He Who Must Not Be Named

PadaMu ku Bersujud...

2011-10-24T00:21:00.003+08:00

24 Oktober 2011

Hari-hari kebelakangan ini mengajar aku erti kedewasaan. Dari mata seorang sahabat, aku mengenal erti sebuah pengorbanan, erti kekecewaan, erti perjuangan, erti persahabatan dan yang paling penting mengenal semula kebijaksanaan dan kekuasaan Allah s.w.t, Tuhan sekalian alam.

Pengalaman sahabatku telah mengejutkan aku dari kealpaan. Walaupun berbeza pengalaman dan ranjau hidup, aku juga telah alpa daripada memenuhi tuntutanNya akibat keghairahan memenuhi tanggungjawab duniawi, . Hiba bila difikirkan kebijaksanaan yang dikurniakan ini tidak digunakan dengan sebaik-baiknya untuk lebih mendekatiNya.

Namun, aku bersyukur kerana pertolongan Allah ini telah membuka mata ku dengan lebih luas untuk hidup lebih berpaksikan agama Allah. Mungkin transformasi diri yang aku alami ini tidak se-drastik yang aku harapkan, namun ianya merupakan satu langkah ke hadapan buatku.

Dari mata kasar yang memandang, mungkin aku masih seperti diriku yang lama, namun biarlah, itu kata orang. Catatan blog ini bukan bertujuan untuk mempertonton keimanan yang cuma baru sejengkal, ianya sekadar satu rujukan untuk hari tua ku, agar aku sentiasa beringat-ingat.

Untuk sahabatku, aku turut mendoakan agar kau temui jalan yang terbaik buat mu dan kebahagiaan yang engkau cari. Amin.

Looks Like I Have to Bid Farewell to My Blackberry Bold 2

2011-10-10T00:56:00.002+08:00

9 October 2011

It's 1:00 a.m. on 10 October 2011. I'm desperately trying to resuscitate my dying blackberry by performing a restore process. Its screen went blank after I dropped it on a cement floor inside Bora Ombak about an hour ago. Should all efforts fail tonight, I guess my only option is to visit the trusted Uncle Low Yat for his help after office tomorrow

:-)

Yesterday was quite a hectic day. I had badminton in the morning with the usual gang + RS. RS decided to join us to practice for the upcoming tournament that he'll be participating in. I was quite pleasantly surprise to see that RS can actually play. Takde lah superstar, but given the predicament he is in, he is not bad at all. As for me, I certainly hope that I do not have to take part in the tournament this year. I have neither the stamina nor the will ... so fingers crossed!

We were ready for lunch by 1:00 p.m. As KAH was also in town, we decided to get together for lunch. Bumbu Desa seemed like a good choice considering that some of us were starving. We went to the one at the Curve. We ordered quite a lot for the 3 of us to feast on. Post lunch, ke mana lagi if not Starbucks. :-)

(makan tak ingat)

KAH who is recovering from surgery seems to be progressing quite well. That's good news. After coffee and a series of controversial chats that we had, we went back to office before heading home.

At 9:00 p.m, I had another appointment at Bora Ombak with 4 gentlemen, of whom one is a friend of mine. They wanted my advice on an investment opportunity which appeared to be a scam. So, crisis averted!

After the meeting, I decided to stay on and enjoy a glass of 'monkey mocha'. The blackberry incident took place just as I was about to leave Bora Ombak. No regrets, I just have to be careful next time.

At Peace With Myself...

2011-10-08T08:15:00.004+08:00

8 October 2011

I'm blogging again after two years. That's an achievement in itself. But that's not what I want to talk about....

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

I'm blessed! Allah has given me many things in life - that sometimes I feel undeserving of those blessings. While I do work hard for my career, the same cannot be said with regard to my preparation for the hereafter. There has been too much over focus on work - that I have neglected my relationship with God, while at the same time I continue to receive His blessings. It's like receiving gifts without saying thank you. How rude! So something has to change.

As I turned 36 this year, I began to reflect on my past choices and started to ponder the kind of life journey that I would like to have moving forward. While I certainly do not regret past decisions that brought me here, I certainly need to visit some of the outstanding issues put on hold in the past. The issues of life companion, growing old, relationship with God and my contribution back to my family and the society are some of the key agenda that I would like to address in the next few years. Career wise, I will also be undertaking new assignments early next year. Hence a comprehensive personal blueprint/transformation plan is necessary to ensure successful outcomes.

I'm grateful to a friend who is undergoing his own personal transformation (and to God's wisdom) for the many words of wisdom and advice. At last I'm moving in a direction to be at peace with myself to build my own life, a life that I know will not be perfect by any means, but will be based on principles that I uphold and things that matter to me. InsyaAllah, with blessings from Allah, things will be fine. Till next time :-)

My Confession

2009-05-05T22:21:00.002+08:00

5 May 2009

My Confession (Afgan)

your smile brings light into my days
the tought of you ,warms my night
to hold you in my arms ,
even in my dreams it feels so right loving you

you never see the way i look into your eyes
you never realize the love i feel inside
pain and sorrow that haunted me
cause words i've left unsaid to you

now you found someone else to love
deep in my heart, my love won't fade away
to hold you in my arms
even in my dreams it feels so right loving you

I'm Blogging Again (Part 2)

2009-04-04T10:30:00.004+08:00

4 April 2009

I have just arrived in Langkawi, feeling extremely sleepy as I had taken an early morning flight. As it is still quite early, I decided to chill out at the one and only Starbucks in Langkawi here at the airport. The resort is ready for me to check in, but there's no hurry.

So I decided to blog again.

This week has been crazy. My last 2 days (namely Thursday and Friday) were spent doing damage control. I also had the opportunity to interview the nation's brightest who are competing for our scholarships.

Not knowing how Thursday and Friday going to turn out for me, I made reservation at our resort in Langkawi and got my secretary to buy me tickets. Anyway, I need this rest badly :) I intend to spend about 3 1/2 days in Langkawi this time around. I brought along some books to keep me occupied. I can also breath a sigh of relief as I no longer have to travel to Washington D.C this month. My staff will be going instead. I hate traveling to that part of the world mainly coz it takes forever to get there. Their airport procedures can sometimes be quite 'leceh' as well.

I have not really planned my days in Langkawi. The weather seems nice enuf for me to go out and enjoy the many attractions Langkawi has to offer. But before that, I need to complete online assessment for my leadership profiling, submit my assessment for the interviews I conducted on Friday as well as prepare an urgent memo for my boss who is away. There are several follow up actions that need to be taken as well.

It seems as if Langkawi is not too badly affected by the current global economic downturn. Tourist arrival is still encouraging. Considering that this part of the world offers cheaper alternative for holidaymakers, it is encouraging to see 'business-as-usual' kinda environment here at the Langkawi airport. I might be wrong as I've not seen other parts of this Island.

Hmm.. what else. My sister seems to be doing okay in Kinabatangan. Her last sms a few days earlier indicated that she's settling down quite well with her husband. My only worry is the fact that my auntie is quite ill. She suffers a minor stroke and was hospitalised for about 2 weeks. I shall go visit her again once I'm back in KL. I better make a move now. Will write again soon... taaa..

Owh...before that, sebab terlupa bawa sunglasses, I bought this new Oakley pair at the Langkawi airport. I must say, I like it!

I'm Blogging Again (Part 1)

2009-03-10T00:20:00.004+08:00

10 March 2009

It has been almost 3 months since I last updated my blog. My sister got married, I went on a solo hideout (naah... just short vacations) in Penang and Langkawi, my company had great success with our 50th anniversary events and above all, my life is now back to NORMAL again. Yeay!!

My sister who found her soul mate while in college finally tied a knot on her birthday last December. The whole wedding ceremony was simple and short. Of course I was there to lend my support. Kalau tak pergi, jadi buah mulut pulak nanti. Lagipun, I was the main sponsor.

After the wedding, my cousins and I went to lepak in Penang for a few days. Of course my main intention was to shop at the Zurina's. Spent about 4k there over a period of 2 days.

shopping tak ingat

tempat menginap

always at Gurney Plaza

I was busy the whole month of January preparing for our 50th anniversary events. I was practically in the office everyday from 9:30 a.m. to past midnight. On many days, I was working all the way until 3 a.m. I got so stressed out that I escaped to Langkawi over the Chinese New Year break. Thank God that everything went well as planned with only minor hiccups. I just hope that these kind of events only happens once every 50 years, coz it's a killer!! LOL

Office Improvement!

2008-12-06T21:11:00.004+08:00

21 December 2008

Over the past few weeks, I have been making minor physical improvements to my office to make it cozy. I have purchased a number of warm lights and 'fake' plants, cleaned up my office and most importantly, replaced my 17-inch monitor with a whopping 32-inch LG Scarlet. Wallaa.... everything seems much better now. :)

The Redang Excursion

2008-10-20T00:02:00.006+08:00

End August 2008

One week before Puasa, a group of us went to Redang Island to just get away from office and break away from the hustle-bustle of city life. I just wanted to rest. This trip was partly sponsored by the Persatuan. So it was very cheap.

We left KL on Thursday night by bus to Kuala Terengganu (KT). There were 30 of us altogether. So, memang lerr kecoh. Ramai yang aku tak kenal, but tentu dapat berkenalan nanti. Selepas subuh dan breakfast di KT, kitaorang naik bot ke Redang.

(waktu kat jetty tunggu boat)

Waktu sampai kat jetty, memula aku dah excited sebab nampak boat yg grand...alih2, naik boat kecik je. Hampeh!

(I dah berangan nak naik boat ni)

Dah le tu, boat tu pulak cakap for '12 passengers' only...walaupun dalam boat tu dah sumbat all 30 of us. (all 12 of us :-p)

Aku punya life jacket plak, punyalah kecik....nak zip pun tak boleh. So tawakal je lah. Nasib le perjalanan dari KT jetty to Redang kejap je. Fuuh! legaa.

We stayed at RedangKalong Resort. Quite OK lah resort ni. Aku tak le kekwat sangat, as long as ada proper and working toilet and shower. Aku dapat bilik sea front. Memang best. Nice view lagi. I was sharing with Sharil.

(santai depan bilik.. cuak gak takut kelapa jatuh :)

(right in front of our room... nice view)

Sepanjang 3 hari di sini, there were 3 snorkeling trips scheduled, plus ada team building activity. Disebelah malam nya pulak mainly activity bebas. I had my own plan. Instead of going on the snorkeling trips, I was busy snore-keling on my bed. Bongkang memanjang. Whenever, we have free time together, asyik main charade je. Kelakar gilerr... some were x-rated. Ha ha. Teambuilding activity pun best, habis pasir satu badan.

(cute squirrel)

(next door resort yang lebih grand)

(with nicer beach... damn!)

But no regrets larr...dah lama tak buat benda2 cam ni. We left early on Sunday and lepak KT disebelah petang. Aku, Sue, Diba, Liza and kawannya si Diba (merangkap tour guide) sempat pergi ke Noor Arfah, Pasar Payang, Pantai Batu Burok and makan nasi dagang. Memang berbaloi.

(till next time)

I will definitely come back again!

I was just Happy to Help!

2008-10-19T23:45:00.002+08:00

August 2008

I have a friend whose husband was suffering from hearing problem. He needed to undergo an operation soon enough before things get worse. Under our company policy, his operation would be covered by us. However, our human resource department had taken sometime to process his application for this procedure. So I had to intervene to expedite the process (while, of course, ensuring that we follow proper governance and procedure).

He is better now. And my friend sent me these lovely cupcakes to say thanks. How sweet and thoughtful. Thank you dear... you don't have to. The cupcakes were fabulous by the way :)

I'm Blogging Again

2008-10-19T01:19:00.003+08:00

18 October 2008

Yes.. It's true! I'm blogging again after almost 3 month-break. I have been very much occupied for the past 3 months with work and other personal activities. My sister is getting married end of this year. That's a good news. At least one of us, hopefully, will start a family pretty soon. There are so many things to update. I promised myself that I will find time to do so. I also now have a facebook account. Must keep up with evolution in communication technology lah kan...

I'll be writing more soon.... till then... ta ta.

Lunch with 'Aunties'

2008-07-31T23:02:00.005+08:00

30 July 2008

I had lunch with my aunties today. Five of them altogether. Oh! they are neither sisters to my father or mother, nor the wives of my uncles. They represent a select group of women in our lives. In Malay term, they are known as 'makcik-makcik'.

'Makcik-makcik' as popularly known, have special characteristics associated with them. They normally wear tudung and baju kurung to office and are known to be the best reporter in town - even though the accuracy of news reported can sometimes be challenged :-p. Their baju kurung glitters under the sunlight, and with additional and right accessories, this office attire can be magnificently transformed into baju kenduri. 'Makcik-makcik' are excellent at multi-tasking and at any given time, can perform at least 2 tasks or more.

This is the story of my 'aunties'. We used to work together in the same department a few years back. From time to time, we get together to share news and update each other on personal development. This time around, I decided to treat my aunties for lunch at Sari Ratu. As I don't drive, one of them had volunteer to drive. Unfortunately, she was on MC today. So, another auntie quickly stepped in as a replacement driver. And so, the rombongan to Sari Ratu masih berjalan as planned.

When the 'makcik-makcik' get together (the correct Malay term is bersidang), you must be quick on your toes to capture the relevant information, as information flows freely and rapidly from one makcik to another. Today, I learnt so much about work-life issues including pregnancy issues, customer service issues, preparation for umrah, managing household as well as taking care of the beloved ones. Of course, a discussion about other aunties who are not part of this 'persidangan' has always been in the agenda...ha ha.....

To me, 'makcik-makcik' provide me with free marriage counseling/therapy, without having to really be married. Such session has both entertainment and educational values.

Today, we ordered a lot of food. We had two 'hidang' of lauk and really enjoyed each other's company. Long live my 'aunties'. We shall do this again soon....

The Dark Knight

2008-07-27T01:32:00.006+08:00

27 July 2008

I'm so tired today. I don't feel like doing anything at all. Mainly sebab I had an action-packed day on Saturday. I think I broke my own record sebab aku ambik taxi sampai 6 kali in one day.

Pepagi lagi aku dah ke office sebab ada badminton at 10 a.m. Yang main geng2 biasalah, 5 of us kesemuanya. Habis badminton, kelam kabut aku mandi and bersiap sebab I have another appointment at 1:00 p.m. Nasib baik kat Gym masih ada air, sebab ada announcement cakap ada gangguan bekalan air on Saturday. Risau je aku, kot-kot lah tengah mandi buih segala....tetiba air takde... mampuih!

Pukul 12:45 pm aku dah terpacak kat Sogo. Ada appointment kat Clarins. Metrosexual kan...so aku ada appointment buat facial lah. 3 minggu sekali. Lagipun, my products pun dah nak habis, so kena beli baru. Belum sempat habis facial, one of my girl friends (girl friend yerr...bukan girlfriend!) called. Dia tanya aku kat mana... aku yang jujur ni bagitau lah yang aku tengah buat facial kat Sogo. She said, " Aiyo...pondan lah kau ni buat facial". Damn this woman. Nak tergelak pun ada, hangin pun ada.... Ke situ plak perginya. I told her that she is sooooo behind time lah....heh heh.

After Clarins, bergegas pulak aku ke City Square.

I had lunch at the Malayan Aromas. Punyalah TAK sedap nasi lemak dia. Kari ayam dia rasa macam air basuh tangan (not that aku pernah rasa air basuh tangan... andaian jek) Hampeh. Nasib baik karipap RM3 sebiji dengan White Coffee dia tu sedap. Kalau tak, memang lah menyesal. Lepas beli apa yang patut... aku ambik taxi ke KLCC plak. Aku nak cari jeans baru... tapi macam takde yang berkenan. I bought t-shirts from M&S, then gegas balik (naik taxi lagi).

Lepas Maghrib, gegas ke the Curve sebab dah janji dengan 3 orang kawan nak dinner and tengok movie. Sampai je kat the Curve, terserempak dengan my colleagues. Nasib baik tak pergi dating kat situ...kantoi nanti. I found this one jeans yang agak ranggi kat Nike Store... terus beli. Ala2 hip-hop lah sikit.... but I like. Sorang member aku sudah sangkut dalam jam. Hasrat nak gi dinner kat Bubba Gump terpaksa dibatalkan. We just had a quick dinner at one of the Kopitiams sebab nak cepat. Movie starts at 9:45 p.m. And for those who know me, they can vouch yang aku ni pantang kalau orang lambat bila pegi tengok movie. Nasib baik harini takde yang lambat.

Hari ni is the first time aku tengok movie kat Cine Leisure Damansara ni. I told my friend to get us the best tickets available there. So, dia dah beli tickets The Dark Knight for 4 of us untuk ditonton at the Platinum movie suites.

I like the ambience, macam business/first class MAS. Sah le, lepas ni aku akan datang sini jerr kalau nak tengok movies.

With nice velvety reclining chairs, I was in movie heaven. Nasib baik aku tak zzzz terus. The Dark Knight memang best. Better than most movies this year. I love the Joker the most...no joke okay! Tengoklah, kalau rajin I'll write about it. Sampai rumah dah pukul 1 a.m. lebih. Letih!

"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"

Burning the Midnight Oil

2008-07-25T11:20:00.000+08:00

25 July 2008

This week has been quite hectic... once again. We had been planning for a major press conference on Thursday. So, I spent many nights in the office prior to the event to ensure that everything will go as planned. On Wednesday night, a number of us stayed back until 2:00 a.m. Penat gilerr.... Anyhow, I believe in doing things whole-heartedly. So staying back this late is not really a problem other than I'll be too damn sleepy the next day.

The event went well. Or so it seems. Tapi ada lah jugak incidents2 yang berlaku yang tak dapat aku nak cerita kat sini.

Friday was not too bad. Business as usual. We had our own Star Search singing competition after Maghrib. I was pleasantly surprise to see new talented faces taking part in the competition this year. Dah 2 tahun aku tak masuk.... rasa macam veteran dah. Tengoklah kalau terbuka hati nak masuk in the future... ha ha. Aku balik awal coz I had another appointment, so tak sempat nak tengok the last contestant. To those who have won... Congrats!!
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Burning the midnight oil
Meaning: To work late into the night. Originally this was by the light of an oil lamp or candle. More recently, the phrase is used figuratively, alluding back its use before electric lighting.

Food Indulgence

2008-07-19T14:25:00.006+08:00

20 July 2008

A childhood friend ajak aku melepak malam ni. Dah lama aku tak buat kerja melepak kedai kopi ni, sekali sekala boleh lah terima undangan sebegini. Location -- Desa Pandan. Memang lah aku tak pernah lepak kat kawasan ni. Setakat lalu nearby Menara Polo tu adalah. My friend recommended char kuey teow kat situ. OK lah, quite nice and we stayed sampai midnight.

These recent few weeks ni, asyik makan jerrr.... Ye lah, aku memang tak masak langsung, so memang everyday makan kat luar.

Last week, 2 kali aku kat Marche. On Saturday, lepas badminton, aku had lunch dengan Aman there memandangkan rumah dia just nearby.

-Marche Movenpick-

Midweek aku pegi lagi dengan colleagues for lunch. Dah jadi macam ritual pulak, everytime I go to IKEA or the Curve aku akan lepak kat Marche.

Ada one afternoon tu, aku and colleagues had lunch kat the Coliseum. Dia punya T-Bone Steak memanglah excellent. Aku 110% sure fattening gilerr... haha

-Coliseum-

Another eating place yang aku frequent quite often these days is Sari Ratu kat Ampang Waterfront. Sari Ratu serves excellent Indon food, nasi padang style to be exact.

-Sari Ratu-

This is where aku and KKY selalu lepak for dinner. Selalunya lebih dari sekali seminggu. Kengkadang aku and KKY ke Kg Baru for Nasi Lemak. Other than that, I can be found at either Bora Ombak or Kopitiam. Kalau dah malas sangat nak keluar, then aku just have dinner kat LRT Corner.

Lunch pulak, takde tempat yang tentu kecuali Tuesday. Tuesday di Ayam Kampung Veledrome Cheras. Other than that, I'm quite flexible... makan kat office, ikan bakar, hartamas, ataupun somewhere near Sogo. Ikut angin selalunya...

Effective August 1st ni, I'll start my Herbalife regime. I month supply costs me RM600++. So tengokle ada perubahan ke tak, and whether there will be significant change in my dietary habit. Takut takde perubahan jek. Sekian.

Hanya Kau Yang Mampu

2008-07-13T20:24:00.004+08:00

12 July 2008

I can relate to this song...

