Days Before Raya

Quote for the day (picked up from Jamie Yeo's show on my way to Stulang Laut)

Do not explain - your friends won't listen and your enemy won't believe it anyway
The point - Don't waste your breath

Nostalgic

The thing was like this. It was before Ramadhan and then of course, friends who have been communicating through the mailinglist was asking if anyone wants to have a gathering for this year's eid. Everyone - at least those who are actively going through warisan agreed. The 'bidan terjun' organizer - yours truly and appointed assistant, Qis. The venue that we thought of was teh school hall or someone else's house that is strategically located in JB.

I went over to school today, just to look around and meet up with the people at the administration office. I saw Cikgu Fawziah Simon exiting the office - though I recalled her name few minutes after she went to her class. Too many new faces around and so one of the teachers ushered me to the GPK's room and met up with Ustaz Fauzi. He is one of the new teachers and I didn't know what came over me that I was speechless clutching the proposal letter in my hand.

Maybe its just the school. The office was still there along with everything else and I am impressed with the small pocket park adorned with Royal Palm. Ustaz Abdullah is still the Principal and the office is now air conditioned. Had a chat with Kak Kam, our clerk since KTAM years. Boy, I really miss the good old days. Guys, look at our school now.


Beautiful isn't it? Last time we only have tarmac at this area and that was the girls toilet - usually very congested after PE

Look, they put a stage on the foyer

The Umar Abd. Aziz Hall. The building next to it is the girl's hostel - where we lived for... 2 years and a half after the old KTAM building behind Convent School JB

Months After

It was 6.30pm when I reached home. Abah was no where in sight - yikes! which means he would return with food he bought at the always crowded pasar ramadhan. I bought sayur lemak pisang (banana cooked in coconut milk) which surprisingly caused up more addition to the food on the table. You can't eat that without the whole gang of fried salted fish and sambal belacan. It was near to 7.oopm and the Maghrib prayer call for JB could already be heard. We waited a bit because Pontian is a few minute later than JB. Then my mak said, "Kenapa tak ada bunyi siren?" (why is there no siren?) because usually during fasting month the siren was turned on just to mark the maghrib time before the 'muazin' (person who performs the prayer call) doing the azan. Convenient way for him to drink and eat right on time. I agreed with mak.

My abah casually replied, "Siren kan dah terbakar" which means the siren was burnt.

We both forgot, the mosque was already burnt *smack forehead.

Memoir of a Buruk Lantak

1st year in KTAM - all my friends who known me since then knew that I was the one with the worst case of homesickness, hehehe. Surprisingly enough I stayed and those who didn't show excessiveness case of homesickness changed school. Funny.

First year - the school cook was Abang Din. He was there until my second year when everyone of us did a boycott on him because of cleanliness. Then again, I was such a 'buruk lantak' that when I got home for the school holiday that strategically fell on the month of Ramadhan I gave a list to my mak. List of food that I want to eat for the whole fasting month. Though I know that most of the food in the list was made of mee goreng, mee kari, all sorts of mee. Mak complied and was I so happy, hehehe.

The school cook changed again in my final year as a KTAMian (I think) and that time it was for good. Hostel food is hostel food, soggy vegetables, ikan jaket (trademark for all hostel) but it still taste good. We called our cook Mak and in a way she was like our mom, feeding us at school and all that. My favourite day would be Friday when they serve special menu like nasi minyak, chicken rice, etc. My favourite breakfast day, easily sunday. Its nasi lemak day. We seniors always went down for breakfast really late and we get to add up as much as we want up to 3 servings of nasi lemak. For supper during fasting month, we were served mee goreng, mee bandung, oh what a joy. I even 'tapau' it back to the dorm along with my dorm-mate, also my food storage mate - Deej, Ziha and Cepot. We had a closet full of instant noodles of various flavour, bread, heater, our mom's preserved food, cookies and lot more. When either parents came we would carry the whole basket off to the dorm or the common room and share the food with everyone. I remember hounding Ina (Mazlina) for her mom's mee goreng and sambal tumbuk. My mak was always so happy to bring all the leftovers from 'kenduri' at our home the day before visiting day.

