Red Scoot On The Move

Got Nothing To Worry & I'm Worried !

2011-10-12T08:00:00.002+08:00

I woke up from sleep the other morning with a complete empty & blank mind, which somehow or rather confused me. Here's the thing....everybody worries on one level or another. Being a working mother & a single parent at the same time, I have more things cluttering my mind every now & then. It could be just an unwashed laundry or unpaid bills but there's always something up there to occupy my mind.

So when I woke up that morning with nothing to worry about, it worries me. Hah ! How ungrateful I am, isnt it? For a few seconds I sat on my bed thinking very hard, what should I be worried about for that day. There must be something, I thought......how can it not be a single thing in my head right now? Am I having an insomnia here or God had suddenly decided to be kind to me.....

I am not saying I'm a worry wart here. Though I worried that much, I am still in full control of it. Much of the time I worry because of the little control I had over a possible outcome. Worrying that my preferred outcome wouldnt come about.

But then, funny enough I could actually worrying over nothing. Have you ever experience this where you'll be having this unpleasant feeling in you & your heart will be thumping a 'lil bit faster than normal but you dont even know what the shit you are worrying about? Boy, I hate it when that happen !

Anyway, worry no more. By end of the day, I have at least 3 things to worry about.

At least I know I am still normal !

My Downloading Addiction

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000+08:00

It all started a couple of years ago when I was first introduced to Lime Wire. At that time, I only knew how to download songs and it'll only be 3 to 4 songs a week. Then , came a better and superior software called Ares who could do more than just downloading songs. I was thrilled for now I could download more stuff from the net.

After some time using Ares I got bored. I just cant tolerate the slowness of it. 1 movie took a few days to be completed and that's if I'm lucky. Otherwise, I would have to wait for weeks to finish one miserable movie.

I then got lucky as I discovered Torrent. Torrent is simply magic. It's fast & furious just like my hero, Van Diesel (except for that sexy voice of his, of course). With Torrent, not only songs & movies, software and documents are also downloadable. Now that's what we called awesome !!!

With the existence of Torrents, all hell breaks loose. I started with 1 - 2 movies in a week. Then the numbers increase rapidly to 3 - 4 movies a week. Now that I'm using Wi-fi, it gets much better where 7 - 10 movies a day is like a flick of a finger. Kacang putih !

New movies will take some time before they are available in the DvDrip version. In between waiting & downloading all these new movies, I'll browse from the net for the list of the top movies all the way from the 70s up till the 90s. Since I've been downloading for a few years already, the number of movies to download are getting lesser. I used to check the movie's rating before downloading it where I only go for the good rating ones only. Now that the choices have becoming limited, I dont bother checking already. Well, beggars cant be choosers, isnt it?

To date, I have at least 500 movies in my collection. I have two external HDD to store my collections of which one is already full and the other is three quarter full ~ sigh~ But that wont stop me from downloading....no I wont... I'd buy the 3rd HDD if I have to !

All those movies I've downloaded,I dont even know when I'm gonna watch it....no, no...let me rephrase that. I dont even know whether I'm gonna watch it. I am never a fan of a TV, let alone spending 1 - 2 hours in front of it watching movies. Honestly, I dont really have the intention to watch them all.

Last month I bought an Ipad and it seems that my addiction has gone up to another level. From the day I bought my Ipad, I have already download more than 50 apps in my Ipad. Like the movies, I dont actually used those apps I've downloaded.

The thing is, I just love to download. People might call me a chronic downloader but the name doesnt matter me at all coz I am that. I must admit that downloading makes me feel good......no, it makes me feel really good. It's like a stream of happiness that flows into my system that makes my eyes sparkled and my heart bloomed.

I supposed I could have a problem, but I dont think it is so wrong. I mean, the facilities are there to be utilised, dont just look at it.....used it ! I dont think I would be true to myself if I didnt download ....oh sweet downloading. I crave downloading, I need to do it, and if I dont get to do it, I will......okay, you got me ! I do have a problem. What's that? I forgot to say what? Owh, right.... Hi, my name is Intan and I am a chronic downloader ( This is the part where you say, "Hi Intan...." - all in a monotone voice ).

I know I am not the only one who is suffering from this addiction. And I also know that there will come a time where I'll be running out of movies to download. But before that day arrives, let me savour every seconds of it.

Nasi Vanggey a.k.a. Nasi Ganja

2011-10-10T08:00:00.001+08:00

I did sumthing crazy yesterday ( tell me sumthing new! ). It's the same craziness I did a couple of years ago when I actually went al the way to Taiping just for for a bowl of mee udang. There's no compromise when it comes to good food - at least that's how I felt.

Anyway, you only live once and the time spared is very limited. So, live your life to the fullest. Do things you've always wanted to do. Follow your heart though all the people around you say you're crazy. It's better to look back at your past and say, " I can't believe I did that......" rather than "I wish I did that......"

I am lucky I have enuff of crazy people around me who are always willing to jump into the same ship with me to do some crazy stuff together......well, birds of the same feathers, they flock together-gether, isn't it? So, yesterday a few crazy birds from KL apparently flew to Ipoh for some good stuff for the tummy.

I've heard and read about Nasi Vanggey a.k.a. Nasi Ganja before and I'm sure most of you, readers have heard of it as well. Vanggey in Tamil means "come here" which denotes the situation of the restaurant where people keep on coming back for their food. It's like they are addicted to it the same way people are addicted to cannabis and that's how the name Nasi Ganja came from.

I've made an attempt to come here few years ago but to no avail since it was already closed when we got there. This time around however, I am not letting the same thing happen - no banana tree should bear it's fruits for the second time .....hehehe.

It all started when my fren, Mantong posted in status in FB about his craving for Nasi Ganja. The moment I saw his status, I jumped to the opportunity and offered myself to join him for a plate of Nasi Ganja. We then set the time, date and asked another fren of ours to tag along.

Marsya hogging the Ipad

So last Saturday, the four of us ( including my dearest Marsya ) heads to Ipoh to experience the tastiness of the infamous dish ourselves. We got there by lunch time and was greeted by restaurant that was already 3/4 full with patrons. A big Nasi Vanggey signboard was displayed at the entrance of the restaurant which gave me an assurance that it is indeed the correct place.

Free wi-fi lagi !

The restaurant was big with an open concept where it doesnt have walls but only ceiling on top. It is a self service restaurant where customers have to queue up to buy the food. Since we arrived at lunch time, the queue was quite long - at least 7 - 10 feet long. As Mantong been there before, we gave him the full authority to choose the dishes. We ended up with plain rice with fried hot n spicy chicken and beef cooked in hot n thick gravy.

The verdict. : between the chicken and beef, I'd choose the chicken though beef has always been my favourite as compared to chicken. Reason being, the chicken is hot in taste while the beef is a bit sweet for me. I've tried other Indian food before but this particular ones is a bit different from the rest. Theirs are more spicier and hotter which I guess was their uniqueness that brought people back to their restaurant.

Mantong's THE man !!

All in all, I liked and enjoyed their food but to drive all the way to Ipoh just for a plate of it, that is something I would really consider. But then, as how Mantong puts it : "it's not the destination but the journey that matters" which is very, very true since all four of us had a hell of a great time along the journey.

We talked, we laughed (so hard that it hurts our stomach), we teased, cursed each other and not forgetting dreaming about spending our old age together in Temerloh which was the highlight for the day.

To Mantong and Jamie, thanks a lot for sharing your precious Saturday with me and my daughter. That was one great and wonderful experience I'd cherish for the rest if my life.

My Dream Home

2011-08-17T09:07:00.009+08:00

I am very free in the office this week since I've been such a dedicated employee last week that I've completed all my work efficiently ( langsi maut !!! ).

On Monday, I spent the whole day doing nothing but facebooking, tweeting & browsing (for recipes of course). Yesterday however, I got tired wandering in the virtual world that I decided to watch movies to kill my excessive time.

Since I dont have the whole collection with me in the office, I have to make do with whatever I have in my lappie, which is not that much of a choice - Kongsi, Scream 4 & Cun - what a collection ! Kongsi is a definite no-no - am not a big fan of Shaheizy Sam. Scream 4? For any movie with sequels, I have this rule where I'm not gonna watch the latest sequel till I'm done watching all the previous ones. So, that leaves me with nothing else but Cun ~sigh~ Well at least Remy Ishak is there for me to drool over....hehehe ( oopppsss...lupa - posa ! )

Anyway, today I am not going to write a review on this movie, Cun coz honestly there's nothing really great about this movie except for those muscular arms & bod of Mr. Yummy Remy. What really excites me about the movie was the location where the movie was filmed. The movie Cun was filmed in the middle of a padi field in Kedah with an amazingly beautiful view.

I am a city girl - born & breed in the city and unfortunately, still breathing the city air till this second. My so-called "kampung" in Kuantan is nothing like a kampung at all. It's a housing area with a tarred road everywhere & the only greens you can find are from the potted plants people put in front of their house for decorations. That is my "kampung" !

As a norm, people would always yearn for something they cant or dont have. The same thing applies to me. Watching the movie gives me a terrible heartache. Living in a village like Kg. Mata Ayer (the location set for the movie Cun) has forever been one of my dreams.

A small un-gated wooden house with windows as tall as me so that I could stand in front of it to inhale fresh clean air every morning , a "pangkin" in front of the house for me to rest & relax in the evening with a cup of coffee & a plate of kuih, a small stream flowing behind the house for my grandchildren to play whenever they come to visit me, a serene & quiet place where the only sound I could hear would be the sounds from the birds chirping & the sounds of the water flowing. But a house in the middle of a padi field would be a bonus !

Doesnt sounds realistic, isnt it? Been dreaming too high, I supposed. But the truth is, that is exactly how my ultimate dream home looks like. Ideally it would be that but honestly, as long as I could stay in a kampung, I'm more than happier.

So, if any of you people out there knows any single kampung guy who has a house which looks more or less like my dream house as described above, do me a favour by introducing him to me, ok ! As a gesture of my gratitude, you'll get a whole year supply of my signature dish, Fusion Olio. How about that ?

Hari Raya Cookies Marathon

2011-08-16T08:44:00.007+08:00

I have actually kept aside all my cookie's mould, rolling pins, baking tray etc for the past 3 years when I decided to take a long leave from the baking (Hari Raya cookies) world. Baking cookies for me, are nothing close to baking cakes.

Baking cakes are much, much easier. All you need to do is to measure the ingredients, mix them in the mixer, then dump the mixture in a mould & finally, to the oven it goes. But cookies? They are just too much hassles to it. There are more than just measure-mix-bake......you need to roll, mould, decorate & of course more waiting time as you need to bake not only one tray but a few (unless you have a really huge oven) - especially a good daughter like me who would bake extra cookies for her mum too !

How I'd wish I could retire from this "business" for good - if only my sister (who'll be 28 next year!) could take over this long over-due duty from me. But then from the look of it, things are just not happening the way I'm hoping it would ~ big sigh ~

Anyway this year, after much persuasion from my mum & Marsya especially, I, not only reluctantly but halfheartedly agreeing to it. How can a mother says no to her child & a daughter says no to her mum? What choice do I have?

Speaking of cookies, I have a confession. I may be good in cooking dishes - locals, internationals or even fusions but when it comes to cookies, I am a failure. As much as I wanted to blame the recipes (or maybe it's the new oven), I honestly knew that I have to chew the fact that I'm just not good at it. Out of 10 biscuits that I bakes, only 1 or 2 will turn out well. The rest are all sucks :-(

Last weekend, I managed to bake 5 types of cookies : Chocolate Crescent, Cornflakes Crunchy, Black Beauty Oreo, Almond Slice & Twist Tart Cookies. Well, at least their names are fancy coz the taste are unfortunately not that fancy after all.....huhuhu.

Out of these 5 biscuits, only the 2 of them are okay, which is the Cornflakes Crunchy & Almond Slice. The rest are simply pathetic :

a) Chocolate Crescent becomes Chocolate Cresburnt since this silly me waited too long before pulling put the tray from the oven. I was actually waiting for the bottom part of the biscuits to turn brown - but then how brown biscuit be any browner? They can turn black though ! Tsk...tsk.....

b) Black Beauty Oreo - This one is placed in a paper cups which means I cant actually check the bottom part of teh biscuit. So, similar to Chocolate Cresburnt, Black Beauty Oreo becomes Black Bottom Oreo !

c) Twist Tart Cookies - I blame it on the strawberry jam - they are just too sweet. Should have opted for the more pricey ones coz all you can taste is the sweetness & not the strawberry !

