Happy Birthday Munah!

Happy Birthday Munah! This morning said you wanted cup cake for your birthday. Tak kuasa aku nak brave the weekend crowd and stroller gang, to go out and buy you the cup cakes. So enjoys looking at them instead:

The iphone cup cakes. Super cool!

Blow and make a wish!

Or you could prentend that airplanes, in the night sky, are like shooting stars
You could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)

This one goes out especially for you ;) Happy Birthday, semoga panjang umur and dimurahkan rezeki selalu:

Airplanes - B.O.B feat Hayley Williams

Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)


Yeah
I could use a dream or a genie or a wish
To go back to a place much simpler than this
Cause after all the partyin' and smashin' and crashin'
And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion
And all the pandemonium and all the madness
There comes a time where you fade to the blackness
And when you're staring at that phone in your lap
And you hoping but them people never call you back
But that's just how the story unfolds
You get another hand soon after you fold
And when your plans unravel
And they sayin' what would you wish for
If you had one chance
So airplane airplane sorry I'm late
I'm on my way so don't close that gate
If I don't make that then I'll switch my flight
And I'll be right back at it by the end of the night


Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
B.o.b. Airplanes lyrics found on http://www.directlyrics.com.com/bob-airplanes-lyrics.html
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)


Somebody take me back to the days
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah back when I was tryin' to get into the subway
And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it
But now a days we rappin' to stay relevant
I'm guessin that if we can make some wishes outta airplanes
Then maybe yo maybe I'll go back to the days
Before the politics that we call the rap game
And back when ain't nobody listened to my mix tape
And back before I tried to cover up my slang
But this is for the Cada, what's up Bobby Ray
So can I get a wish to end the politics
And get back to the music that started this sh-t
So here I stand and then again I say
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta airplanes


Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)

p/s: kepada tuan empunya gambar, thank you.

Put Your Hands Up In The Air

Rupanya ada jugak lagu tajuk ni. It's by some DJ, named DJ Danzel. Lyrics dia repeat benda yang sama sampai muntah. Anyway, I'm not writing about this song. I want to write about raising your hands up in the air... and find yourself in awkward situation. Dulu kat sekolah cikgu selalu suruh angkat tangan. Well, in some cases, people, just keep your hands in your pocket.

1. Recently I met my friend for dinner at Pavilion. We got from one story to another till she brought up a tragic but rather funny (ok I find it funny) story about how the soft top of her car got ripped and people stole stuff from her car. She was telling me the roof got ripped so bad, that she could stick her arms out and wave it around. "Hah ye ke beb?". "Ye, dah la hari hujan. Kakak aku lambat pulak gate, so aku keluarkan tangan aku ke atas.. and cakap kat dia.. oii tak nampak ke ni". Of course to make more impact, she had to put her hands up in the air and do a frantic wave to explain the whole situation.

Suddenly, a waiter appeared at our table and asked, "Yes, anything I can get you?". Both of us frozed. Aik, tak panggil pun mamat ni. Then only it only dawn to us.. alamak dia ingat kita panggil dia. Normally the two of us would maintain a game face.. tapi hari tu memang gagal. Instead of apologizing, we laughed out right to his face. Memang keji. Tapi tak tahan sangat. I think it was quite a while sampai merah muka waiter tu kena gelak. Only then we said sorry. We don't need anything from him. Heheheheheh. Suffice to say, lepas tu nak mintak tambah air ke apa, mamat tu bergerak macam kura-kura takde kaki. And everytime he would check from far, while mouthing, "you call i ke"? before approaching us. Sorry la dik, tapi memang tak tahan nak gelak.

2. This one happens eons ago. It was a magazine birthday bash party at some fancy smancy club (masa tu la. sekarang tah-tah dah jadi kedai mamak). The whole bunch of us wanted to go because they were giving freebies like it's 1999. Right after mengutip semua freebies syampoo la lip gloss la apa la, we were ready for the highlight of the nite. I think it was a performance by Ferhad or was it by Poetic Ammo... all I can remember was Ferhad was the MC.

