Kenangan Terindah

The happiest memories are of moments that ended when they should have ~ Robert Brault

Happy New Year to all.

Undisturbed and Unmoved

Hello everyone!! We are back from the town famous with gorgeous townsfolk on the grey coast of Siam, where the Andaman Sea spreads beyond your eyes.

Krabi - what a stunning vacation it was. Undisturbed and unmoved; only filled with natural glory of white sandy beaches, coral reefs, mesmerizing islands, and forests with caves and waterfalls.

More stories soon.... :))

Not forgetting.....

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and may this festival bring abundant joy and happiness!

Vacation Time

Greetings....from a Johor Baru :))

It's a rather wet day here down south. Both Nissa and I are on a short break in JB. Drove down from Shah Alam on Friday and it's our second day here today.


We did Universal Studios Singapore yesterday. It being a Saturday, the park was packed with visitors. It took us quite a long time to get to our rides; the new Transformers 3D ride was the longest. Nonetheless kids (ohhh I'm here with my sister and her kids too) were extremely excited.


Well, gotta go now. Going into the island again in a while. Today's program is Mommy's agenda - Orchard Road (grin ear to ear..)

Hope to post more Singapore stories in next posting :))

Have a good weekend folks :))

The Call

speaking out
words are cold
turning away
desperate lone lingers

mulling over
wicked memories muster
thinking through
hard logic defies

giving up
heart bleeds sorrow
opting out
sanity regains

Could this be the choice
Must call my shots soon....

Ceaseless Efforts

It's been more than a month since I last posted an entry in Sembang; too long that I now do not know how to initiate my efforts. Lost in my own words, entrapped in my unleashed imaginations. I feel terrible, but time just didn't permit my penning down my thoughts.

The past month was extremely hectic. It was work...work...work and more work. It was as if other things in my life were paused, and only work was going on fast forward. On the average I must have clocked between 14 – 16 hours in the office daily. My weekends were not spared either. Saturdays felt like Mondays and Sunday was another work day. And if I wasn't physically working, the mind was constantly put to task. It was really crazy, and I am so not proud of it.

The home front was a mess. Laundry kept piling and ironing left untouched. My cleaning was done late in the night after I returned from work. Folks at home had to make do with their own meal arrangements and mine was mostly whatever I could grab on the go. I felt like an overworked machine in an old run down mill. And the situation I was in was not only tearing me apart, but also others in the house.

Busy in the front, but deep down there was so much loneliness. A couple of times, I tried to reach beyond the emptiness and asked myself what's my purpose in life. Am I going to let work rule my life? And simply let others dictate my happiness? Work till I am crippled? Yes, the money is good but the 24/7 work ethic adoption, working tirelessly is certainly not the kind of deal I was game for.

Thank God, there's little calm now. But it won't be long till the storm hits again. And personally speaking, I am tired fronting the strong winds and holding the fort.

The outlook for 2012 will somewhat be similar. The mode is to push towards achieving tremendous accomplishments. And the recipe to this is none other than rigorous schedules, long nights and giving incredible amounts of sheer energy, focus, and time. Everyone will be counting on each other's hard work and commitment to achieve that competitive advantage.

It's time for me to think hard now and question the nuggets of my wisdom. Seek solace and decide the journey to embark, I must.

Kay-wRAPPing

Hiatus again.....

Been extremely busy - Eidul Adha, office work, house work....well what else is new kannnn??

Been wanting to blog. Banyak nak cerita, but tak de time nak menceritakan. Macam biasa dengar je excuses gini kan?

Anyway, heard this new number while driving home last night. Whada-u-know-it, she has turned to rap!! Just like me....wRAPPING (up???) too, jangan bungkus terus sudah kannn... :))

Doesn't this number, kinda remind you of the good disco days?

Shooting Strays

It all started when I saw a picture of a relative getting married on FB. Well, there was nothing wrong with the ceremony. In fact in my heart I was saying, "Bagus lah....dia pun dah duda lama..."

Ajal, maut, jodoh pertemuan are all in the hands of God Almighty. We can't fight it - not a minute late or early. That's how death is, we believe. And we also believe that it's already written in us who our life partners are and how long would the partnership last. Till death do us part or till "others" split us apart - cliche, but true kan!

Coming back to this relative who got married. Fate had it that he was to lose his wife to the big C. About a year ago, just after Christmas, Kak J succumbed to her sufferings. She died of lung cancer. She was very, very nice lady and I am sure she is missed dearly by her children and other members in the family.

