Baby baby baby oooooh

I stumbled upon this video and I can't stop smiling. :) This one's for you, Fiance.

P.S I love you!

20.10.2011

5 years and counting :)

Read, dear.

MPH, Gramedia, Popular, Borders or any book store alike would be one of my must-go shops. Now you must be wondering why. Well, first and foremost, of course, I love reading. But more than that, I just love to walk through the many stacks of books available in the store, glancing through the name of the authors and the title of the book. And when there's a book of my interest, I might consider buying it. I usually feel a sense of enjoyment being surrounded by books. That, can't be explained though. I just feel that way. He he. I enjoy trailing my fingers on the books on the shelf while looking at the different sizes and covers. I love glancing through blurbs of the books which strikes my interest. Among my favourite sections are: Fiction, cooking/food, travels, hobbies, romance (ahem) just to name a few. But I'll normally go to the best sellers shelf, just to keep abreast with books/authors which I might not be aware of.

Thank God, Den shares the same interest! :) And recently we went to the biggest book sale in the world and spent around rm200+. We managed to get more than 25 books (if I'm not mistaken). And I was elated! :)

Actually, I grew up reading a lot of novels, both Malay and English. I still remember my dear dorm-mate, Nana, who was the owner of a mini-library (of Malay novels). She has a record of those who borrowed her books, and we had to agree to certain terms and conditions (which I can still remember!) for example books should be returned within 1 week. This is to be fair to the rest who have the intention of borrowing the same novel from her; and those who borrowed her book are not allow to hand it over to another person within the borrowing period. We can choose from a variety of 100+ books. I'm not exaggerating, really. She has that many! One of the books which was (and will always be) my favourite is Ombak Rindu by Fauziah Ashari. Why? It was my 1st Malay novel! He he.

But there's another story that I want to share with you. Den and I went to Alamanda last week. He wanted to buy a book for one of his classes. While waiting, I browsed through some of the books on the shelf nearby. What caught my attention was this:

And I was smiling to myself. This novel definitely reminded me of my highschool memories. The most used word upon seeing a person reading or holding a novel was "after!" or "aku nak after tau", indicating the intention of wanting to borrow it after one is done. So there I was, contemplating whether or not to buy it. And suddenly Den approached me, he already paid for the book he wanted to buy earlier. So I said, lets go. But he hesitated. To my surprise, he said this "Eh, I know this novel! Wasn't it popular? Do you want to buy it?" And I was like, "Err..errr.. I dunno..". (Really, I don't know if he's just trying to be nice or he really knows the existence of the novel, or maybe his sister has it, but wth, layankan je lah..he he). So he asked me to pick one, and stormed to the cashier. Half way, he turned around and said, "Eh, you go and pay lah!". And I LOL-ed. Ha ha ha. Really it was hilarious. Imagine the sight of a man getting excited about a Malay novel, which obviously is very much stereotyped as corny, jiwang, etc. But he ended up saying, "Oh, never mind!". And I smiled.

P.S Thank you for being such a sweetheart. I love you. :)

*** Ombak Rindu has been turned into a movie! And it's gonna be released end of this year. I can't waitttttt!!!!! :D

Can I have him to sing me to sleep at night?

I am so in love with Chuck and Flynn/Eugene (sebenarnya nak tulis Zachary Levi tapi it sounds more decent to refer to him using his character name. Therefore I don't feel that guilty because I fall in love with a character, not the actual person. HAHAHA).

I've just watched Tangled recently. Got the copy from my sister. I watched Tangled and I really fell for Flynn/Eugene. His voice sounds familiar. Very familiar. And when he sang I see the Light, I fell more in love with him. Seriously. And so happened that the credits at the end of the movie was not included. So I Google-d and there you go. It was HIM singing. And I didn't know that he can sing that well. I love youuuuu Chuck/Flynn/Eugene/Zachary Levi but I love my fiance more. But I love you jugakkkk! Hehehe. Please please please listen to Zachary Levi & Mandy Moore (I see the Light) and Katherine McPhee recorded Terrified featuring him.

we're so cute for two ugly people

I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else but you

What were you thinking?

