I have been delayed ...

Today, we have been delayed by a shipping company which I think is currently running a silence campaign. A week ago, we had confirmed a date and time for our personal effects to be picked up today. TO-DAY. And today, as daunting as you could ever imagined, we have waited up up to 3 hours..no signs of them. And so DH made that one phone call.

"So what did they say?"

"They're a little bit short on staff. But say they'll give a call to let us know .."

1/2 an hr later no return calls whatsoever. DH made that call for a second time, and this time, promised to get back to us in order to re-confirm pick up. And again, after a good 1/2 an hour, the phone didn't ring..1,2 hours passed and still no call. None.I was beginning to feel it was a bit too much. This dilly-dally has caused me in cancelling a meeting with Dr_Supervisor, whom have only Wednesday and Thursday to spare me with. Our 3rd call was fruitless - no confirmation but loads of promises. But later still silence.

Knackered from all that, at 8 pm we finally called it off. Due to this unfortunate event, my work has been delayed! Now I have to rearrange a meeting with Dr_Supervisor and at the same time work my way round with the time to get the house sorted out!

And I am no superwoman. My eye bags are turning black like Panda of China Mainland. And my skin, very dehydrated as if I am living in the Sahara dessert.

God Help me...

Amusing Ninjas...

I found this amusing ad on the net, thought would like to share it.

Don't you understand English?

My wonderful Tuesday afternoon was hastily interrupted by the phone ringing. Concedingly knowing that I was inevitably the one who has to pick it up (DH was off to the Post Office) I eventually, politely greeted the person on the other line, albeit half-heartedly.

"Hello?"

"G'afternoon madam. We are calling from *** window glazing and err, bllllthhh ...conservatories..bllllth"

"err....sorry?"

continuing to blabber on I-don't-even-know-what-is-she-even-talking-about..

Even though I had pardoned ,

"yada, yada, bla, bla, bla...and so we are wondering if you have received...."

My brain seemed to stall. I don't even know whether it was because the way the lady talked that awed me or the fact that I couldn't be bothered. You see, we often get calls for the wrong numbers. And so we have developed an attitude of "ohh..you've got the wrong number"-and-hang-up attitude. But this time, there's something about this lady that I can't quite figure out...something, something about her speech. Not quite right..

I sudddenly realised that my thoughts had taken me far away from the conversation and so I snapped out of it...God! What is this minah blabbing about? Think!

Remember what she last said! "so we are wondering if you have received...."

And as fast as a dash of lightning replied...

"Er..sorry I think you've got the wrong number. We haven't received anything..."

Thinking yes nothing, apart from that pair of leather boots from e-bay...nothing. zilch.

And before I could even finish my sentences...she went chuckling.

"Madam….don't you understand English? Do you speak it?"

What???? Have I conversed in Jawa? or some alienated language?

"Excuse me??"

"I said, don't you understand English? Do you speak it?"

"Of course I do!" Habis yg org cakap kebende tadi? And I bet you wouldn't have understood what I said if it wasn't English!

"Well, we are from **** double glazing and conservatories and we'd like to offer you bla, bla..great discount and bla,bla"

Uhh...salesgirl rupanye. Kurang asam..

For the whole 5 minutes, I could finally tell why this salesgirl was so damn hard to listened to. This woman I tell you had the indian-british accent going on. I have no problem understanding people who converse in an indian-british or pakistani-british accent nor do I have problems with such people. You see, having Indians and pakistani landlords for a simultaneous 6 years does help you adapt to understand these accents and pick up what they say instantly. But to listen to someone who converses in an indian-british accent with a full mouth all at the same time doesn't help you understand any sense in any way.

This lady...she seemed to have full of crumbs falling out of her mouth as she spoke or saliva frothing out like water outflowing a bath. Lots of blllthhh..bllltttththhh..bltttzzzth! Gosh!

"Not interested..."

And again, firmly said "Sorry, I am not interested..."

"..yes madam we understand that you are not interested.."
how dares she cut my line !!!

"But..we would be happy to offer you cashback guarantee....yada, yada, bla..blaa"

"I'M SORRY, NOT INTERESTED!!"

"Alright madam.." hangs up the phone.

This stupid conversation spoiled my mood for the rest of the day. Am I too hard to be understood? I told DH about the whole conversation as soon as he got home and he said ..

"Actually, you should've said to her...Don't you understand English?"

Slapped my forehead. Yeah..true. Guess I was too numb listening to a moron-who-refuses-to-listen, to give such a reply.

Smell...

This is the UK TV ad that I have promised Petai. I hope with this , you could reminisce the times enjoying watching TV in UK. :)

This advert is by the male deodorant, Lynx a bit lu-cah lah (according to DH).

Smell my bontot will ya?

" Morning ..." LO greets DH as DH wakes up. She throws herself at DH to be hugged.

"Good Morning.."

"Smell meeee...." *offers her back of her hand to smell, because that is where I usually spray her cologne*

"Hmm...wangi!"

"Smell dis..Atin mandi" *offers her face, because I had applied talcum there*

"Hmm..." replies DH, smelling off her face.

"Smell dis..."
* flipping up her t-shirt and unbares her tummy, because there too I had applied fragranced talcum *

"Hmmm...Nice" replied DH.

"Buuuntttuut?"

"arrgh? No!! Baba is not smelling your bontot!"

And DH sprang to his feet, off to breakfast table. That does it! Hehehehe...

Kawin Anak Raja

Of course what mothers want are only the best for their darling children. Children are what they treasure most for these youngsters are to become adults, grow wise, succesfully build their lifes and careers around them and eventually take care of the mother as responsibility is reversed. Nobody can deny the fact that your children are most treasured when you are a shaky, flabby and all-wrinkly 80yr olds. Therefore, they want you to become the best of people around. Security is all they wanted. And you'll find the same thing applies to you when you step in their shoes.

