Silver Lining

I Ain't No Cupcake Chick

2008-04-24T13:41:00.004+08:00

Considering the fact that I'm in my whiny-post-syndrome, I figured, why not another?

So you know just a few weeks back, I went to get cupcakes at Cupcak3 Ch1c with my mom at The Curve. You know the hype about cupcakes; they're cute, yummy, sweet things you just feel like binging on forever until your conscience gets to you and warns you of the mega-calorie you're happily yet unknowingly putting on.

The guy at the counter was rather chatty, so I decided to just layan him; who knows what kinda day he had sitting behind that counter waiting for customers so I put on my entertaining skills to use. After making my half dozen cupcake pick, I was ready by the counter to make payments to the female cashier. She decided it was funny to be chatty too but unfortunately chose the wrong thing to say.

With an annoying smile plastered across her face, she asked me, "Are you guys sisters?" refering to my mom next to me.

And right there dear folks, at precisely that exact time... all hell broke loose. No sooner did she say that did I feel like grabbing her words in mid air (before it could reach my mom) and jumping over the counter to stuff the words back into her mouth where it belongs ... and then strangle her while at it. Sheesh, the nerve!

My mom left the store with a dance to her steps looking very much pleased with herself and even bade goodbye to the sales staff. Kaki sakit pun jadi tak sakit. And me, well you can imagine me feeling all old about myself with no spring to my steps and practically dragging my poor old legs to the parking lot.

Plussss, their cupcakes were wayyyy overpriced, the icing too much on the sweet side and not beaten smooth enough to my liking. So there!!!

I'm Too Lazy to Think of A Title

2008-04-05T20:15:00.015+08:00

I've been tellin Kai of the shithole I've been in for the past few weeks and it sure ain't smelling good in here. Patience my dear friends, I'm actually still alive and will be outta here soon! We can go yumcha again once it's all done and over with. I can't believe another week has gone by already. Just when you need more time, it seems to zap by without you even noticing it.

Last weekend I got out of me shithole and spent it with Kai. This weekend... well back in you-know-where. When I met up with Nirma for dinner last night, she ended our conversation by cheekily asking, "So naz, what you doing this weekend?" Thanks, I needed that. For those of you in the dark, I'm currently very busy with my Final Year Project. It's insane crazy codings to which I've gotten my head lost in countless times. Sometimes I ask myself what exactly did I get myself into or what the heck am I doing. You should see Kai's face when I told her my FYP title. But anyways, let's put that aside.

My mom's birthday is in a week. I have a rough idea on what to get her but I have no idea WHEN I can actually give it to her. Speaking of which, I haven't seen my brothers in a long time either. You would think I'm in Puerto Rico or something. Soon, it'll be time to remind the men of the house of the upcoming birthday. Otherwise... well you know men, let's not even go there.

If you have four brothers like me, a typical birthday wish I would get would be SMSes along the line of "Happy birthday kaklong! U rock! But your fart still stinks like shit..." I kid you not, about the messagelah not about my stinking fart although it could be partially true but we'll never know that now, will we? Often times I just ignore it. Like theirs smell any better anyway.

Then my dad would somehow miraaaaaculously 'remember' at 4pm and smother me with words like "You KNOWWW I think about you all the time, not only on your birthday... bla bla bla pujuk pujuk bla bla *nervous laugh* (hellooo, not workiiiiiing, how about giving me some mooolahs instead?)". He bribes me sometimes but who's complaining? Oke how did it turn out to be about me instead? Emo pulak.

I wonder what it's like having a sister? I'd prolly get one of those sweet birthday cards sisters normally give sisters... yes, no? You know I just realized my family members never gave me a birthday card *runs off crying*.

Anyhoo, I had an interesting conversation with handsome harayz recently about homosexuals, I'm not discussing it anyhow but I still can't get over the Angel1na Jol1e/S4my V3llu analogy he gave me. I break into a smile everytime I think about it. Only because his persistence cracks me up.

This by far has got to be the worst, crappy entry I've ever written. I can't even think of a title coz my entry is going in all directions. Maybe I'll write another whiny entry while I'm at it. Forget the Silver Lining for a bit oke?

Sunday Morning

2008-03-02T21:53:00.014+08:00

I woke up this morning with full intention to go out for a jog. I was gonna go yesterday but woke up late and obviously there's really no point in jogging at 10.30am with 5 inches of sunscreen on. Plus it was such a good weather to sink under my covers and resume to my land of raining men.

When I invited Iffah yesterday, could you believe she replied with a downright "No way!"? I mean, what!? Not even the courtesy to at least hesitate and contemplate? After a lil coaxing, we concluded that if it didn't rain this morn, we'd go. So I got up this morn and texted her to see if she was up for it. She must've sung her lungs out in her effort to get the rain to pour and probably waited till I texted her, you know... in case I overslept so she could somehow wiggle her way out of it. Tough luck, I was determined to get her ass off the couch.

Into our 2nd round of what turned out to be brisk walking instead of jogging, we bumped into my Standard 6 class teacher, Pn. Aishah! She said she recognized our faces but obviously to remember names, she'd have to be Einstein or something (no, she didn't say that). She better remember me, she threw me off to the end corner of the room to laugh to myself for laughing out loud at the back of a class thanks to a certain Munirah Mazlan for being such a tattle tale.

She still pretty much looks the same and has stopped teaching for about a year now. And us, well not really the same. Some of us just stopped growing that fateful year and now looking vertically challenged more than ever. We were the class of '96 and now it's been 12 years down the road... another full fold of the age we were back then and more than eligible to vote. We chatted for quite a bit. Oh Mun, I brought your name up too just to check her memory but she probably remembers your mom better. Sorry! Hahah.

Well it was all good. We're a pretty healthy neighbourhood you know, us TTDIans? You should see how packed the park is in the mornings, even monkeys are swinging away.

After warming down, Iffah and I went off to get nasi lemak.

