Inspirational Quotes

Kebaya Day

Kehadapan sahabat kami yang dikasihi dan diingati selalu

Gadis ayu jalan berlenggang
Sungguh manis memakai kebaya
E-mail ini untuk mengundang
Ke jamuan kami di kafetaria

Bukan gunting dalam lipatan
Sekadar memberi peringatan
Bukan majlis besar-besaran
Sekadar ringkas kecil-kecilan

Sungguh harum bunga hiasan
Harum lagi bau kasturi
Jangan lupa jika kelapangan
Jumpa di sana jam 12 tengahari

Yang mengundang
Elis, Nurul & Roza

Finalists Ratu Kebaya (boleh?)

Pantun di atas adalah hasil nukilan kreatif rakan sekerja aku, Roza Lawa sebagai undangan eksklusif kepada rakan-rakan sekerja untuk hadir ke majlis makan-makan yang diadakan pada Jumaat lepas bertempat di 'Sky Garden' my office. Segalanya bermula dengan satu pakatan dengan beberapa rakan sekerja untuk memakai our best kebaya on a Friday. Plan ni dah beberapa kali tertunda kerana ada yang kata nak kuruskan badan supaya boleh fit into their kebayas dan ada pula yang hendak menempah kebaya baru. Kebaya pink yang aku sarungkan tu dibuat untuk Aidilfitri tahun lalu.

As the D-Day approached and excitement built up, timbul pula rancangan untuk mengadakan a small party over lunch to celebrate a few occasions, personal and work-related. Menu asal pada mulanya hanyalah pulut kuning beserta rendang tetapi apabila at the last minute we decided to invite a few other colleagues, a few more dishes were added including fried meehoon yang ditempah dari food court, chocolate muffin yang dibuat oleh Roza dan cupcakes yang aku tempah dari a fellow blogger, P-nut siap dengan names of a few of our colleagues on the cupcakes. Nasib baik Pnut dapat buat on short notice dan dapat personally deliver the cupcakes to my office.

Ocean 11
(Not in the pic - Shearnilicious, the photographer)

Pada hari tersebut, kami yang all dressed up in our kebayas awal-awal pagi sudah ditegur oleh other colleagues yang curious mengapa a bunch of us memakai kebaya. Tambahan pula dua rakan, Joyce dan Roza sememangnya tidak pernah memakai kebaya di ofis. Tepat jam 12 tengahari, we set up the table at the 'Sky Garden'. 'Sky Garden' ni is an open air area at 24th floor of our office building with a spectacular view of KL city skyscrapers and the view gets better at night. Memang sesuai untuk majlis seperti ini. All our invitees started to come a little after 12 walau ada yang sedikit kelewatan disebabkan kerja dan meeting termasuklah my lady boss yang sememangnya sporting dan turut memakai kebaya at my request. Kesempatan get-to-gether seperti inilah we talked about other than work dan memandangkan inilah member-member office yang 'sekepala', majlis makan memang meriah dengan usik-mengusik, bergurau-senda dan gelak ketawa.

From left (clockwise) : Elis Cun, Roza Lawa, Syamsul, Adeline+Jonaes,
Adeline, Elis Cun+Anne, Jonaes, Yat, Lin, Joyce, Rozita

Majlis ended when the lunch hour ended but some of us were still hype from the excitement continued to pose and snapped pics in the office. So vain, kan? Anyways, we the hostesses were so glad that everybody had fun. We received thank you notes from our friends for organizing this event.Aku rasa walaupun sesibuk mana atau sestress mana pun bekerja, such little little things yang dibuat to create a little fun and excitement at work boleh membuatkan tempat bekerja a fun place to be. All work and no play, makes Jack or Jill a dull boy or girl.

From left : Jonaes, Anne, Roza Lawa, Shearnilicious

Definitely this will not be the last but the beginning of more to come. We are determined to do this more often and are already planning to have the next one in July. Hopefully it will materialize, insyaallah....

Soal Hati

Sebelum ini aku tidak pernah endah untuk mengambil tahu siapa gerangannya. Tambahan pula kesibukan kerja sudah cukup to keep my mind occupied daripada memikirkan hal ini. Namun baru-baru ini a remark made by a friend sewaktu kami bersama, walaupun berkias sudah cukup membuatkan aku tergamam. Dia kulihat terpaku dengan muka yang merah padam sebelum dengan pantas meminta diri dan berlalu.

Sejak itu dia mengelak dari bertemu atau melarikan pandangannya bila bertembung, seakan malu . Mungkin dia sudah dapat mengagak isi hatinya yang sekian lamanya terpendam bukan lagi rahsia padaku. Pada mulanya aku fikir perubahan sikapnya mungkin imaginasi aku tetapi seorang rakan turut merasakan perubahan pada dirinya, lebih banyak berdiam dan menjauhkan diri.

Separuh daripada aku berharap dia terus berdiam diri daripada menyatakan isi hatinya kerana jawapanku bakal mengecewakannya. Tetapi jikalau dia memberanikan diri bersemuka denganku, aku harus berterus terang dan menolaknya dengan baik. Mungkin itu lebih baik agar dia berhenti berharap dan tidak terus dilambung angan.

Sememangnya tiada cacat-celanya dia di pandangan mata, tapi sudah puas hati diselami jika dia boleh kuterima lebih dari seorang teman. Namun tiada sekelumit pun rasa tertarik apatah lagi cinta kepadanya melainkan hanya sebagai teman biasa. Angkuhkah aku atau cerewet memilih? Tidak sekali. Ini soal hati. Memang sukar diduga dan dipaksa. Mungkin benar walaupun seseorang itu memiliki ciri-ciri dan budi pekerti yang diidamkan dalam pasangan, tetapi kalau tiada chemistry hati tidak akan terpaut juga walau sesempurna manapun si dia.

Either way, aku harus bersedia menghadapai kemungkinan reaksi dari dia. Aku masih mahu dan boleh meneruskan persahabatan tetapi jika itu sukar baginya untuk menerima, aku redha.

Semoga Kau Mengerti By Gya Anandini

Breakaway

I was absolutely thrilled when my flight ticket to my next holiday destination which I booked at the recent MATTA Fair arrived today. Another dream holiday came true within a short span of time. The last one month has been a hectic month for me having to work long hours till late nights and on weekends and this holiday is something I very much look forward to - away from work and to rejuvenate.

