Dance Dance Dance

Maulidur Rasul

2012-02-08T08:04:00.006+08:00

Good morning people. Today I would like to talk about the Maulidur Rasul celebration which was held at the Surau near my house. I arrived at the Surau around 7.20am with a pot of chicken kuzi and a box of roti jala. Courtesy of my beloved wife. We were having potluck at the Surau that morning.

The celebration started around 8.30am where around 300 of us; men, women, and children; walked around our neighborhood praising our prophet, Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. It took us about 25 minutes to complete the circuit.

After that there were a number of activities in the Surau, namely the reading of the Quran, berzanji, marhaban and a motivational talk about the prophet Rasulullah S.A.W. And there were also a coloring contest for children, and the writing of khat for teenagers.

Lost.... 10kg.. :)

2012-02-02T09:10:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was a holiday for my beloved and me. It was Federal Territory Day. And yesterday, my diet coach came to our house with his house and son. He took my weight and lo and behold, I've lost 10kg since I've started the diet. Alhamdulillah. :) My next target is to lose another 5kg, and after that, another 5kg, insyaAllah.

Went to an event on Sunday morning. I've been to a lot of events in the past. Seriously a lot. But I have never been to one like last Sunday. Before the doors were even open, the crowd was huge. It was like we were waiting to get into a concert. Seriously. We had to inch our way into the hall, with security checking to see whether we had tickets or not.

Left early since I had things to do that Sunday. But it sure was an eye-opener for me. :)

Morning stroll...

2012-01-24T10:32:00.003+08:00

Went for a morning stroll early this morning. My second daughter wanted roti canai for breakfast and usually I would just drive to the nearest mamak shop. But today felt like taking a walk. Wanted to know how long it would take me, wanted to smell the fresh air in the morning, and wanted to be healthy.

It took me about 10 minutes to walk from my house to the nearest mamak shop. And I wasn't even perspiring when I arrived at the place. It was only on the way back home did I start to perspire. I think I'll be walking to the shops from now on, only in the mornings though. It can be quite hot in the afternoons and evenings.

My parents and my niece will be staying over the night at my house today. They plan to send my niece to Malacca early tomorrow morning.

And tomorrow is the first day of work after a four-day-weekend.

It's Monday and a holiday...

2012-01-23T10:30:00.004+08:00

Today is Monday and I'm at home, on holiday. Thanks to Chinese New Year, Year of the Water Dragon. Was suppose to go biking with my brother this morning but both my daughters threw up late last night after going to sleep. Didn't dare leave them at home without a car. Alhamdulillah they seemed better this morning, though my eldest daughter is still under the weather with a stomach ache.

A teacher spoke a bit about the afterlife. He said that there shouldn't be any reason for us to defy Allah S.W.T. We know exactly what's going to happen after we die, so we should be mindful and ready for death and the afterlife. Life is so so so very temporary. It's not worth being angry with someone, or holding on to a grudge after all this while. We (and I mean me as well) should start thinking seriously about the afterlife, and how we can be a better human being in this world to be successful in the next.

Currently I have a few things on my mind. I pray to Allah S.W.T that it will come true. I've started the process for a few of them, and I'm thinking and planning to start the others as soon as possible. For the ones that I've started, please make me successful in them, InsyaAllah.

Well, I can't say much more about these matters. I might mention them in the future. I'm not sure. Do wish me luck. Thanks. :)

The third day of tahlil...

2012-01-20T09:43:00.002+08:00

Went to my late friend's parents' house for the third night of tahlil. After the tahlil, the father stood up and thanked everyone for coming. I felt so sad when I saw that he was on the verge of tears. I was too. Everyone missed him dearly. Especially those closest to him.

Before the tahlil, went to a surau near their house for Isyak prayer. I used to go there when I was staying around the neighborhood. But the surau changed for the better. Somehow it looked bigger and grander. If that's a real word, grander.

Anyway, am currently reading Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 and it's seriously a good book. I've just read a couple of chapters and I just can't put it down.

My dear friend...

2012-01-17T21:54:00.002+08:00

My good friend from uni (the smiling guy in red) just passed away this morning. It was a shock to me, to say the least. I got an sms from a mutual friend saying that he had just passed away. I had to read the sms a few times for it to sink in. I just couldn't believe it. I immediately phoned my friend and he told me that the news was true. He was in fact at my friend's house, handling the police report with my friend's father and neighbors.

Luckily my appointment with one head of department was postponed, so I took the chance to go see my late friend. So my friends and I met up at a nearby surau and we drove to our friend's parents' house. It was a sad day. The wife was crying the whole time while holding on to her late husband's body. It was heart wrenching to watch. I didn't see their 4-year-old son anywhere. Maybe he was with his grandmother.

I will miss my dear friend. And all the good times we had together. He was a very happy-go-lucky type of guy. He's always smiling and laughing. I pray that his wife and son will be strong to overcome this ordeal.

Great Lunch!

2012-01-15T21:57:00.002+08:00

Had lunch at my parents' house today. My mother asked me what I wanted to eat for my birthday bash, and I answered I wanted masak lemak ayam, and goreng berlada ayam. My two most favorite dishes in the world. :) We brought donuts from Big Apple, and my brother and his family brought the cake and some fizzy drinks. And I finally got the Murakami book my sister bought for me. So it's all good. :)

Thanks everyone. :)

My first daughter is under the weather and I think I'm coming down with something as well. It must be something in the air. Since even my school friend is down with fever. As I type this, my head feels like something's coming, and it ain't pretty.

Nice.

2012-01-14T22:08:00.005+08:00

Yesterday after work went to my beloved's high school friend's house for tea, or early dinner. She cooked spaghetti and bought Secret Recipe's cheese cake and fruit tarts. Everything was delicious. So I would like to thank our host and hostess for the wonderful tea cum early dinner. It was great!

Today, went to my beloved's niece's wedding. It was in Taman Melawati. Thanks to Google Maps, we found the place quite easily. In the wedding hall, as we were weaving our way through the crowd, a mat salleh accidentally bumped into us, and I thought, "He looks very familiar, I've seen him before."

And a second after that, I heard or felt someone calling out to me. And when I turned, I saw my aunty waving at me from a few tables away. And that's when it clicked. The mat salleh was my aunty's son in law.

So we went up to them and greeted them. Apparently, my beloved's uncle was my uncle's classmate in uni a long time ago. Small world, huh. Then my beloved's cousin told us to seat with them at the front of the hall.

The food was nice. There was a performance by Mirwana, a nasyid band. They were seriously good. After that, went around Taman Melawati and showed my beloved my old house and my old haunts.

And after that, went to my daughter's school for "Meet The Founder Day" though we were extremely late. We went just in time for tea. Yes, yet another tea time. And after stuffing our faces yet again, we left for home.

So it was pretty good. The crowd from both the events were nice. And the food was nice too. It was all nice. :)

It's Friday, people!!!

2012-01-13T09:46:00.003+08:00

Top of the morning to you, fellow human beings. This weekend will be kinda busy with a wedding, a teacher-parent meeting and a luncheon. Hope each one of these events will go well, insyaAllah. I just want to talk a bit about the UPSI students who did the demonstration. I saw a video on the demonstration and I dare say that the cameraman was not biased, which was good. Because we get to see both sides in action without prejudice.

I read some blogs on the matter from both sides. There are a lot of people with a lot of opinions on this matter. Well this is my humble opinion. The students have the right to demand whatever it is that they want, and in this matter, it was about the AUKU. But they have to understand their current position. They are still JUST students. Their parents and families sent them to UPSI so that they can become well trained teachers.

They have about 3 - 4 years of studies, and after that, they can do whatever it is they want. They can lie on the street at peek hour, for all I care. The thing that I feel is not right is that, they are just students. They haven't lived in the real world yet. They don't know what's really happening in the country. They only hear what people tell them and they get riled up over nothing.

They talk about 'kezaliman'. They said a few other things but I would like to stress about 'kezaliman'. What is it that they think is happening, that affects them so bad that they spew words like 'kezaliman' all over the place. As a Muslim, can they pray anywhere in the country? Can they get food easily? Are our streets being controlled by the army? Are our virgins being carted away to be sacrifice for the false gods? (just kidding) The answer to the first two questions is 'yes' by the way, and 'no' for the other two.

The point I'm trying to make is that, we are living quite comfortably in this country though I'll admit we could do better, but who am I to say. When we say we are being victimized or that there's no justice, just take a look around at other developing countries. Are they better off? What is it that the students think they should get? Have they done anything for the benefit of the country? They haven't even paid 'zakat' yet. Do they want the world to be served on a silver platter for them?

They should finish studying first, get jobs, and then they can do whatever they feel they need to do. But currently, as students, they should contribute to their parents and to the country first.

Thanks...

2012-01-12T12:31:00.002+08:00

Hello there! It's Thursday! Tomorrow is Friday, and after that its the weekend! Woo Hoo!!! First of all, I would like to thank everyone for wishing me a very happy birthday on Facebook and via sms. I really appreciate all your kind thoughts. I was having a very sad day and was quite cheered up by the number of wishes on my Facebook wall. That really made my day. So thanks again, everyone.

My beloved told me what she wanted to get me for my birthday, and I was quite surprised. Pleasantly surprised, of course. But we still haven't decided on anything yet, so I pray that this thing will come true. Please pray for me. Thanks.

My siblings are getting me books. Yes, they phoned me and asked whether I would like these books, and yes I would. My sister is getting me, actually, she's already bought the book, and it's at my mother's house, sitting there, waiting for me to read it, Haruki Murakami's latest book, "1Q84". Seriously, that's the title of the book. Can't wait to read it.

And my brother is getting me a Terry Pratchett novel. I love both these authors, among others of course. So thank you so much to my sister and brother for the books. My best friend sms'ed a few days before my birthday, asking me what I wanted. This is an annual ritual with us. When its my birthday, he would ask what I wanted, and when it was his birthday, I would ask what he wanted.

So, luckily for me, I've thought about that even before he asked me, so I had an answer ready. I want an axe. Seriously. I need an axe for gardening, to open durians, and to chop off meat and bone at the next Hari Raya Qurban. And he agreed, so we'll be getting the axe soon, I guess, when both of us are free.

I would like to end this blog by reminding myself that this life is so so so temporary. The afterlife will be longer and more everlasting. The life in our graves. We don't just die and that's it, you know, we will stay in the grave for thousands of years, waiting for the end of days. Either being tormented or not. And after that, we'll be at Padang Masyhar, and that will take even longer. Sorry to end it like this, but I need to remind myself.

Whenever things get me down, I would think about the afterlife, and think about Allah, and that somehow soothes me, Alhamdulillah. But at the same time, I'm scared to go through all those process after I die. Because I know myself, and I need to be a better person. Please help me achieve this. Thanks.

It is the year 2012...

2012-01-04T09:21:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year!!! Let us welcome 2012 with open arms, and pray that it will bring us happiness, prosperity and a little bit closer to Allah S.W.T. insyaAllah.

Let's recap on the happenings in 2011, shall we. My brother successfully published and launched his book entitled "Ah Long versus the cannibal and other bloody stories" or something along those lines. It took me about 2-3 days to finish the book. It's that good.

Besides that, I'm currently undergoing a diet regime, and have lost 6kg. That's not bad, I guess. I'm trying to lose another 14kg. No pressure, just maintaining the regime and enjoy the lost of body fat slowly but surely, insyaAllah.

A dear cousin of mine asked that I try to blog at least once a month. So I will try my darnest to comply. Well, I guess that's all for now. Do take care and do come again. :)

2 thousand years is just two days...

2011-08-05T14:26:00.002+08:00

Just got back from the Friday prayers. What I would like to share is the tazkirah before the prayers. It was by one Ustaz, (I arrived after he had started his tazkirah so I don't know his name). And what he said really affected me. He said that with one sin, we will burn in Hell. And in Hell, one day is equivalent to 1 thousand years on Earth. He continued by saying that according to his calculations, the day Nabi Isa was brought up to the heavens, which was around 2 thousand years ago, that it has been only two days in Hell. He goes on by saying that our lives on Earth is so short, compared to the afterlife. So, therefore we must try our hardest not to sin, because we can't imagine how long the afterlife is. We seriously cannot imagine it. Since this is still the month of Ramadhan, we must double our efforts and try not to talk our way out of good deeds.

Frustrated...

2011-08-03T10:33:00.003+08:00

Happy Ramadhan, fellow Muslims. In this month, I will try to improve in my efforts to become a good Muslim. And hopefully it will last till the next Ramadhan, when my efforts will double, if I live that long, insyaAllah. I've been thinking of death lately, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm getting more matured as I grow older. Or is it something else entirely. It is said in a hadith, that the Angel Israil will gaze upon the face of the person that will die in a couple of weeks or months. I can't be sure which. And when that happens, that person will be dazed for a while, and after that will not think anything of that incident.

