Xmas Updates

Some pictures taken during Christmas Day

At Patsy's house

Christmas Tree

Wan Arissa, Wan Nur Syarina & Wan Adrianna

Say cheese!

From left: Bala, Is, Mama, Adrianna, Arissa, Iwan (behind), Daddy, Ida, Me

Front: Kak Nia, Lourdes, Rina

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s Xmas

I have never celebrated any Christmas Day before this. Yeah, that was before I got married.. But since 3 years go, Christmas would be a day that I’m eagerly waiting for sama macam Hari Raya..Why? Because some of my husband’s relatives are Christian. Mmm..confused? It’s a long story..but to make is short, let me give a short brief. My late mother in law is a Chinese but was raised up by an Indian family. Her real name was Mary Juliana Peeris and later changed to Hajah Marinna Abdullah after she converted to Islam.

Her adopted family ni agak pious jugak. One of my husband cousin siap pergi to Vatican lagi untuk study jadi priest. Sometimes we were also invited to makan-makan such as Thanksgiving and Good Friday. Masa mula-mula tu, a bit awkward because tak biasa but after a few occasions, dah ok.

They are humble and kind. Although our religion and race are different, but we can get along very well. Majority of them attended to my wedding. Ramai guests at our function were confused because the bride looks like Malay, the groom looks like Chinese but the attendees are predominantly Malays and Indians. Hehe..This is what we call a multiracial society..

My husband used to tell me, when he was younger, he and his siblings also a bit confused about their race. They have Chinese look but their relatives are Indian and Malays. No Chinese relatives. My father in law also came from a mix parentage. His father is Malay while his mother is a Chinese. Sebab tulah, muka my husband memang 100% macam Chinese tapi suka makan Indian food..hahaha..

Back to my Christmas story..hehe..I had bought some Christmas gift for them..Sebelum ni, every year pergi tangan kosong je tapi bila balik dapat gift..Malu betul..Maklumla tak biasa celebrate Christmas..So, this year kena la bawa something..

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Bala, Lourdes, Becky, Bernie, Xavier, Dorothy, Lionel, Rosalind, Patsy, Chandran and all..Sorry, I can’t recall all the names..There are too many..Anyway, looking forward for the roast turkey and beryani..hehehe

Twin Database

Excerpt from today’s The Star, Nation pg 22

Tuesday December 23, 2008

Drive to build twin database
By CHRISTINA KOH

IPOH: Studying the mysterious nature of twins, their physical similarities, attitudes and behaviour could play an important role in fighting diseases, said Dr Shayesteh Jahanfar.
The director of Malaysia’s newly formed National Malaysian Twin Registry (NMTR), said studying twins could also help solve many of life’s mysteries, such as how far genes influence a person’s traits and behaviour.

And she is now on a mission to get more Malaysian twins to register with the non-profit organisation.

“I once had a pair of identical female twins in my class and I couldn’t tell them apart,” said Dr Shayesteh, a Perak Royal College of Medicine-Universiti Kuala Lumpur lecturer, who became the NMTR director after the organisation was approved in June.

She is no stranger to the topic as she has worked with twins since 1991 and even submitted her PhD thesis on “Twins and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome” when she graduated in Australia.
Dr Shayesteh, an Iranian, first established the Iran National Twin Registry at the Avecina Research Centre using a World Health Organisation grant in 2002. It now has 20,000 registered twins.

Dr Shayesteh said that besides the twins, family members could greatly benefit from the registry by having access to health information, parenting advice and be part of a national community of twins and triplets.

To encourage twins to sign up, the NMTR is organising a lucky draw for the first 100 adult pairs to register, as well as fun activities like photography competitions for the little ones.
So far, only 34 pairs of adults and 53 pairs of children have signed up with the NMTR.

For details and registration, check out their official website (www.nmtr.org.my) or contact Dr Shayesteh through 05-546 9715 or SMS to 012-550 1305.

Little Miss Twins

Actually I wanted to snap a photo of them together, standing side by side. But, biasala, very difficult to get them standing still. Ini pun kira bernasib baik lah dapat capture these photos. Sekarang ni, diorang memang tak boleh duduk diam. Very active! Tak larat nak kejar. It’s a good exercise, anyway..

My brother bought this baby-t for them. I don’t know where he gets it but I like it so much. I saw in one of the newspaper, twins’ celebrity, May Wan & Choy Wan wore this t-shirt at one of the charity event recently. Masa tengok article tu, memang terdetik nak cari t-shirt ni for my twins. Tiba-tiba, my brother dah belikan. Thanks ya..

Adrianna

Arissa

For those who wanted to buy adorable items for twins,visit http://www.scrappintwins.com/index.phpThey have huge selection of items for twins, triplets and their families.

Black & White

I brought Arissa to Giant, near my parent’s house on one of the weekend recently. When we passed by this machine, (ala yang masuk duit lepas tu ada lagu-lagu)…Arissa pointed her finger to it. Dia memang dah pandai point2 bila nak apa-apa. There were 4 machines, 2 bentuk kereta and the other two bentuk motor. I put her on the motorcycle because that’s the only available. I can see she’s not really enjoying it, nampak macam takut2 mungkin sebab tak biasa duduk on thing between her legs. After the music stopped, I lifted her up and continued for my groceries shopping.

Once again I passed by to the machines when I was on my way back to the car. Since I have another 50cent coin, I decided to let her get another ride. I saw one machine occupied by one small boy with his parent standing at the side. The other three was occupied by three Indian boys but diaorang tak ada masuk coin. Saje duduk2 aja. Kali ni, I nak Arissa naik kereta tapi tak sampai hati pulak nak suruh budak tu bangun. Umur budak tu lebih kurang Arissa kot. His older brother nampak that I wanted to use that machine so dia pun angkat la that little boy. Tiba-tiba aja die nangis. Lagi la I rasa tak sampai hati. Kereta tu boleh masuk 2 orang so I suruh ajala budak tu sit with Arissa. Me and my brother tak tahan gelak because Arissa nampak confused so does the little Indian boy. Hehe..

