g'day mate!

Day 2 in sunshiny coast

I am on the top!

well..top of the Mount Cootha more like it.But what's there not to like?I am in Brisbane, again.I am with my little baby sister, and i am here with my best friend.

A whole week for ultimate gateway and money well spent:)

market

Those who know me well, know better enough of my penchant for night market and the usual, common, wet market. Ask me the day, and i'll give you the exact place where the night market is located, and it was rare to see me not going to night market, hunting for foodie:). And for those notified night market, when you frequented the places to0 often, finding good food that is well known to tastebud comes really easy, and it's not new when you make friends with those people mending the stalls.
Same goes to the market, wet market or whichever names you call it.My obsession on the market started way back when i was just a little toddler, probably in the age of 5 and i got my tok wan (my grandad) to thank for.Usually, two of us will ride on his bike, me on the back or sometimes on the basket upfront, basking the morning, chilly air, and hitting the market to find what my grandma ordered us to.And I saluted my tokwan for his impeccable knowledge of raw materials needed to whip out dishes.Tok ma would just say that she is going to prepare kari ayam, and that goes without her having to notify my granddad of what supposed to be bought.My atok just knew it by heart:).Going to market with him was like going to funfair for kids (hence, being a kid myself i could count how many funfairs did i go, in comparison of going to morning market!and the truth is, i do not really favor funfairs up till now.How bizarre!).Interesting enough, my dad follows his father's way around the market, even though my father indeed prefer pasar tani since it is just a stone throw from my house.
Now since i am going to the land of koala..again (ehem!), the first thing i told my sister is to find us a good market, be it a morning or night market, since i want to experience going to the market apart from my own homeland.To be mesmerized by the arrays of exquisite food that only being sold in Mercato or Cold Storage perhaps, and to sit down on the sidewalk cafe, nibbling on the fresh bread watching people do their mornin routine (oh oh, this is not the market we are talkin about, :)I so cant wait, and aten gives me words that the first thing we gonna go upon landing is to buy food stuffs in the Saturday morning market.Yippey!!

Can't believe going to the market can be this exhilarating.

ps:i got my wish and those pictures are the proof i went to the market.YEYYY

you are what you eat, no?

jajan faveret (if pudding to be considered as jajan)


i told you my spageti has its own fan!

My mom learns new stuff today...THE TAGGING GAME!!
And of course, yours truly have been tagged and happily obliged (craziness over tig tag toe.ahhaha:)

1. Bagi 3 makanan yg korang paling suka dan sila bagi specific nama makanan tersebut and the way you like it.

a) my mom ayam masak merah (a MUST HAVE dish everytime the siblings are home)

b)my tokma ikan masak merah (apa gila kau ni semua nak masak merah rozlin????)

c) my own spageti meatballs (yeah..yeah brag it like u own it!:)

2. Dua jenis air apa yang paling korang suka?

a) nescafe ais (boleh pensan takde ni pagi pagi.Betul...tak tipu!)

b) air yang ada rasa masam masam, orange, ice lemon tea or whatever sourly sweet

3. Which type of food yg korang prefer, pilih 3 sajo : Malay, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Western, Italian, Mexican, Arabian.

Melayu, Italian, Jawa (eh ayam penyet kategori apa ye?bukan jawa ke)

4. Apa makanan yg korang paling expert masak? Dalam kata yg lain, takyah tgk resepi tapi at the same time bile org lain rasa, org akan kata "wahhh, gila sedap".

I think my lontong.Rasanya lah..since selalu ada permintaan dan sambutan.hehe *wink wink*

5. Semahal mana korang pernah bayar untuk makanan korang?

Let see, since my father once said that 'jangan berkira sangat nak masuk perut sendiri', then nothing is too expensive for now.You want good food, then you pay good money . Can aaarr like that?

6. Beri nama restoran favourite. Apa makanan kat situ yg paling sedap?

Have to give a thumb's up to my mlom's choice of place.In perlis, there is one place, a lunch joint named Pokok Sena and their lunch spread is super fabulous, makes u filling the plate with more and more lauk! And for western, go to Mai Cafe.Again, superb spread albeit just having limited choices of western.

7. Ayam, kambing, lembu, itik, burung puyuh, burung wak-wak, rusa, landak, merpati, ayam denak. Mana satu yang korang suka? Kalau korang ada suka yang lain, tapi aku tak list, bagitau je la.

ayam (masak merah, please), haiwan lain tamau.