Everyone gathered around the small stage cheering and what not. All I heard was .. next song Mambo no 5 .. bla bla bla.. some girls promise to come up on stage and perform with me bla bla bla bla... Aku maybe ada ADHD masa tu, started to notice the surroundings and one thing caught my eye. "Eh beb, atas tu ada camera la" "Mana" "Tu ha.." "Mana?" "Tu la... ha meh aku lambai.. nanti nampak kat screen yang sana tu...Ha nampak tak aku lambai... nampak tak?" Unfortunately before my friend could answer... the crowd in front of us parted... and all I heard was.. "there's a Sandra in the house" Ehhhhhhhhhhh... what just happenned? Before I knew it, Ferhad was asking me.. "is your name Sandra?" Holly mother of all evil. Did I just put my hand in the air when he was asking if there's any Sandra in the house? Bloody HELL. OK GAME FACE, GAME FACE! " Err... no..." "So, what's your name then?" "Err...Something else".. Needless to say, game face tak game face... aku la Sandra in the house malam tu. Haram berjadah. Untuk tidak melengah-lengahkan lagi majlis, aku naik je la atas stage. Not my proudest moment at all. Suffice to say, aku memang ganguan perasaan dengar Mambo No 5 lepas tu. Satu lagi, seandainya terpublish gambar-gambar kejadian malam itu dimana-mana, wahai kawan-kawanku, I know where you live and what car you drive. You have been warned!

See it's not always good to raise your hand. And children, you must always pay attention. Damn it!

Last but not least, this also happened recently. But it doesn't involve any of me or anyone else raising their hand. But it does falls into the same line as people get mistaken by my intention.

Our company has just launched a big safety campaign among which, one of the pledges -do not use of your mobile while driving. Right, so I was on the way to the office to pick up some friends for lunch. As soon as I exited the MEX highway, I thought of texting them up saying that I'm about 5 minutes away and get ready. Not to get myself into trouble (nor my car in a ditch), I stopped at the emergency lane. I was thinking to myself, "hmm why don't I put the hazard light on". So I did. And immerse myself into typing a message on my phone.

Tiba-tiba, I heard a honk and I glanced into my rearview mirror there's a huge yellow truck stopped behind me. My first thought was, apa ke halnya. Jalan ni panjang, berhenti la jauh sikit. I continue to sms, and while stealing glances in the rearview mirror. Hey wait a sec... this is Peronda Lebuhraya! Hahahahah they must have thought that I have car trouble. Aleeemakkkkk... nak kena turun explain ke. I opted to pretend not to notice them... till one of the Peronda guy which turns out to be a policeman, got out of the car.. and walk over. Yikessss....GAME FACE!!!! I frantically wind down my window and flash a smile and summoned out my inner blonde, " Soorriiii I nak buat phone call sebenarnya..he he he" The guy stopped in his track and gave me a 'oh ok' wave. Cepat-cepat aku blah lepas tu.

Goodness. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. One thing I know is that, I'm thankful that they are concerned enough to stop and check on me. Agaknya bila aku tak keluar-keluar tu, mesti depa ingat dah kena heart attack apa driver ni. Terima kasih la encik-encik Peronda Lebuhraya. Senang-senang berhenti la lagi.

I'm not a snob...

..but this is really killing me.

Globalization has brought us Starbucks, Ipods and many more splendored things including the cheap fake goods from our neighboring country. We can now afford to own 'Gucci', 'Prada', 'Dior' and the thing that I enjoyed most is the 400 bucks polo shirts. Be it a Big Pony or (small) Classic Pony, I can now own several of them in different hues of colors.

Eversince R*lph Laur*n introduced the Big Pony to the world during the US Open, other brands are following suit as well, joining the so to speak, market of up-scale, luxury, designer - polo shirt. Another brand making it's mark is the H*ckett London. Well, they have for a long time actually. I'm talking about them making mark in Malaysia. You get my drift.

Ah, now we posuers need to own at least one 'Big P*ny' for Saturdays outing and a 'H*ckett London' for Sundays outing.

Before we go any further about what's killing me, let's a take look about a few facts and figures.

Polo shirt that we see today, got it's idea from tennis shirt. Read more here

Polo - basically is a game being played by mounted players chasing around a wooden ball, and whacking them about with a long mallet till they score goal.