Here are some shots

What a hectic day...

My busy day started from yesterday evening, preparing for my company Annual General meeting which was held this morning at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club.

More shareholders expected to turn up this year as compared to last year because our no of shareholders has increased tremendously since our share price has drop, make it affordable to anybody to buy it from the open market.

This year would be my third year handling this event, at the same venue. The AGM starts at 10am. Luckily I reached early because when I was there this morning, there were already early birds waiting to register. By 9am, the crowd becomes larger. The share registrar came late, hence the shareholders cannot register and they started complaining. Too bad, they fired at me since I was standing near the registration table with my company tag around my neck. Obviously, they know I’m part of the company. There’s nothing much I can do merely because I was not in charge for that. As a courtesy reaction, I just nod, listen to their grumbles and gave a fake smile. Haha

If you have attended any AGM, you’ll know what the situation is. Most of the shareholders who turns up are senior citizen. Some invest a lot of money but some only have one lot but they think they own the company and demand a lot of things. Three years back, when I first organize the event, I was shocked to see the characters of these shareholders. It was totally beyond my imagination. But now, i'm immuned.

From my observation, they are two types of shareholders. One, who is purely interested to the meeting so that they can know what the company direction is, prospect and financial status. The other type is people who enjoy collecting freebies and free food. Sadly to say, the second type are mostly the one who turns up at ours. Halfway through the meeting, this second type of people has already gone out from the meeting and starts queuing for food. I remembered last year, the ‘genuine’ shareholders who came out from the meeting after it ended was frustrated because all food were gone.

After making so many rounds of eating, this second type with muka tak malu tapau all the food. You’ll be surprised to see the uncles and the aunties starts to take out their plastic bags and Tupperware from their bags. It’s hard to imagine but it best to see it yourself. You’ll never expect it. Worst part is, some also bring their Filipino and Indonesian maid! Not to mention the cutlery also can go missing...

I don’t know what to label them, it would sound harsh but it is a fact. I think they are kiasu, greedy, jakun, kelaparan …and whatever la.. I can understand if this happen in Indonesia or African countries where food is the concern but hey, this is Malaysia.

I didn’t mean to offend them but somehow thinks that it is important to highlight about this disgusting behaviour. Luckily, the Mat Salleh journalist from Bloomberg was not around at the F&B area to witness this.

Twinnies Club

There is very little information on twins published by local magazines and book. I have to rely on internet and international books (which is costly) to get the information. Someone told me that there is twin’s club for twins who born in Selangor. I tried to goggled but found nothing. Anyone knows or heard about this, please let me know. Yeah, I’m a bit enthusiastic when it comes to this kind of social networking/bonding. Me, myself also has registered as one of the members of Persatuan Anak Merdeka..hahahaha

Or perhaps I should start my own twinnies club. So friends, if you have twins, know someone with twins or if you are twin yourself, please contact me…Yeah, this gonna be awesome..

I was tagged by Ziahlicious

What were you doing 5 years ago?
Just graduated from IIUM

What were the 5 things on your list to do today?
* To do press monitoring (I have to read 10 newspapers every day!)
* To eat my chicken rendang and ketupat (leftover from raye) for my lunch
* To recharge my handphone.
* To pay maxis bill after work
* To eat my daging masak lemak with rebung (also leftover) for my dinner..yum..yum..

What are the snacks that you enjoy?
Nothing specific..depends on my mood

What are 5 things that you do if you were bilionaire?
^ Open up a boarding school for orphans (same as ziah)
^ Tour around the world
^ Buat masjid (same as ziah)
^ Buy over Gamuda (company that I’m currently working with) and make it privatized
^ Built a mansion for my family and family in law

What 5 jobs you’ve had?
- Part time waiter at Regency Hotel, PD and Mc Donald in Taman Permata- Event Exec
- PR Exec
- Marketing & Corporate Event Exec
- Communication Exec (current)

Who are 5 person you want to tag?
No idea, no one knows about my blog except for ziah & junida..hahahaha

Recent Photos

Adrianna (left) and Arissa (right)

Me with Adrianna (left) and Arissa (right) during my sis in law nikah ceremony

Adrianna vs Arissa

Their differences

1. Adrianna or better known as Nana was born a minute earlier, that was at 4.27pm while Arissa was born at 4.28pm (C-Section)

2. Adrianna weighed at 2.4kg at born while Arissa was 1.9kg

3. Adrianna has a round face while Arissa has oval face shape

4. Adrianna so much follow my husband's face while Arissa follow mine. (They are supposed to be indentical!)

5. Adrianna was really red like udang bakar when she was born while Arissa was pale. We used to called them Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih. They were affected by Twin to Twin Transfussion Syndrome (TTTS) which mean the blood flow through the placenta begins to favor one twin over the other. One is called 'donor' twin and the other called 'recipient' twin. For more info, read this http://www.tttsfoundation.org/

6. Adrianna is more mature compared to Arissa. She understands simple instruction while Arissa is a bit playful.

7. Adrianna is more manja, cannot be left alone. She will follow you even to the loo. Arissa is more independent.

8. Adrianna is attached mostly to men. She is close to my husband, my father and father in law while Arissa is close to me and my mother.

