So Much To Do, So Little Time

Well, my last blog was about 3 weeks ago, and it was certainly a short one. As a matter of fact, it was more of the rantings of someone hitting the highest peak of his boredom. Oh well, one may just mouth out the feelings that was locked inside the mind.

Hence, back to my story of the week. In just little over two weeks, I'd be taking a big leap into the course of my life - changing my status from single to 'double'. And believe me, as the sacred date inches towards me, it seems like it moves like lightning. As I thought I have done all sorts of preparation for my wedding, there always seems to be another hugh pile being dumped atop of me. But then, this would be the time that I just simply have to pulled myself together and make it through. Thank God, I would say, for the support of my family and relatives. If it were not for them, I might not be able to do it all, even if I'm given more time.

Let's see, what happened to me during the month. Oh yeah......that's right. I've been around the northern part of Malaysia. To be exact, Penang and Langkawi. It was actually a training in Penang organized by Intel, hence the scream of absolute tense in my previous post. But Langkawi..........it was a whole different ball game.

I was there for a conference organized by UKM. But of the 4 nights that I spent there, I guess I was actually at 'work' for 5-6 hours. And the rest of my time? Getting myself pampered and sunk into the vacation mood. I guess it might be a wee bit too much to be all the way there and having 95% pleasure and only 5% business. But heck, it is an oppurtunity that I won't let slipped between my fingers.

And as I would normally do, here are the pictures from my trip in Langkawi. Won't be any digital memories from Penang though....... it was actually not that much fun.

 View from my room at Awana Porto Malai

 

 Another view, but this time towards the pool

A Chow Yun Fatt wannabe

 Hoping to be as rich as Steve Davis

It's too expensive to ride this on water, so I'll have to make do on dry land

Cover up, fellas.....you're on Candid Camera (or is it Wakenebeb)

At the beach of Pantai Chenang

A contest of who's the bigger idiot.....but I guess I am 'bigger'

At the Underwater World

Anything's possible with the right camera angle

At the Langkawi cable car, but never got on the actual cable car

I wouldn't know if this is appropriate or not in my blog, but I guess I could take the chance in giving a piece of my mind during my trip in Penang. On the final night of our training, we had a farewell dinner, similar to the first phase of my training back in June. This time around, we were treated to the sensuous delicacies from the land of India. We had some Indian food at the Kashmir Restaurant, and I would say, the tandoori chicken is one of the best I've had so far. But enough said about the things that could make my body round and bloated. What bothered me was the entertainment that the host prepared for the night. In a room packed with academicians (and obviously within the Muslim community), a belly dancer was what we had to endure with. And believe me, her attire was what belly dancers are usually donned with. The choice to opt for this type of entertainment was simply not amusing, especially when the she was circling around the tables, looking for people who would want to hit the dance floor. I just hoped that the organizers would be more sensitive on this issue, considering that there will a phase 3 of the training next year.

The next day after I got back from Langkawi, I went on a shopping spree (and it was really a spree) with my fiancee in order to complete our wedding preparations. It was on a Friday, and it's the new Hijrah year. But I was just taken aback when I made my payment, and the cashier wished my a Merry X'mas instead. I guess that the year 1431 was not important for some people. But then, the decors surrounding Sogo has X'mas written all over it. Can I blame him for his ignorance, one can only tell....

Well, my next post will most likely to be another wait for you all. As my wedding day looms about, it maybe a little hard to find time in order to really sit down and get the creative side of my brain working in order to translate the content of my twisted brain into words that can be enjoyed by my readers. My only hope that you all can be patient for another chapter of my life. However, come to think of it, there's really nothing that you can do, correct? :)

Until next time......Nagemiseni

AAARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Adoi......sengalnyer aku tgh dok training ni. Dh la seminggu kene training. Nasib baik la malam aku leh jalan2.

Heh heh heh

Fun Fun Fun

What a week. It has been nothing short of things to do, and datelines to meet. But in spite of time squeezing the life out of me, that will never stopped me from laying back, and enjoying what God's green Earth has to offer. Well, actually, it was the cold, steel, concrete jungle. Not much green that I got to enjoy.

Let's start with the steamboat for 2 that I had with my fiancee. She won a KIK (Kumpulan Inovasi & Kreatif) convention a few weeks back, and with the prize cut that she received, we treated ourselves to some fatless, yet full of cholestrol delicacies (because of the seafood). Well, I didn't mentioned it in my blogs about her winning the convention. So congrats, darling. All the hard work and sweat had finally paid off.

The next day, we treated ourselves yet again. Only this time, it was a feast to the eyes and ears. This time, with my soon-wife-to-be, we headed to Alamanda and saw what some people believed to be their future 3 years later. That's right, we went to see 2012 at the movies. It seems that people had thought of a lot of ways on how the world would come to an end. But for the devoted followers of our Great God, we should certainly know how the world will be shattered, right? Anyway, one question pondered my mind as I saw the movie. If they were gonna save themselves with arks, what makes it so different than being in a aircraft carrier that was shown in the middle of the movie. After all, the waves did tumble the gigantic man-made-structure like it was a paper boat. Did that came across your minds as well?

However, seeing the movie, it solidify my stand on Judgement Day. If mere mortals could have thought of various ways for the Earth to come to an end, one just might wonder what the actual destruction would be like. Remember, in this movie, some are still safe through air transportation. But what if all the destructions that Hollywood has served us (The Day After Tomorrow, Knowing, 2012, and others that I might have forgotten) happen all at once. Do we have a place to go?

Well, on the night after, again the two of us went for another treat. But this time it was with my other colleagues. And it was more of a treat to the ear, rather than to the eye. For the second time, I went and watched Alleycats performing at KL. I guess you can just read about my encounter with the legends from Penang in my previous blog, since it was basically just the same. However, this time we were treated to a song by the bassist of Alleycats, Jimmy 'Nelson' Lo. This was the first time ever that he had sing on stage, and to be part of it was simply amazing.

Me and Jimmy Lo

Then, came Aidiladha. As usual, our family tend to keep it simple for Raya Haji. After all, it was only a one day holiday. But that didn't stop my taste buds from the sensual ayam kuzi, and nasi briyani that my mom had prepared for the day. And on the second day, again I was indulging on barbequed chicken that my aunt hosted in Mantin. Too bad I missed out on the barbequed lamb leg. My aunt had it marinated for two weeks. And from what they say (obviously after finishing off the lamb, without any for yours truly....hehehe), it was nothing less of praises of how good it tasted. Too bad for me....

