9

9 years into the second millennium...

Happy New Year 2009!

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I called home yesterday and was delighted to know that my niece Waddah got 9As for her PMR. She's in sekolah agama, so the extra subject is Arabic.

I asked her what would she like as a gift from me.

Makcu bawak Waddah naik flight, buleh? Pegi mana pung dak ape.

I guess that's an easy one. I just need to find the time.




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growing OLD

...growing up is not the absence of dreaming
it's being able to understand the difference
between the ones you can hold
and the ones that you've been sold
dreaming is a good thing cause it brings new things to life
pretending is an ending that perpetuates a lie
forgetting what you are
seeing for what you've been told...

Goodbye Alice In Wonderland - Jewel

*****

It was close to midnight on Thursday, I was sitting on a sofa, with a bowl on my lap, licking my fingers and nibbling on yesterday's leftover chicken when I noticed that D & J left the front door open. I called out to J to close the door or else Jack-the-rabbit would hop out, that was when they came in, with a guitar and a ukulele, with a few other friends and sang me a birthday song. I was very comot, mulut tangan berminyak semua cukup. Thank God no one brought a camera!

*****

yummeh!

Ice cream cake at lunchtime in a mall, in the midst of the crazy boxing day shopping. I actually spoiled their 'surprise plan'. They wanted to have my birthday lunch at a proper cafe, pamper me with good coffee and wanted surprise me with that birthday cake. Instead, I changed their timing & dragged everyone to a cheapo foodcourt with nasi mentah & bad curry. Silly me! (haiyaaa.. these people don't know how to say no to what I say-lah!)

Thank you girls, I had a great time...

and thank you all for the wishes through blog, FB, txt messages & calls.

*****

Happy Hijrah New Year to everyone. Don't forget your year-end & new year du'a tomorrow evening, ok.

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apa silapnya?

At a party we had earlier tonight, in a short chat with a N0rth K0rean guy.


How old are you, by the way?

I'll be 32 in about... 32 hours.

Are you married?

No, not yet.

What's wrong with you?

What?

Yeah, you're over 30 and you're not married. What's wrong with you?


??? (*What the...*)





Nasib baik dia tetamu D, kalau tak aku debik jugak mamat ni karang.

So what's wrong with me? I don't have the answer, really. I wished I know.

Salah ke?

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final week

I went to K-Mart to get some candy canes but the ones that H said were on sale are sold out already. So, I bought 2 butterflies to add to D's xmas tree in the living room. I need to go find something for D the next time I go out. This will be her first time celebrating christmas away from home. She misses home now that all her close friends have balik kampung. I need to put a smile on her face on this quiet summer celebration.

Just in case I don't get back here to write another post before the year ends, Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.

When it comes to music, the only thing I'm good at is listening to it. I should never attempt anything more than that. D was strumming on her guitar when I told her that I adore people who plays the guitar well and instantly she was very keen on giving me guitar lessons. She asked me to start with a little ukulele. She taught me a few notes and I failed miserably in getting into the right tunes but D is not giving up on me. At least not yet.

*****

People are leaving for holidays and now I'm collecting car keys, none of them are mine. I need to keep an eye on the cars. So dah banyak kereta ni nak naik kereta ke nak naik bas? Naik kereta is easier but naik bas, can cuci mata! Oh, lupa, I didn't write a post on it. Story is... the other day, I terjatuh cinta when I took a bus ride to city. Ok, not cinta lah, a crush, quite a major one because until today I still can vividly recall the stranger's face. Iyer, I had a crush on a stranger who boarded the no.81 bus. He is a much better version of Wentw0rth M1ller, *nod* I said BETTER and botak too! and... to add to his hensemness... as he took his seat, he opened his bag and took out a novel. He reads!!! hati saya tiba-tiba terpaut bila melihat dia membuka dan menyelak helaian mukasurat, khusyuk dengan bacaannya ( ayat!!) [ Ya tuan-tuan, pesanan khidmat masyarakat: membaca itu meningkatkan daya penarik anda. Tetapi tuan-tuan, membaca majalah yang kandungannya hanyalah gambar kaum hawa yang kurang berpakaian tidak termasuk dalam kategori membaca, that's ogling!] .

*****

Today is the final Friday. Come next Friday, I'll have another number added to my age *sigh*.




ubi: ya, saya gerascophobic.



