Chapter 235 - Effort

My mom still haven't decide when to balik kampung.. the destination is set: Pulau Pinang. But, we're still back-and-forth with the date. Either 2nd Syawal or 29th Ramadhan. I would like for us to balik on 2nd Syawal. Reason: ease of traffic, and i can get to visit Nurul's house on 1st Syawal. Yeay! At first, i was told that i need to cut back my holiday as early as Thursday. Ada kerja di Putrajaya. I was neither happy nor sad. I was calculating with my short stint in Penang so that I can spend more time in KL. but today, penyampai mohor besar project manager menyampaikan khabar berita yang cuti seperti biasa. So, I can see myself in Penang as late as Friday or Saturday. Sigh~ but I'll utilize this rare opportunity to meet up with cousins and relatives.

I am fortunate to still have both mother and father for this Ramadhan and prays for us to be around until this Syawal and future Ramadhans and Syawals.. For those whom less fortunate, I can only spare Al-Fatihah to your lost one.

As soon as I posted the earlier post in regard of Fadilat ramadhan, I heard in Radio that it is wrong to believe such rewards for it is not 'sahih'. So, new advice to myself and others, beribadat untuk mendapatkan keredhaanNya kerana ganjaran mungkin datang dlm bentuk yang kita sangka ataupon tidak.. cepat ataupon lambat.. didunia ataupon diakhirat..

Chapter 234 - New Chapter

Salam and good day to all..

First of all, thanks for coming today out of your busy schedule.
This press conference is in regard of the rumor which swirling around my personal life.
The rumors of me having found love has been circulated in the media; which mostly through facebook and twitter. Paparazzi, media elites, journalists and friends whom picked up bit of hints through my shoutouts and comments, concluded that, there is a "special someone" occupying my heart, thus demanding an official press conference to sort out their restless speculations.
In the heat of this speculation, I never try to deny or agree with their conclusion, and hence prevent me from making any further remark or statement, since it revolving around my personal life.
But, seeing as this matter is a welcomed news to everyone and also in fear of riots from dear friends, I decided to use this time and space to clarify the speculation.

I, Ahmad, would like to confirm that the spoken and written speculation of me is true and correct. I have found the love of my life and we've been going out for a while now. But we've known each other since our high school years and Praise to Allah, for His Kindness, opened her heart to accept me.
A part of her first name is Nurul (as I won't reveal her true identity as yet), and the name derived from the word Nur which in Arabic, the word Nur or Nuwara means 'to illuminate' or light. It is true that she is the love of my life and the light of my heart.

As for now, I am a very happy man and we are a very happy couple; and prays forever both of us will be happy, and if not, will be much more happy.

Thanks again for your time, support and love. I wish all of you happiness.

Thank you.

Chapter 233 - Love & Hate

Happy Belated birthday Malaysia.. Already 52 years young. A lot of changes occurred in these 52 years. Ratusan malah ribuan bangunan yang mencakar langit. Lebuhraya dan jalan bertingkat-tingkat mengalahkan mangkuk tingkat. Pernah bertahkta kepertuanan langit dengan 2 menara tertinggi di dunia. Seri dgn neon malam bagaikan kota New York yang tidak pernah tidur. Hak dan rukun dicabar terang2an. keamanan dan kesusilaan yg dijaga mahu dengan lembut ataupon kasar.. serta, melayu dengan dilema mereka.

Not all malay engrossed in their dilemma.

I caught this promo on TV asking viewers to vote for the best 1Malaysia song through sms. after awhile, i read that Faizal Tahir won it. who cares? and seems like everyone doesn't also. xpernah pulak dengar berkumandang di corong radio mahupon TV. i just wondered, why need to hassle organizing such contest while there are already good songs out there. take this one in particular, a song by Allahyarham TS P.Ramlee, Keroncong Kuala Lumpur. This person is truly a nasionalist, without further intoduction, everyone knows him through his marvellous acting, directing and singing. Orang mengangkat Allahyarham(ah) Yasmin Ahmad sebagai pejuang 1Malaysia (with no doubt on my side), sedangkan TS P Ramlee was one, decades ago. not just through this song, but through his movies. jika dinilai perspektif satira2nya, tersorot ribuan paparan realiti bangsa; tanpa mengenal kaum walaupon kebanyakan karyanya berkisar tentang melayu (jika dibandingkan dengan garapan Yasmin). lagu keroncong ini juga dapat diperkenalkan kepada telinga anak2 muda yang mungkin kurang biasa dengan keroncong, zapin dan dondang.

Keroncong Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur
ibu negara Malaysia
aman serta makmur
setelah merdeka

tanah subur
hasilnya kaya raya
jadi kebanggaan
kejayaan bangsa

rakyat sehati sejiwa
satu bahsa satu bangsa
tanda kegagahan negara
Malaysia merdeka

waktu malam
cahya menjulang tinggi
Parlimen tersergam
lambang demokrasi

Chapter 232 - Ramadhan

Salam Ramadhan to everyone.. sekali lagi kita dilawati oleh bulan yang penuh berkat ini. sesedarnya aku, dah 2 minggu kita berpuasa dan dah berminggu-minggu malah berbulan-bulan aku tak update blog ni.. sekarang ni baru terasa hati nk update blog. lagipon sebelom ni aku bukannya blogger tegar pon... sekadar blogger sosial sahaja. tapi, jenuh nak bersihkan sawang bila lama tak terusik.. orang sana sini bertanya khabar berita, menungu press conference kata mereka. press conference apa? maksud itu yang kita kena fikir2kan..

