Some bits and pieces of the day she turned 24

- Early surprise birthday party by the girls - Birthday balloons - MPH vouchers from the girls - Catch 22 from her dear little Bro - Kulit kayu bag from dear Far - Bracelet and Creative Muvo from her beloved parents - Dinner with her darling - The bracelet is too big for her tiny wrist, hun - Pweety bracelet from her darling - Bottom line: She had a really, really, great day. Much thanks to all of you! :-) -

I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches.

My average working day would normally consist of the following:

7.10/7.20: Memecut kereta after enjoying Ibu’s teh tarik and consuming my dose of vitamins.
7.50/8.00: Catch train.
8.20/8.30: Arrive at destination station.
8.30-9.00: Enjoy home-made breakfast while reading.
9.00-1.00: Work. Selang seli with borak.
1.00-2.00: Lunch.
2.00-2.30: Resume work dengan mengantuk.
2.30-2.50: Happy hour (gosok gigi) dan solat.
2.50-3.30: Work.
3.30/4.00: Teh tarik Ain time.
5.00-5.20: Happy hour again dan solat.
5.20/5.30: Department’s tea time - usually kuih is sponsored by generous lawyers or partners, but Ain’s teh tarik (again) is a must.
5.30-6.20: Work.
6.20/6.40: Go home.


But today my schedule was slightly altered. I caught earlier train to have breakfast with Dod.

And at 5.30, instead of the usual tea, Litigation Dept. celebrated my birthday :-) and also belated birthdays of 2 lawyers, and one staff. Ada kek besar, kuih beraneka jenis, eskem, teh tarik Ain. Memang best lah. Amat happy :-)

Anyways, anyways, anyways, macam tak percaya je in few hours akan turn 24. 24! That’s huge! 24: the age Ibu was when she married Bapak; and the age Bapak was when he got me. But here I am, still struggling and crawling to secure a working position, not even close to getting engaged, and yet, I am very, very happy. Thank you Allah, for these blessed 24 years, and I hope and pray for many better more to come. InsyaAllah :-)

WHAT: A Futsal Tournament organized by STF batch 937 and 948 to generate money for the celebration of STF Golden Jubilee (50 years of STF).


WHEN: 26th March 2006, that is today. Kudos to the seniors for the success of the event.


WHERE: Rio De Futsal, Summit USJ.


WHO: All SBP old alumni were invited, and today there were a good number of turn ups. STF sent few teams, and my very own beloved batch sent 2 teams, 1 of which made it to the semi, but lost to SESMA. Cayalah!

The team who called themselves the Hybrid Team (comprising of large, very menggerunkan looking girls from STF, SSP and TKC) menang di pihak old girls, manakala MRSM Taiping yang memang gempak menang di pihak old boys. Yang menang ni memang confirm bukan amateur, unlike us. They were all wearing futsal shoes, and they were really, really, really good. Tahniah!!!


VERDICT: 7 out of 10 for good sportsmanship. 8 out of 10 for fun. And 9 out of 10 for rekindling of old friendship. I love you all, 959 girls! :-)

“And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.” (2:216)


This is a poem Hailwa and I encountered into back in STF. I remember that the poem is written by a Malaysian student in America; of losing, and finding back his faith in Allah, and life. I love it, and would like to share it once again here.


Allah Knows Best

Allah knows what's best for us
So why should we complain

We always want the sunshine
But He knows there must be rain

We always want the laughter
And the merriment of cheer
But our heart will lose its tenderness
If we never shed a tear

Allah tests us often
With suffering and with sorrow

He tests us not to punish us
But to help us meet tomorrow

For growing trees are strengthened
If they withstand the storm

And the sharp cut of the chisel
Gave the marble grace and form

Allah tests us often
And for every pain He gives to us

Provided we're patient
Is followed by rich gain

So whenever we feel
That anything is going wrong

It is just Allah's way
To make our spirit strong.
__________________

Wasn't marriage, like life, unstimulating and unprofitable and somewhat empty when too well ordered and protected and guarded. Wasn't it finer, more splendid, more nourishing, when it was, like life itself, a mixture of the sordid and the magnificent; of mud and stars; of earth and flowers; of love and hate and laughter and tears and ugliness and beauty and hurt.
~Edna Ferber, Show Boat, 1926

Ezyan Atiqah + Ikram Iskandar's Wedding 18.03.06 (Picture Edition)

Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.
~William Wordsworth, 1806

I bet I had the best weekends in the entire world. Reasons:


1. Wedding Neq Yan. She was beautiful. They were the cutest, craziest bride & groom. The STF crowd was the loudest, happiest, and maddest people there. This is what I reckon a perfect wedding: The most compatible-looking bride and groom. Beautifully arranged garden wedding. Welcoming family members. Invitees with happy faces. And maddest friends. Simply perfect.