So, now I often think about death. About what will happen to me in the afterlife. About what will happen to my wife and kids. I've sinned. I don't know anyone alive that hasn't sinned. But I'm trying to do better. I really do try. Not only am I trying not to sin, but I'm trying to be a better Muslim in ways that has been taught to me. And from religious books.

I'm tired of all the charades and the back stabbing and the insincerity of people. I'm tired of all the blaming and none of the advising. I'm tired of life.

Please don't get me wrong. My wife and children are one of the reasons for me to embrace life. To live life to the fullest. But that's about it. I'm frustrated. I'm saddened. I'm depressed. I think this would be the most appropriate time to use the phrase, "F**k this s**t! I'm outta here!"

Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

2011-07-26T21:58:00.003+08:00

Has had a busy couple of days. The reason for my absence. On Saturday, was busy finishing an English assignment for my client. Then on Sunday, had lunch with my family and my cousin from Australia, with his wife and 2 year old son. And to our unending surprise, his son has the same birthday as my daughter. The exact same day. 6th of March 2009. Cool, huh! After that, sent my niece to Malacca and drove back the same day. Was exhausted by the end of the day. And slept early. Well, earlier than usual.

On Monday, arrived at the office around 7.30 in the morning and the first thing I did was to check my office email. Then, downloaded three documents, printed them, and photocopied 45 copies of those documents. Was preparing for a meeting with the Chief Operating Officer of my workplace. Alhamdulillah the meeting went well. :)

After that had lunch with an old friend. :)

It's Friday, people!

2011-07-22T12:19:00.003+08:00

"Well, hello there. Didn't see you standing there. How long have you been standing there, looking at me with that crazed look. Ok, calm down, and put down that weird looking thing that resembles a dildo. Oh it is a dildo. Ok now I'm freaking out. Get away from me! Help! Help!"

And that's when I woke up drenched in sweat and some other liquids I can't identify. Heheh. Just wanted to try a new opening. Hope that works for you.

I was quite busy yesterday. Too busy to even blog a line or two. I won't bore you with details of my two meetings yesterday morning, and my trip to Equatorial Hotel to check on the rehearsal for today's conference. Or the rush to the clinic with my beloved.

My cousin's in town and can't wait to meet him and his family this Sunday. He's staying in Australia, by the way. So we haven't seen each other I think about 10 years, maybe? I think it's more than 10 years. Anyway, my family (parents, sister, brother) will be having lunch with them this Sunday. Hope they like my gifts. :)

Well, nothing much to blog about. I have a meeting after Friday prayers. And if I have time, I might blog after or before that. Till then, toodles.

Halfway through the week.

2011-07-20T09:35:00.003+08:00

Hello there folks! Look at that, it's Wednesday! Yesterday, went looking high and low for the elusive Hot Ticket by Maxis. The first stop was Maxis KLCC and to my utter surprise, they were out of Hot Tickets. Can you believe that! So after that I went to a number of shops looking for the Ticket and lo and behold, they were all out of the Ticket. Dang it! So, after buying dinner for the family, drove home in a sullen mood. Was very frustrated because was out of phone credit.

This morning, bought a top up at the cash deposit machine at the office. That was my first time, and it was really easy. Thank goodness for technology. :)

Happy Birthday!!!

2011-07-19T14:24:00.003+08:00

Although it's kinda late, just wanna wish my beloved and our daughter "Happy Birthday!". Their birthdays are in July, 4th and 14th. My 2nd daughter's birthday is on the 6th of March, and mine is on the 10th of January. Just in case anyone was wondering. :)

Just wanted to put a picture of my family there. It was taken by Abang Anaz, my cousin's talented husband. I really love this picture. Thanks Abang Anaz. :)

The iPhone 5

2011-07-19T13:02:00.003+08:00

As some of you may or may not know, I'm crazy about Apple's iPhone. Well, actually, all Apple's 'i' products such as the iPad, and the iPod (iPod Touch, to be precise). I'm currently using the iPhone 3G, yes, not even the 3G S. So I've had this phone for quite some time. When the 3G S model came out, I wanted to get that, but then as luck would have it, I did not manage to own one. So, I waited for the iPhone 4. And when that came out, I was blown away by Facetime, and the faster processor and the retina display. But, I didn't like the shape. Although it was thinner than the iPhone 3G S, it didn't have any of the Apple sleekness to it. It looked too boxy. But I still wanted it. Then.

But now, there are rumors going around that the next iPhone will be out either late September or early October of this year, 2011. So, currently, I'm waiting patiently for the release of the new iPhone. I really hope Apple will go back to the sleek designs. The picture above is a rendition of the iPhone 5. Cool huh. I really hope that's how it will look like. :)

F**k this sh*t! I'm outta here!

2011-07-19T09:47:00.003+08:00

Top of the morning to ya, lovely folks! I know the title seems harsh. But let me explain. Do I really need to?Actually, I want to. The title, "F**k this sh*t! I'm outta here!" actually refers to a movie review. Seriously.

I can't remember the name of the movie, but I saw the trailer in TGV's website and wanted to know more about the movie. So I googled it and found a review of the movie. In the review, it wrote that the author saw the movie in the cinema, and while watching half way through the movie, a woman in front of him said out loud, "F**k this sh*t! I'm outta here!", because it was too scary for her.

So, I was thinking, how scary can the movie be. I still don't know because I haven't seen it. If I can only remember the title, I might be able to look for it in the shops.

Manic Monday

2011-07-18T11:50:00.002+08:00

Good morning folks! It's almost 12 in the afternoon, though. Just wanted to blog about a new little eatery at my office. It serves almost all kinds of food. From eastern to western, ready made, made to order and all such things. The food is quite nice, actually, and the price is reasonable.

I've gotten to know the owners, a husband and wife team. But am more friendly with the wife as she handles the cashier counter while the husband is always in the kitchen. So anyway, we started talking, the wife and I, and we realized that we had one thing in common. We love to read. The wife, the husband and me. :)

So, after that, while the three of us were discussing books, like the nerds we are, suddenly the wife says to me, "Why not I lend you some of my books!" So now I have two of her books and I haven't passed her mine yet. Keep forgetting to bring the book to work. Hope I remember tomorrow.

I'm currently reading White Ninja. And it's a good read. :)

Sunday Night Live

2011-07-17T21:54:00.002+08:00

Woke up at 5.00 pm, and felt very rested. Felt as if I've slept the entire day. And woke up to the sounds of the movie Cars. Had a shower and we were off to my beloved's close friend's house.

There, I downloaded a few 'live wallpapers' for my beloved's close friend's brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab. Actually, her husband and I were busy with the gadget while my beloved and her close friend were busy with other things, namely, handbags. :) Then, I connected the Tab to my laptop and downloaded some movies into the Tab.

Now, it's 10 at night and am feeling kinda sleepy. And now my back has started feeling stiff. I need a massage badly. And my stomach kinda hurts as well, this is due to the lack of exercise. And tomorrow's a working day.

Good night, people. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. :)

Jom Gotong Royong

2011-07-17T14:03:00.003+08:00

Good afternoon folks! Had a really busy morning cleaning up the nearby surau. It was fun and tiring. Earlier in the morning, went to Haji Tapah to take away some breakfast for my beloved and my two princesses. Then, after depositing the food, went straight to the surau with some mini apoms.

The activity started around 9 in the morning, so since some of us arrived early, we ate some breakfast and chatted among ourselves. Got to know a couple of people living nearby. A couple of us started the Gotong Royong by trying to clear some land of garbage. Then after that was done, we started to clear the huge drains surrounding the surau.

Now that was hard work. The drains were quite deep and it was filled to the brim with sand and vegetation. We dug deep, and perspired like crazy. I perspired until I had no more sweat in me. Seriously.

After finishing that task (each of us did a portion of the drain; it was long and deep) we rested under the tent and chatted. After which we had lunch and went back to our homes.

Am now feeling very sleepy. And the couch beckons. Good afternoon folks. Off to lala land. :)

Paul

2011-07-16T18:45:00.003+08:00

Well hello there. How are you guys and gals? Hope everyone is well. Today, stayed at my parents' house in Cheras, babysitting my two princesses while my beloved went to her school's sports day. Babysitting usually entails feeding the two princesses, bathing them, and chasing them around the house, pleading to them to pick up the toys and clothes strewn all over the house.

There, had the chance to watch Paul. And by 'there', I meant my parents' house. It's a movie about an alien named Paul, and his journey to go back to his home planet with the help of two nerds.

It's so funny. In one scene, Paul was talking to one of the nerds and the nerds asked, "How am I able to understand you? Are you using a neuro transmitter router?" (More or less) Then Paul answered, "I'm speaking English, you f*cking idiot!" Is that funny or what. :)

Well, got to go. Maybe I'll continue tonight. Maybe not. Who knows. :)

The iPad2

2011-07-15T15:47:00.002+08:00

Will you look at that. Three posts in one day. I'm impressed. Seriously. :) Ok enough of that. I want to talk about the iPad2. Recently, I went looking for the iPad2. I wanted to get it for my wife's birthday. So, my wife and I with our two daughters went in search of it. We went to Machines in KLCC and found out that they were out of the iPad2. They only had the original iPad. I wanted to get the iPad2 because it had Facetime and is slightly thinner than the first iPad.

So anyway, I liked the Machines page in Facebook and read diligently at their posts. And finally, Machines announced that the iPad2 will be arriving in Machines the following Saturday. So that morning, after buying breakfast for my family, I drove to KLCC and arrived at Machines at 8.00 in the morning. And to my surprise, there was already a long line of people waiting outside the store. Machines opens at 10.00 in the morning and it was only 8.00 and the line was quite long. The guy behind me asked his wife to stand in line while he went and counted the people in the line. He told me I was person number 60 in the line. Can you believe that!

So, since we had nothing better to do, we started chatting, the guy in front of me and the guy behind me. We had about two whole hours before Machines opens. Anyway, we found out quite a lot about each other. I guess that was the plus side to waiting in line.

So at 10.00am, Machines opened. And they started giving out these little black and white cards. If you wanted a white iPad2, then they'll give you the white card and if you wanted the black one, they'll give you the black card. You get the picture. So there I was, holding on to that little black card, and hoping that I will get that iPad2. We weren't sure what the having the card meant. It either meant we had a chance of getting the iPad2, or if the card was just for show.

After one and a half hours of waiting, I was finally in the store and at the counter. When I gave the cashier my black card, he called out the number on the card and another employee went and look for the iPad2 in the store. It was then that I realized that the card was an inventory card. If you are holding on to the card, that means your iPad2 is waiting in the store. How cool is that.

Finally, I successfully purchased the iPad2. And it was worth the wait. :)

Wow, look at that, two posts in one day.... not bad....

2011-07-15T09:13:00.002+08:00

Hello there. How's everyone? Fine? Great? That's good to know. You know. I've been meeting people from my past lately. I can't remember the order of appearances, but I've gotten in touch with my old primary school friends, and even my pen pals (at the time, the internet was very very new, so we were still writing and posting letters to each other, yes, seriously).

The story goes, my pen pal saw my name commenting on my cousin's status, and she told my cousin that the name sounds very familiar. And when she saw my picture, she confirmed it with my cousin. She knows me. We used to write letters to each other. Back then, writing letters to strangers was the equivalent to adding someone you don't know on Facebook. Seriously.

And I've started contacting my Uni friends as well. Well actually, I was contacted by that particular person. :) And we've been chatting ever since.

Besides that, I've watched Transformers: Dark of the Moon and it is a really good movie. But somehow, it just didn't blow me away as I expected it to. I seriously prefer Megan Fox as the heroine. Who cares if the new heroine is a model, bring back Ms. Fox!

I've seen Thor as well, and I love that movie. The hero (who is also a model) is perfect as Thor. Yes I will say 'seriously' again. And I think the movie's a good start to Thor. It defines the characters and the atmosphere of Thor.

I've read up on Thor in a book called 'The Intrepid Enchanter". In that book, the hero gets thrown into the world of the Norse Gods. And that was my first encounter with Odin, Thor, Loki, and a few others.

Ok, I've got to go. But do remind me to talk about the iPad2. Great device. Cheerios!

Lots of stuff to blog about, and so little time... :)

2011-07-15T08:20:00.003+08:00

First off, just wanted to say hi to anyone reading this, besides me. And that I was motivated by a cousin to start blogging again. :) I was reading her blog and thought that blogging was fun. And I have lots of things to blog about.