My cookie jars posing in-front of my new oven

Anyway with 3 failures behind my back, I am still determine to make at least another 2 or 3 more biscuits this coming weekend.

Wish me luck ( Only God knows how much I need it ! ) !!

Common Sense Isn't So Common After All

2011-07-20T08:33:00.003+08:00

I don’t know everything, but I do know what common sense is. I don’t always use it, but I know what it is. Unfortunately, I feel that I am in the minority when it comes to actually knowing what common sense is.

I noticed that our society these days are lacking of this one important quality in them. They can be professionals, politicians or corporates but that doesnt mean they have common sense built in them. Knowledge and common sense are two different things, each with their own purposes or uses. It is perfectly possible for a person to have all of the knowledge in the world, yet still unable to put it to any good use because of the absence of common sense.

A lot of times the above theory has proven right to me. Yesterday for instance, I was in the lift, three quarter filled with people. Then it stopped at one floor where a gentleman, properly dressed looking like a professional, standing & waiting to step in. And this gentleman by the way, was carrying a backpack on his back.

Here comes the moment where common sense should takes place. Common sense is the thinking process human goes through before he or she does something. For example, let's say a small child is filling a glass with milk. When she sees the milk rise to the top of the glass, she stops filling and puts the milk away. Now, no one ever "taught" her that the milk would overflow if she kept pouring, but she instead used her common sense to figure out that if the container was already full then it wouldn't be able to hold any more. See, you don't need knowledge to display common sense.

Now back to that gentleman & the lift story. Seeing that the lift was already three quarter full, he still stepped in. Okay, there's really nothing wrong with that coz there's still enough space for him. But then, with a wee bit of common sense, he would have taken off his backpack before he stepped in rather than squashing other people standing around him while he make an effort to fit himself in the crowd.

He had a choice to just be "the man in the lift" but chose not to & end up with all sort of cursed names for himself. His lack of common sense has created such an unpleasant & tense ambiance in that small, confined space - especially those squashed victims around him (which includes yours truly). A ride (in the lift) that is supposed to be pleasant (considering it's a ride "home") has turned out to be the ride of repulsion it seems.

As how Robert Green Ingersoll quotes, "It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense".

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T07:30:00.001+08:00

Did You ?

2011-07-19T17:03:00.010+08:00

3 years 9 months and 9 days
That's how long you took
( though it feels much longer than that)
to finally acknowledge
my existence......

And I Wonder Why.......

2011-07-13T16:11:00.006+08:00

By law, I am a Malay, by ancestry I am a mixed Chinese-Malay but in the heart I belongs to a human race. Today I am going to bitch about my own people. I know this is gonna be a very controversial issue (and I'm putting my life at stake here) but I really need to express how I feels.

I dont understand Malays....not all but some of them. The more I tried, the more I'm at lost. And having a s0-called Malay leader like Ibrahim Ali makes it even worse. Now dont make me start on Big Momma Rosmah & her blue diamond story!

Malays are actually one of a kind. You can never find any other races as unique as the Malays. Lazy, laid back& spoon-fed are often relate to the Malays. Drug addicts, incest, mat rempits, snatch thieves, bribery etc are in majority being monopolized by the Malays.

Rather than developing themselves ( spiritually & economically), they are more interested in joining reality shows....and can actually weep when they got voted out. I wonder if they would act the same when they didnt get good results for their exams.......nahhh, dont think so !

Few days ago, the singer, Yuna tweeted about an individual who questioned her for not speaking in Bahasa Melayu. This is the thing with the Malay's mentality. They'll say that you are showing off when you starts speaking in English. Poyo lah.....mata dah biru lah....mat saleh celup lah.... all sort of things will be thrown to you - just because you choose to be smarter than them.

What is so wrong for her to communicate using the international language? It's not like she's converting, for God's sake ! Malays' mentality is something you can never change. You'd better go & try to straighten up the Pisa Tower than trying to change their mentality towards the English language. All they can see is negativity. Bahasa penjajah la konon.....

Dont you think it's good to master both languages? Speaking in English doesnt mean you are forgetting your roots. If you cant speak the language, just sit quietly at one corner & shut up - dont go & condemn other people who are good at it & feels that you have contributed something to the nation when all you did is showing people how stupid you really are.

Ironically, these are the same people who have been spoiling Bahasa Melayu. I am so sick of reading the "new age" of Bahasa Melayu - in forums especially. "Itu" becomes "itew"...... "begitu" becomes "begitew".... "korang" becomes "korunk" ! What the heck are all those? Konon2 macam cool la kan? Fefeeling smart gitu ! And all I'm seeing is plain stupidity. Duhhhhhh !!!!

Another thing I hate most about Malays are their entrepreneurs & I dont mean those big tycoons who owns multi-million dollars of business. What I'm referring here are those who own small business facilities like food stalls, restaurants, grocery shops etc. In terms of customer service, Chinese are the best. And it's no surprise they contributed the most to Malaysia's economy. I'm sure you've encountered this before where you have to wait for more than 15 mins just to order your food. And when the waiter came, the way they treated you as if you owe them money it seems. No greetings, no smile, no nothing. Let alone to apologize for being late. Kirim salam la !

Superstitious is another Malay's favourite. I dont mind if believing in it will make them work harder or make them smarter. But what happen is the other way round. The Malays are forever attracted to something that could make them rich in an easy way. They couldnt understand the fact that there's no short cut to success.

I have an unfortunate experience with somebody who believes that money could just drop from the sky - literally "drop from the sky", ok. Rather than earning money to support his family, he would be very busy looking for old coins, ancient trays, antique keris which can be used to pull money out from the sky. He'll go to all corners of the country looking for all these stuff. Imagine how productive it was if that much of effort & energy are being put into a proper work. Such a sad truth, isnt it?

Skim Cepat Kaya. Do you ever noticed that Malays just love this kind of investment? And do you know why ? Easy...let me tell you. Simply because they are lazy - doesnt wanna work hard for money. So, when one smart ass offers them the express way to be rich, they'll just grab it. Dump all their money & sit while waiting to be millionaires. Hahaha....typical Malays !

By now half of the readers of this entry, the Malays in particular are already plotting my murder. Ok, I am not saying all Malays are useless but these minorities speaks volume......they are like mega open vessels. There are some good ones & had succeeded in life like the late Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin Amin (founder of NAZA), Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary (founder of Albukhary Foundation), Tan Sri Dato’ Azman Hashim (Chairman of AmBank) to name a few but the number could be more if only we could change our attitude, mentality & thinking to the better.

Any Malays who read this might be thinking what kind of a Malay who would condemn her own people? Now before you start hurling accusations at me, the above are merely from an intellectual and academic point of view. if you could open up your mind for just a bit, you would realize that there's some truth, if not all, that lies in every sentence I wrote up there.

But if you fail to see it, it's just too bad then & for that, I am really sorry........

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T15:04:00.001+08:00

Bravo Bersih 2.0

2011-07-10T16:04:00.008+08:00

It's finally Friday - the most awaited day for the week as it is the gateway for another wonderful weekend. As a norm, Friday night is the night where I'll be meeting up my BFFs for another dose of good food & good chat.

You see, when a group of 40s (who still feel they are in their 20s) meet up, all you can expect is havoc. The moment we're together, all we ever care is to talk, laugh & kutuk-ing each other where possible, as if it's only us there. We're too engrossed with each other's company that even if Brad Pitt suddenly walks in, none if us would have noticed.

Last night was another rendezvous for us all & AU3 was chosen as the venue. Being a Friday night, bad traffic is expected everywhere in the city especially along MRR2. However, things are a bit different this time. The forever jammed packed highway doesnt look the same anymore - it's so clear that it only took us less than 20 mins to get there.

Pandan Indah main road has never been this clear on Friday night !

This is all due to the Bersih rally that is scheduled to take place in Saturday 9th. The paranoid BN government has been actively scaring the rakyat about this rally for the past few weeks that most people avoid from coming down to KL.

I am not saying that I support illegal demonstrations or street rally....but what do you suggest the rakyat to do? There's no freedom of speech in this country. We will have to face the risk to be detained under the ISA law if we're brave enuff to voice out our opinion.

Perhaps first thing to be considered is, why should they stop the rally - if it is a peaceful ones? I would say a democratic country should allow peaceful rally. BERSIH promotes awareness of fair election and suggests improvements to the current election systems, why should it be stopped for such good intention? To earn the respect from the people, the authorities should make violence as the last resort. They definitely have the choice to manage the crowds without using violence.

Anyway, I just would like to salute all the heroes and heroines who had been part of this most memorable movement in our Malaysian history. Thank you for trying to make this country a better place for us all & the next generations to come. Bravo !

Pallazo Pant - The Review

2011-07-08T08:00:00.002+08:00

Remember the pallazo pant I bought from the net recently? I was quite pleased with their service, by the way. They were very fast. I paid them today & the next day, wallahhh.....it's delivered to me already !

Tried it on the moment I could get hold of it - am so excited since this is the first purchase I ever made through the internet. My greatest fear is that the clothes woudnt fit me since I am not in the small / petite category where they never encounter such a problem.

All & all, I am satisfied with my purchase and the pallazo fits me perfectly well as though it was tailored for me * happy *. The material is okay - not that t-shirty type where it'll stick to my body like a swimming suit. Hence, there's no worries on VPL (visible panty lines) or my camel toe being exposed out in the open. I am glad they used a brown buttons instead of black as it does gives an impact to its looks. And it would be nicer if they include pockets too !

I've always loved pallazo pants - they are cool, comfortable and effortlessly chic, I would say. For somebody with a small hips like me, pallazo is a saviour as it adds a bit of curve and shape to my figureless shape. And I pesonally feels that it is also good to camouflage big hips.

Pictures : Credits to Mr. Google

So, how do we wear this pallazo pant? IMHO, pallazo pants are best worn with a slim-fitting top to balance out the volume on the bottom half. And use heels to complete the look. The flare bottoms can make the wearer looks shorter if these trousers are not worn with heels. Finally, the choice of material is also important - the lighter the fabrics are the better as it'll gives the pants plenty of drape and flow.

The model-wannabe.....

So, why not upgrade your wardrobe with this airy wide-legged pants? Be adventurous - add some excitement to your clothings. Who knows that guy you've been eyeing on all these whiles would finally noticed you !

Sayonara Stinky Armpit

2011-07-07T08:27:00.004+08:00

About a month ago I was in Watson looking for a deodorant. It was then that I noticed of this crystal stone thingy sitting side by side with other deodorants. Looking entirely different from the rest of his species immediately caught my attention to check it out.

It is a product from Total Image which is a natural mineral salt crystal that acts as a deodorant to combat body odour. Very interesting, I thought to myself while putting down the Nivea deodorant I intent to buy earlier. Why not give it a try then.

Anyway, the product information printed on the casing claims that crystal salt has been used for centuries in Asian countries and is one of the most effective remedies for body odour. Apparently, natural mineral salt is a great deodorant alternative for those with allergies or those concerned about the aluminium content in commercial deodorants.

Apart from that, they also claims that Smelly-No-More is an anti-bacterial, 300% more effective than other commercial deodorants and it is said to reduce perspiration without blocking the pores.

After a few weeks of use, I came to a verdict : mineral salt stick actually works ! It completely kills the body odour - really smelly no more ! I don't have strong body odour but I do get whiffs of it once in a while when I a bit more active than the normal days. But with this mineral salt stick, I am totally odourless - simply awesome.

If you happened to have BO problems, I suggest giving this a go - satisfaction guaranteed. There are 2 sizes available : 60 gm ( RM 16.90 ) and 120 g ( RM 24.90 ). To be honest, by looking at it even the 60 gm could last for years. Totally value for money !

Does Quality Comes With Price?

2011-07-06T16:52:00.000+08:00

About a year ago, I was given a handbag with a price tag of RM200 ++ which to my standard, is considered expensive. And honestly, I would never spend that much of money only for a handbag but since it was a gift from a friend, I accepted it with an open hand, of course.

The fact that it was the most expensive handbag I ever had ( so pathetically sad, isnt it? ), I didnt use it as often. Most of the time it would be carefully kept in its case, hoping that it would last forever ( again, pathetically sad.....).

Last week, I thought of using that particular handbag since it suits my entire outfit. Guess what happen? To my surprise, the outer layer skin of the bag has peeled off. I dont mind if it shed its skin to a better looking ones like the snake did it. But unfortunately it's not for this case.

