A Heart-rending News

*** Hi peeps! Sorry for the long silence.. anyways, I just want to inform everybody who read this blog about the condition of Nik Mazrina aka Baby. Alhamdulillah, she had gone through with the operation and seems to be recovering nicely. Her baby is also OK and hopefully it is healthy. Just pray for her ya?

It has been forever since I last updated. I’m seriously considering terminating my blog account. I just do not have the motivation to write. I know this is like the umpteenth time I’ve said this. Bear with me will you?

There’s not much been happening that’s worth mentioning, really. I’m quite busy doing nothing at work. I’ve installed games in my laptop and since I only write my blog entries at home, I never got the chance. I’m trying to finish Sally’s Spa right now. Not to mention having to take turns to play the games with my brothers and sisters. No private time to pour my thoughts out. Yeah, excuses, excuses.

Anyways, this entry is actually to inform everyone about a friend of mine, namely Nik Mazrina a.k.a Baby as most of her friends know her. She is now in hospital because of a blood clot in her brain. It breaks my heart really to be writing about this. It just happened one day when she was in her workplace and suddenly she can’t move her whole body. Taken to the hospital, the doctor diagnosed her to have a brain tumor. Further examination revealed that she has a blood clot in the brain that affected the motor system of her body. Half of her body is now almost paralysed.

The saddest part of it all is that she is now 4 months pregnant. It was a shock to everyone of us. Just a few entries past I wrote about going to her wedding with Eme and Ina. It was such a joyful occasion and she was one very happy bride at that time. Looking at her smiling face in the picture makes me want to cry. I’ve visited her and she’s putting a very brave front for everybody.

Thus, it is my utmost wish for everybody who reads this blog of mine to pray for her and her baby. Let us hope that they both will be safe and be with us for years to come. My heart also goes for her husband, Nik Kamal and her family. They will have to be strong to support Baby and take this as a test for their faith on Allah almighty.

Diet

Recently, I finished reading a book entitled “The Adultery Diet” by Eva Cassady. It was about a family woman who went on a rigorous diet to get in shape before she met an old lover after years of not contacting each other. The book was OK for me. It was presented in a simple manner and I think most of the readers can relate to the protagonist’s struggle in achieving her target.

I say so because, well, how many of us who has failed in our quest to diet. Whatever your reason is, (be it to look better or for your health), how many of you really did achieve that target? How many of you followed your diet plan religiously? I know I always fail. Not that I really have a diet plan in the first place.

I do admit that I’m quite ‘heavy’ these past two years compared to my uni days. After getting a job and having my own money to spend instead of scrimping up on PTPTN and parents’ allowance, there ‘s nothing to stop me from eating. To say that most of my salary went to buying food and hanging out with friends (with food involved, no less) is not a proud moment for me.

To quote Eva in ‘The Adultery Diet’, “... You need something stronger than creme brulee, more seductive than chocolate, more powerful than hunger itself... something has to be eating at you.” In her case, it was the fact that she was desperate to ensure that her old lover sees her just as pretty and desirable as she had been when they first met. Well, I wish I have the same kind of motivation to. I mean not the lover part but a strong motivation to stop my desire to eat and get my butt off to start exercising. Any suggestion?

Selamat Hari Raya!

Selamat Hari Raya to all my friends who spent time reading this blog of moi!

Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

I Love You All!

15 Facts

Hana tagged me so I guess I'll have to comply. Here goes:
Fact 1 - I LOVE reading. It's my passion. I can read anything but I really like reading books with historical facts.
Fact 2 - I am not a multi tasker. I have to process something one at a time.
Fact 3 - I am a fan of Chelsea Football Club
Fact 4 - I can be short tempered sometimes.
Fact 5 - I have a loud voice. Good for my job, not good when in public.
Fact 6 - I hate people who talk dirty and sneeze loudly.
Fact 7 - I would love to go for a tour around the world before I die.
Fact 8 - I hate exercising or play sport but love watching it. Well, accept golf. I hate golf.
Fact 9 - I have a thing for Chinese culture. I think they are brilliant people.
Fact 10 - I was never involved in a serious relationship.
Fact 11 - I used to be a prefect in school but was demoted because I got caught giving my friends answers for English exam. My mum cried like hell. I felt like in hell. It was hell.
Fact 12 - I am hopeless in maths. I'm so stupid with numbers, I had to cheat throughout my form 4 and 5. I once stole a math test paper from my teacher's drawer. He was baffled as to why I managed to pass.
Fact 13 - My biggest fear is being left alone. I will die.
Fact 14 - I love the beach! But I'm afraid to swim in the sea. I have this sudden visions of sharks and octopus whenever I'm in the sea! (same with Hana!)
Fact 15 - I'm afraid that I'll be an old maid. HAHAHA..
Well I guess that's it. I'm tagging Tya, Eme, Amir, Jam and Syida. heheh..

