What would one normally do when one is out in a mall walking about, and suddenly one meets someone wearing the exact same shirt / dress? Well, if it is just a plain white shirt, that shouldn't be a problem, but what if it is a shirt / dress with "shouting" and very distinctive prints?
I experienced that last weekend when i was walking in the Mall Of Emirates, going for Friday prayer (yes, i pray in this shopping mall every week! Kesian kan?) and I was wearing my Alexander McQueen t-shirt..with pretty loud prints on!
This is the t-shirt lah! pic taken at Renaissance Dubai during iftar cum Saiful's farewell last Ramadan. Geez... this pic is so ugly (check out my Darth Maul eyes!), i got no other choice!! hehe..
What happened after that? From far, we made eye contact and smiled already. As we got nearer, that white bloke was cool enough to make a joke out of it, he stopped and said "You have one very nice t-shirt there!" and i replied, "You have a great looking one too!!" and we broke into laughter...LOL..
Sigh...
This is a better pic of the shirt, worn by a model...of course i look better than him in that!! :D
I have not posted anything here for the past month...not that i was too busy or anything, I was simply LAZY! And also the fact that there are too many things going on in my mind didn't help much too....
After all the troubles I had to endure, going to the Dubai Airport 3 days in a row, to get a seat back, I must say that i enjoyed the time spent back home. Of course i'd love to stay back longer than I did, but I guess I just have to just be happy that everything went well and I had some fabulous time with family and some friends.
Programs that i arranged in Ramadan in KL had to be scrapped due to my SILLY mistake (I swear to God that this will not happen again!!!). I missed a birthday party of a dear friend, a couple of iftar dates, and coffee sessions....sigh...but hey, there's always another time right? Hehe..do invite me again for your next b'day party, and your other parties as well ok!!! :D
Pic: Hilman and yours truly, at Mok's resting place on the eid morning...tgh baca du'a..
THE JOURNEY....
Ok, i arrived at abt midnight 2 days before eid, and Kak Amy picked me up at the airport (everyone else was already back in KB)...woke up early the next morning to change some money, and I needed a new Baju Melayu this year, I went to PKNS in Shah Alam to find one. Everything was selling super cheap at that time as most ppl had fled town to their kampungs, and i got a pretty decent pair for just RM80 (What a great bargain!! hehehe)...
So at about 3.00 pm we left Shah Alam heading towards KB, and reached home at 11.00 pm, about 8 hours drive...with 1 stop as usual at Moksu Imah's place...pretty ok, as the road was rather clear except for a couple of spots in between. I'm glad that I still can fast another day at home the next day (coz ppl in DXB were already celebrating eid)...sigh, I'll always end up fasting 1 day more than other ppl if the this continues on...same thing happened last year!! No fret, i dont mind fasting another day!! Mummy cooked nasi kerabu!! :D
In the car, on the way back......
HARI RAYA.....
Normal stuff happened on eid, pray at the Blue Mosque, then off to visit Mok's grave, then to my paternal grandfather's place. Ayoh, who is now bed-ridden, he could still recognize me, and i'm glad for that coz ppl are saying that he's a little senile these days....Well, that's about all visiting that i did as the rest of the time was spent at home, having ppl over at home...(Now I strongly think i got Abah's genes when it comes to visiting ppl!! hahaha...unfortunately i didn't get the genes to be punctual that get him to the airport 3 hours before departure everytime!! If I did, i wouldn't hv missed the flight the other day!! think i got the "lere / taghok" genes from Mummy...:D)
For the first time ever, Wan Ahmad + wife + baby came over...year after year of broken promises, finally he came!! hehehee...anyways Comat, now u know my place, you must come every raya ok! :D...and a few other good mates from Faris Petra came also, good to meet them, catching up on things...and some primary school friends as well...
The kids main bunga api....
The sanctuary.....the place i call home...
Group pic....the best spot in the entire house...in front on the TV!! :D
BACK TO KL...
After abt 7 days in KB, having some quality time with my family, I then spent a couple days in KL...I needed to go to the bank to settle some stuff, do some shopping and go to the makan places that are categorized as MUST VISIT places! I spent one whole afternoon walking abt in the Pavillion and KLCC window shopping...I simply love the Pavillion...pretty cool! Checked out the price of some things to compare with prices here in DXB, and i can conclude that some things are cheaper in KL and some cheaper here...so best bet is do a bit of research before buying...hehehe...(shocked to see that a Fred Perry polo-t is sold at RM565 in KL!!!)
Then sat down at starbucks for a couple of hours planning the Turkey/Europe backpacking trip with Syeddo....gee a lot of things to plan, so much abt being go with the flow / spur of the moment backpacking spirit huh? LOL
p/s - I have been to 5 raya open houses in DXB since i got back here...so, i wld like to thank the hosts who invited me over, serving some super delicious spread.....to Seri+Khairul, Abg Zahed+Kak Nora, Afza+Aida, thank you so much...:D
I had a short 2 hours sleep last night...The past 24 hours were really tiring. Started off in the office yesterday with meetings, one after another, then updating budget schedules, entertaining calls and so on.....i hv so many reasons to be angry now in the office..
I've nicely planned my eid leave so long back and submitted it ages ago, then suddenly i was asked to shorten my planned 3 weeks leave to just 1 and a half weeks, because suddenly, yes SUDDENLY i'm directly involved in coordinating the 2009 budget cycle. Waddahell rite?