The Number 8

2008-03-01T01:22:00.010+08:00

I've been tagged my mynn so let me do this tag before I dissolve in my realm of unconscious hiatus ...

8 Random Things About Moi!

1) Quoting Mun, I'm a bag whore. I am, I really am. I love looove lurrrvee bags, especially designer handbags. In fact, I'm afraid that when I start working, all my pay will end up going to those good for nothing designer handbags rather than proper investments like home property and other boring-adult-responsible stuff. I'm a sucker for pretty scarves too.
Notice how Miss VB seems to strut a Birkin in every possible colour and the too well-known heiress PH with her 2.55 in all fabric and structures there is to ever exist? Well I certainly have! GrrRrrrr!

2) I prefer vacuuming than mopping. Mopping requires a certain angle that my back cannot take. Plus, I have this compulsiveness when mopping. I end up washing the mop thoroughly under tap water before I sink it in the detergent pail again. I will never ever dip the dirty mop in the detergent pail without having rinsed it.

3) I wash and clean and scrub and whatever there is that needs cleaning when I'm stressed. It's how I channel my stress.

4) I think that when lecturers ask you questions or when people ask you jokes/riddles, they secretly don't want you to know the answer coz they seek pleasure in giving out the answers themselves. (Hahah, how's THAT for random!?)

5) Among my family members, I only speak proper English with my dad and bro who's a year younger than me.

6) I hesitate lending my precious books to people simply because some don't know how to treat books right. I can't tolerate dogeared pages, broken spines and ketchup-stained pages. I also hate it when people lend my books to their friends and so on. That's how my books turn up to me like belacan, if I'm lucky to ever see it againlah.

Speaking of which, remember the 'Little House on The Prairie' series I've been searching high and low for? I finally have it in my hands and I'm absolutely delighted! It came in a few months ago but well... let's not go there. The pictures were taken when I first got it, plastic wrapped et all.

7) I have allergic contact dermatitis to nickel and allergic rhinitis. Google it, you might have them too. Hahah.

8) ~~I shower naked.~~ I'm not into cats, in fact I'm afraid of them.

Tag! You're it Kai! (Kai, remember us REALLY playing TAG back in those days in that Green Room? Hahah!)

Of Weddings and New Year

2008-02-18T16:26:00.011+08:00

December was a whirlwind of many events. Despite having to work on some weekends and public holidays (an absolute drag, depressing even at some point!), I managed to squeeze in some form of social activities to keep myself mentally sane.

Firstly was Aizuddin and spouse's as well as sister's wedding combined held at KGPA. It was a beautiful garden wedding, one I should keep in mind for my years-from-now wedding. With pretty lit candles leading up to the dais in purple-white theme. We were ushered to one side of the hall apparently reserved for the whole TTDI gang. It was good to see everyone, some I hadn't even seen since high school.

Me, Diyana, Amnah, Sharifah Jamilah, Shazleen.

Ikhwan, Aysha, Me, Diyana, Amnah (courtesy of Amnah)

The brides and grooms.

Standing L-R: Me, Shina, Pang and Supriya.
Sitting L-R: Diyana, Amnah, Sharifah Jamilah, Shazleen, Melissa, Erin and Aysha

Purple-white themed canopies and beautifully lit chandeliers.

And one for the album with George being the odd one out!

Sorry for the low quality pictures. Lighting wasn't exactly doing us much favours. The doorgifts were pretty songket tokens filled with Daim chocs! Again it was just lovely meeting everyone and then finally having a moment with the bride and groom. We were all having a good time catching up that everyone found it hard to say goodbye.

New Year was another event altogether. Considering I went to 2 different high schools, I have 2 different sets of high school friends. Heheh. We gathered at Sze Mun's newly opened Italian Restaurant, Bella Roma. Farah, Diyz, Fazrin and I arrived late due to the massive traffic we underwent just trying to get there. I believe her restaurant did so well that day that they even ran out of pizzas! We were starving but what the heck, it's New Year's! Close to midnight, we mounted the podium, and watched fireworks shoot across the sky from so many different locations.

Then we went off to get McDonald's. Hahah.

Faz's sister Adibah got married on New Year's. He made a quick return from the States for the occasion. The wedding was also the only time I met him during his short coming back. He and I go waaaaayyyy back, our families traveled together and we even had the same winter jackets! I have no idea what all that was about but anyways, I only have one lousy picture (lousy because it's coming from me) of the wedding.

I remember how she used to clip my hair and have me all haired up whenever we came over to their place in Belgium. Good times definitely and now she's married!

Made my second trip to Indonesia last year in December. My first being in August to Bukit Tinggi. I didn't blog about it simply coz I was just too lazy. I was contemplating on writing my Taman Negara Trip or Bukit Tinggi trip and then decided on neither. Yes, I'm such a pemalas.

My second trip was to Bali with my 2 brothers. I'll blog on that in my next entry. If it doesn't come up, you'll know that it suffered the same fate as the former one. Hahah.

I hope it's still not too late to wish you guys a blissful 2008!

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. --Author Unknown

Will Be Back Shortly

2008-01-24T15:37:00.000+08:00

I will update soon. Promise. I too am sick of reading the first few lines of my last entry of cleared bowels. I am finally done with pracs and shall share bits and pieces of events occurring in the past and current month. I miss writing and reading others' blogs. I really do.

Carbon Copying The Days

2007-12-06T23:26:00.000+08:00

You know what makes a great start to the day? A cleared bowel. It's the feeling of having cleansed all your sorrows away and starting fresh. At least that's what I feel. I know some might not be as lucky as to have theirs cleared early in the morning, some clear theirs in the afternoon or in the evening, some need extra supplements even. I'm at times one of those. My dose of coffee is actually my pemangkin but I love coffee nonetheless, not just because. Sometimes a glass of milk does it... but what the hey, I'll do whatever it takes to get whatever is supposed to leave my system. Haha.

