A Drop in the Bucket

fate...

2011-04-03T12:43:00.008+08:00

I was listening to a song by Westlife, called The Dance, when I suddenly thought of my pakcik. Part of the song's lyric goes like this:

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end, the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance

I could have missed the pain

But I'd have to miss the dance

You see, my pakcik went along with my parents to go umrah recently. He was over the moon, overjoyed to get the chance to visit the Ka'abah; he even took initiatives to jog before going to get his stamina up. By Allah's will, a few days after he returned back from umrah, his wife passed away. It got me thinking.... if he knew his wife would be going away soon, would he have gone on the trip (the trip that had made him so happy)? Or would he had stayed and be with her during the last weeks of her life?

But alas...we're merely human and knows not of our fate. Reading La Tahzan, it stresses that we should never even question 'if this or this happen'... as everyhing is predetermined, and all we can do is be patient.

As a lesson for myself.... never take things for granted, appreciate everything, live life to the fullest, but always remember death. You could be so happy one day, but you never know whether you would still be alive the next day.

May Allah bless her. Al-Fatihah...

Join me at Goodreads!

2011-03-19T17:55:00.008+08:00

Previously, I was using one of the Apps on Facebook called Visual Bookshelf. After a while, I got bored of it... mainly because it takes quite a while to load and the features seem limited. So I looked around for a social network website for bookworms (or nerds if you want to call it =P ) and I'm so happy to come across Goodreads!

There are many other social network sites of course (like LibraryThing, Shelfari, etc.)... but I like Goodreads the best. The interface is not too boring like LibraryThing and yet you can still find all the things you want. What I had in mind was... I wanted a website that I can keep catalogue of all the books that I have read and at the same time I get to read and share reviews of books with others ... and I think Goodreads have just what I need.

I love how the books can be nicely catalogue!

This is what the homepage looks like.

The book reviews are really what interest me. With so many people using this site, you can get all sorts of views for just one book, from whichever genre. You can even find Malay, Arabic, French (etc..etc..etc..) books' reviews... It's great way to find what to read next.

There are even fun stuffs like trivia and quizzes... and you get to vote on all sorts of list (like the "Best Books of the 20th Century" and "Worst Books of All Time"... amazingly, Twilight was voted on both lists! haha).

I have also joined one of the groups called Goodreads Malaysia... and it is so great to be pleasantly suprise by the number of bookworms out there. Who says Malaysians don't read?! The community even put up a challenge of "50 Buku Setahun (2011)"... where you challenge yourself to reading 50 books!!! Erk... I don't think I can manage that... so, I've set my target at a humble 20 this year (see the widget I have on my right ----> ).

To all my friends out there, come sign up on this site. I would love to know what you've been reading and your views on them.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. ~Mark Twain

Pelik ke?

2011-03-16T11:32:00.002+08:00

A few days ago, while taking out my laundry, my colleague accidently saw I had a Quran in my luggage bag (we were switching hotels in Skudai at that time). He was suprised and said "ada lagi ye orang macam ni? bagus la". Really?! Pelik sangat ke? He asked why do I bring it along? Do I always bring it along when I travel?

To be honest, I'm quite suprise by his questions. Pelik sangat ke bawa Quran? Why do I bring it along? Sebab takut hantu ke? (huh? klau bawa je boleh halau ke???) Ntah la... but I know klau dah lama tak baca, rasa rindu nak baca balik. My reading is way far from perfect, I sometimes don't even read the translation so I don't know what I'm reading... but I just like to read it... rasa calm. I'm not that pious, but I'm blessed to be around people who reads Quran (as a normal habit)... my brothers, my parents and my dear.

I'm not writing this with the intention to say I'm good or whatever.... far from it in fact. I'm just wondering where / how the general Muslims these days place Quran in their lives? Only for prayer? Or whenever someone passed away? This morning I found out my Christian colleague brought along his Bible with him. Shouldn't we be embarrassed?

Books for this month

2011-03-11T09:31:00.008+08:00

Well, not for March particularly, but these are the books that I've read for the past month or so. Two of them I just finished this week (which my colleagues were like "dah abis dah?!" hee...)

Often when people ask what genre do I like, I don't have one. I usually pick whatever is on the bestseller list or recommended by friends. If you're looking for something good to read, hope this review helps (but then again, you should always give it a try yourself anyway~).

1. Flashforward (by Robert J. Sawyer)

Rate: 3.5 / 5.0

The TV series with the same name was based on this book. The idea of the whole world put on blackout and getting a 2 minutes glimpse of the future really pulled me to read this book. To some, knowing the future motivates them, while for others it's just a burden (yes, one character even committed suicide). Unlike the TV series, where the blackout was caused by some bad guys, in the book the event was a complete accident caused by side effect of an experiment with the Large Hadron Collider. Read how everyone tried to deal with it, and suprisingly they even tried to recreate the blackout again. There are parts of the book where it gets too physics and I just got blur... but on the whole, definitely recommended.

2. From Nothing Hill With Love...Actually (by Ali McNamara)

Rate: 1.5 / 5.0

Borrowed this from my cousin and read it while I was bored at rumah nenek. Yes, it's just a chick-lit where you know everything will be happy in the end (and I do enjoy reading chick-lit cause it's so takyah pikir)... but why does the main character have to be so.. erm.. so... silly (yeah, that's the word). She goes around wanting to proof movies does exist in real life. I mean huh?! And the movies that were quoted were mostly romantic comedies... if you really want to proof things in movies happen in real life, why not go for those drama-type ones, or even those based on historical facts (duuuhhh~!). If such person do exist, I think it's best to slap some senses into her =P

3. To Kill A Mockingbird (by Harper Lee)

Rate: 4.5 / 5.0
My dear rumet bought this for my coming 25th birthday (thank you met~!!! sorry I've read it before my birthday =P). I've always been wanting to read this book, to see why it's so famous... and I love it. The story is told from the view a little Scout Finch (somehow stories written from the kids' view are really good...just like Room). I guess a lot of us already know the general plot of this book is about a lawyer trying to defend a black man who was accused of rape (which he didn't do). Considering the heavy topic, i.e. on racial equality, aside from having a good court scene, the book is also suprisingly amusing and warm. I might as well give this a 5.0 / 5.0!

4. The Alchemist

Rate: 3.5 /5.0

Hurm... was recommended by rumet. Generally I love the journey went through by Santiago to achieve his dream. I may not agree with the philosophy of Soul of the World (or maybe I just don't understand it), and the wind and the sun talking are just weird... but hey, that's suppose to be magic of the story I guess. I like the fact that there are questions at the back of the book that are meant to guide readers and make them think. I love books that force me to think~! This book would be a great choice to be used in our schools for english literature (as compared to what they have now. I saw my brother's literature book for Form 5 students and it has lots of pictures in it! really?! it's literature for Form 5 and there are big pictures!!! hmm...ridiculous).

Back in skudai

2011-03-09T21:26:00.006+08:00

Yup, I'm back in Skudai, but this time for project work. After doing a 12-hour shift I guess I should really just go to bed, but my stomach is too full right now...haih... anyway, here's my ramblings for today~(considering I had hours just menonton the reactor tadi, I had plenty of time to think about random stuff =P)

1. Saw this on today's newspaper:

Seriously what?! The guy is being so damn generous to give $28-billion to charity and these people are talking how this would cost him his Forbes title?! Who cares! He's helping so many people (as compared to keeping all the wealth to himself...sampai mati pun tak abis duit tu). I know I like watching the Forbes list on E! for entertainment purpose, but I simply love what Mr. and Mrs. Gates are doing here...hope they'll continue on the effort and inspire others to follow (I understand even Warren Buffet is joining in to help the Gates Foundation! nice =D)! Don't give a toot about the list k!

2. Here, I just want to vent off something... Today alone I got asked the same question again and again (I guess walking around the "digi" suit in UTM really attracts attention, especially since I'm a girl) ... which I don't really mind. But it gets annoying when someone said something like..."oooh patut la blaja kat UTP, memang la dapat keje situ" with that certain tone in their voice. I mean Seriously lady?! Since when studying in that university and getting the scholarship gives you the golden ticket to work in the company? And who says working for the company is a walk in the park?! And what's with you asking "baru 24? keje engineer???" in that tone... if you meant it as a compliment, then thank you, but it doesn't seem like one. And another thing...what's with you bragging your friend didn't get accepted by this same company but got into a different O&G company... seriously I don't care! Thank goodness I have enough sense to be polite and smile the whole time.

3. I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird within 2 days of 'menonton' reactor. huhu~! Tomorrow I'll start on The Alchemist...good thing I've brought my stock of novels to read =) (book reviews coming soon~)

4. Earth Hour is coming again~! Don't forget to switch off your lights on this 26th March at 8.30pm.

5. Would like to experience watching a play at Istana Budaya~ Will Lat the Muzikal be worth the trouble?

It's framed!

2011-03-06T01:29:00.002+08:00

I'm so happy...~! It's finally framed and it looks fantastic! =)

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Love in Disguise

2011-02-27T00:51:00.002+08:00

Reasons to watch this movie:
1- It's a romantic comedy (so you don't have to think much)
2- It's directed by Wang Lee Hom himself (his 1st movie), which he won the Best New Director for it
3- The theme song to this movie is amazingly beautiful (which I think Lee Hom wrote too)
4- It has a happy ending... yay~
5- You'll get a good exposure on Chinese music

but most of all, you know the MAIN reason to watch this is because:
there's Wang Lee Hom acting in it!!! haha... dduuhh...

Plot? You can just google it up. Should you really watch? I say yes! haha... btw, here's the theme song to the movie... YOUTUBE LINK HERE (dunno somehow I cant embed or share the video here) anyway... even if you don't understand the lyric, you know the music is beautifully arranged. hee~

loving my new bag~!

2011-02-04T13:49:00.003+08:00

My previous handbag got stolen last year (yes, stolen! in a surau!) It was a nice dark brown Sisley bag...I do miss it. So for the past few months I've been menge'pow' my mom's and maklong's bags. No, I just pick the cheap ones (giler ke nak pinjam Bonia, Coach, LV sume?!).

But... finally I've bought a new one to replace it... ta-daa~!:

Absolutely LOVE it! Plus, it was on CNY sale at jusco, and I got it at 50% off! huhu. I'm definitely in love with it... love the subtle color, no loud CR evrywhere to tell it's Carlo Rino, love the design on it, love the shape of the bag itself, the wide space inside it, every little details like that metallic buckles, the CR chain and that band tied across the front, the squiggly opening, the pink lining inside~!!!

I am so happy this didn't even go beyond RM150. And like my dear said... this should be a reward for myself for the 3 months in Skudai~

Read these...

2011-01-21T20:52:00.011+08:00

While waiting for Geets to arrive from Miri (yay~!!!), to kill the time I'm going to do book reviews. Just realised that all these books are by female authors (whereas the previous book review entry was all by male authors...hmm..) and no, these are not all from the chick lit genre.

1. The Book of Tomorrow (by Cecelia Ahern)
Rate: 3.5/ 5.0
To me, Cecelia Ahern books always have interesting angles...either it's a woman recovering from death of her husband (cried like crazy readin this), or a place where lost things go, or even imaginary friends (my fave~). This book is not my fave Ahern, but it's still good. I'm not a fan of the main character since she's obviously so spoiled. But the story has a good suspense and twist to it.

2.Room (by Emma Donoghue)
Rate: 4.75 / 5.0
Haha...I might as well rate the book a full 5. Trust me, you must read this. When I picked up the book from MPH bookstore, I had no idea it was ranked third on top 10 fiction bestsellers for the week. What attracted me to it was it's brief summary at the back, it's simple cover and "Man Booker Prize Finalist" written on the front.

The book is about a young woman being kidnapped and prisoned for seven years in a Room, and her son was born and brought up not knowing the Outside world really exist. The book is writen from the perspective of the 5-year old Jack and you can really see his innocence. I don't want to give spoilers away, but here's the brief summary at the back of the book that drew me to it:

'To five-year old Jack, Room is the world. It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where Jack is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.'

3. Eat Pray Love (by Elizabeth Gilbert)
Rate: 2.0 /5.0
I'm sorry to those who love this book, but I don't. First, to those who do not already know it, this book is somewhat an autobiography (so it's non-fiction) of the author's life finding her happiness. It's been turned into a movie with Julia Roberts playing the main character. Anyway... why I don't enjoy it? Maybe cause she goes on and on about her problems... about not being able to concentrate while meditating, about not being able to open up to love, etc etc etc. I guess to me, reading is my way of escapism from daily stress, so reading about people talking about their problems is just no fun.

4. The Memory Keeper's Daugther
Rate: 4.0 / 5.0
To be honest, this book is thick and the plot is really slow. Took me a while to finish it, but I'm glad I did. It's about a doctor who delivered his own twins, but found out one of them was born with Down syndrome. Thinking the girl might not be able live long (it was 1964 after all) and wanting to spare his wife of the sadness in the near future, he decided to give the baby away and lied to his wife saying one of the twins died during childbirth.

