Of Cranberries Live in KL

So they were in KL last week. I've only found out about it when my school friend tweeted about trying to get the tickets. She had asked me to come along for old time's sake.. i paused. I never thought of going, really. I  then i replied that i felt kind of funny to be going to a concert. Why? I don't know why.. i mean i would still enjoy listening to Dolores O'Riordan but i guess i just don't fancy going to a concert nowadays.

I texted my brother who is also a fan of the Irish band back in our school days.
Me: Hey, malam ni got Cranberries concert lah
Him: Kat mana?
Me: Stadium Merdeka
Him: Mesti dah sold out
Me: Yeah, they say the RM110 tix dh habis. Tinggal Rock Zone (220) and pit (300). We so lembab la.. X tau pun ada concert ni :P

How outdated are we??

I didn't really feel much after it was all over but i think if they were to perform again the next day, i might just drag the brother to go. For old time's sake.

[the only regret i had that night was telling hubby abt it because i wasn't sure how many times i heard him sang "zombie" after that... i mean come on, they have lots of other hit songs!]

Shop, Eat and Walk down memory lane with the cousins, JB

This was a planned trip with the cousins. One was attending the BIL's engagement, and another one is to bring the wife to JB for the first time. And since our grandparents' place are in the final process of selling (i'm so, so sad...) we thought we should go and pay our last respect to the good old house. I had so much fun and since we don't get this kind of opportunity very often, i just had to put most pictures in!

The Shopping Activity 

My husband and I arrived a day earlier and met up with Mr. & Mrs. Freen and their daughter, Lil M at JPO (the rave of JB town now, the Johor Premium Outlet). We had sort of a late night at my parents' house, but everyone were so semangat and got up early the next morning to start our activities, especially my eldest brother. We started the day with some retail therapy, doing some DVD shopping at Holiday Plaza. It was 10.15am when we arrived but most shops were still closed! HP is something like Low Yat but with funky disco attire and lots of fake LVs, Chanels, Guccis and the likes, cheap electronic accessories and DVDs are sold. 

At JPO with Mr. & Mrs. Freen and Lil M. I have been here before so i wasn't really checking out the place but merely "teman"ing the cousins and hanging out at the coffee place there and got some candies.

Buying cheap phone accessories and dvds at HP and 2nd trip to JPO.
(Someone burst his button on his pants and had to get one immediately. Lol).

Gastronomic Activity
Another main agenda for that weekend was to EAT! The favourite ABC at Wisma Ayer Molek is always on top of the list among us! Known as "Gerai Batu" by some locals, it's where our late Tok Bak used to bring us for an evening treat! I've blogged abt it here before. We also had the famous Mee Rebus Haji Wahid and some Yong Taufu soup at Angsana. Had Tip Top ikan bakar for dinner too as one of them was craving for it (also featured in the same blog entry as the one featuring the ABC). Husband and i left early after dinner on Saturday as we would have to start our journey back to KL very early the next day. The rest went to Danga Bay for some funfair fun.

Eating our hearts out. One of the must do in JB. 

Visiting the (late) Don's House - probably for the last time.
We started taking pictures in the almost empty rooms, reminiscing old memories, filling in fibs and tales to the inlaws of the happenings in the past that took place in the house as soon as we arrive.. The good old days.. *sniffs

Us taking a picture in late grandpa's room, in the living hall where we used to "tidur lambak" when everyone comes back for Raya or on school breaks and one in the garden where my cousin had to take home a banana tree as requested by the mom. It was successful only after the second attempt. Hehe.

More of us taking fun, silly photos.

Bottom left is a picture of the husband looking on at the 3 cousins posing in the room they used to watch "Ultraman" together! ;) Notice that there's an air quote. Hehehe

The house has been up for sale for a while and it was almost sold some time ago before our grandma changed her mind... I was somehow hoping that it would stay that way as i'd hate to see the place taken over by somebody else and having to see the place being done differently. But now it's finally happening.. I could very much understand how my grandmother feels. She has stayed there for 40 over years! How could you separate with something that has been with you that long? I was in tears too when they told us that they were selling the house at first. How could i not? I practically grew up in that house. My grandpa would take us almost every weekend to stay with them. It's like our (school) holiday house too! Our playground, growing up. It has been a major part of my life and holds so many bittersweet memories... (but that's life right? All these material things will mean nothing eventually, when the time comes to be called to meet the Creator).

I'm sure gonna miss the house so much.
It's a shame the 4th generation of En. Md. Said will never get to know the place.

It was a fun weekend and i look forward to trips like this again, Insya Allah.

Something (old) that made me smile

I went to go to visit my grandmother at my aunt's last weekend. At breakfast, i was taken by surprise to see something old on the table. No, no.. not the grandma hehehe. But something i had bought her 20 years ago on my school trip to Melaka.

I got her the mug as a token of remembrance and appreciation for the extra pocket money she gave me for the trip. Hehe. I remembered she kept it in her display cabinet for years after i gave it to her and i have not seen it for so long! Now she's finally drinking off coffee from the cup.

