Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Laugh If You Can

I am in some desperate need to share what is in my head.. I wonder what some of the shows on tv will be called in Malay Language if I were to become a producer. I obviously had too much time to myself (and durra). Help me pick a winner, will you? ;)

Anda Rasa Anda Boleh Menari?
Isteri Dan Anak-Anakku
Semua Orang Sayang Raymond
Sesat
Surirumah Terdesak
Ayat Siapa Sebenarnya Ni?
Penyiasatan Kawasan Jenayah
Minda Penjenayah
Dapur Jaime
Putera Segar Dari Bel Air
Pejabat
Betty Yang Hodoh (kejam sangat kan?)
Pecah Penjara
Bukit Satu Pokok
Pembisik Hantu


waaaaa... i ought to stop being so random

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Untuk Kali Ke-22



Untuk Muhammad Nabil Nor Kamal buat kali ke-22... Terima Kasih Atas Semuanya. Aku rasa aku tak dapat nak katakan betapa bertuahnya aku mempunyai kawan seperti kau. Aku tak terbilang berapa kali kaulah orang yang mengangkat aku bila dunia ni tampak seperti tak berpihak pada aku... Untuk semua itu dan lebih lagi, Selamat Hari Jadi dan moga Allah pastikan kita sentiasa kekal sebagaimana kita sekarang..

You're the friend, you're the rock,
For each problem, you're the helping hand,
You're my only refuge on this vague land,
I want to dedicate all these shining lamps,
And make you see how much you count,
In my life, yes, you define a steady ground,
Like Tupac and Jada we will lead beyond crime,
We will move forward across all the rhymes,
And spark all the love we have in our minds,
Transform it into books to fight hatemines,
For this tie we have in between us is,
True as we would see in specks of time...

The Lima

been tagged again.. this time by cik alin lalalala

5 things found in my bag
[ purse ]
[ handphone ]
[ lip gloss ]
[ earphone ]
[ sunglasses ]

5 things found in my wallet
[ money ]
[ mummy's picture]
[ fifi's picture ]
[ atm card ]
[ student/library card ]

5 favorite things in my room
[ my pc]
[ my cds ]
[ the altar]
[ my bed ]
[ my wardrobe ;p]

5 things i’ve always wanted to do
[ visit Venice ]
[ buy a bigger house for mummy]
[ have dinner with Thierry Henry & Mos Def ]
[ watch Jay Z or John Legend perform live]
[ gain more weight ]

5 things i'm currently into
[ US' The Office ]
[ dips and crackers ]
[ HAYFEVER! ]
[ old school tunes ]
[ Common's Finding Forever ]

5 people i'm going to tag
[ nina-mesti sudi ]
[ tasha-kalau sudi ]
[ lynnz-kalau sudi ]
[ betty-kalau sudi ]
[ syada-buat2 sudi ]

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Pukul 1 Pagi

It's 1.42am and it's really cold. My dumb ass neighbours on two different parts of the area (one in front the house and the other at the back)just had to play some drinking games now and wake up the entire Macquarie University Village. Let me assure you that this is definitely not the first time things like this has happenned. I feel like I'm living in some fraternity college I only saw on tv before I came here.

And this may be caused by the same neighbours who stopped me while I was on the way to class last thursday and insisted on getting to know Unit 82 better because "you need to love your neighbour because without love, nothing would exist. if you're good to me, i'll be good to you"

I guess you have just lost the right for me to be good to you. Tak guna muka je comel kalau perangai cam hantu...

Saturday, August 25, 2007

What Are You?

I usually sit next to Shim during the linguistics class with Jean Brick, partly because he is such a good partner when it comes to discussions and the other part is because we happen to laugh and sneer at the same thing.

So as usual, during the 15 minutes break (due to the fact that LING316 is a 3 hour seminar class and you're lucky if I don't give up and go home during this break :p), we chatted and talked about stuff that are happening in our lives. Suddenly, a fellow classmate sitting in front of us turned and jumped into our conversation not by saying hi but just simply this:

Lady In Front (LIF): You're Chinese right?
Shim: errr.. I'm a Malaysian
LIF: yeah.. but you're a Chinese Malaysian right?
Shim: I would just say that I'm a Malaysian
LIF: And what are you? (directing her look at me)Are you a Malay or an Indian?
Me: I'm a Malaysian too
LIF: (looking exasperated) yeaaah.. but what are YOU?
Me: Well, my dad is an Malaysian Indian and my mum is a Malaysian Malay. So, I guess I'm a Malaysian
LIF: (looking even more exasperated)So you're an Indian Muslimlah right?
Me: errrr.. (murmuring under my breath) I'm a Malaysian
LIF: Ok, What are you? Are you a Muslim or a Hindu?
Me: Muslim
LIF: So you're an Indian Muslimlaaaah... (with a sense of triumph as if she has solved a mysterious puzzle)
Me:errkkk...