The peeled skin has created a horrible patches around the bag. It was at the front, at the back, at the side, at the handle - they were practically everywhere......aarrgghhhh !!!! Though it's not my own money but I've only used it for not more than 10 times, for crying out loud !

Honestly, this is not the first time it happened to me but it IS the first time it happened to an "expensive" bag of mine...huhuhu. Quality does not always come in expensive price tags. And expensive price tags do not always mean quality. There are a lot of cheap items that still carry the quality one approves of, like my 2 year old 50 bucks handbag which is still in its best condition.

So, if you intent to buy an expensive handbag today, think twice. Why pay more when what you are getting doesnt worth the price !

What ? Already ?

2011-07-05T20:00:00.004+08:00

This is it ! The day I've been dreading to face - the day I am back to the office after 9 solid weeks. It was the longest period I've been away from the office (mind you, maternity leave is only 8 weeks ).

To be honest, I've been feeling the pressure since last week already. All sort of feelings have been playing around my mind and surprisingly "nervous" was one of them. Not really sure why I'm being nervous but being away from the office for such a long time makes me feel a bit out of the place. The sense of belonging was kindof missing from me which makes me feel somewhat like a stranger in my own office.

Coming back to work after a weekend itself is hard - imagine after 2 months ! Getting me out from the bed was really a challenge. It's not the waking up part that is killing me since I still woke up at the same time everyday during my sick leaves. It's the fact that I can no longer stayed at home doing the things I loved that kills me. No more watching movies in midday, no more baking in the evening & no more short naps in between ~ big sigh ~

Slow, sluggish & uninspired - that's how I felt the whole day. All I did was sitting in front of my laptop the whole day pretending to be working while my mind was wandering aimlessly trying to figure out where the heck those 9 weeks had gone to? I'll be needing at least a week or two to be able to get myself back into the humdrum of the work routine. It's not gonna be easy but what choice do I have. Well, at least I've got my buddies at the office that would help me going through it with less difficulties.

Anyway, it's being with my frens (especially my partner-in-crime who is sitting beside me) that I missed the most during my absence and being with them again is indeed a bliss !

I've Juz Got Spanx-ed !!

2011-07-04T10:26:00.000+08:00

I dont know what has gotten into me yesterday that I spent the whole evening having a shopping spree - virtual shopping, that is ! I am a bit (not yet overly, I hope) obsessed when it comes to beauty & fashion and the fact that I am an easily influenced person doesnt help much either. Beauty & fashion are like a big curse to me & gotten myself near it has always ended me up with disaster.

I was reading the Beauty & Fashion forum in Cari.com yesterday though I am very much aware that I am putting my wallet on jeopardy, knowing how weak my self-control is. And as expected, I was indeed hooked. @#$%&* !

I came across a thread that is discussing about Spanx. Have you ever heard of Spanx? For those who has never heard of it, Spanx is a U.S. company who manufactures body shaping undergarments / shapewear to give the wearer a slim and shapely appearance. Spanx has been in the market for more than 10 years where a number of Hollywood celebs. ( Oprah, Jennifer Alba & Beyonce, to name a few) have been using it. Good thing I didnt know about it earlier, else I must have gotten a few pairs of them in my closet by now.

Ok, I know I am not fat ( though my mind kept on telling me otherwise ) but I still have a teeney weeney bit of muffin tops on top of my pants - some lumps & bumps here n there that I wouldnt wanna be seen by others. From the reviews I've read in the forum, this Spanx will help to smooth me where I needed to be smoothed, lifted me where nature has dropped me (LOL) thus enhancing my figure. Well, less is more !

FYI, I've never made any online purchase before except for some cupcakes & chocolates. I dont believe in paying money for things I cant physically hold & looked at. But then, I guess I've accidentally (or rather intentionally? ) break the curse & unleash the evil within (yeah..yeah..yeah....put the blame on them instead).....huhuhu.

After going through their website & browsing all types of products they have to offer, I end up buying the Slim Cognito Shaping Mid-Thigh Bodysuit which is believed to be the firmest control in the Spanx range. This bodysuit goes right up over your whole tummy to your bra strap ( and includes straps so you can fasten the suit to your bra if you like) - like this :

For every product displayed, the slimming level for each one of them is stated and that is one of the reason ( and price is absolutely not it ) why I've chosen this particular ones. And guess what its slimming level is - it's SUPER-DUPER, babe!

Since it's being shipped all the way from US, it'll take approximately 5 - 6 days to get here. I simply cant wait for that day to arrive & when it did, I'll let you know how super-duper it is...... hahaha.

Anyway, my shopping doesnt stop there ( dammit !! ). Like how people used to say it, the hardest is only the first time - the subsequent endeavors will be as swift as the eagle flies. And as swiftly too, my money is flying out from my wallet.....uwaaaaa !!!!

It's not entirely my fault to begin with. Here's the thing : I love Pallazo pants so much & it's not easy to find one good Pallazo pants since they are not that in anymore these days. I dont know whether to call it luck or simply doomed ( luck for bumping into it & doomed for having to spend more money) but I could now put my quest to rest.

I have finally found my dreamed Pallazo pants. And I really hope it'll be as good as it looks on my laptop screen. Not only it has to look good but also makes me look good in it !

Nice kan?

Hear Yie.....Hear Yie....

2011-07-01T11:43:00.005+08:00

The image is linked - a click on it will take you to Cucina Della Mamma

I have an announcement to make to all my fellow readers. FYI, I've just created another blog under the name of Cucina Della Mamma ( which means Mummy's Kitchen in Italian ). There are hundreds of food blogs around & the creation of CDM is not to compete with anyone of them. I am way too naive & amateur to be even at par with them, let alone to compete with them.

It was Marsya who inspired me to create this blog & it was also her that I dedicated this blog to. I am neither a vampire nor a werewolf to be around forever. I am just a plain mortal who would one day leaves the world just like everybody else. And when that happens, Marsya wouldnt be able to enjoy my cooking anymore. Thus, this blog could at least help her to ease the pain of losing me by providing all the recipes of her favourite foods.....sob...sob.

I have actually removed all the recipes in Red Scoot On The Move & exported them to Cucina Della Mamma instead. Please feel free to browse those recipes & try them out if you'd like to. I hope I'll live long enough to witness Marsya trying out my recipes herself - and when that day arrives, it would definitely be one of the most emotional moments for both of us.

Long Live The Queen !!!

2011-07-01T10:01:00.001+08:00

For the past few weeks, the Bersih rally was the most talk-about issue in all means of mass communications to the extent of making me puke already. Hold your breath as it's not about Bersih that I'm gonna rant about this time. As a matter of fact, it's nothing less controversial either.

I was at the hospital the other day for my surgery follow-up & was reading the papers to kill my time while waiting for the doc. And for the record, it was Utusan Malaysia & as usual it is full with junks to propagate the government ( tell me something new duhhhh !!!! ).

Things got a lil bit interesting the moment I turned to the second page. The second page is by the way, called "Album Hari Ini" where it was filled with pics of the happenings around the country.

The 1st pic. immediately attracts my attention to fully dissect it. It was a picture of the nation's VVIP's backbones - their women, that is. Though the picture of the glamorous Sarawak's Chief Minister was there, I was more drawn to the lady in front of her who is our very own Queen.

If it's not bcoz of the details provided for each pic, I wouldnt have noticed it was the Queen in the picture. I had to rub my eyes a few times to make sure that my eyes are not playing tricks on me. I know I am bad but I really have to say this : where's her sense of fashion, for god's sake? You see, money cant buy everything & style is definitely one of them !

I wish I could comment more but knowing she's the Queen, I'd better not to. For all I know, I might be detained under the ISA law if I were to pen down all these cruel & nasty thoughts I have in mind right now.

Anyway, seeing is believing - so, here's the said pic. :

.... a picture speaks a thousand words....

I rest my case.

Cara Cara Sunkist Oranges

2011-06-26T21:26:00.006+08:00

Looks like I dont have any other things to blog about that I end up talking about oranges ! Actually, that is partly true...hehehe. Being a full time housemum, there's nothing much going on around me except for my kitchen activities which I enjoyed very, very much.

Anyway, what's the story-mory with these oranges then? It's just something knowledgeable I would like to share with you readers. I am not really sure how many of you knew how many types of Sunkist oranges are there in the Malaysian market?

For those who didnt know, based on my observation there are two types of them : Navel & Valencia, the latter being the common ones. Pardon me if there are more since I've only came across these 2 types only.

Few months ago however, I discovered another types of Sunkist oranges - it is called Cara Cara. As nice as it sounded, this particular type is superbly good. Cara Cara oranges are nothing like Navel or Valencia. It is three times sweeter & juicier.The first time me & Marsya tried it, we just cant stop. We end up finishing all 6 pcs at one shot. It tasted too nice that we just couldt stop ourselves from enjoying the fruit.

Not only the taste is different, the colour of the pulps are also different. While the other two are orange in colour, Cara Cara is more like reddish-orange. When I first cut the fruit, I was quite surprised looking at the colour - not the normal colour I would see for an orange.

The only setback for this wonderful orange is the availability. I've been to most hyper & supermarkets & none of them has this Cara Cara oranges except for these two places - The Store in Pandan Indah & Mercato, Pavilion. Even at these 2 places, it's not that they are available all the time ~ sigh ~

So, the next time you wanna buy some oranges, look for Cara Cara. You wont be disappointed !

Etude House Moistfull Mask

2011-06-26T18:39:00.004+08:00

I was in Etude House few weeks ago looking for their infamous Magic BB Cream. But it's not their BB Cream that I'm gonna talk about this time. This post is gonna talk about their face mask instead.

I have been looking for the right face mask & "right" here means cheap & good....hahaha....looks like I am looking for the impossible, right? I've tried a few sheet mask before like Garnier, Olay including the famous Taiwan's mask - Beauty Diary but the thing is, all these sheet masks kinda took a toll on my wallet after some time (so cheapskate meh ???? ). Like I said earlier : cheap but good...hehehe.

So, while wandering in Etude House that day, I was introduced to their massage mask by the salesgirl. While the sales girl was busy explaining to me the goodness of the mask, I on the other hand was busy checking the price out. For a 180 ml content at RM 30+, it is certainly value for money. Without waiting for the salesgirl to finish, I immediately grab the huge tub & straight away walked to the counter.

So, here's how it went...........

As stated on the label, this jelly mask contains Baobab Tree extract to supply skin refining moisture. And it is a 3-way mask : You either use it as a massage cream, as a rinse-off mask or as a sleeping mask ( leave it on for the whole night and wash it off in the next morning ).

I used it as a sleeping mask & the result is really satisfying. I would normally wakes up to a dull (almost dead, to be honest) skin but upon applying this sleeping mask, my face feels exceptionally smooth & hydrated. Simply awesome !

What I love most about this mask is actually the smell. It has a very sweet rosy smell which gives me such a pleasant feeling when I'm on bed, waiting to fall asleep.

So, if you have a second thought in buying this mask before, dont hesitate. Grab it & enjoy !

Akob Patin House

2011-06-16T08:00:00.003+08:00

I had the opportunity to visit this infamous restaurant while in Kuantan on my last day of the recent school hols. Heard of this place from my sis a couple of times already but didnt really get the chance to make a visit.

It was last Wednesday that I finally gotta step foot to this much talked about restaurant in Kuantan. We were on our way back to KL & since it's nearly lunch time, my mum suggested to stop by at Akob Patin House for lunch.

The moment I saw the restaurant, I immediately understands why it has becoming the most famous makan place in Kuantan. It's the location - being located by the Kuantan River definitely gives them the advantage. They've got the best location for a restaurant. Not only you can enjoy the food, patrons could also enjoy the view & the soft breeze while having their lunch.On top of that, parking is not an issue at all as there are ample parking space provided.

Akob Patin House is located in Tapak PCCL, Jalan Besar i.e. by the Kuantan riverside, behind the old KWSP office and the old Samudera Hotel building. The only setback to this place is that, they are only open during lunch hours. If you planning to come by, do get there around 12pm or it'll be tough to get seats as it'll be swarmed by huge crowds by then.

Akob Patin House is a self service restaurant where they have an array of of Malay dishes which you'd take with white rice. Most of their dishes are those local malay dishes like tempoyak pucuk ubi, sayur batang keladi, kerabu, etc. It was already 1 pm when we got there, hence not much are left.

