Merdeka kah....?

Hari ini adalah hari Malaysia menyambut kemerdekaan. Merdeka…. Perkataan itu mempunyai banyak makna, makna yang berbeza bagi setiap orang. Bagi sesetengah daripada kita, hari kemerdekaan hanyalah satu lagi cuti umum. Cuti umum yang ditunggu-tunggu untuk sebab-sebab yang salah. Cuti umum yang menjanjikan peluang untuk kita berehat dari pagi hingga ke petang. Peluang untuk kita bangun lewat. Untuk kita tidur lewat juga pada hari sebelumnya. Untuk kita menghabiskan kerja rumah yang tidak dapat dihabiskan pada hari-hari kerja sebelumnya. Untuk kita menonton DVD, pergi membeli-belah, menonton wayang atau bercuti panjang ke luar negeri.

Bagi diri saya sendiri, kemerdekaan kali ini datang dengan terlalu banyak persoalan. Terlalu banyak untuk difikirkan. Mungkinkah sebab saya lebih matang dari setahun dulu? Atau mungkin telah timbul detik-detik kesedaran dalam hati saya sendiri? Terlalu banyak persoalan yang jawapannya saya sendiri tidak pasti.

Mari kita berfikir sejenak. Sambutan “Independence Day” di Amerika Syarikat sinonim dengan aktiviti berbarbeku, berpiknik dan pertunjukkan bunga api di waktu malamnya. Adakah Malaysia juga mengikut jejak langkah ini? Adakah hari kemerdekaan kita hanya mengenai perbarisan di Dataran Merdeka atau Putrajaya? Adakah ianya mengenai sorakan dan tepukan gemuruh pabila tiba masa untuk pertunjukkan bunga api? Atau adakah ianya semata-mata mengenai kesesakan lalulintas akibat penutupan Jalan Bukit Bintang atau Bangsar yang sememangnya akan penuh sesak dengan semua lapisan masyarakat yang berpusu-pusu untuk menyambut detik 12 malam?

Kemerdekaan kita sememangnya bukan lagi mengenai perjuangan patriotik pembesar-pembesar Tanah Melayu, bukan lagi mengenai darah yang telah tumpah atas nama negara dan bangsa, bukan lagi mengenai semangat membara yang ada pada diri individu yang sanggup mengorbankan nyawa demi mempertahankan maruah negara. Kemerdekaan kita dianggap ‘trivial’ dan hanya dianggap satu lagi bab di dalam sejarah Malaysia.

Saya malu untuk mengatakan yang kita tidak kenal dengan wira-wira kita yang sanggup bergadai nyawa untuk menyelamatkan tanahair daripada dibelenggu penjajah. Yang peliknya, kita mungkin lebih kenal akan William Wallace, yang mana ceritanya telah diriwayatkan dalam filem ‘Braveheart’. Di manakah terhumbannya cerita-cerita wira bangsa kita?

Persoalan seterusnya, bagaimana kita dapat menyemarakkan lagi semangat patriotisme dalam semua rakyat Malaysia? Adakah melalui ‘paksaan’ menyanyikan lagu ‘Negaraku’ kita akan menjadi lebih patriotik? Adakah ‘ke-patriotik-an’ seseorang itu boleh diukur dengan melihat berapa banyak Jalur Gemilang yang kelihatan di kenderaannya? Saya sendiri tidak mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang, jadi adakah ini bermaksud yang saya kurang patriotik daripada orang lain? Bolehkah patriotisme ini diukur pada satu hari atau pun pada satu bulan dalam setahun?

Fikirkanlah....

Hargailah....

Hari ini saya telah mendaftarkan diri untuk Projek Merdeka Blogger (lihat banner di sebelah kanan). Ini adalah satu sumbangan ikhlas daripada saya sempena menyambut Kemerdekaan Malaysia ke 48. Saya akui sumbangan ini tidak seberapa jika dibandingkan dengan sumbangan para pemerintah kita lebih 50 tahun dahulu. Tetapi saya merasa seronok kerana buat pertama kalinya saya merasakan bahawa saya telah mengambil langkah positif ke arah memupuk semangat kemerdekaan dan menanamkan semangat ini di dalam diri saya.