However, mothers could sometimes become over-realistic, their imaginary often almost fairy tale-like. All that hoping sometimes can be over-bearing. But we must not blame them for their offsprings deserve nothing but the best.

"Nanti besar nak kawin siapa?"

I had imagined or known only 3 malay boys that could fit in the answer to the mega-question. My cousin and two other boys in class 1 Anggerik. Heard that marrying your cousin is a big No-No...and so his name was quickly taken off my mental display. The other boys? Nah..one is too arrogant and the other is too sissy.

"emm..entah, siapa eh?"

"Kawin anak raja tau..."

"Anak raja? Wah...kenapa?"

"Nanti Ma tumpang senang"

"Well, OK lah...anak raja lah"

5 years passed and the question pops up for a second time

"Nak kawin siapa?"

"Anak rajalah..siapa lagi"

Mother is smiling ear-to-ear. Good, she may have thought.

Another 5 years later, I am not married to anak raja but yes, the king himself. King of my heart and soul. cehwah...Yes, it is true. He may not be an anak raja but what counts more than love and devotion? Yes, money gets you around, take you places and dine you in fancy restaurants. Marrying a big-shot may have you cheuffuerred in fancy gigantic mobiles, strings of maids, extra bling-bling, big mansion you call home and the list goes on...but what do these mean when at the end of the day, you realised you're only married to him for the £££ or RM-RM-RM?? For at the end of the day, you need that someone to stroke your hair, blissfully look into your eyes and convey the endless love he has for you, over and over again. And what could be more difficult than not to be able to reciprocate that love. You may well pretend to love him but you'll find pretending could be exhaustive. Well, that if you could find one anak raja and marry him for money lah.

But what happens if you are the scapegoat? Some socialites/bigshots do find a trophy wife to marry to, somebody who are nice and proper to look at at formal functions and be obedient. All the time. Why? I do not know..perhaps trophy wifes are good for apperance, social status, reputation and etc in the eyes of the social circle....sadly, the truth often turns out they ronggeng behind their wife's back. Unnoticed, they go dangdut in discos, order escorts and get tricked into marrying a 2nd or 3rd in Narathiwat.

I've heard plenty stories of rich people ending up failing their marriages to secretaries and artistes. Some are financially supportive to their first wives albeit being unattached totally with the goings of the household or welfare of their children.

And who are to be blamed?

Mothers for that fairy-tale-like aspiration? Or anak raja ? Or ourselves?

I don't have the answer for all I know marriage has to be based on love and devotion. Later comes honesty and sincerity. Ask yourself , is this the person you are willing to spend the rest of your lifes with?

And errr...marriage is all about willing to accept the good and bad be it in sickness or in health. You are both in it together. It is all about learning to adapt to each other for LIFE.

Err...and on the account of kawin anak raja, one question...nak ke anak raja kat kite? hehehehehe..

Mothers out there be easy on your child, OK?

In the toilet while doing that depositing bussiness, in the shower, waiting for your LRT..whereever you may find that space ...think and do ponder.

Oh my little daughter Part 3

As usual on Saturdays at around noon time, LO easily becomes bored. No more CiTV as cartoons are replaced with soaps or horse race, sometimes 60s movies . CBeebies keeps airing the same programmes that they have shown at 6 am. All in a row. Same with CBBC.

Felix the Movie, Popeye the Sailor, Finding Nemo, Little Stuart..you name it all... they have been watched countless times. She's bored.

Nothing else to turn to than her small Thinkpad...and so,

"Mummy..." *tugging my shirt* "Mummy...Atin want tu pley tontuter"

"huh? .."

"Tonnnnnn....tuuuu..ter..plis Atin wan, plis"

"Say it properly! Com-pu-ter..Now you say it ..properly."

"Ton-tu-ter"

"Salah tu Sayang...Com, Pu, Ter!!"

"Ala.....TON, TU, TER!!Plis ...nak plis"

"Salaaaah....Follow mummy. COM.."

"Kom.."

"PU...."

"Piiiieeeuu"

"TER!"

"Terrrrr"

"Ok.Good.Follow mummy one more time. COM.."

"Kom..." *nods her head as if to follow the tone*

"PU"

"Piiiieeeeeuuu..." *slowly drawing her nodded head upwards*

"TER! Say all..COM,PU,TER....COMPUTER!"

"Terrrrr...."
*now forwarding her head like a duck..or like the one people do in imitating the eyptian walk*

"Come on..say it all again..all"

"Kom..." *2 sec pause* "Piiieuuu..." *2 sec pause* "Terrrr!!...Tontuter!"

Oh..my little daughter

Articulate Writing....What it means

I had taken this from Idlan's and these are so damn close to being true. Would like to share them with you.

Talking about writing articulately...

Academic Writing and What It Really Means:

1. "It has long been known"... I didn't look up the original reference.
2. "A definite trend is evident"... These data are practically meaningless.
3. "While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to the questions"... An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published.
4. "Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study"... The other results didn't make any sense.
5. "Typical results are shown"... This is the prettiest graph.
6. "These results will be in a subsequent report"... I might get around to this sometime, if pushed/funded.
7. "In my experience"... once.
8. "In case after case"... twice.
9. "In a series of cases"... thrice.
10. "It is believed that"... I think.
11. "It is generally believed that"... A couple of others think so, too.
12. "Correct within an order of magnitude"... Wrong.
13. "According to statistical analysis"... Rumour has it.
14. "A statistically oriented projection of the significance of these findings"... A wild guess.
15. "A careful analysis of obtainable data"... Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of pop.
16. "It is clear that much additional work will be required before a complete understanding of this phenomenon occurs"... I don't understand it.
17. "After additional study by my colleagues"... They don't understand it either.
18. "Thanks are due to Joe Bloggs for assistance with the experiment and to Cindy Adams for valuable discussions"... Mr. Bloggs did the work and Ms. Adams explained to me what it meant.
19. "A highly significant area for exploratory study"... A totally useless topic selected by my supervisor.
20. "It is hoped that this study will stimulate further investigation in this field"... I quit.
    

