...wednesday's day out...

it turned out that UiTM and UTM is having their mid-sem break at the same time as the school holidays...since all their dear aunts (Jeleen & me) and uncles (Jemi & Baby Adik) are around to keep them entertained, 'Aina & Iman were sent by Abema last monday to stay for a week in the kampung...yeay...

so, on wednesday, their great Cik Ja & Cik Leen brought both of them for a day out at Jusco Bukit Tinggi...we went out to watch Wall.E...there were several cute, sweet scenes between Wall.E & Eve...very little conversations...Wall.E calling out,"Eeee...Vehh~~" and vice versa...Eve in return calling out,"Wallll...E~~" overall, i'd rate this movie at 3-stars...

...Wall.E & Eve...

right after the movie, we headed to the Arena foodcourt for lunch...i had a Claypot Squid Rice with Prawns while Jeleen chose to have a Claypot Chicken Rice with Egg...my niece and nephew had the same Sizzling Chicken & Mushroom Yee Mee with Egg...Soya Bean Milk and Iced Milo for drinks...

...my lunch - Claypot Squid Rice with Prawns...

'Aina and her sizzling mee

Iman and his sizzling mee (note the gravy stain at his mouth)

then, i went to the Surau while Jeleen searched for her new sandals with the kids...

later while looking around, we came across the Kinder JOY promotion campaign at the North Court...'Aina and Iman were delighted to have a go at Kinderino's sand art and colouring activities...after finishing with their masterpieces, they were given free samples of the new Kinder JOY chocolates and some goodies (notebooks and car signs)...

Iman & 'Aina with their sand art...on the stage (left) - Kinderino
hand painting - 'Aina (butterfly) & Iman (spider)

we left Jusco Bukit Tinggi at around 3pm and went to the next stop - haircuts for my niece & nephew...as Jeleen planned to have her hair done as well, she went to the saloon with 'Aina while i brought Iman to the barber shop...

Iman getting his hair cut huhu...look at Iman's serious face...
tada...'Aina's new look

ohh yaaa...just sharing what i bought for myself :

a 'blink blink' A keychain & Ryan's keychain
a Hello Kitty water bottle
Mahathir Mohamad - an illustrated biography

...jalan haji hassan salleh...

"hey,ko ingat jalan ni bapak ko yang punye ke?!"

kuikuikui... i came across this interesting road sign at a triple junction heading to Kg Baru LRT station...

"ya...ini jalan bapak aku yang punya!" hehehe...

...my best friend's wedding...

another happy episode of retentate's member...but, this time around it's about my everdearest Abie's glorious wedding...to Abie and Adip, wishing both of you love of a lifetime...Abie, so very happy for you...me now officially entrusted Adip to take extra good care of you, okay?!

Abie and me went back to Gemencheh last Thursday morning...Abie picked me up together with all hantarans...We drove cautiously at every curves and slowly as well as to not spoil the great deal of these exquisite arrangements...

the very first job on our to-do list is to settle on the 'remeh' part - preparing wedding doorgifts...

common guests will each receive a maroon paper bag inclusive of a cute egg gunny sack plus either a fish baulu (traditional egg cake) or a pair of cermai baulu or a pair of kuih sarang tebuan/kuih ros/kuih loyang/kuih goyang (all the same,only different in terms of names)...

kids will get a small, hard, gold paperbag with sweets, chocolates and a jelly inside...

close friends will receive a golden pear/apple 'bunga telur' together with a fish baulu and a small square orange/brown coconut leaves sticks box containing potpourri inside their allocated brown paper bag...

VIP guests get a big cermai baulu, a brown stocking cloth 'bunga telur' and the same coconut leaves stick box with their brown paper bag...

Abie's wedding doorgifts

on Friday, we've become a lot busier tidying up the entire house...We end the day by a coating henna ceremony...

Anor is putting the henna mixture around Abie's fingers

when Saturday arrives, we set up the bride's room and rearrange the hantarans accordingly...

A close-up picture of all the hantarans
1. kuih cakar ayam (in the form of bird's nest)
2. betel leaves bouquet
3. Quran with its recital case
4. cupcakes in a net-covered food tray
oohhh...yummy...yummy...
5. tropical fruit's ark
6. blue, satin cloth
7. Tommy Hilfiger's perfume set
8. Dockers's shirt, tie and slacks
9. Timberland's comfort shoe
10. Braun Buffel's belt and wallet set
11. Tissot's elegant watch

Kak Ain and her crew also worked very hard setting up the wedding dais...