Seriously.

In my honest opinion, there are a lot of things to be considered when writing a book, especially when it is meant for children. Specifically, ABC picture books.

Here's what happened. I was reading one of the books (but this one is the Bahasa and English version) with my cousin's son, Isyraf (4 y.o). Approaching the letter Y, Isyraf spontaneously said "Eeee, tak malu, kencing berdiri". So I was like "what?". Then only I noticed THIS.

If the overall content of the book is about/describing human body parts, then by all means, it is totally fine. But I guess the word Penis is guised in so many terms, the same goes as Zakar in Bahasa. It's never wrong to expose them to the actual word, but what Isyraf said (eee, tak malu kencing berdiri) is a proof that the intended objective has not been met. Instead of identifying the picture as penis/zakar, he focused on the action. Which is not wrong, I would say. Really, I did not know how to respond. But eventually I said "Ini Zakar *while pointing at the arrow*". And I can't believe it myself, how I sounded like a pervert Aunt. Haha. And I quickly asked him to give me another book to read.

Den asked me to take a picture of the publisher but somehow it's not in the camera. Too bad. I would advise them to revise the contents. The thing is that, ABC books are not only for children to learn the letters but also help them to read. Thematic books (books with theme) which may accommodate all alphabets including (q,x,z) would be more desirable. Contents should also be more engaging. The items included should be those which children can relate to and easily available so that the letters and words can be reinforced. That way, they'll learn better.

Moral of the story: Take your time to really look at the contents of the book before buying them.

Honesty is the best policy

I was flipping through Dad's students' assignments. Some of their works are good. As in really good. They were supposed to write a 15 pages essay on a quote of their choice, related to volunteerism. The medium of instruction is in Bahasa, but Dad encourages them to use English if they were to have any class presentation. So they were given the freedom to write the paper using the language they prefer, or feel more comfortable with.

Some papers were good. As in real good. And that surprised me. Not being sceptical or anything, but what's written in some of the essays were exceptionally flawless. I was like 'Dayumm! This student is really good'. But being a critical person (NOT), I noticed that (in this particular [unlucky] paper), the font colors in some paragraphs are not the same with the rest. Some parts are black (the automatic font color in MSWord) but some others are greyish black. Dan ada macam bintik2 (on the letters with the grey fonts) as compared to the black ones which are solid lah kan, without the tiny dots. Tak guna magnifying glass pun boleh nampak kot. -_-" So there you go. Apparently not everything in the paper is genuine.

Personally, it upsets me that uni students are very prone to 'copy and paste'. It's like they're taking the easy way to complete the assignments when other people are going through the hassle of doing it (honestly). I'd appreciate a genuine work,with acceptable grammatical errors rather than a 'flawless' paper (done with zero effort, of course!). If you don't feel comfortable writing in English you can resort to writing in Bahasa. And there's a writing technique called paraphrasing. Always, always paraphrase when you want to report someone else's works. And there's a proper way of citing or quoting information obtained from other people. And logically you need to have a page with the heading Reference at the end, right? Because in order to come up with a good piece of work, you'll have to do some readings. Unless if you're really smart to the extent that you can become a theorizer.

This is a serious problem I would say. And again, I'm upset. First is that they're not even doing it right. You want to cheat, please do it the right way. C'mon, takkan lah font color tak sama boleh tak perasan? Second, if they do not feel guilty about it, it'll create problem in the long run. Not being honest, get away with it and get good grades, and feeling good about it. Yes, that kind of problem. And what if they're the kind of person who hold on to the quote 'Buat jahat jangan sekali, buatlah berkali2'. Then what happens to keberkatan dalam menuntut ilmu? :( Kecewa.

