolehh…..

Masa kecik-kecik dulu, fokus utamanya more to boleh tahan lapar dahaga ke tak, boleh lawan temptation nak makan minum ke tak. Pastu selalu alert takut kalau silap-silap tergali idung ke telinga ke tanpa sedar. akekeke... Tapi, wahai kanak-kanak, Ustazah ada cakap, puasa ni bukan control makan minum je, kena jauhi semua perbuatan tak berfaedah, jahat dan maksiat. Masa tu, maksiat paling besar yang boleh kita imagine adalah mengumpat. So tiba-tiba je, semua jadi baik tak nak ngata sapa-sapa. Kalau ada sesiapa yang terkuar statement ala-ala mengata nie, dan-dan sorang sorang start nak quote ustazah :P

Little did I know then....
Rupa-rupanya makin besar, makin banyak lagi “temptation” untuk buat perkara-perkara tak berfaedah… Rupa - rupanya dugaan makin banyak, pintu ke arah pelbagai jenis maksiat menjadi semakin meluas dan semakin kreatif pun ada.

Tapi bila dah makin besar ni, kita pun seakan-akan makin lebih pandai nak justify segala perlakuan kita. Apa je kita buat, ade je justification nye kan. Dah takde sapa dah nak tegur dengan quote2 ustazah mcm zaman kecik-kecik dulu, ye tak :) Kalau ada yang tegur pun, kita sama ada jadi malu, tak suka, ego atau tak selesa... dah tak terbuka dan boleh terima teguran dengan senyum kambing mcm kecik-kecik dulu.

Hmmm... bila ckp bab-bab agama masih banyak menda yang aku taktau... bak kata pepatah "cukup makan je"... tanamkan niat wahai Azleena, anda Ilmu tak banyak....jadi rajin-rajinlah mencari..... Amal tak banyak.... jadi rajin-rajinkanlah beramal....wokey macha?

Sejauh mana penghayatan aku bulan Ramadhan ni? Lebih daripada tu... aku terfikir jugak, Sejauh mana kah penghayatan aku pada amalan-amalan yang di buat di bulan Ramadhan.... (i.e. baca Quran, Solat2 Sunat, Sedekah etc) pada bulan-bulan lain. Di bulan Mulia ini, kita perbanyakkan, itu tak bermaksud di bulan lain kita minimize/ lupakan terus, ye dok? :-)

~Peringatan untukkku....

MarHaBan ya RaMadhan...

SelaMat BerPuasa ye KenKawan seme, muslimin muslimat semua....

Semoga kita mndapat KeBerkatan dari-Nya....

Amin.

Cross Selat Melaka ke Medan :-)

2010-08-07T23:13:00.012+08:00

This is my second time in Medan. .

First Medan trip was one of the memorable one as for that trip, I combined my family vacation with friends. Family-> all of us except my bro in law, and that time only one kiddo in the family, Ainaa was 2years +. Friends ->2girls+4guys who were my CS coursemates. Dindi is our friend from Medan who was our degree coursemate, and it had been 2 years since our graduation, and we finally got to plan our rombongan to visit Dindi and her hometown.

This Second Medan trip, was initiated from Durian crave! Dindi and I were chattin in Fbook, and suddenly... tadaaa.... I found myself caught in the Durian feva... I had to taste Es.durian Dindi mentioned. Well... and I miss her :P And my crazy adhoc plan got Zuraini and Marlina's attention.... and all of a sudden we were planning for our next trip after Sabah :P

SHOPPING
(2 famous places) = Pajak Petisah + Pajak Ikan (tp jual kain2) :D

be reminded, it's quite expensive compared to Bandung / Jakarta... but slightly cheaper than the one back here...the key to get a reasonable price is to really bargain :D and Thank you dindi for helping us with that :*

Some of the Foods we had::

SOTO MEDAN

One of the Kedai yg sedap sotonya dan popular kt Medan:

ES DURIAN

Actually dindi owns a Kepudur Stall (Kedai Pulut Durian) selling varieties of desserts made from Durian... but her stall was closed temporarily. Her stall is kinda similar to this one. This stall belongs to a guy Dindi deals with for Durian supply: (Look at the Menu :P)

We dont have this exactly same dessert back in Msia. But to sum up this sweetie..... Its like Pulut Durian + Ais Kacang/ ABC + Chendol all put together in one bowl! Kebahagiaan yang Tripple !!!

Can u seee the floating durian :D This is Es.Kolak Durian. The difference with Es.Pulut Durian is this one, added with chunk of grilled bananas.

SATE PADANG

Dindi's Sis-in-Law tapau this for us :-) So nice of her...

LEMANG
This one... erm...actually I forgot the real name :P but it has Lemang served together - for breakfast - at Dindi's place. We stayed at her place except on the day we spent in Danau Toba of course :-)

BAKSO & ALPOKAT (Avocado Juice)

LAKE TOBA / DaNaU ToBa:

We stayed in this villa where President Sukarno had once made it his resting place. We felt honored to have experienced a sense of history :-)

The view around Toba.

Unfortunately, timing of our vacation clashed with the public school holidays in indonesia. Therefore Toba became a bit too crowded (including the amount of vehicles) and the atmosphere was very different from my first trip. We didnt get to swim because of the crowd and just when we found a better spot, later it began to rain :( However, the view is breathtaking, the scenery very serene :-)

Ouh how I miss swimming n playing in the lake....

This time around, we went around... feast on the "Mangga Udang" (small cute mangoes)... and made ourselves busy with our cameras :D

These boats are means of transportation to Pulau Samosir a.k.a Tomok.

SAMOSIR @ tomok

Rented a boat... we went in a group, together with Dindi's friends and staff :-) 12 of us altogether.

top deck

Besides the Batak Museum, cultural display + shows, this place is popular for the sorvenir shops.

FareWell

Going back to Medan and to Dindi's house, we are welcomed back by this sweet lil girl, Tara (Dindi's niece) :-) very kiut and intelligent girl.

On the 4th day, we made our way back to Penang. Dindi, thank you for everything....
Special thanx to all her family members for the hospitality and not forgetting Azka, for driving us to Toba ;-) We (Zue, Mar and I) will be delighted to be the host in Penang next time.

Dindi, Looking forward to your visit in future. Miss you :-)

Mount Kinabalu ~ Info, Tips & Tale

2010-07-23T23:24:00.007+08:00

A few of my friends have been asking about my Gunung Kinabalu experience. As much as I am lazy to update this blog, I think it might be beneficial if I record the details here. In case anyone asks me again... I can refer back to this post or link it to them... Ha... bijak!

Alamak... where do I begin?

My friend, Zuraini, one of my Kinabalu escapade teammates has written in her blog about this trip of ours.. from the initiation,to the journey day by day, to the obstacles and the climax of the story= on top of the mountain, bla bla bla.. one post per day. Since most of the photos she used are mine (hahah.. ya dgn kebenaran :P).... so I guess no point for me to repost here.... and I'll do the smartest thing to do here: summarize & link them..Ha.. bijak! (lagie)

Summaries of Zuraini's blog/blogposts, from her experience and point of view ;) :

The initiation, plans, flight tickets - (the plans)
The climb, the sceneries, reaching Laban Rata... Food and zzzz.. (the Climb).
Proceed to Low's Peak - the Top of the mountain. (race to Low's Peak) :-)
Crawling back to Timpohon Gate :S and goin back to Kota Kinabalu. (the descend)
Our tentative + Budget.

Ok... quite thorough rite?

but here's the additional compilation from me...

General:

The mountain top is known as Low's Peak. Don't get misdirected with the word "LOW"... it's definitely not Low ok :))
The (normal) package takes 2 days. You will stay one night at 6km (Laban Rata) before proceeding to the top next morning. Sleep at 8pm. Start hiking to the top at 2.00 - 2.30 am.... this is so that we can reach the top before/on sunrise.
They have 1 day climb kinda thing.... but usually on Climbathon, or on special request/package.(not sure... please check) :P
Each groups will be assigned with guides/porters. the larger the group, the more guides u'll be assigned to.
Althugh u come in a group, u dont have to move as one big group all the time. U will move in a smaller groups as u climb, following ur own speed.... The guide/s will follow the last batch/person in ur group to make sure no one is left behind.
They also sell sticks to help with ur climb... cost around rm3-4 per stick.
There is a resting hut / Pondok for each 1km. they come with Toilets, water supply + resting place. So worry not...

The Route:

The track to mountain Top = 8.7km (elevation = 4095 metres)
Timpohon Gate to Laban Rata = 6km + Laban Rata to Low's Peak (the top) = 2.7km
However, there are 2 starting points for the climb
1] Timpohon Gate
2] Mesilau Nature Resort
These two routes will meet at the KM4 (kilometre 4) of Timpohon Route and KM5.7of Mesilau Route
Which means, you have nearly 2km extra distance coming from Mesilau track, but once u reach meeting point of these 2 routes, the track uses the Timpohon's distance. Thus 5.7km= back to 4km :P
The Meeting point: Just after/near Pondok Layang-Layang:

The starting point at Mesilau is at higher ground compared to Timpohon, so the beginning of the climb will be more "decent" compared to Timpohon which is steep right from the beginning. However, since mesilau route crosses ridge bla bla... its longer and this is challenging too. 2km difference in "hilly" route is a biggg difference ok. So both got pros n cons la.
Timpohon - shorter... but steep from the beginning. Can be hard for those have insufficient training on stairs/steps.
Mesilau - longer, easy for the start but gets harder because of the distance. But it has beautiful sceneries along the way compared to Timpohon.

Lodging:

Which ever Route u use.... u will come up to Laban Rata...
U can choose whether u want to include food(buffet) in your package. My advise: Yes, please do! The buffet is good and u really need lotsa energy ;-) and u dont have to think about the arrangement.
They cover lunch (first day climb) + dinner at laban rata + early breakfast (2am) + breakfast (8-10am) + lunch at Kinabalu Park (after climbing down)
There are 2 lodges:

1] Laban Rata - this is the main building. Reception + Food. They have rooms here... more expensive. + point: U dont have to move up and down for food :P

2] Gunting Lagadan - this is 100m from main building. 100m becomes a fear-factor issue because of its steep n stairs all the way up/down. + point:: Cheaper and the gate to proceed to Low's Peak is at gunting lagadan. So at 2.00am... u save 100m climb, and it meansss a load!! And you can arrange your makan-time wisely so that you don't have to climb up+down so much. Skip the 2am breakfast (eat somthing u tapau / somthing light like biscuits etc) so that u dont have to go back to laban rata lodge and climb all the way up again --> horror man. Oh yap, we stayed in Gunting Lagadan + we did skip that breakfast.
Buffet-dinner is available from 5pm-7pm. So make sure you reach before buffet ends.
Water heater works until 7pm... if u need shower, u need hot shower....so again make sure on time ;-)
by 8pm... everyone is required to sleeeeeep.....

*We started our climb at 8.20am and we reached Laban Rata at 1pm. So we had time to kill and enjoy the view and take lotsa lotsa fotos....

Laban rata

killing time :P

gunting lagadan

Once u made ur mind... on the package.... and preparing for the expidition. Some things u need to prepare or keep in mind:

BAGS / Loads:

Carry your own bags only if you think you are fit enough
If you are not so fit... and u insist on carrying ur own bags... of course, u can still make it to laban rata... but quite tiring n u will be very2 sloww.... u must remember laban rata is not ur ultimate goal, u have another climb the next morning... very early in the morning... so safe as much energy as u can.
if u are a pro... then u can carry as many bags as u want... even ur frens' bags n charge them .. haha
Here's an important Note: You can pass your loads/bags to your porters. They will charge u according to weights... Price changes from time to time... but roughly RM 4-5 per kg.
What to pass to porters (i.e of my suggestions la):
-> cloths (especially the thick ones) - sweater jackets, gloves, etc
-> headlamp
-> extra munchies (power bar, biscuits etc)
-> extra slippers/shoes if u bring any
-> extra drinks (i.e Gatorade / 100 plus)
-> toiletries etc
What i suggest u should bring along in a smaller bagpack:
-> ur own version of first aid kit - muscle pain creame/plaster, minyak angin cap kapak etc
-> food - somthing simple... if u take package with food, they will suply lunchbox
-> powerbars/ powergel
-> towel/face towel (optional)
-> raincoat (the disposable one is light)
-> personal belongings (wallet/hp/passport etc)
-> camera.... hahha..... wajib :))
-> drinks - 500ml mineral water +/ 100plus/gatorade (depend on ur level of consumption)
If your water supply finishes, u can get em at the resting hut (pondok)... direct water supply... safe but not guaranteed everyone can take it. Some got diarrhea... some have no prob at all :P

Once u reach Laban Rata / Gunting Lagadan, rearrange ur bags after retrieving it from ur porter... u need different set of things/attire for the next climb
The next morning.... get into ur "i'm-afraid-i-might-get-frostbite" uniforms...

to the MOUNTAIN TOP:

you will start the climb at 2.30am ... will be very dark.. = headlamp !
it's cold... different people have different ways to adapt to temperature change. to be safe... prepare for the worst. bring along ur first aid kit thingy... and wear warm clothings (i.e extra layer of tshirts/pants if u must)... sweater.
and ur climb involves a lot of rope use.... = gloves !

Climbing Down:

again.... u can pass ur bags to the porter...so u can put all ur heavy-stuff back in there hehe
if u want to be extra cautious... in case u have problems with your toes/ toenails... bring along a good sandals/slippers... u can replace ur hiking shoes with it once in a while / througout. If u comfortable in hiking shoes... dats the best lar.
use knee-wrap... helps a lot
and the stick if u bought one before climbing. helps a lot to support ur knees n footing.

I'm not sure what else to jot... Hmmm.... I'll update if there are more tips... or maybe I'll just leave it to you to make further research on do's/donts... ;-)

OK now....

