BBQ 101

While most of the urban citizen of Kuala Lumpur clearing off their leaves and counting the days for New Year, I am here in the office stuck with loads of work…

Mak is still in my house, will be off to Melaka this afternoon to join Pie and his family…her so-called favorite son…that is what we describe him as…of which at certain extend I think is very true...sound a little bit bias and unfair if Pie reads this (heheh sorry bro). Yeah…we always feel that Mak loves him more than us, mak gives him extra attention bla bla bla. It hurts when we were young, but at this age, it does not hit us as much as before. Dah besar la katakan hehe. Thank God that she has got no idea what a blog is…or I will end up pujuk-ing her for the rest of my life.

Mak came down to KL on the 27th. I didn’t have any plan laid for her…nor any birthday celebration planned (her birthday is today actually). To cut the long story short, we made an ad-hoc plan, with the rest of my sibling’s OK, to have a BBQ at PD.

Booking was made, food bought from TESCO a day before, and we even bought a new BBQ pit. So we set to PD with rombongan Along (our bro jambu Abg Li, Aiman, Amirul, Akmal the-Mr. Sam-seng with his bibik) from Batu Pahat, Pie (Lynn & Izzul si-pipi-labuh) from Melaka, Adil (Su & yet-to-be-born Irshad), Dik Nur and Dik As together with Jimi & me from Bangi.

The scenery from the apartment was great indeed…the sea-view unit. We could feel the cooling breeze, lepak-ing at the balcony having mak’s meehoon while enjoying the sunset. But the facility and the service Corus Paradise Apartment gave us was disaster. Heater was not working, the floor was sticky that somehow forced us to buy Ajax Fabuloso to mop it, not even a body soap or a single tissue let alone towel and few other basic things equipped.

By ignoring all those, we headed up to BBQ lot by the sea that cost us RM30 right after Maghrib and the year-end doa without realizing that starting up the fire with the so-called ‘high-quality’ charcoal took us ages. We reach the place 5 min pass 8 and had our first grilled lamb at almost 10.30 p.m. Gosh! I almost die because of the hungriness.

Since this is our first ever BBQ experience, here some few important tips that I need to remember for the next BBQ:

Lesson no 1:
Always start early, at least by one hour, so you have time for fire preparation and allow coals to catch fire.

Lesson no 2:
Bring some old newspaper to compliment the fire starter.

Lesson no 3:
Appoint only one person to buy and marinade the meats. You will end up having the incomplete set in consequence of one of the persons appointed fails to show up or doesn’t have time to buy their portion.

Lesson no 4:
Invest in a big torchlight to have a good lighting…utmost important! Otherwise, you will never tell whether your meat is raw, medium, well-done or tooo well-done.

Lesson no 5:
Never quit! Never surrender! That is what Captain Buzz Lightyear says in Toy Story. In another word…be patient. We would never have the opportunity to experience the yummy lamb and scrumptious grilled chicken if it’s not for Along. Kudos to her for giving us such a ‘motivation’ and ‘encouragement’ ekekkee. X sia2 belajar psychology dulu ehehhe.

An early birthday surprise for mak that night, as a small way to show our appreciation towards what she has done all this while…

With all the lessons gained from our PD trip, I look forward for the next BBQ and most probably be somewhere after Jimi and I move in to Precinct 8…

Latest Christmas carol for 2008..

Let's sing together...someone in the bank forwarded this to me claiming that it's from investment bank heheh...

You'd better watch out

You'd better not cry

You'd better keep cash

I'm telling you why:

Recession is coming to town

It's hitting you once

It's hitting you twice

It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town

It's worthless if you've got shares

It's worthless if you've got bonds

It's safe when you've got cash in hand

So keep cash for goodness sake

HEY

You'd better watch out

You'd better not cry

You'd better keep cash

I'm telling you why:

Recession is coming to town!

Finance products are confusing

Finance products are so vague

The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake

OH

You'd better watch out

You'd better not cry

You'd better keep cash

I'm telling you why:

Recession is coming to town...

MyAIM

Resolution…it is so typical when it comes to the end of every year. We set new goals, some are new, some brought forward from last year’s resolution (or even years before hehehe). Some successfully implemented, some was not. For whatever it is, to have a resolution each year is a very good exercise, but to fulfill it, is another story.

