Adventures of a SuperWife

Spammers are NOT My Friends

2009-04-03T14:26:00.000+08:00

To all blog-hoppers-cum-aspiring-entrepreneurs... while I understand thet you need to promote your wares, I would appreciate if you could stop flooding innocent multipliers such as yours truly with invitations to be your contact.. Should I be needing anything, I will look for it..I especially do not appreciate that some of you wanting me to add you as a "friend" when you are just hoping to make a financial gain out of this...

sigh...this is why modern technology can be such a pain in the tooshi... grr~

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 12/03/2008 | How India officials fumbled the response to Mumbai attack

2008-12-04T05:37:00.000+08:00

By Padma Rao Sundarji | McClatchy Newspapers

NEW DELHI, India — It took 10 minutes for word of the Nov. 26, Mumbai terror assaults to reach the top of the government of Maharashtra state, but nearly 10 hours for India's best commando team to reach the scene.

That delay may help to explain why it took three days for India's security forces to overpower 10 assailants who police say killed at least 188 people and wounded more than 280.

Indecision by politicians and the delay in launching the commando force, however, don't fully account for the extent of the slaughter, which now threatens to escalate into conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, where the attacks are thought to have been planned.

"This was not the fault of any one organ of the security apparatus, but a systemic failure," said Arun Bhagat, a former chief of India's Intelligence Bureau, India's main domestic intelligence agency.

Indian officials ignored advance intelligence warnings. Police officers ran away from the scenes of carnage because they lacked weapons, and their bulletproof vests were said to be defective. The Indian coast guard doesn't have night vision equipment, much less the more advanced human detection gear used by China, Japan and other countries.

India's security agencies are now rushing to point the finger at each other.

According to anonymous leaks to the daily Hindustan Times from RAW — the Research and Analysis Wing, India's equivalent of the CIA — intercepts of satellite telephone conversations indicated that the terrorists would arrive by sea, using a prohibited route from Pakistani waters, and attack five-star hotels in Mumbai.

The first major sign, the newspaper reported, was a satellite telephone call between a known operative of the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and an unknown person, which said that an operation was being planned to target a hotel near the Gateway to India, a Bombay landmark, and that the assailants would come by sea.

However, the date of that intercept isn't known, its existence hasn't been confirmed and other security spokesmen say the advance warnings were "not specific enough to act upon."

According to the Hindustan Times, though, on Sept. 24 there was a second conversation about possible hotel targets, including the Taj Mahal hotel, the Marriott, the Land's End and the Sea Rock.

The paper reported that in a third conversation, monitored on Nov. 19, a voice said: "We will reach Bombay between 9 and 11."

RAW said the call originated offshore, about 25 miles from Mumbai. The final conversation took place hours before the attack, when RAW officials told the paper they recorded a conversation between Yusuf Muzammil, a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and a number in Bangladesh, asking for five SIM cards — used to pay for cell phone calls — for the operation. RAW officials said they deduced that the attackers might have relayed calls through Bangladesh.

The armed men reportedly did arrive by sea, hijacking a fishing trawler in the western Indian state of Gujarat, killing the crew, and sparing the captain until he piloted the ship to near Mumbai harbor, where they killed him.

They reportedly came ashore in rubber dinghies, undetected by India's coast guard. It's unclear whether the alleged advance intelligence about the plot was shared with the coast guard or the Indian navy. Moreover, Indian naval officers say that the security authorities lack night vision gear or other sensors that can detect a low-profile skiff or rubber dinghy or the people in one.

Although it has the world's third-largest military, India's 4,500-mile coastline is largely unprotected. The federal government set aside funds to purchase 26 boats for the country's eight coastal states, but Maharashtra state, where Bombay is, refused them, saying it lacked the funds for maintenance. There also is a severe shortage of helicopters available to the Coast Guard.

Once ashore, the killers reportedly split up into small groups and headed in five different directions.

At 9:21 p.m., according to published reports, two gunmen stormed the main railway station, where they tossed grenades and began firing indiscriminately as they moved from one hall to the next.

There are no metal detectors at the busy station and only a handful of city policemen, equipped mostly with canes to disperse unruly crowds and clad in ill-fitting bulletproof vests. Most of them fled. Maharashtra, India's richest state, has 180,000 policemen, but only 2,221 weapons, of which 577 are earmarked for Mumbai, a city of 13 million.

The railway special police are armed, but they must share weapons, one for every two policeman. In 44 minutes, 53 people were shot dead at the station.

Police officer Zulu Yadav was one of the few who stood his ground. Remonstrating a colleague for not responding, he grabbed his gun, hid behind pillars and fired. As the assailants tried to escape in a stolen car, he killed one and shot at the second, who was captured with the help of another police officer. Zadav's marksmanship stands out, police officials said, for many constables have never opened fire in their lives.

At 9:30 p.m., shooting was first heard at Mumbai's Nariman House, also known as the Jewish Center. There, two terrorists gunned down the rabbi and his wife, as well as several Israeli guests. The center had no metal detectors or armed guards, perhaps because Mumbai's Jewish community has been there for 2,500 years and never needed any. By the time commandos ended the siege three days later, 51 people had died at the center.

The chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Desmukh, was notified of the first terror strike at 9:30 p.m.. However, 90 minutes passed before he contacted the country's Home minister, Shivraj Patil, to request that 200 commandos be sent to Mumbai and Patil ordered the head of the National Security Guard into action.

The "Black Cats," as the commandos are known, are headquartered in Gurgaon, south of New of Delhi, however, and have no bases anywhere else in the vast country and no aircraft. The only plane available to transport 200 commandos was a Russian-built IL-76 transport plane, but it was located in Chandigarh, 165 miles north of New Delhi. The pilot had to be awakened, the crew assembled and the plane fueled.

The aircraft reached New Delhi at 2 a.m., picked up the commandos and took off for Mumbai at 2:25 a.m. — five hours after the attacks began.

Gunmen had stormed the Cafe Leopold, where they opened fire on diners, and taken control of the Oberoi-Trident and the Taj Mahal Palace hotels. They fired at guests through the night, set fires using grenades, and collected hostages, many of whom were later executed, according to police.

By commercial aircraft, it takes two hours to fly from Delhi to Bombay, but flying on the IL-76, the commandos didn't reach Mumbai until 5:25 in the morning. There they were met not by helicopters but by a bus, which they boarded at 6:05 a.m. After being briefed, they divided into groups and set out on their mission.

Some counterterrorism experts say that trained commandos must reach the scene of a terrorist attack no later than 30 minutes after an assault begins. In Mumbai, nearly 10 hours elapsed.

Among those killed were four counter-terror police, including the head of the state counter-terrorism force, all apparently because they had ill-fitting and inadequate bulletproof vests. A former police officer, Y.P. Singh, told reporters in Mumbai that he'd tested and rejected two lots of vests as defective. He said he was sure that the vests being worn during the melee were from those defective lots.

In those three chaotic days, some heroes emerged. Yadav at the railway station helped capture the sole survivor of the terror assailants. Maj. Shivaji Unnikrishnan of the "Black Cats" went back into the Oberoi to rescue a colleague and was shot. A nanny at the Jewish center grabbed Moshe, the infant son of the slain rabbi and his wife, and ran with him, risking her life.

Some lessons may emerge from the slaughter. Shivraj Patel, India's top law-enforcement official, is among those who've resigned, and the incident has revealed the deficiencies of India's police, coast guard, commando force and intelligence apparatus.

Indians will go to the polls for national elections in 100 days, and the tragedy is already a central element in the debate. "All this can change only when politicians stop recruiting 'yes-men' to the top echelons of the police," said Julio Ribeiro, a former police chief in Mumbai, "and stop diverting elite commandos towards their own personal security."

Some lessons don't appear to have been learned, however.

On Tuesday, three days after the last shot was fired and the last terrorist's body was bundled out of a first- floor window at the Taj Mahal hotel, a 50-year-old Mumbai resident put his licensed .32-caliber revolver in his pocket and took a train to the main terminal.

"I went in and out of several metal detectors, and nothing happened," said Balasaheb Borkar. When he asked policemen standing nearby why he wasn't stopped, they said they couldn't hear the newly installed metal detector beeping in the crowded, noisy terminal.

on that hairy subject...

2008-11-27T09:18:00.000+08:00

excuse the intentional pun..

i had a hair cut like 4 days back... it's really long overdue...with my hair that seems to have a life of its own (cake can and will attest to that)..the moment i take off my tudung, the same old proclaim "Wahhh...lambut lu manyak aaa." Note that this has happened eversince the first my mom brought me to a hairdresser donkey years ago... I breathe in deeply n said "yes" as though my head has been forever wrapped in tudung and it was also my first time seeing it. duh~

The next question which guarantee follows that will be..."Lu orang apa?"

Just for the fun of it i wanted to say Orang Laut , Orang Perempuan ker.... sigh... and I played along.." I'm indian". That's the opening of what transpires below:

Barber: Oooo.... butulka? Lu cakap Malay... Lu tak cakap Indian? Lu tarak tengok maciam Indian (Now she's questioning my heritage)

Me: Betul laah.. Gua tak bohong. Lu mau tengok gua punya IC?

Barber: Eh..No laahh.. I ask only... Pasal u tengok macam Malay... But your hair manyak wooo... Lu letak minyak ka kasi manyak?

Me: Taklah... ini natural...Ok sekarang gua mau potong sampai pendek...

Barber: APA?! Lu tarak sayang mau buang ini manyak lambut? Gua trim sikit lah, nanti lu buleh ikat lagi manyak cantik..

Me: Tak maulah Nya... Gua mau pendek... manyak hot laa...gua pakai tudung lagi. Orang tarak nampak kalau gua botak pun.

The hairdresser laughs and resumes the necessary ritual needed to prep hair for cutting... Seriously for a minute there I was tempted to go commando..but then wait my hubby heart attack plak so i decided to let it go. All throughout the cutting process she kept "tsk-tsking" and muttering out loud enough for me to hear: "Ini maciam manyak lambut, ada bagus lor". Maybe she was hoping I would change my mind...sorry lah sister, aku yg kena jaga ini lambut manyak...tak sanggup beb!

The moment it was all over, I heaved a big sigh of relief... I can finally see my ears feel the aircon on my cheeks/neck without any obstruction and my head is considerably lighter.. I might have even lost a bit of weight..muahahaah...Most importantly hubbi approved. He said better to maintain that way. Like this, my "hair accidents" such as termakan rambut, tertarik rambut dan apa-apa yg sewaktu dengannya could be minimised...

Here's to me and my fuzz-free hair!!!

(p.s. need to credit my multiply-mate dandy for this hair idea for my blog, thanks babe!)

A New Face for A.D.H.D., and a Debate

2008-11-26T04:55:00.000+08:00

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: November 24, 2008

When pediatricians diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, they often ask their patients whether they know anybody else with the problem.

These days, children are likely to reply with a household name: Michael Phelps, the Olympic superstar, who is emerging as an inspirational role model among parents and children whose lives are affected by attention problems.

“There is a tremendous, tremendous amount of pride — I got the impression sometimes that some of the kids felt like they owned Michael,” said Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, director of the Child Study Center at New York University Langone Medical Center. “There is a special feeling when someone belongs to your club and the whole world is adoring him.”

But the emergence of a major celebrity with attention deficit has revealed a schism in the community of patients, parents, doctors and educators who deal with the disorder. For years, these people have debated whether it means a lifetime of limitations or whether it can sometimes be a good thing.

Children with the disorder typically have trouble sitting still and paying attention. But they may also have boundless energy and a laserlike focus on favorite things — qualities that could be very helpful in, say, an Olympic athlete.

For that reason, some doctors are pushing for a new view that focuses on the potential strengths of the disorder. Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist and author whose books include “Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping With Attention Deficit Disorder From Childhood Through Adulthood” (Touchstone, 1995), says the current “deficit-based medical model” of the disorder results in low-self esteem.

“It’s not an unmitigated blessing, but neither is it an unmitigated curse, which is usually the way it’s presented,” said Dr. Hallowell, who has the disorder himself. “I have been treating this condition for 25 years and I know that if you manage it right, this apparent deficit can become an asset. I think of it as a trait and not a disability.”

The notion that a disability can be harnessed in a positive way is not a new concept. Last year, a study found that 35 percent of the small-business entrepreneurs surveyed identified themselves as dyslexic. The researchers concluded that dyslexia made them better communicators and problem solvers, more likely to delegate authority.

Dr. Hallowell says low-self esteem and low expectations result from the way the A.D.H.D. diagnosis is presented to children, parents and teachers. He tells children with attention deficit that they have the brain of a race car, and he wants to work with them to build better brakes.

“We want to tell children, ‘You’ve got a difference, but not a disease,’ ” he said. “Michael Phelps is one of any thousands of examples of mega-successful people, C.E.O.s and brain surgeons and famous writers, inventors and entrepreneurs, who have A.D.H.D.”

Other experts, however, say that while such success stories can be inspiring, parents need to know that their children face real risks. Research shows that children with attention deficit have different brain patterns from other children, and that they are more likely to drop out of school, be involved in car accidents and use illicit drugs.

“This reframing A.D.H.D. as a gift, personally I don’t think it’s helpful,” said Natalie Knochenhauer, founder of A.D.H.D. Aware, an advocacy group in Doylestown, Pa. “You can’t have a disability that needs to be accommodated in the classroom, and also have this special gift. There are a lot of people out there — not only do their kids not have gifts, but their kids are really struggling.”

Ms. Knochenhauer, who has four children with the disorder, says they too were inspired by the astonishing performance of Mr. Phelps in Beijing. But she added, “I would argue that Michael Phelps is a great swimmer with A.D.H.D., but he’s not a great swimmer because he has A.D.H.D.”

Dr. Koplewicz, of N.Y.U., agreed. “There are lots of children in the world who have chronic illnesses or disorders like diabetes, allergies or dyslexia who accomplish great things in spite of the fact that they have these disorders,” he said. “I worry when we say A.D.H.D. is a gift, that this minimizes how real it is.”

Michael Phelps’s mother, Deborah Phelps, says she has spoken openly about her son’s diagnosis because she wants other parents to seek out resources and support. Her son stopped taking A.D.H.D. medication at age 10. But today, Ms. Phelps is a national spokeswoman for McNeil Pediatrics, which makes the attention-deficit drug Concerta. (Dr. Hallowell and Ms. Knochenhauer have also consulted for McNeil; Dr. Koplewicz has no industry ties.)

Ms. Phelps, who is a school principal in Baltimore, says the qualities that often accompany the disorder are not always negative, although it may require extra effort and knowledge to help children harness their talents.

“You’ll find they are creative children,” she said. “They do have determination when you are able to work with them and be consistent. I want young parents to reach out and get assistance and not give up hope.”

well@nytimes.com

What are the odds?

2008-10-28T18:33:00.000+08:00

when i read your blog, aai ijust being a tuch paranoid... i mean you've been together for like how many donkey years and you've a beautiful boy there.. and then i get what i think you felt then...