.

can we skip monday?

sugar with your coffee?

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the odd one out

Tatkala menulis ini, aku masih terdengar jeritan girang mereka
Aku cuma tersenyum, geleng kepala
Ketika mereka membaling telur, menabur tepung, memalit sisa-sisa 'icing' sesama sendiri,
Aku menyelinap keluar ikut pintu belakang
Tak siapa pun sedar aku menghilang
Biarlah mereka bergembira
Kurasakan aku telalu tua untuk itu
Malam dah larut, mataku dah layu
Selamat Hari Jadi, D.

(di saat D lahir, aku dah dapat keputusan UPSR, aku dah bersedia nak masuk sekolah menengah. Tuanya aku bila berada di kalangan mereka)


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Granny Dumpers

Hari ni, terbaca kat suratkhabar dalam talian, hospital di NZ dah bagi amaran pada Granny Dumpers atau terjemahannya 'pembuang datuk & nenek' agar tidak membuang ibu bapa dan datuk nenek mereka yang dah tua di hospital. Kisahnya, setiap tahun bila musim cuti dah dekat banyak la pulak anak-anak tak tau diuntung ni hantar mak bapak diorang masuk hospital, lepas tu tak jenguk-jenguk sampailah dah habis musim cuti. Sepanjang masa ditinggalkan tu anak-anak keparat tu pergi la melancong cuti-cuti nuzelen ker, cuti-cuti ostolia ke, pusing dunia ke (harapnya tak ada yg buat perangai mcm tu utk pegi haji & umrah)... semua talian telefon tetap atau mudah alih/susah alih semua dimatikan. Jadi sementara anak-anak tu bercuti gembira sakan, mak bapak tu duduk la raya krismas kat hospital. Kejam.

Aku harap sangat di tanahair aku tak ada la yang buat perangai keparat macam tu. Keji ok. Tapi dalam tak nampak tren macam tu, aku rasa ada jugak yang buat, buang saudara yang tua, sakit, uzur, apa lagi kalau sakit mental. Nak dijadikan cerita, bulan Oktober lepas (ketika dia Malaysia) aku beli 'prepaid pack' Celc0m Biru di pasar malam. Dah memang lazimlah nombor telefon mudah alih baru ni kebanyakannya dikitar semula dari nombor-nombor lama yang dah luput. Suatu hari tu, pagi-pagi lagi masa masuk pejabat, tiba-tiba aku dapat panggilan dari nombor tak dikenali,

Hello, ini saya ***** (tak dapat tangkap nama dia), ini saya telefon dari Hospital Bahagia Tanjung Rambutan, ni berkenaan dengan pesakit kita ****** bin ******** (pun tak dapat ingat nama).


Ya encik, encik nak cakap dengan siapa ni?


Ni bukan ke nombor telefon ******** , anak pesakit di sini? nombor telefon 013*******


Nombor tu betul, tapi ni nombor telefon saya baru beli, baru guna. Mungkin orang encik nak contact tu dah tukar nombor.


Oh, dia cuma tinggal nombor ni saja pada kita. Dah cuba nak contact saudara mara pesakit kita ni tak dapat-dapat. Mintak maaf ya cik.

Aku tergelak lepas tu, mungkin kerana aku pun ada stigma, mentertawakan imej hospital mental tanjung rambutan sebagai tempat orang gila. Tapi aku lupa tak ada siapa pun yang sengaja nak masuk hospital jiwa. Tak ada orang sengaja nak jadi gila (unless you've killed someone and pretend that you were insane). Kita yang waras ni pun, confirm ke kita boleh sihat mental sampai bila-bila? Dah lepas gelak baru la aku sedar balik yang aku tak sepatutnya ketawa pasal tu. Kesian pulak kat pesakit tu. Dah la sakit, anak-anak tak lawat. Kalaulah dia sakit tenat ke, meninggal ke, langsung tak dijenguk sampai mati, macam mana?