Their specialty is of course patin masak tempoyak. I've been told that there are usually 2 different types of patin available which is Patin Sangkar and Patin Buah, the latter being more expensive. The gravy is thick and the aroma and taste of tempoyak is very prominent, which left you drooling without even realizing it.

None of us actually took the Patin Tempoyak as we just had it at home a few days earlier. Our total bill (for 4 person) was RM 23 which is ok considering that we took mostly vegetables only.

Just look at her empty plate - another satisfied customer !

If you happened to be in Kuantan, do find some time to drop by at this place - especially if you are a malay food lover like me. One thing I can promise is that, you'll be surprise of the resemblance to your mum's cooking ( or even better ).

KL Gangster - The Review

2011-06-15T07:00:00.030+08:00

My first 2 attempts to watch this movie were a failure as the tickets are all sold out. It was originally Marsya's request to watch this movie as she's a big fan of Syamsul Yusof who is the director cum actor for the said movie. The ticket sales (RM 1.5 mil on it's first day of showing & RM 6 mil, four days later) & recommendation from friends makes me more determined to watch it.

Our third attempt finally clinched the deal & Marsya was the happiest soul for the day. She almost cried when we couldnt get the tickets earlier. She was so into Syamsul that I could almost see the sparkles in her eyes when we walked into the theater that day.

So, what's the verdict ?

My Likes :

1. My number one will of course goes to Malek (Aaron Aziz), the big taiko. Not only he's super gorgeous, he's also like the super gangster among others - the strongest of them all ...hero mah ! But honestly, I really think he's not fit for that Malek character. Aaron doesnt have the features & aura to be such an influenced gangster like Malek. He's just too cute to be a gangster - unlike Adi Putra & Syamsul.

"cuti gua sudah lama abis.."

2. Abang Long Dil (Zizan) - he's one funny character who managed to burst out laughs among the audiences. His character reminded me of Chris Tucker in the Rush Hour movie. His jokes are non-slapstick & genuinely funny. People could straight away laughed the moment his face appears on the screen without him having to say a single word yet.

" ko tau kan...lawan aku bukan 2 org tapi 2 lori... "

3. Ajib (Sofy Jikan) - he's the best gangster, I would say. His acting as Dragon's right hand man was superbly awesome. The way he uttered his dialog with the Chinese accent was really amusing ( "lu kalau gua potong lu 18 baru lu tau erti penyesalan"). Thumbs up to Sofy Jikan - great acting skills ! Wa manyak suker sama lu bro !

"gua bleh simpan gua punye senggggaaatttt... gua pon sudah pennnattt.... "

4. The shirtless Jai (Adi Putra)....do I need to say more?

" lain kali jangan buat lagi tau...nanti mak marah "

5. The fighting scene featured in this movie is somewhat realistic as compared to other local action movies I've watched before. Their moves were swift enough that they looked quite real. When a punch landed on a face, you could actually feel the pain from your end.

My Dislikes

1. Shark ( Syamsul Yusof ) - though his acting this time was better (meaning that not too much of "control macho-ness" ), I still couldnt grasp the idea of his Chinese accent. Him speaking with a Chinese slang makes me wonder of Shark's actual race. Other character like Ajib for instant, does speak in a Chinese accent too but the way Syamsul did it is so un-natural. It either he's trying too hard or he's simply over-doing it.

" sekarang gua tak kira...lu abg long ka..lu ayahanda ka...ini KL gua pegang ! "

2. I dont like the idea of Jai putting an unlit cigarette between his lips while talking. It's ok if he appears that way in one scene but I find it a bit annoying when the same act was shown everytime he appeared on the screen. I'm quite sure he would still looked vulgar & dangerous without the cigarette. My two cents !

3. They makes it so easy for Shark to kill King. C'mon, this is THE King mah - the Godfather of the gangsterism community. It doesnt really makes sense such a powerful man like King could be so easily pinned down by a young inexperienced chap like Shark. But then, he's the director....I shall rest my case !

All & all, I really enjoyed this movie. Though I am not a fan of an action genre movies, but KL Gangster managed to entertain me &, got my butt glued to the seat the whole duration of 80 minutes - unlike certain movies which makes me wanna leave the cinema even before it ended ( Lagenda Budak Setan is the best example for this - sucks big time ! ).

Kudos to the young director, Syamsul Yusof for making such a great movie (in accordance to the Malaysian standard, ok). To those who havent watch this movie, hurry up & grab yourself a seat at the nearest theater. Those who are never interested in watching Malay movies in cinemas, try out KL Gangster - you wont regret it.....it's worth every cents !

One thing both me & Marsya noticed while walking out from the cinema was how strong the movie influenced the audience that the guys started walking like gangsters LOL !

p/s Am considering to re-watch the movie.....didnt get enuff of those hot hunks !!

Drama Queen

2011-06-11T13:52:00.000+08:00

It has been the 4th week since I had the surgery on my knee. As advised by my doctor, I could apply 100% pressure on my operated leg already since last week, which means I wont be needing the crutches to move around anymore :-)

Nevertheless, looking at mt swelling knee still worries me. My disability to completely bend my knee kept on fretting me. If the current situation persist, I wont be able to do all those outdoor activities I used to enjoy and worse still, I cant put on my heels anymore....huhuhu. Anyways, better chuck aside those worryings & frettings as they wont take me anywhere. Positiveness helps healing & being positive is what I should be focusing on doing.

I saw my orthopedist earlier for my bi-monthly follow-ups. Honestly, I was quite worried about this appointment.

When there's a will, there's always a way !

Yesterday was my appointment with my orthopedic at Ampang Puteri Hospital. This particular appointment was a bit special as compared to the others I had before. I've been worrying sick a few days prior to the appointment day. For the previous follow-ups, I went to with my leg see him with my leg braced up & crutches underneath my arms. This time around however, both are no longer presence which means that I'm getting better.

It's not the "getting better" part that worries me off. You see, this kind of thing is like a chain reaction - getting better -> satisfied doctor -> MC discontinued -> GET BACK TO WORK !!! And THAT my fellow readers, is my greatest fear !

With 2 hectic weeks behind me (due to the wedding & all), I am totally, ultimately not ready to be back into the ruthless corporate world - not just yet. I've been doing a lot of thinking as to how to get myself out from this predicament which has been cracking my head for the past few days.

What if the doctor doesnt wanna extend my MC? What if he thinks that I'm fit enough to work (though I feel otherwise still)? Should I just as him to grant the MC? Even if I were to do it, is my skin thick enough for that matter? Question after question kept on pounding my head, one after another leaving me gasping for more & more air to breathe.

After some wise thinking ( ??? ), I've come up with 2 options : Plan A which is the master plan & the back-up plan as Plan B. Plan A would requires me to be a bit dramatic at the hospital. As mentioned earlier, since last week I've been moving around without the crutches & leg-brace. But to execute Plan A, these 2 things are my main props. I'll put on the leg-brace & use one crutch to walk which should be enough to convince my doc. that I'm not that fit yet to work. With a bit of luck & some acting here & there ( like frowning & cringing maybe ), I should be on the right track.

So, with one crutch under my arm I marched to the hospital with confidence. It was only when the nurse called out my name that I realized I've forgotten to put on my leg-brace. Damn! Damn! Damn! I started cursing myself. But God is great. The moment the nurse opened the door to the doctor's room, instead of an old looking guy sitting inside, it was a gorgeous looking man smiling at me. Such a magical moment !

Apparently my doctor was on an EL & was temporarily replaced by this young & handsome doctor instead. So, it was a double joy for me. Not only I could pleased my eyes drooling at him, I've gotten the extension to my MC as well. It's like having your favourite ice-cream topped with chocolate & all sort of stuffs on the top.

Thank you Allah for your continuous blessings.

p/s : Plan B, by the way is to just thicken the skin on my face & ask for the MC !

The Wedding Story - The Big Day

2011-06-04T23:58:00.006+08:00

Finally, the moment arrives. It's the moment where all plannings & dreams are turned into reality. A moment to be remembered by all especially both the bride & groom. It's a special day for them where every seconds shall be glued in their memory for as long as they lived.

The wedding's theme colour is red which happens to be my favourite colour. Red is goods it always brings out the mood of any occasion, thus creating a livelier ambiance. As far as red is concerned, you can never go wrong with this shade as it is totally happening.

When the theme colour has been set as red, everything should adhere to it, where possible. The decoration for the pelamin & bedroom are mainly based on the said colour. I dont have the picture of the pelamin & the bedroom as I dont really like the way the Pak Andam did it.

The red scallops used to decorate the pelamin & bedroom sort of reminded me of the red cloth the Chinese used to hang at the entrance door especially during the opening of their new shop. I know I'm mean but looking at it automatically shift my mind towards that.....huhuhu.

To those who didnt know, my sister was married to an army officer, Kapt. Azrul. I've never seen or attend any army wedding in my entire life before. Well, all I can say is that the whole event was such a glorious & splendid affair, unlike the common wedding you would normally see. Of course, it was an army’s wedding, thus full of formalities. If you don’t know or have never seen an army weds before, you should seek an opportunity at your very best to do so.

First, instead of the kompang, the couple will be assisted by the bag pipers (which would definitely brought your mind to the movie “Braveheart”), together with six handsome looking sword-bearers. In my sister's case, there's no bag pipers available - so they will have to make do with the bag pipe music coming from a CD instead.

The groom i.e. my BIL and the sword-bearers were immaculately clad in a well-fitted official army’s suit. To me, once a guy is in his uniform, he'll automatically transformed into a gorgeous looking man, regardless of how he actually looks like. The uniform is like magic that could easily overrule his looks without any doubt. Though I’ve seen my BIL countless times, I must say he looked much, much better in his white army suit. My sister, on the other hand was beautifully dressed in white lace bridal gown.

The groom was escorted by an officer (the best man) together with the sword-bearers troop where they marched till they reached the wedding arch. The best man would then fetch the bride & took her to the groom who was waiting at the other end. Then, both the bride and groom walked underneath the shining swords. Happening, I tell you......I couldn’t keep my jaw from dropping the whole time. It was totally awesome !

Followed thereafter was the bersanding ceremony, still in accordance to the army's wedding protocol. The sword-bearers lined up on both sides of the pelamin, making way for the selected individuals to menepung-tawar. Later, each of the sword-bearers would come out from the lines & salute the groom. And yes......my jaw was still dropping...

Next the couple headed to the main table for the makan beradap ceremony. Nothing unusual here & I took the opportunity to finally shut my mouth. The makan beradap was then followed by the cake cutting session. Again, the sword bearers played their roles during this ceremony. I was too amazed that I failed to capture those moments via my IXUS. The sword bearers will first touch the tips of their swords together-gether while shaking it slowly for a few seconds till the groom gave a signal to stop. Only then the couple cut the cake underneath a pile of shining swords.

That was it - the highlight of my sister's wedding. The rest are pretty much the same as any other weddings. I was lucky enuff that I no longer need to use the crutches to move around. Though I was still limping but at least those crutches were not presence to spoil my glamorous looks & outfit.

The Wedding Story - Khatam Quran

2011-06-04T08:28:00.001+08:00

The Khatam Quran is another ceremony some brides chose to include as part of their wedding events. Khatam Quran is originally not meant for the brides-to-be. It is a ceremony to honor those who have completed the recital of the whole Quran regardless of being a bride or not.

Nowadays many brides opt to perform the Khatam Quran prior to their big day. Note that only the bride would normally carried out this tradition & not the groom. But it doesnt mean that the groom have yet to complete the whole Quran. It's just that the ladies are more into these kind of things while the guys always prefer to stick to the basic stuffs only as Khatam Quran is absolutely not the requirement for a wedding according to Islamic law.

My sister's Khatam Quran takes place in the morning - right before the main event itself. Since she didnt hire any make-up artist for that event, I was given the honour to complete that particular task. Though applying make-up is not something new to me but that only revolves around my own face. I've never actually done it to somebody else except for Marsya during her school concert.

So, the pressure still builds up in me - fearing that the outcome doesnt meet to the expectation. Luckily things turned out well. I may not be a professional but good enough to make my pretty sister prettier.

The Wedding Story - Akad Nikah

2011-06-03T22:09:00.004+08:00

The akad nikah is the first ceremony in any Malay weddings. It is a ceremony whereby the father of the bride will pass his responsibility of taking care of his daughter to the groom. It is also the time where the groom shall promised the bride to take care of her for the rest of his & her life. I wont say it's a changing of vows since the bride doesnt need to say a word during this ceremony.