Ramadhan oh Ramadhan.. for me, ramadhan this year crept in slowly without me noticing.. maybe because the fact that i dont listen to local radio station anymore to catch the lustful whishper of the voice model for yusof taiyub kurma ads. tau2 je mak kata dah kena pegi terawih.. but i didnt resent, in fact i'm grateful for ramadhan.. bulan keberkatan, bulan berlapar dahaga disiang harinya, bulan yang sesuai utk fizikal dan spiritual cleansing.. tapi bukan semua yang memanfaatkan peluang ini dengan sepenuhnya, termasuk la aku.. ada hari dan ketika, kita terlupa. terawih tinggal, berbuka bagai tiada hari esok.. tapi nak kata bagaimana, aku ni manusia sama seperti orang2 lain yang hadir leka tanpa diundang.

Terawih. I've been carrying this leaflet given by my mother for many-many years. seingat aku dari aku sekolah rendah lagi aku bubuh keratan ni dalam wallet aku. sekali-sekala ramadhan menjengah, aku pon baca la kalau teringat.. maka ingin aku kongsi dengan semua akan fadilat solat sunat terawih dari malam 1 hingga ke 30..

1. Keluar dosa orang mukmin seperti ia baru dilahirkan
2. Diampunkan dosanya serta ibubapanya
3. Berseru malaikat untuk keampunan bagi mereka yang mengerjakan sembahyang terawih
4. Memperoleh pahala seperti pahala orang yang membaca kitab2 al-Quran, Zabur, Injil dan Taurat
5. Dikurniakan pahala seperti sembahyang di Masjidil Haram, Masjid Nabawi dan Masjidil Aqsa
6. Seperti pahala malaikat yang tawaf di Baitul Maamor, segala batu dan tanah mendoakan keampunan bagi mereka
7. Seolah-olah bertemu Musa AS dan menolong beliau menentang Firaun dan Haman
8. Dikurniakan pahala seperti seperti dikurniakan kepada Nabi Ibrahim AS
9. Dikurniakan pahala dan dinaikan mutu ibadah seperti Nabi Muhammad SAW
10. Dikurniakan kebaikan di dunia dan akhirat
11. Meninggal dunia keadaanya bersih dari dosa seperti baru dilahirkan
12. Datang ia pada hari kiamat dengan mukanya bercahaya
13. Datang ia pada hari kiamat dengan keadaan aman sentosa daripada setiap kejahatan dan keburukan
14. Datang malaikat menyaksikan ia sembahyang Terawih serta tiada menyesatkannya pada hari kiamat
15. Semua malaikat berselawat dan mendoakan keampunan
16. Allah tuliskan kelepasan neraka dan dimasukkan kedalam syurga
17. Mendapat pahala sebanyak2 pahala Nabi
18. Seru malaikat agar Allah reda'inya dan ibubapanya
19. Allah tinggikan darjatnya didalam syurga Firdaus
20. Dikurniakan pahala sekalian orang syahid
21. Allah binakan istana di dalam syurga daripada Nur
22. Tiada huru-hara dipadang masyar
23. Dibinakan bandar di dalam syurga daripada Nur
24. Allah kabulkan 24 hajat (elok berdoa dalam sujud)
25. Allah angkatkan daripadanya seksa kubur
26. Dikurniakan pahala ibadah 40 tahun
27. Dikurniakan ketangkasan melintas sirat seperti kilat
28. Dikurniakan 1000 darjat diakhirat
29. Dikurniakan 1000 kali haji mabrur
30. Penghormatan Allah kepada hambanya di syurga dengan layanan istimewa sama taraf layana kepada Nabi SAW

There's always time for everything..

Chapter 231 - Is It Suppose To Be Weary?

I've just uploaded few songs. Illegally? You bet. This time, all songs are Korean. Kudos for them for making good mellow songs. Really, if you in a mood to layan your heartbreak, your fall-in-love, your already-in-love.. nothing can beat Korean songs.. or is it just me? huh? dunno. but not all songs i've uploaded are mellow2 one.. there are also hip hop songs in this playlist. so, just enjoy. I really hooked on track #6 & #7. Track #7 is taken from my favorite Korean drama, Accidental Couple.

Its a nice fiction. If you like Full House, you'll definitely gonna like this. its about an accidental lovestruck between a regular joe and the most beautiful and popular actress in Korea. No spoiler intended, go watch it yourself.. a.k.a download sendiri la.. hehe

Actually, I'm not in the mood for amateurish journalism right now. really not in the mood, even after listening to these songs. I couldnt say that aunt irma's visiting, because it would be weird and wrong... but i'm in the time or period in which i dont feel like doing anything. even so, work must go on.. kalau boss aku baca statement ni tentu dia suka. hehe. I'm looking forward to the weekend. Basketball training every friday & laze around during the saturday and sunday. sometimes i went out with my friends for movies. take last saturday as an example, we watched 2 movies and had 3 meals. i figured that that saturday alone finish up my outing quota. almost broke and pathetically not well fed, i'm cautiously calculating my days ahead. next week dah la nk pergi Melaka for a friend's wedding. sigh~~

G.I Joe coming out this week.. sooo tempting. sapa mau tengok?

ciao

Chapter 230 - In Cloud Nine

Ah... kids these days.. aku terpaksa cancel kelas sbb mereka2 ini xdatang. Dimana kesilapan atau miscommunication pon aku tak tahu. yang pasti, kena la mereka menjawab dengan pengajar derang esok. So, dikesempatan kelas yg xjadi ini, aku pon merajinkan diri menambah post..

