what a Weird-DO

I just came back from 4 days work in Borneo...and I was tagged by Farsilla in Borneo...mmm...that’s a weird start. So these are the weird things about me...or shall I say extraordinary things?

1. I like to dream. I dream anywhere, in the meeting. During exams, watching TV...etc. I ’m a professional who need to talk serious stuff...it’s boring! So I end up having “colourful” imagination while meeting. I hate getting caught up dreaming. My notes always have this cute stickman doodled on …hahaha. Sometimes I feel like a child. 30s outside but 3 inside.
2. I don’t talk that much except to those I’m really close. Too much occupied with my dreamsSss, perhaps.
   I like the taste of left over fried chicken kept overnight in the fridge. I’ll eat it straight away without reheating it back...yummy
3. I prefer bread or pasta over rice (this is weird if you are in my country, where the staple food is RICE)
4. I don’t wear any make-up on my wedding day.
5. I like being on the top of the “world”...taking flights, lookout points, tall buildings...the higher the better...but never been the top in the class. I guess that answers my reason for having such fetish.
6. Maths exam always a nightmare for me. Yes, literally! Every time I am in a problem, dilemma, sadness...I’ll get that dream. I often dream that I’m in an exam hall...doing math test and the worst is...I failed the entire test L last night I had it too. My mark was 49%. Crazy! Come to think again. It’s a good achievement. Another 1 mark and I’ll get 50%. perhaps life is not so much worrisome anymore. I have a buddy to share and listen to me.
7. I stuttered many many times. I mumbled a lot too. Cute enough but could be disastrous if I’m presenting something in front of other officers.
8. I’m good in neither my 1st nor my 2nd language. I tend to mix my language whenever I speak.
9. I like fancy stationary and cute notepads.
10. I used to drink more than 3L water a day. I’ll bring my water tumbler here and there a lot. Can you imagine a lady carrying a super huge water tumbler around? LOL. Now I’m drinking less since I work in an air-conditioned office and its freezing cold. Have to force myself to drink more.
11. I couldn’t stop myself from buying books...again and again.
12. I don’t like wearing jewelry except my wedding ring.
13. All my watch, clock..are 5-10 mins earlier.

The list will be miles if I don’t stop listing. All that I could say...i am an official Weirdo. My friend used to tell me, “You are such a Weirdo...you don’t belong here”. So what I did was, packed my bag and went to search for my clan.. I wandered around for 3 years. Unfortunately, I dint find anyone quite like me.
There were times I’m feeling that I don’t belong anywhere. I just couldn’t fit in with others. Always have my own way of things. I do respect others but I don’t feel the need to change to fit in. I just like to go my own way…doing my own thing. Finally, I am lucky enough to meet someone who accept the “WEIRD” me.
Each of us was born different and this make the world a more interesting place to live. Am I right or RIGHT?

no more hokey pokey dance

yup..true enough. i barely have time to have dinner at home let alone dance :( i was away for 5 days then back for the weekend and was away again for another five days..but then i managed to sneak out and arrive home by 9 pm...off again early morning..back..off..back. next week i'll be away again for 6 days..2 days for HoneyStar's family day and 4 days for a mission in Borneo. this time I will drag HoneyStar with me. kindda happy to know that my supposed-to-be 3 days away after coming back from Borneo will be postponed. however, the chance for it to fit in HoneyStar's schedule is low...meaning he might not be able to tag alone.

for now, i would rather stay at home during weekend. doing piles of laundry from A to Z...baking some cookies..doing house chores..catching up with my sleep :) and BEST of all..being around HoneyStar.

i guess that's it..some lil updates..i do have lots of things to write but feeling not in the mood and sleepy..

good night zzzzzz

i miss HOME

been 4 days since i left home. this place is nice..with wonderful scenery but then i dont feel really good. i miss home. i miss my bed and the worst part is i miss my pillow partner

ONLY 3 more days left

I had only one day for eid but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying myself. My first eid as a wife and the interesting part is. We were hosting for the event. I woke up feeling sleepy since the day before I had to stay a bit late in office doing some job which the people’s on leave supposed to do. I could guess from the beginning that the date was just not suitable...a day before eid...a day before public holiday. I wonder why some people are just insensitive to this.

Sadly, I couldn’t take any leave. I chose not to since I only have 3 days left for the year. All I could say, I spent it meaningfully. Shall I say 2010 holidays are the best year in my life? It started with an AWESOME backpacking with two best buddies in Indonesia. Hoping from places to places in Yogyakarta, Solo, Bali and Lombok. Slept in different bed every night, swam in the sea of the three Gillis in Lombok. Watching the turtles… Snorkeling Without life jacket was an accomplishment to a beginner like me. I just learnt to swim in 2 years. Is still not good enough according to Honey Star L I still get nervous most of the time. Yes, I don’t deny it. I get panic easily especially swimming in the, sea feeling the current pulling me away. But come to think of it how could I be drowned. I was already in the water. Then, the monkeys attack in Bali did give us a nerve wrecking experience but we still have a good laugh whenever the memory flashes into our mind. .stranded in Denpasar, long delayed in Dhaka, cheated in Lombok..all those magnificent scenery... we sure had a good time. Always find ways to cheer ourselves.

Then, of all best travel I enjoyed. Better than solo backpacking in the North island of New Zealand…MY UMRAH in the holly land. A place that I wish to live forever and maybe others share the same thoughts with me. My umrah was an unplanned one…it started with my mother who longed to visit my father grave. He passed away few days after haj in Jeddah and buried there. My mother told me that she’s going to Mecca with her friends. I was skeptical about it, especially about her health. I just couldn’t let her on her own. I asked her to wait till the end of the year so that we could go with my ill brother. She insisted and I gave up. Then, a friend told me “Go with her!” and I DID. Two weeks were insufficient. I prayed Friday prayer, jenazah prayer for the first time in my life. Oooo...i wish the culture in my country changed and ladies go to masjid on Friday. We could go but it doesn’t seem to be a common thing. The masjids will be full with men and there will be eyes staring at us, the ladies. I hate to attract attention...gosh!

Alhamdulillah my umrah was smooth experience. I believed that being with my mother made it easy for me. I always had place to pray even in the most crowded place, strangers gave me space after knowing I was with an old lady. I am glad that I went with her and tried my best to assist her. I will never ever allow my mother travel long distant alone except from flying from my hometown to KL. That’s the best thing I could do for her whenever she wanted to come her or even she doesn’t want to come here. J With such tight working schedule, I couldn’t travel back often like before. She has a confirmed ticket for a week holiday in January 2011. All excited to show her my new “HOME”.