Upon seeing the FB posting, I told Abe about the wedding, even forwarded the picture on BBM. Can't quite recall what was his response. But biasa lah Abe being Abe...benda-benda like this dia tak ambik port sangat. Oh well...that's what I thought.....

That night I threw a question at Nissa. Asked her if I passed on and if her dad wanted to remarry, what would her reaction be. Her reply was, "okay".

Huh??? Lame as it may sound, but okay??? Just plain OKAY??? You mean you wouldn't even going to question who your new mom is, can she scrub bathrooms like I do, would she be able to spot that small stain on the dinner plate and have it cleaned again etc etc. Most importantly are you really, really sure you didn't mind a step mom???

What was earlier an uncomplicated line of questioning has become an I-wanna-hear-my-kind-of-answer type of inquiry. Great....now the poor girl was confused. And the dad was some what furious over my picking on Nissa for an answer that was to be music to my own ears. And I was not happy not getting those words from her (perhaps she was also picking on me, who knows!).

Duhh.....just what was wrong with me?? Why was I so "angry bird" like?? Or was it that PMS thingy that is almost due? But then if it was just PMS, I wouldn't have mentioned writing of a will to my sister, would it?

I know...I know I need to go dunk that EPO to keep those straying hormones back in order....sigh.

Sent from my iPad

Patience of a Saint

Haven't been writing in a while. There's a lot to say, but just too little time to do so. I feel I am running like one headless chicken. Work is crazier than before. And the client is the craziest I've ever had so far.

Have been subjected to lots of verbal abuse by the BigBadOldWolf, a name we gave to this client. It's not just me. No one is spared. My team members and even my Boss have had their fair share of these verbal attacks.

I hate confrontations. During meetings I try so hard controlling myself and my professionalism to not go off guard. Words like "stupid", "hopeless", "crap" and many others which I don't wish to elaborate have been barraged at us as if we have only been in the business just yesterday.

Seriously, I have worked with many people - politicians, corporate figures, government officials but none as crazy as this one. It's so depressing attending meetings and being bombed left, right, front and centre for blunders which are not caused by us. The dark side of me is sending provoke messages like - "screw being civil, let's bang on tables and shout profanities till we run out of them all."

But, I don't want to do that and most importantly, nothing will be solved when anger takes control. Plus, getting mad is tiring and I certainly don't want to make a fool out of myself.

Touch wood, I have managed to defuse these roiling emotions. But the question is, until when? Each time after my solats I ask guidance from Almighty to help me cripple these bad, bad vibes and show me light at the end of the tunnel.

Message in my head for BigBadOldWolf...grrr

Each day I constantly remind myself of these words by Sunil Mangwani - have patience of a saint and the discipline of a soldier.

Insha'Allah (إن شاء الله) God willing, I try.

Wedding Karaoke

A neighbor across the road is holding a wedding reception tonight. The pretty decorated tents have attracted many passers-by since yesterday. The reception surely looked very grand.

It rained earlier in the afternoon. Saw the caterers running halter skelter saving the chairs from getting soaked during the downpour. Anyway, I bet the family must be very relieved with the clear skies tonight. As I write this posting I see guests are queueing at the buffet line for the nasi minyak and lauk pauk that come as company.

Like most weddings these days, there is light entertainment to give the occasion a more festive feeling. From our living room, we could hear the different voices taking turns passing the mike around karaoke-ing to the available minus1 music. Live singing, well, I am okay with that. Sounds pretty nice, even though some sounded really, really pitchy. It's okay lah I guess...nyanyi suka-suka to keep the bride and groom happy and entertained.

But what I noticed was the selection of songs. Ohhhh.....they were such old numbers. Some yang I have never heard before pun ada. If I hadn't heard of them, I bet the guests who are much, much younger had been astounded listening to them as well!

With that I tell myself to make this mental note - to start compiling my own list of songs - retro, contemporary, oldies but not moldies for such occasions. A wise thing to start working on, don't you think so? You'll never know when it's gonna come handy kannnn.....

