Event Updates: Malacca Trip

Event: Malacca Trip
Venue: Mahkota Century Resort
Date: 24th-26th March 2006

My bro in law (wife's bro) organised a family vacation to Malacca. It was quite a number of people joined, my parents, in laws and nieces. Booked to apartment, a bit crowded but it was ok.

Highlight of the events:

• Dinner at the Medan Ikan Bakar in Umbai.
• Lunch at Assam Pedas Cottage (really good Nyonya food)
• Shopping at the bandar Melaka (bought mostly sourveniors) My mum bought "Assalamualakim" sign for our new house. MIL bought a wind chime Brunei aunty bought a decorative bamboo archery set for the house. Me and wife bought a tudung saji and Sarawal Wall decoration.
• Swimming in the pool.
• Parents and Parents in law went to Pulau besar.
• Went to A Famosa and the Museum.

The Decorative Arrow.....

I guess what still lingers in my mind is the Assam Pedas....sedap tak terkata!

Feel Good Time...........

I am so proud of myself. Even surprised myself, been going to gym daily. I decided that I should go to gym from Mon-Thurs during lunch time. Friday-Sunday is the rest day, need to give body to recuperate and muscle to repair.

The GYM pretty cool now. They replaced all the treadmill to the canggih one. And there a lot more machines added. Really glad signed up at Fitness First John Hancock.

Well.... to my surprised, when I was working on my shoulder last Tuesday, I noticed that the veins on my shoulder popped out!!! Wow, I was really glad, I always wanted the veins to show, but after the work out , it was not visible already. Nevertheless, I was happy, maybe I need to give it more time. Have to be patients.

Massive Shoulder ! (really nice if could get shoulder like this)

Nowadays, I am having kickass workout. Feel really energetic, mainly it is due to the new method I am trying. I am doing Cardio about 10-15 min (about 2km running) then followed by weight training. Since my body all warmed up from the cardio, I feel more energetic during weight training.

Today I really blasted by legs, tomorrow is the ouch day....going to really FEEL it tomorrow, but I enjoyed the pain anyway, it is called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), it suppose to hurt the next day, it is caused by microscopic tears in your muscle fibers, and muscle tissues is rebuilding...to become stronger!
Read it more here

Chow...body hurt like hell............

A New Hope?

Hope can be a dangerous thing. If you built youlife around it, it might consume you! But hope is what makes me go through my days. I realized that without hope we got no positive outlook on life. Hope just what hope is, it is the silver lining we see in every problem we faced, we hope that things will change for better, we hope that miracle will happen and we hope and hope...

It is just getting scarier the more I hope, the more I am scared of the dissapointment. Will my heart be strong enough to face it?

Ya Allah, grant me this one wish.....that's all I am asking.

Event Updates: BBQ in Bentong.

Event: BBQ cum Piqah Birthday party
Venue: Kak Marlia's House, Taman Harmoni, Bentong
Date: 4th March 2006
Time: 7.00-11pm


My bro in law no 3 (hereafter will be refered as bil3) sugested to do a bbq just for fun, kinda family day for Buhari Clan (there is a clan now?!!!)

Anyway, it was really fun! We has alot of fun, and the BBQ was delicious! Especially the Chicken and mutton.

Everybody needed to contribute something, my bil3 sponsored all the chicken and meat. My and my wife made the coleslaw and baked potato. Kak Marlia did nasi goreng cina. Well thats about it. Ohhh yeah.... my wife also made her ever famous apple crumble! It was delicious, especially when is eaten with ice cream. Everybodr praised her! But my baked potatoe tak jadi, not enough flour, but still edible!.........




Marinated stuffs



baked potaoe, apple crumbles, nasi goreng and coleslaw.

A house becomes a home when ...

Last night wife made pizza for dinner, nothing fancy, bought a ready-made crust, topped it up chicken, sausage, capsicum, onion, cheese and mushroom., shove it into oven, and voilà, it is pizza.
We were just doing the Official Opening of the new oven we bought, or else my sis will laser again saying that "jangan-jangan dating raya tahun depan, oven masih wrapped with plastic dengan manual dalam oven".

Wife have been extra rajin , especially in cooking department after we moved in to the new house. She cooked almost every night, after work, even she is very tired, and she wake up early and prepare breakfast for me and her to bring to work, she drops me off at the Komuter and off to her office ................ hmmm so hard working!

We have been busy in weekends, cleaning up the house, since that’s the only time we have to dust and laundry.

But I don't want to be a "cleanliness Freak", whereby the house look too clean that it become unfortable to love in!