My preference was to look for a free and easy package rather than a tour package. Unfortunately, most of the travel agents offered tour packages with very packed itineraries for a 9-day tour. One thing I learnt from this kind of package is, one will not have the opportunity to enjoy and truly appreciate each places as the tourist guide will hurry you to keep with the time and itinerary. MAS Golden Holiday offered a free and easy package but the travel period was up to May 31 and it’s way too soon for me.

After collecting and reading a whole lot of travel flyers and brochures, I stopped at several booths to enquire further about airfare and flight availability to this destination. I was a bit panicky when a few travel agents told me that there was no more seat available on the dates or even the month I planned travel. Alamak…and it was only the 2nd day of the MATTA Fair. They told me I should’ve have come the day before. It was quite understandable as April to October is high season as it will be summer there. An agent at one particular booth was very helpful enough to check all airlines to this destination from MAS, Qatar Airways, Emirates and even Uzbekistan Airline, nada.

I was very disappointed but I thought I should just make one more stop and tried my luck at one particular booth offering attractive airfares from Emirates. Probably their quota for low fare seats is still available. I let out a sigh of relieve when the agent told me that there’s available seat in early August. It may be a month later than my original planned date but I decided to grab it. Furthermore, I like traveling in Emirates not only because of their excellent in flight services and good food but also the variety of tv, movie and radio channels to choose from.

So, from August 3 – 11, I will be at City of The World’s Desire marveling at the beauty of Aya Sofya, The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and exploring the Grand Bazaar, just to name a few. I will stopover at Dubai for 2 nights before heading home on August 13. This will be my 3rd visit to Dubai and I am planning to take the opportunity to try out skiing at Emirates Mall which I did not do during my last 2 visits. Gee, it’s like I know I’ll be coming back to this part of the world…

Now that my flight ticket has been confirmed, what’s left to do is to make hotel arrangement and planning my itineraries at Istanbul. If any of you fellow bloggers out there have been to Istanbul, Turkey, I would be most grateful if you could share your experience and provide some tips and info to help me plan my holiday. .

Night of Ala Bollywood Wedding

Yesterday evening I attended an Indian wedding for the very first time. The wedding reception was held at a community hall in Kerinchi. The bride's our colleague of Singh-Chinese parentage. Earlier me and some of my colleagues met at our office building and car-pooled together to the wedding venue. Once we entered the hall, the wedding ritual has already started with the groom sitting under a canopy called mandap set on the stage together with the bride's relative next to him, the priest and close family members close by observing the ceremony. At the centre of the mandap were the sacred fire and other ritual items such as coconut, flower garlands, pots of water, rice among a few, visible from where I was sitting. After the groom left the mandap it was the bride's turn to go through the ceremony with the priest and eventually both bride and groom went through the ceremony together. It was definitely a long wedding ritual and prayers because even after we have finished eating, the ceremony was still going on. Luckily we did not have to wait for the ceremony to end to eat. I was starving as I did not have anything for lunch that day.

The ceremony came to an end when the mangalsutra necklace was put around the bride's neck, the bride and groom exchanged garlands and the family members threw rice and flowers towards the bride and groom. I was in awe observing how symbolistic each ritual was and how even the family members were very much involved and have a very important part in the ceremony. The finale was for the guests to walk up to the mandap where everybody were required to take their shoes off before entering the mandap to congratulate the bride and groom and give them their wedding presents.

Flanked by some of our colleagues who were clad in beautiful sarees

Another interesting obervation was to see some of our colleagues dressed in sarees. It felt like a Bollywood wedding especially with some other guests in their beautiful sarees and mixed of Hindi and Indian songs playing in the background. If only I knew they were planning to wear sarees, I would have joined the bandwagon. So, everybody made a pack to wear sarees in the next Indian wedding which will probably be some time in June.

Background Song : Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil Se from Dhadkan

I Have Been Tagged ! For The First Time

I was first tagged by ShahrilAley like months ago. Honestly, some of the questions were quite tough and got me to think how much do I know myself. Hope I do not have to do this again.

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire :
1 ~ Pay tithe
2 ~ Give some to mum and my siblings
3 ~ Donate to the needy particularly to sekolah pondok
4 ~ Buy a piece of land and build a house in Africa
5 ~ Travel around the world starting with the exotic places

5 bad habits :
1 ~ Keep stuff which I do not actually need anymore thinking I would need them in future. Lama-lama accumulate junks.
2 ~ Not getting enough sleep
3 ~ Work too hard till sometimes misses lunch
4 ~ Often perform solat 2 in 1
5 ~ If I really really do not like someone tahap Gaban, I can't help but let my feelings show. At least, tahu where to draw the line and tak hipokrit bila kena interact.

5 things I hate doing :
1 ~ Folding clothes
2 ~ Reprimanding my niece and nephew
3 ~ The long wait to see a specialist at SJMC even with appointment
4 ~ Doing cardio on walker or stepper
5 ~ Reading manuals on how to assemble or operate things

5 things I'll never do :
1 ~ PMS
2 ~ Smoke or consume alchohol
3 ~ Keep long fingernails
4 ~ Compromise my integrity at any cost
5 ~ Emigrate to another country or give up my citizenship

5 things I regret doing :
I believe in blessing in disguise....no regrets to what I have done, didn't do or experienced in the past.

5 fave toys or thing :
1 ~ A gold ring, gift from someone 10 years ago which I wear till now
2 ~ An antic table fan bought at Jonker Street, Malacca
3 ~ An antic brooch given by late Great Grandma before she passed away
4 ~ My book collection
5 ~ A Bohemian crystal bowl, a gift from a dear friend.

5 people I choose to do this :
I choose not to tag anyone.....consider yourself lucky!

Background Song : Aku Ada Karena Kau Ada by Radja

Tagged By Zeyn

6 weirdest thing about SPK......here it goes.............

1. SPK does not eat durian but like any true Perakian, she eats tempoyak. Pelik tapi benar. Kalau buat tempoyak ikan masin lagi best especially yang my late great grandma buat!!!!!!!!!!

2. SPK geli kalau makan beansprout yang tak buang ekor. Sanggup menghabiskan masa buang ekor taugeh kalau masak masakan yang ada taugeh kat rumah. Kalau makan dekat restaurant mesti request no taugeh sebab for sure diorang guna taugeh yang tak buang ekor. Kalau ada yang masih bubuh taugeh jugak, will take time to pilih and kumpul all the taugeh tepi pinggan.

3. No matter how slow SPK eats she always end up the first to finish.......Orang lain kunyah ikut sunnah Nabi kut atau memang she's the very gelojoh one?

