SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILIFITRI

Dear All,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilifitri dan maaf zahir dan batin dipinta....
I'm still in the office today, played the hookey yesterday in KLCC
Most probably will chow early today, maybe after lunch time....
I will celebrate Raya here in Gombak with my family
After Raya prayers will be going back to Batu Pahat for 5 days (hubby's side)

So...I wanna wish you all, especially my blog friends cum Uni mate, school mate, work mate, who are not in Malaysia to celebrate Hari Raya - La Signora, Hanani Kifli, Farah Hasliana, Hazriq:
SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN

For my Malaysian friends - Noreez, Tinie and Ziah drive or fly safely
Don't overeat on the ketupat and rendang, lest all of you sakit perut nanti....huhuhu

To my parents, Kaz Jln Delima and Kerabu Jantung :
SELAMAT HARI RAYA, AMPUN MAAF DIPINTA, HALALKAN MAKAN DAN MINUM, AMPUNKAN PADA KEKASARAN BAHASA DAN KESALAHAN LAKU....

Love you all!!!

cont. on "Weekend Updates"

It's 2 am now....just finished 4 loads of laundry...my kitties are asleep now with their Mami....I'm watching Astro's Asian Food Channel whilst surfing on the net for interesting recipes.... checkout Koleksi Resipi Diana and all the links to it. I haven't finish exploring it and suspect that I won't stop till I've finished going thru all the links. Its 3 hours to sahur and I got to go to sleep now. Goodnight, to whoever is still awake at this hour....and Selamat Berpuasa di hari-hari terakhir pada bulan Ramadhan.

Weekend Updates

This weekend is the last week before Hari Raya. It is now officially two days before raya. I've been sick last week with recurring flu and coughing and phlegm. The weekend haven't done me any good either except that I'd taken the flu tablet with the cough syrup simultaneously last night and slept the whole night from 10pm, waking up for sahur (groggily) around 4.50pm and went to sleep again till 9 in the morning. That's almost 24 hours of sleeping under the influence, and I'm still no better today. My throat's still sore and it feels like I've torn a muscle or something inside my throat. Or maybe I'm developing a tonsil, I dunno. What a bugger. My head's aching cause I've been coughing my head off. I've tried the cough syrup, warm water and honey. Nothing works. But then again, I didn't reduce my intake of cold water...*sigh* no wonder I didn't get any better....Oh well, gonna take the cough syrup again before bed tonight and see what happens tomorrow.

Also, I bathed the three kitties this morning. Surprisingly, they were quiet but squirmed and clawed me a bit when I shampooed and showered them with warm water. Been meaning to bathe them kitties for weeks but couldn't find the time. They've ticks and the best I could do was spray them with tick spray. Didn't see much improvement and I think bathing is more effective. So I'm quite satisfied that I'd managed to bathe the kitties today.

In the afternoon, we went for house hunting in Shah Alam this afternoon. I'd narrowed down a few choices for my hubby to look at, seeing that he will be starting a new job in Shah Alam and my office will be moving to Putrajaya in 2010. We'd thought Shah Alam would be a good place to settle down.

We had rice and fried chicken and leftover dhall from my mum's for breaking of fast. I had maggi curry - been craving for maggi since beginning of Ramadhan. Then we ate some of the lovely choc chip cookies that my hubby bought for raya and intend to bring back to Batu Pahat. The jar's now half full and I told him to forget about bringing it back.

After breaking fast, started making the meat pies that my mom asked me to do and sell as frozen food. Still in production and experiment stage on the shape and taste. Personally, I like my chicken pies better with puff pastry and white gravy, perfect ingredients for a chicken pot pie or gourmet pie in Secret Recipe. Wait for the development of the pies:)

Finally to end the day, I have to do my laundry for the whole week! Hubby just turn on the washing machine, though I'd asked him to do so earlier today. I'd to wait for him cause I couldn't screw on the water pipe myself. So, now I'm surfing and trying to stay awake while waiting for 4 loads of washing is done....*sigh*

Pog Mo Thoin

Pog Mo Thoin means kiss my a** in gaelic. Learnt that phrase when I was visiting my sister in Dublin in 2006. She studied in the ABCD - Accounting & Business College Dublin. I was in Franfurt for work, then I took Ryanair to Dublin. At that time, the flight cost me about Euro35 with tax and insurance - actual ticket cost was only Euro9.99 return.

