Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Everything That Could Go Wrong DID Go Wrong

My cousin's engagement was supposed to be somewhat of a grand event. Apparently it was not to be. It was the worst, most kecoh-rable, unfortunate engagement ever in the history of the Al-Yahya family. Ok it wasn't that bad. At least the couple in question, Rashid and Mona Lisa did manage to get themselves engaged but so many things went wrong, it was a nightmare!!

When we first arrived on Friday night in Temerloh, I noted with disdain that most of the trays of gifts to be given to the girl's side were not ready. My cousin and I forced Rashid to drive us to Temerloh town the next day to get some decor stuff. He, like most men, doesn't have the slightest idea nor interest in the decor stuff and if it were up to him, I wun b surprised if he put the items in a plastic bag and place it on the tray. Uurrggh!!! MEN!!! Anyway I spent a bomb on all those ribbons and flowers and tray covers and since we were short of time and skill, I got the owner of the shop to do up some of the decor. It was at an exorbitant price but we didn't have much of a choice, given how last minute this all were. My other female cousins and I sacrificed sleep on that Saturday night preparing the 11 dulang hantaran (trays of gifts), all in resplendent, shimmery yellow and white. It wasn't fantastic but quite passable. We all made believed we were good enough to open up a wedding decor shop one day in the distant, distant unforseeable future. Hee hee.
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One of the nicest was the sireh junjung, (an elaborate ornamental customary decoration made of betel nut leaves and fresh flowers) made to perfection by my aunt.
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Since nobody except Rashid has been to this girl's family home before, we relied 100% on his information. He estimated it was an hour and a half drive from the Gombak toll and that the girl's house is in the Kuala Selangor area. So my uncle estimated that we would reach there about 1.30pm just in time for the majlis slated at 2. Apparently my cousin's estimation was way off. The house was nearer Sabak Bernam, a good 2 hours++ of driving, even for the Don who sped 140km/hr all the way. despite the road being narrow and extremely winding.
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Needless to say we were late... very very late. And just when we reached the mosque near the bride's house, our 2nd meeting point, horror of horrors we realised we had forgotten to bring the sirih junjung!!! When we were about to leave Pahang, I remember my mother asking if the sireh junjung has been placed inside one of the cars. Somebody claimed they had. But now it was nowhere to be found. Now being the guy side and all, we had a reputation at stake. We didn't want to come without the sirih and risk ourselves being labelled as "tak ade adat". If his fiance-to-be were related to us, it wouldn't have mattered so much since it was all adat anyway and not exactly essential but we had no inkling as to the girl's family and how staunch they were in keeping to customary traditions. My uncle and aunt shoot off in a car to a nearby market in search of that elusive sirih to make an instant gubahan but the shops ran out of them. Having explained our sad (and pathetic) predicament, the shopowner directed us to his relative's house who apparently has a sirih plant in his backyard. And in true hindi fashion, the skies turned gray and rain started pouring. Some of my aunts remarked in jest that the skies were crying at our sad situation. On the contrary, I personally believed it laughed so hard at our stupidity that it cried. Truly this was turning out to be a disaster engagement.

Eventually within half an hour, my aunt managed to create something out of the rain soaked sirehs, something remotely similiar to a sirih junjung. Given the situation, I thot she did remarkably well but it was so sad the girl's side didn't get to see the actual one. By then it was close to 3pm (we were 2 hrs late) and everyone on our side were so hungry I swear we would have eaten the sirehs itself if we were delayed any longer.

The event itself was thankfully, without any hitches. Luckily the girl's side were very accomodating. The food they served was good but even if it weren't I dun think my side would have tasted the difference. We were too famished to care. The ride home was an even greater disaster. My aunt was bent-double almost all the way, vommitting due to gastric pains. In fact most of the people started being sick due to the long drive, exhaustion and the very late lunch. Lucky we have a cousin in Rawang, my Kak Ida and Abg Wan and that was our

In the end, out of exhaustion, we all decided to spend the night at my cousin's in Rawang and left for home respectively early Monday morning. Easy for The Don who is his own boss but the rest of us had to scramble to call office to either call in sick or come up with some excuse for urgent leave. Needless to say my cousin Rashid got a earful when we got back. And a stern warning to make sure during the wedding he didn't cause us all to have a panic attack with all his last minute antics come next year.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Track Troubles

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KTM Tracks At Kulai Damaged. Trains Will Have To Take A Detour.

The Don was on his way to KTM station at Tanjong Pagar to get train tickets for my Mom to Pahang when he decided to stop for fuel. Miraculously his sharp eyes caught the headline on The New Paper about the collapsed bridge and immediately called me in the office to check with KTM itself.