I just changed a knowing glance with Shim. It was pretty obvious that we both WANTED to appear that we weren't particularly happy with her labels and were uncomfortable with the conversation. Then she jumped to what she really wanted to say..

LIF: I was really amazed to hear the both of you talking in Bahasa... Don't you use English when you speak? I mean, I was born in Malaysia, in Ipoh, you know? But I have been raised in Singapore and I can't use the language except when I'm dealing in the market and I only can use very limited expressions
Shim: We do use English but the both of us are also comfortable with codeswitching since we're both bilinguals. Some topics are nicer/better discussed in Bahasa
LIF: Do they teach Bahasa in the school? I mean, is it compulsory?
Me: Yeah, it is and so is English (then I went on explaining a good deal of the Malaysian schooling system including the existence of vernacular schools and the recent introduction of ETEMS)
LIF: But then again, we don't use as much language in Mathematics and Science, right? Quite useless, right?
ME and Shim: Erkkk?? (jatuh kerusi sat)
LIF: They do teach our mother tongue in schools in Singapore but it's only an hour a day and quite purposeless because we don't really use it, you see?
Me and Shim: hurrmmm (nodding our head)

Luckily, the awkward situation was brought to a halt when Jean called for everybody's attention and started teaching again.. Pheeewww.. What A RELIEF! It was weird to have someone insisting that you have a race because clearly the both of us wanted to be known as something similar. We were both proud to be Malaysian because to say that I'm an Indian or Shim is a Chinese, we would necessarily be tracing down the origins of our ancestors who came to Malaya for the hope of a better life. They made the switch and we benefited. We were born in Malaysia so why do we actually need a tag that goes back probably a very, very substantial LONG time ago? Of course we are proud of our heritage but we're no doubt even more proud of our nation.

But to hear her complimenting on our proficiency of a unifying language, I was filled with a funny sensation. I noticed that both Shim and I were smiling at each other when she made that comment. I came to realise that it doesn't matter what they say about us or how they would like to question us. For me and Shim (and I'm sure the rest of my fellow Malaysians), we are indeed the same regardless of how we appear to the world.

Layar Tanchap Merdeka



Sila... Sila... Bawa Bendera...
Just thought I would share this video with the readers here. At many junctions in your life, you'll come to realise that all the money in the world will mean nothing without the beautiful people in your life. It's not the material beings or end products that count but it's the effort and thought that shine through... Thank You, Nina Yayang for the lovely clip. I'm sure that I can never top this (tambahan pula beta agak buta IT)

Tanggal 14 Ogos

Who/What made my birthday this year?

*Wan Aini The Mother*Nina Samad The Gem*Nabil Nor Kamal The Rock*Durrah Khairuddi The Gay Partner*Rosyada Sulaiman The Partner In Crime*Yassir Shah Aziz The Crooner*Nisa Kamaruddin The Cookie Pusher*Iffah Sabrina The Sister*Aidid Shah The Singing Nephew*Fariza Lokman The Joy Light*Tasha Harun The Secret Postman*Azan The Tupac Lover*INFs KuSayang(Sou, Phizy, LynnZ, Alvin, Eizani, Betty, Ziera, Yutaka)*2.4s 2004 (Najibu, Alin, Yao, Zue, Soya)* Fellow Macquarians (Fatin, Jaime, Jules,Shawn,Majidah)*IPBArians, Friendster & Myspace buddies*The Giant Cookie* The Caramel Mud Log Cake* The Jazz Card* The Balloon Card* bags, bags and more bags :)

I was waiting for him but it never came.. probably because the current one celebrated close to me too. Owh Ana! Cheer Up..Don't let one thing ruin the whole occasion ;) I was genuinely happy and slept in smiles sunk in tears that night