Semasa berada dalam alam persekolahan dahulu, saya sentiasa menunggu ketibaan bulan Ogos, kerana pada bulan inilah kami sekeluarga akan mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang di kediaman kami. Nenek dan datuk saya juga sama-sama menunggu ketibaan Ogos.

Datuk saya, seseorang yang melaburkan masa dan tenaga serta tahun-tahunnya sebagai seorang kakitangan kerajaan, sentiasa menceritakan kisah-kisah kehidupannya sewaktu pemerintahan Jepun. Dia dengan seronoknya menceritakan bagaimana mereka adik-beradik sering meniru aksi-aksi tentera Jepun. Dalam pada dia tertawa, matanya bergenang airmata. Dia akui keadaan bertambah baik selepas Tanah Melayu berpindah milik ke tangan British. Tetapi tidak ada perasaan yang boleh disamakan dengan rasa bangga dan kagum apabila dia bersama-sama seluruh rakyat negara ini melaungkan kalimah “Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!” 48 tahun dahulu.

Saya amat berharap agar kita tidak perlu melalui perit maung yang dirasai datuk nenek kita, derita yang mereka hadapi serta pengorbanan yang terpaksa mereka lakukan demi menyelamatkan diri daripada dijajah selamanya.

Kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, bersyukurlah atas apa yang kita miliki sekarang….

Confessions of a Book Snob

Something has been pestering me for a while now. It’s been gnawing at me from the inside. Everyday it haunts me and festers in my brain. It will probably be the death of me.

Okay, so I like to exaggerate. But right now I have a huge confession to make. Something that is so scandalous that it would probably earn me tons of brickbats too heavy to carry on my proud shoulders.

It’s time to come clean. I confess. I’m a book snob. Hear my story, and then if you feel I still deserve daggers in my back, be my guest.

Ever since I was an impressionable 9-year-old, I have had this idea that reading books is the best thing to do, ever. However, I would never have been caught dead reading a romance novel. Well at that time, I was only 9 right, so it was okay. I was still reading Blyton’s Famous Five, Secret Seven, Find Find-Outers, Noddy, Amelia Jane, Mr. Meddle, Naughtiest Girl in School, Faraway Stories, Wishing Chair… oh, the whole works. Then I read her St Claire boarding school series.

At the same time, I also read some other stories with those puppy-love crushes and all that. It didn’t bother me at that point. Some of my friends read the Sweet Dreams series when we were about 11. My school was very strict with Sweet Dreams books (and with lots of other matters as well). Good ol’ BBGS, the school with the strictest rules around. We weren’t allowed to bring these books to school. They were considered contraband. Of course we found ways to flout the rules and smuggled these items in anyway.

However my progress reading romance novels was interrupted. I mean, I still read Sweet Dreams and the new Nancy Drew series, but that was it. When others moved on to ‘heavier’ romance novels like Mills and Boones’, I stayed behind. I shunned all books that hinted at any ‘romance’ whatsoever. I asked my friends what was so great about the books, but their answers weren’t good enough for me to want to read those books. So I just avoided them altogether. For the longest time, I turned up my noses at ‘those kinds of books’. It didn’t help that once we were in Form 1, we were told to read books like ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and other ‘serious’ books.

Whether it was my own conscious doing or not, I had somehow been brainwashed to think that some books were just fluff, and reading them meant you didn’t have much substance. Or you were just too dumb to read ‘proper’ books. All the way through my secondary school years up till I graduated I can honestly say that I’d only read one Barbara Cartland and one Virginia Andrews, both of which I didn’t like. I had to read Cartland for a class where we were all coerced to read one book each from Cartland, Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie and Ernest Hemingway. That was it. It only strengthened my resolve to never read those frivolous novels.

Every time I go to the bookstore, I would pass the romance novel aisles and walk by with my eyes elsewhere. I had become embarrassed to even be caught reading the titles or browsing in the aisles of these novels. That’s right, I avoided books by all romance authors. Not only that, I also avoided Virginia Andrews, Sydney Sheldon, and many others. I felt that they had nothing to offer. It was better to read the ones that were classics, or ones that were award winners. Think about it, I literally judged a book by its cover!