My friend Vaasugi forwarded me the poem, which I think is VERY TRUE!!!!

A house becomes a home when ...
"I love you" on the furniture."
I can't tell you how many countless hours
that I have spent CLEANING!

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend
making sure things were just perfect --
"in case someone came over."
Then I realized one day that no-one came over;
they were all out living life and having fun!

Now, when people visit, I find no need to
explain the "condition" of my home.
They are more interested in hearing about
the things I've been doing while I was
away living life and having fun.
If you haven't figured this out yet,
please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!
Dust if you must,
but wouldn't it be better to
paint a picture or write a letter,
bake a cake or
plant a seed,
ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear and books to read,
friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out
there with the sun in your eyes,
the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow,
a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go -- and go you must --
you, yourself will make more dust!

REMEMBER...
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter
that tells what kind of life you have lived.

This picture i took in Sephia mode (brownish black and white) Look kinda classic this way....

Melancholic mood

Two day ago I got to finally contact one of my ex-classmate back in Mara College Banting through https://namesdatabase.com/ services.

It is hard to believe that it has been more than 10 years since I left Banting. The memories are still fresh and vividly imprinted in my mind.

I found out that he is doing well, VERY well actually. He settled in London. He is an artist now, doing his PhD in art or something, did exhibition on his art works in one of the famous gallery in London, he got good review from art magazines and it seem the was an article on his work in NST last year, I must have missed it, since I read only The Star and occasionally Utusan (on Sundays only).

We have been exchanging few emails since, he updated most in our classmates, MOST decided to settle in England. Only few came back to Malaysia to work. Most married Britons (Scotts, Irish, and English). Everybody kind of settled down, doing quite well. I am happy for them; I have been out of touch from every single of them, since they left abroad.

I hated my life in Banting, I was miserable, first time away from home, I was unable to adapt quite well, but I managed somehow with help of few friends. But I only can look back now with fondest memory. I actually had a good time there, it was fun, I learned about live there. It was fun; I wish that I could re-live it.

I have been thinking a lot the 'what if' questions again.... A LOT!!!!!
What if I went to The UK with them with MARA scholarship? How would my left have turned out? I might turn out to be a different person, maybe better or maybe worse!
I have no regret of what I have right now. I am happy, it just that I can't help to stop thinking about the possibilities that I might have if my life followed a different path.

Ever since I went to vacation on 2004 summer in The UK, all I wanted is to work there and maybe one day settle down. I realize, that it all looks like bed of roses because I went there just for 2 weeks for holiday, the reality might be a bit bitter. But Europe is just magical, I can't quite describe it. It the feeling I had once I landed there, the fresh air, the whether, the smell, the people, the scenery, the politic, the history, the people, it is the whole package.

I am just wondering, the thought keep on lingering in my mind, I wish that it will go away....



The Moods
TIME drops in decay,
Like a candle burnt out,
And the mountains and woods
Have their day, have their day;
What one in the rout
Of the fire-born moods,
Has fallen away?
W.B. Yeats (1865–1939). The Wind Among the Reeds. 1899.

Rain...........

Terrible rain yesterday, road flooded, traffic jam everyway, trees uprooted and KTM Komuter service stoped.
There was announcement in Sentral that the komuter Port Klang bound will only go up to Seri Seria because Batu 3 Station is flooded (that's my station!). Thank God, I planned to go to mother in law house in PJ that day to collect the repaired curtain (that is entirely different story, I told aunty Nadira to cut 3 1/2 inch, she cut too much and now the curtain is not touching the floor, gosh.......... for the money she charges, this does not worth it at all!), just took the LRT to Taman Bahagia.

This morning, wife left me at Batu 3, she always dropped me at the other side of Fed hiway, I'll walk pass 3 pedestrian bridge (that a long walk, by the time I reach the station my skin will be covered by thin layer of sweat), and I consider that as a good morning exercise to perk up my metabolism. But today, the way to the station was flooded up to waiste level, few Indonesian men, take off the pants and shoes and walk through the flood... No way I am gonna do that, walked back to Fed Hiway, caught a bus to Sentral (luckily, as I just hail the 1st bus to arrive and board!) and reach office in time. At least I have backup plan now if the komuter is not down!


Song of the moment: "Daffodil Lament" - The Cranberries

Welcome back to my life my sweet ASTRO baby.............