Thursday, August 23, 2007

School of Jokes

During my school visits here in Sydney, I've been totally amused by both the students' and teachers' reactions/answers to questions. Sometimes, I can't help but to just laugh and burst out loud. Up until now, I've been to two schools that seem to be on the definite opposites as one is the best selective school in the state with reputable graduates while the other is a school that caters to students with relatively less ability in the English Language due to their circumstances as being new immigrants or refugees.
But trust me, kids are no different regardless of their learning experience and so are their teachers. I'll leave out the description of the schools to see whether you would notice which is which.. hehe

During the first day of my school visit, I asked this to the Head Teacher

Q: I can see that the school is very multicultural..
A: Yes, we have a lot of students from Asia, some are from India
Q: I see (dalam hati: wey, India IS in Asia.. How much did you score in your Geography?)

This scenario took place in an intermediate level classroom, where the teacher was teaching about metaphors and indirectly jumped into coping with the right social skills and a chinese boy commented on gaily

Teacher: So girls, what would you do when a man asks you out? he's handsome, he's rich
Boy: But teacher, if the man is handsome and rich, he won't find them (pointing to the girls)

A teacher taking the roll actually said this

Teacher: Okay, we'll start by taking the roll now. If you're here, raise your hand or say yes. if you're not here, don't say anything

A Chemistry teacher in a Year 12 (Form 6) class asked the only two Indian boys in a class filled with Chinese students to take a specimen from the top shelf

Teacher: Could you two boys at the back there actually make some use of your heights and get that things from up there? We obviously don't have anyone else for that purpose

I believe I won't easily be bored in my future teaching years

Monday, August 20, 2007

UpFront

Every Saturday, the Good Weekend (a pull out section from sydney morning herald) will feature someone answering these questions and it often amused me to actually come across interesting facts and the different shades of people when they answer it. So, I decided to have a go too.. you know, just in case you wanted to get to know me better :p

My Earliest Memory is... waiting for daddy to come back with Vitagens for me and Kak Anu

At School, I... was the much-hated nerdy control freak assistant head prefect (haha!)

My First Relationship was... beautiful but on the wrong note

I Don't Like Talking About... my hair

My Most Treasured Possesion is (are)... my cds

My Parents Always Told Me.. to be who I want to be

My Most Humiliating Moment was... tripping over a cable at a Samsung product launch and stopped the whole show by actually disconnecting the cable from the power supply

My Happiest Moment was... when I was with him

Friends Say I Am... irreplaceable :p

At Home I Cook... anything I feel like eating

My Last Meal Would Be... Mummy's ayam masak kicap

My Favourite Gadget is.. my handphone

I'm Very Bad at... controlling my finances :p

When I was A Child, I Wanted To... be one of the Thundercats

The Book(s) that Changed My Life is (are)... Beloved by Toni Morrison and Following The wrong God Home by Catherine Lim

It's Not Fashionable but I Love... watching documentaries

If Only I Could... fly

My Greatest Fear is... not being remembered after I'm gone

I'm Always Asked About.. my race

If I Wasn't Me, I'd Like To Be... Lauryn Hill

At The Moment, I'm Watching... The Simpsons

My Worst Job was... (I never actually had a bad job)

I Often Wonder.. what happens if you get a hiccup while you're acting on stage

I'm tagging Nina, Tasha, Syada, Alin and Soya to answer these questions too.. saja for the sake of getting to know you guys better :p

Soundtrack of The Day

Nina Simone- My Baby Just Cares For Me


The Fratellis- Whistle For The Choir


Jay Z & Nas- Black Republican (explicit content)


Common- Misunderstood

Thursday, August 16, 2007

An Old Affair

Is it just me or have most of us arrived at the age where all you can talk about most of the time is when and how you want to get married? Somehow, that topic is the hottest one in my house and we slip into it easily from a topic as random as buying the groceries for the week. Example (might happen) as follows:

D: Eh, do we want to buy groceries tomorrow?
A: I don't know.. I don't mind.. Takde benda nak masak dah ni..
N: Kalau you dah kahwin, you rasa you masak tak selalu?
A: Mestilah kot... Kesian plak my husband bila dah balik penat2 tu...
S: Tapi kita pun must be tired balik kerja
A: Isshh, suami itu didahulukan

See? Very effortlessly we do so and I can assure you that the topic will then be manoeuvered further into more detail accounts of the colour of the wedding frock, what the theme would be on that one single tick... It's all in our head, just waiting for the burst!