Aku semakin gembira 2-3 menjak ni, walaupon temper ketika memandu masih xhilang2. adakah kerna berat badan ku makin susut atau pon.... ehem ehem.. malas nk sambung. everytime i shout something in my facebook page, damn sure my friends assumed that i'm in a relationship. it might be true, but also might not. padahal shoutout aku biasa2 je.. tadah telingan dan loyar buruk je yang mampu aku buat.

The guards at my PD apartment were caught by the immigration last week. i could not be less happy. dont get me wrong, i'm not a racist. i did not totally hate those nepalese, pakistani or whatever their citizenship is.. but what i dislike about those guards are, they kept checking on my trunk. i've got a lot of junk in the trunk, and they like to check them out. hahaha.. sound gayish dirty, but the truth is that, even i'm a tenant, i am treated like a visitor there. alway pop up my trunk everytime i'm going out. mcm la aku nk mencuri sangat. muka pencuri kah aku ni?

Ciao..

Chapter 229 - Full-Blood Prince

Quite a hectic week i can say.. All involves driving back-to-back from PD to Cyber. Site visit for relocation project in Putrajaya, internal ministry audit in PD, meeting in Cyberjaya, Career day event at PWTC, resume work at PD. Sigh~ Knowing what is coming, i spent a night with friends watching Harry Potter (not Hairy Potter, OK..). the latest instalment of HP series really satisfying me. even after hearing complaint over lack of actions and fightings, i give a round of applause to the director for narrating 'Half blood prince' very well. Its hard to satisfy fans when the fans already read the book, and the fan expect much when the story adapted into silverscreen. but it turned out well. explains much on the you-know-who. kenapa brengset tu tak mati2 lagi... rupa-rupanya dia dah split jiwa dia berkeping-keping (buat2 tak tau..padahal dah baca). also the story explores the romance between dear ginny and HP, and Hermoine and Ron. personally, I think Luna Lovegood also looked weirdly lovely. Clap clap clap..

For tomorrow career event, i was nominated to be the MC. sigh.. i wonder if im gonna do well... nasib baik xde orang2 kenamaan yang datang. i quite hate protocol. bahasa semua nk kena jaga.

Oh.. I watched Man U vs Malaysia XI. at first i wasnt going, but on friday a friend texted me asked whether i'm interested on getting a ticket. i didnt have second thought. Yes. Oh Mak.. ramai sungguh la manusia yang datang tengok. aku pon terpaksa parking dekat taman perumahan depan Carrefour sbb terlalu sesak nk masuk ke perkarangan stadium. almost 100k manusia memenuhi stadium. rata-rata semua memakai baju MU, tetapi mereka tetap 1Malaysia. support both MU and Malaysia. although i hate big crowd, but i glad i went.

Chapter 228 - Long Huh?

Lama kah aku menyepi? ahaha.. sibuk kah? Sibuk bercuti ada la.. I went to Redang Island in the spirit of supporting Visit Malaysia... Why bother pegi holiday overseas padahal we have our own world class holiday paradiso. sebab duit xbanyak nk pegi o/sea. My days in Redang was very fulfilling because knowing anything like that wont be happening in near future, so i tried to enjoy as much as i can. Even so, it was tainted by the attempt of the boat operator to smuggle us to the island. just when i got home i learned that later that evening, coast guard caught an operator whom brought 50 passengers in a 12 seated boat. that IS crazy. my case was bit different. that morning, 12 of us boarded the 12 seater boat along with 6 other passengers. mathematically, the passenger had outnumbered the seat. but, it was true that the seats are enough to cater all of us. 5 minutes on the boat ride, we were stopped by the coast guard. the operator was told to turned back to the jetty. it was because the operator didnt bring his license. "he left if at home". it was definitely stupidity in humor's disguise. how come the operator whom apparently operate the boat every single day forgot to bring his license. i carried my ID, cards and driving license everytime i go out, and i assumed the same to every human being. he left the license to his nenek to play at rumah.

The scarier part was, the operator suggested the 18 of us to be carried in a car (in numbers of ulang-alik journey..ye la, berapa byk sangat manusia boleh sumbat dlm sebijik kereta. and again, we're not trying to beat the world guiness record or something here) to an undisclosed location for our rendezvous point with the boat. it's all just because they want to run from the coast guard. ARE WE SOME SORT OF WEED? OR SLAVES? OR MAIDS? at last, a good news came in which we are to ditch that boat and board a bigger boat to Redang. an hour later, we all sampai at Redang...

If you want to snorkle.. then go to Tioman. I'm not satisfied with the snorkling activities. maybe it is because of the arrangement made by the resort.. or the fish there are just not captivating enough. But the beach are 1st class. laut xde batu karang. kurang sakit kaki. kurang calar balar.

Chapter 227 - Fix Mood

So far..

• Roger Federer clinched 14th Grand Slam title.
• Lakers won the 2009 Playoff
• Confederation Cup is currently on-going.
• C.Ronaldo goes to Real Madrid

I'm really looking forward to summer's transfer window. a lot of speculations and shocking decisions. It got all the hype to kick-off the major leagues; BPL, La Liga, Serie A...

money talks... the prospect of Kaka and C.Ron working together is a bit mouth-watering. Is real Madrid the new powerhouse? not sure yet.. will both have successful stint at Madrid? still, not sure... I'm still waiting for Man U's first signing of the season. Villa? Valencia? or Ribery? Sluuurrrpppp.... meh tadah ayaq lioq aku...