The weather was cool about 12 degrees celcius, the beginning of spring in April 2006. But the Dubliners were already walking around in short skirt, whilst I was still wearing my semi-winter jacket....I suppose the Dubliners welcomed the little bit of sun after months of miserable, dreary weather....

At the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey

View of the Liberty Hall from inside the tram

Temple Bar - lively nightlife

Statue of Molly Malone

"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels") is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City. It has also in Ireland acquired the status of an Irish anthem. The song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. Molly is commemorated in a statue designed by Jeanne Rynhart[4], placed at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin, erected to celebrate the city's first millennium in 1987; this statue is known colloquially as 'The Tart With The Cart', 'The Dish With The Fish' and 'The Trollop With The Scallops - text taken from Wikipedia. Also read here.


Some kids inter-frame when my sister was about to take a picture of me in front of the tram.
My sis called them "anak doll".

At the end of the day, my shopping items mattered the most to me - cowboy boots from Simon Hart (i think it was about Euro10!), linen blouses from Penneys (damn cheap, only Euro9 each!), the fridge magnets, keychain and shot glasses from Carroll's.

My main meal when I was in Dublin was mainly fish and chips because I suddenly had a craving for it. So we just got the frozen ones in Tesco about Euro3.99 per pack with 5 huge fillets. Weather wasn't good enough for us to take the train to go to the countryside for sightseeing as it was drizzling and windy. So I spent my two days shopping and walking around Dublin. I wish I had more time in Dublin, but at least I had a feel of what Dublin - the city is like.

Tagged by Tinie

Trivia courtesy of Tinie, who've tagged me. So here goes:

The Who’s

Who Was The Last Person You Talked To? My sister

Who Was Your Last Kiss? My hubby

Who Knows The Most About You? My sister

Who Can Make You Laugh No Matter What? Mr Bean

Who Can You Always Count On?

Who Has Your Heart? My hubby

Who Is or Was Your Favorite Teacher In School? Can't remember

Who Is Your Best Friend(s)? Ms Fantaghiro, La Signora, Noreez

Who Loves You? My hubby, family, and friends



The What’s

What Is Your Favorite Song At The Moment? Tangled by Maroon 5

What Are You Looking Forward To? Breaking of fast today hehehe

What Is Your Favorite Color? Green

What Website Do You Visit Most? My Blog and all the links to it:)

What Is Your Favorite Smell? 5th Avenue by Elizabeth Arden

What Is Your Favorite Movie? Midnight Talk (Polish)

What Makes You Mad? Stupid drivers on the road

What Curse Word Do You Use A lot? A**hole

What Kind Of Phone Do You Have? LG

What Was The Last Song You Listened To? Disturbia by Rihanna



The When’s

When Was The Last Time You Went To The Mall? 2 days ago

When Did You Talk To Your Crush Last? N/A

When Do or Did You Graduate? 2002

When Is The Next Time You’ll Do Something Fun? This weekend - house hunting

When Was The Last Time You Ate or Drank Something? Sahur this morning

When Is Your Birthday? 25 August 1978

When Was The Last Time You Went To The Movies? Sometime in May 2008

When Is Your Parents Birthday? Dad (23 September), Mum (14 November)