Double whammy T.T

Today is just not my day. Tsk tsk.

I was really busy working on something very important. And I was preoccupied. I glanced at my watch after some time and noticed that its DEAD. T_T. The time had been 7.15 (a.m./p.m.) since I-don't know when.

I also noticed that I did not receive any call(s) or SMS. A blessing in disguise, I said at first. Macam tahu2 je aku ni busy. But I started to feel that something is not right. So I decided to have a look at my phone. And there you go. On top of the screen it says "No access to network". So I switched off the phone, restart it but nothing happened. Long story cut short, the SIM card cannot be used. T_T. So I bought a new SIM to be used temporarily.

I head back to my car. And it couldn't start! T_T. Kifarah ni, banyak sangat dosa. Haizzzzz. And I left the car kit at home, as well as the Jumper. Great. Cried for help and Uncle Michael came to the rescue. :) Moral of the story, even if you send your car for regular service, never trust them 100%. They might check everything BUT the battery.

Belated Birthday present

Hello. I'm back. And I'm engaged! This feels surreal. Thank you Allah. :)

Well that might explain why I'm seldom online. But now that I can resume to my normal life, I hope I can write more. So Den made me promise to write something (or a few) about The Day or anything related to it. Seriously, I don't know where to start. But this will be the only entry I'll be writing about it, and I'm sorry if this entry is of unusual length. Ha ha ha.

After Den's family came for merisik last year, we never really talked about the engagement preps. That's because my elder sister was getting married the same year so we decided to keep things low, and wait until the wedding ceremony ends. But coming to realize that eventually the engagement will happen, we started talking about it, planned a few things, one step at a time. It was hassle free (as far as I remembered) because we decided that everything should be done within budget. We started hunting for the hantaran. And agreed to stick to 5-7 dulang.

Being ME, I have to admit that I can (most of the time) be a pain in the a** when it comes to managing my expectations. Allow me to explain. Lets say, if the purpose of going out to a shopping mall is to window shop, then I'm totally fine if I come back empty-handed. But if so happen I managed to get anything of my liking, that's considered a bonus. (Dah jumpa yang suka, beli jela terus). On the other hand, if the purpose is to GET or BUY SOMETHING, then by all means, that item needs to be bought. Or else..... trust me, you don't want to know. HA HA. I'm stupid like that. Thank you Sayangku for putting up with me. Sometimes I think that I'm his worst nightmare. Hahahahahahahaha. So a few drama happened in the process of hunting for the hantaran. And I tend to worry over small things and I exaggerate. A LOT. I keep on bugging Den by saying things like "How meh? There's still a lot to be done. Banyak barang U tak siap lagi ni". When the truth is: Tinggal satu benda je tak beli lagi. -_-" Pesanan untuk Tunangku: We'll probably go through the same thing again. But hopefully not anytime soon. HA HA.

I'm not working (yet) but I was able to make some savings each time I got my monthly allowances. *Note to self: Start saving now. Your piggy bank is currently empty*. Being very understanding, Den told me that he doesn't need a ring this time around. Save the best for last, he said. (Thank you Sayang). We waited for any kind of sale, and visited jewelery shops to get their latest/promotion catalogues hoping to buy things at very cheap prices (but how cheap can they be pun? Duh). I personally believe that the engagement ceremony is the chance for both (nuclear & extended) families to meet and get to know each other. So technically, the items to be included as hantaran should be shared with all of them. Conclusion: Less barang, more food. :)

We visited Jakel Shah Alam and managed to get the kain for both engagement and nikah. Den a.k.a the haggler-extraordinaire (if the word even exist) managed to make me pay only RM100 for a pink sampin (the actual price was RM 380). -_-". I bought him a watch to replace the ring lah kononnya and got it for a very reasonable price. (Hasil tawar menawar oleh Den). And Habib was having it's year end sale with 50% on most items so we got my engagement ring. I love it to bits!:D And I'm lucky to have my darling angels around me (you know who you are) to help me around with some items for hantaran. Thanks for everything lovelies! :)

The ring. I.love.