PRACTISE:

It is a physical challenge... but it doesnt solely rely on ur physical condition... You must be mentally prepared too... especially for first timers.
Practise! U need them. But do not push too hard on yourself. Start with jogs, then hills and nearest mountain if available :P
Some say it wont be worth if you go to another mountain just to train for kinabalu i.e going to gunung tahan... coz it shoiuld be an expidition of its own. I guess its not the matter of how high is the hill/mountain but how often u practice.
i.e. I dint do mountains.. just hills, with Bt.Bendera being the highest. For Kinabalu, Bt.Bendera + Bt.Jambul is a very good place to start... coz it has stairs + steps just like in Kinabalu (except that Kinabalu's steps are steeper laa) hehe..
People have different opinions on practise and how much u need to be prepared for this. One pakcik told me... its up to yourself... you can go with the most minimal practise... but you will struggle along the way. If you want to enjoy the climb, then "bersusah2 dahulu, bersenang2 kemudian".
U need to also focus on climbing down... whenever u go hiking.. make sure u hike down as well and never resort to other alternatives.
but just in case.... If u have serious cramps/ injuries that make it impossible for u to climb down back to mesilau/ timpohon, the porters can carry you (im not kidding) and it costs around rm200 per kilometre.
According to kinabalu folklore, Some active people with very good stamina are said to be stuck in Laban Rata... gone flat after reaching laban rata, unable to proceed to the top the next morning.
Kinabaly folklore also reports... Some with asthma and heart problems are able to reach the top. The remedy? Keep moving on... even if you are slow, dont stop too long at one stop... just keep on moving forward.
Age doesnt matter, even those in their 60's can make it.
What does it say?....as much as ur physical condition matters... when it comes to moving ur mucles to take another step forward.... it's all in the mind....

Last but not least... My very own tale:

Despite having uncertainties n goosebumps, it was a fairly a good climb. The wheather was good, no... better.. it was great. We didnt stop too long at one station, and we reached laban rata quite early :)

Then jeng jeng jeng....

I got sick right after my dinner. My temperature increased and I was getting fever. It was really sudden and shocking all the same, coz I was perfectly ok before that. Zue gave me Panadol ActivFast... and to my relieve it worked. Headache seemed to ooze, and I felt better. Just when I thought I could finally relax n go to sleep, I started to have difficulties in breathing. I had blocked nose, both nasal passages affected. I couldnt lie down, because once I do so, I couldnt breathe properly, had to breathe through my mouth. How was I supposed to sleep if I couldnt lie down? My difficulties in breathing was somehow disturbing my fellow roomates to sleep... Kak Ilah tried helping me by her newly found method of pasting koyok on my nose... It kinda worked for a minute or so... but still I couldnt breathe well.

I imagined the all the worst thing that could happen...
But.... I came all the way... not to be stuck in Laban Rata with blocked nose! :(

Even if I had to stay awake all night (since I can't lie down)... I planned to go on with my climb next morning! I was determined. Even if it took 5 hours to reach the top, I told myself I will go for it.

While I was fighting with my voice-overs... I remembered this traditional method of using Vicks to ease blocked nose. went to the pantry room (the only room with lights on)... and boiled water and put some Vicks in it, and breathe in the steam coming out from the pot with my head covered with a towel. Wow... it was working... I can breathe...hoorah....went to my room to sleep....

10 minutes passed... I was panting for air... blocked again! Back I went to the pantry, now all alone, no one was around the corridor.... and repeated my treatment at the hall opposite the pantry. I considered sleeping there at the hall... Then I realised the windows had no curtains and I could see d darkness outside, trees swaying peacefully with the wind. Yikes... no way.... I brought the hot pot back to my room, placed it on my bed.. I laid down with my face in the pot... and I forgot what happened next....

1.45 am, They woke me up. I was sleeping in normal sleeping position and the pot was on the floor beside my bed. Huh... didnt remember putting it there... I must have been too sleepy I dint remember? I felt way better and no more blocked nose... So.... up up and prepared for the climb... and Alhamdulillah... I made it :-) Although at the last peak.. I was practically crawling ala Smeagol to get to the top :P

In conclusion to this very long post....

What would you need / need to have in order to conquer THe Mount Kinabalu ?

Physical readiness + Mental preparation+ Luck

Is it worth all the trouble? Would I recommend?
YESS !!

Academia, Food and Nature

2010-06-28T21:58:00.003+08:00

Cerita ceriti 2 weeks ago:

KL:

in KL for 4 days....attended Tun's talk in a conference :-)
Still charismatic as always....

View from KLCC convention centre:

BACK IN PENANG:

Trus kena heret tgk bola kt Subaidah.... my very first time watching Bola kt mamak, dari start sampai abes... huhu... I wore Red konon2 nak bg variety since the other two wore light blue (argentina).... so argentina lawan south korea (in Red)... dan korea yg kalah... hahaha.... dah kata dah.... sapa aku sokong ke represent je mesti kalah :P
Next day: To Balik Pulau again!!! this Time penambahan ahli melantak: Shuh Jiuan. Beliau amatlah teruja dan tidak segan silu menyerang durian, rambutan, buah salak.... then makan Laksa + goreng pisang lgk :P (kt laksa janggus)

5 bekas durian + 4 gadis ayu... ahaksss... skali tgk mcm impossible.....Har HAr Har..... Posssibleee jer....

Up NORTH, Kedah:

The next day... trus ke Jerai pulak... Gunung Jerai, Kedah... Seyes.... dah lawa dah tmpt ni.... Last skali mai sini 2003, masa tu agak 'sederhana' la keadaanya.. Skang, dah upgrade. Bilik selesa.... tmpt masih menenangkan, nice weather.

View.... Sawah Padi terbentang luas... leh nampak laut jugak.... Ni time musim baru tanam padi... menghijau... kalau musim padi masak... depa kata lawa jgk.. kekuningan. But kalo musim dah menuai...nampak mcm tanah tandus sket laa...

Bunga-bunga dan pokok2 hiasan pun byk.... Dulu first time, dtg thn 2001- masa tu byk bunga, then in 2003 takda bunga-bunga sangat. This time, depa dah renovate segala... landscape pun dah lawa dgn byk bunga2 seme... so harap dpt maintain la kali ni :-D

Cumanya.... mereka maybe belum cukup bersedia ambil guests berkumpulan kalau terlalu ramai... we went in 150pax... and depa macam agak kelam kabut menguruskan kitorg... a bit mengecewakan bab tu.... But for accomodation, and food... its good. Food is good wpun variety terhad :D Kalau go in small groups / family, this will be a good place to rehat2 tenangkan jiwa. Oh yaaa... dekat2 sini.. ada 2 spot air terjun. Satu a bit tersembunyi maka bahaya sket.. another dekat taman rimba ke apa ntah... turun bwh sket... mmg tmpt org suka camping dan ada air terjun yang besh....

Btw.... ini gmbr dulu dan skarang :D
Inset: gmbr pergi dgn kenkawan zaman dgree dolo...

Main: skang under Regency Resort.

So Jom.... hangpa nak pi mana... KL, Penang ka Kedah? :P

Balik Pulau cari Laksa

2010-06-09T13:59:00.005+08:00

Sepanjang festival durian.... gerai-gerai ini ada until 30 Jun 2010. Hmmm.. kat Balik Pulau... exact location, alamak... taktau nak cakap. But on the way Balik Pulau, tepi jalan... korang nampak la gerai2 nie, hehehe :P

Ekceli, this option macam lebih accessible berbanding mencari dusun-dusunnya kt balik pulau :D

Di belakang khemah tu.... boleh la nikmati view neh :-)

Perkampungan Balik Pulau.

Rambutan, Langsat, Chempedak...... manggis lom ada lagi time ni.

Mak Aih... gugur jantung cheq tgk dorian2 ni .... ahakss...

But this time... beli yg dalam bekas je... Sbb pegi bukan bajet utk melantakz durian. Btw... yg ni harganya RM10 satu bekas, dan 3 bekas = RM20.

Lokasi kami sbnrnya... nak makan petang kt sini: (Laksa Janggus)

Utk apa?

Utk makan laksa aaaa :P

Ada jgk menu2 lain.. mee kuah ada... kuetiau t'ng ada.... Goreng Pisang pun ada: (rangup)

a
Sebab aktiviti sebegini rupa telah menjadi hobi yang tegar... maka sebab itulah hiking cam mana banyak pun.... lemak masih mengunjugi... ahakss...

Janji Ada Gaya....

2010-05-29T16:12:00.020+08:00

Last year, I went to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah with my family. It was an adhoc family trip, with most of our time spent in KK, shopping and driving around. We went to Manukan, and on the same day, we drove to Kinabalu Mountain Park, my dad and I taking turns to drive.

At mountain Park, we walked around the park for quite a distance. It was nice but we were quite disappointed as the clouds and mist were covering the mountain and we couldnt take photo with/of the mountain. I saw some people whom I guessed must be group of hikers... Looking at them, I wondered... "Will I, some day, get to do the same?"... but left the question to dissolve into the fresh mountain air.

On our way back after singgah Kundasang, the skies were clearer and the mountain can be seen... thus I could no longer focus on my driving. Atta suggested we stop coz he knew how badly I wanted to digitalize it in my camera. We passed by Pekan Nabalu that has sorvenir shops and an observation deck. It was such a magnificent sight and the question hit me again "Will I?"...... and told myself "maybe some day.... who knowss..."

There were lots of click and snaps, including this one bimbotic pose.
For this one, the caption in my facebook reads: "Tak mampu daki takpa, janji ada gaya"

Few months after that...... came a proposal from Zuraini to climb this mountain! What? Seriously? She had been plotting and planning it with Omyn and Kak Ilah was excited too when she got to know about this. My immediate reply was "YES", though I had doubts we were really gonna do this. Next 3 months followed with uncertainties, then somewhere in October / November, we had to confirm our participation. This time, I put serious thought about it.... and yes... it was a YES.

We told ourselves we need a lot of practise.... bla bla bla... tried, but not very consistent. It was not until March that we started to have goosebumps, butterflies in e stomach.... and motivate each other to really start practicing and work on our stamina... ergo the series of update on aktiviti cargas-cargas in tis blog.

Here you go... the "bimbotic~tak mampu daki takpa, janji ada gaya" pose... next to the "bergaya love is in the air on top of the mountain" pose.... one year after that.

Hence, the conclusions of this post...

The Impossibles can be Possible if we put our mind into it
Life is Unpredictable
BBs can do it
No matter what... janji ada gaya.... ahaksss.....

P/S: if buka balik link to adhoc fmily trip tu, rupanya ada juga gambar BB aku dgn tagline yg sama.. hahahaha... and lawak gile baca balik komen korang --> jadikan next Parlimail trip.... I guess we kinda did.. rite? hihihi....

it's Bukit Jambul

2010-05-24T01:28:00.010+08:00

I have been updating on places I go for work out.... I missed this one though --> Bukit Jambul.

We frequent this place long before our May-expedition plan. This place is in bukit jambul... obviously :P Near Inti College.

a short hike on tar road, then u'll see this track on ur left... usually we'll do warm up here before goin up the track.
There are 2 main tracks.... We are only familiar with the right fork... not sure about the other track, heard it's more 'muddy' (if it rains) or some sort laa.

One good thing about this hill is, the stairs... yaaa... the stairs! hehe.

B.Jambul can be a very short hike for those who are good with stairs... but can be a lil challeging to newbies.

I remember my first time, alongside with some other newbies. I was panting hard and kinda dizzy while another 2 vomitted on the way up. So never underestimate this place :P my first time... i think I took around 35 minutes to reach up. with recent ongoing work-outs, it took me 10 minutes to reach the top :-) happy!

it's a good start for jungle track hikers :-D recommended !
If you are practising for a bigger expedition, goin up and down for 2-3 times is highly recommended.

Once u reach the top, there's this hut where they have weight-lifting equipments available to public. Open gym kinda thing la. So hot hunkies with 6packs + toned muscles can have this spot all for themselves and work it out, man.... :P

And there's also outdoor gym equipment available... so u can work-out ur cardio as well :D

Left: the hut with weight equip, Right: the outdoor equip

or u can just rest....

and enjoy the view:

with a cup of hot ginger tea, crysanthemum tea or just plain waterfree for public.

sometimes you will bump into people who will be carrying one/two bottles of 5litre water to the top. The is water supply on top but the water pressure is quite low. Ouh, on the side note, there is a toilet too, so dun worry in case of emergency :P

Hehehe...

Okies, that's about it... Updates on my work-out places or aktiviti2 cargas recently. This photos are taken after our May-escapade (which I will update later).... this is to so-call warm down from our big hiking expedition... heehe.

Till then... up up up we go !

:*

Stamina bertangga ke Bukit Bendera

2010-05-04T19:25:00.015+08:00

WOKES..... mari Cargas semula.

Kali ni ~ Bukit Bendera.

Bukit Bendera or Flag Hill is one of Penang's most popular tourist sites. One of its main attractions is the Cable Car... the other would be the view from top.

Recently, the Cable car service has been stopped.... under construction / renovation. So, how the tourists or visitors gonna go up there? HIKE all the way?? Hehe....Why not laa kan :D

To reach Bt Bendera on foot.... there are quite a number of tracks... One from Botanical Garden (MoonGate), then another from Youth Park. Even from MoonGate... there are more than 1 track for us to choose from.

Ouh.. okie.. for the tourists... while Cable Car undergoes renovation etc, they can choose to go to the top by Jeep. The Jeep Service is available from Botanical Garden, not from AirHitam where the cable car station is based at.

OK.... About the Hike... I went there 2 times recently. We started from Moon Gate. There is another track - from the Jeep Route, so it's tar road all the way up. From MoonGate - hill track lor.

mula-mula... so semangat! (sbb tu pix far left... heppi excited je kan)
Then jadi mcm nyawa2 ikan bila tgk the stairs.... Stairs of Horror as Zue put it. Tgk je la... byk steps n curam2 jugak :{~

first station: Station 5 ~ here, we have outdoor gym instruments... Free drinks (plain water / chinese tea)- not sure on weekdays ada tak... and resting/lepaking spots.

CONTINUE:

Phew... no mo stairs of horror! but challenging nonetheless. Quite interesting track :-) Nice View along the way.
'

Our second Station.... Station 84 ~ Resting place and Plain water available.

From station 84.... we can choose whether to continue on hill/jungle track or jeep route (tar road). On our first time, since there were only 3 of us, girls... we chose the tar road since someone told us that the hill track is a bit confusing and we might get lost....

TAR / Jeep Route:
So here's our Tar Road journey, Hehe:
(marked Red - a track approaching from other fork) - this is where we tembus kuar on our 2nd trip.