The surau near my house is finally open. It officially opened on the first day of the school holidays which was on the 28th of May 2011. It's called Surau Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab. And alhamdulillah the people from the neighborhood are swarming to the surau for all the five prayers. The surau is organizing a Jom Gotong Royong activity this Sunday and I'm involved. How cool is that. :) I'm handling the food for that day. I'm also a committee member, in Biro Kebajikan, or the Biro of Righteousness? I'm not sure of the exact translation of Kebajikan. Other than that, I've gotten to know my long lost cousin. :)

Well, I think there's more, but I can't seem to concentrate. Got lots to do at the moment. Hopefully, I remember to update this blog as often as I can.

Well, do take care and cheerios! :)

Astro B.yond Rocks!!!

2011-04-19T10:54:00.003+08:00

Well, hello there dear reader(s). If there are any left. Hehe. Just wanted to blog about anything, really. Am feeling kinda busy, with too much to do and so little time to finish them. Am currently reading Tun Dr Mahathir's 'A Doctor In the House', Andrea Hirata's fourth book, 'Maryamah Karpov', 'Kisah-kisah Ringkas Rasulullah S.A.W', and am still struggling to finish 'Yakjuj Makjuj'.

Tun Dr Mahathir's book is a fantastic read. I'm reading it slowly, very very slowly, so that I can savour every word he wrote, and every thought in his brilliant head.

Maryamah Karpov is proving to be as good as the previous three books Andrea wrote, so I'm enjoying reading that too. 'Kisah-kisah Ringkas Rasulullah S.A.W' is very interesting, as it has a lot of short stories which I haven't come across before this. And 'Yakjuj Makjuj', the book started out as a promising read but when I arrived at the half way point of the book, things began to slow down. Seriously.

Just got the Astro B.yond. And now I'm wondering how in the heck did we view television before this? Because the pictures are so much clearer until it made some movies look like some cheap budgeted movie.

A new neighbor just moved in to the front and left of us. A very friendly and nice couple with four kids. The eldest is getting married soon, somewhere in November 2011. The first time we met them, my wife and I were complimenting them on their renovation. And the wife brought us on a tour of the house. And it was impressive. Very impressive. I heard that the cost of the renovation is more than the cost of the house.

Am waiting for a new furniture to arrive. Not sure when. Tried to call the person in charge but no one picked up the phone. Will try to call later.

2011, translations, books, and allowances...

2011-01-24T15:21:00.002+08:00

Welcome 2011! Okay, I'm developing a habit of updating my blog once a year, and that is not good. So I will try to blog every week, or month, at least.

Just so I remember, I just got a call from the HR people and apparently, I'll be finally getting my allowance, alhamdulillah. I went for a translation course for ten days in December 2010, and it was fun. Tiring but fun. My course mates are great. In our class, we had two pensioners, two students, a couple of government servants, some teachers, a lecturer, people working for the private sector, and a housewife. And the lecturers were great as well. This particular lecturer, Pn. Jun. She was an inspiration to all of us there. I mean, she would suggest some books to read, and we would all buy them. Actually, I bought 8 books throughout the course. 4 novels by Andrea Hirata. A history / novel of Sultan Muhammad al-Fateh, an autobiography of a Menteri Besar, and two dictionaries.

The course ended with a four-hour written exam, and I just got the results today. I passed, alhamdulillah. So now I'm a certified translator.

I would like to blog more about the books I'm reading, but maybe another time. I've read Lasykar Pelangi and Sang Pemimpi, and am currently reading Edensor. All by Andrea Hirata. Good read. Seriously good read. Pn. Jun told us that to master the Malay language, then it is imperative that we read these books. And I totally agree with her. Thanks Pn. Jun.

2010

2010-07-15T11:58:00.002+08:00

It has been almost a year since I last blogged. So many things happened, some happy, some not so happy. I moved to a new house early this year. I got the Maxis iPhone 3G a few months before the the 3G(S) made an appearance. And am now waiting patiently for the iPhone 4.

I would like to go straight to what's bothering me at the moment. Two things. First, my siblings and me have been branded "bad-children" by our very own relatives. I'm not quite sure how things got this out of hand, but I think it's unfair to brand someone if the someone was not consulted and was not present to defend themselves.

I was depressed for a few days when I first heard about this. I mean, my siblings and me are trying our very best to be helpful and understanding, we really do. But we have our own families to think about and that's where the problem starts.

I am very thankful for everything that's happened all my life, but when I see other children of parents, children my age, I sometimes envy them.

The second thing is, I was recently appointed as translator for my company's website. And this appointment comes with an allowance. So, when I got the appointment, translation work started coming my way, even legal documents, and the dean's presentation slides.

I was happily translating because I thought I would be getting the allowance every month. How wrong I was. Now it's the middle of July and I still haven't seen a speck of the allowance. And so I asked the HR person in charge and she told me there was a problem.

The didn't know what code my translating work should be under, because apparently, no one has ever been appointed as a translator. So now I'm still waiting for their feedback. I hope I get it soon. At least that could cheer my up some.

Wait, I'm still depressed about the first thing. We are always misunderstood. Or should I just say I'm always misunderstood. Sometimes I feel like going someplace else and start fresh. In fact, I'm planning towards that. But one thing at a time.

Trials and Tribulations of the iPhone 3G

2009-08-20T08:49:00.002+08:00

Just so I don't forget, I would like to write about my adventure with the iPhone. The iPhone 3G arrived in Malaysia last year. And at the time, I was contemplating on whether to get the Nokia N96, E71 or the Samsung Omnia. Then an old friend of mine suggested the iPhone. At that time, the iPhone wasn't even in my mind. But when he mentioned it, something suddenly clicked in my head. So I did some homework on the phone, not much, just to see how it looked like. And I went in search of the iPhone in KL.

I found one at the Mines Shopping Centre and was hooked on it. It just looked so slick and beautiful. I had to get it. So after a few weeks, I went to Low Yatt and bought the iPhone. The guy who sold me the phone warned me not to upgrade to the latest iPhone OS. He said if I did, the iPhone wouldn't be able to recognize our local sim card.

So, I was using the iPhone happily, downloading apps mainly from Cydia and Installer. Up to a point where the iPhone hanged. My friend mentioned that that might happened if I installed too many apps without downloading an app that actually manages the storage. So what happened was, I think, was that the apps were being installed in the main drive where the OS lives. So as it took space needed by the OS, it stopped working.

Panicking, I formatted the iPhone using iTunes, and that's when the trouble started. It took about half and hour to complete the formatting, and to upgrade the OS (which was a big mistake). After finally completing the formatting, my sim card wasn't recognized by the iPhone. I thought "oh crap". Luckily I had a backup phone with me at the time. So I have to use my backup phone while my iPhone became a paperweight.

So then, I did some research on the iPhone and the ways you can jailbreak the iPhone. I downloaded a few applications and tried it out, and finally managed to free my iPhone (meaning, I can actually open my iPhone). But, it still didn't recognize my sim card.

To be continued..... (maybe)

Hello World!

2009-08-19T23:29:00.002+08:00

Hello World!

I wonder if anyone actually noticed my disappearance from the blogging world. I seriously doubt it. Ha ha ha. Oh well, could be worst. Could be even I didn't notice my own disappearance in the blogging world. But then again, that doesn't make sense does it. Hmmm.

Another year, another birthday, a few more experiences, a few more friends, and a new baby girl. :) My beloved gave birth to a healthy baby girl on the 6th of March 2009. This time though, she didn't get her own room, so she had to stay in an open ward. As I didn't want to be too far away from her the first night, at first I slept outside the ward with my sister in law, then I sent my sister in law to my parents' place, and spent the night in my office, which was a few minutes from the ward (walking distance).

Tried to watch some movies while in the office, I think I actually saw one whole movie before I fell asleep in my chair. When I woke up, checked on my beloved in the ward then went to my parents place to shower.

After two nights, she was discharged with the baby.

Ramadhan

2008-09-01T16:16:00.002+08:00

I'm currently blogging at my sis-in-law's house in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. My biras (which is my sis-in-law's husband) has a 24-hour wi-fi setup in the house. So, I'm making use of it to surf the web and update my blog. Thanks, Mr. Biras. :)

Today is the first day of Ramadhan. And I would like to wish all Muslims a very good Ramadhan this year. Hope this year will be better than the last.

Duma Key

2008-09-01T16:03:00.002+08:00

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Duma Key. I didn't even know he had a new book out. I found this gem of a book in my office's library. Duma Key is a place where this ex-contractor is recuperating after being almost crushed to death by a crane. So far it's a good read. Well, I haven't read a Stephen King book I didn't like yet. I seriously can't put it down. It has the same weird creepy feel as in Bag of Bones, though. :)

My Best Friend's Wedding

2008-08-18T07:17:00.003+08:00

On Saturday morning, which was on the 16th of August 2008, my best friend of 16 years got married. The ceremony was held at a Mosque in Pandan Indah. Above is the picture of the lovely couple. Congratulations, Sagaff & Ayu!

Hot Blood

2008-07-08T09:50:00.003+08:00

I'm currently reading Stephen Leather's Hot Blood. This is the first time I'm reading a book by the author, and I must say, I like his style. It's about a former SAS agent who becomes an undercover cop. And the hero with his other ex-SAS buddies are trying to rescue their buddy from being beheaded by terrorists.

The storyline and the action are quite good, but the thing that really got to me was when the hero (a sort of an atheist, with Catholic in-laws) discusses Islam with his 7-year-old son. One of the things he tells his son is 'You should read it (the Koran). If everyone behaved the way the Koran tells people to behave, the world would be a much better place.' And he goes on to talk about the five pillars of Islam.

It's been a while...

2008-06-27T09:53:00.002+08:00

It has been almost 7 months since I've last written my thoughts here. Celebrated my birthday in January, my brother's and one best buddy's birthday in February, my other best buddy's birthday in April, my Dad's birthday in May, and my sister's in June .

The Wira gave us lots of problems for a few months. The worst was when we had to change the gearbox and the clutch plate. By then my beloved and I decided to get a new car. It just wasn't worth the hassle and money to maintain the Wira anymore. Although we have so many memories with the Wira, including going back and forth from KL to Pahang on a weekly basis when my beloved was still teaching there, to going back to her hometown during the school holidays. And even back when we were still dating.

We were quite sad to sell the Wira, but it was either that, or keep on paying for the maintenance, which would suprise us every now and then. So in the end, we decided to get a new car, a Toyota. Luckily for us, my beloved's friend knows a Toyota sales person. So Toyota bought the Wira at a remarkably higher price than what was in the market.

And we finally bought a non-Malaysian car for the first time. My first car was a red Kancil. My second car was a black Wira SE. So, after eliminating a few cars from the mental list we had, we finally bought a Toyota Vios. A black Toyota Vios. :)

I Am Legend

2007-12-12T08:19:00.000+08:00

Last night, saw the premier of 'I Am Legend', courtesy of my wonderful and beautiful sister-in-law (I hope she's reading this, and planning to give me those premier movie passes to AVP2. Hahaha). My sister in law gave me two tickets, and I took my best buddy with me, since my beloved is not the movie going type, and she hates horror movies. Besides us, there were my brother and sister in law, my brother's in-laws, and his buddies from school.

The movie was quite good, actually. It evokes two main emotions in the viewers' heart almost throughout the movie.

At times, it can be quite frightening, two examples would be when he was curled up in his tub with Sam, his dog, and in the background were these horrifying howling and screaming coming from outside his house. The second one would be when he stumbled into their hive and they were all standing in a circle, breathing heavily. Who 'they' are, you have to see the movie to find out.

And at times, it can be quite sad. One example would be when he had to leave his wife and daughter on the helicopter, sort of knowing he might not see them again, but trying to brave it out by smiling at them. And the other one would be when he actually spoke to a mannequin and pleaded to the mannequin to answer him.

All in all, it was a good movie, but for one thing. To me, the 'them' or 'the Darkseekers' should be more realistic. I think that was the only flaw of the movie.

Saw some previews of upcoming movies. 'Aliens Versus Predator 2' looks excellent. Johnny Depp has a new movie coming out, Sweeney something something. The movie looks weird, which is almost always the case for Mr Depp.

I almost forgot to mention that we had to leave our handphones at the counter. This is so that we don't record the movie. So I had to leave my handphone and the headset, can you believe that. But we got it back after the movie, so it was ok. All in all, it was a fun guy's night out for me. Thanks for accompanying me, best buddy. :)

Sony Ericcson S500i

2007-11-30T07:37:00.000+08:00

Two weeks ago, these two Australians came to the office to deploy a new set of executables. It was for an application being used here. The whole exercise started two weeks before they came. We had to upgrade the database for the new set of executables to function properly. That meant two whole nights in the office, troubleshooting and solving any problems from here while they upgrade the database from Australia. We had to constantly monitor the database and the operating system for any errors, and solve it on the spot so that the upgrading can take place without problems.

