looking out the window

Since moving to my current room in June, every time I look out of the window I feel blessed to have such a beautiful view of the lake. Plus I could see what the traffic's like on the highway too.

What I've never realized before was that BOTH the Petronas twin towers and KL Tower are also visible from the same window if I push the blinds a little bit more to the right.
Until someone else told me recently.

Sometimes it takes other people to be in our seats for us to know more of what we already have.

Small Fry

Today is two days away from the already-extended due date of our Syarat 1 report.

Thus a couple of people's composure became ruffled and someone on his leave would have to come to the office.

Hmmmhhh.

This is what happens when you pay insufficient regard to stuff that needs to be done, and leave it all to the small fry.

[Image doctored from original here]

Teater kotak-kotak, dan dua ulasan

Lama tak tengok teater kotak-kotak. Rindu pulak rasanya.

teater kotak-kotak :
teater kecil dengan set yang minimalis, lazim ada kotak-kotak yang pelbagai saiz dan susunan. kotak dan mainan lampu yang ringkas boleh jadi apa saja, daya kreatif dan imaginasi saja menjadi batas. pelakon biasanya tak ramai, lokasi kecil jadi penonton boleh duduk begitu dekat dengan tempat pelakon beraksi. nak ambil gambar bulu hidung pun tak ada masalah. ya. aku exaggerate.

Dan Khamis lepas, terima kasih kepada Aliya my partner-in-crime (walaupun aku berseorangan ke sana sebab Aliya terpaksa batalkan rancangannya menonton bersama di saat akhir), aku sekali lagi menapak ke tangga Stor Teater DBP setelah sekian lama tak ke situ. Akhir sekali, masa tonton Ops Ophelia kalau tak silap.

Tengok teater kotak-kotak menghimbau kenangan zaman Actors Studio masih ada di bawah Dataran Merdeka dulu (yg dah ditutup selepas banjir tu), zaman tiket harga diskaun pelajar RM17, masa tu kalau nak tengok teater boleh beli sebelum masuk aje. Kalau buat booking telefon pun, show lusa, hari ni boleh booking lagi. Setengah jam sebelum show baru ke kaunter tiket dan bayar. Terlupa bawak kad pelajar pun tak apa, bo aje, dia tengok muka, jalann. Pernah juga dulu aku menapak dgn Marina berpusing-pusing dekat setengah jam sesat dari stesen komuter Bank Negara nak beli tiket pertunjukan teater Gedebe di Panggung Eksperimen alamak lupa nama panggung tu. Hoh masa tu mungkin tak ramai yang pernah dengar nama Zul Huzaimy atau Namron. Que Haidar apatah lagi.

Sekarang, kalau telefon Actors' Studio, boleh bayar terus guna kad kredit melalui telefon dan dengarnya tak boleh booking2 lagi dah. Manjang sold-out. Istana Budaya, besar ya amats, kalau tak jumpa tak taulah kan. KLPac pun dengarnya punya kompleks yang hebat, tapi aku belum pergi lagi.

Eh, tentang teater kotak hari tu. Double-bill rupanya. Masa sampai aku tak tau pun apa-apa, cuma aku tau ada persembahan teater jam 8.30 malam, itu saja. Ternampak kereta SM di parking lot, haa ada la jugak boleh cari member kejap lagi. Sembang-sembang dengan tiga remaja sebelum persembahan:

"Eh kitorang sekolah lagi la kak... taun depan nak masuk Form Five"
"La.. ye ke... sorry ya. Selalu ke tengok teater ni?"
"Baru second time. Akak memang selalu tengok teater ke?"
"Selalu la jugak.. tapi dah lama tak datang."
"Semalam first time kitorang tengok. Baca dalam Metro. Best! Datang lagi hari ni nak tengok cerita lain pulak."
"Semalam cerita apa?"
"Ala yang Khir Rahman jadi gay tu... ala yang sampai dia masuk Melodi tu. Best kak.. macam real je dia berlakon."
(Macam mana pulak diorang tau real ke tidak macam gay yeh?)
"Oh ye ke. Hari ni cerita lain pulak ya. Ini macam ada gaya cakap Kelantan aje ni"
"A ah la.. takut pulak kitorang tak faham nanti"
"Takpe, kalau iya pun rasanya takkan pekat sangat sampai orang lain tak boleh nak faham.. kalau dia buat macam tu, takde makna la"

Aku rujuk fact sheet yang diberi selepas bayar harga RM10 (merangkap 'tiket' - tiket teater terbesar aku pernah dapat setakat ni, sayangnya tertinggal di bangku). Lembah Semantan dan B'Badi tajuk persembahan malam tu. Siri penuhnya ada empat persembahan, dua persembahan setiap malam. Ah.. terlepas aku lakonan Khir Rahman dan Sofi Jikan malam sebelumnya. Dalam senarai malam tersebut, yang aku kenali cuma Sabri Yunus. Okeylah. Mari kita lihat siapa yang kenaaaa!!!!

-----------
Ulasan 1 : Lembah Semantan
Kenangan masa lampau seorang Wan Shamsiah terhadap seorang Wan Hakim seputar saat-saat Tanah Melayu hampir mencapai kemerdekaan. Siapa Wan Hakim? Apakah peranan beliau dalam susur politik Lembah Semantan?

Lima belas minit kedua aku nyaris tertidur, dan hampir separuh persembahan sampai berair mata aku menahan nguap. Mungkin sebab sejarah bukan forte aku, apatah lagi dipapar secara serius menerusi siri-siri mini monolog Wan Shamsiah (dilakonkan oleh Sarina Abdul Aziz yang aku kurang pasti, bercakap loghat Perak atau Pahang). Lompat silat Wan Hakim (Md Nurhadi) dan Mahadi (Wan Kanari) serta muzik latar secara langsung membuatkan mata aku terbuka semula.

Dalam Lembah Semantan, keperluan cucu Wan Shamsiah untuk menyelesaikan tugasan sekolah telah mengundang ingatannya kepada kisah seorang pemuda bernama Wan Hakim yang tidak tercatat namanya dalam lipatan sejarah rasmi negara. Imbasan demi imbasan menyusun kisah tentang Wan Hakim dan rakan seperguruannya, Mahadi (yang kemudiannya menyertai pertubuhan komunis) sehingga saat-saat terakhir sebelum Tanah Melayu diisytiharkan merdeka dari jajahan British. Bagaimana Wan Hakim pernah menyelamatkan nyawa Tengku Gafar, bagaimana beliau yang seharusnya menjadi wakil rakyat pertama daerah itu tetapi akhirnya Tengku Long yang menjadi ganti. Saat kemuncak pertembungan dua sahabat yang telah berbeza pendirian menarik sekali, dengan pergaduhan yang dimulai dengan satu 'perjanjian' untuk menghalalkan makan minum dan menjaga keluarga yang lainnya jika salah seorang terkorban.

Cuma aku kurang jelas, apakah perasaan Wan Shamsiah terhadap Wan Hakim sebenarnya. Seolah-olah beliau menyimpan rasa tetapi tidak dilayan. Dan diari bapa Tengku Long yang mencatat Wan Hakim itu dan ini... aku rasa seperti kurang logik sedikit ayat-ayat catatannya. Macam bukan catatan diari, tetapi seolah-olah surat kepada Wan Hakim sendiri.

Selain itu bahagian prop sepatutnya buat kajian dulu tentang bentuk bendera Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (jalur dan bucu bintang seharusnya cuma sebelas, jalur dan bucu empat belas yang digunakan sekarang bermula hanya setelah pembentukan Malaysia) - cakap-cakap sementara menunggu persembahan kedua, Nz turut menyuarakan kemusykilan tentang ini.

Secara keseluruhannya aku beri dua setengah bintang bagi teater kotak persembahan Kumpulan Kebayan ini. Lakonan mereka okey, aku paling gemar gaya Wan Kanari sebagai Mahadi (tapi aku memang ada tendency untuk lebih menggemari watak antagonis terutamanya jika dasarnya 'kelabu; juga watak-watak second fiddle). Penceritaan yang agak perlahan dan meleret di awalnya membuatkan aku hilang tumpuan di tengah persembahan. Oh, juga tentang bendera itu.