My prayers have been granted in short time. MasyAllah! Yes, Allah knows the best, he tested me in ways but he granted me later on.

home SWEET home

it's 930am. im done with sweeping and cooking. time to clean the kitchen & bathroom and get ready to work..sigh! i dont feel like leaving :(
3 days away....
hope to be able to juggle life accordingly.
i can only juggle 2 in a time..so now i choose family and work. delaying some plans for awhile. insyallah everything be okay. yes, i am blessed with a helpful and loving HoneyStar

Touch n' Go

life in the new sector is kindda busy. more or less touch n' go office. the advantage is..my table is less messy of course much more neat than before :)

i was away for 4 days doing research around the city and enjoying early evenings at home. i went late to office the next day..well, not purposely but just need to search for Noor's old dissertation. she's back from Europe for a brief visit. then, my staff called..asking where was I..yikes! any boss was looking for me? i did text my boss for sure. i told her i'll be back before lunch time. she said i need to come and raed up a letter...because i would need to attend 4 days course on the next week. crapss!!! 4 days working days and i would need to spend it elsewhere. couldnt be so bad..i was trying to calm myself.

so i arrived in the office around 11 am. 3 letters on my table. a letter for the course, an internal memo for an internal course dated 16 nov...luckily im spending eid here not my hometown, some people just clueless in finding a good date. i beg it will be changed to other date..hellooo...many will take a day leave before eid, to go back to their hometown or simply to herd the sheep from the farm to the mosques :o and the third letter was from a hotel i contacted for upcoming conference saying they faxed 2 pages of information. i found 1 page only and couldnt be bother to track the other one since the venue has been confirmed.

the following week, there was me..a 4 days course has been shorten to 3 days..suprisingly, the course is so interesting. thanks to the good facilitator and of course the experienced participants. and for once i talked a lot. im the only one from my ministry an i believe i could speak well about my profession. "this is the first time i met a teacher who like teaching'. i smiled proudly and such compliment is appreciated.

another day in office before a long weekend. so i went to the office and feeling so much relief to see no letter or memo on my table. so that whole morning, i spent my time filling the claim form..till it was time to print....i had to use my colleague's printer since i dont have one yet. 22-26nov, the meeting will be in another state..i was like "am i going?" she replied sarcastically..i would bother to tell you if you are not going. i just kept quiet...i dint really want to start using harsh words. let her be...what a miserable prego :P

then..the weekend came...me and Honey Star drove up north to meet Noor, Hamid and Baby Ali. i will write about the holiday later. we had a BLAST!

Today i was late...i dint know why..it's like many people were coming to the centre after long weekend. perhaps many things are delayed and needed to be settled today. Great! 15 minutes late. while i was rushing to take the lift i saw my boss..i said hi and was about to leave. he was asking.."how do i spell your name?" "what? an event to attend in 3 hours?" i had no blinking idea where was the venue. Kuala Lumpur! the traffic congestion scares me.

had to eat breakfast before leaving. event attended by minister normally starts late..so better to fill my guts. Luckily i remembered to pick up some books for Leena from Taheerah.. gave her a call and climbed the stairs..crossed the small street and up to her office...i waited in front of the lift for sometimes..tried to call her but nobody answered...so i had to just go in..yes, sneaked into the office. i dint have the access card anyway. i waited for a staff going into and yesSS!!..i was in. pretend that i was familiar to the place and got to Taheerah's office. so noisy there, it's like they were having some sort of party. since i had no time, i asked Taheerah to google the direction to the event. yes in 2 hours i have to be there.

went back to my block..looked for my senior and asked about the sheep for eid..she would confirm in couple hours.

i hurried to my table. wrapped the present i needed to give to my previous staff and ready to go. on the way out, i went to my former unit, dropped the present, met some friends and off to the event....which only started at 1.20 pm :(

AND I AM ONE OF "THEM"

LazY Days...eerr Most of the TIME

weeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiii
im off for research again. the best part is, it's all done before 12pm. so i could hit back home and do nothing..at least nothing related to my job.. sweet!!!
im going to miss these "not-doing-anything" days. hahaha
let's do the hokey pokey dance :)



IM SUCH A RETARD!!!!!!

The Hokey Pokey Crunchie and Long Waiting Whittakers :)

Tuesday morning was kindda draggy. my new day in the new office and my Super weight gain..mmm
i needed to move my junks again..this time to the new partition my boss assigned me. the former officer already left. i looked at the big box under the table..and guess what? i found the updated list of phone numbers and Whittakers Almond Gold. who could it be? yes, after a long wait i finally get to taste it again..wow wee and suddenly my "scale nightmare" faded..hahah

what could be better? after a bar of hokey pokey crunchie...a bite of mini whittakers wont hurt..it's been 11 years since i tested it :) Alhamdulillah...so later i could start my diet in peace..no such guilty crave and lame excuses to make.

time to take up the 10kg challenge..ooch

Thanks FoR The MeMoRy

today is my last day in the sector..my last sweet day and may next days ahead be sweeter. hahaha..as if im moving far away..just one level up and few plight of steps.

HoNeY StaR bought a cake written THANK YOU for me to bring to office and some cash to pay the breakfast i ordered earlier. he said i should thank my previous colleagues especially my boss for giving this opportunity to show my talent in research and evaluation :) i need to settle that pending wedding party in the office anyway. better get it down before i actually move myself...try not to get involved with them much.

Why im being transferred? they said it is a reshuffle but my evil mind said..there's a foul play going on. the best they can do is putting me in a new "promising" sector. well, that's what everyone said. me? it's the same. they pay me and i work..i work even they dint pay me :) -some tough experience i finally overcame.

when my superior handed me the letter..i almost popped my eyes. whose decision is this?
? it's the director..bla bla bla. guess..my transfer started the day after. so..i took my time to calm down. dint pack anything. i just spread the news to my close coll. i was okay about it till i told my "friend". she dint seem to be surprised like most of us..so confirmed some of them know the "game" even before i knew it. what the...

i went back and told my Honey StaR about it. i tried not to have such suspicious feeling. then...the DaY..it was announced in the assembly..so people keep on asking me..how do i get to choose the "hot" sector. i dint. it just happened :) "another surprise wedding gift" i joked around. just to hide the bad thoughts i had.

half of the day was filled with laughter and lots of food for the division eid celebration. i reported to my new boss which doesnt seemed to have a clue where and when the "reshuffle" was coming. a typical welcoming speech "We're happy to have you around". mm..they are not stranger, i involved with their research from now and then..most of them know me well.

after the long Friday lunch break..the truth started to reveal. pretty much what i thought before. yes..i am transferred to give way for someone to stay. i laughed.."if you couldnt change it..laugh at it". knowing my inability to talk things through with my big boss..i'm accepting it. hey everyone wanted to be in that "cool" sector..i was one of them but never had the guts to do so. when it was time for me to go..i just pack some of my junks and threw away most of others. now, 99% are at the new office. my new bos is not around so i'm taking a time out and chose to stay at my old office..kindda fun to see some people are reckless seeing me around.

shall i say "Sweet Revenge?"..not so for some bubble head. i gave her rm2k project last time perhaps that's not enough and she kicked me...so i'm the typical super-nice-but-betrayed character. so how does it feel being back stabbed...Ouch..hurt

being in the new sector hope to speed up my phd plan..after postponing it for almost 2 years. i choose to quit and start afresh soon. writing research will be my core business so there's a high chance for me to master those research methodology in a year or so. bye bye working days. go back to the grad school. stay for 3 years and move to Sahara Desert..no kidding! Africa! Here I Come!

i couldnt deny that i did learn something in the previous unit..i just didnt fit in..Allah has better plan for me. he's removing me from the gossipers and backstabbers..avoiding me from being one of them. before i move my last piece of junks upstairs...to all those in the XXX Sector.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORY..I AM WELL-FED

am looking forward to reduce my weight gained in the sector:)

i shouldnt burden my thoughts with this matter..after all these awfull days, i'm looking foward to see my HoNeY StaR. yes..just love to see his smile after tiring days..

