The Hague, Netherlands - May 2012 - Part II

Scheveningen

There's a beach near den Haag. So one fine day it was a holiday and it was sunny. We took the tram till end of it's line and came to the beach. It was overlooking the North Sea. Coolness. Literally. Sejuk ok, though the sun was out. Not many people as it was quite early. There's a long pier with interesting shops and eating places. We had an earlier lunch at a seafood joint. A lovely break from eating kebab... kebab and more kebab.

Madurodam

Another attraction here is a miniture park called Madurodam. It's a the next stop after my office if not mistaken. It has small scale of everything in Netherlands... from Schipol airport, to the duct, to the AJAX stadium. Kids would love this place. We sort of completed the whole place in like 30 minutes and dah penat. After making endless joke about being Godzilla around the miniture buildings, we were out of there. Hahah tak senonoh.

Cooking session with the team

One my 3rd day in the office, the team suggested that the whole bunch of us should go out and do something. The do something .. is going to this cooking place, where we are going to cook our own dinner. Exciting at first, the jet lagged just sets in. And I don't bloody trust myself with a knife or anything to do with fire! And bugger I thot I would be good at this, rupanya mcm terbanggang ok. We always see all those cooking show that seems so easy - aku pun boleh buat tu... Naah... not when you are with people you just met pastu ngantuk gila babi. Nak pecah telur pun malu2 kucing... (ok maybe that's just me). The menu looks doable (tapi ingredients all in english, some of it I have no idea what they are), so I ended up with goreng telur dadar aje. Hahahahahahahahahhahahahaha. They were all looking at me sideways... "I thot Malaysians all cook at home". (Not this Malaysian apparently). Turns out semua orang sangat terror. Even the guys! Malu akak yo! It was fun actually. We had  pumpkin soup, shrimp, lamb (i had tuna steak instead sbb lamb tak halal kan) pesto, guacamole, chocolate pudding (which I think had rum in it.... tapi aku tawakkal je la). We also had creme brulee. Aku sepantas kilat nak volunteer memblow torch the sugar! I'd put the pictures of everyone so engrossed in cooking, but nanti kang this will be traced back to me, so I put the picture of what I prepared je la.

The creme brulee (aku tolong pukul telur and heat the milk I think).. and burnt it to death

The disgusting looking turd... hahaha pesto in omelette by Moi 

The Hague, Netherlands - May 2012 - Part I

I have been summoned.

This is the first time that I will pay the mothership a visit. Pretty cool. I need to be onboarded for the new job. I should be there for about 2 weeks or so. And dengan tidak malunya, I asked my new boss if I could extend (at my own expense) my stay in Europe. Yes, just do it says my boss. Yeay boss :) Maka saya akan pulang ke 'kampung halaman' membuat hutang yang idak terbayar for the next five years or so.More of that later on.

Merasa la jugak naik Business Class MAS. As expected, sataynya memang tiada tolok bandingnya. Letak dadah ke apa. The flight is about 13 hours. Flight landed in Schipol at the wee hour. Bought me the ov-chipkaart. I took the train heading towards The Hague or Den Haag. The view along the way is very picturesque. Miles and miles of green farm land, peppered with the occasional herd of cattle and windmills.

I checked into Novotel Den Haag. Room's quite nice. But the toilet and the shower is separated. Bugger. But location, location, location. It's right smack in the shopping district. In fact, it's connected to Passage - with some interesting shops. And next door to Dudok, a famous cafe with yummeh apple pie. So this will be home for the next 2 weeks. First order of business? Tidur!

Woke up hungry around noon. Thank god there's a McD a few doors down. Lagi best, dapat guna credit card. Not many places that can use credit card around Hague. Bosan betul. Next order of business I need to find my way to the office. It was Sunday, and I'm expected to be front and center tomorrow morning. With the direction from my new colleague, I manage to hop on the correct tram and stop at the riight stop. The ride is less than 5 minutes and I have to to a bit of walking from the tram stop to the office. Less than 5 minutes. Needless to say, aku la orang yang akan melenggang kangkung jalan pagi-pagi tu. Everyone was like brisk walk brisk walk brisk walk.. and me..saunter saunter saunter... kalau boleh nak jalan backward.. or merangkak. Hahahahahha.

The weather is still cold, but not too cold. My light jacket did the trick. In the office there's heater. On the first day, aku dgn jacket bagai, berpeluh-peluh la kan. Cist. The tram ride is fun actually. Boleh la berangan kejap. I'm surprise that my colleagues mostly drive to work. I thot semua orang akan naik tram and bike and whatnots. Too bad I only manage to find one of a picture of the tram. Dah naik beratus kali, tak teringat pun nak posing. Apa la.

So I was in NL..or Europe from 6th May - 29th May. Lama gila. Will write soon what I did during those days, aside from 'work'. My sister came after a week, seeking refuge in my hotel room. Hehehe.