-----------
Ulasan 2 : B'Badi

Pak Nik Man Tok Che Leh dan Bukhari a.k.a Qori bertemu di tepi Sungai Golok waktu dinihari, cabar mencabar. Ada dendam kesumat dan amarah di hati Qori. Kenapa Pak Nik pegang tangan bini Qori dan mengaku itu bini muda dia???

Suasananya gelap. Cerita yang disampaikan tentang mereka penuh keganasan, bunuh orang sana sini. Dua-dua watak cerita ini samseng besar - Pak Nik Man Tok Che Leh (Wan Hanafi Su) dah melepasi zaman kegemilangannya, si Qori (Sabri Yunus) pula masih menyala-nyala kesamsengannya.

Saling berganti seorang menjadi pembawa kisah yang seorang lagi. 'Sudut potret' di kiri pentas memecah tawa penonton apabila lagak ala model / gambar pasport digayakan oleh samseng berdua itu semasa kisah hidupnya diceritakan. Ya, cerita-cerita gelap ini dipersembahkan dalam baris-baris yang mengundang tawa. Biasa, manusia memang masih mampu mencari humor dalam lubang kesat yang paling gelap sekalipun. That's one of the ways how people could survive their darkest hours, baby.


Kekuatan lakonan dua senior ini berjaya membuatkan penonton tidak leka walau sedetik. Tanpa set hidraulik yang megah, tanpa simfoni memainkan muzik latar, tanpa kostum mahal bertukar ganti, tanpa prop canggih. Walaupun di saat loghat Kelantan yang agak pekat digunakan, nyata tumpuan penonton langsung tak lari menerawang ke mana-mana selain dari 'verbal sparring' dua samseng ini. Nasib baik ia bukan persembahan pertama malam berkenaan, jika tidak pasti terasa lebih hambar persembahan yang satu lagi itu.

Ketegangan dicipta tahap demi tahap, hingga akhirnya kita dijelaskan bahawa kes dendam ini berpunca dari salah faham dan tindakan Pak Nik untuk menyelamatkan isteri Qori dari ditahan oleh pegawai Kastam.. itu saja. Tetapi sayang, pistol tetap berdentum(!), dan kedua-duanya tersungkur ke bumi.

Aku bagi empat bintang untuk teater kotak ini. Saving grace bagi malamku setelah aku sedikit kecewa dengan Lembah Semantan.

[Kredit foto : sultanmuzaffar]

Only in Kelantan

It doesn't matter that they are mere icons.
Symbols. Graphical representations. Logos. Denotations. (say tenkiu to thesaurus.com)



Yes, I cover myself up, I myself wears the tudung, I don't wear short skirts or shorts when I go out.

But this, is outrageously funny even to me. If they care so much, I think they should've ordered a new set of 'properly-attired' icons for their toilets then.

(eh tapi kaki aje dia tutup ye... kepala tak pulak...sebab botak kut?)

The big M

I bet many still do not know that at the moment I am actually -
Married :)

With some happy times and some stressful times, as well as the so-so times in between, but nevertheless very much -
Married.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
To my job, that is.

-------------

I just realized I could say that as I arrived home after dark yet another day, and Adam remarked as such.

-------------
Last week as I met a colleague coming back into the office at 7 p.m. (while I myself was heading out for a quick bite before continuing back to do the same):

Me:
Hey, you, I know you're married, aren't you?

Her:
Huhh??? Whaa??

Me:
To your job, right?

She got it right away and we both laughed at the bitter truth.

Ah.... anyways bonus (refer post script) ada ini tahun, so...
Kirja kirja kirja!

-------------
P.S : Do what I did - demand from the boss for maximum KPI marks if you think you deserve it. And back your case, have your notes ready with the list of tasks you did particularly well / worked especially hard at during the previous year.

P.P.S : Above advice came from a more senior colleague. Her final words - "Kalau dia tak bagi you markah tinggi, mengamuk!". Thankfully there was no need for that, heheh.

Test drive

The first thing I downloaded during initial hookup to my Streamyx-in-a-box (isn't that such a cutesy name?):



Arif Rafhan Othman's short movie Ptuihhh... at Outphace.com.

What about the Streamyx, you say? Nary a glitch, so far. Let's hope it stays that way.

Next on the list :
1. Update long-neglected fotopage.
2. Update sidebar and blogroll
3. Wi-fi the house!

Have we been doing what?

Curi-ed from Neri’s.

() crashed a friend's car
()stolen a car
(x)been in love
(x) been dumped
(x) shoplifted
() been fired
() been laid off
() been in a fist fight
() snuck out of your parent's house
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
() been arrested
(x) smoked a cigarette
(x) gone on a blind date
(x) lied to a friend
(x) skipped school
() seen someone die
(x) had a crush on one of your internet friends
() been to Mexico
(x) been on a plane
() purposely set a part of yourself on fire
(x) eaten Sushi
() been skiing
(x) met someone in person from the internet
() been moshing at a concert
(x) taken painkillers
(x) love someone or miss someone right now
(x) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
() made a snow angel
(x) had a tea party
(x) flown a kite
(x) built a sand castle
(x) gone puddle jumping
(x) played dress up
() jumped into a pile of leaves
() gone sledding
(x) cheated while playing a game
(x) been lonely
(x) fallen asleep at work/school – too often hahahaahha
() used a fake id
(x) watched the sun set
() felt an earthquake
(x) touched a snake
(x) slept beneath the stars
(x) been tickled
(x) been robbed
(x) been misunderstood
(x) petted a reindeer/goat
(x) won a contest
(x) ran a red light
() been suspended from school
() been in a car wreck
() had braces
(x) felt like an outcast
() eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(x) had deja vu
() danced in the moonlight
(x) liked the way you look
() witnessed a crime
(x) questioned your heart
(x) been obsessed with post-it notes
(x) squished barefoot through the mud
(x) been lost – also too often hahahaah
(x) been to the opposite side of the country
(x) swam in the ocean
() felt like dying
(x) cried yourself to sleep
(x) played cops and robbers
() recently colored with crayons
(x) sung karaoke
(x) paid for a meal with only coins
(x) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) made prank phone calls
(x) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
() caught a snowflake on your tongue
() danced in the rain
() written a letter to Santa Claus
() been kissed under a mistletoe
() watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(x) blown bubbles
(x) watched the sun rise by yourself
(x) made a bonfire on the beach
() crashed a party
(x) gone rollerskating
(x) had a wish come true
(x) worn any kinda pearls
() jumped off a bridge
() ate dog/cat food
() told a complete stranger you loved them
(x) kissed a mirror
(x) sang in the shower
(x) had a dream that you married someone
() glued your hand to something
() got your tongue stuck to a flag pole
() kissed a fish
() sat on a roof top
(x) screamed at the top of your lungs
() done a one-handed cartwheel
() talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
(x) stayed up all night
() didnt take a shower for a week
() picked and ate an apple right off the tree
(x) climbed a tree
(x) are scared to watch scary movies alone
(x) believe in ghosts
() have more then 30 pairs of shoes
() worn a really ugly outfit to school just to see what others say
() gone streaking/ skinny dippin
() gone doorbell ditching
() played chicken
() been pushed into a pool/hot tub with all your clothes on
(x) been told you're hot by a complete stranger
() broken a bone
(x) been easily amused
() caught a fish then cooked and ate it
(x) caught a butterfly
(x) laughed so hard you cried
(x) cried so hard you laughed
(x) cheated on a test
(x) forgotten someone's name-
(x) French braided someones hair
() been threatened to be kicked out of your house
() been kicked out of your house
() had a one night stand
() went fishing in the dark
(x) loved someone but never told them

Now can I tag you with this?

Bunuh siapa?

kau peluk aku
sebelum membunuhku
tersenyum melihatku
merenung melihatmu

kau menungguku
menunggu ku terjatuh
setiap langkah tertuju
setia dalam menunggu

aku menunggumu
menunggumu, menunggumu
mati di depanku
di depanku, di depanku

- Di Belakangku (Peter Pan)

--------

Macam kejam tak?