The astro I had in my room when i was living in my in laws house was registered to Ludin Bin Sulaiman which I have no idea who, my sis suppose to get a free astro when she bought a proton and she wanted to give the astro to me, but the guy in eon screwed up (she gave my sis' astro to someone else), and what I got was Astro registered to Mr Ludin Bin Sulaiman (apparently Mr Ludin refused the free astro given to him by eon, wherever you Mr Ludin, thanks!!!)


Few month back, the decoder broke down and I disconnected the service, since I was moving out and thiniking of installaing astro, perhaps, registered to my name this time. (hmmmm the astro in my parents house is also registered under my name, that is PTPTN money alright, I subscribe during UIA days, government bagi duit suruh study, but I installed astro, crazy!)

Life without astro in the bedroom while living with in law was fine, still can watch fav program downstair, but after we moved in to the new house, my God, life is so boring with out TV, we did not even had a indoor antenna to watch TV1,2 and the rest!.

It is damn boring and depressing, beyond description, so when astro was installed today! It is like our new house is finally HOME, not just a house anymore!

Can't wait for the new season of LOST to start!

To the lurkers out there............

I had this funny feeling quite long already. That somebody that should not be reading my blog reading it.

There are quite a number of people I really really don't want to read and find out about my blog. I can't mention the name here.

This blog has been quite private, only few people I trusted were given the URL. I did not give the url even to my family or my wife family. It is altogether different issue if a total strangers reads it, it would not matter.But for people who know me, there are things written here can touch quite sensitive family or work issue.

This blog is an outlet for me to pour out my heart content. It serves as diary for to refer back past even as well.


Well whoever reading this blog and know me personally, I just think it is so rude to read a person blog secrectly and thinking that they know the secret of my life! Leaving at least a comment would help for to identify the readers.

We finally moved in................!!!!

We finally moved in , in the eve of awal Muharram, kira hari baik le tu.

My in laws came and we had dinner in the new house. The house still empty, no furniture yet. Only kitchen cabinet and the inflattable bed is there.

The worse part is there is no TV, me and my wife realized that live without TV can be pretty boring. We look at each other after dinner and went to bed at 9!!! Imagine that!
Anyway we were all tired cleaning up the house.

No matter how much we clean up the house, next day they will be a layer of dust on the floor, just give !!!!

Frinz keep on asking when they can come visit, so tensed la, furniture pun xder, nak suruh duduk atas apa?
bersabar jer la................

p/s: I realise that my entry is getting boring................... :(

Married men can't go to gym?

Some people ask me questions that really make wonder that I am speechless that I can't answer it?

Why do you go to gym man?....you are already married waht? No need to go la........


I really don't see the connection? What one got to woth another? I really dont get it!!!

We only shape up to attract the girls? Is that all? How about keeping fit, overall fitness, health concious and I can give million reasons to go to gym.

FOr me it mostly hooby, it keep me occopied, whenever I feel really tensed, I'll go to gym to relax, it is really satifying.

I am been going to gym during lunch hour nowadays, easier, at least can go back straight home after work. Gym is empty during lunch time, which is just perfect!

Paal Katchran

We have successfully performed the paal katchran (paal=milk, katchran=cook) It is our culture to do this first before moving in to new house, before moving in any furniture to the house. Followed by doa selamat. We had that on 21st Jan 06. Reached new house before subuh, prayed subuh there and followes by reciting yasin and doa selamat. The imam later azan in the house twice, upstairs and downstairs.
I didn't know it would be big hoo haaa just to move in. I thought it would be simple only. Only my family and my in laws family were there. This is not a house warming. That one I have no idea when to do, even now I am way over the budget to do anything else.
Planning to move in during long weeken during Chinese New Year next week, and gonna spend the first night in the new house on Awal Muharam eve. It is a good date.
Hope things goes well.

I think I'll never ever do curtain with aunty Nadirah again, what a cut throat price! Better do in Tee Wah or normal shop.

Ok Chow.......................................

Kitchen cabinet ohhh kitchen cabinet......

To make long story short....

The microwave oven (panasonic brand) doesn not fit into the cabinet hole.
Macam nak pengsan after I tried to fit the micro oven inside...tak muat!!!!

Macam ni............. Before they started doing the cabinet I told the cabinet fellow from Welco Kitchen (this guy quite blur sotong type) that my microwave size is 600x400 (mm). Then he said ok la, can fit, then afterward I called him that the oven doesn't fit, he said the size he mentioned was including the wood at the each side, so it less than 600. So tak muat la....

Feel like crying only, called the electric shop, they said cannot change the oven already, sebab the box all dah koyak because already soaked wet in the rain.