You may set your target high, moderate or low indeed…ehem to give the sense of satisfaction as the goal can easily be achieved) but I once heard from somewhere, we need to set target not only for a year, but for 5…

I heard it when I was 24, way back in Penang. It inspired me, so I quickly started my own 5-year target or so what I call MyAIM, hoping that when it comes to 2008, the end of my twenties, I would be able to get it all.

I saw myself as someone’s wife…hmmm nasib baik jumpa *wink*

I aimed to be at the managerial position, to lead a bunch of people in a field that somehow related to my qualification and my interest…I guess I am very lucky even though the earlier journey was a little bit rocky.

I had set for ‘x’ amount of money as my salary target…alhamdulillah, Allah made it easy for me.

I hoped for one humble house owned by me…which I am still counting the days to get hold of the key, although once upon a time I dreamed for a nice-view hillside home facing the sea…

And last but not least, my only dream 5 years ago that until now x nampak pun bayang…to be a recipient of a master degree in the area I love doing…a starting point in fulfilling my childhood dream to end my career in education or consultation line.

Now, it’s time for another 5-year plan. To share it…I’ll write it at the end of 2013 heheh *wink*
Can I just share what I have in mind for next year? I want D80 and a baby…

real meaning of IT solution...

Mem-the-boss and I were cracking our head to goreng what to response to auditor on few findings of our system security. She accidently opened one of her old folder and found the above cartoon...hehehhehe :D. Click to enlarge it yea LOL...

thank God it's Friday

Today is Friday…I yearn for a good rest…cepat2 la pukul 4.45 p.m. hmmmmm…

MTU-rian

Last night I was so distressed and wondering how and in what manner should I break the news of the cancellation of my CMS project to my vendor. Never caught in such situation as all these while I was hiding nicely behind Mem-the-Boss. I kept on thinking but suddenly my mind was not really bothered about it anymore, yet I was thinking about something else, triggered by 2 SMSes I received from my two MTU-rian friends.

Apart from Jazzarian and my uni-friends, I miss the great old time I had with MTU-rian. The series of get-together, buka puasa, hari raya, kenduri kendara (penjelajahan utara-selatan-timur-barat of Peninsular Malaysia), panjat gunung (smp ada yg bertemu jodoh ehem), water rafting, candat sotong and all. It was just a small community back then formed by few bincang forumers and with the commitment they have right now, I guess ‘forum’ing is no longer an activity for them. If I could recall… kui, putridelaila, amoi, ned, pandorabox, jebatx, shuk, shark, anoy, orale, skyline, maria, anum, haris, seri, raytz, exs, apeng, bis, ezzy, peace, slide and few more…sorry if I missed out your name as a result of minum-air-ada-semut-dah-nak-abis-baru-perasan last night hehehe.

This morning, after my cat-fighting drama with IT project manager, I dig out few old photo collections which I hardly remember when the last time I opened it. Some as old as 5 years, the most recent picture was taken back in 2006. Hmmm, now I wonder, is there any plan for any makan2 wahai MTU-rians? *wink*

Recession-proof

Financial turmoil somehow is forcing everyone to reexamine what they do and plan. Although the announcement about the petrol and diesel prices reduced by 15 sen per litre today, it does not shoo away the fact that another recession is coming up next year. People in the industry have been talking about it and from what I heard worse than last time.

I am not recession-proof and I strongly believe that it is going to have a great impact on me. So the thought of buying another car just need to be swept away and put aside at the moment. Instead, we are eying for a motorbike for Jimi’s transportation to work, immediately after we move in to the new house. Ohh! I got ton of lists to either be bought or repaired upon entering the house.

Jimi and I quietly sneak out from our office this morning to settle the EPF withdrawal. I am dying to get the money real fast so that the previous owner can render the key early (I am sick of the series of pestering and bugging me every now and then to settle the remaining balance of the deposit without even releasing that the document they passed to me was a week behind schedule!!!).