Hanya Kau Yang Mampu

-Aizat -

Ku cuba redakan relung hati,
Bayangmu yang berlalu pergi,
Terlukis di dalam kenangan,
Bebas bermain di hatiku….

Cerita tentang masa lalu,
Cerita tentang kau dan aku,
Kini tinggal hanya kenangan,
Kau abadi di dalam hatiku….

Harusnya takkan ku biarkan kau pergi,
Membuat ku terpuruk rasa ingin mati,
Derita yang mendera kapan akan berakhir,
Hanya engkau yang mampu taklukkan hatiku

Cerita tentang masa lalu,
Cerita tentang kau dan aku,
Kini tinggal hanya kenangan,
Kau abadi di dalam hatiku….

Harusnya takkan ku biarkan kau pergi,
Membuat ku terpuruk rasa ingin mati,
Derita yang mendera kapan akan berakhir,
Hanya engkau yang mampu taklukkan hatiku

Aku cinta ooohhhhhh…
Aku cinta oooooooo…

Mystery of Shakila's Dream

2008-07-06T04:03:00.002+08:00

6 July 2008

A bunch of us decided to showcase our vocal 'prowess' last Wednesday. So we gathered kat Red Box Sogo after Maghrib for that very reason. Memandangkan, masing-masing datang dari era dan 'genre' kegemaran yang berbeza, maka we coloured the night dengan a variety of songs. As for me, ada beberapa songs yang aku tengah belajar (Oh btw, aku ni memang kaki menyanyi). And ada a few new age Indon songs yang I quite like these days.

But, the highlight of the night came from En Sharil with his rendition of "Misteri Mimpi Shakila". Put it this way larr.... If you are a pregnant woman, most likely you dah bersalin by the time sampai chorus. The heartfelt performance by Sharil earned him the best performance of the night... but the mystery of Shakila's dream remains unsolved... ;-)

Another Eventful Week

2008-07-05T11:41:00.003+08:00

5 July 2008

I'm having a slow morning today. After having browsed the latest online news regarding political scenes in this country, I come to a conclusion that I do not know who to believe at this point in time. So depressing...and so I blog!

This week has been quite eventful. I had a meeting with one of the head of states and had a chat with chief of a conglomerates operating here in Kl. I also took sometime off this week to run some errands, shopped twice in KLCC and sang my heart out at a karaoke joint with a few friends on Wednesday.

All in all, it has been a fun and expensive week (because of the shopping larr!!) for me. I always believe in 2 things..... 1) I must always wear good shoes - mainly for health reasons, and 2) I must always wear comfortable clothes (with matching colours, of course!)..haha... and so, I went to KLCC with one mission in mind. I wanted to get a good pyjama (to be exact "seluar tidur"). Shoes dah berlambak, so no need to buy a new one. I have a few 'seluar tidur' that I bought from British India, but they don't sell those anymore. I finally found exactly what I needed at the Marks and Spencer. They have the best quality loungewear under the brandname 'Autograph'. Boys, if you are looking for high quality 'seluar tidur', I recommend M&S. I bought a couple of shirts as well as almost the entire store is on sale.

My subsequent visit to KLCC pun buat aku terjebak shopping kat M&S, Zara and Timberland. I bought a leather bag from Zara Man which is big enuf for my laptop and documents, a casual shirt from each Timberland and M&S.

The retail therapy worked! Mission accomplished!

p/s will talk about Wednesday night out later.

Who's Your City?

2008-07-02T00:58:00.009+08:00

1 July 2008

I love books. Unfortunately, I love buying more than reading. Over the past 1 week, I bought 11 books. Hajat tinggi menggunung nak spend time reading... tapi selalunya tak kesampaian. I am currently reading the first book from this batch, "Who's Your City? by Richard Florida". Other books include:

1. The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics
2. The Appeal
3. Gone to Ground
4. 6 Habits of Highly Effective Leaders
5. Love in the Time of Cholera
6. Unaccustomed Earth
7. The Front
8. Shadow of Power
9. Brida
10. The Undercover Economist

I'm dying to read "The Appeal" by Grisham. Maybe I'll start this weekend. Others will have to wait larr... Dah berlambak buku kat rumah yang belum bersentuh. Entah le bila nak baca...

Sentap!

2008-06-27T10:56:00.004+08:00

27 June 2008

Sometimes after office, I walk to Sogo to buy stuff or just window-shop. And selalunya, di atas jambatan that connects my office to LRT Bandaraya ada beberapa orang peminta sedekah. One of them is this elderly sad looking lady who looks like someone foreign - she is definitely not a local. On many occasions, I have given her sedikit wang sebab kesian even though some of my colleagues said she could be part of a syndicate.

Two days ago, I walked all the way to Masjid Jamek Station coz I needed some exercise. And there she was (this lady) happily laughing away on a mobile phone. She was quite well dressed as well.

Hmmm... Kalau lah betul aku dah kena tipu dengan syndicate peminta sedekah... memanglah aku SENTAP! Tetapi aku belum serikkk....

Azam Baru....Eh! Azam Lama Yang Dibarukan :-D

2008-06-15T23:54:00.003+08:00

15 June 2008

I just realised how unfit I was this morning. After a lapse of 3 weeks due to various reasons, the group finally got together for badminton. Mak ai! Baru main 2 sets, aku dah semput. Normally, I can last 5-7 sets. Hmm...macam mana ni? There's no 2-way about it... I just have to EXERCISE more. Dah 3 bulan aku tak turun gym macam dulu..... and now I'm paying for it. So mulai esok, I'll start my new exercise regime. Regardless of how busy I am (which often used as an excuse), I intend to go down to the gym at least 3 times a week (excluding weekend badminton). Jom!

Lepas badminton tadi, I stayed back to do some work. Dalam pukul 2 ptg, aku pegi lunch kat Maju Junction and subsequently singgah Starbucks for Ice Caramel Macchiato. Sampai balik office dah pukul 3 p.m. Buat keje sampai pukul 4:00 p.m., otak pun dah jammed. Lepas tu aku ambik cab ke Low Yatt, cari skin for my laptop sebab skin sekarang dah buruk. Takde yang berkenan.... Pegi Sg Wang pulak. Finally I settled on 1 design as an interim measure. Most likely kena custom-made baru lah cun.

[it took 3 people to put on this skin...kesian]

Balik rumah, tido jap coz terlalu letih from badminton. Now I'm wide awake... nak sambung keje sikit, layan baca some of the magazines that I bought yesterday sambil boleh tengok Euro pukul 2:45 pagi nanti. Wassalam...

[world news, interior design, gadgets and men's issues]

SATC The Movie

2008-06-15T00:12:00.006+08:00

14 June 2008

I had just watched SATC The Movie. It was as long as 5 series episodes, but I truly enjoyed the movie. The movie follows the same format of the series with more plots and layers built in. For me, it was just fun and and witty. Bring your special someone to this movie and you'll be rewarded ;-D

Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall in New Line Cinema's Sex and the City - 2008

A Little Pleasure Called 'Shopping'

2008-06-14T09:16:00.005+08:00

14 June 2008

A few of us are planning a trip to Indonesia to do some shopping as they have quite a large number of factory outlets. I sent out the following email yesterday to my colleagues and friends for their consideration...

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

(excerpt of my email)

"Dear All,

HRH and a few the Court members are planning a trip to either Jakarta-Bogor or Bandung to indulge ourselves with a little pleasure called 'shopping'. This royal visit is scheduled to take place end July 2008. My initial thinking is for us to fly on Friday afternoon, 25 July (1/2 day off) and come back Sunday (27 July) evening or we can fly Saturday (26 July) morning and come back Monday evening 28 July (1 full day off). Should HRH feel an urge to meet her fellow highnesses (betul ke ni?), we may need to make some detour to places like Istana Bogor, Istana Merdeka and Istana Wakil Presiden. Otherwise, we'll devote our weekend to 'precision shopping'.

Following is a listing of various factory outlet shops in Jakarta , Bogor , and Bandung in Indonesia..."

I am all in favour of going to Jakarta-Bogor as it is closer to city centre. So far, I have received an overwhelming response. We shall see whether this trip will materialise... Fingers crossed!

Crazy Weeks

2008-06-14T09:03:00.003+08:00

14 June 2008

The last 2 weeks had been crazy. On many occasions, I worked for more than 15 hours a day. Either bangun pagi at 4:00 a.m. or stay back kat office sampai pukul 10:00 p.m. or so. Penat gilerr! During this period, I attended a meeting chaired by PM, attended another meeting with a number of KSUs and at the same busy working on a project assigned to me on top of all my other daily work. Berserabut gila kepala bila fikir pasal kerja. Now, the project is more or less done. I can be normal again...hehe

Maybe I'll go out shopping or go to a movie today. Besok ada badminton yang dah 3 minggu sebab ada yang bercuti dan aku pulak busy memanjang. I really need some exercise. Memang rasa tak fit gilerr sekarang ni.

OK...i'm off to breakfast.

Wedding Invitations

2008-05-31T10:25:00.005+08:00

31 May 2008

Banyak bebenor wedding invitations musim cuti sekolah ni. Aku ni bukan le rajin sangat nak ke wedding ni... not so much sebab aku ni "the most eligible bachelor" (perasan!!), tapi malas sebab wedding selalunya macam kelam kabut sikit. Lagipun I don't quite like tempat yang penuh sesak...agoraphobic kot.

So, what I normally do is just beli hadiah. Kalau dah tak tau nak beli apa, aku kasi gift voucher jerr... pandai2 lah korang beli apa yang perlu.

Hari ni aku quite free-mree. Kebetulan pula, ada satu wedding and ada gang yang nak pegi, so, aku gagahkan lah juga diri untuk pergi. Lagipun dah tuan punya badan sendiri datang jemput aku kat office. Tempat kenduri pun dekat je...

Time to go now....ciao!

Achieving Childhood Dreams

2008-05-31T10:05:00.006+08:00

31 May 2008

I am currently reading "the Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. Randy is a computer science professor who had recently been diagnosed with a terminal cancer. The Last Lecture talks about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling dreams of others and seizing every moment that he has. Indeed, his lecture was aptly titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"

I can't help but to reflect on my own childhood dreams. One of those dreams for me is to be a banker. I was once a recipient of a state level award. I was 12. Immediately after the award ceremony, Utusan Malaysia interviewed me on my achievements and on my career ambition. I told them I want a be a bank officer.

(oh dear!...time has changed!)

I have been working with my employer, a bank of course, for 10 years now... :)

(i keep this as bahan bukti that dreams do come true... kah-kah)

Change Product

2008-05-28T00:48:00.005+08:00

27 May 2008

I finished my meeting late at about 8 p.m. today. As a result, I was no longer in a mood to go down to the gym. I left office at about nine after clearing some work.

Bergegas aku ke Sogo coz I needed to get some personal products. Products yang aku selalu pakai from C&E have been discontinued. So, I decided this is the best time for me to try new products. In less than 15 minutes, selepas dibantu oleh one of the salesgirls, I made my purchases.

I've also made an appointment for a treatment next month. All in all, it cost me RM610 tonite just to change to a new brand. Oh well! life is full of changes anyway! :)

An Operation and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-25T23:17:00.008+08:00

Saturday, 24 May 2008

I just got back from an operation. Oh! Not the kind that requires cutting open a part of a person's body...Geez.... minta simpang. It was my laptop larr...It needed certain upgrades to boost up performance. Unfortunately, I could only upgrade its RAM from .5Gb to 2Gb. Instantly, I noticed huge difference in terms of speed. The entire process only took 15 minutes and cost me only RM160. Oklah.... not expensive. Lagipun the 2 technicians yang buat keje tadi were nice enough to give me some computing tips and guidance.

Sebelum aku ke Low Yatt Plaza to upgrade my laptop, aku dah janji dengan Hamid, Maya and Anis untuk lunch and tengok Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Tickets aku dah beli online and paid via Maybank2U. So convenient. For a premiere show at the BTS, it's RM17 per person + RM2 booking fee. We had lunch prior to the movie at Kafe Rasa Utara. Aku and Hamid had beriani ayam, while Maya and Anis had laksa and passembor, respectively.

I must say that the movie is entertaining enuf to keep me awake after such heavy lunch. Banyak lah part yang tak logic, but entertaining. For example, (and this was rightly pointed out by Maya) monkeys in the movie only attack the bad guys even though they also come in close contact with the good guys. Macam mana tu? Merepek betul. But anyhow, overall I give this movie grade B purely for its entertainment value.

"In 1957, Indiana Jones is thrust back in action, venturing into the jungles of South America in a race against Soviet agents to find the mystical Crystal Skull."

My second all time favorite movie...

2008-05-19T03:05:00.005+08:00

19 May 2008

The Kite Runner

Semenjak aku beli 40-inch tv ni, aku asyik melekat kat rumah layan movies.... For the past two weeks, aku dah tengok Vantage Point, Enchanted and the National Treasure - Book of Secrets. While all these movies were very much entertaining, nothing beats the the spellbinding story of inseparable friendships that really swept me away and left me really 'sebak'.

"The Kite Runner" is a movie that everyone should watch. It has all the elements of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation, all beautifully weaved in this moving and provocative movie. The story about Amir and Hassan in the movie with their intertwined lives and fates is really a must see. Indeed, this movie has become my second all time favorite now after the Shawshank Redemption.

Currently Listening to...

2008-05-19T02:42:00.005+08:00

19 May 2008

Kepada yang pernah mencuba mendekati hati ini...

Tapi Bukan Aku

Jangan lagi kau sesali keputusanku
Ku tak ingin kau semakin kan terluka
Tak inginku paksakan cinta ini… ii…
Meski tiada sanggup untuk kau terima

Aku memang manusia paling berdosa
Khianati rasa demi keinginan semu
Lebih baik jangan mencintai aku dan semua hatiku
Karena takkan pernah kan kau temui cinta sejati…

Berakhirlah sudah semua kisah ini dan jangan kau tangisi lagi
Sekalipun aku takkan pernah mencoba kembali padamu
Sejuta kata maaf terasa kan percuma… aaa…
Serasa ku t\’lah mati untuk menyadarinya…

Tapi bukan aku… uo..u…

Semoga saja kan kau dapati hati yang tulus mencintaimu
Tapi bukan aaaakuuuu…

Berakhirlah sudah semua kisah ini dan jangan kau tangisi lagi
Sekalipun aku takkan pernah mencoba kembali padamu
Sejuta kata maaf terasa kan percuma…
Serasa ku t\’lah mati untuk menyadarinya…

Berakhirlah sudah semua kisah ini dan jangan kau tangisi lagi
Sekalipun aku takkan pernah mencoba kembali padamu
Sejuta kata maaf terasa kan percuma
Serasa ku t\’lah mati untuk menyadarinya…

Currently Listening to...

2008-05-19T02:34:00.003+08:00

19 May 2008

Bleeding Love

Closed off from love
I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you're frozen

But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone's looking round
Thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling

But nothing's greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

And it's draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see

I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love

Oh! How I Wish....

2008-05-11T01:48:00.003+08:00

18 May 2008

Oh! How I wish....

There are more than 24 hours in a day so that I could do things that I like more often and frequent. But the reality is... hidup ni busy...busy...busy....

Dah bersawang blog ni aku tinggalkan for more than a month. I am now trying to revive my blogging practice. Tengoklah cemana...

Nothing much has happened since my last entry. Cuma in addition to daily work yang bertimbun-timbun, sekarang ni dah mula sibuk preparing for the big five-o anniversary next year. Occasionally , ada lah keluar dengan "gang lepak", the most recent pegi tgk "Iron Man". There's also a new lepak place (Ampang Waterfront) not too far from where I live... so selalu jugak le ke sana untuk dinner on weekdays or lunch di hujung minggu. Aku selalunya lepak kat Kopitiam or Sari Ratu. Di sini jugak ada banyak furniture store, lighting shops, interior design shops, etc. So menarik lah juga untuk cari ilham.

Semenjak dua menjak ni asyik berminat cari lampu... table and standing lamps. Bulan ni saja dah beli 3 biji lampu that cost me close to RM2k. Now tengah cari satu lagi lampu for my book rack. Maybe I shud pay a visit to Ikea...dah lama tak pegi.

I figured, minggu ni aku just nak relax. Time like this is so precious... inilah masanya nak baca buku, magazines and watch dvds.

Recently I just bought a new Samsung 40-inch LCD TV.... tak mahal sangat. Just RM4,500. must say that this purchase was not really planned. Tetiba je rasa macam nak tukar tv, and aku harrassed salesman tu suruh hantar ke rumah immediately... Poyo gilerr. But anyhow, memang berbaloi :-p

Selama ni tak buat kerja ke?

2008-04-13T16:10:00.003+08:00

13 April 2008

Terperanjat aku bila ternampak banner kat tiang2 di Mahkamah sebelah Masjid Wilayah di Jalan Duta ni 2 minggu lepas. Apa motif disebalik banner sedemikian. Selama ni diaorang tak buat kerja ke?? isshh...isshhh... the story of Malaysia :(

banner yang tertulis "Buat Kerja".

Meetings in Jakarta...

2008-03-30T00:32:00.007+08:00

13 April 2008

Dah lama aku tak menulis. Bukan tak nak, tapi busy sesangat. Last month aku ke Jakarta for 4 days. Ada mesyuarat kat sana. And to my surprise, Jakarta has changed a lot. Tak macam 5 years ago, nampak banyak development and progress. Of course masih ramai orang yang susah and I bet income gap diaorang pun quite wide. Aku bertolak dari rumah pagi 20 March 2008. Orang semua tengah nyenyak tido waktu tu... ye lah public holiday. Tepat 6 pagi Mr Tan dah sampai menunggu aku kat bawah. Mr Tan is my dedicated taxi driver kalau nak ke airport. Sampai KLIA dalam pukul 7 pagi. Lepas checked in aku melepak kat MAS' newest lounge. Flight pukul 9:10 pagi, so banyak masa lagi.

Flight ke Jakarta took only 2 hours. Tak sempat aku nak tidur pun. Sampai sana dah ada orang tunggu... tak payah kalut-kalut beratur coz dapat VIP treatment.

Hotel tempat penginapan memang ok. I stayed at the Grand Hyatt.

view dari bilik di Grand Hyatt

bilik yang quite spacious

Hotel ni connected with Plaza Indonesia. So rambang mata lah jugak. The first thing that I did was pegi lunch kat Sari Ratu. Sedap makanan kat sini.... cuma aku rasa macam tak berapa hygienic sikit, mainly sebab diaorang hidangkan semua lauk atas meja, and kalau kita tak makan lauk2 tu, diaorang akan simpan and hidangkan to the next customers.. tak seswai ok! Sepanjang 2 hari meetings memanglah aku bertungkus lumus dengan tak cukup tidur segala.... nasib baik lah ada colleagues yang sporting2 belaka, tak le bosan. Anyhow, sepanjang aku kat sana tiap2 malam ada official dinner, so takleh lah nak keluar merayap to explore Jakarta. But the dinners semuanya canggih dengan cultural performance yang hebat-hebat. Susah nak cari performance yg hebat macam tu kat Malaysia. Sebelum balik, aku sempat ronda-ronda Jakarta sekejap...shopping batik, gi Hard Rock beli baju yg di pesan, etc.

di Museum Bank Indonesia

Balik pun senang, dapat VIP treatment kat Jakarta. semuanya diuruskan.... tak yah nak beratur kat airport, terus je ke business lounge. Malangnye, nothing much lah airport diorang ni...tapi all in all... ok lah trip kali ni.

Para penonton, bapak-bapak ibu-ibu...

2008-03-02T21:36:00.003+08:00

22 February 2008

Dah lama aku janji nak berkaraoke dengan Jono. Akhirnya jadilah jugak. Untuk memeriahkan lagi majlis, turut diundang artis dari seberang, Jocko, Rahmat dan Fid. Dah lama gak rasanya tak karaoke, so the timing was perfect. Maka, malam itu pun gamatlah dengan nyanyian yang pelbagai genre... ada yang rock kapak, rock leleh, pop, ballad, alternative dan paling tak dapat dilupakan persembahan khas dangdut 'Goyang Inul'... ha ha...

Movies I Recommend...

2008-02-18T02:20:00.007+08:00

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.

Another Quick Recap...

2008-02-13T22:20:00.003+08:00

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...

Where Nature Embraces Heritage

2008-02-07T03:44:00.000+08:00

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

SeraidiLanjut

2008-02-04T17:47:00.000+08:00

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!!

A Quick Recap

2008-01-21T03:08:00.000+08:00

21 January 2008

Nothing much has happened since I last updated my blog. I've been terribly busy with work.