Not only having meetings with other directorates in the group, i hv to also prepare the budgets for Finance dept, executive offices, and the deadlines are pretty much crappy, around eid time for 1st draft (like we dont know most ppl there are gonna be away at that time!!). And being new to this company, doing budget for smthg u don't really know too well is no easy task, i can't just simply inflate 10% on everything across the board!!
i left the office at abt 6, got in the cab and it was iftar time!! (so iftar korek hidung la!)...got home and had some leftover food from the night before..sad ok! haha...,,quick shower and solat, then i went out again to withdraw and exchange some money to take home to M'sia. (Tips ; I can save a few hundred bucks by exchanging AED to USD here first and later convert USD to MYR in KL)
Then i did some last minute shopping in the MOE, bought some shirts for my nephews and nieces (and for me also lah!)....after all that, i went home and it was like 30 mins past midnite already. Then i realized that i had so much packing to do..geezz....too many things to pack!!!
Fast forward, packing all done, and at the airport waving goodbye to Afza and family who are celebrating eid in Dubai this year, i felt extremely excited!!! (Nak berak pon tak jadi!!) Walked in and straight to the check in counter. Handed over my ticket, and then the shit happened......DRAMA... I felt like crying there, no kidding...hmmm....haha...
So I couldnt board that flight, and the flights for the next 2 days are all full, my name can't even be on the waitlist! Wallah, this is my nightmare....at the time when i really want to go home so badly, given the short break, I just can't believe that this is happening to me...:( WHY ME???? What hv i done wrong? :D
God has some better plans for me perhaps? :D
p/s - Oh yes, the picture above, it's me sporting a short-lived smile at the airport entrance! Sigh....It was taken by Aida from inside her 4x4 (muchas gracias....at that time i was giving funny faces to them, coz i was going back for raya and they are not!!!) LOL....
I didn't get the chance to watch the press conference live, but i managed to catch it on youtube right after...It baffles me a little bit to say the least.....Anwar is indeed an excellent politician, that i must give credit to him! But again, like before, i didn't buy what he was selling....:D
Ok, i want to comment on his responses on questions posed by a press member who sounded like an Indonesian, (I'm not gonna translate this, so for those who don't understand Malay, too bad! haha..). Verbatim from the Q&A session post press conference, here it is:
Q : Jika Perdana Menteri menolak untuk bertemu dgn DS, apa yg akan DS lakukan?
A : Kita harus berikan beliau sedikit tempoh, kerana beliau jugak mempunyai permasalahan yang besar dalam parti beliau sendiri, sedang terdesak dalam partai, jadi kita beri ruang sedikit utk beliau memikir dgn sebaiknya untuk kepentingan nasional dan juga utk menjamin transisi yg aman dan teratur.
Q: Jadi pembentukan kerajaan, pemerintahan baru ini tertunda kerna DS belum bertemu dengan DS Perdana Menteri?
A : Ya tertunda untuk beberapa hari untuk melayani...memberi ruang kepada PM, dan keduanya utk memastikan transisi aman dan teratur.
NOW ppl, listen up.....seriously, do you think he's that type who is kind enough to give Paklah some space to breathe and think (due to his party's internal problems or whatever lah) and for that Anwar is breaking his promise to his millions supporters that something WILL happen on 16th Sept? NO FREAKING WAY!
I'm not saying that he's not capable of getting that number of MPs to switch allegiance, YES he's capable and it's possible definitely, but the reasons given when that takeover didn't happen as promised, to me, didn't hold much water!
Here is the extract of Anwar's press conference, that he read out from a piece of paper, on the much anticipated, hyped up, SACRED date to many M'sians:
"We have received firm commitments from members of parliament in excess of the number required to form a new government, and our government will reflect the diverse make-up of Malaysian society.
It has been our concern to ensure a peaceful transition of power. We do not wish to see a repeat of what transpired in the Selangor and Perak state governments, where following the victory of Pakatan Rakyat on March 8, documents were shredded and removed by the outgoing administration.
We furthermore advise radical elements within BN against the abuse of state power to unlawfully harass and detain our supporters.
The immediate investigation by the ACA (Anti-Corruption Agency) of Yong Teck Lee after the announcement by SAPP (Sabah Progressive Party) of its intention to move a motion of no-confidence against Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is another example of the tactics we reject.
The use of the ISA, as has happened to MP Teresa Kok, would be an unlawful impediment to the transition process"
Well, if he's gotten enuff numbers and absolutely ready, then why the wait? To give time to the current govt to destroy more documents? To get more MPs detained under ISA? You think the current govt is gonna cooperate and give the power to you on a silver platter? NO WAY!! Here's what i have to say.... "Get in there fast and change, PERIOD!!! Then shut your yapping mouth up!"
At the time when a lot of M'sians are discontented and unhappy, he stands up like a martyr, representing supposedly multi-racial front fighting for justice and equality. Mind you, his multi-racial coalition is as fragile as glass, with radically different and extreme ideologies of its members, now united like blinkered horses with one goal that is, to make Anwar prime minister and topple the current government.
That's all for now. That said, I rest my case...back to you Mister Chairperson! :D
p/s - Wan Ahmad, we'll debate abt this further when i see u in M'sia okay!!
On the last day of Sya'aban, last Sunday, the Finance Department had a farewell luncheon at the Grosvenor House. It was Assad's farewell, and the food there was GOOD. One section of Sloane's at Grosvenor was reserved for us (Finance Dept here is rather huge, we have abt 40++ ppl in the Dubai office alone, not including Finance staff in regional offices). I was feasting on unagi, salmon and ebi sushi that day, and I think I was the only one in our group who ate so much of sushi..hahahah (you know the Arabs, their food is always overcooked-meat type, and sushi with raw meat is definitely not their forte!) :D
Food aside, the luncheon was kinda bitter-sweet. I know a lot of ppl in the department had strong bonds with Assad over the years he was there, and the prospect of working closely with a new CFO (A Jewish Austrian btw, bad news to the arabic speaking folks!! haha) seemed not too exciting to look forward to. Tho Assad is a man of a very few words, I personally still think that he's a very nice chap. I remember being interviewed by him at the lobby of a hotel here sometime last year, and he was pretty cool! All the while here, he was quite accomodating with me, so it's sad to see him leave. Well, ppl move on, and I think he's kinda happy to be joining a pretty big name here! Good on you!