5. Twenties Girl (by Sophie Kinsella)
Rate: 4.5/5.0
Chick lit~! Huhu. Bought this book at a really good discount, cost me only 5 Aussie Dollar (that's only RM15!... wait, don't be fooled...books there are generally more expensive, they cost about $18-25 per novel. I got this at a really really good sale at QBD Bookshop). Anyway, this book has a nice story to it. Yea, it's chick lit, so you don't need to think much and just enjoy the story and the happy ending.

P.S.: My dear got me a really nice stamp with my name in calligraphy (this is khat kufi). It's made by Yayasan Restu in Shah Alam and I've been stamping all my books with it. Thank you =D See...

Self-leadership...

2011-01-16T18:43:00.010+08:00

"Most experts would agree that if you can’t effectively lead yourself, then you can’t effectively lead other individuals, groups or organizations. If you’re continually changing your priorities and can’t effectively address most of them, then the rest of the world will seem to be a confusing mess to you, as well. Others will soon become confused about your priorities, including for them. You’ll soon lose credibility and your ability to lead." - excerpt from an article written by Julia Fabris Mcbride.

OK... I don't know who Ms. Mcbride is, but what she says is right. I remember back in PIPE, one of the OPUs CEO came over for a talk session with us. What I remember most was that he said

"If you can't lead yourself off from your bed and your blanket in the morning for the Subuh prayer, how can you lead others in an organization?" ... very impactful words indeed.

This year, I hope to lead and manage myself better... in terms of managing finances, relationships, work, also in terms of keeping fit physically, mentally and spiritually. So that's my resolution for 2011 =)

My ramblings...

2011-01-14T09:59:00.006+08:00

My first entry for 2011... didn't even bother to write bout 2010 in summary or about my new year resolution... hmm... anyway, here are things going through my head (it is possible that it's on influence of Nescafe):

1. I am annoyed if I go to have a meal with someone and he / she starts playing with the phone the whole time. It doesn't matter whether you're surfing the internet (on your so-cool smart phone), or chatting, or playing games... it's a no no NO~! Answering a call or replying to a text can still be tolerated. I've gone through this so many times that I guess I'm used to it... but I still don't like it. Table manners people!

2. Feel like dancing when the radio puts on 'Love Like Whoa' or that 'We Speak No Americano' song... =P catchy tunes...~

3. I don't like to update my Facebook status that often... maybe cause then everyone would read it... and that means EVERYONE... old schoolmates, officemates, makcik2, cousins, potential in-laws... But then people can always read this blog you say... yea, but who really bothers to read this blog, except maybe Geets or Illy (you girls still do right? gosh... I sound so pathetic =P)

4. If you come to Johor, you MUST visit Tanjung Piai. You'll learn so much about the importance of mangroove forest (hutan paya bakau) to our eco-system, and about the plants and animals there. But hey... we all know the main attraction is really the fact that it's the Southern-Most Tip of Mainland Asia! It's practically like climbing the Everest! (ok la Kinabalu maybe)... only not.

5. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to get the 3-months attachment at UTM Skudai. I've learned way so much about membranes. Will really miss this place, and the people here, and the working environment here (we get to punch in at 9am and wear T-shirts to work... how cool is that!).

6. Need to save money seriously this year... like damn serious (or Geets would say like serious shit!)

7. Which btw, I haven't seen Geets physically (I've seen her pictures on FB obviously) for a year now... it's been a year and a half since graduation, and it's been a year PIPE... but I love that we still chat with each other EVERY SINGLE DAY!

8. My dad's birthday is next week and I have no idea what to get for him... hmmm...

9. Teringin sangat nak makan limau mandarin right now... especially klau dengar iklan Chinese New Year on the radio.

10. Better get back to report writing... ~ as Paris Hilton would say (on her BFF show... yea, I can't believe I've been watching it for 4 consecutive weeks... but in my defense there was nothing better on TV...)... anyway... TTYM~!

Must-watch movies

2010-12-10T15:52:00.009+08:00

I know I've missed a few great movies this year... No, I haven't watch Inception yet (gasp!!!), and I watched 'How to Train a Dragon' way after everyone already seen it. But fortunately, it's almost the end of the year where so many movies have come out ... and here's some that I think are a really-must-watch~!

1. Let Me In

Ok, to be honest, I only agreed to go watch this movie at the cinema with Yana cause I thought it was rated U (I mean how terrifying can it be if it's rated U right?! =P)... turns out it was actually 18PL. Anyway, I don't regret watching it.. I only don't enjoy the gore parts, but other than that it's a really really good story. And those kids are amazing actors! It's a definite 4.5/5!

2. Megamind

Picked by my dear. Nice story, I think it's kinda cute =) A 3.5/5.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I'm a self-proclaimed Harry Potter fan, I've read every single one of the books, and re-read some of them again... but honestly I don't think the movie is that great. I find the movie to be slow (so I'm not suprised if anyone almost fall asleep during those scenes where they were at the forest). Since there's a bit more drama to it, you kinda realise they could have done better with their acting (the kids in Let Me In acting performance are better than Harry's and Ron's), and I think Voldermort need to be more evil~!!! He looks kinds nice in the movie... he is supposed to be the most feared one where no one even dare to say his name... he should be more evil looking~! Anyway, my favourite HP movie is still the 3rd one... as for this one, I guess it's a 2/5.

4. Rapunzel

I think in some countries they call it Tangled. Just watched this with my dear yesterday... love it~! Every character is cute and charming... it's such a sweet Disney movie (reminds you of the old Disney cartoons) and it's funny! I just find it kinda weird to have them singing out of nowhere (it's because it's a Disney, I know). Overall, an almost 5/5.

5. Social Network

I enjoy watching this. I know it's not really 100% based on facts (you can easily Google and find out more), but there is still truth to it. It's cool to see how Facebook started out, from just an idea and expanded so fast. The guy playing Mark is great... he looks cooler (or even more of a jerk) than the actual Mark Zuckerberg~ huhu. It's a 4/5.

Count your blessings...

2010-11-13T13:39:00.003+08:00

There's a resturant at Taman Universiti at Skudai where we like to go here... its mee hotplate is quite nice (I think I'll do an entry on food while I'm here~=P). We got to know the place thanks to one of the staff who took us there after our games of badminton (our normal activity every Tuesday and Friday night~huhu... my bit of exercise to make up for a whole week of eating and being a nerd~).

Anyway...
There's a pakcik selling otak-otak there. The first time I saw him I felt like crying (maybe I was just being emotional). His tactic was quite smart really... since not many would buy otak-otak from gerai for dinner...so what he did was put a few of them in a small basket on your table...so obviously some people would eat at least one or two while waiting for their order. And yes, the otak-otak are really nice, plus they are served while still hot.

What really touched me was his effort. He sells the otak-otak alone. So he would be membakar them... them go around seeing who would potentially eat and put on their table... then go around surveying again seeing who eats, who doesnt and collect back all those baskets and his money. He moves around non-stop the whole night working and surveying... and for all his hard work, he earns 50sen per otak-otak.

I know some ppl might sell otak-otak at cheaper price (so his profit might not be so bad), and there are ppl in worse condition out there... but I still felt so ashamed... I can sit comfortably and know that my salary would be banked in at the end of the month. I'm not saying makan gaji buta... but the thought that I don't need to do what he does, I earn more and yet I still complain sometimes... hmm...

Count your blessings... if Allah give your more rezeki than others, don't forget to give back. Your money and knowledge are not really yours...

korean love songs mode ;)

2010-11-06T04:47:00.004+08:00

At home for the weekend... I miss the good times listening korean songs with my rumet and the rest of the housemates in UTP. Gta would go to the extent of annoying me with all the latest suju news, while faezah and jann would be so bersemangat to try out wonder girls' dance.... I miss you people so much, and your insanity too~

Anyway, back home now for the weekend and definitely not in the mood to read papers... soooo... hehe... I wanna share 3 of my fave korean love songs for now (which I wouldn't mind listening to again and again... for now la)... note: english subtitle provided.

1. No Other by Super Junior

2. Can't Let You Go Even If I Die by 2AM (I know...sounds a bit too dramatic, but it sounds real good)

3. Unforgettable by DBSK (old song... but still nice)

huhu... OK, off to bed... bersemangat kene rajinkan diri baca papers esok~!

From UTM...

2010-10-31T16:57:00.003+08:00

Currently in Johor for my attachment at AMTEC UTM for 3 months. What's AMTEC? It's advanced Membrane Technology Centre. What am I doing here? To get exposure on membranes.

Do I like it here? Yes... Prof, the staffs and all the Masters and Phd students are so friendly and willing to teach and share. I learn so much about membrane materials and fabrications, eventho it's just been 2 weeks. And there's even more to learn... dope formulation, all the different treatments, effect of additive, casting and spinning rate, etc etc etc... I honestly think it's impossible to learn all within just 3 months!

But, I do get terribly homesick. I miss my mom, my dad, my brothers, my meow, and my dear a lot. I know... Johor je kot~ haihh...~

Anyway, might as well take the opportunity to get the best out of the attachment~! Hopefully I get to fulfill paper writing KPI too... and... pergi berjalan2 around here. Singapore maybe??? ;)

Songs I grew up listening to...

2010-10-10T22:57:00.004+08:00

I've been listening to westlife since they first debut. Not a die-hard fan...but I do enjoy listening to them. Yes, they do tend to make covers of other ppl's songs...so what... they still sound great. =P

Found this clip on youtube the other day. It's kinda like a walk down memory lane growing up listening to this boyband. (Tu blm kira bsb, spice girls, nsync, britney lg =p). Cant believe it's been more than 10 years since they debut! Oh dear... I feel old. I guess this is what it's like for my parents who love those oldies stuff... I can totally relate nw! =p

Anyway, this performance clip is really nice cause it's just acoustic...n it's a mix of their popular songs. The last one is quite recent (i just found out too~! Haha...told you im no die-hard fan). Love this part of the lyric:

"Everyday's another first, another chance to fall in love with you...and I do"...

Aww... jiwang mode??? =P

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A pleasant suprise

2010-10-04T23:45:00.001+08:00

It's great to know that there are still many good people in this world... (after the fact my bag got stolen in a surau, kinda hard to believe! huhu) ...

I was stuck with the stupid parking machine rejecting my money...and complete strangers, a korean auntie and her daughter helped me out.

I am truly suprise and grateful. Thank you...

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Testing

2010-09-28T22:06:00.001+08:00

Just got new phone~!!! I so am in love with it... Although bkn la iphone or htc or blackberry but it has all the features I need for just RM700! So what is it???

It's the new Galaxy 5 by Samsung~!

Love samsung for making it affordable to all :-))

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Negaraku #3 - 10 tahun sblm merdeka

2010-08-26T20:52:00.003+08:00

Well, for this one, no more quiz, but I really want to share this documentary I saw recently. It was my colleague who showed it to me (thanks Mira~!) ... and I want you to watch it too.

It's about the other side of the story... you know there are always 2 sides to a story (of even maybe more)... well this is the left-wing side of story. How they too tried to fight for merdeka. And no... this is not something you'll learn at school. Here, I've put the 1st part of the documentary. The complete documentary is only about half an hour long and available on YouTube...

You may agree with it... or you may not... but at least it opens up our mind~ =)

P.S.: Met, this is the one I wanted you to see...

Negaraku~ kuiz #2

2010-08-22T01:54:00.013+08:00

Let's play another kuiz! huhu... since today at the office they were talking about kuih, let's see how well do you know kuih-kuih melayu?!

Since I stay at sempadan Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, with parents and relatives orang Melaka and Perak... so I'm not well exposed to kuih-kuih from negeri-negeri pantai timur (except for those yang Gta ajar when I was in KB... thanks met~!), and those from Sabah or Sarawak. So this list is limited to only those that I actually know hahaha... and please note, there may be more than one name for each type of kuih.

So, let's staaaart~~~ ... Namakan kuih-kuih dibawah:

And again... hadiah kuiz is the new-found knowledge!!! huhu... at least, if you go bazaar ramadhan now, you know what it's called :P

P.S.: The pictures were taken from all over Internet... and they're for illustration purpose only, dan bukan untuk menguji kesabaran anda yang berpuasa :P

Negaraku~ #1 ... kuiz merdeka!!!

2010-08-21T21:59:00.001+08:00

Teringat balik what we did semalam... I was helping my colleagues out preparing for this month's Bakti session (which was today, tapi sorry sgt turns out in the end tak dpt join~). Anyway... they were preparing questions to give out to the kids masa kuiz nanti.

So, in conjunction with the upcoming Merdeka, let's learn more about our beloved country. See if YOU can answer ALL these questions WITHOUT GOOGLING (which I doubt you can, coz we had to google them up too =P):

Beri / namakan....

