Nursing A Tantrum, Maybe?

And I sort of love the week that was. I finished everything I thought I should; and more. The classes I was at were pretty significant too - except for the session where the lady kept comparing us to the network team. I wished I could just tune her out and leave.

Nevertheless the long weekend was somewhat flat although I did visit someone at the hospital on Thur. The traffic was bad at Ampang Gleneagles that evening. I was lazy on Fri. I went to the pasar on Sat. Shopping on Sun. Oh, I did fulfill that invitation for makan2 at the neighbour's place (at least that's something I suppose.)

I think tv has a bad influence on me (like it has on little innocent children, maybe..?) Let's see - Idol, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, House. And all those on travel & living. But I still love Lee. It is a beautiful day after all, if you know what I mean.

And this weekend I alternately loved and hated the nice people whom I know - yes disgusting, I know! - because I am convinced I come short of my own expectation of what nice people should be..

I think I am ungrateful. I have so much; and yet I cant be thankful of all that I am bestowed with.

I sort of concluded that I look, I see. I hear. I do. But not with my heart. Does it like make any sense to you..?

I am thinking - enough of the weekend already - bring on Monday! Wish you the best week ahead.

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Children of Islam

And currently I am loving these photos of the children. MasyaAllah, arent they beautiful?

Tiny fingers holding onto lollipops while learning the al-Quran is definitely a gem..

(photos from Boston.com)

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Wonderfully Creative

Lately I've been obsessed with home photos. And decorations. And crafty things (yikes!).

Dont you just love these lovely things?

This workspace makes me drool. So much room for knick-knacks and so full of light (to get the perfect shade of beads for the kurung). & love the olive green on the walls too (honey, can we have this color the next time we paint the house?)

And somehow I have this fascination for b&w photos with seemingly-mismatched dark frames.

And I simply adore the winter trees wallpaper with the frames hung almost like from the branches. The orang putih can be so creative sometimes. Photos from living etc and design is mine.

And actually these fingers seem like they are (almost) itching for the feel of a needle or a whisk.. maybe it is time for another beading project or a batch of cupcakes or two.

And talking about beads / needles, this is an archive of an old project. More here.

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I Dream..

What'll you do this weekend?

I am thinking of doing something different for the house (it has seemed so crowded now since everyone's home..) and asking the big guy himself - honey, you think we can make the house look like this..

.. or like this..

.. or this..?

but I am thinking the answer just might be no.. So this weekend I'll just get a lot of dusting done instead!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

(pictures from A Cup Of Jo)

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A Pefect Weekend

How was your weekend? Mine was fun. Perfect.

We went to Penang to pick up the bachelor who has finished his degree at USM - for good - who had lots of stuff to bring home. On the way out we stopped by to see the in-laws. Since my mum is in Bangi we didnt stop at CJ.

We arrived in Penang after Maghrib. We went all over Bayan Lepas / Bayan Baru looking for Sri Malaysia before we found it. Our room was musty.. But since we are looking for somewhere close to USM that is what we ended up with. And the bathroom was TINY. The verdict - I dont recommend you to stay there at all.

We picked up Luqman the next morning - he had last minute thesis thing to finish. We packed all his stuff into the car. Luckily they all fit in..


We left for Bukit Bendera. Turned out the place is closed for upgrading of the train and will only reopen in Sep2010. Kesian Eirfan, tak pernah naik Bukit Bendera walaupun dah dua kali sampai ke kaki bukit..

We continued to Tanjung Bungah & Feringghi; looking for a place to stay. I know - dumb. But this trip is such a big rush. I only knew about it a week ago. And I was also supposed to be in Langkawi this same weekend for an office event. For some time I couldnt decide if I should be in Penang or Langkawi; but later firmly tell myself the family trip is my first priority.

We finally decided to stay at the Bayview in Feringghi. I think we made the right choice. The family room was spacious and nice. The hotel grounds are big and not crowded although there are MANY orang putih lounging around the pool and under the shady trees around the gardens. The only one regret I had is that our room doesnt come with a sea view.

Anyway I had fun reading on the lounger in the seafront. The boys did multitude of things including -

... parasailing (their landing wasnt so smooth; ala buah nangka luruh - haha) ,

... jet-skiing,


... and beach buggy riding.

Not to mention swimming of course. And catching a most wondrous sunset.


We went out to have ikan bakar - tak ingat pulak nama tempat tu - slow service but popular nonetheless - on the way out to Eastin Hotel by the sea. We also had nasi kandar at our fave place - Line Clear on Penang Road (we actually felt the earth quake while eating there - seriously the ground moved!) We drove by that place called Nasi Kandar Beratur near Masjid Kapitan Keling; but it only opened after 10:00 at night.

On our way out of the island we made a quick stop at Chow Rasta for the jeruk. As usual, we took the ferry home. More fun that way.

On the ferry, Luqman was quiet - I think he is reflecting on his life in USM which is no more (sedih pulak ingat - closing that chapter of your life and charting new waters from here on) although he denied it when I showed him this photo of him staring across the straits towards the island..


So these days my house is an empty / quiet no more (I was lamenting on the empty nest thing four years ago here..) In fact, I think we seriously need more space.

Hope you had had a great weekend too.

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Exams Arent For Me, I Think

And yeay.. I passed my exam! After this I have to write a short so-called thesis (short? We are told the least is 10 pages long. Siti would definitely laugh at me - I wonder how long her thesis should be?) on business continuity and if that is approved then you can refer to me as the Business Continuity Certified Expert. Hehe - I am so full of glee! (and of myself, you think?)

The training was last week. The classes were long - I mean you have to sit and concentrate from 9 to 5 - not like in the office when you can take short breaks when you feel stretched. The exam was not a joke either. We were told the passing % is 80 - 90% and there were only 5 participants in the class. I thought, would I be amongst the upper 80-90% or in the pits?

The exam was online and once we clicked the submit button, the results were immediately displayed on the screen. For a uh, baby-boomer like me (haha) that is certainly awesome. Nak click submit pun takut! Iman who went through exams upon exams in her career was blasé about my story and had said, memanglah semua exam macam tu sekarang..

The other girl in class failed. She said she will resit for the exam immediately. And then asked me if I want to join her for the upcoming DR class. I said I will give it some thought.

Frankly speaking, I find this class so tiring and stressful. The night before the exam I had a head-splitting migraine. I cant sleep. I had queasy tummy (which arent the ordinary butterflies because I felt like puking). I had red eyes. So I am not sure if I want to go through that all over again. Maybe not so soon anyway..

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