8. Restoran/cafe pertama korang dating bersama pasangan anda? Dan makan/minum apa? Kalau korang ingatlah kannn.

Pasangan mana nih?wahhh, statement!Kalau first pasangan dulu, tempatnya di ayam garing menjilat jari bersama maskot atok berbaju merah (KFC la tuu)

9. Apa makanan yg selalu remind korang terhadap pasangan korang?Kenapa?

Belum nak remind apa-apa lagi.Nak kasik dia try spicines of malay food if possible, biar ternganga.

10. Kalau pegi rumah orang, korang selalu berharap orang tu selalu hidang apa?

Hidang air nescafe ngan cekodok.Confirm lama aku duduk rumah kau.

11. Makanan yg korang mmg tak buleh nak telan langsung. Samada tak sedap atau tekak korang dah kembang.

Ikan sungai, air tawar especially patin or keli.Urghhh...

12. Menu raya paling disukai.

Ketupat, serunding ayam kak con, rendang tok ma and long long time ago wajik tokton

13. Jajan/Cikedis favourite?

Elle & Vire vanilla and chocolate pudding (gambar seperti diatas) .Bagi keropok ikan tamban goreng pun ok...asal jajan.

14. Beri dua makanan yg mak korang masak yang korang suka?

a) mee kuah. sapa boleh celen?resepi diimprovise setiap tahun

b) lagi satu cuba teka ( ada nama haiwan dan nama warna.muahahhah..tak abes abes!)

15. Makanan paling pedas korang makan? Sapa masak?

So far anak tekak boleh terima.Bab ke 'bank' melabur selepas itu lain kiralah ye.

16.Korang kalau jumpe orang yang tag korang ni, apa agaknya korang nak hidang/belanja?

Ikan bakar (mama kita dah lama tak makan ikan bakar :()

17. Sile tag 5 orang dan paksa mereka buat tag ini.

makcik wok zarina
lagi empat tuh, ikut le sapa sapa yang membaca ni.Nak buat silakan, tanak buat, abaikan.

ps:LAPARNYAAAAAA...bila ina haryani nak balik keja ni??

finger crossed

pls do not make this face while you are on it, lol

all the best, pbear:)


do not want to put on pressure, but im crossing fingers u gonna nail it:)

Lovers:)

Snotty brat-Dello

Years ago, the old folks at home couldn't even be considered as animal lovers, and obviously not on the idea to keep pets at home.Mama and abah, as we fondly knew, were not really keen on cats and everything furry.Take abah for example.We had these rascals who played on the rooftop and the next day we knew, some parts of the roof came falling down, which obviously berated my abah so much.And not to count the few foul incidents that cats were found dead on the rooftop, which again, pissed off abah so much.When we were just little toddlers, we got used to see abah chasing the cats with brooms, hangers and everything else that he could place his hands on.And mama, i was pretty clear she's not cruel on treating the little rascal, but she always against on the idea of keeping any pets at home (the only pets i remembered having was this tank of fishes, and it wasn't even ours.It was dad and it was BORING as ever, to have fish as pets thats it).

But now, if you ever come to my house visiting, you would definitely see these three images of my parents' beloved kids, sprawling on the floor on a hot, sunny day, or probably snoozing peacefully next to my dad, or playing with papers next to mama's laptop station.
Yes, my parents are now the parents for 3 adorable, naughty cats.That one parents, who we never imagine would be keeping pets.Ever!How funny could that be?

Jade, Mok and Dell (evidently my mom's choice of her blog's name), are not ,merely the cats in my parents' eyes, but more like an additional family members who keep the company of my parents. Abah and mama are so fond of Jade, the mother of all, which was found laying (hiding, maybe) inside the Kembara's tyre, one night when abah came home from the mosque (Jade, masjid..got the deal?).She isn't really a pretty mom, infact she lost one of her sight and is very very unfluffy for a cat.But she sure does bring joy and affection to both of my folks.Dell is the only son of Jade, a snotty brat more like it and Mok, is the father.Dear mok, who is my sister's beloved pet.