Sent from my iPad

Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi

It was a popular hang out place for students after school; well at least for those who loved music - yours truly included. On days when I had extra classes, I'd gobble down lunch, the usual nyonya curry laksa as fast as I could. Once done, with my two best friends, we would happily walk out the school compound, cross the busy streets, braved the blazing afternoon sun to get to Kedai Music Harmony. Our SPM exam was only months away. There were loads of revisions to get started on and a quick escapade was extremely essential (for the soul...he he) before we loath ourselves with those we-cannot-relate-to-Physics/Chemistry/Bio-topics. Arghhh...torture!!

Had it been my choice, I would be the first to sign up to be in the Arts Stream. But at that time, Arts was a big no-no! Not when the teachers saw you as the “science material”.

Anyway, I digress. Now back to my main story....the music shop.

Ten minutes - that was enough lepak time we needed before we headed back to doing the laborious exam revisions. Once we walked into the shop, Benjy – this lower six guy who manned the music console would wave friendlily at us.

My usual greetings was, “Aihh...your Mama not here ah?”

He shook his head, signaling that the coast was clear for us to be up with our routine antics. Benjy always looked timid whenever his mama was around. He would keep his distance from us if she was in sight. We later knew reasons to his inconsistent hot and cold treatment towards us. Benjy was an orphan and he was adopted by the fierce nyonya boss.

“Lagu apa? Only five minutes ah.” shouted Benjy from behind the music console.

The multisonous Mandarin number easily drowned his voice. I winked at him and shouted back, “Ahhh...yang biasa lahh.”

Dee, my friend would give me a friendly punch and meekly say this to me, “Kau kawin je lah dengan Benjy ni. Asyik nak dengar lagu tu bila datang sini, bosan aku!!”

“Ishhh ada pulak kau ni. Kau ingat dia nak "potong" ker??!!” and we burst into loud laughter afterwards. Benjy would turn at us. I suspected he knew what caused us the chuckles. But he played along, such a spot that fella was.

Sal, the shy one amongst us was already cringing at one far corner in the shop. We always said that she'd one day marry an Ustaz and live in Egypt with her trailer of kids. Sal knew us too well to take our remarks to the heart. Her usual response was, “Tak baik kau orang. Buatnya aku kawin dengan si footballer tu...hah...kau orang sure jealous kan...”

“Tak habis-habis berangan kau ni, si footballer tu dah ada girlfriend lah,” I reminded Sal each time her fancies of the neighbouring all boys school lead striker went astray.

“Dah, dah, dengar je lah lagu yang kau suruh Benjy mainkan tu. Class is starting jap lagi and we better leave before Mak dia balik from lunch jap lagi.” A stern cry came from Dee and next came David and Loga's crispy clear voice from that Bose audio system.

“Jika kau bercinta lagiiiii.........”

Ahh...Alleycatssssssss......simply awesome, awe-inspiring and heart melting – always have been and always will be.

Sent from my iPad

The Waves and Her

I was doing house keeping onto my external hard disk when I found these pictures of Nissa during our trip to Kuantan in May. Being a newbie with Abe's DSLR, I thought I had accidentally deleted these pictures when I meddled with its memory card.

Perhaps I did fumble with the camera somehow, but I must have forgotten that I made back ups onto my hard disk as well.

Yeahhh...so happy I found them :)

Mom...can i go in?

Waves were big...and that got her a bit scared to venture further

Testing her footing

Waves treading...and she liked it

I'm all wet...don't mind me please

But, I'm having so much fun...

coz I have company....

I am all soaked!!

Oppss...more waves coming my way...

Scrammmm....

Nissa's wish list - how I wish my Mommy would allow me to be beach bummers like these.....

Justifying to her dad why she was all wet!!

Whatever it was.....peace y'all :))

Raya Reflections

Like previous years, this year's Raya celebration wasn't any different. Went home to my mother's place in Seremban on the eve of Eid, visited my in laws and went back on the second day to visit relatives in our kampung in Kuala Pilah. Hectic but enough fun for the children - catching up with their cousins and relatives from near and far.

During my Raya visits, as we traveled the long winding road to where kampung really is - Kuala Pilah, as the serene and calm atmosphere of life in the village came into view, I got to thinking – what if there was a swap? Instead of me visiting relatives in the kampung, it was me they were visiting. It was me tucked in the traditional kampung house. How different would life be? Instead of attending to clients in corporate office, I was now tending to chickens and ducks.

If I lived here, what would I look like? And how is my lifestyle?

Funny that some of these thoughts came in to mind at this juncture in my life. It had been a rough month in a couple of ways. So many challenges I am faced both at work and home front brought me to thinking of the what if's. These events occur – causing me to stop, reflect and re-evaluate the many facets in my life that I have comprised.

