This Ramadan...

This Ramadan is my first bulan puasa kerja sendiri. Compared to time kerja office dulu, memang lebih relax and tak kelam kabut. Kalau dulu sahur minum air cepat cepat, then tidor balik sebab tak nak loose much sleep before getting up for work.....sekarang i can take my time for sahur...minum, makan light-light while watching tv waiting for subuh. Short nap lepas subuh before i shower and mengadap laptop by 8 or 9a.m.....kerja sendiri pun kerja jugak!

If i feel like cooking, around 4pm i can already masuk dapur. Usually lepas asar, i will drive to Pasar Ramadan at Stadium Shah Alam...this is the best time before the road gets too crowded with traffic. Living alone i dont buy much, but i enjoy the atmosphere - and getting out of the house as well. Rasa sikit meriah bulan puasa.

The only thing is terawih this ramadan baru sekali dapat buat kat masjid, other nights buat sendiri je kat rumah. Previous years the apartment's surau memang ada berjemaah, which is super convenient...this time tak buat pulak.

Past one week or so really busy with work, mostly proposals to get new projects. The thing with proposals is that there are no guarantees, but at least you have a shot at it. So i cant complain much kan kalau Tuhan dah buka window of opportunity bulan2 puasa ni. The past few days sibuk preparing for meetings just to have it postponed and rescheduled....memang tiring.

Since i kerja sendiri also, my mum is expecting me to balik kampung earlier than usual. Masa kerja dulu paling awal pun a 4-5 days before hari raya. This time i sort of promised to spend most of my puasa at home with mum and dad. Kesian mak i, bulan tak puasa pun penat sangat take care of my dad....lagilah bulan puasa. But i didnt expect to be so busy with work.....

I'm trying to settle the urgent work by this weekend and escape balik kampung by Monday. Mum is waiting eagerly with chores and tasks for me....Mum is the type yang memang semangat nak prepare the house for hari raya, from cleaning to decorations to food. Kenalah jadi anak yang baik kan;-)....

Work on Sunday????

All of a sudden work is piling up on me....at least i have fully recovered from the flu., but urrrggghhhhh, working on a sunday!!!???!!!!

My daydreams

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

T.E.Lawrence

Too Sick for Blogging

Too Sick for Anything............

Loads of work to finish, but my brain is all fuzzy like the picture above. Just got back from seeing my favourite GP, Dr Razana. Hope her potions will do the magic. Been under the weather for over a week now. Visited the clinic on Thursday after some prodding by a dear, dear friend, but Dr Razana was off and whatever prescribed by the locum doctor didnt work.

Gonna go lie down now...zzzzzzzz

Ramadan Mubarak and Selamat Berpuasa

Ramadan, a blessed month, has come to you during which Allah has made it obligatory for you to fast. In it the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of al-Jahim are locked, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months. He who is deprived of its good has indeed suffered deprivation.

(Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi, Narrated Abu Hurayrah)

Selamat Berpuasa and have a blessed Ramadan to all muslim bloggers from Anne's Prelude.

Ceritera Puteri Analusia: Bahagian 2

Puteri tercari-cari yang mana satu Pengiran Muda. Ramai betul rakyat jelata di taman pada petang itu. Pertama kali Puteri bertemu Pengiran Muda beberapa purnama yang lalu, Puteri dah lupa rupa parasnya. Nasib baik Pengiran Muda yang menegur Puteri dahulu.

Pengiran mengajak Puteri duduk dan minum bersamanya. Mula-mula Pengiran banyak bertanya tentang Puteri tetapi selepas itu Puteri mula rasa bosan dan nak balik...Pengiran tak putus-putus berkata-kata, dari masalah keluarga, istana...ke masalah negara dan dunia....Ahhh, terlalu banyak untuk ditelan. Tapi sebagai seorang yang bersopan santun, Puteri mengangguk-anggukkan kepala dan senyum, berkata-kata bila perlu sahaja.

Selepas minum, Pengiran Muda mengajak Puteri menemaninya menonton Bangsawan. Puteri agak keberatan. Dalam mereka sedang berbincang, mereka didatangi seorang wanita. Wanita yang agak berumur itu terus menyapa Pengiran Muda yang pada amatan Puteri sungguh tidak selesa dengan kehadiran wanita berumur itu.