9. Adrianna wear one size bigger than Arissa, be it dress or shoes

10. Adrianna is a little bit chubby while Arissa is skinny.

additional-edited on 10 November 2008

11. Adrianna likes to sniff,bite and 'gentel' her bunny whenever she wants to sleep or drink her milk while Arissa likes to 'gentel' her navel


Their similarities

1. Both drink Friso Gold stage 3

2. Both has very little hair

3. Both looks really like amoi

4. Both likes to wear shoes inside the house (Pakai sebelah pun takpe)

5. Both suka melaram

6. Both likes to eat grape

7. Both likes to climb

8. Both likes to be in the driver seat even when the car is moving

9. Both always fell sick at the same time

10.Both share the same placenta

Pregnant Again

No, not me. How can I be pregnant when my husband is not here by my side? It’s one of my best friends. She had just given birth about 6-7 months ago and recently found that she got pregnant again. And guess what? She is so not prepared. With her first daughter, age 2yrs+ and baby less than a year old, she is so depressed with the news.

Hmm.. ‘ accident’ can happen to anybody. Another friend of mine also had an ‘accident’ early this year. Her first baby was 6 months old when she found out she was expecting. It was a really shock because a week before that she called me and asked my opinion on family planning..tup tup.. after that conversation, dia pregnant pulak..So, tak sempat la buat apa-apa plan.

Another friend of mine also got pregnant when her baby was just 3 months old. Yeah, that is so soon. Baru aja abis confinement dah pregnant lagi. There’s nothing to be ashamed about, redha dan bersyukur ajala. Sekurang-nya kita boleh mengandung. Ada juga my friends yang telah bertahun kahwin tapi masih belum dikurniakan rezeki walaupun telah pelbagai usaha dilakukan.

Masa I dulu pun, after 9months kahwin baru pregnant. Cuak juga sebab agak lambat, kawan-kawan yang kahwin a few months after me dah tunjuk tanda-tanda mengandung. Lagila rasa stress. Nasib baikla a friend of mine suggested makan folic acid. If not mistaken, after 2-3 months terus aja pregnant. Bila ingat balik masa tu, memang rasa kelakar sebab bila period lewat sikit terus buat pregnancy test. Memang eager sangat, dan telah beberapa kali kecewa sebab result negative. Folic acid is good bagi sesiapa yang sedang cuba untuk pregnant, its good for the bone especially for early stage of pregnancy.

Anyway, pregnancy is an interesting experience and I really enjoy the moment through out the 9 months. At that time, tak da fikir diet langsung, main bedal aja and guess what? I’ve gained 28kg!Yelah, bukan makan untuk 2 orang but 3 orang..What a lame excuse..But alhamdulillah, now my weight dah almost back to normal. Dah boleh pakai baju-baju lama semula. Thank God! I work really hard you know…Ramai orang impressed because I lost so much weight in a short time. Secret? Well, in other entry k..

To all my friends who are mummy to be, congratulation and take care! I’m so envy. I wish I am pregnant now..hehehe..

The Sexiest Man Alive

Hugh Jackman was voted by People magazine as the Sexiest Man Alive 2008. I somehow agreed that he is very charming. But I still prefer JUDE LAW. Yeah, I think he is very very sexy, especially in Alfie, ahaks…

My list, not in sequence

1. Jude Law

2. Justin Timberlake

3. Ashton Kutcher
4. Daniel Craig
5. Freddie Prince Jr

Long Silence

OMG! It has been nearly 5 months I didn’t update this blog. Well, so many things happen along the way. My other half now resides in Jeddah since last July, leaving behind me and our twins and I had terminated my maid and sent her back to Indonesia a week before Ramadhan. Don’t ask why, but I am so relief. I am happier when she is not around. If ada pun, bukan buat keje banyak pun.

My twins are 15 months now. We had their birthday celebration twice, before my other half went to Jeddah which is a month earlier than their actual birthday and on the actual day itself, 3rd August.

We celebrated our last Raya at Singapore with my dad’s family. Sadly, my other half tak dapat balik and tak dapat tengok our little twins pakai baju kurung. So, I MMS aje photos of us to him and chat through skype. Itu ajela yang dapat buat..

Speaking of skype, me and husband sometimes had tough time guna skype. Kadang-kadang gambar ok tapi suara takde pulak. Selalunya, my side la yang ade problem. I can see and hear him clearly but he can only see me with no voice. Puas dah jerit and godek2 mic and computer but my voice selalu tak keluar. Dah 2-3 kali, I tukar mic but the same problem still occur. I’m not sure whether myself aje yang face this problem or other skype users pun.

Perhaps, I have to find other alternative solutions. A friend of mine suggested using ym. Die kate boleh cakap macam guna skype. Belum cuba lagi, Later, I will explore and ask around. Long distance relationship is really a big challenge!

Living abroad

A few times i try to finish up this post, but it keep on delaying. Whatever written below, was supposed to be post last week.

Last month, my hubby received a job offer based in Saudi. Riyadh to be exact. I dunno how to react when he told me about it. Of course I knew he went for the interview, and I even prayed for his success but, deep down my heart, I feel horrified.

A lot of things came up to my mind. I can’t sleep well that night. Should I stay or should I follow? And the biggest headache is I have to quit my job! Oh no, I love my job. Though I’ve been complaining my jobs sometimes, but I feel so sayang to quit la.

The past 2-3 weeks, I started to compile information on Riyadh, ie: the culture, education, lifestyle, shopping, house etc.

I posted out one question in a forum called expatinsaudi, nasib baik ada yang sudi me- reply. Since then, I and ‘Siti’ selalu la ber emel-emel. Siti dah stay sana for 4 years. Banyak info I dapat from her. Thanks a lot, Siti.