2. Met Far. And I miss her already.

3. Met my man. And of course, I miss him already.

4. Stayed up late with Far and Naem, gossiping, catching up, merepek, and ended falling asleep on the floor di ruang tamu, like our fun, old days.

5. Had a surprise birthday party!! I was completely, utterly shocked. Kalau tak percaya, nanti boleh lihat my stunned face all over the pictures. They did an early celebration for me because they wanted my dear Far to be part of it. Tapi memang aku tak terpikir langsung aah. Memang genius kawan2 aku. They got me an MPH book voucher (yeay! Books!) and Far got me a very very pretty kulit kayu hand bag (she actually has one which I really like, but I’m just too kedekut to buy that expensive bag from Indonesia for myself). Thank you!!!

Anyway, I am so so sorry to keep you girls waiting! Sorryla sayang2ku. If only I knew. Thank you so so much anyway. It was heartwarmingly fun. I love you girls so damn much.


Hence I am so thankful to Allah for I am so blessed.

Sweet dreams are made of these

What a great day :-) I woke up late but managed to catch the earlier train because the road to Rawang was clear. Arrived at the office only to find out that the electric and telephone line were out. Maka kesemua jenis kerja terhenti tanpa boleh berbuat apa. And the best thing was that the air cond was functioning. And a Partner belanja-ed us all (Litigation Department it is, the department who always seems to be eating makanan free from generous Partners almost everyday) nasi lemak berlauk.

Bayangkan sehari di office di mana tiada kerja dapat dilakukan (all offices from the 4th Floor had this problem today), terdapatnya makanan percuma yang enak, dalam keadaan cahaya yang remang-remang (iaitu cuma dari cahaya matahari dari bilik lawyers and Partners), tetapi dalam keadaan sejuk yang menyelesakan, sambil berborak-borak tanpa henti. Everyone seemed to be smiling macam hari raya. Great day indeed. Oh, and because the situation continued until after lunch break, Senior Partners announced that should it continues until 4 p.m., we will all be free to go. It did, and we all went home grinning ear to ear.

And although I couldn’t make it to the friendly futsal versus the TKC girls tonight, I will be seeing my STF girls tomorrow at Neq Yan’s wedding. And I later will be meeting my very much missed Far and my ex housemates in Shah Alam. And of course, will meet my man too! (Who is now officially a DPP by the way :-D).

Oh my my. What great beginning to a possibly good weekend.

Happy 143 Day

Courtesy of Pon&Zi

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day

Our 2 hours of futsal yesterday was extremely fun but incredibly exhausting, especially because there were only 12 of us, maka kalau anda main 5 sebelah, berapa kali sangat boleh rehat. And especially jika selepas itu anda ada hati nak berjalan-jalan cari wedding gift di Midvalley. Rasakanlah penangan kaki dan pinggang sakit pada hari ini. Terima kasih. But I love playing futsal with them. I love jalan-jalan, makan-makan, chit-chat, and of course, gossiping with them. It feels like the most natural thing to do.

Macam tak percaya, my friend, Neq Yan, who used to be my dorm mate in STF, back when we all were bunch of silly little kiddos, is getting married to her high-school-pen-pal-sweetheart (an MCKK boy) this 18th March.

Our Neq Yan who always exceptionally stood out – her beauty and eccentricity, suka potong rambut sendiri, suka letak benang warna-warni kat rambut, pakai safety pin as subang, braces warna-warni, simpan food wrapper dalam scrap book. Neq Yan yang telinga dimasuki kerengga sehingga orang lain takut nak buat block duty bawah pokok mempelam Blok C. Neq Yan who were always the first to know the latest song, the hottest movie, the hippest magazine. My dear dorm mate who I enjoyed self-made ice cream with, ponteng senaman pagi with, went to every meal with, tonton Lois & Clark every single weekends with. Neq Yan who I remember wanting to just ‘kacau’ Aleq, but later fell madly in love with him, and now, getting married to him. I am so happy for you, my dear. Very.

I pray that all my dear friends, dari kecil-kecil sehinggalah besar, will have Neq Yan’s good luck and Allah's endless blessings. May all of us be blessed with love and happiness, always.