1. Nama-nama 4 sahabat Hang Tuah
2. Negara-negara bersempadan dengan Malaysia
3. Sungai terpanjang di Malaysia
4. Warna jalur teratas pada Jalur Gemilang: merah atau putih? (no googling~!)
5. Peristiwa yang menyebabkan terbentuknya Rukun Negara
6. Wanita yang menjatuhkan sumpah selama 7 keturunan di Langkawi
7. Negara-negara yang pernah menjajah tanah kita ini
8. Gunung tertinggi di Malaysia
9. Tun Hussein Onn digelar sebagai Bapa ______________
10. Jumlah bilangan orang bergelaran Tun dibenarkan (yang masih hidup) pada sesuatu masa
11. Beza Datuk dan Dato'
12. Negeri-negeri Melayu Bersekutu
13. Definisi orang Melayu mengikut Perlembagaan
14. Negeri-negeri yang sekarang tidak mempunyai Sultan
15. Tema bagi Hari Kermerdekaan untuk tahun ini (2010)
16. Berapa jalur yang ditutupi oleh bulan dan bintang pada Jalur Gemilang
17. Sungai terlebar di Malaysia
18. Tahun kereta Proton dilancarkan
19. Nama bermula dengan Wan adalah berketurunan / asal dari negeri mana?
20. Pada PETRONAS Twin Tower, tower mana yang lebih tinggi?

Hadiah kuiz??? It's the new-found knowledge that you get of course! huhu...

P.S.: Would like to thank a certain TP at the office for making us read through the slides on kemerdekaan (complaining we don't have jati diri sebagai warga Malaysia =P)... thank you~!

Flood in Pakistan

2010-08-21T13:55:00.000+08:00

"Pakistan’s worst-ever floods have killed 1,600 people and displaced as many as 20 million. As many as 17 million acres (6.8 million hectares) of farm land have been submerged and billions of dollars of crops destroyed. - Bloomberg, Aug 21st."

It's a pity that people have to endure such hardship, especially in Ramadhan. They won't even get to celebrate Eid (makes you feel very grateful huh?).

So, let's help out... Mercy Malaysia has launched Pakistan Relief Fund recently (click here for more info) and a team has been sent to actively help out on the ground since 4th August. There are other organizations that are helping out too.

P.S.: Every contribution, no matter how small counts... =)

Complete...next~! =P

2010-08-15T22:05:00.000+08:00

Met schedule to get my crossstitch done by June!!! huhu... and finally it is framed! Uncle yg buat frame tu pun baik je layan nk warna merah la, frame warna brown la... sgt happy k! Now dah tergantung kat living room ... klau nak tengok jemput datang raya nnti =P hehehe

My next project (target complete by end of this year~ =p):

P.S.: Met, klau kamu nak design bunga tu ckp je k. I wld love your fruit basket by the way.

Book Reviews....

2010-08-08T00:57:00.001+08:00

Let's just cramp everything into one entry~! haha. Here's my review of 5 books that I have read (either this or previous year). Please understand that these are just my personal view, you may agree with me... or maybe not, best you give the book(s) a try yourself ;)

1. Quran Saintifik (by Dr Danial Zainal Abidin)
Rate: 5.0 /5.0

I would honestly recommend reading this book. Very good for self knowledge. You'll see the significance and advantages of the things that we do as a Muslim (such as tahnik, avoiding pork and alchoholic drinks, etc.). And most importantly you'll discover the beauty of the Quran itself =)

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns (by Khaled Hosseini)
Rate: 4.5 / 5.0

A nice novel really - the story of Laila growing up in a middle of war time, and all the hardship and sadness she gone through. You can kinda feel the horrors of being in war zone area, not knowing who would end up dead the next day... Anyway, I prefer this book compared to Khaled's Kite Runner.

3. Ajaibnya Sedekah (by Muhammad Muhyidin)
Rate: 1.5 /5.0
I think the author started off with good intention and good idea of writing this, but somehow I can only manage to read it only uptil half of the book (the reason because I find the writing style is annoying). IMO, the concept of the more you give the more you get can't be explained logically by mathematical eqn or economic model (it's just magic~ could be your rezeki or a test)... so for the book trying to explain it, I'm just lost. Plus, I'm just annoyed that there's no proper referencing done (I expected to see list of references at the back or at least footnote on which Surah or Hadith it is taken... En. Azizan just said that I was being too much of a researcher =P sorry~)

4. Lost Symbol (by Dan Brown)
Rate: 4.0 / 5.0
The first half of the book is just slow and almost boring... but towards the ending it gets really good. I'm amazed that the book in the end emphasizes on the importance of Holy Books to humankind (although they think the Books are written by early geniuses and not from God - they must have been atheist then rite?). What I love about this book is not it's story (I think Da Vinci Code is much better) ... but I love the impact it made on me... thinking how lucky I am to be born a Muslim.

I know this kinda run out of the topic, but try imagining living the whole life not believing in God (as an atheist). What would motivate you to do good? What would be your whole purpose of living really? As a Muslim, we believe in heaven and hell, we understand our role on this earth, and the need to do good and we know our Quran is protected until the end of time. So true, it is the saviour to humankind... if we were to follow it's teaching closely.

Yeah... Mr. Brown might have just put bits and pieces of facts together just for the sake of a bestseller novel... but I would have to applaud for writing books that are controversial, but encourage ppl to think (although that might not have been his intention~! who knows).

5. Enjoy Your Life (by Dr. Muhamad 'Abd Al-Rahaman)
Rate: 4.5 / 5.0
This is a motivational book on how to be a better person, based on examples from our Prophet. Quite light reading. Below are a few good points picked out from the book.

Perhaps just a smile at a poor man would raise you in rank in the sight of Allah.
Respond to mistreatment with kindness.
Do not interfere with matters that do not concern you.
Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you.
If you are obliged to do something or forced into a situation then you might as well enjoy it!
Do not burden yourself with what you cannot do
Be careful to not allow yourself to be pressurized by others
Whoever is humble for Allah's sake, Allah elevates him. Allah only increase the honour of the one who is humble.
Intelligence is not to win an argument, it is to avoid it
Put yourself in the shoes of the one critised & think from his perspective. Only then pass a judgement on him.
Help by your speech if you cannot do so in any other way.
Piety is to show good manners
Why should we continue to torture ourselves over something which was over & done? Do not pay attention to small matters.
Steady on principles
Remember names
Worship in secret
Smile and keep smiling
Be concerned about others
Be optimistic & have good opinion on ppl.

July...

2010-07-25T01:04:00.000+08:00

I haven't update for sometime now... even thought of giving up blogging altogether, but then I like the thought being able to express my feelings or views to the world... although I don't do it much anyway.

1st half of the year been a roller coaster ride. There've been way too many things happening. Things that made me so happy. Things that made us cry and feel meluat. Things that made me completely lost my loyalty and changed my view towards something. Things that motivate me. Things that made me love you even more. And things that brought the family closer. Hmm... very vague I know...

Still another the half year to go... I'm looking forward the end of it. Hope the plan jadi =)

Anyway.... here's what I'm reading now:

My verdict: Not as good as Da Vinci Code... but I still have a quarter more to go. Hope the ending is good.

Fruit basket, cats and goodbye~

2010-05-08T23:26:00.000+08:00

Hahaha... weird title kan! Evil minded people (yes, I'm referring to you, En Azizan) would be thinking of putting the cats into fruit basket and sending them off goodbye! =P well... too bad I'm not (and won't!!!) be doing that.

Ok... let's start off with fruit basket...

I had to help my mom pack these fruit baskets today, since my parents wanted to go visit a family friend and my aunt who are not well. Everything was ready...baskets, fruits, wrapping papers, ribbons... sadly, no talent was available! haha. So, below are the outcomes after a long time of trying... I need your opinion... so, please rate them both based on the scale below:
1 - Please for the sake of humanity don't ever attempt doing it ever again!
2 - Kesian those people... yang sakit jadi lagi sakit seeing that
3 - Boleh la tu... at least the fruits can still be eaten
4 - Good = )
5 - Boleh bukak business!!!! hahaha

Next... cats! I've always thought people who write or post pictures of their cats on their blogs or facebook are as somewhat coo-coo =P haha... now, I'm infected. For those who do not have pets, you have no idea how adorable and stress relieving they can be =) here are the three cats that are currently dominating the house now:

Name given by mak: Selamba
Name we call it: Meow... or now also known as Gemuk :P
Personality: Ma'am besar dalam rumah, starts to mengamuk klau tak dpt ikan (ikan tenggiri tak makan...preferbly ikan kembong and will even attempt to steal), penakut, busybody (penyebuk klau kucing2 lain kat luar bergaduh).

2.

Name given by mak: Sally (but since it might be jantan...it could be Sam or Salim =P)
Name we call it: Putih... or Hitam... or Gemuk2
Personality: Sleeps a lot, sangat manja (will sleep on your laps or tummy anytime), not afraid to kene mandi, likes menghancurkan tissue, and will sit on the newspaper everytime you're reading it!

3.

Name given by mak: Kathy
Name we call it: Kucing kecik... or just Kecik
Personality: Loves ikan too, peneman setia (will wait until mak is done cooking or sidai baju), ada ciri2 hunter =P (but afraid of En. Azizan)

Lastly... I want to say goodbye to my dear Swatch...

Dearest Swatch,

I first had you on my wrist back when I was in Form 4, I was damn happy. You were blue at that time. Later when your strap was getting worse, I had to change it to pink and later to dark brown. I even made sure your face was scratchless...

I'm sorry I had taken you along for swimming... your time stop right at about 6pm, when you were submerged underwater.. I didn't know you were not fit to be underwater at that time.
You've been my true companion and best assistant... being there through my SPM and every single exam in UTP. You were also there to remind me of my interviews and meetings. Thank you...

Love, Syafiqa.

P.S.: I sound crazy! haha

Note #2

2010-05-02T20:30:00.000+08:00

In Progress...

2010-04-27T20:25:00.001+08:00

Target to be completed by June (this year I mean!!!):

I found 5 more designs that I really really reaaaaally want to do (yes...5!!! hahaha)!!! Got them from the DMC website (link). I love this site since it provides designS for free, and they come with the colour codes too. Plus, if you sign up as member, which is free anyway... you get access to more designs (hence me ending up with that 5!)!!!

I've also became fascinated with arabic calligraphy. I found these through Google image and would really love if these arts below can be converted to cross stitch design... (more projects!!!=D) ...

Thank you everyone~!

2010-04-25T21:40:00.000+08:00

Thank you everyone for the very thoughtful birthday wishes.... thank you to all those who wished me either through phone (either call or message), gtalk, facebook wall, outlook communicator or personally.... truly I want to say THANK YOU~!!! Definitely brighten up my whole week =D

To my parents, thanks for the birthday money and taking us out to eat ;)

And especially to my special someone... I love my present so much!!! That was really really really a nice surprise =D

I got Paul Smith's Rose perfume~!!!! huhu... been eyeing it since last year ;) thanks

Note #1

2010-04-11T20:23:00.000+08:00

Small things can make you happy =)

2010-04-11T01:30:00.000+08:00

So true~! I've been somewhat annoyed and bit stressed lately, mostly due to having to help organize an event which is closing near. My dear rumet would know how I hate being nagged and ordered around (ye, I'm gila kuasa myself hahaha - imagine Shin Chan's laugh :P). But thankfully, there have been lots of small things that kept me distracted and happy this week:

1. Getting to see my dear at the end of the day (which always manage to put a smile on my face - yea, jiwang watever biarla suka hati :P)

2. Positive people like Aida and Jay around to constantly remind me to put up a forcefield shield around me and bounce off all the negativity (sound effect - shing ting shiiing~!)

3. Enthusiastic people... there are a lot actually :) plus, I have my family at home :)

4. Found this video on YouTube, it's actually an advertisement for a mobile company. Thought it's so cool to have unsuspecting public looking all blur, confused and joined along~!:

5. Read up on Greek mythology after watching Clash of Titans... and it's so fascinating!!! (yea... I'm a nerd, I know :P)

6. Bully the meows everyday!

7. Lots of chocolates in the fridge

8. Eating Nando's (and watching my dear trying to control macho after eating Extra Hot Peri-Peri... hehe... dat was funny :P)

9. Got my new glasses... the world seems so much brighter!!!!

10. Woke up to drizzling rainy mornings.... love it!

11. Went for Bakti programme today. During break time the kids were giving us riddles... one that I can still remember:
Q. Ada laut besar, kat laut tu ada kapal besar, atas kapal tu ada rumah besar, dalam rumah tu ada orang besar... apa yang besar??? A: tipu besar :P
Hahaha... tak paham pun... but the kids are really fun to be around.