When Were You In The Car Last? This morning, driving to work

When Will You Be 21? N/A

When Will You Be Taking Your Next Vacation? In November to Terengganu



The Where’s

Where Do You Live? Gombak

Where Is The Best Place To Be? Home where I can laze around

Where Was Your Last Vacation? Pulau Lang Tengah, Terengganu

Where Were You Born? Kuantan

Where Is Your Best Friend? Kuala Lumpur

Where Was The Last Place Your Were Besides Your Own House? Office

Where Do You Think You’ll Be In 10 Years? Maybe posted overseas hehe

Where Is Your Cell Phone? On top of my workstation

Where Are Your Parents? At home in Gombak

Where Was Your Display Picture Taken? N/A

So there, I've finished my trivia. I now would like to tag these people and welcome them to repost this on their blog:

La Signora
Noreez Azlan
Ziah
Hanani Kifli
Hazriq
Ash

Malaysia Day - 16 September

Exactly today in 1963, the formation of "Malaysia" was formalised and consisted of Tanah Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. Both Tanah Malaya and Singapore had gained their independence in 1957 and 1959 respectively. Read more here. We should be grateful that we live in this nation called Malaysia in peace and harmony. Maybe not as idealistic as we want it to be, but at least it is not a war torn country.

Milan & Venice

Ramadhan reminded of Milan, which I visited last year. After finishing my work in Stockholm, I took Ryanair's budget carrier to Bergamo aiport in Milan. Once arrived, my host, Rosalina was supposed to pick me up via the train but couldn't make it as the train was on strike. In Italy, there is a strike everyday from the service industry - one minute its the airline, then its the taxis, and so on. Thank God I arrived safely in front of Rosa's apartment gate. Rosa had been in Milan for about two years now. She's not Italian, mind you. But her name does sound Italian, or is it Spanish...? Anyway, the next morning we were joined by Jam and Ms JB who flew in from Paris after a tradeshow. They checked in and then was ready for a short city tour. We went to the square which is the Piazza del Duomo with the background of the magnificent Duomo di Milano, the second largest church in the world.

Some pics at Piazza del Duomo

The next day, we went to Venice a.k.a Venezia by the locals. Of course the souvenir items caught my eye, especially the colourful masks worn during the carnival, the Murano crystal ware and beads, the leather goods and period costumes that people wore during the Carnival.

O f course, going to Venice isn't complete with a ride on the gondole. It costs about Euro80.00 per gondole during off-peak, but in summer it is double that price. My feeling riding the gondole? It's almost the same as if I'm riding the bot penambang from Kuching Waterfront to cross to Fort Margehrita, and it only costs me about RM0.50. Except that the view was quite nice, we rode in the canal in between the Venetians' homes.

View of the canal

The gondole

Our gondole-man

The bigger canal

Rasa cam naik sampan jer.....

Delicious cookies....tapi tak boleh makan sbb bulan posa huhu

All in all, it was an expereince of a lifetime to go to both Milan and Venice, eventhough it was a very short visit. But at least, I've been there and seen for my self the famous Venice.

Introducing the Mahvelous Miss Fantaghiro

C'est moi & zee mahvelous Ms Fantaghiro
(french accent, please!)

Just came back from a 3-hour lepak session with Ms Fantaghiro at Oldtown Kopitiam near Uptown Danau Kota and I'm inspired to write something about her since we're friends for quite sometime now.

I've known her since my Uni days which was about 12 years ago. I gotta admit that she was a weird person back then, but once I got used to her, she's kinda cool. She's a genuine friend, quite transparent and never afraid to say what's on her mind. She introduced me to Shah Rukh Khan, and I watched my first hindi movie "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" in a cinema with her insistance in Dataran Merdeka. She taught me to drink blended cappucino in Starbucks and nibble on quiche in Delifrance. She was the first person in our group (back then) to own a car - Kancil was all the rage in 1998. I remembered her putting down the description of her Kancil's colour in the campus car sticker's application form as "purplish silver". She was also one of the earliest person in our group to ever owned a handphone, way back in 1996. During that time, handphones was still considered a luxury item and only few people owned it. So she was kinda cool in her own way.

