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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Berkunjung ke Bumi Kenyalang


Taking advantage of the long holiday (25-29 December 2008), we decided to take a vacation to Kuching, together with my parents, sister (Kak Liana), brother-in-law (Man) & nephew (Eirfan).

Since Wahida & my parents (who took a late flight from K.Terengganu and arrived at LCCT only around midnight) was not keen of taking the 45-minutes drive back to Bandar Sri Damansara, we spent the night at the KLIA Concorde Inn (which is 15 minutes away from LCCT). And seeing as the flight to Kuching was at 9.45 a.m., it was actually a good idea - we only had to leave for the airport at 8.15 a.m. and we were fortunate that the flight was not delayed or anything.


As Eirfan was the only one who ‘purchased’ the Xpress boarding, someone had to ‘accompany’ him to board the plane. Seeing as the one who has to accompany Eirfan also has the duty to reserve seats for the rest of the group, Man 'volunteered' Kak Liana and I to board first (because he feels that the act of booking seats on a flight are ‘frowned upon’.. hahaha!)

We landed at the Kuching International Airport about 11.30 a.m. and waited for my uncle (PakLong) and aunty (Auntie Ros) to pick us up. [PakLong is a lecturer in UNIMAS and has made Kuching his home for the past few years and Auntie Ros, who is lecturer in UiTM Shah Alam, was there on a visit]. Since there were 6½ of us (the ½ being Eirfan) and PakLong drives a Proton Wira, we had to get another car – so enter Zul, who just started his judicial duties in Sarawak.


My parents decided to to stay at PakLong's apartment at the Riverbanks Suite and the rest of us checked into the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites (were booked in advance through the GoHoliday package). Since we booked two rooms, the hotel offered to upgrade the rooms to a 2-rooms suite. After much deliberation (took us almost an hour to come to a decision), we decided to take it. Alas, by the time we got back to the receptionist with our decision, the suite was already reserved by someone else (damn…!). By the by, the rooms we got were also ok, with the exception of the view - which was facing the hotel's parking lot (double damn…!).


Anyway, that night, PakLong treated us to dinner at this interesting eatery called the “Top Spot Seafood Centre”, which is also known as “the Carpark” simply because the place is at the rooftop of a car-park building. A bit noisy but the food was nice.


On the next day, we chartered a van, which came together with a driver, Hj. Razak (013-8957760). And thanks to KakLiana, the whole-day rent for the van was only RM150 – quite reasonable compared to the other rates we came across.


The first destination that day was the Kampung Budaya / Cultural Village, which was a 35-minutes journey from the Kuching town centre. The Cultural Village showcases seven authentic traditional houses (Bidayuh, Iban, Penan, Ulu, Melanau, Cina & Melayu) and occupied by members of Sarawak’s ethnic groups, going about everyday activities.


The Village also includes a multi-ethnic cultural performance in the Village’s air-conditioned mini-theater. And we were fortunate to have witnessed a rare dance performed by Eipan of the “Fun-Fun” tribe.


Next stop was the Muzium Kucing / Cat Museum, which is the world’s first museum for cats and devoted to everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, related to feline – even things which has the term “cat”, such as “catwalks” and “cat burglars”, are exhibited there.


For dinner that night, Pak Long brought us to D’Airiz Café, a Thai-based restaurant, near Satok, for dinner.


The third day was reserved especially for Wahida’s favourite pastimes i.e. shopping. In the morning, we decided to walk and do our shopping at the shops along the Kuching Waterfront (a riverside walk stretching approximately 1km long along the Kuching river, linking various hotels, shops and shopping complexes with downtown Kuching).


Finished with the ‘first round’ of shopping, we met up with Mama and Auntie Ros at the Crown Plaza Riverside. While waiting, we had a snack at the famous ‘Sugar Bun’ (a local fast-food franchise, which originated from Kuching and is very popular among the people of Sarawak, Sabah & Brunei).