The tense is more to the groom especially during the part where he has to say those few magical words in accepting the bride to be his lawful wife. It's not just two words of "I do" - it's much, much more than that & it has to be uttered in one breath.

Some did it once.....some twice......& those with nervous breakdown could end up saying it couple of time before all the witnesses could approve it. In my sister's case, her groom did well. Once & for all, she has become his. Well, as a Captain in the army, nervous shouldnt be in his dictionary, isnt it?

As of today, Aida has moved into a new dimension of her life. Marriage is a beautiful thing but dont expect it to be a bed of roses all the time. Marriage is not easy, by all accounts - as marriage is all about compromise, trust, respect & sacrifices.

I do hope Aida dont go into thinking that things are going to be the same as when they dated. Marriage may just be the next step to those who think they are in love. They have had a great time dating, and have no idea how much things will change when they marry. Marriage requires hard work and commitment for it to grow and mature. It is nothing like dating.

And to Aida & Azrul.......I wish them the very best of luck & may they live happily for the rest of their life !

The Wedding Story - The Hantarans

2011-06-02T17:10:00.001+08:00

Whenever there's a wedding in the family, I would be the one responsible for the weddings. Ironically, that's not the case for my own wedding.....hehehe. I guess if it's a wedding I'm looking forward to, then it's definitely a whole different story already. Not everybody's lucky enough to turn their dream wedding into a reality & unfortunately I am one of them .....huhuhu.

Okay, enough with the tears & regrets. Past is past & it's the future that we should only be interested in. So, back to the hantaran's story. For Malay wedding, though it's not compulsory by the religion's law, it is considered as important as the bride/groom themselves.

Hantaran is the gifts prepared by both the bride & groom's family & will be exchanged among each other on the wedding day. The quantity of hantaran shall be decided by the bride & groom themselves. Take note that the quantity should be only be in odd numbers - either 5 or 7 or 9... so on & so forth.

As far as the hantaran is concern, there are no standards or rules for the things chosen to be the hantaran. It can be anything from shoes, jeweleries, clothes, perfumes, cosmetics or whatever favoured by both parties as long they are in line with their budget.

However, betel leaves are compulsory to be included as one of the hantaran. Dont ask me for I didnt know why & what's the reason behind this requirement. Honestly, I dont see a point why we should add the betel leaves as nobody eats them anymore these days. Just becoz the older generation did it, nobody dares to break the rules.

During my time, hantaran are more complicated in terms of its preparation. Those days, people likes to be more crafty where the hantaran wouldnt look like their original shape / state. The towels will be made into grapes, the sarong will be folded into a fan, the sejadah will turn into a mosque etc. Thank God things are much simpler now, otherwise I'm sure you'll find a set of Transformers Robot on one of the hantaran's tray !

As I mentioned earlier in my previous post, nowadays are all about money. The more money you have, the lesser the work will be. If last time you'll need at least a week to prepare the hantaran, now in less than an hour I've completed all the 7 trays ! Wooo hooooo !!!

The Wedding Story - Henna Day

2011-06-02T14:42:00.001+08:00

The bride to be, Aida is scheduled to get her hands & feet drawn with the henna today. And I was assigned to send her to the henna saloon since I thought of doing the same to my hands - not those complicated design but just the simple ones. Some people doesnt find it nice to have these henna designs drawn on their hands but for me it's something very artistic & nice - depending on the artist who did. I've done it twice before of which both are quite a disappointment.

That's Ana henna-ing my nails

Anyway, we have actually coloured our nails with henna the night before. My mum, Aida, Marsya, Ana & myself (Aida's BFF) helped each other to make sure the henna were perfectly placed on the nails. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ana for her great help. Thanks a million !

The henna artist whom Aida engaged is Suraya from Damia Henna Arts. According to her portfolio, she worked with various celebrities before like Nana AF for instance. Suraya took about 1 1/2 hours to complete the task - both hands (front & back) and both feet. This service cost Aida RM150 which would mainly meant for the workmanship since the henna wouldnt cost that much, I believe.

But then, overall it was okay. The end result, though it was not 100% perfect but can be considered as satisfactory with no smears & such. The only thing that I would be complaining about would be the colour of the henna after it has dried up. Rather that radiant red (as advertised in her website), it looks purplish instead. To me, henna means red - no other colour but red.

I thought of getting my hands henna-ed too but after hearing the price, I immediately changed my mind. It's RM20/hand which I think was a bit too much especially when the design is nothing that fancy. So, in the end only Marsya got he hands henna-ed for RM10/hand.

The Wedding Story - Introduction

2011-06-01T23:13:00.000+08:00

I was in Kuantan since last Saturday i.e. the first day of the second semester's school holiday. My youngest sister is getting married in a week's time & I wont be able to be back this early if it's not becoz of my injured knee. My plan is to spend the entire 2 weeks of the school hols in Kuantan...... such a bless isnt it?

I had been busy since the first day itself. Coming from a very small family, everything are on our own shoulders. We dont have lots of relatives to help us out with the wedding preps. Luckily things are much easier these days with money in the picture. Most of the major things like food, canopies, pelamin etc are being contracted out.

As usual, my job has always been in the arts & crafts department. I am not the best but since I am the most arty & creative person in the family, anything got to do with arts & deco. are being pushed to me.

My first project is to make the wedding placards that will be placed at a different locations to guide the guests to the wedding venue. Here's what I've end up with :

Mini Shopoholic

2011-06-01T13:25:00.005+08:00

Becky Brandon is back! But this time, she has an accomplice. In Sophie Kineslla’s latest offering, Becky is joined by her daughter Minnie, who, at the age of two, can already hail a cab and ask to be taken to Starbucks for a muffin.

I didnt know about this sixth installment of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series until a friend (who knew I am the big fan of Sophie Kinsella) told me about it. As usual, I would always wait for the paperback version though it would means months of waiting. Then, my BFF surprised me by sending me the electronic version of the said book which doesnt cost me a single cent !

So, what's the verdict? Honestly, I dont really like it as compared to the first 5 series - Becky really disappoints me this time around. Since I have read the other books in the series, I do realized that Becky has her issues and doesn't always tell the truth. But, in the previous books, she made me laugh and I could see the view from her side.

In Mini Shopaholic, I could not sympathize with her at all. I lost my patience with her lies and denials. I couldn't take it anymore during the moving scene where Becky has lied to her parents about getting a house and tries to avoid telling them the truth with even more lies and insanity. I was practically shouting, "Just tell the truth bitch!"

Perhaps what bothered me the most in this book was that not only is Becky not growing up and learning from her mistakes, but she's passing her bad behaviors on to her daughter. Her parenting is awful and that's just irresponsible. Maybe this was supposed to be funny, but I couldn't laugh about it.

I know I'll continue to read the series because I love the first few books so much, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Envy Me Gals !

2011-05-20T10:00:00.000+08:00

Have you ever seen those make-up train case where you could store all your makeups & accessories in it? What I mean here is the one used by those professional makeup artists - the one which can be open up in a few layers with few compartments in it. It's something like the tool box for the guys but this one is much, much more classy & vogue, of course. Here's basically how it looks like :

Cool isnt it? Actually "cool" is an understatement. It's cooler than cool - it's simply awesome. I can imagine myself carrying it - exceptional...totally exceptional & of course, very, very damn vogue too.

I've seen the case for a couple million of times already, being carried by mak andams at wedding venues. And every time I laid my eyes on it, in a long sigh I'll quietly tell myself that someday I'm gonna be the owner of the case. The makeup case has been the missing piece of my divalicious life all these whiles.

Today, after all the waitings & longings, finally that missing piece found it's way for good. Hell yes, I'm now the proud owner of the BELLO & BEO Makeup Train Case ! Only God knows how I felt inside of me right now. I am so thrilled & excited - so, so very happy that I simply cant stop smiling. If it's not because of my injured leg, I would have jumped to joy when I got the parcel earlier.

And girls, I havent gotten to the best part yet - I dont need to spend a single cent for this bag coz it's totally FREE !!! I was going through the online Citibank reward catalogue the other day when I noticed this beauty. Since I have quite a hefty amount of unredeemed points so far, I guess this could be a smart way to strike down one of the many items in my must-have list. Without further hesitation, I proceed with the redemption & wallah....here I am holding my dreamed makeup case in my hands.

Arent the beg awesome? It is isnt it? So awesome I could feel a gush of heat on my face as I examined the case. My blood just rushed through my veins in parallel with the joy & excitement built up in me. I love everything about the case - it's shiny black vinyl PU exterior, the adjustable strap, the extendable trays & not forgetting it's size - not too big & not too small - just nice !

With this new makeup case of mine, Marsya then inherited my old Elizabeth Arden's makeup box. The moment I've finished uploading my makeups into the new case, Marsya's pretty much done with her part too - which is putting her stuff into her new inherited makeup box !

My Life As An OKU

2011-05-18T16:58:00.005+08:00

Today, it's exactly the 3rd week I've been on MC - the 3 luxurious weeks for a lazy bump like me. You know the saying which sounds like this : Time flies when you're having fun. Well, trust me, that is so very true. The past 3 weeks has gone by so fast that it freaked me out. It was the speediest 3 weeks in my life & the thought of how soon it'll end, scares the shit out of me. In another 4 weeks or so, I'll be back to office & as I'm writing this, I could feel the chills running through my spine already.

The last time I had this luxurious moments in my life was when I delivered Marsya into this world 12 years ago. But that was totally a whole different experience after all. Marsya really gave me hard times during my confinement period where she'd cried all day long for the rest of my 60 days maternity leave. It's a nightmare for all I know !

Well, this time around at least I've got to enjoy my leaves even with this Robocop leg of mine. Though my days still starts as early as 5 am every morning, but I got the luxury to go back to bed after sending Marsya off to school. I'll only wakes up around 8.30 - 9.00 am later on & did my physiotherapy right on the bed itself. The physio session would occupies 30 minutes of my time the most.

Then, I'll proceed by making up the bed & have my shower. If there's any, I'll do my laundry shortly after, otherwise I'll be in my kitchen preparing lunch. Normally, by 12 noon, I'm all done and I would spent the rest of the day lying on the sofa watching TV with the lappie by my side. Heaven !

All those house chores may sound so easy & simple but for a permanently handicapped person like me, believe me, it's tough. Imagine walking with crutches underneath your armpit with one hand holding a pot & another hand gripping the crutch while hopping on one leg ! Imagining it itself is hard - trust me, the actual is twice harder.

You see, God would only tested those whom He believes is strong enuff to handle it & in this case I understands it very well why he'd chosen me again this time. Only a strong & independent person like me can makes it work. Me being who I am helps me a lot in managing my life with Marsya day by day. From cooking, mopping the floor, cleaning the kitchen, drying up the clothes to watering the plants - all these need to get done whether I like it or not. And I'm so proud of myself for being able to accomplish all these tasks on my own - something not every body are capable of !

Besides the long leave, another thing I'm enjoying at the moment is the privilege of being a disabled person (OKU). And what I meant here is mainly the OKU parking privilege. With my current situation, I got to park right at the front of any shop or building I went to. with no question asked. Something I've never got to enjoy before. Isnt that cool? Makes me feel like a VVIP indeed !

And also, do you know that I could burn 50 calories by walking with crutches for a duration of 10 minutes?

See....for every cloud in the sky, the silver lining would surely be there !

My Robocop Leg

2011-05-05T10:25:00.000+08:00

One thing I hate about surgery regardless if it’s a minor or major is the post-operation experience. The effect from the anesthetic really kills me. The vomitish & nauseous feeling was all over me. They are too great that I almost didn’t notice the pain on my knee due to the operation. My head was spinning as if I am having vertigo – I can’t sit, can’t sleep, can’t eat….and practically can’t do a thing. And this will go on for at least 2 days ( in my case, dunno about others tho. )

Alhamdulillah, the operation went well. After 2 hours in the OT, this is how my leg looks like : doesn’t it reminds you of Robocop?

This thing called leg-brace is the option to the traditional cast. I am so relieved they’ve came up with this option coz gotten my leg on cast would be twice difficult for me to move around. This brace itself is quite heavy – imagine the cast! With that thought in mind I begged the doctor to use the brace instead. My justification : I need to take care of my daughter on my own & with the cast around my leg, things gonna be twice harder for me.

FYI, I’ll be having this Robocop leg for the next 6 – 8 weeks. It may not be as heavy as the cast but it still restricts the movement of my leg. Being in this situation makes me realize how lucky I’ve been all these whiles. How lucky I am to be able to walk, run, climb, hop, leap & jump unlike certain people out there who could just sit & watch. It gave me the chance to thank Allah for all the blessings & luxuries of life given to me during my entire life.

