A Year Older

yes, I'm a year older 2moro. Iman been singing 'happy birthday untuk mummy...' and i can't help but weep. my baby sing birthday song to me... it still hard to digest. ever grateful.

to chenta, thank you.
to my bapak and mak, thank you.
to you, thank you.

i wish to be a better me.

We need colors.

I always admire people who are passionate with whatever shit they’re doing and wish could have gotten the same magnitude of passion. Emm.. most of the time I obviously hate my job.

In Uni, we used to choose a guy each to be admired so that going to class wont be boring. Different semester will be a different guy. The most fun semester were between Eline/Nizam , Aju/Lahabau, Me/Medan, emm sapa lagi? Brani mau mengaku? hehe And at the end of the semester IF we got to date or makan berdua (meals paid by him)… kira menang la… Mind you the selection of the guy was quite hard. He must be known antisocial, hardly seen lepaking with girls and lebih tak cun lebih bagus (sorry guys)… Hhahaha and I won on my final semester.

During matriculation years, girls in my class will vote who is the best guy of the month. Best means : cun or tetiba bulan itu jadi cun, most helpful, most sincere, and whatever ‘most’ we can come out with. Yeah.. girls are crazy…

The point is I’m easily feeling out of spirits and tired. I need inspiration and motivation wtf??. At my age and status, it will be totally ridiculously stupid to be doing something like above esp with ppl who work under the same roof. Gatal he hapa kan… Eh ni bukannya inspiration hape pon... if you think that Chenta and Iman are not. They always there somewhere special in my heart. Ni saja je gatal-gatal... hehehh bole?

Whatever... at least I found mine, I dont even bother the fact that I have to share. He makes me smile when im sad. He slowed down my heart beat when I’m angry. He also lengthens my time when thinking my logic…



Yes what a stupid lamb I am.

McAvoy, I still love you, only lesser. Hiks!

oops..is this 'cheating' Zie?

Updates:

*** I would love to hear everybodys oppinion regarding this topic but my advisor suggested that its best to appologize first if this posting troubling anyone in anyway possible. Perhaps I miss those time a lot, everything kinda pop up in my head and my hand started typing without thinking. I even got some name wrong! heheh Ya Pn Eline, I know it was not Nizam, must be H**zam kan... lesson learnt, no name mentioned. Heheheh

*** as for statement 'lagi tak cun lagi bagus' - what was i thinking kan... kami yg tak cun... sbb kalau cun we wont play this silly game afterall... must be busy dating around. I dont know... i cant even properly put my thinking into words... all im saying is im sorry... sorry.. sorry...

Tag lagi

Me at home rite now. Iman needs another week of isolation as he started coughing again last Sunday. Chenta and me taking turn to look after him at home untill my sister is available. The fact that my new system will go live tommorrow is giving me headache. At this point I curse the management for not yet 'believe' in technology. I have to call sana, call sini to make sure 2moro will be successful. If only i could 'work from home' like Ed, Ezzah and Chal. Bos pon tak yah kalut I cuti jaga anak kan...urgghh.... I’m rising above….i’m rising above…..

well, work done, Iman is sleeping, kain dah lipat... emmm mari layan tag game lagik. I've been tagged by Zirap, amboi2 Cik Kak, belum jawab tag daku ada hati nak tag balik..cis! Tak per… akak layan…

The rules:
It's harder than it looks!
Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question. Have fun! Don't forget to post it!

1. What is your name: Dd
2. Four letter word: Done
3. A boy's name: Doraemon
4. A girls' name : Duni my classmate during high school
5. An occupation: Drug Dealer a friend of mine dok giler main mob war jadik drug dealer, Digital Sound Engineer mcm best je kerja ni , DJ sounds fun, doctor is to boring…hehehe
6. A color: Dark Blue
7. Something you'll wear: Denim
8. A food: Duck liver a.k.a Foie Gras
9. Something found in the bathroom: Duck (Iman punya)
10. A place: Dungeon
11. A reason for being late: Dreaming. Kes tak larat nak bangun…
12. Something you'd shout: Don’t!
13. Movie Title : Dreamers oops..heheh, ok la.. Diwale Jayange
14. Something you drink: Durian Coffee jgn lupa rasa ini di Rumah Mode ye kawan-kawan…
15. A musical group: Dixie Chicks
16. An animal: Dragonfly
17. A street: Danau Kota 1
18. A type of car: Donkey Car aci?
19. The title of a song: Don’t Speak by No Doubt

Sesapa nak buat dipersilakan….. esp to someone who just finished his MBA. Loosen yourself a bit man….

