A Woman Over 30

A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle

of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?" She
doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the
game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does
something she wants to do. And, it's usually
something more interesting.

A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be
assured in who she is, what she is, what she
wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a
damn what you might think about her or what she's
doing.

Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a
screaming match with you at the opera or in the
middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you
deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they
think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often
undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to
introduce you to her women friends.
A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because
she doesn't trust the guy with other women.

Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her
friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.
Women get psychic as they age. You never have to
confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always
know.

A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red
lipstick. This is not true of younger women.
Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over
30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll
tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting
like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you
stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of
reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For
every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30+,
there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a
fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress.

Orang Baru

Selalunya aku tak berapa ambil peduli dan tatak heran dengan the so-called auspicious dates ni but pada tahun ini tarikh 08.08.08 mempunyai makna yang besar buat keluarga aku. Seawal pagi Jumaat pada hari tersebut aku terima sms dari my brother in law di KK, kembar aku telah selamat melahirkan baby boy tempat pada pukul 0720. Kalau sebelum ini kedua-dua anak kembar aku dilahirkan secara normal birth, anaknya yang ketiga kali ini dilahirkan secara Ceaserian. Ini setelah dinasihatkan oleh doktor kerana kecederaan di tulang belakangnya akibat jatuh 2 minggu sebelumnya.

Tepat pukul 2125 malam pula, aku dan mak terbang ke KK. Sampai sahaja di airport, sudah tidak sabar untuk menatap wajah ahli keluarga baru kami ini lalu kami terus ke hospital walaupun waktu melawat sudah berakhir. Wajahnya saling tak tumpah dengan anak buah lelaki aku, Noah semasa kecil. Pada hari Ahadnya, kembar aku dibenarkan pulang. Dapat aku menghabiskan masa dan memandikan anak buah baru aku sebelum aku pulang ke KL pada malam harinya. Sempat juga dia kencing atas aku semasa menunggu air mandiannya siap.

Buat masa ini, belum ada nama yang ditetapkan walaupun ada beberapa cadangan telah diberikan. My brother in law mahu mengekalkan nama Noah di pangkalnya. Jenuh perah otak memikirkan nama yang sesuai. Aku jokingly cadangkan nama Olympus Benji sempena dengan hari pembukaan Olimpik 2008 yang sudah semestinya ditolak mentah-mentah. But seriously aku proposed nama Noah Queshairy sementara ada yang cadangkan nama Noah Naquiyuddin, Noah Ilham dan Noah Esfahan. Terpulanglah kepada the parents to decide. So for now we all panggil dia baby ajelah. Kalau ada sesiapa yang nak cadangkan nama untuk anak buah aku ini, you are most welcome.

Hit The Road, Jack!

This is not addressed to The BF. We are ok and going strong each day in spite of the distance. I am referring to a caller from mobile phone no. +019369xxxx. It all started last Saturday night when a text message from this unfamiliar number came in:-

February 16, 2008

+6019369xxxx : Malam ni futsal tau

Me : Who is this?

+6019369xxxx : Ni orng putih ke..sorry la...! Sy orng malaysia tau (Eh, buat lawak yang tak lawak pulak!)

Me : Ni siapa? Klu x bgtau malas nak layan

+6019369xxxx : Name sy badrul..silap no la! U ni siapa?

At this point, aku malas nak reply coz I don't know anyone by that name. But within the next 10 minutes, there were 3 incoming calls from the number. Aku just pressed button busy rejecting the calls followed by a text message.

Me : Tlg jgn call sy. Sy x kenal sesiapa nama badrul

+6019369xxxx : Ye la..sy tahu 2! Sy pun x knl awak, sy ni bkan suka ganggu org 2 pn kebetulan je

+6019369xxxx : Sy nk tel awak skrg ni leh x! lpas 2 sy x akan ganggu awak tau k

Me : Untuk apa? Jgnlah buang masa awk. Sy x berminat. (This was the last text message from me)

+6019369xxxx : Ape la awak ni! Sy pun mcm 2 jugak tau..lgi pn bkan nk jumpa, cuma tel je salah ke

+6019369xxxx : Bleh la ye saudari..sy tel awak ea.