Abie's glamour wedding dais
the bright yellow canopies
DJ corner

finally, the time has come - 17/08/2008...

Abie - before the solemnization (very cheerful)
inside the mosque - Mak Cik Leha (Abie's mak) and Kak Ain (mak andam)

the solemnization ceremony started exactly at 10am...Tok Imam started off with a khutbah in Arabic followed by its translation...then, he asked Adip some basic matrimonial knowledge...both bride and bridegroom later signed some form before proceeding with the solemnization process...Abie's ayah willingly chose to perform the task...Alhamdulillah, Adip managed to utter the magical lines in one stroke...yeay...

Abie surrounded by friends (after solemnization) From left:- Suzie, Mimi, Beebee, Abie, me, Azwa and Iza

Abie's fresh flowers hand bouquet
Abie and friends' gedik pose
Abie - before receiving event

Adip and family arrived for the receiving event at around 1230pm...me escorted Abie up to the triple junction where the couple was reunited...local kids then perform some silat moves whereby in the end of the show, out of a sudden Adip was forced to accept a slice of orange...Adip spontaneously fed Abie...hahaha...

then it was time for the 'bersanding' event...it took us about 20 minutes up on the dais...

the best part was 'makan beradab' time...thanks to Cik Ita (the chef) for the marvellous dishes...

my job as Abie's bridesmaid end at around 130pm...

i left Abie's house at 2pm following Suzie and the gang to Emy's house to visit her and her newborn 12-days old baby girl, Nabila Syazana...

later, in the evening, we stopped at Mimi's house to have our tea break as well as perform our prayers...Mimi treated us with curry mee, soup meehoon, rojak and iced cendol...thanks dear...

after sending Iza back to her house in Bangi, Suzie, Azwa and me arrived at Setapak at nearly 7pm...Azwa drove back home with 'Bujang'...

Suzie and me went out after Maghrib looking for burgers and cold drinks...we watched the awaiting Live badminton match and quite disappointed with Chong Wei's defeat...my instincts told me that Lin Dan will get the gold medal...i also supported Lin Dan...but, i don't expect that he will win so easily...there was quite a huge gap in the game points...Chong Wei's totally lifeless during the match...

...lousy T-shirt from Jemi...

Jemi safely arrived at Gate 4, arrival terminal KLIA at around 10am today and this lousy T-shirt tells it all...thanks dear bro...i like it!

ryan is coming this raya...insya-Allah..

early yesterday morning, i went to Honda showroom together with Abema and Afif...we met with Khairuddin - the salesperson...

as it is finally decided that i'm going to get the new Honda Jazz as my new beau - Ryan, we straight-away settle into the business...i quickly browsed through confidential brochures shared by Khairuddin - the actual brochures will be released during the official launching which is scheduled on 21st august 2008...

feeling satisfied and excited, i end up paying for the booking fee...yeay...

ryan will be delivered somewhere in September...insya-Allah...depending on the loan approval as well as registration process...currently, i'm hopefully waiting for the financier's good news as my application is without the accompaniment of any payslip...please pray for me yaa...

for registration, i prefer to have a Selangor vehicle plate number for Ryan but current Selangor plate tender starts with BKD...i don't like the alphabet B and K together...so, will go for Wilayah's vehicle plate number...however, i still have to wait until JPJ opens the tender for WRV as i also don't like the combinations of either WRT or WRU...

what will be the ideal number for Ryan?jengjengjeng...
at first, i would want to have my birthdate 184...but then, since i'm going to tender for WRV, i've decided to pursue the number 151 - default family number...

it will read as WRV151...

the significance:
W - white (ryan will be in Taffeta White)
R - ryan
V151 - visi

isn't it nice?ohh well...i just can't wait for the launching ceremony...

...tips to stay young & happy...

i got this from Farrah Iz...thanks dear!

1) throw out nonessential numbers - this includes AGE, WEIGHT and HEIGHT...
- let the doctors worry about them...that's why we pay them... 2) keep only cheerful friends - the grouches pull you down...
- keep this in mind if you're one of those grouches...

3) keep on learning - never let the brain get idle...

- An idle mind is a devil's workshop & the devil's name is Alzheimer's...

4) enjoy the simple things...

5) laugh often, long & loud - laugh until you gasp for breath...