Semalam pun, masa tengah sarapan pagi dengan lempeng tak sedap tu, aku sayu betul bila melihat nenek-nenek yang berjalan keseorangan beli barang dan sarapan pagi di cafe. Rupanya nenek-nenek ni keluar shopping pagi-pagi, berduyun-duyun warga tua masuk mall masa tu tapi semuanya sendirian, ada pakai tongkat, ada naik shopping scooter, ada yang jalan perlahan-lahan, terketar-ketar. Kesian sungguh. Agaknya tua esok-esok macam tu jugak ke aku? Ada sorang nenek tu siap datang kat meja aku, menyapa, "Good morning my dear, what's the occasion? you both look so pretty today." Aku cerita la kat dia, aku raya hari tu. Kembang la orang dah kata pretty tu kan. Hahaha... Sebenarnya baju kurung pun semua aku dah hantar balik Malaya, pakai pun baju pinjam, nasib baik ade saiz. Mesti diorang ni rasa aku overdress.


Oh, akhir kata , pesanan penaja, sayangi mak bapak pakcik makcik anda yang dah tua.
Kesian. Sekian.

oh goreng lempeng lempeng yang hangus

I missed Eid prayer this morning, yes, today, on Tuesday. Kisahnya sampai dah lambat, sampai masjid orang dah sudah sembahyang & all.... so just patah balik without knowing that they were actually going to perform a second round of prayers for the latecomers. Padan muka, siapa suruh tak tanya!

The photos above are of one same menu- pancake stack - from one same cafe - R0bertHarr1s R1ccart0n, taken at different times over a few years. It used to be my favourite. The last photo was the one that I had this morning (lepas dah gi masjid without performing semayang raya!), the worst pancake I've ever had - both in terms of looks and taste, just the worst. The pancakes were neither light nor fluffy, it was just chewy and soggy, drenched with raspberry sauce & yogurt. Aku rasa nak rotan staff dia yang buat pancake nih. Tobat aku takkan makan kat sini dah.

Eh, kejap, ni maknanya aku tak bersyukur ke? bukan tak bersyukur tau. I paid freaking $14 for that(harga dah naik $2)! kononnya nak celebrate raya lah, dah kat rumah aku tumpang tu aku tak masak apa2 pun. Tup2 macam tu rupa pancakesnye... boleh bad mood akak satu hari tau.





*Oh tajuk di atas tiada kena mengena dengan lempeng tersebut, dia tak hangit.

Eidul Adha

zulhijjah moon. riccarton bus stop . christchurch
051208

Salam Aidil Adha
May Allah bless you.

back!

back to daily doses of flat white (that, I like!)

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Please, remind me to always bersyukur every day of my life for all the rahmat that Allah has given me... and for guiding me through those important moments of my life.

Syukur Alhamdulillah.

*****

ON HOLD

This blog is ON HOLD.


*if you want to read something from here, go dig the archive on the right column.




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hatiku tertinggal di sana

Hari raya pertama. Sambil menjenguk ke luar jendela, temanku menarik nafas panjang.

"Ubi, aku suka balik sini. Aku suka bau Trengganu. Bau dia lain tau. Ada something dalam udara dia. Aku suka."

Leng, aku setuju. Aku rasa nak balik tiap-tiap minggu.

*****

Kunyanyikan pantaiku
Berbelas lara
Rindu dendam anak-anaknya
Mengharapkan kasih entahkan tiba.
Lagu Anak Pelaut-J.M.Aziz.

...ada tapak kaki kecil mengiringi jejak-jejak itu. aku rasa itu bahagia.
(itu bukan jejakku)

...sendiri.
(aku tak kenal siapa budak tu)


...tergamak kau cemari pantai ini!


*****


seberang sungai

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rembulan kesiangan

..Rauf & Zack.. lepas kenyang makan sotong celup tepung.
Zack tengah bernyanyi pada laut.

Layang-layang... reminds me of Amir dan Hassan.

Ubi: hidup ini indah apabila aku di situ

Faktor

(Antara) faktor penambahan berat badan...

makan at Terengganu State's Hari Raya event with Perantau

...hmmm.. baru aje turun 4kilo since balik... now back to square one.



Faktor kenapa tak suka memandu balik kampung...




(Antara) faktor kerinduan pada kampung halaman...

Dik Ya (Insyirah)

Dik Ah (Farihah), my youngest niece, err... grand niece actually.

Faktor pencelikan mata sampai tak boleh tidur malam tadi...


Malam-malam tetiba mengidam kopi yang bukan nescafe3-in-1, terpaksa menyelongkar the stack of big boxes in my room.



Faktor ketakutan saya pada tengah malam kelmarin...



...akhirnya dia menemui ajal setelah diketuk dengan bakul sampah.