My mom intended to go up to Pahang to help with my cousin's engagement preparations, which would be held later this week. Since The Don and I will be driving up anyway on Friday night, we convinced her to shelve her plans and go with us instead.

Indeed, the bridge at Kulai, Johor, was badly damaged by floodwaters, making it completely unpassable to trains Northbound from Singapore. The arrangement by KTM, for busses to ferry passengers from one train station to another, was the best they could do, I suppose, given the circumstances but a dreadful inconvenience all the same.

I wonder what would have happened had the grocer who alerted the authorities, not managed to spot the damage in time, or worse, decided not to do anything about what he saw. I understand that whatever happened is an "act of God" and that the KTM people cannot possibly run up and down all of its 2,262 km of track everyday. But I am sure some means of alerting is possible especially given how often Malaysia suffers floods. For god's sake a train was scheduled to pass by that bridge in just 20 minutes on that fateful day. What would have happened to the people on board had the mghty Hero not come to save the day ?

I am dreadfully worried because my mother quite frequently takes the train to go to Temerloh, Pahang. A bus ride will take almost double the time and the nearest airport is 2hrs away by road, in Kuantan. The Don and I try to send her up whenever we can but sometimes it is just impossible.

I really do hope that KTM comes up with some other means of alert rather than merely depend on the sense of civic duty in fellow citizens. Let's not wait untill a major disaster strike before anything is done.

PS: In case u were wondering, I did managed to escape the fire drill yesterday, I voluntereed to be the one to stay behind in case some urgent matter cropped up or clients came by unannounced. I was basking in the full comfort of the office air-con while my colleagues sweated it out climbing down stairs and waiting endlessly at the assembly area. Ooohhh the sweet smell of victory!!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

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Today's gonna be a horrible day. There is a fire drill scheduled in my office building today between 3 and 4 pm today. The stupid alarm will ring and then they expect us to file out of our offices. Then we are supposed to assemble at the open carpark adjacent to my office building. Man! What do they take us for? Schoolkids??

I now some people would relish the thought of getting away from your desk and lest you think I'm too much of a good worker to walk away from my work. Image hosted by Photobucket.com Think again.

I dun want to go down the stairs thats why. I have this
thing with staircases. I hate them, actully I have a phobia for them (read my entry on my phobia for staircase) and I certainly do not look forward to the idea of going down 14 flights of stairs. Thank the lucky stars my office is on the 7th floor and not 17th or worse 37!! If it were I'd certainly take MC today.

The management used to hold fire drills on Saturdays and my office was spared coz we work on a 5-day basis but this year onwards they changed it to weekdays instead. The first fire drill of this year happened sometime in March and when the alarm went off, all of us in the office went as quiet as mice, switched off all the lights and locked the door. (Juvenile behaviour, I know!) When the fire warden knocked on the door we all played dead. The next day the security guy came and asked why there was no attendance from our firm at the assembly area. We said we had no idea. Hehehe But I think he has caught on to our tricks. This time, he poked his botak head at our office yesterday to remind us of the fire drill today and before he left, slyly said, "Hope to see you all there". Idiot!!

Ok ok I noe its good to be prepared and to practice the drill in case there is a real fire yada..yada....yada. But seriously, we feel like bloody school kids the way they are treating us. And its a damn waste of time.

I wonder how I should make my escape this time. Maybe I shall make some excuse to go to the Court library for some research and while the time away while the rest of my colleagues weather it out in the carpark under the scorching sun or worse, rain. hehehehe (rubs hands in glee) Or maybe I shall feign illness and take the second half of the day off. UUrrrgghhh I need a plan. Pronto!!!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

TOMORROW-ED TODAY !!!

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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's The Fairest Man Of All??

I was reading the morning's paper in the car when I came across this article
"S'pore men more brand conscious than women here" (back page under "MONEY") and I involuntarily shudder. Apparently SG men spend more on ostentatious goods. One college guy even skips lunch everyday so he can buy his Burberry and Miu Miu. A 3D survey by media agency MindShare notes that 41% of men felt that branded items help them project a better image than the 37% of women. And double the percentage of men this year thought that they should keep up with fashion. I don't know about you, but I have a tacit disgust for men who are too fashion-conscious. (straight men that is) No don't get me wrong. I do like my man well dressed and fashionable to an extent. And I know current trends and social dictum requires men today to have a designer tog or two in their wardrobe but to have a man decked out from top to bottom in Gucci or Prada, No Thank You. Thats like having the word "GAY" stamped smack on the centre on his forehead. (not that I have anything against gays. I luurve 'em, u noe that right, Musang !!) (sheesh!!! I have to qualify everything I blog now!!)