12. Got my road tax and insurance settled... thanks Mak :)

13. Finding out about Mai's engagement and Aqila's pregnancy :) congratz~!!!

14. Catching up with rumet, Khal, Datin, Rafiq, Kevin, Kak Oni, Shikin, Alin, and Syaima.

15. Solving logic puzzles (do try out the Einstein riddle!)

16. Wake up and finding there's still more time to sleep :)

17. Wearing my grey heels! :D

18. Window shopping at JJ Taman Maluri (my fave JJ for now ;) and finally I'm now a JCard member! huhu)

19. Looking forward to new episodes of Big Bang Theory and Glee

20. Finding money in my pocket... hehe... macam 'suprise'!!!

Hope there'll be more to the list next week ;)

About a whole lot of nothing

2010-03-21T00:32:00.000+08:00

Really.. this entry is a just a whole lot of rambling... gler rajin update blog so fast kn... but no, this is just ada keje - tp malas buat keje - malas nk buat pape syndrome (let's put that in acronym - AKTMBKMNBPS!!! haha... no, I'm not on cofee =P).

Went to book fair today... thanks to my dear for putting up with me and made sure we went to every hall, every row and corners of the fair. To me, it was a disappointment... I even texted Kevin and Rafiq not to go haha! It depends on what you're looking for actually... if you want to get mari belajar membaca books, or buku rujukan SPM or books on motivasi and agama, then there're deinitely a lot. I found a book I was interested in... History of Islam... but it was sold at RM150 (I can get it for RM90 at MPH) ...which shows fairs aren't necessarily cheap. In the end, at least I got A Thousand Splendid Suns novel.

My spaghetti don't turn out right today, forgot to buy tomatoes and turns out it was the wrong pasta (I read somewhere there are 600 pasta shapes in Italy?! cool right!), so I forced my brothers to finish it up. hehe.

Anyway, I watched re-run of American Idol on tv while having dinner (how come sometimes eventhough Astro has more than 50 channels but there's nothing good on?!?!)... it's really disappointing that Alex Lambert didn't even make it to the top 12. I mean seriously?! His voice is so effortlessly great... compared to some others that can't really sing (sorry Alin, I'm not a fan of Casey James huhu). Hmm... is this year's Idol still worth watching? To me, the best and most memorable performance in Idol ever would be David Cook's version of Always Be My Baby (followed by his version of Hello, and third is Kris Allen's version of Heartless).

Mak, abah and ubi are coming back tomorrow... can't wait for my souvenirs!!! huhu.. if only you really can bring back a piece of the actual pyramid or the mummy back. =P Ooh.. my aunt called to inform that someone broke into her car while she went to pasar malam. So everyone, especially ladies, pls be careful~!

Lastly... Met, I know you just had the best time of your life getting to be so close to Suju... upload pics pls! And Alin, enjoy your time as much as possible while you're here ;) hehe... have a safe journey back to Miri korang~!

Am I a researcher?

2010-03-19T21:53:00.000+08:00

Haha... the question that's been playing in my head for the past few months. Truth be told, my dream job would be working in a process plant... to see columns and reactors every day. But instead, I've been in R&D field since July... from TNBR to PRSB.

"...and it may be you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know." (Surah Al-Baqarah: 216)

I still like to remind myself of that verse above... it has proven true before - turned out I'm more suited for engineering rather than medical field. Zaid said this job suited me... and Alin commented I sounded passionate about what I'm doing. I never even noticed that, thanks for pointing it out =) ... who knows maybe this research field really is suited for me... or maybe it's a stepping stone for other things... for now I'm still figuring it out ... should I pursue Master? and PhD? or pursue Professional Engineer status? or all?! huhu.

Although I'm still all confused bout that, but today I realized how much I like being around the people of PRSB. Most of the people are friendly, with interesting personality and have all sorts of knowledge to share and talk about. It's the interesting conversations that keep me happy and excited to work there.

For example this morning during breakfast we had a discussion on an article in National Geographic magazine on one of the sects in Christianity. Later during the day, Doc Azman borak and talked about membranes and the difference of drinking water, RO and mineral water... which then had the topic moved on to millionaires and celebrities! There have been all sorts of topics for the past 3 months I'm there: Golden Ratio, King Tut, places to visit in Europe, world news, untouchables, GPS, Harry Potter... There were even times when the discussion would be reminiscing the school days or UTP or even the past telenovelas and dramas (Mis Tres Hermanas, Betty La Fia, Winter Sonata =P) . I even had a crash course on all the different types of coffee and the advantages of investing in ASB over a meal! huhu...

Yea... sounds a bit nerdy with all those facts, but that really excites me. I guess that's one of the reasons why I love my dear (there're many more reasons of course - maybe even more than the Avogadro's number~! =P) ... we would debate and make up all sort of theories and I often learn something new. And Rumet and Afiq are fun to talk about all the weird facts too...

Anyway... so, am I suited to be a researcher? Only Allah knows... for now might as well make the best of it...

P.S.: I'm sure you would have seen this water tank beside MRR2. Been wondering how it is supported, anyone knows???

Dilbert

2010-03-07T00:28:00.000+08:00

I've only started to read Dilbert recently, it's quite amusing actually (although I have to admit I enjoy Garfield much more). The best part about Dilbert comic is that you could relate it back to office work :P haha... here are some nice ones (go to www.dilbert.com for more):

I did???

Kesian the intern... true, no one takes them seriously

Reminds me of back in UTP when one lecturer spent 20min just on one slide!!!

I can totally relate to this...~!

P.S.: Enjoy your weekend ;)

So much going on~!

2010-02-21T13:19:00.000+08:00

I haven't update my blog for so long... maybe I'm just not into blogging anymore... hmm, we'll see. Anyway, so much have happened lately. Let's limit to only 10 (these are in no particular order) :

1. I'm now working for PRSB... starting to love it there. Yes, I still have to drive one hour to work and one hour back - but the positive side: (i) food is cheap~! I can get a complete lunch with just RM3!!! Huhu (try look for that at KLCC :P)... (ii) the ppl at PRSB are great to work with, and there's so much extra activities to be involved in; (iii) my work is still somewhat related to what I studied in UTP; (iv) I get to meet my dear everyday after work =)

2. I've gone for Kursus Kahwin... when I'm getting married? Only Allah knows.. ;) but personally, I was kinda disappointed by the kursus... I was hoping to learn more, or maybe some better input, especially on pengurusan kewangan, komunikasi and stress management. Some of the speakers weren't really prepared to give out lecture for the session. Ironically the part I learned most was bab penceraian :P

3. Kinda disappointed I won't get to go along on family holiday to Jordan-Egypt-Dubai this March, since I can't get 5 days leave... hmm, takde rezeki... maybe some other time.

4. Went for picnic at Sg. Sendat with few of PIPE52 ppl...

5. Celebrated Datin's birthday at Chili's, along with Aimi, Rafiq and Farid... can still remember the look on Datin's face when we asked the waiters to sing for her... she almost cried~! hahaha.

6. Had lunch with Illy at Ikea... thanks for the invite Illy =) next food adventure mana pulak?! Ooo... that was my first time going to The Curve~! Thanks my dear for the tour ;)

7. Volunteered for Mercy Fundraising for Haiti Earthquake campaign at Sungei Wang Plaza... that was my second time volunteering for the organisation, but it's nice to see some familiar faces again...Fatin, Jieha, Firdaus, En. Radzi... even Hali and Elie decided to join in. To be honest, fundraising is not fun... imagine standing for 4 hours at the lobby trying to get ppl donate money to charity - most ppl wld just say no, walk off or even pretend they don't see you! haha. But it was a great experience and we managed to collect a lot by the end of the day :)

Anyone wish to donate can go to www.mercy.org.my for more info.

8. My mom was warded in hospital for about a week last month. I stayed to accompany her every night since Afiq took care of her during the day. I'm glad she's feeling much better now. Thank you everyone for your concern... Gta, Alin, Na (for your tips on curing batuk) , Kak Zai, Yuz, Harith, Kak Faeeza, and my dear (for visiting and air yassin).

9. Had the pleasure to lunch with Suzi, Hanim, Yanti, Salwa, Ain, Harith and Maaruf. At another time, Suzi and Harith took me to Kenny Rogers for lunch... which end up getting a free coupon worth rm50... which I ended up using yesterday for lunch with my dear ;)

10. Lastly... sadly by mid of February, I only managed to finish 2 books. Since office work requires me to read papers, patents, manuals, news, etc... I got somewhat lazy to read books by end of the day. Hmmm... the last of the last updates... my jaw is stuck! hehe... sounds funny rite...=P I can't eat burgers, sushi, go dentist or anything that requires me to open my mouth big enough until this gets better (only God knows when).

P.S: Congratulation to Kak Faeeza on the birth of the baby boy :) InsyAllah nanti nak dtg melawat. And congratz to Shikin too on your pregnancy~ take care k! :D

I love online banking~!

2010-01-06T12:01:00.000+08:00

Whoever was it that first thought of creating online banking system... THANK YOU~! you're a genius! It it so easy not having to go through the trouble of queuing up at pejabat pos to pay bills, trying to find phone top-up, or going to bank to transfer money. And the existence of debit card? Also a genius!!! Now I don't have to carry tons of money to go shopping or even to get the car serviced.

I love using maybank2u... you are such a convenience! Thank you =D I know not everyone trust the online system, my mom for example would never pay her bills online, but so far I have not yet faced any problem.

Just a short entry... happy that my broadband bill is paid... huhu. Ok, have to get back to my reading now.

P.S.: Ooohh... saw a blue-silver Smart car this morning on the way to work! Made today feel special :P haha.

2009

2009-12-29T15:51:00.000+08:00

Note: The following entry is just things going on in my head... so it's full of nonsense and ramblings :P you have been warned... the author shall not be responsible for anything that may happen due to reading this.

2009 has been one of the most interesting time of my life... interesting in the sense I was continuously challenged and thrown out of my comfort zone, and I get to experience new things. There are so many good and bad memories. Although I may not enjoy everything that had happened (certain things that I do NOT wish to re-live again!) , but I'm thankful since every bits and pieces that had taken place has helped me to grow and develop.

I know I do NOT wish to re-live final sem again~!!! hahaha... that was nightmare. The amount of workload and reading to be done, the lack of sleep, the dependency on caffeine... aww, good old times :P hehe. Oooh... also don't forget the most horrifying presentation I had to go through! haha. But then again final sem was also filled with so many great memories... going to Cameron, procrestinating and watching series, the good times with housemates and rumet terchenta, my 1st encounter with Suju and WonderGirls ;)

Other times that I also do not wish to re-live: rumah kene renovate (sgt menyusahkn~! I smell like paint for a month), the little car accident (that cost me RM400), all the misunderstandings I had with loved ones. There were times when my relationship with my parents, my family and my dear are tested... but at the end we emerge closer =)

Graduation was a memorable time... I can still remember the proud look my parents had on their faces =) love you mak abah~!

I got my 1st job in July 2009 at TNBR. My boss had great expectation (possibly due to the fact that I'm UTPian). I gave my best effort... partly coz I love the job anyway, and partly to jaga nama baik uni (ala2 patriotik gitu :P hehe). The experience and exposure gained from working there, eventhough for only 5 months, is priceless.

At TNBR, I was thrown out of comfort zone a few times... masuk hutan paya bakau, naik sampan (which they say ada buaya dlm sungai tu!), presenting proposal to MD, had to drive to meetings around KL on my own (got lost a thousand times... En. Azizan, lack of ferum in the brain ye ;p). I had the chance to get to know and work with great ppl, and I was touched by their friendliness and the amount of trust they had on me and my capability.

Then I got into PIPE. Surprisingly PIPE taught me a lot... my 1st thought was to only go there, spend time with rumet and eat up the food haha. But turns out apart from the ROTI BALDEP, LOGMOC, vision, mission, shared values, etc... I learn to look at ppl differently. So many of the ppl there suprise me, most of the 1st impression made were all wrong haha. I'm blessed to get the chance to know everyone from PIPE52, some of whom I wld like to consider as good friends now.

I was also happy to spend time with Gta, Na and most of all to be sharing a room with Alin. It was our last chance together before we each go off in separate ways. Alin if u're reading this, I'm happy I got to know you bter... u're now my BFF... huhu. I'm sorry for 5 years in UTP I never made the effort to do so.

My parents were away for hajj for about 40 days... that was a big responsibility. Eventhough there wasn't much to be done, I did feel the weight on my shoulder... nak jaga rumah, jaga adik, make sure they take their meals, having to cook at times, manage the money, make decisions when krete and gate breakdown...hmm. I'm happy mak abah are back now.... the house feels like a home again =)

Oooh... I'm particularly proud of myself for volunteering for the Mercy conference. Been wanting to join Mercy since I was in school, so one goal achieved =D huhu. Thanks again to my mom and my dear for their encouragement.

Any regrets? I only manage to read about 16 books this year... so an average of about 1.33 books per month. I hope next year to actually manage to read 2 books per month. Plus, there's no progress in learning aikido or mandarin or french or arabic... I hope to master those by the age of 30, so better hurry up. I also have to be more rajin mengaji.

In terms of career, I know I'm not a fan of doing research, tp dah rezeki kat sini... Allah knows what's best, so let's make the best of it =D Looking forward to year 2010 ~!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

P.S.: What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right? hehe...