Other than that, there was a reunion with my old friends from Southbend where we went to school together back in mid 90s. Aku still main badminton on Saturday morning, now with Aman, Khairy, Fuad, Zag, Fit and John. Minggu lepas, sempat sekali cycling with Zag and HA.... (lepas tu sakit satu badan sebab dah lama tak cycling). Hmm... what else?

It's 3:00 a.m. in the morning, and I am still wide awake. Mungkin sebab aku dah tertidur tadi... or mungkin sebab banyak benda yang bermain di fikiran ni... Nothing too serious, but enough to keep me awake LOL.

Aku and MZ wanted to host a birthday party for NM semalam. Tetiba si NM kena food poisoning, muntah-muntah bagai... so tak jadi lah party... (Kang muntah atas cake pulak... yuckss!!)

Anyhow, I bought her a small birthday gift. I hope she will like it...

Currently Listening to...

2008-01-21T03:00:00.000+08:00

20 January 2008

Seribu Tahun (Imran Ajmain)

Relaku menunggumu seribu tahun lama lagi
Tapi benarkah hidup aku kan selama ini
Biar berputar utara selatan ku tak putus harapan
Sedia setia

Relaku mengejarmu seribu batu jauh lagi
Tapi benarkah kaki ku-kan tahan sepanjang jalan ini
Biar membisu burung bersiulan tenanglah gelombang lautan
Ku masih setia

Adakah engkau tahu… ini cinta
Adakah engkau pasti… ini untuk selama-lamanya

Relaku menunggumu seribu tahun lama lagi
Tapi benarkah hidup aku kan selama ini… yeah…
Biar berputar utara selatan ku tak putus harapan
Sedia setia

Jangan putus harapan… sedia setia

To a Dear Friend on Her 29th Birthday

2008-01-21T02:52:00.000+08:00

19 January 2008

On your birthday, I celebrate you!
On your special day,
I’m thinking of all the wonderful things you are
that bring so much joy to others, including me!
I celebrate your unconquerable spirit,
that lets you meet every challenge
with confidence, enthusiasm and persistence.
I admire your sensitivity.
You see needs that cry out to be met
that no one else sees,
and you meet them,
out of your deep and caring heart,
out of your wisdom,
out of your strength.
I treasure your uniqueness;
There is no one else like you,
and I feel blessed to know
such an extraordinary person.
I appreciate you, respect you,
cherish you, look up to you.
Happy, happy birthday!
May each new birthday
be the best one ever for you;
You deserve it!

By Joanna Fuchs

Home Improvements...

2008-01-11T00:01:00.000+08:00

10 January 2008

For the past 2 weeks, I've been making minor improvements to my apartment to improve quality of living. Such improvements include installing all-in-one (fax, copier, scanner and printer) machine to allow me to work from home, installing cabinets to previously almost empty kitchen and of course my recent purchase of Nintendo Wii game console.

Two days ago I bought myself a spanking brand new HP w2207h HDMI monitor. HP w2207h is a monitor with extreme resolution at 1680 x 1050 for bright, awesome graphic quality. It is perfect for videos, photo editing or gaming on your PC. What I like the most is its 22" widesreen.

All I need to do now is to connect the monitor to my Compaq Presario laptop, and I no longer have to suffer the agony of working on an 11" laptop. With a set of wireless mouse and keyboard, I no longer have to physically use the laptop. I'm loving it!!

Breakfast at Abu's

2008-01-10T14:42:00.000+08:00

5 January 2008

AHA and wife were kind enough to invite me to their bungalow for breakfast on Sunday. Terkejut gak, ye lah, out of a sudden tetiba dapat invitation macam ni. AHA has been my mentor since I joined this organisation back in 1998. Since then we have worked together on a number of projects. Our current portfolios require us to work closely on daily basis. His wife also works together in the same organisation. She is this fun bubbly lady , the kind of person who can easily get along with everybody.

The last time I went to visit was when his bungalow was still under construction. That was a few years ago. This time around the bungalow looks like something that you see in an interior design magazine. Elements of Balinese design are present throughout the house co-existing with modern contemporary design.

The breakfast itself was a very elaborate affair with nasi lemak and lauk-pauk, kueh-muih, fruits and dessert. AHA and wife also invited a colleague and his wife to the breakfast. We had pleasant conversations ranging from individual background, interior design and healthy living as well as harmless gossip :-)

Majlis bersurai after noon. That night, I bought AHA's wife a gift from Crabtree & Evelyn as a token of appreciation for having me over. Thank you and God bless.

New Year Resolution....

2008-01-10T14:27:00.000+08:00

1 January 2008

I have stopped making new year resolution... not because I've achieved all there is to achieve, but mainly because I believe in continuous improvement to work and life; and therefore why should I limit my goal setting process to only take place at the beginning of the year.

Once again, Happy New Year

Sekian.

Regards
-he who must not be named-

Bagan Lalang....

2008-01-07T19:02:00.000+08:00

31 December 2007

NM came up with a brilliant idea to celebrate New Year 2008. Hmm.... at least I thought so! She mooted the idea that we all should go to Bagan Lalang and have dinner there... seafood to be exact. I liked the idea for the following reasons:

1. I get to be away from KL;
2. Normally I don't do anything fancy on New Year's eve. So this would be a welcome change to my yearly routine;
3. I am sick of watching those lame countdown concerts on TV;
4. I heard seafood in Bagan Lalang is quite something!; and
5. I get to spend some quality time with some of my close friends ;-)

And of course, some were not in favour of the proposal citing reasons such as..."jauh la".... "kat situ takde benda larr", etc. Boo hoo! For once, just be open to a new idea and try something new!

So, in the end, aku, NM, MZ, Y, Z and children (not mine obviously) agreed to participate in this seafood hunting activity. The challenge was - none of us had been to Bagan Lalang before. So being the eldest and the one who always plans.... I did my own research and made several copies of map to Bagan Lalang. We left my apartment at about 8:30 p.m on the new year's eve in 2 cars, finding our way to Sepang. The map that I managed to find was just too simple for us to know exactly how to get there. So, sesat barat lah jugak. Terpaksa berhenti 3 kali tanya orang - once somewhere near LCCT, sekali lagi kat Sepang town, and lastly kat Bagan Lalang as we couldn't find the restaurant that we wanted to go to. When I checked online, almost everyone recommended that we should go to HM Seri Bagan. So bersusah payah lah mencari the place.

To my surprise, Bagan Lalang is quite a happening place (at least for that night) with night bazaar, local mini concerts, a camping site with dozens of tents and most importantly, a handful of seafood restaurants lining up along the shore. Sampai kat restaurant, we were told that we have to wait for about one hour before food can be served sebab ramai sangat orang. It was already 10:30 p.m.. At that point in time, having to wait for another hour didn't seem that agonizing after having traveled for 2 hours through winding roads. Some areas that we drove through were totally pitch black... hmm..maybe, next time we should come in the afternoon.

This is where you should go people...free advertisement ni!

NM helped me out to place orders. We ordered ketam masak cili, kepah dibuat sup (NM cakap lala.. tatau sape betul), kerang rebus, pepahat dimasak dengan cili dan telur, ikan jenak dan ikan siakap bakar, sotong goreng tepung, udang masak rempah, tomyam campur, kangkung belacan, kailan ikan masin (eh..ada ke kailan?) dan nasi putih. Just imagine... malu ok bila makanan sampai.... Sah-sah le semua orang pandang aku, sebab aku yang nampak paling pelahap kat situ. Sekian!! At midnight, ada gak pertunjukan bunga api kat situ... not bad for a place yang aku tak pernah dengar pun sebelum ni.

memilih lauk pauk yang beraneka

separuh daripada hidangan yg dipesan

Hasilnya...

But I must say that the food was fantastic and I will definitely be back to Bagan Lalang in the near future. Bila dah selesai makan dan minum, aku pun membayar... selalunya kalau makan seafood ni kan mahal.. especially kat KL. And based on what we ordered tonight, aku rasa the bill would come up to around RM700 or so. Sampai kat cashier, cash register machine pulak rosak... kena kira manual.... aiyooo... dah le berjela-jela benda yg diorder, and now that lady cashier would have to iterate apa yg dimakan tadi one by one. Bear in mind, kat belakang aku ada customers lain dok beratur nak bayar jugak. Malu lah jugak...tapi buat bodo jek. Terkejut beruk aku when the total bill was only RM223. Mak aii.... murahnyerrrr..... confirmed boleh datang lagi.

We left at about 1 p.m., aku yang kekenyangan ni dok melalak dalam kete nak hilangkan ngantuk... bila kena tahan polis, hilang jap ngantuk....tapi lepas tu ngantuk datang balik. NM dah pengsan kat belakang... aku pun dok curi-curi berdengkur dalam kete. Kesian kat MZ yang begitu setia memandu. Sampai rumah aku dah tak tau pukul berapa.... yang aku tau, aku pengsan terus... tak sempat tukar baju pon.... Happy New Year 2008

Nota kaki: semua gambar di atas dicuri dari blog NM...

Pearl of the Orient - Episode 3

2008-01-06T18:22:00.000+08:00

25 December 2007

We woke up quite late on 23 December 2007. HA was the only one who got up early enough and spent his morning productively having jogged around the lake garden area. Aku dengan MZ, bongkang tak sedar diri. By the time we had our breakfast, it was almost 12 noon. NM and NA arrived soon after as we had promised each other to go the wedding together. Hisham's wedding was just nearby and we got there just in time to see him bersanding. The food was nice and I thoroughly enjoyed the kampung environment there. We left the majlis at about 3 p.m. After dropping MZ off at one of the hypermarkets in Taiping (tak ingatlah...Giant ke Tesco), both myself and HA made our way to Penang. We arrived at about 4:30 p.m and went straight to Zurina's. Selepas shopping segala, and aku dah borong more than RM1k, we made our way to the Batu Feringhi resort that I booked.

Dalam pukul 6 baru sampai resort. After checking in, aku just lepak2 at the resort. Sembang2 dengan the caretaker and beberapa orang colleagues yang turut occupy the apartments there. Disebelah malamnya, aku dan HA decided to have mee udang for dinner. It was recommended to us that the best mee udang on the Island is the one next to Balai Polis Teluk Kumbar. So, pergilah mencari malam tu. Sampai sesat-sesat ke Balik Pulau. We finally found the place which is located by the sea. Service punyalah slow, and the waitress kept on apologising for their poor service. Takdelah sedap sangat mee udang tu... other than size of the udang yang gedabak. Sampai hotel dah lewat malam. zzz...

Keesokan harinya, seperti biasa si HA pergi jogging. Aku tak tau pun dia pegi jogging sebab bungalow ni very spacious. He occupied guest room kat atas, aku kat bawah ambik master bedroom. So bila kat bungalow, memasing buat hal masing2. Baca buku, tgk tv etc. Dalam pukul 11 lebih baru kitaorang keluar for breakfast at a nearby restaurant. I had nasi lemak which I thought was quite nice. Lepas tu we went straight to Gurney Plaza...saje jalan2. Kawan lama si HA pun nak datang jumpa kat situ. Lepas pusing2 kat Gurney Plaza (Nintendo Wii...masih lagi tiada) we went to TGIF for lunch. Kawan si HA got caught in the traffic jam... so lambat lagi sampai. Lepas lunch, baru kawan si HA sampai. So sembang lah kat Starbucks for a few hours. Sampai dah kering idea, baru lah majlis bersurai.

Si Y pulak kirim suruh beli some sporting gears. When I checked, kedai kat Gurney Plaza recommended that I go to Queensbay Mall. Aku dgn HA yang memang dalam mood bercuti ni pun terus bergegas ke sana. Lepas membeli apa yang patut dan hari pun dah malam... baru lah gerak balik ke bungalow. But instead of balik bungalow, we drove all the way to Teluk Bahang for nasi Kandar. Most people rcommended us to go to Line Clear... tapi aku dengar banyak tikus.... so memanglah tak selera nak pegi situ.

Lepas dinner, balik bungalow, salin baju, aku and HA keluar lagi. This time berjalan kaki pusing2 night bazaar. Banyakla dvds yang menarik. I bought some decorative lights yang quite unique. Lepas tawaf kat situ baru balik zzz

Besok paginya, lepas mengemas...we left Feringhi resort dalam pukul 12 noon. Lepas lunch at the same restaurant that we had breakfast yesterday.. aku ngan HA menghala sekali lagi ke Zurina's. Memanglah tak serik. There, I spent another RM500 plus on shirts etc. Lepas tu baru gerak balik ke KL. Sampai KL, kelam kabut cari gas station sebab minyak dah nak habis sangat. Sebelum balik kerumah, we decided to have dinner kat KFC. Pegilah ke the Mall for dinner. Kat situ jumpa pulak Nintendo Wii. Yahoo... So now I'm a proud owner of Wii. Tapi ntah bila larr nak main.... sekian.

Nota kaki: Selamat Pengantin Baru buat Hisham and wife. Juga selamat bertunang to my sister dengan jejaka pilihannya :-)

Gambar2 adalah courtesy drp HA. TQ dude!

Pearl of the Orient - Episode 2

2008-01-05T11:28:00.000+08:00

22 December 2007

Minggu ni aku ke Penang lagi...walaupun baru je minggu lepas ke sana. But this time around, it was purely leisure. I needed a break....I needed a break badly. Aku and HA had been planning to go to Taiping for a friend's wedding on 23 December 2007. In addition, I wanted to visit my old school, MRSM Taiping. It has been more than 12 years since I last visited my highschool. However, my recent discovery in Penang (I'm referring to Zurina's...read episode 1, people!) has created new interest for HA to drive up north to Penang. I welcomed the idea as I had personal shopping agenda of my own..hehe. So we both agreed that we would go to Taiping for one night and then to head north to Penang. I was lucky to be able to book a chalet in Taiping and also a bungalow in Penang. To make this trip more comfortable, I decided to rent a Nissan X-trail... walaupun sebenarnya aku tak drive. This beauty was delivered to my house on 21 December 2007.

Detour sekejap.... malam 21 December tu, Aku, Khairy, Y and family... had dinner kat Tamarind Springs. I let Khairy drive X-trail. Aku yang buta pasal kereta ni rasa X-trail ni quite comfy for people like me. Sekian.

We left home heading toward Taiping around noon on 22 December 2007. Aku ni yang dok tengah mencari Nintendo Wii had asked HA to make a stop kat Plaza Damas to make a purchase. Tak ade stock pulak. Hampeh!! Tak dapat la main Wii kat Penang. Oh, btw... MZ pun ikut ke Taiping untuk menghadiri majlis perkahwinan... tapi aku rasa, his main reason adalah untuk berjumpa buah hati pengarang jantung... kwang3.

Sampai di Taiping pun agak lewat dalam pukul 5 petang. Rupa-rupanya, the chalet that we booked is only a stone's throw away from MRSM Taiping. That very afternoon, we drove there. After introducing myself as one of the ex-Maresmart students to the guard, he, without hesitation, allowed me to make a quick tour of the school. Thank you bang! It was indeed a walk down memory lane. Teringat waktu dirotan, kehidupan di Aminudin Baki dan Ungku Omar, hiruk pikuk Dewan Makan, kegiatan di bilik darjah, di makmal dan sebagainya. Banyak yang dah berubah, namun bila dilihat hasil pencapaian akademik semasa pelajar-pelajar di situ, aku yakin yang Maresmart masih gah seperti dahulu... :). Di carta organisasi, terpandang gambar cikgu Shahrome and Puan Marsuria yang masih setia di Taiping sejak zaman aku bersekolah lagi. Deep inside, I plan to visit again and see and what way I can help the school.

Kemudian, aku, HA dan MZ balik ke chalet, KamaLodge where we would spend overnight. WE had our minum petang at the lodge. KamaLodge served very nice kueteow goreng.. Maya and Yaya came over to say hi. Rumah diaorang dekat jek...

Disebelah malamnya, aku dah merancang dengan Amy and Maya untuk makan kat mana-mana restaurant yang best kat Taiping. Setelah Maya dan Amy bermesyuarat, they recommended us to have dinner at Selera Malam Restaurant. Since they are both from Taiping, aku agak confident with their choice.

Malam pun menjelang (eh..macam cerita hantu pulak). Selepas diberi petua oleh the 2 beauties on how to get to the restaurant, HA, MZ and I pun gerak le dari KamaLodge. Mak ai...ramainya orang at the restaurant... tapi dah janji kat situ, so carilah jugak tempat duduk. Sementara menanti the beauties sampai.... aku pun dengan cepat placed my order...ye lah ramai orang kan. Tetiba jek si Maya telefon tanya kenapa tak sampai2 lagi... "Eh! dah sampaila...dah order pun". Si Maya cakap yang diaoarang pun dah sampai, tapi tak nampak pun our batang hidungs. Siasat punya siasat, rupanya Selera Malam ni ada 3 cawangan, and the three of us dah menenggek di cawangan yang salah... Sekian. Cepat2 we all cancelled our orders and cabut from there. Akhirnya baru lah berjumpa dengan the beauties di cawangan yang satu lagi.

Aku yang dah separa kebulur ni....cepat2 lah suruh Amy and Maya buat tempahan makanan... mesti selera ni.... Sembang punya sembang...makanan tak juga sampai-sampai... the two beauties dah bermacam-macam pose dah ambik gambar, makanan tak juga sampai...Dah dekat sejam, baru we found out yang diaorang terlupa nak masak our orders.... Hampeh gila. The two beauties dah naik angin dgn the restaurant. Cepat2 diaorang masak for us... tapi selera yang membuak-buak tadi dah hilang... masuk angin kot. Makan pun ala kadar je. Memang aku tak selera malam tu di resoran selera malam. Sekian. Sampai kat lodge zzz...

bersambung.....

Dopod 838pro

2007-12-30T03:37:00.000+08:00

21 December 2007

Bought myself Dopod 838Pro. I currently have 1 Celcom line and 2 Maxis lines. One Maxis line is for Blackberry (office line). Satu lagi Maxis line (personal line) aku pakai dengan N70. I don't quite like my current Blackberry hardware and N70 tu. Yelah, office punya. So, I decided to buy Dopod 838Pro with Blackberry function so that I can return both N70 and Blackberry back to my company. For Celcom line, aku pakai iPhone. Then, I can activate my personal line for Blackberry function and cancel office line yang satu lagi tu. I spent about RM2,000 on Dopod 838Pro.

I like this phone very much mainly sebab dia ada keypad which allows me to type faster. In addition, it has many other attractive functions. See the following article from HTC's official website on Dopod 838Pro.

Dopod 838Pro
1st 3.5G PDA Phone With Sliding QWERTY Keyboard

Dopod International is proud to present the 838Pro, the 1st 3.5G capable Windows Mobile PDA Phone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Housed within its business-like exterior is a sliding QWERTY keyboard in a form factor first pioneered by Dopod International’s earlier 838. The popularity of this design is testament to the commitment that Dopod International brings to PDA phone and smartphone markets in the Asia Pacific region.

As always, the features and benefits of the 838Pro are not just skin deep. This device also packs a macro-lens and comes bundled with WorldCard Mobile business card recognition software. This innovative solution takes advantage of the unique lens solution to simplify your business card scanning needs. From start to finish, you can scan, recognize and export to Outlook Mobile key information in a business card in about 20 seconds.

Additionally, the 838Pro is the ultimate connected mobile device – it being the first to come with 3.5G (HSDPA) mobile network connectivity, triband WCDMA connectivity, quadband GSM connectivity as well as high-speed WiFi (802.11g) – there’s no longer any reason to be disconnected while travelling.

What Raya?

2007-12-30T02:37:00.000+08:00

20 December 2007

It has been some kind of tradition that I don't go back to Perlis for Hari Raya Haji. Lagipun cuti cuma sehari saja. I would rather spend my time in KL buat benda-benda yang aku suka or just lepaking. Tahun ni sembahyang raya pun tak pergi sebab bangun lambat...hmm apa nak jadi! Di sebelah tengahari, I promised HA to meet up kat Pavilion sebelum ke rumah terbuka KP di Cheras. I wanted to buy something nice for KP. Alang-alang orang jemput datang ke rumah for raya, I thought it would be nice lah kalau aku bawa buah tangan. I bought the Wisteria collection from Crabtree & Evelyn for KP. Harap dia sukalah...

Dalam pukul 2 pm, aku and HA dok struggle kat area Cheras mencari rumah KP. KP suggested us untuk tinggal je kereta kat tepi jalan and ambik taxi... aiyooo.... keji betul cadangan tu. Finally, jumpa lah jugak rumahnya. Cuma KP and her maid je ada kat rumah. Family members yang lain dah keluar menziarah. Rendang, lodeh, kari ayam antara yang dihidangkan... memang best.