*Kenapa ramai sangat orang pakai purple & violet raya tahun ni? memang ade theme kaler ke?


Ubi: tak suka kaler perpel, ungu, biru butir stor.

balik kg & my cik abe salleh

Arrived home yesterday before zohor. One of my colleagues, also from KT is not used to drive long distance so she asked if I'd like to join her and assist to drive her new car home. I always have the fear of driving balik kampung during festive season but I took the offer as I didn't want to jostle for tiket balik kampung. I slightly fumbled while driving at first, confused 'cause left-right turn signal stalk in the car is placed on the left side of the steering while I was so used to have it on the right side (oh yes, I happen to be in the group of Malaysians who use signal lights when I change lanes!). I lost count how many times I turned on wipers instead of the signal. Getting to re-tuned to manual driving again is another gabra inducing factor. We took off just minutes before subuh, when the road still have less traffic. Alhamdulillah we arrived safe & sound.

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Lawak sms hari ini

i sent out: Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin : *insert real name*

flatmate dulu-dulu: Sama2. Beraya dengan family or dah ada cik abe?

me: With family. Dr Derek Shepherd tak boleh ikut balik kg. Dia on call. Banyak operation kot.

flatmate dulu-dulu: Haaa? Cik abe mat saleh ker?doctor lagi! siapa tu? BF ke husband?


*ROTFL*


I forgot not everyone watch Grey's Anatomy.

Oh, I don't mind getting any cik abe salleh anytime, apetah lagi kalau neurosurgeon, kan. No, I will not accept dentist, nanti CikMonday marah potong jalan.

Ubi: tetiba rasa bahgia dapat McDreamy jadi boypren ;p

Raya Wishes

Ramai dah nak balik kampung today, kan. So here's wishing you,

one of the replica mosques in TTI

Please be extra careful on the road. Stay safe, ok.

*to those spending their raya in KT (especially those who know me), jemput datang rumah ( juz email/call if you're coming).

today and the week that was

As usual pepagi lagi I gosok baju and today I took out a new tudung that a friend gave me long ago but never worn. Ntah ape mimpi hari ni rasa nak melaram sikit, rather than my everyday bedak baby johnson on my face and colorless manuka honey lip balm on my lips, I took out my compact foundation, blusher and lipstick from a box that arrived last week.

Dah siap-siap, I went to wait for the bus, reading the fourth person Eddie met in '5 people you met in heaven' while standing. 5 minutes, no bus, 10 minutes, still no bus. A girl saw me standing there and said, 'bas takde hari ni' . Oh ye ke. Thanks. Takpe lah, jalan pun tak per. I noticed there were less traffic at the junction, almost none. I did not think why because my mind was still thinking of Eddie and Marguerite. Jalan lagi... as I walked past the school and department buildings, I noticed something different, not many cars parked in the parking spaces. Takkan semua orang lambat pegi kerja kot hari ni. Think Ubi think.... OMG, hari ni 17... haaaaa... Nuzul Quran yer.. eh, cuti ke?

I made a phone call.. and my friend confirmed 'ah memang le tempat kau cuti hari ni'.

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I have some work to do in the office, but my temporary office is in a bigger room which I don't have a key to. Ape lagi, jalan la balik rumah.

I need to stop using my NZ organizer diary, it doesn't tell me when is cuti.

*****

This was what Marguerite said to Eddie

"Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile......

But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory.

Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You danced with it.

Life has to end. Love doesn't."

I envy them both.

*****

The following are cerita basi from last weekend, I forgot to click 'publish'.

photo from stuff.co.nz
My two fave ABs : Richie & Dan


photo from stuff.co.nz

Yeeeha, the guys did it again. The All Blacks won the TriNation, beating the Wallabies 28-24. The Wallabies under kiwi coach Robbie Deans (former Crusaders' coach) put up a good fight but these guys proved that they're better! Great job guys... but please please win the Rugby World Cup next time, ya hear?

I was craving for some porridge during the week and made some chicken and mushroom porridge, dah start masak tu baru perasan I didn't have pepper, white or black, cili pun tak de. So there goes, just some tasteless porridge.