Sometimes when I see an old couple holding hands and walking down the park, just feeling content in each others presence, the jealousy wells up in me. I wish that I will meet someone who will stay even when I'm bend with fraility and age. Someone who needs me so much that I can't help but to need him back. Just the thought of it makes me smile with an absurd shyness that it is almost possible someone might capture what I'm thinking and turn it into a song so that it reaches the other shore.

Well, so much for being a romantic idiot. I honestly think that I would probably get married with someone my mum thinks suits me since I suck at finding a partner but the daydreaming part is just too tempting... hurrrmmm... nak kad kahwin colour ape ye?

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Bom Chicka Wah Wah



call me an ad freak but i love this one... i wonder if i'll be like this too. i must try it because it looks cool to say "bom chicka wah wah" like that.. haha

Sunday, August 12, 2007

What Did You Say?

Hearing some people talk can drive me nuts. It's absolutely amazing how people say things without even noticing them half of the time and as the listener, you swear that you will tell them off next time.. But we never do and it makes me wonder why we silently endure them.

One example I can give you is when people exaggerate something with the word "ever". Having someone saying "it's the best thing in the history for like...EVER" is ridiculous.. I mean, iff it's already in the history, we would understand that it had to be something that never happened EVER.. The intensifier is not needed and we could spare the one second that you've just spent on saying "ever" to do something more useful like wondering what the hell the Paris Hilton Action Hero cartoon would be like or how would we describe Baby Spice's baby?(i decided to go with Baby Spice's baby anyway :p)

Another thing is using the likes and some sorts like pepperoni on pizza in your speech... If you can't hold a thought in your mind, give us the honour to sleep while you do rather than having us hanging by the bore thread trying to wait for what might come after the "like" and the "some sort".. I've grown so accustomed with those likes now that I've created a game called Guessing a Rhyme for it... "hurrrmmm... he might say bikini or would it be salami or probably mee maggi?"

The art of speaking is hard to master despite it being one of the things that we acquire so early in life. So it explains why sometimes it's better to just shut up and drive :p

Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Change of Heart

The USA presidential election will be held in a year time in a million miles away but I could already feel the heat of it. Names like Mitt Romney, Tom Trancredo, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and my personal favourite item of scrutiny, Barack Obama have peppered most of my current readings and become an agenda of global interest. It is simply because unarguably, the States and its proprietors directly affect the current global political climate. When most nations' foreign policy seem to focus on "how we should all stay together" or "i don't mess with you so don't mess with me", the States has, in recent time, appeared to be more interested on "it's not our fault so how we could drag others into our problems and blame them whether they like it or not?". It has created a lot of debates and division among the USA citizens (and the rest of the world) as the impact is felt in other domains as well.

Thus it explains why every candidate is supposed to plough a foreign policy that would fundamentally reflect what their office would be and it should also be something that he/she should be able to stand by with. However, being under the watch of everyone, it becomes incredibly easy to see how people crack down under the eminent pressure. For example, Obama has since changed his future foreign policy and despite having been a strong opponent of the Iraq war even before he was appointed as a Senator, he just recently promised that he would send more troops to Pakistan to curb and prevent terrorism because he believes this is where the terrosrism should be fought. Not coincidentally, that was approximately a week after Clinton called his previous foreign policy which focused on bringing back troops from the Gulf as "a naive attempt". Although McCain and Giulani from the Republican side both had policies that were more worrying as they were still planning on continuing what Bush has started, by any respect, the direction that Obama took appears rather fishy and I cannot help but to feel that it was somehow just a scapegoat.

It is obvious that he cannot take back his views and retract his stand on Iraq but what he can do is to find someone else to take the blame now. Judging from his current move, if by any chance he managed to achieve the slightest victory in his foreign policy, he would then become the one to prove that the Bush administration was indeed miscalculated and failed. But by then, damages would have already been done and two nations would have been rampaged on directly regardless of the degree of their participation in what appears to be a self-obssessed fight against terrorism. Yet, Obama seemed to please the majority of voters with this current policy. Politically speaking, to have a democrat subtly agreeing to what a republican has been doing for the past ten years is probably benefiting Obama in ways some other candidates couldn't possibly achieve. Some liberatians and republicans have come up saying that if they were to vote Obama, it would not be because he agrees with them or because he doesn't, but instead because he looks like he would at least take their opinion into consideration. Okay, fine.. he is trying to become someone who wants to satisfy everybody's need yet is that necessarily good?