That's me with Assad, 2nd from right, and a couple other Finance Managers....
Right, now it's aready the third day in Ramadan, and work life goes on as usual. We only work 6 hours in Ramadan, and since I've been consistently coming in to work at 10.30 in the morning, I leave office now at 4.30 pm. Kinda cool! Workload, tho it's there, but very much manageable (Trust me, it's NOT hard to be hardworking in this environment....hahaha!!)...oh yes, I've also commenced the review job with the CEO's office, so far it has been wonderful. I'm loving it!
p/s - Loving Samson's "Tak Bisa Memiliki" now....amazing track!
Another thing, I wanted to make "popia" yesterday, so i looked up the net for the recipe. printed it out and went to Carrefour to buy the ingredients (Ambitious project ni!! hahaha).. I bought kulit popia, shrimps and carrots, but i couldn't find Sengkuang!! How la....So, the project is shelved for the time being...think i need to go to LULU to find sengkuang..sigh...
Yes, that dude has won....I can see so many ppl smiling now (including Wan Ahmad a.k.a. Comat!!)..hehe.. Good on ya mate! Bigger winning margin, an improvement from the last time when Wan Azizah won, after just a matter of what, 6 months?......despite all adversaries, so it's no small feat!...
Well, all the "sumpah-menyumpah" drama played, (regardless true or otherwise, only God knows who's right, tho I tend to tilt towards believing that it's true!!! God pls forgive me for being judgemental hehe..) seemed all in vain...He has too many hardcore fans/admirers (More than Avril Lavigne!!! that's for sure....) `sigh`
I dont blame these hardcore ppl, i completely understand them...the current administration, (do i need to mention names here?), the sleeping commander and the gang, indeed played a major part in this. It's so sickening to hear/see the "tak apa" attitude of the daftest premier on earth!!! (Oklah, i'm kind today, so I give him second place after Mugabe!)...."Orang tak suka saya ke? Tak apa lah!" - IDIOT! Not only that, the other day i was discussing with Syeddo and we commented the fact that he looked SICK, i mean literally sick...he's so not fit, with bulging belly (his suit's buttons looked like they're gonna busrt anytime LOL) and his tired walk! I pity him seriously....
Back to Anwar's supporters. In the end, all these factors combined (also the entire make up of current govt lah) have succeeded in converting those ppl into hardcore, anwar-is-always-right thinking ppl, idolizing a demigod by the name of Anwar, who is almost incapable of making any sins.....no slightest potential even! hehe....
Congratulations Anwar Ibrahim (and his diehard fans too)...and good luck to you. We'll see whether you'll become PM by 16th September as widely claimed or not. As far as I know, I'm not holding my breath. I know a lot of ppl are....and again, i do understand them completely. Barack Obama says, it's "the audacity of hope"...and indeed, you've given them some hope!
Don't think I share the same hope...
Enough lah!
p/s - Saw the Saudi guy from "Tash Ma Tash" played with a pet dog on TV just now! Never knew that the saudis are that tolerant...Hmmm
Was wandering at the mall last night, and I saw this! I fell in love...but my lucid mind at that time didn't allow me to take it home, thank God for that. I'm still in love. Went back home and I did an online search on it. Sigh..how I wish my salary is 100% more than what i'm currently getting!!!
It's allright, I'll allocate some money every month for it, one day in a few months time, i will take it home.....:D....FEW months? No...not that soon lah....next year maybe, if this is still HOT!!
From left: Kirawan, Joey, and Linda...Sally took this pic! This is taken at the Emirates Palace Hotel, AD, where we had coffee after lunch....a glass of cofffee costs Dhs40...crazy!!!!!But the interior of this hotel is simply amazing....
I took a bold step on Friday, going to Abu Dhabi, with the ppl that I had never met before, testing my social skills with fellow Msians here. It was GREAT! I had so much fun...no kidding!
It all started by some email exchanges on the yahoogroup saying that there'll be a "makan2 trip" to AD on Friday, and being so bored here, and I had been wanting to go to AD for a loooooong time, I replied to them saying that I wanted to go. All then is history as I got to know amazing ppl like Kirawan, whose car I tumpang, and a couple of Kakaks (Sally and Linda), who were a couple of amazing sports!
This is Sally, posing with Picasso, at the Picasso AD exhibition..she's a designer working on the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah project....and she wore LV scarf!
The trip started in the morning when all 4 of us met at the Mall of the Emirates. I bought a dozen of Crispy Creme donuts for b'fast and off we went to AD. First stop was the newly completed, gigantic, and elaborately decorated Sheikh Zayed Mosque. It's so beautiful and I was speechless! We stopped for Friday prayer there, it was an amazing experience....before the prayer and khutbah started, incense (bakhoor) was burned at the mihrab area....very nice..
The Masjid from the outside..not the very best angle.. :D...sorry...
Carved marble interior - at the entrance
Chandeliar - there were a few...low quality pics, taken with my phone camera...
Hhehehe....me...in the prayer hall...have to put one lah....:D
So after prayer, we went straight to the restaurant where we were meeting the group of m'sians...it was at a seafood Mandy Rice restaurant near the AD Corniche.....and the place was FULL!!! I've never seen so many msians in one place for ages...hahahha...Food was so-so lah, I don't quite like Mandy...but the experience, eating on the floor, so "kenduri" like...nice......
This is how it looked like in that floor seating area of the restaurant! Like a can of sardines...(Oh, i stole this pic and the one below from Imran's picasaweb)
Digging in.....while chatting with Abg Zainal on my right....