Kemudian, wanita itu memandang Puteri dan bertanya ”Siapa awak”? ”Saya Puteri Analusia” jawab Puteri dengan lemah lembut. Wanita itu kemudian terus beredar....pelik sungguh, fikir Puteri.

Pengiran Muda kemudian menghabiskan minuman dan ajak Puteri beredar dari situ. Sungguh ramai rakyat jelata berjalan-jalan di taman, sehingga terpisah Puteri dan Pengiran seketika. Tiba-tiba Puteri terasa disentuh dari belakang. ”Tuan Puteri, Tuan Puteri.....minuman tadi belum dibayar”...rupanya Tukang jual minuman telah mengejar Tuan Puteri dan Pengiran Muda.

Tuan Puteri tidak tahu di mana mahu meletak muka ....mencemar nama Tuan Puteri saja Pengiran Muda ini. Pengiran Muda masih tidak kelihatan, terpaksa Puteri membayar sendiri.

Puteri mencari-cari ke mana menghilang Pengiran Muda. Oh, di situ rupanya....berbual bual dengan wanita tadi. Siapa wanita itu.....kakak sepupu? Ibu saudara? Ibu gula?

Pengiran kembali mendapatkan Puteri, sahabat lama katanya. Puteri pun tidak mempedulikan hal itu, dan terus berjalan-jalan bersama Pengiran. Banyak betul masalah yang Pengiran ceritakan, sampai pening kepala Puteri mendengarnya.

Hari pun sudah malam, Puteri meminta diri untuk berangkat. Pengiran sempat mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Puteri kerana menemaninya, dan ingin berjumpa lagi dengan Puteri.

Puteri tidak sabar hendak pulang ke istana dan berjumpa Tengku Jahara untuk bercerita, pertemuan dengan Pengiran Muda bagaikan satu malapetaka.

Sampai saja ke Istana, wanita berumur tadi sudah menunggu Puteri. Ana Durjana namaya. Ana Durjana memberi amaran kepada Puteri perkara-perkara buruk tentang Pengiran Muda. Puteri diam saja, tidak mahu masuk campur hal mereka. Keesokan harinya, Puteri diganggu lagi dengan beberapa utusan dari Ana Durjana. Lagi cerita keburukan Pengiran Muda.

Sebenarnya selepas pertemuan yang agak membosankan itu, Puteri pun kurang berminat lagi dengan Pengiran Muda, tapi sekadar bersahabat apa salahnya. Selepas diganggu Ana Durjana, semakin berat hati Puteri untuk melayan Pengiran lagi.

Selepas beberapa hari, Pengiran menghubungi Puteri, untuk meminta maaf dan menjelaskan segala yang berlaku. Puteri katakan tidak perlu minta maaf atau menjelaskan apa-apa, kerana itu urusan peribadi Pengiran yang Puteri tidak berminat untuk tahu. Pengiran berkeras mahu bercerita, katanya Ana Durjana bekas kekasihnya yang tidak mahu melepaskannya walaupun telah lama berpisah. Kata Pengiran lagi semua yang dicerita Ana Durjana dusta belaka.

Puteri hanya berdiam diri, tak mahu tanya apa-apa. Mungkin Pengiran pun faham-faham sendiri yang Puteri tidak berminat lagi. Pengiran ada bertanya bolehkah dia berjumpa lagi dengan Puteri di Taman? Puteri kata mungkin tidak. Berakhirlah episod ceritera Puteri Analusia dengan Pengiran Muda.

Baru Puteri menarik nafas lega, kecoh pulak dayang-dayang Istana. Ayahanda dan Bonda terima rombongan merisik, Puteri Analusia akan dijodohkan dengan pilihan keluarga.....???????????

Sleep Deprivation

Ceritera Puteri Analusia akan disambung tidak lama lagi atas permintaan anda.

Please bear with me, i've been busy as well as sleep deprived the last couple of days.

