i'm so cold...

..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!

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

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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

go get lost

120107---1105

another day, another interview...

wish me luck

Merindu Kepastian

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?

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

& 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!

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...

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

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

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

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

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

"...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