I now understand why Fatin is considering on shutting down her blog. Working eventually becomes very routine and it's like putting carbon paper underneath and everything just repeats itself over and over. It's at times like this that I wish I worked in the fashion industry or something as fascinating. I'm sure it's a lot of hard work too but at least it comes with a sheer of excitement.

At work, I plug in my Podi (that's my iPod for the uninitiated) and I'm lost in my world of playlists ranging from classical to ... no, not dangdut, maybe just some rock kapak -- just not 'Rock Kapak Sampai Mati!', Che Yah. Hahaha! I just hope the guy sitting in front of me doesn't think I'm mouthing silent words of love to him while I quietly belt out Whitney's 'I Will Always Love You'. I've even resorted to listening to Grey's Anatomy apart from taking sneak peeks at it (despite having already watched it) while I'm working.

I'm heading to a good friend's wedding in Seremban this weekend. Despite all his ups and downs the past few years, he finally made it big and moving on to the next step in life. Had to alter my shift day to make it, thank God it went through. Some people are just worth making that sacrifice. A school friend is opening a restaurant in Damansara Perdana, it's official launching being tomorrow! (Friday) so if anyone wants to try out a new eatery, head over to Bellaroma located at Ground Floor of Metro Square. Pheww, that's a low of friends to be excited about this week!

(Can you tell I'm trying to stuff in so many things at once but not really going anywhere just for the sake of updating and to show that I really have a life?)

It's unbelievable that we're just less than a month away from entering 2008! 2008 is gonna be THE year for me, I'm gonna make sure of that!

Fresh starts thanks to the calendar they happen every year --just set your watch to January, our reward for surviving the holiday season is a new year. Bringing on the great tradition of new years resolutions, put your past behind you and start over. It's hard to resist the chance of a new beginning, a chance to put the problems of last year to bed. -- Grey's Anatomy

Word of the Day?

2007-11-18T21:19:00.000+08:00

Most people have retreats out in the country, somewhere calm and where the greens grow in abundance. But mine... it's in the city, where the greens are rare and the air is polluted. What one would normally have as a retreat is now what I call home. For a while, it seemed temporary but after a couple of years of traveling back and forth, I've seen the comfort they've grown accustomed to and learnt that it'll be home for a very, very long time.

Here I am in my city retreat, the place people would normally have as their first home. There are weekends where I come home and am surprised. Not the good kind, that I can assure you. The kind that sends steam from the very bottom of my being all the way up to my head. It's worse if I have yet to take my tudung off, you know... to let all that steam evaporate into thin air.

Like last week, there seemed to be traces of other entities in this urban escape of mine if that's what you could call it. The gate switch I had made sure was switched off, was now a prominent red. A mug containing half drunk water laid on the table unbeknownst to whom it belonged to. Then came the distinct odor emanating from somewhere within the kitchen. As I slowly trailed the stench in pursue of the source, I came upon the culprit.

Carefully laid in the microwave oven, were a few otak-otak probably heated to be eaten but forgotten to eat. I could only think of one MAJOR perpetrator... my brother. And at that precise moment, hell hath no fury like a babe scorned! I felt like screaming profanity! But what good would that do if I had no dummy?

A few days later, totally dismissing the incident, the MAJOR perpetrator chanced upon me on MSN and had the audacity to ask,

"How did you like my little gift for you? Aku tinggalkan kau otak-otak baaaiiiikkkk punyaaaa!"

By then I had presumed that he had had a good smoldering lecture from our dear mother -- no, not because of that, but mainly some other irresponsibilities prior to that. And the otak-otak was probably just a verbal dessert ... or appetizer. It didn't bother me.

"Baaaiiiiik kepala OTAK kau!"

Well at least that's what I felt like saying. But my fingers danced across the keyboard typing away something less harsh. No, not at the office. Not when my loggings could be excavated for the pleasure of some superiors. They might think I'm a bad sis you know? But tomorrow, or when I see him, I'm gonna give his otak, a good piece of my mind... and then some.

Because this is my getaway. And getaways shouldn't smell like otak-otaks gone bad.

*otak-otak - a delicacy originating in Southern parts of Malaysia, mainly Johor; made of spicy fish paste alongside a mixture of spice, onions, coconut milk, lemon grass, eggs and garlic wrapped altogether in banana leaf and further grilled to perfection.

It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. --Dylan Thomas

Going To Work

2007-11-12T17:46:00.000+08:00

I know I said I was back... but truth be told, my current training involves me facing the PC the whole damn day, 9-6. Last thing I wanna do when I get home from work is to cause any more damage to my eyes. I swear if my butt could have bunions-- whatever they are, they're on the way of developing somewhere on my butt cheeks.

I believe I'm catching on the routine of waking up every morning and leaving for work, which also means sleeping in early and my biological clock straightened out. But one thing I know I will never be able to grasp is the routine of the work itself. I need a bigger challenge and something less mundane, one that wouldn't insult my intelligence to levels below my knees. Haha.

The other downside is having days off that could be anywhere in the middle of the week which means having a day off to yourself BY yourself coz everyone else is at work or have things to attend to. And when everyone else is lazing about and chilling to the weekends of their lives, I'm at work slaving myself, being seriously underpaid. However, I leave for work conveniently 5 minutes before clocking in at 9am which is great; and if traffic lights weren't in the way, I could make it to work in 3 mins. Hah! I know I'd be seriously crappy if I had to brave through traffic every morning and evening.

What amazes me is how people can wake up knowing what to wear to work. I find myself ironing my work clothes sometimes at 8:35 just because the outfit I tried on previously didn't seem to do it. My housemate has the whole week planned, her outfits carefully contrived for every single day of the week. How does anyone do that? I'm still amazed. Maybe, I just like the morning rush or the fact that my wardrobe needs some serious revamping. Definitely the latter.