How many players does a team have in a polo match? - Notice that there's a campaign of R*lph Lauren fragrance? There's like 4 different bottles? Well it's because in a polo team there's 4 players. I REPEAT 4 PLAYERS FOR EACH TEAM.



What are their role/position?

Number One is the most offense-oriented position on the field. The Number One position generally covers the opposing team's Number Four.

Number Two has an important role in offense, either running through and scoring themselves, or passing to the Number One and getting in behind them. Defensively, they will cover the opposing team's Number Three, generally the other team's best player. Given the difficulty of this position, it is not uncommon for the best player on the team to play Number Two so long as another strong player is available to play Three.

Number Three is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two and Number One as well as maintaining a solid defense. The best player on the team is usually the Number Three player, usually wielding the highest handicap.

Number Four is the primary defense player. They can move anywhere on the field, but they usually try to prevent scoring. The emphasis on defense by the
Number Four allows the Number Three to attempt more offensive plays, since they know that they will be covered if they lose the ball

So, their jersey or shall we say polo shirt should only have number 1, 2, 3 and 4. I REPEAT 1,2,3 and 4. (Takde no 8,9, 13, dan sebagainya)


H*ckett L*ndon sponsors the British Army Polo team. So their Polo t-shirt comes in no 1, 2, 3 and 4. And their special emblem or logo if you will is made of two crossing mallet. And yes, they normally have H*ckett written at the back of their collar. R*lph L*uren logo on the other hand, is made of a polo player on a pony holding a mallet.

H*ckett London also sponsored the London rowing club as well as the Oxbridge boat race, if not mistaken. These t-shirts will have the emblem of the crossed rowing paddles. The rowers don't normally wear numbered shirts but the current design of H*ackett boat race line, boast a number 8.

H*ckett London is also associated with the Aston Martin Racing club. These collections normally boast the number 59 ( I have no idea why, to lazy to dig further).More details here (http://www.hackett.com/index.cfm?page=1460)


So I say this with love to all the posuers out there

1. If the back of your collar says Swiss Polo, please do not turn up your collar

2. If your t-shirt is boasting other numbers than those mentioned above, leave it at home. Or unless you're dead sure it's for rugby. (It's now call a rugby jersey and no longer a polo t-shirt, erk).

3. Please tone it down. The whole family donning the same white Polo t-shirt with no 3 is no longer fasionable as soon as Datuk K's and his boys pictures was published. Doing it in pink does not improved the situation.

4.If you really gotta have it, let's face it, we mere mortals can't really afford them, while wearing them, please wipe off that samseng Kampung Dusun smirk from your face, quit struting around like you own the place, coz cik abang... that deep maroon t-shirt, with the huge diagnoal white stripe, with no 9 on your sleeve, with the emblem and the frickin big word that starts with H across your chest and at the back of your upturned collar, just screams - TACKY.

Please kill me.

Morrocan Meal at Tajine

No. This is not a food blog per say...but I'm in a 'let the pictures do the talking' kinda of mood. Or in this case..'let the food to the talking'. This is from my 2nd visit to Tajine at Souq Wakif. I had to come back again because I wanted to try the camel. Plus the restaurant had an aircond blower fit to blow off a 747 into take off. Panas gila, tapi nak makan punya pasal, keluar jugak.

Mixed cold starters. Mostly unidentified object (because I'm not sophisticated enough to bother to read the menu properly and remember what they are :P) but I think there's chicken liver thrown in there somewhere. Sedap gila.

...and it must be eaten with bread. Bread also comes with this sambal and olives. Again, not food savvy enough to eat the olive as a whole (normally picked out mine from pizzas). So mostly cecah the bread with the sambal. Sodap.



I don't know what this is called, so I shall named it myself. Murtabak ayam morrocon style. It is fried, filled with tasty chicken filling and the best part, it is covered in honey and almond on the outside. Since we ordered an assortment of everyting else, tak berdaya nak habiskan. If I ever get the chance, I will only eat this and this alone (ya right)


Tajine (or tagine) is actually the name of the special pot used to slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce.

So here's the first end result. Lamb with prunes. Superb.