4. Bila kena berdiri lama, SPK tends to cross her legs. Very comfortable.

5. SPK works with papers all over her desk. Kalau tidak, mesti macam rasa otak tak jalan and tak excited nak kerja but she knows where the documents are between the piles of papers. Tapi end of the day, meja mesti clear punya...

6. Last but not least, the reason she calls herself a Serial Plant Killer - takde pokok yang survive in her hands.

A Fine Sunday

It has been a hell of a week, working late nights at the office for the last 2 weeks resulting an impulsive act of cutting my hair. Thank God my girlfriends were not there, otherwise they would have stopped me like they did in my past attempts. The initial plan was to stop at Midvalley last Wednesday after work to get some stuff but when I passed A Cut Above, like a robot or zombie, I walked into the salon and told the senior stylist that I wanted to get a haircut to a certain length and I left it to his expertise to advise the style. The end result, love it!

Just when I thought my late nights at the office was finally over, I was told last Friday evening to help prepare a proposal and presentation for a management meeting today. Aaargh....so, there I was spending my weekend at the office for a discussion and completing the presentation. In spite of that, I managed to squeeze in time for family and friends including meeting a fellow blogger for the very first time.

After spending a few hours of my Sunday morning giving the finishing touch to the proposal, I took the Putra LRT from my office to KL Sentral where we initially agreed to meet for lunch at 12.30 p.m. Got there just on time and sent him an sms that I was waiting for him at the information counter. He instead had arrived much earlier and asked to meet at Secret Recipe and looked for one wearing a white shirt. Thank God there were only a few diners at Secret Recipe and I immediately noticed a guy wearing a white shirt at one of the tables. Tak syak lagi, memanglah Dirtypap. As I extended my hand to shake his hand, I was not sure whether I should address him by his moniker but he quickly introduced himself by his real name. He gave me a souvenier specially brought from Labuan, two boxes of chocolates. Rasa segan ada jugak sebab I didn't have anything to give him in return.

Topic of our conversation circled around the normal get-to-know-each-other Q & A especially about him since Dirtypap has been keeping his identity on his blog anonymous. Undeniably, I did imagine how he would be like in person and some does fit the mental picture I had of him in a positive manner but it never crossed my mind that he works as a ........... and he gave me his business card to prove it, not that I did not believe him. Our meeting lasted for an hour as he had to catch a 2 p.m. bus to Genting. It was brief but I think it's a pleasant experience to finally got the chance to meet face-to-face and get to know him better. Hopefully it will not be the last.....

Cairo, Al-Qahirah : The Finale

I continued to visit a few more equally interesting places on my last day in Cairo. We started the day visiting Saqqara where the Steps Pyramid is situated. Unlike the Pyramids of Giza, the Steps Pyramid or also known as the unfinished pyramid, was made from smaller bricks which over time turned into dust. It's actually quite a huge complex with several temple and wall ruins around the pyramid. Mum and I decided to 'tawaf' around the pyramid where we saw entrance into the pyramid which was unfortunately closed from public due to safety reasons.

Our next stop was a complex consists of Ramses II Museum, Mummification Temple, Hathour Temple among others. It sounded misleading but the complex is actually an open museum with a lot of statues exhibited including several huge statues of Ramses II. Ramses II is one of the famous paharaohs particularly for his long reign and notably famous wife, Queen Nefertiti. We were supposed to visit other areas within the complex but decided to pass as what we will be seeing will be more statues and we had seen enough statues for the day.

We then went to Imam Syafie Mosque which is situated in between residential buildings occupied by locals. We were pre-warned by our guide not to give hand out money to the locals in the area as once you give to one, more will come and ask you for money. I guess that place was not a popular tourist spot as we were the only ones there. Imam Syafie's Mosque is merely a small mosque and the his tomb is situated in the middle of the small praying hall. We peered through the glass and wooden structure housing his tomb and could see a lot of things strewn around the tomb from papers, 'sejadahs' and cash notes. I guess some visitors just went overboard worshipping the late Imam. Another interesting about this mosque at a corner under the old worn-off carpet lies what believed to be Rasulullah s.a.w footprint.

Next, we went to another famous Islamic sites i.e. Sultan Hasan Mosque and Refa'e Mosque, located opposite the Sultan Hasan Mosque separated only by a small passage. I spent more time in Sultan Hasan Mosque admiring the beautiful ancient Islamic architecture. We were privileged that the Imam himself spent time telling us about the mosque and we could sense pride in his voice. He recited outloud the Kursi verses inscripted around the base of the dome attracting the attention of other non-Muslim tourists and 'azan' in the mosque and we could hear the call for prayer echoing in the mosque. Such a soothing feeling...The mosque is also a madrasa shared by all the four mazhabs - Hanafi, Syafie, Hanbali and Maliki with each has a separate courtyard to its own. I spent a brief moment a Refa'e Mosque famous for being the final resting place of the former Shah of Iran which is equally magnificent in its own way.

On the way to Cairo International Airport before leaving for Dubai, we stopped at Anwar Sadat's tomb and site where he was assasinated which is just across the street from his burial place. He was assasinated for signing Egypt's peace treaty with Israel while watching a military parade. His tomb is underneath a pyramid like structure and guarded by 8 - 10 guards dressed in either modern military uniform and the ancient Egyptian attire.

I left Cairo with wonderful memories not only of the places I visited but also the people I met and befriended. It is definitely an interesting and exotic place to visit with the richness of her history, culture and mysterious past.

Background Song : We Maloh By Amr Diab

Cairo, Al-Qahirah : Day Three

Our first destination on day three was the Egyptian Museum a.k.a Tahrir Museum. Just like many places in Cairo, we had to go through security checks and despite that I managed to smuggled in my camera. Not that I wanted to use it but was concern of losing it. We were given 3 hours to tour the museum but then again I knew the time given would not be enough as the museum consists a huge collection of objects and artifacts. It was impossible to read all the descriptions about the exhibited objects, so I decided the best was to focus on the main artifacts particularly King Tut's golden mask, treasures from his tomb and of course the mummies although I had to pay additional LE100 to enter the Mummies Hall. It was a bit creepy looking at the mummies placed in the glass in the As I expected, we took more than 3 hours touring the museum and before leaving, I left a short note in the guest book at the museum.