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. --George Bernard Shaw

Pengalaman Bekerja Seorang yang Tak Pernah Bekerja

2007-10-24T20:41:00.000+08:00

I started training 2 days ago and have been working crazily since. It's the funniest thing considering it's my first ever working stint and everyone in my household seems to be more excited than I really am. Midday through my first day of work my dad called (which was unfortunate enough that my phone was on silent mode and I didn't pick up - first day bagi good impression la sikit kan kat company) and then proceeded on SMSing me to say hello and cheerfully told me to enjoy training (I am soooo not!).

Then just before 6pm (the time I supposedly finish work) my mom called but unfortunately faced the same fate as my dad's call. Later that night my lil 11 yo bro pulak messaged and asked, "House your first day of work?" Punyalah pemalas nak type "how's". Mak called again later that night. Don't you think I have such a strong support system? Heheh. The best came from my youngest bro who unabashedly posed, "Kaklong, berapa dapat sehari?" And the little dude counts by the days y'all! Tak cukup duit bapak aku dia pau, duit aku pun nak pau jugak! But I intend to treat them to something with what my paltry allowance can afford.

The first day was initially a lotta fun, the other 20 trainees are a hilarious lot and I think I haven't laughed so hard in a long time, no on second thought I did pretty recently. Only 2 of the above amount of trainees are female, myself included. Now what does that say about my Engineering faculty? Isn't it a wonder that I have more male friends than female? Come after lunch break, the work started piling. Today, I worked practically non-stop and left the office at 6.45pm!

So much for intending to jump start early on my 2nd part of my FYP which got me into an insane state of mind last sem. Now I know I have absolutely no time at all!

To my dear sahabat-sahabat dan juga stalker-stalker yang setia mengunjungi Silver Lining, Salam Aidilfitri dan Maaf Zahir Batin dari saya!

Dengan ucapan, awat tak datang open house!!!??? (Dah lepas dah pun!)

Will Be Back Soon!

2007-10-03T17:12:00.000+08:00

I know it probably seems like I've dropped off the face of the Earth but times have been overwhelmingly hectic these past few months. But I'll be back soon to bore you with my rantings.

I hope it's not too late to wish all of you Selamat Berpuasa!

Salam Ramadhan to all!

Bumbu Bali, Puchong

2007-07-23T23:45:00.000+08:00

Last week, a couple of friends and I went on one of our Jalan-jalan Cari Makan excursion and ended up in Bumbu Bali, Puchong. The restaurant is double storey with Balinese deco and the food served is in gigantic portions. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Some of us went home traumatized by the word 'ayam' because of the insanely half chicken portion. Someone came home 'mabuk ayam'. Hahah.

That's my Nasi Campur Bumbu Bali, one of the house favourite. I was the only one who gobbled up and practically licked the plate clean...

Grilled Beef Pasta.

Ayam Betutu.

Memanggang.

Banana Split.

Es Batu Campur. A yummy concoction of iced coconut based smoothie with lil pieces of cut fruits; jackfruit, watermelon among others. Probably a Balinese version of our local ABC. A dessert I had enough space in my tummy for and slurped ALL on my OWN. I was the champ of the night yo! Hahah.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. --Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Blah

2007-07-20T14:13:00.000+08:00

I have crazy friends. Crazy friends who stalk on cute male juniors. Crazy like you wouldn't believe.

Blah... gila!

Of Books and Growing Up...

2007-07-15T16:26:00.000+08:00

It was yesterday morning in the showers when I just had a mental thought of writing children's books. Not that my writing is worth a mention but it's just that when writing books for that particular age range, the possibilities can go from one major extreme to another; absolutely endless! Look how J.K R0wling made a mounting fortune by not only targetting children as her readers but adults yang tua bangka as well. Of course, not that I'm anywhere near that.

Then I also wondered why parents don't read storybooks to their kids anymore. Is it a thing of the past? I remember in school, library was a 'subject' I looked forward to. We'd all be gathered sitting cross-legged in the middle of the library impatiently waiting for the librarian to read us a story. As soon as she finished reading, she'd wave the book in the air and a row of hands would shoot up followed by synchronized repeated "Me, me, me!!!". Why? To borrow the book of course!

I'm not sure if any of you girls out there have heard or read any of the The American Girls Collection (Samantha, Felicity, Kirsten, Molly etc.) by Valer1e Tripp. When I became a fan, there were only a few girls in the collection and one of the girls in my school who's a year my senior was actually niece to the writer. I still remember her name, Elizab3th Keller-Tr1pp. So when the first batch of books came, a bunch of us went crazy as to who'd get to borrow the brand new books. Those were good times. We even went on library excursions where I fell more and more in love with books.

from http://curtdanhauser.com/AG_Collecting/Gallery.html

from http://www.amazon.com

Oke you've obviously noticed that I got sidetracked. What I'm saying is that because our education system does not promote 'Library' as a class and students tend to take reading for granted, parents should really instill the love of reading in children at young age. Our education system especially in primary and secondary schools do not promote teacher-student communication whereby open discussions and opinions of students matter. This alternatively reflects in tertiary levels where our students are considered passive. Our students are not spoonfed in school levels, they are just not given the opportunity and freedom of voice by most teachers. And because it has always been a one-way communication thing, I believe that's where the spoonfeeding term came about. No offense to teachers out there but this is reality. It's the system I grew up with.

So... lack of reading, no intellectual stimulating discussions which in turn impedes the growth of creative individuals; where does that leave us?

While I'm at it, does anyone know where I can get the whole collection of 'The Little House on The Prairie'?

Hong Kong (Part II)

2007-07-01T23:58:00.000+08:00

The second day of our stay in HK was spent touring famous tourist spots. Our bus ride took us to the busy streets of Hong Kong and to our first stop, a jewellery shop! Can you believe it? I was shocked myself. Known as Jewellery Collection (JC), locals call it Jackie Chan's jewellery shop as rumours has it that the actor has a share. Did not buy anything, the place was jam packed with people and I wasn't in Hong Kong to buy and adorn myself with gold and whatnots.