This is MY country

i was reading a blog on inter-racial marriage and feeling like writing a comment. then i ended up filling a long one which suit more as an entry. hey, that's her blog..i shouldnt mess hers with my junks :P sorry princess. so i decided to write it in my own blog.

shall i begin with...

I am a product of an inter-racial marriage and living in Malaysia. My father is a local and mother is a Pakistani descendant. I have my mother’s facial features while my father’s height. People mistakenly identify me as a foreigner from the middle east. Yes, I do get the stares when walking with the locals.

When I was a child, some naughty children used to shout at me “Go back to your country!” but...
this is my country. I don’t speak Urdu and know a little about the Pakistani culture. I regard myself as a Malaysian, never lived abroad except for my undergraduate years in New Zealand and some brief holiday here and there. Honestly I felt more accepted in the countries more than my homeland. it's fair enough if i was treated as a foreigner in the foreigner countries.

Now, I am married to a wonderful foreigner who I met in a local graduate school. He’s been staying in the country for 6 years and that’s make things a bit easy for us. He is fully aware of my culture and could even speak the language. Me? I neither speak Arabic nor French let alone his mother-tongue. We used English a lot. We do have miscommunication many many times and it did piss me off but not for long . The best solution is to always discuss about it a.s.a.p..and of course we had good laugh after that: O and to update, I don’t get the awkward stare when walking in public with him. We looked so “blend in”...

I’m ready to learn Arabic and French. Hopefully I will master the language in less than 5 years...Insyallah by that time i'll be more ready to hop from country to country. yesterday i came out with "funny" idea. i suggest we label all those spices in the kitchen with 4 languages Bahasa Malaysia, English, Arabic and French. i'm looking forward to stick the colourful stickers on the cute lil bottles.

my tale is just one side story of inter-racial "product" and i'm sure there are others who share similar experiences. a marriage includes falling in love many times..again and again..to the same person (this quote is not originally mine..got it somewhere on the web).

It’s amazing how Allah creates human with unique differences. Masyallah. It makes the world such an interesting place to live :) culture and language shouldn’t be the barrier. For me, having the same faith and sharing the same values are important. Just that we need to tolerate more. The choice is ours with Allah’s will of course.

I Have Moved To Sahara Desert

me and My Honey Star having a rest while our camel was securely parked in front of our home :)

my brain is goin empty..first i couldnt decide what to write for the title of my entry..i am moving..i move..finally i have moved. wow..my grammar knowledge is getting bad. so much of information and writing report done in Bahasa. i think my Bahasa improved less than 1% yet my English is getting worst. just a year in this office..am totally clueless..hey how am i supposed to start my phd..i mean, couldnt do a Bahasa based research and English is just right 'subject" and making me having more "opportunity" to join the Saharan's clan.

wait...i need to learn Arabic, French...am so totally excited to be multilingual. can you imagine..me being able to read more books and the best thing is i could understand Al-Quran...how cool can it be? much more cool than climbing mount Everest.

gotta go..glad to know that i do have this touch of "nonsensically" writing skill..even after being hitched by a Green Alien :P

some lil updates

im back with new routine and a husband to share all the joy and challenge in life. marriage life is wonderful. alhamdulillah i have a husband who's always making me happy. yes, once my col asked me, "How does it feel being married?". "Peaceful" a word to describe my state of mind at the moment. he completes me and i believe i complete him too :)

i think i could just go on and on..telling all those joys in my life with my Honey Star. i'll update later since lots of changes happening..still unpacking junks in our new house and being transfer to different sector..woosh..

Double celebration

so..that's it! perhaps this is the last entry i'll write as a single lady..
am so looking foward for eid and 3rd syawal be BULAN & BINTANG special day.. i havent been writing for some time. was busy packing..preparing and moving my junks to our "palace". will update about the celebration. insyaallah. prayers for us starting a new chapter in our life and building a family. not taking this laptop with me back to my hometown. i wont have time blogging anyway. i'll be fully occupied with my Bintang and yes..i dont want to spent a single second away from him..yes, be falling in love again and again with my Bintang.

HeLp..We are Dying!!!

honestly..that's what haunted me these few days..my plants in the office are dying. it has not rained since last weekend. it was a very hot days for the past 7 days..yes, very the very hot days..i was away for a week for the PISA coding and left the key to the balcony to my fellow colleague. i left a tumbler full of water and to my surprise the tumbler was still full when i got back in the office on Monday.

there was my asthmatic colleague..telling me that he lost the key..what? okay, i was trying not to get panic. it should be somewhere..so i told him to keep on searching. he might accidentally take it home..after 3 days of constant nag at him..i finally gave up. i asked my office assistant, Mariam to look for spare key. she quietly whispered to me..the key is not missing Madam Rose has it. what? Mr Malek forgot to lock the door so Madam Rose locked it and took the key as well. i dint want to go and ask her straight away..okay, she wanted to play a game. so, i let her. after 5 days and there was no sign that she's giving the key back to me.

everyday i look at my plants with tears.. yes, no kidding i was crying..well, they are my babies. i plant them from seeds and was happy to see the flowers started to bloom. in fact, that what keeps me happy on such down days in the workplace. why couldnt people be more human? i just need to water the plant.

the office was freezing cold during last 5 days. i wonder why the maintenance failed to fix it. my flu is gone after me being absent from the office for 5 days. i doubt that it would go away so quick if still stuck in the office...yeah, had it for 2 weeks and boxes of tissues wasted. can you imagine it was like -10 in the office but 40 outside (okay..i might exaggerating it) but hey some of my colleagues had to put their gloves on..wearing sweater and wrapped shawl on their bodies. the latest one is..many of them have this electric hot water pillow..it's funny. hey nobody wants to be frozen. my fingers were numb and i believe me. it was freaking cold! mr malek had a blanket with him keeping him warm and protected. he had a serious asthma attack last month and was admitted to ER...poor guy. i dont think it will be fun to see him having attack in the office especially when im around. it's going to be very scary..and sad to see someone gasping. i was by the bedside of two close people in my life while they were dying..no kidding, i dont want to see that anymore..

back to my plants..that's it! madam Rose was extremely busy today so i had no chance to bug her and demand the key back. it was almost 430pm..the sun still shinning bright. my plants..owh..owh..my plants. okay, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. i remembered the possibility of getting to the balcony from other way..the meeting room? they were having meeting at that time. so i dint want to wait to wait till they finished..which probably 530pm or 6pm. then...i had an idea..the documents room.. tadaa..yes the room which stores the old yellowish documents.

hahaha.. im in charged now.yes, i am the storekeeper.so i have the keys. there is a window in the room and im quite positive that it only locked from the inside. there there was me..with a tumbler full of 2L water. hooray..i could open it.. so i took the chair and climbed out from the window..1 2 3..jump...my babies are drying, the soil cracked due to heat.. i generously poured the water on them..saying "now..now..dont be scared darling, mommy going to take care of you no matter how".

climbing back to the room was not easy when you are wearing a skirt..luckily the window is wide enough to fit the chair. i pulled the chair outside and climbed back for extra water and did the same again. hope the plants will be okay and it rain during these couple of days. perhaps i should do the nafl prayer and ask Allah to make it rain. to madam Rose, please dont let us frozen..and pity my plants. plants are important to us..they give us oxygen..need not to say more since she was a former science teacher and must be fully aware with the fact that we do need PLANTS to breathe.