All that changed, more so after I got married. My husband called me a snob. Whenever his sisters asked me whether I’d read so-and-so, he would reply that I didn’t read ‘those kinds of books’. “Those aren’t her books. She reads Shakespeare and classic heavy literature”. For the record, I don’t read “classic heavy literature”. In my defense, I try to read as widely as possible. I have read Patricia Cornwell, Tolkien, John Grisham, Anne Rice, and many others, including works by Austen, Chaucer, Samuel Beckett, John Donne, Sylvia Plath, Keats, Yeats, Wordsworth and yes, Shakespeare for classes. But then again, it doesn’t mean that I enjoyed them all.

Being called a snob was such a terrible accusation. And what made it worse was that there was some truth in his statements. So to expand my horizons more, and to rid me of my prejudices, the best thing for me to do is of course to start reading those books that I have so long avoided. So if you can see in the list of books that I’ve read this year, names such as Andrews and Kinsella, Garwood and Mcnaught have made their presence. Thanks to my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, I now have a selection of ‘new’ books that are just waiting for me to devour them.

Now that you’ve heard my side of the story, feel free to hurl rotten tomatoes. On the other hand, advice on what other authors to read is also welcomed. Help me. Let me be a snob no more.

Survival of the Bluest

Took a walk across campus today. Well, didn’t intentionally go out for a walk, but just happened to go pass two buildings, and saw some crows flying above. They were going ‘craw-craw’ or whatever sound it was that they made. It was really windy out. The clouds were gray and the wind was swooshing everywhere. It was quite a sight. Feast for the ears too. The leaves went swishing, whispering and swaying and dancing.

Wish I could take a picture. But alas, I am still one of those people who are still stuck in the early 90’s in terms of technology and high tech paraphernalia. It was only yesterday that my brother asked me, “So when are you going to get one of these?” referring to the camera / PDA / bluetooth / GPRS / everything-but-the-kitchen-sink handphone ad on tv. I just went, “Heh, no money.”

I hear people complaining that their phones cannot take clear pictures because of not hi-res lah, low-pixel lah, whatever complaint lah,… and I roll my eyes. Hubby and I still have phones with the blue screens okay! How’s that for old? All our brothers and sisters (in-laws included) have cool (read: expensive) phones. Heck, my brother even has two! And since we are so left behind, we are known as the blue-screen fogies. The old couple. The really pathetic people who can’t even get polyphonic ringtones. Hahahahaha!

My handphone… I love you, blue-screen and all….

So you want to be a cobbler....

I had trouble with my shoes today. I was wearing my black pair of shoes that I haven’t worn for quite some time now. It’s a plain pair of pumps, a pair of open-toe slingbacks. The design was such that the shoes were open at one side and the leather slings go around my ankles. This morning I complained that the slings were slipping off. Of course they were slipping, my ankles were too thin! I have really got to put on some weight.

I couldn’t walk with the shoes, so it was time for some macgyver-ing. I had to make another set of holes for the buckle to go through, in order to make the slings tighter around my ankles. Being the non-cobbler that I was I had to look at what was available in my little cubicle. First I used a drawing pin to make tiny holes. Then I had to find something bigger as pinpricks were simply not big enough. So I moved onto a re-shaped paper clip. Okay, so far so good. Next, something even bigger still. Hmmm, a pen might do the trick. So I took the pen and placed it on the leather bit. I made sure an eraser was underneath it as I didn’t want to make any holes or marks on my nice clean table now did I? Pen poised, I needed something to use as a hammer. What else was there? Oh this will do. I picked up the puncher and hammered it onto the top of the ballpoint pen, which went through the leather strip and straight into the eraser underneath. Ta-daa! Hole was made successfully.

So next time you need to make holes into leather slings, (yeah, right!) you know what to do!