The Might of the Chinese

The Olympic Games is finally over. After about 2 weeks being spoilt for choice in terms of channels to watch, we again have to settle with the boring and repeated programs being aired in ASTRO. I’ll definitely miss the different sports being played at its best by athletes from all around the world. The swift-ness of Usain Bolt winning the 100 meters race, the beauty of Isinbaeva as she broke the pole vault world record, Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s matches against all the powerful players.. Those would be the moments I’ll remember in this year’s Olympic.
Last night, I watched the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games being held at the ‘bird’s nest’ stadium. It was awesome. The closing ceremony was almost as superb as the opening ceremony. In my opinion, the Olympic Games being held in Beijing had the most beautiful and magnificent opening and closing ceremonies to date. The performance held was almost magical, at least from my seat at home watching it live via TV. To quote one of the commentators “ For the people whose ancestors had built the ‘Great Wall’, of course there would be no problem at all for them to organize this kind of great performance”. Very true, indeed. I was enthralled. Here’s one of my favourite performance in the opening ceremony.



China Dance Performance - video powered by Metacafe

In 2012, the Olympic Games will be held in London. London is a beautiful city with its own attractions and I’m sure the Games would be interesting there as well. However, I’d wish a very BIG good luck for London to come up with a better opening ceremony than Beijing did. During the closing ceremony, London prepared a performance to welcome people to their city in 2012. The performance was very dry in my POV compared to the extravagant presentation by the Chinese. I guess the vast culture heritage of the Chinese people really helped them to come up with such grandeur.
Well, in a different but not totally unrelated matter, I’m currently reading ‘The Last Empress: The She Dragon of China’ by Keith Laidler. It’s about the last empress who ruled China before the monarchy was abolished. It’s an awesome book. Very informative. I love it. It offers great insight on China pre-revolution era. Those who are interested in Chinese culture must read this book. I’m totally awed with how an English man can be so knowledgeable about a culture which is totally different from his. So, this book is highly recommended.
P/s: Now (only?) I’m watching ‘Princess Hour’ or ‘Goong’, in Korean. Adore it.

Past Few Days

These past few days I've been all around Kelantan. My friend Ina came for a visit from kedah so Eme and I took her for a tour. We only visited common places that people come to kelantan for. Wished I could've take her somewhere nicer but truth be told I'm not good in finding tourist spots even in my own beloved state.

By the way, Ina's main reason in coming to Kelantan was to attend a friend's wedding. It was the wedding of Nik Mazrina (Baby, for us) and Nik Ahmad Kamal (a fellow collegue). It was a nice event and we really had great time. Here are some pictures on the tour and the wedding.

The Bride (^_^)

Congrats!

Wayang Kulit

I remembered a scene from my past. It was night and my brothers and sisters were very excited. Our 'Tok Ayah' had promised to take us somewhere special that night. We were bundled into the car and after a short ride arrived at the special place. It was the field near our grandparents' house. That night we can see many people there. I wondered what was happening. Then, our 'Tok Ayah' found a place for us to sit amongst the crowd. Everyone was sitting on a 'tikar'. In front of us was a big white screen. After a while, the magic started. It was a 'wayang kulit' performance.

picture taken from www.cuti.com.my/Sub/Kelantan/culture5.jpg

As children, it was mesmerizing for me and my siblings to be watching such performance in front of us. The droning of the music at the background and the fluent story telling accompanied by shadows of past kings, princesses, villains and heroes swishing through was pure magic. The audience was transfixed to the screen. Time flew by unnoticed. We regretted the end of the show and our journey back. What happened to that magic now? I've never heard a 'wayang kulit' performance being held anymore even though I'm living in Kelantan. The young ones are missing a lot now. I asked my little sister if she knows what 'wayang kulit' is. She said, "Of course I do. It's like the ubat batuk cap Ibu and Anak ad!"