I am broke, waiting calmly (read as pretend to be calm) for 23rd, my last month’s pay was cut by quarter owing to the unpaid leave I took before. The travelling up north and south every weekend sucks every single cent I have left, but it is my obligation towards my family and in-laws. The pain felt dissolves the moment we saw the happy faces and it is worth doing so.

Although our financial condition does not permit us to execute most of the things we wanted to do, I am convinced that this is only temporary. I do hope for a good bonus this coming February…

Rescue ME!

Seldom find working in financial institution as fun. You are very true especially when involve in hardcore and back end system on top of all the legacy system that you have to deal with. Even worse when you work at branch and forever you would not be able to be back on time plus facing unhappy customer with the utmost complaints every now and then.

Me on the other hand quite happy to handle a team of 20 in Internet Banking – a real challenge for me to what I consider myself as a new comer in this industry. I always tell people that I am lucky as in always be at the right place and the right time when it comes to career. For those gossip mongers out there, it is not bodek-ing (*wink*) as I think I practice healthy working attitude. And I hope I’ll still be lucky in future *wink* (read as to get better opportunity and better salary to climb up the corporate ladder that I always dream for).

Hard to say but it is reality…not all banking staff know their *stuff*. At the financial institution that I work for, I found it weird when I go down to level one and ask the branch staff that I wanted to open up a new account and yet they not even know the differences of the two new accounts. Aiyaaa!

Am I being too fussy as a customer? Or am I putting a very high expectation towards the services I suppose to get? Or are they really lacking in product knowledge? I do not know…rescue me from having the bad thoughts about my own colleagues!

Kantoi di ERA

I am quite a fan of Pagi di ERA, a morning show at Radio ERA and of course I don’t deny that Serena C & Pietro’s duo of MixFM rather entertaining and brighten up my morning. I simply ignore combination of Rezza & Aimi, they are yukss and suck especially Aimi, and sorry to Pak Nil as he is way better as TV presenter than a DJ. HotFM’s better for the evening show but I do not really keen on their approach in making fun of their DJ’s defect, kepala botak, drumstick and all those…

The Kantoi di ERA is not the only program which serves listener the act of making fool of people, similar to the rally is Panggilan Hangit (HotFM) and Wakenabeb aired thru NTV7 for TV version.

Call me whatever you want, I still do not think that making fool of people is a proper way to make jokes. Although it is sort of light entertainment that popular among foreign countries, I don’t find it appropriate for Malaysian custom. You can bergurau, tell funny jokes, but not making fool of them.

I saw this drama in Wakenabeb (can’t remember what episode but just recently during Ramadhan). The scene took place at one of mamak stall in KL where one lady claimed this guy (the target) had taken her photo without her permission. With the series of scolding, yelling and other scenes related to it in front of the crowd, the lady subsequently called her so-called big brother to the rescue despite denial from the guy. The rest of the story you can figure out yourself and the moment Wakenabeb’s crew and his friends shouted ‘WAKENABEB’, the guy’s reaction was unexpected! He mengamuk like no one business, slam everything in front him and just walked away from the crowd, leaving the crew and his friends…confused or rather terrified. OMG what a scene!

The consequences are huge. I quoted from Zaibo’s comment in one of the Raja Lawak’s episode I watched yesterday while waiting for Jimi to renew his car insurance, when one of the contestants made fun of his baldness:

Sekali…kita rasa lawak
Dua kali…rasa dah tak berapa lawak
Masuk tiga kali…rasa menyampah
Dah empat kali…rasa macam nak baling kerusi

Hmmm, I also do not deny the fact that I like to make jokes too…and like to tease people around me sometimes. But I guess we are adult enough to differentiate between those so-called good and bad jokes. But one thing for sure, if you like to tease and make jokes, just be prepared when others do the same to you. Do not take it too personal and be too emotional about it as it’s all about having FUN! Of course in a good way…

now, i am back

I am back.
Back to Malaysia
Back to my small little apartment
Back to my desk with piles of work

I am bored
Bored of explaining things to auditors, again and again for the last one year plus
Bored of having series of meeting on the same topic
Bored of cleaning up someone else’s mess

I am tired
Tired of not being able to sleep at night
Tired of having the feeling to unpack the luggage, wash & fold the clothes and but unable to do so as was tied up with family affairs for the last 2 days

I am not complaining
I am just expressing…

he finally made it!

the medal is on top of the scroll received. cool huh?

i wore my black sport shoes with blazer and kain kebaya hahah kelakar gler. sib baik la org kat situ xtau what is the actual combination of the real attire LOL.

a glimpse of jimi i tried to capture when he turned back

The moment we waited for had finally arrived. On 22nd October 2008 at approximately 6.30 p.m. local time, Jimi received his master degree in Aerospace Management ending his 15-month life as a student.