Recipe for rumour squash

A little rumour is a bad thing. To me anyway. Case in point: I am an executive in this faculty. Also under this faculty is another small unit, oh of about 4/5 people. So the guy in charged of this small unit will be leaving soon. And so they need someone to take over right? Naturally, it is the duty of the HR to find a replacement for this person. He did give his resignation some time ago, thus giving HR ample time to find a replacement. Alas, in this very institution, the HR moves at its own pace. They might not be able to find a replacement in time. So the most obvious solution (and cheapest) would be to send someone from this faculty to oversee the work done in this unit. Oversee meaning ‘learn what needs to be done and do it till (and if) we find a replacement’. And the task has befallen none other than yours truly.

Naturally, this piece of news was kept confidential except to the 4/5 people in the said unit. And of course the secretary of my superior, who also happens to be a spouse to someone from that unit. Confusing enough? Brace yourselves, there’s more. When my superior gave me this piece of startling news, I was numb, literally numb for a few moments. Of course, he has been kind enough to say that the whole thing is temporary, and I only need to fill in the space in between the old guy and the new person who will be coming, who I might add, has not even been identified.

Okay, fair enough. It comes with the territory, this job of mine. I understand. I convinced myself that it would be another opportunity for me to learn new things, new skills and tasks, and new responsibilities. It will be a rewarding and enriching experience. It will add to my resume. It will contribute towards my credibility in this ever-ongoing, never-relenting race up the proverbial ladder of success. Yeah, who was I kidding?!?

What amazes me in this very situation is how this piece of confidential news has traveled through the cables and found its way all the other side of the university. People come to me and say, “Hey, I heard you’ve been transferred to so-and-so unit.” Run that by me again? Transferred? Hello? I do not want the reputation of the staff who is always transferred. Well, not with all the negative connotations that it carries in this place anyway. And when I ask them from where they heard this, they would say, “Oh I just heard form some people. Adalah….” This makes me want to punch their faces. Right on the smackers. If you want to tell me something, or ask me something, don't hide behind “some people” or “adalah”. Have some spunk. Or else just shut your bloody gob!

Wanted: New brains

I can’t believe it. I don’t know how to write no more. Case in point: Use of double negatives in the previous sentence. I’m an English major for goodness sakes. I am supposed to be able to teach the language to secondary school students. Operative word here being ‘supposed’ cause I don’t. I was let off the hook from the Ministry and so I am now doing other things, but am still in an academic environment. But I digress….

I need to write this piece and my audience is Form Five students. Easy peasy, right? Wrong! I have been drilled and imprinted with the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of writing. I learnt about main ideas, supporting details, topic sentences, etc. So why, why is this so difficult for me? My brain doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. Instead, I have (un)consciously done other things to keep me away from my writing assignment. I have straightened out my desk: updated all info into my schedule, planned all meetings, printed minutes and papers, filed all ‘file-able’ documents, re-arranged all folders in the file cabinet, replied to all email, and even downloaded music. I’ve done everything BUT the assignment. Maybe I’m too excited and my brain can’t contain itself, and so it’s shutting down from doing any major ‘thinking’ task.

My brain is thinking:
“Yeah, Friday evening! No more work!”

My nose is thinking:
“Oooh, weekend is so close, can smell it now….”

My eyes are thinking:
“Alright! Friday already. Tonight’s the night. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Feast for the eyes!”

I’m thinking:
“I give up! You guys take control of this body! I’m tired of trying to do my best for everyone. Trying to satisfy all your needs. Working my butt off (sorry butt), working my butt off trying to give each and every one of you the time to rest and time to play. Why don’t you guys give me a break and do what I say for a change?”

I am sick.
Can’t you tell already?

I've got a golden ticket

Charlie, Charlie… yeah, I’m gonna go watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (CCF) tomorrow night. Yesterday morning, I reserved two tickets online to watch it at TGV Once Utama (OU) on Friday night. I tried all the GSC’s – well, the ones that I like anyway – and they were all fully booked. Even the 11pm shows. I’d really wanted to try out the new GSC in OU. So I had to make do with the older TGV OU. Quite disappointing. Then, yesterday evening, hubby said he needed to go see his site in Bandar Utama. So after that, we stopped at GSC OU and tried to get tickets for tomorrow night. And guess what? They still had tickets. So yeah, tomorrow we’ll be going to watch CCF at GSC OU at about 9pm.

