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.

*****

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.

*****

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.