31 December 2008

It's time to partay!! We had a little get together tonight at Bujal's place. Some of my colleagues shared to make this happen. It's true what they say, some things a great when shared. Most of my office mates were there. Bujal invited his whole villagers along. His sister, aunts, nieces, cousins, head of the village (Ketua Kampung) and mom were there. Hey, it is his place so who am I to complain? (Just kidding dude!) One person who didn't come was his ex-girlfriend, Suzen. She's probably too shy to meet her potential mother in law tonight. Oh come on! It's almost 2009 now, no need to be shy-shy anymore.
So much food, so many to choose from and yet I didn't eat any of them except for the barbecue chickens. I only took Adam along tonight. Linda just got home from work earlier in the evening and she's probably too tired to come along. After eating, chit-chatting and merry-making, we all retire to the pool for some fun and games.

Oh wait, Bujal didn't have a pool! He does has a huge monsoon drain next to his house though. They probably went for a swim there or something later on tonight. For those who choose to attend some other gathering, I must say, its your lost. It would be a long-long time before you get to sample my world-famous barbecue chicken again he he. (Okaylah I didn't prepare the chicken but I did cook them).

29 December 2008

Linda got her driving license about two years ago. Recently she replaced her old probation license with a new full license. Within that two years she only drove the car like 3 times or so. It's all my fault really. I didn't give her much chance to drive the car and I kept procrastinating on guiding her. Her friends who got their licenses much later than her can drive everywhere right now.
So starting from now I'm going to refresh her memory on how to drive again. This morning we went to the pasar malam site in Serdang and I let her drive around the parking lot for an hour or so. Only after a few heart attacks and stalled engines later that we went home. For someone who hasn't drive in two years, I think she's quite okaylah. Her driving is quite good but she really need to practice on parking and reversing. Don't worry dear, you'll be driving like Lewis Hamilton in no time.

Psst, don't tell my Mom we borrowed her car for this driving lesson.

28 December 2008

Michael Owen must have wished that he hadn't signed that 8 million pounds move to Madrid 4 years ago. He could have been a living legend at Anfield, cementing his place in the Liverpool folklore had he stayed through our tough and tumultuous times. Instead he choose money over loyalty and he's now nothing but a former has been. The Anfield faithful don't want him back, Rafa Benitez would rather sign lowly Emile Heskey than approach him again, The Magpies fans won't care if he leaves and even Fabio Capello snubbed him from the England squad.
It doesn't matter that he scored over a hundred goal in his Liverpool career. When ho chose to abandon us for Madrid he committed an unforgivable sin. A real Reds won't leave the club over anything. They only leave when they're old and grey. Tonight Liverpool FC effectively demolished Owen's Newcastle United and put any doubts over out title credential to rest once and for all. I don't hate Michael Owen, I just feel really sorry for him. (You traitor!).

27 December 2008

This morning we registered Adam at his new kindergarten, Tadika Cahayaku Seri Nilam, somewhere near the Pasar Borong Selangor. We were introduced to this new kindergarten by my mom's friend who has nothing but praises for this place. The moment we stepped into the kindy, the owner greeted us warmly at the door. After listen to her briefing, it didn't take long for us to make up our mind and sign up for the kindergarten there and then. I must admit I was really impressed with her sales pitch.

Since we were sending two kids to the place, she offered a really generous discount for us. We only need to pay RM480 for both of them. This kindy is a real kindergarten, one which actually teaches the kids real academic stuff unlike our previous kindy/nursery which only offered nothing but lip service. Adam will be learning Malay, English, Maths, Jawi, P.E, Arts and Computer among others. Apart from that, since we're leaving Adam for the rest of the day there, the place also teaches Islamic stuff such as aqidah, tauhid and qiraati (Koran reading lessons). And on the 2nd semester there will be graduation and prize giving ceremony some more, usually held at South City Plaza.
Adam is naturally, really excited and raring to go. He can't wait to wear his new school uniform and put his school books in the new bag. No son, this time you cannot bring any of your toys to school. You'll probably be swamped with home work anyway so where got time to play-play anymore after this. Adam will be 5 next year and now is the right time to send your kids to a real kindergarten you know so that they'll be ready for school, IMO.

26 December 2008

It was midnight and I was about to have my beauty sleep when the phone rang. It was my Mom asking me to drive her to the Putrajaya hospital because Lina is in labour pain. I couldn't fathom why Zaidi didn't pick up the phone. Had she failed to call her neighbours tonight, I shudder to think what would happen to her.
Anyway I didn't get home until about 2:30 in the morning. Usually I would automatically get up just before 6 even without my alarm clock. Today I got up just before 7. My body clock all haywire and disturbed.

25 December 2008

Nope we still didn't have Internet at home. Our Streamyx application was rejected (we got no telephone pole round here) and the Blue Cube/Celcom store at The Mines ran out of modem so we cannot register for Celcom wireless just yet. Secretly I think the government is exhausting all avenues to stop me from connecting to the Internet. Conspiracy theory? You tell me.
I typed all those new updates at home beforehand and then I carried my huge desktop computer to the Petronas/KFC outlet nearby and went online with the free WiFi service there. Yeah I know I looked stupid and ridiculous sitting at the table with all this but who cares? It's not like I didn't pay for this fries or something.

Things I would do for my readers, sigh.

20 December 2008

For those who missed our Mia Ariana (i.e my in laws), here's a little update.
Mia is 9 months now. She can sit upright on the floor (see pic) and definitely can stand up although only for a few seconds without holding on to anything. Assisted, she can walk everywhere. We can put her in her walker but she would only last 10 minutes top in there without crying.

She's got much more hair now and she can vaguely call her dad (first) and mom. That's babah, papa and mama. I don't exactly like it when she call me babah (do I look like Pak Lah to you?). She also loves to climb up the stairs when nobody's watching and would cry out loud when we frantically bring her down. I know, we need a child's gate.