A basic fashion knowledge is necessary I suppose. I swell with joy when my Don can differentiate between a Fendi bag and an Louis Vuitton. (although he has to preen at the monogram to make out if it's an "F" or an "LV") But its just weird to have men be more fashion-conscious than us women. I mean, come on guys, that's our territory!!I don't believe that designer togs makes or breaks all. I think more importantly is that you are well-dressed and that you carry yourself well.
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The other end of the spectrum is no good either. I cringed when I am on the MRT in the morning and the guy sitting opposite me in a long sleeved shirt and business pants crosses his leg and exposes white socks. I try my hardest not to stare but it's difficult when everyone else is wearing suitably dark or sombre coloured socks and this clown looks like he's going to the gym before he goes to his office. Neither can I hold my laughter when the guy at the next table with a striped tie during lunch stands up and I see that he is wearing checkered pants. Oh the agony of stifling a laughter!!! (if u feel there is nothing wrong in both the scenarios I quoted, YOU NEED HELP!! Click here) for some salvation

Friday, May 20, 2005

I've been Tomorrow-ed Woo Hoo!!!!

I'm sooo flattered..... My blog has been tomorrow-ed In case u dun noe what I am yapping about ... check this out -->tomorrow.sg Thanks guys....

REVENGE OF THE SIT(??)!!!! ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!

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CLICK the pic for SWISH - the Anti-Starwars Club.
How come there's no Anti-Starwars club in Singapore. Hmm Maybe I should start one..

UUURRGGHH!!!!!! I feel like going to the deep forests of Amazon and staying there till this whole hoolaboola about Starwars is over. I can't stand it!!! Everywhere I go, every newspaper I pick up and every tv channel I watch is all about starwars, starwars and more starwars. This afternoon when I passed by Burger King I was assailled by more starwars memorabilia. And when I passed by a handphone shop on my way to lunch, a giant M1 poster with that dark guy was staring at me. I swear the next person who comes up to me and asks "have you seen the Starwars movie yet?" is gonna get a mouthful of vulgarities from me.

Whats's so great about starwars anyway? What's up with the guy in the black mask and the moonskywalker anyway? Friends have been telling me that this is an important episode coz it reveals how the good guy eventually turned to evil. (Huh?) Who cares? I mean if he is already evil does it matter why or how he became evil? Would it make him less evil if you knew he wasn't born evil but just woke up one day and decided to go to the dark side? And for God's sake, can't this Lucas guy count? Doesn't he know that the numbers should be 1, ..2, ..3, ..4 then 5. Did he like not finish his kindergarten coz he was busy drawing guys in black masks and creatures that suspiciously look like E.T?

The only relatively "cool" thing I can say about the starwars is possibly the sword with the neon lights. Buy hey dun they have an R&D dept down at LucasArts? I mean can we start having a change of colours now already ? Multicoloured one maybe? or one which changes colour depending on the motion.

Before you brandish the light saber in my direction, let me clarify, I dun particularly hate HATE starwars. Well at least not as much as I HATE, HATE the colour purple but I still hate it. I think its a movie with great special effects but so was the Matrix or Titanic. What's with the great hoolabaloo??? The actors aren't even cute and by admission of a few starwars fan(atic)s themselves, the acting by the leads were downright woody. Why the cult following? Whenever a new star wars movie hit town, its like everybody goes in "zombie" mode. All they can talk about Darth Vader is and Darth Vader that or Skywalker this and moonwalker that. And its even more painful to the ears when people go around saying "Revenge of the Sit" "Revenge of The Sit" I seriously don't know whether to laugh or to cry. (BTW Why did that Lucas guy had to invent such a difficult title? (Didn't he know that his Asian Ah-beng and Ah-lians fans have a problem curling their tongue after all that suckin n whistling noise they make with their tongues.)

I'm sure as hell glad this is the final episode of the starwars. I am really hoping for some big movie to open soon so we can move on already from this starwars crap. Meanwhile, if I hear the words "Is the force with you?" ever again, I swear I'll slap them so hard they would really feel the "force". hehe

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Crazy Horse Is Coming To Town

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Have u managed to read ST today? I got a shock of my life when I saw the front page of ST this morning while having breakfast with The Don. The Crazy Horse, for those not in the know, is a topless cabaret show in the ranks of Moulin Rouge and Lido. (BTW The movie Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman is not like the real thing!) It seems my prediction was right after all. (read my entry on the casino)

Ok I'm not gonna sound righteous here. I have to admit that while we were in Paris, we contemplated visiting Lido, another topless salon, just for the novelty of it, but we decided not to at the last minute, one, because of the cost of the tix and the other, because I would feel uneasy being there, me with tudung (head gear) and all. I feel it is hypocrisy for me to be wearing the Islamic code of dressing yet go watch nude girls on stage, clearly something Haram. (forbidden)

But to have it here??? I'm not so comfortable with that either. I know this is not a Muslim state and we dun really have a say but my fears are hightened by the report that they are looking for Asian dancers and will be holding auditions here soon.