Gaduh punye gaduh, at the end the kitchen cabinet fellow agreed to change it with charge (initially they requested to pay a bit)

Baru lega sikit.........................







Pict: Cabinet before hud and hob installed....

This house is our house........

This House

Where do we go from here?
What must we do to make that change?
It's time to understand, understand one another
In a world so cold a place of disbelief
Where will the people go without enough to eat
Let's not give up hope
We have to find a way
Search within our soul to make a better day
Chorus:This house is our house
Let's do it for the people
This house is their house
Let's give it back to the people
The people of the world today
I see hurt in their eyes
I hear the sounds of voices cry
It's time to open our eyes
Time to help one another
In a world so cold a place of disbelief
Where can the people go to find a place to sleep
Let's not give up hope we have to find a way
Search within our soul to make a better day

Chorus
Bridge:You-Me-We can make the difference
And you know no one, no one likes to be alone
We got to face it heart to heart
We have to make a brand new start
We got to change the tears to smiles
We have to go the exta mile
(you-me) It's time we face reality
(We can make the difference)
Give them hope and set them free
I think it's time we say goodbye
To all the homeless people's cry
Rap:We've got to take the time to search the mind to find
This house, our house
(It's all in the hands of love)
(I said it's all in the hands of love)
Chorus


LOVED this song when I was a teenager (Hmm whatever happend to Tracie Spencer?!!! Loved her)

Anyway, below are fer shots of the renovation progress of my house..............
Cant wait (eager and worried) to see how the end result going to look like........

Meanwhile...... here it is.........


Front View.........



Plaster Ceiling for dining and painted hall feature wall

My wife just hate this colour for the grill, but I LOVED it, look like brass coour kan?

Wet kitchen awning

Hall plaster ceiling

Bibik

I just came back from sending Bibik to Port Klang. Her name is Boniati, but the kids calls her Bibik, which mean 'Aunty' in Indonesian, and so we all called Bibik as well.

It felt like just yesterday when I went to fetch her form the maid agency, she looked so frightened that time, crying for every question asked. She still has not recovered from the sea sick after spending 3.5 hours in ferry from Tanjung Balai (Sumatera) to Malaysia. She even felt sick when I drove her to Bentong, to send her to my mum house, since I took her as a maid for my sis. After that she never left Bentong for 2 years afraid the she will feel sick again!!! Only last month she followed my sis and the kids to Sunway Lagoon.

She is very hardworking, it is not easy to take care of 6 kids, doing house work, laundry, look after shop occasionally and helping my mum in her muruku business. She has done a lot!

Anyway, Aisha wa only 2 month old when Bibik arrived, she practically raised her. When we were leaving Bentong on Monday night, she starts crying, some how she realized that Bibik is leaving. And Bibik was hugging everyone, crying, she was so attached to my mum...... My mum just consoled her, So sad......
Even this morning she woke up and was looking for Bibik and start crying when she couldn't find her.

It is very ironic, when she arrived here, she cried that she left her family (her hubby passed away, she has 3 daughters, the youngest in 1 yrs old then). An now she is crying that she is leaving us.
I wish all the best in her life and may she live happily with her family...

p/s: This is NOT the same maid form "Maid from Hell !!! " This one work with my parents, not my parents in laws.

Maid from Hell !!!

My day started as usual, I woke up, showered, dressed up and went downstairs as usual. I prepared breakfast, normal stuffs, sausages and fried with toasted bread, made my coffee and enjoying my breakfast.

The maid bedroom was closed, no light was on, and my wife was making noise upstairs that the maid did not iron her clothes.

Then we realize that the maid, had left a good bye note and run away.

My wife panicked.... BIG TIME. There were no else home. My parents in law already in Singapore, only me, my wife and the her sis in home.


We checked the drawer where my father in law (FIL) keep the maid passport and the bank book. IT IS NOT THERE, more reason to panic. Checked the jewelry, all intact. RELIEVED. But we still would not know if she has taken anything. Only can confirmed that after the inlaws comes back.

The drawer we not break in, just locked and the key tucked nicely inder my FIL clothes.

Me and my wife took the day off to settle the mess (which we find later on that it was completely unnecessary, what a way to waste annual leave).
Made police report, stating that he maid run away with her passport, bank book and house key.


Policeman said, we need to go to immigration to cancel her passport. Ahhhh need towards my office after all.

Then, SHE called, the maid, crying................... saying that she has no where to go to and that she wanna come back............... (never ...Ever buy your maid handphone...EVER!)