I laughed over the fact that i just had to choose the one with the senget writing of the lot. Nice, huh! Hahaha. But it was just a sweet surprise after so long =)

Yes, i love you, Tok! And not just because of that extra money you gave me. But i love you for that too, of course! ;)

The world is Jobsless

Even if i don't own any apple products (anymore), i would like to join the rest of the world to say thank you Steve Jobs, for the delicious apples.

I hope he will continue to inspire us all even though he has departed. I leave you with his inspiring speech someone had sent me a couple of years back, if you haven't seen it already.

Stay foolish, stay hungry. Thank you & RIP.

pre-loved in loving memory

I used to own a similar pair in red (minus the high cut) in which i have sold many many years ago after much hesitation. Looking at the photo above has bring back good memories and is giving me the itch to get a new one. Perhaps this time, an earthly colour.

** photo of Maysaa via hijabstyle.

One life begins, another ends.

27th October 2010 was a happy day that my family celebrated and welcomed a new addition to our family, my little nephew - Hazir. He was born at 0048 that day and we were all very excited when he came into this world.

At about noon, i was at the hospital visiting this beautiful new guy when the husband called immediately when he touched down from work. I told him the good news and he too was very happy that all anticipation of whether or not the SIL will give birth that night was over and everything was all okay. A few seconds after, he called again. This time he was the one bearing news. But sadly, not a good one. Our friend, Geeva had passed on. I couldn't believe my ears. "Who?" I asked again, thinking i had heard him wrong. "Geeva?".. Paused. "Geeva?????".. again, in all disbelief. He replied "Yesssss, Geeva..." also from his voice, i could sense that he couldn't even believe himself.

In his next phone call, my husband told me that my cousin is on his way to pick him up to go pay their last respects and visit his family. I was at the hospital still trying to digest the info. We were all still in shock (my eldest brother, the youngest brother, my SIL and me were all having a hard time to get this info across). My brother had texted him along with the others to share the happy news the night before but little did we know he would never receive it. He passed away that same night not long after Hazir was born.

I have been avoiding facebook for a couple of days after bidding him goodbye and seeing so many more on his fb wall. A close friend of his created and dedicated a special page in his memory for us to share fond memories of him when he was living his full life. It just made me so sad. Only then that i got to know that he had such a hard life growing up. Obviously, he never showed it.

Here's a story on how we met..

I got to know Geeva about 4 years ago when he joined our racing team, Kazzen Motorsports. The first time i met him was at the 2007 MME race. I was cleaning up at our pit and was heading for the thrash when he came up to me and said, "let me get that for you..". At that time i didn't even know who he was.

Geeva's recruitment to the team was rather special. As the name 'Kazzen' suggests, the team mainly consists of our voluntary family members (mostly cousins) and friends who share the same passion for cars. When i asked the husband if he had known Geeva long, he told me that he didn't know him before but when they were working together one day, he approached Geeva after observing him in doing his job. He told Geeva about the racing team and asked if he would like to join us at the track some time. They have been friends ever since. Not just with the husband, but the whole clan, me included. It was so easy for everyone to be around him as he was always full of laughter, very hardworking and never once he complained about anything. Needless to say that sincerity always shines through in whatever he does. Just look at his profile picture putting up sticker on the race car. Even that.

He recently told the hubby and my cousin that he would one day loved to do up his car and drive at the track. Sadly, this day will never come. We are very saddened by the unfortunate news especially when he had just passed his exams and had finally become a certified engineer (a Licensed Aircraft Engineer to be exact), full of hope and a promising future ahead. The husband kept repeating that full of regret. But after knowing that cars were his true passion, i am glad that he was given the opportunity to do what he loves best together with the team and that we are very honoured to have the opportunity to have had him on board. For me personally, I am truly blessed to have known one of the nicest person i've ever met.

Today, after the shock from the news, even after reality has seeped in, i still find it hard to believe that he is gone forever. The image of him working on the car, joking around while having meals, calling me 'boss' to annoy me keeps playing in my mind and had brought me to tears. We last saw him in September back at the track, sitting down having kfc together sharing small talks after a private race. I never thought that that would be the last time we ever saw him. I guess we all took advantage thinking that he will always be around....

I hope you know that you are truly an amazing person, Kazzen Geeva. Thank you for everything that you've done for us. You are deeply missed. May your soul rest in peace.

The Big Three-O

Speaking of the d@mn number, it was a pretty big deal for me that we go out to mark my big day -for some reasons i don't even know how to explain. Notice that i said 'go out'? To have a do at my own place would mean i have to clean up after my own party. Now, who's going to do that, right? I guess it's the same case with some of my friends. This year was just different for us. It's just kind of well, BIG.

Let's see some of our moments celebrating the merriment of turning Big Three-O, shall we? Let's go chronological.

First, mine. I wanted a good dinner with my family. I felt like having tapas so we went to Uno. I always have loved the pasta here (before they increase their prices. Since then, we only visit the restaurant once a while, whenever the moon turns blue. Hehe). My only disappointment that night was that they have a limited selection of tapas on weekends. Tsk.. Of all days! So annoying.

Me and my cake moment.
Not every year i get to have this, so cut me some slack, yeah? :)

I had such a good time Anyways, it would have been nicer if dad was there too.