Dalam pukul 4pm aku dengan HA bertolak dari rumah KP ke Midvalley nak ke MPH beli buku. Kat Midvalley punyalah ramai manusia... nak berjalan pun susah. I bought 4 books. Lepas tu terjebak beli sepasang lagi kasut adidas (memanglah I need counseling) and 2 track bottoms kat British India. Lepas selesai shopping, perut pun dah lapar...so singgah le Little Penang to have early dinner. From Midvalley, we made our way to the Curve. Hasrat hati nak cari Nintendo Wii. Pusing-punya pusing tak jumpa gak. Kat Borders pun takde buku yang berkenan. Singgah Starbucks sekejap for my favorite. Lepas tu chow nak balik.

Keluar je from the Curve, nampak macam ada concert pulak kat luar tu. Rupa-rupanya AZ tengah menyanyi. Rupanya ada opening ceremony of the nearby shopping complex. Terus berhenti kereta and keluar tengok concert. Poyo jugak la... Sambil-sambil mendengar lagu, aku pun menjenguk-jenguk barang-barang dalam kedai kat situ. Berkenan pula dengan 2 carpets on display. Dah le lewat dekat 10:30 malam, aku pulak insisted kat kedai tu yang aku nak beli carpets tu sekarang and nak bawa balik malam ni jugak... Gempar lah sekejap kedai tu dengan permintaan aku. Yelah... nak kena angkat furniture semua untuk ambik the 2 carpets. Dah le satu carpet tu quite big. 6-7 orang pekerja asing terpaksa tolong untuk lipat carpet and hantar ke kereta. Waktu nak bayar pulak, somehow the 2 carpets takde dalam system.... so the promoter dok sibuk bertekak dengan cashier on how to resolve the problem. Dah lambat sangat, aku pun masuk campur... aku siap berleter cakap..."korang ni, orang nak kasi duit RM3,000 pun susah... create la suspense account ke apa! besok korang reconcile lah balik". Nasib baik le bukan my staff... memang le kena haruk kalau takde customer orientation macam ni. Lepas aku berleter, problem solved. Ha! Boleh pon. Sampai je rumah, sibuk aku dok menghampar carpets ni walaupun dah tengah malam. Berpeluh-peluh aku mengangkat furniture. Y pulak called tanya samada ada kedai makan buka kat my area to tapau for his colleagues (ye lah hari raya mana lah ada kedai melayu buka). Kedai mamak kat area aku ni selalu buka, so I suggested that dia pegi tapau di situ. So aku pun ikut temankan Y cari makanan sebab aku pun dah kebulur sebab tadi dinner awal sangat. Lepas tapau he left. Aku balik zzz sebab besok nak ke office to clear outstanding work. Sekian.

Nota kaki: Happy 27th Birthday to my younger sister which falls on Hari Raya Haji this year. (tak sempat nak mail hadiah...so just transferred some money to her account)

Sekian Lama

2007-12-28T02:45:00.000+08:00

19 December 2007

...to the one and only, you...
(mati larrr kena spekulasi lepas ni... :-p)

Sekian Lama

Dialah pujaan dalam mimpi
Yang senantiasa membuih hati
Tiap kali bersua
Ku hanya mampu senyum padanya
Ku terdiam

Sekian lama
Ku mencuba
Tak ku lafazkan perasaan
Berkubur saja
Namun dia ku cinta

Apa yang harus aku lakukan
Agar dia pun mengerti
Adanya cinta menanti
Oh sekian lama
Aku mencintai dia

Sukarnya membutir kata-kata
Menilai apa yang aku rasa
Tiap kali ku cuba
Lidah kelu dari bersuara
Ku berserah

Pearl of the Orient - Episode 1

2007-12-22T10:07:00.000+08:00

16 December 2007

I was away in Penang over the weekend attending a conference. It was a hectic 1 1/2 day session. As usual, most of us had to work late hours to complete our group assignments to be presented during the plenary session. So peluang nak keluar merambu tu agak terhad lah. Aku sampai Penang dalam pukul 3:00 petang, Friday, 14 December 2007, together with CZ, NSY and ARG. Dalam pukul 3:30 petang dah sampai kat Zurina's (a butik selling branded goods in Penang). Baru tengah sibuk2 shopping, I received a call informing that there will be a meeting at 5:00 p.m. So tak sempat nak shopping sepuasnya, terpaksalah aku bergegas ke hotel. Sempat lah aku beli 3 helai t-shirt Lacoste.

Just when we arrived at the hotel, I was informed that the meeting has been postponed until after dinner.... Larrr.... Ponet den! So all of us decided to go out again after checking in and sembahyang. We went out at about 5:30 pm ke Teluk Bahang. Rupanya kat Penang ni ada Taman Negara Pulau Pinang. Nampak cam best. Maybe next time. We then stopped over at the nearby mamak stall and pekena mee mamak and teh tarik. Mee mamak dia ala-ala manis sikit.... kureng diminati oleh anak tekak aku.

Lepas makan, tetiba datang idea nak bangun awal to exercise besok pagi. So sebab aku tak bawa kasut...pegi lah beli kasut plak (RM150 for a good Nike shoes at 50% off). Memang lah aku ni hantu kasut... kat rumah bersusun-susun kasut yg tak dipakai pon. Lepas beli kasut we proceded back to the hotel.

Lepas Maghrib ada welcoming dinner...so terpaksa lah pergi. Lepas dinner aku ada meeting yang berlarutan sampai ke 1 pagi. Sekian!

Besok paginya, kasut jogging Nike yang dibeli semalam tak dijamah pon. I went straight to the conference hall sebab bangun lambat. Pukul 6 ptg baru habis discussion. After Maghrib ada another dinner, and lepas dinner sambung discussion balik. Aiyo..penat sudah. Aku sempat keluar jap dengan ARG for about an hour, shopping kat night bazaar di Batu Ferringhi. Takde benda sangat except I bought souvenirs for NM and NA. Then balik hotel sambung keje. Dalam kesibukan ni, sempat juga a few of us planned a surprise birthday party for ARG dalam pukul 11 mlm macam tu. At 11:30 pm, aku sneaked out sekali lagi to meet NM and MZ yang bermalam di resort Penang. MS pon ikut sekali... Hasrat hati nak cari Starbucks, tapi ended up kat Restoran Subaidah. Dalam pukul 1 lebih dah balik hotel coz memasing dah tak larat.

The conference continued on Sunday with a plenary discussion. Habis dalam 12:30 tgh hari. Aku, ARG and CZ chow from hotel dah dekat pukul 3 pm. Sampai KL dalam pukul 8 malam lepas adegan singgah menyinggah membeli buah dan sebagainya di sepanjang lebuhraya. I plan to come again to Penang in the near future....we will see how!

Alamanda

2007-12-09T23:55:00.000+08:00

9 December 2007

Hari ni aku dah janji dengan NM and MZ untuk ke kenduri kawen our colleague di Taman Botani Putrajaya. Semalam, aku dah gigih membeli hadiah kat Sogo. All wrapped and ready to go. Entahle... for the past one year, for every wedding that I attended, aku kasi benda yg sama... this german made cutlery set. Selagi tak kena keji dengan sesiapa, I guess I will continue buying... or sementara stock masih ada ;-)

Aku janji nak jumpa NM kat office kul 12:30 p.m. Tetiba pagi tu Y pun ajak pegi dengan dia and family. Hmm...dah janji dengan NM, takkan aku nak kench plak kan? So aku pun menolak lah pelawaan Y. Jumpa kat sana je lah.

Sebaik sahaja aku sampai kat office, dari jauh kelihatan NM persis 'air bandung bergerak'.... dengan tema yang sungguh pink. Rambut pulak begitu anggun setelah didandan oleh 'car wash' ternama di KL ni [private joke... tak payah tahu]. Si MZ pulak baru tengah mandi. Pukul 1:00 pm baru lah bertolak. Si Ali and family pun berkonvoi bersama. Aku yg tak lagi breakfast sudah meracun NM untuk isi minyak.... dah separa kebulur ni. Kalau lambat makan, nanti perut masuk angin... aku gak yang sengsara. Somewhere near Bangi baru berhenti untuk isi minyak. Aku ni pulak pegi memborong makanan segala, sandwich lah, corn, dan berbotol-botol air.... (and lepas ni nak pegi makan kenduri nih...sekian!!).

Sampai ke tempat kenduri, hari dah macam nak hujan. MS pun baru sampai.... so meriahlah jugak. Tetapi, mak ai, ramainya orang.... kena beratur bagai. Tapi adat kenduri kahwin lah kann... nak makan senang, dok makan kat rumah je lah.

Waktu aku baru beratur, Y and family dah tengah makan... cepat betul diaorang sampai. Aku lepak semeja ngan NM, MZ, RS, MS, Ros and family and some other colleagues.

Lepas wedding, aku, NM, MZ, Ali sekeluarga dan Y sekeluarga bersetuju untuk ke Alamanda. Jakun tak jakun, inilah kali pertama aku ke Alamanda. Ada sedikit sesat jugak larr... Alamanda is not as 'gempak' as I expected... tapi tak le keji. Cuma, some of my favorite shops/brands takde kat situ. Tapi, as long as ada Starbucks, I can survive. He he. So all of us melepak kat Sbucks.

Lepas Sbucks, we all berpecah. Aku dah terjebak beli standing fan that comes with a remote control. Tanpa diduga, aku terserempak dengan my ex schoolmate waktu form 4 & 5 dulu. Sepatlah berborak tanya khabar. Lepas tu aku ternampak someone yg aku rasa kawan baik aku kat sekolah dulu, tapi tak berani nak tegur sebab he looks unfriendly with jambang and all (Come to think of it, it was my mistake to prejudge him sebelum menegur... rasa bersalah plak).

Balik pun dah lewat, sampai rumah dalam kul 8 malam lebih. Dalam pukul 10 malam, Y datang rumah. We went out for dinner and borak-borak pasal issues surrounding us. Sebab mamat ni suka sangat kaler kuning, aku ada belikan something yellow that I thought would fit his craze for yellow things... We lepak for a while and he left at about 11:45 p.m.

Nota kaki: Selamat Pengantin Baru...you know who you are...

Perut Hijau!

2007-12-08T21:24:00.000+08:00

8 December 2007

"Perut Hijau" is a description of me given by a friend from the North. Kalau kat utara, bila kita cakap seseorang tu "perut hijau"... maksudnya orang tu tak berhati perut... or some say hati kering. To a certain extent, that description is reflective of me.

As I sit by myself and ponder this topic, aku tahu yang aku ni "perut hijau" in 2 ways. Firstly, I can be direct and say whatever I have in mind which on a number of occasions have hurt people around me. Secondly, I can also be a "perut hijau" by totally ignoring the person as if the person no longer exists in my life.

At the onset, allow me to clarify yang aku selalunya tak ada prasangka ke atas orang. Aku cuba berkawan dengan seramai yang mungkin, try to assist in anyway I can bila diaorang kesusahan and selalu bersedia untuk mendengar dan memberi pendapat bila diperlukan. But I really cannot tolerate people who are pretentious and/or not honest in befriending me... ataupun yang berkawan semata-mata hendak mencapai sesuatu hajat. Aku juga cepat rimas, when someone is too clingy (baca entry on 'bila nak kahwin?') or needy. I may have hurt a close friend today bila aku bagitau dia yang aku rimas dengan SMSes yang tak berhenti-henti (I am to be blamed as well sebab melayan for the past few days... mainly to show my support sbb dia ada masalah sikit). Ada juga, a number of old friends yang dah bertahun tak pernah contact have suddenly contacted me asking for favors when they know that aku currently memegang jawatan yang agak penting. Hmm... I guess, life is like that.

I consider myself quite liberal and I don't choose my friends based on gender, religion, race, status or sexual orientation. But there must be mutual respect between us as friends. Most of the time, a friendship is lost because I can no longer respect him/her as a friend for the reasons stated above, or vice versa. I hope, for those of you reading my blog, that our respects for each other remain intact and this friendship have enriched us and allowed us to be wiser. For those who feel that our friendship has been lost, I wish you the best and hope somewhere, somehow and sometime in the future, the friendship bond we used to have can be rekindled. Wassalam.

Maybe, I am not so "Perut Hijau" after all... :-p

Bila Nak Kahwin?

2007-12-08T20:41:00.000+08:00

8 December 2007

At my tender age of 32 (tender sudahnya!!), I can't run away from people asking, "Bila nak kahwin?". For example, harini aku ada kenduri kahwin kat Cheras Perdana. Yang kahwinnye adik kepada kenalan aku. Aku ended up duduk dengan this one Makcik, her husband dan mungkin juga dia punya 2 cucu(s). Dah le tak kenal sesapa pun kat wedding ni, except my friend.... tapi yang penting Makcik tu tetap tanya aku "dah kahwin ke belum?", and when I said "belum", she asked "bila nak kahwin?". Memang lah ini soalan favorite di tempat kenduri dan di hari raya. Besok, I have another wedding to attend... we shall see whether I'll get asked the same question.

My personal take on this is...

I'm happy the way my life is right now. I'm committed to my career and would like to do more kebajikan. Helping out anak yatim would be something that I would like to do more... (currently just buat periodic donations je).

I'm an extrovert... suka bergaul and all, but I always like to spend time alone doing things I like. I like having the freedom to meet with people I like, participate in many activities as well as having the freedom to go back to an empty apartment, be able to pick-up a book and read quietly or watch my favorite movies without interruptions. And I have no problem staying single (at least at this point in time lah....).

So, for those out there yang bersungguh-sungguh trying to help me out mencari jodoh... tak payah lah susah-susah. You know who you are. All these years, I've seen suka-duka perkahwinan...in my family, tengok sedara mara and sahabat handai. Banyak yang porak peranda, although ada juga yang bahagia sentiasa. At this point in time, I'm not even ready to consider when or will I ever get married. You are welcome to continue asking, but do not hope for a positive answer from me in the near future. I'm not even looking at this point in time. Nevertheless, we shall revisit this issue sometime in the future ;-)

Rempit!

2007-12-08T18:54:00.000+08:00

8 December 2007

I should not be writing this... Oh! But what the heck... HA has been my good friend for a number of years and I'm sure he wouldn't mind (sebenonya dah minta kebenaran to write about this... takuuuttt.. hehe).

HA got a scholarship to do his masters in Sydney sometime early next year. As such, he needed to find a buyer for his Vios... yelah nak suruh aku jaga, I don't drive... kang bersawang pulak kereta tu. His bro is already maintaining 2 cars. So he decided to jual. Within a few weeks he found a buyer and he had to let go by end November. So, memandangkan he still needs, and he needs a car badly, to drive to work until early next year, he decided to rent a car from someone.

Sebelum aku sempat tengok kereta tu, HA had warned me times and times again that he is now a Mat Rempit. I thot he was joking. When I first sat my eyes on the car (Iswara, just so you know), I thot the car ain't that bad. But when you look closely, memang kereta ni dah lama with its paint peeling off, seat tak boleh adjust, broken side mirror, etc. HA took me once to Hartamas in his 'new' car... and I just couldn't believe the sound that the 'ekzos' made. Aiyoooo...so the 'Mat Rempit'. Here we are, two metrosexual men, sitting in car that produces the loudest and noisiest rempit sound in the whole of Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. Try imagine that... it is so wrong!!. At times, aku yang tak pernah merempit seumur hidup ni, agak kerisauan takut the car breaks down ke apa.... tapi dah lima-enam kali naik....the car works just fine, except semuanya manual.

But as I said earlier, I shouldn't be complaining coz aku menumpang je.... Mati laa....

Encik Sri Siantan

2007-12-07T22:18:00.000+08:00

7 December 2007

I remember the time when a local newspaper had a dedicated column for public to write in and seek advice from Cik Sri Siantan (CSS) on personal problems. Week after week, I would find myself glued reading every word that she said, thinking how intelligent she was, able to answer every single question posed to her.... so kelakar....

And now, as I grew older and more savvy (at least from my own perspective.. he he), I've noticed that people, friends especially, find me approachable for them to share their problems be it work related or personal problems. Some even shared their darkest little secrets with me ;-). And of course, in many of the cases, they put me under oath not to share their secrets with anybody else.

This month, someone I know confided in me with a little secret that shocked me to my core... All I can say is while rambut sama hitam...tapi manusia ni hati lain-lain. And I have a feeling that something will turn bad.... real bad....in the near future.

On a lighter note, my life has been busy as usual. There were times that I stayed very late in the office coz I just had too much on my plate. But, I must say that I started to love this job.

Apa lagi eh? Oh ya... I got very excited when I first heard that Ms Whitney Houston would be coming to Malaysia for the 'Live & Loud 07'. I grew up listening to her and "One Moment in Time" has been an inspiration to me. So wajiblah beli ticket kann.... I bought 3 RM263 tickets for myself, HA and RR as well. On the day of the concert, aku, HA and RR got there at about 4 p.m. Dina, Malaysian Idol Runner-Up, was performing when we got there. The concert started earlier at 3:00 p.m. with other performing artists. Banyak betul artists yang performed that day... the memorable ones include Kumpulan Pop from Indonesia, Elliott Yamin and Shaggy. But the most memorable of all was definitely the Diva herself, not because of her performance yang melathop, but because her performance sucked...and she was really...really... bad!...dah le pukul 12:30 a.m baru dia punya show started. I left halfway through her performance, and so did other people. And I totally agree with the review by mrmanager on his blog about WH's performance that night (except the part when he said - we all sat riveted to our seats - coz I was standing...hehe...and at that point in time I had been standing for more than 8 hours) as follows:

"The voice was shrill, strident in the upper chest register and when she switched into head, it was a whimper of a falsetto. The vocals just came across as being very tight at the higher end of the registers. Nevertheless, she tried very, very hard to up the energy but we all sat riveted to our seats as we witnessed the most embarrassing performance on stage by a song goddess, no less."

I gave the entire performances that day - 3/5 STARS

Another Hectic Day

2007-11-10T16:42:00.000+08:00

9 November 2007

Busy sangat harini. Di sebelah pagi ada meeting dengan satu association ni… petang pulak ada meeting dengan this guy yg beria-ia nak jumpa sebab ada hal besar katanya. Takde issue pun sebenarnya dia ni…hampeh. Habis appointment dengan this guy, bergegas to clear my in tray + kena buat several calls to resolve some issues.

Tadi, lunch pun keluar lambat. Dah pukul 1 pm lebih. Ke Masjid India je jawabnya. Then bergegas balik lunch kat Kupang.

Nampak gayanya harini pun aku gagal lagi turun gym. Nasib baik hari Ahad ni dah janji nak main badminton dengan gang biasa.

Sebab aku ada lagi outstanding work yang perlu diselesaikan malam ni, I decided to go for early dinner (yang tak berapa early ni) and to come back to office after that.

Before aku keluar dinner, aku called Mr Tan dulu, aku punya dedicated taxi driver. Besok nak kena pegi Sunway Lagoon pagi-pagi buta. Nasib baik Mr Tan free besok.

Aku ajak si RS dinner. Cepat je dia setuju sebab dia pun nak keluar hantar images to be printed kat Pertama Complex. Lepas pegi Pertama, aku ngan RS ke Gerai di bangunan Mara tu. Tetiba aku teringin pulak nak makan nasi lemak daun pisang kat situ. Katanya, berlaukkan sambal telur dan ikian bilis. Aku dengan RS pun ambik lah sorang satu. But of course, takkan nak makan itu aje… mau kebulur malam karang. So we ordered bubur nasi as well + ABC.

Nasi lemak tu rasanya OK… tapi yg karutnye tu… adake ikan bilis dia ala-ala sprinkle kat atas je…? Dia ingat daun bawang ke? Memanglah cepat kaya kalau bisnes macam ni.

After dinner, aku balik ke office and sambung keje sampai 10 lebih. Sampai rumah dah dekat 11:30 p.m. Besok nak kena bangun awal pulak… Alahai!

The Age of Turbulence

2007-11-08T17:54:00.000+08:00

8 November 2007

First of all, let me apologise to Alan Greenspan for borrowing the title of his latest book "The Age of Turbulence" as the title of my entry today... sorry ye Pak.

Secondly, allow me to wish all of you Muslim readers "SALAM AIDILFITRI 1428 HIJRAH". I know it's already late, but I was just too busy managing mini turbulence in my life.

Thirdly, Happy Deepavali to those celebrating this "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify the uplighting of darkness and victory of good over the evil within.

Okay... Let me begin.

