Friday, January 27, 2006

a brief hiatus

heya.. just informing that i won't be ard till the 6th.

now utilising the free internet at the airport.... heh

so i guess, that'll be all till my office re-opened in 1++ week.

that's all. goodbye. happy holidays (cheh, like Christmas, like that)....

adios! *sawadeekap!*

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

morning quote V

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morning quote:

MY BLACK HAVAIANAS ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! woo hoo!

Saw it when I was sending my mum yesterday night. Perched on top of my shoe rack innocently, like it had never disappered. Right at the same spot where its taken from.

First thing I did? NO, I don't KISS it. Eeek! Keep it inside the house. duh!

My bro's and my conclusion to its phenomenal return (the most logical one first) :
1) The sandals don't fit.
2) The sandals were indeed cursed. That person might have suffered the most chronic case of footrot and repented.
3) That person read my blog. And seen how much wrath has been incurred.

NOTE to self: DISINFECT the sandals before wearing.
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Monday, January 23, 2006

shoe stealers

this is for all the shoe-stealers out there...

.... may you get blistered feet and have a chronic state of foot-rot that makes you can't help peeling the dead skin off in disgusting flakes as they make your feet stink like hell with everytime you wear them STOLEN shoes - especially MINE! And should you sell them STOLEN shoes for dough, may whatever you buy with that stinking dough disintegrate and disappear, making you feel that horrible feeling of hopelessness and loss, like how others felt when they discovered their footwear's disappearance.

It's easy for you, huh? Snitching something that people have painstakingly chose & bought? And it's people like you, who have made victims like me uptight, paranoid even. You did not even make me feel at ease in my OWN home. I wish I can continue to trust my surroundings but this is getting to be too much. We can't even leave a tiny space for complacence cos' that'll be when you take advantage of us. Rite??!

First, it's my bro's scruffy Adidas that have seen better days. Then his Nike AirForce that I painstakingly chose & bought in J.B. He only forgot to bring it in after coming home from work tha one day and you saw that as another opportunity, didn't you?

What about my Adidas running shoes? With which you have the cheek to REPLACE with your own stinking pair of sneakers in the slot inside the shoe rack. Heck, your shoes are so much bigger than mine! How the heck do you fit into my sneakers, anyway?! Do you know that I have yet to purchase another pair, meaning I have yet to go for a jog cos' I have no other pair of bloody running shoes?? And I had simply forgotten to bring them in. Is this the price I had to pay for FORGETTING??? Just a slip of the mind? A**hole!!

And yesterday, I got this strange gut feeling when I was taking off my formal shoes after coming back. I snooped around and I knew that my black Havaianas slippers have disappeared. They were just a pair of freaking slippers, for goodness sake! And my favourite! A birthday present even! And you took that too?! Aaaaargh!!!!!!!

And you know what? I was >>this<< close to wearing it to Bangkok this Friday. >>this<< close, ok?? You &*%$#!!!


TRIVIA: Do u know that my family used to lock the shoe cabinets and we have use a key to unlock the padlocks? But it was so much hassle so we do away with that. And THIS happened. Friggin' idiots!

Friday, January 20, 2006

morning quote IV

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morning quote:

was so determined to sleep early last night.

bro was hungry. helped him with his dinner-cum-supper.

he brought back a dvd. JACKASS (the earlier version).

*DANG!*

.... there goes any intentions of early sleep. I LOOOOVEEE watching that. Geez!

(i think i habour a leeeetle crush on Johnny Knoxville & Steve O & Bam Margera...)
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Thursday, January 19, 2006

3 girls

3 girls nite out (merayap!)
tue ~ 17012006



Yang satu dah kempunan nak makan ketam. Yang lagi satu, nak shisha. And today my bro dun work (so he'll be sending my mum) so kita 3 boleh 'hooray-hooray'!

Of course, we almost forgot it's only Tuesday and that we've gotta few days of work ahead but who cares!

D finally got to give Tini her b'day present.