Kisah Larry si Kaya

Pada suatu hari, Larry si kaya yang sedang menunggu mati telah menghantar email kepadaku. Entah mana dia dapat email address aku.

Aku harap dalam kehidupan akan datang beliau akan menjadi makhluk yang lebih berguna.

Dan kawan-kawanku, aku harap kau juga akan terbuka hati seperti si Larry (selepas membaca emailku) untuk menderma kepada mangsa gempa bumi di Pakistan

From: "Larry Moore" [larry_moore123@hotmail.com]
Subject: HELLO.

Dear Beloved,

This letter may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have not yet met. I have to say that I have no intentions of causing you any pains. As you read this, I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, because, I believe everyone will die someday. My name is Larry Moore, a merchant in Dubai, in the U.A.E. I have been diagnosed with prostate and oesophageal cancer that was discovered very late due to my laxity in caring for my health. It has defied all forms of medicine and right now, I have only about a few months to live according to medical experts.

I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared for anyone not even myself but my business. Though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focus on my business as that was the only thing I cared for. But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world. I believe when God gives me a second chance to come to this world I would live my life a different way from how I have lived it. Now that I know my time is near, I have willed and given most of my
properties and assets to my immediate and extended family members and as well as a
few close friends. I have decided to give alms to charity organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth.

So far, I have distributed money to some charity organizations in the U.A.E, London and Ireland. Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this my self any more. I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and donate the money, which I have there to charity organizations in Bulgaria, they refused and kept the money to themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be contented with what I have left for them.

The last of my money which is the huge cash deposit that I have with a security firm abroad. I will want you to help me collect this deposit and dispatch it to charity organizations. I am writing this from my laptop computer in my hospital bed where I wait for my time to come.

Your Faithfully,
Larry Moore.

-------------

Dear Larry,

1. No, I'm not surprised to receive the email from you.

2. I also have no sorry-morry to spare for you, and I think everybody knows he/she will die someday

3. Far from sorry, I hope you will REALLY get prostate and oesophageal cancer one day. Only then I'll feel sorry. Heheh.

4. I didn't know that such a word like 'laxity' (pronunciation : 'lak-s&-tE link) exists. Wow, thanks for teaching me that!

5. Second chance in life? You believe in reincarnation then.. hmmm maybe you'll be an earthworm in the next life.

6. Wah.. most properties and assets willed to family and friends, still got some more to give away. Very rich lah you.

7. I suggest you donate to the earthquake victims in Pakistan. Type GPM2, GPM5 or GPM10 and SMS to 39111.

8. If you give me your money also I will keep for myself.

Not yours,
Ted

When we were young

We've all grown up, of course.

But last night, amidst the career-, marriage- and child-related chatter sometimes it felt like we're still in THE dining hall and that later we'll be going for night prep. And that tomorrow will be the girls' turn for an outing to town.

Somebody still owe me class newspaper money.

But we did not finish our buka puasa meal before the azan was over this time.

Al fatihah

May Allah bless her soul.

Al-fatihah.

Shutting my yap

While I was young and not-so-wise (chewah) of the ways of the world, it was difficult for me to find the middle ground. Either I kept my yap shut, or else I'd be putting my foot in it. When you were young though, you could get away a lot, but as you grow older (and thus may be deemed generally wiser, however everybody knows right that the hypothesis older = wiser doesn't hold itself true all the time, application-wise, no sir) it (the getting away, not the put-foot-in-mouth-scene) doesn't happen that frequent anymore. I learnt that the words that come out of this trap, control, I must. Think first, I should. And thus it surprised people who knew me back when I was a careless chatterbox, to find out that yours truly had been described as "Needs encouragement to express herself". Yes, that actually appeared in the counselor's report at one of the motivation camp thingies that I went to.

Eh, why the need to story all this?

I'm gonna shut my yap now. My typing yap, that is.

And a belated but still valid Selamat Berpuasa to those that do.

Wait, back to the topic. To cut the story short, I think I have better control of my yap these days. Am proud of it. Once in a while I could see it starting to run away, and kept my check. Of course sometimes my check wasn't so tight and it managed to get a life of its own a best-forgotten moment or two, but most of the times, I reigned it in at the right time. Because pushing it too far may not be the best for everyone's interest. And perception is such a double-edged sword, though you may mean no harm at all.

Like today. Chuckle. Check.

remedy

Apparently, the one of the best tested remedy for baby's heat rash is :

tepung ubi a.k.a serbuk kanji

Sekian le dulu petua dari nenek hari ni. Lain kali nenek bagi petua yang lain pulak iye cu!

secret

If I'm sending a card to postsecret today, it'd be

I.....
almost
cried

Hullo baby!

Latest addition to the family, courtesy of Bro and Sis-in-law. C-section.
Keluar ikut tingkap, mesti sebab taknak lalu *toot*.

His name is Aqif Falah, a.k.a. AF. Sis-in-law wanted to name him Mawi though, but Bro vetoed the idea. Haha. Really!

I dare me..

...to move to JB.

Others have taken much bigger steps to the moon and back, and here I am fretting whether I should make that mere 300km+ move southwards.

But then, they didn't really have to stay at the moon for 2 or 3 years, right?

History

It's confirmed.
While some of us took our own sweet time in getting hitched, they became the first ever of my ex-schoolmates to get a divorce.

Wow. That's life, of course.

Am not really close to either of them, but still, I feel sad for both.

Mardeka!

Merdeka!
Nah, ini bendera

Kibarlah
Bukan hanya pada-
Pada kenderaan
Pada bangunan
Pada badan
Pada.. segala-galanya

Kibarlah juga semangatnya di jiwamu

Dan nyanyilah
(Negaraku Tanah tumpahnya darahku)

Ya, di sini ada itu
Ada ini
Tiada pula itu
Dan tiada ini

Apa jua mereka kata
Aku tetap bangga
Menjadi anak Malaysia
(ini bukan utopia)

Siapa yang kena?

ACP mereka naik.
Bila ACP naik, KPI akan jadi rendah.
Dan bonus berkuranglah untuknya tahun ini.

Salah HQ. Juga salah akulah, sebab aku di Hq.
Alasan : Aku ambil-alih tampuk ini tanpa panduan yang lengkap. Boleh terima?

Kata seorang tu, "Memang saya maki aje ni.. dari dulu tak puas hati lepas diorang decide nak buat macam ni.. ". Sekurang-kurangnya dia masih ber'saya', kan.

Bang, saya pun tak boleh nak jawab tentang keputusan yang dibuat zaman dulu-dulu.

Tapi janganlah tembak pembawa berita.

--------

Sedihnya tak dapat berpiknik di bawah Tugu Negara esok. Huhu.

Thisthat

Gol & Gincu's best: GK8 heheheh
(apart from "Nak main bola pun tak senang!", of course)
----
The lady who cleans the toilet at our floor : Letchumy
The lady who clears the bins : Rouh
----
Current number of plastic folders with pending stuff on my desk : 14
Number of (working) days left of current financial year : 4
----

Good things roll

Partly inspired by the Lipton commercial in 3R

I knew Aliya, we watched plays together.
Coz Aliya knew Nz, we got to watch Sepet uncut.
We got to know Pn Yasmin, Pn Yasmin put up a blog.
She organized film screenings, lots of people joined in the ho-haa including muteaudio & kekure.
I dragged Adam along coz I needed a ride.
Kekure suggested lunch one day, we all went for lunch, mute said his friend needed actors.
...... and that was how Adam got his part in Trio.

But how did I met Aliya in the first place? Err that particular moment seems to elude my memory at present... how ah? Remembered already. I met Aliya through The Bookreview Blog. Heheh. Thanks Aliya (who hastily called me up to retell the story of us and *piak* me through the phone).

Sah aku ni pelupa orangnya. Tau takpe.
-----------

Trio is an interactive 65-episode five-minute drama, which revolves around three teenage girls – Natasha, Jasmin and Kat who have just moved into the same house. Each of them is distinctively different because of their different backgrounds. Being alone in a new environment, the girls are drawn closer day by day as they go through their life as student, friend and housemate. However, problems with college, boys, family, hobbies and different mindsets serve as catalysts to conflict and dilemma.

