Wednesday, February 23, 2005

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round & Round .....

This Thursday night The Don and I are leaving again. This time to KL and Perak to visit my aunts and uncles and go on the last leg of the "jalan pengantin". I am seriously getting sick of this jalan2 pegantin bit. Its been so long since the wedding it kinda defeats the whole purpose but we dun really get to put in our say in this coz they have been waiting for us to come. If we had it our way, we'd go to KL but on a holiday!!!! There are so many places I wanna go in KL with The Don in tow but this time we won't get a chance since the itinerary's all packed. I'm dreaming of the time when all this obligations are over and then we could just drive up, and perhaps stay at the Marriott and then go siteseeing all around KL. Ok ok I've been to almost everywhere in KL and there won't be many new sights for me (having being born there and coming back every few months) but it's gonna be different visiting all these places again with my hubby. I wanna take the slow boat ride at the Mines, take the daredevil rides at Genting, have dinner at one of the bistros along Bangsar and of course shop at my all time fav mall Midvalley Megamall. (I dun think The Don will fancy this one though!)

Well... like The Don said, we'll have a whole lifetime to do all these things but right now we'll have to fulfill our obligations first. After all.... considering all the money, energy and effort spent by my relatives to make our wedding the huge success it was, this is the very least we could do in return.

Anyway this time we will be travelling sans our beloved Lancerlot. The Don has always been intrigue to hitch a ride on the executive bus so this time we're gonna go PUBLIC. It'll be a refreshing change for him I guess, considering how he has been driving everywhere since he was 19. I dun remember the last time The Don has been onboard a bus and I suspect neither does he. (We didn't even take the bus in Paris, just the Metro.)So we've got tix for the executive bus to KL for Thursday evening. I figured although he wanted to go public this time, he'd still appreciate travelling in ultra comfort and with a steward onboard (I'm sure he wishes it were a stewardess instead!!) and food provided it's the next best thing to a flight.


While in KL, my cousins have offered to play host and has promised to drive us around to all our destinations. So far we have nothing planned yet for Sunday. Maybe...just maybe, we'd be able to catch some couple time in KL before we board the bus home.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Food Tastes Soooo Much Better

It was a pleasant & an uneventful road trip to Temerloh, Pahang. We left immediately after work but the heavy congestion at Singapore checkpoint caused us to reach at exactly 2 am in morning.

The roads leading to Temerloh is very different from say to KL. We only take the North-South-Highway a quarter of the journey up to Yong Peng and then from there its narrow winding road all the way, especially at Triang. The roads there are what are termed "high risk and accident prone" as the roads are snaky and the bends are acute. It takes a skilled driver to maneuver these roads and even then at a slow speed.


We spent most of our time there visiting the elderly members of the family, basically "jalan pengantin". As expected they were very pleased to see us and they love the photos. Now we have a whole list of names and the corresponding photos they want a copy of. And of course the vcd.... we already made 4 copies of it to give to my close uncles and aunts. And now we have to make at least 4 more.

And we went to see my uncle's lovely lovely just purchased bungalow. The house is in its final stages, merely touch-ups and lighting fixtures and then they will be ready to move in. Its HUGE!!!! with an even bigger compound. The rooms are fairly large too and together with my uncle and aunt we sat down to discuss how to furnish the rooms. Oooh I feel like an interior designer!!! They really like the colour of the walls in our house and they found the exact shade to paint theirs. In fact the layout of their house is almost similiar to ours too except of course their house is way much bigger and hell of a lot cheaper!!!! Its just slightly more than half the cost of our house and its in RINGGIT MALAYSIA!!! (so technically it costs a quarter of our home!!) OOOhhh The Don and I would give an arm and a leg to have such a house in Malaysia. But we'll have to wait for 5 more years before the house can be sold. The Don took lotsa pics of their new house with his SLR but the film is yet to be developed.


And then on Saturday afternoon, my cousin arrived from KL and they brought 2 huge boxes with them. Apparently when my mother was in KL recently she purchased a whole 64 piece Luminarc Dinnerware set for me. It was really a huge surprise. I've always fancied Luminarc dinnerware instead of the oh-so-common Corelle collection. And I've been looing around for it forever but only Cargo Courts carry this brand and even then in loose pieces only. I've talked to the Courts Manager and he has promised to enquire if they could order the whole set just for me but to-date I have still not heard from him. I had half a mind to import directly the whole set from France this month and bear the shipping costs if I had to. And then came the surprise......