It has been more than a month since I last updated my blog. Life has been challenging, but interesting, as I transitioned to a new portfolio in October. Since then, my schedule has been hectic. As a Director of a department, this new job comes with added responsibility and accountability. Nevertheless, as we approached the end of Ramadhan in the first and second week of October, I still managed to take a break and have fun attending numerous buka puasa get-together with friends and colleagues. Raya came and passed by quickly as I only balik kampung for 2 days. Then , I flew to Washington DC on fourth raya for a series of meetings at the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Post US trip, I've been busy with work (meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc). As a result, this blog was left unattended, 'bersawang' sudah sekian lama.

Today's entry aims to resuscitate my blogging practice and I hope this time around this practice will last...he he. For the past 1 month banyak juga lah benda yang berlaku. Penghujung bulan puasa dihabiskan dengan berbuka puasa with friends...Tamarind Springs would have been my favorite buka puasa venue for the year if not for its 1 major weakness; kat situ takde surau! You would need to drive all the way to the nearest masjid for Maghrib. How leceh was that? Nevertheless, the ambience was superb and I truly enjoyed myself in the company of RM, NAMN, AAA & wife, and HA. Other memorable buka puasa events include the one at Bora Asmara with RS, NA, NM, MZ and NAAR. We also celebrated NA's 28th birthday (ekh ke yg ke 27?). I bought her a set of goodies from Crabtree and Evelyn. On that night, RS also made an important announcement regarding his future... semoga berbahagia lah hendaknya.

Initially, I was planning to 'balik kampung' early considering that aku akan ke US on raya ke-4. Unfortunately, I was required to attend a meeting on 11 October. Sekian lah jawabnya. Flight tickets on 12 October ke Alor Setar pulak semua dah habis. Memang hanj. The only ticket left is on 13 October at 2 p.m. which is on the raya day itself. Mau tak mau, beli jelah...kang tak beraya pulak. Return tickets to Alor Setar nowadays costs RM472. Tu tak termasuk taxi from rumah ke airport and airport ke rumah both kat KL and Perlis. So all in all, transportation costs alone dah RM700 lebih... It will definitely be cheaper kalau pakai kereta sendiri. Maybe it's time to get myself a car... (some of you will be happy to hear this :)

On the last day of Ramadhan, aku berbuka puasa kat Ratu Sari...errr ke Sari Ratu? Located in Bukit Bintang. Dengan sape lagi, if not HA. By this time semua orang yg dah berkeluarga would have balik kampung...so tinggal kengkawan bujang je lah yang sanggup nak gi buka puasa buffet and using-pusing kat area Bukit Bintang tu. I wanted to do last minute shopping, cari baju raya, sebab I had not done any shopping lagi this Ramadhan. Tapi, I only managed to buy 1 white shirt for Raya. Nampak suci sikit la (poyo) ... baju melayu yang aku nak beli tak muat pulak seluarnya... dah tau XXL still berangan nak beli ready made baju melayu...I rest my case. Kasut Lacoste yang aku nak pun takde size... malang betul. Ended up beli SDs ajee...... (SD = barang yang dipakai di badan, tapi orang tak nampak)

HA and RM were kind enough to invite me beraya kat rumah diaorang. Tapi aku segan sikit lah nak ke rumah RM, di pagi2 raya pulak tu. Ke rumah HA ok sikit sebab aku kenal some of the family members. Lagipun, by 11:30 am, I should leave for the airport. So I accepted invitation from HA. Keesokan harinya tatkala orang sibuk bersembahyang raya... aku pulak sibuk mengemas baju untuk balik kampung. HA datang jemput aku at about 10 am untuk beraya di rumahnya. Siap ada nasi beriani bagai...makan besar aku pagi tu. Lepas tu HA and his brother hantar aku ke KLIA. Jalan jam ya amat.... nasib baik tak terlepas flight...or else beraya kat KL je lah jawabnya.

Raya this year was uneventful.... boring!!! Aku sampai rumah dah pukul 4 pm. Lepas beraya dengan family members, aku ke rumah paksu aku which is just next door. Kenalah tunjuk muka... kang dituduh kekwat pulak. Makcik pun ada...she is a divorcee with 3 kids. Kesiann...tragis sikit la dia punya life story. And now with her ex-husband already passed away, she is on her own raising her kids. One of her kids is very much talented in sports and has a chance to be accepted to Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS). I offered her my assistance to take care of Amir financially if he decides to join BJSS. Petang raya tu, hujan turun dengan lebatnya... I ended up duduk kat rumah je melayan sedara mara yang datang.

Every year aku dengan cousin aku will take turn to belanja family sebelah arwah my mom pada malam raya pertama. This includes family Wa (Maklong), family Paklang and family Makcik plus me and my sister. Yelah, selalunya dah tak larat nak makan ketupat, rendang, lemang, etc di malam raya, lagipun takde sape yang sanggup nak masak malam tu. So for the past 3-4 years memang this nightly activity dah jadi routine. And selalunya about 20++ of us akan ke Restoran Rosnani Tomyam, the only restaurant that opens on hari raya.

This year pun plannya sama. Unfortunately, cousin aku lambat sampai balik from KL and because of hujan lebat, semua dah malas nak pegi. Malam raya kedua aku tak free pulak coz dah janji nak keluar dengan a friend. The following day i.e. Raya kedua, I visited all of them (bapa and mak sedara) kat rumah masing2 mainly sebab dah jadi tradisi aku kasi duit raya kat my younger cousins. And memang bebudak ni pun tunggu aku je coz I give quite subtantial amounts, RM50 each untuk 16 orang kesemuanya. So kalau aku lambat balik kampung, memang lah bebudak ni risau and asyik tanya bila aku nak balik aje... hehe

Sebab tak jadi dinner, aku just give a few hundred bucks to my cousin so that they can have dinner on their own. Malam tu aku keluar dengan YA. Saje lepak kat Kangar minum2 and sembang2. Besok tengah hari, I was already on my way to the airport to catch a flight back to KL.

I went out shopping kat the Pavillion malam raya ketiga. Bought a few things for myself. Late that night baru kelam kabut packing for my trip to DC. As traveling is something that I do quite often these days... I already have a checklist of what to bring on this trip. So packing up was quite a breeze.

16 October 2007. As usual, Tan picked me up at home untuk ke airport. Aku singgah office untuk ambik documents. Dalam pukul 1:00 pm aku dah sampai kat KLIA. The trip to Washington DC this time around was packed with meetings. Meetings started on Thursday sampailah Monday. Penat gilerr... I did not have much time to go out shopping ataupun sight seeing. Tapi sempat le menjengah the White House as well as pegi ke Pentagon City. I bought myself an iPhone....yess... iPhone people!! It is such a cool gadget... (ada incident gak waktu nak beli iPhone ni... tapi tak nak lah aku cite kat sini). A good friend of mine, si AAA was also there in DC for some benchmarking studies. Dia pun joined aku ke Pentagon City. On our way back, we stopped over kat Hard Rock Cafe sebab 2 of my neighbors kirim suruh beli t-shirts. I also bought for HA and his bro. Memang lah aku stressed out sepanjang minggu tu sebab banyak meetings dengan jadual yang hectic.

Aku sampai KL on 25 October. Since then aku memang busy with work. Gym pun belum turun lagi sejak Raya ni. Dah put on 2 kg dah...sekiann!

Hari ni NM's beloved and I must add...'cute' daughter celebrates her birthday yang ketiga. Aku janji dengan Y to go together. We met dekat Sogo....Lepas breakfast kat Sogo (walaupun dah pukul 1 pm), aku pegi beli gift. I bought Yaya a cuddly teddy bear...yang hampir sama besar dengan Yaya. Hope she'll like it.

Sementara nak sampai ke rumah NM ni... aku dah sesat barat beberapa kali... taxi driver pun tak tahu jalan... aku, lagilah tak tahu jalan kat area Setapak ni. Nasib baik kawan si NM tu guided me on how to get there over the phone... Sampai ruma h NM dah pukul 2 lebih. Mak ai! Gayatnya...rumah si NM ni kat tingkat 18. Aku punya apartment, tingkat 2 jek... Kalau lift rosak, mau tidur kat bawah ... hehe. Selepas buat kechoh kat rumah NM...aku paksa pulak MZ atau sekarang lebih dikenali sebagai AM untuk hantar aku balik ke Bank.

Aku sambung keje kat office for about an hour. Lepas tu aku gi lepak kat Starbucks Maju Junction. Ada mamat lepak sebelah aku ni. Aku rasa he's watching porn, sebab semacam je aku tengok. Buat bodoh je lah. Sambil2 update blog ni, aku tengah seronok baca buku Greenspan yg aku mentioned earlier. Best la buku ni. Kalau korang a central banker, this book is a must...!! Kat DC pun aku dapat berdiri sebelah Greenspan in person. Something I'll cherish ...

OK lah...malas nak tulis dah. I will update some images later. Taaa for now!

Dari 'Legend' ke 'Legend'

2007-09-24T02:01:00.000+08:00

23 September 2007, Sunday

Today I had another round of negotiations in the morning. Walaupun semalam tak cukup tidur, aku gagahkan juga ke 'that virtual hotel'. Hari ni ada joint session. All went well. Negotiations ended at 1:00 p.m.

Lepas tu aku ambik cab ke Suria KLCC. Heran pakcik cab tu bila aku cakap aku nak ke KLCC sebab jarak antara hotel dengan KLCC tu cukup dekat. Perlu ke aku nak jalan tengah hari rambang ni... ambik cab larr...

Takde benda pun yang nak dicari. Saje pusing-pusing. I quite like this one jacket and bag kat Zara. Kat Isetan pun ada a few items yang menarik. Seperti biasa, aku terjebak beli bag. Kali ni kat GAP. Lepas tu, aku balik rumah.

Petang ni aku janji nak berbuka puasa dengan RS. Lagipun aku nak buat keje sikit kat office. Besok ada brainstorming session dengan pihak atasan. So kena prepare sikit. Sampai rumah, aku nap kejap sebab dah letih sangat. Kat luar hujan lebat, so lagi nyenyak lah aku tido.

Lepas sejam tido, aku mandi and bersiap ke office. I also wanted to send my shoes for repair and polishing kat Sogo. Lepas singgah Sogo for about 15 minutes, aku masuk office. Walaupun petang Ahad, ada 2 colleagues yang sibuk berkerja... rajin betul.

Memula aku ingat nak pegi Quality Hotel for buka puasa. Tapi hati ni berat nak ke Legend Hotel sebab haritu I quite liked dia punya spread. I called the Legend Hotel to make reservation. Dalam 6:25 p.m., aku dengan RS ambik LRT ke sana. So minggu ni bermula dengan buka puasa kat Legend dan berakhir jugak dengan buka puasa di Legend. Lepas ni pergi tempat lain lah pulak...

Aku makan sikit je sebab aku rasa perut aku dah masuk angin. Aku cuba serba sedikit, dari kerabu, murtabak, popiah basah, beriani gam and dessert. Bila nak makan lagi, rasa dah tak boleh masuk. Nak muntah pun ada. Rasa macam nak demam pun ada. Gelak si RS tengok keadaan aku. Sembahyang pun rasa macam tak sempurna jek.

Then we went back to Sogo untuk ambik kasut aku. Aku masuk office and buat keje sampai 10:30 malam. Takut gak sorang-sorang kat situ...kot-kot lah. 10:30 sharp, aku ciao.

Quiet stay at home

2007-09-24T01:52:00.000+08:00

22 September 2007, Saturday

Harini aku sepatutnya ada negotiations kat that 'virtual' hotel. Tapi ada hal pulak disebelah pagi. Lagipun, selalunya substantial negotiations take place in the afternoon. So tak perlu lah kalut. My staff pun ada kat sana, so it is not urgent for me to be there. By 1 p.m., aku dah bersiap sedia nak pegi hotel, tapi belum sempat aku keluar rumah, KR called cakap that negotiations for today dah selesai, sebab tak banyak issue. Terus tak jadi aku nak keluar rumah.

I just lepak at home. Did some reading... + membongkang je yang lebih. Nak keluar berbuka puasa pun malas. So I just ordered Domino's Pizza. Malam pun just lepak kat rumah. A quiet day indeed!

Nobody else to blame!

2007-09-23T21:46:00.000+08:00

21 September 2007, Friday

At 9.00 a.m. aku dah terpacak kat that 'virtual' hotel for the trade negotiation meeting. The meeting went quite well walaupun tetap bertelagah among a few member countries. We finally managed to agree on key issues at about 12 noon. Aku and NN bergegas balik ke office. Aku janji dengan AHA nak pegi sembahyang sama2 kat Masjid Wilayah. Dengan jam and all, dekat 1.00 p.m. baru sampai. Lepas sembahyang aku sepatutnya ada meeting. Cancelled lah pulak. So I had some free time to clear my in tray.

After contemplating for 2 days, I have decided that I will still go back for Hari Raya. Tapi sekejap je lah sebab nak ke US. I sought my secretary's assistance to help me book return flight tickets to and from Alor Setar. Malangnya semua ticket dah habis, and the only one left departs from KLIA on Hari Raya pertama at 1:55 p.m. and balik to KL on raya ketiga petang. Padan muka aku. Lambat sangat buat reservation. There's NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME OTHER THAN MYSELF.

Late this afternoon, I received a Poslaju letter from University Malaysia Perlis. Terpinga-pinga gak aku coz I have not dealt with anybody from the uni. In fact, I don't even know that such university exists... aiyooo. The content of the letter is even more shocking. The letter says that Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi telah mengenal pasti aku sebagai salah seorang tenaga professional dalam bidang perbankan dan kewangan and as such aku dijemput/dikehendaki untuk menjadi pensyarah/penceramah jemputan di Universiti tersebut. However, I'm free to decide on the topics for my lecture. Terkebil-kebil gak aku, bila masa lak aku tersenarai sebagai tenaga professional? mana diaorang dapat contact aku? sape yg recommend kan aku? dan macam2 persoalan lain. Tak boleh jadi ni.... so aku pun menjalankan tugas perisikan dengan membuat panggilan to a few people yg aku rasa would know pasal hal ni. True enough, memang company aku yg recommended my name.... tapi ntah macam mana aku tak diberitahu. Nasib baik aku tak call and reject the invitation... tak pasal-pasal je nanti.

Anyhow, malam ni aku berbuka puasa di Ginger, Central Market. I quite like this place sebab ala-ala romantik dengan mood lampu yang agak gelap... (kalau ada tikus besar kucing lalu bawah kaki pun tak nampak sebab begitu dimmed sekali). Dengan dekat 10 jenis lauk tak termasuk dessert, makan kat sini memang berbaloi. Sedap juga, except for the cuttlefish yang rasa macam selipar jepun. Kelakar tengok NM, MZ and RS terkial-kial nak minum limau barli (ke barli limau?) sebab tak diberi straw. Nak minta segan pulak diaorang ni... haha.

Dessert pulak ada element durian yang memang tak dapat diterima oleh sistem pemakanan aku. Ada yang kata lempuk, ada yang kata lempung... setelah berhujah selama 5 minutes, we agreed that the correct term is lempuk, sebab lempung = paru. Betul ke? Aku terpaksalah ordered dessert yang lain sebab tak makan durian.

Lepas makan, pegi sembahyang kat surau di tingkat atas yang agak terbiar... the last time aku datang surau ni, aku rasa 10 tahun dulu. Lepas sembahyang aku jalan balik ke office dengan RS. Kat dalam Central Mall ada orang jual toys. Terjebak beli remote control helikopter sebab nampak macam best. MZ pegi hantar NM balik kat taxi station. Aku sambung keje sikit, then ciao!

Coaching for Impact

2007-09-23T21:21:00.000+08:00

20 September 2007, Thursday

Today, I attended the Coaching for Impact course conducted by Ms Alice at our training centre which is part of the overall leadership development programme. The programme aims to ensure that participants achieve the following:

understand the importance and benefits of coaching
be aware of how your subordinates perceive your coaching style
understand the skills involved in coaching
able to use the 5-step process and the GROW model

The session was highly interactive with individual and group activities to foster greater understanding on the subject matter. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the session tomorrow as I have to attend a trade negotiation meeting at one of the hotels in KL.

After the session, I tumpang RMM back to office. Thanks RMM. Tonight I have another get together for buka puasa at the Cozy House, Great Eastern (GE) Mall. After Asar, I tumpang NSK to GE Mall. MNH and HA will be joining us as well. Aku memang suka makan kat sini coz makanan dia memang OK. Cuma service nya kadang-kadang lembap sebab ramai sangat orang. Malam ni pun sama, dah nak habis makan, baru lah ikan yang dipesan sampai. Minuman si HA pun dah berejam baru sampai... nasib baik lerr that poor soul tak tercekik kat situ.

Lepas makan and sembahyang, HA singgah kat cold storage nak beli kentang (don't ask my why...) while aku and NSK singgah kat Signature Kitchen to admire the interior design for kitchen, dining area and living room that they have on display there. Bila lah aku nak buat renovation untuk condo aku tu, aku pun tak tau. Lepas tu HA sent me home. Sekiann...

Los Angeles vs. New York vs. Washington D.C.

2007-09-23T03:49:00.000+08:00

19 September 2007, Wednesday

Traveling arrangement to attend a meeting in Washington D.C. needs to be finalised ASAP. As the meeting starts on 18 October 2007, I need to arrive there on 17 October 2007. Unfortunately, there's no direct MAS flight to New York on 16 October. If I take the one on 15 October, I will arrive 2 days early and therefore need to stay overnight either in D.C. or in New York. Alternatively, I can fly direct to Los Angeles on 16 October and either stay overnight there or connect immediately to D.C. By connecting immediately, I'll be able to reach D.C. in the early hours of 17 October. Initially, I was tempted to stay overnight in either LA or NY. I'm quite familiar with both places coz I used to study in Southern California back in 1993/1994 as well as spent a month in NY during a winter holiday in 1995. So I thought it would be nice to pay either place a visit. This trip to D.C is going to be my third visit to the US this year (balik kampung pun tak kerap macam ni...). I was in San Francisco in January and in Washington D.C. in April.

I have finally decided to fly via Los Angeles, connecting immediately to D.C so that I have more time to prepare for the meeting in D.C.

What pisses me off is the fact that I have to apply for a new visa. I'm currently holding type A2 visa which allows me to enter US for trade negotiation purposes. My visa is still valid until end 2008. For this meeting, I was told that I need the type G2 visa. Buang masa betul!

Aku half day lagi pagi ni... I needed to run a few errands. Lagipun cuti banyak lagi.

Hari ni aku plan nak buka puasa dengan geng biasa... Hasrat hati nak pegi Islamic Arts Museum kat Lake Garden tu. I quite like the setting that they have there. Makanan pun boleh tahan. Yang boleh pegi cuma, NM, MZ dan aku. NA balik buka bersama keluarga. RS pulak dah janji dengan bebudak lain.

Dalam 6:35 p.m., aku, MZ and NM dah sampai. Mak ai... awallah pulak. Takde orang pun lagi. So we all lepak by the glass wall menikmati keindahan sekeliling... sambil bersembang-sembang.

Dah dekat pukul 7 baru masuk ke restaurant. Memang malam ni takde orang pun... (belum gaji kot). In total tak sampai pun 20 orang. So makanan memang lah banyak... I quite like the briani and segala masakan daging yang ada. Salmon pun not bad...cuma rasa a bit dry. Banyaklah Mediterranean dishes. Kuih muih melayu pun ada. Desserts pulak ada sago gula merah, bubur kacang, cakes, etc. Cuma satu jek... minuman dia semua manis 'melecass'. Kena sendiri tambah air.

Lepas berbuka, we all took turns pegi Maghrib and sambung makan lagi. Lepas tu NM and MZ sent me back to office sebab masih ada keje yg belum beres. Lambat lagi balik hari ni... :(

Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Kebangsaan...

2007-09-23T00:59:00.000+08:00

18 September 2007, Tuesday

Aku seorang yang agak vokal... terutamanya dalam mesyuarat bila ada usul atau pendapat yang ingin diketengahkan. Hari ni, disebelah pagi berlangsung Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Kebangsaan +++ di Kementerian +++. Melihat kepada agenda mesyuarat, tiada isu yang melibatkan company aku. Kehadiran aku sekadar memastikan aku memahami konteks menyeluruh dan isu yang dibincangkan. Aku rasa, dekat 50 orang yang hadir daripada pelbagai agensi. Mesyuarat berlarutan selama 3 jam. Ye lah...kalau dah ada sampai 8 kertas kerja yang nak dibincangkan, mau tak lama. Dan nampaknya, aku tak boleh lari daripada bercakap dalam mesyuarat macam ni. Tetiba je, Chairman minta aku punya views on the issue discussed. Terpaksalah aku kongsi my 2 cents worth of ideas.