After the very heavy lunch we then went to catch the Picasso AD exhibition at the Emirates Palace hotel...this is my second Picasso exhibition after the one that I went at the Madrid Museum a few years back....just that this time, IT'S FREE!! So if you guys are nearby, or plan to visit AD, do go to this exhibition...ok
Goofing around....
We then had a round of coffee, with a beautiful lady playing a huge harp in the background...the Emirates Palace Hotel is so luxurious, and expensive, that i must say...sigh...just not right for my budget..sigh....after that we went to Marina Mall for another round of coffee at the Havana Cafe...that's all, we chatted away, exchanged cards/numbers, took some pics, and then head back to our pigeon holes, 2-hour drive away after that.....
p/s - I'm now counting days to go back to M'sia....somehow lately, i feel that i'm missing home a bit more than usual, and i don't know why....it's abt 5 weeks away now...sigh...I'm HOMESICK!!! :(
The new and modern Imam Khomeini Airport, Tehran. It's actually very similar to KLIA, sikit2...but the WCs there, hmmm pretty sad....:D
Tehran - Day 1
We (my office mate, Saif and I), landed at the Imam Khomeini Airport at about 2.00 pm, and I was pleasantly surprised by the look of the new airport. My first impression on this country was good, i must say, as i had expected that Iran is somewhat not that developed. Passport control was fast and efficient for me as M'sians don't need visa to enter Iran (which is good!) and my backpack came out on the carousel pretty fast (That was the only flight coming in at that time, now u know how quiet and empty this airport is!)
Street signs in Tehran. This is near the US Embassy area...
Now, we planned to fly straight to Esfahan that afternoon, and for that we needed to go to the other airport (Mehrabad Airport), which handles domestic flights. We didn't have the tickets prior to the travel coz couldn't buy Iran Air tickets online. Unfortunately, when we got to Tehran, all flights were full, except for the first flight out the next day at 5.30 am. (It was public holiday there, hence long weekend for ppl to travel!) Left with no option, grabbed the 1-way ticket, knowing that it's gonna be a gamble as flights coming back to Tehran for the weekend were also full. (We had inter-city train in mind! True backpacking spirit....hahahah :D)
Empty road in North Tehran, as it was public holiday there....
After a big fight with the taxi driver abt the fare, we checked into a hotel near the Khomeini Square, a place just comfortable enough to change and sleep. Daytime was longer in the summer (Maghrib was at abt 8.30 pm), and that's a good thing as we had more time to see Tehran on that day. Off we went roaming around Tehran, taking the Metro line, which is very efficient and convenient.
Iran Travel Tip No 1: Make sure u carefully agree with the taxi driver prior to getting into the taxi. Taxis here don't hv meters, so go figure. Check with locals or travel blogs on the reasonable fares for the distance u wanna take and negotiate accordingly.
The underground metro line....at the Teleghani Station...
The Mirdamad line...1 of 4 lines, i think....
Tehran is actually a huge city of abt 12 million ppl, and on my way to Tehran from the Khomeini Airport (this airport is like abt 45km south of Tehran), I could see the city I was heading, with the Alborz mountains as backdrop. English is not really widely spoken here, and we had some trouble communicating. Ppl are really friendly (tho i think ppl in Esfahan are super duper friendly) and on various occasions, with very limited words, ppl still go out of their ways to help giving directions etc.
"We will make America face severe defeat"
"The United States is too weak to do anything - Imam Khomeini"
The pics above are the graffiti at the walls surrounding the former US Embassy in Tehran...there are many more, but I only pasted those 2 here...wanna see more, you hv to go there yourself! :D... their strained relationship with the US is very visible, and most ppl that i spoke to had high regard abt Malaysia, and Mahathir Mohd!
Iran Travel Tip No 2: Be careful when ppl quote you the price for anything, and make sure u ask whether it's in Toman or Rial. (1 Toman = 10 Rials)....u may get really confused, like I did in the beginning....LOL! And tho the US Dollar is widely accepted, u're better off converting the Dollars to Rials at proper bank...the rates used by the shops are as expected, very low!
At the former US Embassy in Tehran...now closed! (Dang, this t-shirt makes me look 10kg heavier!! :D ) i think i'll have to donate this tshirt to the salvation army..hmm....:D
Something that might have been overlooked by the moral police in Iran....hehehe....
Now, who says Iranians are conservative Shia Muslims? :D I beg to differ.....They are really fashionable ppl, both men and women. With their persian looks, they do dress up a lot, as I could see a lot of D&G, Versace et al print t-shirts on the guys (tho I think most of them are fakes! :D) and the ladies don't wear the normal black, draggy, sweeping the floor abayas like in the GCC. They are quite adventurous with colours and, tho they put on the headscarves, the fringes were out showing their dyed, highlighted hair. Cool... (Muta'ah anyone? LOL)
Fashionable Iranian gals...what do you think? :D
At Tehran's Imam Khomeini Square (everything seems to be named after him here in Tehran!)
Seriously, do I look like a Japanese tourist? Saif kot...hahahaha...the only Japanese I had was the "selipar jepon" that i was wearing...:D
That day, we just had Tehran's steet food for dinner (some kebabs and grilled meat) and head back to the hotel to get some sleep. Taxi was arranged for the next morning at 4.00 am to go to Mehrabad Airport, and we had to probably wake up at 3.30 am. Esfahan is next.......
One of my sisters was in town yesterday on a business trip, and as usual her schedule was pretty tight. Arrived here from Sudan past midnight on Wednesday, and she had some meetings the next morning (while I was at work), so we only had the chance to meet in the evening for dinner.