Our next stop was the Aberdeen Fishing Village. Now the cost of living in HK is extremely high, the average salary is calculated to be about USD1200 whereby USD500-600 is spent on house rentals alone and I'm talking about teeny weeny apartments, not double-terrace linked homes. Fishermen in this village live and work on their boats due to expensive house rentals on shore. The Aberdeen Fishing Village is also known for its floating seafood restaurant known as the 'Jumbo Floating Restaurant'.

One of my bro with the floating restaurant in the background.

My bro and the makcik bot. Cool kan makcik tu?

Repulse Bay was our next destination and the view from where we halted was absolutely gorgeous. It has a beautiful view of the sea and Kowloon in general with an almost spotless sandy beach. We stopped and had lunch here at Pizza Hut (horribly expensive!) and well of course opted for Vegetarian Pizza, otherwise we'd prolly starve to death from the scarcity of halal food.

That night we had dinner at a café arranged by the agents so hurrahhh! Proper Malay food finally! Kalau dah Melayu tu nak pekena nasik gak! I thought the owner was Malaysian of Indian-Muslim descendant since he spoke fairly fluent Malay but I was surprised to know he was of Sri Lankan origin and learned Malay on his own. Siap bagi complimentary sirap bandung! Heheh.

Lepas dah puas melantak... with 2 other little Malaysian kids.

In front of the café, nampak tanda 'halal' tu? :p

The first time we went to the 'Avenue of Stars', we had wandered on our own. This time we took the bus with a couple of others and hung around there again before our next stop.

The monyets.

I was surprised to know that Hong Kong has its own version of Madame Tussauds, jangan ingat London je ada! Situated at The Peak, one of the most famous tourist attractions in HK boasting picturesque views of towering skyscrapers and peaceful green hillsides. Tapi malam, sah-sahla tak nampak kan. Sebenarnya I dah malas nak elaborate lebih-lebih ni... hihih. So I'll let the pictures do the talking.

In front of Madame Tussauds.

My brother pinching Bruce Lee's nipples, he thinks it's funny.

That's how far away I am from EVER becoming a supermodel like Elle MacPhers0n.

My brothers, obviously big fans of the blondie.

Y4o M1ng, your armpits stink!

Honestly, there are more crazy ass pictures of us from where that came from, ada yang explicit sikit untuk tanyangan umum. Hihi. Our last stop is known as the Ladies Market, beats me why it's called as such. It's the equivalent of what you would find in Petaling Street here. Nothing much to shout out about, we only bought a couple of souvenirs and took a cab back to our hotel, knackered. On the whole I would say HK is pretty much a shopping haven but only if you have the time and money to do so. We certainly lacked both. Heheh.

Will update on Disneyland trip soon (don't ask me WHEN is soon, heheh).

Random Ramblings

2007-06-28T22:30:00.000+08:00

I'm loving my law class. My new lecturer is very upbeat and she keeps me constantly stimulated. In a good way. We engineers can be quite a passive lot, most of the time because we're too lost in the technical aspects to contribute anything. But this 'Law for Engineers' class is something. And I love the way when she poses a question and no one can quite come up with an answer and she goes... "Come on engineers, you should know this!" It makes me feel... all engineer-like. Tercabar mak okayyy! Heheh. I'm not kidding when we engineering students don't get many lecturers who can keep us awake and interested. Boleh kira dengan jari. So yea, it's a pretty good change and a superb way to start the semester.

My first week was busy confirming my FYP title and paying a visit to various lecturers. So now I'm up and about looking for research papers and books related to my topic. Why do books have to be so freakin expensive? Isn't a wonder why I buy novels instead?(I'm off to a good start by the way, have finished a few finally!) I haven't been all that busy after all that was settled... just busy pretending to be busy. (Who reads all this crap anyway?)

My parents are back from South America and bought me bags! Yaayyyy! They made a final pit stop in Paris and got me a designer bag...I loiiike! I have this mental picture of a house with a walk-in wardrobe that displays my shoes and handbags neatly in racks. Something like Oprah's (berangan lagi!) but of course not as big. I'm not that organized to have my clothes colour coordinated but if bags and shoes, that I might. You know, this is what I do when I have too much spare time... I berangan too much. But you know what else, I've been saving since I was a kid so just maybe... dreams do come true.

(Anthony Hamilton's 'Dear Life' playing in the background)

I'll update on HK (Part II) soon.

Hong Kong (Part I)

2007-06-15T11:45:00.000+08:00

I've been busy being a couch potato and enjoying my last few days of hols before the much dreaded new semester commences. Isn't it just bliss being able to sleep at 3.00 a.m and wake up at 11.00 a.m without having any obligations to attend to? Lovely I tell you!

Anyways, on my trip to Hong Kong. Let me just say it was a pretty last minute thing and we weren't sure of going until the very last moment. Coincidentally my brothers and I were all on hols and it seemed like the perfect moment for a much needed break and strengthening some sibling bonds (hekkkk!).

We left very early for the airport at approximately 5 a.m. My parents had an early morning flight to Syria and we were lined up to take-off 2 hours later. Unfortunately due to some technical error, their flight was rescheduled later that night and my parents ended up sending us off instead.

Yours truly and her sibs.

Touching down Hong Kong International Airport, we were pretty surprised with the 'warmth' that greeted us. During custom check, they had attendants that were unbelievably strict... even to tourists! I was more shocked to the fact that even kids weren't compromised. They make you stand in queue a certain way and practically ushered you off to the counter even before the previous passenger had had a chance to stuff his passport in his jacket and make a beeline to the nearest exit. I was flabbergasted since you know... I'm very much Malaysian and Malaysians are polite people. Especially to foreigners. Ehem.

A chartered bus waited for us and we were whisked off to our hotel in Kowloon. The room we got despite the so-called suite in its name and its location on the 22nd floor that supposedly screamed exclusivity, was extremely small! Even my bedroom is bigger. And the fact that I had to share it with two monkeys who were constantly jumping from one bed to another made it even more minuscule. I later found out that hotel rates in Hong Kong depended on the location of the hotel itself and not how big or small the room is. Well that was one heck of a revelation.