Yeahhh..... Sampai...Jeep route 5.0 km :D for us: (2.5km from station 84 + hill trek, not sure)

Hill / Jungle Track:
The following week.... we chose the hill trek.

It's very challenging.. very steep and dirty :D but at the same time... nicer view :D
And actually we were quite lost... we were supposed to come out at 4.6km fork.... But we kinda pusing2 bulatan mana entah... and got out at 3.8km.... taking us longer time than expected.

Lepas jalan simen ni... pusing2... keluar ke X tu..... X tu is 3.9km.... arghhh... masih jauh... and have to hike up the tar road lagi.... adeh.....

at 4.6km.... we chose another route... not jeep route.... and finally... made it UP to the TOP!

Toppy TOP.....

My rough sketch.....
Both these tracks start from Botanical Garden (MoonGate / JeepRoute).

Actually there are more tracks.... There was this guy who told us, they climb to station 5 and from station 5 they use a different track known as Bukit Pondan before exiting to station 84. Aikk bukit pondan? Never heard of it before... maybe next trip eh.... hehe

Ok Bukit Bendera sudah..... What next? :D

I loved you.... but that's the Past....

2010-04-29T20:23:00.018+08:00

Sudah seminggu lamanya.... daku tak ber-laptop.
Wow... and I am still surviving.

If it's not because my course is spelled COMPUTER SCIENCE
It wouldnt bother me much....
hmmm... yeker? valid ke argument ni?
Ya laa.. coz these days.... almost everyone, anyone wants/ needs a lappy for work / studies / entertainment etc. maa... not only those dealin with IT / tech stuff.

one thing i miss most.... internet accessibility.... gagagaga

wat bothers me most.... i can't do any work, any time I want....anywhere I want... (like I used to)
and all my works are highly dependent on this thing called computer.. geeesh.

When my laptop buat hal hari tu.....
I felt numb.... mcm nyawa di hujung tanduk...
(although I have backup data.... but then, not updated for one month)
like so worried thinking of how to catch up to one month of progress (if there's any :P)

Luckily, my HDD was not affected... therefore all my data is safe....
but then thinking of how much my "life" depends on the lappy.... so fragile.... so unpredictable... kinda bothers me....

I always have this LOVE-HATE relationship with technologies.... HAHA.....

however.... I am proud to say I am indeed, a computer scientist... :P cecewah

and...ouh... MOST IMPORTANTLY.... I need a NEW Lappy asap....
HP? Toshiba? Acer Travelmate? Haih..... the survey begins!!

P/S:
I loved you for 2 years.... I slept with you... I laughed with you... I cried with you... How could u leave me when I need u most!!!!!! !
@*%#$%##^ Dell XPS m1530.

but ... thanks for the memories .... ahaks... jiwang plak...

Suasana petang di Tasik Mengkuang

2010-04-15T15:57:00.013+08:00

Saya adalah anak Bukit Mertajam yang jati. Hikhik.. Bagi orang BM sapertiku, tempat lepak beriadah tu ada 2 pilihan fofular... Mengkuang Dam atau bukit BM tu sndirik @ Cherok To'Kun. Ini hari, cheq mau buat liputan Mengkuang Dam plak.

Ini gambaq cheq amik arie tu dengan Jane dan YingSan. Time tu, orang lain dok berjoging dan berkelah, kami dok lompat-lompat amik gambaq... haha Riadah jugak maaa...

Sejak dua menjak ni.... cheq insaf... cheq pi untuk betui2 bersenam :P Slalu pi ngan parents dan cik Ainaa...

Tempat ni sesuai bagi mereka yang suka berjoging2. Bagus utk senaman cardio. Kawasan sekeliling pun indah mata memandang... auwwww ....

Ada dua pilihan... nak joging kt laluan terbuka/terbentang luas, atau, kat laluan yg dikelilingi pohon indah nan menghijau.

Ni laluan terbuka, ni jalan merentasi empangan dan tasik dia.

Jalan dia cam gini dan kita leh nampak penghujung trek dia jauh nun di sana. Lebih kurang 1.5 km gitu lah...

Di kala petang, ramai ber-joging2.. ber-walking2.... ber-sight2-seeing. Di sebelah kanan, adalah Tasik Mengkuang ber-background-kan bukit-bukit. Manakala di sebelah kiri:

Bukit dan jalan raya... akan juga nampak empangan. Opss lupa amik gmbr cekpoint kat hujung nya...

Hari tu masa patah balik... hampir nak Maghrib. Dari kejauhan, dalam suasana senja, terdengar sayup-sayup bacaan ayat-ayat Quran dari sebuah masjid. Rasa damai :-)

On the way balik dr trek di atas, tasik di kiri.

Laluan Kedua: masuk dalam lagi....

ada nampak Bukit Mertajam? :P

Ada juga yang berkayak petang-petang.

Ada yang jadikan lokasi utk wedding outdoor photography:

Jalan masuk ke laluan joging kedua:

Sedikit berbukit but tak curam sgt...

Lepas laluan berpokok-pokok.... then kuar open space balik.

Di tepi tasik .

anyone knows, bangunan apakah itu?

Dan sampai lah ke penghujung trek ini... Sekian... :D

Selain itu, kat sini tempat Penang International Dragon Boat Festivals diadakan tiap-tiap tahun.

Cheq suka tmpt ni sbb dia damai tenang gituw :P

Monkey Beach & Muka Head Lite House

2010-03-29T00:07:00.016+08:00

Hiking- Monkey Beach & Muka Head Lite House.

Last year and the year before, we went to Kerachut Beach. As story-moried before, Kerachut Beach has meromitic lake and we were lucky enough to have experienced both the phenomenons.

This time, we chose different track. Our target destination = Monkey Beach but the ultimate goal = Light House. As shown below, we passed through Sungai Tukun and USM beach. For Canopy Walk, we had to take a different fork but we didn't as were not interested to do canopy walk that day.

Look at the board... Monkey Beach is also known as Teluk Duyung? Monkey is Monyet in bahasa and Duyung is Mermaid in English.... Hmmm.... i still can't figure out how to infer this. maybe there's some logical .. no.. maybe some mythical explanation to this :P

All the way, the sight of the sea can be seen / heard.

Ada man-built track cam gini...

After around 20-30 minutes...
USM research site.

What caught our eyes:

The research site... We passed this building and the beach.... Continued our hike to monkey beach.

And the track got more challenging. The roots, the rantings... which is which pun tak sure daa..

A bit of stunts here and there:

And finally... Monkey Beach.. see any monkeys or duyung (mermaids) ??
Roughly 45minutes.

Yap..Boat Service is avalaible. But on that day, we decided to hike to and fro...

Rehat kejap.... 15minutes.

Then... Ok.. go on?? Hmmmm... the signboard says 1.2 km.. Well... only 1.2 km left maa..

But... OMG.... so la mencabar!!! curam nyaa.. hukhuk....

I was not prepared mentally for the curam-ness... but.. anyhow... after susah payah.... 3o minutes later.... all of us were up there!!! in the lite house... up and looking down at this:

looking over d horizon

Me in d lite bulp:

hmmm...
if I switch On the lights.. will my shadow be seen in the sky just like batman's?

The light house:

Going back to Monkey Beach

We had our lunch at monkey beach... (kerusi, bench, meja disediakan)....

Sewaktu aku tgh melahap kepak ayam....

mereka datang untuk membuktikan point: "What? mermaids?? This is MONKEY Beach, ok... our Beach! so now gimmie ur chicken or I shall.......%^^&^%$#"

Agak scary, but pandai-pandai lah ... Finish makan cepat-cepat... they came in a group to get wat's left to be scavenged... diggin in the rubbish bins and all...

We hiked back....and we reached the visitor centre at around 2.30pm...

ERK.... My kasut terkorban otw hiking balik... huhu... Imagine hiking back with one side of the shoes ternganga... of course... by the time sampai balik.. jari2 ku sudah melecet... adeh...

BUT.... summary: MMG besss..... and Puas Hati !! :D

Menuju Puncak Gemilang Cahaya...

2010-03-26T17:26:00.022+08:00

Back to Active Mode... Cargas! Cewah ...

I did gain some extra weight lately... but that's not the only reason why I am actively working out these days. There's this Cabaran bulan Mei.... a goal to be achieved and for that, I neeeed lotsa lotsa stamina! Stamina!!! phew.. @_@

Btw, it's kinda hard to keep up with gym since I am always on wheel back n forth from my hometown and cramped with workloads. But gosh, I really have to push myself now... May is just around the corner. Like one of my friends said "Semuanya akan berlaku dalam bulan April" Yessz....for me tooo! cramp lah semuanya. Hmpppt... takper, will have my redemption in May, InsyaAllah. Isytihar ia sebagai bulan bercuti-cutian... hehe...

To feed my rusty blog... maybe I shall update on my "stamina-seeeking" activities hor?

Here's one recent one. Hiking BM Hill, the Bukit Mertajam itself or also known as Hutan Lipur BM, or Cherok Tokun Hill.

The bukit :p on top of d hill, there's a stesen pencawang letrik. BM's trademark

It has beeenn years since I last reached the top (maybe like 12 years back). I went few times after that but never made it to the top, simply sebab malas / tak cukup masa. So this time... wajib naik!

With Kak Ilah, Zue, bullert and my sis, we started hiking at 8.30am. Kak Ilah and Bullert took 45minutes, I reached in an hour followed by Zue and Mely 10 mins after that.

So most of the journey up, I was hiking alone tailing Bullert and Kak Ilah and being tailed by the other two. It was tiring - sign that stamina tak cukup? huhu berjaga-jaga lah kamu zleenz. It was like neverending hike.. aduih... then after the last pitstop (tempat exercise), I thought it was just a few minutes away.... but no... it was not. But I made a point that I have to continue and reach the top no matter what.. so I just went on and on. "ayyoo di manakah kau wahai pencawang letrik"

Then a girl walked pass me, she looked very determined too. I tried to catch up with her so that I would not be hiking alone somehow.. haha. After a while, she stopped and asked "Berapa jauh lagi?" to which i answered "Taktauuu lah... huuu.. masih tak sampai-sampai ni" Hahhaha.... Her friends had stopped hiking at the last pitstop, waiting for her return from the top...

Catching breath... then both of us continued. She stopped when i stopped to catch some deep breath... and we continued. An elderly couple came down the trail and we asked "How much longer?" When they replied 5 minutes, we got excited... phew.

It took us more than 5 minutes... but we made it finally.....Kak Ilah and Bullert were lepaking, waiting for the rest of us. To mark our kejayaan menuju puncak.... here's a kenangan shot. Her name is May, we got her email to send her this pix. She's from KL and it was her first time hiking there... bagus, bersemangat :-)

Then, Zue and Mely sampai.. aikk with Marlina too... aikk and my bag? Zue was carrying it. Opppss.... Mely gave up on the bag after 3/4 of the journey to which Zue came as savior. And all the while, Zue who got thirsty and kinda dehydrated, carried the bag not knowing there's 2 bottles of water in it... Haha... adeh....all hell breaks loose when I opened the bag and teguk ayaq dengan penuh nikmatnya... wakakaka...

On our way back, we passed by this dog that I saw lingering at the same spot when I climbed. We stopped at the spot to snap some photos. This is view of Mengkuang Dam from Bukit Mertajam. Waa... kalau bleh slide trus sampai ke mengkuang dam kan besss....

Sedang asyik melihat permandangan.... i realised that Toby (yaa.. sudah ada nama, ok) was looking at us with a very sad look. If I was not imagining it, I think I'm kinda sure he was asking for water. Instinct.. hoho. or maybe because I read Toby's mind as his head moved in parallel with my water bottle. I tried pouring some water at the side of the road, but by the time he came near to drink, it was absorbed by earthground. Maka, sebab tu lah terjadinya adegan di bawah ini:

Tuang air dalam petak2 ini... Hehe dan Toby pun minum dengan bahagianya :-) Keshiannyaaa kat dia... Toby si mata Hazel.. This dog looked wellgroomed and had a tag collar. Not sure if he belongs to the stesen pencawang letrik. Guard-dog? But why is he outside the compound and loook so sad and dehydrated and kesian?? :( Marlina saw Toby again few days back and gave him chocolate... (ok, chocolate adalah dilarang ya lain kali sbb nanti haiwan dpt sembelit). Why is Toby still there? Kena abandon ke?? Huhu... sabar ya Toby, kalau aku naik lagi, bawak KFC snack plate kamu mahu tak?

Ok... Till then..

Marilah berlari-lari, berjogi-jogi, berpanjat-panjat.... yeehaaa...

photo credit: BB Fazz

Salah satu entri tanpa motip jelas

2010-01-25T00:54:00.013+08:00

Mandi Lotion.... Kawan-kawan, marilah kita mandi lotion....

Aku beli "shower gel" ni last week. I was sure... sangat sure yang memang kt rak tu ada botol2 sebijik mcm ni tertulis kt situ shower gel... I tested satu-satu bau dia... then ter berkenan dengan yang ni... tgk harga, aik apsal lebih RM 1 daripada yang lain... ooo maybe sebab wangi kot dia lebih mahal sikit... maka dengan konfidennya aku grab and paid... Baru malam ni teringat nak pakai... masa tuang, kuar la cecair putih pekat... hmm, ni shower gel ke shower creame? hmmm tak kesah la... but mandi punya mandi... buih tak kuaq pun... Skali tgk label, Lotion daaaa..... HaiYaa... tapi hikmahnya: wangi la aku sepanjang malam ini bermandikan lotion.. sekian, terima kasih.

Alang-alang dah buka kamera utk mengambik gambar shower-gel ajaib berbau semerbak itu... Aku pun teruskan membelek-belek kamera dengan setting aparture yang masih aku tak terrer2 ituw....