Then, here's the camel that I have dreamt about. (Slightly disappointed) it tasted like lamb curry. Aik?. I thought it will excite my palate to a different kind of taste. Or did I order the wrong thing? And actually order lamb. Whatever, as the record states. Aku dah makan daging unta. Yang sangat sedap, by the way :)


By the time desert came, dah nak pengsan dah. This is actually lempeng with ice cream filling

Exotic? Hah, kat KL pun ada. Check out this link

Mock Me!

Alcohol is not freely available in Doha. Only in bars in hotels. So, that leaves me to freely order all sorts of 'cocktail' drinks at food joints especially TGIF. I can't remember what is this one called but it's a mix of raspberry syrup, strawberry juice, lime and loads of mint leaves. Best gila babs! The only time I drank something else was when they were out of the raspberry syrup :(

Now, I can only look at this and reminisce of good times (sic). Heheheh.

Tea time in Doha

4.05 pm - Shut down. Shut down now!

4.10 pm - Parading around in sunnies at Al Mirqab lobby waiting for shuttle.

4.20 pm - Zzzzz in shuttle.

4.30 pm - Reach Golf Garden

4.35 pm - Sampai rumah, bukak fridge.

4.37 pm - Slouching on the sofa with the TV on while munching on these

Exhibit A - Twistos - Baked Bread Bites.

Sekali bite, nak 10 bungkus lagi. I was attracted to it since it says baked bread. Hmm, thinking to myself best kot if dip in soup or something. Ya right, to be honest, I have never eaten it with soup or something, because once I start eating them I can't stop. I can finish the whole pack by myself. Tau-tau, Seinfeld dah habis so is the Twistos.

Apa rasanya? Macam twisties but only better. Seriously, I can't bring myself to eat twisties now that I have tasted twistos. Sigggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I don't even have a picture of Twistos sebab sibuk makan, mana ada masa nak snap pictures. So had to look for it from the net. It comes in two flavours Olive & Oregano and Cheese & Onion. Nasib la bag aku lepas nak bawak balik Malaysia. If I have to repacked my bag, terpaksa la picnic Twistos kat airport. God knows how many I managed to bring back :P

Exhibit B - Welch's 100% Grape Juice

Dah makan Twistos satu karung, haus la pulak. So wash it down with a chilled Welch's Grape Juice. I bought them in all sizes, dari sekecik2 botol sampai la ke sebesar-besar botol. I just can't stop drinking them. I bet the cleaner who cleaned the apartment would thing that I have a drinking problem sebab my thrash is full of the clang-clang sound from the many empty bottles of the grape juice. Best gila. Plus kononnya it's a healthy drink, so kurang la rasa bersalah minum banyak-banyak. Read more here.

Again, no pictures so kena cilok dari Internet.

I'm not sure if I can get Twistos in KL, but the grape juice is available in Cold Storage. Expensive la of course. Tak boleh la nak minum macam air paip. Hehehe. In Doha, Starbucks do sell Twistos over the counter.. perhaps there's still hope yet.

75 Days in Doha

This was the aerial view that welcomed me to Doha. Oh oo... is this all? Nothing but barren land ... sand? Alemaakkkk...this is going to be depressing.

On the ground, it's not helping either. They are not big on landscaping yet. I really missed trees and the color green. (The top right picture is the outside of our compound. Shocking!)

Just kidding. It's not that bad. Driving along the corniche heading towards West Bay isn't all that bad. On some days you do feel like you're cruising along a beachfront in LA, with all the yellow and red Hummer buzzing by, racing alongside the sweet looking GTO. Damn I envy them.

Well, when I reached the hotel and take a peak into my room.

And looking out to this.


Yeah, I will survive. Overlooking the suspiciously greenish blue body of water (I'm not really sure what to call it? A river? Cannal? Small lake?), is the pride of Qatar - The Pearl (something like the Palm of Jumeira in Dubai). Terasa la kaya kejap. Hahahaha.