But as always, there were some problems. But we managed to settle them without much fuss. The first night we did the exercise, my in-laws were at my house. They came to KL to catch a flight to Langkawi and after they came back to KL, we took them shopping at all their favourite locations. So, my beloved was quite worried as came back late that morning. I started work at around 10pm the previous night, and got back home around 9-ish in the morning. I managed to sleep about 1/2 an hour to one hour at home. Woke up, drank my power drink and was up and about the whole day, shopping with my in-laws. After they left, the house felt empty, with just the three of us.

Last week, my beloved had a 3-day-course in one of the hotels in KL. My daughter and I tagged along and stayed with her at the hotel. In the mornings, I would take our daughter to her nursery and went to work. And after work, I would pick my daughter up and we would go straight to the hotel. On the last day, I made plans with my two best buddies for a guys' day out. We went for lunch at Omar Khayyam, a really old school beriyani place. The food there was excellent, as ever. After that, went to a shopping mall to look for my beloved's belated birthday gift.

My beloved wanted this Sony Ericsson phone. She saw it on the net and wanted it ever since. But unfortunately, the phone didn't arrive in Malaysia on her birthday, so she said she would wait for the phone. So, my buddies and I went in search of the phone, and found it. It was really nice. And I knew my beloved would love it.

After getting the phone, we went in search of a box to put the phone in. Yes, the phone was already in it's own box. But I wanted to suprise her. So, we went to KLCC in search of the perfect box. Found it in a place called D'Nata (if I'm not mistaken) and got her this small black box with black and gold ribbons. The phone fitted snugly in the box. I was so overjoyed with the box that I hugged the girl who did the ribbons. Well, almost. Hehehe.

After that, went back home and gave my beloved the box. She was drying out clothes in the back and I just sort of passed her the box and said, "Here, this is for you." She took the box from my hand with a puzzled look on her face and opened the box. Her face lit up instantly, and she looked shocked. But a good kinda shock. After a few seconds, she finally managed to say that she was speechless. I was really glad she liked the box and the phone.

I would like to thank my two best buddies for their help, their thoughts and advice on the matter of the phone and the box. Thanks so much, you guys.

Times Square

2007-11-20T12:25:00.000+08:00

Last week, had a conference at Berjaya Times Square Hotel. I was head of the IT unit there. It was a very small unit. We had to make sure the laptops were working, the projector was running, and a technician standing by with a backup laptop just in case the one the speakers were using became problematic. There were five of us there. We were working very closely with the committee organizing the whole thing.

I slept at the hotel the first night with a colleague. We had a room on the 26th floor and the view was amazing. We could see the top of most buildings. And we saw KLCC and the KL Tower from there. But the layout of the hotel room was a bit weird. I don't think I can explain it well here, so you just have to take my word for it.

The food there was fantastic. And the hotel's connected to one of the biggest shopping malls in Malaysia. They even have a roller coaster in the mall.

Food Galore

2007-11-06T11:11:00.000+08:00

My beloved and I went to a vendor's Jamuan Raya on Friday after work. It was in Subang Jaya. We got completely lost due to the map they gave us. We finally got to the place around an hour and a half later. Luckily for us, the food was great. By the time we got there, we were extremely hungry. So, we attacked the lamb first. Then we attacked everything else.

On Saturday, went to my mother's close friend's Jamuan Raya. We were quite late in arriving there, but there was still plenty of food. We ate our fill and left to see the house. My parents seemed to like it. After that we rushed for home because my sister-in-law apparently just arrived at our house. Luckily my mum-in-law was at home. So, they waited for us to arrive to bring a bucket full of KFC's hot & spicy and original recipe.

On Sunday, went to survey a hotel in KL. After that, went to my colleague's Jamuan Raya. Ate our fill and went to another of my colleague's Jamuan Raya. Came back home full and contented.

Seminar

2007-11-01T12:59:00.000+08:00

Just got back from a seminar in KL. It was packed. My colleagues and I arrived about 20 minutes into the first session. Since we came in late, we had to sit right up in front of the speaker. But halfway through the second session, I fell asleep. I managed to sleep while sitting upright. Then it was time for a break, which I badly needed.

There, I met up with my ex-colleagues and my ex-boss. They are all doing their own thing now. We left our previous company at different interval, but still managed to meet up at these seminars. It was good to meet up with them.

Major Reshuffling

2007-11-01T07:36:00.000+08:00

There was a major change in the organizational chart recently. And it affected some of my colleagues and myself included. A close colleague of mine got the short end of the stick when the management decided to relieve her of her previous unit and gave her some lame excuse for a new unit to head. Her new job scope is to maintain the department's ISO documentation.

She has a Master's Degree in IT and all she has to do now is to handle documentation? I mean, isn't that a waste of knowledge and resources. As for me, I was transferred to another unit since my unit head is now heading the unit my close colleague was previously heading. My colleague and I were transferred to another unit, but strangely enough, our job scope remained the same. I thought at first that my job scope would be different, but apparently, my job scope is the one following me around. So no matter which unit I get transferred to, my job scope would always be the same. Weird, huh.

Yesterday, a former unit mate made me an offer. He wanted me to join him in his new unit. I told him I'd have to think about it. The problem was, I would still be doing the same thing, but with a different unit head. So, technically, I'm lugging around this job scope on my back with no relief in sight. Don't get me wrong. I like what I do, but, I think it's kinda weird, don't you think? I'm the only person in the department doing what I'm doing now. It's sort of like an honor, I guess, since apparently no one else can do what I do. Or are they just smart and they don't want to do what I do? Hmmm.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

2007-10-23T08:22:00.001+08:00

I hope it's not too late to wish everyone a very 'Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri' and 'Maaf Zahir & Batin'. We celebrated raya this year at my beloved's kampung first. We anticipated a massive jam on the drive to her hometown, so we decided to leave early. We started on our journey around 10pm on Wednesday night. We packed tuna and beef sandwiches for our drive and for me, two bottles of coffee.

We arrived early the next morning, with me dead tired. I slept till late afternoon and woke up feeling weird. I didn't feel refreshed but rather felt my head was in a fog. It wasn't a great feeling, let me tell you.

The first day of raya was all about food and duit raya. My daughter got quite a lot this year, actually. Lucky daughter. I don't think I ever got that much when I was younger. Way way younger, that is.

To my best buddy. Thanks for the comment. Yes, I know I haven't blogged in ages. It's just that I'm way busy nowadays, and with the new environment at work, I'm adjusting to it. Or slowly trying to.

N95 8GB

2007-09-24T07:56:00.001+08:00

This is the latest Nokia N95 8GB. My new dream phone. It has all the same key features of its predecessor, the N95, except that this has eight gigabytes of built-in memory, new luminous 2.8" QVGA display, and its now black. It really is beautiful. But its not out yet. But it's coming. Soon. Real soon.

On Friday morning, went to a workshop to change two tyres on my car. It was long overdue anyway. I even asked them to service my car, and they even serviced the throttle body, which finally solved the car's problem of dying whenever I change from third gear to second gear. Not always, but often enough to make it a problem for me and my beloved.

On Saturday morning, went to meet up with my beloved's friend in Putrajaya. Since we were in the neighborhood, went shopping in Alamanda immediately after. The last time we went there was to celebrate my birthday with a bunch of my uni friends. Bought some stuff for the house and for the car.

Got back home, and slept till evening. After that, went to break fast at my parents' place. My brother and his family was there as well. Had our fill of 'nasi tomato' and chocolate cake and 'ayam goreng berlada' and some fruit concoction. And after all that, I was stuffed. The first time I've been that stuffed in Ramadhan.

Birthdays And Weddings Part 2

2007-09-10T15:57:00.000+08:00

The continuation...

After the birthday party, we went to my parents' house for tea. But by that time we were full, so we just had tea, and took my mum's famous "shepherd's pie" home.

Around 6 something, my best buddy came over with his girlfriend and they had high tea at my house. Yes, we had my mum's famous "shepherd's pie". After that, we went to Wisma Sejarah for our school mate's wedding. The thing was, I really couldn't remember our friend's face. At all.

But when we got there and I saw him, I totally remembered him from our old school days. Although we weren't close friends, he invited me. And that made me feel good. At the wedding, my best buddy and I met our old friends and we exchanged phone numbers. With promises to keep in touch. Went back home in time to see the last two hours of "Anugerah Era 2007".

The next morning, wiped my car clean, since it rained on the way to my friend's wedding. Lazed around at home till around 5, when we decided to drive around. My daughter was excited with the prospect of going for a drive. Finally we ended up at Ampang Point, and bought our dinner there.

Birthdays And Weddings Part 1

2007-09-10T09:57:00.000+08:00

It's been a very eventful weekend. On Friday night, went to the new Tesco Cheras to get some wedding presents and a birthday present. We were shocked to see so many people waiting in line to get a parking space. Luckily for us, we got ours a few minutes after entering the premises. The place used to be Makro, but somehow, Tesco managed to make the whole building look bigger than it used to. We were there for a few hours and got everything we came for.

On Saturday morning, washed and polished the car. Was sweating buckets by the time I was done. Good morning exercise for me. Then after lunchtime, went to my beloved's colleague's house for her daughter's birthday party.

About the birthday party. We were the second couple to arrive at the house. So, I got to seat at the couch while my beloved was sitting on the floor with her colleagues. After that, the house slowly became packed with people. One of them was this parent I met once upon a time ago when I was out with my beloved and her colleagues. And this parent still remembered me.

She gave me this big smile and came to greet my beloved and I. Then she sat next to my beloved and started chatting away. After a while, it was time for us to eat. Since no one was moving towards the food, my beloved and I stood up and attacked the food first. Yes, we are shameless in that sense. Hahaha.

As I was enjoying my 'mee bandung', the parent came and sat next to me. My beloved smiled and said something to the parent, who then told my beloved that she was just going to borrow me for a while. I smiled sheepishly and concentrated on my food. We then started talking about things when I felt someone looking at me.

You know how you can feel when someone is eyeballing you. So when I looked up, I saw my beloved's colleague looking at me, smiling. I smiled back and she said something to my beloved which got my beloved laughing and retorting back saying, "That's dangerous, you know". Uncomprehending what had just happened, I continued my conversation with the parent.

Apparently, the parent's husband is a lawyer by profession and has his own construction company. No wonder the parent is so rich, I thought. She then told me that her husband is launching a new housing area somewhere in Gombak. I asked her where it was exactly as I was quite familiar with the Gombak area. She started explaining it to me by trying to draw an invisible map on her thigh with her finger. Then she changed her mind and started drawing the invisible map on my thigh!

I sorta freaked out when I saw what she was about to do.

To be continued...

Books Books Books

2007-09-07T10:21:00.000+08:00

These are just a few books I've read over the years. But my favourite all time book is still Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance.

Whoever loves to read should check out Shelfari. This website is something new.

Psych

2007-09-06T07:35:00.000+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, saw an old friend on Yahoo! Messenger. She went missing from my friends' radar since almost two years ago. When I suddenly saw her icon on my buddy list, I messaged her and asked her how she was and we started chatting about stuff. Then out of the blue, she asked me about my best buddy. I told her that he was fine and still single. Before we ended our chat session, I got her number and got my best friend to contact her again. And now they are seeing each other on a regular basis, much to my delight.

Saw 'Psych' last night on AXN with my beloved. And we extremely love the series. It's funny and fun, and very entertaining. Nothing much more to say about the series. You got to watch it to believe it.

Perfect Strangers

2007-09-04T10:23:00.001+08:00

Last night, it was raining heavily. I mean, really really heavily. It started around 6pm and it didn't stop till around midnight. And because of that, we had to watch dvds. Since Astro doesn't work when it rains. Bummer huh.

So, last night, we saw The Simpsons Movie and Perfect Strangers. The Simpsons, as usual, was hilarious. I like the part where Bart had to skate naked and his wiener was being covered by everything you can think of, all along the way, except for this short portion where they actually showed his wiener. Funny stuff. As for Perfect Strangers, it's a good murder mystery movie. And the ending is quite shocking.

My friend made it into the papers today, as her futsal team won 1st runner up in the Karnival Wanita Futsal i-Metro, which was held a few days ago. Since I had lunch with my parents today outside the office, took the opportunity to buy a copy. Then I made my friend sign the paper. Who knows, she might be famous one day and the copy could be worth millions.

After having lunch with my parents, we went to GH to visit my aunt. She just had an operation yesterday, and I wanted to see how she was. My parents had already seen her after her operation. Hope she gets well really soon.