As we visited one relative's house to the next, I felt a bit sad. Although the old kampung house looked the same, but as faith had it, we had lost a number of our dear ones. An aunt spoke very dearly of her husband who had passed on two years ago. I recall those early days in my marriage when the couple used to fuss over lemang and rendang during our Raya visit and how they insisted that we had enough to feast ourselves plus packed some home later. They were simple folks but they sure had such a big heart.

Then we met another aunt who has been providing loyal care to her ill husband. The old man who is almost 80 now, suffers from diabetes and selective amnesia. It isn't easy she said but she is left with no other choice. Tempers would flare once in a while but one could see that she's not going anywhere but be with her man – in sickness or in health till death do them part, remember?

I wonder had it been me – would I be able do it? Would I be as loyal as my aunt? Would I be willing to sacrifice my own physical and emotional needs? Will there be feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, isolation, exhaustion? And how would I deal with it?

Now, reflecting back on all the choices I made in life, I hoped these choices will help make bring happiness and contentment. I know some have and some not – well maybe not yet. I tell myself that occasionally, events will occur. And during these periods I may need to re-evaluate and re-prioritize things, abandon what does not belong or is making life difficult and stressful, and seek out what truly matters.

If we didn't give it a try we would never know, would we?

Kids@Raya

Kids are the happiest at Raya - always. They get to meet up, play, sleep, eat together and the occasional sibling fights don't bother them much. Year in year out, I'm glad we still have the youngins running around, bemusing us at Raya. But this won't be long till they catch up with gadgets whatnots and soon forget about their creative play.

Kidnapping in progress - "guns" included

Kidnappers on the loose

Emergency call....ambulance drivers and "doctors" on call

The duo whose ambitions are scientist and egyptologist - treating the poor boy who was down with measles.

Duhh....this must have been a real crisis....

Let's see what happens when we dress up lil cousin....

Oopsss...wardrobe failure!!

The imaginative stock market....buy, buy, buy!!

Lipton ice tea advert...take 21!

Roll the camera.....

We are tired...let's see if the iPad allows us to order pizza

"Don't I simply love raya??" must be on his mind

I love you bro so let me help u with your baju....

Sent via Kay's Berry

Tiada Tiga Kata

When you notice a colleague's BB status with disturbing lines, you can't help but wonder about what was going on. Just before Raya, she had this as her status – HELL Raya. And then two days ago, she changed it to this – Too Much Hatred. Early yesterday, these two words appeared on her profile status – Nervous Breakdown.

I normally do not like to interfere with things like these. But as a close friend, I felt I should check on how she was doing. And I did.....and the story wasn't pleasant.

Dee (not her real name) was a colleague from my previous work place. When I left, she was the one who took over my responsibilities. Her diligence, strong and yet pleasant personality had help pushed her to the position where she is right now in the company. Obviously with the more money she brings home, she had more responsibilities to look into.

Dee's reply to my BBM last night didn't come in right away. I assumed she was okay and there was nothing very alarming with what I saw on her BB status. Again, I was wrong.

A call came in about an hour later and it was Dee on the other line. She was gasping for air and I could hardly hear her. Her usual happy voice was no longer distinct and all I heard was her in between sobs saying “It's over...”

I had suspected it was matters of the heart that is bugging her. Unfortunately, I guessed it right this time.

“Is it Raz?” I asked her. And she replied, “Yes.”

I questioned her, “He left?”

“Yes....he's gone. He left the house a while ago. And he took his stuff with him too.” said Dee.

“Perhaps he's off for work out station?" I probed further.

“No....he's really, really gone this time. He told me so.” said Dee in between sobs.

I paused for a while. Didn't know what to think and how to react. Dee wasn't the first of my friends whose marriage has succumbed to a no-go-grid-lock. Last December a school mate lost her husband for 25 years to a younger woman. Sigh....

There wasn't much I could offer Dee since it was already late. I promised her to meet up with her later today. It's so sad to see a once happy family falling apart.

What's becoming of us......double sigh......

Mungkinkah kerna kita dah terlalu selesa
Keintiman seolah semakin hambar
Dari gerak gaya
Hingga ke tutur kata
Tak menggambarkan cinta

Unsettled Heart

Someone told me last night that her heart was unsettled. I told her to let the feeling pass - accept the truth, bite the bitter facts. Not easy but why worry so much. It will only hurt her more.