Just sharing - 90/10 Principle

2009-12-24T15:55:00.000+08:00

I came across this article (while pretending to be busy at work =P hehe) ... it's call the 90/10 Principle by Stephen Covey (the guy who wrote 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). Just want to share it and hope it inspires us all to be a better person:

What is this principle?
10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.

What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%.

The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light. but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit.

After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse.

You look forward to coming home. When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter. Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?

The answer is "D". You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.

Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle. If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don't have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off. Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive? Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job. The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take outpour frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse.

Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle. The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It CAN change your life!!! Enjoy...

Bits and pieces ... #4

2009-11-15T18:11:00.001+08:00

1. Finally got the shoes that I want~!!!! No, I didn't splurge mindlessly... I followed Gta's 'One Week Rule' (where if sampai seminggu still teringat2 bter beli je), plus my dear kata 'GET' and my mom kata 'tak salah nk merasa duit gaji sndiri' :P huhu... so anyway, ta-daa~!!!!:

2. I'm so happy I get to do something I've always wanted - to volunteer for Mercy.

Definitely a great experience - getting to meet wonderful ppl from different backgrounds, getting to see Dr Jemilah and Dr Faizal in person (sadly, my camera rosak, forgot to bring diff. camera and my phone wasn't canggih enough =P).... the most incredible thing is that the whole event was mostly put together by volunteers and it went so smoothly. Thank you for the opportunity, I look forward to volunteering more =)

3. Which brings me to fact that I'm totally grateful to my dear and my parents. My parents have taught me to be independent, especially my mom who encourages me to pursue whatever I want while I'm still young. My dear pulak gave me the best gift when dia paksa (yes, bukan ajar...paksa~! hehe) me to know how to drive around city centre. Thanks to them, the volunteering is made possible. Yes, I do get sesat once in a while... but you learn more when you're sesat rite? hehe... anyway, thanks to them I can look forward to joining all those classes I want to join.

4. Khalisah's mom just had a surgery...let's pray that she gets better soon.

5. Two weeks left to leaving TNBR... going to miss this place a lot.

6. Recently, I got to know a person who isn't used to be away from home. I guess I can understand situation dia not being used to it, but it takes time to get adjusted anyway. Lesson learnt: (1) don't expect others to put themselves into our shoes all the time, there's a limit to patience and being understanding... (2) you won't stay in your comfort zone forever (3) most importantly, the world does not revolves around you... if you think you have problems, trust me there are ppl out there with much worse problems that you do.

7. My parents and maksu will be going off for hajj soon. Hope all goes well... in the meantime, I would have to be the manager rumah (title ma'am besar dah diambik meow =P).

Must-visit site

2009-11-06T20:21:00.000+08:00

While trying to read on world issues, I came upon the National Geographic website and ended up spending hours going through it. There's so much things that you read about... history, environment, cultures, space, animals.... you name it~!!!

In line with their tagline 'Inspiring People to Care about the Planet' the pictures are all breathtakingly beautiful! I do feel somewhat inspired =P huhu... for those who loves photography, you'll love it even more, click on this link---> Photography. I even downloaded a few of the wallpapers:

The one with the iceberg is currently my fave and up on as my wallpaper right now =).

Anyway, here's interesting articles regarding the 2012 theories... wonder what's with 2012 really? the source of all the hoo haa?!?!?! Click on this link ---> Countdown to Armageddon. You don't have to believe it, esp if you're a Muslim... but it's good general knowledge.

This one is also interesting: Green Guide. It provides tips, ideas and buying guides on what we could do to save the environment.

There's waaaay toooo much to see on this website~!!! Love it.

Time wasting ...~

2009-10-29T22:46:00.000+08:00

Don't know whether these are real or photoshoped, but they're funny =D

P.S: Told you it's time wasting =P

Jangan marah-marah

2009-10-27T19:03:00.000+08:00

1. When there's a huge lorry in front of you, middle lane, moving at a very slow speed sedangkan terang2 peraturan states 'kenderaan berat ikut kiri'...
Hmm... maybe driver lorry concerned about equilibrium weight of jalanraya tu kot... takut berat sgt kat kanan or kiri nanti rosak jalan plak.

2. When the car behind you follows so close barely 10cm apart
Ala... driver tu nak rush pergi toilet, sakit perut salah makan malam tadi... sian dia

3. When the car in front of you takes up both lanes
Driver tu baru je tukar spec mata baru, so tak nampak clearly lane mana dia masuk, dia baru nak get adjusted...xpe2

4. When cars change lanes and directions without giving signal
Dia nak save energy lampu bulb signal dia tu, nak save duit nak bawa mak ayah gi jejalan...baik dia tu pikirkn parents dia

5. When orang sibuk2 tanya or give comment to your personal life or non-stop tanya dah dapat kerja ke belum or sibuk2 risau you know how to cook tak
Ala... orang tu tgh boring sebab nothing exciting is happening, so you're the source of entertainment... leh je ajak dia join layan Super Junior or SNSD or drama2 korea or anime2 jepun... or tak payah layan pun xpe, nanti dia cari source of entertainment baru

6. When orang think you got the scholarship or job sebab guna cable ayah/ uncle/ mama/ auntie/ pakcik/ pakngah/ atok/ nenek/ kaklong etc...
Don't even bother listening, nanti when u're the GM, MD or CEO, blm tentu you wld recruit dia pun...hehehe

7. When your favourite show is on tapi hujan lebat so ASTRO rosak
Xpe... tu provide opprtunity to do some reading or borak2 with family members

8. When your meow poops bawah almari
Alang2 it gives the reason to mop the whole floor... jaga kebersihan tu baik

9. When your brother/ sister ruins your favourite baju
Dah slalu sgt pun pakai baju tu... now opportunity nak pakai baju lain plak, or even better leh gi shopping =P

10. When your boss gives you extra bertambah2 kerja when he found out you're resigning soon
Be happy... that means eventhough you only work there for 4 months, you're considered a valuable asset and reliable staff and all your works are appreciated... and will definitely be missed when gone =)

P.S.:

"Medical experts found that anger reduces the capacity of heart to pump blood. It will damage heart muscles. This is the reason why people get heart attack when they are extremely angry.

Anger may also affect the skin. If any one has got anger often then they may suffer from rashes, acne and other skin problems. The facial skin will have wrinkles when one gets angry often.

So an extremely anger person will get aged look soon." quote taken from link

I Want ....

2009-10-19T19:12:00.000+08:00

1. Platform shoe~!!! I accompanied my mom to Jusco yesterday and found the cutest and hottest (and not so very expensive, plus almost practical) platform shoe!!! Brand: SwissPolo, price: RM89 (before sale ok!)... no, I didn't buy them coz my mom marah I would hardly wear them. True, platform shoes are not the most comfortable things to wear, but they are gorgeous~!!! See...

Kesimpulan? I will definitely go back to Jusco before sales end to splurge on a pair... since start keje in July I have yet to splurge on a pair of shoes. I need to pamper myself jugak kn??? =P Hmm... shoe shopping seems more fun with Gta or my dear, they got good taste... tapi nanti sale habis~!

2. to get at least B on StepMania!!! Thank you to my dear for getting me the dancing mat... it's the least I do for exercise everyday, and it's fun, although tiring gler sampai nak patah pinggang. The highest I manage to get is C, and that's even after lots of practise... good thing Mubin can't beat my score, klau tak lagi malu..huhu.

3. to make time for taking classes. Since I stay at home, and don't need to cook or clean all on my own, I should have ample time to take up arabic, kelas mengaji and aikido. Need to manage time better to squeeze that in.

4. to make time to volunteer. It's been my wish since sekolah nak join Mercy... I have yet to submit my application form... hmm, klau tak dpt Mercy any other volunteering activities pun would do... tapi need to manage time better~!!!

5. to do a complete spring cleaning (we don't even have spring in Msia... hmm... iklim khatulistiwa cleaning la =P). Since Mubin just finished his PMR, all the books dari sekolah rendah to form 3 that belonged to all of us can be cleared away... that could create plenty of space. My room could also use a little makeover (bak kata Kak Zai: deko deko deko =P hehe).

6. to spend more time with my friends. Since dah tak duduk satu rumah, everyone is so hard to meet these days... at least Khal is working not too far away, and I could still try to meet with Illy. Gta...Na... datang KL pls stay over my house...~! Oooh... Raudhah and Aisha too~! Miss my schoolmates as well...

Bits and pieces...#3

2009-09-07T15:55:00.000+08:00

When I'm too lazy to write but still want to update my blog, I would just do 'bits and pieces' :P hehe...

1. I wanted to write bout my trip to Kelip-Kelip at Kg Kuantan early last month... but then a picture is worth a thousand words~!:

The event was Kem Kesedaran Alam Sekitar for secondary school kids, and I was privileged enough to get to join. So much new experience... handle budak2, 1st time naik sampan kat sungai (En. Azizan and En. Harith... don't laugh!!!), gotong royong bersihkan masjid, 1st time masuk hutan paya bakau and most amazing of all: to watch keilp-kelip at night =) it was abosolutely beautiful...the kelip-kelip berlampu and padam serentak...~!

I would truly recommend others to go there as well... I think there are more foreigners than local ppl, maybe they know how to appreciate it more than we do. It cost only RM40 per sampan, and each sampan can accomodate 4 person.

2. Just want to share this piece of notice in case anyone is interested to join:

Hmm... I guess the notice is not very clear here... anyway, MERCY Malaysia is looking for volunteers for its humanitarian conference in Nov 2009. For more info, follow this link.

3. If a person is in a relationship, engaged or married, is it right for him/her to text, call, chat or email constantly with another person of the opposite gender, with the alasan: ala...kawan je. I don't think so~! Now this is NOT happening to me (repeat: NOT~! kang ada plak yg salah phm), but I see it happening around me during my internship and when I'm working now. If you have that much time to keep in touch with that person, why not with your own partner? No wonder there is rise in divorce cases in recent years.

I watched Up~! and love it soooo much. It's cuter than Finding Nemo, nicer than Toy Story or Cars, and more exciting than The Incredibles~! Love it.... thank you for recommending it (you know who you are...klau mention name nnti kembang plak =P). And even better, after a great movie...a meal at Sushi King =D

Book Rental

2009-08-29T16:37:00.000+08:00

Last week, while waiting for a meeting to start I walked around Amcorp Mall and found a nice book rental store on the 4th floor called My Book Place.

Walking around it made me realize that even though I love books and novels, often when I buy them I would only read them once (exception for Harry Potter books - that's for collection too). Since I won't get to meet Gta or Illy that often anymore, I can't borrow their novels... so this is quite a good option. For a novel, I would normally have to pay about RM35 each... but renting cost RM5 each... so is it worth it? I think yes if you're only gonna read it once anyway.

This little store got a nice review by NST... and since I think I'll be having more meetings in that area in the future, it really was a nice discovery.

Another interesting store is Q'reazant Literary Rental Store. It's supposedly located not far from my office, but I have not yet try to find it. What's interesting is the fact it provides the service of rent-by-mail... for an annual fee of RM120, you could rent 2 books per time with no added post charge and no penalty for late returns. Its website even provide a complete catalog of whatever books you want to rent.

I have not tried this service yet myself, maybe not for now since I'm still living in somewhat bandar area (to En Azizan... ye, ni bandar ye, bkn kampung =P)... but it's a nice option to have in case if I have to work in some far-off area in the future.

Ramadhan Mubarak

2009-08-23T05:24:00.000+08:00

To all Muslims, selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan dan selamat berpuasa =)

Here, I would just like to share a nice article by Yusuf Estes on how he reverted to Islam. Hope you like the article as much as I do, and appreciate the fact that we were born into a family of Muslims:

http://www.islamtomorrow.com/yusuf/priests_n_preachers.htm#stor y

Thanks Mak & Abah... =)

2009-08-21T13:06:00.000+08:00

Last nite, after dinner, my parents start to bukak citer2 when we were small and how difficult it was to jaga each and every one of us. I found out we were eEeEevil as kids... hahaha.

To mak and abah,

I'm sorry for crying non-stop every night (without fail~!) for 6 months when I was a baby and disrupted your time (and maksu's, nenek's, maklong's and acik's time as well) to get rest and some sleep. It must had been a nightmare to bear that every single night (note: no, the Ahmad Al-Bab trick did not work :P).

I'm sorry that you have to chase after me everyday before going to work.

I'm sorry for quarelling with Afiq everyday bila balik from sekolah agama. I found it was easier to kejut him bangun tidur dalam bus by just main cubit...

I'm sorry for meletupkan budak lain punya belon masa kat pasar malam.

I'm sorry for sengaja ram my bike into Afiq's bike when he refused to masuk rumah. I didn't mean for him to fall off his bike, and luka and berdarah kepala sampai kene jahit.

Hmm... I'm sure the list of what I had done is a hundred times longer than that. To add to that, Afiq, Izzat and Mubin were no little angels either.