Just finished reading The Kite Runner from Khaled Hosseini.. A marvellous fiction. as if it is real. portraying Afghanistan in troubled times.. I didn't knew that Afghan was onced prospered, until the Russian invaded and then came along the Taliban. I am blessed to live peacefully. That is why Prophet Muhammad endorse ummah to live moderately; not too loose and not too radical. There are people in this world uses the name of God for their own radical philosophy; be it Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu or Islam. Anyway, I marvled myself by finishing it in just 5 days.. I did almost the same for Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. I'm looking forward to get the latest publish from Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Ciao.

Chapter 226 - Tough Luck

Best way to get a girl... by being gay!

Check the clip from SNL (Live Sabtu Malam). Somehow, I was hooked on watching SNL, so i watched almost all episodes for this season. Great casts such as Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, which are my favorites. not to mention that this show produced great entertainer over the years aired like Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Falon, the late Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Rob Schneider and lot more...

Actually, I was thinking years ago to write something similar to this skit. i even imagined to produce the writing as an intellectual publish or findings, soon it'll be published as one of those motivational books and later, I decided to make a story out of it. So I write a novel and some bigshot producer want to adapt my novel into a motion picture.. I made millions over this blockbuster which rise my fame as great writer in Hollywood (tak men la dalam Malaysia).. but what to do... I couldn't find time to do so.

You know what..having tough luck on courting women, might make one think, "what should I do?". Simple, by being the girl's best friend.. and what is better than a bestfriend if it is not a gay dude? try to sneak around with your fake-gayness and work around your magic by giving a fashion advice (of course your appearance need to be decent) and be a good listener! Women always drop their guard down around gay dude (remember the scene from 'Now I Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'? where Jessica Biel try out lingeries in front of Adam Sandler? Nice). So, when the woman shows a moment of weakness (over a break-up especially), that is when the snake feast on the rat. create such moment to make an "accidental" closure.. the "Oopps" moment. then simply give this lame cliche, "Being with you, makes me a man" or "I just love you too much to be gay" or anything that signals her that you are not gay anymore. She might think that there's nothing to lose.. you are a great guy, alway there for her and understood her more than any other guy. then BOOM! (confetti flew everywhere) congratulation, you nailed it.

I might warn though.. this method might takes longer than you anticipated. so, endurance is really-really important.

that's all for now on how to pick a girl the wrong way... err I mean the long way...

Chapter 225 - Broken

Kontinjen Sukan Remaja Asia di S'pore minggu depan diberi lonjakan yang hebat apabila diberi tajaan kasut POWER. Kalah la jawabnya...

Sungguh bosan Playoff Final NBA tahun ni bila pasukan yang anda minati tidak bermain. I remembered back in 2003, we played NBA Live at a friend's home, and they jeered my choice team, Boston Celtics due to the fact that Celtics was nothing back then. plus they got the Antoine Walker whom not just ugly at look, but also ugly at shooting. but in 2008, i had the last laugh. Celtics got Garnet, Allen and Pierce. Enough force to win the Playoff, and win they did. But this year, serious injury on Garnet, plus the inconsistent Allen threw them out in 2nd round of eastern conference. so, i moved to Cavaliers. reason? LBJ (LeBron James). that is enough reason to love Cavs. But Cavs also crashed out in the conference final to the Orlando Magic. I couldn't bring myself to love Magic or Lakers. So, I just don't care who win the final.... as long as it's not Lakers. HAHAHA..

Chapter 224 - Wonder Why?

At this precise moment, i am sad. Man U lost the final and thus having a worst birthday present ever. Chelsea claimed the FA Cup, despite the fastest goal by ex-United, Saha. Damn it! I can foresee how this new year gonna shape up for me. A lot of transfer rumors for United. Some are welcomed, some are not. Ronaldo? I dont mind him going. when your heart not there, then you can never give your best. but the fact Real is going nowhere also bothers him. but who cares.. join the losers. Teves? i'll be damned if he's going. with high work rate and wolverine-look-a-like sure to give you the assurance of taming the defense. Berbatov is a flop. I was hoping not, but seems like it. just like Veron. Sell him! Ribery is the man we should pursuit. but it is daunting to know the price tag put on by Bayern. Valencia also a good prospect. great footwork and more humble than the portugeses (Nani & Ron). hope with years of experience, the Gaffer knows to make the right decision!

whatever..

Chapter 223 - Astro

I moved into a new apartment last week. still in PD area, to be specific at Teluk Kemang. New place is bigger, cleaner, tidier (not for long) and awesomer (more awesome). i didnt have much things to move since my stay in previous place is just like check-in-check-out style. just couple of clothes and no furniture or appliances. so moving is easier for me. although it is 5 minutes away from my work place, i don't have complaints. new astro came in last friday, so i'm happy that i can watch Champions League Final this thursday morning. it will be a bummer if i couldn't watch it. last year i watched with my 2 officemates. one of them "borrowed" a projector from the company and we watched it in his place, in midst of his housemates whom hates Man United. it was a sweet sensation to celebrate among the United-haters. hahaha.. you guys are loser!

this year though, i'll be by myself. sedey2. meh la kawan2 datang PD tgk bola ngan aku... datang jangan tangan kosong... bawak la jajan skali.

in rome we'll win

Aku kini dalam misi mencari LCD TV utk memuaskan nafsu PS3 aku. Semalam pegi Alamanda, singgah sat kat SengHeng nk survey tgk. mmg ikut hati nk je rompak bawak balik TV display 52 inci tu sbb dlm poket mahupon bank aku tak ada RM5000. well, since i'm talking about LCD TV, let me share some findings and things you should know when buying one.