She said that she run away because she was confused because her boyfriend forced her to get married fast because his mother is very sick and want to see her son get married before she die.

To cut things short, she got a long lecture from everybody, personally I wanted to send her back, no point keeping here, she might pull the same stunt again, but since she been here only few month, rugi only bayar mahal-mahal for her, tak balik modal pun.

She is ok now, she said she just want some one to talk too...............

NEVER EVER BUY YOUR MAID A HANDPHONE.

RM330 Flushed down the toilet!

Tensionnye, but what to do, it all my fault, a flaw in design, and RM330 Flushed down the toilet!

The story....

I memang beria-ria design the plaster ceiling layout, I tried to be as specific as possible, including every tiny weeny detail, siap buat macam blue print gitu. Siap the contractor also puji my design, cakap he want to learn form me to draw pakai computer, padahal I pakai Word jer lukis.

Planning punye planning, I overlooked a major factor. After the contractor pasang the frame for plaster ceiling baru nampak the flaw in the design...... The whole dining area nye light box is sticking out to the walking area, kiranya kalau letak dining table memang tak leh nak lalu ke dapur.

Contractor was pissed off, as it wasn't their fault, my stupid mistake. Talk punye talk, they agree to redo, but with extra cost of RM400, nego and nego , agreed on the Rm330.

That the story la...... Otherwise everything looks fine, but I am so nervous, tomorrow taking leave to see the progress, I have to finish off my time-off this year, 5 days!

Updates Updates Updates...........

It has been so long since I have update that I actually paused for a while trying to recall my ID and password.....

New House
Renovation work has finally started on my new house. I had a hate-egg (head ache) choosing the contractor. But just tawakal and choose one at the end, hopefully he will do a good job. Since my house is the first house he is doing in S.Kayangan, he said he will make it as show unit so he promise that he will pay extra attention to details.
It is not a major renovation I am doing, just:-

grills
plaster ceiling
electrical work
Wet kitchen
Awning

Even this small renovation cost so much!

I am very excite now about the outcome of the renovation but I feel nervous even more.....

Work
Work has been hell, not because the volume of it, but of the stupid managment.
I was moved to Normal shift so that when the post of ATL opened up I can fill up that post, so there I was working in normal shift, doing what an ATL was suppose to do.
Suddenly my TL announced that he is resigning, that was a shock to me. And the managment decided that the best person to replace him was some one who joined tha team 2 months back!
I was dissapointed. Not because of the new TL, but because of my position, it seems that there is no ATL position for this team.

I have stayed for 2 month in this position (what position?!!!!) on verbal agreement that I will be promoted to either TS or ATL, it is not my TL fault, I guess he had fight for me to get the post, but the management does not agree and the fact that he is leaving, left him with no voice to managment.

This morning I email the new TL that I'll resemu my shift since my position is still a big question mark. Without any black and white on paper, I would not consider any more proposal. Shift is not that bad, at least I have my rest days and only need to worry about cases, not the other stuffs.


Chandramukhi - not related to the post, but feel like posting it anyway!!!!

Enough said!

Back Stabbed............

Sadly, there are definately people like this out there, who really black hearted and can't see other people being successfull or happy.
It is just too much for them..... They are the only one who should have everything in life, if others outperform them, they feel treaten and start acting all defensive.

I am so hurt and dissapointed even to express myself properly. But I believe in God.
I did not do anything wrong. I am sticking to basic, as I promised when I started here. Just do your job....... don'y bother about politics..... but politic seems to be following everywhere I go.........

I DON'T want to dwell on negetivity........................

I am being a bigger person y forgiving others, it takes alot to forgive and forget rather than carrying vengence!

I am out for now...........................

Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri 2005

Raya is next thursday, but I don't think I'll be blogging after this, and I guess it is not too early to wish any way.
I rarely blog nowadays, it is not that I do not have the time, it is just too many thing in my mind right now.
I am not the person who worry about money usually, since I am not a big spender, and I don't have expensive taste in anything. I cares very less about my preveious evaluation in my ex-company, is didn't matter, ada ker takder ker increment, did not mean much back then.

But now.......man........ I am suffocating. I need money! So much to do for the house. Of course my father and parents in law hepled, but I can't count on them entirely!

Headache thinking about money! Raya pun ala kadar jer, my anak buah's duit raya this year will be cut to maybe RM10 only I guess.

Maybe next year I would beb able to give them more...........

I have no mood to write anything anymore..........


Selamat Hari Raya............... Maaf Zahir Batin.