6) the tears happen - LIVE while you are alive...

-endure, grieve and move on...the only person who is with us our entire life is ourself...

7) surround yourself with what you LOVE - whether it's family, pets, hobbies, whatever...

- your HOME is your refuge...

8) cherish your HEALTH...
- if it is good: preserve it
- if it is unstable: improve it
- if it is beyond what you can improve: get HELP!

9) don't take guilt trips - take a trip to the mall, even to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is...

10) tell the people you LOVE that you LOVE them, at every opportunity...

...world's booklovers' day...

today is world's booklovers' day!

i'm blessed that i am very well literate at a young age...reading has always been a passion to me...mama was very supportive - buying books for me at every occasions...being a good student - i always ended up receiving books as gifts during the annual 'Majlis Penyampaian Hadiah'...

...my Fun-N-Nuf 'Maya' dragonfly bookmark...

during my childhood times, i read Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and Famous Five, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew's and the girls boarding school series...i also read many of the Kelab Buku Kenari publications...

my siblings and me also enjoys comics...there are 3 types: 1)soft-paper chinese translated comics (i.e. Wira Pedang Sakti,etc...) 2)hard-cover translated comics (i.e. Mutiara Naga, Johan Bolasepak, Dr Slump, Doraemon, Sailormoon,TMNT,etc...) 3)english comics (i.e. Archie's comics and Marvel series)...these comics are just great!

apart from that, mama also ensures that we get monthly children's magazines as reading materials...these includes KAWAN, Kuntum, Bambino, Dewan Pelajar, Bintang Kecil, MICKEY...

mama dislike us buying Ujang or Gila-gila...but as i recall, comparing the jokes portrayed during the 90's era with current publications - the jokes last time are not lame...i enjoyed reading them...

as for entertainment news and gossips, URTV was good at some time before...i used to buy and read them...i even bought the controversial Mangga magazines sometimes...

moving on to SSP, my reading hobby continued...during this time, i read Sweet Valley High's, R.L. Stine's, Christopher Pike's...monthly magazines includes Remaja, LIME, Galaxie, Dewan Siswa and Mastika...

when i was in UTP during my undergraduate studies, i read Judith McNaught's and Sidney Sheldon's...i also read Harry Potter series...monthly magazines includes Cleo, Reader's Digest and Remaja...

now, it's even more exciting as i am able to spare some money aside to spend on books...back in the olden days, i don't own the books i read...i used to rent them from friends and Novelhut...
nowadays, my reading preference have become broader...i like Cecelia Ahern's, Danielle Steel's, Jodi Picoult's, Nicholas Spark's, Khaled Hosseini's, Adibah Amin's, Lydia Teh's...i read all genres and i especially like to read situational short stories...at the moment, i've just finished reading Tangled Emotions by Bernice Narayanan...currently, i am reading Lovers and Strangers Revisited by Robert Raymer and Mouse Clutching Winter Melon by Kuan Guat Choo...

...books i am reading now...
enough about books...to fellow booklovers - happy reading forever!

ermmm...today, i spent most of my time watching several beijing olympic events...i started early in the morning by watching the weighlifting women 48kg category for both snatch and clean & jerk...China took gold medals for both...

during the afternoon till late evening, i chose to watch gymnastic artistic men...again, the host China won gold medal for the Group Category...

and just now, i get to watch a little bit of everything from swimming women/men qualifying heats, football women, boxing, equestrian, beach volleyball men and sculls...this is because my abah enjoys changing channels...

ahh...very well...i'm looking forward of the track events especially 100m - wonder who's gonna be the world's fastest runner...

my other favourite events are rythmic synchronized swimming, diving and gymnastics...

other than beijing olympics, i couldn't be bothered with our political affairs...mainly on upcoming permatang pauh small election and unresolved DSAI's sodomy accusation case...i don't know DSAI personally but i do support Izzah...

for me, there are just too many loopholes...how can the so-called sodomy victim be protected in the rule of law?why is this one sodomy victim so special than the others? (pardon me: i believe that sodomy cases are reported everyday - not only this particular one)and then, suddenly the case are change to 'suka sama suka' incident...in addition, there's also a part where this fellow (the sodomy victim) went to see our Deputy PM - for scholarship?!what nonsense...this is totally illogical...how can ordinary people straight-away can go directly facing the high rank people for such matter?and then, in the sodomy victim's writings (apparently he's afraid to speak up on his own), he had written that his intention was not to put DSAI in shame...what's the point this victim wants to prove?i can't understand...isn't he's putting his family in shame too?and why is it now after so many times already? (this fact is also coming from the victim)...i don't know the truth...however, if DSAI really did it, it's better for the victim to just blackmail him...

i would want to write more but it's not safe, right?i better keep it to myself and pray for the best...may Allah shows the right path...