Such a very good topic on the first day of Ramadhan, hehehe. Happy fasting. Next month we raya :D

The Day When My Primary School Seat-mate Got Married

Shikin Mansor (too many Shikin around the school back then) got married. I just knew that I was going to be so late for the reception since Saturday is my working day and we are now concentrating on planting the palms at the entrance side of the site. Good thing that Yan was home during the weekend or it would be awkward showing up late and alone. Fila was there too - been so long since I saw both her and Shikin, make that years already. I like the pelamin though, its green and its nature themed. Congratulations Shikin & husband.

When I Miss My Friends....

I watch this simple well wishes impromptu video a friend of mine made when we were out stranded at the studio staircase waiting for the studio supervisor to come and open the door. All of us in the video and more that was not in it sent Azhar (the guy in red and black stripe jersey) to KLIA an hour after the video was recorded. He was bound home in Sabah and coincidentially we managed to bump into Anita Sarawak at the airport, the diva and her husband along with her mother - of course we took pictures with her. It was poignant actually. It was one of the last moment we were there as students.

The leng chai in black is Jimmy, next Imah, followed by Mee Lan, Arul, Mahathir, yours truly, Ije, Azhar, Odiey, Allan. The one who keeps on saying "Say something" is Nazri a.k.a Carlos (because during matriculation the movie 'Lenjan' went out and the villain's name is Carlos - the sex crazed maniac. Started out as a joke but the name eventually stuck). Wow was I that fair back then? LOL nevermind.

Welcome To My World

The site The Workers

The Iron-Clawed Landscape Architect

We are chasing off with a dateline, everyone wants everything urgent. So anyway, where's my birthday wishes? Been 2 days already maa...

Hiatus

There's a very distinct gap between reality and dream. Everyone knows that, but those who don't might end up in a mental state of frenzy. Well maybe in one of the mental institution. Okay talking gibberish here. Halt. Work has been consuming me. Gobble me up whole that even ended dreaming about doing my work while I sleep. Now that is so darn creepy. But still, 5.30pm becomes the most valued moment of the day, or merely becomes a guideline that work time is over but the piling files are still there, staring at me from my desk as if it was taunting at me, saying "I'm not moving anywhere until you work on me." That was where the nightmare about work would come in, haunting me.

A new account exec joined us on the first September. It was a blessing. Ms L asked me to join over when the interview was conducted on numerous candidates who showed up and it was a new experience. At the end of the day, they start calling me 'Puan'. Now thats a new one - I'm not married - yet. Do I look old already? Oh gosh. Good thing that Ms L and I have the same opinion about a candidate that we both feel comfortable with. Bad thing was giving out bad news to those who didn't make it and most of the time, I was the one who have to do it.

The season for tender submission has ended, with numerous contracts that we have to work upon and now is the season of project implementation. I am going to cry over the petrol usage for my car especially since the price is going up, up and up which from the rumour I heard would not stop until it went to RM2.oo per litre. That is freaking me out.

Hey! Its Sunday and on Sunday I don't talk about work. But I already did. Okay make up time. Time to relax and think about nothing other than what is on the TV, what is on the internet and my cozy bed. Jeff is going to a friend of our's wedding party in Pennsylvania for the weekend. Congratulations John and Xiaying!

Ciao! My bed is calling.

Famous For The Day

Somene just approached me for my autograph

Can you believe it?

An autograph?

From me?

I even got a copy of my autograph too because it was on a carbon copy piece of paper. Here's the copy that I got.

Well of course, that 'nice person' asked for my driving licence before he asked me very politely to sign on that piece of paper. Since I sucked on acting and lying, I can't come up with a reasonable excuse for making that illegal turn. Well for one its good that the police wasn't the "mintak duit kopi" type of officer. Aarrgghhh now I have to turn up to the court. Darn.