She's had her solid food for some time now, usually blended rice and Rusk cookies. Not potatoes though (does KFC mashed potatoes count?). She would wake up around 7 every morning right before we leave for work. She's a good girl, rarely cries except when she's hungry or needed a diaper change or whenever his brother strangles her.

She started to recognize her family members now and she'd sometimes cry when strangers hold her. And she can clap her hands and copy whatever her mom thought her.

19 December 2008

I've been so busy lately. I've been camping up a hill somewhere in Puncak Alam. I'm still waiting for my Streamyx to be up and running. I don't know what's taking those streamyx people ages to get it done.

I miss blogging very much. I'm currently blogging from Gua Tempurung.

18 December 2008

Today Adam Farihin bin Mohd Afif turns exactly 4 years old. Being the great dad as I am, I took the day off to celebrate it with him (and also to send my 9 months old to clinic for monthly check-up).
The check-up took a long time (as usual) so we didn't finish until about mid-day. We left Mia Ariana at home with his aunt and head on to Alamanda in Putrajaya.
Lunch was on me. We had the long-awaited prosperity burgers while Adam had his usual Happy Meal. The secret is in the Campbell black paper sauce. You cannot buy that sauce off the shelf anywhere. After 4 years working part time at McDonalds, I knew all the recipes by heart but I cannot cook most of the food sold there at home simply because the ingredients is not sold anywhere. They buy it straight from the manufacturer. Large prosperity burger meal: RM15.00.
Then we head to Carrefour meaning to get Adam a tricycle. We waited forever at the bicycle section but the sales assistant never showed. We asked some of the staff wearing 'May I help you' vest but they were hopeless. In the end we left Carrefour and Alamanda minus the tricycle, seething inside. Carrefour, you suck! No point paying millions for all those ads and reality show when you can't even hire a proper staff for your store. Bleh.

Tough luck son. Maybe some other time okay?
Nevertheless we did bought him his birthday cake, a delicious coffee tiramisu cake with free candles (yay!). I know they're not as good as Rin's but for 39 ringgit, they're alright lah.

We wanted to take you to that huge playground at Taman bukit Jalil but since you're still scratching here and there, we decided against it. Sorry I did make your birthday much more exciting with party and stuff. We do love you very much, you know that right?

4 December 2008

Today everybody at my office had free lunch provided by err somebody The Society for the Welfare of IT Workers.
There were a dozen boxes of Pizza Hut (of various toppings) and half a dozen barrel of KFC. The chickens were first to go followed by the pizzas. That means Malaysians love KFC more than pizzas. What diet? No idea what you're talking about.

1 December 2008

Insaflah wahai manusia jika dirimu bernoda
Dunia hanya naungan tuk makhluk ciptaan Tuhan
Dengan tiada terduga dunia ini kan binasa
Kita kembali ke asalnya menghadap Tuhan yang Esa

Dialah Pengasih dan Penyayang kepada semua insan
Janganlah ragu atau bimbang pada keagungan Tuhan
Betapa maha besarnya kuasa segala alam semesta

Siapa selalu mengabdi berbakti pada Ilahi
Sentosa selama-lamanya didunia dan akhir masa

Keagungan Tuhan music by Gigi
mp3

1 December 2008

Saturday: Went to Jali's wedding in Shah Alam after work. Saturdays, 3 times a month we work up till 12.30pm. Not much productivity though cause everybody got nothing much to do except hang around and wait for noon. What's more with most associate companies also closed on Saturdays. The only reason we came cause boss said so. Anyway, I was reluctant to go to Jali's wedding or anywhere else for that matter since my wallet is almost empty this time of the month. But then, since everybody is going, I will be missed if I don't show up. One thing with weddings, you don't come empty handed. If you didn't bring presents at least giving some money to the parent is highly recommended. So we bought a 4 ringgit bowl and wrapped it up nicely to give to Jali. Of course we didn't put our names on it but wifey forgot to take off the price tag of the bowl. Imagine his surprise when it's time to open the presents! Hey, the others didn't even bring anything man, at least I brought something.

Sunday: Went to Uncle Din's place in Kota Damansara for a Majlis Doa Selamat. Uncle Din & Aunty Anum are off to perform Hajj tomorrow and they held this little ceremony before they depart. Lot's of people were there, relatives and office mates. Later that day for some mysterious reason, the tap in the bathroom upstairs broke while i'm using it. I swear i didn't do anything other than turn that thing like always. It just suddenly broke. Mother and grandma brought that nonsense about my hand being hard like why I easily break stuff all these time. Of course I'm right down pissed but come to think of it, sometimes I did break people stuff from time to time. But then, I am also quite capable of fixing up stuff especially when it got anything to do with computers. Seriously, I think it's all coincidence. I'm not all that unlucky. Duh.

29 November 2008

Last post.

We'll be closing our Maxis Wirless Broadband account this afternoon so there will be no updates until our application with another ISP is finished. Hopefully that would be no longer than 2 weeks or so but you'll never know right? So until then, bye.

28 November 2008

If you ever noticed my post is becoming far and few in between from now on, blame it on Maxis Wireless Shitband Broadband. Previously their service had been super snail slow but now that it's raining almost everyday, the connection has been nothing short of crap. Today I'm just resigned to the fact that my Internet line sucks big time. Usually I will try connecting not more than 5 times than I just quit. Why bother. Even if do get connected, the line will disconnect in like every 5 minutes.

If only Streamyx registration didn't cost 200+. I'd switched to them in no time. Yeah I heard some people still complain about Streamyx but surely, nothing can be worse than Maxis Wireless Broadband?