Kat sana, women are not allowed to drive. Most of the places, including Mc Donald pun men and women have to be separated. But, if I’m not mistaken, ada area yang disediakan untuk family.

Since my husband dapat housing allowance, we thinking of getting a stay in a compound. Compound ni just for expats sahaja. Orang Arab tak boleh masuk. Price of compounds, range between SAR 60,000 to SAR 220,000 per year. Mahal, with just a 2 bedroom apartment, kena bayar lebih kurang RM 5,000 sebulan. Dalam compound ni, ada banyak facilities such as laundry, mini mart, nursery, playground, swimming pool and etc. The price depends on the facilities yang ada dalam compound. Ada juga yang sediakan shopping bus. Dalam compound juga, attire kita bebas. You can wear your normal clothes whereas bila keluar from compound, it is a must to wear abaya (jubah hitam).

Attire is not an issue to me. I wouldn’t mind to wear abaya and headscarf. I pernah study kat International Islamic University, so I’m sure the environment are pretty same. I think I can easily adapt to the culture there compared to my husband. With his chinese looking look, sure kena stare aje nanti. Dahla mamat ni jenis yang suka pakai short aja, macam apek. Very the selekeh ! He would have tougher time to adjust himself.

To be continue..

More info on Taiwan

I would like to continue my entry on Taiwan coz susah nak dapat info pasal this country. Berjam-jam jugak la di habiskan kat depan PC surf pasal Taiwan especially on halal food. So, here are some of the info.





Halal Food
Try this http://www.zabihah.com/ . I only got the chance to try Thai Food House while I was there. They have varieties of Thai Food. The tastes are somewhat like Thai restaurant in Malaysia. Very nice, especially the Tom Yam soup. Memang Kow!

Note: Most of these restaurant are located in Taipei, no halal restaurant in Kaohsiung while only one halal restaurant in Taichung.

Electrical plug
Below is the sample. You can rent it from the hotel and need to pay deposit NT20 (about RM22). You will get back the deposit once you return it.

International Call
First, your handphone mesti ada roaming…Press * 120 6012 xxxxxxx #

Malaysian Representative in Taiwan
Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre, Taipei

Address :
8th Floor, San Ho Plastic Bldg. 102, Tun Hwa North Road Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
Telephone : 886-2-2713 2626
Fax : 886-2-2514 9864
Email : mwtaipei@ms34.hinet.net, maltaipei@kln.gov.my
GMT :+8.00

Work day :
Monday - Friday 9.00 a.m - 5.00 p.m
Holiday :
Saturday & Sunday

Life is about beautiful days

Mother’s Day has gone, come Father’s Day. I am one person who appreciates these special days. To me, Father’s Day is a day of commemoration and celebration of the man in the house. It is a day to honour the fathers, be it father in law, stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers and even HUSBANDS. I have three special men in my life, my own father, my father in law and of course my other half.

This year, I have additional reasons to celebrate Father’s Day. Why? Because my husband is a first time father, our twins Adrianna & Arissa are 10months old now. When we celebrated Father’s Day last year, I was still expecting them.

I like Father’s Day because it is a day to reflect on how I treat these special fathers in my life. They don’t expect to be given expensive gifts, a simple sms and a nice lunch or dinner will do. To them, the thought that really counts.

Try asking yourself, “Are you grateful for what they have done for you?”

Happy Father’s Day to Ayah, Daddy and my dearest husband, Rizal.

Taiwan Trip - Part 2

Day 3- Taichung
4 April 2008

After breakfast, we packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. Before we started our journey to Taichung, we stopped at National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. This memorial hall is a monument erected in memory of Chiang Kai Shek, former president of the ROC in Taipei. It was later change to National Taiwan Democracy Hall.

Our journey to Taichung was a long one. It takes us about nearly 4 hours to reach Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village. Tempat ni kira kawasan pendalaman sikit. Before sampai sana, ada satu area ni famous dengan perempuan jual buah pinang. Yang kelakarnya, perempuan yang pinang ni, pakai ala-ala bikini aje! So, bila Cindy inform us yang we all akan lalu di area tu, all my male colleagues dah standby kat tepi tingkap, siap dengan camera and videocam.

Tiba di Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village lebih kurang pukul 2.30pm. Terus ke restaurant yang terdapat kat situ. From today, tak ada lagi halal food yang di provide oleh tour agent. We were given seafood and vegetables only. But of course, ramai yang ragu-ragu termasuk saya sendiri untuk makan. Walaupun tak ada pork, but the they still use the same utensils to cook that pork kan? Frust betul.

It was a nice place to visit. Throughout my tour to Taiwan, I think this is the most ok place to visit. We took a train ride and pusing-pusing the park.

Lepas tu, we went to the other side. Kat sini ada themepark, indoor and outdoor. Lebih kurang macam kat Genting Highland. We took cable car to uphill and turun jalan kaki. Sambil turun tu, we all ambil gambar dengan Orang Asli di sana. Kat sini, we all dapat lihat mock up rumah orang asli yang represent 13 tribes yang ada kat Taiwan. Tempat ni, lebih kurang macam Mini Malaysia di Melaka. Cuma yang bestnya, di setiap kawasan rumah tu ada real orang asli mingles or buat kerja. So, bolehla ambil gambar with them.

Kat sini we all spent about 2 hours aje. Memang tak cukup. Tak berkesempatan pun nak try roller coaster kat situ.

Then, we moved on Sun Moon Lake. Nothing much here. Cuma ada lake yang besar aje and adalah beberapa tent yang picnic kat tepi lake. Tapi lake ni tak boleh mandi. According to Cindy, Sun Moon Lake is the largest lake in Taiwan.