After 10 days in bliss and having people call me Ms Mahmood at Hyatt, we had to moved out to the company's compound/ accomodation. That's what they call Taman Perumahan in Qatar. Compound. So below is what it's look like in A14 Golf Garden Compound. Not too shabby. Plus I get the place to myself which was heaven. But not for long. I had a housemate from Syria and Netherlands. Fascinating. Ho hum.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I posted this sebab kenak tag dgn Min. The tag: Sila klik folder gambar di PC atau LAPTOP anda. Pilih folder gambar yang ke-8, dan di dalam folder yang ke-8 itu pilih gambar yang ke-8 pula. Tulis catatan ringkas berkenaan dengan gambar tersebut. Seterusnya, tag lagi 8 orang.

Heheheh...so the 8th picture was this picture. This is actually a delish starter from Applebee's, that we keep on ordering everytime we're at Applebee's in Doha. What is it actually? It's a warm crock of creamy spinach, tender artichokes, and melted Asiago and Parmesan cheeses, with salsa and tortilla chips for dipping (as described in the their menu).

Tidak pernah sayur-sayuran rasa begitu enak sekali :)

I'm not tagging anyone, but to anyone reading, feel free to post an entry about your 8th picture.

Soy un perdedor

Loser - Becks/ Glee Cast

In the time of chimpanzees, I was a monkey
Butane in my veins and I'm out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray-paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose

Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flaming with a loser and the cruise control
Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love seat

Someone keeps saying, I'm insane to complain
About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don't believe everything that you breathe
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve

So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Saving all your food stamps
And burning' down the trailer park
Yo, cut it

Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?

The forces of evil in a bozo nightmare
Banned all the music with a phony gas chamber
'Cause one's got a weasel and the other's got a flag
One's on the pole, shove the other in a bag

With the re-run shows and the cocaine nose job
The daytime crap of the folksinger slop
He hung himself with a guitar string
I slap the turkey neck and it's hanging' from a pigeon wing

You can't write if you can't relate
Trade the cash for the beef for the body for the hate
And my time is a piece of wax, falling on a termite
Who's choking on the splinters

Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
Soy, soy, soy

I'm a driver, I'm the winner
Things are gonna change, I can feel it

Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?

Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?

Darjah kelembapan hari ini sungguh tinggi. Matching the weather. The song kinda of suit the mood. This song made Beck the center of the 'slacker' movement. Yeay slacker. I'm oozing slackerness at the moment. So lazy to do anything.

However, check out this excerp from Wiki: Beck refuted this characterization of himself, saying, "Slacker my ass. I never had any slack. I was working a $4-an-hour job trying to stay alive. That slacker stuff is for people who have the time to be depressed about everything."

Perhaps dude.

Till then, soy un perdedor!

Kabayan?

No.

Opppss... I meant to explain the meaning of the word.The thread in the forum here has a few good explanation

And this posting here pretty much sums up what I felt sometimes.

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Overheard

1. Where are you from?

Lady: "I will be going off for holiday for 3 weeks"
Me: "Good for you. Where are you going"
Lady: "Lebanon"
Me:"Nice! Where are you originally from?"
Lady: "Well, I'm from Palestine. Since now we don't have a country, we call Lebanon home"
Me:......

If I were not too excited to go home, that conversation would've left me depressed.

2. Acne treament.

Tea Boy:"You use anything for your acne?" *gesturing the outbreak around my jawline
Me:"Err.. not really"
Tea Boy:"Don't pinch it. Later become black"
Me:"Err.. ok"
Tea Boy:" Don't worry, try to use XXX brand powder. Indian shop have"
Me: "Err... I will remember that"
Tea Boy:" Remember don't squeeze aa.. later become black. Not pretty anymore"

To this day, I still can't believe that, that conversation did took place. Well, the guy meant well... though he left me with a huge.. WHAT DA HECK?

3. You're Malaysian?

Guy:"Oh..you're Malaysian"
Me:"Yes I am. Why?"
Guy:"Oh since you're always with your colleague I thot you were from Philipines."
Me:"Hahahahaha"

What else is new.