It's a pity.

Chelsea!

Chelsea's coming! Chelsea's coming! Chelsea's coming! Jump for joy! Hooray! Hoorah!......................


Dem! I wont be going!

Father/Mother-less

I just finished marking my students’ essays about themselves. Something I always do at the start of a new semester. I ask them to tell me about themselves. It’s always nice to be knowing a bit about your students before the lessons start. The students always manage to surprise me with their essays. One thing that I found from this semester’s essays is that many of the students came from a single parent family. They wrote about how they live in Malacca, for example with the mother while the father is in Terengganu. They wrote about how strong their mothers are for having to care for them and their siblings alone. They wrote about how they missed their father but they can always visit. They sound very casual like it’s the most usual thing to happen. I, on the other hand find it not as casual or normal. Coming from a family where my parents are always together and many siblings to accompany me growing up, I find it quite disturbing. Deep in my heart I pity these students. Maybe I’m wrong to pity them but I can’t help myself. I think there’s something lacking when they came from a single parent family. I don’t know why the parents broke up. I don’t know why the mother or father went away. I don’t know whether the students are truly casual and OK with their situation. However, I do know that by observation I can see more and more students don’t have their mother or father with them. Will this affect their personalities? The way they behave? The way they would react to others? Something must be wrong somewhere.. right?

Wari!

That's an informal way to say SORRY in Japanese actually. At least I gather that much after watching episodes after episodes of BLEACH the anime series. I just couldn't get enough of it! Bleach is one reason why I haven't been updating my blog. That and my apparent lack of idea + laziness to write. I just couldn't get myself to do it.. eheh.. I haven't been able to overcame my laziness yet so for the time being I'll just post this video clip here for you to enjoy. Contemplate this please!

I got this videoclip from their official website www.malaysianartistesforunity.info/ Nice song. It really touched me. Tho, I'm quite confuse as to why Afdlin needs to sound like an American Country music singer at the start of the song. To give it an international flavour, I gues?? Well, apparently they want us to spread the song and videos so just go to their page and download it. It's free.

Ideal World

In an ideal world, Chelsea should still be celebrating now. In an ideal world Cech saved every kick from the devils. In an ideal world, JT should be beaming instead of crying. In an ideal world, Chelsea never buys Nicholas Anelka. In an ideal world, Shevchenko played like he played for AC Milan. In an ideal world, Mourinho and Abramovich are best of friends. In an ideal world, Mourinho is still the manager. But now, in a less-ideal world, I'll have to settle with Grant being sacked! (^_^)

Rock You Like A Hurricane

Have you ever wondered how hurricanes got their names? I always do. Somehow, the hurricanes always got names of people like Katrina, Nargis, Andrew..etc.. Yes, Nargis was actually a name of a very popular Hindi artist around the 1950's and 60's, so I read from the newspapers.

Hurricanes can be devastating. No doubt about it. It bring sadness whenever it pass by. Such is the power of God through nature. Usually there are more than one hurricane in each year. I did a little research and found some information about how hurricanes got their names.

There is actually a committee being set up to name these hurricanes. This commitee is under the World Meteorological Organization. There are lists created for different parts of the world like the Atlantic, Central North pacific and Western North Pacific. In each of the lists, countries in the region usually contribute the names. For examples, in the Western North Pacific, our country Malaysia contributed names like Mawar (It hit the Philipines, I think), Sepat and Jelawat (names of fish), and other countries like Thailand contributes the names Durian, Hanuman and Chaba.

The lists usually will be used according to a 6 year rotation period but it may be changed. However, if a hurricane caused a massive death or costly number, the name that is being used will be omitted from the list. For example the name 'Katrina' that is being used for the hurricane that hit USA in 2005. This name is a 'retired' name in the list and would not be used again.

Well, I managed to get roughly that bit of information on the naming of hurricanes. You can read it for yourselves more about this on these websites.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/retirednames.shtml,

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_text.html,

http://www.ksat.com/hurricanes/16239190/detail.html

Thankful

Just be THANKFUL, people! (^_^)

Twenteen?