Exec. Deluxe Ward @ APSH

2011-05-03T16:05:00.003+08:00

I checked myself in @ APSH yesterday evening. Took the cab & went to the hospital all by myself. The people at the hospital must have a few assumptions in their mind seeing me pulling my luggage through the registration counter since I am the only person there who’s not accompanied by anybody. She’s an orphanage. She doesn’t have frens in her life. She’s not married & doesn’t even have a boyfriend. Those were the thoughts that running through my head seeing the pathetic look they’ve given me.

To me, this is something very, very normal. Even when I was to deliver my Marsya 12 years ago, the situation is pretty much the same (though I do have a husband at that time ). I went to the hospital on my own too. And the same goes to all my other hospital trips thereafter. Me being so independent, I just don’t feel good asking help from others – unless in a situation where I’m not left with an option.

The last time I was admitted to APSH was about 2 years ago – that was the time when my toe got smashed by a cupboard. I was put into the newly built Premier Ward. Unfortunately, this time around that particular ward was full & I’ve to make do with the Executive Deluxe ward.

To my surprise, the Exec. Deluxe is far more better than the Premier – in terms of size. It was one huge room which can easily housed 3 queen beds at one time. How I’d wish it is the school hols. so that Marsya & my mum can stay in with me.

Tomorrow will be D-Day where my orthopedic is gonna dissect my knee. Hope everything goes well. Amin.

Wing's Opera Hidup Concert

2011-04-30T23:13:00.002+08:00

I’ve been very2 busy for the past few days – right after the accident. Here’s the thing : I’ll be admitted to the hospital by next Tuesday & will be immobile 2 months thereon. So, that leaves me with 5 days to prepare myself with all the consequences. Gotta pay all my bills, got to do 2 months groceries in advance, need to fill in my fridge with as many food as possible & completing all my unfinished business – all within these 5 days.

And not forgetting (which is the numero uno in my to-do list ), my date with Wings. Honestly, if it’s not bcoz of them, I would have done the operation by now. But how could I ever miss an event I’ve been waiting for more than 2 months already? Never !

As planned, I went to Istana Budaya with my bro. & his wife for the Opera Hidup concert performed by one of the most renowned rock band in Malaysia, Wings. I’ve always loved Wings – Awie’s voice in particular. I grew up with their songs, Taman Rashidah Utama, Sejati & Opera Hidup to name a few. Listening to their songs brings back all those sweet memories I once had with my schooling buddies. Those were the days where being happy are the only thing we knew.

The moment I knew they’re having a concert in IB, I’ve decided to be part of it. When my bro. called me up asking whether I could ask for a free ticket from the Director of Red Dot Black (one of the organizer) who happened to be my close friend, I jumped to the opportunity to join him for the concert. Well, we didn’t get any discounted tix, let alone the free ones since they are selling like hot cakes, it seems. So, pandai2 lah beli ticket sendiri……

Solih's new toy (Ferrari tu beb ! )

Wings was awesome as always ( great sound system by the way ). Awie was amazing (though he was a bit too comical, cracking too much jokes on stage) – and so were the other 2 vocalists : Mel & Mus who looks like an elf who just had a hair-rebonding treatment. He’s so tiny but with the mightiest voice. The lead guitarist, Joe was full with persona, mysteriously wrapping himself with a hoody but then, still he amazed the audience with his skills – as he normally did (which makes me wonder when would I ever found my guitarist beau …. ). Songs selections were satisfying as most of the hits & favourite songs are being played.

All & all, it was a great & excellent performance by everybody involved. The crowds were encouraging though not that sporting at times. Though I’ve to watch it with one leg being stretched out, the fantastic show managed to overcome my uncomfortable-ness. Hell-yes, it was a great show indeed !

Shit Happens !

2011-04-27T18:46:00.001+08:00

It was drizzling when I left the office that day. Since I've always got tricked by the weather, I decided to still changed into my sports attire & hoped that it wont rain in Ampang. Unfortunately, it still did which means I've to cancel my jogging routine for the 2nd consecutive day .

It was at the MRR2, coming from Pandan Jaya - right at the junction on the Pandan Indah flyover where me & my beloved red scooter were at the mercy of the tarred road. The road was obviously playing a very dirty trick on us where an oil spillage were used to nail us down. I was lucky that my red scooter wasnt at it's full speed when it happened. Thanks to her that not even a scratch managed to be on my body except.......

If people were to ask me what is the most expensive part of my body, my answer would be no other than my knees. As of today, both of my knees are worth at least RM 25K where both sides have undergone the scope surgeries. And now, due to the accident I had a ligament tear - which occurred at the same vicinity i.e. my knee.

It got swollen right away & bending it is just so impossible. I went to see my orthopedic the day after & since mine is the 2nd degree ligament tear, a surgery is required. Honestly, the word surgery doesnt scares me at all (since I've encountered a few during the past years of my life ). What freaked me out was the fact that my left leg will be on cast for at least 6 weeks !

The moment the doctor said that, everything came rushing to my mind - my daughter, my house, my work and most importantly my sister's wedding. With only one leg in function, I'll be good for nothing. My dreams of flaunting my dresses for the event would have to stay as a dream forever......huhuhu.

But then, come to think of it I am still grateful it's just my ligament that's been torn. For all I know, thing could get worse !

No Compromise !

2011-04-08T06:06:00.000+08:00

"Just because someone doesn’t love you in the way you want them to.... doesn’t mean that they don’t love you with all they’ve got"

The above quote was displayed in my Twitter's timeline this morning. It's one quote I simply couldnt get myself to agree upon. Knowing the fact that guys love to take things for granted, the more my brain is rejecting this quote. When he stopped hugging you or caress your hair or telling you that he loves you, he would easily find his way out simply telling you that "it doesnt mean that I dont love you anymore dear....this is how I am". Trust me for I've been there !

Honestly, I am super greedy when it comes to love. I cant just settle down with a TST (tau-sama-tau) kindof love. Love to me is something really precious & worthless that it deserves the best. Some or maybe most of the guys don't like to express their love to their loved ones in spoken words. Action to them speaks better than words - which I strongly disagree.

To me, love needs to be spoken out. You need to tell your partner that you loved them. Action alone wont do as much effect unless you bundled it up with words. Guys expect us to believe that they loved us just becoz they fucked us still - action mahhh ! No need to say, just fuck lorrr - still means I love you, whattt?

The fact is that they are just being selfish. It's their own self desires that matters most to them - not as a prove of love to their partners....HELL NO !

I love this quotes from Carrie Bradshaw (tho I hate her so much) in SATC : I am someone who is looking for love, real love...ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love. This is exactly the kind of love I'm seeking for too. Not just any kind of love.

I dont know about others, but I am a person who can never compromise when it comes to loving me. If I can love him with all my heart - not a bit less, then why cant him? If I can forever be passionate towards him, obviously I expect the same from him. Why should I compromise when it's everything from my heart to my life that I gave him to !

So, if you wanna love me - do it right....... else don't even bother trying !

Happy Friday

2011-04-08T05:57:00.001+08:00

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty,

but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”
— Vincent van Gogh

A life without dreams is no life at all. It is the fuel that moves us through our lives. It is what motivates us to open our eyes to another new day, especially when that dream has not yet come to pass. Dreams are what live deep inside our soul and it will only becomes a reality if we do something about it.

Dreams can only die if you let them die. And you will surely die if you let your dreams die. So chase them. Chase them until you have caught them and conquered them. Never let your fuel run out, never let yourself become discouraged, never let yourself quit.

Just live.

Liar Liar

2011-04-07T06:55:00.001+08:00

I was listening to Light FM this morning where they were discussing about a girl's dilemma of having a chronic liar as her friend. Listening to it reminds me of my own similar experience years ago.

I once had a friend who can be considered as a chronic & compulsive liar. If human are like Pinnochio, her nose would have been as high as KLCC by now. Nobody's a saint, everybody lied but normal people lied for a reason. A chronic liar isn't someone who tells the occasional white lies. Simply put, these type of people made lying a habit. As far as lying is concerned, they are smooth operators when it comes to their art.

This friend of mine would have been a perfect female if and only if she stopped being a liar. She had everything a girl would ever wished for - beauty, brain & wealth. But God is great & nobody could ever wins all. She might be perfect through the naked eyes but the truth is she's not that perfect after all. What's the point of having everything in this world when you dont even have somebody you could call "friend".

S was my classmate for 1 year during my secondary years. At that time nobody actually knows her dark secret. We were then "re-united" when I bumped into her at a shopping mall. It was such a pleasant moment for both of us to be together again after so long. In a short time she then got re-connected with the rest of our gang.

After hanging out with her for a few months, bit by bit of her true characters were slowly surfaced. Each one of us would always end up with different set of stories about something from her. Lets say she bought a new dress. She will tell me she got it from Pavilion, to A, she've gotten it from KLCC and to B, it's a gift from her aunt. Can u see how severe it is?

This is what a chronic liar is. She could lie faster then a fly could fly and lied so much that her tongue knew no shame. Becoz of this psychotic behaviors of hers, we've nicknamed her 20% - coz out of the 100% that came from her, only 20% can be trusted. Come to think of it, we've been quite generous by giving her that much - realistically, her words worth less than that - no even close to 10%, I would say.

Knowing how sick she was, everybody slowly distanced themselves from her, including yours truly. We would always look for reasons not to hang out with her anymore. Nobody could tolerate her lying any longer but none of us could actually have the guts to tell it straight to her face. Being and brought up as a Malay, that is one skill we would never acquired - to be blunt, especially to your own friend.

So, the best thing is to ditch her out of our life - for good. At one point it makes me feel bad as well but to continuously playing a part in her drama is something I just cant put up anymore. Most of the time, it'll left me feeling very betrayed & frustrated. To walk away is the only thing I could do to save my own sanity.

" You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time"
~ Abraham Lincoln ~

My Twitter War

2011-04-06T15:31:00.008+08:00

Didnt I tell you before that Twitter is fun? Calling it fun is an absolute understatement actually- it should be called super-duper fun instead!

Today, I've just started a war in Twitter. It all started when I intentionally poked a male blogger by saying I dont like him and that he's a yucky. This is not new - I myself is a blogger & for people not liking what I wrote is considered normal. I have tonnes of haters ( which primarily represents the other gender, of course) out there who wished they could just spit on my face for the thoughts and views I posted every now & then.

This butt-head Obefiend seems to get really offended when a hot chick (that's ME !!! ) publicly announced that she doesnt likes him. Realistically, not everybody could agree with everything that we blogged about but looks like this guy is trying to defy the truth. He must have thought that he's likable by all & being poked by a female really gotten his ego crushed to the core.

I admit that I'm the one who started the war here. One of his entry somehow or rather flicked my antenna (which seems to be a bit longer these few days due to hormonal change), which resulted with that comment of mine in Twitter. And I have a feeling that things might not end up this severe if I were a man. A guy being condemned by his own kind wouldnt get hurt as much as it does by a lady. When a lady did that, it is as if a big huge rock being smashed onto his balls....ouchhhh !!!

I do understand his frustration of being criticized that way but he shouldnt have used the vulgar words in his approach to defend himself. Being a professional & serious blogger as he portrayed in his blog, I'm sure there's a better way to correct me (if he thinks I'm wrong).

Which person is sane enough not to get pissed if being thrown by these kind of language? Apparently, in this millennium era more and more uncivilized people appearing right in front of our eyes. - the kind of people who are dumb enough to expose their stupidity out in the public. It proves that he is a yucky indeed !

His last tweet to me immediately loaded my system up & I'm all out for a counter-attack. And before he knows it, I've sent 3 tweets in response to his last ones - the best 3 tweets in my whole twitter-life......with the last ones being the best ever ! Boy, am I proud of myself !

I Wish I Could Dear.......

2011-04-06T06:12:00.002+08:00

Me & Marsya were watching our favourite TV series, Glee last night - it's not that we havent watched that particular episode but we just dont get tired watching it. At the end of every episode, they will always show a clip of their performance excerpt from a random episodes of the series.

Last night's was the one where the Glee casts were singing for Burt (Kurt's dad) & Carole's (Finn's mum) wedding. They were performing such a beautiful song from Bruno Mars, Marry Me during the procession down the aisle. I am so loving that song very, very much especially when it's the Glee kids who are singing it. Simply awesome !