Song Of The Day

Save Me

Corrinne May

I drift, I burn, I fly. When you sing lullabies. I'm helpless, I'm yearning. I'm like the putty in your hands. I laugh, I dream, I cry. When you take me on a roller coaster ride. You see me through and through. You see just who i am. Just take my hand and.

Save me from this place. Heaven knows I'm falling. For you, my sweet embrace. Heaven Knows. Heaven knows I've been waiting for you.

I had a dream that i was falling from the sky. At 90 miles an hour. I was bound to crash and die. But out of nowhere you came and rescued me. There must be some grace in the touch of your face. I'm so happy that I've found you. I'm no longer afraid.

Oh ' cause you Save me from this place. Heaven knows i'm falling. For you my sweet embrace. Heaven knows. Heaven knows I've been waiting.

Before i met you. Life was slow-mo. So slow-mo. I thought i had it figured out. But you came and turned my whole world upside down.

Save me from this place Heaven knows I'm falling For you, my sweet embrace Heaven knows. Heaven knows you've come to. Save me from this place Heaven knows. I'm falling For you, my sweet embrace .Heaven Knows. Heaven knows I've been waiting for you. Waiting for you

Home Alone

I'm all alone...

Well for at least several days.

My mak and abah gone to Mekah last Friday for umrah and so I have the 6 cats to accompany me when I get back home from work. The weekend was not so bad. On Saturday my next-door neighbour held her wedding reception but since I have no Saturday off, I got there a tad bit late. Make that at 4.30pm when the crowd has already dispersed save for their relatives. Then again with their relative being my neighbours too, it wasn't that awkward. Though I was glad for the company of Mak Intan and her kids... make that adult kids. Since the whole road knows that my parents are away, I ended up with lots of food. Thats our way of taking care of each other at my place. The phone started ringing numerous times after I got back from the reception. Its the check up from my dear aunts and uncles asking how did everything goes. It was Saturday night. Good thing I'm not the wild party kind of person or the house would be upside down by the time my parents got back so I spent it the way I love to spend Saturday night most - sleeping.

Sunday wasn't that bad either. Mak Pah, my aunt called me up to accompany her to another wedding. Good thing or I would have to cook lunch, hehehe. Again, I ended up with lots of food, "Senang, malam tak payah masak," said the hostess for the reception. She's one of my mak's friends so there you go. Though the nasi minyak for her house was so good that I have to actually refrain myself from adding up for 2nd round. Watched TV, surf the net, played with my cats, snooze. As boring as it might sound, that is my perfect routine for a Sunday, hehehe. Gosh, honestly as I read that again... it just sound like a perfect life of an old maid - with cats and all. AACCKKK!!!

p.s: apologies to M.J fan for the pic. Though I think its hilarious :D

I'm Beautiful (Sangkanya!!!)

The current song that keeps playing over and over in my head - James Blunt's You're Beautiful. Just love the song, the lyric's innocent... well apart that another version the word 'flying' was actually sang as 'f**king' though I bet no radio in Malaysia & Singapore is playing that one. Most memorably 'ouchy and sympathetic' feeling hits when a girl was ranting at Daniel Ong on the radio about an unwanted attention she got from a guy when he knows so well that she already has a boyfriend and coincidentially the song was played right after.

You're Beautiful

My life is brilliant

My love is pure

I saw an angel

Of that I'm sure

She smiled at me on the subway

She was with another man

But I won't lose no sleep on that

'Cause I've got a plan

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful, it's true

I saw your face in a crowded place

And I don't know what to do

'Cause I'll never be with you

Yeah, she caught my eye

As we walked on by

She could see from my face that I was

Flying (f**king) high

And I don't think that I'll see her again

But we shared a moment that will last till the end

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful, it's true

I saw your face in a crowded place

And I don't know what to do

'Cause I'll never be with you

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful, it's true

There must be an angel with a smile on her face

When she thought up that I should be with you

But it's time to face the truth

I will never be with you

The lyric is beautiful and sweet, but kind of freaky when look from another angle. It could join The Police's stalker song, I'll Be Watching You. Another good reason to wear a ring during worktime.