28 Weeks Later

2007-09-03T13:30:00.000+08:00

Happy Merdeka Day, Malaysians!!! On Thursday, a day before the Merdeka celebration, I got back home early just to wait for the Astro guy to come and fix the dish on top of the house. Yes, I have finally gotten Astro. And now I can't get enough of it.

Recently, I think it was about a couple of weeks ago, my good friend from the office entered a karaoke competition held by the Arts Club here in the office. And the event was fantastic. I really enjoyed the thing. Though my friend didn't make the final three. He got a small trophy and a certificate.

The winner was this really talented girl from another department. And she was a truly talented singer. Though she could improve on her performance. All she did was smiled at the audience and wriggled her shoulders at us. She looked cute doing that, no doubt. But she could have done better, I think.

Just saw '28 Weeks Later' and it rocks!!! I really love the movie. Especially the scene where one guy was being chased by a field full of the infected. I can feel the victim's horror at being chased. Dang!

I even saw 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'. And I definitely prefer this one compared to the first movie. I saw another movie recently but I just can't remember what it was. A-ha! I just remembered. It was 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. And as usual, it's a cool movie. Though I don't know which Bourne movie I prefer.

Look Out! An angry person!

2007-08-21T09:13:00.000+08:00

I've finished reading 'Sputnik Sweetheart' and am now reading 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicles'. Yes, as you can guess, I really like reading Mr Murakami's books, and the fact that I have no new books to read. I really should check out the library on the third floor for any new books, or books that I haven't already read.

I might actually get 'After Dark' this weekend, in the hopes that I'm not too busy with weddings and stuffs. Three of my coming weekends are already fully booked with weddings, so I may have to get my soon-to-be-mine 'After Dark' after work. We'll see how it goes.

Am currently pissed off with someone. That person is being very unfair and discriminating. The thing was, the person emailed me something which was very unclear. And so I replied to the person with very clear answers and some very clear questions. But then this morning the person replied with very vague statements, and didn't even bother to answer the questions I posed. Bluddee "f-word with 'er' at the back!".

Enough of that.

Yesterday, we had this singing competition during office hours in the auditorium. I went there with a friend just to see the contestants. My friend will be singing today. Anyway, after two contestants, I told my friend I had to be getting back to work, since there was something that needed doing. So I left. About half an hour later, he came to see me and told me that the competition was postponed till today. He said one of the curtains caught fire from the spotlights, and one guy actually tried to douse the flame with water from a small mineral water bottle.

My First Time

2007-08-15T09:41:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, something happened to me. It was the first time for me. But before I get into that, let me start from the very beginning. In the beginning, there was light. Hehehe. Not that far ahead, ok.

This was how it started. I saw this video of an overweight guy who did this simple exercise regime and within 5 months, had lost all of his fat. So, since I saw that it was just a simple regime, I decided to try it out.

We have this gym in our office and I decided to give it a go. So, I brought along my soccer jersey (Real Madrid), shorts, and my futsal boots with me that morning. After work, I went straight to the gym and changed into my exercise gear.

There was only one other patron there at that time. I started my exercise on the treadmill for around 10-15 minutes next to this doctor. We chatted for a while about our families and work. He seems like a pretty decent guy. He saw I was using an iPaq, so he showed me his Dopod. He said he got it for below RM1K, second hand. Which was a really good deal.

After he left, I started with the regime. By that time, there was one fat Malay guy, one thin Indian guy and one equipment technician. After completing 8 of the 10 steps, which consisted of 30 reps each step, I stopped and had a breather.

I felt weird. Extremely exhausted. And I was perspiring non-stop. All of a sudden, I started seeing bright colourful designs all over the place. They were in my vision. Then I knew something was wrong. So I sat on the bench, closed my eyes and concentrated on not passing out. I took short breaths, but it seemed that I was about to pass out any second.

So, I laid down on the floor and closed my eyes. Then, the thin Indian guy, who happened to be a doctor, thank goodness, came over and ask me. "Are you ok?". I told him that I was about to pass out. He checked my pulse and told me to stay the way I was and relax.

A couple of minutes later, he came back and checked my pulse again. He then told me that my pulse was very weak the first time. But now it was normal. So he told me to stay where I was, and only to sit up once I felt better. So I just laid there and tried to relax.

After a while, I sat up and drank some water. And I felt a lot better after that. Then, I stood up, packed my stuff and went home. I thanked the doctor profusely for his help. I think if I hadn't laid down, I would have passed out.

That was the first time for me.

After Dark

2007-08-10T12:18:00.000+08:00

Saw Shrek 3 the other day and I must say, I was very disappointed with it. I mean, it's not as funny as the first two. And the storyline is kinda weak. And the jokes aren't what they were in the first two Shrek movies. Luckily I haven't gotten the DVD yet. I don't intend to get it now.

Saw '28 days later' again. I saw it a long time ago, so I saw it again just to recap what happened in the movie, because I intend to watch '28 weeks later' soon. And it is a brilliant movie.

And before that, I saw 'Pathfinder'. And I must say, it's crap. Seriously. And I actually saw the whole movie. Even though it was crap from the very beginning. The only thing it has going for it is the starting, I mean the credits before the movie, and that's about it.

I'm still reading 'Sputnik Sweetheart' and I'm taking my time with it. I'm planning to get Mr. Murakami's latest book called 'After Dark'. According to one website, it has this to say - "A short, sleek novel of encounters set in the witching hours of Tokyo between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami's masterworks The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore."

Norwegian Wood

2007-08-03T15:10:00.000+08:00

I've just finish reading 'Norwegian Wood'. And yes, it's an extremely good read. I'm currently reading 'Sputnik Sweetheart' by the same author, Mr Murakami himself. I've just started, though this is the second or third time I've read it. It's the same with all Mr. Murakami's books.

I just saw 'Transformers' with my other best buddy, since it was on a Wednesday morning, and my best buddy couldn't take leave on that day. I, on the other hand, was on leave and was loving every minute of it. The movie was great, no doubt about that. The story line is ok, but then again, we all went to see the movie to see the Autobots and the Decepticons, right.

Been extremely busy with work. And with my family. My beloved was suppose to go to a workshop in Pangkor Island for four days. And I assured her that I could take care of our daughter. But on the night before she had to go for the workshop, our daughter suddenly fell ill. Her temperature was high and she was restless. And she threw up a few times that night. My beloved and I couldn't sleep that night as we were caring for our daugther.

We then decided that my beloved couldn't go to the workshop since our daughter needed her mother more than her father in times like these. So, that morning, my beloved had someone to take over her place at the workshop.

Friend's Friend

2007-07-17T11:25:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, my technical manager asked me to see him. And in his room, he was showing me some pricing on a software that the department needed. So he asked me to phone this person whose company was selling this product. So I took the name of the person and her phone number. I phoned her and asked her to come over on Monday to discuss about the pricing. She had this really old-person's name.

So, yesterday the person came to discuss about the product. Lo and behold, it was an old face from the past. It was a friend of my friends. So when I saw her, I said, "It's you. I thought it was someone else. I didn't know you name was ...". She smiled and said, "Yup, it's me". So after we agreed on the user license and the product that my department needed, I casually asked her whether she was married or not, since she was sort of cute and petite.

Then she answered, "I'm still single. Why? Do you have somebody to introduce to me?". Well, that was an invitation to match her with my friend, if ever I saw one. So I said, "Well, that is someone I would like you to meet. I have a picture of him in (a famous community website)". So I showed her the picture and said that he is extremely tall. I even stood beside her and put my hand a couple of inches above my head and said, "He's about this tall". To which she said, "Wow. I like tall men. And he's cute too. Do send him my regards".

So, I got her handphone number and passed it to my friend. Hope everything goes well.

Happy Birthday, Daughter!

2007-07-17T09:42:00.000+08:00

Happy Belated Birthday to my daughter who just turned 1 on Saturday. Celebrated at my mum's house. She invited all the guests except for my best buddies, which I took the liberty to invite. We started the morning with my daughter and I sending my beloved to school on that Saturday morning. Then went straight to my mum's house to prepare for the party. My colleague came to my mum's house to bring the cake she baked for the party. Around noon, we picked up my beloved and headed home to prepare for the party.

The party went great. Everyone came expect for two people on the guest list. It was fun. I think my beloved and me had a greater time than my daughter. Heheheh. The presents were fantastic. I don't think we had them when I was her age. My beloved and I were enthusiastic about opening her presents, and opened them while she was sound asleep. Thanks so much for the presents.

Saw 'She's The Man', courtesy of my niece. Starring Amanda Bynes. She's so funny. And the movie's hilarious. I mean, I just love the way she acted in the movie. This is no 'I'm a cute lil' princess' kind of movie. She is just so natural. I love it. Thanks, niece. I really enjoyed the movie.

2007-07-11T10:23:00.001+08:00

Last night, went to the premier of 'Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix' at Midvalley's GSC courtesy of my sister-in-law. Thank you, sis-in-law. Got there around 7.45pm with my best buddy and stood around waiting for the tickets, since it was still with my sister-in-law. Saw some adults wearing the witch's hat and cape and holding a broomstick.

The movie itself wasn't bad but I preferred the previous Harry Potter series. I was sitting in the middle of my best buddy and my sister-in-law's brother-in-law. And as soon as the movie started, both of them fell into a deep slumber. My sis-in-law's bro-in-law was snoring contently next to me while my best buddy was out of it for half of the movie. I was wide awake throughout the whole movie. Not to say that it was that interesting, but it wasn't boring either.

After the movie, we drove home and my best buddy spent the night at our place, since we were dead tired. By the time we got home, my beloved and daughter was fast asleep.

2007-07-10T11:45:00.001+08:00

Happy belated Birthday to my Beloved!!! We had dinner at our favourite restaurant and bought a new pinstripe pants for her. But that's not her main birthday present, though. Her main birthday present is still not in the market yet. Though in one website, somebody alleged bought one. Can't be sure, though. Before we went to the restaurant, got her a cake and had a few slices before dinner. It was fun.

Am currently reading Haruki Murakami's 'Norwegian Wood'. This is the umpteenth time for me. 'Norwegian Wood' is a fairly early work by Murakami, first published in Japan in 1987. It was also his most resounding success there, a phenomenal bestseller. It was translated into English, by Alfred Birnbaum, but that edition was basically only made available in Japan itself. Now, finally, the book appears in an authorized translation by Jay Rubin.

The Beatles song from which the book takes its title echoes throughout the novel, the melancholy tune and sentiment imbuing the work. The novel begins with a brief introductory chapter in which the 37 year old narrator, Toru Watanabe, once again hears the song, a "sweet orchestral cover version" this time. It reminds him of his life almost twenty years earlier, and the rest of the book retells the events of those times.

Lady in the Water

2007-07-02T08:10:00.000+08:00

On Saturday, beloved had to work so it was just me and the little girl. We planned to just spend time at home, but since her grandmother insisted I bring her to her grandmother's house, we obliged. After that, went to my colleague's housewarming party. We arrived about the same time as all the other married couples. So we were passing around babies, and asking the usual questions, "What can he/she do now?", "Can he/she walk yet?", "How many teeth does he/she have?". It was fun because we got to see everyone's babies.

After that went to my parents house for dinner. Then my aunty and her daughters came, so it was like a party. After having eaten our fill, we left for home.

On Sunday, went to the usual dvd place and changed 'Shrek3' to 'Lady in the Water' by M. Night Shyamalan. It's quite a good movie, actually. An apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world. A very interesting movie.

My ring of Power

2007-06-29T09:49:00.000+08:00

I've finally gotten it! My precious.... Hehehe. I went to Downtown last night to collect my ring of power. When I got to the stall, the lady wasn't there. But them one of the salesgirl said to me, "Follow me". So I followed her to another stall which the same lady owned. The lady gave me one look, and said, "Yes, I have it". I was obviously ecstatic to hear that, and then, there it was, on my finger, with the words 'One Ring to rule them all'. My ring of power.

Before that, went to get some dvds from the usual place, but the usual guy wasn't there. I bought the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Shrek3. But dang that guy. Shrek3 was taken in the cinema. Gonna have to change the dvd tomorrow then.

Busy day...

2007-06-28T07:42:00.001+08:00

I'm sporting a brand new haircut today. Actually, it's the same haircut I get every few months. Which is, short. Had the haircut yesterday after work at the usual place. Am feeling a lot better with this new do. Yesterday, had an appointment with an old friend of mine at 3pm. But then he phoned to say he would be running late, so we rescheduled at 4pm. Then, he sms'd me and wrote that he'll be running slightly later than promised. And in the end, we met up around 4.45pm. And at the exact same time, my beloved arrived at the office with our daughter. So, we all sat down together and had tea.