It was tough for both of us being separated just after 3 months of marriage, missed two of our birthday celebrations, his absent at my two bros’ wedding, his sister and my sister’s engagement, not able to be anywhere near to his late grandpa September last year as well as his late grandma a week before Ramadhan this year.

When it comes to hardship faced by those who study abroad, everyone has his/her own version of story. So does Jimi when suddenly his normal routine within his comfortable territory became otherwise – he had to prepare his lunch himself very early morning since his class started at 8 a.m. ended at 5.00 p.m. 5 times a week for straight 12-month, been chased out from the place he normally used for Zohor and Asar prayer, was a victim of IAS’ bureaucratic and internal politics that had resulted in failure to secure his place at Airbus for internship, just to name a few.

On the brighter side of it, he is now able to cook himself (which is super important *wink*), more sensitive to his surrounding, more confident to speak his mind (he used to be very reserve of his opinion), the international exposure has somehow built precious friendship and network with 14 different nations in his class and yes he can actually look for a better job after this regardless of the ‘ridiculous contract’ bonding him with MIGHT for the next 7 years!

The distance makes our hearts grow fonder and I thank God for us more appreciating each other. For the hardship we faced makes us ‘really’ understand that nothing comes easy or can be traded off with our pride and dignity.

The scroll may contain his name on it but nothing is in comparison with the experiences we gathered along the journey. Having said all this…I congratulate him for the achievement. Well done!

Finally...Barcelona...

Paella - special Bercelona cuisine, if Malaysian version, it is called 'Nasi Goreng Seafood'

La Rocca Village

Day 2

terasa mcm marakech, morocco

Rambla de Mar

Barcelona trip was somehow like chipsmore…now you see it, now you don’t. I conclude it as ‘macam jadi tapi tak jadi tapi jadi jugak’...

Plan A: M’s car. M couldn’t join us due to some personal reason.

Plan B: N’s car.
The moment N informed Jimi that he was yet to renew his recipecee (sort of an ID for those stay in France), I was still positive that we could still make it to Barcelona since the recipecee can be renewed immediately. But when N told us that he was stuck with class all day and didn’t have the opportunity to renew it, the chance was so slim.

Then Plan C emerged…

Plan C: Rent a car for €63 (2 days). Place to stay yet to be searched for when we reach Barcelona.

So we opt for Plan C, since that’s the only option anyway. The 3-hour journey with a brand new Yaris (not bad actually for the price that we paid) led us to Barcelona, the most well-planned city I’ve seen so far and the first stop was La Rocca, a shopping heaven for those crazy for branded merchandise – from MNG, LV, Chanel, Gucci to Timberland, Puma, Nike, Polo and a lot more including those famous brands that I never knew, heard and not even seen in my entire life (and maybe you should read as: how naïve/foolish I was for not knowing it hehehe). This is similar outlet in its range in Paris – La Valle Village mentioned in my Paris Trip.

The first objective the moment we reach the city was looking for a place to stay that night. If I remember it correctly, we were on foot for almost 3 hours looking for a hotel somewhere near Rambla and outskirt of the city and still none was available. It was then made known to us that the week itself was a busy week in Barcelona mainly because of Halloween and few international conferences and symposiums held over that weekend. With no other option seemed to be available in such situation, we decided to have a sleep in the car!

Don’t mention about sleeping in the car…you know how it feels – I don’t mind having to sleep without pillow and all, but with the autumn and the nearing winter, huh, sejuk sampai ke tulang hitam! I had experienced sleeping on the top of few mountains not long time ago, but this is truly different.

But it is all worth the moment we saw the most universal artworks of the architect Gaudi at Park Güell; famous for its unfinished so-called church – La Sagrada Familia; Casa Batlló – the first artwork plainly guanidine; World Trade Centre – which locating Rambla de Mar and few others.