I Dunno What I Did This Weekend (I Know lah)

1. Attended a small reunion of the 2004 batch of B.L.A - All in a spur of a moment, Odiey messaged everyone and there I went to F1 and met up with everyone who was around in Serdang Friday night. In attendance - Wak, Miza, Odiey, Arul, Wuan Chin, Ah Hing, Chin Yeong, Imah. Shau Yean, her bf and Allan came a bit later. Heard Ah Ching will be making his way to Atlanta in October and curently submitting his works through the net. Gosh! Rindunya F1!!!!! Chicken Maryland yum.... aiyo, lapar. I mean I miss my friends, hehehe
2. Waited outside the Dewan Besar UPM for my graduating friends - I got there way too early at 11am, so there I went, looking for flowers to give out to my friends. Good thing there were only 5 of them, hehehe. Tapa sms me to get flowers for him too since he's speeding from his office, so there I looked like a flower girl. Odiey and Carlos reached a little bit later. Found Jimmy, Ah Hing, Chin Yeong, Terence, Amy and Siang by the favourite 'White Jeep' outside the hall. Chin Yeong managed to snag some wild Zingiber to give out to our friends.
3. Drama marathon (Engine & Good Luck) - Well what could I say? I'm a sucker for Takuya Kimura's Drama. Engine is brand new, courtesy of Bangbil and for Good Luck, make that 2nd time marathon. Hmm, sound like a typical couch potato to me.
4. PC Fair - The yearly PC fair at CS. I was aiming for the RAM but too many people around and I sure hate the parking there. Wish I took the bus instead.

Curious

To everyone reading this blog - I hope you would respond.

You see, its like this.

I was on my way home just now and as I stopped for a red light in Pekan Nenas, I was playing around pointing everything with my fingers - 45 seconds is way too long for 'orang dah takde kerja' (nothing-to-do-and-darn-bored person) like me. I pointed with my thumb, with my jari telunjuk (I dunno whats that in english but its next to the thumb), my middle finger also known as the f**k finger (but that's kind of obscene) and then I reached to the root of my question. Can anyone lift their ring finger? (ie: jari manis). I could lift all of the fingers but not that one. I remembered asking my friends once in kindergarten because there was this song where we start knowing which finger is which and yes I can't lift it then but I don't remember if my friends answered it or not. Or did I even asked it out loud.

Okay so here's some visual

Jari Telunjuk - Straight

(Okayla not that straight but normal)

My Ring Finger - Can only be raised to that level

Okay so my question:-

How many people could point with their ring finger straight like the other fingers?
Which is normal and which is not?
I know my Mak can't get it straight either so that's 2 out of 2, but then again we're blood related.

Hmmmmmmm..........

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Neutral Review

Harry Potter is back and the plot gets thicker and darker. The story started with the meeting between the muggle's Prime Minister and Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. It showed that the situation has gone for the worst since Voldemort began to rise and the Death-Eaters were more bolder than before. The sixth book as expected, became more mysterious and filled with suspicions from start to the end. Gone were the fun and the newfound fascinations of the world of wizardry.

There was, as expected the new substitute teacher for Defence Against Dark Arts - but he's not a new teacher. But then again, he did substitute for Remus Lupin for a period of time. The quidditch matches were getting lesser - though its fun to see how Harry managed to put up a good team since he was the new Gryffindor's quidditch captain.

As for the question of who is the half-blood prince, he is not Voldemort. Though when Harry found the scribbled and worn textbook of the Advanced Potion Making with notes of dangerous non-verbal spells, all I could think was "Oh please, not another Voldemort's enchanted book". Not forgetting relationships and the game of jealousy between Ron and Hermione which in my opinion they took too long to admit to each other that they do have feelings for each other. As for Harry, all I could say is good riddance on Harry's infatuation towards Cho Chang. The new relationship that he had was much more satisfying. With who? Read it yourself.