So, last night, I got the chance to reconnect with the going-ons back home, latest developments on topics ranging from Hari Raya plans to family issues, and of course Malaysian politics (We had a good laugh at our Prime Minister, on how unashamedly dense he is!). We chatted over dinner, where I had grilled salmon, and she had pepperoni pizza, and we shared some Iranian eggplant appetizer.
I was saddened at the developments on some family issues, pretty sad to hear how unpleasant some things are at the moment, but as usual, my stance on this is always neutral. I'd rather keep myself out of the entanglement, rather than be part of it. (Simply not my battle quite honestly)
I know that sometimes ppl tend to get emotional, but venting out your emotions at the expense of some family ties will not help much. (Probably not our culture to be undiplomatic!) We shared a lot of past together, in many ways, lest we forget that. It's natural to take sides, whichever side we chose to believe, but there are limits to everything.
Ok, whatever happened between my mom and my aunt, those are not my issues, as far as I'm concerned. Its just between the 2 of them, and regardless of what's going on, I still have high regard towards them, just the same way as it has always been.
My cousin, whom I regarded as my only little sister (I'm the youngest in my nucleus, and she's the only person in the world who calls me "Abang" growing up, and she's the only person I call "Adik") got engaged some months back. Some months back, yes, that's all I can say because I don’t know the exact time. I was neither informed, nor invited. I hear that she's getting married soon, I wish her all the best wishes in the world!
On a happier note, I got my imported ration : Maggi instant noodles from Malaysia!! Yay!! I know I can get Maggi here as well, but the taste is just not the same!! Hahahhaha….. Thanks so much for the noodles…hehee…
p/s – just downloaded my Tehran / Esfahan pics to my laptop. Will post some tonight or tomorrow here!
My sister and her kids will come for a couple of days on Sunday, on her way back to KL...can't wait for that too!
On Sunday, 2 days ago, the RG's had some sort of a small reunion dinner, which I unfortunately missed! Look at their faces above, all high flyers and are very successful both in their professional and personal fronts. Well, i missed the catching-up, reminiscing old stories and gossiping (more like "kutuk"ing, hehe) session!!! Well that's too bad! hahahahahahahaa....
About half of the group were there (slightly less actually!)...my mates are crazily brilliant, freaking smart bunch (except for me! L ) and now all over the world working for some major organizations. Out of the 24, 6 are now married. Out of that 6, 4 are with a kid each…(that's my latest stats, correct me if I'm wrong ok!!)….and Ikmal is a WIP now (Congrats MAL!!!!!!) Out of the total of 6 girls, only 1 is married!! How la girls? Hahaaahaa….c'mon!
How time flies so fast...it has been 11 years now (Amy counted for me from NZ okay! Haha..) I hope we can one day meet the whole group for a FULL reunion, which at this point, I think, is not gonna happen!! (U think it's easy to get all these ppl together??) hahahahaa....we shall try guys! OK......
OK, i will stop here.....for now...pick one from the list below...you know which group u belong to okay.....hahahahahahaa...
Hebat hebat....Hang Jebat!!
Spirit spirit.....Spiritos Zantos!
Hex hex.....HEXCULES!!
Hip hop horrayy hey hoo hey hoo... (This one paling entah apa2!)
P/s - talk of the night : Syeddo's pink shirt!! LOL
Quite honestly, I'm missing the environment working in audit firm / consulting HEAPS! No kidding! I'm not quite sure whether this move i've made, jumping into this new world (uncharted waters? whatever la...) is going to be good for me, but i'm definitely soldiering on...for now at least.
Ok, it has been exactly 6 months now here at this new place and i've got quite a long list of complaints, and some i have communicated to my boss (hehehe...forever whiner? u bet!). I guess i am not used to having a light workload and slow-paced work environment and this, in the beginning, frustrates me a bit. It was so bad for me to the extent that i needed to sit down with my boss and talk abt it. Over the last few months, my responsibilities and work have piled up, thanks to my persistent requests for more tasks. I'm enjoying every bit of it!! LOL (OK, call me POYO / JUE, I really don't care!!!)
Last week, I discussed with the Finance Director abt taking up another responsibility which is not really related to Finance Department, and to my surprise, on Thursday he came to my room and told me that he had spoken to the CEO abt it and i, soon, might be adding another thing on my almost full plate! Kinda cool!!!! :D (I really hope i can cope and do it really well!)
Sneak peek into my messy workstation...
(Messy desk there...and thats the tv where i get to watch CNN for most part of the day. And Formula 1 race on Sundays!!
Moving on....i'm gonna be putting some pics of some stuff that i bought...Syeddo, these are the stuff. Now u tell me which one u want...the rest tu aku punya la...and this is going to be a show-off session too..LOL
Nak bagi ko jealous sket!!! hahahahaaaaa...
The shirts..sorry la tak pandai ambik gamba....
Close up sket...Burberry checks polo-T....
Brown leather Gucci belt...
Signature BV long wallet....that matches my messenger bag....
Spanking new shoes...
p/s - Now i'm kinda excited thinking abt the travels that i've planned for this year...the confirmed ones....Tehran/Esfahan next week, Malaysia in Sept/Oct (selamat hari raya!!), and backpacking in Turkey trip in Nov!!!! And in the pipeline is the USA/Canada trip with my Bahraini mates in December enshaalla.....
My eyes are still wide open now, at 4.20 am on a work morning....God help me, lesson to be learnt today, to not drink coffee at night, when the next morning u're required to be very much alert in the office.
I had a dose of iced latte (with no sugar, of course!) at Whittard of Chelsea (yeah i had coffee tho this place is famous for its tea selections) after tagging along with Afza in his conquest to get himself a pair of shoes to match his BV belt (thank god, after days of searching, he's found that shoes there at Hugo Boss!!). The iced latte, and a warm blueberry muffin on the side, at abt 10.30 pm is just NOT right guys!!!