...08/08/08 - one world one dream...

Fuwa - the official mascots of Beijing Olympic Games 2008

...Beibei - the Fish...Jingjing - the Panda...Huanhuan - the Olympic Flame...Yingying - the Tibetan Antelope...Nini - the Swallow...

...the magnificent Olympic Rings...

...the Beijing National 'Bird's Nest' Stadium...

...a sneak peek on the inside of Kaabah...

alhamdulillah...i got this 2 exclusive pics from an e-mail sent by Miss Aini... ...inside the Kaabah......the Kaabah entrance/exit...

i remember when Allah remembers me - it's when i remember Him...

Allahu Akbar

...the past 6 days...

01/08/08 - i went to my office at level 28, tower 1 KLCC to sort out and packed up my things as PRD (my department) will be having another round of retrofit...later, i had lunch at Sushi King with Suzie...Abie was supposed to join us but she had some difficulties to park her car that day as the ISETAN sale and PC Fair dictates the lots...Beebee apparently had an appointment with an insurance agent...

i left KLCC at 1.30pm and took the LRT to Jelatek station where Abie picked me up and we proceed our journey to Abie's home in Gemencheh...we decided to make a "surprise" visit to Sharling's home in Kota...we had our prayers there and got a glimpse of her pink pelamin and her bridal room plus all the hantarans...Sharling's mum treated us with her famous 'dodol'...

we excused ourselves at around 6pm and reached Abie's home in forty minutes time...that night, as both of us were tired to cook and Abie's mum was outstation, we had our dinner at Aroma Tomyam together with Abie's father and youngest sister: Anor...

02/08/08 - Abie and me woke up early...we went to have breakfast at the famous 'Nasi Lemak' stall at Tampin PEMADAM office...after that, we sent Anor to her tuition class...then, me, Abie and her father went to Tampin town to look for furniture and carpet for Abie's bridal room...we've been offered a good deal by one of the shop but Abie was in doubt and decided to consult her fiancee before making any decision...we end up getting only the bamboo checkered mat at the carpet shop...Abie's father will manage the furniture issue later...

we bought lauks for lunch at an old lady's house-cum-stall...on the way back, we stopped at the nearby florist to place an order for 'sirih junjung' and 'bunga manggar'...Abie also went to take her dress for solemnization ceremony as well as her kebaya for the visiting event...

in the evening, we went to Sharling's home to help with the preparation...Abie and me help to sharpen the sticks of 'bunga manggar' and also shredding the pandan leaves for 'bunga rampai'...as we had promised Abie's father to fetch Anor, we left Sharling's home at 4.30pm and promised to return back...furthermore, we also had an appointment with Abie's 'mak andam' to had a try on the 'songket' suit for lunch session...

the bridal boutique is at Alor Gajah...since Anor didn't take her lunch that day, Abie treated us to Alor Gajah's famous prawn kueh...we also had our share on not-so-famous satay and we ordered lai chee kang for our drinks...

on the way back, we stopped again at Sharling's home as promised...this time, we met with Beebee, Suzie and Harni...we gossiped a little-what-not until it is nearly Maghrib...then, we went back and promised Shar to come as early as possible on her big day...

back at home, Abie's mum already return and cook a sumptuous dinner for us...we were very tired and went to sleep early...

03/08/08 - finally, it's Sharling's big day! another retentate's glorious wedding event...Abie and me took off to Sharling's home right after we send Abie's hantaran things at her relative's in Tampin...we reached Sharling's home at around 10am and immediately took charge of doing rounds for Alia's 'cukur jambul' ceremony...we were the 'bunga telur' angels...

we waited anxiously for the bridegroom's 'rombongan' to arrive...at nearly 12pm, Wawa cried out,"Pak Shu datang!"

the solemnization went really well...Bagak confidently confirmed himself as Shar's wedded husband with only one stroke of those magical lines...

congratulations Shar!
wishing both of you and Bagak love of a lifetime yaa...