So now, suffice to say that we are the family who love cats very very much.Be it my parents, my sisters and even my brother.And im thankful that it runs in the gene pretty well.And as for me,to meet and have someone who loves cats as much as i do is a total bless too:).Love him for that definitely:)

Oh, the other day, i got a chance to watch this movie called Hachi:A dog's Tale.Damn i turned out to be a Niagara Falls from that!It is a really an emotional movie about how a dog could be so loyal to his master (Richard Gere is so yummy considering his ageing!), that even after his master's death, he still waited dutifully in front of the train station for his master because that is the routine they both had , and he waited there for the deceased master for 9 long years! Based on the true Japanese story, the statue of Hachi, the dog (that is even his real name offscreen), was built and displayed at Shibuya train station in Japan, a place that he used to wait for his master.The dog is from Akita's breed and he is soooooooo adorable.I know we can't keep dog for the religious matter, but there is no saying that we can't love dog, can we?And i love animals, dog included, especially the adorable type like Hachi.

Okaylah, nak pi kacau adik dello tido.hahaha:P

shut it up, will u

i believe...if you do not know how to RESPECT people's feeling, just zip it and say nothing else.Thank you very mucho!

this is so not happenin

Coming tomorrow, im slightly changing my direction on my profession.I am going to be a promoter, an unpaid salesperson, an ambassador and even a sweet talker.Not just a regular lecturer on board.Why all of sudden you ask?Well..that's because..

I am going to Terengganu for a roadshow to promote the matriculation system and my college specifically!

Me?Of all people?What would be the best thing could i talk about my matriculation? Don't get me wrong.I love working here.I love the system.But to talk about it professionally to a group of another professional educators, now that's tricky.You need to know everything about the system on the back of your brain, and handling Q&A session should come naturally, easy and smoothsailing for a person who serve the system for nearly 8 years.SO NOT~.I might be a talker, i talk lots and i think i work best with people, but to have it done in front of hundred of educators in different state, now that's another story. Believe me if i say that it took me the whole days to memorize the details.I just hope i won't make myself to look like a fool giving out false info when being asked soon.

Now, excuse me, i need a lot of breather, and materials to read.

This=love

This is why we do it
This is worth the pain
This is why we bow down and get back up again
This is where the heart lies, this is from above
Love is this, is this love.

(The Script , this love, 2010)

no holiday yet?

Yey, it's Friday! which means i basically have 2 more weeks to survive before the long holiday comes, which also means I'm going to board the plane and have my feet planted

here..:).

And crazy or not, this is going to be the second visit in a year!Okay, apart from the fact that my dearest little sister is there, I (well, here should be 'we' since zarina is la loca about the place too), am definitely fall in love.With a place.And i rather not spend my money so much on some coveted stuffs..just so i could buy the ticket and hop on the plane, again!Tell you, it aint easy saving, and saving means putting aside your 'close to 1K' money from the monthly wage.Urghhhh..the pain of survival!
Call it a travelbug or simply finding reasons, wanting to have my annual gateaway, i do make sure that regardless how i spend my money, I would still have chances to travel. And travel here means abroad or simply those exquisite places in Malaysia. And there were years that i made sure i travel to both, inside and out, with different companies, best friend and best sister (to my other best sister, you are so going to join the travel company once you come back i swear!).
And I believe, when one put her heart into the passion of travelling, she care less bout spending money on something else extravaganza.Planning to travel itself is an act of passion and of course ,patience.Money doesn't grow on tree, you know. You can't have 10k just in 2 months or so, or snapping fingers and blindly booking your ticket.And since being a teacher doesn't really promise you HUGE WAGE AND BONUSES (damn you, Bajet2010!), you resort to do extra job and again, save like crazy!. I really don't mind not being able to get my hands on that new carriage (ahemm...SX4 .Not!), as long as i get to do my definite hobby, each year:).And just so you know, i've already got things planned coming 2011 (or got places planned out for me for the matter..haha..Singapore, Korea and some place i really want to bring my heart to..*glee*).Err..why it is freaking difficult to get a visa to USA by the way??
So, how to save up in a very short while? Here's my deal:)