On Monday, I became a driver + porter for my mom and my aunt on their shopping trip to Jalan Masjid India, Sogo and Nilai. But how can I complaint. After all, it was for my wedding. Hence, I was only too glad in taking the day off in order to facilitate the needs of my elder generations. All in all, we got all that we wanted, and the 13-hour trip was really worth it.

And today, I am back at work after 6 days of rest (is it rest?) and the only bummer that I got is that my office hard disk has crashed beyond salvation. I feel like I want to scream at the top of lungs considering the huge amount of data that I have in there. However, I am still hopeful that I could salvage the data in my hard disk. Which is why I plan to go to Lowyat soon. If I am not mistaken, there is a store that specialized in data recovery. I'll just have to cross my fingers on this one.

And there, sports fans, was the story of my week. Pretty hectic, but still an enjoyable one. And one could only hope that future weeks will be as good as last week, if not better.

Alahimanet

Cars Hate Me

It might be a wee bit early for me to have a new blog. But considering my mishaps and ill-fortunes in the last 48 hours, the silent, evil call of exerting my frustration on the virtual world of digital age is just simply too much to resist. And since I have the spare time (not actually spare, but just a few minutes to kill), I guess I might as well succumb to the waning sounds of persuasion that my heart ravages upon me.

It all started in the beautiful Sunday morning. After all, it had rained the night before to a temperature that soothes the senses of your body. Plus I have the plesent company of my old boys in the 'hood' = budak Parit Buntaq. So that morning, I was going to leave to my fiancee's house, as we were planning to go to her uncle's place. After all, he's one of the officers in the Perak Islamic Department, and will be helping out in her registration to be married to your truly. And so, after warm 'goodbye's and 'see ya later's, I was already going to head out for an hour's journey.

As soon as I backed up the car to leave my friend's house, DANG IT! The right front tyre was stuck in the mud. Apparently the rain did not just made a number on me, but on the soil as well. I had known that the soil in front of his hourse is slightly soft, but this was wayyyyyyyyy past 'slightly'. And so, after a few presses on the gas pedal to rev up the car, all I had accomplished is sinking the tyre further deep towards the Earth. A couple more revs, and the front spoiler would be grazing against the road tar, and I'm pretty sure that will not bode well with my soon-to-be-wife. In fact, she called asking for my current whereabouts, since I'm supposed to be there at 10am. Guess I'll be late.......big time

Time for some creative solutions. Therefore, I used the car jack (which in fact was the first time that the jack was used ever since she bought the car), and tilted the car up in order to fill the void on the ground with rocks. Not only that, we even had a sack placed underneath the tyre in order to prevent it from slipping. As I went back into the car, all I could do is pray thatmy efforts were not in vain.

Well, one could only hope. And with that, the left front tyre is now the one that's slipping. Hence, we have to do the exact same thing all over again to the left tyre. And guess what.......after that, the right tyre slipped again. Oh well, back to square one, it seems.

So, for the third time (and the second time for the right tyre), we jacked up the car and put more rocks underneath it. Unfortunately again, to go against nature, it is just a losing battle, and the right tyre is still slipping. And by then, we're just simply our of energy to tango with the car jack for a fourth dance.

Thank God (or should I smack my friend in the forehead for his late ideas), my friend finally called his friend nearby, and he is available. So, with his car's help, and his trusty rope, we managed to pull the car out of the muddy ditch. And all they asked is that I pay for the car wash for his car, as his car was tainted with muddy soil as he was being a good Samaritan in getting my car out from the mud.

 This was after the first jack. It was way deeper at first

 

 After the 3rd wrestle, we finally gave up

 So, I finally reached my fiancee house at 3pm - a 5 hour delay. But they knew about the situation, and they are totally supportive with my condition and state at the time.

Owh, did the title say 'CARS' with an 's'? That means the story didn't end there...

On our way back to KL on Monday, it began to pour heavily from Ipoh onwards. And believe it, when it poured, it really did a number on us. However, I don't think it was us that really got it. Somewhere after Tapah, I was just being overtaken by an Avanza (at least I think it was an Avanza), and then came the next suspending moments.

Just about 200m after the guy had overtook me, suddenly his car spun real bad. I think he did a 2 3/4 turns on the road. And there I was, looking at the guy mimicing a spinning top. My fiancee was definitely in a state of frenzy. And frankly, so was I. But in things like this, you just have to keep your cool, or you'll end up just like him......or worse. So, here I was, gently stepping on the brakes, while steadily swerve my steering wheel slightly to the left. Praise be to God, he didn't spun onto my lane, and he didn't hit the road dividers. And from the looks of the other cars behind me, I believe that everyone made it with a breeze. Had the guy spun off course, things might turn out to be rather ugly. Sorry guys, no pictures this time. Hey! I may be an aggresive driver, but I ain't a stupid one.

And so, my memories with cars this weekend was certainly not all sweet and roses, but all in all, I;m just glad that I reached my home safe, unscratched and unharmed.

Fins ara

One Step Closer

Funny that I'm blogging from a restaurant, and not from the usual comfort that my desk at home offers to my rather enormous rectum. But considering the fact that my home is actually 350km away from my current position, I'll just have to make do with the cold, hard steel chair that I am sitting on right now.

Let's see......what should I write now....

Well, my readers will just have to make do with my 'oh-so-usual' weekly report. After all, yours truly has had a rather normal week, much like most of the weeks that I have been going through in my past 31 years. Well, here goes...

Had a second barbeque at my cousin's house in Shah Alam last Saturday. Well, it wasn't much, and not many were invited. Just the ones that assisted her in packing her stuff the week before - something I forgot to blogged about. My cousin had moved to her new house in Shah Alam. Well, she had already moved a few months back. But some of her stuff was still in Putrajaya.So, some dedicated cousin, including 'the-ever-so-helpful' me. So, as a token of appreciation, she held a barbeque at her place......again. Since I was in the 'zone' of having a tango with the barbeque grill, I didn't have the time in capturing the moments of me and the grill. But you get the picture, right? After all, it doesn't vary much from the first barbeque.