Nampak sabun ni... tiba2 fobia...
Cream parfume? ni Sabun ke Lotion? Hoho :P (btw, thanx Aan :*)

== Tamat Kisah Sabun ==

Harijadi adik dan kakak, both in January. Kakakku request kasut... Bila diberi pilihan kasut or baju kepada adikku, si adik juga mahukan kasut. Cari punya cari... I really donno why I end up pilih kaler itam jaaa... hahaha... safe choice. To be safer.. untuk sangat sangatlah memastikan tiada sebarang pilih kekasih atau kronisma berlaku... maka kedua-dua pasang ni adalah kaler sama, cap sama, tinggi heels sama, harga sama... Cuma dsign je lain sikit.. Hahaha.. dah la duduk serumah, kalau pagi2 nak gi keje, terkopius kasut... aku tak bertanggungjawab naa... hohohoho... Sebenarnya memang tadi nak amik kasut cap lain-lain, kaler canggih2.. tapi tu la, nak wat camna, nampaknya ada deria2 tertentu kurang berfungsi dengan cekap sejak dua menjak nih... Tapi walaupun kurang colorful, aku rasa ia agak praktikal aar, senang nak match dgn baju dan selesa pun selesa (pujuk diri sendiri)

Hihi.... Happy Besdays ya Conka dan Mely... Muaahhssss.... Love Love.... :D

== Tamat Kisah Kasut ==

Reading mode:

Hehehe.. Filem pun dah kuar lama dah... baru nak baca buku dia. As mentioned before in previous posts... I "dig" dinosaurs haha... never too old for that ;-) Dah baca book 1. berbeza dengan citer movie. Byk plot lain and even watak pun banyak yang lain. like both versions.

Talking about something I'll never get tired off.... or never too old for...
is this:
Doraemon... kau tetap di hatiku...

Dah masuk tahun 2010... Kenapa kucing robot yang ada poket yang ada pintu suka hati masih blom kuar dalam pasaran ye.? hmmm.....musykil.....

== Tamat Kisah Buku ==

== Tamat Entri ==

+ve energy lookout

2010-01-18T19:54:00.020+08:00

Where do I begin… most of the things I want to write has been posted by Jane… so maybe fewer photos here to avoid redundancy? Jane has safely arrived in NewYork, marking the start of her journey to pursue her childhood ambition in fashion. Good Luck Dear... A few days before she left, we had a small get together in none other than our very own hometown, Bukit Mertajam. Three of us, Jane, YingSan and I. Elena was supposed to join, but she is currently based in KL… Why is everyone moving to KL haa? grr grr….

I had a great day with u girls… I was actually at the verge of exploding with ton of worries and doubts in my head. The new semester, the papers… bla bla.. urgh!

So last week - attempt of redemption… This week, kinda redeemed... i guess...

Redemptions:

Attempt #1: Going out with the Girlz
Yap… a great day! Made me forget all those fuzziness… Felt so carefree. Non-stop coffee, yakking, and sunset in Mengkuang Dam… not forgetting the jumping-mania sessions. I couldn’t ask for more. Hehe… Compared to how we were in school 11 years back, I don’t think much have changed… the semangat, the beria-ia-an… the laughters…

Jane wrote a wonderful piece about our outing here.

Gonna miss u Jane..... YingSan, jom pi Nuyork jom... haha... ya rite...

Attempt #2: Going into Seclusion

Ok.. The girly-session therapy seemed to work well… until something made me feel low and dejected on Friday. adeh... I figured maybe I needed some "alone-time". Hopped in my car, drove straight to Queensbay and watched Sherlock Holmes. Alone and tired, the seriousness of the movie almost made me doze off… Nasib baik kau hensem wahai Robert Downey Jr… YOU kept me awake haha…

Then instead of driving back to my lab, drove to Georgetown. Wanted to stop dekat this ais kacang place near roadwalk…but I missed the place so I drove straight into the hearts of Georgetown. Saw Malilia Bakery… I heard the roti benggali’s good. Went to buy, but they don’t have roti benggali with kaya at that time.. so had to resort to normal bun instead. Geesh, anticlimax. Bought it anyway and ate while driving in slow moving traffic.

Note: All pictures that follow next are courtesy from random people posting it in the world wide web... as I was camera-less and my henfon tak cukup teknologi gituw.. auwww...

But then, was it Malilia Bakery (pix above) or Ismalia Bakery (pix below) yang Zue and Kak Ilah mentioned before? Both in Transfer Road. Hmmmm, tak kesah lah, but need to check out both places for their roti benggali next time :D

Rojak! That’s it! That's what I needed! Yes ada rojak sedap kt Feringgi! Serios ke nak gi Feringgi?… Haha.. Drove to Feringgi, my tongue receptors dancing in delight, craving for Rojak. A friend called, so I was on the phone until I reached Miami beach. Eh, I thought I was not supposed to be in contact with anyone during my "alone-time"? Reached the beach… and… Dang! The Rojak takdak! Super anticlimax weh! Ape kes… haih… Since dah sampai kan.. hmmm thought maybe I’d cekaud the beach (it looked safe, few groups of small family) and decided to wait for sunset. And again... I was on the phone all the while with 2 different people who happened to call. Alone-time sangat laa kan :P

Sunset…I waited…. And tadaa… today no Sun! erkk.. mana pi matahari eh? Matahari pun bleh main cak-cak ke? As I remembered, sunset can be seen from Miami beach maa… or was I confused? Delusional? adoilaa… I laughed at myself… tough luck :P

Ok… Maybe fine-dining then… After maghrib, I had no idea where to dine, texted Aca who suggested Marco, Italian restaurant or Tarbush, Lebanese restaurant. I chose Tarbush for the location- nearer to night market. Dengan berbaju kurung sejak pagi tadi ituw… dan refresh sikit after maghrib prayers... pergilah daku makan sensorang pada malam weekend ituw… Sgt kasihan tp macho okay :P

I was ambitious; I almost ordered appetizer+main course+dessert+drink. The waiter was concern enough to suggest that I scrap off appetizer as they serve in big portions. I ordered briyani Lamb + mango lassi and caramel-something-ish for dessert. Maybe kesian kot tgk aku sorang2, he offered to give me free dessert…hehe… (finally something delightful). Nan-bread is complimentary appetizer, for dine-in... I think. Then, main course pun sampai…. It was 3 times the normal portion I eat. Gila kah, mampukah aku makan semua ituw… *choke choke*

http://chriscctan.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/tarbush-lebanese-food-penang/ (Tarbush Restaurant)

Sedapp… delicious, the lamb nicely done… mango lassi so pekat… Slurrppyy… the rice so tasty, but I couldn’t finish it. Tried my best though. I ate only 2/3 of the briyani… I don’t think I have as much space in my tummy as I used to. (too much space taken by existing lipids). Ouh, the interior exterior tempat tu memang canthek. Hehe, sekali sekala, terasa mcm Genie in a bottle... ahakss..

After dining, I swept through the crowd in night market to get to a specific stall to get a specific stuff and quickly made my way back. I don’t want to drive too late at night in Feringgi alone so by 9.30pm I fled. The whole Saturday I hibernated in my room until I realized I had exceeded my “alone-time”… so I packed, jumped in my car and rempit back to my hometown. Once I was back in my safe and comfort zone… I felt wayyy better… Usually in this stressy-messy situation, I go out and meet people or rest at home or divert by trying to entertain people. But once a while, Alone-Time can be refreshing… though I may not be so much of a Alone-Time person… it's refreshing...

Well.. small scale and ad-hoc though... coz I can't have long holidays for the time being... ok now... papers to be read.. papers to be written.. back to work deii :D

flickr.com/photos/ariffjrs/309038733/ (miami beach, penang)

Photo: Star Online (Ismalia Bakery)
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/mallia-bakery-transder-road

Printin it on a business card

2010-01-12T00:31:00.008+08:00

I know people mean no harm when they ask me these two "I-consider-major" questions:

1. When are u finishing your studies?
2. When are you getting married?

But am kinda growin tired answering them, not because of annoyance towards those asking nor reluctance to answer... I know most of them ask with best intentions.... some want to keep updated, tanya khabar... with concern... and all... in which I'll be more than happy to share....

huhu but like those video cassettes we had those days kan... when we play it over and over again, the videotape tend to get stuck or go totally screwed kan.. ala dvd pun main byk kali bleh scratch2 aper :P~ So imagine have to repeat the same template over and over and over and over ag....ZZzzzzzz....gain.....

Solution:

1. -> finish it up , my studies that is....

2. - > get hitched ......

However... the MAIN REASON I usually have this "erk..." or blur-face on whenever asked is: I really don't have an answer... :D kuikuikui.... I really don't know when exactly... haha... but I cannot simply brush off people's question by saying "I donno" rite :P

By the way... for now... these are the answers:

1. Just completed my first year...
If I'm lucky (it's efficiency & hardwork actually), 2 more years to go...
Best Case: 2 more years
Worse Case: extend?... uwaa...scary

2. Can I say no comment.. ala2 selebriti jawab soalan Melodi... erk... saya no komen... erh..

Best Case: anytime? asap (as wished by family and frens)...
Worse Case: lets not go there..... @_@
Reality: not so soon la dearies....still in 'the hunting' or 'waiting to be hunted' mode :P~

Ok.. now... should I print it somewhere... like on a business card or some sort ... and professionally hand it to people when they ask me? Hehe.. ok tak? kuikuikui....

the Ayam land - it's all about the chickens (# 1)

2010-01-07T13:16:00.002+08:00

as I was writing... this post somehow turn out to be childlike narration. Haha... anyways... just want to transport myself back to wat-eva left from my childhood memory... in case I forget those memories as I get older...which I hope not... huhu....

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

The Present

I have been having this feeling of wanting a pet recently. Why eh? I kinda miss those days when we used to have quite a number of pets. Am I influenced by my niece? She is pestering for a pet… first she wanted a chicken then a dog (which we can’t keep as a pet), and now a cat.

Being persistent… she finally made my parents buy her 2 chicks few months back. Of course, I was horrified at the sight of the 2 little fragile looking chicks in a box. They were toooo small… (cute…but…) how could the guy in the market separate them from their mother and sell it? I was mad at first but then tried to adjust to the idea of having those 2 chicks as a pet... Maybe buying them would save them from the miseries of being some form of display-material in the market. Then the nightmares began… the chicks wouldn’t stop chitter-ing. Not that I’m annoyed (actually, kinda…) but I was more worried about the chicks’ conditions. Why wouldn’t it stop making those sad sounds? Lerr..ye aar… They still need the comfort of a warm feathered mother rite…

So what I did – I tried putting my palm in the box to provide some warmth… and they’d come sit close to my palm and stop the chitters…. Then once I remove em, they’d start all over again… I even slept late trying to comfort them but I couldn’t leave my hands there forever aite. Then weekdays came, I needed to get back to campus… and so I left; at the back of my head, worried about the fate of the chicks. Night came… I called home… and was told that one of the chicks died. Mom said Ainaa was crying dramatically and gushing in tears…Her first loss. Next day, the other chick died… and this time, Ainaa was calmer. Mom said it reminds her of how we would cry ‘dramatically’ every time a pet died or suffered an injury. Then... old memories come flushing down…

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

The Past

We had quite a number of cats and chickens as pets, ermm.. Kiki was the mother of all cats, and there was one rooster named “Kelthe” meaning ‘the old one” which lived for a record of 10 years, (has the same birth year as me) and was the head of the chick-o-tribe.

Kelthe ~ My father got him when he was still a chick, before I was born – basically making him older than me. As he grew, he became the mighty superstar rooster in the quarter’s area. There were plenty of other broods of chickens in the neighborhood. Kelthe always put a fight with other roosters from other broods. In his record, from the series of fights, a serious fight caused one of his eyes to go blind. Because of his poor vision, a few years after that, he was hit by a car… but survived…. A tough guy he was… but he was a bit crippled due to the accident.

The fact that he was getting older made him stopped fighting and stayed in our lawn most of the time. Then, his other eye and vision deteriorated, looked like it had Cataract. So he became more inactive. But we always brought him for a short walk around the lawn… He would use his “touching” senses through his beak or claws to look for food. Sometimes, my sisters and I would feed him by placing the grains on our palms, making him feel through his beak. Memorizing the position he’d start eating them. Sometimes we kinda teased him by changing the position of our hands and he’d be hitting on air, then looking for it all over again. We’d be laughing, pet him and place our palms under his beak again. Forgive the immaturity…kiddos maaa….

Kelthe... macho kan...

Maybe not many people opt for chickens as pets… ehehehe…. truth is, they are just as entertaining as other pets.

My sisters and I enjoy playing with them,, feeding them. They have their own characters. Some very memorable.... Oh ya, collecting their feathers that fell off from their skin and doing some creative things with it. Haha... those days without internet, huh....

Unforgettable Incident:

One day, the neighborhood was visited by an unwanted guest, a big iguana (biawak gedik) from a bush nearby… the whole neighborhood went panicky. “Go to the chickens!” was my mom’s first reaction.

The chickens were squawking in trepidation. It was a 2-storey coop, so the younger chickens had all climbed up, but Kelthe couldn’t make it. It so happened, the iguana was already in our next door neighbor’s lawn, right behind our chicken coop. As we were running out from the back door, two of the younger chickens jumped back down, and started making loud alarming noises, at the same time, trying to cover him with their wings. Then, I saw a glimpse of that big biawak, (mungkin kah bayangan ngeri itulah mbuatkan aku takut cicak sampai skarang?? hmm.. possible kan?) it ran away as we were shouting frantically and I guess someone was throwing some stones or some sort to its direction. Ouh.. I was very very proud of those chickens... macho siot. Harapan bangsa ayam-ayam sedunia...

Btw, the filthy looking biawak, was finally caught, efforts of the whole neighborhood. They used a reban rotan to trap the biawak inside and guarded it. I waited anxiously as the iguana relentlessly tried to escape… and I wondered why they didn’t just kill it? Later came a few chinese guys in a lorry, taking back the biawak. I heard that they were taking it to a restaurant to be made into exotic meal… for a small girl like me at that time; it was horrifying to discover that people eat lizards… what an adventurous way of discovering new knowledge…

#sedih pula teringat biawak-biawak kt tasik usm yg bermuka innocent...
(aikk jadi crita biawak pulak)....

Lemme be Honest with you....

2009-12-27T19:44:00.022+08:00

Honesty is the best policy??

Scenario Onne (1)

Pergi Wedding kawan... with my Bff, Ainaa. Yaa... my Bff ni muda sikit.. well sgt muda hinggakan mungkin ada yang sangkakan aku adalah ibu tunggal :P Haha... mmg slalu pergi kenduri kendara, shopping2, dating berkali2 ngan si kecik ni.