Ceritera Puteri Analusia : Bahagian 1

Pagi Sabtu itu, Puteri Analusia bangun awal walaupun hari cuti. Sibuk betul jadual Puteri hari ni, banyak betul rancangan. Pagi-pagi dah berangkat ke kenduri doa selamat, bersenteng lengan jugak Puteri Analusia mencemar duli membantu menghidang makanan dan kemudian membasuh pinggan, mangkuk dan periuk periuk besar. Memang tak sesuai dengan baju sutera dan tudung permata yang dipakai, tapi sebagai Puteri berjiwa rakyat, Puteri tak kesah buat semua tu.

Puteri bernyanyi-nyanyi gembira di dalam hati kerana selepas kenduri yang melibatkan kerabat kerabat, dia tidak sabar untuk berjumpa Tengku Jahara dan adindanya untuk bersama sama menghadiri majlis tari menari di Istana Amanpuri. Atas desakan Tengku Jahara, Puteri Analusia juga telah menjemput Pengiran Muda untuk menemaninya ke majlis tersebut. Puteri Analusia mula-mulanya agak gusar untuk ditemani Pengiran Muda, tetapi selepas bertukar tukar warkah beberapa hari sebelumnya, Puteri begitu teruja.

Sedang Puteri bersama dayang dayangnya memilih busana yang sesuai untuk majlis itu, satu utusan diterima dari Istana Amanpuri. Majlis Tari Menari terpaksa dibatalkan kerana perang saudara di Istana. Alangkah terkejut sang Puteri. Puteri terus menghantar utusan kepada Pengiran Muda dan Tengku Jahara, membatalkan acara.

Sedang Puteri bermuram durja, satu utusan diterima...Pengiran Muda ajak berjumpa di Taman . Hati Puteri berbunga semula. Puteri tiba di Taman tepat pada waktunya.

(to be continued by popular demand! should i?....)

Happy 50th Malaysia, Mum & Dad

50 years ago, while the nation celebrated its independence, while Allahyarham Tunku proudly faced the nation with cries of Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!......

..my Dad & Mom was marking their own history.

Happy 50th Merdeka Malaysia!

Happy 50th Anniversary Bapak & Mak!

Sabrina Week

My niece Sabrina stayed over during the school holidays last week. She's 9. Her Abang and Kakak are studying for UPSR and PMR, so she had no one to play with. Sabrina just discovered that i'm working from home, and to her it means i dont work at all...!

The good auntie took the whole gang minum-minum, a breather from their studies;-)

Macam tak sedap je...

Laptop kena takeover budak kecik ni.....playing games and even answering my YM messages..

A McD Happy Meal treat for dinner (reads the night aunty malas masak).

I had to join the other poolside mums and 'bibik-bibik' because she insists on having a dip every morning....berjam2.

Me:"You want 2 doughnuts?"...

She:"No, one for you...you are too thin, you have to eat".

Pandai je budak ni....

Her daddy and mama came to reclaim her thrusday nite...phew!

p/s:It was fun to have you around little girl;-)

The Party, The Presentation, The Trip

The Presentation

I sensed forced politeness as we were introduced, and sat down at the meeting room. They had a tired "you better have something good to say" look written across their faces. I dont blame them either. Apparently before 'The Firm' look us (me n Jill) up for this project, they had other consultants present to this Lady Boss a.k.a mulut laser...twice mind you, and both times they went off the mark sending Lady Boss to a lasering spree of sorts.

I started off to cold reactions the first 3 slides, then i got warmer and warmer, and bang...hit the nail on the head by the 5th slide....Lady Boss loved it...she had a Eureka moment...She was saying she's had so many consultants come to present, and this is the first time anyone made any sense!

So, everything went well, better than expected. I was really worried because we didnt get a proper brief of the work scope, and they were not willing to talk to me .... "berapa kali nak cakap", they said.

We havent landed the job yet, there will be another round of presentation to Lady Boss' bosses...but its a good start.

The Trip

Abang brought his youngest kid, Sabrina along for the trip...dah cuti sekolah kan. Dad was extra cheerful to have her around. He's doing allright but i hope he gets stronger by the day. He tires so easily. I managed to grab 1/2 dozen of my favourite Ikea currypuff before we left, and dad loved it.