Next, we headed to the Paharaoh's Village, a living museum complete with the exact reproduction of houses and temple during the ancient Egypt with actors and actresses performing the daily activities during those time, among others pottering, perfume making, weaving, mummification process and agriculture activities. An English speaking guide took us through the tour which originally was supposed to be on a motorized barges sailing down the canal with these activities being acted out along the canal. Unfortunately, we had to go on foot as the water in the canal was too shallow for the barges. We were then taken to the reproduction of King Tut's tomb where his coffin and treasures were arranged exactly like when the tomb was discovered. Although all these objects were merely replicas but it was amazing to see the exact details that have gone to make it look so much like the ones we saw at the museum.

When we arrived at our next destination, it was already closed to public. It's a holy place to the Christians where in the church courtyard stood Tree of Maryam and Maryam's well. The Christians believe that Virgin Mary sat under the tree with Jesus and quenched their thirst with water from the well. Somehow, our tour guides managed to negotiate with the guardian to allow us in but it was quite dark and we relied on the streetlights to see the tree and the well. There were stone carvings on the wall of Virgin Mary and Jesus and a beautiful statue of Virgin Mary in the compound. We had to be quick to avoid being caught and questioned by the authorities.

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at the largest shopping mall not only in Egypt but in Africa as well. The CityStar Shopping Mall looked exactly like any other typical shopping malls and packed with locals particularly the youths. I guess that's the only shopping and entertainment centre available for them to hang out. I was not interested to browse the shops but headed straight to Virgin Records to buy a few more Amr Diab CDs original from the birth country of the singer himself.

Once back at the hotel, at around 11 p.m. all 18 of us including our tour guides gathered in my hotel room to joinly celebrate Kak Rosni's birthday which fell on December 31 and Mom's birthday on January 1. Before the small birthday celebration, we watched photo slideshow of Cairo taken by a member of the tour, Richard complete with background songs. They were indeed beautiful photos. The birthday celebration was a small one with a chocolate cake, some puffs served with tea. Mum had received her birthday present earlier i.e. the fully paid trip to Cairo and I gave mum a hug and wished her a Happy Birthday. There were tears in her eyes. The night ended with a group photo as Liza and 3 of her friends had to leave for Dubai the following morning.

Background Song : Betkhaby Leh by Amr Diab

Cairo, Al Qahirah : Day Two

Idul Adha fell on the second day I was in Cairo i.e. December 30, a day earlier than Malaysia. Sejak ketibaan aku di sini, kelihatan di sana sini binatang korban either kambing atau lembu dikumpulkan di tepi-tepi jalan atau diangkut dengan lori. Apa yang mengejutkan aku, binatang-binatang korban ini disembelih dan dilapah di tepi-tepi jalan sahaja. Tak sanggup aku nak tengok tapi selambanya kanak-kanak menyaksikannya. A little after 8 a.m. kami dah bertolak ke Malaysia Hall Abbasiah untuk solat sunat Idul Adha. Dalam perjalanan Bob selepas menceritakan sedikit sebanyak mengenai sejarah upacara korban dan erti pengorbanan dalam konteks sekarang, kami diceritakan juga latarbelakang tentang tapak dan bangunan Malaysian Hall. Tanah di mana bangunan Malaysian Hall itu dibina dihadiahkan oleh pemerintah Mesir (tahun berapa tak ingat) kepada penduduk keturunan Melayu dari Thailand, Malaysia dan Indonesia yang telah membantu beliau dalam peperangan sehingga mencapai kemenangan. Bangunan yang dibina di situ asalnya diduduki oleh students Melayu dari ketiga-tiga negara ini sehinggalah Kerajaan Malaysia menyumbangkan sejumlah wang yang besar untuk membaikpulih bangunan ini dalam tahun 1990-an. Sejak itu, bangunan ini dimiliki sepenuhnya oleh Kerajaan Malaysia dan diduduki oleh students Malaysia.

Selepas solat sunat Idul Adha bersama dengan students Malaysia di sini, kami dijemput menjamu selera dengan students yang lain. Walaupun juadah ringkas terdiri daripada mee goreng, nasi lemak dan kuih muih, tiada ketupat, lemang dan rendang, suasana Idul Adha tetap dirasakan. Lagu nasyid dan Hari Raya berkumandang dan ada students dan tetamu lengkap berbaju Melayu beserta dengan samping dan yang wanitanya pulak berbaju kurung. Actually terasa kekok dan segan juga sebab we all bukannya students kat situ and we had had breakfast at the hotel tapi sebab dah dijemput makan dan juadah pun nampak tempting, so we went ahead and digged in.

Lebih kurang pukul 10 a.m., we left Malaysia Hall to witness and set foot on the oldest, yet the only surviving of the seven ancient wonders of the world and the original reason that prompted me to go on this trip. From afar, I could see the Pyramids of Giza which consists of three pyramids of different sizes, Pyramid of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. My excitement built up as we approached the pyramids and finally stopped in front of the biggest pyramid of the three and the one which is actually called one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, Pyramid of Khufu and not the other two pyramids. As I stood at the base of the pyramid, touched the ancient stone and looked up at the piles of blocks rising to the sky, I find the structure was a bit plain but what was playing in my mind was the picture of how the ancient Egytians then transported the blocks which were at least 5 feet high and stacked them up into this pyramid shape. Of course, these pictures were fed by my readings on the pyramid and Discovery Channel, but still those theories may not be accurate, but logical yet still shrouded with mysteries.

I climbed up the small steps between the blocks towards the entrance into the pyramid but was told by the guard, tourists are allowed to enter only at 1 p.m. and it was too early then. So, after snapping a few shots there, we headed to a plateau to get the panoramic view of the pyramids.Di sini, we got some nice shots of the pyramids in full view in the background. Tapi, di sini juga kena watch out sebab banyak 'periuk api' i.e. najis unta dan kuda. I took the oportunity to ride on a camel for the first time. Nasib baik Liza sounded awal-awal suruh pegang before the camel raised to its feet, if not mesti dah jatuh terjelepuk. Our final stop at the Pyramids of Giza was at the Sphinx. I was a bit suprised because it was not as big as I thought. Hidung Sphinx ni sudah rosak kena bom semasa peperangan.

Next, we headed to The Citadel, famous for Mohamed Ali Mosque and the Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi's Fort. This landmark is visible from any part of Cairo and forms part of its skyline as it is situated at a high ground. When I first saw this landmark from afar, at a glimpse, it resembles the Blue Mosque in Turkey with its great dome and towering twin minarets. I must say as I entered the mosque, pictures what more words do not really do justice to the Mohammed Ali Mosque. To truly appreciate the beauty of the mosque especially the impressive interior one will just have to be there. After marvelling at the beautifully decorated high ceiling in the mosque, snapping as many photos as I can and performed Jamak Takhir in the mosque, we walked out to the open courtyard of the mosque to a spectacular view of the city of Cairo.