Yesterday, we suddenly had a bit of inspiration to clean up our karang guni store-room... among others, we found baju kahwin which we thought we had lost for gd when we were pindah-randah-ing... then hasbern found a keepsake wallet where he kept a lot of khazanah from is arwah bapak n arwah yai... so it's pretty valuable lah in terms of sentiment..then as I was looking it over, I found a small photograph of a girl standing in a kitchen wrapped in a plastic... i asked him half-jokingly asking this one gf no. berapa? and he mentioned that heyy, this is where the photo has been all this while..? n i was like... okay...he knew her when he was in 1st yr poly...regarded it as a first time he got to know a girl non-platonically...i was just trying not to care too much n guess what comes next... he nonchalantly informed me, "oh by the way her name's also Maisarah"

Dayum! store-room nyer barang kemana , aku pon kemana... hasbern was just laffing it off n kept assuring me he hadn't any idea he still had the photo etc, etc...& i know, i know...he's with me now and since he had forgotten this supposedly little detail should tell me that they were never seriously an item..but the fact that the photograph was carefully kept in a plastic among the valuable keepsakes just ate me up...

FYI

2008-07-31T07:27:00.000+08:00

Taken from Yahoo Singapore -NEWS

SINGAPORE: Based on a new international water quality guideline by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pasir Ris Beach has been identified as one where swimming would not be recommended. However, activities like canoeing and kayaking can continue.

The beach scored a fair grading because it contains an abnormal level of a type of bacteria traditionally found in human faeces and warm—blooded animals.

And for the first time, advisory signages against swimming have been erected along the 3.3—kilometre beach. They point to the high level of bacteria in the water, which could cause illnesses affecting the stomach, and eyes, like conjunctivitis.

S Satish Appoo, Director, Environmental Health Department, National Environment Agency, said: "I’d like to stress that the water quality has not deteriorated. It’s because the standards have become more stringent, so it’s just a question of not being to meet the higher grade.

"One of the factors could be that after heavy rains, the dirt, litter and other things that you find on the ground, could get washed eventually into the beaches and beach fronts, thereby affecting its water quality."

Among the other five beaches, Sentosa Island scored a "Very Good" grading, while East Coast Park and Changi were rated "Good". Beaches at Seletar Island, Sembawang Park also got a "Good" rating.

The six fresh water reservoirs in Singapore like Bedok, MacRitchie and Lower Seletar reservoirs all meet the new WHO guidelines.

In addition, they are not affected by the new standards because swimming is not allowed in the reservoirs in the first place. Only activities like wakeboarding, skiiing and dragon boating are permitted.

Authorities will conduct annual reviews on the quality of the water at the six recreational beaches and reservoirs.

Compared to other beaches in the Eastern part of Singapore like Changi or East Coast, Pasir Ris Beach is not as popular among Singaporeans. Those who frequent the Pasir Ris beach said that over the weekends, fewer than 50 people would be swimming inside these waters.

The National Environment Agency, which monitors the water quality on a weekly basis, will take necessary actions for Pasir Ris Beach after a year—long study.

The new WHO water quality guidelines apply to all water bodies which are open for recreational use. — CNA/vm

Trouble in School? Should You Have Your Child Tested?

2008-06-18T05:44:00.000+08:00

by Jeanne Sather

My son Robin is everything a parent could want: bright, loving, funny, and as sweet as a peach. He plays the sax, draws for hours at a stretch, and loses himself in daydreams of science, stars, aliens, and his own fantastic inventions. (He's been working on a bathtub submarine with real firing torpedoes for months now.)

This is a kid whose first word was "Look!"--repeated loudly and often as he explored the world with an expression of pure joy on his chubby face.

I always expected him to do well in school--that went without question. I was a National Merit Scholar and earned two master's degrees with ease, and Robin's father has a PhD. in physics. His older brother, Akira, a math and chess whiz, has breezed through his homework without parental prodding since age seven and has an ambitious future all mapped out.

So why on earth would I worry about Robin's intelligence?

Trouble in paradise
During his first few years of grade school, Robin did fine. Drawing, history, computers, and science were his loves, and he began to show a real talent for music.

Then I noticed he was having trouble with math. In second grade, the kid couldn't add. He'd either count on his fingers, or he'd guess.

We tried flash cards. I'd hold up a card--5 + 6, for example--and watch impatiently while Robin counted on his fingers. When I urged him to pick up the pace, he'd guess. Sometimes he was right, but more often he was wrong. By the end of third grade, Robin was still counting on his fingers and hadn't yet learned his multiplication tables.

I started getting reports from Robin's teachers that he was disorganized, sloppy, and didn't turn his work in on time. His backpack contained a graveyard of wadded-up paper: field-trip permission slips, incomplete homework assignments, and completed assignments that never made it to the teacher.

If he was supposed to write a story and illustrate it, he'd spend almost the entire time on the drawing, writing maybe two sentences of text that was full of misspelled words.

Homework horror stories
Robin started leaving his homework at school so he wouldn't have to do it. Not that this was out of character: He'd also routinely leave his lunchbox or jacket behind once or twice a week. But when he started furtively stuffing his assignments behind the piano as he came in the door and would then tell me he didn't have any homework, I really began to wonder.

Then Robin came home one day and asked if he could have an IQ test. A boy in his class had called him stupid, and Robin clearly was afraid the boy might be right.

When Robin asked, I realized that testing might well give us some answers, and I wondered why I hadn't thought of it myself. I asked around and was referred to Fred Provenzano, a well-respected licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist in Seattle.

Check It Out!

Learn more about measuring intelligence.

The intelligence-performance gap
Robin met with Fred twice, for a couple of hours each time; first for IQ testing, then for academic achievement tests. I met with Fred once more to discuss the results, then Fred wrote up his recommendations for Robin's teacher. The cost was about $550.

Robin enjoyed the challenge of the IQ tests, many of which were visual: assembling puzzles, putting pictures in order, and matching pieces to a whole. He was more apprehensive when doing the academic achievement tests.

The findings were revealing--and surprising. The tests showed that Robin is very bright, but he has a huge gap between his intelligence and his performance--in part because of what Fred called "processing difficulties" in how his brain works.

In fact, the gap between Robin's intelligence and his performance was great enough to qualify him for special education, although Fred did not recommend that.

Another huge surprise was that Robin's greatest strength is actually in math logic--or big-picture, conceptual math--despite his frequent errors in adding and subtracting. How would I ever have known?

Finding what works for Robin
Robin was tested in the fall, and I took the results to his fifth grade teacher and asked for the accommodations that Fred suggested. These included allowing Robin to print or type rather than write in cursive, finding ways to shorten assignments so that Robin could demonstrate his knowledge of the subject without being overwhelmed, and emphasizing visual and tactual learning strategies. Fred also recommended tutoring.

Of all the fifth grade teachers at Robin's school, Mr. Rowe, his teacher, is the one who really piles on the work. At first glance, that would seem to make him a bad fit for Robin. In fact, Mr. Rowe has been wonderful--in part, I think, because he uses a wide variety of teaching strategies.

Mr. Rowe agreed to all of the suggestions Fred and I made. He has encouraged Robin, and he also praises and rewards Robin generously when he does well or tries hard. Mr. Rowe also seems to know when to get on Robin's case, without ever putting him down.

I bought Robin an abacus, and he uses it to add and subtract. He dictates some of his book reports and other written assignments to me, which saves him hours of laborious writing and allows him to concentrate on what he wants to say. He writes others on a computer, which helps him catch spelling and grammar errors.

I held off on hiring a tutor, but I did buy a series of math workbooks for Robin. Over the past six months, we've worked our way through second, third, and fourth grade workbooks outside of school.

All of this has made a huge difference to Robin. The tests showed Robin he is just as smart as his big brother, and this was a tremendous confidence booster. The tests also explained to him why some things are so hard for him.

He now understands that he can learn those things, but it might take a different strategy and it might take more time.

Does Robin still forget to do assignments or sometimes forget to turn them in? Sure. He'd rather draw or read or daydream than do homework.

But his confidence has been restored and his work has improved. And when he does fail to complete an assignment, Mr. Rowe is there to say, "Robin, we're going to hang you from the ceiling!"

Robin's response to this threat? "He's joking. Because he makes a joke out of something, you get the message, but in a way that's fun. And he doesn't hurt my feelings."

"Help Wanted"

2008-03-28T19:56:00.000+08:00

This had been going on for some time but due to my short-sightedness I had missed it....anyway, I speak for all Al-Ma'arifians that your kind contributions irregardless of its size are very, very much appreciated....

Jazaakumullah bilkhair...

/~* Self-appraisal *~\

2008-03-07T09:45:00.000+08:00

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a
soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He
climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the
buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits (phone numbers).

The store-owner observed and listened to the
conversation:

Boy: 'Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your
lawn?
Woman: (at the other end of the phone line): 'I
already have someone to cut my lawn.'

Boy: 'Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of
the person who cuts your lawn now.'
Woman: I'm very satisfied with the person who is
presently cutting my lawn.

Boy: (with more perseverance): 'Lady, I'll even sweep
your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will
have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida
.'
Woman: No, thank you.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the
receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all
this, walked over to the boy.

Store Owner: 'Son... I like your attitude; I like that
positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.'
Boy: 'No thanks,

Store Owner: But you were really pleading for one.
Boy: No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the
job I already have. I am the one who is working for
that lady, I was talking to!'

Do you know them?

2008-02-15T18:45:00.000+08:00

The Belittler
Belittlers routinely tear others down in order to build themselves up. Put-downs, demeaning remarks and disparaging comments are common trademarks of this person.

Coping strategy: Your confidence is the Belittler’s weakness, and he or she will back off if you stand up for yourself. Try refuting a Belittler’s criticism by asserting yourself, using facts where possible. For example, if he or she puts down one of your ideas, say, “It’s something that’s worked for X, Y and Z, and it also is more cost-effective than what we’re doing now.”

The Credit Thief
Insecure about their status, Credit Thieves boldly steal your ideas and grab the glory when a project is successful. Curiously, they’re nowhere to be found when things go wrong.

Coping strategy: Keep a written record of your activities and accomplishments, and give your manager regular status reports about the projects you’re working on. And don’t hesitate to correct misperceptions. (“Actually, I did the research; John helped input the data.”

The Noisemaker
Be it making long personal calls, forgetting to silence their cell phone ringers, playing music or talking with others using their “outside voice,” Noisemakers can’t help but disturb others.

Coping strategy: Do your best to insulate yourself from the sound. If you have a private office, close your door. If you work in a cubicle, try putting on headphones or moving to an empty office where you can concentrate in silence. If the situation persists, speak to the person and kindly ask him or her to keep the noise down, explaining that it’s preventing you from getting your work done.

The Saboteur
Saboteurs have a knack for leaving colleagues in the lurch. Similar to Belittlers, they like to make others look bad. Their tactics aren’t always overt, so you may not realize you’re working with a Saboteur until a critical deadline arrives. That’s when you discover you’re unable to complete your part of the project because the Saboteur has withheld important information.

Coping strategy: Be sure your supervisor or project manager knows the roles and responsibilities of each team member, and insist on regular progress reports so that Saboteurs can’t take advantage of lapses in oversight.

The Rumor monger
Rumor mongers like drama and often spread half-truths or lies by talking behind others’ backs. This is an especially dangerous type of co-worker because he or she has the ability to tarnish your reputation.

Coping strategy: The best defense is to avoid engaging in any kind of mean-spirited gossip. Remember, if you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all. If the Rumor monger starts swapping stories with you, avoid falling into the trap and instead excuse yourself as quickly as possible.

The Slacker
This person may try to pass off tasks to other staff members. The Slacker often claims he or she is “too busy” to help out, yet will make time for long chats and Web surfing during office hours.

Coping strategy: If you lead a project team, be sure this person carries his or her weight by documenting the responsibilities of each member of the group and asking for regular status reports. Hold everyone accountable for their portion of the project, and be firm with deadlines.

The Prairie Dog
There’s nothing quite as distracting -- or, at times, alarming -- as when an individual pops his or her head over your cubicle wall, seemingly out of nowhere, or drops by your desk unannounced. It typically happens when you’re on deadline or just about to write down a brilliant idea.

Coping strategy: Let the person know that, while you’d like to talk, you have a lot to do at the moment. If possible, schedule another time to meet, such as during lunch or after work. And, to prevent further interruptions, consider hanging a sign outside the entrance to your workspace, notifying people that you’re busy and when you’ll be available again.

If one of these descriptions reminds you of yourself, it might be time to re-evaluate your own behavior and adjust it as necessary. Remember, when it comes to working in an office environment, the more you respect others’ time and space, the more likely they’ll be to return the favor.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt from Robert Half International

Crazy English

2007-12-06T10:46:00.000+08:00

If you have not read the following article.. and if you like playing wif words..read on..

______________________________________________________________________

Crazy English

Verbivore

Let’s face it–English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? One Kleenex, 2 Kleenices?

Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn’t preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another.

Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who ARE spring chickens or who would ACTUALLY hurt a fly?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn’t a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

Taken from http://www.ldresources.org/?p=438 on 6th Dec 2007

real late updates

2007-12-06T09:33:00.000+08:00

Finally...the long-awaited, much-anticipated time of the year.....the air suddenly smells sweeter, even though it was raining here, it feels refreshing and not at all gloomy... Phewww...mind-boggling assignments, sleepless nites, bloody tears and cranky selves will be a thing of the past... pejam-celik, pejam-celik...1st semester had passed us by...wow....it wion't be too soon to know where our postings will be (saw the new list of resource schools the other day...gigit jari sekejap..)...but that's another bridge i'll cross later..

the 3 intensive (and i do mean intensive) @DAS, had really open my eyes big-big... there are so many things needed to be done and there will be only one of us to be implementing them... my head spins and though i appreciate the experience, i have my moments of doubt...hopefully, i dun cause more harm than good...

Hasbern also just finish his exams hoping to go holiday but hasbern's got no more leave..so we'll be spending some time at home...maybe giving the home the much-needed spring-cleaning...

oh well...happy holidays to all...enjoy your vacations/rests..

*brain shutting down*

Vrooom, vroommm....

2007-10-11T09:20:00.000+08:00

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar/images/lambo.jpg">

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which'>http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar">Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

subhaanollah, alhamdulillah....jazaakumullah...

2007-10-08T07:55:00.000+08:00

Kupanjatkan syukur kehadhrat Allah SWT., selawat & salam ke atas Nabi besar kita, Muhammad SAW, ahli keluarganya, sohabah2nya, imam2 & segala pengikutnya sekalian...

Where to begin? I can only be thankful & grateful to Him for giving me grace and letting me be here to continue to serve Him and be amongst my loved ones.