Since we were out very early that morning, yeah what else could you do if you slept in the car, we managed to get a free parking spot at Park Güell. Alhamdulillah the metro was quite reliable…it’s a nightmare to explore Barcelona by car for its traffic congestion owing to the town-planner for the ‘hundreds’ of traffic lights all over the place, if my calculation is correct, at every 1km.

While me busy choosing few souvenirs, 2 Malaysian approached us and asked Jimi whether we are Malaysian. They were in great trouble looking for Malaysian Embassy as one of them lost his passport, wallet and air ticket…in short he lost everything! I got the number in my hp (thanks to Maxis for the extra added services by providing Malaysian embassy’s number for each country their customer visited) but unfortunately I could not switch it on as the battery was out. Leenda being sort of the savior of the day although she only handed the embassy personnel’s number in Paris, the most we could do and hopefully they manage to get some help.

Off to Toulouse at about 5 pm…

So long…farewell

Khairil bid us goodbye on 3 Oct and headed back to Malaysia after one and a half years leaving Leenda alone. Hmm I pity them for this separation as it was really none of their plan and they could not do much about it. Life goes on…it is only for another 2 months…sabar ya Leenda.

d missing luggage

Local time was 11.30 a.m. when I reach Toulouse. Jimi was patiently waited for me at Blagnac Airport…the end of our 4 months of separation plus another 18-hour journey.

I guess it was not my lucky day apart from meeting Jimi, the luggage that was supposed to be on the same plane, somehow was missing. I saw more than 10 people faced the same problem. What an efficient system France got after claiming themselves an Airbus hub and one of the best aerospace experts in the world!

I was not really concern about rendang and few other lauk I brought for the next day Aidilfitri, indeed it was because of Irfann & Irhamm’s baju raya that was tuck in the bag. On the same reason for Kak Atin’s box sent by her mother especially for this hari raya. *sigh*

This is the day

Today is 29th Sept, my flight is at 11.55 p.m. and now at 8.15 a.m. am sitting lazily at my so-quiet office, counting every minutes of my time here to be at home (read as to reach Toulouse asap hehehe). I am so really tired, baking cakes all night…and wondering what the h**l am doing here (read as so stupid that I booked the ticket on Monday!!!) while most of my colleagues have started their leave since last week. I can only see few here and most of them are local *sigh*.
Mak and Along were coming down to KL on Saturday to send Along’s bibik for her hari raya holiday for 3 weeks. 2 in 1 trip, also her last minute shopping for baju raya…was so glad that they were here since this is going to be my first raya without them *sob sob*
Got 3 more cakes to be baked (thanks to Nadia for helping me in preparing most of the tedious portion of baking the cakes last night), I’ll immediately do that once I reach home. Am thinking of going back early to settle few things before my long leave…my home is in topsy-turvy, please ignore it at this moment *wink*.

counting the days...part 5

25 Sept
4 more days to go *wink*

24 Sept
People come and people go. Sometimes no matter how much we convince someone to stay, it will never be enough when someone has already made up her/his mind.
I can feel it when I talked to Karen the other day. Yeah I know it is nonethical indeed to ask her to stay in the name of friendship and teamwork. She got a long way to go, her passion towards travelling and photography is something that I cannot force her to live without. After all, life without dreams and passion is EMPTY. I am not encouraging her to go, but I am encouraging her to fulfill her BIG dreams!

counting the days...part 4

23 Sept
Karen sent her resignation letter to me this morning *sigh*
That’s the very last thing I thought would happen to me at this moment…
When the new system demands all the attentions and hard work…
When I am in the midst of getting myself familiar with all the online-marketing, site analytics, website etc that sound alien to me…
When I had confirmed my one-month-leave…
If she reads…I need you very badly (although I sound a bit selfish). It is always better to be the trend setter, rather than continuing what ever that has been set earlier. We have the brush to draw that canvas the way we want it to be…Karen PLEASE!!!