Later, we proceed to Mao WangYe Memorial Resident. Ini rumah ketua salah satu tribe kat sana. Kat sini ada jual Royal Jelly. Diorang siap bagi demo lagi pasal kegunaan royal jelly. Kat rumah ini juga, ada banyak tergantung gambar-gambar kenangan ketua tribe dengan pembesar negara and famous people including Tun Mahathir.

Disebabkan hari dah gelap dan takut tiba lewat di Taichung, Cindy terus booking dinner kat salah satu restaurant di Sun Moon Lake. Tidak ada apa yang boleh kami makan. So, we all keluarkan lah Maggie dan instant food masing-masing. Ramai juga malays yang lain tak masuk restaurant ni. Bau pork kat sini kuat sangat.

At last, semua orang melayu keluar and we had a discussion with Cindy kat luar. Cindy tak puas hati sebab dia dah banyak seafood and vegetables untuk kami, tapi kenapa kami tak sentuh langsung. Dia kata membazir. Dia masih tak paham yang no pork tak semestinya halal. After much discussion, we told Cindy, “Ok, from tomorrow onwards, you don’t have to order seafood and vegetables for us. Just give us plain rice and boiled egg.” Tercengang Cindy bila mendengarnya. Yelah, takkan makan telur rebus aje. We told her yang we all semua ada bawa instant food. No big deal.

It’s time to shopping again. We went to Fong Jia Night Market in Taichung. We were given only 1 hour. Damn, that’s not enough! Although the things that sell here are same as in Taipei, but the price here are much cheaper. I bought a few tops and shoes.

Later that night, we checked in at DeBao Hotel. I got a corner room and it was really huge. Memang best.

Day 4- Kaohsiung
5 April 2008

Surprisingly, unlike Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung were very hot and humid. Day 4 was to be our final day for sightseeing. Upon entering Kaohsiung, we stopped by at the Spring and Autumn pavilion. There’s nothing here, the lake were dried because of lake cleaning and construction works, a little unpleasant to the eyes and nose. I bought some souvenirs like key chain and fridge magnets. It was quite difficult to find those items. Tak banyak souvenirs shop yang jual Taiwan premiums.

After lunch, Cindy asked the malays whether we want to follow them to visit Fo Kuang Shan Buddhist Monastery or go shopping. All of us opted for shopping of course. So, the bus driver dropped us at Sogo. We were given 2 hours but dalam ½ hour dah abis ronda satu mall. So, me and Kak Faudzillah pergi la merayau-rayau kat luar mall cari Pet Shop. Kak Faudzillah ni gila kucing. Ada funny incident happened mase we all jalan-jalan tu. Until now, we cannot forget.

Communication is the barrier here. Most of the salesperson I met, cannot speak English. Susah nak beli barang. Guna sign language je la. Dah penat berjalan, we singgah jap at Starbucks. This was what happens, which I cannot forget until now.

Me: Is there any Pet Shop around here?

Cashier: Pek? Pek?

Me: No, Pet Shop. Whof..whof..whof ..(Siap buat bunyi dog lagi)

Cashier: Meyo, meyo sambil menggeleng kepala. (Meyo maksudnya tak ada)

Susah betul. Kena buat sounds baru la faham. So, I terus la bayar what we ordered. Dah puas lepak minum kat situ, we all jalan. Ada another shopping mall. Besar juga. Tak ingat namanya. Kak Faudzillah pula pergi tanya kat Information counter whether ada tak Pet Shop kat area ni.

Dengan confidentnya, perempuan tu kata, “I’ll draw up the map”. Fuh, lega. At least yang ini faham English. Tempat tu tak jauh sangat. Tak sampai 5 minit dah sampai. Alangkah terkejutnya kiteorang, bile tengok itu bukan Pet Shop, but Pet Clinic. There were a few cats inside tengah check up. Tak boleh tahan, kiteorang ketawa terbahak-bahak.

The bus picked us up, and later we went to check in at Holiday Garden Hotel at 4:30pm. Today, baru ada time nak rest sekejap. If not, everyday, keluar awal pagi and balik hotel tengah malam.

Malam, shopping pulak at XinJue Jiang Night Market. We were given ample time to shop. Disebabkan ini our last nite in Taiwan, everyone semua shopping sakan because nak habiskan our Taiwan dollar.

The trip was very good indeed. Although we have communications and food problem, but I enjoyed shopping . Besides clothing, electrical and IT stuff pun not bad. The price are also cheaper.

Taiwan Trip - Part 1

The recent company trip to Taiwan was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. Even though I feel a bit sad to be away with my little twins for 5 days, I know they will be in a good hand with their Atuk and Opah. (Atuk= grandfather, Opah= grandmother)

Day 1- Taipei
2 April 2008

Arrived at KLIA at 7:30pm. First group ini ada lebih kurang 40 orang. Next week, another group, yang akan berlepas pula. Nasib baik tak ramai orang yang beratur di kaunter check in. Inilah baiknya kalau pergi trip pagi-pagi. My husband sends me off that morning. Last nite, we all over night at my parent’s house in Seremban. My daughters ada kat sana.

I was the last person to check in. Nasib baik rep from the tour agent ni ada sama. Dia lah yang uruskan semua. Dia pun akan ikut sama trip ni nanti. After check in my luggage, i and Kak Faudzillah (my roomate kat sana nanti) pergi breakfast dulu.

We reached Taiyoun International Airport, Taipei, at around 2pm. After collected our luggage, terus pergi passport counter. Bila tiba my turn, tetiba officer tu tanya I, how long I would stay in Taiwan. I replied, 5 days. Suddenly, dia asked for my IC. Tak percaya I Malaysian kot. Yang pelik, my other colleagues tak pula kena show IC.