Ok i better count the sheeps again now!
p/s - Thanks Khairul and Seri for the lovely mee rebus. Sorry i couldnt make it today to the house warming party. I really tried. But unfortunately, somebody didn't pickup the phone....LOL.
Today is the first time I downloaded the pictures from my new mobile phone, tho "new" is not the right word to use anymore as far as the Prada phone is concerned. The phone was bought looong time back in London, but due to certain problems (e.g. my sister's last minute packing, causing her to hv some memory lapses..hehehe) i only got hold of the phone to use here like abt 3 months ago....(hmmm...not sure whether i've thanked her for the phone..LOL)
I dont normally use the phone's camera option ( I hv another camera,which i also rarely use these days, as my passion for photography is seriously in need to be resuscitated using CPR!! :D ).....My DSLR at home is obviously collecting dust and my flickr page has been left unattended for donkey years by now!
I hv one secret that i am abt to reveal now! brace yourselves guys...hahhaaa...I take pictures of myself in the loo!!! how's that? how sick is that ey? not really, u see, when u are sitting on the bowl, waiting to pass whatever to be passed, what better way to kill time than cheking ur messages in the phone and taking some pictures! LOL
A sample out of many pics taken... this is my crazy look! LOL
Ok,i hv loads more taken on various occassions, but i don't want to cause some ppl to vomit blood after seeing the pics....enough of seeing me making fool out of myself! :D...let's go back eating donuts guys, pretzels don't look delicious anymore!!! hehehee...
Another story, I am filing a lawsuit against The House of GUCCI... yes Gucci for causing me harm! here's why...I got myself a pair of thongs some 2 months ago (ok, easy easy..not that thong with thin strip of fabric in between the buns okay!! and not the one used in the kitchen to fry keropok either!!)..ok, i bought a pair of slippers...selipar jamban!
Last weekend I did some walking exercise, window shopping in the malls here...From Wafi and then Burjuman right after that, and those stupid slippers are definitely not the right tools for long walks! my beautiful feet are now with blisters! (pedicured ke? taklah..! clip sendiri saja..pedicure jugak la tuh...)
So back to the lawsuit thingy? 1 million Euros ok tak? LOL... sigh....
p/s - Want to wish my sister, a happy birthday! She celebrated in Morocco this year with her family...(haha....morocco is not maghribi eh? LOL!!)
p/s 2 - last night i was craving for lays potato chips....a very bad craving! I had been refraining myself from the junk for months, but last night i was defeated...hmmm... I walked down to the grocery shop a couple of bulidings away and grabbed one bag of chips...it was good! now i need to go to the gym to burn off the extra calories! :(
Footnote - another allegation emerged yesterday that the so called prime minister in waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, committed sodomy!! again and again!! LOL.... i can only laugh...it's so happening back in M'sia now! Even tabloids like the News of The World and National Enquirer can't top all the stories making headlines in malaysian papers now!
Anwar budak koleq, ada potential lah!! I wonder budak tu koleq gak ke tak..hahaha.. Thrasher, kalao ko jumpa dia tepi jalan, ko rasa nak amek gamba tak? :D
Hahaha....I don't know whether I should be proud or otherwise but today, my hometown is getting world-wide attention... Browse cnn.com, and you'll know why! hehe...
As for now, the write-up is ranked no. 2 on CNN's most popular / most viewed articles section... here's an excerpt of the article...
Malaysian city bans lipstick for Muslim women
Muslim women in Kota Baru forbidden to wear bright lipstick, noisy high-heels
Authorities say directive is intended to prevent sexual assaults and "illicit sex"
Anyone not following the regulations can be fined up to 500 ringgit ($153)
Oklah, ppl say all publicity is good, regardless (be it positive or negative!), at least now my hometown is famous!! LOL.. Well, i'm fine if the ruling is backed by some sort of fatwa, daleel or anything, but reading the stated intentions behind this, makes me want to laugh so hard!! :D (illicit sex?? C'mon!!!!!)
One thing, CNN got the spelling wrong...it's KOTA BHARU and not KOTA BARU...it says it had quoted BERNAMA for the article, I can only hope BERNAMA did not make the same mistake!
One more, the picture attached, looked like "rombongan cik kiah" to KLCC park....and not taken somewhere in Kelantan. They should hv taken pics of Malay women at Pasar Siti Khadijah, with their bright lipstick on! :D
Now I need to call my mom, am sure she has got something to say abt this new ruling...hehe...
p/s - Listening to APOLOGIZE by Timbaland & One Republic..
Footnote - Amirsham Aziz : "Malaysia's poverty rate will increase from 3.7 per cent to 24.3 per cent if the poverty line is raised from the current RM800 to RM1,500 per household" .
Does this mean tt abt a quarter or M'sian population is living with household income less than RM 1.5k? Shocking, no? Hmmm.....
(Can u spot Afza?? sitting 3rd row from the front...semangat!! LOL...and that Uncle sitting on the chair, 2nd from left with long beard, was so into the talk, that he actually nodded at every sentence said!! :D )
Last Thursday, while at work, I got a call from my mate, telling me that Malaysia's former deputy PM, currently defacto opposition leader was in town. A brother here had organised some sort of gathering, with him as the guest, and invited fellow Malaysians over.
The turnout was pretty impressive, some say around 200 ppl were there. The villa was packed! Being the anti-social bugger that I am, I hardly spoke to anyone except for Afza (of course!), Ajim (my sister's friend in Melbourne) and another Malaysian whose name was Zainal, who happened to stand next to me at the dinner table. My social skills aside (too trivial to be discussed! Haha), I want to write abt what transpired during the session….