Through the show, viewers not only actively participate in creating the storyline but can also identify with the characters and build a “relationship” with them via various media platforms, such as communicating with the characters online. ..Full article

----------------------

Don't forget to tune in, kay. At NTV7, starting 26th August at 5.30 pm, rerun at 8.30 pm.

I still have no idea which part is his though.

Shoot the Monday

I Don't Like Mondays

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody's gonna go to school today
She's going to make them stay at home
And daddy doesn't understand it
He always said she was as good as gold
And he can see no reason
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown


Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down


The telex machine is kept so clean
As it types to a waiting world
And mother feels so shocked
Father's world is rocked
And their thoughts turn to
Their own little girl
Sweet 16 ain't that peachy keen
No, it ain't so neat to admit defeat
They can see no reasons
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down
All the playings stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die
And then the bullhorn crackles
And the captain crackles
With the problems and the how's and why's
And he can see no reasons
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die
The silicon chip ...
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down

The Boomtown Rats
The Fine Art Of Surfacing,1979

That banana skin

Eee ada ke patut! Siapa buat ni?

Poison

You
You are
You are my poison.

And I drink you yet
Every
Day.

While their flowers bloom.

Sepet won!

Finally, the accolades from home.

Sepet won the Best Film and Best Original Story awards, as well as the Best New Actor, Best New Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Poster awards at the 18th Malaysian Film Festival tonight.

Congratulations to everyone - producer, director, cast, crew, and its supporters all these while.

Wilayah Kutu – Voices from the fringe

fringe

(frnj)
n.

1. A decorative border or edging of hanging threads, cords, or strips, often attached to a separate band.
2. Something that resembles such a border or edging.
3. A marginal, peripheral, or secondary part.
4. Those members of a group or political party holding extreme views: the lunatic fringe.
5. Any of the light or dark bands produced by the diffraction or interference of light.
6. A fringe benefit
Source

the lunatic fringe

DISAPPROVING OR HUMOROUS
people who have very strong opinions that are outside the usual range
Source

The much-awaited parcel finally came last Friday, and I wasted no time in reading up the thirty-odd titles of short stories and poems penned by a group of eight young men in various states of, ahem, lots of things, united by their common passion for writing.

With their unusual tagline (Himpunan suara anak-anak muda dari frinjan - collection of young voices from the fringe) and authors that includes a South Park character, a prolific blogger, a transparent nomad, a landscape architect and even one who claims to be available in perisa mentega keju, you do not expect them to write in a conservative manner with conservative storylines. Having went to Wilayah Kutu’s pre-launch reading session last March, I knew what to expect, and I am not disappointed in that matter.

At 165 pages, Wilayah Kutu is a moderately fast and entertaining read, made easier by throwing one’s prejudices out of the window. There are tales of political and social satire, of friendships, side-shots at reality TV shows, of love (and not necessarily the boy-meets-girl kind), of death and manic thoughts, of surprise endings. True to its radical theme, the writing styles are but usual and some of the stories are rather disturbing.

[You have been duly warned. Now according to this, I am not old enough to read it.]

My favorites among others would be these items:

- Tapi Aku Hensem by Ruhayat X
A man can’t vote, but can be voted for.

- Almari by Nizam Zakaria
A delicious twist in reference to the title.

- In Memoriam by Dhojee
There are many ways to remember a friend by.

- Aku Jatuh (Abu Zen collective?)
Of a fallen angel.

- Kamus Hantu by Dhojee
A dictionary that made someone finds more than just the meaning of words.

Rumah Terbuka by Saifullizan Tahir and all six titles by Danny Lim are worthy of a special mention for their approach alone. Rumah Terbuka is written in a haunting second-person narrative, where the only other memorable story with the same style that still vividly sticks in my mind would be Anak-anak Bumi Tercinta by Saharil Hasrin Sanin (in another collection of short stories, Lagi Cerpen-Cerpen Underground, a two-author book with Faisal Tehrani).

Danny Lim’s contributions (20% of the total, if anyone’s counting) in photo comic-book style:

[check out Danny Lim’s work]

Even without considering that it is not a big company publication, the physical quality and feel of the book is excellent with its eye-catching art cover and story-titles at the middle-edge of the pages. My only grouse would be the fact that there are a number of misspellings and missing spaces between words where there should be one.

There are only 1,000 copies of Wilayah Kutu in print, so far available exlusively from Silverfish Books, mail order from Neohikayat or from the authors themselves.

[My copy - signed by Sufian Abas! Can sell one day, eh?]

Wilayah Kutu & masa ku

From: "Sufian Abas"
To: teddisini@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Wilayah Kutu
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 07:44:46 +0000

I've posted the book, hopefully you will receive it soon.

Regards

S.

Yeay. Naskhah Wilayah Kutu aku akan sampai sikit masa lagi. Aku berjaya padankan nama-nama penulisnya di website Neohikayat. Kebetulan muka-muka tu ada yg dah familiar, juga aku dah baca artikel tentang buku berkenaan dalam suratkhabar pada hari yang sama.

Aku cheapskate, kalau boleh dapat free, aku nak free-lah. Hehe.

Lepas baca nanti, kalau aku rajin, aku akan cerita di sini.

Tapi 'KALAU' nya sangat besar, tau.

Aku buat-buat sibuk tak ada masa, kerana masih ada dvd Irreversible, Kate & Leopold, Amelie dan Bridget Jones 2 yang perlu aku tonton. Yang bakal dituruti pula dengan episod siri-siri Simpsons, Southpark dan lain-lain lagi.

Oh, juga masa untuk konsert-konsert AF3 :)

Werl!

The sum of all fears

Just discovered that among others, I have a case of this and this.

Okay, to save you your mouseclicks,

this #1 : xenophobia
a phobic attitude towards strangers or of the unknown

this #2 : atychiphobia
an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger

Now combine that with a dislike for making telephone calls. No wonder I couldn't get a lot of things done as quickly as it should. Panic panic. I think there's more down the list.

But I have no idea anyone could have a fear of these things too:

- sourness (no asam boi for them Acerophobics)
- opinions (Allodoxaphobics are always neutral then?)
- looking up (Anablephobics must have sore necks for looking down too much)

and even this,

- beautiful women (which means plain girls like yours truly would have better chance to be with Caligynephobic males lah hehehe)

Check and see what do YOU have.

Ted Cengeng

Mama : Don't cry-lah sayang, you make me feel like crying too..

Me : Dah memang cengeng, mesti la nangis...

How could I not cry, seeing Abah being wheeled inside the operating theatre for his bypass operation last Thursday. He spent two nights in the ICU after the procedure, and was finally discharged this afternoon. He got this year's Father's Day card on the hospital bed - I managed to find a card with the things we expect to see him doing again when he's better, things he could look forward to.

Mama stayed at his side all the time. She's the only one who knew the exact spot to pat on Abah's back whenever he got that cough; and the exact way to pile the pillows when he's sitting up.

I was actually so afraid that I may not get to give him that particular Father's Day card, or any other card for that matter.

Alhamdulillah.

1 x 3 = 34 (plus one pewter clock)

My new room at the office is approximately 1 ft wider and 3 ft longer than the previous, basically giving me an extra 34 sq ft of floor space. Cool eh?

And it came with a nice pewter clock on the wall too, courtesy of the last inhabitant (who apparently got it for his/her 25 years of Perkhidmatan Setia with the company). Sans battery, of course. I hope it's still in working condition, heheh.
Note to self: Scrounge an AA battery from somewhere later.

When in Rome....

... do as the Romans do?


But I bet whoever said that didn't mean this.

Graffiti like above are aplenty in the Eternal City like you wouldn't believe it. But what's hard to find there are English-speaking Italians. The best bet would be either one of the polizia, the chaps at the information counters, or the ever-friendly Indian/Bangladeshi souvenir stallkeepers.


This one kept calling us darling that we just had to buy a bundle of his T-shirts.

joie de vivre

You put a clear reminder, in three languages, no less.



And what did they do?

This.



And more.

Anyway, the misconception that the French will ignore you if you speak in English is sooooo outdated. Scrap that one out, s'il vous plait. All one needs to do is ask, and 9 out of 10 times they'll more than gladly do what they could to help you.