It is certainly alarming to discover this new revelation considering that Obama has been my favourite candidate for the election. I remembered when he cleverly called the urgent need for the States to become the patron of everything good and rectify every bad as an "innocence", which is actually what Bush relates to as being "the police of the world" (amazing how just choice of words can change the whole concept)... He believes in cultural relativism but also transpires the fact that the American moral is indeed a bit superior, if I may say. He doesn't believe in change just for the sake of it and often insists on not accusing anyone over anything at all. Although he plausibly tells the inconvenient truth, Obama still doesn't quite appear to be in the category of aggressive orators as what half of the presidential candidates just essentially are. All of his other policies, including the applaudable health policy that will cause the Roger Moore's Sicko to be a flop had it already been imposed, seem to have claimed a place in my head as a sure winner.

He looked like something that the States could really use, something that could retain their dignity but still make them appear humble. Someone even other people might like. Yet his current shift has stirred a certain kind of anguish in me. It made me realise that Obama too probably just wants to win the election. Even if it means that he has to become something he has preached not to be.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Kaleidoscope



This is the new ad for Bonds Kaleidoscope summer underwear range. It features healthy and youthful girls dancing to the song. I just can't get it out of my system and that's how good it is. What makes me feel really interested with this campaign is that they didn't overtly sexualise the girls. They still looked good and jumpy but they appeared like decent human beings. Why i say that? Well, other underwear campaigns have the girls looking all sultry and let's face it, for girls, that's a turn off. Well, I just love this whole concept of youth and energy...hehe. Which reminds me, i've got to get them for myself too.. :p

Disclaimer: if you're a bit sensitive with body potrayal, please don't watch it

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Air Mata Darah

The headlines on a Malaysian online newspaper today, (05 August 2007) centralised on the opinion of the PM on Freedom of Speech issue. The whole article and the speech that has been quoted were a bit absurd for me. It is frightening to hear a threat on your freedom, especially when they say that they CAN take it away and even your bloody tears will have no effect on them.

For all I know, he might have said it with love and I might have taken it out of context but what I read made me feel less likely to stay on my goody two shoes. Owh well, my reality might be another fiction thrown out of proportion but if I felt that way, how many others out there think so too? any, of not many...

Do have a read at http://www.utusan.com.my

Kuala Lumpur In August

They say August is the month of heartfelt love.. here's a few events coming up this month if you live in KL. Hapsening.. hehe

KL DiGi Sunrise Jazz Festival
What: A festival for the gifted jazz (or other) musicians of Malaysia. Performers include Shanon Shah & The Cintas on 18th August and Sheila Majid on 24th August
Where: Plaza Mount Kiara
When: 3 Consecutive Weekends (17-18 August, 24-25 August, 31 August-1 September)
How much: NA
Who: Those who swear by good music

TUNKU The Musical
What: A musical that takes us back on the 50 years of Malaysia's independence.
Where: Pentas 1, KLPac
When: 11 August-2 September 2007
How Much: RM20 for students
Who: Directed by Joe Hasham; Written by Lim Chuang Yik & Teng Ky-Gyan; Starring Tony Eusoff, Syuk Ibrahim, Zamil Idris, Maria Yasmin

To win two tickets to watch it and for further information, click on "Kakiseni" at the Links section

Malaysia International Firework Competition
What: In conjunction of the Kemerdekaan, the government is holding a firework competition. Why on earth, you ask? It's beyond my comprehension too. Since it's illegal to play, let's watch it jelah.
Where: Putrajaya Convention Centre
When: 18 August-2 September 2007
How much: NA
Who: Fire Crackers, Pyromaniacs or simply pure Malaysians

Imbasan
What: A painting exhibition focusing on the urbanscape and the people around/in it.
Where: Wei-Ling Gallery, 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, KL
When: now until 10 August 2007
How much: NA
Who: Hamir Soib

MERDEKA 50: A Celebration of Malaysian Art
What: Malaysian arts in retrospective and beyond
Where: Islamic Arts Museum, Jalan Lembah Perdana, KL
When: 2 August- 16 September 2007
How much: NA
Who: People with an eye on Malaysia