My old friend was from the same uni and we even worked at the same place years ago. We chatted about work, and about our families. And as we were talking, we found out quite a number of things. One of his colleagues is the sister of our ex-colleague, and a daughter of another ex-colleague. And the same colleague, has two children in the school my beloved is teaching at. A very small world, don't you think. So, my beloved chatted with this lady about the school, the teachers and the parents.

Last night, went to pick up my Lord of the Rings ring, but alas, it was not meant to be. The lady was actually shocked to see me. And when she saw me she said, "Wah, I completely forgot about your ring. When I see your face, then only I remembered. Tomorrow I bring the ring". Well, I certainly hope so.

One Ring to rule them all

2007-06-27T10:43:00.000+08:00

Just got back from the departmental meeting. Luckily for people like me, who detest long boring meetings, the meeting was over within an hour and a half. Last night went to Downtown to look for a plain ring. My idea was, to get the guy to engrave on the ring, the same wordings found on Sauran's ring of power in the Lord of the Rings. I actually wrote the line, it was suppose to be in 'elvish', carefully on a small piece of paper. But when I showed the lady the piece of paper, she said, "Whoa, cannot ma". So, I had to translate it to plain old English, which goes something like this; 'One Ring to rule them all'. Actually, the actual line is longer than that, but I don't think it can fit into a small ring. Will be picking it up tonight. Hopefully they didn't get the spelling wrong.

IBM

2007-06-26T16:20:00.001+08:00

I'm frightfully busy at the moment. So, I can't write much. Have to go to the post office before it closes. Luckily for me, the post office is in my office building, though on the other side of the compound. Which usually takes me around 5-7 minutes to get there, by walking briskly. Be right back.

And I'm back. On the way back, had to make a pit stop at the data centre to check whether the RMAN script is running smoothly. Unfortunately it's not. So, I have to figure out a way to get it to work properly.

This morning went to a seminar conducted by IBM. It was held at the new IBM Plaza. The interior is seriously beautiful. It's so state-of-the-art. But there were just too many security guards. There were at least one on every floor, standing around near the elevators. Even at the car park. They were everywhere.

Anyway, when my colleague and I got there, we were about 15 minutes late, the conference room was packed. My colleague quickly took a seat near the door while I was still scanning the room. Suddenly, my ex-colleague pointed out an empty seat near the back of the room. So I squeezed between two female attendees, and started to get comfortable.

As my butt was adjusting to the hard plastic seat, I surveyed my surrounding and saw seating next to my left, was this good looking lady. As I stared at her, she stared twice as hard at me. Finally I said, "You look very familiar,". And she said, "Yes, you do too. Where do you work?".

And as we were interviewing each other, trying to figure out where we might have bumped into each other, we finally found the when and where. And after that, we chatted about work and people we know, and contacts and all that stuff.

The seminar was suppose to finish around 11 something, but it didn't. So my colleague and I had to beat an early retreat. Since we had other things to do in the office.

Zombi Kampung Pisang

2007-06-25T09:48:00.000+08:00

On Saturday, basically just stayed at home playing with my daughter. Work up late, went to the nearby store to get something, then proceeded staying at home doing nothing. Actually, I was busy doing some photo editing for my beloved. It started Friday night till Saturday afternoon.

Then, saw 'Zombi Kampung Pisang'. A friend recommended it and yes, it was quite funny. The storyline is simple. Whoever ate at this one stall in the village, would turn into a brain eating zombie. The cast is quite good, and the director is not bad too, actually. So, overall, it's a decent local zombie flick.

My best buddy told me he was going out with this nice looking girl for their first date. And I was excited at the prospect of seeing him with a steady girlfriend. But later that night he told me that it wasn't meant to be.

On Sunday, had something to do in the office, so brought my daughter along. Nowadays, whenever I go out of the house, she would want to follow, and during those instances when I don't bring her along, she would stare at the door for the longest time, my beloved told me. My beloved gave me a bottle of warm milk to bring along. It was like a picnic. Hehehe.

That evening, went to my parent's place for dinner, and met up with my brother and his family there. After dinner, my mother took out these old family photos she said she found. We were all laughing like crazy at some old pictures of ourselves. I look so thin back then. Well, back then.

Then, my best buddy phoned me to inform me that he had made his decision. And I support him 100%.

Congrats!!!

2007-06-22T07:25:00.000+08:00

Morning, people. Yesterday was packed. In the morning, had a meeting from 9.30am till almost 12.30pm. Then had another small discussion till 1 something. After which, there was a third meeting at 2.30pm, and which ended around 3.30pm. I'm not finished yet. Then, had to go to the Emergency Ward for a Load & Stress test exercise which has to start at 4.00pm (so that 7 other sites can start simultaneously), which finally ended at 5 something. But wait! There's more! After which we had a meeting on the findings of the exercise.

Last night, my best buddy phoned me to inform me of a really really good news. Congrats, bro!!!

Deja Vu

2007-06-21T07:07:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, had an extremely painful headache. The right side of my face felt like it was smacked by a heavy weight boxer. Seriously. Wanted to take leave but had a meeting to attend to. Now am feeling a lot better after taking some paracetamol tablets.

After the meeting yesterday, went to lunch with a fellow colleague but only had a drink. Face was still pulsating with pain at the time, so wasn't in the mood for food. After lunch, had some documents to prepare. Bought some paracetamol from the pharmacy and ate a strawberry bun to fill my empty stomach.

My beloved was down with a cough, so she was on leave. So after work, went to pick up my daughter from the nursery and went to get our dinner. Daughter was excited to follow her daddy buying food and stuff. It was fun.

Last night, saw 'Deja Vu' again. It's a really good movie. Saw some minor details I missed the first time I saw it. Even beloved was engrossed in the movie. She seldom watch action-flicks, so the fact that she was riveted by the movie says quite a lot, actually.

The New iPhone from Apple

2007-06-19T15:19:00.001+08:00

Apple iPhone, combining three products—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting users control iPhone with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

iPhone will be available in Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac. Cool huh! Can't wait for it to get to Malaysia!

Stuffed With Food...

2007-06-18T09:57:00.000+08:00

Just had breakfast. And am I full! This morning we had our monthly (well, it's suppose to be monthly anyway) breakfast feast for the whole department. The menu: Mee bandung; Pulut kuning with beef rendang; Meehoon; Roti jala with chicken curry; Chicken nuggets; Chocolate cake; Pudding; and a few other assortments of food; and tea.

Am suppose to meet an old friend of mine this morning. I wonder where he is.

Shoot 'er Next, Deja Vu!

2007-06-18T07:24:00.001+08:00

Saw three movies over the weekend. The first was 'Shooter' starring Mark Wahlberg. The movie is about a marksman (Wahlberg) living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why. Two thumbs up! Seriously.

The second movie I saw was 'Deja Vu' starring Denzel Washington. A brief synopsis : A ferry filled with crewmen from the USS Nimitz and their families was blown up in New Orleans on Mardi Gras. BATF Doug Carlin (Washington) is brought in to assist in the massive investigation, and gets attached to an experimental FBI surveillance unit, one that uses spacefolding technology to directly look back a little over four days into the past. While tracking down the bomber, Carlin gets an idea in his head: could they use the device to actually travel back in time and not only prevent the bombing but also the murder of a local woman whose truck was used in the bombing? Pretty cool stuff.

And the third and final movie was 'Next' starring Nicolas Cage. Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson (Cage) has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm. Pretty awesome concept. I love it when he goes in a few different directions at the same time to find the best route. And the way he avoids being shot at. It's a really cool movie.

On Saturday, celebrated Father's day with my parents, my brother and his family. We went to Cosy House at Great Eastern Mall. The place was quite empty when we first arrived, but after a while, it was packed with hungry patrons. Bought a handbag for my mum. A belated Mother's Day gift. And bought a watch for my dad.

My beloved bought me a watch for Father's Day. Thanks dear. :)

Meetings... Conferences... Discussions...

2007-06-14T12:03:00.000+08:00

Just got back from a meeting. I think 40% of my time is spent attending meetings. Seriously. It's either called meetings or discussions. And tomorrow I have a meeting at 8.30am. Can you believe that. It's so early in the morning for meetings. But the person did state in the e-mail that breakfast will be provided. Let's hope the food will be good.

I kinda enjoyed the meeting just now, on account that my close friend from the office was there with me. And because this is outside of my department's meeting. She just joined the committee because I told the committee my portion of the work can't be handled alone, so they asked me to select a few people to assist me. So I chose my close friend as one of the people to assist me in my tasks.

The meeting atmosphere was fun because the chairman is a laid back kinda person. And the committee members themselves were very relaxed and fun to be with. So it was good fun. After the meeting we had something to eat there. So we (my friend and I) chatted with a few of the other committee members.

Mickey Mouse Watch

2007-06-14T07:33:00.000+08:00

My best buddy is currently in Sabah. He went there yesterday for a meeting. How cool is that, getting to go to Sabah for a meeting. Wish I could go outside KL for a meeting. It's his first time there, and on the phone with him yesterday, he said Kota Kinabalu is a beautiful place. I've been there twice myself and I have to agree with him, it is a beautiful place. You can find beautiful beaches, islands, and even mountains. So you have the full package there without even leaving Sabah. It really is great. He'll be coming back to KL this morning. So, will have to wait to hear an updated story from him then.

Went to KL Downtown last night to look for a specific item for my beloved. We found it, but it wasn't the colour she wanted. So, we might go again tonight. While we were walking around, we stopped at one of my favourite stalls, which sells rings. Lots and lots of rings. I'm currently in the rings phase yet again. I used to go nuts over silver 925 rings. But not anymore. Now, I'm into stainless steel rings.

Then, at yet another stall, saw a really cool kinetic Mickey Mouse watch. I might get it. It's too cool not to get. But yes, it is a Mickey Mouse watch. You have to see it to see how awesome it looks. Though nothing can replace my trusty Swatch watch which I bought in 1997. 10 years and it's still running. I was in a motorbike accident a year or two after I bought the watch, and it came out of the accident with less scratches on it than me.

N95

2007-06-11T16:40:00.000+08:00

This is my current dream phone. The Nokia N95. I just love the look and feel of it. It looks like a PDA but it's not. But it has all the features of a complete PDA. But it's still expensive. So, am waiting for it to get cheaper, or wait for someone to give it to me as a birthday present. Hahaha! I wish!

Well, just had to show everyone one of my heart's desires. My beloved wants a Sony Ericsson handphone, though it's still not in the market yet. Will just have to wait for it to come to KL.

All Blacks

2007-06-11T07:21:00.000+08:00

It has been quite a tiresome but fun weekend. My in-laws came over to stay at our house. My sister-in-law went shopping like crazy. She bought clothes and handbags. And she doesn't seem to get tired by the end of the day. Amazing, huh. We brought them all over KL, even went to Bangi and Putrajaya. Though that was for a different matter. We really enjoyed their company. It was sad to see them leave on Sunday morning.

In the evening, went to my brother's house for dinner with my parents. My brother just got back from a two-weeks vacation to Australia and New Zealand. So, he was showing us the video he took there, and NZ was amazingly beautiful. No wonder they did Lord of the Rings there. The scenery is seriously breathtaking.

We got some cool stuff and some chocolates from my brother. Thanks brother. After dinner and three dvds of the trip, we left for home. It was raining cats and dogs by then. Could hardly see the road, it was that heavy.

Feersum Endjinn

2007-06-08T09:25:00.000+08:00

Today is the last day of the week. Working day, that is. Tomorrow am planning to go window shopping. Actually, I'm waiting for a certain Sony Ericsson handphone to arrive in the market. And according to a website which I regularly check, it's still in the 'Coming Soon' section. Dang! Will just have to keep waiting then.

Nothing much to update here, really. Just can't wait to see 'Shrek the 3rd', and 'Fantastic 4 - The Rise of the Silver Surfer'. Silver Surfer looks really good in the preview. I hope it's as good as it looks. Did I mention that I saw 'Ghost Rider'? I don't think I did. Anyway, that movie sucks. The effect is cool and all but it just doesn't cut it, you know. And I don't think Nicolas Cage is right for the role.

I don't have any new books to read. So I'm reading 'A Wild Sheep Chase' by Haruki Murakami yet again. I really need a new book to read, seriously. Currently, I'm in the mood to read an Iain M. Banks's book. Must get his book soon. Maybe the 'Feersum Endjinn'.

Thanks, bro...

2007-06-04T16:26:00.000+08:00

My best buddy told me a couple of days ago that he just read my blog. And he commented on it to me, on the phone. And what he said really made my day. I was thinking of not blogging anymore, but he made me changed my mind without even realizing it. Thanks, best buddy. You made me want to write again. :)

Happy Birthday, Sis!!!

2007-06-04T16:25:00.001+08:00

Today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, my dear Sis!!! May you have a good one!!!