Ain't it lovely? The plates and saucers are made reflective glass ie. there's a extra layer of clear glass over the design and the plates are unscratchable, unbreakable, heat resistant and yet not heavy. OOhh I'm absolutely in love with 'em!!!! And I soooo love my UMI for knowing exactly what I want and getting it for me. Suddenly food tastes sooo much better on these plates... hehehehe

We arrived home just after Maghrib on Sunday night and proceeded to go to my PIL's for a kenduri tahlil in honour of The Don's maternal late grandfather. the event was actually after Zuhr but since we could not make it then, we came as soon as we could. If not for anything else, to help clean up. We know it means a lot to her that her sons and daughters-in-law turn up for her event no matter how late so we still made it a point to show up despite being exhausted from the long trip. And we were very quickly rewarded with Nasi Ambeng

Never in my life have I ever ate rice in such a manner, from a tray no-less and sharing with other people. (lucky I knew fairly well the other people sharing the tray with me, if not, NO WAY JOSE!!!) It was definitely a new experience for me. I'll just have to remember to chose who sits next to me the next time such food is served. hehehe

By the time we got home, all that was left of the weekend was for us to sleep.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Night Prowlers



Late last night, since sleep eluded us, The Don suggested we go down to the nearby 7-11 and to take some fresh air. The clock was 1.15 am and as we let ourselves out of the house, I couldn't help feeling sneaky and then I remembered I was married and that I can do anything as I damn well pleased... and that includes leaving the house past midnight and coming home at Subuh or even not coming home at all hehehehehe. The benefits of being married.......

We had a wonderful leisurely stroll in the garden near my house. Strangely, the neighbourhood wasn't as quiet as I kinda expected it will be at such hour. There were quite a few people milling about (inclusive of a teenage couple under the void deck who looked like they traded their lips for suction cups.. but that's another story) We trawled the shelves of both 7-11 and Cheers minimart (thank god for 24 hours convenience stores!!) and came back with 2 bags of food n munchies. Looking at the cheese and the buns section, The Don had a sudden inspiration for supper. Despite the time and only a few hours more to daylight, I cooked a quick supper for The Don in the form of a Ramly beef burger.


The adventures of the newly married couple continues.....

Tuesday, February 15, 2005



Just got off the phone with The Don.
WE'RE GOING AWAY THIS WEEKEND !!!!! YAHOOO!!!!!!hehehe

Last night my uncle called to confirm the date for the wedding kenduri he will be holding in our honour in Temerloh, Pahang. Due to some legalities with his spanking new house, the kenduri will be sometime in mid-march. And GET THIS: it will be a 3 day 3 nights kenduri !!! OH MY GAWD!!! Looks like its gonna be an even bigger wedding reception than the one we had here in SG. Well.. anything goes for me and The Don as long as they dun make us go up the pelamin (dias) again.

Anyhow, as we were tucking into bed, I casually mentioned that it will be wonderful if we could go back to Pahang before the actual kenduri. I miss the looong car ride .. the food (esp Ikan Patin)...the company (my 'lil cute cousins) and basically everything about Temerloh. Besides I can't wait to travel with The Don as his wife!!! The Don said he will see what he can do about it and then VOILA!!! came the phone call during lunch to say we are indeed going!!! Thats why I call him The Don, with just a few phone calls, he makes all my wishes materialise. I dunno how he did it, considering he has a whole list of appointments this weekends and an important wedding function at Ba'alwie Mosque to boot. He even got my cousins from KL to agree to drive back to Pahang this weekend as well. So it's gonna be one big family gathering this weekend. And I sooo can't wait for it...

Now to the part I hate most about travelling...PACKING !!!!!! Anybody wanna help??!!!!!

"The Rottweiler"



Quick somebody tell her to go for plastic surgery before the public decide to pelt her with stones instead of breadrolls. While she's re-doing her face maybe she should consider an "uplifting" procedure where it matters as well.

If I have a chance to interview Prince Charles (oh btw he shld go for plastic surgery too!!!) I'd very much like to ask him what exactly does he see in that woman. I think she must really have some special quality about her such that the Prince still wants to be with her. I mean we all know she has the special quality of stealing someone's husband but she must be really have something special that the Old Prince still chooses her despite being able to point a finger at any young chick and have that girl swoon and serve him hand and foot.