What's gonna happen to the already flagging moral of the Muslim youth here today? Muslim youth (and other youth too) here are already in a decadent state of morality. They drink alcohol openly, and abstaining from pre-marital sex is the exception rather than the norm now. Remember this girl who was fined and charged in court for her "tiltilating" ex'pose? Looks like there will more such ex'poses in Singapore in the near future.

What can we do to protect our society and our youth in the face of such vices being made so freely available (and legal too!) What control will we have as parents to instill in our kids what is right and what is wrong ? The Don and I shudder to think the challenges we will have to face in this country while bringing up our children. Maybe this isn't the best place for us to breed. Maybe, just maybe, we should start looking for greener pastures......

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Something Stupid

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I think I did what was probably the setoooopidest thing I have ever done this year (so far!)last night. I was just getting ready to tuck in when I realised I haven't seen my wallet nor my mobile ever since I got home. A frantic search around the house confirmed my suspicion that I must left it in the car at the Multi-storey car park. I woke The Don who was already in La-La land immediately got up n got dressed to go get my bag. But not before insisting I do the same. He was gonna drag me along to the multi-storey car park at 1.30am to get it with him. Well ok, I guess I deserved it hehe.

There it was sitting innocuously, on the floor mat of the passenger seat, waiting for someone to find it. The black leather seats of the Lancerlot gave ample camouflage to my equally black bag, otherwise I'm sure we would have been greeted with a broken window instead.

*PHEW*

Monday, May 16, 2005

SORRY NO CURE

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A NEWSWEEK story about the desecration of the Islamic Holy Book, The Quran in its May 9th edition, has sparked a worldwide protest against The United States. In the article, it was reported that U.S. military investigators had found evidence that American guards at the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had committed infractions in trying to get terror suspects to talk, including in one case flushing a Qur'an down a toilet. Their information came from a knowledgeable U.S. government source. The spark became a full fledged fire when Legendary Cricket hero Imran Khan held a press conference in Pakistan exclaiming "This is what the U.S. is doing," exclaimed Khan, "desecrating the Qur'an." His remarks, as well as the outraged comments of Muslim clerics and Pakistani government officials, were picked up on local radio and played throughout neighboring Afghanistan. The radicals quickly fanned the issue and exploited local discontent with a poor economy and the continued presence of U.S. forces, and riots began breaking out last week. By the end of the week, the rioting had spread from Afghanistan throughout much of the Muslim world, from Gaza to Indonesia. Buildings were bombed, US flags were burnt in the streets and riots broke out between protestors and the authoritis, claiming 16 lives and many more injuried.

On May 16, Newsweeks issues a statement retracting the story and issued an apology over the article citing "Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Quran abuse at Guantanamo Bay.."

And then what??? What about the people who died? What about the people injured? What about the buildings razed down by fire? Talk about irresponsible journalism!!! In matters as sensitive as religion, especially in already volatile conditions, it sure doesn't help when an internationally renowned magazine, often cited for quality analysis, publishes a story that is not properly investigated.

Of course, some would question Newsweek's culpability in the matter saying it was free-will that put the dead people in the middle of a rioting street but then again they wouldn't be there would they? had their emotions not been flamed by the article. The Quran is considered sacrosanct by Muslim. We believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of God and culmination of God's revelation to mankind, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. We treat the Quran with reverence. We treat it with the utmost respect that we belive it deserves and to hear of IT being flushed down the toilet by American forces (Of all the people!!!) understandably invokes anger and outrage of Muslims everywhere. Education and perhaps civility, decides how we react. While some, like me look to literary means of venting my anger, others especially those brought up in conditions of violence everywhere around them, choose to take to the streets.

Now, I am by no means justifying the violent acts of rioting, arson and gunfire but my argument is that a respectable publication like the Newsweek should know better than to just print anything that comes its way without proper verification and authentication. Surely Newsweek doesn't require such shallow tactics as to use inflammatory content just for the sake of rescuing its fledging circultion. Then perhaps, it is no better than the tabloid thrash of The Enquirer and News of the World.