Another thing, she was always a non-conformist to peer pressure and rules. Our Uni was kinda set in certain ways to behave, but she became her own person - and I respected her for that. In a way, she teaches me to be myself and believe in my own capabilities. When I started blogging, she's my number one fan. Still is. Always encouraging me to update my blog, so that I can amuse her. She'd always call me up whenever she's bored and said "I'm bored.....entertain me, woman!!!". I tell you, this woman really got an air about her!

All of that, and she is also a great friend, always listening to me when I pour out my woes or bitch about things. She's non-judgemental to me, and for that, I thank you dear friend. In return, I try to be a friend who tries to listen to her, but sometimes end up blabbing more about myself than listen to her woes (sorry Ms Fantaghiro! I'll try to curb myself next time:p). She is the only friend that made the effort to come almost every weekend to my house to hang out for the past five years. I could never have done what she did for the sake of maintaining the friendship. And because of her consistency, she'd always been there for me. Again, I thank you, my dear friend!

She'd gone through some rough times recently, and I see that it did break her spirit a little bit. We grew apart for a while because of circumstances and geography but it didn't mean that we weren't in each other's hearts and thoughts. It did get weird for a while not having her as I used to. But the purpose of this post is to rejoice my friendship with her.

I do hope that she stays strong and can get past the black dot in her life. I hope that she draws strength, love and courage from our friendship to face whatever it is in her future. I do not want to lose my best friend because I value our friendship too much.

So, dear friend, take care and remember that Allah loves you more than I do.

Happy Belated Birthday, Jamilah!

Jam and me on the streets of Milan '07

Dear Jamilah,

Happy belated birthday on September 11
When you told me yesterday that it was your birthday
and you waited for me to wish you, I felt bad
I am so sorry that I have forgotten you birthday
You know that I am terrible with birthday dates
So please forgive me in this shortcoming.

That aside, I want to wish you many happy returns of the day
May Allah bless you always and grant you with rezeki in the future
You are a beautiful, wonderful, thoughtful and funny person
You always think things through, and dispenses the best of advice
You are like a rock on which everybody depends on
Certainly for me, as I always look up to your wisdom
and enjoy our conversations and hanging out sessions
I think I have found a kindred spirit in you
And hope that our friendship continues to flourish in the future
Happy Birthday, dear friend!

More pics on batch 3

More pics of the kitties in my kitchen, just romping around with Mami in the background.

My Kitties: Batch No3

They were born late July 2008. Unfortunately, I wasn't home to witness it as I was in Rompin with my mum. Hubby took some pics of Mami in labor. All in all, 3 kitties were born this tim. They have soft, medium long hair. Ironically the looked almost like the second batch.

Kitties about 1 month old, still sleeping in the box

Kitties romping around

Feeding time - about one and half months old now

He's my favourite kitty - very elegant demeanor

Their favourite napping place when I allow them in the house,

under the kithen table and behind my periuk

Eating whiskas with his Mami

Tired after romping around, they sleep on the rug on top of their cage

I've decided the fate of the kitties: one will be given to Aja, my hubby's sister. She was promised orange kitty from my second batch but that didn't materialize as that kitty was stolen in front of my house. So I kinda owed her this kitty....

Another will be given to Gojie, my office mate who had generously agreed to take all three of the kitties when I told her that I didn't want to seperate them.

The last kitty, maybe I'll keep him. The black one, I like the black kitty. Well not really black, he's more tortoise-shell colored.

Basically, I've taken care of three batches of kitties, starting from September 2007. It's a bit difficult rearing cats when you live in the second-storeyed flat. The space is very constrained for the kitties to run around.

With the first batch, I was a bit clueless on cat's hygiene. I had to keep them in a cage to prevent them from crapping around the house because the kitties dunno how to crap in the litter box. So they had to crap in the cage where they sleep and I would have to clean it everyday. I was under a lot of stress. Then the kitties developed some type of kurap. I had to cut off their fur in order to rub in Canisep, the anti fungal cream. In the end, my hubby decided to bring the kitties back to kampung coz they'd have more space to run around. Only one survived, while one kitty died and one went missing. He turned out to be one sleek black cat. Still dunno how to crap in litter box at least it was discreet to do it on grass or sand.

