Happy Birthday, Mak!

Semoga murah rezeki, panjang umur dan berbahagia di samping suami dan keluarga tercinta. May Allah bless you with more rahmat, berkat and joy. Aamin.

Thank you for your love, care and guidance. I will always love you.

Chocolate, Anyone?

Some said, if you're depressed, eat chocolate. If you're happy, eat chocolate too!

Betul ke?

Are we so obsessed with chocolates?

I remember telling my friends about going to Langkawi last year. After that, I received three orders from them to buy chocolates. They said chocolates in Langkawi are cheaper and worthwhile buying. Is it true?

A similar thing happened in 2008, a couple of weeks before I returned home from Manchester. Chocolates and, of course jerseys.

"Make sure you buy enough chocolates for your aunts and cousins," my mother reminded me.

"But not dark chocoloate, please. It's too bitter and none of your cousins like it," she added. To cut things short, I spent almost 200 pound sterling for chocolates alone.

And the funny thing is I found out later Toblerone costs cheaper in Tesco stores here in Malaysia than the one I bought in Manchester. Thanks for WTO and globalisation, I guess no one can tell the difference because it uses the same packaging.

So, the next time when you're about to order chocolates from Langkawi, make sure you've checked your nearest Tesco or Carrefour store.

Anyhow, are you still in the mood for chocolate?

A Sunday With Anak-anak Baitul Hidayah

I'm so happy that my neighbour Yusof Mansor invited me to join him and his friend to an orphanage home in Puchong yesterday.

There are 18 boys aged between five and 11 years old. They live there with the family of Ustaz something something (oh, my... I really bad with names, kan!) and they're all adorable.

We brought along some groceries and spent the whole day playing with them.

We started with art lesson, which was led by Yusof Mansor of course! So that you know I'm not good in drawing. In fact, that was the only subject that I've failed in my primary school days. When it comes to colours, I tell you, these kids are more talented than myself. I'm impressed with their raw talent in matching colours!

Then, we talked to them about their ambitions. Most of them have common answers - either to be a teacher or a policeman. But one kid told me that he wanted to be a pilot, so that he could fly his single mother all over the world. Ah, so sweet, kan!

Besides praying together, I also joined them playing board games. Should I bring Boggle for my next visit? Or the game is too hard for children?

We wanted to play badminton after Asar prayer, but Yusof Mansor got a call that said his younger sister had just gave birth to a baby boy. So, we rushed to Hospital Putrajaya to pay a visit.

Oh, my... they really need to do something with the road signage in Putrajaya. It took us quite some time to arrive at the hospital. Itu pun, selepas dua tiga panggilan telefon untuk meminta arah.

And this is Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia! Tapi, apa-apa pun Putrajaya memang cantik!

Congratulations, Marina & Ismail!

Semoga berbahagia santak akhir hayat.

She's my cousin from my father's side. She's the eldest daughter of my Mak Usu (my father's youngest sister) and the third to get married in her family. Well, I'm not that close to her, in fact none of my siblings is close to her. Maybe because she's based in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan and the rest of us, are either in Melaka or Kuala Lumpur.

The above picture was taken by Mimie, another female cousin of mine. In fact, she's the closest cousin of mine. Or is it Nurul who's my closest cousin? Anyhow, the reason that I'm closer to my female cousins is because majority of male cousins are at least five years younger than me. In other words, there are at least five year gap between them and I. Itu pun seorang dua. Yang lain-lain, sekurang-kurangnya lapan ataupun sembilan tahun jaraknya. Actually, I do have two or three close male cousins, but they're my second or third cousins.

In the above picture, they are my all three female siblings, my brother in-law and the pengantins. My male siblings were busy at the back, washing plates and cups.

Before you got a wrong impression, I did help out tau! But, not as hard as my parents, Fizul and Lan. They're so hardworking and I'm so proud of them. Although Marina didn't help out at Mira's and Lia's wedding, but that didn't bother them at all.

Anyhow, alhamdulillah, the majlis went smoothly. Once again, congratulations cousins!

Sunbathing @Pengkalan Balak

My friend and I went to Pengkalan Balak last weekend for a quick sunbathing session. Yes, you read it correctly. Sunbathing. What were I thinking? Hehehe, maybe at that time I thought my body was not tanned enough.

Anyhow, our initial plan was to go to Desaru. Another two of our friends were waiting there. Well, not exactly Desaru, but Air Papan, Mesing. However, we'd to change our plan at the very last minute, because none of our cars have been serviced. And my dear friend was a bit reluctant to take bus.

Despite hot temperature, it turned out to be a worthwhile outing. We found a very nice spot with good view and less people. And only one ice-cream vendor!

I will definitely return to this place again in the future. Nak ikut?

Why I Smiled?

An unfriend person is still terhegeh-hegeh with me. Sorry Mus, you're not the only one lucky.

And thanks, Mr. Postman. Alhamdulillah, you make my day.

Too Many 4D Adverts on Harian Metro!

Date: 10 February 2010
Subject: Too much 4D adverts on Harian Metro
To: musomar@hmetro.com.my, aghafar@hmetro.com.my, daeng@hmetro.com.my, joe@hmetro.com.my, yaacob@hmetro.com.my

Dear Sidang Pengarang HM,

Salam.

I would like to lodge my dismay on your business decision to publish too many 4D advertisements in your publication. As for today's Harian Metro, there are 4 pages of such advertisements (as per attachments). Eventhough it brings in good income to your business, I would expect your paper to, at least, have a social responsibility to your readers, which I believe that majority of them are Malays and Muslims. And I do not think such advertisements would do any benefits to them.

Or, it is a signal of your unwritten commitment to these gambling-related businesses to target to bulk of your readers.

If I'm not mistaken, gambling is prohibited by all religions (but I'm not so sure about paganisme) in this country. At least, that should also be taken into consideration in your decision-making pertaining to what advert to publish and what not.

In this regard, I really disappointed with this so-called Akhbar Harian Bahasa Malaysia No. 1.

Thank you.

--
Yours sincerely,
- me -
Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur