how much is your blog worth?

how much is your blog worth?

My blog is worth $4,516.32.
How much is your blog worth?

Pretty cheap, I know. Well... what do you expect from one's personal blog? Totally uncommercialised.

2 Iftars last week

2 Iftars last week...

I've had 2 Iftars last week. I admit, this month I've been eating out with diiff. peeps like... I dunno how many times. Heck, I didn't even go out with so many pple in any normal month! Maybe meeting up for buka during this special month seemed much more significant, I guess.

There's one person, with whom I've already planned to, yet to and would love to buka with. It you *points fingers*, Caca/Ain. However, I admit that time DO seems to be running out, what with Syawal being less than a week away and I've started baking and yet to get to the cleaning.... Maybe Raya will do. Aites???

ANYWAY...

~With my paternal cousins
21102005-Fri-Geylang

Not exactly there. We ate at Es Teler, City Plaza. Indonesian cuisine. Yes, the place is teeming with both Indonesians and locals alike. The portions are huge and the well-known 'Es-Teler', a dessert, is superb! Gonna bring my parents there someday.

The plan had started with 4 people initially. I dunno what happened on the day itself but by the time I'm meeting them, I found out that a grand total of 11 pax, inc. 4 kids will be coming. Erkk???!

Yeah, the plan kinda' got screwed up a weeny bit. You know when kids come to Geylang.. They get excited at seeing the lights and all. But they soon tire of it and wanna go home... Thing is, I had planned to bring my cousins home with me and since there're supposedly ONLY 3 of 'em, should be able to bring them along to send my mum before heading to Mustafa Centre for some late-night shopping.

So ALL of us went our separate ways as the kids needed to be sent home and I have to fetch them after I sent my mum later. Wah, 2 of my cousins live in Jurong, leh! As luck would have it, my male cousin in the group, who just got his driving license wanna give driving a shot. He even came prepared with his tri-plate. Phew!

His sister felt pretty hungry and asked for some egg prata (I dunno what came over her) so I suggested we head to the famous Cheese Prata Shop near NUS. Cheese and prata? Great combi. But the prata quite small, lah.

By the time I sent my cousins in Jurong and Bedok South back, it was 4.30am. Just nice. Reached home in time for sahour with my dad.

~With my secondary sch pals.
22102005-Sat-Nadia's apt. @ Prince George Road (NUS Graduates Apts.)

We planned and planned and even eventually forgot about the earlier date that we had agreed upon. So we pushed it to the next week.

I researched and researched. Asked Nadia upteenth times, yet I still managed to lose my way there. Sheesh! It had looked so easy on the Streetdirectory, I admit. I missed the lane leading to her apartments down at Prince George's Road and was brought directly to THE GAP. And the funny thing is, I didn't even realise that is THE GAP, until I was halfway thru' it.

I recalled a couple of my frens mentioning this place and had wanted to bring me here. Heck, even my dad wanted to let me try driving here and I actually drove into it UNCONSCIOUSLY... I dunno what's the deal with this place, aside that it may make a good location for a scene from the movie, Initial-D. When I told Nadia I was driving there, she totaly freaked out. Guess I wasn't supposed to be there... *shrugs shoulders*

I did find my way eventually and was greeted with this glorious sight from her apt. windows. Like she said, Kent Ridge is already a hill and we're 12-storeys atop it!

Can see the lush greenery of Kent Ridge (a small jungle, in other words) and the best is the view is of Pasir Panjang Shipyard/Port. The cool part is the fact that the sun sets right above that harbour. *awe*

It's almost Magrib and we hurriedly got to preparing for buka. I set up the steamboat-yes we're having STEAMBOAT which I brought from home. And I forgot one essential thing. Lighter. Hey, how am I supposed to know her kitchen uses electric stoves?? So I gotta thank Nadia's hubby for hurrying down to get it. Thank you.

It's really fun having a steamboat dinner with close friends. Soooo like... communal eating. Updating one another on our respective lives over a pot of boiling tom yam soup like that... Heh.

And Nadia, I really like your Sri Lankan chicken curry. Too bad I was too stuffed. Next time I will bring some french loaves to go with that curry of yours... *winks*

Dessert comes in the form of a surprise birthday cake for Rufeah, whose birthday was only the day before. She got so excited that she cut the cake without blowing out the candle first. Haha!

Spent the rest of the night looking at Nadia's wedding fotos and video. Also, her honeymoon cum 2nd wedding in Sri Lanka @ her hubby's hometown. *sigh* So nice to see them in marital bliss...