So... thank you for the tonnes of patience that you have to raise us up. Thank you for never spoiling us with money. Thank you for marah and rotan us when you had to. Thank you for all your support and encouragements. Eventhough we still have a very long way to go, we wouldn't be who we are or where we are today without you.

I love you both very much :)

P.S.: Hoping my own kids nanti won't be as nakal as I was :P huhu

Team building at Ulu Pangsun

2009-08-06T20:39:00.001+08:00

On the 25th and 26th of July, I had to attend the 1st session of team building (made compulsory to all TNBRians) at Ulu Pangsun. Klau tak silap, the place was an old generation station. The place was beautiful... banyak pokok2 buah - rambutan, duku, durian semua boleh makan fresh dari pokok =D

The area during the day and at night

The main activities were very much relaxed - jungle trekking, gotong royong, creativity show and sukaneka... and food were available all time. The jungle trekking was a new experience to me... biasa sebelum ni masuk hutan ada path, ni main redah je semua pokok2 naik bukit turun lurah.

Duk tepi sungai lepas letih jungle trekking

Dipaksa jadi model untuk creativity show

The sukaneka was fun - memula race amik durian, pastu lawan buat highest tower, then lumba kopek durian, then lumba makan plak... then last2 lumba kemas biji durian =P hahaha. I never knew I could open durian that fast... calar2 tangan nak menang punyer pasal. Huhu.

My team punyer durian tower

Overall, eventhough the team building did take my weekend away, it was an enjoyable experience. It was also a good platform for networking and to get to know other people.

Bits and pieces...#2

2009-07-24T21:51:00.000+08:00

1. Hmm... it's been a while since I update this blog. First of all, I wanna wish Happy Birthday to Spongebob Squarepants~! hehe. It was his 10th birthday last week... and Nickelodeon put on non-stop marathon of the cartoon :D Love this show... who would have thought a show about a sponge living in a pineapple under the sea would be such a hit~!

2. At last~! hasil tangan cross-stitchku (which took 5 years to siapkan~!!! :P) is finally framed and hanged on the wall... happy :D Credits to emak for sponsoring the frame. ..huhu :) next project bila pulak siap? :P

3. This is now the third week I'm working at TNB Research. It has nice working environment, and considering they don't have that much staff, I get my own room~! huhu... I was really really really suprised on my 1st day... no other company would provide a personal room for a new executive!

Overall work has been ok... the only hard part for me is having to wake up much earlier than everyone else and leave home at 630am due to the distance and to avoid morning traffic jam. Balik pun another hour on the road. Tapi... bila found out Kak Zai pun kene leave home at 645am... it's good to know I'm not alone in such situation after all. Dr Fadhilah Kamsah kata (which we HAD to watch masa friday morning talk today) instead of complaining and being down bout the distance and bgun awal sume, be thankful and bersyukur you actually have a job and change your daily routine. :) I should be used to it soon...

4. Just finished reading Bidadari Dari Timur (borrowed from my dear). Nice book and gives great motivation :) Tuan Sabariah Tuan Ishak is definitely a good role model.. her kesabaran, ketabahan and modesty are amazing. Thank you for lending it... :)

5. I guess I've been thinking too much lately... bout my study loan, the new policy on marriage, career opportunity here... In the end, I guess better quit stressing and solve it when it comes nanti. I know what I want in life and money is not my main priority. Dapat this job pun rezeki and ada hikmahnyer... hmm... who knows... let's just see what happens next :)

6. Had great time eating sushi with my dear, since dah lama sgt tak makan... (sadly, my family members majority tak mkn) ...would love to learn how to make them... huhu. I guess we should have bought that sushi set at MPH after all :P nak minta ex-housemates tlg ajar~!

Bits and pieces...

2009-07-01T23:40:00.000+08:00

1. I saw this iklan on Nat Geo, love it~!:

2. I know this is old news, but I can't believe that The Stig on Top Gear is Michael Schumacher?! I don't know much bout cars really, but I've always enjoyed watching the show... and I know The Stig mmg drive best gler. Hmm... interestingly, a lot of comments on YouTube are saying it's just a publicity stunt for TV ratings...

3. I finally get to tag along for Karnival Keluarga Petronas 2009, after a few years missing it. The food was great (ate too much keropok lekor & durian), the performance pun mmg nice (the best wld be performance by Faizal Tahir & Ramli Sarip la kn illy~).... but the best would be the feeling of sitting on tikar atas rumput with the whole family. Dah lama x rasa camtu =) teringat balik the times we would always go for picnic at Safa Park or Creek Park Dubai.

4. I just had to take this picture of my Meow (a.k.a Selamba a.k.a Chordel) sleeping... siap tangan atas kepala plak tu~! hehe:

5. I've just realized that I made personal record of reading more books and novels this year (up til June so far la... considering only light reading materials, tak termasuk bk2 engineering or study), compared to any other previous years!: Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon, Breaking Dawn, Shopaholic & Sister, Nobody's Baby but Mine, Chocolate Run, Princess Diaries Seventh Heaven, The 100, why men lie & women cry, Quran Saintifik, Kite Runner. Yes...the list mmg lebih bynk chic lit pun... tension final sem nyer pasal kot~

6. Congratulation to our dear friend Amira Rizwana! Moga bahagia ke anak cucu cicit =) :

7. Yes, I know it's July. No, I'm still officially unemployed =P

Interesting reads: The 100

2009-06-26T12:29:00.001+08:00

I guess this book needs no introduction, as most of us already know that Michael H. Hart has placed our beloved Prophet Muhammad at the top of the list as the most influential person in history. The top 5 of the list is mostly dominated by religious leaders, while the rest consists of scientists, inventors, political leaders, philosophers and explorers.

It is interesting how these people became to be so influential. Some by sheer luck, like how Becquerel discovered radioactivity; while some through being ruthless and ambitious (like Hitler or Pizarro). There are also those through who achieved recognition through years of hard work and dedication (like Mendel who discovered basic principles of heredity, carried out about 21000 experiments); but most impressive and motivating are the story of those who raise above the odds... Beethoven was deaf, John Dalton suffered from color blindness... and of course our beloved Prophet who was orphan and illiterate.

Although the book did help to broaden my general knowledge on history, I'm rather disappointed that there are none of the Islamic scholar in the list. I believe Ibn Sina (Avincenna) and Jabir ibn Khayyan (Geber) deserve a place in the list more than Pablo Picasso or Gregory Pincus. Watching the documentary 'Science & Islam' on the History Channel, it is said that Copernicus obtained his idea from the works of Islamic scholar, but there is no mention of that in this book.

However, I think Hart has tried his best to come up with the list and gave good reasons on why his opinions or the rankings are as such. At the beginning of the book, Hart did challenge his readers to come up with their own list! Anyone wanna try???

P.S.: Thanks to Azizan for lending me the book =)

Lapang sebelum sempit...~

2009-06-14T01:35:00.000+08:00

I just submitted my FYP report last week, so kiranyer I'm done with my responsibility as a student. There's so many things I want to do, so far I've only managed to finish the novel Kite Runner (thanks rumet bagi pinjam =D) and bake these:

Comments to my baking skill? Hmm... my mom and Azizan said "xpela... baru blaja" =). My brother, Izzat loves anything sweet, so he doesn't complain much. The best comments would be from my brother, Mubin. A few days ago, he said "When I look at your face kakak, I can taste failure"!!!! Hahaha. But then, just a few minutes ago (after baking that marble cake), he said "Honestly la kn...lg sedap dr mak punyer"! Hehehe... terharu~!

At the moment, I'm not allowed to look for any temporary jobs (I wanted to jadi guru sandaran), at least not until the exam results are out. The house is a complete mess thanks to the renovation, and I'm more needed to be home accompanying my mom and clean the house. So that kinda gives me plenty of time to do whatever it is that I wanna do. The only downside to that... no income.

And what are the so many things that I wanna do? Huhu. Here it goes: learn arabic, finish cross-stitch, finish reading novels (yg beli tp x baca2 lg), learn french, learn cooking, learn baking, learn mandarin, watch kenichi, learn adobe photoshop, watch full metal alchemist, do proper household account for my mom, finish reading the tafsir, complete house cleaning, do volunteering work for charity, learn sewing, learn aikido. Hmm... quite a list~!!!

Sementara still lapang ni... I'll just try to do whatever possible kn. Fighting~! =)

P.S.: That picture is edited through picnik.com and photoscape. Hehe. Mmg beginner's level of editting la... =P

Bargain hunt ~ =D

2009-06-07T01:08:00.000+08:00

When I went out with my dear rumet today, I was surprise that the bus ticket from Bangsar LRT station to Midvalley is now RM2!!! It used to be only 50 sen (back when I was in Form 5) !!! That's 4 kali ganda dah naik harga!!! And uncle taxi (who was extremely nice) warned us that soon taxi starting charge would be RM3!

Adding salt to the wound... cross-stitch benang now cost RM1.50 each! It cost only 80 sen back when I first started...~ Sedihnyer, my mom commented it seems as though it's not worth it to continue doing it any more.

So, the more reason to go bargain hunting and aim for sales whenever possible. I read an article in The Star aper newspaper a few days ago about warehouse booksale and why consumers should take advantage of that. The columnist managed to buy 100 books with average price of about RM7 each! Giler jeles...

I just want to share these two websites I found... they give updates on where warehouse sales and stock clearance can be found around Malaysia (especially KL):

http://www.shoppingnsales.com/warehousesales/

http://www.bigsale.com.my/

The sites had made both Gta and Alin tension gler... hahaha... maaf~ =P

P.S.: Uncle taxi tu pesan klau nak go from Midvalley to Bangsar station naik taxi, exit from the South Court, it's cheaper coz closer distance. And rumet sorry... being guided by KLite yg sesat around KL wasn't exactly the plan =P

Educating?

2009-06-01T02:00:00.000+08:00

Ok...let's play a game, spot which part of the scenes below is educating a student:

Scene 1:
Examiner 1: What is the boiling point of MEA?
Student: I'm sorry sir, I don't remember (ok, fine... the student's fault there), but you can refer to my report, I've included it there.
Examiner 1: Where? I don't see it!
Student: Please refer to so-and-so section sir.
Examiner 1: How is it you don't remember? I want you to guess the value.
Student: I don't have it memorized sir.
Examiner 2: Is it below 100 or above 100?
Student: Below 100 i think sir....
Examiner 1: Wrong! (duuuuhhhhh........I already said I don't remember) It's 170 degC ... so it's above 100!
Examiner 2: Do you even remember your own name?!

Scene 2:
Student is trying hard to smile, to hide the fact that deep down wishing the the Death Note is in hand.
Examiner 1: I'm talking to you, why are you smiling? This is no laughing matter. If you were my staff I would have fired you already!

Scene 3:
Examiner 1: Do you want to pass or fail this course? (hahaha... I though this guy is SUPPOSE to be smart?!)
Student: I would like to pass, sir.
Examiner 1: Why do you deserve to pass?
Student: Because I've put hard work and my best effort to it.
Examiner 2: In real world, hard work and sincerity are not enough. You did not produce good result, I think you should fail.
Student: Sir, bad results are still result. Thomas Edison tried about 99 times to create the light bulb... he didn't fail 99 times, he found out 99 ways of how not to do it!
Examiner 1: Yes...but he learned from his mistake
Student: So did I.... I've proven (bla bla bla ...)

As you might have guessed, that student was me. All that happened during my FYP final presentation. That would be the worst presentation I have ever done and provided me with a good reason wanting to grad ASAP. I can accept constructive criticism openly (as done in OM, Fluid Mech, PCS and PDP presentations)... but that?!

I honestly don't see which part of it is educating. Plus, if I'm so smart and can produce excellent data given the condition I was in, I wouldn't be terhegeh2 trying to complete my degree, would I?!

P.S.: Thousand thanks to my dearest and bestest friend for the happy food... roti naan with ayam tandoori and Sushi King the next day really cheered me up. See what happy food can do... turns you from sad to happy and if you're already happy to happier~! =D

Interesting Read: why men lie and women cry

2009-05-23T01:31:00.000+08:00

I just finished this book, borrowed it from IRC the other day while studying for Ethics paper. Very interesting to read. Most of the facts are amazingly true~!!! Hahaha. We really enjoyed reading this one.

Although not all facts are relevant, here are some of the interesting excerpts from the book:

1) How a man should give a woman directions:

If he tells her to go to the road with the giant oak tree, then head to the pink building beside the National Bank opposite the lake she is likely to reach her destination. If he tells her to take the third exit at the West turnoff on Highway 23 and drive five kilometres North, she will possibly never be seen again. (hahaha...true~!!!)

2) If a man buys his partner a single rose, for example, she'll give him 1 point. If he buys her a bunch of six roses he still only gets one point. But if he bought her one rose every week for six weeks, then he'd score 6 point. Regular gifts of a single rose show she's always uppermost in his mind. (note: the more reason to call mak always~!!!)