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

May you always have work for your hands to do,
May your pockets hold always a coin or two,
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane,
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you,
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you,
May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day,
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way,
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue,
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.

(Irish blessings)

re·dun·dan·cy Pronunciation Key (r -d n d n-s ) n. pl. re·dun·dan·cies

n 1: repetition of messages to reduce the probability of errors in transmission; 2: the attribute of being superfluous and unneeded; 3: (electronics) a system design that duplicates components to provide alternatives in case one component fails; 4: repetition of an act needlessly

I despise redundancy.


1. My mom telling me to do something over and over again when I have already started my slothful-self doing that something. Or she telling me how to do that something when it is apparent that I know how to get it done (I love her anyway. I know she cares too much).


2. The fact that there are too many pump attendants sitting around at most pump stations. Bukankah SELF SERVICE? Apa kegunaan mereka? Lap tingkap? Aku juga yang selalunya buat. Pam minyak. Aku juga. Pam angin? Aku juga. Maka, apa? Menyemak dan mengorat? Keadaan ini dapat dilihat di Stesyen Minyak R&R Sungai Buloh contohnya. Siapa yang jadi pump attendant? Bangsa aku juga. If the job spot was created to help them, daripada melepak tak tentu hala, takpelah, I concur, tapi kalau dah dapat gaji tapi melepak juga; alahai even more the redundancy.


3. The fact that the elevators in the building I am working in mempunyai Pakcik & Makcik Penjaga Lif. Sungguh aku boleh tekan butang lif itu sendiri. At least Pakcik Penjaga Lif itu memorizes faces and floors and can match them flawlessly. Makcik itu sekadar menekan butang buka-tutup sahaja. Kasihan mereka. It is detrimental to their physical well-being and undoubtedly, mental attribute. Prestige for building? To create job opportunity for elderly people? Oklah, if it is for the latter rationale, redundancy is permissible.


4. And this is the one that my friends selalu dengar I complain about: The fact that you have to menapak cari auto pay machine to pay your parking ticket, tapi di exit, anda akan menyerahkan tiket yang telah di auto-paid itu kepada seorang penjaga kaunter. Apakah? Mengapa perlu ada penjaga kaunter itu apabila kami telahpun membayar tiket atau chip itu di machine? Keadaan ini dapat kita lihat contohnya di Kompleks PKNS. Redundant! Thousands RM spent to implement the system and purchase the auto-pay machine, and continuous thousands RM more to pay the Penjaga Kaunter.


Masalah redundancy ni menular dalam masyarakat, especially in working sector. If the self-service system contohnya, is implemented impeccably, there is no need for RM to flow for unnecessary stuffs. Sekejap nak guna tenaga manusia, sekejap nak guna machine, sekejap nak guna 2-2 sekaligus. Pembaziran tenaga dan wang dan menyakitkan otakku. Eheh. Enough for now.

9.3.2006: My blog turns 3!

Sekiranya Blog Ini Seorang Kanak-Kanak Berusia 3 Tahun

The 3-year-old is full of wonder, and spends a lot of time observing and imitating. They love to spend time with parents (me?) and enjoy helping out with simple household tasks.

Physical development

 weight: 25-44 pounds  height: 34-43 inches  develops a taller, thinner, adult-like appearance  develops a full set of baby teeth  sleeps 10-12 hours at night  sleeps through most nights without wetting the bed (occasional accidents are still quite common)  uses the toilet with some help (many boys may not be ready for toilet learning until age 3 1 /2)  puts on shoes (but cannot tie laces)  Talk about colors, numbers, and shapes in your everyday conversation  Ask for help with simple tasks such as putting the napkins by each plate, socks in the drawer, or stirring the muffin batter  dresses self with some help (buttons, snaps, zippers)  feeds self (with some spilling)  tries to catch a large ball  throws a ball overhead  kicks a ball forward  hops on 1 foot  walks short distance on tiptoe  climbs up and down a small slide by self  pedals a tricycle.


Mental and language development

 75-80 percent of speech is understandable; talks in complete sentences of 3-5 words  stumbles over words sometimes — usually not a sign of stuttering  listens attentively to short stories; likes familiar stories told without any changes in words.

Happy Happy Joy Joy Birthday!

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult."

-- Charlotte Whitton: Canadian feminist, the first female mayor of a major city in Canada (Ottawa), and Officer of the Order of Canada.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY to all the beautiful women in my life.

"Wow. So I'm not winning director. It's a funny thing about winning an Academy Award. This will always be synonymous with your name from here on end. It will be, 'Oscar winner George Clooney, sexiest man alive 1997, Batman, died today in a freak accident'."

