The Local Political Scene

When I read about DSAI being arrested by police team in balaclavas (my, that is a difficult word) I was a bit puzzled. I got a few of my words crossed, you see.

I thought b.. - the difficult word - is almost like baclava. Isnt that a turkish dish of filo sheets and butter and honey and nuts and oooh, just melt in your mouth? That's what baclava is, but it is definitely not balaclava. Now, this is a baclava..

The word cummerbund also came to my mind .. for whatever the reason that baffles me, but naahh - the police wouldnt come looking so dashing to do an arrest. Now this is what a cummerbund is.. the thingy he wore on his waist.

But I was looking for Brad or George with a cummerbund actually. Although I coundnt find one, I still am compelled to put a photo of them here.. sorry for being so juvenile...

If you are curious my friends, this is a robber in the infamos balaclavas (I deliberately choose a robber to signify the notion of 'perompak negara' maybe.. I dont know..)

Are you thinking this is a joke? Well, that's exactly what the local politis is - a big, fat joke!

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Certainly, A Joyful Occassion

I was asked if I wanted to follow the rombongan bertunang for my nephew. I uhh.. and uhmm.. over it and then said yes. I am thinking that it could be my turn to do this before long so I need to know what the big hoopla is all about.

My, dont we all look nice last Saturday (even if I say so myself) - the ladies are all in proper kurungs and tudungs (the datin and almost-look-like-datins came with dainty slippers and nice, nice handbags). The men were adorable in baju melayu with sampins and songkok. We were strictly reminded of the dress code; otherwise we wouldnt be so proper, mind you.

The house is almost at the end of the road; nestled amongst tall trees and looked cool and most inviting. Its garden is green, the grass well kept. It reminds me of my mum's house of a long time ago.

After introductions, we got to the crunch time. But - there was nothing more to be discussed; it was only a formality. Merisik is all done and all issues are already covered. Hmm - I was disappointed. I thought there might be pantuns and serious intentions implied and conveyed with nicely worded phrases (eg memetik bunga di taman). I guess those days are long gone..

We had a kampung style lunch with ulam which is brought in on dulangs and served on kain saprah. How lovely is that? But ugh, having a meal seated on the floor could really give you muscle spasms actually..

After lunch we thanked the hosts profusely, put the hantaran carefully into the car and then waved proper goodbyes like at any other similar occassions.

THEN we threw away the sampins and songkok and the dainty shoes and pretty bags and let our hair down - it's fun time baby, we are in Ulu Langat and it is the fruits season and there are stalls upon stalls of durian, manggis, rambutan, langsat, cempedak, tempoyak.. need I go on?

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Never A Joyful Occassion

So I discovered (re-discover would be more correct) how much I dislike interviews..

You would talk too much or maybe not expand your points enough. You fret over it while waiting to be called and you worried you made a blunder out of it when you are finished.

And at the end of the day, no matter how careful you try to be you knew you said too little at a certain point. Too much when you shouldnt. Wasnt courteous enough. Wasnt assertive enough. Was too casual. Was too uptight. Didnt prepare enough and yet, what is there to prepare?

So yeah, I hate interviews.

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About This And That

The weekend felt unproductive. I didnt actually have any plans. I finshed a book; baked an apple pie; washed lots of beddings; watched Batman; went window shopping; and bought some (more) books.

The book was great; I cried (how often would I ever admit that?) The apple pie is a new recipe from Mrs Fields cook book. She uses butter instead of the usual shortening; and the pastry was ok I guess but the filling was overly sweet.

The beddings - what can I say? According to my mum, we'll never finish that even though we are old. I thought Batman was a bit long and winding. But the (older) boys said it was quite enjoyable. Eirfan said he liked it only a little bit. It was a more adult / serious Batman this time around and I wondered many times during the show if it is actually a U movie. The scenes were a bit gory and brutal for children.

I was disappointed with the movie actually. You see, Batman is my favorite super hero. He's a .. well, a hero. I think Spiderman is a sap - he lost his uncle, his best friend became his worst enemy and he turned his long time girl friend away. And Superman is too wimpy (with his lock of hair and glasses and of course the infamos blue underwear) to be a hero.

And I was depressed Sunday so I took off for a window shopping time-out. I didnt buy anything except a couple of books. The book on 'How to read music notes' caught my attention.. but I bought my first ever Suduko book.

I did the Suduko and at this moment think that maybe that is not for me. I feel like I am spending a little bit too much time on the puzzles when I'd rather be beading or read a book or maybe even gardening. And I'm not that good at it either.