Batch no 2: I had more experience with cat litter. So, when the kitties started crapping and peeing, I put them near the litter box and forced the kitties on the sand. They got the drift and I managed to toilet train them. Again, they outgrew my flat and I had to give two away. One kitty was supposed to be given to my sis in law got lost, so I'm replacing it with the third batch.

Waiting for three months to seperate the kitties from their Mami. Till then my house will be quite havoc with the kitties running up and down the furniture, and even treating us like a furniture when they jumped on us. Will post more pics on the kitties later on.

To all the shoe fetishes out there.....

This post is especially dedicated to Lisa, who is a known shoe fetish since our days in Uni. I know how you love comfort shoes. Got them original Clarks shoes at last month's Clarks Warehouse Sale somewhere in Shah Alam. Eat your heart out, Lisa!!!

This is black suede "Trek Mary Janes" (RM120). I intend to make this as my walking shoes when I go for long walks or traveling. I wanted it in maroon colour but they don't have my size. Its very, very comfy and soft.....somehow it reminded me of another pair of black Mary Janes that I had when we were in Uni. Lisa, remember that you used to call my Mary Janes "kasut babi"??!! Haha..... Brings me back to the time when we were in Tanjung Bidara and Melaka town, I brought along "kasut babi" for the weekend. Good times, good times...


This pair is called "Sweet Girl" in brown leather (RM100). I think that this pair goes well with summer dresses...think long flowy, flowery skirt or even a gypsy skirt. I haven't worn this pair yet coz it's not exactly office material. Maybe can wear it with my pantsuit or even baju kurung...

"Cowell" in sand leather (RM90). Love the colour coz it's quite neutral. Black for office is quite boring. I've worn this with absolutely everything - pink baju kurung, pink pant suit, lime green pant suit, etc. So sue me if you think I'm color blind (help! it's Ziah the fashion police) hehehe...

Trivia time

Trivia courtesy of Ash.

( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school - did it with Nor in Form 5, class of 1995, went to the first and only McDonalds in Kuching then.
(X) Been to Canada - specifically to Calgary for a tradeshow then to Banff to see the mountains but sadly it rained and snowed so weren't able to see the sights.

( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida

(X) Been on a plane - hated it when my ears are blocked due to the pressure. Especially painful when I was having the flu!
( ) Jumped out of a plane

( ) Been on a Helicopter
(X) Been lost - actually a good way to learn about roads
(X) Been on opposite sides of the country
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean - went snorkeling in Pulau Lang Tengah
( ) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers

( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke - haven't been to Redbox in a while...
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only? Paid for my breakfast, which was about RM3.

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? I'm sure I had but couldn't remember it hehe
( ) Made prank phone calls

( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose? Yup, but can't remember exactly when and why I laughed so hard..
( ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain - it was during a school break in my kampung and the rain looked oh-so-fun, end up with my sis playing in the rain
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Gone ice-skating
( ) Gone Skiing
( ) Been skinny dipping outdoors

(X) Cried in a movie -- yes, I'm more sappy these days...

( ) Been to a drive-in movie

More about me:

1. Any nickname? no

2. Mothers name? Cikgu - that's what most people call her

3. Favorite drink? Cincau

4. Tattoo? Does temporary ones count?!!
5. Body Piercings? On both ears.

6. How much do you love your job? Okay I guess, still learning

7. Birthplace? Pahang

8. Favorite vacation spot? The islands for snorkeling

9. Ever been to Africa? No
10 Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yup, tiger biscuits. Was on a crash diet with my
sis many2 years ago. Couldn't do it again tho' hehe

11. Ever been on TV? Was interviewed once by Astro to comment on the movie Matrix. I had no clue what's the movie about and was asked to bluff about it haha
12. Ever steal a traffic sign? No

13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes, but as a passenger. Read it here.
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door? 4 door.
15. Favorite Salad Dressing? Nothing in particular. Don't do salad much.