This week I have been devoting myself in preparing to be someone's husband. I went to the Pej Agama Islam Daerah (PAID) Hulu Langat and applied to get married. Something that you guys from Selangor might want to read about, should you intend to do the same in the near future. Well, in not dissapointing you, here's what you need to do in order to get married (Guys only. Not sure about the girls, since my fiancee is going to register in Perak)

• Go for your pre-marriage course.
• Get the forms from PAID, or just download it from the website (just Google it, and it's there)
• If your IC is not from Selangor, get the form of residentship (you must have stayed at least 4 months in Selangor). Find a witness and his photocopied IC, and verify it at any Penghulu, Ketua Kampung, JKKK Chairman that is available at your place
• Take the HIV screening test. It's free, and only can be done at government clinics. But first make sure the days that these clinics are conducting the test. For Bangi, it is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. In Kajang, it's on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Get the supporting documents, and bring two witnesses to your local 'jurunikah', or PAID if there's none at your place, and sign in front of the appropriate personnel.
• Wait one more day, and 'presto', your letter of approval will be issued to you.

Now, all that's left is for my beloved fiancee to do the almost exact same thing in her place in Perak. Hence, that's where I am right now. On Monday, she'll be applying to get married, and we're one step closer into the wacky, wacky world of marriage. Owh, did I say wacky? It might be wacky, but it's something that I'll be ever more than delighted to be a part of.

Sorry......no picture in this week's news.

Zbogom

Really Busy, Busy, Busy Week

By far, this is one of the busiest week that I've been in since I started working in UKM. It took all the strength that I could muster in making through the day. Physically, and mentally, I'm just plain beat. The the bad news is, it'll only a downhill fall from here onwards.

At least, I could take a breather by writing things up in my blog. It gives me some soothing sensation towards my already cramped up brain here. But as much as I want to write and complaint about how busy I am in here, I'll just have to make do with making a summary of what I did, just like my usually busy blog entries.

Well, here goes.

• Have to study on the new Agilent Function Analyzer which we got last month.
• Write up a paper for my congress in Langkawi in December. And it's still not finished yet.....sigh
• Marking logbooks for students' industrial training.
• Teaching a class and a lab.
• Chair 3 final year project presentations.
• Reviewing 2 of my colleagues papers (also for the Langkawi congress).
• Attended a funeral of one of my colleagues who passed away on Tuesday (Al-Fatihah for En Ali)
• Drafting the final exam question paper, which will be held on 17th October.
• Monitoring my department's publication by verifying the papers that they have entered in the system.

And with that, sports fans, will not be the end. I still have a tall stack of lab reports, itching to be tainted with red ink. Plus I still need to grade another final paper which had been done earlier. Let's put it this way, I can't take a day off, even if I wanted to. And that, is the story of my week, and my month.

Till all are one...... (quoted from Rodimus Prime from Transformers: The Movie)

Jaws, Crocs and Cats

As I mentioned in my last post, this is the one where I'll be talking about my trip to Surabaya. It's been a while since I left the muddy soil of Malaysia, and I really had a rejuvinating yet meaningful trip, even though it was on official business.

However, this blog will go futher beyond that. As the week goes by, I had some nice events that I just feel like keeping in a digital form. Hence, forgive me if this blog will be a rather lengthy one.

The idea for this trip had sparked becaused of the ROBOCON competition that we participated in. Since my boss has an ambititous target (becoming national champs), that it is only fitting that we go to out counterpart in Indonesia who has never lost in the competition there. Hence, on Sunday last week, we hopped on a Boeing 737 and haul butts till we touched down in Surabaya.

If you like to know, the mascot of Surabaya is actually a crocodile and a shark. Probably the 'Baya' in Surabaya means crocodile. Well, they have more than one statues symbolizing the animals that represent this city. I wonder if all the big cities in Indonesia have multiple statues as they have here in Surabaya. Guys who have been around there, care to share some info with me?

This one was taken right in front of my hotel

First thing we did there? Went for dinner at KFC. I was really hoping to have some local delicacies there. But then, majority rules, right? In my case actually, bosses rules. So, all 14 of us went for a nearby KFC, which is only a 5 minute walk from our hotel.

The next day was our trip to Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya (PENS). There, we get to see their 'robot culture' among the staff and students. And believe me, I was really amazed on how they could create electronic wonders from piles of scrap. Here in Malaysia, people are spending hunderds of ringgit on robot kits for students in universities and schools. Yet here, they managed to do it with 'junks' that we might throw away. Imagine, the front tyres of the robot kit is only made from roll-over deodorants. That's right, sports fans. ROLL-OVER DEODORANTS. Kinda wonder what other junks that we can use to make robots. Probably Arnold in Terminator will be made from clothes hangers and aerosol cans if the film is made in Indonesia.

See the rollers there?

Not only that, but PENS are also involved in a military robot project with the government. Unfortunately, we're are not allowed to take pictures there. But the end result really put me in awe. But then, they are an electronics institution of higher learning. While we're only a small department in a multi-disciplinary university. I don't think that we'll have a big funding as they are getting.

Fortunately, robots are not the only thing we were able to do there. Found out that there an attraction nearby, the 'Monumen Kapal Selam'. And the good thing is, it's only 10 minutes away from our hotel. So, we spent some time in the steel belly of a 1958 diesel submarine on the dry lands of Surabaya.

Going up....or down, anyone?

Ensign, babe alert at 1 o'clock

In the battle of the bellies, I lose.....big time

We finally got to indulge ourselves with local cuisines that Surabaya had to offer. Among them were Nasi Goreng Jawa, Fuyung Hai (never knew what it was until the next day), Es Teller and Es Campur. But as nice as these meals did in stimulating my taste buds, I'd go for my very own Malaysian food.......anytime, anyday.

Finally reached Negaraku on Thursday night and took the Friday off. Had planned to go back to my mom's that very morning. But my brother wanted to tagged along for the ride. So I had to wait for him before we headed south, which was at 8.30pm actually. Therefore I spent my holiday by working at the office. pretty lame, huh?

Wish that I had a restful weekend, but that didn't turned out to be. Had only one day in kampung, and on Sunday morning (5.30am to be exact), I was already driving my brother back to KLIA for his flight back to Miri. Then I have been busy with work ever since. But that didn't stop me from blowing off some steam in between the harsh environment of desk jobs.

