17 February 2008
Over the past seven days, I have seen 3 movies - Atonement, I Am Legend and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
I must say, I like all 3 of them and would recommend them to friends and colleagues.
Note: Description below is from Yahoo! Movies
Atonement (My rating: B+)
In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony's vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony's headstrong older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley).
Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony - who has a crush on Robbie - is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested - and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement, and to an understanding of the power of enduring love.
I Am Legend (My Rating: B-)
Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable...and manmade. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City...and maybe the world. But he is not alone. He is surrounded by "the Infected"--victims of the plague who have mutated into carnivorous beings who can only exist in the dark and who will devour or infect anyone or anything in their path.
For three years, Neville has spent his days scavenging for food and supplies and faithfully sending out radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. All the while, the Infected lurk in the shadows, watching Neville's every move, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But his blood is also what The Infected hunt, and Neville knows he is outnumbered and quickly running out of time.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (My Rating: B)
Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Queen Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II -- with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada -- determined to restore England to Catholicism.
Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Sir Walter Raleigh. But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country. Unable and unwilling to pursue her love, Elizabeth encourages her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess, to befriend Raleigh to keep him near. But this strategy forces Elizabeth to observe their growing intimacy.
As she charts her course abroad, her trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham, continues his masterful puppetry of Elizabeth's court at home -- and her campaign to solidify absolute power. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth's own cousin Mary Stuart, he unknowingly sets England up for destruction.
15 February 2008
For the past 1 week, life has been hectic... more hectic than usual mainly attributed to the fact that I was away from office last week for quite a long break. Since then, banyaklah meetings attended, assignments yang kena diselesaikan, letters that had to be cleared, etc. I had also attended a majlis doa selamat and organised a luncheon at TGIF, the Pavilion for my badminton gang and met up with friends yang dah lama tak jumpa. I just cannot comprehend how next February (2009) gonna be like as it is going to be the busiest time of my career (I'll update on this later). As at now, I just hope I can remain afloat and continue to strive to be more effective in my day to day job.
Hmm...apa lagi? Oh ya... 3 days ago, I took a cab home. The cabbie yang merupakan a 62-year old Chinese guy tetiba handed over to me a pile of Malay lyrics and suruh aku explain maksud some of the paragraphs... Terkejut beruk aku!! Menurutnya, dia pernah bercinta dengan awek Melayu 20 years ago, tapi awek tu tinggalkan dia and dah kahwin dengan lelaki lain. Since then, he has been singing lagu2 putus cinta Melayu ni. Tanpa segan silu, dengan tangan digenggam macam microfon, dia menyanyi dalam taxi tu... Ya Allah... tak sedap langsung dan sangat pelat. Dah le tu, ada hati cakap dia pandai nyanyi... and ke mana saja dia pergi org akan suruh dia nyanyi. Siap cakap lagi yang dia tak suka nyanyi kat karaoke centre sebab tempat tu tertutup, he prefers open air sebab ramai boleh hargai bakat dia... nak pengsan aku dengar! Ha ha.. nasib baik lah perjalanan ke rumah tak lama sangat... kesian kat aku. :-p
Nota kaki: Some people are just biadap...
6 February 2008
Percutian ke Kuala Terengganu (KT) ni dah lama dirancang oleh aku, MZAG and HA. Ianya juga merupakan percutian 'farewell' untuk HA yang akan berangkat ke Sydney seminggu saja lagi. Setelah terpaksa ditangguh beberapa kali (as all of us on many occasions had conflicting commitments), this time around we managed to make the necessary arrangements i.e. ambik cuti and make reservation untuk menginap di resort pantai Batu Burok.
So, on 1 February 2008, aku dan HA bertolak ke KT. Initially, we wanted to leave as early as possible... tapi last minute, aku minta tukar plan sebab tak sanggup nak bangun too early. MZAG and family dah bertolak ke KT sehari awal sebab ada urusan keluarga. Finally, dalam pukul 12 tengah hari baru bertolak. Jalan jam teruk. Nak keluar dari Pandan Indah pun, took us more than 1/2 jam.