Then, we hurried back to the plateau of the Pyramids of Giza to watch the sound and light show. On the way there, we stopped at a fruit juice stall by the roadside where some of us dengan beraninya ordered and drank juices from there despite the stories we heard about drinking from the stalls by the roadside. We arrived there early so that we could get the best seats and indeed we did. With the Sphinx and the pyramids as the backdrop, dazzling lights and images projected on the sphinx and the temple wall, the storyteller narrated stories about ancient Egypt. I was a bit lost in between the storytelling especially with the names of the Pharoahs unfamiliar to me and also distracted by trying to keep warm. Even the three layered thick clothing and a rented blanket were not able to keep me warm. I was shivering especially when the cold wind blew. I practially let out a sigh of relief when the show was over and hurriedly headed to the bus coach and eventually to the hotel.

Background Song : Agheeb By Amr Diab

The Sweetest Thing

Those who have been waiting in anticipation for my entry on Cairo, Al-Qahirah - Day Two will have to wait for a few more days. I have just finished downloading pictures from my gmail sent by my sister and currently is uploading it to slides. It has also been a hell of a week at the office with multiple deadlines to meet. Bear with me for a few more days.....

Anyhow, this is just a brief and quick entry to thank a fellow blogger, Xis for posting a special entry on his blog sempena my birthday siap dengan a custom-made pic and a lovely poem. I didn't plan to make any entry on my blog on my birthday as it has never been an important and celebrated event for me. Kadang-kadang aku sendiri terlupa sampailah family and friends hantar birthday wishes. Anyhow, a heartfelt thank you to Xis for the sweet thought and kind words. Also, my appreciation to Rush for his thoughtfullness mentioning and wishing me a happy birthday in one of his entries. Definitely this is one of my memorable birthdays which I will truly treasure.

And of course, I truly appreciate the birthday wishes from others - family, friends and bloggers who have sent their birthday wishes via smses, e-mails and comments on the blog.

Cairo, Al Qahirah : Day One

Memang sukar hendak summarize about my 4 days and 3 nites trip to Cairo in one single entry kerana on each day I covered several places and there are so much to tell about each places I visited. I guess for the next couple of weeks, I'll have to post serial entries on Cairo and hope I will not bore anyone to the brink of insanity if not to death.

Ketibaan di Cairo on the evening of December 28, 2006 disambut oleh four Universiti Al-Azhar students yang menjadi tour guides selama tempoh kami di sini. Selepas makan malam di Nile Restaurant, kami checked-in di The Golden Tulip Hotel Flamenco yang terletak di Zamalek. Awal pagi selepas bersarapan di hotel, kami bertolak ke tempat pertama di dalam itinerari, kilang pengeluar kristal yang kedua terbesar di dunia, Asfour Crystal. Showroom belum buka lagi, kami dah tercongok di situ. Apabila masuk ke kawasan showroom terpegun melihat crystals yang dipamerkan berkilau-kilauan di bawah cahaya lampu. Aku bukanlah peminat crystal sangat, yang ada dalam simpanan pun hadiah dari rakan (which I truly treasure) tetapi bila melihat crystals pelbagai bentuk dari figurines, jewelleries, chandelier, rosaries, vases dan macam-macam lagi, hati tertarik juga lalu aku membeli beberapa buat koleksi peribadi dan souvenier. Harga memang unbelievable! and you have to pay in Egyptian pound or credit card as US Dollar is not accepted here.

Kami makan tengahari nasi kerabu di sebuah restoran Kelantan berhampiran kawasan hostel Malaysian students di Universiti Al-Azhar. Di sini memang senang cari makanan Malaysia sebab Malaysian students di sini ramai dan restoran menyajikan makanan Malaysia pun ada. Sementara menunggu yang lelaki pergi solat Jumaat, kaum wanita bertanggak di Rumah Negeri Sembilan, to be exact, rumah warden Malaysian students dari Negeri Sembilan. Semua hostel penuntut Malaysia si sini dibiayai oleh kerajaan negeri, oleh itu dinamakan dan diduduki oleh penuntut dari negeri masing-masing. Kami disambut oleh isteri warden tersebut, Ibu Noraziyan yang merupakan seorang Cina mualaf. Kami tumpang solat Jamak Takdim di situ dan dijamu pula dengan teh/nescafe panas dan biskut. Memang lega dapat menghirup teh panas memandangkan suhu di luar memang sejuk.

Tempat berikut yang dituju ialah Masjid Hussin, Masjid & Universiti Al-Azhar dan Pasar Khan El Khalili yang terletak berhampiran di antara satu sama lain di El Hossein Square. Halfway perjalanan ke sana dari Asfour Crystal, kami diiringi oleh kereta peronda polis. Hairan juga pada awalnya kenapa kereta peronda polis ini membunyikan siren di hadapan bus coach kami. Rupa-rupanya di sini, adakalanya polis akan memberi khidmat escort kepada kenderaan tourist for safety reasons. Terasa macam VIPlah pulak bila kereta yang lain kena beri laluan kepada kami. El Hossein Square ini memang sesak dengan bukan sahaja tourists tetapi the locals as well bersantai, kanak-kanak happily berlari ke sana sini, the cafes filled with people dari yang tua ke muda berbual-bual kosong or just seating there doing nothing. As a matter fact, everywhere we went and passed by in Cairo seemed to be full with people seperti berpesta tapi kemungkinan juga kerana keesokan harinya Idul Adha.

Tempat tujuan pertama kami ialah Masjid Hussin, di sinilah dipercayai kepala cucu Rasulullah s.a.w., Saidina Hussin ditanam. Kami kaum wanita pada awalnya tidak dapat menziarahi makam Saidina Hussin kerana waktu Asr sudah masuk dan kami tidak dibenarkan masuk ke makam semasa waktu sembahyang. Kecewa juga hati kerana sesiapa yang ada hajat, boleh bertawassul di makam Saidina Hussin dan aku memang berhasrat untuk mengambil kesempatan itu. Allah itu Maha Pengasih, sebelum pulang dan sementara menunggu yang lain habis membeli-belah di pasar Khan El Khalili, aku dapat memasuki dan menziarahi makam Saidina Hussin. Setelah menghadiahkan al-Fatihah kepada Saidina Hussin, aku menadah tangan bermunajat kepada Allah. Aku bisikkan suara hati dan hajat aku berulang-kali di sisi makam. Aku beredar dengan rasa syukur dan tawakal kepada Allah s.w.t. semoga doa aku dimakbulkan olehNya.