It was utterly unbelievable and totally irresponsible of Newsweek. They obviously have blood on their hands. While the damage is done and nothing really, can be done to return the lives of the 16 dead people I think most would agree with me that a mere apology is not enough.

Profit Also Rise, No Profit Also Rise - Apa Macam Ini?

FLASHBACK - July 2002
".......FROM 1 July, bus and train fares will go up between three cents and 10 cents. About 87 per cent of commuters will have to pay more for using the public transport....In the year ending 31 March, SBS Transit profits dipped 22 per cent to $39.6 million, while its operating expenses went up 5.6 per cent to $501 million. ...In May 2002, SMRT announced that its expenses went up about 26 per cent to almost $320 million for the year ending on 31 March 2002. Revenue, however, increased by only 21 per cent to $500 million. Its net profit for the year dropped almost 45 per cent to about $57 million...."
(Read more here...)

FLASHNOW 2005

"....SMRT Corp reported a record net profit of $126.9 million in the last financial year. ComfortDelGro - due to release its full year results next week - recorded a two-thirds rise in net earnings for the nine months ending Sept 30, mainly from overseas contributions...."
(Read more here...)

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I seldom take the MRT or busses since The Don usually sends me to work in the mornings and fetches me from work. And when I do take the public transport (on my Girls' Night Out for eg), I hardly ever take note of the fare and deductions to my EZ Link card. Imagine my surprise that day when I forgot to bring my EZ-Link card and had to purchase a single trip ticket for my journey home. I held 3 fifty cents coins in my hand as I approached the ticket machine, not sure of the exact fare but convinced surely it couldn't be more than $1.50. After all the max train ticket was $1.60 (or so I thought) and I wasn't even travelling from one end to the next. Boy was I wrong !! My fare home costs a whopping $1.90. And with the $1 deposit (refundable) for single trip ticket, it was a shocking $2.90. My eyes nearly popped out looking at the amount flashing on the tiny screen. A quick eye-scan of all the stickers pasted showed they do not accept Nets. If I opened my mouth and asked if they accepted plastic, I'm sure I'd get the evil eye look of the lime-green man, sitting behind the glass panel, eyeing me (while pretending not to look) suspiciously. I'm sure he must have had one finger on his terrorist alert button, just in case I turned out to have wired live dynamites or something beneath my tudung. (veil)

I dug hard into the crevices of my wallet. Some 7 ten-cent and 14 five-cents coins later, (see, I always knew that'd b a time those 5 cents I keep in my wallet for years will come useful) I managed to finally get my ticket. I never knew it costs so much to get home. And that doesn't even include the fare for the feeder bus I'd have to take to get home from the train station. Dun even get me started with that. The 80 cents they charge now hardly seems fair especially since its the same even if my house were 1 bus stop away from the interchange.

I shudder to think how much more it will cost after the almost-definite fare hike come July.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Relegation & Celebration

As usual Friday was my Girls' Night Out and this time I had 4 lovely ladies with me ---> M, Lisa, Maya & Naz. And as usual too, we brought the house down wherever we are, this time at the humble old Pizza Hut outlet at Cozway Pt. M and I displayed star karat tendencies by being almost an hour late leaving our girls waiting famishedly. I swear if we were 2 mins later then we were, Naz would have swallowed, chewed my head up and spat it out. hehehehe Sorry gals... We won't do it next time... I promise. One of the many reasons we were late was because we couldn't decide what prezzie to get for our dear friend Lisa who will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow. We finally ended up at Swarovski and aided her initiation into the "Bling Bling Sisters" club. Swarovski is only the first of many steps towards "Nirvana". (which can be anything between a 5-carat Cartier ring or the Centenary 599-carat diamond depending on how high you set your target) (or how rich a husband you can get...oh my god I'm a scheming bitch! Ooops did I type that out loud?)

Well, speaking of birthdays, yesterday was my MIL's birthday and The Don and I nearly didn't made it in time, arriving just 20 mins short of midnight. We surprised Ibu, with a birthday cake. And boy was she touched.
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Doesn't that just make you wanna drool?

Just 4 months into the marriage and looks like I have lost the top spot in The Don's list. I've been relegated to 2nd place by his renewed interest in his Nitro RC cars. Ever since we started getting busy with the wedding and the house, his two nitro cars were safely tucked in the topmost shelf of the storeroom, away from prying eyes and itchy hands but now that he has exhausted all 500 activities to share with his new bride and I have exhausted all 500 excuses to keep him at home on weekends, (dun worry I will come up with more) he has started going to the tracks with his cars.
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The Don's Porsche 996 (now if only it was real..)