For lunch, too lazy and tired to walk to anywhere, we went to the Khatulistiwa Café, a Bidayuh style architecture, which was just next to Pak Long’s apartment building.



The ‘second round’ of shopping was then done at the Pasar Minggu Satok, a weekly, weekend-only market, which offers everything from T-shirts and souvenirs to udang kering and kek lapis Sarawak. According to Hj. Razak, the Pasar opens 24-hours, starting from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening.


On our final night in Kuching, Pak Long planned a dinner at the Holiday Plaza but wanting to lepak with Zul, Wahida and I decided to visit the well-known “Raja Ayam Penyet”, which is actually a small warong but was packed with people. The ‘King’ specializes in the Ayam Penyet (a simple meal that comprises of roasted chicken, white rice, ulam and a very hot sambal belacan) but also offers a variety of other food as well.


After dinner, we went for an evening walk along the Kuching Waterfront while enjoying ice-cream for dessert. We also ran into Nadzri (my former Perindu hostelmate in UiTM) and his new wife, who was on a work-trip.


As our flight back to LCCT was at 9.05 p.m., we spent our morning shopping at the shops along the Kuching Waterfront (again!). We then checked out from the hotel at about 1 p.m. and spent the rest of the day at Pak Long’s apartment.


Just after Maghrib, we left for the Kuching International Airport (Thanks again, Zul, for the ride). Since there was also no delay for our flight to KL, we arrived at LCCT at about 11 p.m., as estimated.



We chartered a van back to Bandar Sri Damansara and finally reached home at midnight – thus ending our trip to the wonderful City of Cats.




Sunday, December 28, 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The Day I Found Love

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  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tiap-tiap hari sms/call saya tepat jam 9.30 remind-kan untuk saya makan vitamin.

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila saya dapat e-mail dari Maybank2u 3rd Party Fund Transfer dengan message, “Untuk belanja/shopping di Sarawak.” Saya senyum sorang2 depan computer pagi tadi! Heh.

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia bagi saya supplementary Maybankard Visa Gold untuk saya guna sebagai hadiah. (and please be informed that I have never used it until now sebab saya bukan ambil kesempatan dari setiap pemberian Suami, nantilah bila ada keperluan dan kecemasan, saya guna k, Dearie?)

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tolong packing baju-baju saya di rumah KL untuk ke Kuching sebab malam saya tiba di KL, saya tidak akan pulang ke rumah sebaliknya terus berehat di hotel sebelum kami berlepas ke Kuching esoknya.

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tolong tukar dan basuh cadar di rumah KL (untuk kesemua bilik, mind you!) untuk menyambut ketibaan saya nanti. (Sebenarnya saya tak sabar nk tengok hasilnya, cadar mana yang dia pilih untuk setiap bilik itu?) Ngee.

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila setiap kali lepas saya masak dan kami makan, dia tolong basuh pinggan. Kami selalu fighting over untuk membasuh pinggan, tapi katanya, saya dh masak, jadi biar dia basuh pulak. Ngee.

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tak dapat balik berjumpa saya pada hujung minggu lalu, dia mengirim sebakul bunga hidup ke pejabat saya dengan message di atas kad : “Yang, sorry tak dapat balik! Miss you very much!” (di mana staf-staf saya tersenyum-senyum bila Cik Penghantar Bunga itu datang membawa bunga hidup ke dalam bilik pejabat saya).

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia beli tiket wayang, dia beli yang couple seat itu untuk kami menonton dengan selesa dan seat besar. ;)

  • Sweet tak Husband saya bila cakap "Sayang (*saya) sangat-sangat!" tiap-tiap hari since kami couple. (Err, that would be everyday for 5 years time dah!)

I still think that marriage is the best thing that ever happened in my life. Thank you Husband Dearie, for making my life this complete and for loving me this much! 1.6.3.!

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Monday, December 22, 2008

Hati Batu?