I GOT TO SAVE THE PLANET

mission accomplished :)
yes, Bulan with her crazy thoughts yet good intention

was my fave cartoon last time..i wonder do they still air it?
i am a captain planet wannabe..the problem is- there are no Planeteers around :(

Are We OPPRESSED?

How Do You Pronounce his Name...?

im back in the office after a week away..and by the time i reached the elevator, i was asked "So, are you feeling all nervous for the big day?" i was just smiling..thinking, should i feel nervous?

obviously the news spread, good! that's my intention.
congratulation Bulan!Congrat Miss Bulan!
and i gave them a big smile..yes a big one that almost break my jaw.

that's lovely, then the question popped a gain " are feeling all nervous?" i replied " dont know, i'm just going to get married" weird..weird..weird. their questions do make me nervous..it's like do i have to get nervous? am i all right if i dont get nervous? sort of feeling guilty for not getting nervous.

• so, who is the groom? A close friend of mine
• how do you Pronounce his name? Z...again? I SAID Z....
• where is he from? Outer space..the Greeno Planet
• where on earth did you meet him? Yes, i met him on earth in the varsity to be precised..while we were doing our Master degree.
• where are going to stay afterwards? Here! well, i dont feel the need to announce to them the "hijrah" that we are going to make later on..just my family know about it and that's fine to them.
• Are you aware of the this kindda marriage? yes, i am fully aware of the inter-species relationship. we are the same, except that i dont speak his native language, i dont cook his traditional cuisine, i dont know his culture, i dont like maths, i dont play sport, i dont understand French, i dont like winter..etc..others than that we are the SAME
• you have to make sure that he doesnt control you? it depends sometimes i do need to be controlled. NO he doesnt tell me DOs and DONTs. He guides me on the RIGHTs and WRONGs which i gladly accepted.
• You should teach him our culture..Yes, he is fully aware of MY CULTURE..and that's the most important culture. my culture might not compliment others'..
• why dont you have a big wedding? i always have a dream wedding which is a simple nikah. an akad ceremony in masjid, a small reception at home and off we go for a private holiday. so i guess..it's going to work as it's planned. INSYAALLAH :)
• but the most popular response..shall i say top rated...is YOUR CHILDREN SURELY LOOK BEAUTIFUL..Insyaallah..i take it as a dua since me and my Honey Star loves children and we wanted to have a dozen of them :)
  

a bunch of happy kitties with lots of love

Me, My HoneY StaR, a Wedding and 1000+ booklets to be coded

i'll be married to my Honey Star in less than a month..and been busy running here and there. both work and doing some preparation for the day. Alhamdulillah 90% are done. including the most challenging task..which is buying the wedding shoes. it always not easy to find suitable shoes for me..or shall i say it's easy since i only have limited store to get it: Pedal Works & Shuz in Isetan, Pedal Works main outlet in Subang, Clarks and Vincci + well, if i go for strappy heels, Pedal Works is a good choice but lately i settled for Clarks..easy pick any design and ask for size 8...surely fit me perfectly. the best thing is the Clarks outlet is just walking distance from my office so i could always browse through and mark it first...till the next pay day.

last sunday, me, Honey Star and Taheerah were all around the city looking for my wedding shoes. 4 malls..countless outlets..till Honey Star finally agreed that his "wife" is blessed with beautiful large feet. so..yes! we ended up in Clarks and bought a simple but sweet beige heels..plain but i might decorate it on my own..perhaps sticking some beads.i dont know. we'll see.
the wedding dress is ready, as well as Honey Stars'. i sent it for dry clean and hope to pick it this friday back from the "PISA CODING". i just need to buy buttons for Honey Star, candies for the gifts, new curtain for my room...and that's it...i think

my flu is almost gone and i got my teeth checked....yes, miss lazy to floss had to do filling for her tooth :P better get it done now before it gets worse..i dont want to be sick on my wedding day and of course for the holiday after that. just me, my Honey Star and Lots of LOVE
the invitation cards were nicely designed but the printer was not doing a good job. the cards turned all blurry..:( sadly, it's too late to get it reprinted...we had no choice but to send it anyway..the map to the wedding reception is still visible..i guess all be fine. what could be interesting than this..a surprising proposal, simple engagement, small party but HEAPS OF HAPPINESS!!!! it's going to be so much fun, two diversed culture, lots of food, friends, children running around and "gossip aunties"..hahahaha
now..im alone in the hotel room and be here till friday noon...hurgh..
my group is really fast and we finished ahead from others but we need to wait for others before moved to second stage. it was easy-peasy for me since i did the coding for the pilot study before. same questions, same answers but different students and waaaayyyy to many booklets.

I am a Bigfoot Cinderella and Yes I have found my Prince Charming :)

I DONT WANT TO GET SICK NOW!!!!!

my head feels like this

SchooL no 3

the school was super quiet..amazing! in fact this is the second "peaceful" school i ever entered.. the first one was the school near by flat..which i went to with the intentention of carrying my m.ed research but was rejected by the principal with the reason that i might disturb the teaching & learning process..(no wonder...)

back to school no 3...so i immediately could assume what culture the school has. however, the principal is a bubbly and cheerful lady. the senior assistant is an efficient Lady..i repeat LADY..it's a girls school and i think 90% of the population, including staffs are female. i was informed that the school has a god academic record. so, no wonder..everything seemed to be neatly organized.

officer no 1 was with me for less than 30 minutes and i was glad for that. a teacher came to accompany me to the test room. all 29 nervous looking girls were waiting for me. it took me less than 10 minutes to briefly explain about the test. the teacher helped me to distribute the booklets, so things went really smooth. she looked surprised when i told her to leave me with the students and she could just continue doing her work.

"do you want to wait here for 2 hours?" i said, "yes..that's why i'm here". make me wonder, what is so weird about that. i was there to administer the test so..i'm supposed to sit in the room and wait for the students to finish it..rite?

yes, nothing to do..so i took my novel out. i'm not sure whether that was rite or not..but come to think about it..it's better than leaving them with their own teacher..it doesnt seem valid..mmmm
the test started 10 minutes earlier, so it finished 10.50 am. the students went for their break and be in the room again by 1020.

the teacher came and invited me for a refreshment..wow, just what i was thinking last night..chicken rice. yummy. the principal joined us later but i had to excuse myself to start the questionnaire part. easy ..some students completed it very fast and less questions asked compared to the previous schools.