And French guys? Yummy. Tres handsome-lah, I tell you.

Wish you were here!

British sense of humor, I suppose. Ain't that kinda cool? Wonder who was the bugger that stenciled this.

The weather here is unpredictable at the moment. You could be all wrapped up in jackets one morning and yet be hanging out your clothes to dry in the hot sun the next.

It's 6 a.m. and no one else is up yet, but you could've easily read a book outside since five.

Malam ayam

[Imagine here a photo of 8 chicks in nighties at the living room]
[Doing, er, maybe eating cake and playing gin rummy]

The bachelorette partay weekend was a success.

As Tam-Tam would've said it - Fab-uloso!

P.S. - Colmar Tropicale, by the way, is a bit overrated, methinks.

Petrol up !

Starting today, May 5th 2005 (wow, nice date).

7.04 %

That's how much the 10 sen increase is.

I was out last night and wondered why the queues were mile-long at all petrol stations. Cue a call to Bro.

" A ah... harga petrol naik." (Yeah, petrol price up).

Hhmm... economically all price tags have to increase over time of course, but it wasn't that long ago from the last hike was it?

Anyway, can anyone name two items in Malaysia whose price tags hasn't changed at all at least for the last 5 years? There are, really.

Dan Hilang

"Dan hilang semua impianku
Hilang semua harapanku
Hilang bersama resahku
Hilang terbawah arah"

There I was, with Adam and his colleagues chilling at Segafredo on a perfectly fine Sunday afternoon, sipping iced tea, juice and lattes.

And not twenty words passed between us in the first half hour, well okay, maybe more than twenty words were uttered, but not more than double that, tops. As each of us were too busy wallowing in self-pity and frustration on several personal degrees. Due to our failure to get into Planet Hollywood for Peterpan’s showcase. After more than two-hours of waiting in the scorching KL sun and imagining how close we’d be to the stage.

Shyite. We knew by then we should’ve just waited with the bunch of odd-hundred people in front of the entrance instead of dutifully getting to the end of the queue like chickens getting into a coop when we arrived. We though Suki’s idea to be there at 11 a.m. and head in for lunch first would result in a brillianter-than-brilliant coup to get us choice seats and premier view of Ariel and the gang , alas, it turned out there were fans who had actually lined up at the entrance from 8 a.m! (those buggers I’m sure got in and had the premier view instead). Die-hard, these people are. Or mati-keras as we say it in Malay. How frustrating it was to move inch by inch closer to the door, seeing people being admitted in one by one, and when we were like 10 feet away from the entrance, announcement was made that no more tickets were available and would those (who were clamoring and shoving the palm trees outside half to death) whom still didn’t have one please go home. Oh, cruel world.


Mereka yang kecewa

Defeated, we decided to have a drink as we were all dying with thirst anyway and hoped to get a glance of the show which should be shown at the TV facing the walkway while the doors were banged shut (okay, of course they didn’t actually ‘bang’ it, but that’s how we felt). What amazed me was how the guys were able to sit there in almost total silence. If this were a bunch of six girls, we’d be complaining and whatnots and each would be telling the other how upset, discouraged or exasperated (okay they all mean the same thing as frustrated, I consulted the thesaurus) we felt. But the guys just… sat there, each wearing a woeful expression on his face, staring at the door as if willing it to open and suck them into the vortex that is the venue of our much-awaited feel-good afternoon. Me? I spied at the magazine rack a copy of Cleo with the list of fifty Most Eligible Bachelor hopefuls (last month’s copy) and seek my solace in that piece of contemporary literature.

An hour later we parted on our separate ways, and I decided to drag Adam to Times Square and check out the new Borders store. Upon being there, I can’t really understand why some bloggers had groused about the place in their posts. It’s a big bookstore, there are lots of titles available as per other big bookstores, the area is spacious and you can even sit down cross-legged on the carpeted floor without feeling awkward. The extra plus points from me would come from the fact that I found both Isaac Asimov and Jasper Fforde’s titles there. I got myself three books (at the price of two!) that I had my eyes on for quite some time and therefore I declare an aye for Borders - salvation for otherwise a totally wasted afternoon.


Pengubat hati yang luka

[Addendum : Adam told me he saw them at Lotus afterwards (early morning May 2nd). Baru lepas joget mak endang cucuk langit lah tu agaknya. Bleargh. Fat lot that's worth. I want to see them singing, not minum-ing teh tarik.]

Kyrgyzstan

I wonder what would it be like, to work in Kyrgyzstan?

Area: 198,999 sq km (76,834 sq mi)
Population: 5,081,429
Capital: Bishkek 589,000
Interim President: Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Religion: Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5%
Life Expectancy: 67.84 years
GDP per capita: $1,600

[Source]

Buatan Indonesia

The Peterpan songs that I like are the sad, depressive ones.
[Does any of their song ever appear as a really happy tune anyway?]
[Apparently not.]

And I totally dig Ariel's expressions in the video clips.
He's so depressingly cute in them.

[Sigh. Emo face la tu konon]

And I found this, written by Elfonda Mekel and sang by Dewa, side-splittingly funny:

Ingin kubunuh pacarmu
Saat dia cium bibir merahmu
Didepan kedua mataku
Hatiku terbakar jadinya.. cantik
Aku cemburu

...........

Meskipun aku pacar rahasiamu
Meskipun aku selalu yang kedua
Tapi aku manusia yang mudah sakit hatinya

Mungkin memang nasibku
Yang slalu menunggu
Untuk jadi yang pertama

Mungkinku katakan padanya saja
Bahwa aku juga milikmu
Bahwa aku juga.....
Bahwa aku juga kekasih hatimu

Rough translation:

I want to kill your lover / When he kisses your red lips in front of me / It hurts / I'm jealous

Though I 'm your secret lover / Always coming in second / But I'm only human, easily hurt

Maybe it’s my fate / To always be the one who has to wait / To be the first

Maybe you should just tell him / That I am yours too / That I am too / That I am your sweetheart too

[Somehow, when it's translated into English it doesn't sound as funny anymore eh]

No lah, don't jump to conclusions, I'm not in a similar position or anything like dat.

One small
nervous
breakdown
[unspecified]
please

Thank you

Yes, I have only
a pair
of arms and legs
and
a single
head


He wrote : "A well-deserved break."

Looking For An Old School Photo?

This is so cool, it makes you love the Internet even more.

World School Photographs have one of the largest databases on the World Wide Web. Have you lost your old school photographs? They may have them in their database. With a calculated 98% success rate, the website is so amazing. I've been there, typed my name, name of my school etc with not much hope, and was surprised at the results page for finding two pictures matching my query.

Now one of the fastest growing sites on the World Wide Web, you can also be a contributor if you have loads of old school photographs which you want to share, in case your old friends are looking for them.

The best thing is, it's all free and you need not register or provide your email address to them. Go on, you'll be amazed at what you'll find!

New version of Nigerian email scam

Remember the infamous email scam, where you would receive an unsolicited email from someone claiming to be a wealthy foreigner who needs help moving millions of dollars from his homeland with the promise of a hefty percentage of the fortune as a reward for assisting him? If you have an email address, I'm sure you've received at least one of those. Or twenty.

There are many variants of the scam, and unbelieveable as it seems a lot of unfortunate souls had fallen victim to the fraud under countless variants (read victims' statement).

I recently received another such email, this time using the Aceh tsunami as its 'base event'. Notice the many spelling mistakes, possibly to convince potential victims that she's really in a state of urgency and thus couldn't be bothered to type properly.

(posted in its entirety for your personal enjoyment)

Dear Sir/Madam,

In brief introduction I am Ms.Wang Sye Yuen from Singapore, 28 years of age and my son Lau is 8 years old,and my dauther 6 year.We Live far on the Sea of the Aceh Region affected by the recent Tsunami Quakes/floods Disaster that swept through South Eastern Asia. I don't think you have come that Far, do you know Indonesia.

That's where i am Mailing you from.

I would have called, if i had your number. My Kids are here with me, and my brother in-law (Francis ) too. We have been trying to reach out for help for 3 weeks, but i got your mail from the Internet and i decided to contact you with the faith that you would help me out, i am planning to relocate my family to your country.