Next up was my friend, Chey whom had insisted i made an exception to make her birthday cake in the fasting month. It was celebrated in the comfort of her inlaw's house. Can you imagine? Her inlaws threw her a birthday party! With tents and all. Lucky girl! The mum-in-law has a catering business, so food wasn't an issue. There was a big buffet spread and why, of course the food was good.. they had grilled lamb! :D

She said the theme of her party was Thirty, Flirty & Thriving.. I didn't even know there was a theme until she told me at the party. Whatever. Lol.

And the most recent was Chy's Glamorous birthday celeb. Held at Neo Luxe and Lounge, Jalan Sultan Ismail. Nice ambience, even nicer food! (Thanks, chy.. :)). I hope she had gotten over her blues after all that scrumptious food.. I know i would! (Yes. Hi, my name is Azra and i seek comfort in food.. -_-).


Lots of phototaking slash camwhoring took place, as usual :) Everyone looked nice. Well, i could have done better. I know it shouldn't involve too much effort but what can i say, glamour is not my cup of tea. It's mum's. Haha.. (Hehehe..sorry mum). The only testimony that I was indeed glamour that night was that i have cake glitters all over my body, underneath all that coverings. Haha..

Another one is coming up real soon... though she still hasn't decided if there is going to be a party. Whatever it is, have a ball! It's not like every year that you get to turn 30. And don't forget to be thankful to the Big Guy too! ;)

Flags flying at half mast..

.. and the people of the Johor state will observe 7 days of mourning following the demise of the Sultan of Johor.

Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail Al-Khalidi
(1932 - 2010)

May Allah bless his soul.
Amin.

All good things must end.. Au revoir la France!

The last day in Toulouse..

Les Abbatoirs, the contemporary art gallery that we wanted to visit during our Saturday walk and spent some time at our favourite spot at Jardin Raymond V park - by the river after that.
Raouf, the guy at the kebab store gave us our favourite chocolate pie dessert for free!

One of the days i enjoyed the most..

Touring Les Augustine, a fine art museum by myself during the day, went for a stroll with my other half in the evening before having a nice dinner with the people from Airbus.
The museum was an old monastery which probably explains why it was darn eerie when I had lost my way and ended up at the top floor with nothing but a locked huge wooden door. I think it was the fastest I ever ran down down the stairs in my entire life! (i could hardly maintain my cool).

The picture in the far right column (3rd row from the top) is of coffin lids. I was curious as to whether they were hollow but it felt unnerving to look underneath..

Random photos during our stay..

The Capitol hall, which was immensely decorated with hand paintings! (These people really had all the time in the world to have the time to paint the whole walls and huge ceilings..). The place is now mostly used for weddings. I don;t see why it shouldn't.. it's so beautiful! And err, yeah.. $$ not so intact anymore.. did a bit of shopping there.

 

Another nice day.. (though it wasn't sunny)

A walk to La Garonne River and an antique market we stumbled upon on the way back to the hotel. It was on the first Saturday we came.

That's it for Toulouse.. Till next time. Au revoir la France!

Paris in one day (26th-28th January 2009)

Following my friend's message, i took up her offer to show me the city. The city i've always wanted to visit! Oh, the city of LOVVVVVEEE.. The Eiffel.. The Louvre.. i simply couldn't wait!

The Mr. couldn't join us, so he told me to take the opportunity although, he wasn't sure whether to suggest that i should go by myself at the beginning... I thought, this could be the "adventurous trip" i have been looking forward to!

I wanted to take the train to Paris and fly back to Toulouse at first because i was meeting the friend in the evening, so i thought it'd be nice to catch a glimpse of the countryside on the way. But the lady behind the counter said the price for one way was not and i quote, "interesting". The return flight costs the same as a one way ticket! So obviously i took a return flight.

We travelled the typical Malaysians (on a budget) style. Had a heavy breakfast at the hotel room (my friend prepared rice with Berahim's sambal ikan bilis and kari ayam) to prepare ourselves for the long day and set to go! Hehehe..

First stop, Sacre Coeur (means a "sacred heart" (of Jesus)) at Montmartre (as in the movie, Amelie from Montmartre :)).
A church, situated high up a hill where you can see the breathtaking view of Paris, get your portrait done by the artists and drink french coffee at the cafes. (That would be so lovely in the summer). But the day was cloudy so we couldn't get as much view. They have beautiful paintings selling there too! I was tempted to get one but i'd hate to carry fragile things around. Perhaps i should have afterall.. oh well.

Some shots at Sacre Coeur of moi et friend, lovely paintings at Montmartre, an artist working on his art and moi et friend having crepes..

Robert the 'tourist guy' was puzzled when my other tourist guide was looking for the place selling crepes and asked whether she's hungry after only the first place we visited in which she replied, "No, but my friend said we have to have the crepes here..".
So we had to have the crepes there.. Haha..
I had the one with nutella. Yummy!

I nearly jumped when that bl**dy "statue" started moving! Didn't know it was a live one!