27 November 2008

I don't know why but a few days ago I suddenly have this huge craving for a rib steak. Maybe I still can't forget that super yummy barbecue meat that my sister made a few months back. Slrrrp. So today we decided to have dinner at a western restaurant right here in Serdang.
I think you might know this one place called Chop N Steak. It's located at the corner of that busy road to UPM near the mosque, right opposite the Sri Serdang lake. Last time I went there I ordered fried rice and the waiter gave me a blank stare. Duh, it's a western restaurant, what do you expect? So I quickly left and never returned until today. First thing first I noticed there's a lot of mosquitoes there. I got bitten like a dozen times from the moment I stepped in until we left. The food was delivered very quickly to their credit but there's where the good point ends. The rib steak was not even remotely as good as what my sister made and the chicken chop my wife ordered was quite ordinary. The garlic bread was awful and the mushroom soup was puny. My wife didn't even finish her meal and she had to throw up twice in the ladies. Fortunately that was not because of the food though. Linda was so hungry that when it was finally time to eat, her tummy started to act up. And she is not pleased to report that the toilet was filthy too.

In the end we paid Rm42.70 (USD 12.00) for a lousy, overpriced western food. Even Pizza Hut is much cheaper than that. Some people just cannot cook, let alone cook a proper western food. Avoid this restaurant at all cost.

25 November 2008

* Did you know that if they cannot read the chip from your ID card you'll have to make a new card before you can do any business with Maybank?

* Did you know that you can choose to have the new Maybank Visa Debit card as the alternative to your normal ATM card? You can withdraw your money as usual at any MEPS ATM machine. 12 ringgits will be deducted from your account though.

* Did you know that it took me just a month to get my new IC ready? Previously I have to wait for over 3 months.

* Did you know that you can make free calls from your Maxis number to another Maxis number for free all day long on your birthday?

* Did you know I got a new Maybank Visa Debit card today? (but no money inside though).


* Did you know that if you spent 2 months of holidaying in the Mauritius you might just as well move there permanently?

* Did you know that the writer is badly in need of a long holiday somewhere faraway (like Manila maybe) but he just can't afford it?

* Did you know that the ostrich's brain is smaller than its eyes?

* Did you know that Bujal's brain is smaller than the ostrich's?

* Did you know Bujal that I always tease you and you cannot get angry with me because you always bully me at work?

24 November 2008

You know Awie? The lead singer for rock band Wings? It's his birthday today so happy birthday to you bro! Other than that, nothing important happens today. Just another day of the year.
So during this perfectly ordinary day of the year, after we're finished with Mia's monthly checkup, I went to the National Blood Centre in Jalan tun Razak to well, donate blood of course. I remember the first time I donated blood was exactly 8 years ago on this date. It was at the UPM Health Centre. 11 donations later I still don't understand why they have to prick my middle finger to check on my blood type when they should already know by now is bloody O! It's not like my blood type is going to change 3 times a year or something.
I took my wife and Adam along for this visit. I never knew they can come along into the blood collection room and bug me and took pictures and all. Else I'd bring them here long time ago. Anyway Adam was pretty cool watching me get pricked here and there, seeing the blood and all. He's just not afraid at all.

For some strange reason, I usually get to cut a cake and receive cool presents and cards during Awie's birthday. Not this year though. Rumours has it they might come along next week during pay day. I won't put my hopes high and that.

Alterchart e#10

01 Fall for you - Secondhand Serenade

02 Love bug - Jonas Brothers mp3

03 Number one - Skye Sweetnam mp3

04 Dangerous - Akon / Kardinal Ofishall / Sean Paul mp3

05 Stay - Estrella mp3

06 In the ayer - Florida

07 T-shirt - Chantel

08 Let it rock - Kevin Rudolf

09 Womanizer - Britney Spears

10 Whatever you like - T.I

22 November 2008

I wish I could go to my boss' tahlil ceremony this afternoon. Unfortunately I have to pick my sister in law who arrived at LCCT around 2:30.
My parent in law is also in town right now along with Linda's other sister and brother. Pak Tam got here later in the afternoon. It's a full house here today.

21 November 2008

Today is going to be Adam and Mia's last day at their respective nurseries. Next year we shall be sending them to different ones. And for the time being, their aunt Fida will be looking after them since she's having her semester break right now.
Taska Bestari Ceria is a good place if you like your kids to make friends and play along with other children. But if you'd like your kid to learn anything, academic-wise, send them to a real kindergarten. That's why we're sending Adam to a new place. So so long TBC. Thanks for taking care of our kids. I would somewhat recommend this nursery. Call Mrs. Mimi at 163935714.

20 November 2008

If you've been rooting for the Malaysian team in The Amazing Raca Asia (TARA) season 3, today's finale was a huge anti-climax. Ida Nerina & Tania Khan started the leg in first place but fnished the race last. Like Bill Shankly said, if you're first you're first. If you're second (or third) you're nothing. And Ida didn't even have the courtesy to talk on the phone when Fly FM called her this morning. Sore loser.
I think my theory is validated in this just concluded season of TARA. Luck plays a HUGE part in this race. It's like 30% startegy, 70% luck. Lousy taxi drivers, missed flights, operation hours, injuries you know the drill. Ida & Tania were good, but luck wasn't on their side. Their vehicle did got caught on the fricking desert like a gazillion times but I think they utimately lost the race the moment they missed that final flight to Bangkok. Tough luck ladies. And why is it the kiasu nerds always win this race? Sam & Vince got a 4 hours penalty for God's sake and they still finish first? Like I said, it's all about luck. Anyway I'm just glad Geoff & Tish didn't win the race. I can't stand to look at that obnoxious guy. He's just one badass, hot-tempered bully. Girl, like, break up with that jerk already!