:)

Deadline to meet...

What is this?


Deadline..deadline

This is how it looks like when an u/ground high voltage cable is heated. Moisture is driven away from the core.

Deadline..deadline

My next self indulgence....

Our books..

I have not been blogging for 4 days ... 4 days.

No, I haven't become bored of blogging but the fact that have been busy, busy, busy and busy. I have a deadline and dare not miss it.

.. and I have been shopping some books at Banana Books and BookEnds,in Gunwharf Quays & Whitely Factory Outlet.

These are the books that I am planning to indulge myself with. 3 of which are DH's, and yes we do share books although he sometimes does not read mine. (he does read my National Enquirer...does that count?) Yes, he has now become an avid reader of National Enquirer you know, and due to my current lack of time for pleasure reading, he would usually inform me of the contents! And yes, we used to fight over who should read it first , especially when it is still crisp.

Ok..the book that I have chosen is The Poison Principles ~ A Memoir of Family Secrets and Literary Poisonings. No, no intention of making it a guidebook to poison people but yes, I love memoirs. The last one that I had read was The Wild Swan. Awesome. (Still hoping to grab Memoirs of a Geisha by any possible chance) And I am slowly adapting to liking autobiographies, they do not differ much in form, really, simply because they are just memoirs of somebody famous. The first I had read is Diana, bought at a car boot sale for 50p. Not too bad.

The other day at Bookends, DH was reckoning David Beckham’s. Cheap. £5.

And I went “HUH?”

“Ya la..famous what..”

“No! …Well, if you feel like, take lah itu Beckham’s autobio…I tak minat”

“Err, tak apalah I think I‘ll take Ulrika Johnson’s”

“What?” Already giving DH a sinister look. Bile masa lak minat Ulrika nih?

…you may find Beckham’s would be interesting, but I’m afraid I have to think otherwise. It’d be dead boring. To read somebody who are superficial human beings would do no good to your self esteem…they only make you dream and dream..and dream. Well, there is nothing wrong with dreaming, but dreaming too much would be hazardous to your self-esteem. Trust me.

I need someone who is successful in some other way, somebody worthwhile of reading ..yes, an entrepreneur would suit me well. Maybe Bill Gates or Richard Branson. yeah…

My next book is Among The Believers: An Islamic Journey. Written by knighted V.S Naipaul, regarding his journey of meeting Muslims in Asia particularly, people who are in search for purity of Islam. What intrigues me is the fact that he mentioned those whom he met were those of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia and err, also the fact that he is one Nobel prize winner. Wouldn’t you like to know what he has to say about us?

Right, I shall not bore you with my new books, I know you’d probably have been flipping your heads on the computer desk by the time you are reading this line. Bear with me, I am just too anxious about my books!

Ok…now I’m gonna recluse to the loo with my newly bought The Times’ Mega Crosswords. Ciao!

Fancy any crossaints or teh tarik?

When you have a grumbling stomach at 3 am, nothing beats two, all buttered, hot crossaints with a cup of teh tarik. Bliss. Pure bliss.

In case you are wondering, yes, I had proper dinner and it was wonderful lamb korma. When I say it is wonderful, I meant good, fantastic, well at least for a change … on a note that considering we had eaten chicken and chicken and chicken daily for the past few weeks. I hope we hadn’t developed any chicken traits for I feel it has slowly altered my DNA.

It is not the fact that I had little dinner, but it has been more than 8 hours since I had my dinner. And according to the law of tummies, my stomach grumbles and my head starts spinning. I bet yours do too!

Back to my crossaints, I love mine hot and all buttered in the middle. The best part of eating it is when the flakes crumble into your mouth and the butter sauces up your taste buds. Bliss. My best crossaints would have to be of Swiss’. They make perfect crossaints, I bet you.

And speaking of teh tariks, I have become fond of it since being married to DH. Otherwise I have been a Nescafe person. Remember the day DH, who were back then were merely a DF (Dearie Fiance), came to my house and after a strong persuasion from dearest mother, decided to stay for dinner. After dinner, mother had offered a nice hot drink for DH and the moment he said ‘OK, will do’, mother turned to me and commanded me to prepare the drink.

“Nak apa?”

“Err..apa-apa je lah mak cik”

“Teh tarik? Awak minum teh tarik kan?”

“ errr…”

The command went out before any replies were muttered.

And so I had to prepare the teh tarik. For the life of me, I had no idea that teh tariks need a handful of tea sachets to make them full and creamy. A handful, which I think on a count of numbers would save you on teh ‘O’ for at least 5 to 6 servings. Let me tell you, being raised in the hygiene-strict household, I have always been discouraged against dining at stalls and the like. So you can guess for yourself, I am not a stall frequent or a mamak frequent. How am I supposed to know the consistency let alone the right colour of teh tarik?

“La….apa nih? Buat malu aje, ini bukan teh tarik…cair boir aje. Pucat! Tambah lagi teh!”

Ayooo…............

I felt like creeping under my shirt…...

Felt like an 3–inch wall could not well hide my embarrassment.

Jatuh saham..

However, thanks to being married to a teh tarik guy, I now make good teh tariks. Come to my house and I would serve you no other drink than teh tarik…And scare you not, I make perfect teh tariks (hahaha..angkat bakul, tapi tak apa blog sendiri apa boleh buat)!

But one thing for sure, I will not take responsibility for any constipation caused. Full stop.