Wished I could stay longer, what with the cool night breze and gorgeous view... Too bad my bro needed the car by 11pm.

Thank you Nadia, Imtiaz for hosting this Iftar session. Hope you like the surprise, Rufeah!

Things that irritate me dur. Ramadhan

Things that irritate/cheese me off during Ramadhan...

**Adverts. that promote Hari Raya stuff right from the 1st day...
(I know most of these ads are courtesy of enthused business folks eager to get on the bandwagon and bring out the festive mood in consumers, hence reminding them to shop and shop and shop...)

**Raya songs played over the airwaves more than a fortnight before Syawal itself.
(since last week, I started tuning to M'sian stations. Now that they've jumped on the bandwagon, I'm tuning to the Indon. channels. Worse to worse, I just listen to LUSH 99.5fm. Hah!)

**Cooking shows or any shows highlighting foodie galore that's shown before the buka time. Nice time to drool, huh?
(I know I can just change the channels but I can't help it, lar. Hey, if you don't show, I won't watch, whatt....)

**Sleazy/underground 'organisations' gathering all the 'daif' (very poor) folks from neighbouring countries, dump them at our streets (even Orchard Road) and outside mosques here to collect donations to go into THEIR DARN POCKETS.
(I know they're sorta' underground cos' these 'beggars' we seen being TRANSPORTED to their 'begging' place. Everything seemed organised. I dun' mind giving them the $$$ but if it end up NOT going to these poor folks' pockets eventually, what's the point?)

** Young girls and even much 'mature' (in other words: are pretty old but wanna act young) ladies using Geylang Bazaar as a place to highlight some 'flesh parade'.
(What irony. What shame. A holy month for worshipping and cleansing being marred by these ppl dressed like they can't afford to buy more cloth..)

**Women who claimed to 'wave the red flag' who eat openly in the day. Respect those who are fasting is one issue. The confusion you're going to cause the non-Muslims are another.
(It's not difficult to be more discreet, rite?)

**MEN who CAN'T even claim to 'wave the red flag'; who have NO excuse NOT to fast - eating/smoking openly. Heck, some even eat lunch/early dinner with THEIR FAMILY, lar!
(Nice role models you're being to your kids, there!)

DISCLAIMER:
These are what I've observed and are MY OWN opinions of what I think is NOT RIGHT/PROPER. It's pretty subjective, all right? So if there's anyone out there who beg to differ or wanna rebutt what I consider MY OWN thoughts/opinions... JUST BUGGER OFF.

As the Malay proverb/idiom goes: "SIAPA MAKAN CILI, TERASA PEDAS" - Those who eat the chilli will taste it's spiciness. In other words, those who does the wrong WILL feel the guilt. Gettit???

Missed him already

Missed him already....

What???! I'm talking bout' my (only) brother lar.....

He kena go for re-service since last Monday last week. And yes, he did come back for the weekend. Saturday nite to Sunday, actually. If his camp had been at Bedok Camp (like his NS days) I dun' mind having supper with him at Bedok Corner or something. But at Tanjong Gul????! Heck, I don't even know where that is! Even HE isn't sure where that is.

He did not even allow me to send him all the way there. He did drive in & out of it but that was in the day. At night..? Besides he know that this sister of his has a MAJOR direction problem. Yes, I admit, I get around to places simply by following my instincts cos' my memory power is so weak, it's unreliable.

So I dropped him off at Boon Lay. I was willing to drive him & his frens there despite it being Sunday nite b'cos :
1) I know I'm going to miss my bro so and I wanna see him all the way.
2) I really can't imagine anyone paying $30/= just for taxi fare (from Bedok-Tg. Gul). Even if it's shared among 3 ppl, it's still too much.
3) One of his frens that'll be in the car is pretty cute. Gotta' see him. His old schoolmate, lar.

Anyway, when my bro was describing his camp, I recalled one of my fren, Bas's similar description of his camp during his NS days. When I passed Jurong Camp and saw that it looked spanking new, I asked my bro if there's any dilapidated camp in the area. He answered, "Got. Tanjong Gul."

So I asked Bas, which camp he was in previously. His answer? "Tanjong Gul." After knowing that, I excitedly regaled the guys in the car with the story of the pontianak that (may) haunt that camp, the old, old block that has this 'big, black thingy' and 'lots of tiny kids palying around at night'. Then of the discovery of the long, long hair that appeared in Bas's boots when he woke up.