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Saya terpanggil untuk membaca buku Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck tulisan Hamka itu setelah ramai yang memberikan respon positif dan ramai juga yang menangis dek jalan cerita dan bahasanya yang disusun indah. Mengulas buku bukanlah bidang saya. What am I trying to share here is that apa yang saya rasa.

Sebelum saya mengetahui tentang kewujudan buku tersebut, telah banyak kali saya mendengar tentangnya. Lebih-lebih lagi ianya hasil tulisan seorang yang mashyur dalam bidang penulisan. Jadi semasa MPH Sale, saya telah mencari buku itu tapi tidak jadi membelinya kerana Abah maklumkan buku tersebut sudah ada di rumah saya! Abah, menurutnya sewaktu muda dahulu juga digenangi air mata membaca buku tersebut. Saya jadi kaget untuk membaca buku tersebut, lebih-lebih lagi dalam keadaan saya sekarang, risau sungguh beremosi lebih lantas tempiasnya akan mengenai keturunan kami nanti.

Baru 2 hari lepas saya selesai membaca buku yang disebut-sebut itu. Kesannya? Saya langsung tidak menangis, tiada perasaan hiba, tiada kesedihan dalam hati malah air mata saya agak mahal untuk itu. Tapi itulah saya. Saya agak sukar menangis pabila membaca sesuatu bahan bacaan atau menonton cerita-cerita sedih. Saya pernah ketawa di dalam panggung sewaktu menonton X-Men, walhal itu adalah part sedih dalam cerita itu. Saiko. Ngee.

Realitinya tanyalah pada orang-orang yang rapat dengan saya. Saya bukan keras hati, saya cepat juga bergenang air mata dan menangis. Saya akui itu. Cuma bab-bab membaca dan menonton sahaja yang kurang memberi kesan pada saya.

Sempena MPH Sale [and contribution from the beloved Husband for another 20% discount, thank you], I bought 3 books for only RM10 each (after discount ya). I could not stop from reading Muslee Awang Murshid's collection, I just bought that Hijab Sang Pencinta. Buku Usikan Rindu itu tersenarai sebagai tempat Pertama di MPH, keluaran Alaf 21. Owh, buku Ayat-Ayat Cinta itu, sudah lama diperam untuk dihabiskan. Heh.

*On the other note, si kecil ini went for an outdoor shooting yesterday. Comel, kan?

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Friday, December 19, 2008

The Boy & The Apple Tree


A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.


One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.
"Come and play with me", the tree asked the boy.
"I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more" the boy replied.
"I want toys. I need money to buy them."
"Sorry, I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money."
The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited.
"Come and play with me" the tree said.
"I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"
"Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house". So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.
"Come and play with me!" the tree said.
"I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" said the man.
"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy."
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you", the tree said.
"No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite" the man replied.
"No more trunk for you to climb on".
"I am too old for that now" the man said.
"I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots," the tree said with tears.
"I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years," the man replied.
"Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest."

The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.

Morale of the story: The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our parents. When we grow up, we leave them and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. But no matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how most of us treat our parents. We take them for granted; we don't appreciate all they do for us, until it's too late.


"Dan Tuhanmu telah memerintahkan supaya kamu jangan menyembah selain Dia dan hendaklah kamu berbuat baik pada ibubapamu dengan sebaik-baiknya. Jika salah seorang di antara keduanya atau kedua-duanya sampai berumur lanjut dalam pemeliharaanmu, maka sekali-kali janganlah kamu mengatakan kepada keduanya perkataan "ah" dan janganlah kamu membentak mereka dan ucapkanlah kepada mereka perkataan yang mulia. Dan rendahkanlah dirimu terhadap mereka berdua dengan penuh kesayangan dan ucapkanlah: "Wahai Tuhanku, kasihilah mereka keduanya, sebagaimana mereka berdua telah mendidik aku waktu kecil."
(Al-Israa' : 23 - 24)

"Seorang berbangsa Arab datang kepada Nabi Shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam lalu berkata: " Wahai Rasulullah apakah dia dosa besar?" Nabi Shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam menjawab: "Mensyirikkan Allah." Dia (orang Arab itu) berkata lagi: "Kemudian apa?", Baginda Shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam menjawab: "Kemudian menderhaka kedua ibu bapa ..."
(Hadits riwayat Al-Bukhari)



Tuesday, December 16, 2008

My Little Niece

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Presenting my Little Niece. 4 1/2 months.