Did I tell you that Tuesday is such a fantabulous day to eat at a seafood restaurant? 1stly, there's nary a crowd, so ample space is available. Most importantly, the seafood is FRESH!


Had a feast at Chai Chee Seafood Restaurant. Kailan Mushroom, Fish fillet '3 Rasa', Seafood soup & the all important Chilli Crab. YUM!

Tini was amazed at the presentation of the food that was served to us. The previous time she came, the food presentation was 'nowhere there'. So I said that maybe it's because she came on a weekend and they're too busy to garnish.

"But I came on a weekday! Similar like today." Okaaayyyy.... So I asked, who she came with? She said, with her fiance and family.

Ah... I see. So I tell her, "So you came as a family previously. Look at us. 3 girls. ALONE. And the chef should be a male, rite? Isn't it pretty obvious why he puts in more effort with the presentation?" Ok, ok.... That's a pretty SHALLOW opinion but it's possibly true, rite?


The meal proved too much for us. Should have ordered 2 plates of rice instead of 3. The total amount of leftover rice on our plates can easily combine to make another plate! Made a mistake by ordering medium-sized portions for the fish & soup. Our struggle to finish the crabs ended with a small debate as to who will have to finish the last piece of that crustacean. But it's a great meal, nontheless!




Next stop, to our choice chill-out lounge, El-Sheikh. Samar would have had a nicer atmospehere but their shisha is - well.... ANYWAY, I sure am glad we chose El-Sheikh.


Cos' the place is darn empty when we reached it. We eventually had the lounging space on the upper-floor to ourselves. We can almost hang a sign that say: 'Cam Whores At Work'. All that hilarity and crazy antics, much to the chagrin of the lone waitress there. Should see her face. As black as her uniform.

Oh yah, 1/2 of the time, I forgot that D was carrying a video cam and when we reviewed back what she had recorded.... HEE-LARIOUS! So hilarious that it can almost be used to blackmail each of us.

Remember the Samsung phone ad? Where the fella used the video recordings on his phone to his own advantage and rose up the ranks in a flash? Yeah, something like that. Heh.



And many thanks to my bro who fetched us - this despite having just been there hours before for dinner.

He was in such a hurry to join us that he unwittingly drove against the traffic in that One-Way Pahang Str. Luckily there's no incoming traffic. When I told him of what he just did, he gotta' cheek to tell me, "No wonder the ppl at the coffee shop stared at me." Cheh!

Monday, January 16, 2006

car taboo

car taboo..???

Do you believe in taboos? Or better still, taboos involving cars-namely, 'Car Taboos'. Seriously. There's this one that goes, "Never Let The Car Know That You Wanna Sell It Off". Sounds crazy, huh? Especially since a car doesn't have any ear or even any 'hearing' mechanism to LISTEN to what we say.

I ALMOST talked about trading our current family car for another newer, upgraded model when my bro shushed me, "Don't say it now! Not while IN the car!" Huh? So sensitive one, ah? Days later, I was singing along while driving and didn't hear my dad exclaiming that he wanna sell off this car and get a newer and much bigger model since it's pretty affordable now that the COE prices are pretty low.

Ooops. TOO LATE. It's been said. And I guess the car heard it. Cos' less than a week later, budak tu dah start meragam (acted up). Radio buat problem dah satu hal. My mum complicate matters by washing my bro's pants WITHOUT checking the pockets (as always) and actually washed the CAR KEY in the washing machine. The key isn't the issue, actually. It's the alarm REMOTE that comes attached to it. All soaked. And DEAD. Geez, now I have to travel all the way to Leng Kee or Pandan Garden for a bloody replacement (not mentioning forking out the $$).

Last Friday, when my bro fetched me, I heard some weird whirring sound that comes from some mechanism within the confines of the car. It's very loud AND scary-sounding. A definite sign that something is faulty. But WHAT?

Told my dad about it the next day and he asked his bro, what he thought could be the problem. A quick check showed that the automatic locking mechanism for the back door is down. Meaning that the hind door had remained UNLOCKED for the past TWO days without us realising it. Sheesh! What's the problem, u ask? Well, my car's a HATCHBACK, meaning anyone can access the WHOLE car thru' that back door (if small enuff').