I am so thankful for the flood of Du'as & good wishes from family and friends and especially when i read the outpouring response from our multiply network frens whom i know personally & those I don't,thanks for your concerns, Only Allah may reward your kindness

I am doing as well as can be expected. To answer some queries: I had a few fractures mostly on my left pelvic bone but alhamdulillah after a thorough scan, I had no internal injuries & need no surgery. I was informed by the doctors that the cracks may heal completely on its own just that it will take time & I may be using walking aid for the next 2 months. I am also undergoing therapy and (trying to do) some of them @home.

I need further Du'as from everyone especially so that I have strength & patience to overcome frsutrations that I sometimes get.u know even the little things can get to me if I'm not watchful, trying to pick up something from the floor or walking the short distance to the bathroom or even remaining in a single position for long can tire me out. Family is very supportive especially Hubbi that I sometimes worry that he may be very tired from work/class/& taking care of me...Tears fell from seeing the TLC and support i get from him.. I'm also especially touched to see my NIE frens coming up and allaying my worries from the upcoming assignments and interceding to my lecturers on my behalf. My thanks also go to my understading lecturers..! of them came to see me in hospital...alhamdulillah, subhaanollah...

Aku mesti selalu beringat bahawa ada org lain yg ada di dlm keadaan lebih memerlukan dariku... Ada yg menghadapi lebih banyak ujian. Senantiasalah kita bersyukur kpd Allah SWT, berusaha utk sentiasa dapat menjalankan kewajipan kita sebaik2nya & dapat melalui segala rintangan dgn penuh sabar & redha...insyaa Allah.. Mohon semua dapat mengambil iktibar dan mendoakan kami.

As a gd fren who had visited me had said, there is always blessings in disguise. Sometimes this thing happen in order to prevent from something much bigger happening. Wallahu'Alaam...I know my perspective towards life has changed. Seeing another day, watching my beloved and able to walk even though very slow filled me with so much gratitude that I sometimes think I might burst...

Babe, I love you, take the best care of yourself & dun fret abt me... let's pray together for a full & speedy recovery.

Forgiveness in Action

2007-09-28T09:51:00.000+08:00

I'm not condoning what you had done

I'm just trying to make peace with myself so I could move on

I am thankful for the day that you did me wrong, the days I've had ever since and the days I'll continue to have, God willing...

[when i look in the mirror...]

2007-09-15T19:08:00.000+08:00

Isn't it super-fast how time flies? pejam celik, pejam celik...it's been almost 2 months I've been in the maktab perguruan... amidst the hectic assignments which had bombarded me mercilessly, I am feeling the over-whelming emotions of being in the pits...for those who are not in the know, well "the Pit" usually arise after a tumultuous and OTT introduction & exposure into a particular field. In my field, well, there are loads of negativity & uncaringness from people around. People are very surprised when they asked about what i do...i tried to explain & generally they will just smile in a way that imply to me "i still dunno what you're talking abt, & i'm not as interested as i thot i was" or "i think you're just making things up & so pls shut up so i can go elsewhere & blab with sumone else"

"the Pit" is not just induced by people as mentioned above... after numerous visits to institutions... tonnes of videos & other information media that I have to digest in order to satisfy my required module, I felt so sorry for people with special needs (especially) and their families/friends..i know some may thinks it's un-PC to feel sorry for them and that the last thing in the world that they need will be people's sympathy, i can't help but felt for them...i'll be lying if i say otherwise cos that was one of the many reasons i applied for this..

I know the road in fornt of me is an unpaved one

I'm grateful to God that i am now no longer blind and deaf to things surrounding me.

=write here right now=

2007-08-10T17:26:00.000+08:00

it's been such a long time since my last rant.. very tired to think & school had just started the last 3 days (wed cancelled, thurs holiday).. Sooo many readings in sooo little time... Maybe i shd have subscribed to thatr power reading thingy...assignments have started pouring in & i'm soaked...figuratively speaking dat is... I've been staring @the pc wondering how should i start my paper, praying for ilham..then i decided to msg my coursemates... haiyah still no revelations... the text given were full of technical mambo-jambo for all i know, it may have been written in German.. i read 1st para & re-read it again to digest and then moved on to 2nd para then i realised that i'd completely lost the meaning & so i had to re-read the 1st para all over again...

A fren said she is having a similar prob. She attributed this phenomenal yet common condition to long-ago-school-leaver-itis... I dunno if she's right but i hope this epidemic is not virulent..it isn't as if a shot of antibiotics can cure it... urghh.. and i'm still having the physical remnants of phleghmatic coughs and runny nose..which resulted in me trailing a line of tissue papers in my wake (don't worry i picked them up already...littering is an offense)

In spite of all these challenges..i'm very grateful that i had this chance.. it is an opportunity for me to go in depths into the world of special needs & exceptional children...besides, compared to the 1st bacth, we're having it pretty easy... The 1st batch had to work & complete the course requirements at the same time..boleh kenoneng dibuatnyer...

Now, feeling relatively better, i've to soldier on with my tutorials...thanks for the du'a kind friends.. Till we meet again, God willing!

anything? whatever...

2007-06-19T20:09:00.000+08:00

When we go out for a bite, with all variety of food available out there..we can be spoilt for choice... and sometimes when you're really hungry but you really have no idea what to eat and your partner is feeling about the same, the discussion on where & what to eat can lead to an all out war if one's not careful...

Picture this, we're at the counter trying to order some food or perhaps with a wait-person taking down our order..we'll look at the menu, flip it to the last page & back to the front, stomachs thundering, look at each other, look at the menu again & finally I ask, "so what are you gonna eat, hubbi?" Hubbi shrugs his shoulder, look at his menu & say "aah you decide laah...anything also can..." Grrr..then I go, "they don't sell anything.." then Hubbi turns the table around and ask me "ok so what do you wanna eat?" & i'll be like "watever.." Hubbi goes "and what makes you think they sell whatever?" It's kinda funny typing this up but in the heat of the ravenous moment, the phrase a hungry man is an angry man is an understatement of the century...pfftt...

but hey, waydeminit...what's this??

hah...they do sell Anything and Whatever now...

Close call

2007-06-11T22:01:00.000+08:00

I had been putting off writing about our trip to PK & KL for abt 2 wks now... & just when tonight I thot it's now or never, i'm afraid the idea might not even see the light of day (pun intende here) Why? Well, something happened today that took my mind up totally... (i count my lucky stars folks that IT was only my mind .. )

MIL & I went out today.. since her legs are not giving her much problem, it was a good day to be out & about town... I sent her back at around 6pm & after 'Asr prayers I quickly head home. You know the escalator heading up towards Causeway pt/MRT station from Woodlands Interchange, how high it was..? & If you don't, well.. it was about 2x the usual mrt escalator height...pret-ty steep there... a guy was standing 2 steps up from in front of me & there was a nother guy infront of him we were all following escalator riding regulations by standing on the left hand-side.. about 3/4 up, the 1st guy suddenly dropped onto the guy in front of me & in a split second both of them were pushed on top of me. I only had 1 hand on the railing and the other was holding a plastic bag filled with my favourite things (3 thick library books & food). I yelped, bent my knees and lowered half of my body (all those boring facts abt the laws of the gravity came into play here, guys..) the other half of my body were flailed to the back..All praises to Allah, before we reached the top, the guy in front of me managed to stabilize himself and the guy who just dropped onto him like a sack of potatoes...(I think he blacked out for i noticed him rubbing his head) both of them apologized and i was just too shocked so i just mumbled something i wasn't even sure what... I looked down and some other people below us were also rubbing their chest relieved perhaps it didn't turn out to be a stampede or perhaps in this case, a rolling-pede?

Guys, seriously...before this i used to not care abt the public announcement ..you know the ones...where u're supposed to take the lift if you're feeling unwell or carrying loads of stuff? So, before we "aw,shucks-no-it-won't-happen-to-me" , think..what if there are kids behind? pregnant ladies? the elderlies? what kind of a tra-domino-gic effect we could start...When I looked down the escalator, the notion that we could have rolled down & knocked people down like bowling pins, literally shook my knees..i had to sit down for a while...& what if bits of my clothes were stuck in between the gaps there...urgghh.. while recounting the incident to hubbi, my over-active imagination is working overtime (oh so not helping) that I cried and cried... Hubbi held me and kept saying sorry but i knew it wasn't his fault...it's no one's fault.. it just show how things we took for granted can turn ugly in a split second.. so guys, be careful okay... & please, stay behind the yellow line..!

Prates of the Carribbean - At World's End

2007-05-28T11:12:00.000+08:00

15 New Items on My Amazon Wish-list

2007-04-11T21:47:00.000+08:00

(This blog entry was automatically generated by Multiply's Wish-list Cross-posting beta feature.)

Below are items recently added to my Amazon wish-list. If you are familiar with anything below and have any comments or alternate suggestions, please leave a reply.

Click here to see my full and current wish-list.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
Price: $15.57

Learn More

The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Price: $5.95

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Manufacturer: Arthur A. Levine Books
Price: $18.89

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You Suck: A Love Story
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Price: $12.25

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Island of the Sequined Love Nun
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Price: $2.38

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My Sister's Keeper: A Novel (Picoult, Jodi)
Manufacturer: Atria
Price: $12.75

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The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss (and Learning to Tell the Truth about It)
Manufacturer: Trumpeter
Price: $7.00

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Only Forward
Manufacturer: Spectra
Price: $3.48

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A Dirty Job: A Novel
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Price: $6.99

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Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Rom
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
Price: $11.97

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Postcards
Manufacturer: Scribner
Price: $1.50

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Bloodsucking Fiends
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Price: $6.59

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The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0
Price: $9.99

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The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Price: $6.49

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Spares
Manufacturer: Harper Collins Publishers
Price: $10.99

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sekali ku tepis, kelepap dia jatuh atas muka direktor ahmad nisfu....

2007-04-11T01:15:00.000+08:00

had more time to think of my previous post... yeah, i was angry... now more befuddled & exasperated...

hadn't meant to sound as mean-spirited or bad-tempered as it was supposed to be and never would i use this platform to give out personal lashings before lashing out directly to the person(s) involved. But i had exhausted all means of communication with the intended. Yet the intended buat dono jer.. worse still, the intended wanted..no, demanded to be treated as an adult...well, in my book, to qualify, you first have to be an adult or at least "try to act like one"...haiz...

i'll not brood on it....gotta keep moving forward anyhows... so am praying to be back more cool & collected (refer to figure below)

070407 ---- 1152

2007-04-07T11:51:00.000+08:00

you say one thing and then you go ahead and do another

grow up,

get over yourself...

the world doesn't revolve around you

who? me?

2007-03-27T16:34:00.000+08:00

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

funnily enuf, when i used another pic, my look-alike posse totally changed!

2007-03-22T12:03:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, life can feel like a job,
But sometimes, if we're lucky, our job can feel like life.

(chrisina adams)

you follow your head when it comes to romance

2007-03-21T14:38:00.000+08:00

You follow your head when it comes to romance
Maybe you've been burned before, or maybe you're just too busy changing the world, but when it comes to your love life, you definitely look before you leap. While you might not be cautious in every aspect of your life, love is an area you tread on lightly. Let's face it, you'd rather have a little more control over your emotions, but they're sometimes hard to pin down. So rather than get lost in them, you, and many of us, probably prefer to focus on other aspects of your life.It's not that you don't want love to wash over you so you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's just that you'd probably like to fall in love when it best fits into your calendar. Still, with your smarts, you're probably able to sense when you're up for a little romancing and when you're not. Just remember, if you're ever on the fence, you want to fall off on the side where someone's going to catch you. Especially if he's tall, dark, and handsome.

Do You Follow Your Heart or Your Head?

Brought to you by Tickle

2007-03-19T10:10:00.000+08:00

At a pharmacy,

Boy : hmmm.... I donno what's good... (while fingering boxes of condoms)
Girl : Aiyah...whatever laaa..no need to be so fussy one...
Boy : u know which one better?

The pair then looked this way & that and blushed hotly when realised that their "discussion" was not privy to just themselves... both chucked the boxes they were holding back to the shelves and made for the exit as if their pants were on fire....
Perhaps the reason people were staring at them aside from the fact that they were loud & behaving rather intimately, might be cos they looked so very young...like secondary sch students...maybe appearances can be deceiving..but looking back at their level of conversation....i think not!

2007-03-16T23:33:00.000+08:00

Why It Was None Of Your Business (The Sequel)

2007-03-15T10:26:00.000+08:00

Gosh, i spoke too soon...

I'm having a big fat dose of this too, right this minute.... worse, i can't walk away from her...have to tahan this person until lunchtime...God help me! She's sitting right across me and asked me all sorts of question.... why r u temping? are u waiting for admission to any uni? what are u eating? (I was just abt to munch on a piece of bread i brought from home, nasib baik tak tersedak) where do u stay? what time u get up? what time u go to sleep??

AARRGGHHHHHHHHH!!! Just leave me the hell alone, woman!!!!!!!!

i'm so cold...

2007-03-14T16:49:00.000+08:00

..that I'm going to the loo every 8 minutes...

..that my fingers felt like they're bitten by frost...

..that my head has gone over the freezing point...

..that I can't speak without twisting my tongue...

nielah manusia...kalau panas, complain...kalau sejuk pon complain...hmmmm

central aircon system is not such a good idea after all.... especially in a tiny enclosed space...

saturday, kacang saturday, day.. DEY!

2007-03-12T15:18:00.000+08:00

Had a pre-emp medical check up @9 in the am...all the way in raffles place no less...thankfully it was saturday so the trains were not like a can of sardines as usual although it was quite packed but i can still breathe... had to take x-ray twice becos the 1st time round, the tech exclaimed "your lungs too small!" in a way that could only imply that there was something critically wrong with me (in the medical sense!)... When the series of tortures were almost over, I realized that they had specified my gender wrongly.. So i informed the recep nicely & she (wif snide smiles) replied "oh that's why we asked you to read through before signing the form just now...!" YES, MAM... but amidst all the medical labelling on the 7 paged forms, I was only able to spot my name, address & IC number correctly wif the aid of a magnifying glass...so could u really blame me for overlooking the fact of my gender spelled out in a 3.5 point font? In any case since the report will be sent to emp directly I wisely concluded not to aggravate the kind lady..I smiled, said my ps & my qs and peace was restored...

himself called to say he had a group project discussion & since 1 of his grp member happens to be chups' hubby, we, meaning me & chups saw it as a gd chance to go for another tai-tai session...we dropped off the husbands and headed off to meet up wif our old flames, Ben & Jerry @ Suntec City...Suueeett...tot of popping over to the career fair...BUT we were a week late...duh...Needless to say, the whole place was jammed packed for there was an IT Show in full swing...there was an even announcements asking visitors to visit the show in an hr's time due to crowd...but i doubt any of them paid any mind to it...so the next best thing, we went to a sporting goods/bed & baths sale where we bought some cheap but still good stuff...In fact, we managed to get very good deals on bedsheet sets...further discounts on already discounted prices.. God, i sound like a bleeding aunty-aunty already...