Teacher: Ok students, now that we finished marking the exercise let me know your marks. Who got all correct?? Raise up you hand..
~Show of hands
Teacher: Owh very good John, Jane and Frank.. How about you Kim? what did you get?
Kim: 15 upon 20 teacher.
Teacher: That's quite good..and you Julia?
Julia: 11
T: Hmm.. Julia try your best ok? the test is coming soon..
~Julia shrug and grinned
Teacher: And how about you Rose?
Rose: Twenty
Teacher: Owh that's very good Rose! Why didn't you raise up your hand before? You got full marks.
Rose: No teacher.. I got Twenteen.. One.. Two.. (fingers show one and two)
~ Dead silence
T: Rose, there's no twenteen.. one. two. is TWELVE
~Class erupted into laughter.. Teacher led out a big sigh.. and the test was coming nearer..

Current Issues

*** Huhu.. there's a silly mistake that I made for this entry actually. Nargis hit Myanmar actually not Vietnam. My bad.. Thanks for the highlight Shikin! (^_^)


Today I have the luxury to be reading through the newspaper without any interruption. The internet connection is excellent and nobody is around at the office so I can read peacefully (I can't focus on two things happening at the same time) Well, from what I've read, I think these reports from THE STAR are interesting:

a) The government will allocate RM725mil to subsidize the import of rice to help maintain the retail price and ease the burden for us consumers. I think that's timely considering the ever increasing prices of not only our main staple but also everything else.. haih.. In relation to this rice issue, last few days, I went for lunch at our cafe and it's quite dissappointing to see that they used a different type of rice which I'm sure of a lower grade.. The rice tasted weird and it's like eating pulut with 'Tom Yam' (what I ordered that day).. huhu.. Can't really blame the cafe owner since I guess they want to maintain the price without doing any damage to their bussiness though I think it's better to pay a bit more than being served with umm.. pulut rice?

b) Urge for the government to make the report on Lingam's case public. Yes, I myself want to know what the investigation come up with. I mean it's quite interesting to know whether it's true or not that the appointing of judges in Malaysia had been tampered with.

c) There's a spy squad in MCA! I mean a real one. It's really not confirmed yet but from what I read it seems like there was a spy squad allegedly being set up by the president of the party to identify political opponents.. err.. is it Ok to be writing about this..? well you can read more of this here.

d) Mr Karpal Sigh statements regarding the Sultans.. Hmm.. Yes, I know that it's his personal opinion but I guess it's better if he can go directly to the right source if he has issues about the Royal Majesties and talk about it behind close doors. It's a sensitive issue, this.

e) The earthquake in China. It's quite big. 7.8 in Richter scale. Many people died. Devastating. Poor people and this is not a few days after Nargis hit Vietnam. Many people died there to.. haih.. I guess we're approaching the end of the world. Many catastrophe are happening all over the world..

d) Nicol David won at the British Open. Way to go! (^_^) I've always been a big fan of hers. Our Thomas Cup team also won against Korea in Indonesia. Good for them though it's quite shocking to read about the Korean plan to actually lose to Malaysia due to their strategic planning in light with the new format. Well, soothing news anyways to nurse my broken heart because Chelsea did not get the cup in the EPL.. huhu..

I guess that's all.. (^_^)

Tagged

Been tagged by Miss Tya.. Huhu.. so here it goes..


7 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
1) Bookaholic
2) Not into multi-tasking (^_^)
3) Living with my parents
4) A big fan of CHELSEA
5) Hate shopping
6) Totally into food. Live to eat!
7) Seriously serious person.. haha

7 THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
1) Being left alone
2) New places
3) Losing my loved ones
4) Ghost stories and movies
5) Being hated by people around (same Tya! =p)
6) My parents being angry with me
7) Death (err.. bekalan not enuff)

7 RANDOM MUSIC AT THE MOMENT:
1) The Way I Are- Timbaland
2) 4 Mins- Madonna & J.T
3) Mospeada- Hujan
4) No Air- Jordin Sparks & Chris B
5) She- Groove Coverage
6) Kerja LaLaLa- Meet Uncle Hussain
7) Thousand Miles- Vannessa Carlton