19 November 2008

The global economic downturn has finally made it presence felt here. Well, at least amongst my colleagues.
Me for example, I've been skipping lunch for the past 2 weeks. My friend Rizal S is planning to walk from his home in Equine Park to work. Abang D is contemplating of quitting smoking. Rahman might have to return his brand new Viva. Bujal actually considered going on a diet to save money *gasp!*. Sapuan is... okay Sapuan is rich so it doesn't really matter to him. Yes, everybody is feeling the pinch. November 27 cannot come soon enough for us. Hey wait a minute, whatever happened to our claims? Somebody in HR not doing their job maybe? One can only wonder...

18 November 2008

Maxis Wireless Broadband is totally shite! That's all I have to say. My Internet connection for these past few days had been utter crap. I can't wait to terminate my subscription. It's just not worth it paying 78 ringgit every month for an Internet service that's even worse than dial You just wait till I can afford Celcom or Streamyx. Then it'll be bye-bye to Maxis for eva! I'm not promoting your service to anyone

I think I'm gonna take some time out from blogging. At least until my Internet improves. Hinsh.

17 November 2008

Today we delivered some goods to the Sheraton Hotel in Subang Jaya for the Asia Pacific Water conference or something thingy.
I've been to a few hotels and I must say Sheraton Subang is the least beautiful of them all. The ceilings looked old and ugly, the walls are dull and boring, in short if I want to do a conference or exhibition, this is the last place I would pick. What they really need right now is a renovation, a major one. On the other hand, maybe the place is cheaper than the rest, that's why it is picked.

16 November 2008

This is a test post.

I am blogging from my Microsoft Word 2007 software. Which is quite cool because you can do all sort of things with your post and you can add a number of special effects to your photos.

Plus you can post directly to Blogger, Wordpress or Windows Live Spaces, among others.

But the number one uncool factor and the reason I'm not taking this up is...

I cannot upload pictures to Blogger.

What's the use really.

So Microsoft, you still sucks.

15 November 2008

Don't hate me because I've got a new I.C he he.

[photo was photoshopped for safety reasons]

Today my new I.C is ready, exactly a month after I went to the Seri Kembangan Registration Dept in Serdang. It's a mixed feeling to see that new address printed on the card. Glad that I can now vote in Selangor. Sad and a little bit of regret that it doesn't say Lot 173 Lorong Che Nor Pesaka anymore. Oh well. I failed to convince my wife to do the same for hers though. Looks like we'll have to go our separate ways during the elections.

14 November 2008

Today shall be remembered as the day Mia Ariana age +- 8 months stood up by herself after climbing the TV bench.
Maybe we won't be needing a walker after all.

13 November 2008

After carrying 8 computers, 2 monitors and 4 super heavy UPS up to the 3rd floor in a company in Shah Alam, I went to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNIM) in Semenyih next. I have no business there but Rizal S wanted to take some pictures, yeah I know, so troublesome this guy.
This university, according to Rizal is not for the average Malaysian. For starters the tuition fees starts from a cool RM18,000 per semester not including accommodations and text books. That's why there's more foreigners rather than locals studying at this university. I mean almost every single one of the students drive their own car to class. You lucky bast devil.

12 November 2008

This is how to get a free umbrella, ella, eh eh from HP Service Center.
First get yourself a HP hardware (pc, notebook, printer, whatever) to repair. Then wait for the day the sky is really-really cloudy around the Pusat Bandar Damansara area. It is imperative that your arrive at the HP Service Center in Jalan Gelanggang when it started to pour. Service time usually takes from 5 to 15 minutes and you don't want to arrive to early or to late because the rain might not be heavy enough or worse, too late when the rain stopped already. When you finished sending your equipment to the Customer Service rep, casually walk out the door and grab the HP umbrella provided for the customers on the right hand side of the door. Remember just take one only, don't be greedy. Use the umbrella to get to your car and keep it. The guards won't mind, trust me. I tried that twice already and they're very understanding.

And if you're really-really nice to the Customer Service reps, (i.e you fill up the forms beforehand without them asking and you're not a fussy customer) they might just give you goodies from time to time :)

Okay, good luck with the umbrella Jim.

11 November 2008

Last weekend we went for a stroll around Taman Puncak Jalil to take another look at our potential future house. This time there were some For Sale stickers pasted on the windows of several of the houses. So I called them today and guess how much they cost?
For a brand new single storey terrace with 3 rooms and 2 bathrooms, RM185,000 to RM195,000. No kidding. If all those houses cost as much as that, I think I'm gonna be stuck at Taman U for a long-long time. Sigh.

10 November 2008

In developed countries like Japan, Germany and U.S.A, peaceful public rally is regarded as every citizen's democratic right. In those countries, anyone can demonstrate and protest anywhere, anytime, for as long as they like until the cows come home. And the police there, they will be present alright. But their presence is mainly to keep the public in order, direct traffic and generally keep the protesters safe.
But here, here in the country who wished to be called a develop country in 12 years time, instead of protecting the people, they usually harass, intimidate, beat up and sometimes lock up people just for holding candles in public places. Here, all the people's grouse and dissatisfactions are suppressed for the so called peace and security's sake. Developed country? I think we should teach our police force to be civilized first.

Maybe I can never single-handedly change the government of the day but I swear that I will do everything in my power to make sure that at least my kids and my family will see what's the BN government is all about.

8 November 2008

Today my dad was in town to attend another one of his UPM old boys reunion dinner. This time it was held somewhere in Hulu Langat near to the Sungai Gabai waterfall. I dropped him off there around 6:30 PM and he didn't came back until 1 in the morning. Of course it's not just some dinner, it's an opportunity to meet up old acquaintances, tap into the network of some of his highly successful friends. Looking by the number of beemers, mercs and other big shiny cars parked at the reunion site today, yes there were successful alright.

I know why Liverpool lost to Spurs last week. I didn't get my lucky kiss from my wife and kids prior to the match. Yeah that must be it. Tonight though, I make sure I give them all 2 kisses each right before the match and guess what? We won by 3 goals to West Brom tonight.