a)cut the card (or cut some of the means to use the card. I really am limiting myself to only using it for gases.And gases alone.
b)stop going to KL for a while (this is difficult as i can't breathe not going to KL.Spending money in KL is the best dessert one can have, seriously.)
c)Stop buying food you never intend to eat, and buying it just because you've been tricked by the promotions and the lust.Oh, which reminds me to finish eating the half-eaten peaches in the fridge since it costs exorbitantly!)
d)Stop luring yourself to the mask and facials thingamajigs.The only thing you ended up using is the cleaning foam anyway.Try cucumber and tomato for the facial instead , it refreshes and tighten the pores and it is more economical:)
e)...but do cucumber and tomato be the legitimate reasons i got number of pimples now???
f) Make your own tumbler of nescafe and bring it to the office.Save the money, and it's way creamier and 'kaw-kaw' than those made in the cafe (kes cafe kedekut susu.Mahal, tapi cair.Apa kes??)
g)Go teach the nearby university and hope they pay the claim in time.Even so it means you have less activities on the social calendar.
h)Cross the fingers and hope the bajet turns its table.Or maybe when they come to the senses that government servants do need a bonus.We do, seriously!!
i)Be nice to your mom.Afterall, she is probably the best banker in the whole world.HAHAHAHHAHA.

Jangan marah aaa..:)



Like gin or plum pudding, travel is filling —Peg Bracken

grumpy old you

I once believe that working with people requires you to be and have extra warmth, hospitality, attentive and of couse, abundant of patience!It isnt so bad if you are blessed with the nicest smile and sunshiny personality (grumpy people are so not welcome to mane the front desk please). You are dealing with people, and traits of people are diverse, could be pleasant and vice versa and being a frontdesk people, you can't complain when things aren't that great.It's your job, and your job is to serve people and assist them patiently, no matter how weary it makes you.And cursing on your customer just because she it hard and difficult definitely is not in your card!

I had my own worst experience last night, that left me dumbfounded and speechless to say the least.

It was about 9ish something at night when i finally made the shuttle van booking through AAExpress (the shuttle bus will deport us from GC Airport to Brisbane).When the booking finally made, it was the the 'time' that caught my attention (it said 1030 for both departure and arrival.Por que??i REMEMBERED checking every details thoroughly, so when the time slot recorded otherwise, i was all panicky. After all, the payment had been made .138 AUD actually for the transfer.) So panicking i was, i quickly punched the AAexpress malaysia headquater, simply forgetting it was close to 10am.

me:emm..hello, is this AAExpress?

grumpyolwomen:yeah

me:I would like to know whether ..

grumpyolwomen:Alooooo..u know or not what time is it in Australia???Its already late you knoww..latee..

me:uhh..uhhh...I (stammering)

grumpyolwomen:What is so important???Do you know what time is it there???aiiiiiyaaaaaa

me:uhh ..ohh..

grumpyolwomen:It's late you knowwwwww (all of sudden she reminded me of Dr ling's wife.Don't ask why.hahah)

me:uhh..is this Australian number im calling? (stupid question, of course i know it's MALAYSIAN number.But i was so caught up with her endless responses)

grumpyolwomen:Aiyaaa..nooo..but it's late in Australiaaaaaa.

me:... ...... ...

tuutttt..tutttt..tuttttt (okay i was run out of prepaid credit.Saved by the bell!)

Why did she have to be so edgy?That i called late at night?That she probably be ready going home but has to cater to my question first?

Silly, stupid receptionist.

10 rules to the golden bestfriendship

1) You take her as a sister, not a friend, because u might lose a friend in the end, but u can't lose a sister
2) You love her every chunks and every bits, even when she might have started to loathe some of hers, exactly the same thing that you probably do, in the end, both of you are going to love the chunkiest and the ugliest part of your other half.

3) You don't succumb to the nasty talk about your bestfriend, instead you summon up a courage and stood up for your bestfriend and to say "hey you just jealous I have her as my bestfriend and that resort you to talk bitchy about her" (or do this as mantra to ward out evil gossips bout her)
4)Which also brings to the fact that you stood up behind, beside and with her when nobody else seems to get her or agree with her because as bestfriend you read each other perfectly well , when no one else could.

5) Bestfriend understands what the other bestfriend loves doing, and accompany and enjoy being with the company and the things she loves to do. Let say if she loves Korean, you would give yourself a chance to dig what excites her. And even if you don't share the same excitement, you can still enjoy listening to her and discover her favourite things.
6) Bestfriend does not criticize other best friend for the sake of seeing her wither in humiliation. We criticize because we want her to look the best and obviously we do know what's best for her, don't we, best friend?

7) And when she criticizes you, you take that as a sisterly advise and don't swear on her just because she said things that are hurtful, because when the things hurt, it bound to have fact in it,and only best friend would say things that factually true and not afraid to hurt you 'coz she knows she's helping you.
8) Best friend would let her shoulder to be a place for the other best friend to cry on. Regardless how silly the matter is.