12.20pm..i was all packed to go back to hotel..well, not after meeting the principal for the school questionnaire. there she was..checking the well-typed answers..impressive! then she went on and on about education..and started to ask issues related to educational policy after knowing that i am from the policy unit..o..o please dont ask me questions on specific education system..even worse, asking questions based on education act. i havent mastered anything...i nearly choked...luckily i just knew how to look smart...hahahaha. my brain is full of crapss..as my honey star said.."your brain is like a zoo". yes rite! somehow i managed to prove there's a tiny faculty of sensible knowledge in this "zoo" :P

my ride was on time and i reached the hotel earlier than before.

a phrase to describe my day GIRLS RULE!!!!

my writing is full of spelling, grammatical mistake..sorry, i'll get back to it later. just need to record it at the moment before the animals in the "zoo" eating all those memory..i need to sleep early. tomorrow be another prestigious school. well, that i was told.

SchooL No 2

there i was at the lobby waiting for my lift and like i guessed they were late. gosh! i hate it when they said "Malaysian time" hello! what do you mean by "Malaysian time"? i thought we are from the same time zone. grow up..stop using such excuse for being late.

finally the state department SUV parked at the front entrance. there were driver 2 and officer 2. the officer got down from the SUV and carried my "box". then, we went to the school no 1 which slightly out of the town, a rural school. we had to pass the small crowded road till we arrived in a quieter small road. i could see the vegetable farms along the small road. a scenery that i definitely missing in my recent life.

my mobile rang and it was the school coordinator in school no 2. i had no choice but to apologise for being late, yes i promised him to be there by 8..now..it's 845...it was almost 9 when we reached the school. officer no 2 asked the driver to carry the "box" up to the office. what? there he was talking non stop. bla bla bla

the senior assistant turned to be his old colleague. so there they were "catching up" i was almost shouting "HEY..i have job here!" but of course i dint..i handed the school questionnaire to the senior assistant since the principal was not around. he was about to pass the booklet to another teacher..then, i had to say that he had to answer it...mmm..honestly, im not sure he really complete it by himself or not.

back to my story, i was leaving the office and about to carry my "box" when officer 2 told me..let the school assistant carry that. i was surprised...hey the box was not heavy at all. cant you just carry that and i could start my work. what a waste of time..so two school asistant came to carry that one box. hahaha.

lucky enough to see the students all ready with their stationary but i had to instruct them to go and get their calculator from the class. the school coordinator was really helpful. helping distributing the booklets which took some time since each students were assigned different booklet.

the test started...and suddenly officer no 2 appeared out of nowhere, inviting me for breakfast. i declined the invitation since i had my dinner at 7.15 "my time". he was persuasive..i told him i need to invigilate the test. "dont be so tight..just leave it to the coordinator" i almost argued with him..then the school coordinator approached me and said, "just go madam..it's an honoured". so i said okay.

i was restless in the canteen. i sipped the tea and excused myself. hurgh.what a relief. it's not about being afraid to bent the rule..but it's my responsibility. i'm paid monthly..and this is part of my job. before i left the canteen, officer 2 constantly asking me if i wanted to eat durian or not. i told him no thanks..i'm not a great fan of the torny fruit after all. he insisted.."whatever..just tell me that you are the one who wanted to eat the fruit" i left him and back to the test room. i told the school coordinator to leave me with the students.

officer no 2 was out of the side..so i could just do my work without people ridicule me for being too "discipline"..what a dork!
after the last session..when i was giving some students extra time to complete their questionnaires..officer 2 appeared out of no where..again with his durian agenda. i told him i had to stay and wait for the students to finally done...

then..lunch time, 3 other teachers joined us plus the driver. so there were the durians..i had some and of course officer 2 had more. he was dozing all the way back..

huh..what a scum! i'm glad to know that he wont be accompanying me tomorrow. honestly, i dont need any "escort"..just a lift forth and back to the schools..i'm fine with that..

to the students..well done! some of them tried their best to complete the questionnaires :)
although i think..it was not right for the senior assistant to tell them that...those good ones will be sent to australia for next PISA project..i hate it when adults are making fun of the innocent kids.

hope tomorrow be better..

SchooL No 1

today is my second day in Alor Setar. i went to 2 schools to administer the test. the students were great, teachers too. i'm feeling like an important person when the driver picked me every morning from the hotel and an officer would surely accompanied me each day. well, thanks.

yesterday was what i called a "professional" treatment and i was pretty much grateful for that. the officer who accompanied me approached me at the lobby and carried my "test" box. it was not that heavy but hey..i had to push a heavy load trolley down the basement back in my division with no help.so, i was glad to have someone to do that for me. hehehe. the principal welcome me and left me with the senior assistant. she helped me to distribute the booklet to the students and i excused her to leave me invigilating the test. nothing much to be done..i just sat there and walked around once awhile. the state officer left for another school to do his task. i was more than happy to be left alone.

i had no problem with the students except that some of the items in the questionnaire which confused some of them. 12.30 pm, i was all ready, packed my "box" and there, the state officer came to "pick" me. LOL..the driver was not in sight..i went to the office to collect the questionnaire from the principal, unfortunately...she's not in the office.

"madam...please join me for lunch in the school canteen"
yikes! me? madam? hahaha..my boss used to yell my name BULANnnnnn..whenever she dint see me lingering around..
i was having lunch while the driver arrived and joined us.
"where is the questionnaire?" the principal had not completed the questionnaire. great! 4 hours and i had to wait more.
so there was me with the principal, Senior assistant..talking about schools, students, teachers and education system..wow, i am a "pro" after all :)
"when is this lady going to stop talking?
she went on and on..complaining about teachers. huh! once i interrupted her by saying," maybe, you are giving so much pressure to your teachers..perhaps lessen their workload will improve their performance".
of course she was defending herself.
well, i couldnt say more because i never been a part of the school community after all. i had to agree to some of her points.
it's sad to know some teachers have no interest in teaching at all. to be a teacher, ones need to have the "soul". teacher is a friend, mother, father, sister. dont call yourself a teacher if you never worried about a student's life. i think a teacher will never blame a student for failing, he/she should reflect on the teaching..trying to figure out if the student is having other problem...before labeling them plain lazy

to the teachers, students of SchooL No 1..thank you
and of course mr driver 1 and mr state officer 1

I HATE DRIVING!!!

tomorrow i'll be heading north..not looking forward to it but..i do look forward to go to school AGAIN!
i love school..as a teacher :)

i cant imagine driving that far..the furthest i ever drove was from Kota tinggi to Machang which is around 608km in 11 hours. it was like driving from Singapore up to Thailand. NO highway..it took such hours to reach my hometown and i would normally get so tired once i arrived. the worst part was..feeling like i was still driving even in my sleep. huh!
i said to myself, "there's no way im driving that far again.. alone with no co-driver just "sleeping partners"!!!".
but it's happening tomorrow. im taking 2 "sleeping partners" somehow i do hope that they take turns to sleep. at least one will keep me entertained..