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But having said that, these things are quite fun. I tried my hand once at it but a near accident involving water had The Don giving me a lifetime-membership as an audience. And just last week, he burnt money buying a digital transmitter (or whatever these things are called) so that he and his best friend can play the cars at the same time. Apparently the current transmitters of the two cars had the same frequency or what-not. And by golly, these things cost a bomb. A huge one. I'll never, ever let him tell me I have an expensive hobby ever again !!!

Friday, May 13, 2005

Orangina... Orang-Gila

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Remember this drink from yester-years?? I used to love the advert on TV with those pretty looking French girls with those orange on their heads. Remember?? My father used to mock the advert on tv which ended with a French guy wailing out Orangina.... and changed it to OrangGila. I can never look at an Orangina bottle and not think of the word Orang Gila.

Well anyway I was in front of a drink freezer at the downstairs MAMA shop when I saw a can of Orangina among the Coca-Cola and Pepsi. (btw its pronounced "O-ron'-zhjeh-nuh" according to Wikipedia) This French drink has a way of burning ur throat yet quenching it at the same time. For those, (like me) who has always wondered what the word "bitter-sweet" meant, go drink this drink. I assure you that you will get immediate enlightenment.

Meanwhile enjoy this trip down memory lane (I hate using this phrase..makes me feel old) with Orangina Virtual Museum.

BREAK..BROKE...BROKEN

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It must be a conspiracy. Ever since the beginning of this month, my mailbox (both virtual and real)have been flooded by private invitations and announcements of sale everywhere. I dunno where in high heavens they got my contact numbers. Must the work of the credit cards people sharing their database of clients.

To say the sales are tempting doesn't even begin to describe it. I salivate at the thought of being the first to see the new range of a designer shoe. And the thought of all those discount is making me wanna sprint at the first chance. But a 40% off a $3000/- shoe is a good discount but still not exactly the kind of money I can splurge in one sitting. (especially since The Don won't go with me to these events)

But we did splurge this month. After months and months of searching... we finally found our sofa. Finally as my best friend M put it...."Bontot tak akan leper lagi"
We went to every place with sofa we can think of, Cellini, Arbitex, Lorenzo, Melandas, Casa Italy, Castilla, Mondi, OM, Lifestorey etc etc We even throng the whole of Great World City, Park Mall and IMM. Finally ...finally we found what we wanted....
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Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Money No Have

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The Lancerlot being given his daily bath.

The following conversation (if it can be called one,) transpired between The Don and the bangla who washes our Lancerlot daily at the car park last night.

Bangla: Sir, money no have?
The Don: I will pay at the end of the month. ok?
Bangla: Sir, money no have?
The Don: Money? what money? Today is only the 11th. I will pay you at the end of the month. 30th (walks away)
Bangla: Sir.... Money no have ?
The Don: (walks back) No no I will not pay you in advance. If I pay you now, one day you wash my car, one day you won't wash. At the end of the month ok?
Bangla: Money no have ?
The Don: (losing his patience) When you work at construction site, the boss pay you when? After you do work or before you do work? You wash first. On the 30th I will pay you.
Bangla: Sir.... money no have?
The Don: (walks away irritated)
Bangla: Sir... ok ok. End of month ok.

Twitch, Twitch

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My left eye has been twitching since morning. It damn irritating. I have tried everything from prying my eyes open with my fingers to prevent them from twitching to shutting my eyes tight for a few mins but to no avail. Constant rubbing has made my vision blur. UUrrgh!!! It old wives' tale that if its your right eye is twitching you're gonna see someone you havn't seen in a long time but if it's ur left eye, you're going to cry soon.

Let's see if they are right.......

Meanwhile .... (twitch...twitch.... twitch....)

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Bravo Bruno

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I had a nice surprise today. The above postcard came in the mail for me today. An exclusive invitation for Bruno Magli's exclusive preview of their spring/summer 2005 collection with 10% discount and consecutively, sale of their last season shoes with discount of 30% - 60%. I'm drooling already.

Bruno Magli shoes are yummylicious but the prices can cause my Don to have a heart seizure hehehee. But since I got the invititation, I'm not about to give it up so easily. Such an exclusive event surely warrants my presence hehehhee. And I'm gonna bring along my shopping buddy M. Its always great to have a first look before it hit the shelves.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Moms' Day Out

Ummi
Haddad Alwi & Sulis


Ummi yaa lahnan a'syaqohu,
wanasyidan dauman ansyuduhu
Fikulli makanin adzkuruhu,
wa-azhollu azhollu uroddiduhu

Ummi..ummi...ummi...ummi...