Our hotel. I got this from the website actually. That twinkling glow is too good to be mine.

From the website as well, the room is really smaller than it looks. It's the exact layout of the room I got.

Our hotel situated on Kimberley Road.

Let me just tell you first and foremost that halal food is absolutely scarce in HK not to mention rather expensive. Most of our walks in the streets of Kowloon aside from window-shopping was scouting for halal food. On Nathan Road, we stumbled upon this wonderful Pakistani restaurant on chance and gobbled up some good food much to the content of our sorry tummies.

Nathan Road.

With my cool bro. Koh!

7-11s are everywhere in HK, sometimes two of 'em to a street. And as opposed to being called 'guardian' here (referring to the pharmacy shop), it's called 'mannings' over there. Five of us spent about USD500 on food alone. Gila tak gila. Sampai terbeli dan termakan dengan lahapnya noodle yg terkandung ba alif ba ya. Astaghfirullah, haruskah kusamak dalamanku ini? The container clearly stated 'seafood' and without further checking we grabbed it totally oblivious to the ingredients. Tu diaaa selamat dah dalam perut, baru dapat tau. My bros siap hirup soup sekali. *slurppp2, buuuurrrppppp, ptuuuuiiiiii2!*

Kowloon's busy roads.

You'd be astonished at the amount of immigrants in HK. Bangladeshis are everywhere, at least I think that's what they are. They could be Pakistanis or Indians but they look pretty much the same to me. And because Muslim women clad in tudungs are probably a rare sight in HK, I became a victim of naughty teasing and whistles. I couldn't believe how forward these men were considering I was with two of my bodyguards. Gila.

Our first night, we walked and heaved through the happening streets of Kimberley and Nathan Road and made our way to Tsim Sha Tsui promenade. Thay have this gorgeous display of outdoor laser and light show that goes on for about 20 minutes beaming lights from skyscrapers in a myriad of colours across the sky alongside synchronized music. Absolutely breathtaking. From the waterfront, you could clearly see Hong Kong Island across the harbour with all its lit up buildings....

By the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront overlooking Hong Kong Island.

Skyscrapers in Hong Kong Island at night from the waterfront. This is not the light and laser show mind you.

Emm, more cool bros?

Bruce Lee forever remembered and immortalized on Avenue of the Stars.

'Avenue of the Stars' is the equivalent of the 'Hollywood Walk of Fame' in Hong Kong. Names like Jet Li, Wong Kar Wai and Bruce Lee have stars or handprints stamped on the grounds of this avenue.

On Me & More Me!

2007-06-06T14:16:00.000+08:00

Tagged by LaiLy a month ago! Sorry for the long wait babes so here goes...

1) Describe the perfect man in your own words.
My perfect man not only has to be intellectual but he also has to be wise in his actions and thinkings. I believe intelligence is something a lot of men have but a man with wisdom is rare. Most importantly, he has to be a humble man of God who takes responsibility and leadership very seriously. At the same time, I like my man with a big sense of humour, who would pick me up when I'm down and who'd make me smile just by looking at him (you can sue me now).

2) Most treasured moment(s).
I have quite a number of treasured moments but to generalize it, my most treasured were my childhood years. That's something I'll forever hold on to. Nostalgically, I believe I'm blessed with a very good memory of my mentally captured pictures from growing up. I remember the barbecues we had and the guests we called during hot summer days in Paris (remember that Kai?). Life was so carefree we didn't even have to count the calory intake and kilos gained.

I remember my gymnastic shows and how we awed our audience (now I have lower back pain so jangan harapla aku nak buat demo, tapi cartwheel boleh lagi). Then there's also the karate tournaments (of which I always brought home a mere silver losing to my no.1 rival Nigerian girl, Annie Kalala -- haha ingat lagi!) and the class trip to puppet shows we all laughed to. I also remember the excitement of Bake Sales and Book Sales and how it frustrated me that my mom would only give me 6 French Francs for Bake Sales when I wanted to buy so much. Hahah. Book Sales were the greatest. I looked forward to it every year.

Then there's the road trips my family and I took to Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, London etc. and how we'd stop on the roadside for lunch with our packed meals of sardines and sambals. I also recollect the time when on a skiing trip my dad's car got stuck in the slippery ice and we had to get the tyres chained before we could proceed. Then there's also the blizzard in winter and my dad could hardly see the road but we tailed behind a truck and got to our destination safely.

Ahhh banyak lagi.

Obtaining 8A's for PMR was a treasured moment too but the fame and moolahs it came with didn't last very long. Haha.

3) Childhood hero or heroin.
My childhood hero was Big Bird from Sesame Street. Hahaha. I mean really, Big Bird is huge and the fact that I looked up to him (assuming it's a him, helllloooo... big 'bird'?), he became my hero. I also grew up watching MASK and Transformers. If you're familiar with MASK, I even had the sought after Manta purple car. Spaceship semua ada, don't play-play.

4) Childhood dreams.
I wanted to go to Legoland. Because I had already gone to EuroDisney as a kid, berangan nak pergi Legoland in Denmark pulak. Still tak pergi-pergi lagi.

5) Ideal friend or partner.
Someone who's hilarious as well as very accepting of my blatant honesty and wouldn't care if I turned 10 shades darker and gained an extra 50 kilos.

6) Ideal evening.
A buffet of a splendid spread of international food with a band playing in the background with people (my family or close friends) who are of equivalent gourmet connoisseurs.

7) Nobody knows that I am…
... cute. Really, people think I'm pretty. Hahah. You know I'm kidding!

Nobody knows that I am short-tempered when it comes to having petty stuff in order but I'm laidback with big stuff on the whole. Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand that -- nobody is supposed to know, remember? =p

One more, nobody knows that I secretly wanna do fashion designing and study at the prestigious Parsons School of Design! Huwarghhh! I wish I could design fashionable apparels for muslimahs.