Through this book the transformation of Tom Riddle to Voldemort was described, on how the genius Riddle become so obsessed in finding greater power and turn for the worst. And of course on why no teacher has managed to teach the Defence Against Dark Arts for more than a year. The position was cursed.

Death. There were death involving someone very close to Harry and I'm not going to spoil the story for those who want but haven't read the book. It ends with Harry telling Ron and Hermione that he won't be coming back for the next year in Hogwarts. He's continuing his final mission to hunt the Dark Lord himself, by destroying Voldemort's horcruxes before the final confrontation. Harry Potter fans would know that its either Voldemort or Harry that is going to be dead.

Emotional Review

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S DEAD!!!!!!

First its Sirius, then its him. Who else is going to be next? Harry? Please NO!!!!! (though it is rumoured that there is the possibility of Harry getting killed in the end). Seems everyone near Harry was getting killed in the process of hunting the evil sucker Voldemort. When I read the word 'Avada Kedavra' seems like instead of Harry, it was myself who was being casted the body binding spell on and could only look, again, someone so very dear to him getting killed.

So I cried, so I became emotional, so what? So I did the next thing that came to my mind, I called Edda. And yes, like me she is one of the fans. Her reading style, she skips the pages and head straight for the end. She told me that she looked at the page of the death in the train on her way back home and couldn't help but say "Alaaaa kenape mati!!!" out loud. And she was traveling alone. Knowing her for so long throughout secondary and matriculation, I know she did just that. We spent on the phone for near half an hour until duty calls (Yes, I have to work today for an exhibition and Edda works on Sunday). Though I don't know how wrong I could be but I do believe that the one who cast the Avada Kedavra was acting out his part in the mission even though it seems so darn cruel and unsuspected.

Harry have to give up everything for the final mission, and it is clear that his childhood has ended. Truth is he became much more serious on the pursuit of the Dark Lord since Sirius died. He's carrying much heavier burden than before with no one to trust. Ron and Hermione were too precious for Harry to involve them into, and so does his new girlfriend. I will wait with bated breath til the final book is out. Just hope that J.K. Rowling won't take too long to get it done like the interval between the Goblet of Fire and the Order of Phoenix. Its too torturing and mind killing.

And Today Is....

HARRY POTTER DAY!!!!

Well actually the release of the 6th book of the Harry Potter series - Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, which is also believed to be the second last of the Harry Potter Saga. I collected the book from MPH - well actually drive like a maniac during lunchtime from Taman Sutera to Taman Universiti so that my absence at the display booth won't be noticed. Okay I sound like a geek already. Just who is the half-blood prince? Voldemort? Hush, I'm going back to my reading.

Mellow

Okay, I'm feeling mellow and lonely. No idea for the blog entry - too many things going on for the weekend work work and work and not forgetting the launch of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince this weekend, yeay! So here, I'm plugging my ears with the headset making myself deaf with the songs in the media library.

15 must have songs in no particular order (for me lah) in my library (both office and home):-

1. Diamond Dust - Kyosuke Himuro
2. Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
3. First Love - Utada Hikaru
4. Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
5. With Or Without You - U2
6. Maaf - Jikustik
7. Every Heart - BoA
8. Everything - Lifehouse
9. Take Me Away - Lifehouse
10. Name - Goo Goo Dolls
11. M - Ayumi Hamasaki
12. Another Day - Lemar
13. When Love and Hate Collide - Def Leppard
14. Sore Ga, Ai Deshou - Full Metal Panic OST (dunno who sings, thee hee hee)
15. Down - Blink 182

Hmm.... now that I look from the list... Gosh! (not for me to disclose what I conclude of myself :p)

Rev Up Your Engine

Just got back home from watching Initial D and it rocks!!! Certainly worth the RM8 parking ticket (darn!) since GSC at Leisure Mall wasn't showing it (and the parking there is freee, darn!). Read and heard too many good reviews about the movie so there I went to CS right after work ends driven by a strong urge to find out just how good is the movie. I've never read the comic before but knowing Japanese manga, it has to be good.

