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!!!!

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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.

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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.

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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?