What Bloggers Do

I never respond to tagging hence anyone who ever tagged me before tak pernah tgk I reply kan. Sorry la… not that I didn’t respect your request it just I didn’t have time to do it. Nak buat satu posting pon take weeks. Alasan…heheeh

Nth kenapa, I decided to answer Becky’s. Becky tagged me in FB but I malu nak reply dlm FB. Kenapa ntah. So, If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. When u’re done, tag others, thats what bloggers usually do and let the world know about us all. Memang tak ada kerja kan…hehehheh

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Yes, a 70’s Indonesian singer. If not, I would be named Siti Aminah. Betul tak tipu….

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

This morning. Amazed, seeing Iman eating coco crunch with his friends at the nursery. My baby has grown too fast.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

Sometimes I do. I dun have one particular type of handwriting. If you see my note book, its like been written by many. It depends on the pen/pencil and how the paper/book is placed.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT?

Chicken tom yam with rice, banjir.

5. DO YOU HAVE KID?

My 2yrs old baby.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

Of course! Would you, if you were another person?

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?

Only to mean people. Biasanya suara bergetar sbb tahan nak nangis…apada…

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

Ya

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

Been in my wish list since forever.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?

Not a fan of cereal, but to claim I like Muesli Mixed Fruit sound cool eh?

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

Nope, not even my sport shoes and my bowling shoes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM?

Raspberry Cheese Louise by Bas.kin Rob.in.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

The sweet face.

15. RED OR PINK?

Red. red crocs, red handbag, red sandal, red wristlet, red cookies jar…
Used to love green but change to red due to Iman’s justification of ‘Mummy’s stuff’.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Disorganized

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

My Mum at Sg Kalong Gantung, Senggarang. Last balik kampong was during CNY break. Cant wait for tomorrow. I’m coming home Mak!

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?

Yes please!

19. WHAT COLOUR OF PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

Dark blue stripes pants from Bandung and beige wedges from Pedal Works.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Matahari Ku by Agnes Monica. ‘berjuta warna pelangi di dalam hati…’ Thanks Chenta for the MP3… layan kat opis, volume full blast…

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE?

Orange. Wait, what brand? Coz I hate yg tak melekat kat kertas tu…

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS?

Bau Iman - bangun tido, lepas mandi, belengas, semuanya! Plus Estee Pleasures Exotic

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

Chenta – update pasal Iman

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

Sudah tentu! She is super yummy mummy!

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Having a husband who is a sport fanatic, akak layan anything in major tournament, errr kecuali golf.

27. HAIR COLOUR?

Original black. Verangan nak highlight, takut telinga tak tahan kena tazkirah ngan kakak Chenta…hahahahha.

28. EYE COLOUR?

Dark Brown. Yes I still remember wrote it as dark brown in my science class during form 3 and my teacher agreed so. Ala..yg boleh gulung lidah ke tak…ada cuping telinga ke tak.. tahi telinga jenis cair ke kering…

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

Nope. Tried but hate it.

30. FAVOURITE FOOD?

Too many

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Happy endings. Tak happy pon tak pe asal jgn citer hantu. What’s wrong with our local tv nowadays? Semua citer hantu.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
@ Cinema with Chenta : Kungfu Panda
@ Home with Chenta (watch the whole movie): 21, night before we flew to US, the film is about a MIT student who needs money to get into Harvard Med School. That’s when the ayat2 poyo like ohh situ..situ… must visit… tu MIT… ni Harvard la…. Ceh…. Like good good one gitu kan…
@ Office friday lunch break eon ago: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, thanks to Mr Nitzus, our Chief of Entertainments.
@ Topek’s blue ray player with Iman : Iron Man, after zillion time duk layan Transformer.

33. WHAT COLOUR OF SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

Grey – Bitten by SJP. Eh beli kat BremMall saja… did you know kat BremMall ada Metrojaya Outlet? Best ooo….

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?

I so want winter!. Bila dapat main snow ni?