After that bad traffic, we were able to cruise away from KL. Tak sampai pun 1/2 jam, perut pun dah berbunyi-bunyi. Nasib baik aku dah breakfast kat LRT Corner pagi tadi....kalau tak sure masuk angin nyerr...There was this one restaurant by the name of D'Paya Serai Restaurant (or something like that). Nampak macam best jerr... So, we made our first pit stop there for lunch. Banyak lauk pauk kat situ, tapi rasa ok-ok saje. Along the way, banyak kali gak le berhenti... mainly sebab nak pegi restroom..hehe. As we exited the highway somewhere not too far from Cherating, aku dapat rasakan suasana yang berbeza... yelah, dah lama aku tak datang to this part of the world. Dengan pokok nyiur yg bersusun-susun di sepanjang pantai.... kampung2 nelayan, semuanya nampak so tradititional and well kept. MZAG dah beberapa kali SMS tanya bila nak sampai.... sedangkan aku dan HA dah plan nak detour ke Dungun. Oh well! si HA yg nak sangat ke Dungun... maklumlah, tempat jatuh lagikan dikenang, inikan pula tempat 'bermain'.Sampai di Dungun, terus kitaorang menuju ke UiTM. Nasib baik pakcik guard was kind enough to allow us to drive around the campus. HA showed me his old dormitory yg now dah jadi asrama siswi. After tawaf satu campus, we went to the beach side, pekena kopi and makan cucur. It was quite breezy that afternoon. Memang best.
Sampai KT dah dekat Maghrib. Salah masuk simpang plak... tergendala lagi 10 minit. Luckily MZAG dah ada kat resort, so tak payah lah nak check in and all.
Makan-Makan
This is what I like most about KT.... makan. Nasi Dagang is my favorite and of course, anything yang takde kat KL is worth trying.
We had a lovely dinner at Medan Ikan Bakar (near Cendering rasanya). It was nice, except tak banyak pilihan sangat...ketam and udang takde. We ordered 2 ikan, squid, tomyam, sayur and nasi. It was nice.... but I still prefer Bagan Lalang. Malam kedua, aku ponteng dinner sebab too stuffed from makan-makan earlier that day.
Breakfast has always been my favorite kalau kat KT. The main mission in the morning was to have 'nasi dagang for' breakfast. MZAG introduced us to this small restaurant by the roadside somewehere near Cendering... and my oh my! it was the best! Tiap-tiap hari pegi situ and mesti datang lagi!
Selain tu, MZAG bawa lunch kat somewhere tepi pantai. Not really lunch larr...more like afternoon snack. Makan seafood goreng tepung...ikan, prawn, squid. Quite nice... ada awek cun plak sebelah meja... On our last day there, aku and HA had lunch dengan friends kat a restaurant near China town. Salah sorang dari mereka is a famous pengacara whom I've known for a number of years now.
Other than that, we also had our afternoon tea kat pantai Batu Burok, at one of the famous restaurants there. Makanan pun sedap.
Shopping
Aku dgn HA ke Noor Arfa Batek (NAB). NAB now has a new complex and it seems more organised. Sempat lah aku membeli beberapa helai batek for myself and friends.
Lepas NAB, aku, HA and MZAG ke Pasar Payang pula. MZAG introduced us kat kedai kawan dia, so dapat special discounts. Naik juling biji mata dengan pilihan yang ada. Banyak gak membeli untuk my lady friends. Unfortunately, takde kain batik untuk aku buat baju..... sekian
Selain itu MZAG bawa pergi ke kedai kawan dia kat town. Jual batik gak. 
But I was more interested melihat barang-barang tembaga yang dijual. Mainly barang-barang traditional Melayu macam gobek pinang, gong,, tepak sirih, etc.
Other activities
Selain dari makan and shopping, banyak masa di habiskan dengan lepak. Kalau tak pergi pulau-pulau ni, nothing much to do lah kat sini. We drove passed by perkampungan Hadhari on the way to the airport. Mulanya, aku plan nak sambung cuti kat KT and therefore kena balik KL naik flight. Tapi, rasa boring plak, so I decided to follow HA balik ke KL.
One thing that I noticed kat KT ni, banyak betul infrastructure development. Masjid baru pun banyak...I just hope masjid-masjid ni memang digunakan lah and not just for show. Masjid Putih kat tengah town tu memang cantik...
I must say, I had fun in KT... maybe next time, aku nak pergi pulau-pulau pulak.
Next trip! To visit HA in Sydney
28 January 2008
Tak pernah aku mimpi nak ke Rompin... Yelah, aku ni orang Perlis; so takde sedara mara kat sana. Ex-housemate aku adalah yang berasal from there. Tup-tup minggu ni, aku diminta ke Rompin on official duty. Nak menolak pun tak sampai hati coz memang takde sape yang free to go and it just so happened yang aku pulak takde plan that weekend (err.. takde major plan... sebenonye aku patut clearkan office lama aku so that my replacement could move in).