On Tuesday, I went with my buddies to Royale Chulan to see Alleycats performing there. And boy, weren't they the legends. Since 1970 til now, the group certainly has the charisma in being one of the top performers in Malaysia. It was not my first time watching their gig, as my first one was in 2007 in Shah Alam. But this time around, David (ops.....he's a Datuk now) came down and talked to me. Not just a simple 'hi' and 'bye' chat, but a real nice conversation. In fact, when I requested a song, he insisted that I went up the stage to sing with him. Obviously, i declined. Hehehe. Well, it was mainly because of stage fright, and the fact that I have a terrible sore throat and cough. However, after their show ended at 1am plus, Datuk David played his charm and as a result, I will be there again. And this time, I won't miss out the oppurtinity of being up the stage with the legendary Alleycats. But that has yet to happen, and I really, really do hope that it will.....soon.

Alongside Datuk David

Anyway, just now marked another chapter in my house here in Kajang. My housemate has finisheh his last paper for his degree. And on Tuesday he'll be reporting for duty at TNB Melaka. My landlord was kind enough to throw a farewell party for him, and he even asked that my fiancee to come and enjoy the cheerful, yet saddenning occasion.

Although he didn't get to go back to his old office in JB (his family is there), but he is hopeful that when he gets his engineer's post, he'll be back to his wife and kids later on. To Fadhil, you have made an impact be being the most senior member of out small 'community', and that you absence here will be greatly missed. Thank you for the 4 years that you have spent with me, Kamarul, Zaman, Khairul and Haizal. We wish for all the good things waiting ahead of you.

Tomorrow morning my mom will be on a flight to Jogjakarta with her siblings for a holiday trip. I'll be picking her up from at airport on Wednesday, hence I'll be taking a leave on that day. Have a safe trip, mom. Enjoy your stay there in Indonesia.

Nakemiin

Papa + Dom = Papadom

Adoiiii.....letih jgk aku arini. Br jer lps conference, and kene present. Dh la lewat dh ni. Tapi nk buat mcm mane, dh keje kan.

It's been a while since I last blogged. Tapi nak buat mcm mane, tahap kesibukan yang maksima. Dh la budak2 nak final dh minggu depan. So, bertambah la lg sibuknye aku ni. Tu belum campur grading, training, teaching, dan ape2 '-ing' lagi la. Sabar jer la....

Tapi last week aku berjaya la jgk mencari sedikit masa lapang dengan menonton wayang dengan tunang aku. Our choice of movie?......Papadom. Cite ni actually dh menang anugerah a few months back, even before it was shown to public. Memandangkan cite ni dh menang something, elok la jgk aku g tgk.

Well, one thing is for sure, Afdlin Shauki berjaya la jgk membebaskan diri dari kepompong norma dia sendiri. At least xder la nampak muka Awie ker, AC Mizal ker, Hans Issac ker.....not that I'm against them, tapi skali skale nak la jgk tgk a set of people different than the aforementioned above. Mcm la xder orang lain kan?

Tapi aku agak respek jgk kat lakonan Liyana Jasmay tu. X la kaku. Not bad for someone who's just been in the industry (ye ke? Ntah2 dia dh lama kot....aku jer yg xtau ni). Cite ni ader la jgk part yang serius. Tapi biase la Afdlin, mesti ader klaka punye. And aku boleh kate yg aku agak enjoy la jgk tgk movie ni.

Actually, aku skg ni ader kat Surabaya. The conference that I just attanded tu mmg kat sini. In fact, I am already in Surabaya for 4 days now. Bukannye aku xnak blog pasal conference aku ni, tapi aku ni jenis nak letak gambar2 aku kat sini. Problem is, the internet at my hotel sucks real bad. Konon la ader broadband, tapi more like limited broadband jer. Download punagak slow. Rupenye mmg hotel ni bagi limited bandwidth pun. Kalau nk faster access, kene la bayar. And memandangkan diri aku yang mmg tahap 'taik hidung masin' ni, aku pun terpaksa la bare with my current crawling pace. Tunggu jer la aku balik ke Malaysia nnt, I'll tell more about it in my next post.

Tonight is my last night here in Indonesia. Aku baru jer buat major packing. Nak tgk mcm mane aku nak stuff barang2 aku dalam beg aku. Nasib baik la aku dah supersize luggage weight aku. Btw, ni la 1st time aku akan naik Airasia as my choice of flight. Well.....bukan choice pun. Mslhnya flight balik ke Malaysia cume sehari sekali jer from Surabaya ni. Dh la tu, siap penuh sumer flight back to KL sampai la ke minggu depan. Jangan harap la aku nak stay lg selama tu. So?? Airasia la jawabnya aku.

Tapi kalau nak ikutkan, pandai betul diorg ni dalam bab nak mengainaya org. Dh la kene plan travelling aku, siap kene xtra charge lg kalau nak ubah apa2 at the last minute. Masa aku supersizekan baggage aku aritu, aku kene baya tambahan RM75 jer. Tu pun after travel agent dh buat booking. Tadi masa bos aku try tanye Airasia untuk nak supersizekan luggage, diorg kate kene bayar RM97 and kene bayar sebelum kul 4 ptg ni, which is 24hours sebelum flight kitorg. Kalau la tetibe besok x cukup 15kg yang mmg diorg dh setkan, gamaknye brape la kene bayar nnt. Tu yang aku nak tgk tuh.

Well, anyway, to be frank, flight MAS aku ke Surabaya ni actually lagi murah dari Airasia. In fact, it's about 66% more than my MAS fare. So soalan aku skg, betul ker now everybody can fly with Airasia? Hehehehe

Ok la, aku pun agak letih jgk ni. Besok kitorg akan bertolak from hotel about 10am. Tapi subuh lak kul 3.50+. Gamaknyer tido la aku lps subuh nnt. Dh la sepanjang aku kat Surabaya ni, mmg aku xdpt nak tido lepas subuh. Asek bnyk keje la genggggg.

Saje bagi sneak preview of my next blog. Tungguuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

One Busy Week

It has been one week since I got back rom Sabah. And boy, was it an amazing experience. Even though I didn't flex my muscles in hiking to the depths of Sabah's rural areas, but I heard that it was a blast. Thanks to my colleague, I have some great info on what it is all about. Maybe one day when my back is a bit better, then I will be trudging into the great, God given wildlife and having my own stories to tell in the future.