Which reminds me, I have a reservation at TGV OU at 9.00 tomorrow night, and the seats are not bad either – J9 and J10. If anyone is interested to watch, you can have my reserved tickets. Give me a holler and I’ll give you the reservation numbers. I think it would be difficult to get tickets for tomorrow night, if you’re thinking of going.

Can’t wait to see Charlie. I love that kid Freddie. He was in Finding Neverland, also with Johnny Depp. He’s just adorable. Anyway, I couldn’t find the Roald Dahl book at home, since all our books are in boxes in the storeroom. So I watched the DVD (again) of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s the 1971 (I think) edition with Gene Wilder as WW. Looks pretty lame. I’m sure in 1971 it looked fantastic. And I’m sure I’ll never want to watch it again after tomorrow night. Johnny Depp is just so…. *drool drool* *sigh*….

Back to work now…. *heavy sigh*….

Oh, recap: if you need reserved tickets, just holler aight….

Raining zoo animals

It’s raining elephants and lions now in Cyberjaya. Which is well and good, because when I went to buy lunch today, I actually sniffed smoky air. Again our campus was blanketed in haze. Maybe not as bad as last week, but the haze is there.

And down came the rain and washed the haze all out!

Hurrah!

Stationary, not!

Today I drove to work. That’s a big achievement. I haven’t been driving since the operation, and that was last December. Except the few occasions when hubby sat next to me and we drove to the shops, just so I don’t ‘forget’ how to drive. So it was okay. The only nerve-wrecking part was driving with hubby behind me. He was in his car and insisted on following my car up to his exit near the toll. I kept looking at my rearview mirror to make sure he was behind me at all times. That was unnecessary actually, but it’s a habit of mine. Whenever I lead someone in my car, I’ll always look to check if the person following me is ok and within sight.

Yesterday it rained a bit on the way home. We were driving home and I saw this car, which for nothing made me really really, and I mean really, mad. The reason was simple. This car was driving with its hazard light on. Ugh, that really gets to me.

So, to all motorists who drive with their hazard lights on:
Didn’t you learn this in driving school? Never drive with the hazard lights on? The lights indicate that the car is stationary. So only use them when you stop, you fool.

And even if you’ve never paid attention in driving school, haven’t you heard this many times before? It’s been drummed into your heads. Always Priscilla Patrick (traffic updates) reminds us never to drive with the hazard lights on. But as soon as there is heavy rain, you put on your hazard lights. Why? WHY???? Get this simple fact branded into your brains already. Sheesh….

You sneaky little thing you!

My gums hurt. They’ve been hurting since Friday evening. And today I’ve finally been liberated. Free from the throbbing ache. Actually, what’s been hurting is somewhere near my wisdom tooth at the bottom right. The tooth is partly hidden underneath. What does that mean? I’ve yet to gain wisdom? Haha!

Anyway, the pain started on Friday afternoon. I was at home, eating a slice of Domino’s pizza. As usual I put on the pepper/chili powder on my slice before munching on it. Halfway through, a sharp pain jabbed my (I thought) tooth. I guessed something was stuck between my teeth. So I went on eating and thought nothing of it. That night, I had minor pain and tried to see what’s in between my teeth. After brushing, and picking I still couldn’t see anything. Next day, pain wasn’t there, so I thought I was ok. Then it hurt whenever I ate. So I surmised that there might be something in my gums, but could it be? Couldn’t find anything. That uncomfortable thing bothered me so much, I kept playing at it with my tongue, trying to feel what was there. I know it sounds gross, but it’s like having a piece of meat or veggie stuck between your teeth and there’s no floss in sight. So that’s what happened. The pain got really bad yesterday morning. I was damn sure there was something stuck in there, in my gums I mean. And I couldn’t do anything about it.

It swelled up and at the slightest touch sent a shot right through my brains!

It also bled due to my constant poking and investigating.

This morning, as soon as I got up, I felt it again with my tongue. I was right! There was something there, because I felt a rough edge of something foreign. I went to the bathroom and tried to feel it again with my tongue. Something moved in there! I opened my mouth and sure enough, there was this brownish thing poking through my gums. I cautiously moved it again with my tongue and lo and behold, it came loose. I took it out of my mouth and guess what it was? The thing that was causing that huge amount of pain was a biji cili! A small little insignificant chili seed! Who would’ve thought that little teeny SOB could jab through and hide in my gums? The relief I felt after it came out, oh, no words can describe. Thank the Almighty for alleviating my pain.