At long last....

2007-06-04T11:43:00.000+08:00

Hi there. I haven't updated this blog since early this year, if I'm not mistaken. Well, what happened during those few months. Hmmm.... Let me see if I can remember all that has happened. Well, in February celebrated one of my best buddies's birthday at the Club. It was fun. We had dinner and stayed talking about everything we could think of. It was really great.

Then in March... hmm... can't seem to remember anything momentous there, except one. It's not momentous, just frustrating. This was what happened. I applied for leave from my immediate boss around three weeks before, waiting for her to approve the form. But she just kept it on her desk, unsigned. So, I just assumed she would sign it when she gets the chance. But apparently she didn't want to sign it. Because, she was planning to go to Australia at that time, and she wanted me to be in the office to do her work, which is to be in the discussion with the ISO people.

In April, bought an MP3 player for my best buddy and had lunch at an authentic 'beriyani' place. I can't seem to remember the name of the place. The food was great, though. We plan to go there again someday.

In May, went out with my best buddies and my cousin to watch Spiderman3. And to me, it's fantastic! Seriously. It's a lot better than the first two movies. I love the way they potray 'Venom'. Though he should be slightly bigger. But the movie was great. Am waiting for the DVD to come out.

I bought a DVD called 'Apocalypto', which was directed by Mel Gibson. And it's an extremely great movie. Mel Gibson rocks! It's about the ancient Mayan civilization. You really ought to see it. It's great. Seriously. Though I heard it won't be making it in the cinemas in Malaysia.

Well, just got back from a one week holiday. It was fun. Spent time with my in-laws, went shopping, talked about almost everything. It was good fun.

Don't Be Sad

2007-01-12T16:13:00.000+08:00

Just finished reading 'Never Let Me Go'. And it truly was a good read. A very sad ending though. I'm reading 'Don't Be Sad' by 'Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni. I will take my time with this book, since it has loads to offer. It's a motivational book of sorts. I've only started reading it, and it make sense, what the author wrote. People ought to read books like these to become a better person.

At home, 'Consider Phlebas' and 'Blind Willow Sleeping Woman' is calling out to me to read them. I'm not sure which one I'll start reading first. Hmmm.... Any ideas, anyone? How about you sir? Yes, the one holding the cup of coffee. Minus the shirt, and the pants. Right.... Never mind.

Tomorrow am going to my parents's house for a party. Immediate family only, I guess. Plus my best buddies, of course. Can't wait to eat there. Nyum nyum.

I've been busy this week preparing for the ISO internal audit which will be happening next Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully everything goes well. The last audit we had, my colleague had forgotten to sign some forms for approval, and we had gotten a severe warning. Wish us luck.

Consider Phlebas

2007-01-11T14:05:00.000+08:00

Last night, had dinner with my wife and baby at our favourite place to celebrate. After that we went to KLCC to meet up with my two best friends. They bought me three books. Haruki Murakami's Blind Willow Sleeping Woman', 'Don't Be Sad' by someone I can't remember, and Iain M. Banks's 'Consider Phlebas'. Can't wait to start reading all three books.

I'm currently reading Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go'. He is the author of 'The Remains of the Day', 'Unconsoled' and a few others. The book I'm currently reading is fantastic. He lets you in on the whole picture bit by bit. And the way he does it is really remarkable. I mean, you don't realise when or where the exact sentences are but somehow you know about things he doesn't really say. Remarkable. Amazing.

28 years ago today...

2007-01-10T08:13:00.000+08:00

After a couple of months of silence, I am back. And today of all days. For today, 28 years ago, I was born into this world. Got an MMS from a very close friend this morning, and it really made me feel great. Thanks, dear friend. I've been extremely busy in December of 2006. And this is due to the implementation of the new system. We had to sleep in the office the first night it was implemented. The system is still running but with problems, according to the helpdesk.

Enough about work. In my personal life, things have gone from bad to worst, to not so bad, to even worst than before, to smoothing out the edges. It has been crazy. I don't know where to start, really. It's just that, I've gone through some pretty rough patches in my life recently. I couldn't have survived it if it weren't for my brother, sister, and my beloved.

I'm slowly trying to get in control of things. Trying to hold on to the reins, hard. And not letting go. In other people's eyes, I am nothing. I am just something to judge upon without even asking me whether what they think of me is correct, or an incorrect assumption. I'm tired of trying to be whatever it is they want me to be. Let me be. Let me be. Let me be.

Let me make the wrong choices. Let me choose for myself. Let me decide my own fate. Though any advice would be appreciated. But don't punish me for deciding something that is against your wishes.

I am tired... so so tired... and some people around me are not being helpful in my plight...

Dewan Perdana Felda

2006-10-12T08:52:00.000+08:00

Went to Dewan Perdana Felda yesterday to break fast. Courtesy of a vendor. Thanks vendor-person. Went with my beloved and three other office mates. Met up with some old faces from my previous job, and got to know some new people. The food there was excellent. Despite my sore tooth, which gave me a splitting headache, I managed to eat a tremendous amount of food. Had to chew slowly though. But once again, the food was great. Since that place was a jam-prone place, we left early from home, but still managed to get caught in the jam. Luckily we arrived there slightly after 6pm.

As we were trying to find a parking space, I suddenly saw a face I haven't seen since form two. I lowered my window and shouted out his name. And he looked at me and said my name. Apparently we haven't forgotten each other. He hasn't changed a bit. After getting a parking space, met up with him and introduced my wife to him and his future wife. He told us that Bank Rakyat invited him for the event.

At first, I sort of panicked, because I thought I might have gotten the wrong date. But as it turned out, the whole place was full of people, from lots of organizations. I was relieved when I saw the banner for the vendor who invited me there.

We were one of the earliest, so we sat at a table nearest to the food. Hehehe. A very strategic place to be, actually.

In the Night Room

2006-10-09T10:49:00.000+08:00

I've finished reading The Teeth of the Tiger. The ending is quite crap, actually. The storyline building to the climax is quite good. But the ending, how the so-called heroes actually defeated their arch-enemy, is quite boring. Wasted my time reading that. Now I'm reading Mr Straub's In the Night Room. Looks promising. Hope it won't be a disappointment.

On Saturday, actually went shopping. Had to leave my daughter at my sister-in-law's house. Bought some stuff for the house. Then, had to rush back to the pasar ramadhan near my house to grab some food. Had mutton beriyani, while my beloved had char keow teoy. The beriyani was excellent. Seriously. The mutton was huge. But I did finish it, anyhow.

On Sunday, took my daughter to the clinic, since she wasn't feeling very well. After that, washed the car, since it was covered with dust and dirt. Just couldn't take it anymore, so, around 11am washed the car inside out. And felt better, though a little tired. Then, proceeded to clean the house. That evening, we went to another pasar ramadhan near our house. Bought some stuff and went to eat at my parents house.

2006-10-06T16:08:00.000+08:00

Had an appointment with a clinic with my beloved this morning. The appointment was at 9am but we finally got to see the doctor around 9.50am. Luckily I brought my book along. The appointment went well. But as usual, whenever I have a doctor's appointment, there will surely be a problem with the system I'm handling. Today was no different. I had a call from a vendor saying that the users can't access the system, and that the server can't reboot. But as I was in the clinic, I couldn't really help. But it all worked out in the end. Even managed to liased with the vendor from Australia to get his opinion on the problem.

Dark Tower

2006-10-05T09:31:00.000+08:00

I'm currently reading Tom Clancy's The Teeth of the Tiger. Mr Clancy's works are quite good, actually. And this book is one of them. I'm reading Peter Straub's The Black Room as well. Just finished Stephen King's Dark Tower - The Gunslinger. Have to look for the second Dark Tower book - The Drawing of the Three. The book reminds me of The Eye of the Dragon by Mr King. I can't really explain the similarity, but the atmosphere is somewhat the same. Very surreal. Though not as surreal as Haruki Murakami's books. No sirree.

Tribute

2006-10-03T09:34:00.000+08:00

Been busy and haven't had the time to blog. Well, actually, I just hadn't thought about blogging in a long while. And I even stopped reading other people's blogs. Just stopped. Weird, huh. Now I'm trying to start writing again. And start reading blogs again. The reason I'm starting all this again is because of an old friend who has a blog of her own. Thanks 'd'.

Someone once told me, or I think I read it in a blog, anyway. The person wrote, or said, when you think things can't get any worse, they will. And I know exactly what that person meant. Seriously. When I get a bad news, I usually think, I can handle this, because this is all there is to think about. Then immediately after that, another bad news hits me. And even before I can think of what to do next, another one lands right in front of my face.

And it sure does not help that other people are making me panic. I prefer to think about it quietly, and find a solution, no matter how slow it takes me. I would ask for advise, and I would try to find the middle ground. I do not like to panic. Because, once I panic, I can't think straight.

I'm so not in the mood for anything right now. One of the things that are keeping me happy in the office is Jack Black's video clip called 'Tribute'. Jack Black rocks, man! I love the song and the video clip. He's so funny. I'm even listening to it now. Hehehe.

Tired and worn out...

2006-08-12T20:51:00.000+08:00

I'm currently at work, in the lab, waiting for the simulation to start. We started since 9 this morning and it's now 9 at night. We are about to implement our own Hospital Information System and we are now undergoing the testing phase. If everything goes well, we might launch it by the end of this month. It has been a tiring few weeks for us and for me especially, since I've been travelling to and fro from KL to KB to see my wife and daughter.

Darn the Italians...

2006-07-10T14:40:00.000+08:00

Oracle's Real Application Cluster 10g has been successfully installed in two servers!!! Woohoo!!! It took us (the three of us) 3 whole days to make it work. And today we have managed to import the data from the old database to the new one!!! Hoorah for me. Now I can sort of relax a bit. But I can't really relax. Because my boss just gave birth to a healty baby boy. And I'm the one that has to do all her work for these two months. And with great power, comes great responsibility.

This Wednesday, two internal auditors will be coming to our department for our annual ISO auditing. After they're done with us, the real ISO auditors will come. And I haven't updated our files. Will have to do that later today. And will have to actually clean out my desk, because that's part of the ISO thing.

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. And it's quite a good read. From A Buick 8 is a really surreal read. And the ending just blows you away. Seriously.

I saw the game last night. France against Italy. And I must say. I'm very disappointed with the way things turned out. It was funny to see Zidane head-butt the Italian guy. But it wasnt's funny when the referee gave him a red card for that.

Back At Last...

2006-06-30T08:07:00.000+08:00

I'm currently reading Stephen King's From A Buick 8, and Patricia Cornwell's Postmortem. I heard about From A Buick 8 from King's On Writing. At the time he wrote On Writing, From A Buick 8 was still in production. So, when I saw From A Buick 8 at my office library, I grabbed it. The book is about a strange car that looks like a Buick 8. But it's not really a car. But if it isn't a car, what is it? Well, I'm finding that out at the moment. And I still haven't found the answer. You have to read it to find out.

At work, I'm currently trying to install Oracle 10g with Real Application Cluster (RAC). A cousin once told me that his friend charged RM15K to do a RAC. Might charge my office the same amount. I wish! If I actually manage to do it. The thing about RAC is, you have to configure lots of stuff for it to work. And since this is my first time, I'm having some problems with it. And it doesn't help that the bosses are waiting for it. Hope I can pull this off.

Yesterday, chatted with my brother's colleague on YM. It was the first time we chatted. And she called me 'my-brother's-nick' brother. It was fun chatting with her. And after a while she threatened to show our chat to my brother. I really wonder how different I am from my brother. I mean, when we talk to people. I really do wonder. Do we sound the same to other people? Hmmm....

2006-04-18T07:35:00.000+08:00

I've stopped reading Brad Thor's The Lions of Lucerne. Because I am currently reading Dan Brown's Deception Point. It's not as good as The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, but it has its moments. My brother's short story has made it into a collection of short stories. Congrats, bro! This is the second time, if I'm not mistaken.

Yesterday, sent my mum to the hospital for her operation. The admission went smoothly, and as we were waiting in the room, chatting, a few doctors came into the room and discussed about the operation. Then, they decided to discharged my mum because apparently they'd forgotten to ask my mum to stop taking her medication. Since I had a meeting at 11, I drove my dad and niece back to the house, and my brother drove my mum back a while later.

On Sunday, went out with my beloved and my best buddy. Bought an audio cd for my best buddy as it was his birthday. We ate at Asean Flavours and went window shopping afterwards. We went into a store which had weird / cool stuff. I can't really describe the items, though there was one fridge magnet that resembled a cartoon speech bubble. Cool stuff.