We are not asking you to finance our trip, but what i demand from you is your trust and honesty, because i want you to help me out, for three weeks,i have being moving from town to town. from shelter to shelter.I am not a begger, but I really value my life, and that of my kids. There is somebody or group of people after me, i am sure you are not suprised, it happens everywhere, but why? I am sure you will ask.

I am not going to hide anything from you, because i need you to believe and don't take this for just a joke or a game.It involves my life and my kids and a sum of US$15.5 Million United States Dollars, which is the Main cause i have suddenly made enemies on this Islands.This is the only legacy left behind for me and my kids by my late husband who is a victim of this disaster.I have been attacked at gun point twice and over 6 of our new accomodation given to us by the police have been broken.

The Police could not help much because the person behind the plots of evil is a specialist at crime, my late husbands Business Partner.Mr Ger Yang, and now i know why he is after me, he wants the funds, i remember he had a fight over some money issue with my husband before he died, and now this Funds have come to us as inheritance and only him knows of Such.

I immediately took the matter to court and laid all my allegations, but they were not strong enough to put him behind bars. So now at this present time Mr Ger Yang is still on the loose.He follows my every move, he has tried to kiddnap the kids from school, i have received calls of giving up the funds or i would be shot on the way to Work.

My kids have given up school and i have given up work, with the help of my brother inlaw we have managed to move here and there, slightly escaping death, but we are glad we are still alive.All this while he never got the money becasue My late husband had deposited them in a strong trunk box, and lodged the box in security company at the shores of the islands and later transfer the consignment to Europe for security reasons before his untimely death.

And all i am waitng for is a signal from you and i would instruct my antonery in Europe to contact you for better clearification of this transaction and he will arrange an authority to release and pay in your name which you will tender to the Security Firm couple with all the necessary documents that will back up your claims in collecting this consignment on my behalf, then i would proceed to a neighboring country and make flight arrangements to meet you in your country.

We cant engage other banking methods to transfer the funds because of the area we are located on the islands and that is why my late husband prefer to secure the fund in Europe , also we do not have a foreign accounts,and we don't want Mr.Ger Yang to have any trace of where the funds are going.So you are our only hope, we have a mapped out plan already. Its safe and secure.

So please there is nothing to worry about, its just you,The Security Company, my attonery and the destination, leave me and Mr.Ger Yang, i will protect my kids with the help of my brother in-law, as soon as you receive the funds in your account, we would check out of Indonesia.

I have to stop here now as your response will determine our subsequent correspondence. Please feel free to dis-regard this proposal if it is not in line with your principles. Send me your number if you are willing to assist me So that we can discuss on a secure medium.

Hope you can help
Wang Sye Yuen and Kids
NOTE :PLS REPLY TO wangsye05@netscape.ne

Yeah right. I do hope nobody would ever fall for one of these ever again.

Knick-knack-paddy-whack

I think I just got brushed off by a colleague with a
"hem?"
"hummm. yeah."
"tomorrow-lahhh".

Aiyoh, dude, I know you are busy, but of course, who isn't. Anyhoo, as long as what needs to be done gets done. Then everybody can go home happy.

Marilah kita bersama-sama mencapai misi dan visi syarikat.

I'll drink (a mug of cold, frosty milo-O-ais) to that.

--------

It's simple plain ethics. As the saying goes, one must do unto others as one wants to be unto you. Or something like that, pardon my England. The one needing your time today may be the one whose time you need tomorrow (or next week, or next year, etcetera). So it's always best to be co-operative, lah.

I don't really take it personally, anyway. I'm a small fry.

-------

The fries at Chicken King? They are like home-made ones, shoestring cut, nicely comforting either when hot or cold. At least the ones I got from their outlet in Kota Bharu. Never heard of Chicken King before? Read this.

Drama satu babak

Tajuk : Marahkan Anak, Sindir Menantu

Watak :
1) Mak Minah
2) Saleh (anak saudara Mak Minah)
3) Anak Mak Minah
4) Menantu Mak Minah

Situasi : Saleh datang ke rumah Mak Minah berseorangan walaupun baru dua bulan melansungkan perkahwinan. Anak dan menantu Mak Minah turut ada di sana.

[Babak 1 - Ruang tamu, malam]

Mak Minah (sambil menuang air teh) :
Asal datang, sorang, asal kamu datang, sorang. Macam belum kawin.

Saleh :
Err.. dia kerja Mak Minah.

Mak Minah:
Hai.. isteri orang lain pun kerja jugak Saleh, tapi takkan la dah dua bulan kamu kahwin batang hidung dia lansung tak nampak. Bukannya jauh beno rumah kamu tu.

Saleh:
Hmmm...

Mak Minah:
Apa la isteri kamu ni Saleh, kalau dah kahwin, maknanya kenalah jugak ambik tau pasal keluarga suami, bukannya kahwin dengan kamu aje, macamlah tak ada keluarga. Kalau suami tu sebatang kara lain la!

Saleh :
Erm, iyela. Saya setuju cakap Mak Minah tu, saya cakap dengan dia, saya ni ada Mak Long, Pak Long, Mak Ngah, Pak Teh macam-macam. Memang kalau boleh saya nakkkk sangat bawak dia jumpa sedara mara kita. Tapi dia jenis macam tu lah. Susah sikit.

Mak Minah :
Itulah kamu.. kamu suami kan.. pandai-pandailah nak bawak isteri tu.

(Anak & Menantu Mak Minah - muka selamba di tepi sambil dengar saja)

[Tamat]

Nak turun ke En. Mat?

The lunch :
RM18.00

The ride :
free

The feeling of taking a
two-and-a-half hour lunch break
when there's a ton of things to do on the desk :
Priceless

------------------------
But the really priceless moment would be when I was waiting by the lift at 12 noon (of course actual lunch hour starts at 1 o'clock!), and guess who's waiting for the lift with me? My GM. Teehee. Hence, the common Malay practice of asking the obvious-

"Nak turun ke En. Mat?"

Terri

It's over for Terri.

And I shudder. If.

What if I would I want to live still, but couldn't tell them so.

Akaun penerima

On the IP messenger today:

*icon blink blink*

- Eh, what's a/c receivable and a/c payable in bm aa? "Akaun penerima" and "akaun pembayar"? Sound so pelik lah.

+ Oit, thats sure pelik. I think it's "akaun penghutang" and "akaun pemiutang" instead.

Did that make me laugh my head off. "Akaun penerima", indeed.
To some people, somehow I am their personal on-demand kamus bergerak. Now, if only I could have had 50sen for every time someone did that....

I think I'd have enough for two cinema tickets this weekend.

Okay, Citibank

At 3.05 pm today I received a call from a polite fellow called Raj from Citibank, in response to my complaint on 16th March. I tried the yada-yada-yada trick a little bit, and Raj simply listened. Saja je testing, hehe.

Apology accepted. That's all a customer wants sometimes, just for you to L I S T E N.

Maybe I can only afford RM300 a month to spend using your credit card today, but I am also only 26. A long way to go, tau. Kalau umur panjang dan murah rezeki lah. Amin.

Aiyiyi

Me to xxxxxx@libero.it Mar 22 (1 day ago)

Hello Uncle Ashraf, hope you are doing fine. As you already know, we (me, my sister and also Hamimah) will be coming for a 3-day visit in May. Uncle Talat informed that you told him we may stay at your place, thanks a lot, we hope it wouldn't be too much trouble for you.....

------------------------

xxxxxx@libero.it to me Mar 22 (14 hours ago)

Bon Giorno,
I look forward to seeing you in May and it is no trouble for me to pick you from the airport, as long as I don't have any urgent work appointment, in which case there is a train to Ariccia from Ciampino town center. There is really a lot to see.....

Oh. Oh. Can't wait for May. *jiggy-dance*

Thank god for relatives.