The next question is, will I go on eating my pizza with the chili powder?
You bet I will.

Puka!

Congratulations to my sister-in-law and her hubby for their very beautiful baby girl! Born on the 13th of August, the bundle of joy was the only thing on our minds the whole weekend. We all turned to mush cooing at the baby. I betcha when the baby comes home from the hospital, all eyes will be on her. I foresee that she will be the centre of attention for quite a while now. I’m sure we will al be very happy just to stare at her while she sleeps the whole time. *sigh* Babies are just too adorable for words.

Had fun watching tv while away from work (haze remember?) Watched all kinds of shows on Astro, until I seriously got sick of everything. But then when I came back to work today couldn’t help but wish I were back at home, doing nothing but watch Astro. Heh, we’re never satisfied are we?

Speaking of which, I am really tired of the ads promoting AF on Astro. I mean, enough already. It’s gone. You have your winner. You even have a special channel dedicated to run AF over and over again, so leave the other channels alone! Eeee, cukuplah AF. Nak termuntah dah….

Excuse me while I go puke….

Haze holiday

Just got an email from our President.

I quote:

This is to inform that I am declaring the Cyberjaya Campus to be closed for two days (11th & 12th August 2005) because of the worsening haze condition. The API index is now 197, 3 points below the critical level. The unhealthy level is 100-200. Above 200 is critical. All staff and students are hereby given leave for the 2 days.

Hurray! Fantastic! Finally some proper action is taken by our management.

Ta-taa to all. I’ll (hopefully) be back by Monday!

Let's play pretend!

Let’s not talk about the haze. Let’s play pretend instead.

Pretend my eyes don’t smart, the air is clean, and my throat’s not scratchy. Pretend the sky is clear, its colour so blue, and the clouds are white. Pretend that it will be better, much better tomorrow.

Heck, while we’re at it, pretend the whole world is at peace, no war, no famine, no poverty, No prejudice, no stereotype, no racism, no injustice.

Alas, playing pretend is tiring….

Smog-o-sphere

I just walked to the washroom. Oh that was the worst trip ever! Our faculty building is just engulfed in smoke. Please don’t tell me that the haze is getting worse? I heard that there’s yet another burning at Cyberpark, but this cannot be confirmed. Great. Just great. Why do we have to have these irresponsible pyromaniacs as neighbours? The whole uni is in this hazy atmosphere. It’s making my eyes water. I can’t breather out there. Ack! And it’s lunch time!

Dontch understand?

Some things which I don’t (or don’t want to) understand….

In a shoe shop, when ladies pick up shoes on display, plunk it to the floor and fit their feet into the shoes/sandals/slides/mules. Even though they know it’s not their size and thus cannot fit them properly.

Waiting for the lift, some dude presses the up button AND the down button. Even though he only wants to go up. And he presses them many times although the button is lit. Will pressing the button many times make the lift come faster?

In an elevator, everyone stands quietly while looking up at the display numbers, silently counting in their heads, “5, 4, 3,…” Do we have to whisper in the elevator? Is talking forbidden?

Food courts with the coupon system. What gives? I don’t want to get five coupons for one meal. Plus the going back and forth to three different counters to get my coupons paid and stamped and printed and whatever else I have to do tires me out. If it’s a problem with money handling, well, install security cameras or something. Other places can do it, why can’t you?

Opening the exit doors at Ikea and thus sounding the alarm. Okay, maybe some kid did it, but where’s the parent or guardian? I have been to Ikea where the alarm went off 6 times! We Malaysians really have itchy fingers because when something says “don’t” or “do not” we must do the exact opposite.

Bringing children to the hospital while visiting the sick. If you’re not a close relative, and your kids are like Lynette Scavo’s in Desperate Housewives, please refrain from bringing them to visit the sick. They will only make the sick worse. I assure you.

Getting a phone call from someone and the person doesn’t identify himself. Who are you to know who’s calling? As if you only have three friends in this world….