35. HUGS OR KISSES?

errr.. depends…

36. FAVOURITE DESSERT?

Cheese cake.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

Mummy! by Iman

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

Office work. Benci ahh…

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

Atone.ment by I.an Mc.Ew.an. Perghh.. wayyy better than the movie. Very detail indeed. I could feel the summer heat, the lush garden..the confius mind of Briony….ececeh….

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

Reliance.travel.com a gift from Azidah join dia pi Chiang Mai. Dapat mouse pad sajorkk. Hehehe

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?

Amer.ica’s Ne.xt Top Mo.del. at ch 714, I love Claire…

42. FAVOURITE SOUND(S)?

Iman’s laugh, rain

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?

NKOTB boleh?

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

Boston

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

My body pretty flexible, I can bend and touch my toe easily.. tu kira talent ke? Emm.. sometimes I can cook well.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Hospital Batu Pahat, Johor.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?

Everyone!

I’m tagging: Nora, Zie, Zirap, Yusmi, Sydde, Ed, Chal, Cok Dang, Ayu, Ina, Aju, Man Zie – Hang curi2 baca kan…, Eline – boleh reply kat FB, Burn Eline – hang pon curik2 baca kan…, Kak Ajzie – kot2 masih jenguk sini., Atty – yg pernah tinggal komen dlm blog saya ini lama dulu, Cikgu Khai – eh, sekali skala layan la game bloggers ni hhehehe

Sapa lagi nak cukupkan 25 ni?...hahaha nampak sgt blog tak glamer tak ada follower…korang je yg baca kan… Kalau ada silent reader tu (sungguh perasan) dipersilakan jua menyahut game ini.

Enjoy…,

Jalan-jalan Bandung

Where : Bandung , Indon

When : 13-15 Jan 2009

With : Kak Ija, Kak Has and Kak Hanim

Dengan rasa perasan, I bet some of you might say ‘asyik jaaaalaaan aje!’ Blame my true shopaholic colleagues dgn sepantas kilat plunged into Air Asia RM0.00 fare promotions and for their efficiencies in planning the whole itineraries. And oh, all were done way before I knew that I will be traveling to uk and us. So, you can imagine how excited I was at that time.

Day 1, Jan 13 2009

We flew with AirAsia Indonesia rupanya, the flight attendance talk in Bahasa Indonesia, the in-flight signboards all in Bahasa Indonesia, and since when dah tak free sitting? Malu jek kena pindah tau…

Bandung today is very much different from what I saw in 2004. Bigger airport, cleaner city, less machet traffics, bigger and better shopping outlets! Yeah baby, shopping!

Pak Henry udah menunggu di airport. Check-in first, then layan Warong Pak Cik Met.

garume bakar dan sambal2nya. I love the one with manga slices tu.. masam2 pedas, the kicap is too sweet for me and the cili n tomato sambal pon a bit sweet.

Ini posing dibelakang Warong Pak Cik Met dan MPV S kami.

Then terus ke Rumah Mode diikuti oleh Naturalist, Anak Kecil, Bali Anak, kedai Jeans Ori, dan Summit.

Rumah Mode, tunggu depa tak keluar2...

Kita Rocky, depa Pocky... my alltime fav. jajan at Anak Kecil!

Kemudian terus ke Kampung Daun. Sangat cantik tp my cheapo camera just cant tolarate the darkness... ciss..

Layan....

Day 2, Jan 14 2009

the DAY when every single Rupiah was counted and spent! Hahah
While waiting for Pak Henry to pick us up at 9am, we went to Amanda.

Pose depan Amanda and Royal Dago the cheap but clean hotel.

Then terusss ke Pasar Baru! Lepak sana sehingga kedai tutup.

Muka guilty.. ini first kedai...lepas kedai ni tak amek gambo dah! hahahahha

Sambung ke Rumah Tas, Heritage dan Cascade. Dinner J-Co di Plaza apentah… singgah kedai ala-ala 7E then terus balik hotel.

Hasil kiraian.... saya tumpang posing jek...hik!

Day 3, Jan 15 2009

Kali ni janji awal dgn Pak Henry kul 8.00, terus ke Kartika Sari. Lebih sejuta rupiah habis membeli kek. Ini total ya bukan saya punya sahaja…
Sambung Pasar Baru lagi… sehingga pukul 1.00 Then turun ke bawah layan kerepek pisang keju, pisang salai etc. Then lunch, repacking and to airport.