To blog is to entertain...ja?

Recently, I have been perpetually pledging myself to write more on articulate issues. It seems like I have been blogging more on 'the daily life of OuiOui', which I do not want to inundate this blog with. It would be nice to balance this blog with my opinionated view on current issues. But time is not permitting.

I must let you know that at the current time being, I have less and less spare time and I am in no state to further procrastinate the completion of my work.

And so, the few minutes to spare went to writing what I have written, only because they were easier to compose without having to ponder heavily.

Anyway, it is not my itention to proffer you with my inner thoughts. In order to keep you amused and entertained today, (after all, that is what blogging is all about! But if it is less than amusing keep it to yourself OK ?) I would like to share with you our favourite TV commercial. This TV ad have always wanna make me dance. Your toes would happily tap in sync with the music. See it for yourself and you'd think the same.

On a lighter note, this TV ad always reminds me of Petai, a friend whom I have become amazed with her ability to name most of Hollywood actors/actressed circa 1950s-60s. Talking about younger generation, you would not expect people like her (at my age) to be able to recognise them. Maybe your father or mother, or grandparents, yes, but not you!

*salute Petai, jangan kembang sangat noo..*

hahaha

OK, Enjoy yourself with this UK TV ad by VW Golf.

Nutty Case Conspiracy

A conspiracy video clip. Rated PG.

The other day DH was complimenting his hair and likened it to that of James van der Beek from Dawson's Creek. How much he has seen this similar has somewhat intrigued me.

Anyway, this entry is not about DH's hair but his attempt on video clipping Chip, Chippy, Dale and Daly; which he is proud of and demands to be awarded Director of the Year.

With his fringed hair (which is exactly due to delayed haircut, not style) and this video clip, I should later give him a pat and say ..."yes, you Dawson lah.."

hahahahaha...jangan mare

Oh my little daughter Part 2

Last night around midnight time, Little One had demanded McDonald's.

And so I said....

"isshh....mana ada McDonald's now. It's good night, not good morning.."

"alaaa..Atin wan toy, wan fais..." frowned LO.

"We go when it's good morning, ok? Look, it's still night time" *me pointing at the night sky*

"hmmm...Owait.." frustratingly conceded.

5 seconds later we were startled by her shouting ....

"Sun!!! Wake uuuuuup!!"

hhhhhhhussssshhh!!!!!! DH and I promptly gave her a big husssshhh.

"Why shout?"

"Atin..wan good moning...Atin wan sun wake up!"

Oh my little daughter....

This is better than being in London Zoo

..or the Marwell Zoological Park because at the comfort of our cosy little apartment, we are able to feed the squirrels every morning, which I have become accustomed to.

Early at 8 yesterday morning I have noticed four squirrels lining up on the fence, the fence that borders our compound from the next door commons. And all this while I have thought there are only two of them, Chip and Dale.

And so I have decided to name the other two Chippy and Daly. So now we have Chip, Chippy, Dale and Daly!

And this morning I have witnessed three of them mischeviously squatter on the fence, perhaps waiting for some food to be fed at. So, we fed them some Tesco cheese biscuits. One didn't seem to like it but stayed around hoping some sort of other feeding would come his way but the other two were contently munching, one biscuit after the other.

errr...but our home is nothing similar like the London Zoo aaah...

LO... suatu waktu dahulu....

Video ni taken masa di Christchurch... wanted to have coffee or minum petang but ended up having dinner instead. Alles gut?

Mogok day

It is Wednesday and time to post Picture of the Week..

Unfortunately, it has to be postponed to a later time as my yet another unpaid associate cum artist, LO, has been showing protest and is currently on strike against contibuting scribblings or any form of drawings to Amused and Confused, today.

For the past 15 minutes of ushering, she has been replying

" hmm! ta nak tawan... ta nak tawan..."
( don't want to friend you...)

It is to my musing on what reason she has this grudge held against. Well, maybe a Kinder Egg might just do it...

If it works, it''ll be on my next entry.

And you, have a nice day ahead!

OK dah..

I have allowed 10 minutes to vent out my anger over a lost entry. Now I'm suam-suam kuku..not as hot anymore lah.

No, no, however I am not in the mood to rewrite the entry that I have lost.

I have decided to return only because I would like to let you know that it is such a pleasure to make you feel much welcomed here at my blog. Therefore we have included Heart.FM, live webcams of Bern, Zermatt and Soton and the latest, crossword puzzles.

If you are a crossword puzzle freak, help yourself with the puzzle that I have included at the bottom of this blog page.

All credits go to DH, my unpaid IT consultant...