Getting a new book/novel and flipping it to the last few pages to read the ending. Oh, sacrilegious! Why bother then? Read from the first page! That’s why they have numbered pages. That’s why there’s a story.

I really tak faham….

UM: Bistro Baby

It’s Monday. Back to work. In the Cyberjaya haze. The campus is alive again, abuzz with the comings and goings of students. I look at the students, and I remember my campus days of yore. Yes I’m ancient. I was in UM from 94 – 99. That time, our matriculation was 2 years long! By the time I graduated, I felt like it had been forever since I walked down those corridors. What fun times we had.

I remember my asasi days in this building called Ambang Asuhan Jepun. All matric students had their classes there. The place was called such as it was (I believe) donated by the government of Japan. I loved that place with its many steps and identical layout. It was normal for first year students to get lost or end up spending 5 minutes looking for their classes.

The nearest eatery was this really small place in one end of the building that was adjacent to the AAJ. I forgot its name. This was where all asasi students went to eat. Those who had motorcycles could simply go back to the residential colleges to eat, but to those who didn’t stay at these colleges, the canteen would just have to do. It was just a little corner with about four or five long tables and benches. Really like a school canteen. The canteen didn’t have a name. My friend and I actually asked the proprietor what the name was, and he said it didn’t have any name. So we both told him that we were gonna call it The Bistro. He just smiled and shook his head. “Whatever,” he said. So all my friends referred to the place as The Bistro and that’s how the name stuck. It went for a few years because our juniors also called it The Bistro. But I don’t know how long The Bistro existed, or if the eatery is still there. That was about 10 years ago, so who knows?

More on my days in UM, soon….

Native Island Fishmongers

Yesterday after work, hubby and I made our way to Pyramid to catch The Island. We really looked forward to it, as it was Michael Bay’s. But then we were not certain if we should since hubby said that the film didn’t get good reviews in the papers. I say, never rely on others’ reviews because you never know. You might enjoy the movie. Plus, going back to our first point, it was Michael Bay! I mean, Michael Bay – the heavyweight behind bad Boys I & II, Armageddon, The Rock, and I heard the new Transformers movie. We watched it and got lost and caught up and tossed, and we came out of the cinema feeling good because we enjoyed The Island.

While we were at Pyramid, we went to the surau to perform our Maghrib prayers. I was really mad with some of the people there. There I was performing prayers and there were these people talking in the surau. Hello?!? It’s a surau. If you want to pray, fine, but if you want to talk, please be a bit more considerate and leave the place. What happened to respect, or even common sense? They weren’t whispering or talking in low hushed tones. Oh no. They think that everyone should hear of their exploits with so-and-so and what happened at work and where they went shopping. Oh definitely, everyone in the surau was just dying to know where they bought that adorable hairband. Oh, and could you please also tie up each other’s hair and laugh and giggle loudly please? I’m sure all of us there went to the surau just to see your antics. You stupid imbecile childish loudmouthed no mannered yammering yaks!

Lucky me it was dinner time. We went to the Manhattan Fish Market (MFM), which hubby insists on calling Fish Monger! Whatever… I had the flaming prawns. Yummy, but while the crew was flaming it for me, she sort of burned bits of my garlic rice so there was a burnt taste. But that was soon overpowered by the creamy prawns.

My only grouse was that we were chasing after time as our movie was at 8.45pm. We wolfed down the food, not having enough minutes to savour the whole experience. Ah well, there’s always another day at the fish market. I mean fish monger…. Heh!

The cat and the coconuts

Yesterday, I went to visit Kucing Gatal’s blog. I got the answer right to KG’s guessing game and thus KG has given me a prize. A whole entry on me. Kinda funny....

Pink Ping!

Presenting, my new PINK PING T-shirt.....

What happens when you mix whites with colours in your washing machine? Disaster! See, I wore my PPS T-shirt the other day. Then later put it in the laundry basket and promptly forgot about it. Mama washed the bundle of clothes and didn’t realise that there was a new kain pelikat in there as well. All our other coloured clothes have been tested and didn’t run. Only this kain was new, so of course it bled. Red! So everything white turned *gasp* pink!