Well, I reached KLIA at about 10pm last Sunday, and my housemates were already waiting for me at the main entrance of Peninsular Malaysia. However, we didn't go straight home. In fact, they were actually enticing their charms in making me stay for the night in Mantin for a karaoke session (which I believe will go on till late at night). However, due to my state of being lack of sleep and rest, they finally ceased their efforts in luring me on the mic, as I believe that they know would be a losing battle. Therefore, we finally reached home at around midnight and I went to bed almost immediately.

Didn't get much sleep though. In fact, the same goes for the night after. I only had a good night's rest on the third. Maybe it's because I am already back in reality......and it sucks. I am already 4 days behind on work, and it's gonna be even more when I go for my conference next week. Therefore, I have been straining my eyes and hand on the computer, preparing for my conference, class notes, final paper, and not to mention my paper for another conference (it's in December, but the paper's due this month). And not forgetting that I have tonnes of meetings that I need to attend this week.

Oh yeah, I also took the role of a PRO (PRO.....not GRO) for an Intel speaker who gave a talk to the students on their elite program. On Thursday, I attended another meeting for a collaboration between UKM and UEM for a school program in Gelang Patah. Somehow, I managed to screw myself up by accepting the role as a mentor for this program, which requires me to be in Johor every month. But hey, at least I'll get travelling allowance for my efforts, right?

Well, at least I got my pay this week. Maybe it's not exactly a good thing, since I need to survive for 6 weeks plus before my next paycheck comes in. Therefore, I wasn't actually much of being in the 'getting-your-pay spending mood' this time around. Plus, with the money I spent in Sabah, and the one I need to spend in Indonesia next week, I don't have the luxury of being in my usual financial state just yet.

However, that didn't stop me from having some kick-back time of my own. Managed to go for karaoke with my Uniten gang on Wednesday, after taking a break during Ramadhan. We even had a catchy theme for our night out: Rise of BBCS - with or without Dass. But in the end, we spend almost half our time on Raya songs rather than ruining our vocal cords on songs that are usually the choice of Dass - Indon songs. And as usual, it'll be 5 guys on Sanisah Huri, Fazidah Joned, Saloma, Aishah and other male Raya songs.

After work on Friday, I took my fiancee to Downtown Cheras for a foot massage. She's been complaining about her sore feet and regular cramps that she's been getting. Once, she even had a cramp while driving. It was her first time for a massage, and I can imagine how painful she must be in when the pressure points of her feet are being pressed upon. But thank God she felt much better after it, and I'm just happy to see that she was okay and well.

Yesterday wasn't so relaxing. In fact, it was a total opposite from relaxing. Washed my clothes early in the morning. Then went to KL to get my HTC phone. One nice thing that they did to my phone was to repair my screen from the Newton Ring effect. For those who are actually trying to push the limits of their mind in figuring out what I said, the Newton Ring occur on phone screens when too much pressure is applied on it. Probably it was during many occasions when my car keys and the phone are tightly pressed against my pockets. Initially, the service center said that it was not covered in my warranty. But since it was a minor problem, and that my initial problem with the phone was because of the screen, they rectified it anyway. Hooray for HTC (but I still think that slide phone sucks, though)

Reached home and 'express packed' my stuff before going to Bandar Tun Razak for a wedding. Met my family there, including my mom (who tagged along with my uncle and aunt from Pilah), along with my brother and his wife. After that, we went to my cousin's house in Ampang to see his 1st child (he's 4 1/2 months old, FYI). It's nice to see him after years of absence. In fact, the last time I saw him, he still hadn't plunge into the world that we all mere mortals define as 'marriage'

Nice pelamin

Then we headed to Shah Alam to another cousin's house for a Raya-BBQ-potluck thingy. Had our usual BBQ menu - lamb, chicken, potato salad, hotdogs, garlic bread, etc.

Hotdog! Who wants hotdog?!

 

Chef Podek at work

Bon Apetite

So I'll be sending my bill later, k

Would've stayed longer, but I know what my limits are. After a tiring week, plus a not so kind Saturday, I simply could not have stayed much longer at Shah Alam, and drive back to Pilah soon afterwards. So, me and mom left at 9pm, and we reached home at 11pm (wow......that was fast).

Today, at last, I have some rest before another cruel and non-forgiving week ahead of me. But that didn't stop me from getting my haircut, doing some work and getting my cash polished. And tonight, going to do some more work before I call in it early for another Monday blues.

Oant sjen

From Across the South China Sea

Just a small note before I begin. I received an SMS from a 'fan' about my blog. I just want to say that as little as that SMS might be, it gave more of a purpose for me to write here. However, as what I intended my blog to be, it won't be a total English blog. But I promised that I'd write more in English in future blogs. Thanks, mom!
__________________________________________________________

Taktala hujan agak lebat di persisiran Pantai Timur ni, aku pun bersantai la di lobi Borneo Paradise Resort kat Kota Kinabalu sambil menikmati secawan Sabah Tea. Bukan ape, aku agak boring la jgk melepak kat bilik je. Plus, couldn't get any Internet from my room. So, terpakse la aku datang ke lobi ni kalau aku nak buat something productive, other than watching videos and playing games.

Some of my close friends agak terkejut la jgk bile dapat tau aku kat KK. Lgpun keje aku ni bukannye involves bnyk travel pun. But in my humble defense, aku sendiri pun terkejut jgk pasal aku kene pegi KK. Aku dapat tau pasal ni x sampai 2 hari sebelum trip aku ke sini. In fact, mase boss aku bgtau pasal trip ni, aku tgh dok hantar handfon aku kat HTC Service Center kat KL. Nak tau lebih lanjut, bace la blog aku yang sebelum ni.

Why am i here? To sum it up in one word.......BABYSITTING. Sounds like a needless plus pointless cause to be here, but that's what I'm basically doing here. Actually, aku ni jadi pensyarah pengiring untuk students dalam pertandingan sponsored by DIGI. And to frank, aku sepatah haram pun xtau pertandingan ni utk aper. Mmg aku x involved pun from Day 1 lagi.

So, one might ask, apsal lak aku yang pergi ni. Mmg patutnye bukan aku yang pegi. Ye la, mesti la pensyarah yang involve dengan projek ni yang patutnye pegi. But since they themselves got the news at the 11th hour tu ikut kata diorg la), maka mmg kena ada penyarah pengiring yang kene ikut student, especially kalau trip jauh mcm ni.