You really boil me up!

~~~~

I am soooooooo mad with blogger.com at the moment.

uurrrrghhh!!!.......

I have lost my entry ..... and this really boils me up! And I am not keen on rewriting it.

@Portsmouth: Eclipse of the sun.

This photo was taken during autumn 2004. Photo was taken by DH.

Peanut Royale und Maruku...M'sia Mari

Last week, during SIL brief visit we were given two boxes of Malaysian delicacies. One box of peanut biscuit ( ala..from the look of it on the box, like the ones you would find during hari raya..something like kuih raya lah!) and the other, Malaysian Muruku. I was overjoyed. To receive something Malaysian is greatly appreciated. You'd eventually appreciate anything Malaysian when you are abroad. True....! I started to appreciate listening to Malay songs and watch Malay movies when I studied abroad. It wasn't only that, then came along some other things that may relate to home. Air sirap, cendol, the smell of your old room, your mom's cooking, anything really. Once, I longed for pisang goreng like the ones they fry and sell at the stalls back home.

Ok, back to about the gifts. I studied the boxes and suddenly my enthusiasm is shortlived. The boxes bear dull presentation of the contents. They look amateurish, you know, like it have been produced to be sold in pasar malam. The boxes are too light, say flimsy-like. It wonders me because these products are exclusively produced and packaged for sales in KLIA.. and hence why the dull and amateur boxes...? aiyaa..

I know, I know, you must be saying quality and taste of the content that matters. But hey, we are talking about M'sian products for tourists as potential buyers here! Shouldn't the packaging be an extra overwhelming?

Later, I stripped off the openings (box of the peanut biscuits) and there were two foil packagings. Hmm...good. I didn't expect them to be foil-packed within. I do not know how the biscuits packagings are like now in M'sia but as far as I remember my boarding-school-days, Hwa Tai or Julie's biscuits had never been foil-packed within. And so I thought, this one isn't too bad..foil-packed!

A minute later we snacked on the peanut biscuits and whoooaaa...........! I was lost for words..I had never tasted peanut biscuit that delicious! We snacked on them non-stop and by the time we had our 2nd cuppa tea, the biscuits were almost gone. I was impressed, to say the least. DH demanded to have a look at the box and found the price tag. RM 10. He counted the seatings on the biscuit tray..1,2...3...10. One tiny peanut biscuit=RM0.10. But we felt worth it. They were really delicious.

And the Maruku? Two thumbs up ! It too had a foil packaging and the muruku is the finest I have ever tasted. A good pat on the shoulder for Che Mah Saad, ( stated on the box, the supplier cum manufacturer). However, the content is very little. I can say if it was the choice of snack over a movie, you'd probably finished them before the trailer finishes. No price tag detected but I'd say it had probably cost around RM10 too.

So, you people, do not judge biscuits by its boxes!

However, I strongly feel that they (the manufacturers) could have done a better job with the presentation box. If I were a tourist and have seen these boxes on the shelf, I'd probably not even have the nudge to purchase them! What they should do is improvise the outer packaging. Concentrate more on the visual rather than the wordings.

Kenapa tak percaya? If you have the chance to go to KLIA...purchase these and tell me what you think of their tastes. I will guarantee you'd think the same!

Happy Anniversary........

~~~~

Fancy a 0.4 carat platinum diamond solitaire ring for your 48th wedding anniversary?

Who wouldn't!

:P

~~~~

It's easy as ABC !

ABC by LO.

~~~

"Mummy, pen please...." *hands over a ball point pen*

"Mummy, paper please..." *hands over a white A4 printing paper*

5 minutes later...

"Mummy, look A, B, C !"

"huh? Whaaa ...tt.."

"Mummy, look here got A, B, C"

This is LO's first attempt on A-B-C-till-Z writings, which went unassisted and independantly initiated. And uh...with no visual reference whatsoever. It is all totally on memory. She must have remembered how the letters look like. Thanks to the well-mesmerized A-B-C song.

I have accidently cropped out her J and I realised that she has missed out on her L. Her K looks like an M (or N?). Her S is a combination of C and E. Her X looks like a mirrored N, her Y is missing its tail and her Z is the opposite of S. But hey, they may not look perfect to you, but it is something for a 3 year old child, don't you think?

Hey you, can I call you that? or this?

Have you ever thought of how astute you are going to be or have been with naming your child? A neat and beautiful name (given to a child) might end up being shorten to a nick that may sound cute and sweet to loved ones BUT ridiculous to others. People may say name is just a name; how could it possibly be more hurtful than an earful of ridiculed teases? After all, life goes on and as you grow up, people become respectful of you and treat you no less than an adult. No more teases. No more calling names.

But we darn well know that in reality, names do influence our life. Some kids with weird and unusual (or unique) birth names sometimes find their names get the better of them; most common consequences are being bullied and ridiculed at school. Having known this may be inevitable, astute parents do take thorough contemplation in deciding the right names for their new-borns. The names musn't only sound sweet and nice, but also endow beautiful meanings.

There are also parents who have empowering desire in naming their children using the formula of yourname-myname-combo. Most often than not, they turned out to be beautiful ones, albeit they being meaningless.

Real pretty names that I have heard and made me think, ‘hmm…that’s nice but…’ ;
Batrisya nick-named to Battery
Mutiara nick-named to Muti (sounds Indian-like ‘murthy’)

Weird names that I have come across in my life;
Anak (anak is 'child' in Malay, hence calling your child, 'child' is weird)
Felimal (in this case the mother was a Philipino and the father Malaysian, hence a combo of ‘Fili’ from Philiphines and ‘Mal’ from M’sia)

And I have realised that people with prefixes Tengku (Tg) prefer them to be called Ku-*….* and hence you have dozens and hundreds of Kuman, Kuli, Kusam, Kumar and etc…ter-kulai den mendengornye. It is a shame that beautiful royal-descendant-Tengku names are being shortened to such negative nick-names. Why?

Check these out...

Tg Azman becomes Kuman (in Malay Kuman means bacteria)
Tg Ali or Tg Razali becomes Kuli (in Malay Kuli means slave)
Tg Samsudin becomes Kusam (in Malay Kusam means dull)
Tg Amar becomes Kumar (it’s an Indian name, hence if you are a Malay, people mistaken you for an Indian )

which if being called in full, would beautifully mean in Arabic...

Azman (means ambitious)
Shamsudin (means the sun or shine of Addin)
Amar (means to command, in charge or lead)

See what I mean? When you have beautiful and meaningful names, stick to and stand by them. Do not let people call you with silly and meaningless nick-names.… and err, do not forget to thank your parents for naming you what you are.

DH's contribution: "Sepetang di Woolston"

Big break..