Picked up chups' mom and had quite a discussion in a car wif regards to JAWI, the almost extinct position and its upcoming revival...very intellectual and quite heated too between mother & daughter..& considering the kind of turns & corners chups was throwing that day, I'm happy to report that all of us are in one piece..Then we met the boys for dinner and i guess after quite a long day of threading through traffic & human jams, we were ready to dine & relax...however, luck was not on our side...

firstly, there were so many dishes on the menu we got cock-eyed just by looking at them...however, our feelings were cheated for most of our orders had to be cancelled...reason being:- some of the ingredients & at one time even the cook was not in...haiyahh, mau makan pon susah... & we had double confusion wif seafood & siput...himself kept asking us if "siput boleh makan tak?" Now, is that a trick question? And Din being the normal Din, gave quite an extensive historical account on how the siputs(siput babi, siput sedut, siput gonggong, siput lala) gain their name. Since i'm a kind-hearted gal, I shall not confuse u all by re-counting it...Between chups & meself, we demolished 4 cans of pokka green tea & suffice to say we were already flying higher than the eagles, if there had been one...

Just for fun @ Midnite Part II

2007-03-11T00:09:00.000+08:00

D.L. Hawkins
You scored 45 Idealism, 41 Nonconformity, 4 Nerdiness

I ain't wearing no tights.Congratulations, you're D.L. Hawkins! You've got a bit of a past to overcome, but you are a strong person and you care very deeply about the people you love. You are good at getting out of tight situations, however, you're not quite as good at simple, practical things like making lunches. Your best quality: Getting yourself out of difficult situations Your worst quality: No culinary skills whatsoever, refusal to don tights

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 30% on Idealism

You scored higher than 30% on Nonconformity

You scored higher than 0% on Nerdiness

Just for fun @ Midnite Part I

2007-03-10T23:56:00.000+08:00

You are Temperance

Time. Ages. Transformation. Involuntary change

Temperance is another card of aspiration, but also of much change. It often represents complex situations. Positively, you can harmonize contrary forces.

Temperance is, on a surface level, about "tempering." The original pouring from cup to cup might have been about cutting wine with water. So this is a card about moderation. There is, however, another angle to the card, that of merging seemingly impossible opposites. Sagittarius, the centaur, merges beast and man into a unique creature. And then there is the bow and arrow, one moving, one stationary, working together to point the way. Temperance may be, at first glance, a warning for you to "temper" your behavior, to cut your wine with water. But it may also be a reminder to that seemingly irreconcilable opposites may not be irreconcilable at all. Belief that fiery red and watery blue cannot be merged may be the only thing standing in the way of blending the two. Change the belief, measure out each with care, and you can create otherworldly violet.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

=========================================

Note to dandy, thanks dear for the link...had fun doing it although i must say i don't really understand their explanation of my card...hehe...sesajer nak menyibok..

100307 ---- 2249

2007-03-10T22:49:00.000+08:00

saw chups & cake's Ee-han weird traits..very funny...very cute...

thot it might be fun to look into my closet & rediscover my 6 weird things...hmmm.. (1) I get chased by cats & dogs A LOT.. popular u say? Naahh.. & I do not as a rule go out of my way to provoke them incessantly... And, I do not attempt to feed animals...I learnt that lesson well back in Sec 2... @ Bt Timah on one of our class nature hikes..We took a short break & had an impromptu picnic (sharing our bekals from home) when we reached the top... Saw a cute lil' monkey... tossed him some biscuits and before I can say "goodness gracious great wheels of fire", the whole gang had me under siege... I ran for my dear life while my classmates whom i can see were trying to abstain from rolling on the ground laffing, were helping to gather my things & shouting suggestions to lose the monkey squad..what wif the monkeys' excited chatters the whole place sounded like an extremely busy & extremely deafening marketplace... i could almost see the monkey chief's sneer.. Out of sheer agility or perhaps sheer lack of ideas, I climbed the small gazebo's pole and managed to hang the upper part of my body at the top and my legs dangling precariously...my ustazah was frantic & began to throw small sticks at the advancing motley crew trying to ward them off. Apparently they only went after those who tried to feed them & not those who tried to beat them.. When I re-tell the story to a group of friends, 1 of them pointed out "but chillis, you do know that monkeys climb..don't you?" Well, i guess it was my lucky day that none of the monkeys had thought of that...

Erm.. after dat 1st account, 'nuff said...don't you think?

desperate housewife

2007-02-17T11:49:00.000+08:00

MIL has left the building

A sigh went up my chest and flew out of my lips…

Please don’t get me wrong, I do not have anything against MILs or my MIL in particular. And I like to think she doesn’t have anything against me in particular. I just seem to find it hard to breathe and talk like a normal, sane person around her. Even after more than 2 years. And if you think this is just a run-off-the-mill griping & complaining MIL story..well, you’re right…however, it’s NOT of her, it’s more of me..

My mom advised…well, more like warned me to be at my best behaviour and that I should love her and give her respects more so than I shower upon my own mom, God bless her.. I do love and respect the MIL… but face it. she is MIL therefore as the dutiful ‘other woman’ I want..I crave for her approval…be it the way I talk to her/her sons/her other DIL…the way I do my house chores especially how or what I cook (oh yes…) One of the pros for staying alone, I only cook for himself . For me, whenever I feel hungry, I’d munch an apple or take a bread.. the cons when the MIL stays over, I start to mencacah buying groceries and cracking my head wondering what on earth I can cook for her…

So, whenever she stays over with us, you can find me in the kitchen 24/7 opening the fridge and the cupboards checking for supplies. God forbid, that I should be lacking say, an onion…I’ll have full nervous breakdown, biting my fingernails into oblivion… That’s stretching the truth a bit far perhaps, but believe me, I feel like such a failure when she turned to me and said, “you ran out of black pepper? Oh well, we’ll make do…”

I usually cook for himself.. ok.. so even though mom does not consider frying noodles/KOKA and popping nuggets/hotdogs/potatoes in the oven as cooking, I do, okay..& himself doesn’t complain he in fact takes care to compliment me every time, “this is nice, really..a little bit too spicy, but nice..” Maybe cos he can’t really differentiate taste, he’ll eat anything save for sticks & stones…I love himself to bits and I trust himself with my life but a food critique himself doth not make…Therefore when I cook, I’d have all the ingredients chopped, minced, weighed and laid out in front of me.. And to make sure it’s all edible; I’ve a personal tasting spoon which I used throughout my course of cooking. The kitchen looked like Dr Frankenstein’s lab & I’d end up with cleaning half the cabinet’s dishes..

When MIL was here, she helped to fold laundry, cut chillies/onions/garlics & grinded them to a pulp, make bagedils…in other words she generally helped to improve my kitchen life… so I’ve no right to even complain..really, after hearing some horror MIL stories, my MIL is basically a Bambi… thank God…however, can’t help but wonder that there must be an easier way to this…

As mentioned earlier, this ain’t a griping-whigeing story.. I’m trying to develop methodologies on being the all-round housewife/DIL which upon for a small fee (for research) will be shared with fellow clueless DILS. For those with proven track record and willing to share their trials/errors, please call 1800-SAVE-CHILLIS

And so the search of being the perfect cook a.k.a housewife continues…

2007-02-08T10:55:00.000+08:00

She said:

"To forgive is to let go of the hope that the past could be different..."

Maybe I am not ready to lose hope of the future...but I still wish I could turn back time & change history... be less afraid...bold to speak up & out .. that I wouldn't be caught in the tangled web of lies and hypocrisy ... Maybe I was as bad as you are for being your mute, reluctant accomplice. Maybe I still am your mute, reluctant accomplice...

God, wot a mess

2007-02-08T10:27:00.000+08:00

May Allah bless her soul...and may He keep your family strong & patient in overcoming these trying times...Amiin, insyaa Allah...

2007-02-06T14:26:00.000+08:00

I feel sick to the core...

I thought the past would stay in the past

I thought wrong

To cut you out of my life would involve lots of heartache and pain

To continue living like 'normal' would be hypocritical...

Tell me, wot should i do then?

130107 ---- 1219

2007-01-13T12:20:00.000+08:00

go get lost

120107---1105

2007-01-12T11:05:00.000+08:00

another day, another interview...

wish me luck

Merindu Kepastian

2007-01-05T12:06:00.000+08:00

Andai kau menjadi pelangi
biar ku jadi awannya
Agar kita selalu bersama

Andai kau menjadi sang duyung
biar ku jadi karangnya
agar kita selalu bersua

Andai kau menjadi merpati
biar ku jadi sang bayu
Agar kita sering bertemu

Andai kau menjadi puisi
biar ku jadi melodi
bersama kita bernyanyi

Andai ku menjadi rembulan
sudikah engkau menjadi kejora
hingga pagi nanti

Andai esok aku menjadi tanah
sudikah engkau menjadi bunga
hiasi dadaku

by Mr Art Fazil
taken from his album Nur

=============================================================

And for the benefit of those who has difficulty understanding the above, please see the following.. (of course the meaning might have been lost in translation nevertheless I hope you enjoy the song on my music site)

=============================================================

If you are the rainbow
Let me be the cloud
So that we’ll always be together

If you are the mermaid
Let me be the corals
So that we’ll always see each other

If you are the dove
Let me be the breeze
So that we’ll always meet

If you are the rhyme
Let me the melody
So that together we’ll sing

If I become the moon
Will you be the stars
Till morning comes

And if tomorrow I turn into earth
Will you be the flowers
Adorning my chest

Anyone been white water rafting in Malaysia?

2007-01-04T22:43:00.000+08:00

The magnetic chain sisters are itching for our yearly overseas (mis)adventure..

Anybody can recommend :

Where to go?
What package from which agency to take?
Any Do's & Don'ts...??

We appreciate all helpful infos from you...

what you mean to me

2006-12-29T11:25:00.000+08:00

& so i was just thinking back t the time when i was still a kid... How easy it was to find friends.. u know, u just need to be standing in front of my place and the next thing you know, we'll be playing like the bestest of friends....played with our barbie dolls & our mother's old flower pots with spoiled /used soils which we pretend to be our kitchen cooking nothing in particular but i'd know we'd have so much fun...& we'll talk, we'll swap stories..how many brothers/sisters we have & which cartoon is our favourite on TV...oh & u like chocolate ice-cream? I do too...Yaayy!!! Best friends forever! We'd do everything together, go mama shops or to the playground, tried to dress or do the hair like each other. Practically joined at the hip. It was like having a twin sister/brother only we had different sets of parents...Oh, the simple life..

Nowadays, you don't even leave the door open & if it was open & u find someone loitering in front of your house, you'd call the police...wat i'm tring to say is dat, as we grow up and as we expereince all these expereinces that we experienced, we tend to be more guarded and wary of our surroundings.. u may never know, the person whom you'd trust with your innermost secrets may be the very person to use it on you & break your heart... the worst kind of betrayal is the one unleashed upon u by your own people...friends, family included..you'd tend to be cynical and presume the worst of people especially of people whom you only know of slightly. trust is far away from your mind..and because of dat too, perhaps, you don't see the need to engage new best friends..the process of getting to know each other & discovering our similarities & differences and to adapt to one another seem to be more tedious & complicated & if we're not too careful, it might just to lead to more heartbreaks...

which is why, I am ever so grateful that during this short course of my life, I've found some pretty kewl (and if i may add, krazy as well) friends to share my joys, my sorrows...they are also the ones who wouldn't hesitate telling me off when i deserved a telling-off..they helped me to be where I am today & if not for them, I may be a lonely and bitter, not-so-old-yet-not-so-young woman today...

This is for you, my friends...

..thank you & I love you

Fare thee well!

2006-12-13T19:36:00.000+08:00

my calendar's filling up with a bunch of kenduris, dinners, farewell parties...
Had a small farewell dinner wif SN & the husbands @Little India last nite...When hubbi asked why there, well let's just say the place she's going have an abundant supply of pinapples and palm trees instead of parathas & dosais... So the gal has been going 'round singapore stuffing on the goodies enough to last her a year of local cuisine or, something close to that...
Take care my fren, and don't worry I'll always remember you...especially when I'm devouring 1 of those delicious dosais...

Another set of departure due soon: Ibu, Cik Wan & Cik Aisyah - to The Holy Land, insyaa Allah... May Allah bless and reward them...we leave you in His keep...

I'm going off as well....will be back next week, insyaa Allah...toodles~

oh...& happy anniversary, hubbi...

here fishy-fishy...

2006-12-07T01:44:00.000+08:00

..............

Why oh why must they have a panel of interviewers when 1 alone could have set knees knocking in nervous anticipation? I had to confront FOUR at a time...& it felt like i'm facing a firing squad...well if i was i would already have BEEN dead... and it doesn't help when I had the interview postponed due to the bugging flu... And it certainly MURDERED my chances when the medicine taken in the early morn decided to take a full swing... AT MY BRAIN!!!! .....ouch... can u hear the pain...? Up until now, I could NOT remember a single intelligent word i have said...when i tried to replay, I cringe as the only picture i get is the interviewers' faces tyring to determine if this interviewee was under some sort of influence...

note to self: never drug self before/during any job interviews....After is prefereble...especially during instances as stated above...

#p.s.: and as if the day could not get any worse, my sis informed me that she had extra TWO tickets FREE for PGL's first performance nite and she tot my staying at the tip of the island would cause me to be late getting to the theatre..HELL-LOO hadn't u heard of dat amazing contraption called TAXI?! Aaargghhh....now where did i keep dat pill...???

Afghan desert key to world security, says Blair

2006-11-20T23:23:00.000+08:00

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan - The security of the world will be decided on the desert battlefields of Afghanistan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday told his troops on the frontline of an increasingly bloody war.

“Here, in this extraordinary desert, is where the future of world security in the early 21st century is going to be played out,” Blair told his troops in remarks barred from publication until he flew out of Camp Bastion in Helmand province.

Afghanistan’s western allies say the Taliban is on the run, despite a resurgence, but Blair’s long-planned visit has been kept in strict hour-by-hour secrecy due to security fears.

“You may not know this, but people back home are very proud of what you do, regardless what they think of political leaders,” he told troops in the desert province that is a Taliban stronghold and the opium capital of the world’s main producer.

Fighting in Afghanistan this year is the bloodiest since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban’s hardline government exactly five years ago. The British troops in Helmand and other NATO troops in the south have been at the forefront of the combat.

And with the rise in fighting and a redeployment to the Taliban’s southern heartland, British casualty rates here are now higher than those in Iraq, with 36 killed since June.
British Gen. David Richards, the head of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, has said his countrymen in Afghanistan face the bloodiest fighting since the Korean War and are six times more likely to die in Afghanistan than in Iraq.

“We want to be here. We want to be doing our job,” Sgt. Chris Hunter, 31, from Swansea, Wales, told Blair at Camp Bastion in the chill morning air of an Afghan winter.

“It’s a point that’s lost back home,” Hunter said.

...& what would the point be, exactly?