luckily, my research will be assisted by the state department officer and they'll provide a driver to take me to the four schools..meaning i dont have to cramp my head with all those routes and getting lost in the middle of nowhere. hey, suddenly, i'm feelin like an important person. LOL, truth is im nobody, just had to push a trolley full of research materials down to the basement..almost stuck between the heavy door..yikes!
maybe i am after all, being stuck in the office frozen my brain..so time to go out and melt it...just to the normal temperature..to activate those precious brain cells that almost die in the cold air-conditioned 10 storeys building..

i need to sleep now..i have a long journey..let see..perhaps 400+ KM to drive..
highway could be boring!

not much of editing done to the map. i am lousy in this pic editing :P

Kajang-Kulim-Alor Setar-Grik-Machang-Kajang
total KM
372 + 108 + 144 + 158 + 391
approximately 1173KM

BuLaN is....

i hate it when i have a lot to write and dont know what to write first and i end up not writing anything..or worse...writing junks like this..lets write something briefly,what's going on with my life now?
still stuck in a job that i x really favour
still staying at the same my family's flat for free, with my super nice housemate, Harumi and a bro who comes home only whenever he wanted..
the two rabbits are still with me but i need to give it to Taheerah by next weekend. hey, it's a shared custody LOL plus i'll be off to collect data for an international study. wohooo..cool
but then, how am i suppose to drive up north for more 300KM alone. sicko..I HATE DRIVING.
so my solution is to take my "super cool" housemate Harumi..and invited my "super nice" niece. hahaha, so it's going to be a road trip after all. i'll be leaving two days earlier...hahaha, talking for not being late. actually i'll be stopping at an old friend's house on the way to collect my first data. i'll be around the state for 4 days and off to my hometown. so, it's going to be another 300+ KM. i'll be having a "meeting" to sit and discuss about upcoming event. while im there, i need to submit whatever forms, letters needed for the event. looking forward for it BUT my stay will not be purely holiday. i'll be working. collecting data in two different locations in two days..and back to where i'm residing now... so be back in office by 5 August...will have a lunch with my workmates..that i needed to arrange before off to north..yikes! my boss keeps on changing date..
so i guess that's about it. the updates on bulan's life.
wait, i forgot to mention earlier we went for HIV test yesterday..negative, so time to proceed with the next step..Insyallah things will be as we wanted it to be :P pray hard for it.
however, IT'S GOOD TO END SUCH RAMBLINGS WITH HAPPY THOUGHTS..dont u simply love happy ending? well..I DO

i think..i'll hit the bed with my book n..of course warm milk :)

I PROMISE TO DRINK MILK EVERYDAY

i'm not a big fan of milk especially powdered milk. fresh is good but it's a bit expensive and always goes stale in my fridge. lazy lazy me :P

honestly, the reason for me to drink milk was to get ready for pregnancy in the future although at that time i didnt even receive any proposal. now, i'm sticking to the same reason.

i got this idea that when a mother is pregnant, the baby is taking all the calcium it needs to build bones from her. so the mother needs to have sufficient calcium intake for herself and plus the baby...and then when the mother doesnt have enough calcium for lil baby..it will "suck" (a very intriguing word) whatever it needs from mommy's bones..including teeth..ouch. can you imagine that? bad bad lil baby...poor big mommy but she'll sacrifice for the sake of lil baby..

hey, i hate going to a dentist, let alone having toothache. the worst is that the mother cant just go to the dentist and pull her teeth out..so she must bear with it till lil baby has enough calcium for itself...
i dont know if this is true or not but it's good to take precaution..milk is always good for us..pregnant or not.

so...im saying..DRINK MILK NOW...NO REGRET!

i'm feeLing...

im feeling all goeey, giddy, wobbly...watever ..u named it. whenever i'm nervous..my stomach aches. huh! i think i need to pray that i'll be all okay..im super excited but super nervous too..
i am ready but...ouch my stomach aches again..what a funny girl!

Wake UP SLeePy HeaD!!!

i hate it when feeling sleepy and all those dodgy..huhuh..today is friday and im totally excited thinking..yeah tomorrow i gotta..mmm..what i'll be doing?
ok..let me list down, just to kill this sleepiness.

1. i NEED to dust the fan..freaking DusTy-DONE
2. mop the floor-DONE
3. dust the shelves-DONE
4. clean the fridge..trash away all those expired stuff :P-DONE..well, Harumi did it
   
5. let the rabbits out-DONE, but at the laundrette only
   
6. wash my clothes-DONE
7. iron working clothes for next week
8. call Taheerah and have a SPA-ing date?-she's out of the town for the weekend
   
9. fold the dried clothes-DONE
10. organise my bookshelf-A BIT
    
11. cook lemon chicken..hahahahah just came into my mind-DONT FEEL LIKE EATING IT
    
12. go to Nadia's in Cheras and pick up the cookies
13. change my bedsheet-DONE
14. wash the curtain-DONE
15. light the aromatherapy candle
16. on the salt mineral lamp
17. plant new plants
18. take the rabbits for walk
19. wash the rabbits' feet
20. clean the rabbits
21. read my book
22. do some revision..tajweed alert!!!
23. call up Leena for drinks?
    

HaPPy RainY DaY

BuLan needs to do REVISION

i'm starting my lesson again next week..yippie. all excited but i need to do revision. i think i'll go gogo gaga again..adoi!

after sister solehah back to her varsity i couldnt get any replacement. too bad, sister jannah couldnt teach me and only told me the very last minute when i was expecting her to come over in less than 3 hours. owwwh..i was all set, waiting eagerly for my new teacher.

sister solehah was not informed about the cancellation as well. i contacted her and she promised to find a new replacement. she felt responsible to get a new teacher for me. she's such a god and knowledgeable young lady. i respected her as a teacher although she is far more younger than me. she's so adorable and surprisingly, she is an anime fan. Sometimes, she stayed for a while after lesson to chat with Harumi about Japan or just to play with the rabbits. well..a girl is always a girl.

i missed my lesson for a week and now that i got new replacement again. her name is Noura. i havent met her, i just called her and talked to her over the phone. sister solehah recommended her. im glad that it dint take that long for me to start again.

i was a bit frustrated before since im unable to continue the lesson immediately for it's okay..it's time of the month anyway..still sister solehah would come and we had general discussion on certain topic..either my choice or hers. gosh! i did ask lots of questions..hahaha. she never hesitated to give answers.

i think i was doing not so well but at least im catching up and Alhamdulillah i finished 1st juzuk..still lots of mistake..hey, im learning. and glad to learn again after putting it on hold for long time. i always like learning and studying...guess what, Harumi is joining me too. she could learn to read the Quran easier since she already familiar with the characters. she really enjoy it...we do! we like to discuss the translation with sister solehah as well. she tried her best to interpret the meaning and give brief but clear explanation

here i am..back to a very basic..which is could be better than writing a boring educational thesis :P

You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant ?

i was about to open my novel when my senior approached. i know her in graduate school, in fact i was her senior back then. yes, she is loud but i never bother about that. i was busy writing my thesis while she's just starting her first year. i barely met her except on those days where i needed to wait for my supervisor to reschedule our meeting and i occasionally ended up hanging around in the graduate's lab. just to kill the time or checking my email.