Yesterday was a day of a big break. We had driven to Heathrow Airport and fetched my SIL and husband who are in a 7 hour transit to Paris. We drove them back to Soton for quick showers and a chance for them to freshen up. Did a little bit of touring the city, shopping and lunch and off to Heathrow again. By the time we were home again, it was barely 5pm but we felt that it was already midnight as both of us were fighting darn hard to stay awake. (we hadn't had sleep during the night before realising that we had to meet them at Heathrow at 6am day after)

Anyway, to spend the whole day off my computer desk is somehow seem like a big break for me. It was nice to have relative coming over even it was for a short period of time. Enjoyed it.

And Bat Na if you're reading this, Mummy and Bapak have safely departed for Paris yesterday. Wished you and Ali had come along but I guess you are busy with school. Heard about how well you did in French oral viva and all the interviews you had with the universities... Well wishes from me and Uc.Yon, Ok.

OK..back to work!

Knackered

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Knackered, so knackered. Will zzzzz...and update you with more entries as soon as I get my full needed rest/sleep/hotbath.


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Picture of the Week - Part 2

Dinasour in Stone Age.

...as drawn and explained by LO.

Contribution from DH.

Money, money money...

If anyone is benefitting from M.Jackson's trial, it's the locals of Santa Maria. Read this: SantaMariaTrial

Sometimes it amaze me how one or a society could cash in in the expense of others. But I guess this is different from opportunist in Malaysia who like to take up stalls whenever there are road rallies, demonstrations or Friday prayers.

I remember the day, Datin Seri Azizah wife of DSAI hosted the 2004 raya open house. People has started putting up stalls along Jalan Setiabakti as early as 7 in the morning. I always wonder, what made these people think that anyone would actually buy their flavour&colour-enhanced-water-tap drink, when people who come to the open house eventually eat and drink real proper food? And amazingly, how did these stallers come to know DSAI hosted an open house?

Same scenario on Fridays, a very common conversation at a cendol stall by the mosque.

"Mamak, mamak ni Muslim ka?"

"Musti..saya Muslim...Mari cendol, mari.."

"Ok mamak, satu cendol bungkus" or "Ok mamak, satu cendol makan sini"

Later when you enter the mosque for Friday prayer during khutbah, you noticed the guy who sold you cendol earlier on was still busy entertaining female customers; or still busy grinding ice for after-prayer-sales. After you have completed Friday prayer, he is still sweating and grinding. Betul ke mamak ni muslim? Ke tak semayang?....

Hungry Little One

Part I
Little one (LO) hasn't had proper lunch and dinner today, due to her parents being busy with spring cleaning.

I was totally off my mind with real time. I must have had my head thinking

..hmm...how's this? it shines? nay...gosok lagi....emm, more Mr Muscle...*spitz!spitz!* gosok lagi...more and more!

If you are wondering what I am blabbing about, it was the fridge! It stains so oh easily that it irritates me, hence the cleaning. It was almost 6 in the evening and LO hasn't had even proper breakfast (except for a small bowl of Milo). And I am cursing myself as am writing this....Kesian dia..

With ruffled hair and sloppy sleeping attire she came to me and tugged my shirt, at the end.

"Mummy...Atin hungry. Nak makan"

As reality slaps in, I felt almost like submerging slowly from a pool of water. La..tak masak lagi. Patut le lapar!

And so I quickly fix her two nicely fried, chicken drumsticks. She ate avidly that I had anticipated her asking for a third. But she didn't. Later with full stomach, she happily reclined against the futon and do the happy clickety with online disney games.


Part II
It was midnight and my tummy was rambling for a midnight snack. So, kitchen I went and reached for JustRight. I had two bowl-full of the cereal and should well call it super-advanced breakfast, not a midnight snack.

LO had seen me feasted on the cereal and so demanded be served the same in her pink-butterfly cereal bowl. Poured cereal. Poured milk. Chucked a spoon in. There you go.

"Come sayang take this"

"Owait....." She came into the kitchen and fetched the bowl.

DH: "Makan betul-betul. No tumpah OK? Baba tak nak tumpah"
(eat properly...no spillage, OK?I don't want you to eat clumsily)

LO: "Owait...Atin no tumpah"
spooning in a chunk of cereal into her mouth with a big *sluurrrrrrp*

LO looking back at DH with a meaningful smile.

LO: "Mummy, Baba... no angry OK? Atin tak nak angry"

Clever! Clever!


Part III
This was yesterday. LO was hungry and had asked for 'rice and chicken'. I was in the middle of a heated discussion with DH and replied her with a 'yes' and no further action.

Demand went unheard for a few times with a mere 'yes..yes, OK' and several nods.

About 2 or 3 minutes later,

"aaaa la la duuu di aaaaa..." *hymning* (trying to make up a la di da song )

"Atin hungry laaalaa duuu di .......nak makan....weeeeea la alaaa"

"twinkel..twinkel..laaa laa laaa...quick mummy la la la ...atin nak makan weee du we daa"

Heard it and looked at DH.

"She actually sang that she wanted makan!!"

DH gave a big grin.

"Anak kita nih....pandai carik attention"

Hahahahaha

And so I sprang up to my feet and off to kitchen to fix her a decent meal of chicken and rice.

Hygiene Freak

This article SwissCleanliness from BBC News' column 'Our Correspondence' reminds me of the day when DH moved out of his studio apartment in Brungasse. And it may remind him of the day he moved out from his Saali 3-bedroom apartment to the studio apartment in Brungasse.

I don't know whether you have read this. But doesn't it remind you of good old cleaning days in Saali? Betul ke sampai ada inspector? :)

They do take cleanliness seriously, especially when you are the tenant and are moving out of their rented property. No matter how hard you've scrubbed that cooker or shined the tiles, or steam cleaned the carpet, at the end of the day they'd tell you

"Nope, theez is not gud. I need subcontractor cleaner to do this job. All this cleaning..nicht gud"

And so, later you would see the cleaning bill substracted out of your returned deposit ..and find yourself slapping your forehead hard ..