Memandangkan UKM berjaya dapat 2 wakil kat pertandingan ni (lain-lain....2 USM, 1 UNITEN and satu UNIMAS), maka 2 org la pensyarah yang kene ikut. And memandangkan aku ni di kasta yang paling rendah dalam golongan akademik (tutor jer), plus the fact yang aku ni bujang (yang kahwin sumer ngelak nak pegi), maka aku dengan sorang lagi la yang kene datang ke sini.

Ni la second time aku naik 'debak besi' dalam sepanjang hidup aku. And sampai sekarang, both times tu naik flight MAS. So aku x merase lagi Airasia. Cume memula aku punye impression bile sampai KK, mmg gile btul lokasi airport diorg. Mmg sebelah pantai jer. Dh la pressure berubah dari darat ke laut. Masa nak landing pun hari tu terase goyang semacam jer. But then, aku ni baru jer 2 kali naik kapal terbang. So mungkin ayat aku tadi tu agak 'jahil' la sikit. Aku cuma datang berdua saja, sbb student semua dah datang the day before, and diorg naik Airasia (sponsored by DIGI). So, basically hari 1st aku ni cume dok melepak2 ajer sambil tgk aper yang student UKM dok buat mase kem ni.

The next day pulak, aku dengan opismate aku decide nak round KK. Tapi with the distance from our resort (resort ni on the way nak ke Papar), maka naik taxi merupakan satu idea yang agak mahal la jugak kalau nak teruskan. Maka kitorg pun sewa la kete. Sbb mmg taktau pun kat mane nak sewa kete, maka kitorg arrange direct jer ngan receptionist. Harga dia x la mahal sangat, dalam RM90. Tapi masa memula aku masuk dalam kete tu, terkejut la jgk. MINYAK PENUH? Pergh.......berbaloi la sangat klo mcm ni. Sbb sewa kete Kancil kat area KL pun lebih kurang dalam RM60-70. Tu belum campur minyak lagi. So dengan keterujaan kitorg, bergerak la 2 org hero ni ke bandar KK.

Mcm biase, beli la souvenier ape2 yang patut. Xkan la x beli kan. Kitorg singgah kat pasar Phillipines yang kononnye popular kat sini. Then singgah lak pekene air kelapa muda. Aku mmg dapat kelapa muda pun. Tapi member aku rasenye dapat yang tua sikit. Nasib la kan. Then pegi la semayang Jumaat pada jam 12.30 tgh hari. Lepas tu pulak, sambung lagi berjalan2.And last sekali kitorg singgah Giant nak belikan provision dengan alatan lain untuk budak2 ni pegi hiking trip.

Aku ingatkan sewa kete ni sampai tgh malam. Rupanya sampai kul 8 mlm jer. Maknanya since aku stat pinjam kete at 10am, aku cume sewa x sampai 12 jam pun. Dh la tu, diorg bgtau yang aku kene isi minyak balik ke penuh masa pulangkan. Cheh, hilang keterujaan aku. Mati2 ingat mmg dapat minyak free. But then, kan ke aku kate td sewa kete tu agak murah. Well, when something is too good to be true......it probably is.

Maka pagi ni bertolak la semua orang ke Kampung Triang untuk lawatan ke kawasan pendalaman. Aku terpaksa pass trip ni sbb condition belakang aku yang x brape elok. But I just hope they have a blast there, and semuanya slmt sampai besok pagi. Maka berseorangan la aku kat resort ni. Isk isk isk

Mula2 tu mmg ingat nak berjalan2 kejap kat tepi pantai. Aku ada pegi jalan2 tepi pantai masa petang aku sampai KK. Tapi pantai kat sini mmg cetek sangat. Sampaikan about 75m away, boleh pulak nampak darat. Mmg tak bleh nak mandi langsung. Patut la xde aktiviti laut yang diorg buat kat sini. Therefore, if you're a beach fanatic, mmg aku kene la kate yang tempat ni x brape sesuai sangat untuk korang.

So, sebelum aku sign off, seperti biasa aku kepilkan gambar2 aku kat sini untuk mewarnai blog aku.

Mula2 masuk laut, then naik darat, lepas tu masuk laut lagi...br la sampai pulau

Macam mane nak sebut ayat bawah tu ek?

Pasar Phillipines...tapi aku tgk mcm org Sabah jer yang meniaga. Siap ada kedai Kelantan lagi

Ingat Putrajaya saje ke yang ada Alamanda?

Mampus aku nk cuba bace paper ni

I Hate Phones.....But I Can't Live Without 'Em

Another English blog (just trying to consistantly write in one language this time) from me.

Two years ago (when I started working), I've began to grow an interest towards handphones. Not the mid-range phone, but rather the high end ones. I know it's a waste of money, but heck, people have been known to have ridiculous interests over the past years. I have a friend who would dive to the depths of rivers just to find old motorcycles and restore them to a good condition. Back in my PPP days, my dormmate would scour the streets late at night and grab any buntings of events, campaigns and such. Is this a crime? I don't know. But he'll only take it down once the event has ended. So,  looking at my friends rather 'unique' interests, why not get something that I actually use everyday.

To be frank, before I went for my studies in Uniten, I never bothered to even have a handphone. But as my maturity develops in the harsh rugged place in Kajang (believe me, just read the papers and you'll see that it's a crime city), the presence of a handphone slowly envelops around me, becoming a necessity that I simply cannot live without.

However, due to extremely tight financial contrains, my 5 years in Uniten has me nothing more than a Nokia 3310. Even when technologies moved forward with MMS, camera phones, memory cards, polyphonic and MP3 ringtones, even 3G at that time - I never bothered nor was I having the sensation of uplifting my handphone status. I was happy with what I have (or was it because I couldn't have what I want :) ) that I stayed with it til I graduate.

But as your financial status improved (not much, but wayyy better than my student days), the urge and desire simply erupts within oneself. Guess all the crap on the Maslov's pyramid that I learned in my management class were true then. The obsession couldn't be contained any longer. I was browsing through websites, reading reviews, asking handphone dealers on specs......... I had become a handphonolic (is there such a word?)