+6019369xxxx : Ye la sy ankat kaki la..sy ingat awak ni anak tan seri ke d'tuk

Aku hidup-hidup ingatkan dia betul-betul dah angkat kaki but half an hour later around 11 p.m. he called. I ignored the call and let the phone rang until it stopped.

Just when I thought that would be the last time I would hear from him......

February 17, 2008

+6019369xxxx : Askum (An hour later)

+6019369xxxx : Happy morning

Wah...sungguh persistent betul Mamat ni

February 18, 2008

+6019369xxxx : Hi happy morning, have a nice day pls don't get angrey! As a friend it normal. Las pls forget it k by. new friends.

Honestly I don't know what was he talking about but I hope it means adios! But at noon, I received a picture message of a rose from him. ???????

Some people just don't get it. When someone says no, it's a NOlah! I didn't think I misled him or give him the wrong impression. Tang mana yang tak faham tu entahlah. Nak kena cakap NO in 14 different languages ke, baru nak faham! But I have to give him credit for his persistence though he is just wasting his time and money. Kalau aku reply makin galak pula dia, so I am going to continue ignoring his text messages and calls. Hopefully he got fed up and give up.........

A Birthday Retreat

Aku mula merancang birthday retreat ni sejak awal Disember lagi dan insan yang diraikan tidak lain tidak bukan, insan yang satu, tiada duplicate - MAK. I called it a birthday retreat because we actually 'kidnapped' Mak to a private retreat to a place called Sekeping Serendah for a weekend. Mak was clueless all the way to KL from Teluk Intan until my bro, Shahrul made an exit at Rawang where we were already waiting for them. But still Mak had no idea it was to celebrate her birthday since her birthday is on January 1. My initial plan was to do it on December 31 so that we could celebrate it that night tapi kena buat a week earlier sebab the place was fully booked pula on that day.

Sekeping Serendah ni is a private retreat surrounded by lush greenery nature located in the town of Serendah. Ada 3 types of houses called sheds - 2 glass sheds, 2 mud sheds and the newest, 1 timber shed. Getting there was a bit tricky sebab memang tiada proper or visible signboards. Even some locals kat pekan Rawang and Serendah pun blur about this place. After passing through pekan baru Rawang and Serendah, kena melalui Perkampungan Orang Asli Serendah dan jalan tanah merah hingga ke pintu masuk tempat ini. Aku dah suspense masa melihat keadaan jalan dan sekeliling semasa menuju ke sini. Takut juga jadi kes tipah tertipu sebab bila tengok photo gallery in the website nampak tempat ini memang cantik. Bummer - there goes my plan for Mak's birthday. But as soon as we went through the front entrance, aku rasa lega ya amat sebab the place memang seindah seperti pics in the website.

Masa mula-mula learnt about this place, memang dah teruja nak tinggal di glass shed tapi bila called nak buat reservation, fully booked pula. Time tu pula cuti sekolah, public holiday and that type of shed pula ada 2 aje. So, had to settle with the next best thing - the timber shed. It may be the most expensive but the biggest with 2 bedrooms. Staying at the timber shed banyak mengingatkan aku kepada zaman kanak-kanak. Bunyi insects dan lantai kayu apabila berjalan di atasnya reminded me semasa tinggal di rumah kampung Opah dan Tok aku di Manong, begitu juga kelambu yang tergantung di katil. The last time aku tidur berkelambu ialah semasa Onyang masih hidup. Everytime tidur di rumah Onyang, memang wajib gantung kelambu. Yang paling menarik tentang tempat ini is all the sheds here has open-concept including the shower area yang berbumbungkan langit dan pepohon hijau. Everytime bersiram, memang paranoid juga tengok atas kut-kut ada Mat Skodeng menyorok di celah-celah pokok. Facilities here very basic and not lavish. Other than a fridge, microwave and cooking stove, there is no tv, telephone nor mobile network coverage here. Because there are only 5 sheds, memang boleh expect a lot of privacy.