....You SHOULD see the look on the guys' faces after I'm done with my story-telling. If looks could kill..... ;P

Of (free) haircut, cousins, shopping & coffee

Of (free) haircut, cousins, shopping & coffee
20102005-Thu

Yep, I took leave on this day to do this (free) haircut. Ha! Yar yar.. Pretty lame, I know but would you pass a free haircut? Esp. when the condition of you hair calls for it (the haircut, I mean NOT the freebie)?

So that's >>> us before our respective haircuts. Effy, Suzy & myself.
Suzy chose this date cos' the appointment's only available on weekdays and this is the only weekday available for her. Effy actually had her final exam in the afternoon! She even came in her school uniform.
Tsk. Women.....! The things they'll do for what they think is worth...

The cut were done by novice/student hairstylists but we just whack it. Besides, there were a couple of senior hairstylists to supervise them, guiding and touching up (on our hair) where necessary. So no qualms about having to go thru' a-bad-hair-day phase later on.

And the guys there were all good-looking! Clad in black, even! With their stylo-milo hair and their stylo-milo dressing..... *swoon!*

Oh, the end-result...? >>>> Taken at Bugis Junction Ladies room>>>>

~Effy had a funky cut. The student hairstylist was ecstatic upon knowing that there's ACTUALLY someone who gave him the go-ahead to "try anything you want".
~Suzy was given this classic behive/bob cut with an edge. She ALSO gave the stylist the go-ahead to "do anything to her hair".
~My cut was pretty much on the safe side. Evenly layered and the hairstylist unwillingly gave me bangs. She didn't want to trim my fringe but I was dropping some not-so-subtle hints by always blowing my long fringe away from my face.
Besides, her senior asked her to. Heh. Wise guy...

Both Suzy & I watched 'The Skeleton Key' @ PS to pass the time. Met her beau, Hazre after that before going on a shopping trip at Far East Plaza. Paycheque's still quite sometime away but I decided to just buy a new pair of shoes and a handbag for Hari Raya. Better get the shopping over & done with. Especially with Suzy around. My shopping mood always kick in when she's around. Dunno why...

Effy later joined us straight from school. Her final paper's over and she was ecstatic to start with her shopping. Buka at Cahaya (Far East). U need to make reservation to eat there or you can forget about getting a seat by Maghrib.

I finally decided to get my (other) cousin a Charles& Keith handbag for her birthday and the whole bunch followed me to Wisma Atria to purchase it. Felt bad for the hassle so I suggested we chill at Starbux Liat. Besides, it's been quite sometime since I last had (gourmet) coffee. I miss my Caramel Macchiato...

I can't remember what exactly went on at Starbux but I DO recall laughing till' my abs hurt. Maybe it's got to do with the stunt that we pulled by shamelessly propping the camera on the side counter and set the timer to have a group foto taken. And 2wice, we had some customers innocently passing the camera when the 10secs were up. One American guy gamely asked (feigned shocked look on his face) "Oh, you were taking pictures? Did you accidentally snap a shot of my butt? Oops! Sorry about that!"

Needless to say I had fun that day. Tini later called to ask me to accompany her to McD cos' she's hungry. Looking at the time: 11pm, I drove to McD ECP (24hrs). I dunno what's with her appetite, but she managed to convince me to join her at McCafe (after her McD meal), eating (sinful!) cakes with Mochaccino. After midnight, no less...

Gonna risk it

Gonna risk it...

Took leave... Gonna spend the whole day with Suzy tomorrow...

First stop, I'm gonna get a FREE haircut at Toni & Guy Academy.
OF COURSE it's too good to be true. Free? At T & G?
I'm gonna get it done by students, ler.

I know I'm risking it but my hair is long so I guess that'll give them lotsa' space for experimentation. Just hoping they dun' chop it off above the collar at first cut. I think it's gonna be fun. Well, it BETTER be. I feel almost adventurous at this point. About not knowing what to expect besidesthe fact that that you're simply walking along the edge.
Nothing beats the adrenalin rush!

It'll be a bonus if I can get free highlights too! *just pushing my luck here*
*****
I was so keen to go on a shopping spree until I log into my internet banking just now. Payday is more than a week away.... Sigh.
...Guess I just have to settle for some window shopping and make a mad dash to purchase whatever I set my sights on before Hari Raya.