...Me, Sharling and Wawa...

we stayed a little while longer and had our move at 2pm...we then collected Abie's hantaran things from her relative's...since Abie was sleepy, i drove 'Laura' to Klang...we reached Klang at around 4pm and straight-away headed to Cintaku Handicraft to hand in the hantaran things to be decorated...Abie send me home and quickly rushed to pick up her fiancee at Puduraya (Adip went back to Jitra during the weekend)...that night, i had to pack up for RETW '08...

04/08/08 - today, i woke up early and set to Awana Genting Highlands to participate in the RETW '08 (Reservoir Engineering Technology Workshop)...RETW '08 is an annual event jointly organized by PMU, PCSB and PRSB to strengthen the relationship between the Reservoir Engineering fraternity within PETRONAS...This year, there are about 220 PETRONAS REs participating...On the first day, we had 7 technical presentations and 1 panel session discussing various aspects of RE - technological advancement, best practices, sharing of experiences,etc... at night, we had a lovely BBQ hawaiian theme dinner...

...me and Shamon during RETW'08 BBQ hawaiian theme dinner...

05/08/08 - on this second day of RETW 'o8, the whole day agenda was fully catered to teambuilding session...we had a mixed of indoor and outdoor activities...i think the consultant failed to meet my expectations as i didn't enjoy myself that much...i was made confused as initially we had 20 teams and was converted to 8 smaller teams...this 8 teams subsequently unite as only one big team...i'm still figuring out what is the sole objective of this kind of teambuilding...the rules applied for the outdoor task were very stringent...this has demotivated the participants...i was bored and sleepy together with the rest who felt that the session was extremely pathetic...

on the second night however, we had another great dinner...this time around, it was a 10-course chinese set dinner...we had representatives from each OPUs to share their experiences...one of them include one of my besties: Lee Jean from PCSB...in her speech, she had mentioned me and Shamon's name...what a surprise...hahaha...anyway, really appreciate it...i feel honoured...

the 8 smaller teams also had to do some performances to add zest to the night's event...my team acted out the song entitled 'Madu dan Racun'...

06/08/08 - the last day of RETW '08 only lasts for half the day...we had 3 technical presentations...i checked out right after having our lunch...me, Shamon, Lee Jean and several others took the shuttle bus at 1.15pm to Genting Skyway Bus Terminal and took the 2.15pm bus from Genting to Terminal Putra LRT station...i reached Klang at around 5pm...

not so long after that, at around 8.30pm, i went to KLIA to send off Jemi to UK...Jemi will be having his Engine Licensing Examinations for his Aviation Courses at MAS (Malaysia Airlines) Academy...there are 7 of them who are going to sit for 5 papers altogether in one day...to Jemi: all the best, bro!i'll pray for you...

...Jemi...
...me and mama in KLIA...

ohh...KLIA is 10 years already...whoaa....

tagged by faiz

Question 1: What were you doing 5 years ago?
Answer: August 2003 - I went to have my Industrial Internship in MLNG, Bintulu...

Question 2: What are the 5 things on your to-do list today?
Answer:
a) Laundry - dirty clothes coming from RETW '08
b) Send back the reply form to continue my Reader's Digest's subscription
c) Follow up with Suzie on friends' wedding gifts
d) Search and prepare the necessary documents to place a booking for 'Ryan'
e) Accompany my mom to the jewellery shop

Question 3: What are the 5 snacks that you enjoy?
Answer:
a) Fish crackers from Kuala Besut (either Goldfish, Flower Horn or Two Fish brand)
b) Mamee noodle snack (chicken flavour)
c) Chickadee
d) Inang-inang (traditional Malacca rice crackers)
e) Snickers snack bar

Question 4: What are the 5 things that you would do if you were a billionaire?
Answer:
a) Quit my job
b) Buy a nice piece of land, build a comfortable house with a beautiful garden plus a fruit orchard
c) Realizing my childhood dream - set up my signature restaurant
d) Travel around the world - after I perform my 1st pilgrimage
e) Involve in various charitable events

Question 5: What are the 5 jobs you've had?
Answer:
a) A bookshop part-time salesgirl (1 month) - while waiting for SPM results
b) A Pizza Hut part-time crew (2 weeks) - while waiting to be employed by PETRONAS
Hurmm...I can't think of any other as I defined jobs as some works done to be paid for...

OK...finally the 5 lucky people that hopefully will continue this tag:
a) bear bear
b) hana
c) yus
d) thiong
e) limau