4. Your name is Junaidah?

Lady Boss:"Here's your id. Your name is Junaidah?"
Me:"Yes"
Lady Boss"Muslim"
Me:"Yes"
Lady Boss:"Oh I thot you're Philipino."
Me:"Hahahah"
Lady Boss" Well, since you hang around with so and so..I thot.."
Me:"Yeah, I get that a lot"
Lady Boss:"This is a beautiful name"
Me: "Really? What does it actually meants"
Lady Boss: "You read the Quran? Well, Jund means like a small army.. or all sorts of elements that was helping Nabi Sulaiman. A very good name"
Me: "Thank you"

This conversation took place after the lady fired me left right and center for ignoring her adhoc request. Never had I spent a morning so productive like this one. Terbakar hati sampai hangus. She seems a little human after I solve her issue and she found out that I'm Muslim. Hmm...

5. Permission slip

Office joker:"How do you find Qatar?"
Me:"OK"
Office joker:"You're married?"
Me:"Nope. Single"
Office joker:"Your family allow you to come here"
Me:"Pardon?"
Office joker" Your family ok with you coming here?"
Me: (still puzzled) " Err.. yes"

Terbangang kejap. I wanted to tell him that I stopped asking for permission to go anywhere after I was I dunno..17, 18? Normally I tell my parents where I'm going. Not asking for permission. And I'm here for work. Not party. And I'm 32. Talk about culture differences. When I told my Malaysian colleague. She just laughed. She remembered going to Kedah when she was in Uni. She called her parents to ask for permission. Her parents said no. Well, no harm, she was actually calling them from Kedah. Yeah, that sounds about right. Hehehehe

Me - Truly Asia

Scene 1 - Grand Palace Bangkok

Police man eyeing oneself suspiciously when one is queuing up in the tourist line, happily holding the entrance ticket. Is this girl mad? Or is she plain disrespectful? Thai citizen can enter for free. And why is she wearing a hues of colors when everyone else is in black, mourning.

Well, she's not Thai. That's why.

Scene 2 - Spa at Soi Nana, Bangkok

Oneself is standing politely while waiting for the receptionist to finish her customery welcome speech in Thai. Oneself answered rather sheepishly "Err.. I don't really understand you, but yeah - Thanks". Of course it will be followed by the ususal 5 minutes 'I'm sorry I thought you were..' apology.

Oneself will however, return to the Spa yet again, as the 2nd time she's there, the receptionist (who actually is the owner of the Spa) remembered her and warmly said "Welcome back, miss!" Besides, much to her dismay, it's the only place in town that understands English.

Scene 3 - Elevator, Office Building, Qatar

Oneself pretending to be deaf and ignoring the fact that the delivery guy is trying to strike up a conversation with her - in Tagalog.

Scene 4 - Souq Wakif, Qatar

Oneself is oblivious of the chatter by the waitress. She only looked up from the Menu when she hear.. "Maam?". Her officemate asked her, did you notice the waitress was speaking to you in Tagalog? "Hahaha.. really? No I didn't". Officemate automatically appointed as spokesperson for queries in Tagalog.

Secne 5 - Hyatt, Qatar

Officemate trying to convince a Philipino staff that oneself is not from the Philipines. How to settle this? "Show her your passport". The staff was surprise that both of them were telling the truth.

Scene 6 - Shoe shop, Dubai

Shop assistance, while bending down looking for the right size for the slipper -"Maam, excuse me, are you Kabayan?"
Oneself " No, I'm not. I'm from Malaysia. Why? Do I look like a Kabayan?"
Shop assistance " 100% maam"

Oneself - rest her case.

I can't remember if anyone thot that I'm an Indonesian before when I was in Bandung or Bali, but I think it did happen once when I was in Malaysia. I followed a friend and her family for a balik kampung trip. One of the makcik there thot I was "anak angkat Indon". My friend laughed her ass off. Ya, laugh away. Despite her very gadis Melayu terakhir name, she looks like 100% Amoi from Tanah Besar.

I think there were once a chinese lady who spoke Mandarin/Cantonese to me back in Batu Pahat. Timkai?

How should I know.

In Ho Chin Minh, I don't think anyone thinks I'm Vietamese. Or they did and I don't remember? Anyway, I don't think that they would since I'm 3 times the size of the normal average people there. Hahah.

So, there you go.

I'm indeed truly asia.