Well, you and I know where all the moolah is flowing to during that festive season, rite? All those glee on them kids' faces...
Hey, no complaints here. When I have kids, I'll be happy to see them so happy too.

of stinko & soccer

of stinko & soccer

Yesterday, my collegue, Sri & I must have gotten onto one of the stinkiest bus ever. Seriously. I compared the smell to that of 10 unbathed, sweaty men. Sri easily compared it to shit faeces. Yes, it's THAT bad.

I sprayed some perfume into my bag and flapped it; a pathetic attempt at being discreet, to getting a much better scent wafting about. But it got so unbearable that I took a tissue which had some perfume srayed on it and DIRECTLY put it to my nose. Thankfully, my usually sensitive nose did not react adversely to the strong scent of perfume (maybe that perfume scent was already balanced/neutralised with that stink).

A woman board the bus at the stop after us and sat beside Sri. However at the next stop, she hurriedly shifted to the seat opposite us. Fishy.... I looked at the man beside her. I looked at his sneakers and nudged at Sri. "I think it's that man. The shoes..." But I dare not accuse him.

To add to this mess, there was a slight jam. Oh-My-Goodness! I looked around and I wondered if it's my distorted vision or that everyone was also sporting a discomforting look? Cramped faces with scrunched-up noses.

2 stops down the road another woman sat at the seat beside Sri. Lucky Sri alighted at the next stop while I had to bear with this stench for another 2 stops. Oh, the woman beside Sri ALSO shifted her seating location. So was this just a mere coincidence??

The next stop, THAT man alighted and guess what?!
The stink/stench/odour almost immediately DISAPPEARED! With that man, definitely.

Dude, you gotta dump those sneakers, man! That smell was sooo bad, it's TOXIC! Uugh!

*******
I dunno why I can't seem to get up for sahour just now. My dad was already yelling at me but pressed the pillows to my ears. Heh.

Then you know what he did?

He turned on the TV, tuned it to the sports channel and blast the volume. He then gave a LIVE COMMENTARY on what is going on in that soccer match he's watching. He exeggerated every expression whenever there's a failed attempt at a goal, a foul and don't even mention it when there's indeed a goal. It sounded like I was in some packed pub on a Saturday nite. The noise!

It got to a point where I got so curious bout' whatever match he's watching that I jumped out of bed and staggered to the screen..... Guess what?!

All the matches ended already, lah. He was just commenting on the various matches based on the highlights! He knew that every time there are live soccer matches playing on tv, I'll be the first one awake. Last week was the World Cup Qualifiers. This week is the Champions League. This is a tried-and-tested method and it DEFINITELY work. Sheesh!

When he saw me in the kitchen (finally!), he said, "So can we start to sahour now?"
I just squint my eyes. Seriously, if that's not my DAD standing there, I would have replied, "Darn you!!"

Ok here goes...

breaking fast

Geez, I'm seeing a pattern here. I shall update all at one shot...(as I've always done..)

Buka No. 1
Wed-12102005

Planned with Deanna & Tini for some girls nite out at Geylang bazaar and maybe look around for stuff and definitely.... food. Heh! There's the yearning for otah lah, burger Ramly lah, keropok lekor lah, Okonomiyaki lah......

The time finally arrived yet Deanna hurriedly SMS to say she's gonna be late because of some screw-up @ work. So I met Tini at Post Centre and we sat at MacD first. And she gave me THIS>>>

Yes, a VERYYYY belated birthday present. Wait... presentssssss. That's how many trinkets she put in that box. Bit and pieces of stuff that means a lot. Reading that little letter she wrote, albeit it not being some fancy-schmancy card, almost put me to tears, lah.

And you see that 3 fair-looking boxes, there? Heh.. One of my fav. brand of chocs.
Awesome stuff! *Thanks again, Tini...!*

Then we bought the food at Geylang and figured out somewhere pretty 'discreet' to consume them.... ON the overhead bridge. Heh... Aside from some avid/amateur photographers clicking on the fancy lighting and some passers-by, it's just us.

Deanna eventually arrived with Azari, her beau and a couple of her frens who scooted off on their own after that. Followed by some pretty looong wait for Tini's fiance and figuring out our next plan. He eventually arrived but had to accompany and transport his mum and sis first, so Tini & I took a cab down to Pahang Str. Deanna and Azari (D & A) will ride off on their own and meet us there.