Masjid dan Universiti Al-Azhar terletak across the road from Masjid Hussin. Seperti yang diketahui umum universiti Al-Azhar merupakan universiti yang tertua di dunia, dibina more than 1000 years ago. Mengikut penerangan Bob (one of our tour guides), Oxford University dibina untuk menandingi Universiti Al-Azhar dan menghapuskan pengaruh Islam tetapi uasaha ini gagal. Untuk ke Masjid Al-Azhar, kami melalui tunnel di bawah tanah dan apabila aku menaiki tangga keluar dari tunnel, I was mesmerized by the sight of the mosque emerging in front of me, subhanallah. As you entered the main door, you will walk in to a marble courtyard and the feeling and ambience memang sukar nak disuratkan. Terasa sungguh tenang berada di dalamnya despite the fact that masjid ini terletak di tengah-tengah kesibukan kota Cairo. Memandangkan Asr telah aku jamakkan, aku hanya melakukan solat sunat Tahiyatul Masjid di tempat solat yang tertutup di sini sebelum further melawat sekitar masjid. Memang perasaan rasa tenang dan syahdu sewaktu menunaikan solat di masjid yang menyimpan dan menyaksikan pelbagai sejarah dan kisah riwayat Islam sejak lebih sekurun yang lalu. Selesai solat, aku joined the rest melawat dan bergambar di sekitar masjid. We then took the spiral staircase leading to one of the towers untuk menaiki ke bahagian bumbung masjid. I went further up the tower eventhough I had to climb up in total darkness led by an Egyptian lad. From the balcony of the tower, you can see the city of Cairo, terasa seperti you travelled back in time because unlike Dubai, buildings di sini memang mostly look ancient.


After a while at Al-Azhar Mosque, we returned to Pasar Khan El Khalili untuk aktiviti apa lagi, shoppinglah. Like the pyramids, pasar Khan El Khalili is a must destination if one goes to Cairo. The market is not just any market, being one of the oldest markets in the world, this sprawling market played an important role in Egypt history. Barangan yang dijual di sini dari alabaster, jewelleries, gold brass, goods made from mother of pearl and papyrus, museum replicas, leather, essential oils, perfume, perfume bottles, crystal, home decor items and a whole lot more. I must say perfume made from Lotus flower memang mempunyai bauan lembut yang wangi believed to be worn by Queen Nefertiti. Most of these items are available at other tourist spots but at pasar Khan El Khalili, you can do some serious bargaining and the prices are cheaper. So, kalau nak shopping, do it at Khan El Khalili. Having Arabic speaking Malaysian students as our tour guides helped a lot whilst bargaining. Do not be surpised kalau ada shop owners there speak a few words in Malay to you as they pick these up from the Malaysia students there. Tambahan pula tourists dari Malaysia pun ramai ke sana. Since it was eve of Idul Adha, ada kedai yang tutup especially those selling precious stones but kedai yang buka pun dah cukup banyak and tak terlawat. Anyway, most of the shops here sell the same thing, it's just a matter how much less they are willing to go down for the goods that you want to buy.

Our tour for the day diakhiri dengan cruising Kor nish El-Nil over dinner on a ship. Sebelum dinner, kami dihiburkan dengan pelbagai persembahan dan sudah pastinya tarian gelek included. Ironically, tak seperti tarian gelek yang aku saksikan di Dubai, di sini pakaian penarinya lebih seksi dan tarian lebih raunchy. Halfway through her performance, aku joined some of members of our rombongan di atas dek untuk menikmati pemandangan Cairo di waktu malam sambil mendengar cerita tentang sejarah Islam dan kehidupan di Cairo dari our tour guides. Memang kurang jelas kota Cairo di waktu malam kerana dari sungai Nil, hanya cahaya suram sahaja yang menerangi kotanya. Bila dah tak tahan dengan kesejukan walaupun dah berlapis baju dipakai, we all turun semula ke restaurant for dinner. Dinner adalah secara buffet terdiri mixed of makanan Middle Eastern dan Western tapi kena beratur panjang juga untuk mengambil makanan kerana malam itu memang restaurant tu full house. The cruise lasted for about 2 hours and we headed back to the hotel after that. Sampai di hotel baru terasa kepenatannya tapi nevertheless it has been an exciting day.

Insyaallah, coming soon entry Cairo, Al Qahirah : Day Two about my visit to Pyramids of Giza.

Background Music : Aiam We Ben3eshha by Amr Diab

Dubai Revisited

It's now 7.17 a.m. in Cairo and about 13 degrees Celcius. I am sitting at a cybercafe opposite the hotel I am staying. I planned to post something on my few days in Dubai whilst in Dubai but the internet connection was so bad and I could not gain access to my blogger account, frequent interruption to internet connection etc etc. It's too early to tell about my Cairo trip as we have actually not started yet except that we had dinner at Nile Restaurant last night after arriving from Dubai and a brief glimpse and tour of Cairo city on the way to our hotel in Zamalek.

On my second day in Dubai, aku menjadi 'chapperon' kepada golden citizens yang terdiri daripada Mak and parents housemate Liza sightseeing in Dubai city. Since all of them are in the sixties, taking the public bus or going on foot were out of the question and taking the city cab was just too expensive. The best alternative was to take the Big Bus Company tour. This is a hop on and hop off tour service on a double decker bus which covers 23 tourist stops in Dubai through 2 bus routes, the city tour and the beach tour. We managed to cover only half of the entire route when after shopping at Dubai Old Souq, some of the golden citizens dah nampak penat memicit-micit kaki, so we stayed on the bus for the rest of the stops and headed home. Aku dan Mak tak rasa ralat sangat because both of us have been to most of these places during our last trip to Dubai in May 2006

The following day, I decided to wander off on my own in Dubai, mainly because I need to get some souveniers and some barang kiriman relatives and friends. Using the same Big Bus Company tour ticket (it's valid for 24 hours from the time of purchase), I took the beach tour route to Souq Madinat Jumeirah. This route will pass through Jumeirah Road and you will stop at some main tourist attractions like Jumeirah Mosque, Jumeirah Beach Park, Jumeirah Public Beach and Souq Madinat Jumeirah. The bus stopped at Jumeirah Public Beach for 5 minutes where you can see Burj Al Arab from there. The view at Jumeirah public beach was exactly how I remembered the last time I came here, breathtaking, undescribable beyond words. Pasir yang halus, the clear water in shades of emerald green berhampiran dengan pantai dan turned into darker shades of green and blue towards the sea.