7 “FIRST TIME” THINGS I EVER DID:
1) Breathe- January 1983
2) Entered school-1990
3) Major high-stakes exam-1995
4) Got a job upon completion of studies- 2007
5) Read a book- 1988
6) Got a brother-1984
7) Entered University-2001

7 PEOPLE I TAG:
1) Tya can i tag u back?
2) Hanef
3) Wanie
4) Dana
5) Cat
6) Amir
7) You!

Fresh Look

It's been long since I last posted anything. Much because I don't really have the pleasure of time to be spent. I decided to get a new look for my blog. I think it's quite nice. I don't know what the rest of you would think. However, it came with somedisadvantages because now I cant edit the colours, can't add any other extra column.. etc.. well but I guess you win some, you lose some..(^_^)
Life had been hectic with finishing assignments and at the same time trying to make sure that my students were well prepared for their final exam. It's been a whirlwind affair last few weeks. Luckily it's over now ~phew.. Though I suspect that my grades would not bring me proud moments later on.. huhu..
Now, The students are all off for their term holiday for almost 3 months! The final exam is almost over, leaving only a few late papers to be covered. I've finished marking all my students final exam and I must say that they did quite well. Just hopeful that they don't abandone their English altogether during their hols! =p
Since the students are gone, we the lecturers here are left with pretty much nothing to do =p Am not really sure whether it is a good thing or not.. ehek.. However, I am determined to use these few free months as beneficial as possible ~wink Well, also hoping to post more entries for my dear blog here.. (Hopefully)

Boycott

I have been called upon to post this entry particularly to express my total objection towards Holland's politician Geert Wilders. He is very rude in offending the Muslims with his short film -F I T N A. His Islamophobia attitude has sparked anger among the Islamic countries. I totally detest his absurd acts. Thus, I am hoping that we Muslims and people even from other religions who love peace and harmony to unite and show our objection towards Holland for allowing such hatred to be openly displayed. Let us all put our hands together and boycott Holland's products. Here is a list of Hollands product that we should boycott:

-Ferrero Rocher chocolate
-Dove Shampoo
-Rexona deodorant
-Fair & Lovely
-Dutch Lady Products (milk)
-Cadbury chocolate
-Walls ice-cream (huhu..)
-Knorr
-Shell fuel
-Planta margerine
-Lipton tea
For a full list please visit PPIM's (PersatuanPenggunaIslamMalaysia) website at http://www.muslimconsumer.org.my/. May all our efforts be accepted by the Almighty.

Work Blab

I am an educator. I love my job. I’m helping the young generation to achieve their dreams and contribute a lot to my country. The usual sentences that go with the word educator. But now I’m saddened.
I just finished a typical lesson with my students. After giving them the routine homework, I dismissed them. Many of them poured out of the class, leaving a few students that decided to linger for a while and engaged themselves in something shown on a laptop brought to my class for no apparent reason. On the other hand, I suddenly faced a whiteboard filled with my own writings. I didn’t even realize I had written so much. According to one senior colleague, a good educator must never leave a class without clearing the board.
With a big sigh, I started to rub off the whiteboard. While I was on it, a thought struck me. Here I am in a class after yelling my voice off teaching and left to rub off two big whiteboards. Behind me, there is a bunch of students minding their own business, not paying any attention to me as if I was never there in the first place. Deep down in my heart I have this nagging feeling- won’t anybody help? Needless to say, nobody offered any help. I just refilled the ‘markers’ before the class started, making it more difficult to rub off. I finished with aching and blackened hands.
I remembered back then. When I proudly offered to dirty my hands. When I was so thankful I was given a chance to learn. When I went into classes expecting to learn. When I respected the person facing me, yelling to be heard. When I didn’t have a hand phone to use in class. When I didn’t have to decide whether to listen to MP3 player or the lesson. When I can skip my breakfast in order not to be late. When I knew my morning class is more important than my favourite telecast tonight. When homework meant deeper understanding. When overslept is not an option for excuse. When I was afraid to offend for fear of not ‘grasping’ the knowledge. Back then, when I appreciated God’s gift to me. Back then.