There must be a certain quality that she has to offer perhaps she's a good listener, or has a particular sense of humour or perhaps she's a damn good conversationalist. I really wonder............

Monday, February 14, 2005

Cashing In On Ignorance!!


Faster broadband speeds? Only for local websites

It all started when Starhub (formerly known as SCV) started offering Maxonline 3000Kbps on top of the 1500kbs they used to offer initially. Bundled with free gifts such as a free computer/printer/modem/digicam, many signed up for the supposedly faster connection, thinking it will mean they will fly on the cyber highway. Alas! It was merely a ploy, a dirty tactic to make u pay twice as much more each month, which with a contract of "continuous 24 months", totals to multiple times the price of the "free" printer/computer/modem/digicam you get.

And then they came up with an even bigger ploy --> 6.5Mbps broadband speed. Presumably the "Singapore's highest residential broadband speed" And then Singnet jumped on the "ignorance is bliss" bandwagon by offering 3500Kbps worth of broadband speed. AS IF!!! Thank god for people like Alfred Siew, Asst Editor of ComputerTimes to make known to the mostly IT-ignorant public the absurdity of such ridiculous claims.

As we all know the Internet is an international platform and surfing speed is largely dependant on the efficiency of the server the website is on, the contents of the site, the speed and efficiency of your computer and not just your connectivity speed per se. (same goes for downloading speed) Its crazy the way these telco market their products and mislead people into believing that with greater speed on the side of the ISP, surfing will be a flash.

So it has been proven now that these greater speeds only apply to local sites only. Apart from internet-banking and perhaps Asiaone, for the life of me, I cannot possibly think of any "local" site I'd like to visit. Local content, as far as I can recall, be it blogs of my schoolmates & friends, photos of past vacations or even shopping sites, have always been hosted by overseas servers. So tell me when would I be actually be "feeling" this 6000Kbps speed??? (hhmmmm ...perhaps I'd only appreciate it when I am transferring $$$ from The Don's account to mine!!! hehehe)

Lucky for me, I have The Don to keep me grounded. If not for him, perhaps I would also have succumbed to the many free gifts on offer, despite knowing the negligable speed difference. I guess it helps to know about IT and be aware of what is actually on offer rather than be guiled by the adverts alone.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Happy New Year To All Muslims

We always make it a point to greet each other Happy New Year on the 1st of January but how many of us even realise when is the actual Muslim New Year??? How many bother to wish a fellow Muslim happy new year??? FYI last Wednesday, 9th February 2005 was the Muslim New Year. While we were busy wishing our Chinese friends and neighbours Happy New Year, some of us forgot to wish our own family members and other Muslim friends.

Same goes for The Don and me. We had chosen that fateful day to hold our doa selamat kenduri and "housewarming" since many of our friends and The Don's side of the family complained that they did not manage to see our house during the wedding. It was near the day when my FIL mentioned that it was also Awal Muharram. Well...what a great day to hold the event. Celebrate a new stage of life, in a new house on a New Year !!!

We didn't invite many ppl, just relatives and absolutely close friends only. Guests started streaming in from morning even though our invitation was from 2pm. Of course my siblings came, my uncles were all engaged with the new year/end of year doa reciting at various mosques but all my aunts came. Almost all of The Don's uncles and aunts came. So did both his grandmothers. And they stayed for quite long... watching the wedding video over and over again. I think the vcd must have played about 4/5 times on Wednesday alone. I got sooo sick of seeing myself on tv!!!

After Maghrib, our friends started coming. Our neighbours Kak Liza n Abg Noor, our close friends, Sportylisa, Naniz & Man. The Don's reservist kakis and his Ba'alwie mosque buddies. Our last guest left at 1.30am that night.

The food was lovingly prepared by both our moms. We wanted to cater but our moms insisted they can cook much nicer n at much cheaper cost and they wouldn't budge despite our insistence. So we left it in their hands. And Alhamdulillah, between the both of them, they created a feast. There was dalchar, ayam masak merah, rendang, sambal goreng pengantin, sambal tumis, serunding, mee hoon goreng, kuih lopis, kuih kole2 (how in the world is it spelt?) and pulut serunding. Some guests even remarked that the food is akin to that of a wedding invitation. Wait.. I think we've had enough of that for a while.