3) When most right-handed people are recalling an event that actually happened they engage their left brain and look to their right. When they are inventing a story they engage their right brain and look to their left. In simple terms, right-handed liars look toward their left, left-handed liars look to their right. This observation is not foolproof but is a strong signal of deceit.

4) Indirect talk at home:

When a woman says: I'm not upset ---> Meaning: Of course I'm upset!
It's your decision ---> As long as I agree
How much do you love me? ---> I did something you won't like

5) A dictionary of male speech patterns:

When he says: I can't find it ---> Meaning: I can't see it, it didn't fall into my hands, so it must not exist!
We're going to be late ---> I have a legitimate reason for driving like a maniac.
Can I help with dinner? ---> Why isn't it already on the table?
You really look terrific in that outfit ---> Please don't try on one more outfit, I'm starving (witnessed this being used by my brothers bila letih waiting mak shopping =P)

The book is informative, yet fun to read!!!

Sudut mari belajar~!

2009-05-15T18:53:00.000+08:00

(di suatu program TV kanak2)

Adik-adik, hari ni kte akan blaja tentang 'considerate'~! Adik2 tau tu apa? Bukan...takde kongsi-the-rate... and ni bukan kuih yg penguin suka makan tu... ni adalah salah satu characteristic yg PATUT ada pada setiap manusia (klau takde tu tak perlu mengaku manusia), proven by the following equation:

human = considerate behaviour
if, u = not considerate
therefore, u = not human

Senang kan? Mari kte pahamkn lagi... being considerate is to put yourself in others' shoe regardless of your own (unless u're really in life-death situation,come on...common sense, bdk skolah rendah pun pandai). This is in line with the Kantian theory (which might be asked dlm paper Corporate Ethics rabu ni...blaja ye adik2).

Mari kte lihat the following case study:

A ada habit suka call B dan mengadu tentang problem dia pada B... nasib baik la B ni orang yg baik hati dan layan je. Tetapi, disebabkan response B yg non-aggressive itu, A merasakan ia adalah appropriate dan decided to call pada bila2 waktu dia suka, tidak mengira B nak tido, rehat, study dan sbgnya. Tambah lagi problem2 yg dikemukan oleh A adalah sgt ridiculous sampai bdk darjah 1 pun tau jawapan (ye adik2 kecik di luar sana...anda kadangkala lebih pandai drpd org2 yg ada SPM/diploma/degree tu~!).

In the situation above, we see that A is being inconsiderate. Eventhough B is being nice, doesn't mean dia care that much pun...klau A kene langgar basikal, jatuh longkang and gigit anjing...pasal la...hidup je lagi. So tak perlu ngada sgt...the world DOES NOT revolves around you (adik2 take note ye, the earth revolves around the sun, the moon revolves around the earth, electron revolves around neutron...tp human takde gravitation pull whatsoever to make other objects to revolve around them)!

So adik2... tak susah kn~?! Nanti episode lain kte blaja benda lain plak ye =)

This show is brought to you by the letter C!

P.S.: This entry is written secara general, maybe it's meant towards someone, maybe it's not. Tapi kalau terasa tu...you might be human after all ~

I am an engineering student....

2009-05-04T00:19:00.000+08:00

A few days ago, I came across a medical student's blog... she was writing on how much she learned everyday, through classes and her clinical experiences. I was damn jeles la... I've wanted to become doctor since skolah rendah lg... n every time I do those personality career test masa in skolah menengah, I always end up with medical care field (confirm test tu tipu!!! =P).

Anyway, when school ended, i got the choice of either go to matriks, do law at UIA or chemical engineering at UTP... (no present provided klau dpt teka which one I picked =P). Not that I hate law... I'm just not convincing enough in debates (lose a lot to Jijan) and I'm not a fan of hafal2 subjects. I had no idea what chemical engineering even was at d time, Uncle Farid and Auntie Junie were kind enough to help explain and motivate me... but in the end, the duit scholar was the main reason why I chose it (haha...bkn free pun...kene bonded...tp still thankful la gak). At that time, I was still sad that the ministry of education (or whoever responsible la) didnt think I was good enough to do medic...

But, looking back, after 5 years doing this course in UTP, I dont regret it a single bit. I found that possibly my brain is suited for these engineering & technical stuff better than medical. Everything is about concepts, theories and getting good grasp on basics... no more menghafal different types of bones (mcm SPM dulu). I believe in the following verse even more:

"...and it may be you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know." (Surah Al-Baqarah: 216)

I've honestly enjoyed studying engineering here, even with all the pressure and stress. Yes, I still do get jeles with the medical students, but I know now I'm way suited for this. I would love to walk around in chemical plant rather than hospital any day (masa start intern, I got excited gler nampak tanks and columns, my mom thinks I'm crazy =P haha... maaf mak).

True... there's no drama on engineering (klau medic ada grey's anatomy or house), tp those engineering shows on Discovery and National Geographic are fun gak. Hmm... the closest thing wld be Big Bang Theory la kot... sbb Howard is an engineer =P (watch this show!!!). And true... most of my relatives dun know wat exactly I'm studying... they think I mix chemicals in lab and did intern kat kilang (ala2 assembly line kat kilang kasut...huhu!). Tp so what... I love this field! =D

ooh... I found this on the Net!!! enjoy~!:

You Might Be An Engineer If...

You have no life - and you can PROVE it mathematically.
You enjoy pain.
You know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
You have memorized the program schedule for the Discovery channel and have seen most of the shows already
You've actually used every single function on your calculator.
It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
You know the direction the water swirls when you flush
You look forward to Christmas only to put together the kids' toys
You think in "math".
If the microphone or visual aids at a meeting don't work and you shove up to the front to fix it.
You have used coat hangers and duct tape for something other than hanging coats and taping ducts
You carry on a one-hour debate over the expected results of a test that actually takes five minutes to run
You see a good design and still have to change it
Your 4 basic food groups are: 1. Caffeine 2. Fat 3. Sugar 4. Chocolate
You can't remember what's behind the door in the engineering building which says "Exit".
You have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.
You are completely addicted to caffeine.
You avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.
You consider ANY non-engineering course "easy".
When your professor asks you where your homework is, you claim to have accidentally determined its momentum so precisely, that according to Heisenberg it could be anywhere in the universe.
The "fun" center of your brain has deteriorated from lack of use.
You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.
The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.
Your lap-top computer costs more than your car
The salesperson at Circuit City (in this case Low Yatt) can't answer any of your questions.
You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.
You're in line for the guillotine... it stops working properly... and you offer to fix it.
You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards to see how they do the special effects.
You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area.
You have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.
You have never backed up your hard drive.
Your three year old son asks why the sky is blue and you try to explain atmospheric absorption theory
You think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep.
You've ever tried to repair a $5.00 radio
You've ever calculated how much you make per second.
Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.
You understood more than five of these jokes.
You make a copy of this list, and post it on your door (or your home page !)

Peer Helper Memories

2009-04-28T05:34:00.000+08:00

This post is dedicated to the pioneers of Peer Helper Programme in UTP... you all are the best ... we could marah2 n kutuk2 each other to get the job done... but at the end of the day still gelak2 at lawak2 bodoh =) thank you to each of you for the friendship and all that you have taught me. Just a bunch of pictures to remember the good times =)

It's April... =)

2009-04-20T00:29:00.001+08:00

It's my fave month (siapa dpt teka why?! =P)... and yet sadly, there's too much to things to be done. Tp... being a typical UTPian... I tend to do some other things as well... huhu.

I Watched:

Slumdog Millionaire - great movie~! Its a movie about hardship, love, friendship and most importantly: hope. IMO it's definitely a must-watch...the story is great, the pictures, the music... all so good (there's no dancing2 like the typical Hindi movie).

Liar Game - a japanese series about a game where you need to manipulate and lie to win (it's not like Survivors tu la...) The people in this game are desperate to save themselves... if they lose, they end up in huge debt. The games involved are all so weird (like the Minority Voting) and a lot of tricks and mind games are being used. This is as good as Death Note. =)

Stardust - chick flick + adventure. Nice movie (the kinds x payah pikir) bila dah tension buat mechanical design! huhu...

I Read:

Finished reading the Twilight Saga... nice story... too bad the Volturi didn't die pun in the end.

I do Tag (by Gta):
5 perkara tentang orang yang tag saya (tukar rule sendiri =P) :
1- Single and available - dah ada orang merisik tp dia jual mahal...huhu
2- Pandai bake orange cake.. siap dipuji lagi tuu...
3- Gets extremely hyper after 1pm
4- Immune to caffeine
5- Level 5 mybrute player

5 perkara tentang diriku:
1- Afraid of height
2- Has a habit of picking out ice cubes, which annoy Jijan =P

3- Has a theory of how the no. of snails in campus is inversely proportional to the no. of cats... can't do further research since dah kene marah main angkat2 snails...
4- Not very good at reverse parking to left (klau to the right expert gler... boleh timing lg~! =P)
5- Honestly, truly glad ada Plant Design Project... klau x, I won't appreciate all the things learned for the pass 5 years...~

I played:

I'm not exactly hooked on the game... tp it's fun and it's all autoplay. Harith introduced it, so I'm his student la kiranyer. I managed to get my brother, Mubin to play (he became my student plak)... but he ended up beating me... game yg gler unfair~! huhu...

Lastly...I must:
Complete mechanical design ASAP, do HI assignment, study for PO and HI tests, do PO project and report, and complete FYP report... hmm~ panic mode...

P.S.: A thousand THANK YOUs to beloved housemates + alin + khal + illy for the birthday cake...completely caught me by surprise... very sweet & thoughtful... thank you =) And thank you all for the wishes as well... esp to my darling family & bestest friend =)

I want to learn baking~!

2009-03-24T19:34:00.000+08:00

Found these pictures while searching for a chocolate muffin recipe for my mom. Jelesnyer!!!! Makes me wish I'm taking culinary art instead of engineering. Huhu.

Nikon camera cake

Money machine cake

and my fave...

For more interesting pictures, go to stranges-world.blogspot.com

P.S.: Anyone got a gerenti-sedap recipe for chocolate muffin???

Tagged by Kak Faeeza

2009-03-23T01:35:00.000+08:00

The rules are simple. Use Google Image to search the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results, and post it as your answer. After that tag 6 people.

I am: an engineering student at the moment

I really want to go: Cameron Highland again maybe??? I don't mind going anywhere as long as I'm with loved ones =)

My fave place:

My fave drinks:

I love both coffee and tea.... the smell of coffee is just soooo hmmm..~~~ and it helps to boost up for the day (to stay up and to annoy Gta =p), but tea is absolutely great for relaxing (love tea plantation!)

My fave food:

Yumm~ the pictures are appetizing enough... durian, ebiko and moist chocolate cake

My fave colour: a hint of purple, red, brown, maroon and fuchia...

My fave show:

My hobbies:

Reading, doing cross-stitch and solving jigsaw puzzles (last picture there is my fave jigsaw, now hanging in the living room =D)

My wishes: (yang ni banyak skit =P)

1. To work as engineer

2. To be great at cooking... and not just malay cuisines! =D

3. To be able to speak at least 5 languages fluently (target: French, Arabic & Mandarin)

4. To persuade Gta to buy me a Smart2two!!! hahaha....

5. Last, but most importantly, to have a happy family of my own (see the happy faces?! =P)

Alrite, I would like to tag: Rezita Syarina, Azizan, Husna, Rosli, Siti Khatijah & Illy Maznah. Have fun =P

P.S.: Congratz again to Kak Faeeza...moga bahagia ke anak cucu cicit piut~ =D

Books vs. Movies

2009-03-21T01:48:00.001+08:00

Hmm...just an I'm-bored-but-I-have-so-much-work-to-do entry =P Anyway, the whole discussion started when my beloved rumet wanted to recommend good fiction books to Zaid. So...here's my conclusion on whether the stories are better in book or movie version:

1. Princess Diaries - prefer the movie...the story is milder here and suits everyone. The book is more...umm...well, not mild... where she is actually an illegitimate child, her dad is not dead but can't have another child (that's why she ended up as princess), her grandma is mean, and her mom is quite a reckless person.

2. The Da Vinci Code... definitely the book!!! I couldn't put the book down when reading it, and finished it within 2 days.

3. Memoirs of a Geisha...hmm...I think I like the book better. There's more details to it, helps you to understand the culture and situation nicely...like how exposing the little bit of skin at the wrist and at the back of the neck is considered sexy and alluring. But the movie is not bad either.

4. Confession of a Shopaholic - prefer the movie...it's sweet...kinda revolves around the green scarf a bit, and yea the story is not very logical...I mean she slapped the guy after pretending to be able to speak Finnish, and the guy liked her?!?!?!... but anyway, it's sweet.

5. Twilight - huhu...obviously the book. There's a bit too much staring-at-each-other-longingly in the movie. It surprise me that I couldn't put the book down when reading it...the story is simple and there's no real twist to it...and yet, I couldn't even put down Eclipse.