Of course Tini and I reached 1st. We soon got worried and wondered if D & A got lost somewhere in this maze of one-way lanes and funny street names. We then decided to get some seats first. They finally arrived, only to tell us the reason why they took so long is cos' they first wanna eat the dengdeng that they had bought, before it gets cold. Aiyoh..!

We eventually shifted from the dining (chairs and tables) area to the lounge (carpets, rugs and throw cushions) zone, where we practically lazed around (read: lie around/slouch on the cushions)... Got another sheesha and more drinks as Ody arrived with Maman.
Time sure passed quickly when you're having fun. It wasn't long before the clock strike one. YES, ONE am on a WEDNESDAY. And we decided to go our separate ways. D & A going JB, I think. Ody, Maman, Tini & myself are far from going home. We're going shopping at Mustafa! Ha!

We ventured onto all the levels of that 24-hr shopping centre. Time out of the bldg? 3++am. We got lost in the maze of clothes and toys. YES, toys... Quite a fun section to be in, I admit. When the store is almost empty in that ungodly hour, no one gives a damn what you do as you prodded, squeezed and goofed around with them toys.

Looking at the time, I realised that we're better off consuming our sahour before going home where we can straight-away bunk into bed (esp. me who have to wake up some 3 hours later for WORK)
Time check: 4.40am. Dad and Bro were almost done with their sahour when I reached home.

Buka No.2
Thu-13102005

Met Bas at Bugis. He claimed to have seen Willy, an ol' pal of ours who practically dissipated from our social life for some unknown *cough*conflict*cough* reason.
Why wasn't I surprised when Bas said that Willy ignored him? Hmm.. But I sure hope that ignorance is due to his inability to recognise this fella who has decided to sprout some cute curls on his head.
A major feat since those close-cropped hair days back in Poly. Come to think of it, he DID attempt to grow those curls during a certain semestral break. It was unfortunate that Lord of the Rings was really hot back then and we got around to calling him, "FRODO." He came back with a haircut the day after.. Heh.

ANYWAY...

Bas and I made our way to Ambrosia Cafe at Baghdad Street. I was worried that the place will be packed, esp. the 2nd level. Turns out the atmosphere seemed pretty relaxed. The place was quite a contrast to the one I've been to the day before. I'm obviously much impressed with that cafe down at Pahang Street.

Kai saw us along the way but had to go pretty far to find a parking lot (yesh, he drove). Meng eventually came after seven and all the crap started soon after. With the arrival of Khama, chaos soon dominate what with our careless banter and laughter. Soon it was left with just us and this couple of ladies in the corner. With such a chilled-out setting, one just cant help feeling like they're at home. Heh..

All's well untill it was time to pay the bill. Erm.... Maybe I shouldn't get there. I can feel my (fragile) heart cracking.... *hint * hint*

Finally met Kai's 'baby'. Actually it's his (new) car, aptly named 'Snow White'. Cute & reliable. Bas & Meng (from the West-side) hopped into a cab back home. Meanwhile, Kai, Khama & I (from the East-side) didn't feel like going home yet. We decided on somewhere that is low-cost (yas, that bill REALLY affected us) so we settled for some beach somewhere. I got into the topic of ice-creams and all of us started lusting after a tub of Ben & Jerry's. Haha!

The plan was to purchase the B & J @ a petrol station somewhere and hit Changi Beach. Then it started to drizzle. Kai drove on to Changi but the airport, lah. We crossed our fingers that Swensen's still open at 11pm. It still is. Yipee! Got for ourselves a tub of 'Chewy Choc Fudge'. As u know, the great ppl of Swensens will pack the ice-cream with dry ice, rite?

And then there's this 'himbo' (the male version of a 'bimbo') among us (definitely NOT me), who let the tub of ice-cream (i/c) rest on the dry ice when all the while, we were struggling with the super-hard i/c and using extra strength just to get much bigger chunks than simply the morsels that we're digging out. And it's not even chewy!

....Or so we thought....

When there's less than AN INCH of choc fudge i/c left, Khama finally discovered what was wrong. He dumped the dry ice. Less that a minute later, we were SCOOPING (note: no more digging) out big-big CHUNKS (note: not morsels) of really CHEWY choc. fudge ice-cream.... Well just TOO BAD there's only a teeny-weeny bit left..... Hmmph!