Dalam pukul 12 lebih, aku balik ke office. Aku bercadang nak ambik cuti half day disebelah petang. Memandangkan waktu lunch aku takde plan, MM, AAA and RMM ajak main Boggle kat bilik MM. Aku ni memang malas main games yang kena pikir-pikir ni...tapi apa salahnya mencuba. ARG pun ada. Memanglah aku tak reti main and asyik dapat tempat tercorot je. But I must say that I enjoyed the game.

Walaupun aku cuti, tapi sebab ada benda urgent aku stayed back sampai pukul 4 p.m. Bila sampai kat rumah, aku sempat berehat kejap je, sebab aku janji dengan HA and MN untuk berbuka puasa kat kedai asam pedas di Kampung Baru. Aku janji to meet HA kat Putra Station, Kampung Baru at 6:30 p.m. Aku sampai awal pulak di Kg Baru, and HA and MN lambat sikit sebab jalan jam.

Malangnya, kedai asam pedas kegemaran tu tutup pulak... hisshhh... hampeh betul. We ended up kat Juwara Tomyam for buka puasa. Lepas buka puasa we all singgah kat surau Jawa untuk Maghrib. Cantik view from surau ni... mengadap KLCC. Aku pun snapped some photos. Terawih buat kat rumah je lah. Lepas tu, HA dropped me off kat LRT Masjid Jamek sebab dia nak balik ke office. Aku balik terus ke rumah...

Temptation of Ramadhan

2007-09-22T22:49:00.000+08:00

17 September 2007

This morning, AAA surprised me when he bought me a Mountain Morph Pump - a state of the art frame mounted bicycle pump. Thank you so much, bro. Nevertheless, as at now, I haven't got the foggiest idea on how to use the pump as it looks too canggih for my bike...hehe. I will only find out after Raya as I don't cycle during fasting month...takut pengsan kat Lake Garden :p

Hari ni, as usual, I was occupied throughout the day with meetings and work assignments. But the thought of having to 'buka puasa' at our cafe no longer seems attractive to me. I wanted to eat out.

For the first 4 days of Ramadhan, I was able to resist the temptation of indulging myself in Ramadhan buffets. However, the temptation failed me today. While I do agree that gorging on an extravagant buffet at the end of the day defeats the purpose of Ramadhan, such practice has become an accepted culture in Malaysia as it offers us the perfect setting for family and friends to gather.

I made a reservation at the Legend Hotel's D'atas Brasserie for 'buka puasa'. Dalam pukul 6:15 pm, aku and RS left the office and headed straight to the Bandaraya LRT station. Tak sibuk pulak LRT station petang ni... In less than 20 minutes, we all dah sampai kat the Legend Hotel. Tak ramai pun orang kat sini, meja kosong pun banyak... There are 70+ dishes served... sampai tak tau nak makan apa.... Sebab dah sampai awal, we just lepak and omong-omong kosong sampai waktu berbuka. Aku berbuka dengan some appertizers... and makan serba-sedikit. Baru je berbuka, boss aku called from office to inform me that I have to attend a meeting in the United States bulan Oktober ni. Yang leceh tu aku kena bertolak from KLIA on 16 October 2007, which falls on raya ke-4. Tak Raya lah aku tahun ni... The news dampened my appetite... makan sikit2 je. We then went for prayer and tapau Starbucks. We went back to office as I needed to do some work. Dalam pukul 10:30 p.m. baru balik rumah.

Selamat Berpuasa, Ramadhan 1428 H

2007-09-20T23:07:00.000+08:00

13 September 2007

Selamat berpuasa buat semua umat Islam, semoga mendapat keberkatan.

Footnote: Banyak hajat yang nak aku tunai kan di bulan yang mulia ni... tapi keje pun dah makin berlambak. Akan kucuba setakat yang termampu...

Today, I Turn 32

2007-09-13T05:58:00.000+08:00

12 September 2007

Today, I turn 32. I don’t even mind turning 32 coz I’m having such a good time. I mean, it helps that everyone around me are at least 5 to 10 years older than me at work... (mati aku kena serang lepas ni)..hehe. But generally, I think it’s okay being 32 and single if you’re happy with your life, content with who and where you are, and are surrounded by good friends.

Sejak semalam lagi sms tak berhenti-henti masuk wishing me well for my birthday. Selalunya tak meriah macam ni... ramai sangat ke orang yang ingat my birthday? Terharu gak lerr...heh heh. To me, birthday is not such a big thing... it is just another day in your aging process. It is not like semalam aku 16, and tetiba hari ni terus jadi 32.

Kat atas meja aku pagi ni dah ada cards and gifts from dear friends/colleagues. Thank you so much. Susah-susah aje. After sending them a quick thank you message, I had to concentrate on work. Banyak sangat outstanding work yang aku nak tengok.

NAMN pulak dari semalam lagi dok ajak lunch and I sensed something fishy.. Aku ni, while suka sangat celebrate birthday orang, tapi tak suka bila orang celebrate birthday aku. Mainly because ada elements of surprise (the cake, the singing, etc)... yang membuatkan aku tak comfortable. Yelah... aku ni kan control freak, and therefore would always want to be in control.

Tapi aku setuju jugak dengan lunch invitation tu, coz lepas LDP tu aku nak lerr kurangkan my controlling behavior ni sikit. To be a better person kann...

We went to an eating place kat Hartamas yang namanya aku dah tak berapa ingat (pakcik dah tuo ni). Makanan yang dihidangkan ialah masakan negeri sembilan. Aku tumpang NSK ke restaurant to... TQ NSK. Bila we all sampai, NAMN, SN, RA, HA, RMM dah sampai. Haz je belum. Tetiba si HA keluar from dapur with the birthday cake. Thank you all for the wonderful treat. Makanan kat sini memang sedap. Something different. Cuma bau tempoyak tu je yang aku kureng sket!

Lepas lunch, balik ke office bertungkus lumus lagi. I had a meeting at 3:30 p.m. At 5:00 p.m. ada another celebration kat my department. Makan lagi. And another cake. Nasib baik le besok dah puasa... hehe. Thank you all...Continued with work until about seven. Lepas maghrib, aku planned nak balik terus. Normally, I would have another makan2 session disebelah malamnya, tapi sebab besok puasa... I thot balik buat terawih larr lagi afdal. On the way back pulak, terserempak dengan HA. We decided nak pegi dinner dulu...we agreed to go somewhere near Ampang and ended up kat Wong Solo. After dinner (which HA belanja... thanks bro), HA hantar aku balik.

Otak pun dah letih, so aku planned to nap for 1 hour.

Sedar, sedar dah pukul 4 pagi. Kelam kabut lah aku dengan Isyak and Terawih. Ada lagi 5 sms yg masuk with wishes. For Sahur, aku just minum air jerr... Selamat berpuasa.

Rokok Batang Besar

2007-09-12T06:54:00.000+08:00

11 September 2007

I was really not in the mood to do anything fun (or hu-ha) today. Cycling after office pun malas. Dinner with gang pun malas.

RMM belanja lunch tadi kat Coca Restaurant, BSC. Thanks RMM. And seperti biasa, I managed to injure myself when dealing with 'hot' items. Melecur ibu jari aku terpegang periuk steamboat yg panas menggelegak tu. Dua minggu lepas aku melecur kena seterika kat rumah. Apa la nak jadi!!

Mulanya aku bercadang nak ambik cuti besok. Tetiba boss called cakap yg besok he'll be on leave and my peers will also be away. So, I have to take charge of the department tomorrow. Tak dapek lah nak cuti. Sebab takde mood, I cancelled dinner plan with the gang. Maybe we will do a buka puasa get together.

Nevertheless, dalam pukul 7 macam tu, aku dengan KKY decided to go dinner together. Walaupun takde mood, makan tetap kena makan kann...AAA pun available, so invited him to join as well. We had dinner kat Bora Asmara. When we arrived, ramai la pulak orang malam ni. Mungkin sebab dah nak puasa, banyak orang buat group outing or family gathering.

After dinner, we had coffee. AAA wanted to try their cigar. So we all panggil la waitress coz AAA wanted to order Numero 5. Bila AAA tanya samaada kat sini ada jual rokok or not to the waitress yg ayu bertudung ni, waitress tu jawab, "Bang, kat sini rokok yang batang besar adalah". Aiyoo...terkedu all of us, sambil menahan gelak. AAA ordered Numero 5. Lepas je waitress tu blah, berdekah-dekah we all gelak. Kesian betul. Aku plak, ordered Pisang Goreng Bali with Ice Cream for dessert. Lepas dinner, KKY hantar aku balik. Thanks KKY! (despite pengalaman ngeri sangkut kat tol 3 kali malam tu...:p)

EU-Asean FTA Negotiations Unlikely To Succeed, Says Academician

2007-09-11T19:29:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- A successful free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is unlikely because the Asean nations are unwilling to consider tackling the non-tariff and regulatory barriers, an academician said Thursday.

European Centre for International Political Economy's co-director Razeen Sally said the alternative was for the EU to strengthen regulatory cooperation on all trade issues with Asean countries collectively and individually, instead of going for an FTA or FTAs.

"The EU, which wants a strong and serious FTA, is unlikely to get it from Asean collectively for the reason I've mentioned," he said.

"Secondly it's because Asean lacks a common negotiation machinery to deal with EU, thus it takes so long to come up with even a basic common position," he told reporters after the seminar entitled "The EU-Asean FTA in the Context of the EU's New FTA Negotiations in Asia: Something Serious this Time?".

In May this year, EU and Asean agreed to launch FTA talks. There is currently no bilateral FTA negotiations between the EU and Malaysia.

Sally said although both sides of have agreed to negotiations, he foresees a bleak future as the existing FTAs that Asean countries have, bilaterally and collectively, are weak.

On the ongoing FTA talks between Malaysia and the United States, Sally said although still ongoing, it was "reflectively blocked".

"I don't think that the Malaysian government is in a position domestically to make the relevant concessions because what it means is significantly opening up the Malaysian market in services and investment, plus having a regulatory overhaul on various areas, all of which are related somehow to the Bumiputera policy," he said.

"I don't think it's possible to address these very sensitive domestic issues through an FTA initially," he added.

Asked if the New Economic Policy (NEP) was an impediment, Sally said: "Yes, clearly. That has been the major impediment to doing a deal with the US.

"Besides being a co-director of the international economic policy think tank based in Brussels, Sally is also a senior lecturer in international political economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

His research focuses on trade policies in Asia, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and preferential trade agreements, and his new book on trade policy will be coming out next year.--

BERNAMA

The News is Out

2007-09-11T07:14:00.000+08:00

10 September 2007

Hari yg sibuk. Terkejar-kejar ke sana ke mari. Banyak betul memos and inputs to be cleared.

Aku keluar lunch dengan KKY after seminggu tak borak, just to catch up on what has been happening for the past one week. Initially, we wanted to go to Ayam Kampung Cheras (lagii??), tapi sebab jalan jam bangat, terus we all menyimpang ke Ikan Bakar Tanglin.

Boss aku panggil petang tadi... ingatkan pasal keje. Rupanya the department has received the transfer letter from HR. Yes folks, it is now OFFICIAL that I'll be leaving my current department effective 1 October 2007 for 2 years. Hint: Most likely I have to move up to tingkat 18. I guess, sepanjang Ramadhan ni, I'll be busy transitioning ke tempat baru ni.

After office, aku lepak dengan MZ kat Cafe. Then jumpa Y kat surau sebab nak kasi coklat untuk anak dia yang aku beli kat Langkawi. 8:30 malam, aku dengan RS keluar ke Bangunan MARA for dinner....apa lagi... makan our favorite meehun sup lah. Sampai rumah dah 11:30 malam...zzz

p/s: Happy birthday buat sepupu aku Kak Lydia yang menyambut hari lahir yang ke 40 hari ini.

Teman Terulung

2007-09-10T03:18:00.000+08:00

9 September 2007

Dedicating this song to all my close friends...

Teman Terulung

Bila bertaut senyuman
Mata berlirikan
Memancarkan keluhuran
Cerah kesederhanaan mu
Seindah kejujuranmu

Detik seia sejiwa
Terungkap setia
Tiada upaya sepi
Mekar kudup penantian ku
Hadirnya teman sejati

Melangkah kita menjejak mimpi
Bahgia berdiri dengan mu di sisi
Harapan kita meniti hari
Sentiasa seiring

Paling agung teman terulung
Tenunan emas sayap hidup ku
Tak inginku undur bertamu
Bertakhta teguh
Ke akhir waktu

Restful Weekend...

2007-09-10T02:14:00.000+08:00

9 September 2009

Sejak aku balik from Langkawi, banyak benda yang nak diselesaikan.... pergi maintenance office bayar bills, main badminton, grocery shopping, beli CD, laundry, mengemas...etc.

Aku jugak jengah office on Saturday and Sunday, tengok apa keje yang outstanding. But I was definitely not in the mood to do work.

Tapi besok I need to work full steam...sebab banyak yang outstanding after a week away from office. Hingga saat itu.

Lelaki Ini

Kasih, kenanganku
Ingatkah saat saat dulu
Kasih, apakah dirimu
Merasakan semua itu

Ke mana pun langkahku pergi
Ku masih melihat bayanganmu cintaku
Dan kemana pun arah anginku berlari
Hati ini masih kau miliki

Lelaki ini yang selalu mencintamu
Selalu, tanpa ragu
Lelaki ini yang selalu memuja
Hanya dirimu
Yang bertakhta dalam sanubariku
Sanubari ku
Aku yang mencintakan mu
Hanya dirimu…

Karena cintaku, tak berbatas waktu
Karena cintaku, tak mengenal jenuh hatimu
Hatimu…

LDP - Leaders Develop "Perut"

2007-09-10T02:00:00.000+08:00

6 September 2007

Hari ni merupakan hari terakhir LDP yang mana some of us dah renamed LDP jadi "Leaders Develop Perut" gara-gara banyak sangat makan sepanjang programme. Mana taknya, we had dinner kat Pelangi Beach Resort lah, Yacht Club lah, BBQ by the poolside lah... plus all those heavy lunches, breakfasts and tea breaks.

In addition to the formal learning, I also learn to respect and see my peers from different perspective. I made friends with those yang selama ni aku jarang bercakap, mainly because of age differences. And now we are friends, with common interests and all. I do appreciate the bond we created and hope that it will last forever.

I also enjoyed going out with the guys after dinner or blasting our voices away in the karaoke room. I helped some of them to prepare for the BBQ night which require participants to sing during dinner. Ha ha... it was fun. Aku yang memang kaki menyanyi ni memang tanpa segan silulah menyanyikan lagu2 pada malam BBQ tu. Memandangkan koleksi lagu yang terhad, maka terpaksalah aku menyanyikan lagu-lagu yang ada seperti Sampai Hati, Biar Bulan Bicara, Rendang Tak Berbuah, When You Say NOthing at All. Tambah fun lagi bila all of us menari to the tune of Joget Lambak. Some of you are really good dancers and aku pulak terkengkang-kengkang kesemputan cuba nak ikut steps... Kesiann...

and a Control Freak too....

2007-09-10T01:44:00.000+08:00

4 September 2007

Today, we also received a personalised FIRO-B Report. The FIRO-B tool measures interpersonal needs in 3 areas namely inclusion, control and affection. The FIRO-B tool scores you on a scale of 0 to 9. And guess what? I scored 8 and 9 in 5 out of 6 areas indicating high interpersonal needs in all those areas.

My overall score of 45/54 falls in the high range. This suggests that:

My involvement with others is enjoyable and satisfying
I work best in a group, interacting with others.
I like to work on teams and to solve problems through discussions.
I prefer to be with others and have plenty of social interaction.
I am an extrovert.

The group exercise which was videotaped, further confirmed my controlling behavior after we reviewed the tape. I was seen taking charge of the group discussion in the tape. Through this exercise, I learned to be aware of how my action affects others and therefore would allow me to take the necessary corrective actions.

Oh! Dear... I am Delusional

2007-09-10T01:28:00.000+08:00

4 September 2007

Today we received the Bar-on EQ-360 Multirater Feedback Report. Hello people! It is therefore confirmed that I'm DELUSIONAL! I rated myself higher than what others rated me. I rated myself in the category of 'well-developed' EQ while the rest categorised me as having 'effective EQ'. 3 areas where exist significant score disparities between me and my raters are on 'Assertiveness', 'Flexibility' and 'Independence' where I score myself significantly higher than what others gave me. My coach says that I have high self esteem and is very comfortable with myself, hence the results...

I need to find out more... ;)

Thank You for the 360 Degree Feedback

2007-09-10T00:44:00.001+08:00

3 September 2007

To me, one of the most valuable lessons from the programme is the 360 degree feedback. 20 raters altogether rated me on 18 competencies. I also did a self assessment on this. Out of 18 competencies, raters on average rated me higher than I rated myself on 13/18 competencies as follows:

No	Competency	Average Scores
No	Competency	All Observers	Self
1	Forging Synergy	4.05	4.00
2	Relationships	4.19	3.90
3	Building and Mending Relationships	4.06	4.20
4	Compassion and Sensitivity	3.89	3.29
5	Leading Employees	3.89	3.77
6	Communication	4.05	3.40
7	Leading Change	3.93	3.60
8	Getting Information, Making Sense of It, Problem Identification	3.99	3.43
9	Sound Judgment	3.88	3.50
10	Influencing, Leadership, Power	4.17	3.33
11	Has the Courage to Take Risks	4.05	4.25
12	Risk-Taking, Innovation	3.93	3.20
13	Courage	3.89	4.00
14	Results Orientation	3.99	3.67
15	Business Perspective	3.85	3.60
16	Acting Systemically	4.14	4.20
17	Coping with Pressure and Adversity; Integrity	3.93	4.71
18	Straightforwardness and Composure	4.02	4.00

Of equal importance is the written comments on my strengths and areas for development. The most significant areas for development as written by all raters are as follows:

Self:

need to improve communication skills to be an effective communicator so that intended message can be effectively disseminated
Need to improve on managing subordinates and investing in their human capital development so that they can contribute effectively to the organisation.

Others:

technical knowledge on macroeconomic
as XXX is assuming a management role, he has to start to delegate his work more effectively and make use of his direct reports
to continuously build internal strengths, mentally and spiritually. Need to keep healthy and a balanced life.
tremendous demand is being put unto this individual, that may break him.
effective delegation, mentoring subordinates. Reason: as he moves up the corporate ladder, a key success factor in getting things done is via effective delegation
He needs to allot more personal time - a workaholic. Needs to learn to say no.
Developing his subordinates effectively through coaching and empowerment
self control and maturity
punctuality
to further enhance his management and leadership skills
more open to others' ideas and willing to listen to others
managing different needs, conflicting ideas in particular from stakeholder who is not a direct supervisor/alliance. Ability to manage different needs is important for better buy-in, future collaboration and seen to be balanced and impartial.
focus on core work. due to his wide ranging ability to undertake managerial management work, he has been unable to give greater focus on his core work. Should not be deemed as his shortcoming but will be further improved if given the opportunity.
I have not noticed anything glaring for development. If anything, it would be outside his control as I have observed management's tendency to give him work beyond his core work's purview, which nevertheless, he has managed without compromising the unit's operations. While I can understand these projects are necessary primers to develop an officer's ability to assume the mantle of greater leadership, my concern more is for his work life balance.
perhaps some improvement on time management in terms of clearing reports etc - but the present lag could be due to the fact that he is in charge of a lot of projects currently.
continuous engagement with stakeholders to complement or strengthen the knowledge and maturity
although his people skill is already good, he could probably work on being a bit more diplomatic in his dealings with people who're not on the same page with him.
Last I checked, the one area XXX needs to improve is delegation skills
although he has subordinates to assist him, XXX tends to complete most of the tasks himself because the deliverables, often, did not meet his expectations. This, in my opinion contributed to the overwhelming deadlines he has on his plate.

The 360-degree feedback is the most useful as it gives me a clear understanding on how others perceive me and in what way I need to improve. Thank you to all raters who contributed your efforts and time to help me improve.

I am a Casual, Pressure-Prompted E, N, T, J

2007-09-10T00:23:00.000+08:00

3 September 2007

During the morning session, we got the results of MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Personality Assessment. This is a self assessment programme which I did online about 2 weeks ago.

My type came out to be ENTJ (Extraversion, Intuition, Thinking, Judging). According to the report: -

"ENTJs typically are logical, analytical, and objectively critical. They like long-range planning and strategic thinking and prefer to be in charge.