PIKOM PC Fair
What: A place to check out updated and backdated gizmos untuk memuaskan hati sendiri. It's supposedly a spot where you'll find everything you need at considerable price
Where: KL Convention Centre
When: 3-5 August 2007
How much: how much you've got?
Who: Anyone with a computer
For details on venues to come in other states, go to http://www.pikom.org.my

Tilawah Al-Quran 2007
What: An event held annually to find Malaysia's best Qari and Qariah. Simply serene, no politics, no rife competition... obviously not your Reality TV material. And that's the best of all.
Where: PWTC, Jln Sultan Ismail
When: 17-24 August 2007
How much: NA
Who: Anyone

Colours and Flavours of Malaysia
What: A festive food orgy also in conjunction with (suprise, suprise) Kemerdekaan. A reason to get people to eat more than they usually do. Give it a theme and get away with it too. Ngeh ngeh..
Where: Cafe Serina Brasserie, Hotel Nikko, KL
When: 2-31 August 2007 (12pm-10.30pm)
How much: RM90++ (dinner) RM69++ (lunch)
Who: people who don't mind paying for eating

Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race
What: Strictly drag racing.. Mari pekakkan telinga
Where: Sepang International Circuit
When: 23-25 August 2007
How much: Not Sure
Who: Car Enthusiasts and their (clingy) girlfriends

Merdeka Celebration
What: The 50th Celebration done in old school style
Where: Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
When: 31 August 2007
How much: NA
Who: Those who can beat everybody else by showing up early or by being important to the government.

Chicks Rock Out 2.0
What: An event featuring Malaysia's female performers. Cambest...
Where: KL Jam Asia, Hartamas
When: 10 August 2007
How much: RM20 (inclusive of a drink)
Who: music lovers and chicks (lovers!)

Hip-Hopendence
What: a hip-hop event in celebration of the Kemerdekaan
Where: Zouk Mainroom
When: 30 August 2007
How much: RM35 Ladies and Gents// Ladies complimentary entry before 12am
Who: Basically anybody who wants to be seen :P

Paul Van Dyk's In Between Album Tour
What: He came once, he saw and he decided to conquer again
Where: Zouk Mainroom
When: 31 August 2007
How much: RM70 Ladies/ RM80 Men (inclusive of a drink)
Who: All those dance floor freaks.. ngeh ngeh

owwhhh.. yes, yes.. so much to do, so little time... What?? I was talking about the assignments due in early September and all that research that needs to be done in August. What were you thinking about?

What The?

Toyota is planning to sue the Australian cheap airline giant, Jetstar for intellectual property theft of the JUMP.. Yes, both parties had/is having a campaign where all the satisfied customers demonstrate a JUMP out of happiness and satisfaction.. Toyota claims that they came up with their "What A Great Feeling" campaign first, thus JetStar has no right what so ever to feature people doing the JUMP too.

Silly me to think that JUMPing is just basic human right... I know for a fact that elephants can't JUMP but I wasn't aware that now it's an intellectual property.. Kangaroos and frogs must be pretty smart then, right?



image taken from
http://www.contactimprov.com/news/images/kangaroo%20JumpingKick.jpg

Longing for..

Last night, I couldn't bring myself to sleep. I missed home so much. Suddenly, my cosy bed just isn't cosy enough. I looked at the half moon from the window and wished my friends and family are looking at it too, remembering each other.

I missed waking up in the morning and need not think about what to eat. Breakie is almost always ready; tosai or french toast, nasi lemak or mihun goreng. The kids are almost always entertaining; the ditzy (yes, ditzy) Fifi, the polite Aidid, the brash Icha, the cutie Mikhail, the blurry Asha.. Mummy was always there, full on. One who says "I hardly think that you're sexy in anything because you're my daughter and I obviously don't see you in that light".. blaaaah!! One who says "Balik hari ni ke esok ye?" when I step out of the house.

I missed all those all day/early morning/late night sessions with Nina. I think I haven't said enough about her and how much I love her. Have I ever felt bored with her? No. Have I ever resorted to staying away? No. Because I think she's probably the closest thing I have for a soulmate. And to think that she used to hate me... hehe.