Upon seeing Finn & Kurt's teary eyes during the wedding, I then shoot Marsya a question. Would you cry on my wedding if I were to re-marry, dear? Without even a slight hesitation, she replied, "nope !". Taken aback by her answer, I asked her why, since it's gonna be the most happiest day of my life & arent she gonna be happy for me?

With a straight face she told me this : "Mummy, of course I would be happy for you but it wouldnt be entirely. No matter whom you're gonna marry, I know I'm not gonna like him to the fullest. And just to let you know, I would only cry on your wedding if it's between you & Ayah Botak ( my 2nd ex-hubby who is Marsya's step dad )" - meaning that she wanted me to re-marry him.

At that moment, I just stood there - frozen. How I'd wished she would asked for something else like an I-Phone or something. Which mother doesnt want her kids to be happy? It's every mother's wish to fulfill each of their kid's dreams......but just what can a mother do when her kid is asking for the impossible?

Sighing the longest sigh.........

Muahhhh To LHDN

2011-04-06T06:10:00.000+08:00

I got a shock of my life yesterday upon checking my letter box. There's a letter with a sign that reads "Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda" on the envelope which instantly increased at least 10% of blood rush to my heart. Okay, what now? - I asked myself.

Apparently I did nothing wrong. In fact, it was a reward for being a good citizen....chewwahhhh. I was in the lift when I opened the mail & the dimmed lit lift suddenly becomes so bright from the glow which comes from my sparkling eyes the moment I saw what's inside it.

It was a cheque from LHDN for my tax refunds......woooo hooooo !!!! Praise to Allah for this wonderful gift of his. It was really a pleasant surprise as I didnt expect to get it this fast. It was less than a month ago when I did my tax declaration through the E-Filing system & now I've gotten the refund. Already?

What more can I say but many2 thanks to LHDN for their efficiency. You have indeed brightened up one of your tax payer's day ! Bravo !

ABPBH 2010 - My Views

2011-04-04T20:35:00.007+08:00

Noticed that I havent been blogging for quite some time already. Reason being, I simply dont have anything to blog about, dont have any guys to curse and nobody seems to piss me off lately. After the Lat show, nothing really interesting takes place in my life. Everything are pretty much the same which revolves around these two places : home & workplace.

I missed blogging & I thought I should rant about something today. My intention is to post an entry earlier but my brain doesnt seems to be working at all. The only thing this brain is able to project is telling me to sleep. I had a terrible day trying to stay awake at the office today - all bcoz of ABPBH 2010. And that's what I'm gonna blog about this time.

Anugerah Bintang2 Popular Berita Harian 2010 was hosted by Kak Engku, Sharifah Shahira & Zizan. They were all okay - funny, witty & very entertaining. But my vote would be for Usop Wilcha who appeared at the very end of the event to announce the winner for the most popular star of 2010. The audience were screaming frantically the moment Usop Wilcha appeared. To those who didnt know who Usop is, please go and watch Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah. I'm sure you'll love the character as much as others. Support the local movies..... woooo hooooo !!!

The excitement of watching this event immediately dies off the moment Pasar Sendat was announced as the most popular actress for the Drama category. It was such a spoiler - big time ! But then thinking back, well she was quite popular last year though not by her acting skills ( obviously duhhhhhhh ) but more to the cheap publicity of her failed love stories. And considering that the rest of the nominees were not as controversial as her, it's not a surprise she'd won it.

Besides Pasar's winning, another disappointment for me is the absence of my Abg Mie (Sohaimi Mior Hassan). Abg Mie is supposed to perform along with Ana Raffali but his place was taken over by another not-known singer.....huhuhu.

Anyway, I' m still glad Mr. Superman won the Most Popular Male Singer - he looked amazingly awesome with that black glasses & his long hair neatly tied in a pony tail......you rock FT !!!

Credits to gua.com.my for FT's fantabulous pic.

And as usual, Yuna impressed me with that unique voice of hers. She was singing while playing a musical instrument I myself cant figure out what - and there she is gracefully playing with it while uttering melodious words through her beautiful voice. Simply fabulous !

I am not gonna say anything about the rest of the winners as I'm not their big of a fan. Anyways, my congrats to Fafau for winning 2 awards for the most popular female DJ & TV Presenter. With Fafau winning the most popular female DJ would certainly puts Linda Onn in the "off" mode for good!

Siti Nurhaliza who opt not to participate in the competition this year did the closing performance. And as far as Siti is concerned, even if I'm paid to spot her flaws, dont think I could actually do it as I'll forever be biased. All I can say is that, she's a great singer with a great voice. Period.

Join Me In Twitter !

2011-03-24T19:03:00.005+08:00

For the past one & a half week ago, I was infected by the tweet bug which resulted with an addiction - not that severe though but enuff to occupy myself quite fully ......hehehe. I know I am such a late comer as compared to the rest of the Twitterers considering that it has been around since 2006.

Honestly, I have signed up for the account a couple of years ago and that's about it. Zero tweet, no followers (obviously) and not following anybody - simply becoz I dont even know how it works ! And the account has been dormant ever since - until Lin came into the picture. It was her who initiated my interest to give it a shot - and now I am hooked !

So, what is Twitter? I know most of you knew what Twitter is but there are still a lot of people like me who doesnt really know what actually Twitter is. Twitter is basically a very cut down to basic social network, or micro-blogging platform. It gives you the platform to write down your thoughts, feelings, goings on, problems, announcements or anything else which you can sum up in 140 characters and the people who follow you will see it.

Essentially it’s like Status Updates on Facebook and your friends seeing the updates, but instead of your ‘friends’ it can be any random stranger and the status updates are called ‘Tweets’. It is slightly more fun than blogging because you can have real time conversations with people. Also, you get little glimpses into people’s lives that you might not see just from their blogs.

It's really interesting to be able to get connected not only to your friends & family but also to celebrities & politicians. It's kinda cool to get inside scoop on things that you wouldn't normally read anywhere else.

Twitter becomes much more fun and useful as you follow more people and they follow you. The more people you follow and who follow you, the more likely you are to have questions answered and to learn interesting or new things.

So, have I gotten some of you interested already? If so then, come & join me in Twitter. Lets scoot around the Twitter world & have fun there ! The more the merrier !

Lat Kampung Boy The Musical

2011-03-21T08:01:00.006+08:00

Had the opportunity......... wait, no ! It should starts like this : After being numerously blackmailed by Marsya, I've got no choice but to take her to the Lat Kampung Boy musical theater on Saturday afternoon.

So, what happen actually? About a month ago, I told Marsya that I've just bought the ticket to Wings's life performance in Istana Budaya next April ( yes...yes...yes....I'm gonna have a head-banging session with Wings...wooo hooooo!!! ). Since she neither knew Wings nor their songs, I've decided to exclude her from this rendezvous this time.

Knowing that fact, she quickly demanded a "compensation" from me for ditching her. And Lat Kampung Boy The Musical is the price I have to pay for trying to have fun without her. Marsya is the big fan of the Kampung Boy animation series - the one shown in Astro. She found out about this musical during our previous visit to Istana Budaya to watch Siti Di Alam Fantasi few months back. Moral of the story : always arrive late at the scene so that these rugrats wouldnt have the opportunity to collect enuff ammo for their weapon of mass destruction (to our wallet, of course).

Honestly, I am not so much into musical theaters. I've always prefer the conventional theater where people only act rather than singing on the stage. But nowadays, the trend has indeed transforms that people tend to switch to this kind of performance instead.

The moment I stepped into the auditorium, I wished & prayed that I wont fall asleep like the previous Siti Di Alam Fantasi show. One thing for sure, Liyana Jasmay is not one of the actress which gave me some sense of hope to stay "alive" during the show.

All and all, the show was okay & I managed to stay awake throughout the time (applause to myself). Everybody who was involved in the play gave their best performance. Atilia was good - both acting & singing. Douglas Lim was as good as well - funny, funny guy he is. Not forgetting Awie - listening to him singing makes me so excited to watch his concert next month - love that voice of his ! Sandra Sodhi as Mrs Hiew was really awesome. The way they made that bee-hive look-alike hairdo really depicts the character as how Lat portrays it in his cartoons.

The star of the show without doubt was Omar Abdullah. He was just pure magic as Pak Samad Ismail, the Managing editor of NST. Everybody gets really excited every time his scene is being played - he's just so hilarious & definitely liven up the show.

Marsya was so happy - not only bcoz she got to watch the play but also to get her picture taken with the hot Hans Isaac. It's just too bad that we have to use her phone to snap the pic. as I left my camera at home....huhuhu. That explains why there aren't any photos of me uploaded in this post - so not me kan, considering I'm a cam-whore !

Anyway, if you are interested to watch this show you could still make it since it will be showcased at Istana Budaya till the 5th April. For more info. on the show, visit their Facebook page or head onto Ticket2U.biz to get your ticket.

Best Kebab In Town

2011-03-16T06:00:00.002+08:00

For those who originated from KL, I'm sure most of you knows which kebab I'm referring to here. They've been in the business for as long as I could remember. I would say that their kebab is the pioneer in the kebab's world here in our country. They have been in the business much, much earlier than those many kebab franchisees around like Doner, Kyros, Melawati etc.

The queue gets longer in no time !

Kebab Syawarma Raihani is indeed the best kebab in town. It's them who introduced "kebab" in my eating life. They are not as popular & commercialized as the rest of the other kebabs but theirs are totally incomparable. Operating at a small stall along Jalan TAR (opposite Kamdar), kebab Syawarma never failed to satisfy the cravings of their customers.

The juiciness & tenderness of the meat makes us wanna come back for more. The freshness of the celeries, cucumbers & tomatoes complete the taste of the kebab alongside with the special mixture of various sauces. If you think other kebab is the best - this particular kebab might change that view of yours for good.

As good as it gets !

There are 2 choices of bread available - it's either the normal hotdog bread or the pita bread. As for the meat, unfortunately only beef is available - no options for chicken or lamb though. The prices are RM 3.00 for the Bread Kebab & RM 3.50 for the Pita Kebab.

If you are around the area, make it a point to catch a bite of this kebab. One thing for sure, your effort would definitely be paid off the moment those succulent meat hits your taste bud. You'll be sorry for not knowing the existence of this kebab much, much earlier. And of course, you'll be thanking me for writing about this in my blog. You're very much welcome !

Your Loss, My Gain

2011-03-15T06:00:00.003+08:00

I received an sms from a friend yesterday evening which is a warning about the acidic rain that might occurs today due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant explosion in Japan ( resulting from the tsunami that hit Japan last Friday ).

Being thoughtful & as a gesture of goodwill, I decided to forward the warning to my family and friends. Though it might just be a hoax, I dont see any harm distributing the sms all around. As the saying goes, it's always good to be safe than sorry.

One of my friend then replied my sms by saying, "c'mon, how can the radiation travels that far....dont be silly". Ok, why did I send the sms in the first place? Simply because I care about them. And this particular person just couldnt be thankful for that. And obviously, this kind of thing would only comes from a man - a fact nobody could ever deny.

Honestly, I dont mind the part he called me silly coz maybe I am - by sending such a warning without even knowing whether it's really true or not. Why did I include his name in the list of frens I'm sending the sms to - that is something I really regretted. Cant help it but to curse myself thereafter.

I dont mind if he wanna criticize me no matter how cynical it can be but he could at least thank me first for my kind thoughts. He is so lucky I'm in the midst of transforming myself into a better person (which I am still struggling very, very hard to achieve). Otherwise, I would have replied his sms using the harshest words he would ever get from me.

Anyway come to think about it, it's not totally his fault for being so stupid. No matter how pissed I am, I have to be fair. It's in his blood - he cant go against nature just like that. Men are naturally stupid. Their biological occurrence are being made that way. Ungratefulness, egoistic, unfaithful, unappreciative, taking things for granted, self-centered, etc, etc..... are among the extra elements which completes a man. His just being himself !

Looking at the bright side, at least I dont have to waste any extra cents sending him an sms should I receive any other warnings in the future. And cutting off this species out of my life has always been a pleasure to me.

It's your loss & my gain !

It's Our Day !

2011-03-08T12:40:00.013+08:00

Being born to this world as a human is a great blessing. And being born as a woman is even greater. I am incredibly lucky to be born as a human being and as a woman. There are just a whole loads of fun things I'll be able to do being a female - things men never got to enjoy !