From Montmartre, we took a bus passing through Moulin Rouge to Trocadero. That's when i met the Eiffel for the first time!! Oh, it was just amazing! I couldn't believe i was actually there. Just seeing the tall, iconic structure with my very own eyes! From that very same spot that the husband and i saw on a photograph at Chateau D'Eau back in Toulouse no less. Took in the view as hard as i possibly can, tried looking for the nicest angle possible for some snapshots (we tried), walked below the tower.. it was surreal.. and took a couple more shots before bidding au revoir to make our way to the sub for our next destination. I wasn't planning on going up the tower, particularly in that cloudy weather.. hopefully there will be a next time. Photos at La Tour Eiffel! I couldn't get enough of it.

I'm in Paris!!
(you can't say you're in Paris until you get to the Eiffel.. :))

Based on my friend's well laid map (which was so cute with the hand drawn monuments and all) Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) was next on our agenda. There was a service going on when we got there and we were not allowed for any photos. My friend got a shot but as we saw the guard heading towards us, we hurried ourselves to the exit!

I learned the differences between a cathedral and a basilica. Apart from it's ecclesiastical differences, (where a basilica refers to a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rites by the Pope. Whereas a cathedral which may or may not be a basilica, holds the throne of a bishop). From the architectural view, a basilica is built ending in a semicircular structure (an apse) and has a large roofed hall used for transacting business and disposing of legal matters. The cathedral are usually more modest in size. The Notre Dame, is a cathedral.

(I had a minor incident where i realised that i've lost my ring when we were in Notre Dame. But i was lucky to have found it in my bag at the hotel later that night. It must have slipped into the bag when i took out my gloves in the sub. Thank God!).

Next stop, a mecca for art lovers! The Louvre! It was a few minutes train ride from Notre Dame. But our journey took a wee bit longer since we got on the wrong train and had to turn back to get on the right route.. Like most museums, it was closed during the winter (not that we had the time to go in anyways). And i wonder how anyone can possibly tour that museum in one day. Surely one needs more than than a day! Given that it was once a royal palace, it's not that all surprising that the building was amazingly massive. Built over a few major periods, from the middle ages to finally the Grand Louvre it is today (that's over four centuries!). You can actually see the Eiffel tower from the vast complex here too (but there are trees blocking it in the photo below), and a mini Arc de Triomphe is situated across the museum. What a sight!

From The Louvre complex, we walked across River Siene to Musee D' Orsay, another art museum as one of my tour guides insisted. It holds mostly french artists' works - paintings, sculptures, photographies. There was a very long line to get in! It was once served as a railway station, a mailing centre in World War 2, and a hotel before it was a museum.

We were rushing to get to Champs Elysees before dark to check out the designer stores, of course. We walked till our feet were sore (especially my friend who was wearing a spanking new boots!). I didn't get anything except a belt for my cousin. Wanted to get a pair of designer pumps that was on sale but decided not to in the end. I was also contemplating on a bag, but couldn't decide on which design to get. So i went on empty handed.. (but with $$ intact. hehe). I was more interested in seeing the real Arc de Triomphe! So sore feet or no sore feet, we walked till the end of Champs Elysees to at least take a photo at the real arch! I didn't get the chance to get a closer look because we already made dinner plans with my guide's local friend. So our Paris tour that day ended with a nice Parisian dinner at a Parisian restaurant at Saint Michel with a (very cute) Parisian named Axle (name has been changed) before heading back to the hotel.

Moi in front of Orsay Museum, River Siene, the Arch of Triumph and with my 2 tour guides at St. Michel (the very cute Parisian took the photo but we were too famished and tired, not until later that we realised we didn't have any photos with him.. also not even a single photo at the restaurant).

It was a lovely (basic) full day tour. Thanks again, guys! I just wished that the day was brighter, and if only we wouldn't have to worry about our belongings too much at all times, and that there were more time to spend, it would have been much nicer ( i wish u were there too, Mr!). But it was still a good one!

I left for Toulouse the next evening - with a big smile :)

Manchester-Wrexham, an Intermission (22nd-24th January 2009)

This was a very short trip. We already had tickets (and the itinerary) for London in March before we got to know that he had to go to Toulouse for training in January (see what i mean by coincidental?). So i thought, maybe we could do Spain if we had the time since Barcelona is a mere 2 hour train ride from Toulouse. But my dreams were shattered when he told me that we will still be going to the UK when he gets a few days break from class. Erkk..

The main destination was Wrexham. But the nearest to get to Wrexham is via Manchester. So from Toulouse, we flew EasyJet to London Gatwick, spent the night there, took an early flight to Manchester and boarded the train to Wrexham. Once everything was done in Wrexham, we got back to Manchester for the night and flew back to Toulouse the next afternoon (sempat jugakla singgah H&M kat Market Street skejap.. hehehe). It was one hell of a trip! And may i just say this ----------> TAK FUN LANGSUNG!!! I was bloody freezing and tired (& cranky! It's the weather, right??) and we had to change trains God knows how many times! :'(

What is there in Wrexham, u may ask??

THIS..

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Tadaaa!!
Heaven for Him.

I manage to catch 3 hours of sleep while he shopped.

Catch of the day.. a bag full of goodies (bag included).

But at the end of the day, when i look at that contented face, it made it all worth it. We hugged real tight at the airport for a moment, for the successful and smooth journey just before we leave for Toulouse again.. It's definitely a memorable one! :)

(But please hubs, no more, ok? Sekali cukuplah..)