After a couple of hours shopping at Souq Madinat Jumeirah and Zuhr prayer there, I walked back to the Jumeirah public beach and just sat there looking out to the sea with my feet buried in the cold sand, my iPod playing my favorite numbers, a cup of hot chocolate and my travel journal penning stories of my journey so far, my thoughts, hopes and dreams as the new year approaching. Pemandangan laut yang indah dengan angin sejuk bertiup buat aku leka sehingga tidak sedar sudah lebih sejam aku duduk di situ. Gathered my stuff and decided to walk along the beach and feel the water, it was icy cold but bearable. Continued to walk for the next 30 minutes and finally took a cab to Mall of Emirates where I bought a few more things mainly perfumes yang dipesan.

Lambaian Cairo ex Dubai

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breaking, it's early morn'
The taxi's waiting, he's blowing his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again

Just like the starting of Chantal Kreviazuk's Leaving On A Jet Plane, I am all set for Dubai, leaving on a jet plane at 0030 hours before flying off to Cairo on Dec 28. Preparation for this trip is the same as my other previous trips except kali ini kena bawa baju tebal. It's not-summer season di Cairo where temperature could go as low as 7 degrees Celcius and maximum 20 degrees Celcius. A good time to travel there.

I started my packing last Friday night. As usual memang konon-kononnya nak travel light tapi I always end up packing more clothes than I actually need. Most of the time ada yang tak dipakai langsung, I call it emergency clothings (or maybe just an excuse!). Anyhoots, I am carrying max two bags, a trolley bag and a backpack. Whilst packing, berbalas-balas SMS sekejap with Yusran, a 'thirsty' traveller currently travelling with Zura (his wife cum one of my usual travelling buddies) to Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and China for a month. Yes, you read me right, a month! Aaaargghhh...best nyer!

22-Dec-06 11.11 p.m.
Hi Nurul, Grub Gott. Truly forgotten about Arabic CD titles as I was so busy with work till just b4 left 4 KLIA. Fr sea we r headin 2 the mountains SAPA via Lao Cai (near China). Appreciate if u cud get latest 5 CDs fr 1)NANCY AJRAM 2)AMR DIAB & 3 other singers. Willing to spend RM200. Sorry to trouble u. Danke schon.

22-Dec-06 11.16 p.m.
OMG - sounds adventurous n interesting. The other 3 CDs r 4 which singer?

22-Dec-06 11.25 p.m.
Just grab based on their Top 10 which had the longest run in terms of popularity. Kalau dapat beli music DVD ciplak lagi bagus. BTW, my Yang is already zzz we r in the overnite train. VIET Train r not as sophiscated as the sleeping berth in China or even KTM

22-Dec-06 11.30 p.m.
Wokey - she must b dead beat. What r u doing still up? Not sophisticated. That's the interesting part of travelling, isn't it? I tgh packing my stuff 4 my trip.

23-Dec-06 8.00 a.m.
Arrived safely in Lao Cai. The temp is below 10C. Ahlan Wasalan.

23-Dec-06 8.08 a.m.
Alhamdulillah..hope u guys hav clothes 2 keep u warm. Expecting that kind of temp in cairo esp at night.

On Saturday, I ran a few more last minute errands. Pagi-pagi ke Taman Tun Dr Ismail to collect sambal tumis Kak Nor yang Liza pesan and whilst at it, stopped by at Maxis centre to configure my mobile phone MMS setting. Since I changed from Nokia N70 to Sony Ericsson K750i a few months ago, the MMS setting has not been working properly. Rupa-rupanya ada masalah dengan my SIM card and it was changed and configured in 15 minutes. Superb and prompt service because ada orang dalam kat situ.

Headed to Kema's place for brunch with Mak and in the afternoon ke KLCC to shop some trivial stuff but ended spending more than I planned/should at La Senza. The price slash and sales offer there was just to tempting for me to ignore. Sebelum balik, exchange Malaysian Ringgit into UAE Dirham and once in Dubai, I'll exchange some into US Dollar and Egyptian Pound.

Now the final hours, going through my checklist to make sure I do not leave out anything important:-

• E-ticket print out
• Passport
• International driving license
  
• Travel journal
  
• Books to read in the plane
• iPod
• Camera
• Shopping list from relatives and friends

OK, I have to shut down now as I have to leave for the airport in an hour or so. Thanks to those who smsed, called and personally wished and prayed for my safe journey and return. If everything goes well as planned and I return home safely, there will be an entry and pics on my trip, insyaallah.....I am now leaving you with a song from Amr Diab - Tamally Maak.

A Banana A Day Keeps The Doc Away!

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at wor k leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

A banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!

Apples of My Eye

Weekend at Port Dickson

Hujung minggu lalu dihabiskan di Port Dickson dengan aktiviti teambuilding yang diadakan oleh my department. It was actually a mixed of teambuiding and bersantai since for the past few months it has been a stressful and hectic period with a lot of operational issues. We departed from the office on Friday dan pagi itu masing-masing sibuk menghabiskan apa-apa kerja yang patut. At approximately 3.30 p.m. kami bertolak menaiki bas tetapi hanya sampai di Port Dickson at around 6 p.m. kerana di Lebuhraya Sungai Besi, fan belt bas tersebut putus menyebabkan terkandas selama lebih kurang 30 minit.

Selepas makan malam, aktiviti pertama bermula dengan icebreaking dan pembahagian kumpulan. Tugasan pertama ialah menamakan kumpulan, mencipta slogan, sorakan dan merekacipta bendera dalam masa 20 minit. After much of cracking our brains branstorming, we came up with the name of 'Happy Hooligans' and honestly by now I vaguely remember our slogan and cheers. Each group presented and introduced their teams with much cheering as well as friendly jeering from other teams, the spirits were high that night and semua orang berkobar-kobar as the facilitator briefed us that for each activity and task, points will be awarded. The first task that we had to do to accumulate points was to play charades. Although the words given were common words and easy but acting it out was a totally different ballgame altogether. My team was leading even for the start and by the end of the game, we obviously were the winners.