I can put on make-ups, use jeweleries & accessories, wear long hairs, use skirts and the list is simply endless. But the most wonderful thing of being a woman is of course to be able to give a new life to this world that is being a mother. Nothing could even match up the feeling I had the first time I held Marsya in my arms. Being a mother really completes me as a woman, ultimately.

Born a female does not mean I'm weak & vulnerable. Men could break my heart but they couldnt break me down. In fact, it'll make me even stronger than before. I may not be a marriage material but I know I am the best mother material any child could have.

If this thing called "the next life" really exist, I would love to be born again as a woman. Again & again even for the next millionth times !

To all women out there, Happy International Women's Day ! And in commemoration of this special day, GE is having this Wear Read Day campaign to support the fight against heart disease in women. And here are the red hot girls of GE in supporting the said campaign :

Too Hot To Handle

2011-03-07T14:48:00.010+08:00

My family and I are among those people who just cant live without chillies. Not just chillies but lot and lots of them. Chillies are like the force that makes my heart beats. I could live without a man but without chillies, I'd rather be dead. Life wouldnt be the same without that spiciness of a chilli in it.

This however reminded me of my trip to Japan many, many years ago. Japanese food is really a killer to me & I'm talking about those authentic Japanese food here - not the ones in this country which have been customized to the local taste. Their food there in Japan are really bland & tasteless - no joke !

I was there with my colleague for 12 days. Towards the end of our trip, our Japanese counterpart took us to the local market. Guess what we found there? Cili padi !!!! Even going to Japan Disneyland the day before cant beat the excitement in seeing those cili padi. And from that day onwards, the cili padi is like a passport for us where it stays in our handbag wherever we go ! That's how much love I had for chillies !

Being born in family who is so obsessed with chillies, I just cant help but to train my princess to be able to start consuming chillies at a very young age. By now, my Marsya's threshold for hotness / spiciness is undoubtedly much, much higher than any adults I knew.

Of all chillies, cili padi ( bird's eye chillies ) is by far, the best. I put cili padi in almost all of my cooking. I put cili padi in the fried noodle, fried vegetables & even kuih like vadai, cekodok, croquettes etc. Wherever possible & logical, I'll definitely add cili padi as one of the ingredients in my cooking.

A few of my friends in the office have already customized their tongue to the spiciness of my cooking - and these would be Carol & Lin. As for Ija, since she's still new (less than 6 months) she still weeps whenever she eats my food.........hehehe. I reckoned that she needs another 6 months or so to be able to cope with the rest of the girls. You go girl !

To those who didnt know, there are 2 types of dried chillies in the market - the hot ones & the not-so hot ones. So how do we differentiate these 2 types of chilli? Well, it's very easy once you master the art of the chillies...hehehehe. The hot ones (which is my all time favourite) are more bright in colour, shinier & smoother.

As compared to the the hot ones, the mild ones has a colour that is a bit darker & the texture is not as smooth. They are normally more crumpled up in terms of the look.

I hope you got it right since it's a bit difficult to explain it here. The best thing is to ask the traders at the market about it & do the comparison yourself. You can actually see the difference between these two types if you were to look at it physically.

Anyway, a few months ago while doing my groceries at Tesco, I noticed another type of dried chillies which is called as the Super Hot Dried Chilli. For a chilli lover like me, I jumped in excitement looking at it. Without hesitating I grabbed not one, but two packets instantly while thinking the things that I'm gonna cook with it. Am soooo excited !

I then decided to make a fusion olio with that chilli. Took a handful of them, pound them coarsely & toss in the spaghetti. The taste? Wallauwehhhh !!! Do you remember this old Malaysian cartoon about this monkey who ate chillies & fire coming out from both side of his ears? That's exactly what happened to me. But in my case, the fire shoots out from my nose & eyes as well. It was damn, super duper hot ! The hottest chilli I've ever tasted in my whole entire life. Even cili padi is not as hot. My lips actually went numb for a few minutes due to the hotness.

So, a friendly reminder to all - be extra, extra careful with this special type of chilli. All I can say is that, it's really fatal. No matter how high your threshold is towards chillies, this particular ones would definitely challenge you to the core. I've learned my lesson & I've learned it the hard way, unfortunately.

Happy Friday

2011-03-04T08:32:00.003+08:00

Always look on the bright side of life - be optimistic. A positive mind will sned out good & positive vibes which will affect everything around you & whatever you are doing, thus will contribute to things going well for you. Think more of good thoughts & less negative thoughts.

The mind is much stronger that we think it is. So, make good use of it & starts thinking positively about everything. Those good vibes will then make things work out for the better rather than for the worse.

Have a great weekend everybody & be happy always !

Muchas Gracias !

2011-03-03T08:26:00.005+08:00

Just a note to thank everyone - family & friends for all the awesome birthday messages - be it via sms, calls, emails, facebook & comments on this blog.

I'm not the measure of what I've done but more of who I am and those who've I've surrounded myself with. You are the reason why and who I am today.

I am extremely lucky to have such wonderful friends and family who care enough about me & take a minute out of their day to call, write and text me beautiful messages!

Thank you all so very much from the bottom of my heart.

The Birthday Cake

2011-02-28T13:16:00.004+08:00

After the great lunch, we went to play bowling @ Flamingo, Ampang. Honestly, bowling has never been my interest. And my daughter, Marsya is using my birthday to get her to play bowling. Instead of doing something I like on my birthday, I'm actually giving ways to her - all in the name of love.

My SIL & her 3 daughters joined us too. The original plan is to go to Time Square but thinking of the traffic & limited time we had, Flamingo is definitely a better option. For an amateur bowler like me, any place will be just fine. And to be frank, the less crowded the place is, the better.

Noriah & The Gang

Among 7 of us, I am of course, the worst. I really dont have a thing for bowling. Out of 10 games, I could only hit the pins twice - and I'm not talking about dropping all the pins here - this is just to HIT the pins. The rest are just to simply clean the drains at both sides of the alley.

Gaya aje gempaq !

After the bowling, we headed home. Noriah & CT who were in a separate car reached home later - with a cake in their hands. That was totally a surprise for me. It doesnt occurred to me that they would stop on the way to get the birthday cake for me.

Happy Birthday Yummy Mummy !

The cake was a moist chocolate cake & was not bad after all. Thanks to Noriah & her 3 angels for their thoughtfulness. You guys really make my birthday a special one indeed !

My Birthday Lunch

2011-02-28T11:50:00.004+08:00

CT took me out for lunch at Santai as my birthday treat. She knew I love that place & taking me there wouldnt be a mistake at all. I really like the food there being their ABC as the top of the list. So far, I still couldnt find any other place that can make an ABC as good as them - let alone better ! Theirs are superbly good - not too sweet, not too milky & the stuff they put in the ABC are all to my likings - they dont have nutmegs in it !

The table was too small that we need to put our drinks on the chair

However, I didnt order the ABC this time since the food itself has occupied most of the space in my tummy already. We had white rice with Steamed Fish, Seafood Tom Yam, Chilli Squids, Kankong Belacan & Fried Taugeh.

As expected, the food were really good - especially the steamed fish. All the three taste of saltiness, sweet & sour were very well blended. There's only one word I need to describe the dish : PERFECTO !!!

With my 2 lovely daughters.......mummy loves you !

To CT : what more can I say but thanks from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for letting us to be a part of your life & sharing a portion of your heart with us.

Surprise !!!

2011-02-26T11:22:00.003+08:00

It's my birthday today ...... Happy Birthday to me - another year older yet another year hotter ....... wooooo hoooooo !!

As any other Saturdays, my day starts with my power-walking at Ampang Hilir Lake. Morning walk is simply the best - it refreshes your body while at the same time boost up your metabolism to kick start your day. Inhaling the fresh morning air gives you such a wonderful feeling.

Coming back from the lake I was greeted by such a pleasant surprise. Waiting in front of my house is a guy holding a bouquet of roses in his hand. There he is waiting patiently for me with the sweetest smile carved on his face. Immediately my eyes sparkled looking at him ( or perhaps the roses? ). I wish I could just fly to him that instant moment.

It would have been super romantic if the guy is somebody I loved or at least knew....hehehe. Unfortunately he's just a delivery boy who came to deliver this lovely roses for my birthday :

To my sister in law, Ila - thanks so much for the flowers. They are such a lovely roses - as lovely as you !

My Pre-Birthday Lunch

2011-02-25T16:20:00.006+08:00

Carol & Ija are so kind to treat me a pre-birthday lunch today. Actually it's not only them but Lin & Ain too but both simply cant make it. Ain is too sick ( poor girl ) while Lin is bz with her studies. Too bad.

It was Carol's idea to go to The Apartment @ KLCC for the lunch - based on good reviews given few people. Since I've never set my foot there yet, so off we went.

The place was okay - I mean, the look of it. It's like other restaurants along the same stretch where you can choose to sit either in or out of the building. Since it's quite hot these days, we opt to be inside. But then, it doesnt really make that big of a difference since it's still warm & humid inside - that we need to move to a another table a bit further from the door.

This is what we choose from the Tapas menu which would act as the appetizer :

My rating : 1 over 5. The chicken is a bit too dry & it's salty too. The sauce on the chicken is too garlic-ish & while the sauce on the side is a bit too cheesy for me (but Carol loves it ).

For our main dish, I ordered Lamb Rack (RM 38.90), Ija ordered the Sirloin Steak ( RM 45.90 ) & Carol chose the Chicken & Mushroom Pasta ( RM 24.90 ).

I can only comment on my own dish which is the Lamb Rack. It was ok, I would say. The meat is tender & quite juicy. But then, one thing with me is that I cant eat this kind of thing on its own. So, I asked for a black pepper sauce which turns out to be okay. So, I'll give 3 out of 5 for my Lamb Rack.

I thought of skipping the desert since I cant even finish my lambs but those 2 clowns still insisted that I should complete the course since it;s my birthday lunch. So, not to disappoint them I proceed with the desert :

Mine choice of desert was Mocha Panna Cotta ( RM 12.90) while Carol took the Caramel Custard Tartlet ( RM 10.90 ) and Ija went for Baked Chocolate Pudding ( RM 16.90 ) which took about 20 minutes to prepare.

Turns out Ija's desert was the best among three others. At least it's worth waiting for. Mine was okay except for the sourish strawberry sauce which I dont feel it's good combi with the mocha Panna Cotta. A chocolate sauce would be better.

All & all it was an okay lunch - it could have been better if the restaurant invested on a few sets of new powerful air conditioner. Service was really good. Thumbs up to the waiters.

Last but not least, again thanks to my buddies - Carol & Ija for the wonderful lunch. Not forgetting Ain & Lin (plus Ija & Carol too) for the birthday ang pow. Love y'all ! Muahhhhhh !!!!

Appreciating Birthdays

2011-02-25T11:40:00.002+08:00

People react differently to their birthdays - some would throw a big party for themselves, some would starts counting wrinkles on their faces and there are those that really care less & treat it as a day like any other.

What does birthday really means (beside being the day you were born to this world). When we mention the word "birthday", all that comes to our minds are parties where friends & relatives are invited, gifts are unwrapped & delicious birthday cake is served. Birthday has always been greeted as a of celebration where fun is the top priority.

Often the real meaning of birthday is forgotten behind all these celebrations - which is ultimately celebrating your life. You being alive is something to be celebrated for - regardless of how bad your life currently is. It is a day where one should thank God for making who you are today. If it wasn't for Him you wouldnt be able to be here in this world. A non-existent you would be. Instead, here you are breathing, living and celebrating yet another year of your life with all the great things that come along.

People often don't realize the things they have until they are gone. Life is no exception. Nobody knows how much time we have left ? For all we know, we could die tomorrow. So not only should you appreciate each of your birthdays to the fullest, but you should also appreciate each DAY to the fullest. Be grateful for all your accomplishments, for having friends and family, health and for having the luxury of living each day.

Appreciating your birthday means appreciating your life and nothing has any value in life unless you give them a meaning. Make your birthday special by appreciating it and wishing to live your life to these fullest.

Tomorrow I am celebrating my 41st year being in this world. To those who are celebrating it too, my best wishes & happy birthday.

Celebrate life !

Happy Friday

2011-02-25T09:36:00.003+08:00

Loving yourself is a journey. There will always be good days and bad days. It's the ability to give yourself another chance after you screw up. It's the ability to forgive yourself after you unintentionally hurt somebody else. You can't love someone else until you love yourself.

Focus on yourself before looking out for love. Making yourself happy should be you number one top priority. If you dont, no one else will.

Happy Friday to all & let's make this weekend the happiest ever !