Looking back - Andorra (11th January 2009)

Around the same time last year, i was busy googling for things i could do in Toulouse while my husband's away for training. Apart from day tours (thought i'd get adventurous going on my own), i was ecstatic to find some interesting workshops because we were gonna be there for about 3 weeks. I couldn't possibly be shopping and touring all the time.. So i was looking forward to maybe the glass blowing workshop, or collage making (made of photos taken during our stay) or stained glass painting courses. Well, until i saw how much each course costs.. The 1-3 days course were about 100 Euros EACH! I waved goodbye to all 3 immediately.

I spent the first few days wandering about the stores nearby our hotel and one day, during his break, he called me at the hotel to tell that we are going to Andorra for the weekend ON the company! Ahh.. FREE trip! Yippee! What's more, there will be free trips on every Sunday!! (the next one was to Albi and Cordes-sur-Ciel in which we missed the bus. I can't remember the third one because we did our own tour to Manchester/Wrexham). (Baru nak adventurous..) But anyway free trips means more $$ for shopping!! Double yippee!!

The trip took about 2 hours from Toulouse. Andorra or El Pas de la Casa (means "the pass by the house") is a small tax free country located between France and Spain where you can go skiing during winter. A beautiful place, surrounded by white, snowy mountains but tax free as it may be, the perfumes were more or less the price we can get here. Though there was one thing we were very tempted to get (him even more than me -- i have to stress on this :P). It was this beautiful black faced Link Tag for ladies with diamonds that costs RM14k here but was only half the price there! But it's crazy to spend that amount of money for a pair of watch, kan???? 7k? For a pair of watch?? Not now at least (or ever!). The Tags there were cheap alright but sadly, i mean luckily the selection was limited. So the only purchase made was a mock gun by him. Complete with its magazines *eyes rolling*. I was only annoyed because i was afraid people at the airport might think we are terrorists!!! (especially with me donning a headscarf!). And they say women like to buy unnecessary things! Pfft..

Anyways, here are some of our photos taken in Andorra (it's the same snapshots i have on my fb).

Mountainous view en route to Andorra.
And the gun made it safely to our shores. Dismantled, some parts were sent thru cargo with some other stuff.

Snapshots of us.
One before having seafood paella for lunch with Kuben and Captain Lee, who was once their Training Captain.

[I shall post more travel jots since i am in the mood and have some spare time :)]

17 years is a long time!

I finally made it to one of our small reunion from the primary school group! Yay! Honestly, i had my reservations at first and didn't know what to expect since we have not seen each other for almost 2 decades.. I wasn't sure if we actually have things to talk about, whether or not they will be the same nice people (because people change. And for some, oddly enough, are only nice when u don't actually meet them). But as it turns out, we couldn't stop talking and had more refills (and restroom visits) to go on! I'm glad i didn't ffk the last minute. Hehehe.

We met at Friday's, The Gardens where we sat for 4 hours! Only 6 of us turned up since some already had plans for the long holiday, but we had great fun anyways :D

Friendships rekindled

Here's another class photo. Sadly, it's the only class photo i have from the primary school days:

Taken circa 1992

There's a similarity of me in this photo and this one.
Your take?

(you bet i'm the sweet and innocent one! nyahaha..)
God, i miss those days! Though, i wouldn't wanna go back and go through everything all over again.. :)

Goodbye...

How did December ends so fast?? A lot has happened this year..
Let's see...

It was definitely a year of travelling.

France in January (where we manage a short one to Manchester) and Andorra too.
A 2-day trip to Hong Kong (this was purely business & Dimsum :)) and a 6-day trip to London & Chester in March,
and the latest being Saigon last month.
All in 1 year!
And i realised that i don't have updates on any of them except for Toulouse and the short trip to Hong Kong.
There are lots to tell! Perhaps i shall put them up later. So to close 2009 :)

***

Started learning to play tennis..
...aaand have not been playing for 2 weeks now!
Jeremy (our instructor) said there is still hope for us, ladies can still be trained to be a pro before we turn 35. But if this keeps on, i doubt that that's gonna happen! As if! We just learned the backhand swing last lesson. Looks like it's back to forehand again after this.. sigh.

***

Took up beading class (or was this last year?) - and almost went blind!!
It was a full day basic course. By end of the lesson, i feel like my eyes were gonna explode! The SIL had kindly offered her clothes as guinea pigs and to date i've done 2 of her baju kurung. Suppose to do another 2 or 3 eh, Ilie? I pun dah lupa. I guess, i prefer baking to this lah. 

***

Got a part time job to occupy my time.
Working fulltime at the office and working part time from home certainly has its pros and cons. And to tell you the truth, it's a lot easier to work in the office (fulltime) and i am not sure how long i can keep it up.
Flexibility can have its downside, i must say.
But i sure met some new people from many different areas (and became good acquaintances/friends with some of them) and that is a big plus about the job.
Being out there.