DH was fortunate though, Maria (his landlady in Brungasse) was very friendly and was more concerned about DH and I not being able to catch our flight to Heathrow. And so, session of inspection was cut short and the mere half an hour was actually spent asking us things that had gone broken and need replacement.

A short conversation had revealed that the fridge and cooker were almost 20 years old.

"I need to replace them"

We looked at each other, and smiled. What? All that scrubbing and cleaning? Now you are telling me you are chucking those away?

Well, it is true that Swiss people are mad about hygiene. But you may have the luck, like DH has with Maria. If you are a hygiene freak, you may find it nothing but a small matter and you'd probably clean to perfection. But if you are the opposite and not make the standard, prepare to have a heart attack when you receive the hefty cleaning bill!

Happy Anniversary!

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This month is full of wedding anniversaries.

We'd be celebrating DH's parents' wedding anniversary this month and a day after that, our wedding anniversary. And a day after ours, DH's brother's. Talking about coincidence!

:)

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Oh my little daughter...

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Cheeky she may be, but very enthusiastic she is ..

at folding clothes!

Of the dozen dried and cleaned laundry, a third quarter are her clothes. And I am a bit relaxed as she folds all of her clean laundry with assistance refused.

Oh my, little daughter....

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Today is all about...

Squatting and Scrubbing ...

I squatted and I scrubbed.....the kitchen, its cabinets and walls. They are full of dried, grease droplets. It must have been there collectively cohered bit by bit for a full 6 months or so. Well, it is not as horrifying as you may imagined but I can say, when you give it a little bit of a focus, you'd notice them.

You must be thinking how slackened I am with the kitchen......

But think no more!

After half a day's scrubbing, I am very proud of my kitchen. I have now scrubbed these grease away for good. Now my kitchen is sparkling white! Err..except for the kitchen hoods.Will do that tomorrow.

A useful tip I wanna share..

You know how irritatingly tumeric stain your kitchen worktop? It's easy, just put a dab of thick bleach, give it half a minute or so and quickly rub it off with wet cloth. It works wonders! Give it a try.

Ok..that's enough for now, I am so tired and need a hot shower.

Btw, DH has included a video clip on a Korean love song (not sure from which movie). Enjoy...listening!

Need soundtrack for my blog...help!

I am desperately seeking for the soundtrack of the movie "A Tale of Two Sisters". Would be nice to have it in media player and share it with you in this blog. I have failed to search for it only having found the trailer. Unfortunately the trailer does not include the beautiful classical soundtrack it has.

A soundtrack album is available though, but would be a shipment from Korea. Alahai....too much hassle lah. I am not keen on to be charged import duty and so on.

And so, as usual when search fails I turn to e-bay. :)

Fingers crossed..

This search has reminded me of the same way I have fallen for the soundtrack in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. I loved it so much that I bought the soundtrack album in HMV for 15 quid and that was in 1996. This time it is different simply because it is Korean and to find the soundtrack in HMV would be a slim chance.

Emm..what do you reckon?

Tacky Tag Board

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I had my tag board removed because they ( the tag board site) were down. And this has caused my page to load longer than usual and it annoyed DH as well as me. * sigh *

Do not worry, I will think of some other way to communicate with you; in the mean time feel free to pen down something in the comment box.

Oh yeah...have a nice weekend.

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Blogger and blog-hopping

Since Dina Zaman has stopped blogging, I have literally stopped reading blogs. This is simply because she has a list of blogs linked and usually after my daily dose of DZ's entries, I'd blog-hop from her page. Sadly, she has stopped now and I am just too lazy to read other people's blogs. It'd be a big effort for me to do a yahoo search just to read other blogs.

It was a surprise stoppage. I do not know why DZ stopped blogging suddenly but I guess I, like many others (her avid readers) have to respect her decision. The last time I heard of her, she is busy with work and is preparing a project on a documentary.

......

So, I need to relive my days of blog hopping. To widen my creativity in writing, perhaps...iye ke nih? If you are following my blog and you have one, feel free to link me to yours and I'll do the same. Well, as long as yours is not a porno site. Thank you.

Oh dear...

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Oh dear, my computer has come to a point of exhaustion.

I have become quite freaky because of this . I have a very important mission to complete and my computer is showing signs of ending its life.....ayama, ayapa!

Please, please ...I beg of you dear PC , hang in there. Jangan dikau pergi sebelum waktunya...

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3 Minute Wonder

I was stunned.

I was in the middle of work when I had a fast look at the TV. There written on the screen, the word 'Islam'. One smartly dressed guy with a lady dressed in pink top and pencil-lined skirt, standing near what I assumed a stand with two books. Later I understand that it was the programme called 'Three Minute Wonder'. It is a three minutes slot on Channel 4 where they air short-3-minutes programmes produced by amateur film/show producers.

Before, it has been either 'A day's life of an artiste' or 'I'm a dancer' . Most of the time, things that relate to the society culture or activity. But today, they have shown an advertisement to fill the slot. Something like catalogue TV and it wasn't this that stunned me but the fact that they were selling Qoran. By Haveit.tv. Wow.

It was a package of I think, two Qorans, with one or two guidebooks on Islam. They further stunned me when these two hosts speak of the 5 pillars of Islam and briefly explain these pillars. The lady even pointed to the wordings with her fingers to show how fine the prints are. Err...could she actually do that?

Anyway, I was stunned. The power of todays' technology..you could even buy Qoran on national TV at premier time.

Wow.

Missing Bern

We were talking about Switzerland over lunch and something strike me hard. I miss Swiss. Especially Bern. And so I have included live webcams of Bern and Zermatt at the left side of this blog.

Please find that the first picture is Bern and second is Zermatt. You could refresh the page to see the changes in the live webcams.