Accompanied my jusco-fan friends out (Leng.. ape lah sgt Jusc0 tu, jom kita balik pegi shopping kat HockKeeSeng la, nak?... hahahah). While they wanted to shop for raya, I went to do my grocery shopping, so finally I have both black & white pepper, and chillies! So dapat lah I masak on the weekend , kangkung goreng, fried sausages & panbroiled salmon (hangus because I left it in the pan pegi angkat kain!). Tapikan, salmon tu sangat tak sedap, not because it was overcooked but the flesh simply tak sedap. Bak kata a blogger friend, dah ada kat Malaysia tu, just stick to local fish doh lah, gi cari ikang bbarat nung. Ye lah kan, ntah berapa minggu salmon tu duk dalam kapal agaknya. Oh, by the way, Ikang bbarat is not a fish from the west. In standardspeak it is ikan barat-barat (Aluterus monoceros) or leatherjacket (not ikan jeket yang kita makan kat dining hall zaman kita skolah dulu ya kengkawan) and in Tganung, it is one of the top choice for ikan bakar... hhmmm... I'm craving for ikang bbarat bakor now. Nok balikkk!!

pic stolen from mohdfahmi's flickr

Ikan 'bbarat bakar

the world outside my window

Two pied fantails (Rhipidura javanica) fluttered by, put up some acrobatic flights right outside my window and landed on the other side of the fence as I was typing away on my computer. Grabbed my camera and tried to take their photo but I only got these. They both refused to stay put and only one was captured in the image. The Malays call them 'murai gila', memang gila pun, tak reti nak duduk diam langsung.

Pied fantails, murai gila (Rhipidura javanica)

Frustrated, I returned to my laptop and glanced out the window on my left. Hidden between banana leaves, I saw this white throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) perched on a branch. This one looks clearer, and easier to capture since this Burung Raja Udang duduk mmolek ('sitting pretty') , unlike the crazy fantail.

White throated kingfisher, Raja Udang, Pekaka (Halcyon smyrnensis)

In late afternoon, again, I got distracted from my computer when this blue flycatcher (Cyornis turcosus) perched on another branch. It flew away before I manage to get a good focus.

blue flycatcher (Cyornis turcosus)

There, so much to see from that little wonderland behind my block. Macam-macam ada! Oh, wak-wak pun ada today, but since I get to see them almost everyday, the wak's family doesn't need to enterprem la hari ni.

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While I was writing this, tetiba pulak ntah mamat mana lalu, what the &**%*$^*R((#$@%#&^! (eh, puase, sabar)... but seriously, what the hell are you doing lalu lalang belakang rumah orang petang2 ahad ni? Dah lalu tu just look straight ahead la, yang pegi jenguk2 rumah orang tu apesal? Aku debik kang. There goes my privacy, have to keep the curtains closed 24-7 la macamnih?

the world outside my window

Sunday morning. I woke up to the sound of someone menebas behind my bedroom. I peeked and saw a worker pulling & cutting wild vines from the wire fence and chopping some protruding branches and banana leaves that got into this side of the fence. Though I'm a soft-core nature lover, I'm glad that they clear up the intrusive vines. Bukan ape, kalau semak sangat, I takut ade ular ke pulak merayap sekali in the vines. Kat Nu Zeelen tu lain lah tak der ular, kan? Lagipun, on the day I moved in, I was warned by a maintenance worker and also by a previous tenant not to leave my windows and louvres open, takut 'benda- benda' masuk.

I got up and did what I do everyday - spray pesticides on ants trail and sweep the whole flat to get rid of dead ants, taik cicak, my own fallen hair (heeshhh.. lama2 bleh botak!) and a lil dust. Mind you, I have to sembur-sembur semut EVERYDAY. I kinda think that they actually built this block on a huge ant nest coz I can find ants everywhere, even on my bed! Padahal awal-awal lagi I've sprayed all nooks and crannies with pesticide & disinfectant and on top of that wiped all surfaces with citronella solution that I bought (yg kononnya can keep ants at bay). Tak jadik jugak! Tambah pulak, I coexist in this place with so many huge cicak yang berak merata, diarrhoea ke ape depa nih? Bertempek-tempek taik dia kat lantai... euwww. So that Sunday, despite the daily scrubbing only on the affected places, I mopped the whole house. With the floors all wet, I turned my fan full blast and opened my windows so that they dry faster, that was when I saw this from my window,

bewok tengah bersidai. Sun tanning you.

At first I thought that was just a solitary monitor lizard, ropa-ropanya, berdua!