She said it felt like there was a pit in her stomach. There was something that need to be said and some things shouldn't have been said. She shared that there is something yet to be done, a problem to solve, a situation to clean up.

Now, there is guilt and shame. And anger has set in....

Dear friend.....be strong. HE will watch over you. HE will not let the sun harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Have faith. HE will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Post Holiday Blues

As always, it was a scram this morning; but there was a bit more chaos than usual. My parking card was missing, the shoes was not in the car, Nissa's hair clip was no where on the dressing table, her school tie was still loose and flimsy. The last blow was, after I had locked the doors, I realised that my BB was left on the bed. Urghhh....how to survive the day without BB??? That left me with no choice but to unlock the doors and enter the house again to get my BB. A good 5 minutes delay that was. Thank God there was gas in the car. Else I would have screamed my lungs and this angry bird would have started tweeting in caps and bold to someone's BB.

Hence, everything spelt s.t.r.e.s.s - sprinkled with Monday blues, equating to zero tolerance level.

The drive to work was however a bliss. Roads were still clear and parking was empty too. I hesitated for a couple of seconds in the lift – trying to recall which floor I was to get out at. Ever since the move to this new office, the pressing of the number in the lift is no longer automatic (ummppp...I just wonder why is that so?)

As expected the office is still empty; many are still on extended Raya leave with the majority only returning to work on Wednesday. Wahhh...so long leave ka?? I had wanted to say my peace about my staff taking long raya leave, but I took a step back and thought again and finally I decided to just let it be. I may not have the need to balik kampung over such a long stretch (like some of them do) as kampung is only 45 mins drive from my base and balik kampung is just mild effort after all for me. But others whose kampungs are so far away, they may want to spend a longer time with the family. Noted on that.

But a while ago, after going through the emails, I thought again - perhaps, perhaps I should have relook at resource allocation again. Too late now, anyway.

Suddenly a cacophony of lines from P.Ramlee's movie came clattering, “Aikkk marah??? Kalau marah nanti kena jual.....”

So boss ni marah?? Takkkkk tak marahhhh......cuti laaaa...tak pe cuti laaaa.....

Tak pe lah since staff cuti, boss kerja lahh (sekuat-kuat hati....)

Eid Mubarak

Wishing all a blessed Eid.
Stay safe and have a good celebration.

S.I.C.K

Apa yang dilafaz itu adalah doa - yes, I believe in this. Bukan apa, tu lah semalam tulis lagi comments kat FB - “sick to the bones”. Hah...today, dapat cash...sick terus!

I couldn't for the life of me open my eyes this morning. Plain exhaustion plus pure annoyance too. Annoyed bukan dengan sesiapa pun. Annoyed with myself was more like it. I over looked my checklist and missed preparing one document for an important meeting. Yikessss.....sungguh lah tak seronok being put in a difficult situation. It wasn't like I was careless or anything. How else could I remind myself? I remembered saving my tasks and appointments in BB, but this particular one, adeiiii....it just slipped my mind! Anyway, thank God I didn't get into much trouble and boleh nego deadline lagi tu. Ha ha ha...siapa boss ni? Me or the client? I guess when they saw this pitiful face they just didn't have the heart to push too much...kot...kot lah eh.

Exhaustion + Annoyance = SICK = today work from home (yeahhhhh suka...coz no need to drive that 38km to CJ)

So who says being sick has no rewards?

Actually I forgot doing a few other tasks over the weekend too. Err correction, paraphrase that – I selectively did what I liked doing and left what I didn't fancy doing aside. Guess that's the leeway one has when one is both the maid and the maam. Tapi yang tak boleh ampun was when Abe came back and said, “You forgot to get the cat food. Pi shopping benda lain ingat...” Adei....that hurts!! Actually I did ask Nissa to remind me about food for them furry kiddos. Tapi Nissa pun sama naik thrilled mall hopping (and having scrumptious food spread at iftar) that she forgot to remind me. Anyway, the little ones had to puasa a little longer than us coz we only got food for them after terawih. Merajuk dah they all sampai ada yang ran up the roof. Nasib baik she came down, if not nak kena call the firemen to help.

Ohhh no need lah that unnecessary attention and excitement for both tuan kucing and kucing di bulan yang mulia ini kannn....and if sick tu better buat cara sick. Put the BB aside and let the emails bertubi-tubi masuk and later later lah baru reply, betul tak??