Tips yg konon2 membantu:

1. Jika berniat utk shopping sehingga duit habis, adalah tidak seshuai membawa anak kecil. Justify Iman kena tinggal ngan Chenta! ahhahaha
2. If you bring not enough Rupiah, guna CC kat outlet sbb kat Pasar baru even ada kedai yg pakai CC many charge 2-3% for service. Outlet tak charge.
3. Careful at what you eat/drink. Perut2 kita manja... despite eating at high-end tourist spot restaurant, i ended cherry berry sampai tido Gleaneagle!. Lucky me dah sampai KL baru kena. Kalau kena kat sana...kan ke haruuu....
4. Toilet kat outlets semua OK, infact some are very clean. Cuma kat Pasar Baru tu emmm.. saya tak lalu!
5. Pasar Baru sgt ramai orang (outlet pon) so careful with your h.beg,passport and wallet. Pak Henry pon pesan tau....
6. If you have time, do try naik angkutan kota. Dengarlah anak jalanan Bandung menyanyi.. pasti hati kamu tersentuh...
7. Kampung Daun sangat cantik, cuma kami pergi malam and gerimis some more, rasanya kalau pergi siang lagi nice sbb dpt tgk keliling and on the way tu byk nursery jual bunga tepi jalan, sure cantik.
8. Jika berminat dgn perkhidmatan Pak Henry (Rupiah450,000/day) ,yang soft spoken, tidak memaksa, memberi cadangan bernas tmpt mana patut pergi dulu tanpa kira jauh atau dekat, pandai membawa diri jika kami tak jemput makan sama (kedekut kan kami + duit dah habis..hahaha), boleh tepon +62818622086. 1st day kami start kul 12tgh, 3rd day flight kul 5, he charged for 2 days only.
9. Hotel Royal Dago is 2* but very clean, ada bathtub, and even tepi Jalan Juanda yg busy, ia senyap... ke kami yg tido mati sbb penat...hahahha. Amanda (famous for brownies tp Kartika lagi sedap) hanya sebelah sahaja.
10. Carik hotel murah2 sajork..sbb mmg balik untuk tido sahaja.....
11. Jgn check-in Kek or segala Kerepek/Pisang keju - boleh hand carry sahaja dgn syarat masukkan dlm beg, (kotak tak boleh hand carry kan..). barangan yg dikategorikan membantu ekonomi penduduk Bandung dibenarkan hand carry, tidak ditimbang syarat 7kg, juga tidak dikira bil. beg yg di hand carry. So boleh save kg check-in untuk kain.. heheheh. Tak pun, susun kain dibawah, then tindihkan dgn kotak2 brownies...
12. If you're into imitation items.. go for Super quality, flawless you..but harga pon mahal sikit la... tak pon go for 1st grade.. murah sikit... kalau 2nd grade dah tak lawa langsung!
13. Apa lagi....macam bagus saja kan..... last one,
14. Komen pasal air di bawah, 1st Kelapa Sirsak - nice...cma too sweet and not enough ice, Teh Botol - too fragrant for me, sorry Nora aku tau nko suka air ni tp aku tak leh telan! . The last one Advokat Teres... very nice, shd try, layers of sweet soft avocado, cream, crunch ice, gula melaka, susu. Wallaaahhhhh

Apa pun, I heart Bandung!

Folly Monday

As some of you already know, I am so not a morning person. It explains why I have lots of frivolous activities while driving to work. This morning was the same stories with a different twist. I woke up late than I supposedly to, again!. The usual 30 minutes preparation before we hit the road became 15. In the kalutness, mandi kerbau and all, I left my make-up pouch behind. Not that I have a lot but still… my compact powder is in there!. Gosh.. The only 2 not-really-beauty-products in my harap_je_huge_but_cluttered handbag are my Organi-c Ai-d Vit E Moisturizing Cream – simply because it can’t fit into the pouch, and G-A-P Razzleberry favorite lip balm – must be kerja Iman keluarkan dari pouch. I was about to apply the moisturizer cream when suddenly my brain started transmitting and connecting signals macam dlm iklan susu An.Mu.m tu, and a slide show of what I did last night play clearly in my head.