Bila dah keluar from airport, our local tour guide, Cindy dah tunggu. She briefed us on our itinerary for that day. Our first stop for that day was 101 Shopping Mall. It took about 45mins to reach there from the airport.

101 Mall, was not like I expected. Being the tallest tower in the world, I thought the shopping mall would be something similar to our KLCC Twin Tower. 101 Shopping Mall, tak besar sangat compared to KLCC. Lebih kurang macam StarHill aje. Untuk naik ke atas tower, bayaran RM45 dikenakan. According to my friends yang naik, nothing much to see but the lift was incredible. It took only a few seconds untuk sampai atas.

After mingled four an hour, we all terus pergi dinner at one of local restaurant, can’t recalled the name. This is not a halal restaurant, cuma no pork. But nasib baik before I go to this trip, I ada email to Malaysia Trade Centre di Taipei for their advice on halal food. Di sebabkan restaurant halal tu jauh sikit from the places we went for that day, the tour agent dah order awal-awal pack halal food and bawa ke restaurant ni. To tell you the truth, I tak lalu makan langsung. Dalam each pack, dia bagi nasi pulut (macam nasi dagang), ayam goreng, fruits, pau and pudding. When we arrived, the food was already there, dah sejuk.

Habis dinner, we all terus pergi night market. Shopping kat Xi Men Ding. We were given 1 ½ hour to spent. Environment kat sini lebih kurang macam Petaling Street. Macam-macam kedai yang ada, but mostly women clothing and shoes. Rambang biji mata! I didn’t buy much because I don’t know whether the price is competitive or not. Lagipun ada 3 malam lagi boleh shopping. Some of my colleague yang pegi the same trip last year said, kat Taipei ni harga mahal sikit. Kalau nak shopping, better kat Taichung or Kaohsiung. I ended bought some baju for myself and sis in-law.

Lebih kurang pukul 10 lebih, barula we all check in to the hotel. We stayed at Fortune Hotel. Boleh tahan la hotel ni. Eventhough 3 star but plasma TV lagi tu…Sampai bilik, terus mandi and tido.

Day 2 – Taipei
3 April 2008

Woke up at 6am. Breakfast ready at 7am. Tak banyak yang boleh makan masa breakfast. Apa-pun Cindy, our tour guide dah inform whatever yang ada red label, are not halal. Makan roti la jawabnya. Terkebil-kebil mata tengok budak-budak cina lain makan. Dalam trip ni, ada 20 malay staff and 20 non malay yang join. But yang malays la kena banyak sacrifice. Almaklum la, visit pun non muslim country. Tak bolehla nak demand.

The weather was so cold. Hujan. I was not prepared because masa briefing kat office dulu, Admin kata bawa light clothing. It’s spring time. Bila sampai sini, hujan pula. Nasib baik la ada bawa raincoat and umbrella. Itupun pun saya dapat tahu from blogs and websites yang bagi tips to visitor yang nak melancong ke Taiwan. Mesti bawa raincoat atau umbrella!

Our first visit for the day was Yehliu Park. We saw the amazing rock formations that were naturally crafted by the sea. Masa ni, hujan turun renyai-renyai. So, terus pakai raincoat, lagi senang compared to umbrella sebab angin di sini kuat.

Tak ada apa yang best sangat. Tengok batu-batu aja. Kena guna banyak imagination bila tengok batu-batu ni sebab ada macam-macam rupa. Rupa kapal selam, badak air, Queen’s head and macam-macam lagi. Bagi yang otak lembab tu, slow lah sikit nak catch up.

From there, we moved to Chiu Fen. Tempat ni atas bukit, famous dengan local delicacies and souvenir. Lorong kedai kat sini sempit. Susah nak berjalan. Bukan hanya penuh dengan orang yang leka menjamu mata, motor dan van kecik pun sibuk nak lalu. Terpaksa la berhimpit-himpit ke tepi bila ada kenderaan nak lalu.

Tak ada barang yang saya berkenan di sini. Almost all of my chinese friends sibuk borong asam, tart nenas and tit bits lain. As for us yang malays ni, tengok aje la. Tapi I sempat juga try home made ice cream kat sini. Kulit popiah yang putih (macam popiah basah) di sapu dengan kacang tumbuk, lepas tu letak ice cream perisa lemon and gulung macam popiah. Boleh tahan juga rasanya.

After Chiu Fen, we proceed for lunch at Thai Food House. Only malay staff saja yang makan di sini. The rest makan at Mongolian Barbeque Restaurant. Makan di Thai restaurant ni memang puas hati and tak payah nak ragu-ragu because it’s halal. Masa ni we all semua makan tak ingat dunia. The tom yam was superb. Ada yang tapau lagi.

Lepas makan, we went to National Palace Museum. Kat sini, tersimpan bahan sejarah awal Taiwan. Selepas membayar harga tiket, each one of us diberi headphone. Kami hanya akan dengar suara Cindy yang beri history explanation, jadi tak menggangu group tourist yang lain.

We continued our trip to Martyr’s Shrine, to view an elaborate ceremony of changing guards. Mase ni pun hujan juga, so ceremony tu buat simpler than usual.

After that, we all pergi visit Yang Ming Shan National Park. All the tourist spots kat sini jauh-jauh belaka. So, we all banyak waste time on the bus. Sampai kat sini, hujan lagi. So, tak boleh nak walk around. At last, ramai-ramai pergi beli jagung rebus kat stall yang di recommend oleh Cindy. Tapi hampeh, tawar gila. Dah la mahal lak tu. As far as I know, kat Taiwan ni famous dengan jagungnya. Pelik. Rasanya jagung Malaysia lagi sedap.