Then again after much deliberation, ada berani nak response late to those emails??

One More Week

It's the 22nd Ramadan today. It seemed like just yesterday I was preparing the family to gear up for fasting. Time flies like an arrow, for sure. More so when you have a mad, mad schedule like the one I presently have. There is hardly time to get cozy, relax and smell the roses these days....sigh. In fact there is hardly time to smell the good food during this Ramadan....another long sigh. I feel like a robot, serious!

In less than a week, it will be Hari Raya. I gave a tearful glance at my kitchen before I left for work this morning. Whooaaaa.....it sure needs cleaning and some touching ups. The windows could do a good scrub and some re-organizing would give it back its shine and glitter like those days when Bibik manned the home.

Sob...sob...sob.....

Live from New Office

Salam Ramadan to all. May we be rewarded the best of health in carrying our ibadah in this holy month.

Just a quick one this posting. Am making my first posting mark from the new office in CyberJaya. So far so good and have managed to clock in early every morning since the first day being assigned here. Doing that is not easy of course; RUSH is the word.

I leave the house by 7.05am everyday, drop Nissa off at her school and sprint all that 38kms to CJ. The traffic has been good so far. Phewwww.....I am so blessed.

Will be based in CJ for the next 18months. It's going to be interesting I bet. The project timeline is already out and I see my name all over the sheet. Have started itemizing plans for the team and looking forward to ensuring all deliverables are met.

Okay...gotta go now.

Am gonna miss my lunch here after Ramadan......hu hu

YouTube It

It's a few more minutes before office hours is over. Then there is the rush home to be with the family for the breaking of fast. These days, I hardly have time to cook. Much thanks to the sellers at the Ramadan Bazaar, the dishes for my berbuka do would come from those frequent stalls I visit. My selection criteria would of course be cleanliness first. Price wise....umppp, rata-rata juadah-juadah has increased between 20-30%.

"Nak buat macamana harga barang mahal kak. Minyak naik." that would be the stall owners' cry whenever I give a grim look at those tiny curry puffs sold.

Today however, I have that crave for something different. Getting pretty tired of kueh ketayap, putu kacang and friends. The mind is thinking of those very thin pancakes - crêpe, spread with a thick layer of chocolaty nutty Nutella and with banana nicely tucked in it.

Sedap nya kan... Musim-musim puasa ni semua benda pun sedap lah kan.

Let's hope I get home early enough to make this for Nissa. Just to be doubly sure I don't mess up later, this You Tube video would be my aid. Tapi rasanya tau dah how to make it (and pretty easy to lah kan....)

You Tube to save the day....always

Girls at a crêpe stall when we were in Paris that day.....yummy crêpes dia.

Ramadan Day 2

Syukur kehadrat Nya kerana dipanjangkan usia untuk berjumpa semula Ramadan tahun ini. It's our second day of fasting today. Puasa ke? Alhamdulillah, I am. It is my hope dapat menjalankan ibadah rukun Islam yang ketiga ini dengan sebaik sempurnanya. Same goes to all Sembang readers, family and friends. May you be rewarded the pinkest of health untuk melakukan yang terbaik di bulan yang penuh barakah ini.

I was at the clinic this morning. Huh? Visit to the doctors again? Apa cerita lah kan? Just for the record, I also had doctor's appointment last week. In fact I was on MC for two days, even No 1 Boss was worried and No 2 Boss sent a BBM asking of about me. Don't worry lar Boss, I'm not pregnant, if that's your concern although I am so green with envy upon discovering that we are entitled to 300days of maternity leave sepanjang our service in the organization.

Anyway to cut the story short, there was nothing major, major wrong with me, well that's what the doctors concluded after the test results were out. I must say I did cause some panic in Abe (ohhh bila eh last he accompanied me to the docs?? Masa deliver Nissa?? Nahh...I'm just being cruel) when I told him that I received a call from the doctor wanting to discuss results of the tests done so much so that he took half day today. So sweet lah kan.....tapi if ikut kan I (read: the egoistic me) ....tak de masalah nak sorang-sorang je jumpa doctor tu.

These days one can never be too complacent - with the kind of life style we lead and stress level that we have to put up with, jadi kena lah buat segala tests yang perlu. But it was somewhat an anti climax pun ada. There I was thinking of all the probable cause to my sick spell, and it was concluded that some strong antibiotics would do to help. Nonetheless, syukur, syukur sangat-sangat. Alhamdulillah.