***
Learn to bake and took up cake decorating class..
(not to mention made some $ to boot! Woo! Though, not up to the point where it can turn me into a millionaire, but still).
This, i have elaborated enough in my previous posts. But i do plan to go for cookies deco class and fondant cupcakes too. God willing :D

***
Started another micro (read very small) side business while going travel.
This started only recently. It's pretty fun.
I'm supposed to go to Saigon again last Sunday but the husband and i are still feeling a bit under the weather. (I'm still down with fever as we speak). So the trip will have to wait.
I have another destination in mind for next month but since the Saigon trip is being pushed, we'll see.
At least there's a plan.

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And therefore, i shall conclude that it has been quite a productive year for me.
But aside from all the good events that has taken place, sadly, there are unfortunate ones too...

We lost 2 cats.
2 cats in a year. What are the odds? :'(
Lost Aslan while we were in Toulouse earlier this year after almost 3 years caring for him.
We had planned to bring him to the vet once we get back from Toulouse.
The last time i saw him was through the car window when we were leaving for France. He was sitting near his feeding bowl, looking at us leaving.
Aslan actually belonged to a neighbour of ours but loved staying at our place instead of its owner's. The owner calls him by the name Chocho and visited him whenever they pass by our house. They were saddened by the news too and gave us some of his photos to remember him by :')

And recently, we lost our litttle Scabby to leukemia.
We were already at the vet, trying to find a space to park the car when we received the phone call telling us that he had passed on.....
We picked him up when he was about 7 months old. He was a very playful one. That was what attracted us in the first place. He was busy chasing after a lizard when we saw him.
I'm not so much into cats, but i love kittens.. especially lively, playful ones.
Scabby was only about 2 years old when he died (that's only 14 human years).

***
Lost my dearest grandfather.
A great loss for me.
After being in and out of hospital, he finally succumbed to gastrointestinal bleeding on December 8th at 2.50pm. He was buried on the same day, died at the age of 82.
I'm just glad that i get to be with him that last day. It's weird since we (the husband, my cousin and i) were having breakfast together that morning and decided to go to visit him at the hospital right after instead of in the evening like we had planned. I guess God has his own way in laying out plans for us, don't u think?
Well, i'd like to think that he's in a better place now, insya Allah.

*********

So anyways, what's your new year's resolutions?

I have a few of my own..
Stay healthy (no matter what the weighing scale says), Live more, Try to make babies (of course :)) and Spread more LOVE!
Have a great new year ahead, everyone!
God Bless!

[Oh btw, if anyone interested in donating blood, please give me a buzz. Our family could really use your help. Thank you!]

Life goes on..

I lost my dearest grandfather 10 days ago. I told my uncle that day that i still can't believe the fact that he's gone (i still can't!). I've so many memories of growing up with him. Then the uncle replied,

"We all live with memories, just make the best of them. And live your life so that he would be proud of you if he were still around".

That gave me the support i needed at that time as i was in no mood to do anything, let alone to bake. but i'm glad i did. These happy faces made my day :)

Happy Birthday to the sister and a Happy Anniversary to the couple! :)

Amazing what facebook can do

I'm sure most of you are familiar with facebook and have found that long lost friends, or distant relatives on the network. Last February, my high school friends had a reunion planned via facebook (after changes and more changes were made to the dates, venue and food prep). It was a simple, loud (as expected) and out of control affair i must say, "camwhoring" was more of the main event besides catching up and gossip sessions, of course :) It was fun to see everybody again after some 12 years. I didn't realise it has been that long. Time really flies but most of us didn't really change that much..

Class of 97
The theme was "turquoise & white" (the colour of the school uniform)

And about a month later, i was reunited with another set of friends. The primary school group. You heard me right, the PRIMARY SCHOOL friends why of course, via facebook. I am still in touch with one or two people from this group and had remain good friends with one for 22 years!

It all started when i found one familiar name on the network. After he confirmed that he was indeed my ex-classmate, he said he had no idea where the others had gone to. And from there one found the other, the other one created a group and now we have found almost everybody! After almost 17 years of no contact whatsoever! Isn't that amazing?? I was so excited to have reconnected with these guys. We have so much memories, the ups and downs, funny incidents.. We were like brothers and sisters back then, we bicker almost everyday (especially between us girls and the boys) but we were close. Playing games like the belon acah and kejar-kejar was a routine. Then the getah and batu seremban with the girls, ceper (bottle caps) with the guys when we got older.. The good old days :) We drifted soon after we left school. Now that we've found most of us, we are planning for a reunion but this time it is going to be more challenging since everybody seems to be everywhere! Not just KL and JB but Singapore, the UK, California, China, Hawaii.. so i guess we shall find out. Let me share a class photo which i have not seen for ages and had lost mine somewhere along the growing up process. See if you could spot me. Heheh..

Standard 1 class photo in 1987.
Can you guess??

Now, going a tad sentimental here (you've been warned). To the friend of 22 years, who has always been there for me no matter the distance (or traffic) that kept us apart all these years. I've known you since the main kejar-kejar and ceper phase to you playing the guitar and talking about our jobs. We may be worlds apart but we have always been able to set aside our differences and remain close. Thank you for being honest about everything, for not caring when it comes to trivial things and cared more than ever when things need be. Thank you for being there by my side on the happiest day of my life (not forgetting the night before too helping with the prep and all). I hope you know why you sat there on that day. You are more a family to me than most of them.. i mean, you are more a family to me than a friend. Oops :)

Love you, babe.