*Comel sungguh! Muahs! Love, Mak Ngah.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

My England is not very well...


I recently received an email [entitled “Read the English and weep (literally)”] containing a link to the official website of the Malaysian National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendafataran Negara).

The said link (http://www.jpn.gov.my/BI/3_3_1_pengenalan.php) opened a page which displays the information relating to MYKID (the children’s version of the National Registration Identification Card) and as I was reading the said info, it was shocking to discover the level of English competency in the official website of our very own governmental body.

I do admit that my English is also ‘broken’ and I am far from being qualified to criticize other people’s English but when I read the “MYKID Information”, it did made me want to weep. Being a Malaysian, it was rather embarrassing, considering that the said information would be viewed by a lot people, both local and foreign (when I logged into the website, I was visitor number 97,529).

Perhaps the government should focus less on the issue of English language being used in Science & Maths and concentrate more on the usage of English within its own institutions.


The page


(Click to enlarge)
The brave types betul la Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara ni…





Monday, December 8, 2008


~ SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILADHA ~
Maaf Zahir & Batin




Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Great Escape!


I didn't think he had it in him to do it...
All these years, he has been talking about it
but never have I expected him to really do it...
Well, he finally did it... He escaped...





Makan-makan Time!


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For the first time ever I gave myself a try for the famous cooked of variety foods at Kelana Jaya or known as "William" (sempena nama Owner dia). Just tell them what do you prefer and/or want to eat, they will cook for you. The foods that they would cook for you are based on rice, noodles or pastas. Sila, sila inform mereka jika anda ada mengidam, atau lama tidak makan, atau tidak pernah merasa, atau ingin merasa makanan-makanan yang anda mahukan. Owh, please be informed that the portion is not as what you think, portion mereka boleh menyebabkan anda kenyang [giler, ok] semalaman. Heh.

Saya mencuba dan ingin makan Beef Lasagna pada malam itu. Dengan hidangan bersama Meatballs di dalam menu pilihan saya itu, dan sos lasagna-nya yang sedikit masam, saya tidak mampu untuk menghabiskannya (tapi, sahabat saya, ZuluS berjaya habiskan, ok? Dan Husband saya juga habiskan Spaghetti-nya).


Saya suka gambar ini. Kami kekenyangan dan meredah hujan renyai untuk pulang. Heh.

On Saturday, we went to Ani Sup Utara and guess what?

Ada promosi RM1! Haha.

Saya memang terasa ingin makan bihun sup tapi memandangkan it was during lunch hour, I decided to order Chicken Rice. But then, kerana saya mahukan Bihun Sup juga (dan ada promosi RM1 tu, kan? Ngee) saya order juga Bihun Sup. Hasilnya, saya amat kenyang tengah hari itu dan Bihun Sup RM1 itu tidak menghampakan. Alhamdulillah!

*Dan sekarang, saya masih lagi terasa kesedapan Bihun Sup tersebut. Saiko. Hehe.



Monday, December 1, 2008

Did you ever stop and wonder......

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  • Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours?
  • If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
  • Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
  • Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough?
  • Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
  • Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
  • Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
  • Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
  • Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
  • Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
  • What is the speed of darkness?
  • Are there specially reserved parking spaces for 'normal' people at the Special Olympics?
  • If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
  • If it's true that we are here to help others, what are the others doing here?
  • Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?
  • Do you cry under water?
  • How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
  • Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
  • Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'
  • Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there... I'm going to eat the next thing that comes out of its bum.'
  • Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
  • Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
  • Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?
  • Why does your Obstetrician, Gynecologist leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
  • Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
  • If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
  • If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
  • If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
  • Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
  • Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
  • Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
  • Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?