Their focus is on ideas, and they like to think ahead, making a systematic effort to reach their objectives on schedule. They are impatient with confusion or inefficiency, and they can be tough-minded when they see these problems getting in the way.

ENTJs prefer to work with framework more than details. They like to come to quick decisions about how to proceed and then actively lead others forward accordingly.

Systems and principles are important to ENTJs, who apply principles to whatever they do. If they are to change their methods, they need to change their principles first. They value logic and consistency.

ENTJs are likely to be most satisfied in a work environment that values long-range planning, involves them in making decisions, and lets them see that the plans are implemented. People can count on them to take charge and make sure things are done competently."

SPOT ON!!

Leadership Development Programme (LDP)

2007-09-09T23:33:00.000+08:00

2 September 2007

Aku ke Langkawi hari ni. Flight pukul 3:30 p.m. Seperti biasa, Tan datang ambil aku kat rumah untuk ke KLIA pukul 12:30 p.m. Hari hujan, so risau gak kalau turbulence ke apa on the way up. But everything went just smoothly. I think about 8 of us took the same flight to Langkawi. All in all, there are more than 20 of us for this batch of LDP. The programme is part of the efforts to develop high caliber and effective leaders within the organization. Banyak assessments yang perlu dibuat before attending the programme and many of the assessments require 360 degree participation, from boss, superior, peers, etc.

Sampai ke Langkawi resort dah pukul 5 ptg. After a welcoming drink, aku ke bilik to unpack. Dinner and ice-breaking sessions will start at 8 p.m. So sempat lah berehat kejap.

Malam ni nothing much. During the icebreaking session, we were required to draw in 4 quadrants, each quadrant depicting 'my life at the age of 10', 'my life 10 years ago', 'my life now' and 'my life 10 years from now', respectively. Once completed, we were required to hang the drawing on our chest and to walk around the classroom and try to interpret the drawing on everybody's chest. The owner of the drawing then supposed to explain the rationale for his/her drawing. Immediately, I learnt 1 lesson -- that I suck at drawing. He he. Overall, it was a fun exercise and got me to know my peers better.

Post ice-breaking session, a bunch of us went to check-out the karaoke room. Memang tak sangka yang aku akan banyak menghabiskan masa di sini setiap malam aku di Langkawi... :p

Happy Birthday, Malaysia!

2007-09-09T23:23:00.000+08:00

31 August 2007

Malaysia turns 50 on 31st August 2007 - celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence. On display is a myriad of colurful events, ranging from parades, exhibitions of the country's history to carnivals and other cultural activities. Namun, masih kedengaran cakap-cakap yang rata-rata antara kita masih belum merdeka. Tepuk dada...

Manusia Berpegang pada Janji

2007-09-09T23:16:00.000+08:00

30 August 2007

Hari ni lunch kat ayam kampung lagi... aku dah janji nak belanja member aku yang sorang ni. Haritu aku ada sound dia (tu lah...aku ni laser sangat) pasal satu incident, so dia dah ada sikit merajuk. Now dah OK, I hope. semoga tidak merajuk lagi... 0 - 0 lah yea :p

Sizzling Dishes at Sri Ayutthaya

2007-09-09T22:44:00.000+08:00

28 August 2007

Dah lama sepatutnya aku belanja bosses, superiors and peers sebab aku dah confirmed dengan jawatan aku sekarang. Finally, hari ni a bunch of us were available for lunch. Aku suruh one of my bosses decide kat mana nak lunch. Aku ni mana-mana pun tak kisah. Aku jadi financier jerr... So my boss decided that we shall go to Sri Ayutthaya.

Named after the ancient city of Ayuthaya, this Thai restaurant has an extensive menu with a wide and varied selections of salads, soups-mainly tom yams, mains with emphasis on seafood, a wide range of vegetable dishes, rice and noodle dishes and desserts.

Tom yams are a speciality here, especially the seafood version with generous portions of prawns, squid, mussels and sliced fish cooked in the hot and sour concoction.

I recommend this place for people looking to enjoy authentic Thai dishes. Quite cheap larr... for about RM500, seven of dapat menikmati masakan Thai yang enak-enak.

Lepas lunch, ladies semua diberikan sejambak bunga...tak tau apasal! Sekian.

Juga Jutaan Terima Kasih kepada NA dan NM sebab belikan abang long souvenir dari Medan. Sukaa.... kain tu bang long nak tinggal kat office untuk diguna sepanjang bulan Ramadhan ni.

Arena of Stars

2007-09-09T22:00:00.000+08:00

24 August 2007

Hari ni, aku, RR, and RS merancang nak gi KLCC cari baju (kalau ada yang sesuai) untuk annual dinner pada keesokan harinya. Aku ni bukannya rajin sangat nak pegi dinner ni, tapi dah terpaksa. Tapi, alang2 dah kene pegi, mesti lah ikut theme. Tema for this year is 'Arena of Stars'. So, I suppose, anything that looks elegant would be good enuf. Dalam pukul 6:15 pm we all keluar from office, ambik LRT Putra ke KLCC. Nak ambik taxi sure jam gilerr... LRT Putra pun sesak ya amat.

Sampai KLCC, terus terpa a few shops...cari punya cari tak jumpa gak yang aku berkenan. Kalau ada yang berkenan, either too expensive or tak muat... he he pening.... pening. Lepas Maghrib (kat surau yang juga sesak ya amat), kami ke House of Sundanese. Everytime ke sini, Ikan NIla Goreng merupakan menu wajib. Belum sempat nak order, baru aku perasan yg NSY and family baru lepas makan kat the same restaurant and baru nak balik. We all ordered banyak gila makanan...6 dishes for 3 people. Memang lah kuat makan.

After dinner, bergegas lagi cari baju...banyak kedai yang dah tutup. Nampaknya, pencarian yang hampa malam ni... Aku ingat besok je lah aku gi cari. Kalau tak jumpa gak, pakai baju lama je... baju sebenarnya dah berlambak-lambak. Dah penuh 3 almari... hmm...tunggu besok je lah.

25 August 2007

Pepagi dah bangun. 9:30 pagi ada badminton. Ingatnya lepas badminton nak gi shopping baju. Badminton habis dalam pukul 12 tgh hari. Lepas mandi dan tukar baju, aku ke Sogo. Sebab dah malas sangat nak pikir, aku beli satu suit hitam kat sogo for RM880. Quite a bargain...selalunya dalam RM1200. Lagipun suit hitam ni aku boleh pakai keje nanti... Jimat sket.

Dah beli suit hitam... kena lah beli kasut hitam. Kasut hitam yang ada tu macam dah tak best. Pastu aku nak cari baju yg striking sikit untuk dipakai di dalam. Takkan nak pakai baju keje plak! So dengan gigihnya aku menghala ke Lot 10. Kat sana berjumpa lah apa yang dihajati. Lepas selesai shopping, bergegas aku balik rumah.

Tan janji nak datang ambil aku kat rumah pukul 6 pm. Ingatnye, kalau aku pegi awal takdelah kelam kabut sangat nanti... convention centre kat Sunway Pyramid tempat dinner ni diadakan pun aku dah ingat-ingat lupa. So eloklah pegi awal...

Sampai sana dalam pukul 6:40 p.m. Aku ronda-ronda kat mall dulu. Tetiba terjumpa matching tie and hanky. Sesuai dengan baju yg dipakai. Terus aku beli and pakai kat kedai tu jugak. Kelakar betul.

Dinner started slightly late. Sebab sebenarnya aku pegi dinner tahun ni ialah kerana aku merupakan salah seorang recipients for Excellent Individual Performance Award. Aku ni sebenonye tak berapa berkenan dengan individual award ni. Yelah, dalam organisasi macam organisasi aku ni, we normally work in team. So aku rasa tak sesuai lah kalau aku je yang diberi recognition, sebab ramai yang turut beri sumbangan in whatever projects I do. Sebab taknak bosses bising-bising kalau aku tak pergi, so terpaksalah aku buat special appearance. Dinner agak hambar. Persembahan Mila AF5 berterabur... sumbang ada, lupa lirik ada, tak tau masuk lagu pun ada... hancuss. Jaclyn pulak, walaupun nyanyian OK, tapi tak pandai nak sesuaikan diri dengan majlis. Majlis diakhiri dengan sambutan hari lahir big boss yang menyambut ulangtahun kelahirannya pada keesokan harinya, 26 August.

I'm Back!

2007-09-09T14:27:00.000+08:00

9 September 2007

It has been 3 weeks (rasanyalah...) since I last updated my blog. So banyak juga yang aku nak bercerita in the next few entries. Kisah-kisah Annual Dinner company aku, kisah persahabatan yang kembali pulih, kisah aku ke Langkawi dan macam-macam lagi. Memang aku begitu busy sekali dalam sedikit masa ini. Tapi, aku rasa seperti terpanggil untuk menjenguk blog aku yang dah bersawang ni... so, tungguuu.....more to come!

Premonition...

2007-08-20T23:51:00.000+08:00

18 August 2007

premonition ~ noun
~ (of sth / that ... ) a feeling that sth is going to happen, especially sth unpleasant;
a premonition of disaster.

I just stayed home today. Not in the mood to do anything social. Macam biasa lah, aku ended up mengemas rumah, basuh baju and lepak. Lagipun minggu ni tak main badminton sebab ada gang yang balik kampung. So tak cukup korum.

Seawal 7 a.m. dah ada sms yang masuk... sepanjang hari melayan sms je. Memang lepak habis. Memang seriously aku takde mood nak jumpa sesiapa hari ni.

Entah macam mana petang tadi aku terjebak menonton Qiraatul Quran. Qiraatul Quran is a tv programme that teaches you how to read Quran properly. It does bring back old memories. I was the state champion for 3 years in a row untuk Tahfiz Al-Quran sekolah rendah (Ayat-ayat Lazim) waktu darjah 4, 5 dan 6. Memanglah ramai cikgu dulu ingat aku akan pergi Al-Azhar and jadi ustaz ke apa… he he. Tapi jauh pulak larinya…

Malamnya aku tengok movie Premonition, lakonan Sandra Bullock. The movie was at times intriguing, often confusing and ultimately frustrating, Premonition jumbles the past and present as Sandra Bullock tries to change fate. Pening kepala aku... sampai tetido lah aku tengok movie ni. Rating C+

An Ordinary Day

2007-08-18T18:19:00.000+08:00

17 August 2007

I spent so much time today completing the LDP surveys. I must have answered in the range of 700 questions altogether. I wish whoever is in charge could have simplified the process. In the morning, I was busy clearing a memo for submission to top management.

Tak sempat nak lunch before sembahyang Jumaat. Pukul 1 lebih baru keluar dari office. So aku ke Masjid India aje. After prayer, cepat-cepat aku balik ke Kupang sebab dah separa kebulur. Yang tinggal cuma rojak mamak...blasah je lah.

After office aku lepak kat cafe dengan MSI, NAAR, ZM, AFA. Saje, lama dah tak borak. NM ada singgah kejap, tapi tak boleh lama sebab dia nak bergegas ke perjumpaan kelab merpati.

Lepas Maghrib, one of my superiors nak jumpa to discuss something urgent. Pukul 8:30 p.m. baru discussion habis. When I got back to office, ada a few blinking sametime messages dari KKY, AAA amd RS. Nothing urgent... so takpe lah. I just packed my stuff and left.

Sebab dah makan petang tadi kat cafe, I just skipped dinner and lepak kat rumah.

Indeed, today is just an ordinary day.

Masjid India

It began as a wood hut in 1863, now it is an imposing three-storey building with a capacity of 3,500 people. The mosque, built in the southern Indian style, is a three-storey structure with domed chatris (open-sided umbrella-shaped cupolas) and arched windows with Islamic motifs. The single minaret is topped by a chatri. It has vertically-striped ventilators intersected by balconies. The first floor is a prayer hall reserved for the men and the second floor is for women. General assemblies are held on the ground floor. Services are conducted in Arabic and Tamil languages.

We never know what tomorrow brings… I just hope for a brighter tomorrow

2007-08-17T02:07:00.000+08:00

16 August 2007

The date is 1 October 2007. On that day, the shocking news that I was telling you before will take effect. At this point in time, I have put aside all the negative feelings that came to me when I first heard the news.

Through the grapevine, some of my staff and colleagues have found out about it. A few of them had even confronted me to verify the news. I just nodded.

I am positive now and I am very much grateful that people I admire have so much faith in my capability and potential to give me such an opportunity that others could just dream about. Nevertheless, it is going to be a big adjustment for me. While it is not entirely a new start for me, it’s going to be tough – but I’ll take it all in my stride. I always say that once adversity strikes, I have to be able to rise to the occasion. And this better be one of those occasions.

Oh well! We never know what tomorrow brings… I just hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Just a Quick Note

2007-08-17T01:43:00.000+08:00

16 August 2007

Dah dekat pukul 2 a.m. Rasa malas nak update blog ni sebab dah ngantuk. Lagipun aku main badminton malam ni, lepas Maghrib tadi. KKY ajak dinner tadi, tapi I was not in the mood. A friend text me and asked a silly question about the shocking news. Malas aku nak layan.

Baru je habis menonton badminton kat channel 85. Quite disappointed with performances of our players.

Hari ni ada banyak discussions. Tak payah lah nak cite... Keluar lunch with AHA ke Sogo. Sembang-sembang about work and some of the issues that I have. Makan nasi separuh je, sebab masih kenyang. Pagi tadi KOG belanja nasi lemak. Punyalah banyak lauk pauk and nasi in one bungkus. Thanks KOG. Semoga dimurahkan rezeki.

Hampir aku terlupa nak update. Waktu badminton tadi, ada pertandingan MENGUTIP bola squash yang hebat antara HA and NSY kat squash court. Good efforts though!!

Dinner @ The Ship

2007-08-17T00:55:00.000+08:00

15 August 2007

I just don’ know how I got myself involved in the ‘ayam kampung’ addiction. Now, asyik-asyik makan ayam kampung. Hari ni si ZAG yang bercuti sebelah pagi tetiba offered nak belikan nasi beriani with ayam kampong from Putrajaya. Aku setuju je…

Sebelum lunch ada discussion kejap dengan big boss. Sampai waktu lunch aku terus ke kupang untuk tapau drinks and then naik makan kat tingkat 9. NSK, NAMN, ZAG and sorang lagi yang aku tak tau nama pun makan sekali. Kecoh betul we all makan… nasib baik le lunch time.

Petang ada discussion dengan one of the big bosses in preparation for the LDP next month. I must say that it was a good session. Banyak yang aku belajar. Discussion berlarutan sampai pukul 5 p.m. Habis je discussion aku berkejar balik ke office to clear outstanding work and check email. Pukul 5:30 aku ke Block C for another meeting. A bunch of managers kat company aku will be attending a learning programme kat Indonesia. They are required to do a country paper to be presented during the programme. Memandangkan diaorang pilih untuk buat presentation pasal satu projek yang aku buat last year, they have asked me to share some of the insights to help them prepare for the programme. Tapi I told them aku tak boleh lama. Lagipun aku dah janji nak pegi cycling dengan HA and ZAG.

Harini, dekat pukul 6:45 baru bertolak from office to Lake Garden. Semuanya gara-gara aku lambat habis discussion. Cyling-wise, I did much better today jika dibandingkan dengan hari Isnin haritu. Takde rasa yang pelik-pelik. Came back at about 7:45 p.m.

Lepas mandi and Maghrib, aku sambung keje kejap. Lepas tu aku and RS pegi dinner kat The Ship. Aku makan charbroiled sirloin steak and RS ordered black pepper steak (kalau tak silap laa). Lepas main course, both of us ordered banana split. Habis je dessert, perut aku dah meragam. So tak sempat nak sembang panjang, aku terus gegas balik.

About 'The Ship'

The Ship, with the reputation of serving The Best Steak In Town, was well served under a unique decorative setting and on top of that all prices are value for money. The unique exterior of our restaurants resemble an almost life-size hull of a ship, and on stepping inside one will be impressed with the timely recreated likeness of a sea-going vessel.

Complementing the theme is service provided by captains and crews in maritime uniform. Such is the attraction of The Ship that it is common for foreign visitors of the country to seek its whereabouts. The Ship has, by word of mouth, contributed in making Malaysia a popular tourist destination.

Demam...daa

2007-08-14T20:55:00.001+08:00

14 August 2007

We all have had the feeling before. Remember those days when you come home from school feeling awful with a sore throat. Your mom feels your head and neck with her hand and frowns, normally followed with some remarks like "eh! panas nye badan budak ni...". Then , you hear the magic words - " dah demam ni!" [fever = demam].

I came home last night feeling just fine after dinner with RS. I went to bed early at about 12:30 a.m. Tapi aku terjaga dalam pukul 2:30 a.m. with the most awful sore throat in recent years. Panic sekejap. Minum air segelas, tapi takde apa yg berlaku. Just forced myself back to bed.

Pagi ni aku terus demam. Nak bangun pun tak larat. Sent sms to my staff and boss bagitau yang aku nak cuti coz demam. Minum panadol (the soluble type) and sambung tido. By noon, demam masih ada. Hasrat hati aku nak pegi office after lunch pun aku batalkan. Dahle demam, tetiba datang sakit belakang pulak. Mungkin aku salah tidur tadi... yelah, tidur atas sofa and not on proper bed sebab aku dah boring tidur dalam bilik.

Sakit belakang ni berlarutan sampai ke malam. Tapi demam dah rasa reda. Sore throat pun dah berkurangan. Harapnya besok boleh keje lah...

Fever is a frequent medical symptom that describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels that are above normal (the common oral measurement of normal human body temperature is 36.8±0.7 °C or 98.6±1.3 °F). Fever is most accurately characterized as a temporary elevation in the body’s thermoregulatory set-point, usually by about 1-2°C. Fever differs from hyperthermia, which is an increase in body temperature over the body’s thermoregulatory set-point (due to excessive heat production or insufficient thermoregulation, or both). Carl Wunderlich discovered that fever is not a disease but a symptom of disease. The elevation in thermoregulatory set-point means that the previous "normal body temperature" is considered hypothermic, and effector mechanisms kick in. The person who is developing the fever has a cold sensation, and an increase in heart rate, muscle tone and shivering attempt to counteract the perceived hypothermia, thereby reaching the new thermoregulatory set-point. (dipetik dari Wikipedia)

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

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

13 August 2007

Sejak aku received that shocking news last night, kusut sikit lah aku harini. All I can say is, I hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Semalam pun tak berapa nak boleh tidur pikirkan benda ni. Unlike si AFA yang tak boleh tidur sebab tension Jac kalah ... he he. Aku pun tension gak Jac kalah, tapi tak le sampai menggangu tido. Tapi, I had the weirdest dream last night. Aku ni jarang mimpi, and kalau mimpi pun selalunya tak ingat apa. It was about the city yang aku live in kena hit dengan somekind of meteor shower, bangunan semua roboh... but somehow aku terselamat without a scratch under the rubbles. Entah lah. Canggih pulak mimpi orang-orang zaman sekarang ni.

Kat office keje macam biasa. Hari ni is the last last day to submit surveys for LDP. aku kena buat 6 surveys all together, each with more than 100 questions...letih laa..

Aku dah kasi hadiah Kenneth kat KKY. Lepas tu both of us keluar lunch kat ayam kampung Cheras... Aku tanya Y kalau dia nak ikut. Tapi dia ada consignment kat West Port. Since aku dah janji nak belanja dia ayam kampung, kalau dia free boleh lah join sekali. So kena cari date lain lah. Maybe one of the weekends kot. Hari ni, orang tak seramai minggu lepas. So terus je dapat tempat duduk. Nak order, macam biasalah lambat... tapi not se-lambat last week. Aku ngan KKY agak conscious larr...sebab we all ordered 6 ketul ayam untuk 2 orang. Meja sebelah, 4 ketul for 4 orang makan... Aiyoo.. kuatnya makan!

Hari ni aku janji dengan ZAG nak pegi cycling... Rupanya waktu lunch dia pegi beli seluar and t-shirt baru sebab lupa bawak... Aku sebenarnya rasa semacam je hari ni, dengan tak cukup tidonye, dengan terlebih makannya, tapi dah janji ni...aku gagahkan juga lah. Lepas Asar, both of us kayuh ke Lake Garden. True enuf, aku rasa macam nak muntah pun ada. Lepas tu, gear basikal aku asyik buat hal je, bila aku nak turun from gear 7 to 6, tak boleh masuk... terus kena go from 7 to 5. Tapi aku tengok ZAG kayuh steady jerr... I'm impressed!