Btw, pergi petang sikit wedding ni, so by the time sampai, couple dah kt pelamin, bergambar2.(wedding in dewan). Trus amik makanan, and makan... Meja beradap kt atas pentas, dah takde org... so it made Ainaa very curious.

Ainaa: Aunty, what's that?
Me: That one aar.. Its a place to eat. Cantek kan? The bride-my friends ate there just now.
Ainaa: Why nobody sit there?
Me: They have already eaten maaa. Now, they are there (pointing at the couples kt pelamin), afterwards we go and see them kay...

...... nom nom nom... makan makan....

Ainaa: Aunty, come la sit there....
Me: Cannot laa sayang....it's not for us to sit one.
Ainaa: Why laa Aunty.. there nobody maa.. come laaa... (x3)Me: No, you can't site there, Ainaa ! (Firm) See, nobody sitting there, right..
Me:Finish ur bubuq, then we go and see my friends ok... (pointing at the couples kt pelamin, again)
.... nom nom nom... makan makan...

Ainaa: Auntyyy.... I want to sit there.... (muka kesian)...
Me: cannot la cayang... .... Ok, next time, Aunty kawin, u sit there okay ?
Ainaa: you got brother meh?

brother? urk wat...

Me: What?
Ainaa: You like boys meh? .... You got no boys maaa.. (innocently making a point)

Me - speechless.

Just for the record, I'm not a feminist who hates boys, no... haha... And she knows I have male friends... she even knows some of their names, have met them, played with them... But, she also knows that I don't have a special boyfriend? hahaha...

Scenario Rende (2)
Another kenduri... siapkan Ainaa dulu.. then my turn, taking my own sweet time... I guess she was getting restless waiting for me

Ainaa: U aarr.. late late... after ur friend marah right... (amboi... dia plak membebel)
Me: Hehehe... no lar, we are not late, still got time...
Ainaa: You go to school also late... I go to school, you still sleep sleep only.. haiyerr...

Erk.... adoiii.... mengungkit pula si kecik ni....
aunty's school no timetable maa...

Scenario Mune (3)

I lectured her... not to take people's things without permission few days before.
Coz she got a cut on her finger, playing with my mom's eyepencil sharpener.

In the car, on the way to friend's house. Tengah touch up... she wanted some lipstick too. Tempek sikit kat dia...

Ainaa: Aunty... that is amma's one....

Yeah.. it's my mom's. She recognise the color. We have the same maybelline lipstick, but different shade.

Me: Yaa.. I exchange with Amma.
....... drive....

Ainaa: You aaa... You cannot take people's things... (ok wait, how come it sounds just like the lecture i gave her? same intonations pulak tuh...)
Me: ooo.. the lipstick.
Ainaa: Cannot take people's things one... after i tell Ammmaa... haaa....
Me: I told Amma already.... we exchange. I give Amma my lipstick.
Ainaa: You say never take...
Me: I said... ask permission first. You must ask first if you can take or not... bla bla bla... (lecture 102)

Scenario Nale (4)

Dad reading newspaper... He called out for my mom to make milk tea (Teh tanni)

Ainaa: Tata... you always ask Amma make Teh tanni... you aar... You want tanni, make yourself laa....
Me: Ainaa, dont talk like that to Tata... Aiii... u also always ask me and Amma make susu for you, right... haaa....

Ainaa speechless kejap.. then....
Ainaa: Tata, you always drink drink tehtanni. Your perut become like Panda. Hahahhahaha

Scenario Aanji (5)

Ainaa brushing my hair,

Ainaa: Your hair so cantik... you so cantik....

The end.

Hahahhaha.... ok... my point? :P

randum aja

2009-12-10T19:36:00.004+08:00

Random Notes:

I love Coffffeeee so much... but I think... I have to lessen my daily consumption from 2-3 cups to 1 cup a day.... (and take note... utk explain thickness of coffee ketika mengorder air coffee nih... kena cakap pekat atau kaw...dan jgn skali skala salah guna perkataan lain yg mencurigakan...)
I'm having a recurring urge to have a CAT as a pet... but don't think I would... don't have the luxury (time etc) to do so... (siap masuk mimpi manja2 ngan kuceng... kronik kaan... marilah kita salahkan Glen, kucing kak ilah)
Of late, I keep reminiscing my childhood a lot... and I love to listen to 80's song over n over again while driving... especially those Rock Kapaks... haha... (aritu siap karaoke berbekalkan
lagu download kt youtube jek)
I still have not signed up for the gym.... procrastination alert!
I have no idea I would end up playing Farmville in Facebook... and end up enjoying it... (gosh... harap2 crops ku tak mati sbb farmville kena blok di kampus.. hoho)
I need to get a haircut.
Being mistaken as a professional announcer instead of a student at an event, makes me kembang....
Being unwell in another event and had to deliver task feeling nauseated... was a disaster... but getting special gifts from random people after that took away some of my miseries..haha (tapi antara seme2 mende yg free.. aku masih paling suka nescafe free dalam van)
I have to forget some of my plans for vacations and travelling coz time is running out.
When people try to guess my age, most of them guessed I am 23-25. (motif aku highlite ni?)
Series of trainings and workshops make me lost in time.
I am clueless... what should I eat for dinner tonight? (petanda harus start memasak sndiri kah?)
I miss the outdoors... haha.. nothing stopping me though... (cargas skit naa azleena!)
My pendrive is missing... I need to get a new one.
I am unpredictable lately... I do things then I shocked myself doing so :O
I like it when someone agrees that I look like Red-Indian... when I was small, I used to think I looked like one and would braid my hair like one (kan kan... sama kan.. :P )
When i hangout with my old skul buddies. It never bores me, and them (i believe), although sometimes we repeat the same old stories from our alma mater days... hoho (+ new gossips lah kan)
waaa... tringin nya nak mandi ayaq terjun......

Sekian, Terima Kasih....

Sarang Burung tiada lagi

2009-11-08T00:13:00.013+08:00

Last month's story nih.. huhu.. outdated :P

It was one of the school alumni's event for this year. We managed to collect roughly around 50K from this event and the money goes to alumni fund, specifically to run a mini scholarship program for the school students. With the help of this new fund, we are now able to sustain the program for at least another 3 years. Kuddos.... to the committee members, co-organisers.... and especially to those who came and supported :D

The celebrities... they were so sporting and down to earth. They were invited by our alumni president and came voluntarily with no fees etc... and Ning Baizura even brought 7 boxes of her stuff (mostly dresses) to be put on jumble sale selling from as low as RM5, rm10... oh ya she sang 4 songs by random requests, haha one of it "Madu dan Racun"... and one classic mandarin song, which was sung sooo beautifully it makes me wanna cry :-) ...There's Fauziah Nawi, Tony Eusof, Zizan Nin and Farah Alia. Their presence sure did pull some crowd.

us, the commitee members and the celebs. PhotoCredit: Lena

Talking about crowd... there's diversity to it. Different range of age and very Malaysia =]

Photocredit: Nurul

Oh ya, for my own stall. Hehe... Kak Ilah and my sis, Mely (the saviours) who came to help with the sandwich making. Kak Ilah, so dear of you and Mely came back all the way from KL to help... someone from TcBoy who sponsored the tuna came to help with the mixing too. huhu terharu.

And the sandwiches! the loaf! Oh my.... I never knew RotiBoy had such delicious fresh.. erm... very nyam nyam ness sandwich loaf.... (before this I only knew their mexican bun is super nyam... figured now I love the wholemeal bread loaf...) Thanks to Nam.... she got 40 loaves of sandwich sponsored for this event. my saviour. Thanksss dear. U rawk lalink :*

so, RotiBoy + TcBoy = my sandwich :P

The whole event... many people to thank and credit... they all work very hard... expecting nothing in return... Some forked out quite a sum of RMs.... just to make sure this event run smoothly... all in the name of charity. that's the spirit :-) Some things we gained: experience, new friendships, understanding, team spirit.... erm basically seme soft skilss la kot :P hehe...

Of cos... sure ada salah silap.. error sana sini... it's our first time organising such a big event, and the alumni learned a lot from this one... okay... now we have a reference point and a benchmark for any similar events in future :}

p/s: I kinda.... miss my sandwich... hehe... talking about missing thingss...

ouh.. and i miss those days in school.. when we used to have all these canteen days... ingat lagi siap ada skali tu, named as Foodthon... and our class masa tu form 1.. jual Air Sarang Burung Layang-Layang... fuyyyooo ada keles you....

Haha pecaya la sgt.. ntah amende la kitorang taruk dalam ayaq tu kasi nampak mcm sarang burung... wkakakaka.. laku beb.

(so skarang dah nampak kan kaitan title dgn entry kali ini... sekian, terima kasih :* )

Triple Birthdays

2009-10-22T11:10:00.015+08:00

Happy Birthday to my Dad... Niece, and Nephew!!!! 18th, 20th, 21st October...

To the 2 macho men of the family... happy birthday. Can't help but laugh at the similarities my nephew and my dad have. The shape of their head, the body, and yeah... the face too... Kassim junior, kuikuikui.

Dad, Atta @ Tata, the man of the house....whatever i say or write won't be enough to portray his sacrifices and show how much we appreciate and love him... it'll be unjust for me to try to compile all that into this intended-to-be-short blog entry. I love you Atta... and Thank You for making me what/who I am today.

Gundu boy Shameem.... now 2 years... I still see him as the baby of the family... He starts to speak.... and you know how adorable toddlers sound when they try to speak... Aircond = eeecon, Ikut= eeeekot. Sounds the same rite... hahaha. Its amazing to look at 2 years old kids and observe their character and personality in development. He's sooo cute.... and he knows how to melt my heart with that angelic look. Gerammnyer ... haha... Ouh I miss him already... Muackss... ya ya abeyo Shameem.

Looking at my niece... I can't believe 5 years have passed by so fast. I still remember the first day of her life... so fragile.... and now... up and down running and jumping around. She can spell her name and mine.. she can ON my laptop and open the folder where I stuff the movies and choose her favorites to watch. She loves Michael Jackson and superstar Rajinikanth, besides vijay, surya and vadivelu (yes, tamil movies hardcore fan she is). She loves dinosaurs and developing interest in photography (hahaha.. too much influence from me lar). She understands and speaks 3 languages and working on another one. She's active... some people say she's hyperactive.. as she won't sit still where ever we go... haha. She's talkative and friendly, too friendly that we have to always remind her not to talk to strangers. She loves her brother very much, yaa sometimes they fight but she'd be the one bagi muka to gundu boy.

Hmmm... she is five.... I can remember being 5.... and some of the memories are still strong.... Hehe, I hope she will have good memories too... of the times before she moves to KL (maybe next / following year) and the things I kinda influenced her... kuikuikui... maybe she's too young to know this, but she has been there for me in times of sorrow and happiness and has been the light of my life over the years :-) Thank u for that dear and I love u so sooo much!

randomness #1:

On Ainaa's bithday, picked up dad and ainaa who came back from KL, and we had lunch at pizza at ainaa's request.

While eating,

Ainaa: Aunty, I want to eat so much

Aunty: Yaa.. eat aar.. must finish your food kay.

Ainaa: I want to become big like you.

Aunty: Big like me aaa... ok...

Ainaa: Shameem also want to be big like you. He also eat soo many... I and Shameem want to be BIGG like you.

Aunty: (ok... am i that "big".... :O paranoid ) Why become Big like me?

Ainaa: Because we love you maaa.... (saying it with a smile and squinted eyes)

huhu....speechless... terharu... huhu

randomness #2:
My sister suggested that we threw surprise party at Ainaa's kindergarten. Besides the cake, we had some sweets, cikidis packed together and gave her friends. There were extra unpacked sweets and cikidis so Ainaa distributed them.

Ainaa: take this... give your brother.. Bring home and give your brother eat. I got so many.

The kids seemed happy to get extras.

Ainaa: Take this.. give your brother.

gentleboy: Its okay, thank you. I already got mine. (the way he speaks doesnt sound 5)

Ainaa: You take laa. Give your brother at home...

gentleboy: Its okay, you keep it, you need it more than I do. (wow... haha... so bergaya... mcm gentleman)

Ainaa: (laughing away) naaa take laa... u keep laaa....give your father mother laa...

gentleboy: ... by then I was busy occupied with distributing the cakes to another class that I didnt follow their conversation...but he took the extra cikidis if I'm not mistaken. Ainaa persistent :P haha.

Last but not least....

Happy Birthday to all !!! hehe :*

the middle child...

2009-10-13T13:05:00.005+08:00

Re-post from facebook.. i had problem earlier to copy into this blog.

Mom used to dress us alike. At times three of us would have the same dress material and color but with different designs. Sometimes, mom only dressed two of us alike and the other differently. I’m the middle child. As a result, (I had a middle child syndrome... opps..) would be either dressed similarly to my elder sis or my younger sis. Some other times, mom would just dress us all differently. But most of the times, I would end up being boria (uniformed) with either one of my sisters.

It’s actually very cute of my mom and some of these dresses were tailored by my mom. I love em and I even remember how it felt wearing them.I never really rebelled over the similarities until I was a teenager. By then, I made sure even the baju kurung cloths are not of the same motifs. Drama Queen, yes.... but now, tak kesah...siap sistem barter baju with my sistas...

in jeans....obviously trying to be different

The shoes… different from the dresses, we usually had the freedom to choose our own shoes... I can recall the shop we always went to...(still operating in bm) Ouh... talking about dramas... i clearly remember one incident... and it was all because of a pair of shoes.

This white shoes… I don’t remember choosing this one, but I remember loving it so much. I was proud of this pair of shoes and I made sure no one touched it.

One day (I was 5 years old) my mom allowed my sister to wear it, we were all supposed to go to the town. She always wanted to try it but I never let her near em. I went all amok and wouldn’t budge until I got my shoes back. Mom tried to persuade but I wasn't listening... so mom left me with dad at home, and went to town with my 2 sisters. I cried, holding on to my beloved window pane, looking at them leave the house with my sister wearing my white shoes. I cried out loud…and shouted “Ye Sappate…” (my shoes) over and over… and I must have fallen asleep crying. Hahaha… :P

Spent the rest of the day with my dad… It was fun as my dad was trying to build up my mood back. When it was getting dark, they came back and headed straight to the pasar malam (night market, just a walking distance) after informing my dad.