• usually, when browsing around electrical stores or electronic department in malls, you'll see the smallest size available for LCD TV is 32 inch. mmg standard untuk apa jenis brand pon, akan jumpa 32 inci paling kecil. dan saiz ini adalah ukuran pepenjuru skrin LCD tu. exception for Sony where they offered 21 inch LCD, which i dont think will sell well. anyway, the size varies from 32 to 37 to 42 and the biggest ever made is by Panasonic which is at 150 inch.

• After settled for the size, you need to check on the HD status, whether it is HD Ready or Full HD. most 32 comes in HD Ready, while it is easier to find Full HD on screen bigger than 32 or 37. the difference is Full HD is able to display HD signals over the full resolution of 1920x1080; while HD Ready can only display at full resolution of 1280x720. even said so, HD Ready can also receive the 1920x1080 signals but the TV will automatically scale down the signals and you'll get what they call as 'resolution loss'. BUT, these differences can only be noticable on LCD TV over 42 inch. in other word, if you intend to buy smaller size (less than 42 inch) then it's OK to get HD Ready one..
  

• Then you need to know the differences between "p" and "i". you'll notice on most flyers where they put on 720p or 720i or 1080p and 1080i. "i" stands for interlaced. it is the same format with our CRT or flat screen TV. it involves the projection to be displayed over odd lines and even lines. so TV yang anda tgk tu sebenarnya merangkumi beberapa garis halus2 yang bersilih-ganti mengikut frame per second. you wont notice it (unless you have an eagle eye), but as your screen size getting bigger, you'll be annoyed with flicker. it happens with interlaced (unless you are using LCD TV with good interlaced system). i wont go into details. it bores. "p" stands for progressive scan. intead of dividing into lines, "p" projects the whole picture. "p" is much more smoother but it requires more bandwidth than "i". if you ask me, i'm the "p" type of guy.

• HDMI port is a port which to replace the RGB port (red, yellow and white). latest gadget like BluRay Player, HD signal terminal (Astro-like) or PS3 equipped with HDMI cable and port. of course HDMI better than RGB; 8 audio channels (enough for 7.1 surround sound), larger bandwidth (5Gbps), 1080p compatible, and lot more. it's natural to have more than 1 HDMI port which to accomocate the numbers of gadgets i mentioned. tapi kalau dah dapat 1 je, kena rajin2 bangun pergi pasang dan cabut setiap kali nk tgk BluRay lepas main PS3.
  

• Last but not least, you need to pay at the counter la.. kes macam aku ni, tak mampu nk beli seketul dgn cash, kena la cari alternative mcm installment payment. tak banyak electronic store yang offer installment. look-out for easy payment method macam AEON. tapi aku macam tak berkenan dgn AEON sbb kawan aku cakap orang2 AEON ni macam biadap. baru nk buat pinjaman dah ditanya, "ni bila nak bayar nih??". tak ke rasa menyirap je. so, papehal pon, that is my personal opinion. kalau korang sayang dan cinta AEON tu pegi je la. ayah tak larang.. just remember photocopy slip gaji.

hopefully the findings are helpful. if not, go help your self.

ciao.

Chapter 222 - Ichiban

Suddenly i'm craving for sushi. i was told that currently Saisaki is having a promotion. can't remember until when, surely won't last long. need to hurry! It offers Japan cuisine buffet at 50% off. i couldn't remember the price per pax, but in a sense, 50% off is A LOT! Thanks for the information Ammar. I wont call him genius for nothing.

Both of us are quite a regular at Nando's. Mostly at Pavillion. my next visit there, i'll make sure to ask one cute waitress named Yana for her phone number. Korang jangan potong line! If you guys insist nk awek nando's gak, go to Nando's Sunway Pyramid la.. sana ada byk waitress yg cun2, tapi berhalkum la..

Maybe peri-peri love will bloom~

WAIT! lupa nak kecoh... MANCHESTER UNITED successfully clinched their 18th premier league title!!! Giler la. for 3 years in a row derang pegang 'Champione' baton. Wenger (Arsenal) da pasrah, Guus (Chelsea) amik dasar tutup mulut and Benitez (Liverpool) became a sore loser. Just shut yer trap, Rafa!

They'll coming to M'sia as part of their Asian Tour. wonder if I should go??? Hmm... maybe not. Man U xyah datang pon takpe... pitch teruk, cuaca teruk, player m'sia teruk.... if the reason is marketing, then don't bother la. Most of us beli jersey kat sempadan Siam. hahahah... but don't worry, we still love Man U undividedly..

Glory2 Man United!!

What I wish for my birthday (Guys, mark this 28th in your calendar) maybe not Blackberry Storm or iPhone 3G... but you guys are welcomed to chipped in and actually buy me those.. it would be a wonderful birthday if Man United able to get their back-to-back Champions League title. I'll be bersengkang mata that morning watching the match. Maybe it is not realistic because i won't get a thing even if they win.. but as if i get anything for my birthday anyway... hahaha.. sob sob sob

It's going to be a busy June this year. Wedding invitations for every weekend, and on the last weekend of June, I'm going to Redang. Yay! A week later (early July), I'm going back to Redang. how is that possible?? 2 trips for 2 different groups la. honestly I wasn't bothered with it.. I don't care where as long as I can spend great time with friends.
currently i'm like Obama-ish... later in July, I'll be like Akon-ish.. tanned as hell.

Check out the Craig David, Officially Yours.

Ciao.