5 weeks..

.. was how long i have been missing from my blog. Not that i don't have anything to share, but during the fasting month, i was simply drained out. (I'm just so glad i don't have to get up for work this time. I don't know how i manage to keep up the last 2 years, seriously). And after that, i have to admit that i have some trouble to begin writing again.

Ok. A lot has happened since 5 weeks ago, since i've been tagged. There's the (sudden) passing of an aunt. Remember my entry on Kampung (an unintended long entry)? The nice old lady who showed me how to pick mangosteens (we call her Mak Bung ) passed away during the fasting month. I went back to my hometown to be with my family on the first day of puasa, and visited her and Mak Wan (hubby's grandma) at his aunt's place. She was all well, free from any signs of sickness. But suddenly we were hit by the news that she was admitted to the hospital. She passed away on the 3rd week of Ramadhan, a few days after discovering that she had a tumor on her spine and had to go for immediate surgery. The surgery was successful, though the doctor said the chances for her to heal was not very promising. Unfortunately, her heart collapsed and was announced dead on Friday night at 8.46pm at HKL. It happened so fast. She was such a nice old lady, warm at all times. She had always made me feel comfortable from the very first time i met her at my SIL's wedding. I can never forget her for being chatty (i don't mean irritatingly chatty, but rather in a sweet and friendly way). May you rest in peace.

Mak Bung
1939-2008

Fasting month has always been a simple affair for us. No fancy buffet or anything like that. And we don't like the food bazaar too. I just think buffet spreads are overpriced and the food they sell at the bazaar most often than not, sucks. I do lots of cooking during this time of the year. Maybe even more than i do in a year! Haha. Just simple dishes and desserts, though. I stayed up most nights till sahur time (because we missed 2 days of sahur early ramadhan, leavingme feeling guilty endlessly). I was never a sahur person, but since it's mandatory for the hubby, i had to prepare meals according to his odd work hours. I would just mostly prepare them, but never really touched anything. Just a glass of yoghurt drink for a dose of calcium and a bottle of plain water for me. I normally could not sleep after that, so i would stay up watching Grey's Anatomy. Hence, you can imagine my sleeping pattern was such a mess. So much for spiritual cleansing, eh. I know :"

Then it was raya time. Oh before that, my car is back! At last, just in time for raya. We get to do the long travel in her after such a long wait (yes, it's a she). I was very fortunate that the engine was not affected by the crash [pix here]. Only major bodyworks had to be done but we need to send it back, as we (or rather he) found some defects here and there (it's handy to have an expert on cars with you :)). I did some maintenance and uplifting job around the house for raya (with the help from my handy men, of course). Mounted a mirror at the dining area, put a fresh coat of white paint for the exterior wall that was long overdue, put up photo frames around the place and bought some plants and slates for the garden. No baju raya or kasut raya for me this year. I don't normally have that anyway as i am not really a raya person ever since.. well, i turned 10 maybe? 

Why? Let me just say being the only daughter with 3 brothers does not put you in that raya spirit so much. (Except for the duit raya :)). The cleaning, the cooking, the ironing for the whole household.. blegh. But ever since i got married, it's always putting the house together that i look forward to mostly come Hari Raya. And i do enjoy a good gathering at friends' and relatives' (only the nice ones, though.. haha), having people at our place and the good food. And that's that.

Pixes of my handymen at work.Tak payah upah Bangla ;)

Kid bro getting off old paint before putting on a fresh new one.

Hubby measuring precisely where to drill to install the mirror.
I was the consultant and the QC lady :)

Signing off now, wishing you and your family a blessed Aidilfitri. Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin from moi. Cheers!

Tagged

I have been busy running around since before puasa, accompanying the other half to the track, and then off to our parents' to puasa together since he had a 4-day off. And then the internet connection was really bad..i wasn't in the mood to blog... yada yada yada.

Anyways, i hope it's not too late to wish all muslims Selamat Berpuasa. And in my absence, our country celebrated it's 51st Independence Day. 51st.. i think that is something, don't you?

I've been tagged so let's do this, for the fun of it.

5 BAD HABITS IN SCHOOL
1. always, always curik tulang.. school was my playground, my means of escapism.

2. bring liquid papers that was prohibited

3. bukak tudung bila time balik (because it was darn hot and i had to take the public bus under the blazing sun)

4. wear fancy sports socks which we are not supposed to.. but not after i was made prefect.. i think..

5. prefects are suppose to fine students who break the rule, but i wasn't one of them. I hated doing it not to gain popularity among the people, simply because i was against the idea that we had a quota of how many samans we should impose in a week. And not to mention some of the ridiculous rules the school had. So the habit here is not saman-ing.. hehe

3 FAVOURITE SUBJECTS IN SCHOOL... WHY??
1. Art.. err because i'm arty at heart??

2. English.. i like learning languages and i like words. BM is too complicated.. frasa.. prosa klasik.. prosa moden.. get the picture?