Dad dressed me to join them there. Reaching the pasar malam, we slowly walked down the slope; then I saw my mom and sisters not far away. I was very excited; I have forgotten all my anger by then. Forget the shoes… I miss them already! I let go off my dad’s hand and ran down the slope towards them. I vaguely hear my dad shouting something to me. Last thing I remembered, I saw a bright light.

I opened my eyes and I was lying on the road. There was a motorbike in front of me and people surrounding me, and my mom, sisters and dad. I was hit by the motorbike. It was nothing serious but due to that small impact, I fell on the road and had a deep graze wound on my knees and some scratches on my hands.

Then I was carried back to our house. I remember both my parents tending to me while my sisters curiously watched me crying dramatically. My parents put biskut Jacob’s on my arms to sooth the bruises. (Some old-grannies remedies for in-house medication) My mom was not angry, like she was earlier that day. I only see love and deep concern in both my parents’ eyes.

Of course, as I grow up, I realized mom was not angry because she didn’t love me but because I was just overly rebellious. :P:P~

All because of a pair of white shoes...

Lessons I learned:

Never to be toooo selfish
I will never let go off my dad’s hand again (metaphorically speaking)
Parents love… can never be compromised
Road safety = important... even in pasar malams. (I hate crossing roads even until now)
biskut Jacob's is a multi-purpose food.

:-) how time flies... how fast have we grown...my niece is now 5 years old.....

Tummy Happy

2009-10-12T01:35:00.014+08:00

Alamak... I have not been updating... Are u guys visiting this blog anyway? Hahaha.. I have not been visiting friends' blogs regularly for some time too.. Now that i Do, wow....so many updates. The only online tool I am frequently updating now is facebook...Keep uploading Raya pixxies there...

The Pixxie ~ all homemade cookies... no matter how busy we get... we try to stick to making our own cookiess.. ehehe.

Still on raya mood + a lot of work back at the lab = blog abandoned :P

So Selamat Hari Raya.. again... and next week...Deepavali... looking forward to it :D yahooo...

so my tummy is now very happy... but....
3 months of no gym/work out + no photography assignments = muscles gone into thin air...

I have a mission to be accomplished somewhere around mid nextyear... so now... i am hunting for a new gym and have to start working out again... ayaaa... waaarkhh.. cahaiyyokkk2 u can do it!

till then...
:*

Ghaya kali ini....

2009-09-25T01:22:00.010+08:00

Hehe.. Hari Raya pun dah lepas ye.

and tahun ni beraya.. lepas makan kambing je, terus rasa ngantuk... Why oh why? Dah la saya ni peminat setia makanan-makanan berasaskan kambing-kambing sedunia...

dan waktu raya begini... pastinya berpeluang meluangkan masa bersama keluarga, sanak sedara dan kwan-kawan dengan lebih lagi. Alhamdulillah, bersyukur sangat tahun ni dapat beraya dengan baik, dengan rezeki yang dikurniakanNya :-)

tahun ni, rasa seperti Ramadhan terlalu singkat.

Raya kali ni, belajar perkataan baru: YaYa abeYo. Shameem dok ulang-ulang kalimah ni tiap-tiap malam sambil ala-ala menari... sampaikan semua warga rumah pun terjangkit sebut-sebut sepanjang ari. Baru tadi kami discover..... rupa-rupanya... ia bermaksud "I Love you" mwahahahhahaa... eeeeee gundu boyy eeeee... geyam!

Raya kali ni... takdak baju raya... karena janji manis dari tailor tidak tertunai... huhu... untuk mengobat hati terluka, maka belilah kasut baru highheels 2 inch. mungkin jauh di sudut hati, rasa mcm tak cukup tinggi lagi sbb tu nak jadi lebih tinggi?

Hehehe....

Selamat Hari Raya Semua....

Akhir kata,

Ya Ya Abeyo...

Belum Beli Tiket Balik Raya

2009-09-13T23:56:00.017+08:00

Time seems to fly extra speedy this year :O it's already september.. it's alredy the final weeks of Ramadhan. Raya is just around the corner and I havent made any biskot raya yet!! Ouhhh... nehi nehi!

This year, to date, I went to Pasar Ramadhan (Param) 3 times jer. Ntah, tis year, prefer to eat out, or drive back to my hometown, hohoho. Btw, we managed to have our Parlimail's buka puasa, and this year we had two hosts. First, Rash*Miem, then Nando*Emme. Both married last year..

It's potluck, so everyone had their own contributions lah. We had 3 sessions: Appetizer, then break for maghrib. Main course, then break for Trawih. Last but not least, Moreh.. hehe

At Rash's

Appetizerss...

Main course by our host-hostess hubbywife ;-)

and some sidelines too ;-)

Then after trawih... time to clear all saki baki food accompanied by some desserts, nyam nyam...

After one week.....
At Nando's (hahha, nama mcm Nando's tmpt makan tu plak)

Urs truly was in charge of drinks- fruitee punch and cordial. Hahaha.. thus, photos of foods almost takde although we had more varieties of food this time :P Someone took this pix, while I was busy eating and kecoh-kecoh pasal mana kicap dan sambal. HubbyWife hostee made Nasi Ayam.

Last but not least......

Ucapan Khas ini ditujukan kepada semua kawan-kawan, kenalan sekalian...

Alamak... Cheq tak beli tiket balik raya lagi... cam mana niiih??? :O :O

Akhir kata,

SELAMAT MANJALANI IBADAH UPASA

dan

MAAFKAN SALAH SILAP saya....

dan

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

Saya mahu menjadi ahli Kelab Colgate, pleasee

2009-09-08T16:26:00.011+08:00

BB-romantica just informed me that she's planning to go on a backpack trip with her gurlfrens @ ex-colleagues to Europe early nex year. Diorang dah beli tiket! What bbRomantica did was very unpredictable, because it was unexpected for her as well (keputusan tiba-tiba).

I have this dream of going "backpack" with some girlfrens.. esp time masing-masing single. Locally, done that. wish list includes europe/uk, India, Cambodia and Aussie... at least one of these destinations :P~

Hehe... takper2.... ada rezeki, adalah nanti ;-) Time to earn, save more money and allocate, since there are other more important things. Need to prioritise la kan... (studies dulu) But what makes it more tempting are encouragements like... Jemputan Shimah masih terngiang-ngiang... "Kak Ina, come before I finish my studies here" and clock is ticking, and one and a half year to go! Jugak jemputan segitiga australia - perth, melbourne n queensland from 3 good buds.

Haji dan Umrah tu kategori lain pula... itu sebolehnya dgn muhrim ye dok?

While chatting with BikRomantica just now, I remembered something. My sisters and I loved to enter contests with Holidays to blinkblinks as prizes. We never won any blinkblink trips but my younger sis won consolation prize once - under LooneyToons or some sort. One of our attempts:

Kelab Colgate, anyone? Familiar? Hehe... Tak ingat masa darjah berapa ni. I wrote this and seriously, now I don't blame anyone for not winning. But this just a draft, usually my sis would screen thru and edit before we send to any contests :P

So, although not planning to travel anytime soon.. if i finally have the time, money and opportunity, any suggestion where should I go first?? :P~

Akhir Kata,

Menuntut Ilmu biar sampai ke negeri China.

(baiklah... nanti akan diusahakan lawatan sambil belajar ke sana) :P

What was I doing in that post office?

2009-09-05T04:35:00.028+08:00

Event: Very Recent
Location: A mid-east products stall in campus
Scenario: I wanted to buy a bottle of apple juice and ask about the mango juice that looked like concentrated but most likely it might be fresh juice. Hmmm let’s verify wokey?

Excuse me, How much is this? (showing the small apple juice bottle)
~ 2 Ringgit
How about this one, is this concentrated or can we just drink straight away? (showing the mango juice)
~ Yes, straightaway
Ooh… It’s ok, I’ll just take this one (putting back mango juice and holding on tight to the appley bottley)

Then another customer, a mid-east, asked me "are u from here? a local?"

yes... why

" u speak good english" (he sounded surprised)

(Hoho... okay, u should hear me Manglish-ing English…)

Instead of saying that, I said
"what's that suppose to mean? Many malaysian speak good english... " sambil gelak senget-senget hidong…

we were both on a bright mood although I am quite defensive :P Both smiling diplomatically, haha.

" no .. no .. malays dont speak good english..." (I was not sure whether he said Malays or Malaysians, but either one, for me it’s still a fallacy)

"that's an insult, you cannot make..."

He continued "i've been here 3 years... no, no... they don't" He laughed gently not wanting to fire things up kot, then started to walk away.

"come on… that’s insulting" I echoed…. sambil gelak bibir sebelah aja.

3 years here and he didn’t come across malay/Malaysian who speaks English better than me? U gottah be keding me! Lawak sepanjang zaman nih! Huhuhu… I don’t even speak the perfekto English per se. Grammar suka-suka hati jer taruk tau. Then, Manglish some more kan.

Oh ya, but with foreigners I tend/try to be accent-less. Or maybe he come across with too much Manglishness and had hard time decoding, you know, like to filter out all the “lah”, "yek", "kan", “maaaa”, “hoh” “erk” “eh” “aaar". Ok, now it does make sense a lil! But for him to generalize like that, it’s still faulty. His qualitative analysis has insufficient data :D Period!

--------<--@

Event: Few years back, I had kinda similar scenario.
Location: Post-Office, campus (ahahha.. forever in campus nih!)
Scenario: Eeee.. what was I doing there?? Can’t remember… must be some PosLaju delivery kot! I was sitting on a small bench when a white lady around 55-60 of age, came and sat beside me. Okay, I am confused… why was I sitting on the bench in that kucifat post-office again? Hmmm? *blur... Her husband was in a queue, accompanied by a Malaysian. She was friendly, can’t remember who started the conversation but we had a pleasant chat.

~ we yadda yadda~ she’s from Australia ~ vacation with husband ~ retired couple ~ have friends here ~
~ me ~ a penangite who has been here far too long until she can predict bungee jumping from penang bridge is gonna be next thing to look out for~ errr..

“U speak English very well”

Ok.. wait... is this an issue… like local issue ke global issue ke? Or is it because I have the ‘haaa, wat u talk yer, I zonno Englis’ expression eh? that i surprised em even with my intermediate english?

Or is it because we are from a country that doesn’t practice English as our first language, so having a good/fair command of it is almost impoh-sibley? :D

“I was told the locals have hard time with english” She was a dear, the way she put it, it did not sound offensive but it made me think (Okay, who told her that aaar?) and I speculatively looked at the Malaysian accompanying them… adakah dia memberi info tersebut? “some students in the universities too, I believe…?” she continued.

Of course, yours truly tried to clarify. I said that’s merely generalization, not depicting the real picture. I talked about diversity; I talked about the different school systems hence the different background people have. I talked about languages and English as the second language, and it’s not mastered by just one group of people/race.

If you are wondering… Yes, her hubby was in a veli long-long queue, imagine, even after that clarification thingy, we had time to spare, and she talked about her kids. Then again, brings us back to this question: what was I doing sitting on the bench for so long aar?? Aiyoo Lupa lah…

So, anyways…

I don’t see why we should think toooo highly of English to the extent that we think not having a good command of it is a disgrace. Yes, it is an important language, and it is important to be able to convey the rite messages, to your interest group. It’s just a language, doesn’t represent our level of intelligence. On the other hand, our effort to learn a language is also a part of exploring and widening our knowledge, rite? So it kinda reflect on the effort part :-)

As we know, the significance of this particular language varies. In some part of the world, (countries where English is not first language) it’s not at all crucial, as they believe their own language has strength of its own, whereas in some other parts, it’s all about survival in the global market. For some, English is a symbol of status and class.

We/our country… seem to have a rickety stand on this. One day, it’s all about mastering english from early age to ease your way through tertiary studies. The next day, it’s all about placing the national language as priority before any other language. Confusing sikit eh? Advice? Just try to master both languages lah :-)

P/S: My Ultimate Choice of verbal communication: Malay Language ;-)

Akhir Kata,

Where's My Uncle Tobys?

cook the bones in the shadow

2009-09-01T02:20:00.024+08:00

Photo-entry

Update on our jurassic park project . Ainaa and I dragged this diggin project for 2 weeks... and it was me causing all the delays :P

I speculated that this dino bone must have been berkulat ke ape entah, since it has a greeny shade... Then, dig punya dig... aisehmen... there's dino in it... in fleshh... not in bones ok...

Can we still consider it as a fossil? maybe lah... coz one of its legs is missing... and, fosils are not perfect/complete kan... But took me some time to reason with Ainaa as to why this Dino is short of one leg. After she had a satisfying answer, she kept explaining to us over and over again about the missing leg :P~

It's a Triceratops!!!! The following week... the head, the legs, the tail were all over the place... then missing more than just one leg... as the bigger dino boy named Shameem has a hobby of dismantling things :D

Next in line...

Oh yeah, I had this free eye shadow that lasted for a week. (lesson learned: accidents can happen at home) Hohoho... but only one side of the eyes... so to balance it, I had to put gothic/ dark make-up which I normally won't... hehe, tiba-tiba rasa sesuai la plak mekap begituh...

Moving on, this week's craze:
This Periuk Ajaib... as made known by my sis. It's a multicooker from a product called arGee.

Kegigihan yang tiada tolok bandingan: They brought this periuk ajaib along, all the way from KeyEll. So we had variety of foodies for berbuka for the weekend exclusively prepared by my sistah.

Pembuatan ayam ala-ala tandoori.

Pembuatan Pizza

Kari Kerutuk? ye kot namanya begitu....

then few more dishes tak terambil fotonya.

and last but not least...cheq buat kek... hoho...

Kek Kurma (yaa... kerana limpahan rezeki mendapat byk kurma) :-)

My sis left its lid in KeyEll, so we used a smaller lid from a rice cooker as replacement.. i think the cake tak ader space nak kembang gebu-gebu... akibatnya, a bit overbaked at the bottom and too soft on top... but tengah-tengah sedap :P~ (*cuba memujuk diri) hoho

After being idle for some time, now I can smell the enthusiasm to learn to master cooking skills (chewahh konon...) Will i pick up the momentum? :P Willll seee.... ahaks...