Before the Liverpool game at 1:30 AM, I watched the Jerry McGuire movie on TV1 just to kill time. I always wanted to watch that movie for quite some time now by I never had the chance to borrow the DVD or get enough seeds to download it. And it was quite a good movie too. After watching it all I have to say is, you might not know me babe but Jessica Alba.. you. complete. me. What she's married already? Okay-okay Vanessa Hugdens, you. complete. me.

7 November 2008

It looks like November is the month for bearing good news. Barack Obama won the U.S presidential election last Wednesday, that ought to be good news for the world. Then the prosecutors failed to get Anwar's sodomy cased transfered to high court yesterday. But the best news of all must of my hero's RPK release from ISA this afternoon.
When I first heard the news on the radio I thought there must be something wrong with my hearing. The Home Ministry must be crazy to release the man who almost single-handedly bring down the BN government. Then I heard, the high court ordered the release so no wonder lah. His harbeas corpus application is accepted and the court ruled that RPK's detention is unlawful. Now that's something you don't hear everyday. Just when I thought there's no hope for our judiciary, the honourable High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad showed there's still hope yet. Anyway welcome back RPK! Now just keep on doing you thang and bring down those BN goons.

5 November 2008

Advert
29 years old single manatee male looking for domestic partnership. Warm, friendly and eats a lot. Willing to consider girls/guys below 40. Looks not important but preferably with big boobs. Earns big bucks every month and owns a brand new Proton Persona.
A dugong, really? I don't know lah. You guys compare for yourself lor. :)

Alterchart m#13

01 Benar-benar - Adam mp3

02 Situasi - Bunkface mp3

03 Cinta ku terakhir - Duta mp3

04 Dibius cinta - Yusry & Melly

05 OK - Malique feat Fabulous Cat

06 Pelangi - Joanna & Co

07 Bila rasaku ini rasaku - Kerispatih

08 Terima kasih cinta - Afghan

09 Molek - Elyana

10 Cinta yang sempurna - Sixth Sense feat Noe

4 November 2008

My faithful Casio watch of 6 years went dead on me yesterday. The label said 10 year battery but apparently not. Now I have no watch to wear, poor me.
Hmmm, wish I could get a new watch or something, like for my birthday maybe? Nah, I'm not hinting at Linda or anything. Just making a general statement.

3 November 2008

Somewhere during the 3rd week of Ramadan, I stopped going to Seri Mutiara restaurant for several reasons. I was like their number 1 regular customer but their service became less satisfactory and the food tasted less good. For the remaining days of the fasting month I went to the Ramadan bazaar in Equine and after Raya, I ate mostly at several Mamak restaurants here and there. The thing about mamaks is, they always use their hands to serve the food. Like when I ordered my nasi lemak every morning, the would pick the peanuts, anchovies and egg with their bare hands (Azwath and Tapah all same). Oh for God's sake KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY FOOD!! God knows what else they did with their hands. After that, I prepare my nasi lemak myself. Puas hati.

One evening last week we dropped at Seri Mutiara after picking up wifey from work. We were hungry and we can't think of any place else to go. We decided to dine in there. That's when the surprises came. They treated us extra nicely and the food tasted extra good that night. And when they got our orders wrong, they decided to re-cook the food all over again. Hmm I should do that more often, boycott their place for a period of time. They probably really noticed our absence. Number 1 customer he he.

Norazilawati, thanks for following this blog. You're my friend!! :)


p.s: If I ever want to buy any insurance in the future, I'll definitely buy from you.

2 November 2008

Tomorrow we're supposed to send our 7 months old Mia to a new place, near our house but unfortunately the lady in charge said she's fully booked right now. She said we'll have to wait until January before we can send Mia there. Although a tad disappointed, I appreciate her honesty. She knew she cannot handle too many kids at once and she didn't go all greedy and take ours regardless. So tomorrow it's gonna be the same old dreaded nursery again. Why dreaded you say? Let's just say that their services has gone way below par. And the new girl whose looking after Mia, sometimes I don't think she's fit to look after a kitten let alone a real human being. Dreadful.
Speaking if which, poor Mia is having a terrible cough and cold. She's coughing and wheezing and it just breaks our hearts to see her like that. Apart from the medications from the clinic, we also gave her plenty of honey but so far her conditions hasn't improve much. You hang on there girl.

1 November 2008

While victory is sweet, defeat is a really-really bitter pill to swallow. I got my GMT calculations wrong today so I was waiting in front of the TV by 9:30 PM when the actual match didn't start until 1:30 AM. I stayed up until like 3:30 AM just too watch my team loose. Never mind it's our first defeat in like a hundred years (actually 16 games), it felt like we lost the title race already. The lads played well this morning and all I can say is luck was not on our side. I mean Spurs wasn't that good and they were really lucky Jamie Carragher scored that heart-breaking own goal and the fact that we hit the crossbar a dozen times in the first half. It's just not our day. And that cheeky Chelsea fan, Rizal Shaari stayed up all morning just to watch Liverpool loose so that he can annoy me with his trademark congratulatory SMS right after the game. Sheesh. Ah well, at least I can say we still have the bragging rights until our next meeting he he :P

Whenever I found a good blog, I will always take my time to read all its posts from start to finish. Yesterday I found two such blogs and so I spent the last 24 hours reading every single entry. And to compliment that, I will also add them to my Regular list so I can check them out every other day. So Anisah, the honour is mine. Keep up the good work girl!. The other blog is Sembang Komputer.com by a dude named MK. Actually I hated him at first because my initial impression of him was not so good. He sounded like a pretentious goody-two-shoes. He basically run a tech-support blog, answering all your queries about computer stuff, in Malay. After reading his blog from front to back, I thought "hey I knew all that, big deal". But the difference between him and me is, he put it up on his blog for all the world to know. Well at least for Malay-speaking people. And he knows quite a lot too, not as much as Bujal or Safuan, maybe slightly more than I do. Anyway for all your contribution society MK, I give you 10 measly points ha ha! So when are you going to invite me as a contributor? No? Just kidding.