That discovery sent my parents on a flurry- searching for a mechanic on that late Saturday afternoon. Of course most of the shops are closing and ALL of them had no spare-parts. My mum was so worried about the unlocked door, that she packed all the coupons and cards to be brought home, only to realise that the door CAN be locked - albeit manually. Guess we shall have to lock and unlock it that way, till' next week when we finally got a slot in the distributor's main workshop. Geez!

Anyway, to atone for his mistake (to the car), my dad willingly offered to MANUALLY wash it- since the rainy weather has stopped and he's pretty free. So who to help him but yours truly? Never had I felt so drained after cleaning the car which had remained unwashed for what...? A WHOLE 2 months? Especially after all that rain... The grime... Ugh!

We had wanted to polish the car (manually) but was so shagged especially since I had put in a considerable amount of energy polishing the interior (including the bloody leather seats). And do you know how tiring polishing a car can be? We tried it once and it was hell! No wonder ppl can make big bucks charging a hefty amount for polishing service. And they got 4 ppl to polish one car! Polishing a car is a good protective measure for the car, though. Especially from this rain. Gotta get to it pretty soon.

Well after all, we gotta pamper that baby- especially since we hurt its fellings with all that NASTY words we said. Rite... rite?? Sell you off, baby? NO WAY! *cross fingers* :P

Friday, January 13, 2006

with e bdae girl

Late night indulgence...

.... With the birthday girl, that is.


This girl didn't do much on her birthday (everybody busy) and her fiance is working overtime (org dah nak kahwin.. cari rezeki lebih, kan.. kan??) and silly me took for granted that she'll be spending time with her fiance. Luckily she called me for a small chat since she's feeling bored while waiting for him to come back.

Since she had excitedly talked about treating me to some cakes that morning, I decide to let her have her way. Fetched her after sending my mum and head down to MacCafe ECP (24 hrs, what) to celebrate the remaining hour of her birthday.

Fancy downing the dairy/caffeine-laden cappucino and chocolate truffle + marmalade cake in that kinda' hour. If I ever had a dietician.... Tsk...

Nothing beats seeing the smile on a b'dae girl's face. And... erm... Tini, ur presents are on their way. Soon... soon....

Thursday, January 12, 2006

happy b'dae tini!

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY, TiNi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's wishing you all the best of wishes. Best of health, success &

happiness. And towards a less stressful life! Especially since this year

will be of much significance to you, cos' it involve the changing of

your status from SINGLE to SINGLE MARRIED.. ;)

May you always be guided in in the right path and may you

always have blessings- from your family- to your friends- to the

Great One above, Allah swt.

Take care, aite....?

hari raya haji06

HRH 2006

Nasib bayek bukan HRC.... Lain nanti bunyi. Heh.

Maybe I'm jakun but I've always taken for granted that Hari Raya Haji is celebrated somewhat like the first day of Hari Raya Puasa. I DO know that the religious significance of AidilAdha is much greater, though.

The looks I got from ppl of other races, when I went to my neighbourhood market area to withdraw cash was what that got me thinking, "Why is it that they thought of Hari Raya Haji as another holiday-NOT to be celebrated? I mean, it IS Hari Raya, rite? Why look surprised when I'm dressed to the nines..?"

And then I saw a Malay family stepping out of MacDonald's, dressed like how one would dress when heading for the market. I looked into the fast-food joint and saw more families having breakfast there, dressed nothing like they're going out for Hari Raya visiting. And I saw more Malay women pushing market trolleys, their husbands beside them, the newspapers neatly tucked under their arms. It looked like just any Sundays/public holidays.

The presence of some missing relatives were definitely felt. Some are away in Mecca for the pilgrimage. Some were busy helping out with the sacrifice of sheep/goat at the mosques, some were working and some... still SLEEPING during that cool, rainy weather. Even my bro was fretting. He thought that this Hari Raya, we're just gonna stay home and watch TV. He'd rather go and work instead of visiting the elders. Aiyoh!