A New Do

2006-11-14T02:48:00.000+08:00

had been meaning to update but had gotten caught wif new stuff/work/season...sorry babes..

well, fer the latest, do drop by to my new site @Multiply

i won't delete this blog...just in case u need to tag me..(dunno how to upload a tagboard there & in any case, can't be too bothered to do it...eheh) i'll check in time to time...

so, see ya peeps!

juz fer fun

2006-11-14T02:30:00.000+08:00

Calculating your superhero identity for the day...
Rummaging through your unpublished autobiography...Searching the sky for signs...Flipping through virtual dictionaries....

Your Superhero Identity For Today Is:
Name: Blue Raven

Secret Identity: Mai Sarah

Special Power: Twisting Ears

Transportation: Electric Bathtub

Weapon: Psionic Cannon

Costume: Leopard Skin Sport Coat

Sidekick: Black Dan

Nemesis: Jasmine the Unspeakable

Tragic Flaw: Big nose (yeah thanks a lot!)

Favorite Food: Cheez Whiz

The Kite Runner

2006-11-14T02:09:00.000+08:00

"...his life of unrequited loyalty drifting from him like the windblown kites he used to chase."

I could almost see the streets & the bazaars/souks in Kabul...Could almost taste the sweetness of the pomegranates & the spiciness of the traditional naan with cauliflower curry (& i haven't eaten any of those in my whole life...'cept for the naan)..could almost hear the sound of children playing and rockets & bombs exploding.. the story-telling was so darned vivid....it takes the reader who had not seen the country in person except for the abbreviated and often-grim pictures in the television or newspapers, experience the narrator's life wholly. Shocking, tender, mesmerizing, haunting...all in one... & i don't just mean Khaled Hosseini's writing style... it makes me wonder about the strength God Almighty bestows to man...the choices man make that altogether shapes the lives they live although we're all on the same face of the earth...it's so different.. yet if i were to be thrown into the situation, i wonder if i might not just react the way the narrator had..

syabbas khaled hosseini

chups' review

a CRoW'S TaiL

2006-10-30T11:56:00.000+08:00

An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45 years old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window.

The father asked his son, "What is this?" The son replied "It is a crow". After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2nd time, "What is this?" The son said "Father, I have just now told you" It's a crow".

After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3rd time, what is this?"

At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the son's tone when he said to his father with a rebuff. "It's a crow, a crow".

A little after, the father again asked his son the 4th time, "What is this?"

This time the son shouted at his father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"

A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:-

"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated I rather felt affection for my innocent child".

While the little child asked him 23 times "What is this", the father had felt no irritation in replying to the same question all 23 times and when today the father asked his son the same question just 4 times, the son felt irritated and annoyed.
Allah says:

" Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour."

And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood."
(Surah Bani Isra'el (17); Ayah # 23~24)

Aah-choo, Aah-choom...Aah-choom, Ooh la la...

2006-10-27T14:45:00.000+08:00

2 days out...couldn't get up...feels like my head was abt to throw up its contents...

tot i'd have grown out of this phase... 'demam raya' (E'id fever) is not merely a figurative phrase... I have always been down with fever for as long as i can remember...it occurs during the 1st week and had ever lasted for as long as 9 days... had to get injection almost everytime as usually the thermo would hit the jackpot of 41 deg... where, u ask? on my butt of cos... the family doc would always exclaim his greeting (reserved specially for me) : "I've been wondering when u're gonna turn up for the usual..." oh yeah...alhamdulillah i've long passed dat...no more derriere injection...just this fishy flu hanging about me... oh, wait a sec.. *sneeze, snort* *chillisgivesupchasingafterherextremelyrunnynose*

not only demam raya...i also have the "demam periksa" (exam fever) which will systemically shows up just a week before exam starts...still remember the study week during poly days...my ever-so-helpful-and-concerned frens flocking to my house....advising me to take better care of my health becos they need to borrow my lecture/tutorial notes

...dose were the daze...

can't sleep

2006-10-26T03:01:00.001+08:00

ish...can't sleep.... headache + tummy ache + feet ache = a not-so-hot chillis

too much of 'road-works',

could be...

too much gassy drink,

definitely...

too many ketupat+rendang+the whole works,

most probably

Note to self : eat/drink/visit in moderation

2006-09-29T13:24:00.000+08:00

The Hikam of Ibn Ata'Alla al-Iskandari

Sometimes He gives while depriving you, and sometimes He deprives you in giving.

2006-09-21T08:54:00.000+08:00

what is ignorance?

It means not knowing

But also, it can mean..
..not wanting to know..

2006-09-15T00:22:00.000+08:00

Welcome back... my pc's blue screen censored me from accessing earlier... Anyways, God willing all shd be ok... though i still get the Run error: 71 Disk not ready dialog box everytime it starts... i can't find the solution on windows website but then i'm not that bothered as long as i managed to log on & clear my overloaded overdue & overjunked email spaces... *sigh*
been @ darul like every weekend this past weeks... although not many old faces turn up, thankfully the usual suspects faithfully turn up in the midst of their busy-ness of moving house / school activities / never-ending house chores / frying chickens... heh heh.. oh & the crash of the puny little desktop pc... *bleargh*... i get chills remembering the 4am tragedy.. & dat reminds me something else..aai, u gotta teach me photoshop..i mastered the cut/paste thingy oredi so we can go on the next chapter..

Been watching supernova since day 1..Jason Newsted of Metallica, Gilby Clarke from Guns N Roses & bad, mad lil drummer boy Tommy Lee of Motley Crew launched a worldwide search of a lead singer for their new band. Been a huge fan of New York's own Ryan Star since his Paint It Black perf...& he totally blew me away wif his rendition of REM's "Losing My Religion" initially i tot he was cocky...well he's brilliant so i guess he's entitled. But, through the edited reality tv show & watever webisodes i get to d/load, Ryan is more of a loner & he expresses himself better thru his songs. His attitude, well, whose hair won't stand on ends(literally)when u have to stay in a house full of complete strangers aspiring to be the next big rocker.... catfights are not uncommon & the ones dat like to start 'em up seemed to be the boys.. what gives?
my 2nd & 3rd most favouritest would be Toby the thunder from down under & the MAGNIficent Iceman respectively...
Toby the house prankster went buck naked to play a song with Gilby & conned Dilana to do the same..the folks esp the gals of coz didn't mind, what wif his beach bod & surfer good looks... EVS...but he definitely can work the crowd, rock with the house band & all the while singing so effortlessly. By 2nd verse he had people singing along to his own original "Throw It Away".
Magni : can fire things up wif his guitar-playing & spot-on vocals has a cute little baby boy rooting for him back in his homeland...awww...this rocker has a soft side when 1 of the episodes showed him getting a video from his family showing the toddler's first few steps & Magni's hot molten lava crumbles... Jimi Hendrix wld be proud of his 'FIRE'
Yesterday (East Indian Standard Time), they finally named their lead singer...Alas, none of my boys cut it...Ryan was out on Week 9..however, he was called back on the finale to perform his own original song as it was voted to be the fan fav, & becos of dat too, he won a cool Honda ride. His song title? "Back of Your Car" ..sweet irony...
Toby & Magni whom made it into the final four were also the 1st two rockers to be cut. But not before their spectacular elimination perfs which absolutely shows the mind & judging capacity of the voting nations...
Ryan's gonna launch his album soon & i have a feeling that the world's not hearing the last from Mr Toby & Mr Magni either... Chk out My Video & you might see why~

2006-09-14T23:18:00.000+08:00

How can you spare sum1's feelings by denying them?

the Face Off @110806

2006-08-16T01:27:00.000+08:00

Never Say Goodbye

2006-08-12T02:15:00.000+08:00

Category: Movies
Genre: Drama

Isn't the typical love story-run around the trees-change clothes 12 times in a song-movie.1st time i hate shahrukh's guts...Any of u who knows me personally, would know it's not sumthing i'd say anyhow.. i'm not gonna spill it here...if u can bear 3hrs +++ long movie, you'll see whydespite all dat, this will soon be added to my dvd collection....yeap, it IS that good...

2006-08-11T02:37:00.000+08:00

Title: The Breakdown Lane
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Author: Jacquelyn Mitchard

Where can a woman turn when her own life threatens to overwhelm her ability to keep her children safe?

This book will take you on a wry & moving journey of life, loss & healing...Wait, before u think this is just another love/marriage/parenting fiction with a feminist world-view, this book had a different, unique style of delivery. Her words, letters (she as a newspaper aunt aggie) and get this, her son's journal who is by the way diagnosed as having LD added special insights.

See the story unfolds as she was caught off-guard when her husband kept going on 'sabbatical trips' & eventually MIA. Things worsened when she was diagnosed with a serious illness & her 2 children went on a journey to find their absent father by themselves...

happy ending??? Well like they say, only fairy-tales have happy endings...in any case, happy or sad is just an emotional barometer which has no exact standards. Life will still throw a monkey wrench when you just thought everything would end well. The real question is: How do we handle it?

Bila nak tunjuk 'terer'.....

2006-08-10T22:45:00.000+08:00

Believe or not yours truly got roped in to join 1 of nusms' team of bowlers 1 saturday...a competition organised by sp mls @The Chevrons. & all thanx to my sis cum team manager cum cheerleader cum watergirl -(aaaa..sumer title dia angkutlah..)i was in! hubbi came took leave to support me...hehe..actually i forced him to but he gladly welcomed the break...

oh yeah... we played a mean game of bowling...unfortunately some other teams got meaner.. but being non-sourgrapes, we accept our loss with grace & dignity... aper yg aku membebel ni?

1st was the trial round, then 2 rounds of play... nusms sent 2 teams down...my team: amino (chief of the pack, full of acidic moves), fasha (our main striker complete wif spinning bowls), & 'kak' aisyah (she looks so cool, yet she set fire in the bowling alleys)...i paled in comparison...literally.. but all in gd fun, even we did not win,fasha & aisyah was among the top 3 individual bowlers...& i did not do too shabbily either...ok i sucked but at least i did not suck as bad as i usually did..a definite & positive improvement even i f i say so myself...

So here's to you, team...thanx fer the great moral support when the pins swayed side by side yet did not fall... thanx fer not laffing, when my ball went down the drain...esp thanx fer the great company u all proved to be... to risk being corny: dat was wat team spirit is all abt...as wot amino(team leader) had remarked @ the end of our pep talk:
"tak menang takpe...asal jgn kalah jer... "

in & out the cherry window....

2006-08-06T15:05:00.000+08:00

what a full & filling day yesterday had been....now me having a short break wif kit kat to pen this down...ok honestly no kit kat but it doesn't really matter, does it?

When the clock stroke its magical hour me & me co-workers headed out to the usual bus stop which is usually crowded wif the usual crowd., We were pushed & shoved along on the bus by the so-called hopeful elite minds of this country who in reality have an obnoxious dearth of human courtesy... That aside, I was looking forward to meeting hubbi & to a nice hot seafood dinner wif his relatives at kg chai chee restaurant otherwise (in)famously known as Oooh la la...(wif a name like dat, u dun have to be a genius to know dat dis was the "filling" part...)

We alighted @paya lebar as we were quite early & managed 2 squeeze in some much-needed shirt shopping fer him. Bought 2 at a very generous bargain! Hubbi decided to change into his new attire to bedazzle his crowd... I couldn't find any fer myself but it's ok, compared to him, some of my clothes have never even seen the light of the day. Plus I am very much dazzling already...tee hee...We then met up wif MIL @ mosque & then made our way down to the rest.

Having had nothing of real substance since lunch(& an extremely light one at that), both of us were rather starving...even the cili jeruk looks tempting.. but first, we read some thanksgiving do'as esp for 1 aunt & 1 kuzzin who had received gd fortune recently..When the makan arrives, nobody wasted any time stuffing their faces...turns out everyone had come "prepared" wif their empty stomachs... we had seafood fried rice, very spicy hot plate beancurd, black pepper beef, kailan, cumis, garoupa sweet n sour, breaded cuttlefish balls wif mayo....*sluuurrrppppp...chillisdroolsagainatthethoughtofasumptiousspread* For dessert, 3 scoops each of home-made low-fat ice-cream.. i dunno how low the fat was, & as it were, I couldn't put one more morself of food... I'd puke, i think... & so i donated my share to 1 of the boys which of cos was not refused...How did they hold it all, i wonder....

After dinner & after long salam-ing (the ceremony of leave-taking commonly seen in a muslim community) and last-minute chatters, we went on our separate ways... We got a cab to MIL's place (which turned out to be a scary affair on the highway after we knew that the driver in question reeked of alcohol) Kept praying for smooth journey & alhamdulillah we arrived safe. Caught the bus/mrt/bus back to jw and as we were reaching the station, i remembered the day's date & informed hubbi dat the movie he wanted to watch opened already. Proceeded to gv @jp & bought 2 tix to see CLICK The show ended at around 2 a.m. & we reached home around 2.45 as we had to walk all the way.. It shouldn't be so bad except for the fact that: One, neither of us had had a a good rest & fresh change of clothes since morn & Two, I'd bowling competition scheduled in a few hours' time... & that is another story...

PuT oN YouR HaPPY FeeT

2006-08-06T15:01:00.000+08:00

I know size can be daunting...but don't worry coz' I love you..!!
I LOO-ove YO-ouuu...!!!

If you have 24 hours

2006-08-02T13:27:00.000+08:00

If you have 24 hours of perfect health, how would you spend it?

write it down, lemme know or don't...watever, but at least do think abt it..Then think how you are spending your day today...

2006-07-31T16:20:00.000+08:00

just had 1 of the biggest scares of my life

God...how cld i be so stupid/dumb/careless/clumsy/klutzy/goondoo.... well u get the idea..

if anything worse were to happen, i'd be dead instead of typing here...
CRAP, it just hit me...I WILL DIE...period

2006-07-30T11:45:00.000+08:00

Made a small batch of No-Bake Peanut Butter Krispies... very simple...no worrying abt setting the oven too high dat they might get burned like my lemon bisq yesterday... hehe.. as i'm very happy wif the result, & hubbi juz can't stop , i've decided to be generous & share them wif u (the recipe not the cookies!)..got the recipe from 1 of the many internet recipe sites.. so here goes:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut butter (i used chunky ones, fer those who like it smooth, make ur own adjustment...read: use creamy! )
1/4 cup honey (any type)
2-3 cups of rice krispies cereal (i couldn't find a big box of rice krispies yesterday so i used Coco pops instead & i think it tastes better than the plain ones...didn't i mention, i love chocz)
1 tsp vanilla essence

1) Blend peanut butter, honey & vanilla carefully

2)stir in the rice krispies/coco pops cup by cup until u feel its enuf to coat the mixture ...from my exp, 1 3/4 cup were quite enuf

3)moisten ur hand first before u proceed to roll them into balls lest they break & u get frustrated dat i never give u this tip before hand & proceed to put everything in the bin.. hehehe

4)arrange however u like on a tray lined wif grease-proof/ wax paper then pop them into the fridge to chill...