Kusss semangat. Terus tak jadi biar tingkap terbukak. Di buatnya dia panjat masuk, menjerit sorang-sorang la den.

Ah yes, I think now I know the answer to my niece's question.
She asked, "makcu nak boyfriend kerja apa?"
Now I want a pest control guy!

*****

Kepada mereka dan keluarga mereka yang duk tanya I makan ok ke tak, here, my first dish merasmikan dapur & tong gas baru beli.

tom yum ajer...

Suatu hari yang penat

What's for breaking fast?
For today, just me, kopi 'o' and pak tongko.
I was just too tired to eat.
The keli bakar and ulam I bought earlier can wait until sahur.
Tak larat.

*****

I had a fab time in a hundred million year old forest last weekend. Here's something from there.

I'm not good with animal identification, I suspect (suspek aje, tak confirm) this is tiger leech, Haemadipsa picta, in various poses.

pose lepak



pose 180 degree bend. pretty, innit?

extend his body out, ready to stick on any passing host.

penat, bend balik

reaching out!

streched out

Geli?
No, I tak geli pacat but I don't like it when they are jenis yang 'diberi betis nak paha', literally. They did not bite me anywhere near my feet, instead, they crawled up my thigh and waist, sucked my blood and left marks that refused to stop bleeding the whole evening, staining my fresh pants and shirt *sigh*. I can give you my blood for free but leave no mess, please.

Salam Merdeka & Salam Ramadhan

Salam Merdeka to all Malaysians.

In a few hours, I'll be away from the net (and I'm not sure about mobile coverage), gonna get myself acquainted to leeches and mosquitoes in the 'Not-yet-Valley' (hehe..).
Have a good Merdeka weekend everyone...
and kalau ada masa, alang-alang cuti tu kan, sedekahlah Al-Fatihah, Yasin dan doa pada mana-mana arwah yang pernah berjasa pada negara, boleh kan?

As we are approaching Ramadhan, I'd like to ask for forgiveness from all readers and friends. Mintak ampun mintak maaf ya.
May you have a blessed Ramadhan.

Simple life 1

Kepada flatmates saya di Chch, tak payah la jeles pasal saya dah balik. Belum lagi sempat nak pegi makan best-best kat Penang nih. Tu, kat atas tu was my lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon, cream crackers HupSeng cicah kopi 'O' kampung. Eh, Chch ade cream crackers tak?

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Wak is not my only neighbour. I have CikTaks too, and they are so damn noisy, partying after the heavy downpour on Sunday night. They croaked all night last night and the unsoothing rhythm continues tak sudah-sudah.

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It's not fair. When I was in NZ, I could watch programmes on Malaysia TV online but now I can't watch TVNZ-on-demand from outside NZ. Tak aci!

Megi kari & Glen Hansard

I don't have a stove at the moment. I'm not sure if I really need one. Cooking for one doesn't really make sense to me. I miss having the girls around so I could cook and force them to eat whatever I cook (wa rinduuu, ya hear?). Today, since Gu@nEng decided to give Penangites a holiday, I cook my first dish, maggi kari in rice cooker, while watching ONCE online. Don't have a tv, yet. Laptop is enough. At least now I get to watch movies that I've never watched and been wanting to watch for ages. Last week was Pulp Fiction. Last weekend was Dead Poets Society, and today, Once. I missed the screening of Dead Poets Society on film show night back in my secondary school. It definitely was a good one with great message there. Now I know why some of my mates were so crazy about the movie back then, cute boys, aye?



Ubi: love poetry but can't write one, love music but can't sing or play instruments. A good for nothing?

The world outside my window (Malaya version)

Meet my new neighbour, Wak. He (or she?) lives just outside the green wire fence that separates our territories. I skodeng him daily in the evenings when I sit quietly by the window, resting my sore feet from my daily long walk 'home' (I've no wheels at the moment). I only get to snap his photos from inside my room. Wak is a shy man, you see. Once I saw him on my side of the fence when I was out to hang my laundry but he ran away instantly. I must be too ugly that I scared the shit out of him.

Wak's full name is Ruak-ruak or Wak-wak. The omputeh call him white-breasted waterhen while some people who just love to give difficult spellings and hard to pronounce names call him Amaurornis phoenicurus. There, some introduction to local birds for you. Penguin korang kenal, burung wak-wak korang tak kenal??

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