22 Sept
It is Monday! I got stomach ache! I think I got hit by gastric. The first strike since I left school was during buka puasa with my team last Thursday. I still remember the taste of the ‘white medicine’, tasted like chalk. Eiyaks!
I am thinking of to be in the office this afternoon after my visit to Mr. Doctor, then to KLCC for buka puasa cum USM Jazzarians get-together.
Hey, I got Vivien’s Isetan Card…hmmm last week’s incident; I could not enter Isetan as the sale was meant for members. I could not get myself few blouses I aimed for. OK Isetan, here I come again LOL.

20 & 21 Sept
My journey back to Batu Pahat supposedly right before sahur. But sometimes things did not happen as per planned (hehhehe read as malas n ngantuk lg). I had buka puasa with Nofaz, Apek and my dear Shakir last night, had a long chat but always interrupted by cute little Umar, whom happily picked-up whatever he saw to his mouth…and he likes food exactly like my cutie nephew Akmal.

4 things I did over the weekend:
1. Of course the list started with buka & sahur – mak prepared siput masak lemak while ayah panjat pokok kelapa for the fresh coconut juice yummy! We had udang klior (I dunno how to spell it correctly) and the famous air katira on Sunday. Upon observation (ehem2), finally I know how to prepare one.
2. Test-drive new Jazz and Accord – I did not have a chance for SX4 as Suzuki was closed on Sunday *sigh*.
3. Kerahan tenaga (mak paksa) to make kuih tart and cornflakes.
4. Borong kerepek – jimi’s mother likes kerepek so much, so does his wan.

counting the days...part 3

God first, family second, career third...19 Sept
This simple rule has no strong influence in most of our lives. It is in backward manner for most of us, which in most of the cases God normally scores third.
The rule quoted from Mary Kay’s philosophy and the Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you, treasured by all beauty consultants is something that I truly admire.
This is not a forum to share about my journey as one of the beauty consultant, but rather a reminder to all of us about how we have slightly forgotten about our bond, duties to our Great God creator.
We are about to enter the 3rd phase of Ramadhan, so let’s buckle up and start our ibadah engine to gear up for malam lailatul qadar :)

counting the days...part 2

18 Sept
There was an attempt to enter my apartment last night. We realized it the moment Dik Nur open the sliding door before sahur and the grill was wide opened. Thank God that was only an attempt, although there is nothing valuable – we try as much as we can not to hold cash in a big quantity (my justification to opt for an alternative banking channel – Internet Banking and the latest banking gadget (should i call it gadget hehehe) in town, I would say yet-to-be-accepted in Malaysia – Debit Card)
Earlier, my neighbor, next door, lost at about RM1K of the robbery. It might be done by the same person…and few other similar incidents, I assume it involves a big sum of money, not to mention valuable laptops and jewelries.
First thing to do once I reach Bangi is to get SOLEX! Janji!!! (Otherwise my dear hubby turns to be the most irritated nagger I’ve ever seen) :p

counting the days...

17 Sept
Today is supposed to be public holiday for me!!! *Sigh*
How I wish my office in Bangi.
How I wish I never had to come to work
How I wish I had my shop-till-drop activity today
How I wish those in Selangor did not call me just to say ‘Siannya kena keja!’
Ini TIDAK ADIL huh :p

16 Sept
2 more weekends to go before Hari Raya (read as 2 more weekends before off to France!!!) Horayyy… It is very true that absent makes the hearts grow fonder. For the last 14 months of Jimi’s absent, I really understand the real meaning of patient and love. Hah??? Iya :)

15 Sept
I was really upset with the buka puasa arrangement done by our dearest Golok. But since it was quite a long time after our last gathering, I could not let them get-together without me. The most surprising thing was the moment I saw Mala (omg) and Doreen right after the 3rd round of food I excitedly took from the buffet line. Hahaha what an unexpected appearance of my old collagemate. But, swear-to-God statement, I was pretty happy with her being around, bulan mulia, so kena la bermaaf maafan :)
Dedicated to all my old uni frens, SELAMAT HARI RAYA and MAAF ZAHIR BATIN.

it started here

I am not that creative to be neither a story-teller nor constant in updating my stories. But it must start somewhere…so here it is. Checkout my previous so-that-boring-and-not-updated blog here http://wawashukor.blog.friendster.com/
Salam :)