Finally went home. Oh, while at the airport, received a call from my cousins saying that one of my other cousin had got into a motorbike accident (he's the pillion). My bro followed-up with a call soon after. He's going to NUH to see how that fella's doing. I was about to get worried until these 2 fellas ask me,
"So how's he doing at the A&E?"
"Erm... in a wheelchair waiting for his turn..?"
"And he called you guys?"
"Erm.... Yeap."
Then he should be fine. Unless you tell us he's on a stretcher, I believe he should be fine.. Maybe he's just in shock"
...Oh, I almost forgot I had a TP beside me... Heh.

Reached home. Time check: 1.45am. Thanks for the ride, Kai! That's a pretty little 'Snow White' u have. Hee.

of jb, geylang & jb

of j.b, geylang & j.b (again)

08102005*0000-0435*Sat morning
We had this planned since the week before but the day that was agreed on was a pathetic Wed. Not suprisingly that idea was dropped and the event was pushed to Fri/Sat.

We had wanted to chill at Singgah Selalu, j.b in the wee hours of morning and have our sahour there as well. It was pretty ambitious. We're supposedly going in 2 cars, one coming from the East before joining the other in the West. The amount of ppl was 5 from the East and another 3 or 4 from the west, totalling the no. of ppl coming to be around 8 or 9. Pretty grand, huh?

Then one has a seminar the morning after. 1 down. Another had to OT and work early next morning. 2 down. And the other 2, just decided not to come. That's 4 down. So the ones left are these 2 teams of brother-sister made up of Yan & Natra + my bro & myself. Greeeaat. Then there's the cars. Both our teams wanna top-up the petrol in j.b so one will be following the other. In the last minute, Yan's mum (my aunt) wanna go to Sheng Siong so all of us were bundled into my car.

Haha. From 8 pax to 4. From 2 cars to 1. And I thought that everything is going downhill from there. We almost went in w/o a single M'sian currency. Thankfully, Yan found RM10 hidden deep in the recess of his wallet. Enough for the tolls. After that, it's time to blast the engine power down the long, long stretch of road. Just one of the reasons why I love going thru' the 2nd link. Very liberating, ain't it?

All went well. The food was great, the place was great. The atmosphere was superb (except for the Hindi songs playing in the background). And we did enjoy ourselves. The amount of food we ordered seemed able to feed the 8 ppl that was supposed to be here. We finished them nonetheless.
Then Yan insisted that we fill the petrol till' his targeted amount and boy, how he shook that car! The pump was beeping and beeping and he still tried to fill till the max . I dunno whether to pity the car or the pump. Should see the look on the guy's face at the cashier....

Time check:0435hrs. Yan and Natra rushed home to give their parents the food that they had ordered for their sahour. We I reached my carpark, I saw the several Muslim flats all lit up. At home, my dad himself had just finished his meal. Ahhh... what bliss.

PS: Yan & natra left their passports behind in my car.....

**********
08 & 09102005*2100-0030*Sat-Sun
3 families had agreed to meet at Geylang that night. I gawked apon knowing that they had chosen a Saturday (of all days) to hit the bazaar of Geylang and wade thru' the throng of ppl. Geez!

Yan and my bro wisely backed out so I had the 'honour' of driving my parents there. I already pleaded with them to take the bus there instead. Driving is the luxury granted to those who live far, far away in the West. We live a mere 20mins away by (feeder) bus so why do need to make an unecessary drive there?

Needless to say, I had hot air steaming out of my ears as I made a grave mistake of turning into the carpark at Malay Village where it's almost impossible to find a way out, much less get a lot. And the crowd... Oh my goodness! The main road was all clear and I was desperate to get out there before the heavy traffic started up. Alas, I can't even budge cos' the throng of ppl crossing the side road was fiercely making their way to the other side. Like, hello?! Just because there's a lot of you doesn't mean I can never drive out of that hell-hole! I was nagging and nagging about how I've told my parents to take a bus but they are just soooo stubborn... yadaa..yadaa...

I made it out by stubbornly inching out (as suggested by my dad) and making the crowd realise that I-am-driving-out-no-matter-what-so-you-ppl-better-halt-it. My mum had said City Plaza carpark over and over and I kept thinking about Lion City Hotel (for some unknown reason) so I turned left at the next junction. Yet another BIG mistake. So I had to drive all the way into Mountbatten which was infested with multiple road-works and had road diversions, dead-ends and one way lanes in all the wrong places (maybe it's just me who's frustrated...)

I was very much appeased after managing to find many empty lots in City Plaza. Turns out, my other uncle was also lost (there're 3 cars, total). We exchanged our misadventures of driving thru' Geylang at that time and found out that one of my uncles almost run down a bunch of teens who tot' they're sooo small that they can all squueze on the tiny kerb in the middle of the road.