Luckily my at my grandparent's and uncle's (maternal side), they prepared sumptous dishes like it's any other Hari Raya. There's Soto, Lodeh, Sambal Goreng, Ayam Goreng Rempah and Bone Steak! Heck, even my mum prepared Satay Goreng and Sambal Goreng Babat (YUM!) to give to neighbours and relatives. Nothing beats great food to enlighten the Raya mood.

My paternal side actually slacked around at home but I went there anyway cos' my aunt made my bro's favourite-Lepat. And there're LOADS of daging Qorban to be distributed.

Nowdays, they (ppl at the mosques) very innovative, ok. Those bits and pieces of meat, instead of wasting them, they mince it. Can make roti john or shabsuka or carrot cake or murtabak or meat pie.... Heh.

Monday, January 09, 2006

On that rainy night

On that rainy night......

We held a BBQ. How lame. Guess it comes as no surprise we had a pretty difficult time getting the fire started on the water-logged (yes, u read right -WATER-LOGGED) bbq pit.


Boy, was I glad that I got in the right mind to occupy part of the large pavilion there. Just dump the bags and lay out the picnic mat I brought. True enough, I rained-HEAVILY. We were at area D1 and two of the guys heard wrongly and told the cab driver to drop them off at B1 instead. Do you know have any idea far Area B is from where we were? And in that kind of rain???

It sure doesn't help that they're the ones bringing the snacks and charcoal. Before they arrived, the rain subsided and bless Khama - he brought the fire-starter and a small bag of charcoal. We're lucky we got a fire-fighter amongst us who know just how to start a fire despite the wetness and all. And boy! Does the procedure take VERRRRY long! We finally got the fire going and barely 15mins into some sorta' barbecuing... we heard some rumbling, then drip... drip... drip....

Oh dear. We sort of 'braved on' but the droplets soon became more constant. We gave one another a knowing look before making a mad dash to get all the stuff back into the pavilion. One guy faithfully held onto the umbrella, holding it over the pit, fearing that the precious fire might be extiguished in the rain. It became a heavy downpour by the time we got everything in.

We noticed some boys barbecuing from an aluminium tray and we decided to do the same and pour out Khama's macaroni & cheese (yes, HE prepared that AND potato salad, which was an absolute YUM!) and dump the burning charcoal inside. A little fanning on the glowing ambers and the fire lit up again. In fact, it burned better in THAT tray than in the pit. Shhesh! IT wasnt long before we got some REAL babecuing going. Phew!

It was some experience, I admit but the idea that I got to meet some old mates from my poly days was PRICELESS. It was all worth it. Maybe this weather mishap may just etch the memory deeper in our minds and it won't be long before we recall this day with much snickering, even laughter.

Thank you Meng, Bas, Sheng Leong, Kai, Khama, Rui Hao and Wengyi for making this happen. And to Sri for accompanying me despite having knocked-off from work and even following me to Sheng Siong the day before, to buy the food stuff and preparing that delicious Truffle Pudding.

TRIVIA: Do you know that despite me bringing most of the food, deciding on the time and location besides BOOKING the bloody under-used pit, it WASN'T me who organise this gathering.

2 of the guys (I won't mention who) came up with this idea and set the date. And did NOTHING else. 3 days to the event and I heard NO news about any planning going around. In fact, one of them sheepishly told me, he was unable to book a pit at the initial locatiom. THREE days before the event. Can you just believe that??! So I had to rush down to the nearest AXS machine to book a pit at ECP. And it wasn't long before I eventually made the decisions on what food there will be and who will bring/prepare what.... Sheeesh!

Moral: Never believe SOME guys when they say they wanna plan something. A 'bbq' planned by them could easily end up with a dinner at MacDonald's at the way they 'organise' things.

TRIVIA II: Got the guys to buy some satay sticks (for the marshmallows), since they were shopping for the hardware at Carrefour.

Guess what they bought?? Satay sticks that had a length of at least 30cm, had a nice sheen to it and is made in Taiwan. It comes nicely packaged, too.