Another one for Sepet

[Translation]
Prize list of the 27th International Women's Film Festival of Creteil

Grand prize of the Jury
Best full-length film - fiction
3,811 Euros offered by the Delegation to the Parity and the Professional Equality and technical services of subtitling offered by LVT
The 2005 Jury is composed of Jacques Bidou (President), Julie Gayet, Suzette Glenadel, Cécile Helleu, Marie-Elisabeth Rouchy, Emmanuel Salinger and Thomas Sotinel
SEPET
By Yasmin Ahmad (Malaysia)



All the reason to grab one of those :)
Congratulations to everyone in the team.

And Ferrari seems to have lost its bite this year, adoi.

Sumpah, dah bayar

And I quote,
"We UNDERSTAND that you may be busy or have been away".

Jadi macam mana la tak hangin bila dengar nada suara yang 'manis' dan susunan ayat indah "..kena bayar minggu ini! Cash!!"

Anyway, see, I already made the payment. Erm, I must add, hehehehe,

c a s h.



Now I'm waiting to see if they have anything else to say to me.

Dear Citibank

(address)

16th March 2005

Citibank Berhad
Customer Correspondence Unit
PO Box 12891
50792 Kuala Lumpur.

Sir,
Complaint On Standard of Customer Service

I am a fairly recent customer of Citibank Credit Card and have been very satisfied with the instances where I have had contact with your staff through the telephone so far. However on March 14th at 7.10 p.m., I received a call from a Citibank personnel whom in my opinion acted appallingly as a representative of the company.

The call was made to my mobile due to a message left earlier at your hotline 03-23831000 regarding a late payment. I admitted that I made a mistake by not signing my cheque and acknowledged that she is not a Customer Service personnel, but while I was voicing out my dissatisfaction with the fact that Citibank did not inform me of the unsigned cheque through the telephone, she raised her tone unacceptably and told me that "Pembayaran kena buat, minggu ini! Cash!", which in my opinion is very uncalled for and made me feel as if I am an irresponsible customer who is a frequent defaulter and owes the bank up to my credit limit, whereas this is only my first time in making a late payment* and I had already admitted my fault. She then irresponsibly hung up when I asked for her name.

I am sure that Citibank has a high standard in the code of conduct for its staff. Being a personnel in a Customer Service Department myself, I am fully aware of the fact that any personnel regardless of department/section represents the company while he or she is in contact with a customer, and as such is responsible to at least LISTEN to what the customer has to say. Being of another department / section is an unacceptable excuse to refuse to even listen, and it is even more unacceptable for any personnel to speak to a customer in such a rude and unnecessary tone.

Please assure that this does not happen again. Also please be informed that I will make the said payment at Menara Citibank this afternoon, which in my opinion is timely enough to fulfill the required “Pembayaran minggu ini, cash” time frame.

Thank you.

(signed)

My can of worms

Like a loosely-wounded clockwork, he would call in the month of my birthday, sometimes two weeks after the date, sometimes two days.

As always, we'd try to fill up each other on the things that happened in our separate lives since we last talked, all in that single call. He's got a new car, I've got a new boss. He was involved in an accident, I got sick a couple of times since last year. He'll be taking a leave to go to his hometown soon, I'll be going for a holiday in May. I'd always say that I had put on the pounds and he'd always tell of how he failed to gain any.

And as always we'd promise that should one end up long enough in the other's state, we should meet. That we should see how the other has changed.

As always.

But we never do.

Happy birthday to me anyway.

Engineers vs accountants

Kenapa engineers suka bash accountants yeh.

I found it weird being the only non-engineer there and listening to them bashing us accountants. The usual tirade i.e. how accountants are too stingy-lah, berkira sangat-lah, tak tau technical points of view-lah etcetera.

Erm, mister, hello?

No, I guess they didn't realize that I am not one of them, but one of them, instead. Mueheheheh.

Come on la, are accountants so bad to your projects' health?

SePeT invites

Have you got your tickets yet?
Yes, today is the day for SePeT (read my pseudo-review last March here) preview screening at TGV KLCC (general release date : 24th February 2005), the movie that local newspapers have been been gushing on and on about in the last couple of weeks. What? What do you mean you haven't heard of it? Where have you been? The moon? Narnia?
And don't be jeles at me for them invites-lah, those are for other people :)

Jom tengok wayang!

Pseudo-review : The Year of Living Vicariously

Title : THE YEAR OF LIVING VICARIOUSLY
Year : 2004
Running time : 63 minutes
Language : Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles
Writer / Director : Amir Muhammad

Made with the assistance of The Nippon Foundation's Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship.

pic source

Aku cinta
Kamu cinta
Semua cinta
Buatan Indonesia…..
(I love, you love, everybody loves, Made In Indonesia)

The Year of Living Vicariously wears the badge of being a socio-political documentary set around the making of Indonesian film Gie (Miles Film, 2005). Gie, directed by Riri Riza and produced by Mira Lesmana is based on the life of the late Soe Hok Gie, an Indonesian activist circa 1960s who plays a role in the student movement which many believe is an important influence towards Sukarno's fall. Filming of The Year of Living Vicariously also coincides with the 2004 presidential election (which instituted Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the new president replacing Megawati Sukarnoputri). In the film Amir was the interviewer himself and got the cast and crew of Gie to candidly discuss their thoughts on Indonesian politics past and current, among a couple of other topics. Each and every one of the subjects interviewed had his or her own words to say, and Amir let them do it in the most unobtrusive way.

Using a dual screen technique in a major part of the film (which I think is a clever thing, this play of images), we would see a person answering Amir’s questions at one side while the adjacent image will either show them in action of the film-making process or be of another image altogether that may either emphasizes what they were talking about or completely negates it. Or both. The fact that the documentary was shot over a period of several months is apparent in the visible date and time markers that were purposely left in.

The Year of Living Vicariously takes you into the picture of the Indonesian that wants to see change in the country but is only too aware of the many obstacles, the Indonesian that hopes against hope that there will be a better future for the people, the Indonesian that only wants to make a living and be comfortable, the Indonesian that has unrelenting faith in the spirit of the country itself no matter what. There are some differences in how they see things and how it is done over there, and then there are also some similarities with my own beloved Malaysia. What amazes me most anyhow is the depth and the strength of these people's opinions. Save for perhaps one or two, they have some very strong things to say about the local politics and seem to be very comfortable in telling it like it is to a foreign individual. And these are actors, actresses, film crew talking - which includes the more-recognized Nicholas Saputra (though it's open for debate whether the same group who watched Ada Apa Dengan Cinta here would also be interested to watch Gie). But then the political overtones of Gie itself must've helped in getting them in the 'mood'. And I then imagine questions of the same line being posed to our local stars. Hehem. While doing Anak Mami the Nth, perhaps. Or Cinta Sekolah Rendah. Or whatever. Yeah yeah... I know that's not being fair. Hehem.

Although I am not Indonesian I could still relate to these people on a certain level, partly due to being in a neighbouring country and partly due to having plenty of Indonesian cousins, aunts and uncles thanks to a paternal grandfather that hails from Medan. The film reminds me too well of a comment made by a cousin when Dad joked about wanting to be president of Indonesia -

“Ahh.. mentadbir Indonesia itu enggak enak Om… walau untuk siapa saja”
(Uncle, running Indonesia is not a fun thing to do, no matter for whom).

pic source
In consistent fashion with a lot of his previous works, Amir once again unfailingly throws in a surprise factor to make The Year of Living Vicariously a different sort of work – this documentary also has the interviewees telling their favorite local folklores. Local folklores alongside political thoughts? Somehow, it works. I didn’t know the story of Samosir Island before, and now I do.

Interesting film to see then? You bet. Very watchable.

This film together with Tokyo Magic Hour has been invited to the 34th International Film Festival Rotterdam (January 26 - February 6) and the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21 - May 5).

The system

The system works! It does!

I witnessed an example of its workings today.

But sadly, when a single individual decides to take things into his/her own hand, taking advantage over those who depend on the system, it doesn't anymore.

One (purposely) broken gear.
One (purposely) loosened notch.
One (purposely) slipped step.
- is all it takes to mess up another person's life for good.

And to put the whole thing right again? Nothing less than the attention of a Big Man at the helm would do.

It's so unfair.

Who would pay for the missing 12 years?

Cakap.... cakap!!