3. Physics.. because even seated at the front in the lab, me n my friend had a way to communicate through our shared text book!! Once we almost get caught, but thank god, the teacher didn't confiscate our textbook which was full of SECRETS! (I wonder if my friend still has that textbook.. hmm..)

4. Chemistry.. when i was doing accountancy in college that i realised i'd rather do chemistry 1000 times more! Oh sorry, i was suppose to list 3.

3 SUBJECTS YOU DON'T LIKE... WHY??
1. History.. it is such an interesting subject, but all history teachers, i repeat, ALL history teachers never fail to succeed in making the subject the MOST BORING subject in school! I find it sad..

2. Accounting.. like i said, i prefer chemistry a thousand times more. Enough said.

3. Economics.. this was an extra subject i took for the exam. It was either this, or Accounting for the science students. Since i hated accounting, i took economics. But since i love art and loathe the economics teacher, i later dropped this subject and took up Art. And never regretted it!

ATTRACTIVE ON YOU...?
err.. my slender figure?? hahaha.. NOT! Maybe my wit.

U LIKE MOST...?
i'm happiest when i'm home or away on a vacation, far away from the madness of life.

YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...???
i have to say my senses.

WHO DO YOU CALL EACH NIGHT BEFORE GOING TO BED..?
hubby if he's supposed to be back but still no sign of him..

and this little kid (my brother) that isn't so little anymore. He's here on a break and sees his friends almost every night (he drives me around in the day since my car is taking forever to be ready), i'd call him to remind him that the carriage has turned into a pumpkin like an hour ago.

YOUR TAG VICTIMS
whoever, you are free to tag yourselves.

Birthday

My sister-in-law just reminded me of my birthday. I honestly wasn't aware it was coming so soon.

Hmm.. perhaps i didn’t realise how time really flies..Or that i don’t think it's really that big a deal.
Or perhaps i was trying hard not to think about it (and it worked!).
Or i was hoping i still have months to go.
Or maybe it's because i have had 27 birthdays before? Haha.

(I remember having gone to the circus with grandpa (and my brother) on my 7^th birthday and only realised that it was my birthday the next day!). So maybe it happens like every 21 years? I wonder.

Oh, and the other day i have also forgotten my best friend's birthday! When i wished her apologetically, she went.. "How can you forget? It's only 20 days away from yours!" Maybe that's why i have forgotten hers. Because i didn't remember mine. Gosh, i hope nothing serious is happening to me.

p/s: To the best friend, again, I am sorry. And yes, i still owe you a wedding present due to my absence. To SIL, thank you for reminding. And the proposal sounds kind of fun too! :)

Dr. Martens

A cousin of mine is busy looking for one to replace his old pair that he has given away only to regret it later. He has been bugging me (not that i don't enjoy his bugging) on msn on this and i decided to write about the footwear -- Dr. Martens, Doc Marts, DMs.

I am a shoe lover (though i have to admit to have a weakness for bags too). I have a pair of Doc Martens purchased wa.....aaaay back when i was about 17 years old in which i love to bits and still have them till this very day!

It was the IN thing at that time. Everybody has to have one. And so, with much love (for shoes) and determination, i finally get to buy the shoes from the neighbouring country, as our place in JB has not many variety. You can only get them from places like the Old West or Rock Station at that time and the designs were very, very limited (and that the kind available were more of those the skinheads would wear - 10 or 14 holes).

I bought my DMs with the hard earned money i received from working 9-5 while waiting for the SPM result as my parents never shower us with such luxury and trust me, it will only be asking for death if i ever voice out such request. It is by far the most expensive shoes i've ever spent on (though i just splurged on a black heel pump that is of higher price yesterday, but it was at a 60% discount, so practically the DMs still remain my most expensive shoes). It was about RM400 after conversion but it was money well spent. (Mum, if you're reading this, i know i said it was around RM200+ last time (or did i say RM100+?), but that was so long ago, so let's just forgive and forget, ok?)

I used to pair them up with jeans, mini skirts, even dresses for outings, it was perfect. Mum and dad used to tease me of the difficulty to take them off and putting them back on when visiting but i didn't mind at all. I was very happy with the pair! :)

The classic Dr. Martens boots is in black leather and with the signature yellow stitching (as small pix above). But they do come in different designs and colours. I once saw the one in electric blue and fell in love with it instantly. But being the practical gal that i am, i managed to refrain myself to fall for it since it will be odd to be running around in electric blue boots in most cases and that you can't pair them up with a green dress or a red skirt. Maybe some of you would, but it's just not my style. So, i bought myself a 6 holes in light brown suede instead (large pix). (They now have this delicious chili red pump i just saw online).

I've stopped wearing them altogether now, but back then in college days up in North, it has served me well (apart from my selipar jepun) during my years of exploring the island of Langkawi going up and down the hills of Telaga Tujuh and Durian Perangin to name a few, during nights out fishing at the jetty and going to classes (in style) when it was raining cats and dogs, given it's durability. My brother had several times worn the DM's to the wet market nowadays because not only they protect him from the wetness, they are non-slip too!
As for me, i'm planning to keep it. I may use them again some day. For hiking or something and if it goes back in style i'd still wear them, even with the hijab. Or with kids. I don't mind :)