In case you don't know, November is rather special too me. I'm not saying that because my birthday falls in this month, it's because... well yeah, it's solely because of my birthday he he! Anyhoo I've got a few things up my sleeve for this month. Maybe I will start something new this month, something significant, life-changing even. I won't spill any details here but someday, you'll know. If only I have a secret blog stashed away somewhere then I can confide everything. Hmmm, *shrugs*.

Monday, it's crunch time. Next week my colleagues and I will be starting work on our huge mega project in Puncak Alam. To quote HSM3, we're all in this together guys, it's now or never, Gooo Wildcats!

Note to self:
Road tax for Savvy: RM55.00
Service and courier charges: RM20.00

30 October 2008

I am still as sick as I was yesterday. I think I got a temperature too. At times like this, how I wish I can just go home and rest right after work. Instead I go home to look after 2 very-very active kids after fetching them from the nursery. Their Mom usually won't come home until after 8 PM (the earliest). Of course if I said that to my wife she will put on a face and offered to be a stay at home mom. And then I'll be mad with myself for not being able to do more for the family. Baby, you know we can't afford to do that right now kan? But who knows if I really become the Minister of Education like in my dream than you can just stay home and look after all our 7 kids. Till then just keep the faith ya.
Holy cow what's all these people doing on my other blog? Oh yeah I forgot, my last post got featured on Malaysia Today this afternoon. Actually I sent them the article last night and they were kind enough to publish it there. You think that one any good? No? Wait till you read my next piece. It will only gets better.

Hey anybody notice my new pants that I wore to office today? It's black and it's Chargers Outfitters, my fave brand for trousers. No? Oh I forgot again. People at my office cannot access blogs. Dang.

29 October 2008

Lately I've been having these weird dreams. Last week I dreamed that I run in a race up the Maybank Tower in KL. Next I dreamed that somebody appointed me as the Minister of Education. Also I dreamed that I go to school with Zac in High School Musical. Last night I dreamed that I sold songkok at a market supplied by Adflin Shauki. Weird stuff. Why can't I have a normal dream like going on a date with Kristin Kreuk, go bowling with Jessica Alba or at least strolling down the beach with Nur Fazura? (just kidding darling!)
I am terribly sick today. My nose is blocked, my throat is sore and I have a cough to boot. And worse I took the wrong cold tablet this morning which made me awfully drowsy while driving. Sleep + driving = bad-bad combination. I want to sleep early tonight and hope that I'll feel better tomorrow. Stay away from me. I'm contagious.

28 October 2008

A wise woman once said, "don't be too loyal with a single product or brand - one day you'll be disappointed". Needless to say, y'all should already know by now that I'm one big IKEA junkie. The last furniture I bought from them was our new beds, one single and one queen sized. The queen sized bed broke last week. No it didn't break into pieces or something like that but the main spine as I call it cracked. Maybe it's because our mattress is too thin. Maybe I'm a little bit too heavy for the bed. Maybe we've been way too active on it. OR maybe the bed is just not strong enough. Either way, I'm totally disappointed with it. I thought all IKEA stuff is built tough, durable and will last forever. Apparently not. Anyway I'm planning to patch the crack with a duct tape (will that work?). I hope that will do until we get the spare part from the store. I doubt it is covered under the warranty. Whatever.

27 October 2008

En realidad yo quería felicitar a mis amigos indios en su día festivo el día de hoy. Pero después de lo que pasó anoche, me cambió mi mente. ¿Quieres saber lo que pasó? Empezaron a encender los petardos desde la medianoche hasta la madrugada. ¡Qué montón de idiotas desconsiderado. No saben que algunas personas tienen niños pequeños que no pueden dormir debido al ruido? Por lo tanto, no felices deseos para este año. Y también el próximo año. y el próximo. Bueno, al menos, hasta que me trasladan a un barrio que no tiene petardos durante los festivales.
No hemos hecho nada en la mañana, salvo mentira alrededor de la casa. Tomé esta oportunidad de oro para tener mi sueño de belleza. Ni una sola vez, dos veces. Más tarde nos llevó alrededor de Taman Puncak Jalil y Kinrara buscando para nuestra futura casa. Encontramos una en el Taman Puncak Jalil, pero ya estaban todas agotadas y tenemos que esperar a los propietarios a vender. Estas casas son como para nosotros. No es demasiado pequeño y no demasiado grande y está ubicado justo en el medio entre Bukit Jalil y mi oficina. Realmente espero que la caída de precios dentro de nuestro presupuesto.

26 October 2008

The sweet-sweet taste of victory. If I could gamble, I wouldn't bet all my life savings on Liverpool tonight. Although my heart is on The Reds trashing Chelsea, my right mind is saying a draw would be more likely against the odds. But thankfully the boys in Red doesn't think so and gave The Blues a run for Abramovich's money. So a victory it is. And to put the icing on the cake, it ended their incredible 86 games unbeaten run on their home turf since 2004. One would have thought Man Utd or Arsenal would be doing that but ahem, guess who done it? Damn, if I'd put my life savings on the game tonight I would be 100 ringgit richer by now.
Earlier this afternoon we went to Linda's cousin open house in Bangi. It's possibly my last Raya open house for the year (Thank God!). Maybe it's just my luck but they served the two food that I'd prefer not to eat, laksa penang and fish, catfish some more. Sorry I won't be polite here so I didn't touch the above two foods. Lucky for me they also serve rice and chicken. Else I don't know I want to come there again next year. Yeah-yeah I'm such a jerk. No point pretending.