8) Biggest regret.
Speaking of regrets, I feel like belting out Frank Sinatra's 'My Way'.

Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

So far, I don't have major regrets I can't forgive myself for. I gracefully move on.

9) My advice to mum.
Mak, sila jaga kesihatan. Jangan asik minum Nescafe pagi petang. Pastu kalau pegi jalan-jalan tu, tolonggglah bawak balik ole-ole yang best. Designer bag ke, best jugak.

10) My advice to dad.
When are you gonna stop smoking? I know you work hard but please take a break once in a while. A family trip to Legoland would be good.

11) My advice to friends.
Where the hey are you people? I'm on hols okay! Let's chill over coffee.

12) My biggest fear.
To lose my loved ones, to disappoint them in any way. Takut jadi andartu bleh tak? Kalau jadi andartu, I'll do the next big thing, adopt a kid like the current IT thing to do now with celebrities. Hahah. And like many, I'm also afraid of not pleasing Him enough.

13) My biggest lie.
Hmm, I'm having a hard time with this one because I don't usually lie. Cewah!

14) What I don’t like about people/friends.
I can't stand people who constantly need to prove they are better than others. More popular, smarter whatever jack they have to prove. If you are all that, people will acknowledge to that fact and respect you for it but once you start strutting your stuff boasting you're all that... that's just plain annoying. Well tengok orang jugaklah, for some people no matter how much they boast, you know they're just being honest and not being cocky.

I also do not like people who have a beef with others and expect others to be on it with them. Downright shallow.

Last but not least, people with no respect to people's belongings and feel the need to constantly lie about something. Yang ni aku marah betul!

15) Superstitions.
I'm with LaiLy on this, I believe in karma too. Life indeed is a vicious cycle, you can never be too sure where you stand.

16) People like me because….
I'm very honest with my perceptions and I speak my mind. You either like me or hate me. Huahuahua. Other than that, I oso dunnolah how people put up with me. Maybe because I'm cool. Yeahhhhhh!!!!!!

I'm tagging Kai , Apples and Kak Azrina who hasn't updated her blog in eons!

Prior to Exams

2007-06-05T20:19:00.000+08:00

It's been close to a month since my last update. I've been itching to write an entry but time unfortunately hasn't been on my side. I also got sick of looking at my chubby self everytime I logged on to my blog. With exams lining up, a house that caught on fire and then my trip to Hong Kong with sibs, I have quite a tale to enlighten you with. And Laily dearest, I will get to doing your tag realllll sooon, I promise!

To start of with my first story, I drove home happily after completing my first paper and planned to study for the rest of the week before the upcoming exam rampage. I had 4 exams lined up in 4 days and I was struggling to manage studying all 4 of 'em without forgetting one while I studied the other. To cut the story short, during one of my burning the midnight oil sessions just a night prior to my next paper and everyone else had just gone to bed, the lights started to flicker while I was grossly immersed in my notes. I shrugged it off as seconds later, it was back to normal. Then all of a sudden the fans somehow began to spin faster than it should while the lights shone more brightly than normal. The TV switched off on its own. How scary is that? It was almost like there was an entity roaming around. The peak of it all struck when the switches were crazily going up and down on its own, as if someone stood there and flicked the switches in the fuse box. I was more concerned of an occurring short-circuitry rather than some ghostly figure materializing.

Up to that point, I had to knock on my parents' bedroom door and hurriedly told them what was going on. Not long after that, the whole house turned into utter blackness and while my mom and I were sitting on the stairs while my dad checked on everything outside, a 'pop' sound was heard and eventually we found out that it came for the A/C in my room. The fuse 'popped' and my A/C went kapooot. A fire broke out near one of our spotlights right below the roof and you should have seen the urgency and fear in my mom when we rushed off to my little brothers' room to wake them up to get them outside. It was kinda scary seeing her like that. I was amazingly calm, maybe because I knew my father was around and that he'd take care of everything. My brother during his early waking totally clueless to the whole hullabaloo asked,

"Eh apsal ni, apsal ni!?" much to his annoyance of waking him up from his deep slumber. Two fire trucks had made their way up to our house and it was insanely surreal that we would ever need firemen in our abode. By then the fire had already been wiped out, it crossed my mind to capture a picture of the fire but karang kena marah pulak orang sibuk-sibuk nak padamkan api, dia nak amik gambar pulak!

The aftermath.

Luckily my dad was quick to spot the fire before it had a chance to spread. So a note to my dear friends out there, please have a fire extinguisher handy at home in case of such emergency. We have 3 at home so that was pretty useful eventhough we only needed one then. It was a while before we could sleep on it. My mom and I ended up retiring to bed at almost 3a.m eventhough it all happened a little after midnight. My dad and some guards remained outside on standby just in case. My studying too of course had to be postponed. All is well though and as predicted there was some circuitry problem but that too was settled by the efficient TNB people as soon as the fire subsided.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I wasn't up studying... *shudders*

Of Books and Old Friends

2007-05-07T09:34:00.000+08:00

Last Sat, I met up with an old schoolmate cum sleepover cum gymnastics cum childhood buddy from our days in the city of love, Paris. It was so good to be able to see Kai again and catch up on things as if the whole span of years between our childhood days that seperated us until today never existed. There were no awkward moments, almost like we met on a frequent basis. Truth be told, the last time we actually had a proper chat and hung out... is probably close to nil.

Please ignore my insanely chubby cheeks!

I promised to meet her a little after Zuhur and while wating for me, she went off to have a pedicure. We then scurried off to tend to our growling tummies at Marché (they have the best mushroom soup by the way). It was surprisingly refreshing talking about the ongoings of our pathetic lives (yea, am being dramatic again) and how everything has taken a major turn ever since those days. We had drinks at two different places after that, punyalah bercakap tak ingat dunia! We walked around so much that our feet had started to hurt to the point of tak-sanggup-jalan-lagi from the wedge and heels we were both wearing. In the end, Kai and I bought a pair of flats each just so we could walk more, boleh? But it was all good. We hugged and kissed and promised to keep in touch and have food sessions more often.