Ummi yaa ruuhi wa-hayati,
yaa bahjata nafsi wamunaati
Unsi filhadhiri wal-ati 2x

Allohu ta'aala aushoni,
fissirri walau fil i'laani
Bilbirri laki wal-ihsaani 2x


Ismuki manquusyun fi qolbi
Hubbuki yahdini fi darbi
wadu'a-i yahfazhuki robbiy 2x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ummi, lagu yang paling kugemari
irama yang selalu kudendangkan
dimana saja, kapan saja, aku mengingatnya
selalu dan selalu aku nyanyikan

Ummi..ummi...ummi...ummi...

Ummi, jiwa dan hidupku
pemberi kebahagiaan dan harapan
sekarang, juga dimasa mendatang
Allah memerintahkan padaku
dalam kusendiri atau terbuka
bersikap membahagiakan, berlaku sopan dan kasih sayang

Namamu wahai Ummi terpahat dihatiku
cintaku padamu membawaku ke jalan yang benar
dan do'aku selalu, semoga Allah senantiasa menjagamu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Our mother's day celebration was at Sofra Turkish Restaurant. As usual, we brought both our mom's out. The food was fantastique though the service was a tad slow. We surprised them with a huge bouquet of flowers each. And you know, nothing beats the expression on our mothers' faces when we presented them with the bouquet. Priceless!!! I guess its just the way women are with flowers. We just LUURRVEE them, no doubt about it!!!
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Happy Mother's Day !!!!

Saturday, May 07, 2005

Mythical Kingdom Of Heaven

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I stepped out of the fully-packed cinema last night feeling satisfied and relieved that "Kingdom of Heaven", Ridley Scott's latest work, is nothing like most other movies made by Hollywood with Middle-Eastern characters. It was a fantastic movie, with elaborate costumes, breath-taking cinematography, realistic battle scenes and a true (or at least, as close as can be) depiction of what transpired during the Crusades.

I suppose Sir Ridley Scott who was knighted in Dec 2002 live by the very same oath his character Balian (played by the very un-macho Orlando Bloom) took when he was knighted.
Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Speak the truth, always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath......

I especially like Scott's portrayal of Saladin (Salah Ad-din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub), a great Muslim warrior and King of Egypt at that time. His benevolence and integrity is succintly portrayed by Ghassan Massoud, himself a great Syrian actor/director. Scott even slot in the part where Saladin apparently offered his physicians to Kind Baldwin IV to cure his leprosy, when in fact the offer was made by Saladin to Richard Lionheart in the next Crusade war. And Saladin's offer of ice to Guy de Lusignian was actually another bit of history when Saladin gave snow from the mountains to Richard the Lionheart to "cool his blood". Such extensive research and the courage to not hide away from showcasing the honor of a Muslim historical figure in such trying times of post 9/11 tragedy, must surely be creditied, if not rewarded. Saladin is indeed a great warrior and leader, who closely abided by the teachings of Islam and did exactly as what our prophet Nabi Muhammad (P.B.U.H)did upon re-entering the holy city of Makkah. To read more on Saladin GO HERE

Some reviews of the movie mentioned of a weak script, languid acting and unwise casting of main roles but to me, it was great movie all the same. If nothing else, it is a spearhead to more unbiased portrayals of Muslim characters, fictional or otherwise. And an awareness to history and hopefully, greater understanding and respect between the religions. And also, perhaps, finally, (although quite improbable as the fued has been going on for a millenium now) a true Kingdom of Heaven.

So whether you are an Orlando Bloom fan, (oops no brickbats 4 calling him unmacho pls!) liked previous works by Ridley Scott and want to see his work again, or just the type who must see every new movie in town, or perhaps one who has decided not to go because you dun like epics and failed History in school, or you happen to think you dun like movies with violence and war, I suggest you go see it anyway. If not at the theaters, then a bootleg copy perhaps but DO watch it. I promise you will leave enlightened and fully satisfied.

NB: Ridley Scott stretched history a bit to create dramatization and to create a human element. The Balian in the movie is a heavily fictionalised one although an actual Balian of Ibelin existed and was a major figure in the Crusades. To find out what exactly happened to the actual Balian of Ibelin during the Crusades, CLICK HERE Anyone interested to find out more about the Crusades, Email me and I'll point you to the relevant resources.