Too Much Of A Good Thing - The Sons

There's a chill in the air comin' off the river tonight,
Sure am glad I chose my sweater,
Walk alone, I walk alone tonight,
Yeah, I've felt better.
But I know, in my heart,
One car in an alley is better than a vacant lot,
And you'll see, on my face,
Lines on a young man can find their place.

Baby, I have left so much behind,
Until I passed the same place twice
Now I see just what ya done to me,
Too much of a good thing.

Can you hold the line,
another call's comin' in,
Might be the one I just got over,
Back and forth and up again,
For just a wrong number.
But to scream a good cry,
Could leave me naked in some stranger's eyes,
So I'll whisper, a little cry,
Hope this memory'll soon pass by. Ooh.

Baby, I got feelin's old and strong,
I did not think they'll last this long,
Tell me why your light keeps turnin' on,
I say too much of a good thing.
Too much of a good thing.

A lonely voice finds little demand,
it turns too shy and afraid to make a stand.

For one last time can't you listen to me,
Baby don't let me go silently

You're too much, you're too much.
You're too much of a good thing,
You're too much of a good thing, too much
Much too, much too, much too, much too, much too, much too, much too much,
You're too much of a good thing.

This is one of the coolest song that I have ever heard. Almost forgot about it. Though I'm not eager to watch Dumb and Dumber again, I would listen to the soundtrack till my ears fall off. Best gila!

Speaking of too much of a good thing, this long 'holiday' will soon be over. 2 more days to go. Can't wait to go back. Nasi lemak terminal and roti canai, here I come!

It's been a year

There's a lot of fathers out there, but only one that I can called Ayah (or sometimes Bapak..just to annoy him :P).

May Allah bless him always.

Al-Fathihah.

The Bros from Afghan

The pictures below are actually a mashed up from 4 separate visit to this restaurant. Out of the 4 times, we ventured out 3 times by ourselves. The first one, Ima and Man bawak (thanks guys!).

Lepas tu asyik termimpi-mimpi aje, maka kena lah pergi lagi. 3 times yang pergi tu 3 times la jugak pusing-pusing almost sesat. We got all sort of variation of the direction to the place. Kejap teksi ni kata Ar-Rayyan, kejap kata Gharaffa roundabout, kejap Gharrafa Comercial Street, kejap Baladi roundabout, Slope Roundabout la. Aku tak tau la. Tapi bila dekat nak sampai tu, aku tau la mana hala nak tuju. That's my inner GPS kicking in.

Dah tu everytime pergi, lepas makan duduk lagi bersidai kat kedai tu, tak balik-balik. Bengkek je brother-brother tu semua. Hehehehe. Bukan tak nak balik bang, tunggu teksi yang tak sampai-sampai sebab depa pun sesat dengan direction kitaorg. Hahahahha

I shall miss this a lot - nasi dulang from Afghan Brothers. Makan atas lantai, sharing dalam dulang, kalau perut sebu boleh landing terus, hehehe.

The grilled Hamour is to die for. Serious.

1 Week Notice

...suddenly it's already time to go home? Where did the last 2 months go? I will be home free soon but not before navigating thru the crocodile infested rivers (that's being on standby for this weekend month end), finding my way out of a jungle full of poisonous creatures (that's packing my ever expanding luggage), crawling thru fields full of mines (that's a few more days at work, next week) and finally driving thru a long road full of potholes (that's getting thru the crazy airport departure procedure and the long flight back).

I'm so excited. I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control and I think I like it.

Wuhuuu

What am I gonna miss most? Or what am I not gonna miss at all? I'll start with the 'negative' list first

10. Having sand/dust/tiny annonying particles in your eyes on windy days

9. The first gush of hot air blowing to your face as soon as you step outside.

8. The feel of your face scrunching up as soon as you step into the 15 degrees office after spending 30 minutes in the 45 degrees hot oven outside.

7. Having pipping hot water no matter what time of the day when you turn on your tap

6. No chilli sos!

5. Looking at vast areas of sand and nothing but sand

4. The roundabouts

3. The sprinklers that goes off when I get home

2. Roller coaster rides and F1 Drivers disguise as Karwa and Karwa Drivers.

1. Are you Kebayan? (NO.I.AM.NOT)

.............. let the madness begin.