25 October 2008

I felt much better today. Well I had to because I have a lot of driving to do. My wife had to work today. They'd ask her to work tomorrow too but since they don't wanna pay her overtime, we're safe for the weekend. Anyway today Linda brought Adam to work while I look after Mia at home. I'll look after 5 Mias anytime than a single Adam (he he no offence kid!).
Later I went to pick Linda and Adam at her office and went to Sungai Buloh Hospital to pick up her mom. She's been working there for a few months now. We walked around the hospital while waiting for Ma to finish her shift. It's a huge hospital, but largely empty from what I see. Maybe few people come to visit today. Maybe not many people get admitted here. Service-wise, I don't know yet. I hope they don't suck as much as the Serdang Hospital. A big hospital doesn't necessarily mean a top-class service.

24 October 2008

Fever


Maybe I've been under the rain so much

Maybe I've been cooped up in the freezing cold server room In Puncak Alam too long

Maybe my body just need some rest

23 October 2008

It is that time of the month again to take my kid to local government clinic for her monthly checkup. I used to dread doing that, going to clinic early in the morning waiting for hours for our turn when the actual checkup process took less than 5 minutes. Today, I still dread doing that but I have grown pretty much accustomed to it. I just suck it up and get on with it.
Don't know what to do with your kid's duit Raya? Why not save it up in SSPN (National Education Savings Scheme). You can open an account for your kids (from age 0) at major local banks (like Maybank & CIMB) and you cannot withdraw from the accounts until they get into college. To open an account you just need to bring the kid's and your birth certificate/MyKid/MyKad and deposit a minimum of 20 ringgit. And the rumors are not true. They won't deduct anything from your salary. Furthermore you can deposit (or not deposit) anytime you like. It doesn't have to be every month. You can even do it once a year (i.e after Raya season). So today we deposited all the kid's duit Raya into SSPN. Hope the government doesn't borrow it to inject into any ailing GLCs. That would be CBT if you ask me.
Later we took Adam to get his much needed hair cut. Okay-okay I confess I'm guilty for giving him that horrible hair cut last month. After receiving a few dozens snide comments from my family members and friends, we think it's time to give him a proper hair cut. For a mere 5 ringgit, we let the professionals (i.e the local Indian barber) do it. Just look at this before and after picture.
Left: local native Penan boy. Right: local naughty city boy.

22 October 2008

ZOMG! Haven't you heard? Mawi is getting married this December!! How did I miss this? Oh wait, since when did I care for this no-talent singer's life? I don't!!! Move along.

There's no point paying thousands of ringgit for some ISO certification when you can't even stock up your first aid kit properly. Imagine when the ISO inspectors came and check the safety aspects and they fail you just because your first aid kit is in such a pathetic state. Is it so hard to buy a freaking handyplast? Nah I'm not complaining all that because I had a cut this morning and I had to leave it exposed all day just because I can't find a single plaster anywhere. I'm a tough guy and a tiny cut won't kill me. Although it did sting a lot after being exposed to the scorching sun all day long for the round trip to Puncak Alam.
I came back to the office late this afternoon and guess what? No Mawi still can't sing but they've created a new pasar malam (night market) near my office. It is situated just across the street starting next to restoren Nizam (now known as Thoiba) all the way round. From what I saw so far there's nasi tomato, fried noodle, noodle chicken soup, murtabak, yong tau fu, chicken rice, burgers, some veggies but no nasi lemak (yet). So remember people, Wednseday - pasar malam near my office. Don't park in front of my office though. We have employed Bujal to scare away potential parkers.

21 October 2008

HP service center in Damansara is probably the 2nd best service center that I've ever been to. Their service is fast and prompt, there free cakes and drinks and there's a huge plasma TV tuned to Channel V in the corner. The best service center I've ever been so far should be the Renault service center in PJ. The customer's lounge is spacious with a huge 32" TV + Astro and the best thing is I get to hog the remote all to myself. There's also free drinks of course but no cakes. And when I get bored of watching TV, I can go online using the PC with broadband Internet provided in the corner. Usually there's only one or two other people waiting in the lounge.
The worst service center ever must be TMT services also in PJ. They do services and repair works for electronic giants such as Philips and Sanyo but their office environment virtually sucks. There's no food or drinks or TV and the worst part is you have to pay a non-refundable hundred ringgit up front as a 'checking fee' just to send in your product for repair. And 2 weeks later, they're still checking the problem carefully when I called the company for the repair status. How uncool is that? The guy on the phone can't even speak proper English or Malay. That's how they rake in millions of profit every year. Exorbitant fees and cheap labor. So my advice to y'all is, if you buy Phillips or Sanyo products, make sure they don't break. <-- Like that also can ah?

20 October 2008

I spent most of the day today at the Renault service center in PJ section 13 waiting for the Kangoo to be serviced. The service officer Shan was extra friendly towards me today. He was quite friendly before but today was a different experience. Maybe because I said certain unfavorable things when the customer service dept called the other day. Things like I have to wait for ages for the service to complete. That's why today I waited for 5 minutes less. Thank you customer service!