Dipendekkan cerita, aku pun bersetuju untuk ke Rompin untuk buat tugasan ni. There were 3 of us, aku, AAAM and RNA. AAAM has kindly agreed to pick me up at my place di pagi Sabtu, 26 Jan. So dalam pukul 9:00 a.m., AAAM pun sampai. Aku dah siap sedia dengan peta memandangkan none of us really know how to get there. We finally decided to also invite HKCS (my ex housemate) memandangkan dia orang Rompin and he would be able to advise on how to get there. HKCS pun bersetuju untuk turut serta. We decided untuk ikut jalan Seremban kemudian melalui Kuala Pilah. Jalan nye quite OK , cuma kat Kuala Pilah tu berselekoh sikit. As we enter Pahang, kiri kanan banyak kelapa sawit jek... and banyak kesan from the recent flood yang melanda this part of the state. Kesian betul ... We made a few stops along the way. Mula-mulanya ingat nak lunch di bandar Muadzam Shah, tapi takde tempat makan yang berkenan (macam ghost town jerr...). Dah dekat nak sampai Rompin baru we stopped for lunch. And of course lah, kat Rompin ni, seafoodnye sangat murah and tak sah le kalau makan takde big prawns dan seafood2 yang lain.
We checked in at Serai di Lanjut dalam pukul 5:00 p.m. (kalau tak silap aku lah). Aku ambik 2 Bedroom Bungalow (Chalet) which costs around RM450 per night. So boleh lah aku and HKCS ambik sorang satu bilik. Bila sampai je ke bungalow tu, punyalah terkejut badak aku dengan keadaan bungalow yang a bit run down dan tak de rupa macam bungalow pun. Macam reban ayam pun ada gak. Sekian...
Takyah le aku ceritakan keadaan di dalam bungalow yang tak berapa bungalow ni... Yang penting telefon pun takde. Hampeh gilerr... memang not worth RM450 langsung. Lepas 1/2 jam meneroka bungalow ni, aku decided untuk cari bilik lain kalau ada. So aku dengan HKCS went back to the reception and minta tukar bilik. Nasib baik ada satu lagi bilik Lanai yang masih kosong. Btw, for your information, kat sini ada 2 types of rooms... pertamanya, bilik hotel resort yang baru di-refurbished dan satu lagi bilik/bungalow jenis chalet yang aku mula2 ambik tu dan yang tak di-refurbished dah 15 tahun. Bilik baru aku yang diberi nama Lanai ni 100 times better than the chalet. Semuanya cantik and in working condition, except for the phone yang tak boleh call room service. Sabotaj betul!!
Dalam pukul 6 p.m. macam tu, Aku, AAAM and HKCS keluar merayau-rayau... Tujuannya nak ke kampung HKCS which is somewhere in between Rompin and Endau. Kampung si HKCS ni kat tepi jalan, so tak le susah nak cari.... comel je kampungnya. So lepas lepak dalam 20 minutes dan HKCS pun melepas rindu kat mak dia, kitaorang pun minta diri nak beredar. Terus we drove to bandar Endau. Hajat di hati nak cari tempat makan. Lepas Maghrib kat masjid di Endau, the 3 of us pun teruskan perjalanan cari tempat makan. Bila aku tanya orang kat situ, semua recommended seafood kat bandar Rompin... lerrr... patah balik sudahnya. So akhirnya, we went back to Rompin. Tempat makan yang popular rupanya terletak di sebelah bus station. We ordered dalam 5 dishes (mainly seafood) and makan sepuas-puasnya. Habislah...naik pulak cholesterol aku ni. Semuanya tak sampai pun RM90.... so murah. Lepas makan, terus balik hotel berehat.
Besoknya, 3 of them nak main golf. Aku nak survey hotel ni, so tak joinlah diaorang. Lagipun malas aku nak bangun pepagi buta. Keesokan paginya, after breakfast, aku berjalan-jalan di sekeliling resort. OK gak la resort ni. Dalam 3 ke 3 1/2 bintang. Lepas diaorang habis golf, we checked out and headed home. Singgah lunch kat a restaurant nearby. RNA and AAAM nak beli udang galah, so we plan to make a stop dekat satu rumah/kedai menjual udang. Tetiba ada anjing hitam melintas, memang tak sempat mengelak... maka terlanggar lah anjing tu and she died on the spot. Ngeri siut and pity that poor dog. Sepanjang perjalanan, aku dok teringat kejadian tu.
This time around, balik ikut Semenyih... jalannya berpusing-pusing sikit for about 1 hour. Nasib baik takde yang muntah. Sampai kat Bukit Ampang, kitaorang singgah kat the Lookout Place untuk minum petang. NIce view lah kat sini, can see the entire of KL. Aku and HKCS ordered dinner. Sebab terlalu lama menunggu dan makanan tak sampai2, aku pun dah naik angin and suruh diaorang tapau je for me to bring home. Sampai rumah dalam pukul 8 malam. Lepas dinner and mandi...zzz... kepenatan siot!!
In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony's vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony's headstrong older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley).
Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable...and manmade. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City...and maybe the world. But he is not alone. He is surrounded by "the Infected"--victims of the plague who have mutated into carnivorous beings who can only exist in the dark and who will devour or infect anyone or anything in their path.
Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Queen Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II -- with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada -- determined to restore England to Catholicism.