.... I'm not talking about what goes on at the bazaar cos' it's the same every other year. Just that I was still so full from my meal of pizza and KFC during buka only hours before that the sight of food all over the place just made me sick. :-x

PS: Forgot to pass the passports to Natra, despite meeting her... sheesh.

**********
09102005*1000-1805*Sunday
Went into j.b again. This time it's a 'makcik-fest'. Bro & I drove my mum and 2 aunts for their grocery shopping. It's so weird to go into j.b and not having any intentions to eat. Haha!

My bro's habit of driving fast caused us to miss the Smart market, much to all the 'makciks' dismay. He's an idiot, ok. They ladies were looking around for signs leading to the market and him driving fast only made all the words on the signs look blurred. So they have to be contented with shopping at Giant. The dismal feeling of not being able to shop at Smart was felt further when a relative who lived there told us there there is a Thai bazaar going on. Too bad we're running out of time. I would soooo love to purchase the dried shrimp chilli flakes that I was sooo addicted to (and had run out of)...

By time we hurried to reach the rest-area at Gelang Patah, it was only 4pm and it was freaking hot! So hot that when I looked in the mirror after reaching home, I saw that skin that was covered by my big-ass sunglasses was obviously fairer that the area that was exposed. And the teeny-weeny 'bazaar' there was in the middle of the parking lot!

I remember telling my bro while we're there, "It's still early, won't it be really boring to reach home so early...?" I guess, back then, I haven't considered the time taken to fill of the petrol, buy some gum, passing thru' the customs, drop both my aunts off AND getting caught in a traffic jam at ECP. To think that we're so worried about getting caught in a jam at the customs... Sheesh! We reached home at 6.05pm, leaving us with not much time to sort the groceries, send food to the neighbours and prepare for buka....

PS: Boy, I'm glad dun have to go to Natra's place to pass the passports cos' Yan spotted our car at Tuas Checkpoint (where he worked) and I just passed him the passports there. Hope we dun look like we're smugging some counterfeit passports....

The freaky 'unknown'

The freaky 'unknown'

It's pretty scary funny how 2 persons that you've known as a couple for a number of years eventually marry someone else. And yes, I'm talking about the BOTH of them. Both got hitched kinda' recently and only months apart from each other.

If outsiders like me had wished to see their then relationship evolve into marital bliss... What about them? Maybe what I see here is just the end product. What goes in between... well, that's NOT for me to know.

It's freaky isn't it? This UNKNOWN.... also known otherwise as.... FATE.

"Kita Merancang, Tuhan Menentukan..."

We can plan but it's God that eventually decides. Things happen for a reason so let's just take things as they come.

Sorry, just a random thought. Maybe I'm just expressing my insecurity.

Oh by the way, TO ALL MUSLIMS out there:
It's the (very) Holy month of Ramadhan. I pray that your worship and goodwill will be blessed with the virtue bestowed upon those who sincerely carry out this 3rd Rukun Islam.

Amin.

should have smelt a rat...

should have smelt a rat...
saturday.01102005

...But I didn't. Geez!

Day went on normally. Sent the laundry. Washed the car. Went to Parkway. Went to Bedok. Bought some flowers, followed by some soft drinks (which I assumed are to be brought along tomorrow when we go to the cemetary). I naively thought that all my relatives are gathering there. Then my mum purchased some chicken wings. All 4 kgof them. When she started marinating them at home, again I assumed that she's gonna pack some food for tomorrow's cemetary visit. Somehow, it doesn't cross my mind that I'm going to the cemetary, NOT having a picnic at some park somewhere with my relatives.....

Then when I'm busy reading the newspaper, my dad insisted I clear my stuff from the living room. The way he did it, it reminded me that this occurs only when someone is coming. But I brushed that idea aside. Watched soccer and played this Malay VCD and eventually settled for this M'sian drama which is sooo boring that I was nodding off....

...Until I heard some voices outside my door. FAMILIAR voices. Glanced at the clock. 11 pm. What the....? Next thing I knew, saw my maternal cousins rushing in, grinning from ear-to-ear. My aunt also had that same 'sneaky' look. They put some bags in my hands. Things happened so fast, everything beacame a blur. Felt something heavy weighing my right hand down. I looked. A CAKE????? Huh?!

Was sooo sleepy that it took sometime for it to dawn upon me that they're giving me a surprise belated-b'dae bash. Geeeez!