16. Favorite pie? Shepherd's pie (same answer with Ash!)

17. Favorite Number? 5

18. Favorite movie? Midnight Talks (Polish)

19. Favorite holiday? Bali

20. Favorite dessert? Not particular. Chocolate, maybe.

21. Favorite Food? Domino's pizza

22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

23. What do you do to relax? Watch TV and DVDs all day long

24. Favorite toothpaste? Colgate triple action

25. Favorite smell? Love in Paris by Christina Ricci
26. Favorite sound? Maroon 5

27. Famous person you'd like to meet past or present: nobody

28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Still married, great career, superb house.

29. Furthest place you will send this message? Just in my blog

30. Who will respond to this the fastest? I welcome anyone to repost this trivia

Updates on workplace

Yesterday already reported duty in my new workplace - Research Division. Had our first division meeting with the Director, who is also new there. Turns out that I will be heading the Kajian Taburan unit. However, this is work in progress and I will be an understudy to a colleague who was also hands-on in this project. The survey focuses on the trends of traveling or visiting tourism hotspots by local or foreign tourists. Seems like I'd missed out the fun part, when we actually get to go on the field - around major tourism destinations in Malaysia and interview people. Now the survey is in the final process of reporting & writing and giving feedbacks. So, I'd to follow up from there...what a bummer. Hopefully, I'd have the chance to go on other surveys next time or be sent for overseas courses. Since I'm out of Convention division, there will be less traveling for me - I was scheduled to go to Cyprus and Victoria, Canada this year. Due to this transfer, my chances are off.

Anyway, had to learn new jargons for research such as data cleaning (where the officer need to vet thru the questionnaires to make sure each question is answered by the respondent). My head's already spinning from the handing over notes from my predecessor, luckily she was still around to explain things to me. Reason that she was still there at her old place was because she couldn't move her things to the new place as the officer there who was also suppose to move, haven't packed his things. He haven't packed his things because the new place that he was suppose to move have a space problem. So, in turn I was unable to move to the new place until 4pm this afternoon.

Have plugged in my computer, but haven't turn it on to test it. On the survey, have to wait tomorrow when my partner, or rather mentor, comes back to teach me all about this survey. Haven't unpack my boxes for fear of moving again temporarily due to office renovation.

Already feeling a mixture of sad and happy at the new job. Sad because I'm leaving Convention which have been my learning grounds on tourism and specifically the MICE industry. I have made many friends in the course of six years be it from the office and also the tourism industry - from hotel, travel agents, PCO and association. As I told my colleagues, the move to Research is not a parting as I will still be around to support them. I'm also feeling happy because I will be learning new things and most importantly, I won't be bogged down by my previous projects. Being in Convention, you always get a lot of ad-hoc projects which is normally last minute. As far as what I'm told in Research, the job's is scheduled and at times, routine.

So, shall see what lies tomorrow onwards....

Marhaban Ya Ramadhan

"Wahai orang-orang yang beriman, telah wajib ke atas kamu berpuasa sebagaimana telah diwajibkan ke atas umat-umat yang sebelum kamu, semuga kamu menjadi orang yang bertakwa."
Surah Al Baqarah, ayat 183

---

Ditegaskan oleh Rasulullah SAW melalui sabdanya yang diriwayatkan oleh Ahmad, An- Nasa'i dan Al Baihaqi dari Abu Hurairah, yang bermaksud:

"Sesungguhnya telah datang kepada kamu bulan Ramadhan bulan yang penuh berkat. Allah telah fardhukan ke atas kamu berpuasa padanya. Sepanjang bulan Ramadhan itu dibuka segala pintu Syurga dan ditutup segala pintu neraka serta dibelenggu segala syaitan......."

(petikan dari blog Hynhar - Endless Love)

Selamat berpuasa kepada family, sahabat handai dan semua Muslim...