Now, GUESS how much THAT Satay sticks bamboo skewers cost...??

...A wholesome $8.50. Tell me, just who in the right mind would pay THAT much for mere Satay sticks bamboo skewers ???

Moral: Never trust SOME guys with grocery shopping or ANY shopping dealing with cooking stuff. They never know/understand the value of such things.
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Anyway my brother fetched me afterwards and we sent Sri to Changi to meet her beau. Since my bro was hungry then, we went for supper at our fav. Western food stall there.

After the hearty meal, we went to look at the he-women walking around with their dainty umbrellas. After that, while turning out of the famed carpark, my bro said, "Ti, since you brought the camera, why don't we go to Changi Hospital and take some shots there? Who knows if we 'caught' something (on camera)???"

I got all excited on hearing that. All I replied was, "Lets!!!"

I took two shots of OCH. The flash on my cammie was so darn bright that it actually lit up the pitch-dark area. Cool! I refused to snap a pic of the glass house, though. I just had a bad feeling bout' that building. Dunno why. My bro took shots of the other building further upfront.



FYI, the lit-up balls are not orbs. Just raindrops. My bro later told me that when I was struggling to take pics at OCH (I tried taking thru the windscreen but end up with our reflection instead, so I finally stuck out my hand out the window), the door of the small shack that was right BESIDE him actually OPENED. Haha! He was kinda freaked out, then.

Was pretty happy that our crazy antic didn't come out pointless. I saw a figure in the photo of one of building which my bro took a shot of. It was was at the window. The outline was pretty clear though the 'body' seemed 'transparent' but that doesn't come as a surprise, doesn't it...?

Friday, January 06, 2006

new year..?

Gee.. It's 2006..? Already??

Been a long time ain't it? Since my last entry, I mean. My mum's b'dae felt like AGES ago. Heck, I even missed the new year wish-a-thon.

I didn't even partake in any New Year festivities. In fact, I even avoid driving down the ECP on my way to the west just so I can avoid any crowd/jam. See that? Instead of making myself part of the crowd, I AVOID it. Besides the weather had been rainy and cool, just nice for cozying it up at home with a good DVD to watch and a great book to finish reading.

So it comes as no surprise that I hardly felt 2006 whizzing by. Aside from changing the calendars and the fact that my home broadband screwed-up, nothing much has changed.

Resolutions?? WHAT resolutions..?
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30122005 ~ Girls nite' out
A gathering amongst my (female) paternal cousins. Dinner and chill @ Arab Street, followed by a late-night movie @ PS and beach-hopping from East Coast to Changi. And the incredulously looooong drive down Changi Coastal Road. Then down to Marina, Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Bukit Merah, Alexandra etc..... Luckily they paid for the petrol later.

Reached home at 0530hrs the next morning. Tired liao. Now I know how a taxi driver feels....

01012006 ~ Fatimah's B'dae Dinner

She's a New Year Baby. Of that decade, even. 01/01/1990. Lucky her. Birthday falls on a public holiday. EVERY year.

She wasn't home that day cos' she gotta help out at the wedding of her ustazah's bro. As always, whenever she was in the Bedok area, she'll drop by my place. WISE CHOISE. I had planned to go to Swensen's and get her that birthday ice-cream thingy. However at Parkway Parade (which is a crowd-fest), it was already evening and raining and there's a loooong queue outside Swensen's. I was like, "What now??" And that cousin of mine was all smiles when she said, "Siam Kitchen, lah."

This girl, I tell you, she sure can't do without her rice. Plain white rice, ok. She'll eat anything as long as there's rice with either chicken, egg, prawns and SOY SAUCE.

So there we have a meal of spicy PRAWNS, pandan-leaf CHICKEN, Tom Yam Goong (PRAWN) plus some others with plain white rice. No, not the famous pineapple rice or Thai fried rice. White rice will do. Sigh... Nothing beats making a birthday girl happy, rite..?

Do well for your 'O's this year and I may just bring you to JB for more fun (and food), aite? Like you've always bugged me.