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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What Baby Are You?

What baby are you? No, I am not talking about being hyper active or thin or fussy or cute..

Do you know what a baby boomer is? I always think a baby boomer is a person who is born after the WW2; around the 1940s and 50s. That should be my eldest abang, my elder sisters who are already retired. Who are somewhat "lost" occassionally. Who dont "get" things. Older. Reading glasses perched on their nose.. You know what I mean. I'd always poked fun at them - affectionately; of course.

Recently I found out that a baby boomer is actually those who are born anytime from 1946 - 1964. And then I went like; what!! - I am a baby boomer too?? It was a rather bitter pill to swallow in a way. I dont think I am like, lost. Or that old (look who's talking with that pair of glasses perched on her nose!)

Then someone told me ah dont you worry about it. After all, Barrack Obama is a baby boomer. He was born in 1961. Oh yeah? Hmm.. (there is hope for me yet after all!)

If you are born from 1964 - 1979 then you are the Generation X. And anytime from 1980 - mid 1990s would be the Generation Y.

(Coincidently while writing this I found out that some researchers think Generation X earliest birth dates are seen as 1961 to latest by 1981 - they might have Obama (me??) in mind after all..)

ps - I am supposed to practice some test questions; but I have somehow misplaced my id/password (uh, a baby boomer after all?) Now I am going to search for that vital info. Wish me luck for my exams tomorrow!

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The Lost World?

Came across this the other day.

This is about the places that could disappear from the face of the earth which is due to the temperature change, the melting of the glaciers, the rising of the water levels. Development (I call that the greed of man).

Among the places that appeared on this list include the beautiful Maldives islands in the Indian Ocean (80% of the islands are only a little more than 3 feet above sea level anyway) and the retreating Himalayan glaciers.

On top of that, Chicago could be flooded. The bears on Hudson Bay would be endangered because the ice in the lakes melt earlier due to the rising temperature. And the Amazon forest could be gone due to logging.

Wildlife in Serengeti would definitely feel the climate change. The ice on Kilimanjaro could be all be melted. And the reindeer herd in Norway endangered. And scientists fear summers in north pole could be ice free as early as 2013!

Rising temperature and ice meltdown could threaten the integrity of oil and gas pipelines, structures in Siberia and Alaska. Venice may be "a city on the water" no more - it has already sank 9 inches in the past century alone.

On home turf, the tropical forest in Borneo could be no more if logging (and replanting for palm oil) continues. And the lifestyle of the Bajau who are nomadic at sea would also be affected.

You can get this book on-line (but you will contribute to felling off a tree for the paper on which the book is printed..)

I urge you to reduce, reuse and recycle. For you. For us. For the future generation. For earth.

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"Evil"

There is a bunch of people I always associate the word evil with. No matter how I try to convince myself otherwise they remain evil to me.. Read on.

I had early lunch today because I missed the most important meal of the day. By two in the afternoon feeling hungry, I took out my kerepek ubi – the only food I have in the office and made a mug of kopi-o. The ubi was hard; dah masuk angin pun. But what the heck, takkan nak buang. So I ate it all the same. Wow - sungguh keras.

At some point I thought my tooth felt different. It sure felt different when I sent out my tongue to explore some more. I checked it in the mirror in the ladies and sure enough, the ubi keras had broke my teeth. The gigi already had a big crater in it in the first place anyway. Many moons ago I was advised to do a root canal, but ta-da-da-da..

So I left the office early & went to the dentist. He said he might have to do a small surgical procedure aka operation if the tooth would not surrender itself peacefully. After he had tested the gums are numb he took the forceps and grasped the culprit and moved it this way and that. And made the chair sit up straight and then move the forceps some more. Move the light a bit. Straighten the chair again. And then had a go with the tooth some more. Get the lights right again. Tug and pull the tooth some more. And more. And more. And all the while I was thinking, would I jump if it hurts?

After much resistance the tooth gave in and lost the battle. It broke into two but came out intact in two big pieces. The dentist said relax, it is all done. He said I look like I needed antibiotics and definitely some pain killer. I personally thought I needed some strong drugs to calm my nerves.

It wasn’t so bad actually come to think of it. It didn’t hurt. Maybe I’ve conquered some of the evil living in the dentists’ world after all..? (and yes, yes I know - lagi teruk dari budak kecik!)

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Books, Books And More Books Part 22

And I have officially finished my third book for the year (yeayyy..) These days that is an accomplishment as my zest for reading have somewhat deserted me. Or maybe I should rephrase that - I've grown up (finally!) and now am reading a bit more serious stuff. And I will also share ALL books that I read, including those I was too shy to show previously too (haha; me, shy? Dont you believe it!) I came to realize that doing good is actually contagious (and I had meant to write a post on this title for quite some time too. I surely hope I will seriously do it quickly because yeah, doing good is actually contagious).

Anyway. I finished this when I got tired of being sick. Too drained to read anything that's on the border of seriousness, I decided to read this. I have picked out the correct book this time as this turned out to be an age-appropriate book for me. With the relevant subject too (yes, you may go like, a gap year an appropriate book for you..?) And yes, I understand your disbelief - but I stand by my claim that it is a good book for me.

It tells me not to be too hard headed. You cant think you've got to do what you've got to do without looking deeply how your actions might impact the people around you. It tells me not to be impetuous. Being responsible is hard. And regrets are even more so. After that, saying sorry would be almost impossible. Curiosity can definitely kill the cat after all.

And here's my take - if you are in that instance in life when you think you are all wrung out and drained; needing to get away from it all, need a change of scenery - call me. I'll let you borrow this book and let it give you a wake up call you (moi..?) seriously need (I will go haha here - laughing at myself, actually). The book is pretty intense in that way.

And also at this time I am currently reading two books. One is on tamaddun Islam (I love that) and the other on Umrah & Hajj (reading that would make us so soulful). I'll share these too once I am done. But who knows when because I might just pick up another book (or two) to be in my in-progress list!

It had occurred to me we will never live to read all the books we want / should read. Dont you agree?

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