I missed going to La Zeez and eating tauhu goreng while watching football. It's sometimes puzzling to discover that we actually go to La Zeez almost every night regardless of where we have been the whole day. These trips wouldn't be perfect without Nabil and/or Acap. Sometimes I think I'll be partially depressed if it weren't for these two people. We follow each other around as if we're obliged to. Together, we go to breakfasts, dinners, lunches, suppers, watch movies, shopping, sports, annoy each other as hell, pretending to be cool..

And on this Sunday morning with me locked in my room eating sandwiches and drinking a mug of coffee, everything seemed so far away. Geez, how come all those small things that always seem to matter don't appear so while it's happenning?

Presidential Error

Bush... President Drag Queen - Twango

Some private photo of the prezzy.. If this ain't superfly, then I don't know what is

Friday, August 03, 2007

In A Flash

I was in bad luck today. I only heard stories about how it happenned to other people before but despite having read so many experiences and swore that I'd be prepared, I was equally traumatised when it happened to me.

Was walking back with Syada during the one hour afternoon break (1pm). As we approached the postbox area, I saw a 50ish year old Caucasian man wearing sunnies (in the rain) and a blue windbreaker smiling at us. I smiled back as would be expected and as I was averting my eyes from him, I saw something that I shouldn't have. We acted cool because both of us knew that if we expressed any signs of shock or fear, he would only be happier.

I tried calling the security and the administration office to alert them but unfortunately, they weren't picked up. Girls, I don't mean to cause any panic but just be careful the next time you're walking around the village. Demented people are all around...

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Sweet To The Eyes

a) Apple Crumble is easy and fast.. Give it a try : )

Ingredients: 4 Granny Smith Apples, 3 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 cup of plain flour, 4 tablespoon of caster sugar, 1/2 cup of chopped nuts (almonds/pecans/hazelnut- blender pun boleh kalau nak), 60g of butter chopped

How To:
1) Peel the apples and chop each of them into eights. Then chop each of the eights into two. (kirenya adalah 16 pieces from each apple in cube shapes)

2) Cook the apples in a saucepan with the 3 tablespoon of sugar and a little bit (around two table spoon)of water. Use medium/ low-medium heat so that the mixture simmers. Let it simmer until the apples are soft (would normally take around 15 minutes). When the apples are soft, place them in a pie dish.

*While that mixture simmers, preheat the oven to about 190 degrees for 10 minutes (it might vary according to the keganasan of your oven- mine would probably require just 170 degrees)

3) Now for the topping, mix the flour, caster sugar and nuts in a bowl. Then, add the butter in three different intervals. Mix them thoroughly

4) Top the apples in the pie dish with the flour mixture. Then, pop it into the oven for 25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown

Jeng Jeng Jeng.. there you have a dessert ready for 6 people. Kalau nak sedap lagi, serve with ice cream vanilla lalala

b) Caramel Apple Pudding is another favourite. It takes considerably more time but it's worth it

Ingredients: 4 pink lady apples, 185g butter, 3/4 cup honey, 1 cup thickened cream, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 cups plain flour, 2 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 egg

How to:

1) Cut the apples into quarters. Cook half of the apples with 10g of butter (2 teaspoons) until light golden over a medium-high heat. Remove the cooked apples and repeat the step with the remaining apples and another 10g of butter.

2) Now, add 40g of butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup of cream and two table sppons of brown sugar to a pan. Cook until it boils and thickened (be sure to stir occasionally untuk ngelakkan melekat). In the meanwhile, pre heat the oven into 180 degrees

3) When the sauce has already thickened, add the apples into the sauce and stir. make sure that all the apples are coated with the caramel sauce. When it's done, spoon the caramel coated apples into a suitable dish

4) Chop the remaining 125g of butter to be added into the flour, baking powder and two tablespoons of brown sugar mixture in the food processor. Process until it's like a kasar breadcrumbs.

5)Combine egg, 1/2 cup of cream and remaining honey in a different bowl. Beat until it's well mixed. Then add and stir them into the coarse floor mixture. You would get a sticky dough by then.

6) Just spoon the sticky dough over the apple mixture until it's well covered and bake for about 40 minutes.
*or cucuk dengan lidi over the crumble topping and when it comes out clean, dah masaklah tu*

Jeng Jeng Jeng.. siap dah dessert for 6 people gak.. hehe. Feel free to serve with ice cream of you could also dust the topping with icing sugar.

(actually you can do up to step 3 about 4 hours earlier or so then just cover and refrigerate if you think it's too much to do all at once)