I was applying the new liquid eye liner given by my brother in law, bought at Madinah, hoping to get Aisha’s look from AAC. Then I saw this gorgeous guest at MawiEkin 1001 Arabian Night and started applying more. Oh, the dark teal was so heavy and instead of sweet smoky eyes, mine was like puaka kat Kampung NiangRapik. To cut the story short, I ended sleeping with those celak.

I remember even clearly that this morning, I didn’t wash my face properly: mandi sambil gosok gigi, tidak lihat cermin. I tried hard using whatever available in the car to rub off the remaining sign of me playing NiangRapik. I ask Chenta how do I look and in obvious hesitation he said “Err.. ok jek”. Sungguh tak pandai tipu!

With no compact powder to cover the uneven dark circle under around my eyes, I went to work eventually. Berani tak akak dek non?. Now, I’m in a meeting room, keeping my face down writing all this, pretending to take notes as the MatSalleh fervently explaining the whole process of migration bla bla bla. So far, nobody, yes nobody says anything about my face. Perhaps it doesn’t look that bad, perhaps people are just being kind to me, or perhaps my face is actually that bad - with or without powder sama jek and people are so used to it. I strongly believe the later. Ask Zie, she saw my horrible out of bed, totally nude face last 2 weekends. I think today, I am the worst version of my own self.

Apa pun (kekonon couldn’t care less.. haih!), I cant wait for tomorrow.

Ladies,

InsyaAllah, at this very hour, I will be at Bandung tomorrow.

Eat your heart out!

Chau cin cau!

Ayat-ayat Cinta

Under normal circumstance, I seldom read Malay novel. The love stories are usually too good to be true or the hero is overacting, hopeless romantic kind of guy which I found, maaf ya, really daunting. There are of course some which are different like Dedaun Hijau Di Angin Lalu by Manaf Hamzah which I read when I was 14 and can still vividly remember the story line. I read it in one night under the gleam of a corridor light of my dormitory. That was what you have to pay for potong line for I really can’t wait my turn. I cried reading it, several times.

Back to Ayat-ayat Cinta, why I read this novel?. TV3 aired Ayat-ayat Cinta the movie last Raya and friends been talking louder about it since then. I haven’t read the book and I missed the movie. I was like, zero knowledge on something big, something of what people been talking and discussing. It hits me hard when out of nothing Chenta ask me ‘Have you read the book? No?’.

Don’t worries, I wont spoil you with the synopsis, (ke semua org dah baca?).

AAC is not an ordinary love/romantic novel. Written by Habiburrahman El Shirazy, a novelist from Indonesia, and as well as a scholar from Al Azhar University, Cairo, Ayat-ayat Cinta is a romantic Islamic novel. For some reason I couldn’t understand myself, I didn’t google ‘AAC book review’ like what I usually did before reading/buying. And for that I’m really grateful, as the beauty of this novel is found and grown on every page I read.

at the very 2nd last page...

And given the story’s central theme is on love, you don’t really get much of that until you read half of the book. Be patience as despite Habiburrahman did a good job in describing Cairo and introducing the characters, the early part is (to me) rather dragging.

This novel somehow touches my heart deeply, inspires and allows me to sit and think about my own story of love. What kind of love do we glorify most? Honor most? How far do we stand to the test? The main characters have to make their call and sacrifice. Love hurts, doesn’t it from time to time.

Ah, love…

desir pasir di padang tandus
segersang pemikiran hati
terkisah ku di antara
cinta yang rumit
bila keyakinanku datang
kasih bukan sekadar cinta
pengorbanan cinta yang agung
ku pertaruhkan
maafkan bila ku tak sempurna
cinta ini tak mungkin ku cegah
ayat-ayat cinta bercerita
cintaku padamu
bila bahagia mulai menyentuh
seakan ku bisa hidup lebih lama
namun harus ku tinggalkan cinta
ketika ku bersujud
ketika ku bersujud

Ayat-Ayat Cinta – Melly/Rossa

To those who are in love please spare your time to read this novel. It explicates guidelines in relationship in a way that you don’t even realize it.

"Biar cinta itu halal dan diberkati. Biar cinta itu kekal dari dunia hingga akhirat."

p/s I did watch the movie, they attempts to tackle various issues, and while it goes for that, it holds back, leave some significant scenes, hence not being able to deliver its punches to the full. I guarantee you; the novel is 10 times better than the movie.