Mom's still keeping busy with her renovation project. Its almost complete and we helped her decide on the paint color and outdoor tiles.

Traffic's a bit busy along PLUS due to the school holidays.

The Party

This one is definitely a party pooper of a story. My friend who works in London, and who i havent seen for 10 years invited me (and Jill...our college friend) to a party at her place for dinner. We have been keeping in touch on YM, right to the day before the party. The invite was for Thursday (or so i thot).

So Jill picked me up at The Curve, and drove us to this friend's place. Its one of those condos with immigrant securities yang over-over... The visitor sign-in book had no one signing in for that address, i started to doubt if we got the date right. Jill and i was joking what would we say if our friend's cousin (she takes care of the place while our friend is away) opens the door and goes....ya, cari siapa???

I thot its best we sms this friend of ours, i only have her London mobile number....the reply came, "i'm still in UK". And the exchanges that follows i would rate 18SG;-) heheh

Miscommunication disaster....she kept reminding "aku balik thursday, come over malam..." What she meant was i leave london thursday, which also means at the time Jill and I arrived at the party, she's still working at her london office.

Bodoh betul kan....Jill and I had a good laugh about it, and this friend got a good bashing on YM and she's taken for the longest guilt trip of her life. The actual party is of course Friday, the day she arrives in KL...but i couldnt have made it anyway...dah balik kg.

Note to Alex: Sorry dear, no pictures to show obviously! There was a jaccuzzi and all by the poolside. What a party that would have been hahaha;-)

Memo

Its almost 5 am and i'm going thru my presentation slides....In 5 hours time i am making a presentation to a govt department on a consultancy proposal. The catch...1. This rather technical presentation must be in Bahasa Malaysia (jill had a hard time translating the terminologies!!! kesian dia), and 2. I was warned this woman i'm presenting to ,,,to borrow the exact words of my contact "mulut laser".

Hoping for the best, insyaallah....

Am also leaving town right after with my big bro, Abang ...balik kampung again to see how Dad is doing. I'll be back blogging on Monday with stories of the presentation, the trip and a bonus feature on a most happening party Jill and I attended last night!

Have a good weekend my blogger budds!

Nasi Lemak Penantian Hidup

My lunch today, Nasi Lemak JomBali from JomBali kopitiam. If you are a kopitiam-hopper like me, then this is worth a try. One of the best kopitiam nasi lemak i've had, and the serving is generous.

(Warning: have it when you are super hungry, i felt like i was about to explode right after)

Nasi lemak, freshly fried chicken marinated with spices (almost a quarter chicken), sambal ikan bilis (literally...not sambal bawang), fried ikan bilis, hard boiled egg, cucumber and crunchy peanut tempeyek.

A gift from Jill from her Jakarta trip, Samson's latest album Penantian Hidup. I love the entire first album, lets see if their second is just as good. Thanks Jill...eventhough not an autographed copy, but bought in the band's home country...mesti bunyi sedap lebih sikit kan hehe:-)!

Dad's Up

I woke up to this sms from my sister

"Dad's moving on his own. We found him sitting on the sofa-bench in his room. I turned on the tv and went back to sleep. When i woke up he has moved to the chair near the tv. Alhamdullilah"

Dad's been confined to his bed for the last few days because he was feeling too weak. So this is indeed good news.

Dad's favourite spot....this orange chair facing the driveway...he waits for the morning paper to be delivered, has his coffee and even catch some snooze here after breakfast till midday.

The Science of Cucur-Making

Its been almost a decade since i last fried a batch of cucur ikan bilis. Well, maybe i did a few times back at mom's place, but Mom or Sally (the maid) made the batter. Yesterday i was craving for some and decided to give it a go.

Back during my Uni days, cucur bawang or cucur ikan bilis is an almost everyday comfort food. Whenever we get together to chat or goss, we'll cook up a batch...of course more bawang than ikan bilis as its as good as gold, and you tend to skimm on your stock. With all the practice, after 3 years, i got the hang of making the perfect batter. Not too watery..which will make the cucur limp and flat, not too heavy...which will make the cucur a golf ball hard enough for a tee-off.