After the clinic, I drove all the way to Cyberjaya for a meeting. Looks like there will be more trips to this city in the future. It's almost official now that I will be assigned to a new project which is based in Cyberjaya. Mixed feelings about this actually. Excited about this new assignment but at the same time sedih nak leave colleagues in the present office. We've been together though thick and thin and now some of us will be heading separate directions. It feels so like a family now, but we just have to make this sacrifice. Tak pe lah...it's for the good of the team
jugak.

Someone sent out this SMS yesterday. "Sedih and happi if combine jadi apa?" I replied, "Tak tau nak kata." She wrote back, "Sepi."

Ohhh that's gonna be so, so true........

Ramadan Kareem

May the spirit of Ramadan illuminate the world and show us the way to peace and harmony.

May Allah shower his blessings on us all during this Ramadan and always, InshaAllah.

Selamat Menyambut Ramadan to all Sembang readers, family and friends.

Sent from my iPad

Bot Chat

This morning a colleague introduced me to this chat tool. I went right on chatting and the following exchanges took place.

Me: Selamat pagi.

Cleverbot: Selamat pagi kat awak juga sayang :).

Me: Awak sayang saya?

Cleverbot: Saya sayang awak :).

Me: Dah makan?

Cleverbot: Makan apa?

Me: Dah sarapan pagi ke?

Cleverbot: Dah makan juga.

Me: Kelakar lah awak!

Cleverbot: Di sekolah la.awak belajar dekat mana?

Me: Kenapa jawap macam tu?

Cleverbot: X la.

Me: Awak marah ke?

Cleverbot: Tak sayang.

User: Awak tak rindu saya?

Cleverbot: Tak.

Me: Kenapa tak rindu?

Cleverbot: Saya cakap saya sayang awak.

Me: Polis cari awak lah.

Cleverbot: No, isn't true.

Me: You have committed a crime.

Cleverbot: Love is never a crime.

Me: But I don't love you anymore.

Cleverbot: Not you and I.

Me: I have found a better person in my life.

Cleverbot: You don't have a life.

Me: There's so much happiness in me now.

Cleverbot: I know how Tuning died.

Me: How did he die?

Cleverbot: He died of age.

Me: How old was he?

Cleverbot: How old was Gary, are you asking?

Me: No how old was Betty Ford?

Cleverbot: I don't know, girls think I am ugly.

Me: Are you a girl or a guy?

Cleverbot: Girl.

Me: Not a guy?

Cleverbot: Me not a gamer? Really?

Me: What music do u like?

Cleverbot: Rap, Hip-Hop, Rock, R&B. You?

Me: Jazz.

Cleverbot: Are you lame?

Me: No, I'm a dame!

Cleverbot: Yes.

Me: Do u think I am pretty?

Cleverbot: Yes because I said so.

Me: Thank you sayang.

Cleverbot: You are welcome.

Me: I gotta go. We chat again later.

Cleverbot: So are you nice?

Me: Bye.

Cleverbot: Say it like you mean it.

Me: Bye bye darlin <3

Cleverbot: Hello hello hello.

Me: Over and out.

Cleverbot: Roger.

If you went on reading the conversation trail and thinking what on earth was I doing "flirting" online with Mr Cleverbot....waittttt a minute!! Hang on to your horses before you go tazkirah-ing me.

My chat partner was a computer program called Chatterbots, okay. This latest chatting AI was designed to have conversations with humans. They use some form of artificial intelligence to learn how to generate better dialogue over time.

Its developer Rollo Carpenter has developed this chatterbot which learns from the most chaotic and difficult conversationalists: internet users.

My verdict - talking to Cleverbot is a little like talking with the collective community of the internet. And it’s just as horrific, funny and is definitely a boredom buster during those dry days when not a single drop of brain juice insight.

So, is the bot clever? Try it at Cleverbot.com

Supir Yang Setia

A couple of years back when a few of us girls visited Bandung, we got little adventurous and moved around town in the public transport called Angkutan Kota. The school van like transport was not only cheap, but also in abundance. We never had to wait long for one.

We were couple of years younger than and keen to explore and experience life just like the locals. This trip however, we - both Muni and I decided we should do our trip in a santai manner. We wanted to rest and relax and enjoy the three days we were there. Hence, a supir (driver) was necessary.