Namun tatkala bulan puasa ni...

I have this yearly routine of making biscuits (for Raya). I will try to hang on to this tradition, tak boleh idle-idle naaa. So dapuq berasap tak berasap... oven tetap akan berasap yaaa....

Akhir kata,

Bermasak-masak dahulu, Bermakan-makan kemudian

terkuhik-kuhik ku ketawa pabila demam sebab....

2009-08-25T03:27:00.018+08:00

sebab....

Laughter is the best medicine
~ it heals souls
~ it brings joy
~ chases away sorrows

how to laugh... or how to make people laugh?

u joke... u do funny things... u talk funny talks...

When there's a clown among us (among us friends)... someone lighthearted to cheer us up, color the atmosphere with hilarity.... we laugh our hearts out... don't care how these humors are effortlessly made... they are funny... we laugh... and laugh...

We watch sitcoms... waahhaa.. so funny pecah perut... we laugh...

We watch comedians perform... kahkahkah funnyyy gilos... wahaaha... again we laugh....
We watch them again... then suddenly euwww.. wat's that? that's not funny... hey.. he's not funny at all.. quit ur job, clown! we say

Behind all the hoo hoo haa haas... all the so called joy it brings... jokes can turn rotten bad in just a slip of a tongue. Sarcasm is another form of humor. Some people can take it, some people can't.

Hmmm... talk about jokes and humor... Am I funny? or maybe sarcastic? am i :O

Hehe… I don’t think I’m the type yang bagi orang gelak sampai berguling-guling atas ayaq mata tahan ketawa punya funny and also, I’m not good with playing around with words and turn em to razor-sharp sarcasm. Well.. I think la :P

Some people are funny… and very natural at that. Good comedians, good jokers can make people laugh really hard, whether it's 'intelligent jokes' or the 'silly jokes'... they just crack em out.

Some make up stories that are funny, some make fun of themselves... some make fun of entities like an organisation, and some make fun of people... and some opt for sarcasm. Those who are good in manupulating it, even though every word that is used to deliver the humor is wrapped with pure sarcasm, they still sound funny. They make you laugh, of course, unless you are the subject of the joke or sarcasm or somehow connected with the subject matter.

Being a comedian or the 'class clown' is not easy. If you are Not good at it… Never try hard to be one, coz you may end up causing more hatred than humor. Some people are so good at it, even those who are victimized as the joke material don’t realize it… or they don’t take it too hard and accept it as just for laughs. It’s a matter of how they are delivered, kan... and also depends on how well someone handles a joke.

How funny can we get/be?

I don’t think I would dare to do it in public, pulling out joke thingy. Among friends, ok lah kan… comfort zone what. Usually it just flows in, depending on the circle of friends we are with. When we sooo clique n kamcheng gitu, humor just invites itself, especially with close buddies who wouldn’t mind being laughed at and with whom you wouldn’t mind to be the center of a joke. Sakat menyakat la kiranya. Hehe.. but kan… kadang-kadang tu, you cannot reuse the same joke to different circle of friends. They may sound funny to some group but not to others. See, Joke and Humor’s kinda unpredictable.

Is it possible to be funny without making fun of someone? Of course there’s issues, there’s rules, there’s theories or concepts etc that you can joke about. But you wouldn’t know, some people may be worshipper of a certain concepts that you are ridiculing and they might get offended. In a smaller circle, we are usually more aware of people around us therefore we have control over what may be right to be laughed about and what not to. But bigger crowd? Can We pull it? As for me, I don’t think I can. Takut end up tergelak sorang-sorang plak, huhu, SS-ness plak.

Comedians are brave people, seriously… they have guts. Shows like ‘last comedy act’ or the local version ‘raja lawak’, some really have that joker talent in them. But when it’s not funny… I’d wonder ‘how do they feel about it eh, when people do not response according to their expectations’. Must be nerve-wracking kan. Daunting job it is.

Last year, ada one local comedian (muka baru) performed in campus, I was kinda annoyed, irritated and geram. He was not funny and most of his jokes were criticizing people in a very senseless way, and people actually laughed. Huhu… So I can be kedekut ketawa sometimes…

But, in general, I gotta say I respect their confidence and guts. But what I can’t tolerate: mocking sensitive issues, awfully mimicking some illness (esp mental illnes) or bad/misled representation of people from certain group or level.

In certain cases, in a big crowd... or among your friends… you make fun of yourself so that people around you get to have some taste of laughter. If you are excellent at it… then Yes… you are a clown. And when you are a clown… at times, people only see the happy side of you.. which is a good thing. But then… Sometimes, people never take you seriously just because you are… yes.. only a clown in their eyes… a mirage of a clown muka berbedak sejuk with the red roundie nose, wide-angled lips and a pencil-drawn mascara of three piece of eyelash. (erkk… aiseh… who created this stereotype look for clowns eh? Sungguh la menakutkan sebenarnya)

Friends said I was funny, am funny? Maybe I am getting less humorous? Even my blog is kinda serious *yawn… haha. Is it because I am getting more serious or am I becoming more reserved of what I say around people? Yes, I tend to be more careful not to say wrong things at the wrong time. Trying to bring some humor to the atmosphere is a noble thing but it can also be disastrous at times. Yes, I don’t like the idea of people having that clownly mirage of me… but above all… I am more concerned if I’d hurt anyone by trying to pull off this tricky and complicated thing we all call The Joke.

“Haha... Just Kidding… LOL”

Can everything be back to square one just by flashing this sassy phrase?

can aar?

iyoooo… okay someone! knock me now!! Why so serious aaahh ini blog entries saya punya lately? Must check back the antibiotics the doctors gave me masa demam aritu lah. Maybe had some aku-serious-weh-dose in it. Ayayay… must take chill-pills dah ni.

Kesian kan pikir balik, imej-imej joker and clown yang diberi kat people who actually work hard to TRY to make people laugh kan.

So supaya saya tidak meneruskan pembebelan saya yang seriously boring itu... ini recap... kan senang baca points ni jer daripada bebelan2 di atas.

Respect people regardless of how ‘funny’ they are. When they are not in their usual happy-happy ceria mood… do understand that they are just human. Maybe it’s time for us to try entertaining them instead :)
If we are not good at making jokes.. don’t simply make one… the consequences can be devastating… disastrous… catastrophic… (yaa.. all those tragic terminologies lah)
If we are trying to help make the world a happier place, it’s good… by all means :-) but don’t mock people who are less fortunate... its disheartening
It may be seem trivial or easy-peasy for some… but some people do take up this ‘funny’ business as a serious career… and from my point of view, it’s not an easy job to be an entertainer.

Akhir kata...
Why Sooo Serrrioussss....
oh ya lupo plak...
SELAMAT BERPUASAA yaaaa... Katakan Taknak kepada melantak ketika berbuka ye ;-)

Getting Older is not Taboo :D

2009-08-15T15:04:00.009+08:00

Some signs that “You think age is catching up and it's an issue for you”:

You feel overly flattered and excited when people mistake you to be younger than your age
You refuse or feel reluctant to answer when people ask your age
You are always in denial about your age

Some Young Women in their late twenties consider themselves getting older and everything around them just gets old correspondingly. Some think they are at the top of the world and in the prime time of their lives. And some don’t even bother about this issue until they bump into someone in late thirties and feel so young… or someone who just got out from high school and start to feel ancient.

Why late twenties young women?
Because most of my friends and I are fall in that category :P :P

What is age, and what does the increase of it mean to you? Do you associate it with biological aging like wrinkles, lose of brain cells, reduce in metabolism bla bla… or do you look at it in a more positive angle like maturing, sophistication, superiority and wisdom? :D

It’s funny how my friends and I talk about this over coffee. It is indeed an ISSUE eh… LOL :))

yes, I get flattered when people mistake me for an undergraduate student in early twenties… Haha… and ouh, I get that all the time :P Then again, sometimes people do give me that round shocked face when I tell them I am still studying… you know… that “aren’t you like suppose to be having a solid career?” look.

Oh yeah… I am pretty sure I'm doing what I want to / have to at this point of my life. So, what I've learnt so far...

I've learnt that...life is indeed full of surprises
but,
I've also learnt that...'life full of surprises' also means not everything happened the way we planned or wanted.

on top of dat,
I've learnt that...happiness is not only about getting one wants, but also cherishing what one has...

Akhir Kata,

Love to Learn from past…Learn to Love today…
Keep Learning and Loving in the future *_*

P/S: Hehe, I guess this is another post-birthday entry from me :D

Dig-o-saurus

2009-07-26T22:31:00.017+08:00

In between papers, assignments and being entertained by niece and nephew... I still have time for this Random entry :P

Random 1

we had tis Projek Petani.

It's pretty obvious that it's nothing fancy. There's 4 of us, but on turun-padang (digging + planting) day, only 3 petani turned up, the 4th was not feeling well but promised to turun-padang on her own.

Three separate tapak-semaian :P

Hehe.. Go Green!!

Random 2

3 ladies, Pn. Lisa, Pn.Siti Seeta and Cik Leena, on their way to Queensbay for lunch. Before we could go out of the campus, Pn.Seeta's car faced some problem... overheat. We pulled over and managed to settle the prob... But, we left the car there and walked to where I parked my car. It was a very hot day but I enjoyed the clear sky = no jerebu day! Hehe... and it's good for Seeta too since she's new to the campus :P~

Random 3

Funny and cute. I got 2 birthday gifts that rekindled the kiddo in me.

First one: This from Kak Ilah:

Hahaha.... Cute kan.. Kak Ilah said she thought it'll be helpful since I like to cut papers and decorate gifts etc... I have played around with all 8 blades and I had fun indeed.

2nd one: From my elder sis:

Seriously?? Mwahahhaha.....

Yeah... ancient serious!

It's a book about Dinosaurs. Book & Dig Kit... meaning u get to dig ur very own dino bones out! Wow Weeee... Hahahhaha... Lawak kan... At first, I sayang nak start digging... but when Kak Ilah asked me "you nak tunggu dinosaur u jadi petroleum ke?" I terus tercabar :))

Over the weekend... Ainaa and I started digging! Haha.... Ainaa's a big fan of dinosaurs, okey.

Two paleontologists at work!

After a few hours... we were still at this:

Penattt... I told my junior paleontologist that we'll continue another day... Perlu kesabaran kerja ni.

Baru realize... this week jer.. I had 2 digging projects...
I shall now start my 3rd and most important digging: more literature for my research!!!

Random Note
With all the kiddiness going around lately, (projek petani pun macam kanak-kanak main pasir jer kan) haha... I got a set of One-Drop perfume from Alisa, haaa... good... bring back the woman in me :P

Thank you all... I enjoy all of em...

How do u see urself 10 years from now...

2009-07-20T00:23:00.015+08:00

How do u see urself 10 years from now?

I was in an interview; on the interviewer side, evaluating 3 interviewees each session. Of all the questions, I love this question the most. The interviewees, teenies just graduated from secondary school after finishing their SPM examination. It was interesting indeed to learn about their interests, dreams and hopes.

I love the question because I can relate to it (although I never had good answers).

10 years back... fresh high school graduate who had no idea of what was up for her! She never had a rigid plan of her future, instead she loved to be spontaneous. She was more of a "live for the moment" kinda girl... therefore, she was pretty unpredictable. Yeah, that was me... and guess what, I am still that girl.

Okie now.... How do I see myself in 10 years time?

Honestly, I don't mind not seeing it. Instead of worrying too much of the future, I decided to live for the moment... cherish the moments. For some matters, let nature take its course :D Hehe

However... I do make some kinda plans. At my age, of course, I gotta have some plans laa. Must have motivations... and some goals in life, aite. Just because I don't share my visions and missions with people, doesn't mean I don't have one ;-)

so... How do YOU see yourself 10 years from now?

Creamy Cakes for longevity

2009-07-13T12:39:00.014+08:00

Thank You, Family and Friends for making this birthday a memorable one. I’ve been busy lately I almost forgot my own birthday. Thanks to facebook, some friends had started giving birthday wishes a day before thus reminding myself that “Wehhh… I'm getting older tomorrow"

Mom cooked my favourite– Raasam + Cencaru Sambal :* I had lunch with Seeta and Nurul. Seeta belanja but I couldn’t eat so much as I’ve had brunch at home. Thanx girls…

Later that day, Zue asked if we could have dinner, then due to uncertainty, Zue said it’s ok if we had to postpone the dinner. Kak Ilah was kinda busy too with appointment with a lecturer. I didn’t want to rush them into dinner just because it’s my birthday.

7.00pm – I was still in the lab. Then I thought ‘What am I doing in the lab all alone on my birthday??' I figured I should reward myself… so I planned to go for a movie alone.

...or maybe just a big meal… or maybe I should just go back home instead… Self-debating, I went back to my hostel. Ok.. maybe just take-away food… sounds good enough.

After shower… Zue called, saying that the dinner date was ON and she was coming out to pick me up. Later, Kak Ilah decided to join us too. Although I was kinda looking forward to my time alone, dinner with 2 BBs sound more fun :D Yeyeye.. dress up, dress up!

Almost 9pm, waited at the foyer, stomach growling… Outside the hostel, a stall selling some goreng-goreng stuff and ouh, I can’t fight the temptation of the smell of Chempedak Goreng… therefore I walked towards the aroma.

Bought RM2 worth of chempedak goreng, and Zue called.. finally! Can feel my tummy smiling in bliss… Walked back to the guard house looking for her car. Front, left and right - nada.

Turning around, across the street, I saw Zue.. Kak Ilah and... eh Aca ada skali…

“Surprise!!! Happy Birthday!!” they shouted out loud

HAHA… I was… Surprised! I didn’t expect them to hide behind the wall (gate). So cute laaa… Mischievously hiding.

I laughed… I almost sat middle of the road there, shocked and amused. Why Why… surprise tengah2 jalan? Hahahhaha…. I ran to them… and saw few more familiar faces hiding across the street, walking out comically from behind the TNB box… Mwahahhaa. Rash, Miem, Baim, Aini and Johnny. They gave me a cute cake and start singing the birthday song. Wehh… dun make me cry laaa...