6. Devil Wears Prada - the movie. The book kinda continued on and on about her being busy and having her priorities all messed up, ...seeing it on screen is much nicer rather than reading through the story.

7. Harry Potter - hmm...the books are great before Harry got all PMS (starting from 5th book I think)... the best book so far in my opinion is the 4th, but the best movie is the 3rd. The 5th movie isn't bad either...the scene at the ministry was cool. Looking forward to the 6th movie this year...~!

8. Lord of the Rings - hahaha...I never even finish reading the books! =P So i prefer the movie (obviously!)

Happy Birthday Met =)

2009-03-08T01:17:00.000+08:00

This entry is dedicated to the person whom I had the pleasure of sharing a room with for the past 3 years... my roommate, Rezita Syarina

I know we hardly say nice things about each other (that would cause either one of us to puke or hidung kembang gler). And we never hug... eh jap... yup2, we never hug. But it's been more than a pleasure to have you as a roomate and good friend, and to be a major part of my life (obviously I would NEVER EVER FOREVER EVER say this in front of you!...hahaha).

You know and understand me a lot, more than others do (apart from my own family and Azizan la)... and always sense my mood and able to cheer me up. You're a great fun to go shoe shopping with, to watch American Idol (yea...Anoop made to the top 13!), to chat with, to do aerobic, to share novels and just to go crazy with. With you, the theory of time limit doesn't apply... and I'm comfortable to be myself (even after a dose of coffee!!! hee~).

Tinggal about 4 months je to still be roommates (more than enough time to drive you nuts!)... Here's a bunch of TQs: thank you never minding the mess I made, for coming around to Balok during internship, for having me to stay at your house when I went to KB, ... and basically to have me as your roommate and friend (terharu kn~... aww...*puke*).

Wait... if anyone happened to be her next roommate (or husband trus la...huhu), I have a few things to warn you about her:

1- Don't be suprised (or scared!) if she started laughing sorang2 crazily after she had derma darah that day... it just somehow make her high! Huhu.

2- If you've seen her pictures...don't panic!!! She does NOT have any neck problem... she just can't keep it straight in front of camera.

3- It is perfectly normal that she prefers sushi over nasi kerabu anytime (but yes, she is Kelantanese).

Lastly, may this birthday not only make you older, but also wiser...(it may however be the more reason you would not get duit raya!) and... may it not only make you happy, but also grateful for all the things you have in life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MET~!!!!

P.S. To those who may not know... remember back in foundation when we stayed in Tembungo?... there was someone playing mercun dengan bisingnyer pepagi on our last day of the sem... that was HER!!!!

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-06T23:39:00.000+08:00

Notice how we ALWAYS waste energy?!?! Come on la... don't lie. I know the laptop and computers are left switched on overnight... and the next day, and the next day. And the ceiling fans in our hostel rooms are left on even when we're out... yea... I know, the weather here is #@$%!@ hot. I do them too =( the sad irony is that the hot weather is due to global warming - caused by us in the first place!

How about the smaller things like: not switching off the switch even when the kettle is done boiling or phone is charged full bar. Or not making the least effort to switch off the lights at the corridors as we walked out to lectures. Or making sure the doors are properly closed in rooms that are air-conditioned (seen it a lot at IRC).

So let's start somewhere... and here's another suggestion: Let's support the Earth Hour 2009.

Earth Hour 2009 by WWF - Sign up for Earth Hour!

The Earth Hour started off in 2007, in Sydney, where 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008, the world joined in with about 50 million people switching off their lights... along with famous landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Colosseum in Rome. This year, the goal is to reach 1 billion people worldwide to join in =D

All you need to do is switch off your lights for one hour... from 830 - 930pm on Saturday, 28 March 2009. Just imagine the amount energy saved if the whole world participate along, even for just one hour!!! And hey... let's spread the word, maybe we could even convince the Rector to switch off the lights at the new acad building for one hour!!! Huhu.

Come on... there's not much work required here.... spread the news and switch off the lights. At least it's the first step to saving our earth.

Note to fellow engineers-to-be: We learn all those things like heat integration, plant design, heat transfer, process optimisation which mainly aims to save energy anyway. And it's a very ethical thing to do, even on basis of both Kantian and Utilitarian theory!

=D

Away Day

2009-03-02T03:00:00.000+08:00

I was at the top of my stress level last week when I couldn't figure out MATLAB, my FYP experiments provide no significant result (it's already week 6!!!), my PDP instrument & control design need to be done soon... plus add to that lecturers decided it's a good time to add more projects, and I'm struggling to find a job. I know 5 years here is supposed to get me used to this pressure... still... final sem @#%$#%!!! (this blog is rated U =P)

Anyway, to get away from UTP for a day was the best stress reliever, and what better place than Cameron Highland!

Beautiful view, great weather =) ...note to self, buy a vacation home there if salary reach 5-figure

SK Convent... old building, nicely preserved

Cantik kan!!! Sadly I have no talent whatsoever to take care of them

Absolutely breathtaking view the BOH plantation (a must-see place)

Spending a day there, to just enjoy the weather and exploring the towns, was a great experience. The BOH plantation is definitely a must-see place. There's the factory tour, walking through the tea plants and enjoying the view while sipping tea...! Ooh, sadly, I found out that I could never be a tea taster...hmm... that's one career option out.

A special thanks to the driver + tour guide + bestest friend for the trip =) I had a great time. I know running through the suddenly pouring rain wasn't part of the plan... but that was fun! =)

Alrite... back to MATLAB (but with less stress, of course =P)

still tak buat keje ni...

2009-02-15T02:28:00.000+08:00

This entry is dedicated to Gta, Husna, and Azizan... =P (from blogthings.com)

You Are Not Destined to Rule the World

You are destined for something else...

Like inventing a new type of cupcake.

You just don't have the stomach for brutality.

But watch out - because many people do!

Are You Destined For World Domination?

I'm NOT power hungry after all!!!...I dont want to rule the world, just take over the company je...still innocent kn...huhu
=P

Takde keje ke ni???

2009-02-13T01:12:00.000+08:00

Technically, this is not my 1st tag, but since I accidentally deleted the previous ones...well, ta-daa~! I have tonnes of workload to be done... but I'm taking some time off for my dear roommate's request. Sweet kn =P

1. How old are you? Going to be 23 soon.

2. Are you single? Perlu jawab ke???

3. At what age do you think you'll get married? 24 or 25...depending on bila duit cukup... unless klau abah nak sponsor 100% =p haha

4. Do you think you'll marrying the person you are with now? Yes

5. If not, who do you want to marry? Ni soklan KBKK ke???

6. Who will be you bridesmaid and bestman? Shortlisted candidate: Husna and Gta. Please submit your resume and attend the interview. I'm looking for 'new horizon' bridesmaid.

7. Do you want a garden/beach wedding or traditional wedding? Traditional wedding.

8. Where do you plan to go on honeymoon? Non-stop cuti2 Malaysia to all states

9. How many guests do you think you'll invite? Depends on budget =P

10. Will that include you exes? Dont have any.

11. How many layers of cake do you want? Setinggi propane-propylene splitter

12. When do you want to get married, morning or evening? Never thought bout it.

13. Name the song/tune you'd like to play at your wedding. Lagu Nobody by Wonder Girls...so that my housemates can do special appearance performance!!!

14. Do prefer dine dining or just normal spoon, fork and knife? Kata traditional wedding...duk bersila atas tikar mengkuang makan guna tangan la.

15. Champagne or red wine? Nak air sirap gak

16. Honeymoon right after the wedding or days after the wedding? Depends on availability of tickets and hotel rooms... nak buat ala2 Explorace from one state to another. Haha. Hint: the more reason to start jogging from now =P

17. Money or household items? Household items consisting of IKEA furniture, TEFAL and PYREX kitchenware. special request to Gta, I want a Smart4two...color blue and silver. OK la... flexible skit... klau merah pun boleh la.

18. How many kids would you like to have? Satu team football...hahaha.

19. Will you record your honeymoon in DVD/CD? Better to record it in memory and heart forever... sweet kn. =P

20. Whose wedding plan would you like to know next? NurJannah, Illy Maznah, Husna Omar, Khalisah

Grateful for good health

2009-02-01T02:41:00.000+08:00

A week before I returned to UTP, I had about a week of sleepless nights. First, it started off with a high fever, I couldn't sleep because my body temperature was hot but I felt so cold. Due to fever, I didn't have the appetite to eat... where I end up having minor gastric. Then, I couldn't sleep due to discomfort and nauseated feeling, thanks to the gastric. Few days after that, I had allergic reaction to the gastric pills that I was taking... which I end up not being able to sleep since I felt so damned itchy all over. Alhamdulillah, I'm all better now.

A few days ago Azizan insisted that I watch video clips on the war at Gaza. Gta joined me watching it as well. The image of a boy stuck in my mind... he cried saying his body is killing him. I couldn't even begin to imagine what that feels like. What I had was only minor discomfort compared to what he felt.

The use of phosphorus against civilians in Gaza was indisputably inhuman. According to Wikipedia:

White phosphorus weapon's initial explosion can produce extensive, deep second and third degree burns. One reason why this occurs is the tendency of the element to stick to the skin. Phosphorus burns carry a greater risk of mortality than other forms of burns due to the absorption of phosphorus into the body through the burned area, resulting in liver, heart and kidney damage, and in some cases multiple organ failure^. These weapons are particularly dangerous to exposed people because white phosphorus continues to burn unless deprived of oxygen or until it is completely consumed.

So what that means is that the chemical continues to eat the flesh away day by day. May Allah bless the Palestinians...

Trip to Surabaya

2009-01-31T02:53:00.001+08:00

Note: I wanted to post this a month ago... I got lazy. According to Wikipedia, feelings of laziness might be symptom of clinical depression or listlessness... Hmm...

Finally I get to follow along on a family holiday, after missing the previous two. This year, our destination was Surabaya, the 2nd most populated city in Indonesia. The holiday lasted for 5 days... thanks to my dad being a frequent flyer of MAS, we got the airline tickets free.

A quick comment to MAS... the steward/ stewardess shouldn't have asked passengers to choose between toast or roti canai when obviously there weren't even enough toast! The plane was only half- full and by the time they tray got to us, there was only roti canai left. Either eat that or stay hungry 'till the plane lands. Sadly, it was the same situation on the return flight. Of course I would eat it... the ticket price is inclusive meal... not eating would be throwing money away. MAS should take note on this or risk losing even more passengers to AirAsia.

The first place we visited was Mount Bromo, located about more than 2000m from sea level. To reach the location, it was about 4 hours drive from the Surabaya airport. The drive had to take alternative route along the paddy fields since the main road could not be used, due to the mud spill that had taken place since 2006.

The beautiful view from Bromo Cottages, one of the few hotels available there. It's located about 800m from sea level and the only road there is narrow and seems quite dangerous. Vegetables were seen to be grown along the mountainsides.

As early as 4am in the morning, we went to Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, to the top of Mount Penanjakan in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. Upon reaching the viewing platform, it was already crowded. Sadly, the fog was too thick to see the sunrise. If we had been able to, I guess this is what we would have seen (cantik kan!):

Next, we proceed on to see the crater of Mount Bromo. Getting to the place was a great experience itself. The jeep drove us through the Sand Sea (Lautan Pasir), and then we had to take pony ride to the foot of the mountain. After that, there were 250 stairs to climb before reaching the top!

From left: (1) View of the Sand Sea, a Hindu temple could be seen right in the middle; (2) the tiring and steep staircase

Sadly, again, we were unlucky to be able to see the crater clearly due to the thick fog. Since the weather was cold, and the smell of sulphur fumes from the crater was really strong, we didn't wait long for the fog to go away.

Dear readers, here is where I suddenly got the laziness attack... although I don't think I suffer from any depression whatsoever. So from this point forward, I'll just put lots of pictures to this post. It's worth a thousand word.. wait, I have more than a picture here... so that would be millions of words then =P

Coban Rondo waterfall - height bout 60m - absolutely beautiful

Plucking apples at Kusuma AgroWisata - surprisingly the green apples are the sweet ones, and red are sour

Taman Safari Indonesia II - it's obviously way better than Zoo Negara

Shopping at Surabaya

Surabaya is definitely an interesting place to visit. Plus, halal food is everywhere and there is no problem in communication. Things are fairly cheaper too... so it's great for shopping. So why not go there for your next holiday destination... for more info, try visit these websites:

Upset by my own mistake...

2009-01-04T01:23:00.000+08:00

Humm.... mmm... as you can see, there is no previous post to this. Why? Because while I was in a hurry and my laptop jammed, I accidentally deleted them. Yup... ALL!!! Thank you...

Hmm... I guess on the bright side, I could start fresh...again!

Lesson learned: There is no UNDO button in life... make wise decision, if you make mistake, learn from them... and learn from others' mistake as well

Still upset... only 6 months to graduation... I shouldn't be making mistakes like this.

New year... new posts...

=)