5)when ready to be served, u get ready to be praised...then get ready as the balls get mauled... better put a few pcs aside fer urself...i'm speaking from experience here...
makes abt 30pcs (depends on how big/small ur balls are...)

Note: if u want to make more, juz double or triple the ingredients..& of cos it's double or triple werk fer u...! =)

2006-07-30T11:13:00.000+08:00

Hubbi & I caught the movie POTC last nite... as much fun as the 1st one... Bravo to Johnny Depp as Cap'n Jack Sparrow forever wif his antics, deadpan delivery...The icky graphics esp on Davy Jones & his crew together wif sound efx during the Kracken mostly (did i spell dis correctly?) made me scream out loud more than a few times.

I whispered to hubbi. "he's stealing from the very person helping him!", hubbi said, "He's a pirate wat..." In another scene, Hubbi said "He rather sacrifice william to get his way?" I retorted "He's a pirate wat.."Well, Johnny, u made Jack a pirate thru & thru...

1 of my fave scene was their 3-man fight wif elizabeth screaming on the side..

The only drawback: We were sitting in the middle, 5 rows to the screen... (my neck pain a bit but watever, it was worth it...)

"Curiousity...
It will make you want it...want it so bad..."

So if u haven't seen it already, watchoo waitin' for, matey?

Note to babe

2006-07-30T01:44:00.000+08:00

FROM MYSELF I am copper,
through You, friend, I am gold.
From myself I'm a stone,
but through You I am a gem!

Babe, remember our sumpah...

What a friend thinks

2006-07-30T01:25:00.000+08:00

I see you happy now my dear friend...
I'm glad..
If dat is what was meant to be..
I'm glad...

It's been so long
Forgot how you look like exactly
But when I saw you yesterday
You looked just like how
I thought a happy person must be..
I'm glad...

It should not take dat long
for you deserve every bit of happiness
I know you do
for everything you've done for me
when I needed you
I'm glad...
It was you...

A Sunday Matinee - continued

2006-07-26T11:17:00.000+08:00

Now where was I?

Oh yes, to cool ourselves down, I suggested we walked over to Mustaffa. Bought dvd (hindi...whaddaya expect?) & some toiletries, place was packed wif Jap tour grps..very hard to find the salesperson, got bulldozed by a shopping cart or trampled by a baby pram every 5 minutes & all ard me i hear Japanese, talk abt confusion.. I pity the babies...not dat i've anything against parents who bring their children to public places(hey, it's a free country!) but wailing, screeching infants in a crowded ctr where every way is One Way... come on...& oh yeah did we ever cool down...

Another thing, when we go mustaffa, we've to hand in our bags/parcels for them to keep but ladies' bags usually they'll just tie 'em wif the cable tie thingy... hubbi smiled at me & said, dun they know these aren't exactly fool-proof? the place packed to the teeth, the tie could just be slid off & after slipping items inside, go over to the hardware section & buy the same cable thing & tie the bag back before exiting & none would be the wiser,,,I remarked back well, let's pray no one thinks like you & if there is, let's pray they have real powerful cctv/security system installed.... sheesh, wat an idea...

Well, after shoping there, we walked back to ps as on the way to mustaffa we were given an LJS flyer. Hubbi's heart already fixed on their current promo & all my ideas to eat masala dosais or chapatis were vetoed... Doesn't really matter anyway as my feet were hurting from all the super brisk walk & shopping cart/baby pram incidents..my feet screamed louder as i found dat we had taken a longer route..Hubbi's excuse, well u were the one who wanted to walk wat juz now... Me & my big mouth

After dinner, we went in & out knick-knack shops..trying out watever items they had put out in sale... ended up buying a cute pair of toothbrush holders.. but we did need them, u see...

Then, in order to congratulate ourselves for managing to survive the ordeal of the whole day, we had

I loike!

Oh yes, I've a kitty stuck on my fridge's door..

A Sunday Matinee

2006-07-25T16:20:00.000+08:00

Had a date wif me hubbi last Sun. the 'date' was out of necessity partly as i'd a little accident wif my v3 more than 3 wks ago. It just won't turn on. The only one svc ctr's located in ps, so we went there thinking happily we would be able to go walk² after that...& maybe even drop by mustaffa ctr..

Hubbi worked till 11.00am on Sun & i treated him to a late lunch @jp. The 'late' part is my fault... i was watching cartoon hehe...hubbi said he can feel ppl staring at him as his tummy growled super-loud.. poor boy..

We got a Q no & i sat down to wait while hubbi walked off his lunch ard the basement before settling down beside me & dozed off... yeaps that was how long we waited.. luckily i brought a book along..there were ard 7 counters but only 4 were operational &time was crawling ultra-slowly by.. Suddenly sumthing caught my attention.. 1 of the svc officer did not punch the Q nos, but sumhow a man just sat in front of her, started talking, brought out his hp & was attended to juz like dat. I roused hubbi to complain to him. He told me to wait for my no while he went & find out wat was up.. apparently this man had missed his turn for after he got his no, he & his itchy-legs walked out.. I remarked loudly: "Then, shouldn't he go & get a new one then.. " To make matters worse, 1 of the ctrs closed fer lunch & now it seemed dat he had 1001 questions to the officer..wat a drag! But, hey, wat just a sec...i gestured to hubbi to observe the svc officer in question. She was giving friendly signals to another customer in front of me... turns out, he was her friend.. & the signals, well u dun have to be a genius to know it meant dat she wld serve him next...hubbi stood in front of the ctr and questioned her coolly. She said the other guy had also missed his no. bullshi*! he came after us.. & when hubbi asked to see his Q tix, it was already thrown away...surprise, surprise... she had the cheek to say sum more that it was company's policy to attend to customers who missed their turns...Hello, even at the doctor's office, u'll have to take another Q no. if u missed ur turn unless it's an emergency..wat rubbish r u telling me then? Hubbi wrote a feedback letter & handed in to another staff citing the incidents and the officer's name.. (that is, if the name's given was true, she wasn't wearing any badge) By this time, my no. had been called at another ctr & while i was waiting for the gal to chk my hp, i overheard another man making noise. He'd seen the incidents & was growing agitated and so he let the so-called store supervisor have it...I signalled to hubbi to ask him to come to the ctr i was at, but i noticed his face was black & he only shook his head. Only after I came out from the shop dat I knew wat happened..the svc officer's fren who managed to jump Q just now had snickered snidely at hubbi when he walked out from the shop..told hubbi it wasn't worth it to lose our cool over these stinkingly rude ppl. He agreed but he was still fuming.. I prayed that the stinking rude guy had left the bldg, for his own stinking sake cos when hubbi's in dat state, that guy won't stand a chance.. not dat i'm saying he wld get beaten up but fer sure, hubbi has his own set of laser mouth & knowing him, things might get out of hand...

wait a sec.. i need to have a drink, now i'm worked up..

2006-07-19T19:46:00.000+08:00

Berita Foto: Tsunami Pangandaran Pangandaran, KCM

Tsunami yang terjadi Senin (17/7) kemarin, telah menghancurkan kawasan wisata Pantai Pangandaran, Jawa Barat. Hingga pagi ini (Selasa, 18/7), korban gempa dan tsunami di Kabupaten Ciamis tercatat 172 orang meninggal dunia.

Fotografer: KCM/Ahmad Zamroni
========================================================
Photo News: Tsunami Pangandaran Pangandaran, KCM

The Tsunami that had stricken last Monday (17th Jul), had destruct whole recreation area of Pangandaran Beach, West Java. Up till this morning (Tues, 18th Jul), victims of the quake & tsunami in Kabupaten Ciamis are known to be at 172 dead.

Photographs by: KCM/Ahmad Zamroni
(sources: Kompas Cyber Media)
______________________________

Of today (19th Jul), reports that come in, 510 people are injured, 165 are missing while 52,400 people had been evacuated. Death tolls are at 337 and are suspected to be rising every hour. (sources: Berita Harian)

2006-07-19T19:32:00.000+08:00

Berita Foto: Identifikasi Jenazah Tsunami

Pangandaran Pangandaran, KCM
Puluhan warga hari ini (Selasa, 18/7) mendatangi Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat (Puskesmas) Pangandaran, Ciamis, Jawa Barat untuk mencari sanak keluarga yang hilang. Sekitar 60 jenazah telah berhasil diidentifikasi di tempat ini.

Fotografer: KCM/Ahmad Zamroni
========================================================
Photo News: Identification of Tsunami Victims in Pangandaran

Large of number of Pangandaran dwellers came out today (Tuesday, 18th Jul) to Wellness Community Centre(Puskesmas) at Pangandaran, Ciamis, West Java in order to look for their lost relatives. At the moment, around 60 victims have been identified here.

Photographs by: KCM/Ahmad Zamroni
(sources by Kompas Cyber Media)

2006-07-19T12:21:00.000+08:00

And here I thought that I would get over you. Really.
I told all my friends & family, I would..
They were not convinced, I don't blame them
But I was so sure of it..
For how long have I known you
I've known my husband longer
We have not even have a decent conversation between us
I don't even know what's your favourite colour
& you don't know mine
For because of this, I know it won't last for long
I would get over you
I told you
& you said, "Fat chance"
"My magic is stronger than you think... You'll be wanting more of me once I'm gone..."
I laughed it off...it was nothing but a schoolgirl's crush
I really would get over you...
My heart worries
but it still thinks of you
Always, always in my heart
For how far I've walked
Always, you are in my heart

A perfect dream

2006-06-16T17:45:00.000+08:00

So wat have i done?
I joined a fan club, bought concert ticket & even went to the airport to meet their arrival....
This should be the work of someone in their teens going googoo-gaga over a rock band.. not as if i'm a senior citizen, but this type of thing should have passed me by like 10 yrs back. Still, age is nothing but a number. I do like listening to music or watching movies and make an effort in keeping wif wat's hot & wat's not in the entertainment world. This is partly by chance as in today's world, these infos are available at a click of the button... In essence, in the history of Mai lifetime, I have never been such a 'groupie'... i.e., until now...

Somebody made an obvious remark(duh), "hey, you're married, y do dis kinda thing?" SO? i'm not going as a teenybopper screaming my lungs out hoping to in the end that we'll get married etc, etc... well, maybe one of them would see me & might kinda fall for me but after finding out i'm taken, he'd be broken-hearted & it'd inspire him to write another chart-topping hit 4 their upcoming album..one can dream, can one not? :)

Ada apa dengan Peterpan?("What's with Peterpan?")
Not from Never,Neverland...but these 6 man-band hail from Bandung, Indonesia... I dunno their full history & dun intend to narrate it here anyway..Wat i love is their songs.. The difference is very obvious, if u know malay mainstream music..their songs are more abt broken hearts rather than in-love but the lyrics are very strong, clear & sincerely straight. Not gagging mushy things like "i'll die if i dun have ur love" stuff...When i hear their songs, i feel transported..i know wat the feeling exactly is..It's not just abt catchy beats & tunes..
Of course, these songs gave arise to my curiosity...Who are these ppl? What makes them tick? How can it that they have such fluidity in a simple song? When chups said they're flying up here for a showcase, i grab the chance to see them up close & personal..maybe i wun get to ask the above questions..wuddaheck, meeting them will be more than a perfect dream..

Not many picture there..am not a paparazzi..besides, my dgcam's memory card was low..can only hold 9 frames coz sumbody go & save a folder full of their honeymoon pix in it..A good job too, as i duwan to be responsible fer blinding these poor boys from flashes hoever temporary dat may be...

this goes on & on & on & on & on & on & on......

2006-06-08T13:16:00.000+08:00

it's starting again...i can feel 'em un my bones, literally... everytime it rains, the aches begin, i want to try stretch out but for the fear of unhingeing my back, i refrained..i can only lie on the side..the doc couldn't find anything wrong other than diagnosing muscle tear at my derriere...& please dun even start on how i'm getting older...Newflash: WE ARE ALL GETTING OLDER-day by day, min by min, nanosec by nanosec...

My mother nagged n blamed for my refusing to drink milk & so she believed i'm suffering from a lack of calcum. Then why dun i drink milk? I will vomit. Strangely though, I thrive on ice-creams. Speaking of which, this calcium thing shd be abt balanced by now from the amount of ice-creams i devoured in my lifetime.

My father, the advocate for healthy living in the most natural way(read:diet/exercise) & who is one hell of a masseuse will jab his fingers in any part of my body & proclaim that he could feel my stomach/thighs/calves/back/etc cold & hard as ice.That is because, ___________(fil in any brand of cold soft drink) has induced bad winds to clot up my arteries and therefore 'jammed up' its systems. He wil then start 2 massage & I will start 2 scream (he insisted that he only applied 20% pressure...a 100% would kill me, yah, no kidding!)

Hubbi is frustrated..luckily not wif me..he just dunno wat else 2 do 2 ease the pain i'm having..
This sweet boy had been doing all the house chores after coming home from work..

I compared notes with a younger cousin who recently got a muscle sprain in her neck..She got the same muscle relaxants as i had been prescribed..It only relaxed her for abt 3hrs after which the pain comes back in hot spasms..same boat.

Calling for Back-up!!!!

2006-06-05T14:25:00.000+08:00

i want my mom... strange how dis may sound, superwife asking for help, but then, she's desperate..

My back sprain has put me off work for a bit more than a week now. The waist & the hips not communicating to each other. One wants to bend and the other just stays resolutely still..leaving me in stitches of pain dat i can only go to the wc if escorted. I'm typing this while standing actually so for now superwife's hanging her cape...

note to self: must get better before the 17th... iskk....

2006-06-04T08:41:00.000+08:00

Two of my dearest sohabah had tied the knot(to each other) not too long ago... May Allah bless your lives always...

We had an 'open house' last sunday...literally open as our main gate was MIA.. we had to call back the contractor to extend the gate size to accommodate the new doorknob. A supposed 2-day job dragged to almost a week. What infuriated Hubbi the most was that the same gal who answered the fone gave 3 different names without even making the effort of disguising her voice. Yah rite like we can't tell... At the long last to get his point across, Hubbi had to threaten a formal complaint in a very loud voice in his office and let the gal know that his colleagues heard it all..hehe...cool.. they delivered & we got it at a much reduced price...

Apart from that, the event went great. Due to constraint of space & time, we had to limit the guests to close family & relatives & most of them came.. We'll have another big one for our friends, ok Aai? I promise...