The scene starts with an aerial vision of the road at Mount Akina which is of course the main setting of the whole movie. Don't compare it with Fast and Furious because certainly, different movies have their own strength. Its all about downhill race - no drugs, no undercover cops no good guy, bad guy etc etc, just racers showing off their best on the road though the guys from the Emperor team are way too cocky. After watching Fast and Furious and Too Fast Too furious I would like nothing more to have fancy, cool and fast car though after watching Initial D, I would certainly like to drive a Toyota Trueno Apex (AE86). How would your ego survive if a tofu delivery car, an AE86 to boot overtake your car and you're driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III? Makes me wonder if I could do modifications on my Kancil. Hmmmmm...

One thing for sure, when the VCD hits the shop, I will be buying it. Edison Chen is so cool!!!!

My Name Is....

Things that we are getting used to - and can't live without - name. Everyone have a name, and names I might add. Everything has a name. Even rocks have name ie: granite, calcite etc. As everybody know, my name is Nadiah. Thats just it. Short. Though if you look into my identity card you would see that my name is so long.Too long. My inital in the IC - NDHAZ. Long enough? N is for my name and the rest is for my Abah's name. I still don't know how my big brother and sister managed to cut the D part but they did. Then anyway that's the name that I was born into and the name that I would go to grave with.

So what does nadiah means? All my life I know that nadiah means 'generous'. Hmm... generous to the shopping complex and shops? Yikes! In a bookstore where they sell all this keychains with name meaning it was written that nadiah means and assembly. Now that's confusing. So I did some digging. I know my name is of arabic origin and the search through internet shows that the name nadia/nadya/nadiah is of arabic, russian and hebrew origin.

In arabic there's 2 meaning. One is for generous, and the other is the beginning. In Russian it means hope while in hebrew it means an assembly. In arabic, if you spelled it wrongly it may mean differently. As an example for my younger bro's name. My abah intended it to mean "the smile of the religion" (if i'm not mistaken) and then one day my bro's teacher spelled the name wrongly in arabic lettering on his exercise book by exchanging one letter to make it mean "the barking of the religion" - my abah knows arabic very well so he starts to point the mistake. My bro doesn't care so til today he spells his name in arabic to the barking one. Same thing goes for those with chinese name, different way of saying a name makes it mean differently. A late friend of mine told me to correct my pronunciation of his name because I was calling him "shameless flower".

Whatever my name means, I know my parents meant for it to have a good meaning. A name is a prayer for those who have it. Imagine a person name that means stupid. That person, even though is not stupid may be banished to stupidity because everyone is calling him stupid. I asked my mak, which meaning did they intend for me when I was born. And so she said - "generous". So here I am, Nadiah, the generous... I hope I won't be generous to un-necessary place *gulp.

Amusing Information for the Day

These info were obtained through today's Morning Madness show on Perfect 10 98.7fm during my ride to the office:-

1. A woman cancelled her wedding with her fiancee less than 24 hours from their supposed to be wedding. The groom in return called up his past girlfriends and proposed to every one of them until 1 of them said yes. They were married in the ceremony and no guest was notified about the change of the bride. This happened in Romania.
2. This one might be gross - told Jeff first and he said, to quote "I'm going to have nightmares". A teenage boy was found to start mentsruating. No kidding. Make no mistake, this boy is not a hermaphrodite (khunsa) but he has started having it for few months already and been showing symptoms of a normal menstruation - stomach cramps, bouts of nausea, mood swings and of course the bleeding. In a way, feels like finally a man could feel what us women feel every month but then again now I think about it, that boy - and the people around him of course - are going to have a huge trouble every month if he has PMS. Okay I can't stop thinking this part away from my head. If, and I repeat IF he's gay... would he be pregnant? Aack!!! lari!!! nauzubillah. This happen in India.