Train Live in KL, 16th June 2012 at KL Live

It had never occurred to me that I will get to listen to Drops of Jupiter ...live! Well, Train came to KL. Yipeeeeeeeeeee. It will be a small event I guess, since it will at KL Live. Lagi small lagi bagus, senang nak tengok semua orang. But then, semua standing aje la pulak. Can I survive this?

Nak tak nak kena la survive kan. Heheh so it was a Saturday. Nak brave the traffic satu hal lagi. Tapi nasib jalan clear. We parked at the next building to KL Live.. LifeCenter.. whatever you call it. Kejap aje dah penuh parking. Nak keluar dari parking kena naik tangga pulak. Kugagahi jua. Nak masuk KL Live.. tangga lagi. Sabar je la..

Right, we're in. Lepak kat belakang aje. Malas la nak berasak2 kat depan. Susah jugak standing only ni. Sebab if terstuck belakang orang yang tinggi, dah tak nampak.

On cue, Train took the stage. And wow the crowd. Nampaknya semua orang tahu lagu-lagu depa, kecuali aku (as usual). Marry Me was practically sung by the crowd. Heheheh. In between the set, ada pulak si Pat baling free t-shirt pulak to the crowd. Unfortunately we are too far nak berebut. And he was very sporting as well... siap ambik some phone from the front row, and took a shot of himself and the crowd. Sape yang dapat tu, mesti tak tido malam ni.

According to Pat, Train don't do encore. Tak sempat aku nak beli twisties hehehe. Here comes the moment that we have been waiting for. Drops of Jupiter. PERGHHHHHHHHH. best gila. And before you know it. Dah habis dah. The concert was short but it's definitely not a drive by ;). At the end of the nite, Train was giving out a guitar that was Pat was using while performing... Whhhhaaaattttttt????? And the band had put their signature on it... WHhhhhaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttt. Andddd... he gave it to... (wait for it...) ... ME! Whhhaaaaattttttttttttt? Hahahhah of course not. Pat choose a little girl from somewhere in the front row. Adik sape la tu. Dik kalau kau tak nak guitar tu bagi akak dik.

I wonder adik.. tu dah pandai main ke tak guitar tu eh?

p/s: ada gambar from the concert but it's in my phone..tunggu la lagi sepuluh tahun aku nak download and post it here..

Cranberries Live in KL - 4th April, 2012 - Stadium Negara

Mula-mula, memang tak minat sangat nak pergi. Tapi bila Kay ajak, aku game je la kan. Tak la tahu sangat lagu-lagu depa ni. Kononnya nak tengok satu konsert satu bulan. Beginilah cita-cita orang yang tiada hala tuju hidup.

Anyway, bila dengar the daily promo, eh rupanya, banyak jugak lagu yang aku tahu ek. So dengan semangat waja, download la segala mak nenek lagu depa and pasang hari-hari on the way to work. I think my favorite is Animal Instinct.

Come the night of the concert. Dah la Wednesday. Tak ingat aku keje ke tak pun hari tu. But I think the weather was ok, so hopefully tak jam la. Kay came over and drove both of us to stadium Negara. Traffic was clear. But now.. mana pulak nak park ni. Tempat parking haram sebelah stadium dah ada construction pulak. Then we realize, eh depan stadium ni ada sekolah. Maybe we can ask the Pak Guard to let us park inside. Success! Dia bagi masuk tapi kena RM10. Which I don't mind at all. Dah la dapat parking elok, ada guard plak and hanya sekangkang kera aje dari entrance. Tak payah susah-susah. Unlike most asshole yang kononnya drive VIP ke hape tah yang nak park jugak dalam stadium tu kalau boleh. Pastu nyusahkan rakyat marhain lain nak beli burger. Hahahah.

As usual aku memang benci nak kena check bag la apa la bila nak masuk. So seboleh-boleh nak makan jugak burger ke air ke apa semua bagi habis. Haha nasib tak tercekik. Aku rasa Kay berjaya seludup air ke masuk. Camera plak, as usual aku masuk dlm kocek rahsia hehehe.

The stadium was packed. Nasib tak panas. We sat to the right of the stage kot. Ok la jauh dari orang-orang. Duduk rapat nanti kang rimas. Tak sangka pulak ada stage for VIP ke royalties ke. I dunno why they bother to come and watch. Sebab kena control ayu semuanya, walhal the crowd dah frenzy tak tentu hala.

Dim the lights, here comes Cranberries! Damn, they were good! Semua lagu layan. Aku layan sambil duduk la kan. Pastu half way, lapar pulak, beli lagi burger. Hahahah. My love affair with bugger pijak memang tak boleh nak dipisahkan.

Then finally comes the moment. ZOMBIE. Seriously, everyone sang as if their life depends on it. Aduiii... cuba suruh ngaji? But I guess, yes that was one of the best moment in any concert that I have ever been to. Yang tak tahan tu, kitaorang dok perhati, yang those tadi duduk and haram tak response to any of the songs, tetiba dah up on their feet ... menyanyi dengan penuh semangat siap dengan hand gestures, macam la dia yang tulis lagu tu. Hahahahah gamaknya, ni je kot lagu yang depa tahu. Sure pi karaoke ni la lagu wajib.
The VIP stage masih tidak menunjukkan sebarang emosi. Borrinnggg!