Sampai balik kat office dah dekat 7:30 mlm. Hujan pun dah mula turun. Badan aku dah rasa macam nak demam. Jangan besok tak bangun sudah. Aku dengan RS nak cuba sekali lagi ke bangunan MARA untuk makan bubur. Harapnya adalah malam ni. Lepas mandi and Maghrib, memasing naik ke office sekejap. Ada email from ZAW... so, baca lah email kejap. Hujan makin lebat... dalam pukul 9 baru keluar from office. In the meantime dok melayan si RR and KKY sametime. KKY ajak aku dinner, which I had to decline.

Sampai kat bangunan MARA... bubur dah habis jugak. Hampeh. Makan meehun sup lagi le nampaknya. Aku suka kan meehun sup ni...so takde hal la. Walaupun rasa macam nak demam, aku tetap order ABC. Si RS pulak minum limau suam and LKC. Sembang-punya-sembang dengan macam-macam cerita sampai pukul 10:45 p.m. I must say si RS ni quite mature in his thinking larr... walaupun masih muda (boleh dibawa berunding and bersembang). [Eh! Kalau ko baca entry ni, jangan kembang pulak tau]. RS pun ada tanya about the shocking news. Tapi aku belum boleh cite. Just wait and see... tak lama lagi dah.

Kursus Kahwin...

2007-08-12T22:09:00.000+08:00

12 August 2007

My day started off dengan main badminton. Aku, Aman, MFMS and Razman dah janji pukul 10 pagi nak main badminton. Itu pun mula-mula macam dah tak jadi nak main sebab tak cukup korum memandangkan 2 orang lagi players yang biasa tak dapat join. Dari pukul 10, sempat le berentap 4 sets. Aku partner ngan Razman. Menang the first 2 sets, then kalah the remaining 2... Saje je kasi peluang..heh heh... Lepas badminton, aku lepak jap to cool down. Then mandi kat gym... sambil mandi sempat lah aku melalak satu album (another obsession that I have... refer my earlier entry on obsessions). Selesai lagu terakhir, baru lah aku keluar dari shower.

Lepas gym, I went up to my office, switched on my PC and checked my mailbox. Nothing interesting. Buat keje sikit, lepas tu aku keluar for lunch. I walked all the way to Maju Junction (MJ)... sangguplah jalan ke sini sebab lepas lunch nak tapau Starbucks. Aku lunch kat food court sebab teringin nak makan ikan bakar. Lepas ambik makanan and drinks, aku pun cari tempat yang sesuai untuk duduk.

Dah aku start makan, baru aku perasan yang disekeliling aku semuanya couples tengah lunch... Eh! heran jugak... mana datang couples ramai-ramai ni... selalu nya kalau kat food court, mesti ramai budak-budak and families. Lepas tu, bila aku tengok lagi, yang pompuannya semua pakai tudung or selendang... hmm since when pulak orang kat KL ni dah jadi Shariah compliant? Diaorang pun macam pandang aku semacam jek... Pusing je belakang, baru lah aku perasan terpampang big sign board kat bawah ni...

Aiyooo... aku duduk makan di kawasan peserta-peserta kursus kahwin... Ha ha ha... (dah sampai seru kot? Sapa mau jawab?)

Aku pun makan dengan cepat dan cabut dari situ. Kat MJ, aku singgah kat Toy City. I've been thinking about what to get for KKY's newborn baby boy. So I thot maybe some toys for the baby would be a good idea. Aku tanya dengan pekerja kedai ni apa yang sesuai. They showed me beberapa pilihan. Aku beli 2 items, just in case the baby has a preference... he he. Besok aku nak kasi kat KKY coz he'll be back in the office.

Lepas shopping, aku pegi Starbucks tapau drinks and walked all the way back to the office. It started to drizzle, so aku tak sempat nak singgah Sogo. Nanti lah on my way home petang nanti. Sampai office, aku sambung keje sampai 4:30 p.m. Lepas aku signed off, aku borak-borak dengan Y and Razak. Lama tak dengar cerita diaorang ni. Good to talk to you bro!

Aku singgah Sogo jap. Ingatnya nak cari barang... ramainya orang. Terus aku batalkan hasrat nak membeli-belah. Lain kali aje lah. On my way back dapat sms from Y. Sambung apa yang disembangkan tadi... catching up on old stories.

Sampai rumah, hari dah hujan...berlari-lari aku balik ke condo. Lepak jap... mandi and all. Malam ni ada IKON ASEAN... harapnya Jac menang.

8:24 p.m. I received a shocking news. Really do not know how to react to the news. The news will definitely change my life. At this point in time I'm not able to assess how my life will change moving forward. Buat masa ni, aku masih tak boleh cerita pasal benda ni. I will tell when I'm ready... Sah lerr malam ni aku tak boleh tidur. Semoga Allah memberikan petunjuk...

Terkejut betul bila si Jac kalah IKON ASEAN. I thought she was a clear winner. Aku sms AFA cakap yang penyanyi Filipina tu nyanyian dia macam pembaris je... takde versatility and kurang dynamic. Alih-alih minah tu yang menang. Untuk category berkumpulan, aku setuju lah kumpulan Kjwan tu menang. I'm sure besok macam-macam comments in the news. I shall wait and see. Nevertheless, I'm disappointed.

Kenneth Koh Choon Siang

2007-08-12T21:34:00.000+08:00

Special Entry

Congratulations to KKY and family on the arrival of Kenneth Koh Choon Siang, a cute and cuddly baby boy who has come to color your lives with joy and bliss.

All By Myself...

2007-08-12T00:39:00.000+08:00

11 August 2007

I always look forward to having time just for myself, free from my busy schedule, free from meeting new people whose names I can barely remember after the meeting. I always look forward to that moment when I can just sit down and pick-up a book or a magazine, watch my favorite tv show or movie, or just do nothing.

And after 2 weekends filled with activities , this weekend is dedicated solely for me to wind down and relax. So hari ni aku melepak kat Hartamas dengan HA for lunch. Aku dah makin suka lepak kat Plaza Damas area ni... quite quiet and banyak gak tempat makan. Hari ni lunched kat Kafe Unggun Hartamas. Told NM yang the 'gang' patut datang lepak sini bebila. We both had nasi campur. Then makan kueh sikit. Lepas tu pegi Tower Records. Ada album baru Shayna Zaid yang buat aku tertarik. Nampak macam kacukan Caucasian-Malay. HA bagitau yang Shayna ni buat album kat New York lagi. Terus aku beli album ni... harapnya bestlah. Lepas tapau venti iced caramel macchiato, aku and HA singgah kedai-kedai furniture yang ada kat situ... banyak items yang menarik. Tapi takde keperluan lah... buang duit je.

HA sent me back to office and dia chow. Aku masuk office buat kerja manja-manja for 2 hours. Tingkap bilik aku sekarang ni is half covered dengan bendera Malaysia. (refer gambar). Nasib baik masih lagi ada view of Dataran Merdeka.

Pukul 4:30 p.m., I packed my things and headed to Pertama. Aku ke kedai Andy nak gunting and shampoo rambut. Nasib baik Andy ada...kalau org lain tak ngam. Lepas gunting rambut, Andy's assistant cuci rambut and massage my head... rasa ringan betul. Lama lak tu dia massage and she is really good. All for only RM38. Not bad.

Lepas gunting rambut, I walked all the way to Masjid Jamek LRT Station. Saje je aku nak jalan tengok keadaan kat KL, perangai manusia dipetang Sabtu. Memanglah berserabut. Kat LRT station pun penuh sesak. Sampai rumah dalam pukul 6:30 p.m.

Aku dinner sebelum Maghrib lagi. After that aku just lepak tengok tv and do some reading. EPL pun dah start. Aku harap Liverpool will go far this season. Liverpool main esok vs Aston Villa. Kat tv malam ni ada game West Ham vs Manchester City. Aku layan sambil-sambil aje. Kat tv2 pulak ada movie Armageddon. Aku suka lah kalau films by Jerry Bruckheimer ni...selalu ada combination of elements, sedih, comedy, great effects, patriotism etc. Sambil-sambil tu aku layan cd Shayna Zaid ni. She's talented. Tapi aku tak rasa boleh laku kat Malaysia ni. Memanglah hari yang sungguh relaxing :)

Nota kaki: Alamak aku dah salah info. On Sunday, Y bagitau aku yang Liverpool dah main semalam. Melepas aku!!!

Maybe I'm Not Young Anymore...

2007-08-11T19:42:00.001+08:00

10 August 2007

My colleagues have been teasing me over a positive remark our big boss made about me. Oh man! Should I just tell them to go screw themselves or what? Ha ha... I don't really care about the teasing and I'm not even sure whether the positive remark was true. But the fact that so many people talked about it, got me a bit annoyed.

Other than that, kerja macam biasa aje. I was suppose to go to a meeting kat Kementerian, tapi my boss wanted to meet some of us today. So tak jadilah aku pegi meeting, I sent NN instead.

Hari ni aku ikut si HA and E sembahyang Jumaat kat INTAN, Bukit Kiara... ramai betul orang, selalunya tak lah seramai macam hari ni. Sembahyang pun tepi tangga jerr. Nasib baik la aku tak tergolek ke bawah waktu sembahyang. Definitely not a pretty sight. Balik sembahyang, aku gegas ke Kupang beli kopi to last me sepanjang meeting petang ni. Banyaklah juga benda yang dibincangkan dalam meeting, at one point macam nak gaduh pun ada... pening kepala aku dengan gelagat masing-masing ni.

Meeting habis pukul 4:15 p.m. "Kak, saya pergi surau jap", laung aku kat setiausaha boss aku. Dengan kelam kabutnye aku berlari ke surau. Dalam hati aku teringat yang aku belum lagi sembahyang Zohor. Sampai je surau, bergegas aku buka kasut and socks. Bila aku langkah je masuk surau, baru aku perasan yang takde sorang umat pun kat situ.. Eh! mana semua orang pegi? Selalunya, dekat-dekat nak masuk waktu Asar ni, ramai lagi orang yang baru nak sembahyang Zohor. Tercegat aku kat pintu surau, bersebelahan tempat wuduk. Staff perempuan yang lintas masuk ke surau pulak dok tersengeh-sengah tengok aku... Ya Allah!! Hari ni hari Jumaat... kan aku dah sembahyang tadi kat Bukit Kiara. Tersenyum aku kat situ... malu dengan diri sendiri... Sampai je kat office, aku cite kat some staff. Semua gelakkan aku. Apa nak buat. Salah sendiri. Maybe I'm not young anymore...dah nyanyuk. Ha Ha

Lepas office, aku ambik taxi ke Ampang. Jalan jam. Ada hal sikit. Tak payah le cite kat sini. Aku janji dengan RS, kalau dia masih ada kat office lepas aku balik from Ampang, we all nak pegi dinner. On my way back from Ampang, jalan jam gilerr jugak... dekat 8:30 malam baru sampai office.

Harini aku dengan RS menapak lagi pegi dinner. Dah tak tau nak makan apa dah. Aku ingat nak makan sate kat sebelah bangunan MARA tu. RS suggested that bubur nasi kat situ pun best. Aku OK je, willing to try. Malangnya, bubur nasi dah habis. Aku ngan RS ordered meehun sup dan 20 cucuk sate. RS mintak ABC and aku pulak minta LCK. I must say, aku betul-betul suka meehun sup tu. Boleh datang lagi ni. Sate pulak, macam kering sikit. Tapi still sedap. Sambil makan, RS talks about his plan (plan???) and also sembang on other things... borak punya borak sampai kul 11:00 p.m. We then went separate ways untuk balik.

Sampai rumah dah lewat, aku malas nak update blog malam ni. So ni kira entry tertunda larr...

Obsessions...

2007-08-11T15:31:00.000+08:00

9 August 2007.

Hari ni quite uneventful. Takde apa yang menarik. Memula patut lunch dengan AHA, tapi kena kench last minute... sebab dia ada urgent work assignment. Aku ended up joining HA, ZAG and NSK ke Hartamas for lunch. Nasib baik la diaorang sanggup patah balik ambik aku kat office walaupun diaorang dah keluar on the way ke Hartamas. We all lepak kat Aji-Don Alley.

Hasrat hati nak camping ke Stong waterfall pun dah terbantut sebab penyertaan tak cukup 10 orang... so tak boleh pegi and we had to postpone the trip. Nak buat cemana... takde rezeki lah. Maybe next time.

Semalam aku, HA and ZAG ada sembang-sembang about our plan to Terengganu early September. Makan-makan Malaysia (slightly different concept than cuti-cuti Malaysia). Tujuan perjalanan semata-mata untuk pegi makan kat tempat-tempat yang best di Terengganu. So just imagine, kalau lepak tiga hari, and makan breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, dah 15 meals. So kalau nak try tempat yang berbeza-beza kat Terengganu, dah 15 tempat makan tu... fuyooo.... (RS kalau ko baca ni, jangan terliur dahhh.... hehe). Plan nya nak pegi hari Jumaat and lepak kat resort company aku sampai Sunday or Monday. Memanglah tak pernah dibuat orang aktiviti macam ni.

Lepas office, aku ngan RS dok plan macam-macam activities yang boleh dibuat hari ni. Last-last semuanya tak jadi. Finally, we agreed nak pegi dinner kat Nando's. Lepas Maghrib, both of us menapak ke Sogo sebab kat situ ada satu Nando's Outlet. Both of us had 1/2 Chicken with 2 sidelines. Kalau 1/4 chicken jerr... tak cukup. Memanglah kuat makan kan... RS ordered salad and coleslaw as sidelines, aku plak ordered corn and coleslaw. Both of us ordered Cappuccino Smoothies. Baru lah ada competition, kalau makan dengan kengkawan yang lain, semuanya nak jaga badan... bosan betul..hehe.

Lepas makan, terserempak dengan AM kat Sushi King... aiyoo...so health conscious. Rasa guilty sket larr sebab dah makan macam-macam tadi. Lagipun hari ni ponteng gym...cycling pun tak.

I have several obsessions. Salah satu daripadanya ialah aku ni suka sangat beli bag. Dah berpuluh-puluh biji bags kat rumah, tapi tak serik-serik lagi. So malam ni pun aku pusing-pusing tengok bag kat Sogo, aku suka beli backpack, or even bag yg ala-ala briefcase tapi more casual. Timberland has always been my favorite brand lah... Tapi malam ni, kat Ipod store ni, ada satu laptop bag, Dicota (made in Germany) yang aku dah suka. Tanpa pikir panjang, aku dah terjebak beli bag ni... hanj! Kalau dah obsessed tu... obsessed jugak. Maybe I need counseling...

Moral Battleground

2007-08-09T22:03:00.000+08:00

8 August 2007

It's past midnight. I should be sleeping.

But I just got back from ‘lepaking’ with LRT Corner gang. And now, I’m not sleepy at all.

Just so you know, I often get myself in knots trying to decide what and how much to share here on the blog. For instance, how much of my "real life" you get to see. It’s not that I'm afraid of showing you all who I really am for fear that you'll be judgmental, but I don’t want the things that I do to set someone off or create problems to me later. Blogs can be moral battlegrounds. To me, I am just an average, full-time-workin’, law abidin', mosque-goin’ (on Friday mostly.. hehe), house -cleanin', gym-goin’ bachelor most of the time. Nothing more than that.But every once in awhile, I do silly things! So I've been thinking. About the blog anyway. No, I'm not quitting. It’s too soon for me to quit. But I’m not gonna fall into the trap of putting so many tools, accessories, chat column, etc that makes it difficult for me to maintain the blog. This blog will continue to be an outlet for me to express my views or for me to capture life experiences. And I plan to keep it simple.

Today, I spent the entire morning at Kementerian attending a drafting committee meeting. That's the price I have to pay for talking so much during meetings. I got back to office at about 12 noon. For lunch, HA, ZAG and I decided to walk to bangunan Mara, makan nasi ayam…So-so je lah nasi ayam dia…tak menarik sangat. Lepas lunch pegi Pertama Complex survey raket badminton and shoes…nothing interesting.

Sampai je office, tetiba rasa malas nak keje. So aku bagitau boss nak ambik half day. Terus aku kemas barang and chow. Balik rumah ingatkan nak sambung keje sikit… sedar-sedar dah terlentok until Sir-Man (SM) calls… lupa lak aku yg SM datang interview kat company aku hari ni. He sounded confident. Harapnya semua berjalan lancer.

Aku just lepak kat rumah the entire evening. Sambil melayan sms-sms poyo kengkawan… I shall not mention names.. he he. Dalam pukul 10:00 baru aku keluar lepak kat LRT Corner with gang.

"Village Chicken"

2007-08-08T22:17:00.000+08:00

7 August 2007

Hari ni macam biasa je... keje... keje... keje. A very productive day indeed. Entah macam mana si HA dengan ZAG teringin nak makan 'village chicken'... ha ha. Village chicken refers to kedai makan ayam kampung kat velodrome Cheras. Nak kata selalu pegi tu tak juga...maybe dalam once a month. NSK joined us for lunch. Naik kete NSK... ZAG bawak. Semenjak NSK beli kete ni, ni lah first time aku naik kete dia. Dah lain-lain departments ni susah jugak nak berjumpa. Masing-masing dengan hal masing-masing.

When the four of us got together, banyak lah benda yang direpekkan... Tapi dengan NSK, masing-masing bersopan lah sikit... yelah, memasing control macho depan awek.. (eh! awek kerr? :p).

Sampai ayam kampung, dah pukul satu lebih... Mak ai! Ramainya manusia... meja penuh. Ada satu meja ni, sorang je brader duduk kat situ... so, aku HA and NSK pergi lah menempek kat meja brader tu. Memanglah nampak brader tu tak happy we all gate-crashed dia punya lunch. Nasib baik ZAG dapat another table. Pindah le pulak ke meja yang nun dibelakang. Nak tunggu waiter datang ambik order pun satu hal... punyalah lama. Dah lepas order, nak tunggu makanan sampai, lagi satu hal.... 2 kali lambat. Bebudak ni ala-ala diet... aku je tanpa segan silu belasah 2 ketul ayam.

Sampai office dalam 2:05 p.m. Terus sambung keje. Oh, by the way aku dah tak jadi pegi Geneva next month. I've decided to send my staff. Would be a good exposure for her.

Tetiba je aku dapat sametime dari KP.... rupanya, gambar seksi (lagi mengiurkan) aku semasa bermain bola waktu kejohanan olahraga dah tersiar kat intranet... aiyoooo... nasib baik lah aku ni muka tak malu (high self esteem kann...) Not just KP, lepas tu ada 2-3 orang lagi sametimed aku cakap pasal benda sama... Issh... for nothing jerr aku glamer murahan.

AM came over untuk collect duit pegi Stong. Paid him RM400 for ticket and accomodation. Tak sabar nih nak pegi. AAA tak dapat pegi pulak selepas cedera main bola. Nasib baik merpati(s) pegi...so ada lah geng selain AM.

MSI pulak hantar email ajak gi cafe pukul 6 pm. Doa selamat untuk NA yang dah balik berkerja selepas kejadian menginap di Hotel Tawakal tempoh hari, katanya... Entah betul ke entah tidak nak buat doa selamat, aku pun tak tau. Tapi sebab jemputan lepas waktu office, aku OK jek. Sempat lah aku lepak ngan bebudak sebelum aku pegi gym.

True enuf... doa selamat dalam hati je. Just berkumpul to lepak and dengar cite masing-masing. Pukul 7 p.m. baru aku terhegeh-hegeh nak Asar...hmm... apa nak jadi.

Hasrat hati nak turun gym tak kesampaian... bila aku check meeting calendar aku, baru perasan yang besok pepagi ada meeting kat kementerian... so kena lah prepare. Hanj. Aku ended up kat office sampai kul 10 p.m. lebih. Sampai rumah dah pukul 11 p.m. lebih... Dinner pun tak, sebab dah makan kat cafe tadi... wassalam

Cara Yang Berbeza

2007-08-08T22:11:00.000+08:00

7 August 2007

Masih terlupa...
Atau sengaja berpaling dari kenyataan ini
Meskipun hati...
Sudah berputik cintaku kerna ketulusanmu

Daku memendam rasa
Tak merungkai bicara
Perasaan yang ada

Ku curah dengan cara yang berbeza

Dan aku percaya
Engkau kan tahu hasrat hatiku padamu
Umpama mimpi indah yang pernah... ku damba
Untuk menjalin cinta selamanya...

Rindu padamu kasih
Kadang datang berulang mengusuti hati
Adakah ini cinta ku atau keegoan
Yang ku tampan dengan pengharapan... ku

Tuhan...
Ku mengharapkan...