We all sempat juga ambil group photo kat sini. Lepas tu, we all proceed to Fisherman Wharf. Kata Cindy, kat sini famous untuk view sunset. Nasib tak baik, we all sampai hari dah gelap gelita coz perjalanan lama sangat. Lebih kurang 2 jam. Kedai pun dah tutup. So, turun pergi toilet aja la. Semua orang tak puas hati and merungut sebab dah 2 jam dalam bas, sampai sini hanya pergi toilet dan patah balik ke Taipei.

Sampai di Taipei, we all terus pergi dinner at another non-halal restaurant and we all makan pack food again. Nasib baik la we all yang melayu ni ada bawa Maggie, roti, rendang and lain-lain. Boleh la survive. Geram juga bila tengok my chinese friends dapat makan sedap-sedap.

After dinner, we went for shopping again. Can’t recaledl the name of the place. We were given an option, spent for one hour and take the bus to return to the hotel or spent how long do we wish but balik tanggung sendiri, either you take taxi or MRT. Terleka semasa belek barang, kelam kabut lari ke arah bas. Sampai kat tempat bas, tengok bas dah takda. Sah, kena tinggal. So, we decided to take a taxi. Middle of the way to the taxi stand, we met Hadi, Mawi and Amin. Rupa-rupanya diaorang pun tertinggal juga. So, we all pun squeeze la naik same taxi. Nasib baik driver tu ok coz dah terlebih orang. Kak Faudzillah duduk depan, I and mamat lagi 3 orang ni berhimpit-himpit kat belakang.

Sampai hotel, mandi and start packing barang. The next morning, we have to check out and pergi Taichung pula.

Kring...Kring...

Pagi-pagi lagi telefon di pejabat saya dah berbunyi. Siapa lagi kalau bukan kawan baik saya yang bekerja dengan syarikat penerbangan yang sedang sibuk perang harga dengan syarikat penerbangan murah tu.

Saya tahu dia yang telefon kerana nombor telefon ofisnya keluar di skrin telefon saya. Mungkin dia nak membalas panggilan saya yang tidak berjawap malam tadi. Dengan suara yang kontrol, saya mengangkat gagang telefon.

Saya: Hello

M: Wei, aku ni. Busy ke?

Saya: Tak da lah. Tengah baca paper. Apa hal? Rutin kerja saya setiap hari ialah membaca lebih kurang 10 jenis suratkhabar

M: Aku ada cerita baru ni. Pasal artis ni. Saya namakan artis ni sebagai artis A

Saya : Apsal dengan dia ?

M : Memang betul la dia keluar dengan husband pelakon B. Cerita sensasi tentang perkelahian kedua-dua pelakon wanita ini pernah banyak kali disiarkan dalam kolum-kolum gossip sebelum ini.

Saya : Mana kau tau ? Tiba-tiba saya rasa macam jadi wartawan hiburan pula.Best juga kalau dalam kolum sendiri dalam akhbar atau jadi macam Michelle kat Melodi tu, suka terjah artis dengan soalan-soalan maut dia..

M: Macam ni, last night kawan aku telefon. Tengah-tengah malam pasal nak bagitau aku pasal cerita ini. Kawan aku punya husband berkawan dengan husband pelakon B tu. Ada satu malam, baru-baru ni juga, husband kawan aku tu keluar clubbing dengan husband pelakon B kat club baru. Aku pun lupa nama tempat tu.

Saya: Pastu?

M: Masa kat sana, husband pelakon B open dua table. Satu untuk dia dan kengkawan, satu lagi untuk pelakon A. Semuanya kaki minum. Husband pelakon B tu belanja sampai RM2,000 untuk pelakon A. Yang paling aku tak percaya sekali, pelakon A ni angkut mak dia sekali.

Saya: Huh? Mak dia pun minum ke?

M: Ya. Tak sangka kan. Ada lagi, kawan aku yang lain pula kata nampak pelakon A check in flight pagi pergi Bangkok, naik first class baru-baru ni.

Saya: Pergi holiday kot.

M: Yelah, tapi takkan pergi sorang. Pukul 3petang hari yang sama, kawan aku nampak husband pelakon B pula check in pergi Bangkok.

Saya: Lah..Boleh tahan juga eh pelakon A ni. Nampak macam baik.

M: Ntahla. Agaknya hobi dia kacau suami orang kot.

Saya tidak faham kenapa ramai pengarah filem/drama masih suka ambil Pelakon A pegang watak utama. Saya dah meluat baca cerita-serita liar dia di surat khabar. Cepat-cepatla berinsaf…

P.Ramlee The Musical

Back by popular demand, P.Ramlee The Musical will presented again at the Istana Budaya starting from 28May til 14 June 2008.

I had the chance to watch it last year. Definitely, it was a great performance. For me, i give two thumbs up! I really enjoyed the singing, dancing and the spectacular props also amazed me. Believe me, it's worth your money spend.

This time, Musly Ramlee will takes on the central role as P.Ramlee replacing Sean Ghazi while Emelda takes Azizah role replacing Dato' Siti Nurhaliza. Apparently, many newspapers and blogs i read give good reviews on the play.

For those who wish to watch, you can call 03-2091 1666. Tickets range from RM30 til RM200.

Sypnosis:
Follow in the footsteps of the late, great P.Ramlee, in a musical that traces his early days in Pulau Pinang, right up to his heydays in Jalan Ampas. Spanning some four decades, the musical recounts the highs and lows of P.Ramlee's life and his sacrifices for his art.

Musly Ramlee takes on the central role of P.Ramlee, with Liza Hanim playing Saloma. Also starring Emelda, Melissa Saila, Atilia, amongst others.

Written by Adlin Aman Ramlie, who also co-direct with Zahim Albakri.

Presented by Enfiniti Productions Sdn Bhd.