9) And when fate brings you apart, you still know that what you have with her is a golden gift, something you preciously have without acknowledging any compensation or returned favor.
10) That you both know you'll do everything to keep the friendship the way it is, come what may

and to my best of friend, makcik wok, we stood up for each other for what it worth, and you deserve all the happiness in the world for your birthday and for me to have that itsy bitsy jealousy not bein able to be there, oh well that just me.
Happy everdearest birthday to zarina zainal, and let's celebrate your birthday in the foreign land!Love you loads, muchacha!~

of pictures and a scroll

what's with the serious look, mista mizt?

Being in one huge event like a convocation day and witnessing graduates receiving the scrolls have somehow bring a surge of emotion in me.Proud, and a delicate feeling of being emotional.I guess after nearly 8 years graduated with the degree i've c0veted so much, it sure bring me down the memory lane.I was in PICC last wednesday, got to ditch work because i so wanted to see my brother in action on his graduation day .Attending the day without the invitation ticket is a sure way to be placed outside the hall, but i guess magic worked best when you really wanted something so bad (it's none the magic, it's the pitied look of the usher seeing me begging her to let me in.ahhaha..).
So seated there, watching my only brother waited in lines, striding to receive his scroll, i know i am proud.Proud of him, proud of me, i don't know.It is just the feeling..of being proud and the means of fullfilment. Proud that he has gotten his academic degree, and proud i was there on the stage (albeit not as grand as the one in PICC.heh) 8 years ago.
Looking back on my own memory lane, I realized that i didn't take much pictures with my friends on that very day because i was so busy mingling with my own family members!It was a blazing hot day, and by the time i was done with the family potraiture, i was so tired to look around for my friends.Believe me , if there is one thing i could mend about my graduation day, that would be the picture taking processes!I don't even have a studio potrait and i remembered that i wanted so badly but couldn't really afford it since i just started workin (the work stint came first before the graduation. How cool was that?), and i hate asking from my parents about it too.And i remembered that on that day i did say this out loud to my parents that i want to have my convocation ONE MORE TIME, and this time, it will be perfect:)


Which give me a reason to go checking things out come this Oct 10th (finger crossed!)

degree of excellency:)

Yo brotherbear, you nailed it!Happy graduation!!!!Now go hunting for job, yeh and buy me nice huge huge expensive dinner!

CONGRATSSSSSSS...:)

Is your luck in a pot?or empty stomach indeed?

One of the most well known fact of being in English Unit (apart of being the noisiest, I mean), is that we throw good party.A good potluck party indeed.This is the time when everybody becomes creative and pull up the sleeves and start cooking for life.Sometimes, we just threw potluck party just for the sake of having one (or probably one decided initially to whip nasi goreng and all of sudden people start throwing idea want they want to bring to complete the nasi goreng dish).But there are times potluck being held because we have themes and specific reasons, like the one we are going to have tomorrow (gleeeeee.....)

We are throwing Hari Raya Potluck party y'all!

Just imagine those arrays of good food, ketupat, rendang and nasi impit.Yummy:).I am not a good cook, but i've planned to concoct something special for the day (of course it's a collaboration of work.hehe.At least those people won't be expecting the same lontong or spagetti!). Will let you know once i got the process on the way.hehe..

Okaylah ye, i got some 'fishy' shopping to be done

hola octoba

Can't believe time flies fast and it has been the 10th month of 2010.The tenth!Seemed like it was days ago that i saw party goers ushering the new year, and balloons and confettis were tossed up in the air.Sheesh, October huh.Thank God i never make any resolution for i know i won't be able to keep up any anyway (I can't even keep up with the passing months, for God sake:).Well well what do we have in the store for October anyway?

a) my kids are going to sit for their MUET, with they are going to confront the most effortful paper (yes, the speaking skill).Just really really hope that their practise won't go to waste because i have done everything i could for them to battle the day.

b)my only brother is going to be graduated in mere 3 days

c)I am going to have my week long break coming the end of October..

c)which is going to bring me and best buddy to the land of kanggawoosong, twice!

d)and i am doing the best to nourish the affection :). To have, to hold, to last.

Well folks, it sure does sound like a busy month for all, yeah? And yes, we have the exact 3 months before we could blow/throw the confetti in the air, again!