Sister Salma is a friendly lady, a person that i think is okay to mix around. in fact, i always think she is till now. accidently , she was the first i met after reported to my new division and i was very please to see familiar face at the same place. she's in different unit but recently we met quite often. we are in the same research team for time being and another reason is..i started to park my car at the basement. somehow i dont really like the morning crowd in the lift..people are not just saying hi but checking on each other..clothes, make up..handbags and me? i never looked the best in the morning, especially on my way to the office.

sister Salma joined me for breakfast today and out of respect i dint take my novel out. then, she started to ask me "did Zainab told you what i asked her to tell?" i said"i dont think so"
Sister Zainab is really close to me and she's really stylish and i adore her. i always seek advise from her..not about dressing up but about job and personal problems. i wonder, what stopped her from telling me sister Salma's message. She's a sister to me and i believe she'll say whatever she needed to say to be without feeling hesitate.

"So..tell me!".. She was slightly reluctant and finally said "i told her to tell you to dress up the way you did before" .."mmm..how?" "you are not wearing make up anymore.no lipsticks, come on " i just smiled.."owwh.." she continued, "last time i saw you were so plain..nothing on your face" i replied "well, im not wearing anything now..just natural colour lip moisturizer".."owwwh.." i think she realised that i dont want to discuss about it anymore. so we changed topic..

last couple of months..one of my colleagues asked me.."is that your new hijab style?" i said "maybe..insyallah" honestly i hate myself when i couldnt defend my act, as if my act is against wrong. why cant i say..yes, this is my choice? there's nothing to be ashamed of.

nobody asked me to change..i just feel not right when my hijab doesnt cover my chest. it's like my chest is bare. i started to wear less and less make up. the kohl was applied just to hide my swollen eyes. yes...i had some sadness at that moment and tried to conceal it from others. i dont think it's appropriate for me to come to work looking scrumpy. Alhamdulillah things got better. thanks to my friend who constantly reminding me about the qadr and..the deeper meaning of surah al-insyirah. my fave lines are

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا

Surely there is ease after hardship

إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
Aye, surely there is ease after hardship.

So i cried less and less. now time to let go my make up. i was worried in case i need the kohl to seal my "grief" again..then i told myself..Allah will keep on helping me in various way. i shouldnt worry much about the future...

i still care much about my skin. i wash my face daily, making sure there's no pimples..putting scar gel on the pimples scar, put lip moisturiser, moisture my face, eye gel for eye bags...and have regular facial done either at home or spa. Alhamdulillah im blessed with good skin and always keep it hydrated by drinking lots of water..only that sometimes i like to squeeze my pimples with my fingers and the result is..ugly scar..:(

once i asked my close friend " do i look different without make up?" she replied " never noticed that" so it's good to know that Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. im not just skin deep..i wanted to be acknowledged not the way i dress..what colour of lipsticks ..let be because for my intelligence and pleasant being. i'm more than a muse.

now i understand why to cover is to honour ourselves..you'll be respected for your brain. i believe when people are listening to you..they really do listen to the words you are saying not because of your "artificial beauty". in the end of the day, it will be your opinion and say that count.

i'm grateful to what Allah is turning me into. i never guessed that i could just be the person i am now. my mom and sisters will be happy...seeing me tossing my tight clothes and fancy eyeshadow. people might say that im limiting my chance of attracting guys and might end up being a spinster. all that i gotta say..my life is not the society to decide. Allah knows the best for me.

it's good to know that most of those who really know me dont really care if i wear make up or not..i am bulan. that's explain everything. my non-muslim housemate is very curious but she tried to understand why i cleaned my closet and put some clothes in the box for donation. harumi is more than happy to receive some of my clothes.

poor Reena, she was all excited to revamp my wardrobe but i told her i'm okay with it as long as she follows my rules..so can you imagine her face when i refused to buy the funky outfit from the China doll's store? give me a break..those clothes are wayyy to tight..i couldnt even put my finger in :P i'll think i'll suffocate in that small dress.

Taheerah is always okay with what i wear or decide not to wear.it's cool to have a friend like her. last weekend i took her out for dinner at the nearby stall..so i was wearing my denim-like jilbab and long black shayla..since it's easy to slip into..and she was wearing baby tee and shorts..people were staring at us..yes, we looked very "different" but hey.it doesnt matter..Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

now..it's understandable why sister Zainab dint tell me about sister Salma's message. maybe she forgot all about it or it's simply unimportant. i am who i am and people like the way i am..with or without make up.

to those lovely people..thank you for not judging me based on my appearance. im not perfect and never will be one. i never dreamt of being the person i am now. Allah leads people in mysterious ways. Gladly He dint lead me through a very long and difficult route and i pray that He will make me better in every possible way..and keep on leading me to the right path.

to sister Salma, thanks for your attention and my dua' goes to you.

i end my post wit a cute HiJaBi BabY pic

A Garden, Chicken and Sheep

Before i start to blog on the topic related to ..a garden, chicken and sheep, i wanted to stress that this blog post is NOT about the Farmville Obsession in Facebook. I'm not a big fan of Facebook and NEVER get involved with Farmville. I have nothing against the craze..being a private person, i found that facebook-ing is so un-private..but i do browse friend's page. hahaha..i guess i am the facebook stalker after all.. LOL :P bad2 girl !

okay..back to my Garden, Chicken and Sheep..it goes like this..

When you are feeling all blue and crappy...you must think of things that make you happy or perhaps people that make you happy. At this very own time. All I could think is the flowers that blooming. Yes I planted new plants in the office. So that’s keeping me all excited to come to office. Not that super excited but enough to keep me going. Friends said that im just not born a gardener at all. The plants that I tried to plant seem to die in less than 5 months.

I never gave up. I ‘m not opening a plant nursery so nothing to worry about. I like to see the flowers blooming from the tiny seeds. It’s amazing how it grows. It’s like a magic when those plants come out from the soil. It doesn’t take that long for it to grow. In some cases…it only took a day. Planting a plant is somehow has its ups and downs. Call it lucky or whatever you please. The plants might just stop growing and seeing a plant dies is not a good experience. I always sad to see it dying and most of the time, I would try to save it. I agreed that it takes some knowledge to determine the right soil, lighting, water or even the right plants to grow. Where and when...

I’m a good example of a pure amateur gardener. Some people advised me to just quick planting flowers. They said I have “warm hands”which resulted to the plants dying. Whatever. I like keeping the world green plus some colour here and there. Unlike some people who couldn’t be other about planting trees yet have the guts to complain about global warming.