We spent the day of arrival recce kawasan keliling, then spent some time at the waterfall about 5 minutes drive for brunch. In the afternoon, we headed to the Serendah International Orchid Farm about 15 minutes drive. Ke sini juga tiada signboard langsung that we had to stop twice to ask some locals. Tempat ini terletak di atas bukit dan dari menara tinjau di atas, memang boleh lihat pemandangan pekan Serendah dan kawasan sekelilingnya. Unfortunately around this time tidak banyak orkid yang berbunga but Kema and Mak beli a few to take home.

Mak's advanced birthday celebration dibuat pada malamnya. BBQ chicken and marshmallow by the pool side with simple dishes which we have pre-prepared and brought from home, hanya diterangi dengan scented candles. We had the pool all to ourselves. It was almost perfect if it was not for the cake yang melt sedikit masa on the way ke sini di siang harinya. Although rupanya dah terjejas sikit but the cake named Desire which we bought at Barkezin, Bangsar Village II memang sinfully sedap. It's a combination of white and dark chocolate with crunchy caramel almond. Tengok aje pic ni, tempting and cantik kan? After dinner, my youngest bro, Rizal terjun ke dalam pool. Sorang-sorang dialah cepak cepuk berenang ke sana sini tengah-tengah malam. The rest of us jadi 'pemerhati PBB' by the pool side sambil continuing with our dinner and BBQ.

The following day after breakfast, all of us spent the entire morning at the pool. Aku ambil kesempatan crash course belajar berenang from Rizal starting from learning to float and within a short period of time, I can already do some short strokes. I was either a fast learner or Rizal was a good teacher. Lepas ni, dah teruja nak pergi practice swimming di Armanee which has a resort-like pool. By noon, we checked-out but already talking about returning to this place for a family gathering. This time, kena plan and book awal-awal for the glass sheds.

For those who are seeking for a short escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, this is just the perfect hideout for relaxing and enjoying the tranquility of the natural environment. Visit http://www.serendah.com/ to find out more info and photos about this place.

What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan @ House + Co

Lunch today was with my kakis from my former workplace. Venue this time was House + Co at Bangsar Shopping Centre. This place has become one of my favorite dining places since another friend introduced it to me some time middle of this year. Uniknya about this place is, it is located inside a shop selling furnitures, home decor and houseware. Dari luar nobody would have known there is a restaurant inside. From the interior decor of the restaurant, one would have expected menu dia mesti fancy international western menu yang sampai tergeliat lidah nak sebut. On the contrary, there are only 9 common dishes on the menu . I could even list them all here:-

APPETIZER

Edamame - Japanese soya bean dusted in sea salt

SALADS

Kurt's Grape & Pine Nut Salad - Fresh crunchy vegetables, grapes and pine nuts tossed in light creamy dressing
Caesar Salad - Crispy lettuce tossed in a cheesy dressing topped off with croutons prepared in olive oil

SANDWICHES

Tuna Walnut Pita - Toasted whole meal pita bread stuffed with peppery tuna, crunchy walnuts, lettuce and carrots.

Beef Rendang Pita - Toasted whole meal pita bread stuffed with spicy and tender beef rendang, lettuce and carrots

Chicken Pita - Toasted whole meal pita bread stuffed with poached chicken and toasted pecans, lettuce and carrots

MAIN COURSE

Nasi Lemak - Fluffy basmati rice cook in coconut milk and served with sambal, acar, nuts, anchovies and choice of beef/chicken/sotong

Kim Lien's Kway Teow Soup - Soft flat rice noodles served with prawns, poached chicken, bean sprouts and 'chai sim' in pipping hot chicken soup

Nyonya Curry Laksa - Your choice of noodles served served in hot spicy coconut creamy gravy with poached chicken, prawns, bean sprouts, tofu and cabbage

Prices range from RM6 - RM15.


Today, Roza, Elle and I ordered Beef Rendang Pita and Chicken Pita whilst Tress and Mel ordered Nyonya Curry Laksa. The dishes sound plain but what make them special is the food arrangement and garnishing other than rasanya yang sedap. My favorite here is the Nasi Lemak Sotong especially the sambal. The next time aku datang sini, I'll post a pic of the Nasi Lemak which has an equally interesting food presentation. 4 stars out of 5 for this place.