Fever

It’s the Election Day fever. Everywhere people can see banners, posters even balloons being put up by the different parties to campaign for their candidates. I think it’s quite annoying sometimes because some of the things they put up can be harmful to other people. There were many incidents where I saw that the posters, banners etc obstruct traffic view, litters the ground or became tools for vandalism. I have nothing against campaigning during election because people need to know who they’re voting for but I think the ones putting up the posters and all to be more careful on where they put or set it up. Don’t just simply put or set it up without considering the safety of others. In Japan and I think Taiwan, they don’t allow candidate sor parties to put up all those stuffs. Instead, the candidates can go around neighbourhoods and use speakers to campaign themselves. I think that kinda add a more personal touch to the campaigning. I mean people can actually see and interact with the candidates face to face instead of just staring at their mugshot. But then again, maybe it’ll be more annoying to hear all the shouts of election campaigns going through your neighborhood compared to just seeing them at the sides of the roads. Well, just hope all this fuss will be over soon and the Election Day goes on smoothly.

Yong Tau Fu

‘Yong Tau Fu’ (YTF) is a must each time I go to pasar malam. My foodie family adores ‘YTF ‘. After a few weeks been MIA from the pasar malam scene, my favourite YTF vendor has resumed their business. I don’t know what happened to them but this week seems like they’re back at the usual place like nothing happened. The sad thing is that while they were missing, I found a better (read: delicious) vendor to supply my dose of YTF. I felt really bad when I passed their stall carrying a plastic full of YTF from another stall. I get this guilty feeling because my family has been buying YTF at that particular stall since forever. Adding to my guilt, I saw that there was not many people at their store. As for the recently found vendor, I practically have to queue like forever for my turn of YTF to finish ‘swimming’ in the delicious pool of soupy water. Call me stupid or anything but I have this sense of ‘loyalty’ towards particular places that I’m familiar with even though I know there are better places. I don’t know why. I think I’m programmed to be like that. I guess I’ll be back buying our YTF at the usual stall next week. Some psychologist may be saying I need therapy or something because of my weird notion but I don’t care. The new vendor can afford to lose me. (^_^)

The Cool You

Best thing that happened on earth
God’s gift for all of human kind
Worshipped the ground you walked upon
Used to..

Words came out like precious diamond
Never before as mesmerizing
Everything made possible
Used to..

Knight in shining armor
Cloud’s silver lining
Dream came true
Used to..

The cool you is still the same, I guess
Just the magic cloud is blown away

Seasons Change

I just finished watching a Thai film entitled ‘Seasons Change’. I really love it! I did not intend to watch the movie actually but as I was flipping through the channels, I stumbled upon the movie being aired at KIRANA. The film was very sweet and enjoyable. It was a comedy movie about a bunch of high school students. The students were supposed to be students of a famous and established music school in Thailand.
The main character of the film is POM. He is a son of a grocery store owner. His father wanted him to be a doctor but secretly he wanted to be a musician. So in this film, Pom enrolled into a music school without his parent’s knowledge. Apart from his love for music, Pom enrolled in the school because of his first love, Dao. In that school, Pom met a girl, Aom and they became good friends. As the film went on, Aom fell in love with Pom. On the other hand, Pom tried to win Dao’s heart and when he knew that Dao wanted to go to Budapest to study, he applied for the same scholarship. Eventually, because of his good talent, Pom’s parent consented on his aspiration in becoming a musician and he finally got what he wanted, a scholarship and a chance of getting Dao. However, he then realized that he loved his life in Thailand more and decided to stay on, giving the scholarship to some other student. Dao went on to become a child prodigy or something overseas and Pom and Aom lived happily in Thailand.
That’s basically the synopsis of the story. I recommend the film to be watched by everyone. It’s bound to be aired again since we’re talking about ASTRO here. Anyways, I really love the film because of the elements being portrayed. As the characters carry on with their lives in the music school, we can see all the dilemmas they had in the film. Example, Pom had to choose between classical music and rock. Both have their own beauty and attraction. (I absolutely love the choice of classical symphony in this film) Pom also had to deal with his parents that did not believe in music as much he did. A lot of other elements are being shown despite of the film predictive values. The comedy included in this film also helps in making the film less corny. Well, I guess enough said. Do watch and enjoy yourselves!