The cake came with 2 big candles and a-certain-number-of small ones. I insisted on using ONLY the 2 big ones. This is in hounour of ALL the people who have asked me which school I'm (still) in. Especially those who declared that I 'do-not-look-more-than-20'. You ARE the very people who never fail to light up my day with every time you ask me such cute questions...

THANK YOU. Heh.

You see that? I didn't even think about changing. I was wearing my TWEETY BIRD PJs for goodness sake! Was even lugging around the Mashimaro that I sleep with. And I'm more than just 2 big-candles-old. Sheesh!

I know about what they say of belated birthday celebrations and all.... But hey! It's not my own initiation...!

Back in the kitchen, my mum actually had all the paper plates and cups ready. She brought out the cans of soft drinks that we purchased just now. Ahhh.. it all make sense now. So EVERYONE is aware.... All except me of course. Even my bro who's at work knows about this.

Seriously, these kinda' things-surprises and all, works REALLY well for me cos' I'm known to be the blur-block. The gullible one amongst my relatives, BOTH maternal AND paternal. HERE is another instance, back on my birthday-according to the Islamic calendar. Yes, I celebrate my birthday 2x a year. My paternal side celebrate my Islamic birthday. My maternal, the regular one.

ANYWAY..... Thank YOU so much ~ Suzy, Effy, Natra, Ika, Bik Su, Paman Aweng for bothering to come down so late at night for that mini celebration. Thank you Yan and Hajar for remembering. Thank you ALL. This year has indeed, been full of fond memories.... ;)

AND... I really, really love the gifts. How'd you know I'm craving for a pair of Havaianas...? And a new bracelet?

And to you too, Sri. My dear, dear collegue. For that pair of MASHIMARO car-seat headrests. Now, everyone can recognise my car. My bro ain't too pleased but that's HIS problem. Teeheehee...!

This lady called D

This lady called D

Met her while on the KL-Sepang trip recently. She came together with her beau (pillion, lah). We were the 1st batch in that trip and the only gals were Tini, her & myself so I can't help noticing her.Thing is, she doesn't really mingle and she came across as pretty arrogant aloof. Kinda freaky. I only asked for her name. She answered and that's it.

When we lazed around at Sepang, where we purchased the tix on the 1st day, she just stayed by her beau and believe me, her demeanor back then really made me keep my distance. Even when we reached KL (and eventually got lost) and snapped pics at Dataran Merdeka, she just stood by the bike. I remember telling myself, "She's gonna be a hard one..." A definite tough nut to crack.

I eventually found out that she needed the toilet urgently (hence the tense 'aura' and tough attitude) and was the first to try out the sanitary amenities of our rented apartment. Needless to say, she loosened up a weeny bit after that. Took the cab with her to KL Sentral and sat with her on the monorail. By the time we're in Planet H, we started clicking.

The next day, we got lost together in the hustle & bustle of the hell-hole bazaar at Jalan Masjid India. All that din... Ugh! There, we discovered our similar shopping habits and many others things. Oh, before that, I discovered that she's into Spongebob Squarepants! Ha! Later, we ventured the late-nite bazaar at Damansara and bought similar rubber rings. Well, that's before I lost a weeny bit of patience and scampered off with Ju. Hehe.

The best part is the last day, on the way to Sepang. I joined her in Is's & Ju's car and thru' our nonsensical chatter/ramblings, I discovered how much we had in common, even down to the same school (SP). Freaky!

Back in S'pore, we chatted on MSN (even during office hours) and eventually met up again yesterday. Thanks for recommending me that perfume. And not forgetting the dinner treat. That was some crazy time we had at that rest'n! On your birthday, it gonna be MY turn to pay for our meal, aite?

I finally found a gal who shared an ALMOST similar taste in Rock & Metal music. SOAD, Disturbed etc and our favourite CD being the QOTD soundtrack. Woo hoo! My brother is impressed that we finally had a passenger and we dun' need to change the CD while giving a lift. And the fact that she's a lady...!

And he's kinda' cheesed that she's wearing the KREATOR concert tag. Yeap, she went to the gig in KL, much to my bro's envy. Heh. Love the part where the 3 of us sang along to those ear-blasting music when sending her back. Oh, know something? When I asked my bro, what's his impression of her, he said, "She's quite a chatter-box, ain't she?" Haha! That is such a contrast to MY first impression of her!

...So Deanna, when's our next meet-up?