Hari kedua bermula awal pagi where everybody gathered at the beach untuk aktiviti sea rafting. Cuaca cerah tetapi redup, just nice to do this activity but it drizzled soon after that and eventually stopped. We had to build our own rafts using drums and bamboos provided. After a brief warm-up session and water confidence activity, we hurriedly discuss and drew our drawing plan on how the drums and bamboos should be positioned. The raft has to be exactly like our drawing plan. Misi aktiviti ini adalah untuk berdayung ke tiga lokasi berlainan untuk mengumpul tiga belon yang berlainan warna. Selepas melihat demo yang diberi oleh one of the instructors on how to tie up the bamboos and drums together, everybody went to work and started to assemble the pieces together in 30 minutes. Kalau salah ikat atau ikatan tu terlerai, jawabnya capsize le raft tu. Jenuh juga membuat ikatan sambil cuba mengingatkan ikatan reef knot yang diajar semasa demo dan mengejar masa hingga kena blisters di tapak tangan. Nasib baik tak teruk tapi pedih juga bila kena air laut.

Selepas wisel berbunyi, semua mengangkut raft ke air untuk memulakan perlumbaan. It was difficult at first getting everybody to synchronise the paddling and manouver the raft but we got the hang it after a while. The mission was to collect three balloons at three different locations. Our raft started to fall apart as we were heading to get the last balloon. We had no choice but to head to shore for safety reasons as two of our female team members already looking panic.
The next activity started at 4 p.m. on the same day. We were instructed to make a reef knot which we learnt earlier from a rope. The rule of this task were everybody's hands have to be on the rope, we can't lift even a single finger from the rope and we are given only three attempts to complete this task. Percubaan yang pertama berakhir even before we started when one of us lifted his index finger. Percubaan yang kedua lasted for almost an hour but not after some of us got squeezed and almost trampled by other especially those yang pegang di bahagian hujung tali. Aku bernasib baik sebab I was holding on to the center of the rope and some of us siap bersembang trying to kill the boredom. Initially, some of us tried to give suggestions and guidance to those holding to the rop ends but it was impossible for them to manouver around other people and this created a lot of confusions. My colleague and I got a better picture and plan on how to complete this task and decided to implement it in our last and final attempt. And we officially became the 211th team to successfully complete this task and we did it in less than 15 minutes. How?.....those you out there yang mungkin kena buat this task in your teambuilding exercise have to figure this out yourself ler...

Sabotage! That was what happened to my team when we had our treasure hunt the following morning. Our last clue which was supposed to bring us to the treasure box was taken by someone. The culprit was not our colleague(s) but most probably someone from other companies who were doing similar activity there. Nevertheless, my team came in third. After short de-briefing, we killed several hours playing water polo, had lunch and headed back to KL 3 p.m.

Eventhough a little bit tired tapi bila balik tengok anak-anak buah aku, hilang segala penat tengok keletah mereka.

Tomorrow Can Be Too Late

Someone sent this to me via friendster and the recipient is supposed to mail this to every person one care about including the one who sent it to you. You will then know that there are people who cares about you that you didn't know. But I thought this is something I should share with everybody and you may be one of those I care about.

If you're mad with someone,
and nobody's there to fix the situation...you fix it
Maybe today, that person still wants to be your friend
And if u don't, tomorrow can be too late.

If you're in love with somebody,
but that person doesn't know...tell her/him.
Maybe today, that person is also in love with you.
And if you don't say it, tomorrow can be too late.

If you still love a person
that you think has forgotten you... tell her/him.
Maybe that person has always loved you.
And if you don't tell her/him today,
tomorrow can be too late.

If you need a hug of a friend...ask her/him for it.
may be she/he needs it more than you do.
And if you don't ask for it today,
tomorrow can be too late.

If you really have friends
whom you appreciate...tell them.
Maybe they appreciate you as well.
And if you don't and they leave or go far away today,
tomorrow can be too late.

If you love your parents, and
never had the chance to show them... do it.
Maybe you have them there to show them how you feel.
And if you don't and they leave today,
then tomorrow can be too late.

Background Music : Kata By Hazami

Saturday 'Wasted'

I woke up early today at 5.00 a.m. to perform Isyak prayer and waited till Suboh azan. Thought I could stay awake but by 6.30 a.m. I couldn't keep my eyes opened as I was still sleepy and tired after late partying at my boss's year-end party last night. I will save this story for my next posting. Went back to sleep and dozed off till 9.00 a.m.

Started the day with work around the house starting with my laundry, separating the ones that could go into the washing machine and those which have to be handwashed. Bukannya banyak pun because I tend to do my laundry every other day. Swept and mopped the floor and arrange apa-apa yang patut. Whilst in shower, scrubbed the bathroom floor and toilet, threw all empty shampoo bottles, cleanser tubes or anything else yang dah luput jangkahayat out into the dustbin.

Folded my dry clothes in the living room and once in a while glanced at the idiot box. 'How Do I Look' was on. I find the program revolting because the host, Alex Liu and those interviewed on his program, who are obviously his cronies never fail to look so superficial and pretentious. I am totally oblivious what's the message this program's trying to deliver, just like whoever is in the program, superficial and the kind of Q & A were insulting my intelligence.

It has been a while since I last buy groceries, my fridge kinda empty. Furthermore, I don't eat heavy dinner. It will be a waste to buy groceries if they are going to end up rotten in the fridge and landed in the dustbin. Kalau nak masak selalu pun, tak berbaloi masak untuk seorang. Nak pergi keluar beli breakfast, malas pulak. Found there are enough basic ingredients for fried meehoon. That's my brunch with a mug of hot nescafe. Kalau ada biskut raya ni best juga. Teringat cake yang Tyah bagi kat office.

It's starting to rain heavily outside. The more reason to stay at home and maybe catch up on my reading. Recently received the December 2006 issue of Reader's Digest. I have been subscribing to this magazine for several years now. Full of enlightening, amusing and interesting real life stories. Kadang-kadang they enclose small prizes like bookmark, coasters or diary with the magazine or even contest information where you have the chance to win like a few hundred thousand ringgit. Most of the time, I didn't bother to read the contest brochures, tapi kadang-kadang saja-saja hantar. Who knows....tiba-tiba lucky pulak.

Malam ni nak ke KLIA to pick up my buah hati pengarang jantung. In the mean time, need to start finishing some office work so that tomorrow I can spend my entire time dengan my buah hati. Siapa yer, tunggu ajer ler....