Chapter 221 - Increa'ble

wah, lama sungguh x update blog. sebokkah aku? lebih kurang la... lot of hiccups in work, but i'm doing my best seeing it through to its end. whose fault to begin with? when a Project Manager is sacked, then, there must be something wrong. Last word from the man, "Jaga leher sendiri". Definitely something wrong. No further comment here.

Malaysia has registered 2nd case of H1N1 Influenza. I believe that before, the commoners doesn't give a shit because we are unlikely to get it. while other countries are hit by death toll and suspected case, we managed to keep a clean sheet. maybe due to great prevention approach or it's just people around the globe feared to travel in midst of this global terror. in spite of that, this 1 student whom studied in US decided to come home and bring a souvenir along with him. Thanks. the worst part is, it starts off like any other flu and it get worse and worse. runny nose, fatigue, headache, body-ache, etc.. just when you thought that you are having regular flu, you might think, "I'll be fine in couple of days", then BAM! you're dead. Yeah, it's that serious.

Is it incurable? i don't think so. it going to be a matter of time until the socio-bio-whatever improves our immune system. it's true that bird flu or any other deadly flu are still around, but living in a society, the transcultural health helps each of the society member to improve their immunation system without realizing. sounds like BS, but i swear i heard it somewhere.

Bird and pig discussing on how to terrorize the world with each flu

Chapter 220 - Bittersweet

Some trouble appeared in my work, so now I need to work hard to fix it, not to mention that i need to suck-up hard. what can i expect from a complicated, non-user-friendly system? the best part during this chaos is to read the bash mails from my bosses to our vendor (yea.. i've got a lot of boss). I like to quote, "if you need to fly someone in from India, make the arrangement now. The point is we do not want to know and do not care" and this one, "perhaps their team is not competent to handle such problem". wow.. cool stuff.

I really wanna get out from this stressful cycle. but the perks offered by my current company is next to the best. But, if there's no increment next year, then it's a goodbye. i hate that after i paid my car loan, house loan, study loan and mom's allowance, i only manage to buy a Mamee Party Pack for my breakfast, lunch and dinner... and that's for the whole month. Poor.

Just kidding, it's always a nando's every week. Hohoho.. but the point is, i don't have any left for my savings.

I just got back from white-water-rafting in Kuala Kubu Bharu. i hate to admit this, but in contrary with my friends, i thought that today's activity was less challenging. it's just OK. not that Woohooo OK.. it was less fortunate for us that the water level was a bit low today, so the current is not that ganas. there are also countable streams or channels or whatever they call it. there is also no unfortunate event happening in my boat. nobody flew out. nobody drown. it's like a regular joe and jane taking a walk in a bumpy-road garden. it's a great thing actually, but water-rafting is not something that i can fabricate. i can't go and tell my friends that someone in my boat flew out, hit her head on the rock, then her leg got stuck in between small yet steady rocks, but since the current is so violent, she dislocated her knee and when we took her out from the water, her leg just hanging like nobody's business.... yea, unless it really happened...

I'm not psycho, just tired. anyway, it was fun and i was happy to see my friends again. we're currently planning for our next getaway.

I don't know exactly how... but i did get well acquainted with facebook after ignoring all the non-sense invitations. Pillow fight, virtual gifts, adopt a pet, races, cults, virtual prostitutions.. and the list goes on and on.. but recently, somebody (i think it was the jews) created the whole quiz phenomenon. the worst part is that you can publish your quiz result and your friends will automatically see it. now lots of my friends are taking it and it's like a mushroom after the rain. not the happy mushroom as far as i concern. it fills up my home page, and for the overkill, we can create our own quiz and share it with our friends. and so, the cycle of eye-sore continues. thanks friends!

i won't lie, i did partake in some of the quizzes, but i can guarantee you that it is countable, and at least, i repeat, AT LEAST not at every 5 minutes. OH, P-L-Z PLEASE!!!

Chapter 219 - Peking Duck and Nasi Lemak

nice.. no need SLR. pakai phone camera 5MP. OMNIA rocks!

Peking duck is a trademark dish in China and adopted as the national food for China. it is fair to said that this cuisine is originally from Beijing due to its long history which involved imperial era and many dynasties; and we all know that Beijing is the capital of China. Long2 time ago, during the age of emperors and an empress (China onced ruled by an Empress), this cuisine was especially made for the emperor.. no citizen would even have the lavishness to enjoy such great cuisine. it was truly the emperor's food and the emperor loves Peking duck. now, hundred years past imperial era, the cuisine still holds special value to the Chinese. when having it for lunch or dinner, it is the only time the Chinese can feel like an emperor. truly a tasteful cuisine if it is correctly cooked.

i went to beijing last weekend. the tour guide told that Peking duck is similar to Nasi lemak in Malaysia. he's originally from China but can speak Malay well; Indon to be exact. but i can't agree more with his remark. Nasi lemak in Malaysia is like a peasant food. hahaha.. no la.. even so, i'm positive that nasi lemak is not a royalty cuisine, compared to Peking duck.

the weather in Beijing this time around is nice. Past winter and slowly creeping into spring. flowers starts to bloom; yet dry and chilly. this visit was first for the tour company to conduct in only 4 days. usually they do the 7 days tour. so, we skip the museums, art gallery, etc.. and only focused on important landmarks in Beijing such as Great wall, forbidden city, summer palace and shopping malls!

i was glad to be able to return to China. my homeland. my motherland. ahaha.. well it is partly true. my grandma was chinese. but for the whole me to come back to China... it's a touching scenery to see my shirt, pant, boxer, shoe, watch and most items in my wardrobe i brought, to come back to where they were made... CHINA.