Daghat slipar mu....

Oh goodness me! The haze outside is just terrible. Had to cross over to the other building and was suffocated. Heard that there was a fire somewhere here in Cyberjaya. And our aircond is playing up again. It goes on and off and now I really feel choked. Is this our company’s way of conserving energy a la the government? Hope not. Come to think of it, it’s getting harder to breathe. My breathing is laboured. Not enough oxygen? Ugh…. Hope hubby comes soon.

Had dinner at Fasta Pasta last night. Didn’t know we were going there. I thought hubby read my blog yesterday, but he said he didn’t. That’s true, I only posted after he left his office. Anyway, I had some ravioli while he had the fettuccine. I think his tasted better than mine did. We shared a pot of tea. I wanted English Breakfast. He didn’t agree and said that it should be reserved for breakfast only. I just laughed and said I didn’t care. (Sorry dear!) Who’s to say when I can drink what tea? Up to me really, isn’t it?

After dinner I bought a pair of slippers. Well, perhaps they should be known as sandals, but to me they’re my slippers cause I slip ‘em on. Hehe. I think they look cute, with white butterfly-thingies on them. Hubby probably thinks they’re “darat”, meaning like kampung one lah! Hmm, say it with a little Kelantanese twist and it’ll probably sound like this – “daghat”.

Now me and my daghat slippers will go wait for hubby.
Ciao!

Some dreams don't die

I’m back in my little cubbyhole. Hurrah! First things first. Check in online. Then, while waiting for server to give me my email, see who’s been messing around with my stuff. Aha! Someone’s been using my scissors and stapler. My scissors are in the wrong compartment. My stapler has run out of staples. My pencils are dull and needs a good sharpening. My inky pens are missing and only the ballpoint ones are left. Humph! I know it’s office stationery, but if I can get mine from the store, why can’t others?

I have been dreaming of eating pasta since forever, so for today’s lunch, I tried to compensate my craving. I say ‘compensate’ and not ‘satisfy’ because there is no proper pasta place here. We only have one Malay stall selling western food encompassing the aforementioned pasta, pizza, chicken chop, fish and chips, burgers, hot dogs, and the likes. What I’ve been craving for is lunch at Fasta Pasta in Ikano. Haven’t been there for quite some time. Some people told me that they didn’t enjoy their meals there. But I’ve never been disappointed…. so far.

Since my one-week ‘forced’ holiday at home, I’ve been dying to go out. It is the mega sale season after all. But of course that’s a huge no-no from mama and hubby and everyone else for that matter. It’s not so much the shopping – after all, I don’t usually buy lots of things, only when necessary. It’s more of the looking and seeing popular fads and what’s available in our stores. I miss window shopping with my sisters. Now that I’m married, I find it hard to go window shopping. Don’t get me wrong, my hubby doesn’t mind tagging along, but it’s not the same, you know? Half the time, I’m feeling guilty because I’ve to drag him here and there. So to solve this problem, I simply refrain from going into shops. I still do sometimes, when I really cannot stop myself, or when the temptation is too great. I do hope I’ll be able to hit the shops before the sale is over.

There are quite a number of things that I would like to purchase. Some are more needs than wants, so the needs don’t really count, except in this blog.

Need:
A pair of slippers – mine got stolen by a dog
A handbag – mine’s too small to hold my bulging purse and handphone and lipstick and sweets and whatnot
A pair of pants – the last pair I bought was probably 2 years ago

Want:
Cole Haan shoes and handbag – yeah, in my dreams
Complete set of mac makeup – though I don’t really use makeup
Chanel jacket a la Gwyneth – though our hot weather doesn’t permit
Vera Wang wedding dress – although I’m already a wife
Jaeger Le-Coutre watch
Jewellery from Tiffany’s
Wedgwood, Waterford, Royal Doulton items to fill my house
Techie stuff like new handphone, PDA, iPod, Bose entertainment system, plasma screen tv, etc.

Ok, I should stop with the wants, lest I go crazy. Never knew I could sound so materialistic. Ah well, doesn’t hurt to dream.

By the by, I do hope I could get my slippers soon….