And it didnt seem like a successful weekend.

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Pecan Supremes

So this is the pecan recipe that I tried recently. You can get the recipe here if you like. I think it is an interesting cookie - light and crispy; due to the oats.

I told everyone it is healthy - the goodness of the oats giving the right balance to the sugars and butter and chocolate chips.. (yeah, right!) ha-ha.

The image is courtesy of ::

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My Day, My Way

And I got to get a day off yesterday for not being too fit, in a way. But staying home is of course a blessing (as always). I do things slowly according to my own pace but kept the phone close by just in case ( I dont want anyone to bellow about not able to reach me while I'm away from the office again..)

Anyway. Whilst at home I took photos of my flowers / plants (they are so badly treated by me actually..) So that's what this posted collage is all about.

& I also tried the pecan cookies recipe I've been eyeing for so long. It turned out not too bad.. The texture was great but the taste was a bit flat as I had used unsalted instead of salted butter as specified in the recipe. Eirfan took the cookie jar when he came back from school but managed to eat only a piece - he said it didnt taste like my usual chips and he didnt like it all that much.. humph.

And for dinner we had pandan chicken with couscous stuffed capsicum. Sounds exotic huh? Maybe I'll put the recipe up on my blog too - soon, I promise.

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This Is The Real Life

I was preparing dinner last night when I thought I heard my son talking. But - hey, that cant be right because I sent him back to college last weekend - so yeah, 'twas my imagination.

Later I text messaged him and told him the same. He replied laughing (pleased that I should miss him, maybe..) But I didnt find it quite that amusing - as college has opened again, both myself and Eirfan miss their presence.

I mean for sure, breakfast would be lonely with just the three of us eating (more like forcing down breakfast because it is the most important meal for the day..? ) at the table. And Iman would have to catch the bus come rain or shine, instead of blackmailing the adik to send her to the train station.

And dinner would be less boisterous and very quiet too. We'd probably eat out more often than in.. and Eirfan would be complaining about eating out again.

Till the next break. And yes, this is an emotional entry actually.

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An Unscheduled Trip

The plan was not to go for a holiday. We were supposed to 1) send the boys back to collage and 2) visit the parents. But nevertheless, this must be the most relaxing and an eye-opening trip to Penang we've taken so far.

We went to Bukit Bendera (love that name instead of Penang Hill). Unfortunately as you can see the service up is closed due to maintenance works. I pleaded to be let onto the train and maybe camouflage as employee or visitor to the employees as the service for those living on the hill is running. No is the answer. I dont know who is more disappointed - me or Eirfan.

We took the road via ? (cant remember the town) to Telok Bahang. We were told the fruits are in season - durian, rambutan, manggis etc. We had the nicest durian along the road and caught great views on the hill. You can see the sea from the top.

We drove along curving roads and climbed hills and passed by waterfalls and orchards upon orchards. The durian branches hung over the sides of the road you feel almost like you can reach the fruits. They hung nets under the trees to catch the falling fruit. I didnt have any pictures of that - the road is very narrow; there is nowhere to stop. I was reminded of the time that Andrew Zimmerman (of the weird food) went to an orchard like this where he puked (urgh..) because of the smell of the durian. Which proves that he cant take everyting after all.. Anyway.

We stopped at an orchard that has more than 800 fruit trees (or so it says - we didnt get to counting..) You get to park you car at the gates of the orchard and for RM25 per person you can take the service to the top of the hill and feast on all-you-can-eat fruits. We debated whether we should go to the top. The place was quite busy - there were many mid-easterners who went up. But a local worker saved us money when he said, for us locals there isnt much to see.. So we hang about, got some fruits and photos and then left.

We passed by quaint kampungs and later a dam. The scenery was quite breathtaking.

The next day we shopped at the night stalls at Batu Feringhi. It was like pasar malam with a twist - many westerners, more beautiful items, more lights, lots of designer items (imitates of course) etc. I personally think it is a pasar malam with an attitude. You must go and see this. The stretch of Batu Feringhi itself is much alive with multitude of eating places of many choices; beware that you find a halal place.

We drove along Gurney Drive and stopped at Gurney Plaza. The boys wanted to watch Hancock and we did. But ah, what a flop that was..

What's a trip to Penang without nasi kandar? My son swears by this place. It is just a stall that I'd miss if I didnt know it is there. But yeah, my son is right - its curry is quite distinct. Even Eirfan pun sapu licin pinggan dia!

And like everything good, the trip has got to end.. but not before I capture a beautiful sunset on the island..

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