F.O.O.D

Food is a very dear word to me. I love food. Some people say we must eat to live. I think I am more to the side where I live to eat. Food is my passion. I absolutely adore delicious savory food. I am willing to allocate a big amount of salary for food. Or did I do that unconsciously? (;p) My love for food started since I was a child, I think. Growing up in a family that runs restaurants, I developed to be someone that appreciates food and actually knows the difference between delicious food and just-okay food.
I guess years of comparing commercialized food with my mother’s cooking did make some difference to my taste palate. Personally, I think food prepared with love is tastier than food for profit. I’m thankful because my mother is a housewife, thus allowing her to prepare our food herself. With the care she puts into preparing our food, we can be assured that we only have the best. After all, we are what we eat, right?
There are many types of food. We can divide it into all kinds of variety. We have western food, eastern food, healthy food, staple food.. etc. I love all kinds of food. As long as it tastes good, I’m going to eat it! (halal ones of course)
However, I do have my preferences. My favourite Malaysian food would be all types of fried rice (kampung, cina, kerabu.. you name it!) Fried rice is the best because it is simple, easy to prepare and tastes great. I order it all the times when I go out to eat. I also love roti canai! My favourite Western food is spaghetti. Basically, I think this is the only western food that can make me feel full (=D) I do like fish and chips and of course adore KFC and McDonald’s (blame them on my extra weight!) My all time favourite desert is ice-cream. Such a genius creation! I love chocolate to. My favourite drink would be all those delicious fruit juice. I’m also a coffee person. The more caffeine, the better!
Well, I can go on and on about food. Again, I stress that food is my passion. Food is essential for all living things. It’s our survival. I hate people who scrimp on food. Food is God given blessing to us. We should enjoy it. The truth is.. I’m trying to alleviate my stress after stepping off the weighing scale!
“Food had power. It could inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight and impress..” -Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential.

My Birthday!

Today is my BIRTHDAY! (^_^) It's my 25th birthday actually.. How times flies by! I'm now like a quater of a century! I feel like half a century actually.. =p Everything is very hectic nowadays and time is something that is very precious to me. iIdon't really remembered that today is suppposed to be my birthday. I retired to bed early last night and woke up in the middle of night suddenly. Felt around the bed for my handphone to look at the time and was shocked to see so many unread messages! All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind (birthday wishes were far from them in fact.. huhu) about what happened..
As soon as I read the first mesage, a smile spread across my face because then it was a relief! All were birthday wishes from my dearest friends and families who never fail to remember my birthday every year. I'm so touched by all the warm wishes where most of it hopes that this year would be filled with happiness for me.
All the messages made me feel so very lucky to be celebrating another birthday eventhough that means I'm getting older! At least I know that I have people who love me around to keep reminding me of my own birthday! (not really good at remembering dates)
Well, I want to take the opportunity to convey my deepest thanks to everyone who sent me all the birthday wishes via sms, phone calls, friendster, myspace.. etc.. I'm still receiving messages so also thanx in advance. I LOVE U ALL! God bless.

p/s: My father wished me a Happy Birthday. He thought it's my 24th.. Cant believe his daughter is already 25! (^_^)

Blogs Worth Reading

As you can see, I recently added two links to my blogs. The two links are links to rantingsbymm- Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir’s blog and another one to niamah- Patrick Teoh’s blog. These two blogs are my favourite ones apart from my friends’ blog. I always read them every now and then. They provide insights for the going-ons of the country.

Marina (the daughter of our ex-Prime Minister) is usually unbiased and provides her opinions on topics without prejudice. That is what I love most about her blog. Besides, she is always writing about the current topics worth mentioning in Malaysia. Her ‘brutal’ comments on the political leaders are also worth reading. I guess you HAVE to be the ex-Prime Minister’s daughter to be able to say all those things to the important people and get away with it. (=p)

I adore Patrick’s writing because of its negativity. It seems that he can find fault with everything! That’s what makes it so interesting. I always wanted to know what he thinks about certain issues happening in Malaysia for example who he is pissed off at, what he thinks should be done, who needs to win the election.. Those sorts of thing. I know that he cares much about the country and thus always tries to find flaws so that we can try and deal with it. Besides, he is not Malay and I like to hear a non-Bumi’s comments on stuffs.

Well then, if you have the time, do check out these blogs. They’re worth reading and you can even join in the informal discussions on the subjects when you comment on their blog entry. Anyways, hope they’ll write more (^_^)