We drove to Marin for dinner… Nando and Emme were there too :* Then came another surprise: A bigger birthday cake with candles burning wildly… and another song. Huhuuu… It turned out... they had planned this 2 days before. Waaa… flawless nyer! U peeps got me this time. I am surprised and didn’t expect all of it at all.

Terharu beb! Thank you BBs and YBs…

And I laughed reading their side of the story: (Written by Zue):

Pada hari kejadian, kak ilah kol, around 7.30pm. “zue…azleena hilang”Kuang kuang kuang. Siapa Mengejut dan siapa Terkejut?It turns out, azleena went back to her hostel for a shower. She wanted to cancel our dinner(how dare you!) and watch movie ALONE instead on her BIRTHDAY night! Nasib baik sempat kol her and told her that the dinner plan is ON and i am on my way. Kalo tak , mmg inilah kejutan paling terkejut dalam sejarah! Haha.

Akhirnya, tempat kejutan bertukar ke Hostel Tekun, tunggu Azleena turun dan jerit SURPRISE! Kejutan berlaku lewat sejam, iaitu pada pukul 9pm, dimana watak2 sampingan ada yg sembunyi belakang pokok(dgn super cute tapi lupa amik gambar), dan disebalik pagar(me n super bb). Azleena can’t keep still at the promised place, but instead choose to walk out to buy cempedak goreng, which just torture us even more as asyik kena berlari2 menyembunyikan diri. Cara kejutan berlaku adalah jerit “SURPRISE! HAPPY BDAY!” dengan kuat tanpa segan silu dan suspek menjadi terkejut, terduduk dan ketawa akhirnya. Hehe. Lepas tu, suspek dan watak sampingan bergerak utk mengisi perut.

And 2 days after that... our very own homey celebration. Ainaa and Ayrril bought me a cake?? Wow... ahakss.. I lap u too kiddoss and mia femilia.. muackss :*:*

Tarian Hujan musim ketiga

2009-07-09T02:39:00.011+08:00

On our way to dinner, it was raining. SuperBB and I entered the restaurant. Wow… full house! Only the tables at the last row were empty. Rain had ceased, so we didn’t have to worry about getting wet. Halfway through meal... it started to downpour again, thunder and lightning dancing in the sky. Even after we moved the table slightly inside, the rain still sprinkled on us. SuperBB said: “Takper, let’s finish eating… control macho je”

The drizzle tickling my face and SuperBB’s macho expression made me laughed. I concluded my meal with a cup of hot Nescafe, which I guess had extra ingredients of acidic rain water. Gagaga... Still raining heavily; we decided to battle the rain to the car, parked not far away, under an overhead bridge.

Our side of the road was somewhat flooded with rain water (slightly above ankle length jer) and we had to cross over to the opposite side. SuperBB: “Redah jer… kita pun dah basah”

1, 2, 3…. Run!!!

SuperBB victoriously crossed over… but I… Waaarkh… one of my slippers is missing! Gone! Tenggelam, Lemas di bawa arus! Half shoed, I looked for the other half in the water but the 'current' must have washed it away. Both of us tried to look for it by meraba-raba-ing the not-so-deep water, and peeping under a car parked there.

After 10minutes demonstrating Tarian Hujan around the car, decided to follow SuperBB's advice to come back at day light to look for it. Uwaaaa…. :-( I went back to my room disappointed, smelling like drain or rain water… not sure myself.

Next day, Yes… I went back to check. But it wasn’t there.

I’m sorry dear… I drowned your twin!!!

I can get a new pair, I know… but it won’t be its twin partner la kan. Hmm... maybe I should buy the same slippers with different color, eh? Then, I can wear it as same color pair or as mismatched pair with this now solo slipper… mix & match is trend right??

* I keep having dramatic experiences with shoes sandals, slippers @_@
Lesson Learned: Pakailah selipar cap Tat Seng...

Akhir Kata…
Sediakan Payung Sebelum Hujan,
juga sepasang selipar tambahan.

The Yin and Yang

2009-07-01T02:07:00.012+08:00

Events take place in around one week…
Not following any order…

Randomly:

Scenario #1: Queue at a supermarket cashier, a couple in front of us.

The woman accidentally dropped some of her items. I helped to pick it up for her, put it back, alongside her other items. Stoned face, she didn’t say thanks… it’s ok, I didn’t ask anything in return. But she could have smiled or at least looked back at me, a simple gesture. What happen to “Budi Bahasa Amalan Kita” isssh…

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

Scenario #2 :Hanging out with friends in Prangin's McDonalds.

After meal and chats, went to Surau for Zuhur prayers. My phone rang.

PenyiasatMisteri: “Hello… ada kat mana sekarang?”

Miss Dompet Itam: “Uhh.. Siapa ni ye?”

PenyiasatMisteri: “Saya jumpa dompet akak…Akak kat mana sekarang?”

Warkhhhh… I left my wallet and I didn’t even realize that
I am Lucky that:

I was thinking of going back straight home, but then changed my mind, went to the Surau instead for my prayers. If not, I would have been half way home and had to come back for my wallet
that young guy, who works in McD made to effort to trace me. McD is lucky to have honest staff like him :D Marilah makan di McD… chewaah promote plak!
earlier that morning, I went to Petronas to fuel up my car. I presented my Mesra Petronas Card to swap for points, the cashier asked me to write my name and phone number behind the card. In case I dropped my card, people can return it to me. Hahahha.. Did she have premonition that I was going to misplace my wallet later that day?? Uuu…. X-Files!

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

Scenario #3: Driving alone, at night.

I stopped at a traffic light, a smooth stop, I wasn’t speeding anyway. The car behind me stopped, then suddenly, it jerked off and hit my bumper… kebooom!!! It was quite late at night, and was quite a distance away from campus. The driver, a woman around 40 of age. We got down, she gave me her number to contact her to claim for the damage. Since both of us are woman, I didn’t want to risk attracting attention from possible road gangsters, I took her words since she looked trustworthy.

2 days after that, after some negotiations…. I was losing. The woman is kinda nice, but when her husband got involved, he didn’t want to pay for full repair, insisting that he would only be responsible for the part where it got hit, meaning not agreeing to pay for the whole bumper repaint.

They did agree to pay for the repair if we send to their mechanic… How can I be convinced when the mechanic said he would only paint on the spot it hit (the bumper will look hideous ok)… and with the husband saying that he can pay lesser price to this mechanic, it certainly didn’t give me an impression that it'll be a good repair. (more like cukup makan oni). Plus, it was not convenient for me to send my dad’s car to his mechanic at that time. My dad was in KL, and I had no one to fight for me. I hate to fight or beg, therefore I had no choice but to settle for the half compensation. I feel so helpless. Please tell me I should not give up on being nice to people.

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

Actually there were several other things happened, and I was rushing the whole week. So many things happened unexpectedly that I had hard time adjusting and trying to settle as many things as possible. At one point, I was constantly whining in my head…

Scenario #4: In the midst of all the rush…

Drove into campus. 4.30pm. I needed to get to the office to take some forms by 5pm. The Pak Guard stopped me… I was like “ooooh no….Not now……”

PakGuard BerUniform: Student ke Staff?
Gadis Gabra: Student

PakGuard BerUniform: Nak pergi mana?
Gadis Gabra: Nak pergi Skool di bla bla bla

PakGuard BerUniform: Boleh tak tumpangkan student baru yang nak mendaftar? Ke Indah Kembara (hostel area)

He asked whether can I take a new student to Indah Kembara. I looked at where he was pointing. I saw the mom, with some luggage… but where’s the student?

PakGuard BerUniform: Student Warga Emas…
pointing at the elderly woman, about late 50’s / early 60's)

Gadis Gabra: Boleh… Masuk-masuk

= In the car. =

Gadis Gabra: Makcik datang dari mana?
Makcik_yg_Tenang: Dari Kuala Selangor…. Naik bas pagi tadi…

We chatted... But I can’t help but wonder, why was she all by herself? She took a bus all the way from Kuala Selangor... Why didn’t someone accompany her or send her here?

Reached Indah Kembara. I took down her luggage - a trolley luggage bag and medium sized plastic bag. The trolley bag, it looked liked it just waded through rain and had some dried weed particles across it. It's like depicting the journey Makcik_yg_Tenang went through…. Ya Allah, I felt so ashamed. Makcik_yg_Tenang didn’t even show a sight of tiredness nor complained about coming here all by herself, changing buses and apparently she was waiting for a bus down the hill at the guard house, but there were no buses in campus during orientation week. She looked all set and ready for the new challenge… So much energy for a woman her age…

So I whined a little there didn’t I? (scenario 3) To respect Makcik’s will and power, I’ll stop whining in here about the other so called series of unfortunate events…. I am back to being motivated! I owe that to Makcik_yg_Tenang. Terima Kasih :-)

In conclusion:
Sometimes the world (or people) can be harsh… yes… we need to stand up for ourselves… But never use that reason to be BAD or discourteous. It's a Yin and Yang world... Which one is YOU?

P/S: I can be nice... in some cases, to certain limitations only ;-)

Vanakam... Saree for Show :P

2009-06-22T19:17:00.032+08:00

Hmm…here, let’s stroll down memory lane a lil and check out my history with Saree. cheh... konon...

In our (my sisters and I) teenage years, my mom requested we took photos wearing Sarees. Mom used to wear sarees in her younger years, and I guess she wants to see us wearing one at least once. I rebelled over it, being a tomboy at that time, Saree seemed to be too feminine and I didn’t want to be seen wearing it even for still photos. I escaped.

Then during my Uni convocation, mom proposed again - wear saree with the convocation robe at home and take some photos. By that time, long gone were my tomboy years, so I agreed. (actually kinda excited). I even tried the Gujarat look. My neighbor, Aunty Kala is an expert in Saree tying, she would help us tie the Saree for these ‘special Photo sessions' :P

Traditionally, Muslims in India would use the Saree cloth itself to drape it over to cover their hair, and the Saree will be tied neatly to cover the tummy area. Some modern approach suggests this.

Will I be confident enough to wear saree to open events? Jeng jeng jeng... After eyeing for some opportunities… decided to attack Seeta’s wedding, hehehe.

In order to boost up my confidence level, I came up with the Saree-Gang plan. Jane said YES almost immediately and Elena jumped in the wagon with excitement and no hesitation. Marlina was thrilled coz she has been encouraging from the very beginning. As written by Jane, we had a pact! = keep it a secret and as a surprise for our bridey fren, Seeta.

I have my sister’s Saree, but I needed some accessory. Jane needed a Saree. So, Jane and I went for Saree shopping at Little India, Penang before the wedding. We had fun shopping despite the global warming :P Jane got her Saree tailored, therefore she doesnt need to tie it the traditional way.

The day came… Haha excitednya! With Aunty Kala's help, my Saree looked in tact, and covered the body perfectly. Thank youuu very much :*

We were a bit shy at first, but once the camera started to flash around... the model in us took center stage :P But, I must admit, I am wayyy more poised walking in Saree... heheh

Quite a number of frens came that nite. Makes me miss CBM years all over again..

Mission Accomplished. I finally get to wear Saree and most importantly.. with my lovely frens... :D:D

Last but not least,
Congratulations to U.Seeta and Muniswaran...
Both of you look so sweet together :D

Kopi campur Susu = Otak dan Jantung sihat?

2009-06-15T13:15:00.014+08:00

Are you mixed blood?

Surprisingly, I still get that question. Why? Because I have small and pointed eyes a.k.a. Sepet! Mixed blood? Yes, I am! I’m mixed of O and B. My dad is an O blood type; whereas my mom is a B blood type :-) I am mixed.

Normally, people won’t take that as an answer… why oh why… why..?

So what am I? Indian? Malay? Chinese? Bidayuh? Sikh? Mat Salleh? Latina? When I was small, I get nicknamed ‘Japanese kid’. Mom said, I got a lot pinches on my cheek because I was chubby and fair (maybe that’s why I have serious acne problems later in life) Grrrrr….

I still remember, it was distressing… people kept saying I was fairer than my sisters. I didn’t like to be differentiated from them. I looked into the mirror and kept wondering, why was I fairer than my sisters? I kept praying I’d become darker. (~wish granted, haha) Why were my eyes so small? I wanted big round eyes (~i love my sepet eyes now). I wanted to look like my elder sister and have my younger sis’ hair (~ tamak kan aku?), so that we looked like a team. Oh gosh… Lucky me, the dilemma ended when I began to accept myself just the way I am at quite an early age.

When people get curious about my ethnicity; it’s fun to share because I am somehow promoting mixed heritage. But sometimes, it does feel weird, asked in a wrong way, they’d make you feel as though as “what” you are, is more important than “who” you are.

So if you are wondering What am I? I have one simple answer for you:

I, Azleena…
I am a Malaysian.

Bebelan Lanjut: Yes, I wanted to be darker when I was younger, and maybe I’d prefer to date a guy darker than me, I dunno about that yet… Haha :P But… I have no issues about people with dark or fair skin, or whatever their preferences towards this. For me, my concern about my skin is not the color but the complexion which I’m having some problem with. *acne*acne*kill*kill*

I don’t mind if some people try very hard to make themselves look fairer and use tones of whitening products, simply because it’s their choice to make (and tanning products to get tanned :P). And it’s not an issue too when someone prefers to look for life partner from certain race or color because this too, is related to preferences, familiarity and taste.

Moving to a wider scope…

What makes it hard to accept is… when people use skin color to differentiate people, to judge, or look down on people and so on.

It’s hard to change society and people, but we can change ourselves and our mindset. Do have faith and believe that even a small entity can make changes for a better tomorrow *ok… I sound like a politician lah pulak!* Mwahahaha… ok...ok... back on serious mode!

Before we start accusing people for being oppressive… ask ourselves, how nice are we? How good are we, in not being judgmental and prejudice towards people based on color, race, religion, economical status, standards etc. Just stop pointing fingers only to overcome your own frustrations.

If you are a Malaysian, be proud to be one and to declare as one (no matter which part of the globe you are in). Instead of bashing here and there, you can start spreading some love by living in the society and not separating them even more. Hate is not going to get us anywhere…

Black or white, Yellow or brown… we are all the same = we cannot live or function without a heart and a brain ;-)

Akhir Kata...

"Tepuk dada tanya selera."
(psst.. selera saya adalah nasi kandar kari banjir... hohohohoho)