We watched Xmen the day after that. A disappointment...tsk tsk... You could tell the difference this new director did... How could he just kill off the major characters just like that. Cyclops was one of the pioneer Xman & was reputed to take over Xavier's reins. Yes, The Phoenix is a Level 5 mutant but Cyclops can certainly hold his own... To go down without so much of a fight...Love conquers all...huh...I doubt so..To refer back to the marvel comics, that wasn't how cyclops/Xavier died...& i thot The Last Stand had apocalypse making the appearance. Surprise, surprise, a lame excuse for a storyline came up. A mutant cure...duh~...Wolverine softened up, Rogue the one wif the attitude besides Wolvie decided to be cured of her mutancy...aiyoh.. As for Magneto, well maybe Ian's better suited for solving codes..Colossus had a script of exactly 3 words in the whole movie. Maybe the writers' ran out of ink?
Well, I'll remember Xmen's first 2 moovees...& oh yeah, i can always revert to the comics for the good ole whammo

2006-05-08T19:39:00.000+08:00

life's getting more interesting by the minute... patience is not just mere words to describe a state of controlling emotion/feeling. It's not mere words someone says to you when faced with trying situations.
the term u never know someone unless u live under one roof..maybe cliche but oh so true...
the need to prove how much u're willing to go for that someone...another mushy cliche if i may say but unless you're going through the same thing, dun tell me, "i know..." Cos u dun... u have no idea...

2006-05-02T20:06:00.000+08:00

all hail the Sisterhood of Magnetic Chains...

special tribute to u after an unbelievably amazing day..it had been ages since we meet up, so thankful we'd not lost the special touch..

initial plan was to ice-skate, i was having doubts on my balancing capabilities. But after assuring myself dat i couldn't possibly do much worse than the other skaters in the rink, the counter staff said the rink were closed after 4.30 for their icec-hockey tournament...darn, we headed to k-box but cancelled the niat to sing our hearts out when we saw the pool room..It was certainly no less fun than ice-skating & definitely no less embarrassing hehehe...wat wif the wacky techniques; dunking the cue ball, posing like pros while taking aims, play-cheat in more ways than one especially aai's compulsive itchy hands which must always re-arrange the balls whenever they rolled off..

needless to say, we rule at eating out..good food wif great company is guaranteed kodak moments. Dun underestimate the power of us polishing off the food even piranhas would bow in deference..

movies, scrabble & gossip till wee hours interspersed wif loads of junk food (fossil fuel's a clear winner) i can literally feel the pile of pounds then.

these go out to u:
aai, always belting out peterpan/dewa/some sob malay songs even at 3 am in the morning during scrabble dat had almost put all of us to sleep...after a stellar 1st round, i lost the 2nd round..u purposely did it ah?

nadz, u've been super..letting us crash ur beautiful home..literally... the neighbors must think that we were some idiots having a smashing party(we're no idiots though cos idiots wont know how to have a smashing partee) & hope ur other half didn't regret his consent too much hee hee..

kak yati, ur bubbly presence nevertheless entertained us all...esp when u were posing in a 'brokeback mountain' way at the pool room. i swear the other tables were just jealous & annoyed wif us all.. & yes, we learnt to take ur car decals' sign seriously (grin)

zackeroo, u gave us some out-of-this-world pool techniques (skipping ball move, aim 1 & shoot another move..just to name a few..) introduced us to fossil fuel & made yummy breakfast wif the other gals when aai & me finally passed out in the morn.

Pity..

2006-04-29T00:34:00.000+08:00

i dun like wat u did... i juz dun like... wat did u think? Did u figure u could just use people continuously? Did u think other people will not tire off your endless begging and needless self-pity? Blood run thicker than water..well maybe scientifically..but when u use dat kind of argument more than wats necessary..all the blood in the bank would dry out... Relationships sour, money runs out & dat leaves u where?? Exactly in the same hole as u were in the beginning..probably deeper cos u owe ppl left,right,front,back...Did u think the constant nagging & whining are music to our ears? Did u think ppl would drop everything and rescue u the very instant u cry "Help!" ? Who are u doing this for? Your loved ones? Do they appreciate or do they even know? Or are they using u just as u are using others? U used me when i dun even know u...now that i know u, u are trying to take more & more out of me. Look around your self-centered self. Who dun have problems? Who wouldn't give their right hands to have their troubles magically disappear at the blink of the eye? But life dun operate that way. The word pity is now so over-rated. Get over yourself. Newsflash: the world dun owe u nothing.U keep saying u need the help. Truth of the matter; the ppl who helped u are the ones who deserve it more than u ever do.

2006-04-14T17:25:00.000+08:00

Doing the cross-country again.. jw -> sc -> pr -> jw ... very soon. In fact shockingly & nerve-wreckingly 2 days away from MIL's move to wl..the buyer claimed to have been kicked out of their relative's house...called their lawyer who in turn called BIL this morning... Thank god the flat they're moving into has just been vacated...in fact only yesterday... i've to get back to sc asap now... i'm only here to do project prep work for my k1 class..we're (read: I'm) making a file on sharks... haai~

well, love to stick ard but time's money here... speaking of which, both are what i'm very much in lacking....

2006-04-04T08:03:00.000+08:00

planning for a short holiday... hubbi wanted to climb mt kinabalu... prospects of me climbing it not so good...unless they have a travellator installed within a glass panels to deter icky insects from climbing up my pants... ok, maybe not a travellator but could we have the panels at the very least, pls? neways, price are quite steep, & since both of us need to get back in shape, we'll KIV the kinabalu climb & go to a more exotic location wif less taxing journey...

Hmmm...Krabi?
Maybe..

2006-04-04T07:52:00.000+08:00

Remember bout the dreamy dining set? Well, turns out it was not that dreamy...found a better looking, better quality one & which is $200 lesser than the 1st! Woohooo.......

on second thought...how far had the "mighty" fall....since when had large inanimate objects such as sofas & dining sets be the focus of my eyes.... *sigh*..dis is 1 of the many life hazards ; me becoming a full-fledged 'makcik² tupperware'
(note to self: need to shop for more small inanimate objects which can be worn on self - clothes, bags, shoes.....)

2006-04-04T06:56:00.000+08:00

Scene #1:
u're on the way home, making your way to the trains, minding your own business. Suddenly u were startled when a grp of 5 boys surrounded u. 1 of them carried a baseball bat. They made catcalls, taunted u & tried to coax u go with them. U said no, they accused u of being rebellious. The circle grew smaller & smaller. Paralyzed with fear, u couldn't think of anythin else to do except cry. Just as u thought u might faint out of fear, 3 other boys came to your rescue. They asked what happened & were u allright... The 3 boys wanted to help, the taunting boys jeered and shifted their attention from u to your rescuers. 1 of your saviours told u to run for it & u did... U didn't know wat happened but shortly after dat u saw your rescuers making their way to the trains, bleeding.. your heart went out to them, though u were nervous as hell... They accompanied u to the bus station, fearing the taunting boys' vengeance & wished u well.. U were thanking God so hard that u forgot to ask the 3 boys for their names. Now the very least u wish u knew who they were so u & ur family could thank them properly....

Scene #2:
Ur mom & dad, after hearing the incident insisted to go back to the crime scene and then make a police report. They were shocked to see that the scene took place not on a deserted alley way but on the pedestrians' shelter walkway opposite a bustling 24-hr restaurant. The nerve of these young punks, your dad muttered angrily..U went to the nearby police post and lodged a statement, or tried to... the officer didn't seem surprised nor expressed concern for ur well-being. Instead demanded if u knew the taunting boys personally or might have been the one to incite the whole scenario (the way u were dressed, u wouldn't even tempt the most hard-core Cassanova)... U were still in shock so ur words could not come out right, hence the bored,impatient look on the officer's face. Since u could not remember much of the boys' description ( wat did the officer expect, u had never seen them in ur whole entire life + u were in shock...) the officer kept repeating that there wasn't much to be done. The officer asked again, insisted if u knew the boys & whether u'd exchanged contact nos beforehand, u didn't know what to think..was the officer hallucinating the whole time or were u? Then the officer just said offhandedly that if such things were to recur again, u shd be contacting the police asap, to quote the officer, "tell them: i have handphone & i'll call the police so if u dare, touch me la..." Now, hadn't u mention 1 of them had a bat, before u could say boo, he would have smash it into smithereens, if u're lucky, that's all they would have done...& the very last thing in the world u'd do is to taunt/tempt the taunters back especially when u knew u were outnumbered, could be outrun & un-outfitted with an equal weapon to boot ...Ur mom & dad were horrified with the patronising way of the officer handling your statement though they tried hard to conceal it.

The aboce scenes occurred on your birthday... wat else could happen next?

2006-03-26T12:37:00.000+08:00

went ikea wif hubby, wanting to buy dining set. Happened now got big furnishing sale there..oh yeah, place was undersiege wif people pushing carts, elbowing other people, grabbing items of shelves, dragging young children screaming for toys... When we got to the dept, none of the design were interesting enuf..actually we had set our eyes on particular item but when we saw it again, both of us thought dat it's not dat great, besides, DAT particular piece is still on U.P. no sale!
So, instead of buying something which both of us would regret spending money on besideswhich, the price isn't dat reasonable, we called abah & mak Tag-Team to the rescue... Turned out dat both of them were at the hub shopping themselves.. hehe.. With the AbahMobile(AM), they picked us up and brought us to the nearest makan place in boon keng for fueling-up, needed to tackle the on-slaught of furniture shops on crazy mad sale...
Wif the Tag-Team & the AM on full tank, nothing can stop us!!!!

We took on several shops along paya lebar inds areas, saw a couple design but where the design is pleasing, we felt the size was too big...but where the size was just nice, the design is something which we wouldn't even put in our store room..sigh...The Tag-Team was also on the look-out for a computer table for anone, the ShopVader who was following us, explaining & reassuring his products can be seen rubbing his hands & grinning like mad on the sly perhaps thinking of a big, fat commission... while looking at our 2nd shop, i happened across a nice big sofa dat can double up as a small bed for 1..just rite for our TV area..Hubbi thot so too..after arguing the merits and the exact place to put if we buy it, hubbi flashed out the light-money-sabre and put the deposit down... He was estatic, the ShopVader i meant, after us finally interested to buy something after a long hard battle of the bargain.. Tag-Team decided to sit this one out & be spectator sports... :

After an arduous journey, at the second last shop...somewhere near geylang police ctr, we found THE ONE! Everything about it checks on our list and it screams PERFECT! Mak asked if it's big enuf, well if it is big, we might have to place it on the corridor (no space!) Hubbi said part of our winning strategy is we should never show our interest..we walked on around asking about other sets, bargain-battling as well and finally back to the set of our dreams..We didn't win the war as hubbi set greater sights & as the Tag-Team said we should survey other shops 1st before finally conquering this one... hmm..

The last shop we went, well to cut the story short, even the shop's name puts us off but the Tag-Team said we shouldn't discount the enemy's threat too soon..& so we entered...and just as fast we exited..

Well, our long battle has yield magnificently..we now have decided what & where to buy..now just waiting for the other 1/2 of the Tag-Team to return so as to resume our conquest of the Ultimate Dining Set...

2006-03-22T13:51:00.000+08:00

Started as a part time teacher at a nearby centre...work was..challenging will be under-rating it...kids as usual being kids;
obnoxious,
funny,
weird,
adorable,
brutally honest,
rude,
forgetful,
obedient & the lack of it,
endearing,
innocent,
forgiving,
avenging,
well, they are a lively bunch of contradictions....sucking my energy reducing a "healthy" young woman in a heap each single day... & i love them fer it..They made me lose weight! hee hee More so as i travel on foot to & fro...And yesterday, just as a thought dat i've not call mom fer quite a long time while walking home, i twisted my right ankle on the sidewalk kerb. Was God angry and therefore sent me this as a retribution? Who knows & neways, i'm not about to go analyzing God's work.. What I DO know for a fact i'm a klutz..yep, i am...i can be walking fine & dandy and before you can say "oh brother" i'm down clutching my foot/leg/whatever-limb that hurts...The loads of scab marks on me can testify to dat...Went to the polyclinic dis morning & i got 2 days mc.. haha just as i was thinking for getting a perfect clean work record
___________________________________________________________________

******** Special prayers for Uncle Ali & family... May Allah help them*************

2006-03-13T00:33:00.000+08:00

All the best Jannah dear...may God bless your engagement & may you find happiness & joy in it all the way thru to marriage...

2006-03-11T23:56:00.000+08:00

This is to touch base... yep aai had dutifully informed me my tagboard has yet again AWOL for the 100th time, thanx dearie...

The aunties/uncles/cousins been meaningfully asking if i've gotten "it"/"good news"/"dah ada(in malay meaning gotten it)".. one had remarked that i may have inherited late pregnancy syndrome from me mom... on the outside, i just shook my head and said "i dunno"... on the inside... God only knows... how could one predict such things when one isn't even a qualified MD/ObGyn... Did one see it from my face/palm/tea leaves or watever they might use to tell the future? How could one just dispense such remarks so offhandedly? Hell, i'm mad for this one remark that not only affected me but my mother as well... sheesh...

Since then, i've been stocking up infos on conceptions/pregnancies and the like..bought dozens of tests & cried when the window indicator remained blank... see?? See??!!! what YOU'd made me do? YOU're lucky my hubbi's been keeping a level head while i've been losing mine...

Allah, help me...

Play nice

2005-12-08T01:54:00.000+08:00

Truth be told I been sitting here staring at the screen with my mouth hanging partially open wondering what i shd say... how i shd start? hello world i'm back again after an AWOL time?? urgh~ I am NOT in the mood

anyways, there are other pressing things need to be done other than making inane attempts at inane topics to be inanely discussed... i'm pissed.. seriously.. at whom you ask? u genuinely interested to hear my rantings? as if anyone cares.. oh well u can get the $%@#! out for all i know... i'm seriously pissed wif people's attitude now..why can't we be nice? why can't we give up our precious seats for those preggy ladies or old folks or whoever needs them? why are we rushing ahead uncaringly bumping our limbs(read:butts) or our parcels(read:astronomically-sized bags) to unsuspecting fellows? why must there public display of over affection? For goodness' sake, get a room!!!

Was in the public bus recently and a grp of secondary school boys were seated near yours truly.. i just got down from an extremely crowded mrt filled wif inconsiderate, bumping ppl plus the public displayers, generally speaking, was already disgusted by the time i was seated in the bus and was hopin' & prayin' nothing else happens. What else could happen next, you wonder.. These said group of boys(malay/muslims) were fooling around with each other, making jokes and stuff..at first i couldn't care less..but as it grew louder i could not help but notice they were getting exceptionally pointed..exclusively to one of the boys who was of indian descent.. they were racist remarks such as the skin colour, smell and speaking dialects directed at the poor boy (i was thinkin if these are so-called friends, the poor guy shd just lose them... not worth it)
...am not gonna start another blogging hoo-haa by repeating the remarks anyhow here but i do want this chance to reflect.. in the midst of the malay/muslim remarks being spewed off insensitively.. the malay/muslim boys are behaving as such themselves.. Lemme reiterate here that i do not condone the ragging done by the bloggers but are we behaving in a respectable manner ourselves?

ok, i'm getting too angry & emotional to make sense here but i do hope some points can be taken from the above episode: all in all what me trying to say is check before we go blabbering to other people... do not do unto others what u dun want them to bloody do unto you... oh & please, play nice..

welcome home

2005-10-10T03:00:00.000+08:00

can't sleep.. why?

feeling excited & thrilled & anxious...

why?

my hubbi's coming home later this morning after 8 long, harrowing, punishing days in reservist.. yeah me menjeng but then dis is my 1st taste of eating/drinking/sleeping/waking without him for full 8 days and i'm told dat dis won't be the last for at least another 5 yrs perhaps.. & May I say dat the taste is not to my liking though hubbi had proudly & patriotically stated dat it's his responsibility to take care of his loved ones and he is doing exactly dat by committing to it.. but he agreed dat it's been long enuf. i pray that HE keeps my hubbi safe..ameen..

dis time round hubbi had to start fasting in camp..da pooorrrr thing but u know wat, in a way i'm thankful for this separation as it really made me realise just how much this stubborn but fierecely-loving guy means to this stubborn & gorgeously enchanting me..heheh Seriously, it makes me count the seconds till he's coming home, makes me miss him like crazy and remembering him in my prayers & waiting antsily for the phone to ring and it would be him on the other line.. In other words, as though falling back in love all over again...