I have no blinking idea what plant this one should be...just wait and see

Acalypha hispida or better known as "cat's tail" plant in my country

Unfortunate enough for me to realize that sometimes my plants failed to survive no matter how careful I was…sometimes it does grow and you could see me smiling and grinning of satisfaction. It’s a huge accomplishment to me. Im better with the greens. Just those flowers need lots of sunlight and living in a small flat is a disadvantage.

The only sunny place is the launderette, even though it’s just for few hours in the morning. That’s okay for the greens but not sunny enough for the flowers. I used to have pink flowers at the small “balcony” but I don’t know why it’s stop producing more flowers. Huh….im not happy with that. Flowers always make me happy and im trying again and again.

Owwh... I do wish to live in a house with a small garden where I could spend time just planting and admiring the plants. Being a homely person. A garden definitely one of my biggest wishes. Last week, I had a dream. I was in a location which I think a farm but not a big one. Maybe a house at countryside with extra space for me to keep some farm animals. I was feeding the chickens. I could see a sheep...a white fluffy sheep. I was happy but I wonder why I don’t have cat with me. I love cats but yet I don’t have one. Mmmm…I do have rabbits now but that’s all I could squeeze in the tiny flat.

Better than nothing…

Could my dream of Garden and farm be classified as“escapism” from this unfavorable job?

i think adding some geese in my "little farm" will be a good idea

I donct KNOW

hey..me bulan feling so ..i couldnt describe what. im feeling like typing some words in the blog but im have no blinking idea wat to write ...nothing much to write..but i just wanted to write..seeing letters turning into words...sentences..paragraphs ....it's just wonderful. yes, i am totally a "wrriten-stuff" freak. i read like crazy..i write crazy stuff..i think i have so much words..thoughts going on in my brain. it's not that i have no chance to say it but it need not to be said..im just glad that im not so much of a talker..let them call me a "mute"..who cares..i dont go and bitching about others..it's just me and my so-called-life...

i think i better..off the laptop and settle with a good book..dint feel like watchin tv or talking today..aaaaa..enuf!

Slightly Under the Weather :'(

im coughing AGAIN! i was okay for almost a month..i wonder why im coughing again. im taking gd care of myself..x iced drinks..lots..i mean lots lots of water. stopped taking shower in the evening. could it be the cold temperature in the office? i got the feeling that it's the dusty carpet. it needs to be steamed! freaking dusty..
today i was feeling extremely sleepy while i was driving...i had to make sure im awake..very dangerous. i came home and had a nap for almost 1 hour. i had cold sweat and drooling LOL. no kiding!
now im off to bed. hopefully i could stay awake for few pages of the novel...

ohhh..the hormone again!

I'm so in LOVE

I have a good news. i am proud to announce that i am in a healthy relationship. that's what i believe. we met few times before but i never really think of it. then, last weekend we met again. this time. i finally admit my feeling. yes i am so in love with...HUMUS .hahahaha LOL

in fact Harumi also feels exactly the same. we are ditching those fatty spread and dips.

the love story goes like this. on one particular one hot sunday noon i brought her to enjoy lil middle east cuisine. so we ordered a large chicken kabsha and mix appetizer wit humus dip. the restaurant was very crowded. we dint expect the main dish arrived on time..the same time as the appetizer. guess what? we ended up eating appetizer and forgetting the main dish. the rice was a lot. it's like we could feed the whole entire apartment block with it. to note,we're forcing ourselves to finish it and i swear..next time im just going to share a regular kabsha wit 2.

humus...my mind was fully occupied with the thoughts of eating it..i like the creamy..sourish taste..a good alternative to mayo or cream cheese. i pictured myself wrapping it in lettuce leaves..yummy. perhaps i could buy ready made in the hypermarket near my office.

monday noon. i was all set with a mission to hunt for humus...NO! i couldnt find it anywhere..only the same western dipping sauce..the solution is to make my own humus. i had no choice but to learn it now...i mean NOW or never. I browsed for online recipe..wow easy..very easy and i mean it..just chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice and tahini. hey wait, what on earth is TAHINI...so i had to click the word tahini and so much relieved to know that basically it just a blend of sesame seed and olive oil.

tuesday noon..i went to get all the ingredients.still trying to look for ready made tahini..but to no avail . undoubtly, i had to start from scratch and i opted for canned chickpeas. i am craving for humus at the very moment, i'll be all frustated to actually soak the chickpeas for a night and cooking it will take some time too. maybe next time i'll buy the dry chickpeas, it's cheaper.

i finished shopping the ingredients,

1. chickpeas
2. lemon juice
3. sesame seeds
4. olive oil-no need..still have at home

still..i have this feeling "i want humus now!"
i remembered there's new middle east restaurant opened in the mall they must have humus. so i went there..specifically ordered humus and Sahara chicken which i dont really care...i want humus only..but chicken be okay too..i was super hungry anyway.

i almost did a happy dance when the waiter brought my humus."yesss i got my humus". i went back to office...walked as fast as i could. finally when i arrived at my partition ...and took the pita bread included ..dipped it inside the humus..what a life...i imagine myself being cleopatra..stuffing my beautiful face with the humus with the servants looking and admiring me..(okay..that's too much) i was totally immersed in my "humus experience" when my boss came to my desk and told me..meeting at 230.yikes..it's 2.00 and i needed to go and pray and get ready...so i said " see you soon...my dear humus" and off to the ladies for whuduk.

the meeting ended at 4.30 pm. it's time to go home. once i reached home, i continued eating the humus..and harumi was more than happy to join. we dipped the slices of carrot, wrapped it with lettuce..aaaa heaven.

Today..wednesday night..finally i got to try my experiment.
first, i toasted the sesame seeds for 5 mins..almost burnt it :)
blended it with olive oil..so there was my TAHINI.
then, blended the chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and some salt...
tadaaa..in less than 15 mins i got my smooth creamy texture of HUMUS.
i think its better than the one i bought from the restaurant.. love it!!!
harumi totally agreed with me.well, she always does ;P

honestly..both of us were almost hysterical..proud to be able to prepare our own HUMUS. i asked Harumi to decorate it a lil bit..so i cut some carrots and took out some water crackers. hahaha. we put all in a plate..too bad we dint have suitable bowl that could look more presentable. it's okay even though harumi ended making a "semi-constructed" well for the olive oil..

here are three photos..since it's phenomenal (according to our dictionary..), we decided to post it in the blog..

pretty lousy decoration but it's a good attempt

Harumi presenting mr.Humus-san

almost empty plate in less than 20mins..BANZAI!!!

by the end of the day, my conclusion is..our love for HUMUS..will go on..i'll make it more next time and keep it refrigerated.i even promised Harumi to make some for her to take back to japan.

owwh..i put labels on the bottles, one is HUMUS...another one is TAHINI..just in case my brother thinks those two are mayo and peanut butter.better label it now..before he complains crankly and wasting my "humus' down the bin.

it's gonna be a "humus affair" for a while. "have dinner at home tomorrow" i told harumi. but no rice will be served. i got marinated shrimps and chicken..so guess, what salad we're going to eat tomorrow? rite! you are totally rite, HUMUS salad of course.hahaha

a humus affair updated

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

This is a random post on friendship.