Great wall is great as ever. total length over 6000km, we only climbed just a tip of the lot. there are numbers of entrance, but the entrance we went had been commercialized for tourist. the steps are steep, uneven and slippery. i almost give up halfway because of height-fright, but i felt like i'll regret if i stop climbing. suddenly, Kinabalu seems so small from those steep steps.

forbidden city is located in the kota lama beijing, the heart of beijing where also resides the administration offices, parliament, high court and Chairman Mao's tomb, forbidden city was the emperor's office and castle. there are 9 gates in total which is in 5km length.

Summer palace is like Genting in Malaysia (another great remark by the tour guide). Emperor loves to go there during the summer because of the cold climate. nowadays, old folks loves to come during the day and play kite. the government gives privilege to the retiree to enter the tourist spots for free. nice huh.

China is a shopping heaven, apparently because things are made there. we were brought to 2 cheap shopping malls. the Lido market and Yaoshuan Market (Russian Market). u can get almost everything there... from clothes to a silly imitation of ipod. i was told to haggle the price down to 90%. don't be fooled by the almost-cry-face made by the salesperson when you bargaining your goods. it's their thing to lie and rip you off.

the tour also scheduled for us to go to places like tea house, jade factory, crystal factory, pearl factory, silk house and herbs house. i can see my colleagues shops like crazy. great.

Chapter 218 - Ziraffe

Lots of things need to be done before end of April. Both work and study. How irony, i hate both. i'm feeling like dropping out, but surely if my selected friends and family knew my intention, i'm dead. honestly, i felt cheated when i signed-up for my course. but i didn't bitch much.. not until now; the thesis semester.. extended some more (hahaha). I still remember it crystal clear the day my friend talked me into signing up, the brochure clearly stated, course completion by coursework or dissertation. and i signed-up for the coursework, not the dissertation! because everyone knows that thesis is a pain in the ass; and it rhymes with testis. guess what? we're forced to do both. i'm not sure whether the course committee is retarded or some sort of disabled in literature department, but sure as hell OR stands for option; and AND stands for a forceful conjunction which requires you to accomplish both. for example:

1) Do you want to kick the course committee in the nuts OR punch them in the nuts?

in this context, you must choose only one. Either kick in the nuts or bitch slap. Either one. cannot both.

2) Do you want to kick the course committee AND punch them in the nuts?
"Yes". -smiley face-
OK, this context simply asking whether you want to perform both actions given, and the only choice of answer will be only yes or no. you cannot choose one, or suddenly decide to be a bit nice and just do only one. you cannot be nice to them. i repeat, cannot.

They should go to the special Olympic. surely there is a special event for this kind of disability. i hope it's not a spelling bee contest.

How messed-up we're in? just to throw salt to our fatal wound, they expect our thesis to win Nobel. well, not to that extent, but you get the picture. also i heard that these guys are like a pack of wolves circling their hopeless prey during the thesis presentation. i bet they enjoy crushing and molesting our hope to graduate. sigh~ buckle up guys, we're going for a tough ride!

Chapter 217 - Nickel

I'm feeling like doing nothing at all...

i hate streamyx, but i need it. Darn it! the word best-effort itself make me sick. I want a dedicated, no-throttling, high-speed broadband. My download speed has never been this suck. i guess there are a lot of users in my area, so the best-effort is not that best when i share it with those morons.

I heard TM will launch their home-2-Fiber Internet soon. 3rd quarter of this year maybe... Good news? i'm not sure. offering minimum bandwidth of 10Mbps is a lot for us, but in Korea it is like the speed for villagers. best effort? maybe.. and you can expect what to get with the best effort. some more, even if i get the 10Mbps, but at the same time they (TM) throttling our connection, then apa guna? my torrent still gonna be snail-ish. With our system allowing one friggin company monopolizing the Internet, there's no hope at all.

in 2012, every household need to buy an adapter in order to receive HD TV signal. yeah, we're going HD. I'm not sure if i get my facts right, but as what i briefly read from the newspaper, it sounds like it.

Chapter 216 - Sore Leg and Proud

I was up there.. don't believe it? me either. but trust me, i was there...

Yep.. that is me with the chipmunk hair (no photoshop magic here guys.. tulen dan asli). behind me is the Low's Peak, Kinabalu Mountain. it is obvious that I was at the Kinabalu's peak! the highest point in Malaysia.. Giler ah.. don't be deceived by the picture, I might looks fine and steady, but it was a hellish hike to get there!

Departure
4 of us meet up at KL Central at 11 pm, which by the way, i took bus and LRT to get there. i forgot how to ride the bus already because it has been ages since i used one. unfortunately, we were stuck at KL Central due to some mis-information. i thought the LCCT bus operated until 12, but the last bus of the day is at 10.30 pm. fortunately, they started operating at 3.15 am and we're able to catch our flight which was at 6.50 am. we met Ammar at the LCCT since he came from his house in Putrajaya. i managed to sleep in the bus despite the hellish ride the driver gave us. as soon as i stepped down from the bus, i thought we're at the wrong place. LCCT is full of people sleeping on the sidewalk. maybe it is because of the short interval of planes' departure or the void hours of no means of transportation to the LCCT during the night.

Arrival
Upon arrival at 9.30 am at Terminal 2 Kota Kinabalu Airport, acquintances of Ammar's dad came and picked us up. we were brought for breakfast and left at Dr Ismadi's apartment for some recovering and refreshing (he's not a real doctor, but his name rhymes with the ever famous Dr. Ismadi from P.Ramlee's movies). He's also an acquintance of Ammar's dad and with his help, we managed to get ourselves a car. we took off from KK at about 4 pm and arrived at Kinabalu Park almost 6 pm. Spent a night there in Kinabalu park. we got this nice 3 bunk beds room. no heater (sejuk wooo.. 1000+m above sea level), but they do have this common room with fireplace. nice.