(read topic a la the movie director in that P. Ramlee movie, complete with appropriate hand gestures)

Jeremy may have spoken in class today, but not me. I lost my voice yesterday and now can only croak at best, and even that would take so much effort already. And whenever the phone rings, come the frantic gestures to rein in the assistance of one of my colleagues to pick it up and explain 'She lost her voice la, sore throat, can you communicate thru email instead'. Thank God for emails.

Very true how we take so many things for granted.

Did you ever even think about the fact that you have a voice to speak with?

I hope I'll get it back soon. This whispering and gesturing business is not a very effective form of communication. Sis is having a ball at mocking me, and kept asking me to "Say Aaaaahhhhh???"

*Dush!*

Apt pupil

"Source from PPU Sime Darby, system 33kV HT ABC O/H line."

One year ago, all I'd recognize from above is 'Sime Darby' and the word 'line'. That's all. And it wouldn't make much sense anyway. Sime Darby, erm that company, right? Line, what line? Telephone line? Article byline? Line-up at recess?

Being among people who always seem to know what they are talking about, with all sorts of terms and abbreviations which I can make neither head nor tail of in the beginning can be quite unnerving. There they were, prattling about SAVRs and SCADA readings and PECUs and sub-metering and fuse cut-outs while I grapple with the terms, always making notes and whispering to my more senior colleague, "Apa tu?"

Today, though, thankfully, I could raise my head in the meeting and pipe,

"And how many PEs?"

But there's so much to learn still, no doubt about it.

*Sheesh*

12.05 pm

+ Ey, N, your dad works at the XX office, right?
- Yeah, why?
+ At which department yeh, I have a question la about blabla procedure thingy.
- Uhm, well, what is it about actually? Tell me first la.
+ Well it's like this, a cousin of mine got this problem with some procedure blablablablabla then blablabla. After so long still not settled yet lah. So maybe if you can mention it to your dad, maybe he can point towards the right person or department, ya'know, to finally get it done?
- Oh, like that. Well okay, I'll try to ask him.
+ Thanks a bunch ya. Hopefully yer dad can suggest something.

2.00 pm

*Google google*
Search : XX office chart
Results 1 - 10 of about 315 for XX office chart.

Err... wait.... is that N's dad's name?

Whoa. The DG himself. Whoa.

*Ip msg a couple of friends*

N college mate : Ya la, that's her dad la, u dunno aa?

Ouch.... and imagine me asking, "At which department eh?"

Heheh. Ouch.

WGC-ku sayang

Aku baru sedar keretaku yg berplet WGC masih boleh pergi laju lagi, itupun setelah 'dilenjan' oleh Ad dalam perjalanan mengejar masa tahap dewa waktu nak ke screening filem Amir Muhammad di Institut HELP bulan lepas (as usual, nobody should hold their breath in waiting for the pseudo-reviews) . Selama ni aku bawak kereta tu slow motion aje, 100km sejam dah rasa laju sangat dah, heh.

Tapi sebenarnya memang aku bawak kereta macam tu... perlahan (si Ad tak percaya aku perlukan sekurang-kurangnya 40 minit untuk ke pejabat pada hari biasa), penakut dan selalu tersesat jalan. Siapa pernah naik WGC dengan aku mesti dah arif pasal perkara ni. Sedangkan pagi tadi nak ke tempat kerja aku boleh sesat 1/2 jam... hahahahah... siapa suruh adventurous sangat nak ikut jalan alternatif padahal tak tau jalan sebenarnya.

Apa-apa pun aku tetap berterima kasih kepada beberapa individu yang telah banyak membantu aku dalam hal-hal memandu ni, seperti berikut:
1) Abah dan Mama (sebab benarkan aku guna WGC, jimat tak perlu beli kereta sendiri, ajar parking)
2) Bro (sentiasa tunjukkan contoh memandu berhati-hati, ajar cara ambik corner)
3) *Sis (sense of direction nombor satu, pegi mana pun tak sesat!)
4) *Ad (navigator utama dan juga menunjukkan teknik2 melenjan kereta e.g. dengan drop gear dan sebagainya)
5) *Ramli ("jarak biar jauh dengan kereta depan, nanti dia nak summersault pun kau sempat elak")
6) *Poje (pernah selamatkan WGC di Menara KL, di Lebuhraya Cheras, dan macam-macam keadaan lagi)
7) *Selemang (pernah selamatkan WGC dari terbabas masuk lorong kanan)
8) *Live (ajar aku bawak laju sikit hehehehe, tak tu dulu aku bawak kereta 70km/j je)
* - menunjukkan pernah berfungsi sebagai navigator aku ke pelbagai tempat

Sekarang mereka yang di tangga 5 hingga 8 dalam carta dah tak lagi terlibat dalam pemanduan aku, itu zaman dulu-dulu punya cerita. Apa-apa pun aku tetap berterima kasih kepada semua :)

Pending

I have to do it this way, or else it'll go down the drain.

1. Tokyo Magic Hour - revisited
2. The Year or Living Vicariously here

Not a good day

What's wrong with being nice? Well, lots, it seems, according to some people.

Ah whatever. Sometimes when it hasn't been a good day so far, it's really up to you to make it into what you want it to be. At this point, I should've learnt that it's sometimes okay to be selfish. Haha. Liberating thought, that.

Btw, we won the treasure hunt on Saturday - the only group to get everything right :)
The prize hamper was almost taller than me!

If you can answer me this you are a Gee-nius!

Peeps...I need your brains to go tick-tocking on this one, quick!

We have a treasure hunt tomorrow (the questions were handed out today), and the Big Mama tie-breaker question go like this:

"Bayangkan di sebuah stesen minyak yang besar, canggih serta moden. Segala kemudahan dan perkhidmatan ada disediakan di sini. Stesen ini juga memiliki ramai pekerja pelbagai kaum dan bangsa termasuklah kaum Singh.
Cari tiga kemudahan yang terdapat pada Stesen berkenaan yang memiliki persamaan dengan kaum Singh tadi."

(Imagine a large, sophisticated and modern petrol station that offers all sorts of facilities and services. The staff is also consisted of people of many races including Singhs.
Find three similarities between the petrol station and the Singhs.)

If you are the first to get this right and we win, I'll owe you lunch. Heck, just getting it right, win or not, lunch will be on me!

P.S - No offense meant to any Singh out there though.

Update: Got it oledi, yeay!

Rezeki

God works in His own calculated ways. No doubt about that.

As of yesterday evening, I was down to RM13.47 in my wallet (plus a half-full blister pack of Clarityne) due to a recent cuti-cuti and a couple of other purchases (planned and otherwise). And guess what was waiting for me at the office this morning?

A packet of cold, hard cash, all RM149.00 of it. Courtesy of an almost forgotten medical claims.

Okay.. now I know that's not really an amount that will last long if you are of the Starbucks-coffee-for-breakfast and let's-go-to-Chinoz-for-lunch type, but for this TamanJaya-nasi-lemak and cafetaria-nasik-campur gal, that'll do until pay-day. I hope.

"So do you want extra sambal with that kerang?"

"Of course!"

Note to self : Must plan expenses better next time.

Latest Malaysian football team update

Forwarded by Nerr, with a pinch of salt.
------------------

A seven year old boy from Klang was at the center of a Magistrate courtroom drama Friday morning when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.

The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents,so the judge awarded custody to his aunt. The boy,however, stated that his aunt beat him more than his parents and refused to live there.

Therefore, the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they beat him more than anyone. In an unprecedented move, the judge dramatically allowed the boy to choose who should have custody of him.

Custody was finally granted to the Malaysian national football team this morning as the boy firmly believes that they are not capable of beating anyone.
----------------

However, I'd still like to point out that they DID manage to the semi-finals, and that fact shouldn't be forgotten altogether, no?

There's always a next time. God willing.

Coming soon

Sepet Official Site

Yes, folks. Ah Loong and Orked will finally be meeting you at your nearest cinema soon. Starting from the 20th of February, 2005 to be exact. Albeit with eight cuts (seven sentences and a half-scene -tq pelawat for the info).

Read all about it from the director herself, here and here.

P.S. Kalau tak tengok rugi wei. Best.