Kai in white baju kurung and me in pink during some show back in '92.

I now have an almost hip-length pile of books I have yet to read. After Kai left, I paid Borders a visit and fell into temptation with the 3 for 2 books. It's crazy but I just need to find the time to read and stop buying! My lack of reading has taken its toll on my limited choice of vocabulary and I keep finding myself struggling to find the right word and from using redundant words.

3 books for the price of 2! What? You don't have Borders nearby? Too bad! Hahah.

I bought 'Sweetness in the Belly' by Camilla Gibbs after reading Dato' Seri Sh4hriz4t's excellent book review on it. A few days ago, I also purchased Din4 Z4m4n's latest release 'I Am Muslim'. I was accompanying a friend to UM's Pekanbuku Bookstore and came across the book at RM3 cheaper than retail price! I obviously couldn't help myself.

I'm quarter through DZ's book and it has proven to be quite a fascinating and delightful read so far. I will have to put it down for a bit until exams are over at least.

Less than half of the yet-to-read collection (notice how some of them are still wrapped in plastic?).

Something you don't know about me:
I have never read a chic lit. Does that make me less of a chic? Hahaha! Maybe I'll make a start with the Shopaholic Series or Cecelia Ahern's books someday. Any other recommendations? Obviously when I'm done with the load I have to finish that is!

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. --Charles W. Eliot

Behind Closed Doors

2007-04-23T11:27:00.000+08:00

Pasted in front of my lil brothers' bedroom door...

Now what kind of a war zone do I live in?

After a girl is grown, her little brothers - now her protectors - seem like big brothers. --Astrid Alauda

I'm Malay and Malaysian and Bloody Darn Proud Of It!

2007-04-15T00:17:00.000+08:00

A few days ago, my friend and I were having this conversation about how atrocious customer service is in upscale designer boutiques(by that I mean not all) and how they tend to make this misconception that only celebrities and mat saleh's can afford such opulence. He was telling me about walking into this store with his fiancée with the intention of scouting for potential wedding gifts in one of the most affluent boutiques in the heart of KL.

Him: Ko tau, aku masuk la butik P* (bukan nama sebenar) nak tengok-tengok la handbag dengan tunang aku. Pastu aku angkat satu bag ni nak belek, ko tau salesgirl tu cakap apa? Dengan terkocoh-kocohnya dia datang berlari kat aku cakap, "Excuse me please don't touch!"

Me: Mengarut, dah tuh kalau ko nak beli boleh tengok je la?

Him: Itu ah dia, macam jijik sangat je aku ni nak handle bag dia pun takleh. Mat saleh masuk terus layan. Aku dengan tunang aku dia buat bodoh je. Ingat aku takde duit ke? Aku boleh beli laaaaaaa!

Me: Alahh, mat saleh masuk pakai kaftan dengan selipar jepun pun dia layan.

Him: Menyirap betul aku. Walapun aku masuk kedai tu pakai shorts, tapi aku pakai collared shirt tau and kasut aku mahal ok!

Me: Hahahahhahaha!

Part last tu memang I kenot tahanla. I'm not sure about the rest of you but this is a very common scene. At the risk of sounding racist, it normally happens with ca ya nun alif salesgirls. There are however some exclusive stores that offer great customer service like C*, F*, CH* (bukan nama sebenar).

Last week in the same department store, I casually strolled into boutique S* (juga bukan nama sebenar) hoping I could get a little something for my mother. The salesgirl was superb, tended to my needs well and was amazingly patient while I decided on what to purchase. Great service is when the item you want is no more in store and the salesperson makes an effort to call up the other branch to check if item is still available for you. If they don't offer to do that, request!

Anyways, because I spoke English with her throughout our conversation with absolutely no hint of Manglish to indicate I'm very much Malaysian which I'm able to pull off pretty well I might say, thank you very much(bagi good impression la sket kan, karang dia tak layan aku plak!) she actually had doubts despite my looking very Malay and curiously cleared her doubts by asking whether I was really of local origin or not. Hahah. Mission accomplished!

Aku dah agak kau stereotype aku! Apa? Ingat orang kaya Brunei je ke bleh masuk and beli barang kat kedai hang? Cett pooodahhh!

If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it's just a drunk. If a Negro does, it's the whole damn Negro race. --Bill Cosby

Seminit Dalam Hidup Miss Silver Lining

2007-04-11T11:49:00.000+08:00

Tacky title don't you think? After a few hundred entries, well... you get what I'm saying.

You know how we like to sakat people who are most likely to have a response? The ones that'll get all defensive and try their hardest to prove you wrong? Well if you're one of those, then stop asking 'why me?'. It IS you. We don't mean to be cruel but... it's just that there's an inexplicable joy in watching your reflex working it. Heheh.

My youngest brother is like that. And we all like to pester him just to see how he reacts and what he responds. Cracks me up all the time. Kalau dia nangis lagi kelakar. Hahahah. I know I'm mean but that's what big sisters are for, to toughen up your brothers kasi macho sikit, lagi-lagi the young and spoilt tu.

He also hates to be smothered with kisses. Which is what I like to chase him for.

One fine day, I decided to pin him, face down and hiss,
"I shall kisss youuuuuuuuuu!!"

And the poor kid tries hard with all his might to break free. Then the older by a year brother in his attempt to save the little bro from the mean sister climbs on my back, tickles my neck(coz that's my weak point) and retorts,
"I shall killl youuuuuuuuu!"

However the lil kiddo who is by now still armless, pinned face down butt up decides in all his glory in his limited defense to release... a foul smelling gas from you-know-where...

Who gets the last laugh? Definitely not me this time...

... but this kiddo.