The talk kicked off with speeches by Khalid Ibrahim (Former honcho of a malaysian conglomerate turned politician) currently the Chief Minister of Selangor and Hussam Musa (A Kelantanese PAS politician). So, needless to say, many of the ppl there were like opposition supporters….except for some including me! (I'm always balancing myself on the fence :D )
The event turned out OK I must say. Whatever things said that night, we all have heard/read before….so, nothing new (I expected some explosive revelation and statements!! LOL). So it was like bloody old things being said, just that it's live in front of you. September 2008, change of govt., Anwar will become PM, MPs changing allegiance, oil price increase yada yada yada…
( that's me there, acting like I was paying attention!! LOL.. this was taken at the beginning of the session when the hall was still rather empty...all pictures, including the one above are stolen from a m'sian brother's picasa page, Nik...:D )
The Q&A session after that, I think, wasn't used to its full potential of getting out some fresh, pertinent information, or rather questions that are worthy to be posed to and answered by the "purportedly" PM in waiting & some big state leaders! (Given the limited time, hence limited questions allowed!)
Imagine this guys….. there were questions like "masalah remaja, dan ramai muda-mudi yang mengundi PAS/PKR tapi tidak ke masjid", and "di manakah Datuk Awang Adek sekarang?" ?? (Soalan untuk tok penghulu kampong la I think!) Who cares where Awang Adek is at the moment? I know I don’t.
I was expecting questions like, should you actually become the PM in the near future as claimed, what are your immediate, medium and long term action plans, regarding the country's macroeconomic management? How are those gonna be different from the current economic and governance policies and structures? How do you see our economy, currently spiraling down the wrong direction, be reversed and the timeline for the turnaround? Is PKR's recent election manifesto still relevant and going to be implemented to bits? How abt the radical ideology differences among Pakatan's component parties, what's your plan in ensuring that there will be no split in the coalition?
Also, in his speech, DSAI mentioned abt the smoking HOT issue regarding MP's jumping boat, or as he termed it "hijrah". He said those MPs are crossing over on morale grounds, as they can no longer tolerate the corruption and other malpractices. I find it rather hard to believe that as the sole reason behind it. A journalist would potentially pose questions like: What else in it for the MPs to lompat? Is it true that you're offering them a substantial amt of money and promising them positions? What do you think abt the integrity and values of these ppl who actually stood firm and contested with BN ticket just 3 months ago? Do you think it's fair for the voters who voted for these ppl if their MPs decided to lompat?
Enough lah.....i can talk abt this for days!! hmmm...
p/s - I don't know abt you guys, but I don't think I want Anwar Ibrahim to be the next PM. Well at least, not this way (Negotiating MP's to crossover, some ppl say this is the backway to Putrajaya!)....I don't want him to be the PM as much as i want Abdullah Badawi to step down!
Confession 1 - most part of this posting is somthing that i had written and sent to a group of ppl earlier regarding my view of the night...so stale stuff for some! :D
Confession 2 - I sacrificed going to a preview sale trip that night, going to this talk! Oklah, i went there the next day...no biggie...here's the big deal : I was pissed right after that when i saw my Prada shoes were stomped by some uncivilized ppl! sigh....
I knew since a couple of days ago that I'm gonna get some sort of problems with my health...I dont normally get fever that often, very rarely in fact, and Alhamdulilla for that. The moment i woke up with sore throat on saturday morning, i was almost certain that the fever bug is on its way.
So, here I am today, at home at 2.00 pm, coughing my dry cough, typing my journal. This is the first time in years that I am taking sick leave....believe it or not? LOL....Sheer dedication there! I remember in KPMG, my sick leave record is NIL, coz even when I'm not well, I still go to work...
Okay, i woke up this morning having a little bit of a temp and decided not to go to work. Took a couple of panadols and walla, I'm now feeling good as ever....in fact, i just got back from the gym doing cardio exercise for abt an hour!
Ppl say shopping is somewhat a therapy psychologically. And i did a fair bit of shopping for the past couple of days, to the extent that my shopping budget for month has gone bust. Now i wonder whether that causes my illness! LOL
Seriously need to stop the spree! Harvey Nic's, whoever u are, u are driving me insane.....
p/s - Just finished watching Australia's Biggest Loser. Yes, all the bloody 51 episodes!! Happy that Adro won. Kinda nice to rekindle the memories during OZ days and of course with the OZ accent as well. Yeah mate, oz oz oz, oi oi oi!! Ta..
Here are the damages last night, on my way back from work...I'm blaming Harvey Nic's for this.....causing me to buy something that I dont need!
Among the things I took home : 1 black t-shirt and 1 green polo tee..both from Juicy Couture...
Syeddo ke sesapa ke, nak tak? those are going for 25% less than original price now. Kalao ko nak aku bole tolong belikan....:D..cool la, rasa macam rock star la!!....i think Burberry nyer sale start this Thursday, I'll check out the tie that u wanted later....nak shirts skali tak?....
Yesterday, the Malaysian prime minister, currently very unpopular among the Malaysians in general, made an announcement. It was a rather shocking announcement to all Malaysians, tho some say they saw that coming. Petrol price has gone up by more than 40%!!!!! (and diesel up by more than 60%!!!!)
So people are now expecting that the prices of goods are going to sharply shoot up, accross the board, following this massive increase. I had an online chat just now with my old school-mate, and she said that the price of flour now is RM2.80 per kilo from the old price of RM1.70. (Tak leh masak cucuq kodok lagi la lepas ni!! :D) Haha..
Well to some well-to-do folks, including the powers up there, this is nothing to them. But to most average income-earners, and many others who were only barely meeting their ends, month by month, this is a punch on their faces. 40% increase is not something that all ppl can cope!
I hate it when the powers are asking many malaysians to change their lifestyles, to cope, when we do know that they are living their lives very extravagantly, and give no shit abt changing at all!