I have been recommending family and friends if they ever needed transport arrangements when in Bandung or even Jakarta, do try out this guy - Pak Termizi. It was through my sister that I got to know him. She has used his transport services and had no complaints on him.

About two weeks to our departure, I texted Pak Termizi asking if he was able to make transport arrangements for us. He responded in less than two minutes saying that he was more than happy to oblige our request. A quote was given and we agreed on the rates. Package was for hotel and transport during our entire stay in Bandung.

Happy....got that settled.

There was a short wait for our supir after arrived at the Bandung airport last Sunday. I texted Pak Termizi and he said his supir was on his way. In less than 5 mins our young supir was in sight. He took care of our luggage and he drove us to our hotel in Cihampelas.

When we arrived at the hotel, I spotted Pak Termizi as he came running to greet us. Wahhhh the old guy whom we saw in kurta like attire last time is now all so smart looking in pressed shirt and tailored slacks!! A certainly more corporate look now, and both Muni and I were impressed. And he carries a Black Berry too!!!

We checked in and did our solat and in no time we were all set to hit the shops. It was then Pak Termizi told us that HE will be our chauffeur for the day and he would be driving us around in his own BMW. Fuhhhlamakkkkk....how lucky can one get ya!!

Jadi tante-tante sangat lah suka hati nya.

"Mau ke mana Ibuk, " asked Pak Termizi.
"Pasar Baru..." cried both Muni and I simultaneously.

And the rest of the story??? Alhamdulillah, everything went fine. Agenda nya apa lagi lah kan.....shop.eat.shop :))

Our appreciation goes to those behind the scene who helped make this trip possible - our families, the financiers (ehemmm u know who u are lah kan), and not forgetting our supirs who obligated to our needs and requests during our trip.

Enjoy bangetttt deh!!!

This beemer of Pak Termizi's - leather seats with very dark shades all around. That night when he dropped us off at the hotel, other guests (Malaysians...he he) gave us this "wow" look yang memberi maksud "wahhhh...siapa kah mereka ini??? Datins???"

Heh...heh....kasi chance lah kami perasan yea!!

This bus carried tour groups from Malaysia. There were like 3 of them lined along the road. Bandung was packed with Malaysians and Singaporeans doing pre Ramadan shopping that weekend.

Kebayas...so many of these in Pasar Baru, a favourite and very famous (amongst Malaysians) shopping place in Bandung. We, however had to leave the kebayas only for the feasting of our eyes. Mana boleh pakai kebaya dah....obscene and akan mengganggu ketenteraman awam lah if we did kannn...*wink*

Too pretty to resist...so we got juga lah for friends yang berpesan.

Other stuffs that we got.....

More stuffs.....adeiii tak larat nak angkat dah. Sila di panggil-in Pak Supir nya!!

Tired...so we checked into this spa....bliss after being kneaded by expert hands of the masseuses. But not before some gentle reminder from our supir.

"Pak...kami mau spa ya."
"Bisa ibuk..."
"Tapi ibuk sudah solat?"
"Ohh...kami solat jamak aja pakkk..."

You see our supir was also concerned over us melaksanakan tuntutan agama. Alhamdulillah....

Our favourite...the nasi padang with its spread of dishes yang penuh whole table. Soooooo.....sedappppp the ayam panggang and daging dendeng!!!

Makan lagi.....the rice was wrapped in banana leave giving that ahhhhhh aroma.

Rumah Mode - an all time favourite FO of visitors to Bandung. We arrived here early but place was not opened yet.

Our supir, Pak Dadang said this to us. "Masih awal ibuk. Lagi foto-foto ya di luar. Saya mau dhuha sana dekat musolla." Ohhhh.......terkedu sebentar ibuk-ibuk nya!!! We all so gung ho nak ber-shopping, supir nya lagi gung ho nak menambah saham akhirat.

In the end, we ended up having latte at the cafe while waiting for the FO to open.

At the end of our trip, our juta-juta rupiah was reduced to only hundreds. Our luggage was pack to the max, but didn't exceed the 30kg limit...fuhhhh what a relief!!

One beautiful lady distributed this little pamphlet on our way out. She was promoting her slimming parlor. Ummpppp very interesting kan....next trip bisa di coba ya. Mana tahu, pergi nya ber-blouse longgar tapi pulang nya ber-kebaya ketat!!! (read: dream on...)

Sent via Kay's Berry