1st iftar @DA

2005-10-10T02:42:00.000+08:00

Went to DA last Saturday for iftar. Been positively ages since I stepped back there and met old chums.. aai picked me up and I guess she just loves challenges for she made me her street navigator.. a) There is no love lost between me & maps.  b) Sense of direction..wat da heck is dat?

Through God’s Merciful Graces, we managed to arrive @DA without any major hang-ups although I did manage to make her confused for about 3 times..heh, but fellow readers you would be wrong to think dat I am writing abt me..it was not at least till jiha arrived and laughingly told us she just got knocked down by a van.

Yup! She stood there and told us that it was funny and that it was one of the most embarrassing things to happen in broad daylight among 2000 people milling around looking for food in the nearby bazaar. We were absolutely horrified, and had to drag her amidst her protests to a nearby clinic but it was after 5 and none was open.  She appeared relieved. jiha, being jiha she was more concerned of being embarrassed and of not wanting to be a bother. heh, we were worried if there might be any internal injuries for only after iftar she begun to complain of aches..  Oh, I forgot to mention that the van in question sped off making this case a hit & run..

Everyone was worried and so, not taking any of her ‘nonsenses’, we brought her to a nearby 24Hr clinic. The doc looked a bit peeved to see all 3 of us in his room together wif jiha, but hey the person to be concerened wif was jiha & not him.. hehe.. he asked for the whole details and pressed on her arms and her ribs to chk if there might be a fracture but he still told her to get some xray done as a precaution. The doc said no matter how small the injuries are, it is imperative to record details of the driver or the very least the license plate.. all we know dat it was a blue van.. poor jiha she looked very scared when she heard dat her aches could be serious. We immediately decided to get her to a&e on the very same nite & dat she shd inform her parents. She sounded shaky so we thot it was better dat I talked to her mum before her mum unnecessarily panicked & called the whole bandwagon.

@ the a&e it was another 2 hours wait..seemed like the whole eastern part of spore was having a gathering.. she went in wif kak yati while me (wif the classified section- looking for job) & aai, yakked our heads off  outside. After the xray had been done she was told she was clear & besides initial shock, it was only her muscles suffering the stretch..They made a police report there too & jiha got her wish, cute police officers taking down her statement.. hehe..

At first we half-seriously thinking of going mustafa & sahur outside but i think we have had enuf excitement for one day and much needed the rest, so I finally got home at abt half past midnite courtesy of aai driving but at least wif a heart not so heavy knowing jiha is not in any danger..

Point of View

2005-10-09T20:28:00.000+08:00

"Men are comic", she said, smiling dreamily. Not knowing whether this indicated praise or blame, I answered noncommittantly: "Quite true."

"Really, my husband's a regular Othello. Sometimes I'm sorry I married him."

I looked helplessly at her. "until you explain--" I began.

"Oh, I forgot that you haven't heard. About three weeks ago, I was walking home with my husband through the square. I had a large black hat on, which suits me awfully well, and my cheeks were quite pink from walking. As we passed under a streetlight, a pale , dark-haired fellow standing nearby glanced at me and suddenly took my husband by his sleeve.

"Would you oblige me with a light," he says. Alexander pulled his arm away, stooped down and quicker than lightning, banged him on the head with a brick. He fell like a log. Awful!"

"Why, what on earth made your husband get jealous all of a sudden?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I told you men are very comic."

Bidding her farewell, I went out, and at the corner came across her husband.

"Hello, old chap," I said. "They tell me you've been breaking people's heads."

He burst out laughing. "So you've talking to my wife. It was jolly lucky that brick came to pat into my hand. Otherwise, just think: I had about fifteen hundred rubles in my pocket, and my wife was wearing her diamond earrings."

"Do you think he wanted to rob you?"

"A man accosts you in a deserted spot, asks for a light, and gets hold of your arm. What more do you want?"

Perplexed, I left him and walked on.

"There's no catching you today," I heard a voice say from behind.

I looked around and saw a friend I hadn't set eyes upon for three weeks.

"Lord!" I exclaimed. "What on earth has happened to you?"

He smiled faintly and asked in turn: "Do you know whether any lunatics have been at large lately? I was attacked by one three weeks ago. I left the hospital only today."

With sudden interest, I asked: "Three weeks ago? Were you sitting in the square?"

"Yes, I was. The most absurd thing. I was sitting in the square, dying for a smoke. No matches! After ten minutes or so, a gentleman passed with some old hag. He was smoking. I go up to him, touch him on the sleeve and ask in my most polite manner: "Can you oblige me with a light?" And what do you think? The mad man stoops down, picks something up, and the next moment I am lying on the ground with a broken head, unconscious. You probably read about it in the newspapers."

I looked at him and asked earnestly: "Do you really believe you met up with a lunatic?"

"I am sure of it."

Anyhow, afterwards I was eagerly digging in old back numbers of the local paper. At last I found what I was looking for: A short note in the accident column.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRINK

Yesterday morning, the keepers of the square found on a bench ayoung man whose parents show him to be of good family. He had evidently fallen to the ground while in a state of extreme intoxication, and had broken his head on a nearby brick. The distress of the prodigal's parents is indescribable.

"Point of view" by A. Averchenko in Social Work Processes, 3rd ed., Compton & Galaway, Pg: 302 - 303, The Dorsey Press, Homewood, Illinois, 1984.

...

2005-09-22T23:33:00.000+08:00

When you look at me
What do you see?
Do you see someone
trying to do better
to be better?
Or someone
pretending to be better
to do better..?

A day to remember

2005-09-18T21:29:00.000+08:00

Supposed to be a good day. one of my junior cousins from the Kutty Klan got married…
I woke up on the wrong side of bed, or perhaps pms… whatever the reason was, it was not good enuf to excuse my behaviour.. I was a bit of Miss Attitude (chk out the capital A).. in fact it was inexcusable… very ashamed in fact for making such a hoo-ha of it.. Now I’m not interested in rehashing the whole episode, I’m just so embarrassed and appalled at myself..

Sorry dearest kuz, u know who u are…. U definitely did not deserve dat. I really intend to help, but all I saw was “red” dis way and dat and I guess, I listened to the devil’s whispering sweet nothings much too much, thus i made the situation worse. Sitting alone in front of the PC now, I wish, I wish, I wish I could turn back the clock and make sure I behave better… well nasi dah jadi bubur, serves me rite?

Even though u’re much younger than me but u’re a much bigger person for forgiving and overlooking my shamefully childish behaviour…

Moral of the story: I’ll never show myself in public until my Miss A is in check and out of the picture..

Mon ami's chain

2005-09-14T06:50:00.000+08:00

(These are in no random order):

7 things that scare me
1. My laziness
2. Always forgetting
3. My habitual & an almost ritualistic prone to accidents
4. creepy crawlies especially when mai hubbi's not around to squash them for me
5. dark, constricted places
6. falling asleep and waking up mugged in public
7. being chased by cats & dogs alike

7 things i like most
1. Knowing He is oft-forgiving and all Merciful when I sometimes lapse in remembering Him.
2. my friends
3. teasing mai hubbi
5. playing & completely ruling over his Xbox games
6. junk food
7. MaK's chicken curry

7 most important things in my room- technically my would-be-shared-room
1. my ergonomic bed
2. my magnetic pillow
3. my huge built-in wardrobe
4. my handphone charger
5. the attached bathroom for late-nite crisis
6. the window
7. Its curtains ...'nuff said...

7 random facts about me
1. I wake up cranky no matter how short/long i sleep
2. the longest i''ve been in an employment was 2.5 months (short stint but long story)
3. I've an unhealthy amount of Shahrukh Khan's movies in my vcd/dvd collection
4. I'm my worst critic
5. I'm people's worst critic, believe me i'm the person you'd been warned against to be mixing with.
6. I love my family & friends & would do anything within the limited God-given capabilities to help them.
7. I've hairy arms

7 things i can do
1. By God's grace, wake up and go to sleep safe wif mai hubbi alongside me
2. I can paint walls...I helped hubbi to paint our flat, very nice & looks professional too.
3. I can finally wash our clothes wif a washing machine, thanks to abah
4. I can communicate more freely wif mother-in-law
5. I can clean fish though not so masterfully or tastefully done
6. I can walk past shops wif abundant clothes, bags & shoes on 70% discount without buying a single thing, not even a measly scarf that i know i have 3 years' supply of
7. I'm able to, with His help, have more time on earth to count all my blessings & remember Him.

7 things i can't do
1. walk without tripping over my own foot or bumping into things
2. abstain myself from chocolates more than 3 consecutive days
3. go about my day without hubbi's knowledge/permission
4. read maps
5. talk with my tongue sticking out
6. have regular dosage of decent gossip sessions wif my gals :(
7. tell people off outright when they had done me wrong. I usually keep to myself first and feel absolutely frustrated later.

7 things i say the most
1. "hubbi...?" (no contest here)
2. "what the...?!"
3. "i love you.." (yep, go ahead & vomit)
4. "what time you finish work today?"
5. "nak makan apa?"
6. "assalamu'alaikum"
7. "wa'alaikumussalam"

7 celeb crushes
1. Shahrukh khan (again, no contest)
2. brad pitt
3. will smith (what can i say, i always have a soft spot for a funny guy who sings)
4. hugh jackman @ wolverine ..
5. ricky martin (juz drives me loca when he sings in those smooth, sexy latino voice of his)
6. eminem (his bad boy image just appeals to me)
7. rosyam nor (an outstanding m'sian actor who has a great personality & character)

2005-09-14T06:31:00.000+08:00

Met up wif MaK for some bit of shopping in bedok then we went on to meet aBaH @ Yaasalam for dinner last evening. I came from JW & MaK sportingly agreed to take bus and meet me @the interchange which she normally wouldn't do unless aBaH is driving. very grateful..Ordered a bouquet for my cousin's wedding dis weekend too.

Looking back, funny how nowadays I'm counting more & more on MaK & aBaH..well more on MaK. I could still remember the time I wouldn't be caught dead shopping @ NTUC wif MaK on tow instructing me to fetch dis & dat. It even got on the verge of taboo if one is enjoying dinner wif the said set of parents.

Well, perhaps MaK's recent sickness had slapped me the fact of one's mortality directly on my face. Or perhaps the recent status i 'd acquired dat made me realise - my parents are normal people who have considerably great insights on world events like the recent hurricane katrina. Or, perhaps my mom's missing me more since i'm no longer under 1 roof & she can't nag me as usual on my sloppiness in fixing hubbi's food & clothes. I could go on & on... Thank you ALLAH for all the blessings you've given me & my family. Please keep all of my family, relatives & friends in constant good health & situation. Please guide us in the busy-ness of our daily pursuits so as dat we do not forget YOU and may we always be striving in YOUR cause, Insyaa ALLAH..

a brief respite

2005-08-06T15:27:00.001+08:00

Have's

been ages since i last checked in...

been like a crazed nomad lugging bags of clothes from Sembawang --->>> Pasir Ris --->>> Jurong W --->>> Sembawang --->>> Pasir Ris --->>> Jurong W ............. & so on............

been inhaling too much paint & turpentine from JW...

been scared to death when mak was having a terrible ache @her neck/shoulder nerves & joints... almost thought she might have to be warded in hospital when she could not even get up from bed.. cried buckets too... a touch dramatic but hey you try be in my shoe, seeing your mum like dat, and feeling helpless & useless being unable to do anything to alleviate her pain...

been to the doctor last nite as yours truly had carelessly cut her right thumb while opening a can of corned beef... This was my maiden attempt cooking at the in-laws'... Need I say more?

Have not's

been in contact with friends for almost a month i think... miss them... ooooohhhhh~~

been on honeymoon yet but insyaa Allah soon will be spending quality time wif my hubbi!!!

2005-06-12T16:28:00.000+08:00

Closed For Inventory

Needed to think more, feel less...

2005-06-11T18:18:00.000+08:00

Did something today dat reminded me of my holiday@factory job... routine, line production thingy and how i'm looking for reasons any reason at all to escape the drudgery of the mundane work. Went to the bathroom, ate a little bit, watch tv too but in thend, I resolved, well, i gotta do what mom said I gotta do or else... (you're welcome to fill in the blanks)

Oh.. Juz realized dat i've been goin on & on whereas had not really specified what the monkeyshine it's all about. I had been folding 200 plastic bags to hold chocs & sweets to be given out on the 19th.. Well granny's been a tremendous help by tying up those plastic potpourries of saccharines. It's no mean feat, I tell you. I believe two pats on the backs are on order for the both of us...

more to come...

2005-06-10T01:11:00.000+08:00

Huwaaargghhhhh....

Finished re-painting my room in PR, okay not really finished, less than a quarter of a wall left to paint but I ran out of paint... used the no-lizard quality paint. My mom called it "cicak jalan jatuh" cat. It's a new colour like a light summer sky blue-turqoise...I like it, but i like the turqoise version we used in JW. Plain Brilliance!

I was enormously exhausted... hey it's no easy task especially juggling wif the paint, roller and trying not to fall off the ladder. I've been having this niggling pain in between my right eyebrow and my little forehead & juz now dat pain came back wif a vengeance.. I had to lie down and massage a little but the pain juz worsened and I'd half expect dat one of the veins had been building up pressure and burst out blood down on the side (no thanks to my vivid & colourful imagination). No joke, it IS major pain in the neck, i hate getting headaches especially when there are tonnes of things to do. In the end of tossing and turning, I popped some pills & slept it off hoping & praying that the blistering pain would wear off. It wore off all right, not much though & a fever to boot but at least I'm grateful I was able to lift my head up & jot in this blog now..

Kay, I need to save myself for tomorrow's newest (mis)adventure.. Aai, I'll insyaa Allah go to DA tomorrow and pass the cards there... Very truly, deeply & madly sorry for dis last minute thingy but things HAVE been crazy here... Miss u too!