Have been busy this past few weeks. When have I ever been not busy. I even came to work last Saturday. Luckily, my beloved came along, so I wasn't bored. She was shocked to see my desk. Shocked would be an understatement. So, she cleaned up my desk while I was doing my work. Lo and behold, I can finally see my desk. Heheheh.

2006-04-06T07:55:00.000+08:00

I'm currently reading Brad Thor's The Lions of Lucerne. I got this from the office library. After I'd finished reading The Algebraist, I didn't have anything else to read, so I went to the library and got a couple of books. So far, The Lions of Lucerne is quite a good read. Though I'm still itching to read Mr. Banks' books.

I've been really out of it for a couple of weeks, really, and that's my excuse for not updating my blog. Went to KB for a week during school holidays, then my mother-in-law stayed with us for a couple of weeks after that. Then my sister-in-law came with her family and my wife's aunt, and stayed for a couple of days. We went shopping like crazy for two days in a row. My sister-in-law's idea of a good time is shopping. She was tireless. Seriously. And she was 6 months pregnant. An amazing woman. Even I felt exhausted following them shopping. Her husband managed to skip a shopping trip by sleeping in the car with their youngest daughter. Smart bugger.

I've just realised that I'd forgotten to get a birthday present for my brother. I was planning to get him a book, but after being so busy with things with my family, in-laws and work, I completely forgot. Will get him a book by Mr. Banks, or Mr. Murakami. Not sure yet. Will see. Or will just ask him what books he has his eyes on.

At the moment, my wife's cousin and aunt is staying with us. The cousin is graduating from her class this Friday, and the place is literally in front of my office. Well, slightly to the right, but close enough. Since both her parents had passed away, this aunt has been taking care of the cousin and her siblings.

The Algebraist

2006-01-29T23:30:00.000+08:00

I just had my first taste of eel. We had eel soup and eel in padprik sauce. It taste somewhat like fish. But a very delicious fish. I can't really explain the texture, but it's nice. Seriously. My brother in law gave me a url to surf. It might interest those of you with a passion for cars. Or for those who just likes to surf. It's http://www.verdictoncars.com. Check out Proton Gen2. Now, it is time to sleep. Though I will probably continue reading Iain M. Banks' The Algebraist. A birthday present from my brother and my best buddy. They both bought the same book for my birthday. At least I have two copies of the same book. Like all the other sci-fi books by Mr Banks, it is truly a strange and bizarre alternate future or past, whichever way you look at it. A really fantastic read.

Kelantan

2006-01-29T20:39:00.000+08:00

For those of you who actually reads my blog on a daily basis, I apologize for the lack of update. In defence, I plead not guilty, due to stress at work. It's not stress actually, because I really do enjoy my work. No, seriously. I'm not just saying this on the off chance that my boss is reading this. Anyway, I won't go in details on how I worked from 9pm till 5am for four straight days. What I will do, however, is to write about what I am currently doing.

I am currently writing this entry in Kota Bharu, or more specifically, in one semi-d along Jalan Raja Dewa. That is where my sister-in-law is staying with her family. My beloved and I are here along with my mum-in-law and my other sister-in-law with their respective kids. We are about to leave to have dinner outside.

We are going to eat eel. Will know soon enough how it tastes.

A Rainy Wednesday Morning...

2006-01-04T07:38:00.000+08:00

Got in to work around 6.45am this morning. Left home around 6.30-ish. My beloved dropped my off at work and drove to her school. And she arrived about 45 minutes later. With the traffic jams and all. Her school is only about 10-15 minutes away. It must be due to the rain.

Yesterday was hectic. Seriously. Started doing my database thing in the morning, and before I knew it, the clock on my computer was displaying 12.02. I thought it was showing the wrong time, but alas, as I looked at my watch, it displayed the same time.

If that wasn't shocking enough, I suddenly got a phone call from the Director's office. The person on the other line said that they wanted me to translate something, and someone would be coming to my office to pass the text.

When the text arrived, I was quite suprise to see three full pages of text. And they wanted it back before 2pm. They wanted the whole text in english. I thought, wait a minute, this can't be right. So, I phoned the guy who was suppose to be doing it, but he went out for lunch.

Can you believe that. So, I dug right into it, and managed to come up with a decent translation. But, there were some words I just couldn't, for the life of me, translate. So, I went straight to his office to show him what I had done.

As I arrived at his office, he said that there were some changes to the text, and he gave me an even longer text than before. I managed to finish it before 2, emailed it to him, and passed him the hard copy of the text.

Then, I exhaled.

ExploreRace

2006-01-03T08:13:00.000+08:00

The previous week, I went to my second cousin's wedding with my family. I don't think I've ever seen my cousin. He is my mother's first-cousin's son. Anyway, apparently, he was in ExploreRace, and that was where he met his wife. No wonder the wife looked so familiar. For those who watches ExploreRace, the wife was one of the twins. And my cousin was the guy with the shaved head.

The wedding itself was nice. But. It wasn't on time. We arrived around 8'ish an sat waiting for the event to start. We were assuming, rather naively, that the wedding would start at 8.30pm. But, alas, it didn't. It still didn't start at 9pm. And by then we were hungry and bored. It finally started around 9.30pm.

The bride and groom looked lovely. When they finally arrived. And after the renjis ceremony, we actually started eating. By then, everybody was starving. After dinner, actually, after dessert, they had a short movie about the couple. It was fantastic. And after the show, someone told my mother that it was done by Fly FM. Seriously.

After that, they did the cutting of the cake thing. And I thought it would be over after that. But no. The groom sang for his wife (which wakinda cool, but we were really tired by then). After that, the groom's sister gave a speech. Finally, after all that, the wedding ended.

It was a remarkable and memorable wedding, no doubt about that. But the timing was definitely out. It started late and it ended late. And we were working the next day. So, it wasn't fair to the guests. I'm sure the couple and their family had a great time. But they should consider the other people in the hall.

I, for one, was dead tired by the time we reached home.

Two Thousand Six

2006-01-03T07:11:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!!! Welcome, 2006. Good bye 2005. Usually, people would reflect on their life in the previous year. So shall I. What have I accomplished last year? Well, I got married. I managed to gain weight, although that's not a good thing, is it. I went to BTN. Went to Sabah. Got books that I wanted. Watched anticipated movies. Among other things...

Usually, my best buddy and I would be out celebrating new year either at KLCC or Bintang Walk, Sunway, or any other places of interest. But this year, we stayed at home. Me with my beloved, and him with his family. We have grown old. Met up with my best buddy and chatted about the usual stuff. It was good to hang out like that. Like the old days. We should do it more often.

Today is the first day of school. And my beloved's first day teaching in the new school. Good luck, dear!!!

It's Saturday...

2005-12-24T12:45:00.000+08:00

... and I'm currently in the office with my beloved. I'm here on account of a colleague of mine. She has requested that I coach her for her presentation this Tuesday. So, here we are. I have finished coaching her, and am now waiting with my beloved in the office. And while I wait, I thought I might as well write something in here.

Tomorrow, am going to BSC to celebrate a couple of friends' birthdays. My old uni friends. We haven't seen each other since August. A couple of nights ago, went to Uptown to meet up with my best buddy. I haven't been to Uptown in ages, and it still haven't changed a bit.

There were a couple of MPPJ lorries, just waiting for the first VCD stalls to be put up, so that they can tear it down again. My beloved and I was quite looking forward to browsing through the stalls, in search of Chicken Little. But alas, it was not meant to be.

In the end, went to a DVD shop nearby and browsed through the selection. Didn't buy anything though.

2005-12-23T07:21:00.000+08:00

Was away in Melaka for five days. Attended the compulsory BTN course. Although now they call it SSM. The place was in Alor Gajah. There were 93 of us. The first day was in anticipation of what will happen to the 93 of us. Well, suprise, suprise, but I had fun throughout the five-day course.

We had to do some physical exercises. We had to run 2km in under 18 minutes. Running uphill and downhill. It took me 14 minutes and 20 seconds. Yes, I know that's pathetic, but I'm not that fit to begin with. After about a 10 minute break, we had to lift a participant in a fireman lift and walk 10 metres, I think it was.

My partner was someone I thought was about my weight. But apparently wasn't. He lifted me just fine. But when it was my turn to lift him, I could barely walk. Luckily for me, the coach called a much smaller guy for me to lift.

The next day, we were forced to abseil from a four storey tower. It was a first for me. So, I was quite nervous about it. After wearing the harness and the rest of the gear, I went up the four flights of stairs, and was shaking in my Adidas-All-Star.

Honeymoon in Sabah

2005-12-15T10:12:00.000+08:00

Welcome back to Kuala Lumpur!!! I was on leave for a week. The reason? I was in Sabah!!! With my beloved!!! Arrived last Sunday around 1.00pm, after experiencing a delay in KLIA. Apparently, the runway was full of planes. So, we had to wait our turn. My cousin was waiting for us at Sabah's old airport, and we went straight to my aunty's house in Kepayan.

That evening, we went to the beach to see the sun set. It was beautiful, to say the least. We ate some snacks while watching the sun set. The next day, in the morning, we went to Monsopiad Village, where they have this kind of tour thing going on. It was interesting.

Legend has it that Monsopiad, a warrior from 300 years ago, used to collect the heads of his enemies and placed them in his hut. Our guide said this was to discouraged further retaliation from his enemies. After walking around the place, we went to the main hall, where we saw their traditional dance. And we participated in one of the dance. It was fun.

After lunch the same day, we went shopping at The Phillipines Market. We emerged from the place a couple of hours later, with less money in our pockets and a couple of plastic bags full of stuff.

During the week, we went to Kundasang, the foot of Mount Kinabalu. We went to Timpohon, the entrance to the track to go up Mount Kinabalu. Then, we went to the Dairy Farm, where New Zealand-kind-of-cows were being bred. In other words, they were black and white.

We even managed to stop at Nabalu to do some shopping. Yet again. We stayed at Pines Resort, and the following morning, we sat up after dawn to see the tip of Mount Kinabalu. The morning air was cool, there weren't many people up and about, it was quiet and peaceful.

The few days after that, we went to Gayana Island, near Kota Kinabalu. We stayed at a chalet in the middle of the sea. Well, not really in the middle, but it wasn't on land. It was on the water. The chalet itself was nice.

It was sad to leave Sabah the following Sunday. But leave it, we had to. It was fun. Hope we can go there again.

2005-11-30T15:15:00.000+08:00

My beloved just got a phone call from her school a couple of days ago, and they told her that she just received a letter stating that she has been transferred to school very near where I work. We'll be surveying the area soon to determine the exact location of the school.

Today, had lunch at home, since it's so near. Well, at night, it takes around 7 minutes to get from my house to my office. This is without traffic jams, and with just a couple of cars on the road. But during lunch break, it could take up to almost an hour. Seriously.

I have to work this Thursday night. And as usual, we start after midnight. Hope we don't encounter any unforeseen problems. That's basically why sometimes I work till dawn. It's because of these unforeseen problems cropping up at the least expected places. Dang those problems.

Next week, the ISO auditors are coming to my office to audit our procedures. We had a pre-audit just the other day, and I was called into the meeting room to answer some questions. Luckily it only took a couple of minutes of chatting with the auditor. This coming audit is the real deal. This is where we either make it or break it. So, everyone in the department would have to be ready for it.

The first audit was done a couple of months ago, by the company employees, but from different departments. I had to sit in for my boss, since she had to audit some other department. That was quite scary. Until I found out what it was they would be asking. Then after that, it was only routine question and answer.

I hope we bag the certification. That would be something. Well, do wish us luck, kay. Thanks!

2005-11-28T11:33:00.000+08:00

Am currently reading Mr Murakami's Kafka On The Shore and Mr Block's A Walk Among The Tombstones. Mr Lawrence Block, by the way. The former I bought at Kinokuniya's with the help of my cousin. Thanks, Girl. And the latter, got it from my bro. Thanks, bro.

Both books are good reads, but I'm going to finish Mr Block's book first. Because, as usual, I like to read Mr Murakami's books slowly. Very very slowly. It's the same when I'm eating something delicious. Sometimes I would just take time eating it. That would usually mean dessert. I remember eating a chocolate-icecream-cake-thingy at TGIF with my family. It was huge. Extremely huge. And extremely delicious.

By the way, I saw Bewitched the other day. The movie Bewitched. And it's quite ok. I mean, it's not that funny. It's just sweet. Yes, just sweet. And I saw The Longest Yard. Now, that's a good movie. Actually, I generally like movies with Adam Sandler. He's fun to watch.

Am now wanting to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Narnia, Doom and AeonFlux. About Narnia, I've read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe a couple of times when I was little. And it was a really good read, or I wouldn't have read it that many times. I think it was my sister's, since my brother didn't admit it was his. And I really can't wait to see it on the silver screen. It looks promising.