Walimatul Urus I

Sabtu lepas telah berlangsung sebuah majlis pertunangan di Teluk Intan. Aku pulang pada hari Jumaat selepas kerja kerana tidak dapat ambil cuti kerana baru sangat mula bekerja di tempat baru. Awal pagi lagi, di luar dan dalam rumah, ramai saudara-mara dan jiran tetangga sedang rancak membuat persiapan terakhir terutama sekali lauk-pauk untuk dihidangkan untuk rombongan dari pihak lelaki dan para tetamu. Walaupun lauk-pauk catered tetapi hidang-menghidang dilakukan sendiri dengan bantuan saudara-mara dan jiran tetangga. Masih kuat masyarakat di sini berpegang kepada semangat gotong-royong dan bersepakat dalam hal-hal kenduri-kendara ini. Lauk-pauk yang dihidangkan kebanyakannya masakan kampung - gulai lemak nangka, rendang tok, kerabu, ayam goreng berempah, kacang botol dan sudah pasti tidak ketinggalan, sambal tempoyak (lepas gian aku makan sambal tempoyak!).

Hantaran bertemakan rona hijau sudah sedia tersusun di atas katil kecuali tepak sirih dan gubahan sejadah. Semuanya ada 11 hantaran dari pihak perempuan. Semasa sedang meneliti barangan hantaran satu persatu, terperasan pulak pada salah satu hantaran iaitu sebuah kek yang tertulis Selamat Bertunang, nama pihak lelaki di atas kek disalah eja - Erwin (pronounced as air-wind) menjadi Arvin. Perkara itu menjadi bahan gurauan - jangan pula tiba-tiba yang datang nanti a/l instead of bin....

By noon, everything seemed to be all set to go, hanya menunggu ketibaan rombongan dari pihak lelaki. Then somebody asked, "mana tepak sirih dengan gubahan sejadahnya?". Bergegas salah seorang cousin aku ke rumah jiran yang sepelaung sahaja untuk mengambil barang-barang tersebut untuk melengkapkan hantaran. Anyways, upacara merisik dan perbincangan di antara kedua belah pihak berjalan dengan lancar, diikuti dengan upacara menyarung cincin merisik dan cincin pertunangan sebagai tanda janji telah dimeterai.

Alhamdulillah, majlis yang boleh dikatakan planned and happened in short notice telah selesai, kecildan sederhana tetapi tetap meriah. Tahniah kepada cousin aku, Liana yang akhirnya telah ketemui in realiti jejaka dalam bluesnya, Erwin. Didoakan semoga alam pertunangan ditempuhi dengan penuh kekuatan iman dan jiwa sehingga melangkah ke gerbang perkahwinan pada 1 Zulhijjah depan.

Background Song : Wanita Yang Kau Pilih by Rossa

Dr Sheikh Spotted Again!

On Fridays we get 2 hours lunch. Whilst the male colleagues go for Friday prayers, the females apalagi pergi galavanting, shopping ke or drive out lunching at places away from the office. I pulak took Dee to Rebung for lunch. She moved from Miri to KL when she joined my current employer 2 months ago. I got to know her when attending system training in my 2nd week of joining and we clicked instantly. Since she's kinda new here, I jadi ala-ala Tengku Maria Sabri JJCM introducing to her places to dine in KL, pasni maybe Ronda 360 degrees jalan-jalan makan angin di tempat menarik di Semenanjung. I told her about Rebung etc etc. It must have been her lucky day as when were about to leave, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar showed up. If it was not because of another car blocked my car, we would have left sooner and Dee would have missed the opportunity to meet Doc face to face. Bukti ada hikmah di sebalik setiap kejadian atau ketentuanNya. It was brief but we managed to snap a couple of pics together. Dee is on Cloud 9 these few days....On the way back to the office, I realized it was Mokhzani Mahathir whom I asked to snap our pic. Absolutely cool public figures.....

Background Song : Gembira Hidup Ini by Farah AF2