Durian Lovers

My husband and I are durian lovers. I remembered during our courting times, we used to buy packets of durians from Jusco. Yang bestnya, we all tunggu after 9pm baru beli sebab masa ini lah diskaun 50% akan diberikan. Memang worth it! Rugi kalau terlepas.

I prefers Malaysian durian especially from Perak because of its bitter and sweet taste. However, my other half preferred the Thai durians because of its thicker flesh.

Kalau nak tahu, durian lah antara sebab kami boleh jadi rapat dan akhirnya menjadi husband and wife. Tapi, tak boleh cerita lebih-lebih. Malu lah.

Our durian scouting sekarang ini bukan lagi setiap minggu macam dulu tapi dah jadi sebulan sekali tak pun dua bulan sekali . Sebabnya? Dr Normah yang consult my husband on his diet programme pesan tak boleh makan durian banyak sangat. Cholesterol level dah tinggi.

Anywhere, I enclosed here some tips on picking a good durian which was published in The Star, Metro section. Check it out.

Durian lovers take note! Before you fork out some hard earned cash for the King of Fruits (which incidentally,is costlier this season due to the lean harvest), there are some general tips on choosing a good durian.

According to Bao Sheng Durian Farm co-owner T.S Chang, several factors including the size, colour, texture and appearance are good indicators of whether you are getting your money's worth.

"When it comes to durians, bigger is not necessarily better. Smaller ones will have fewer fruits but they are often tastier and more fragrant.

"In the old days, people preferred Thai durians because the flesh is thicker. But in recent years, the vote is for Malaysian (or more precisely Balik Pulau) durians because they are more fragrant, thanks to Penang island's optimal soil and weather conditions.

'True durian connoisseurs look for quality rather than quantity," he told StarMetro during a visit to his estate in Sungai Pinang recently.

He also advised customers to always "inhale".

"Pick up the fruit and hold it close to your nose. Look for the fruit that omits the strongest and most overwhelming (which non durians will describes as pungent ) scent.

"If the scent is strong, it means that the fruit is ripe. Once you are happy with the strong scent, shake the fruit-a good fruit will have an echo because the flesh inside is not stuck to the husk," he smiled, adding that fruits with a yellowish hue were not fresh.

"Brownish and greenish durians would be your best bet. But to be sure, take a closer look at the stem- if it is green and damp, it means that it has just dropped off the tree. Within a few hours, durian stems dry up," he explained.

Chang also revealed that fruits drom older trees were better than those from younger ones.

"Durian trees can bear fruit until they are about a century old. Unfortunately, unless you are an expert, you will have to ask the seller whether the fruit is from an old or young tree," he said.

"Finally, once you have made your selection, tell the seller to make an incision to allow you to have a peek at the flesh inside.

"What we are looking for is a wrinkly texture. Also, use your finger and poke the flesh lighly- the thin layer of 'skin' should not break," he added.

Why blogging?

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs lately. It’s all started during the general election last March. Bosan dengan news yang keluar dalam our daily papers yang selalunya biased, I turned to search for independence news. Surprisingly, I found more hot and transparent news.

Ever since then, I became addicted. Being in PR line, I have an advantage to read newspapers every morning for news monitoring (that is part of my job!) and surf the online news. So, curi2 la bace blog sekali..(I hope my boss did not read this)

To start this blog, is not an easy job for me. Being a perfectionist, I put every detail into accounts. And hence, it’s delayed a few times. Hmm, macam banyak sangat yang nak difikirkan. Dari tittle for the blog, nak pilih template hinggalah ke topic yang akan dibincangkan. Perhaps I’m just being procrastinated. So today, I don’t want to think much, let it just be.

My Dear Diary was chosen because it’s reminds me of my school days. I remember I had my first diary when I was about 12 years old. It was brown in colour and siap ada lock lagi. Not much was written then, cuma senarai belanjawan seharian saya ketika itu.

I was more serious writing the diary when I was 14. Being away with my family, (I was in boarding school in JB while my family was in PD) that diary keeps me a company. And of course it’s not the same diary. This time, it was yellow with flowers design. Yang lagi bestnya ketika itu, saya ada ‘kaki’ yang sama-sama minat tulis diary. Menulis diary menjadi rutin kami setiap malam, sebelum tidur. Sehari tak menulis rasa amat janggal sekali.

Berbalik kepada title My Dear Diary tadi, (saya masih belum beritahu kenapa saya pilih tittle ini) ia dipilih kerana, setiap kali saya ingin memulakan penulisan saya dalam diary kesayangan saya, saya akan memulakannya dengan My Dear Diary. I felt some sort of connection to the diary whenever I wrote that line. My diary is really precious to me. It is not only a book which just mere of papers, but this diary keeps a lot of my secrets! My best friend forever. No one knows me that deep as my diary.

I keep on writing diary even in the university days. This time my diary was blue in colour. Another best friend of mine, whom I met in the university, also owned a diary. So, the activity keeps on continuing

I stop writing a diary when I first started work. I guess the time constraint and few other reasons just make me no mood to write. Until now, I still keep all my diaries and secretly hiding in inside the timbunan baju-baju dalam my cupboard.Hehehe..takut ada orang baca especially my other half because banyak cerita-cerita cinta monyet saya didalamnya.

Dan hari ini, saya ingin menulis semula. Tetapi bukan lagi cerita-cerita budak seperti di zaman persekolahan atau universiti dulu, tapi penulisan yang lebih matang yang boleh menjadi bahan informasi dan bermanfaat kepada orang lain. Tidak ada topik yang spesifik. Saya akan menulis mengikut gerak hati daripada apa yang saya alami, lihat dan baca.

So, enjoy!