Therefore, in Dec 2007, a mean machine has finally within the clutches of my already big hands. From a measly Nokia 3310, I now have the capability for GPS, Wifi, a 333MHz ARM processor, a 2GB Micro-SD card, a 5MP camera with Carl-Ziess lens, even IR for connnection with older phones without Bluetooth. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my Nokia N95-3.

I had some great times with the phone. My most exciting features? The camera. Having a 5MP camera with autofocus was just pure awesome. God knows how many times have I been grateful during moments where some impromptu occasion crossed paths with me, and those magical moments could be treasured in digital form. In fact, most of my pictures in this blog is from my N95.

10 months later, I went another step further (at least, I think I did). I sold my N95 to my brother (he needed the phone, I needed the cash). And in Oct 2008, another mega machine was now within the touch of my finger. That is, a 2.8in touch screen, accelerometer that kicked butt real bad, a 4GB microSD card, GPS, a full 5-row QWERTY keyboard, 3.2MP camera, Qualcomm 528MHz processor. And with that, here comes the HTC Touch Pro.

A change to touch screen usage and the 5-row keyboard was a blast. With Office applications in it, there's been numerous instances where I coud just do some of my work (emphasis on SOME) while riding the Komuter or during boring faculty meetings, hehehe. It a wonder how something so powerful could be packaged in something so small. Gotta love transistors for all this.

An issue came though......my camera sucks. It was a smaller camera with no autofocus. The flash is crappy (well, my N95 has crappy flash too, but this was much worse). Plus, the pictures comes out too much orange. And just like Blade (the Marvel superhero character), I need my plasma now.

Looked around for a camera phone. Had some ideas on the specs and its capabilities. Whatever it is, the camera must be better than my predecessors. And finally, I wrap my hands around a mid range phone, in which I must say, my best acquisition yet. The only thing that it lacks from the N95 is that it has no Wifi. But with Xenon flash to balance that one loss, I give you the Nokia 6220. And boy, what fun have I had with it. Not only that, I began to explore the GPS function much more thoroughly. And with 3 different map softwares, it's as though I have 3 GPS navigator (well, 2 actually. The Nokia Maps is just too expensive in order to activate its navigation) in one compact machine. And for someoe who totally sucked at the streets of KL, it has saved me on more than one occasion in moving around the metropolitan.

The funny thing about both my elder phones, one month after I sold it to my brother (11 months after I got the phone), the ribbon cable was damaged. He spent abour RM100+ in fixing that darn thing. And today, I was at HTC service center because the backlight of my phone had become so dim that I just can't simply read my phone anymore (also 11 months after I brought it).

Moral of the story, if you are a handphone fanatic, don't buy a slide phone. You'll only regret it in the future. Unless you have so much money that you just have no idea where to spend it to, get yourself a bar phone. Trust me, it's simply not worth it.

Which brings me back to my ever so raging desire........should I get the iPhone?????

Well, whatever that answer might be, it'ss have to be put on hold for now. The iPhone 3GS is currently not available for Hotlink prepaid users (too many people in the waiting list, so they're only offering it to postpaid customers......for now), and I just can't simply spend anymore just yet. After all, it's still a mystery where us government staff will be getting a bonus this year. Plus I have big money to be spent away for my wedding next year. But more on that later.

Guess that's all for now. Need to pack for my trip to KK on Thursday. That, too, will be blogged when I get back.

Nagemiseni

Operation: N-gaging Red Hill

Adoiiii.....hari last aku cuti. Besok dh stat keje. Tapi besok pg la br aku nak gerak pun. At least besok aku gerak dengan adik n sepupu aku. So xder la buhsan tahap cipan.

Dalam raya2 ni pun, aku sempat la jgk meluangkan masa untuk mengerakkan diri aku sejauh 400km ke Bukit Merah. Yang pegi; aku, mak aku n adik aku. Makcik n pakcik aku pun join sama, but they started their journey from Shah Alam. And kitorg pun melepak la kat Suria Aprt. Petang tu mak n adik aku gerak ke P.Buntar untuk urusan ntahhapehapentah yg diorg buat. Aku pun terlupe nak tanye kat diorg. Tapi aku ade mintak tlg untuk pegi tanye kat printing shop sane for pricing.

That night we had a nice buffet dinner, courtesy of my beloved aunt. Lps tu, aku ngan adik aku pegi la gunakan kemudahan ping pong kat sane and pekena jap dalam sejam. Terrer jgk adik aku ni. Kalah aku 2-1 mlm tu. Lps tu surf kejap before we call it a day.

Besoknye lak kitorg bfast agak awal - 7am. Lps tu aku bawak mak aku pegi jalan2 kat Kampung Air. saje nak bagi dia tgk scenery kat sane. Mak aku dh estatic lak tgk rumah kat sane. Tambahan lak we can rent the place. Therefore, mak aku dh mintak so that kitorg stay sane next time. Adoi......kopak la poket aku nnt. Tapi mak punye pasal, kopak pun kopak la. Hehehe.....anyway, atas kebaikkan personnel sane, kitorg dapat la amik tour kejap dalam bilik yang ada. Boleh tahan beb.......ada jakuzi lagi.

Kampung Air kat Bukit Merah

 

Pergh...jakuzi tu. Muat ker aku masuk ni?

Tgh dok dgr briefing sambil dok berangan nak duduk bilik ni nnt.

So, after that, kitorg pun bersiap la untuk ke Anak Kurau. And setelah selesai semuanya, maka dengan ini bertunang la aku. Yup.....tu la asalnye kenape aku ke sana.

Pakcik aku, merangkap jurucakap

 

Hantaran aku untuk pihak perempuan

Adoi.....dok terpikir yang aku kene keje besok ni. Xleh ker aku cuti lagi seminggu?

Ni sa moce
 ______________________________________________________

Regarding my brother's comments, I had simply forgotten to acknowledge his assistance during my engagement. Without him, I wouldn't have these photos to be posted here in my blog. So Ajib, sori bnyk2 aku terlupa nak credit hang. Not to mention my family members: mom, Fuad, Alia, Mummy and Daddy, also Fazli for being there. Your presence has make this humble servant of God one step further in fulfilling his need in this temporary world. Only God could repay your efforts and kindness that you have showered me on this momenteous and glorious occasion.

Transform and Raya Out!