— George Clooney, being his witty and super sexy self,
after winning his first Oscar for supporting actor in Syriana.

An imaginary ailment is worse than a disease (Yiddish Proverb)

Tangan kiri aku sakit di bahagian lengan dan kebas2 di bahagian telapak. Jantungku berdegup kencang. Kepalaku penuh angin. Lantas, the neurotic in me terus berbisik: Sakit jantung? Maka aku berdebar. Makin aku berdebar, makin sukarlah aku bernafas. When you are a serial neurotic, you tend to believe your exaggerated emotion, hence worry unreasonably.

On my way to work, I rationalised myself, bahawa tiada apa-apa yang buruk yang berlaku atau bakal berlaku. Tangan mungkin sakit kerana salah urat, sukar bernafas mungkin kerana kesejukan commuter, debaran mungkin kerana berfikir bukan2 dengan cemas. Eheh.

Anyway, the 1st thing I did bila tiba di office ialah membuat pencarian Google: Tanda-Tanda Sakit Jantung. Dan sudah pasti, tanda2 di atas ialah tanda2nya. Maka, I went to see the panel doctor for HSK afterward, dan alhamdulillah, the VERDICT (inter alia): "For a thin girl, you have perfect blood pressure. You have perfect eyesight. Tiada tanda2 demam. Tangan sakit sebab nerve. Sakit kepala sejak these couple of weeks, adalah job related affects - penggunaan komputer yang kerap, banyak penggunaan otak, long hours dalam office yang tertutup dan berhawa dingin dan kekurangan glucose. Juga kerana history of sinus."

Doktor itu amat sangat bagus. A lady Punjabi doctor, memberikan health lecture dan cara2 pemakanan seimbang yang panjang dan informative, malah banyak menyelitkan pengajaran2 kesihatan dari segi Islam. How cool is that? Mendapat supplements dan sinus treatment medications, dan dikenakan bayaran hanya RM30, which is claimable. Eheh.

Moral: Jangan jadi neurotic.

I suppose that leadership at one time meant muscle;
But today it means getting along with people. ~Indira Gandhi

I aspired to write something intelligent on the issue of kenaikan harga minyak but unsurprisingly, I failed myself. Ngee. I believe aku telah menjadi pendiam seketika kerana di hari yang sama keluarnya berita hangat yang membuatkan semua masyarakat Malaysia membuat hingar ini:

KUALA LUMPUR 1 Mac - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menegaskan, rakyat perlu membuat perubahan kepada gaya hidup berikutan kenaikan harga runcit minyak sebanyak 30 sen seliter bermula semalam.

Terdapatnya juga berita ini :

BAITULMAQDIS 1 Mac - Selepas berhadapan dengan sekatan kewangan, rakyat Palestin di wilayah Gaza bakal diancam kebuluran berikutan bekalan asas keperluan harian berkurangan ekoran tindakan Yahudi menutup pintu sempadan utama ke Gaza.

Pengajaran dan penyedaran yang boleh didapati from the above, goes without saying lah kot. Kan?


Anyhow, agak2nya, kita berhak membuat hingar. Shocking, radical, economically-altering news. Kerajaan dengan yakinnya berkata: "There would only be a political risk if the people did not understand the reasons for such a move."

Maka, kepada masyarakat yang belum pasti tapi ingin kepastian tentang How When Why about the radical move, the followings are the sebab (s) yang telah aku ringkaskan untuk memudahkan kita semua:

1. To create a sound financial base for future generations – Elaboration please?

2. The removal of subsidies was part of prudent macro financial management and was necessary for Malaysia to have good governance - We will be enlightened soon at the pembentangan, but at the moment, I sure am in darkness as to what is the so-called macro financial management, and apakah kepentingannnya terhadap kehebatan kerajaan kita? Apakah?

3. Government’s move to increase fuel prices was coupled with a greater focus on public transport – Please please let this be true. Perbanyakkan, percepatkan, perbaikilah mutu KTMB commuter, and I shall be a happy camper. No more love-hate war, no more daily whine to Boifren, no more smelly, inconsiderate people.



Anyway, this comment by this one Minister really got me laughing hard: “We need to reassess our lifestyle very seriously and use public transportation instead.” Alaa Latok! You penah naik itu komuter ka? Itu bas? Penah ka? Kalau talak penah woo, showla your support Latok, naik loh. No more driver loh. Malilah kita sama-sama reassess gaya hilup kita.