It was good nite out. Good music, good company, dismal burger pijak. Posing mesti posing :)

But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.

In your head, in your head they are fighting,

With their tanks and their bombs,

And their bombs and their guns.

In your head, in your head, they are crying...

In your head, in your head,

Zombie, zombie, zombie,

Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,

In your head,

Zombie, zombie, zombie?

Entah....

Avril's Black Star Tour - 18 Feb, 2012 at Stadium Merdeka

Avril Lavigne Live in KL! Not to be missed... walaupun clearly this is a teenage angst fest. Tak pedulik la.
I think we were in Johor siang tu. There was a wedding. Mujur la sempat sampai KL. Memang tak senonoh!

Petang tu hujan la pulak. Aduss mesti stadium lecak. Kensel nak pakai kasut baru. Selipar cabukku sila jalankan tugas anda. Konsert start 8.30 ke 8.00 pm tah. So sempat la nak solat dulu kat rumah. Dah siap-siap2 nak pergi, baru terperasan mana pulak ticket? Ya salam... ticket tak jumpa. LOL!

Korek punya korek, gaduh punya gaduh... finally found it in my sister's closet. Tadi bukan main dia mengaku takde pada dia. By then, dah pukul 8.30 kot. Gamble je la... lagi pun lagu2 yang starting tu tak best sangat. (Yes, dah siap check setlist ye).

So as usual any concert at Stadium Merdeka, mesti naik LRT than Monorail. And of course dalam banyak-banyak minggu, ni la minggu yang depa nak launch integrated system across the transit system. Tak boleh pulak beli ticket pergi balik. Kena beli token lain2. So to be save, masa sampai kat monorail tu kitaorang beli dah token siap2 untuk balik. Nak kena ingat plak mana token LRT mana token monorail. Arghh.. dah la dah lambat. Nasib masa sampai dah renyai2 hujan, so boleh la redah je.

We arrive dah almost 9.15 ke.. Avril pun nak balik dah. Hahahah. Tapi yang pasti, dapat la dengar dia nyanyi Wish You Were Here... Dapat la emo bila ramai-ramai nyanyi part Damn...Damn.. Damn... to be honest aku tau part tu je pun. Heheheh. Unfotunately, terlepas Sk8er Boi (notice that I'm using the 'correct' spelling..sighh).

Bila dah nak encore tu, dia bukak dah all the gate. So semua orang boleh rushing turun ke padang and grab a place front and center depan stage. Err.. termasuk la aku and kakak aku. Sekali tu tengok-tengok, padang tu gila lecak... boleh tersangkut kaki dalam selut. Gila cardio aku nak get across the field. Dah la rupanya dari bleachers tu nak naik ke padang tu ada longkang besar.. and ada pulak adegan panjat memanjat. Nak tersimpul urat perut aku.. terkejut dah la tak bersenam!

And Avril close with Complicated. Enough said... SCREAM, SHOUT and JUMP people! Memang best. Before balik sempat la ambik gambar amongst the throngs yang berpusu-pusu nak balik. According to my colleague yang berendam kat padang tu since 6pm, kasut dia dah boleh buang dah. Hahaha nasib aku datang lambat. Shot Avril semua goyang. So instead, letak la gambo perempuan  yang perasan ada teenage angst ni.Hahaha

Keje baru

This year marked my 3rd year being in the support team. So tibalah kita di hujung persimpangan... there's always the option to stay, but normally this is the window that everyone is waiting for to move to other role.

Setelah drama2 yang merepek meraban.. (maybe this is all in my head), tepat 1st April - I joined a new team. What a date.. 1st April. Macam April fool pulak.

So the whole of April, I was in zombie slash cicak kudung mode, completing all of the handover while trying to grasp all the new info from the new team.

Basically, hari-hari macam nak pengsan ok. Itu lah sebabnya takde masa nak blog memblog. My boss and other colleague are all based in a different continent. Aku sorang aje yang nganga kat sini. There are days that is nice sebab no one to monitor you. But there are days yang rasa nak hantuk kepala kat dinding sebab nak bertanya semua orang jauh.

At the moment, I have 1001 things to learn. And trying to adjust my working time. Hopefully things would be will be ok. Anyhoo the new job did bring me to Europe  for the most part of May, untuk handover (kononnya)... hheheheh. Will blog about the trip soon.

Huh?

Dah bulan September? I haven't blog for like a long time. Sampai nak login tadi pun tak tau macam mana. Hahahha.

So apa yang dah berlaku so far tahun ni? Hmm let me see... there's a the new job, a bit of travelling, concert... bulan puasa, raya and tah apa2 lagi. Let me trace back kehidupan setakat tahun 2012 ni and see what has been missed.

Good luck to me :)