First Hike
Breakfast at 8, register, meet our hike guide (mr Wilfred) then proceed to Timpohon Gate. there are actually 2 trails to the Peak. 1 is Timpohon Gate, 2 is Mersilau Trail. The 2nd one is much more challenging and longer than the 1st one. Do buy kayu/tongkat/cane, but u dont need to buy the fancy2 one. just buy one at Timpohon Gate for RM5. it'll ease your climb. bring just one bottle of mineral water. small one is sufficient. if you run out of water, just refill at any hut. it says, "Untreated water", but it is safe to drink (air dari gunung).

the hike started at 845 am. the 1st few km are easy. we're walking while chatting, soon i was walking while swearing. after km 4 (layang2 hut), the hike become more challenging, higher altitude means lower oxygen. i kept on resting every 5-6 steps. but the view was awesome from there. both looking up and looking down. during the hike, we met a lot of hikers coming down. most are foreigners. my question pool consists of, "How's the weather up there?", "How's the view?", "How far is the next resting place?". i just pick up a question randomly every time i crossed path with them.

145 pm, we arrived at Laban Rata. that's mean another 2 km to go. but we can't climb up yet. we need to rest there at least until 2 am. so, we checked-in in another heater-less cabin (cheap lorr), took a bath, and went for lunch at 4 pm. the rest of the day is just sleep.

Menuju Puncak
woke up at 2 am and it was raining a bit. it is quite worrisome since if it kept on raining, we cannot continue the hike. being optimistic, we went for coffee, put on our raincoat and continue the hike. it was dark. Please bring a headlight and glove. both are important tools for this part of hike. i dont have a headlight, but i borrowed a torchlight from a friend. after 30 minutes of hiking, the rain stopped. the most dangerous part is where we need to walk on small ledge with an assistance of single rope. since it's dark, it is less thrilling. at km 8, i was separated from my friends. i dont know how far i was ahead, but i couldn't stop and wait for them. the torchlight began to run out of power. i solely rely on other hiker's headlight. just to make it worst, i stepped into a puddle of water. i was cursing a lot. now my shoe is wet and my feet is cold. but i need to reach there before 6 am so i kept on going. Any hiker who got to km 8.5 is good enough to get certified. there is the last checkpoint called Sayat2 and someone will be taking your name for the certification purpose. another 300 m is just up to your mental strength. i didn't get to the top. i mean, i was 10 m away from the peak. so many people up there. plus my hand and feet are numb. i just sat still and watch the sunrise. it's beautiful i tell u. my friends caught up and we took lots of pictures. with less of me inside it. i was so reluctant for photography session due to the coldness; which i regret. remember... if you planning on hiking it, whatever the circumstances or shit you're dealing with, take a lot of pictures..

Descend
Going down is as much, or if not, much more challenging than going up. i managed to race down through the rocky steps, but when it comes to steady declining track, i found it much more difficult. remember the small ledge i mentioned before, yeah.. it is much more frightening when the sun is out. we reached Laban Rata at 9 am and straight we went to the restaurant for our breakfast. the hike guide told us that we'll continue descending at 10.30. so, after breakfast, we packed our bag and had a small nap. as promised, we hike down at 1030 am and most of the time, i was walking alone and arrived third at Timpohon Gate at 2 pm.

me.. super exhaust

Everyone managed to arrive safely with sore and aching legs. hahaha... we pick up our certificate and went for our lunch. Semua pakat lepas geram. makan x hingat... boleh kata nak enjoy before sakit2 melanda. next stop: Kota Kinabalu. baru kluar perkarangan Kinabalu Park, kitorang perasan yang tayar pancit. Took out the bags and the guys, ammar and me drove to Kundasang to look for kedai tayar. luckily we found one. bukan pancit, tapi bocor. after the problem fixed, we continue driving to KK. the aparment wasn't easy to find, the funny thing is, the office for checking-in and out is located kilometers away from the apartment. since i'm driving, it's like having a crash course of KK's town road. Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat any seafood that night since the place was under renovation.

Home
Everyone woke up late. Ammar bought some canned food last night and he cooked us breakfast; bread + sardine + baked beans. bertuah la sapo yang kawen ngan ko ammar, rajin sungguh. hahaha.. before check-out, we stop by at the philipines market and bought some souvenirs.

U must know some haggling skills and also some charm to do magic here. Lucky us, Mr Ismadi brought us to some cheap merchants. popular items here are crystal, pearl and fish. i used up my remaining RM100 here for t-shirt, fridge magnet, key-chains, crystals and pearl.

After check-out, we went straight to the Terminal 2 KK Airport and drop-off the car there. then check-in the luggages and also the hiking canes (yea.. nk frame buat kenang2an). dapat makan kejap kat KFC because they already call for us. 2 hour and a half later, we were at LCCT.

There you go... some scoop on my recent visit to Kota Kinabalu. Wanna go? then i listed the must-bring items:

• lot of baju tebal2
• for hiking, pakai sweater yg bukan cotton based. less heavy and smelly when sweating
• headlight
• gloves
• suitable shoes (boot bola kain yang murah tu..)
• choco bars (jgn byk sgt, xmkn byk pon nnt.. just for quick energy)
• Tongkat (beli kat Timpohon Gate)
• Undying determination to reach the peak (only 4 of us got up there!)

ciao.