Kembalilah aku pada hari raya ketiga ni, setelah semua adik beradik aku sumer dh blah dari kampung. Cume adik bongsu aku jer yang akan balik ke sini besok malam. Tu pun aku kene amik dia kat KLIA mlm sok kul 10. Memandangkan aku ngan mak aku berdua jer kat kg skg, maka kitorg pun mengamalkan dasar tutup pintu time malam, sbb dh x larat nak melayan tetamu yang cuba nak masuk ke empayar jajahan mak aku ni.

But nonetheless, Raya tahun ni lagi meriah banding tahun2 dulu. Meriah pun bukannye ape sangat pun, meriah dengan mercun jer. Tak tau la, tahun ni banyak lak stok mercun-mercun yang berkualiti tinggi. Maka tahun ni hangus la duit kitorg dalam RM400 (5 orang taruk share), and hasilnya? Dapatlah 8 orang hero membakar 16 thunder clap serentak. Bunyi dia? Pergh, berdesing beb..... tu belum campur mercun cendawan, mercun bomb, dengan mercun warna-warni lagi.

Tahun ni at least aku berjaya la jgk sembahyang raye. Kalau la korang ader bace blog aku tahun lepas, aku datang jer masjid, tapi xdpt nk sembahyang raye. Melimpah giler jemaah sampai tmpt nk semayang pun xder. So tahun ni aku dh standby siap2 dalam masjid. ader la jgk yg xdpt nk semayang and kene la berdiri kat luar. Well, tahun lps tahun korg. Tahun ni taun aku lak. Taun depan taun saper lak kan?

Tahun ni akui cube la control makan aku, x macam tahun2 lepas. Maklum la, nk cuba mengecilkan badan aku yang mcm marshmallow man ni. But that doesn't stop me or my family from having a good time and merase suasana Raya tahun ni. Alah, xyah la aku nk cite panjang2. Tgk jer la gambar2 aku ni.

Maafkan den yo, mak

KP Giants - team tarik tali sejak 2000, tapi belum penah tarik pun tali tu

Bajet power la konon nk pegang pakai tangan jer

Tambahan pulak, tahun ni aku beraye degan Optimus baru. Heh heh heh, that's right. Your sick, twisted, demented, son of a gun writer ni ader collection Transformers. This time, aku share dengan adik aku, and we got Optimus Prime and Jetfire. As a result, dapat la kitorg Optimus-Jetfire combo yang dok ader kat Youtube tu.

Optimus dan Jetfire (each sold seperately)

Bercantum!!....mcm Dragon Ball la plak

Ok la, aku nk cuba dissassemble lak 2 ekor menatang ni. Lgpun kene la slalu transformkan, baru la jadi terrer. Heh heh heh

Xudahafiz

Besok Hari Raya!!

Nothing to add..........happy Aidilfitri to all.

Lets Go Aqua

Actually mlm ni aku bukannye ada plan nak blog pun. In fact, I'm supposed to go out on a date tonight. Tapi memandangkan insan yg aku sayang a.k.a. girlfren aku agak penat mlm ni, so we called it off. Lgpun buat aper kluar klo nnt xder mood and dalam keadaan mamai, kan? Therefore, kembalilah aku di hadapan "atas riba" (laptop) aku ni dan jari-jariku mula menekan papan kekunci untuk menghasilkan sabuah karya daripada hentakkan jemari-jemariku ini.....pergh, falsafah giler.

Actually story yang aku nk citer ni agak outdated la sikit. In fact, it's an event that I went last month. Tapi memandangkan aku rasa agak menarik jgk la klo aku share pengalaman aku ni ngan korang sumer. Bukan aper, korang xkan tau benda ni unless korang pegi sendiri. And kalau korang x dapat info ni, gamaknye ade harapan korang rugi nnt.

Well, to sum it up before I elaborate any further, ni cite aku masa aku pegi Aquaria last month. Kalau korang nk tau, tmpt ni bawah KLCC jer. And aku rasa agak berbaloi la kalau korang pegi at least sekali kat sini. Bukan ape, menarik jgk tgk hidupan laut secara up close and personal.

Aquaria can boast itself with having a wide variety of marine life. And believe me, bukan senang tau nak bawak hidupan laut ni ke dalam one confined space. Masa kat tmpt keje lama aku dlu, kitorg ader satu salt water tank. Punye la payah nk jaga ikan2 dalam tu. Bnyk la jgk yg mati. Therefore, this is a place where we can really appreciate the work that they do there.

Ok, tip number satu kalau pegi Aquaria ni......bab entrace fees. Kalau korang bukak website dia, it shows that one ticket costs you RM28 (untuk warganegara Msia yang ada Mykad). Tu cume kalau nk tgk ikan ajer la. Tapi kalau korang nk murah lagi, guna la kad kredit Petronas kalau ada. Setakat ni, cuma Maybank and CIMB jer yang ada offer Petronas Credit Card ni. Paying via card will entitle you for a RM4 discount. Tapi kepada yang ada student card tu, make sure korang bawak. Terus harga tiket dia turun jadi RM20. So, jgn la malu2 bawak kad setuden korang tuh.

Ada lagi satu section of Aquaria called Aquazone. Ni bukan ada pun, cuma diorg bagi Fish Spa treatment jer. Ala.....yang ikan makan sel2 kulit mati kat kaki korang tu. Nasihat aku, xyah la korang beli tiket tu, or the combo package. Bila korang beli tiket Aquaria, terus diorg bagi satu kupon for Aquazone at only RM15. Berbaloi kan? Tapi kalau nk ikutkan, baik korang pegi jer tmpt fish spa kat tmpt lain. Lg murah pun.

Well, berbalik kepada cite aku kat sana. Aku rasa better korang tgk gambar2 ajer la kan?




Tapi the main attraction of it all are the sharks that dwell in the mean depths of KL. And bukan tu ajer, diorg siap ada sesi bagi makan kat ikan Jaws lagi. Tapi bukan la korang yang bagi makan. Cume leh la tgk diorg feed the fishes.


Next tip, kalau korang nak tgk the shark feeding, datang la Aquaria around 2pm on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday. Sbb diorg bagi makan kat Jaws at 3pm. Walaupun Jaws ni nampak ganaz giler, tapi dia makan sikit jer. In fact, diorg cume makan about 2% of their body weight.

Tu jer la kot aku nak cite. Till next time....