Friday, May 06, 2005

Mother’s Day from an Islamic Perspective

THIS ENTRY IS QUOTED FROM ISLAM ONLINE

First of all, it goes without saying that every committed Muslim is supposed to pay his parents, especially his mother, due respect. One should try to show dutifulness to one’s parents, even if they happened to be non-Muslims, let alone being Muslims. What Islam goes against is to imitate non-Muslims by marking a special occasion such as celebrating the Mother’s Day in a way that shows that mothers do not deserve due respect and care save on this very day. If we are going to make the whole year a Mother’s Day, then Islam welcomes celebrating the occasion with open arms.

Indeed, Muslim scholars have maintained various opinions regarding the issue. Here below we will attempt to furnish you with Juristic views as regard this issue:

First of all, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:
"Dutifulness to parents, especially the mother, and treating them kindly is an act of worship enjoined in both the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Being dutiful to parents is not confined to a specific time. It is an obligation that should be observed every time, as all people commonly know."

Yet, the Mother’s Day, as it’s known nowadays is a Western habit. The Westerners specified a day and called it the Mother’s Day. On that day sons and daughters show gratefulness to their mothers and offer them presents. It has become part of important feasts in the West, whereas we Muslims have no other festivals except the Lesser and the Greater Bairams. Any other celebrations are deemed mere occasions or anniversaries; and this is applied to the Mother’s Day.

The Mother’s Day implies paying more attention and exerting more effort in expressing gratitude to mothers. So there is nothing wrong in that.

However, there are two reservations worth mentioning; first, considering the Mother’s Day a feast; second, confining the task of showing dutifulness to mothers to that specific day, giving implication that throughout the whole year, just only one day is for showing love to parents. If such two anomalous points are addressed, then there is nothing wrong in considering the Mother’s Day a chance to give more care to mothers.

Thus, we may take the Mother’s Day as a chance to lay more emphasis on our duty towards our mothers, as Islam enjoins us, because dutifulness to parents is a genuine Islamic teaching. But Muslims, in doing that, should never deviate from the Islamic teachings, they should do things in Islamic manners, not in Western manners. Hence, they would not be imitating the non-Islamic habits of the West.

Hence, viewed in juristic perspective, we can say that celebrating the Mother’s day is controversial among the contemporary scholars. While a group of them consider it haram (unlawful) as a kind of blind imitation of the Western non-Islamic habits, which have no benefit for Muslims, another group see it halal (lawful) on condition that showing gratitude and dutifulness to parents should not be confined to that day only.
READ MORE HERE

Thursday, May 05, 2005

What??No Indians??

We need security guards but Indians need not apply.

My eyes nearly popped out when I read the byline in ST. A quick scan of the article showed that indeed this was in Singapore. Instantly words like "meritocracy", "regardless of race", and "equal opportunity" came to mind but this time with huge questions marks.

I think the authorities better do something fast to prevent such practices from taking root here. Not too long ago we had the fiasco of job adverts in newspapers using words such as "Only Chinese need apply" or "Chinese Female only". That was later put to rest when the authorities required the companies to cease using such terms and use terms such as "Mandarin speaking" if indeed they required one who can conversed in Mandarin. It will be interesting to see how they will handle this one.

A FEW GOOD MEN

We came back last night from Kuantan, after getting news on Monday night that my granduncle, Syed Mahadzar Bin Syed Ahmad Al-Hinduan, (affectionately known as Tok Bah) is very ill. Tok Bah eventually passed away that night at 1.27am in the hospital. He is actually my grandmother's cousin so that makes him a really distant relative but he is such a warm and friendly man that we all feel that he is almost like our grandfather. He is such a knowledgable man and one who keeps up with technology. He is 69 but is fully adept at computers. He is even proficient in Adobe Photoshop, much to our shock. Having retired since 10 years ago, he spends his time now compiling religious doas and ratibs into books for circulation among family members and other Al-alawiyyin. He also charts our salasilah (family tree) and takes the time and effort (not to mention the cost of printing) to make customised salasilah for every male member of the family lining our linkage from Nabi Muhammad s.a.w directly.

Above all else, he is a man who practises humility and takes the initiative to find and erect closer ties with family. He is often reffered to as "Penghubung keluarga" as travels far and wide to find other branches of the family elsewhere in the region. His passing is truly a great loss to everyone in the family. As expected, there was a huge turnout at his funeral. There were sooo many people there was hardly space to sit in the house (despite the house being humongous. People stood by the lawn amid the scorching sun just to pay their last respects to him. The cars parked stretched out a good km away from the house. There were even traffic police escorts all the way to the place of burial. All this for a simple man, with no rank or stature. I guess what they say is true. Only at one's funeral will you know how noble a life he has lived. Just like the funeral of Singapore's ex-President Wee Kim Wee, who passed away on the same day.