Hey, it's nice for ordinary malaysians to hear that sometimes, Abdullah announces some cutbacks on govt spending somewhere, that affects them as well.
And please, please stop saying that our price is still among the lowest in the region/world! and stop comparing our price with Singapore's price, for God's sakes!! Try take Brunei and other countries in the middle east for once, BOLEH?
Hmmm...
Pah Lah, mark my words...anger will only lead to hate! And trust me a lot of ppl are now very angry.....I'm checking my calendar, counting days for your time in power to be over!
p/s - I plan to go watch Narnia : Prince Caspian tomorrow, anyone dah tengok wanna give me some sort of review?? LOL.....and then lepaks at Art Cafe' or Starbucks at Borders! Gonna continue reading Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth....It's an amazing book, i like!!!!..It kinda reminds me of the Da Vinci Code, coz the story is somewhat abt churches / cathederals and the history behind it.....
p/s 2 - Just watched Riz Khan interviewing Outlandish on Aljazeera! I remember I was crazy about their song "Aicha" after I first heard it in Bahrain sometime last year ( check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu077-j95k8 )....nice song!! and try this one too, their collaboration with Sami Yusuf ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toO6BfISFZo )...lagu sedih! Outlandish is a trio hip-hop group with 2 members being muslim (Isam & Waqas) and Lenny, a Catholic Christian, kinda interesting!...They are pretty good, trust me! Riz Khan's fav is "Look into My Eyes"...
Was importing and sorting some old pictures in my iPhoto just now, and saw these pics when having breakfast at "le pain quotedien" a couple of months ago....This place is a bakery chain, that serves only organic food....anything from bread, pastries, jams, grains, to sun dried tomatoes...well, if you ask me abt the taste, hmmm....i don't think the food served was super tasty....more like ordinary to me, but when u walk in expecting to chow down organic food, supposedly good for you, you don't think abt the taste as much...i think....:D
Ali looking on with his organic iced tea....LOL
So, here we are, one morning at this place. Mohammed was rather fascinated with the decoration as the shelves and walls were stacked with diffrent types of bread, big and small, nicely done. He even mentioned that since this chain is yet to be brought into Bahrain, was thinking to take up the franchise...hehe...but I think Jawad Group had already planned to open one in BFH, I think I saw that plan when I did one job at the Bahrain Financial Harbour sometime back....maybe something else ey Mohd? Ski Bahrain perhaps?
Mohd holding his breath...LOL
I don't have Hussain's pic here, tho he was actually sitting next to me....he was actually not talking to anyone of us that morning! LOL...Gul la Sein...Okay, enough of organic food...i need some processed, genetically engineered food now....
Sleepy...I don't want organic coffee!
P/S - Listening to Hey There Delilah....now this is officially Syeddo's song! Wei syeddo, even the lyrics pon bole la ko relate sket2....:D
College days, about 10 years ago (Yes, yes 10 years ago and I know I'm old now!!) we the Renong scholars would always sort of form out own boy band and sing to anything boybandish at that time....anything from BSB, N'Sync (Dan's fav), A1, 911 (Syeddo's fav), list goes on and on....but the all time fav was BSB Millennium album's - I want it that way...
Singing and the RG's went back to the very early days. The moment we got into the program after SPM, we had months of singing training, for the group choir to prepare ourselves for the award ceremony performance. We had a music teacher, Ms Judy, for the training sessions, which, I to be honest, didn't quite like. The singing training was really a burden back then as we had to do it at night aftter we attended classes during the day, and sometimes it would drag on to early morning! And sometimes, to add to the torture, some seniors, like Fazley, came over, supposedly to help out, giving shitty advice (okay2, i know Ikmal likes his technique - Sha la la la.....and the vibrato....er er er er..:D)
Okay, from there on, we are all passionate about singing! But that doesnt mean that we are good at it! hahahaa.....I know I really suck at singing, but heck, I just sing! everytime we get together, every chance we have, singing is always on....at Outward Bound School, in the bus, in Penang, of course at karaoke joints and whenever in the car together!!
Back to BSB, we used to sing that song alot back then, and each will have a part in the song..all of them: Brian, Nick, AJ, Howie and Kevin...and even the smallest "ek en ne" and all the adlibs also! LOL...."you are.....my fire"....."don't wanna hear you say..."...ek en ne"....
(Ok, clockwise from left: Afza in white DKNY, Ikmal in Timberland, and me in Adidas Y-3 Yohji Yamamoto. Just to add, Ikmal just bought a pair of very nice brown leather LV sneakers earlier that day...power seyyy!!)
Relevance to this pic? Ikmal and wife, Dina were here for a few days and on one of the nights that we went out for dinner, all of us were wearing white shoes which reminded us of the BSB all white video clip!! Lame kan? LOL. But we just had to take this pic for old time's sakes! haha..
This is a pic of us together at the airport, sending Ikmal and dina off back to Brunei. I hope you guys had fun here, and you guys MUST come again! Sorry we didn't get to do a few things planned earlier, other than shopping, which I think Afza & Aida did a tremendously good job.
Gosh, looking back, i feel OLD! I can't believe it has been close to 12 years since we first met at REC!
A note to syeddo, you must come soon with a pair of white shoes too! :D
(Pic above from left: Joey, Ikmal, Dina, Aida, Alya and Afza)
Here are some more pics......copied from Dina's FB! :D
Dinner at Burjuman's Japengo
Lepak at Afza's posh condo.....
Ikmal and Dina.....
P/s - Now listening to Chris Brown's With you. The night Ikmal spent the night at my place, we played this song over and over again in the wee hours, and singing to it! Cool.... I know a lot of the RG's are still traumatised right up till today, hearing the songs, I Believe I Can Fly....Apa Saja, and The Power of The Dream!!!! :D
Ikmal and Dina.....