The day went super smoothly and our gifts were splendid. There were rice cookers, lamps, cloth materials, bedsheets, dinnerware, glassware, cakes and many other knick knacks. The gift I like most though is the wonderful Royal Symphony quilt cover bought by our 4 dear friends.

It was wonderful holding an event like this. We seriously enjoyed it, notwithstanding the mess that we have to clean afterwards. It gave us such pleasure to see so many people at our place, especially since my parents-in-laws and some of my siblings stayed the night. Actually we all hardly slept at all... there was simply too much to talk about. We laughed and joked in the wee hours of the morning as if it were in the day. In the end The Don and I surrendered at 3am while the rest finally slept at 5am. We ceretainly wouldn't mind having another event like this again in the future.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Burp-Day

So I finally found it....... the perfect gift for my mom.


Managed to pop into Plaza Sing during lunch just now, and saw this ring at one of the many jewellery shops there on CNY promotion. It was a real record. Never have I shopped so quick in my life!!!

My mother, like so many women in her generation, prefers yelow gold to white gold. Apart from white gold having lesser resell value, they also seem to opine that yellow gold is more aesthetically appealing. I really hope she likes this one though.

On a different note, we went grocery shopping last night in JB for the very first time since we got married. It was quite fun I must say. It all started from Wed night, going round the kitchen n store room checking the inventory. I checked and he wrote it down. And then on Thurs night, at Giant JB, we went hand-in-hand aisle by aisle finding the items on our list. I could really get used to this!!! And when we went home with our bounty, we realised instead of the 1 month supply we were supposed to stock up on, we had actually bought all of 3 months supply!!!!!!

Girls' Night Out

It was a lovely evening last night with two fine ladies, Mayaand Naz. We spent hours and hours yakking and laughing over great food and ice cream, totally oblivious to time such that even the restaurant staff thought we ought to be leaving. Silly guy!!!

Its just something gals like to do aint it? Sit down and yak with good friends. We slither seamlessly from one topic to another and before you know it, it's closing time. Oh BTW gals... forget Max Brenner, the Jews certainly dun need our help. Let's head to the Fullerton instead.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Ooopsy Daisy

Life's been bliss.. as always. Now that The Don is back home (Yay!!) I have been busy .. busy.. busy... loggin in from home is a luxury these days but I have been xtra busy in the office too. Now that my boss is off to Aceh on a tsunami relief mission for 2 weeks I can breathe a little. Finallly.....!!!!!

I cashed in my Singtel Red Rewards points last week and now I have in my hands a $50 Aussino Voucher and a $50 Metro Voucher. I was sooo excited to get it in the mail and was starting to dream of the things I wanna get, namely bedsheets and more and more bedsheets when The Don said looked at my statement and noted that I had to cash in nearly 18,000 points for a miserable $100 voucher. Thats nearly $4500/- worth of bill payments!!!! Hey for that sum, they should be giving me a free BED!!!!!! No make that the latest Samsung handphone that I have been drooling over since the beginning of this year.


Anyway....now that life is back to normal, I can't wait to start our road trips again. Since the kenduri in pahang had to be postponed (Thank Gawd!!) to sometime in March, we'd have ample of time to finish up all our pengantin rounds to uncles and aunts in Malaysia and perhaps even steal a day or two away in Genting or Penang or even Langkawi. Its been eons since I've been to Genting and Penang and Langkawi are always a pleasure to visit. And I'm really curious about the after effects of the tsunami in Penang.

Umi's birthday is around the corner and I really wanna get her sumthing special this time. I've been looking around at jewellery stores around town and the Valentine promotions are really really tempting. So much so I feel like getting myself one. hehehe. When M and I both started work, we each vowed to get ourselves a diamond ring when we coukd afford it - on our own!!! A testament to the single, independent girls we both perceived ourselves to be. But before I managed to even save enough to walk through the doors of Diamond Industry (without running back out after looking at the price) my dearest then-boyfriend brought me there first, imploring me to choose an engagement ring. And two months later, I dragged M there and made her get one for herself!! hehehe. So to-date I have yet to actually buy for myself any jewellery. But then again... I don't really mind after all its much better when its a present after all.....