There's no exact recipe to cucur making, no exact measurements...its all about the consistency of the batter....and i like to add a pinch of baking powder for a better fluffy texture.

Yesterday's batch...not too bad.

The outer skin is crunchy just as i like it

But the inside texture can be better...

more flour perhaps, or more baking powder.

Only practice will make perfect, but i cant be having cucur too often which defeats all the gym workout. Hmm, how la...

Kena Saman!!

I woke up all fired up to get to work. Yesterday, i received a request for proposal for a new project, and today the plan is for me to do research and draft a broad outline of the approach and system design.

Then i got a call from my mum. Usually mum only calls where there is something important, or if i havent been calling for a while. This time i owe the call to a Majlis Perbandaran Klang notice that i owe them RM50 for an alleged parking offence, details of which were not disclosed. This is a final warning failing which-by my mom's understanding- i'll get sent behind bars.

After i calmed mom down, and convinced her i will sort it out (mom being mom prefers that i be a law abiding citizen and get to MPK right now and depart with my precious RM50)....i went to the website and see if i can get any information there. Apparently there is a "Kempen Penyelesaian Kompaun Letak Kereta Sebelum Tindakan Mahkamah" going on until 24 August. (should i be jumping for joy?). I also found a E-Kompaun portal where you can key in your car registration number..i thought brilliant, at least i can see when and where i committed this hideous offence.

What do you know....

So which is which now? There is a small print that says their database goes back only to 2001, which is fine because i only bought the car in 2001. In fact i've sold the car 9 months ago!

Then i thot let's give a call to the good people at MPK and see if i can sort it out on the phone. The operator on the general line gave me 2 other numbers to call, and i havent been able to get through since.

Now i am just irritated and distracted, and i thot maybe if i blog my rantings, i would cool down and can get back to work. You know what, since i pun puasa hari ni, lets put this aside to tomorrow, tak kuasa nak gaduh2 with anyone today!

Pictures only, No story

Jill's lunch: Big Fish Head something

Anne's Lunch: Stingray Asam Pedas

Green apple & lime juice for Jill, Honey Lime Green Tea for Anne

Rock Sugar Lime Juice for Jill, Jombali Blend Iced White Coffee for Anne

New Hangout

Jill's friend introduced us to this new hangout at The Curve - The Teh Tarik Place. Its a cross between a kopitiam and a mamak place, and serves malay food (nasi campur) as well for lunch. Nice airy ambience for a quick drink or lunch that doesnt cost you a bomb.

Today i was there again with Jill to meet up with Shal, who just came back from a 20day holiday in England and Scotland. She was there for her brother's graduation with her entire family at the University of Sheffield - Shal, Jill & I graduated from the same uni, so we were keen to know what the place has become after so many years...Shal has loads to tell of her travels and pictures to show.

Shal, u should have a blog, or at least set up a fotopage.

Jill is all ears

After lunch, we had coffee at my current favourite starbucks in the area. There are 3 Starbucks outlets at Ikano/ The Curve. One in Ikano, another at The Street of The Curve and a small, intimate outlet inside Borders. Its less noisy and i was told the Baristas are cute...(so far, havent detected any cute ones, so dont take my word for it yet..hehe).

Wasn't a very productive day, but at least we sat down to finalise the artwork for our new name cards that will go for printing this week.

All About Death

I was flipping channels on tv after dinner last nite,..so called prime time TV. I was watching CSI: Miami. Then in occured to me how every night my form of entertainment is watching something death related....CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York (and they come back to back), The Closer, Criminal Minds, Bones...even in Grey's Anatomy last nite Meridith's mum died...she almost did. Rather ironic aint it....

In my younger days, prime time is for The Cosby Shows, Full House, The Nanny and those kind of sitcoms...

Then i found refuge in E Channel, not that watching news on Britney & Kevin's divorce was anymore entertaining.....

Peace

I'm at peace with myself in ways that i cannot explain.

God must have answered my prayers.

Its a good feeling.

Picture: Sunset on Cenang Beach fr the Langkawi trip album