The Bern Live webcam is taken from a road called Muenstergasse (pronouned as muns-ter-gas-se) which is a block away from where DH used to live, Brunngasse. I recognised the road because I had went there once to visit a second hand shop. Ah yes, Albert Enstein used to live in Muenstergasse.

And the tall building you see is the famous Bern Clock Tower. It was first built in 1218 and survived several restorations from 1218 up to 1700s and it still stands tall today. We would usually avoid pedestrian path at the tower when the time strikes hourly because the area would be packed of Japanese tourists looking up at the clock jester.


Bern
Bern is the capital of Switzerland and where the parliament have their seating. There are 26 major cantons and several minor ones. The major ones have their own government and emblems. Canton Bern joined the Swiss federation in 1353. Before it was known as Republic of Bern. Below is the emblem of Bern. The word Bern itself is a word for "Bear". I guess there were a lot of bears around a long time ago. To live up to its historial name, Bern has retained its famous bear pit which is located in the city centre and you could see 3 or 4 bears in the open pit.

Ok, I do not want to bore you with any more details but enough to say that it is not as happening as Geneva or Zurich. However, the scenery is more breathtaking; less hustle bustle. Hence, if you appreciate serenity, Bern is the place. And yes, people are warm there. And majority speak German, although some may speak French.

Zermatt
Zermatt is a town situated at the base of one of the flock of Swiss alps. From here you could take a trip to several peaks:

Gornergrat
Matterhorn ( the famous peak on Toblerone chocolates)
Trockener Steg
Monterossa

If you really want to enjoy photographing sceneries, especially that of Matterhorn, best place to go is Gornergrat. To ski or tobbogan, Trockener Steg is the place. Skiing equipments are for rent and you have to take a compulsory one hour lesson before you are permittable to ski.

What I love most about Zermatt is the city and the cottages. SO beautiful. But an advise, do not shop there..mahal gile.Oh, they have McDonald's there so no need to worry about not affording your meals. But I tell you one thing what you shouldn't miss is cheese fondue. I had my first fondue there. They usually serve cheese fondue with apple tea or sprakling apple soda. Don't ask me why but I guess it is the same as when you have to drink a glass of water after eating durian.

Ok, so much about Swiss...Enjoy the webcams, and remember if you want to see changes just refresh your page.

Picture of the Week Part I

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Baba & Mummy & Atin.

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I'm an 80s person

You Belong in 1983

1983 If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! 1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too. 1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all! 1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day. 1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Petai... but missing Jering.

Wow weee.....my ever first comment!

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Yay , yay, wahey!

I have received my first comment and it was from a friend. Yes! After almost a month of blogging, alas someone actually pens down something in my comment box. Thanks petai ..so here's a post dedicated for ya!

Emm...I will link you to my blog...help is on it's way.

Err..earlier comments from DH does not count tau. itu comment simpati..sebab takdak org nak post a comment..huk huk.

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Amused and abused ?

DH on the abbreviation...

"Amused and abused"

"Ha..what? "

"Amused and abused..that is what it should be"

"Kenapa (why) ?"

" You referred me to as DH? Takde any other glamorous abbreviations ke?"

Alamak ...ayoyoyo !

"DH sounds like DHL..the courier company. You abused me..so amused and abused it should be"

Hahahaha , I laughed.

"Abis tu, nak I call you Abang Cun aka AC ? Kang bunyi cam AC Mizal pulak . Ha, nak ke? Twin pulak tu.."

DH has been told many times that he looks like AC Mizal and/or like Aziz M Osman...hehehehe

:-)

Shameful Smith

As I was writing the previous post, the news showed Delia Smith, ( if you have been following my blog from day one, the BBC Saturday Kitchen cook) shouting at Norwich City fans on the footie ground during Norwich City-Manchester City match.

Having bought the club, she is the director of the Norwich City FC.

I am not a great fan of footie , let alone on a less popular club such as Norwich City. So I am assuming there might have been a slackening in the FC performance and fans' support. Hence , the word of wisdom blurted by Smith. Apparently, she grunted over the lack of fan support for the FC. It wasn't a nice scene and later the news interviews revealed fans were ashamed of the shouting cook.

Aaaah...maybe she should stay big with just her cooking not her shouting, on the football ground.

Kangkung aka water spinach

I feel guilty for not updating this blog for the past few days. The fact that I have fall short on things to blog and at the same time been unwell, has caused the brief hiatus on entries. Also, I have less time to read blogs and hence, my creativity has gone stunted. And, have been busy too. Excuses, excuses.

OK...I have been unwell. We concluded that it could have been kangkung* we ate few days ago. Before I got married, I was perfectly flexible with food. I could go on without dinner until the late hours or simply eat bread for lunch. But now, after being married I have turned more like DH.

water spinach

DH, he, is a person with the most sensitive digestive system I have ever met. Really. He has to take dinner on time and it has to be rice for main course. No junk food. No in-between snacks. Due to sensitive digestion, he has to be picky. Vegetables that can cause 'air' problem is a big no-no. We Asians believe that certain food can cause bloating and aching joints, mostly vegetables that creep in nature, including kangkung.

I was a total opposite of Dearie Husband , at least before I was a married woman. I was the queen of junk food. Not anymore, now. Well, at least if there were a de-merit system, I would have been de-ranked from queen to lady-in-waiting of junk food. hehehe simply because I still love junk food but have not consumed as much.

I have turned to be a person who solely rely on carbohydrate to keep me going, and that would be rice. Any delay would have me severe headache and kangkung might now have become a big no-no for me. Hence, the achy body.

ouch, ouch

Maybe it is true; they say when you are married, you exchange DNAs with your other half.

*also known (scientifically) as Convolvulaceae/Ipomoea aquatica or Federal Noxious weed!