And finally it's THE day. My MUA did a great job I love love love her work and most importantly she is a lady. He he. Upon arrival she said that she thought she misheard me when I said its an engagement ceremony. 'Akak dah ingat awak nak nikah tau', she said. Oh well, we can plan but HE is a better planner. I expected something simple but turned out to be the opposite. -_-" The mini dais did not appear mini. I requested for soft pink scallop for the canopy but the decorator decided to use striking pink. And 2 weeks before the event, Mom asked us to add 2 more dulang hantaran so we ended up with 7-9. Ha ha ha. Less is more konon. Haihhh. But at the end of the day, none of those seem to bother me. As long as everything goes well, Alhamdulillah. :)

I told you right, it's NOT a mini dais. -_-"

To be honest, I look forward for the event, excited and all but prior to the day itself, I did not feel berdebar2 or anything. But the moment when I'm almost done with the make up, I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I feel happy and nervous at the same time. But I waited too long and the 2-metre veil started to make me feel like I'm carrying 2 brains in my head. When Den and his family arrived, I already feel restless. Ha ha ha. But to be honest, I can never forget the feeling when I got the ring on my finger. Really. It was...hmm..I can't put it into words. And there was something that I really wanted to tell his mom but I could not. Maybe that can wait, until the next event insyaAllah. :)

Alhamdulillah the event was photographed by Den's friend from highschool. So far I've seen 22 pics out of I-don't know how many, and MasyaAllah I love them to bits! Thanks to the family unit for everything. I can't thank you enough. Allah sahaja dapat membalasnya. :) Thanks to my darling angels for being there. I really appreciate it. Love all of you so much!

To my best friend now fiance, I love you. Thank you for making this happen. I know that this is one of the things I look forward to since I knew you 4 years ago. Love you always and forever!

Don't judge a book by its cover.2

This is a true story, which happened to a deeply sadden bride to be.

(Retold with 'extra spices' to create the dramatic effect. :P)

It seems like it's going to rain, but I insisted that I need to get my wedding cake booked today. I had a lot in mind but I didn't want to burden any one at this point of time. And considering that I realize that it is my fault.. and it's kind of last minute. So I want to get this done myself.

I couldn't borrow anyone's car since all of them are in use. So I decided to ride my bike. A few minutes later I started to feel raindrops. Next thing I know it's already raining cats and dogs! Already halfway to my destination, I decided to carry on. So there I was, riding my bike in the heavy downpour just to get myself a wedding cake.

I finally reached my destination. I took off my helmet, and entered the 'bakery'. My clothes are wet of course I was drenched in the rain. I noticed that there are eyes looking as I entered, but who cares. I was waiting for my turn to be entertained because there was a lady paying her bill at the counter. As soon as she left, I come a bit closer to the counter. But I was ignored! A few girls who came later than me were given the attention.

I waited patiently. Until they left. I asked straight away if I can order my cake. The girl at the counter looked at me in 'such a way'. And she tells me that there is no way that they can provide me with a 2kg cake if the function is tomorrow. That was actually my first time to order cakes from that 'bakery'. So I don't really know the names of the cake. So I asked for the catalogue and she pulled a face. I was so angry but I realize that I look like someone who cannot afford to buy ANYTHING from them, so I kept quiet. I am a degree holder but it is just not my nature to speak my thought especially in a situation like this.

I ended up being ignored once again because new customers are coming. So I left, broken hearted. And I did not place the order. I went back. Luckily, the rain has stopped. I reached home, told the story to my sisters and cried my heart out. I was being judged for the way I appear to look that day.

*****

Can we stop people from looking down on us? I'd say the answer is No. But for a start, maybe we can stop ourselves from looking down on someone else. That way we may create a better environment for everyone. Peace, no war!