Just how many person can you put on a single queen sized bed? Four according to Adam. We're still trying to make him sleep on his own bed but he still won't. Yes we can carry him next room when he's asleep but he'll always sneak out and join us afterwards. I'm out of ideas what to do.
Adam has this annoying habit of holding back his pee. We can see him holding his weiner but when we asked if he wanted to pee, he would shake his head right until the last minute. Sometimes when he just woke up he would suddenly cry and cry and when we asked whether he wants to pee, again he'd say no and soon enough he will wet his pants. I don't know why sometimes it's so difficult to make him say that he needs to go. I mean he's almost fully potty trained today. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, our almost 7 months Mia has started crawling on all four today. Well that's what she's trying to do anyway. And what's that I hear her said? Papa? :)

Alterchart m#12

01 Dibius cinta - Melly Goeslow & Yusry mp3

02 OK - Malique feat Cat Farish mp3

03 Cinta antara kita - Duta feat Baizura Kahar mp3

04 Coba - Faizal Tahir mp3

05 Molek - Elyana mp3

06 A.E.I.O.U - Ahli Fiqir feat Elliza mp3

07 Baiknya - Ada Band

08 Tak bisa memiliki - Samsons

09 Cinta yang sempurna - Sixth Sense feat Noe

10 Kutunggu jandamu - Irwansyah

19 October 2008

"The World's Best Kept Secret Blog" that's what I should name this blog as, not Afif Chronicles. At the prestigious Annual Weblog Awards, the winner for best kept secret blog this year is so very alone. I'm inclined to disagree with that. I mean his blog got thousands of hits everyday and there were numerous comments on his posts. What's so secret about that? My blog on the other hand receives an average of 4 visitors per day and I can even name all of them (Rina, Bujal, Nora, Linda and Ashraf). So sad, no?
Actually I was just kidding. If I was concerned about page hits and popularity, I would have stop blogging long time ago. This blog is about me, my life and I alone and the reason I blog day in an day out is so that my kids and friends and even myself can read this sometime in the future and have a good chuckle for themselves. Besides, I love it this way. No pressure to post, no high expectation to meet, no nothing. Only here can you see Afif in his almost* truest form.

Somebody should nominate me for the award above this year.

* of course la I have to censor a bit to save my job and not to hurt my friends/loved ones.

18 October 2008

Today we went to another Raya open house. This one was held at our friends house in Vista Angkasa, Kerinchi (in KL). Since we didn't go to Mak Cik's (Mashitah) open house the last 2 years, we felt obliged to come this year.
There we met Linda's office mate Yus and long time friends like Rini and Nisa and family. Nisa's little baby had grown up into that beautiful girl you see there in white. I slept for most of the afternoon so I was understandably hungry when we got there. There were laksa penang and nasi dagang and I had the latter of course. It was not nice lah, not as good as Kak Na's but fairly acceptable. I so like to critic people's cooking. If I didn't become a technician I would have became a food critique instead. Imagine making a living out of eating.

17 October 2008

I suck at maths. I even failed my calculus test twice. I'm not very good at sports either. I don't play football much, I never won anything at school and I'm definitely too fat to start running. But one thing I am good at is cleaning computer viruses. I'm so good that those viruses shit in their pants whenever they hear my name.
But today though the viruses had fought back. 2 days ago I encountered a type of virus that transforms Word and Excel files into viruses. Once that happens, you have no choice but to delete those files and there's no way to recover them back. Unless you made backup copies. And the worse thing is, I just might get in trouble for that. That sucks.
Anyway tonight we went to our good friend Puan Hajar's place in Taman Puncak Jalil. She held a little open house for her close friends. There were chicken rice and spaghetti bolognaise. I had the spaghetti which was a little bit sour. Maybe to much tomato puree I think.

16 October 2008

A few months ago I found out I cannot use my Maybank ATM card. When I went to make a new one, they insisted that I replace my identity card first because they cannot read anything from the chip. So I have no choice but to make a new I.C just to get a freaking replacement ATM card.

Which I only did today. Actually I lost my I.C twice already before so I was worried that I might have to pay the 310 ringgit fine to make a new one. Fortunately I don't. This time I didn't loose my I.C, I just want to replace it (which is free of charge). And while am at it I thought why not change my address also? This is my chance. I'd like to cast my vote here in Selangor in the next general election. It's not that I don't love my home town Kelantan anymore, it's just I'd like to keep BN/UMNO out of Selangor forever and ever. Besides I'm confident my folks back home will keep PAS in power for the next few decades.
To change the address on your I.C you just need to bring a copy of your water or electricity bill so that they can confirm that you live wherever you put your address at. Remember to make a photocopy of the bill before you go. Then fill up the form, pay 10 ringgit and voila! You are now a resident of Selangor/KL/Sabah/wherever. As for me, I need to make a new I.C so I have to take a new photo also. I didn't have the chance to put on any make up so that explains the tulan face. Plus they make me wear that one-size-fits-all fugly blazer for the photo shoot. Then I'm finished. They will keep your current I.C and gave you a temporary one like the one above. My new I.C will be ready in a month's time so they say.

Now I just have to convince Linda to do the same. Else there will be a huge logistical problem come election day.

p.s: I change my address to my mom's place in Serdang.

15 October 2008

Good news people! Kak Na and her nasi berlauk/dagang stall is open for business again this morning. It's been ages since I last taste her delicious cooking. The bad news is, they upped the price tag by 50 cent. Nevertheless I think RM3.00 is still pretty reasonable. Where got rice + lauk that cheap anywhere else right?

I guess I put my right foot first (langkah kanan) when coming to Puncak Alam today. I have no idea they were holding a Raya open house today until I got there this afternoon. And this year everybody's invited unlike last year where certain-certain people only get to come. There were satay, ketupat, rendang, rojak, ABC and curry mee among others. But since I'm on diet (ha ha!), I only had the satay, rendang+rice and the chicken soup. Besides I've got loads of work to finish today.
I can't recall the last time it rained so heavily like today. It was pouring whales and dinosaurs. There was flood and traffic jams everywhere and I had to take the longest route there is to get from Sungai Besi LRT to my home.

14 October 2008

I don't like the new season of Heroes. It's too gloomy and gruesome. Too many bad guys this season plus I don't know who's the real villain anymore. Is it Peter and Nathan's mother? Peter himself? Claire? Nathan? Has Sylar a.k.a Gabriel turned over a new leaf for good?
And why does they have to blow up the world each season? I bet they gonna blow up the world also next season. That's what you get when there's too many Superman running around.