Wednesday, June 29, 2011

27-hour Tourist in Penang ~ ☺

So what can I say about my 27-hour stint of being a tourist in the state I was born in? Well, for starters: I ♥'d EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Thanx Shahnazzzzzzzz

Even managed to avoid thinking of something too ☺

Ini rezeki namenye, just when I needed a break. Actually the voucher was for Shahnaz and her friend but since her friend was busy, she asked me if I wanted to go with her for a night near the beach. At first I was reluctant coz I wasn't sure of my state of mind.. but after a moment, I thought, What the heck?

It started as promised around 11am on Sunday where I met Shahnaz at her home. After parking my car, we started our day as tourists ~ ☻

First Shahnaz took me to the Little Penang Street Market. Its a monthly flea market (last Sunday of the month) in the middle of Georgetown and this was the first I knew of it (Typical Penangite, I am!) They sold all things homemade like woven bags, little trinkets, antiques, soaps and such. There was even a small stage for some cultural shows as well as an information counter to promote all the happenings in Penang for the next month. There's a link here you can look at of you want more information.


Anyway, guess what I got:


Heheh.. I usually hate nutmegs (despite Penang being the state of the fruit) but the nutmeg juice was seriously refreshing and delicious, much to my suprise as I had initially taken the sample offered just to not be rude. Ended up taking a bottle home, eh.. thanx to Shahnaz!

For our lunch, Shahnaz took me to this vegetarian Indian restaurant which reminded me of the promise Rashid, Puga and me had about going to their favourite Indian restaurant. Her chinese friend had introduced her to this place.. Sgt Satu Malaysia kannn! Somehow, I've forgotten the name, Woodland or something. Situated pun jgn tanye la kat mane, I don't know the name of the street but I'm pretty sure I can still find my way back there.

I didn't understand the menu so Shahnaz helped me here and I settled for some mushroom beriyani that was absolutely yummy and suprisingly filling. Shahnaz had this fried roti (also can't remember the name), sorta like an enlarged version of puree with some chickpea sorta sambal and we had another dish of some cottage cheese cooked in sambal.

Serius kenyang, hokey!


Then we went to check into the hotel.. and where did we stay? Tadaaaa~


Okay, actually I took the wrong picture here haha.. but very malu wanna take the one in front of the hotel coz there were a lot of people around. But hey, there's the King of Pop whaaaattttt..

Our room still wasn't ready when we checked in so we had to wait. This was the first time I saw a hotel with a bar attached to the front desk. Sgt like perak, right! Hahaha.. at least they served everyone a cool drink while waiting, on the house!

We noticed that there was this group of car owners who must've had some sorta function in Penang.. you know the cars yg mahal-giler-leh-beli-10-PFK like these..


..and these..


Okay, I curik² amik these pictures while waiting for Shahnaz to park ~ ☺

When we finally got to our room, my first impression was I was a bit disappointed with the room since I think most normal hotels pun looked better, UNTIL I looked into the bathroom with this majestic kinda mirror in it.

But then I noticed you could actually see the inside of the bathroom from the room itself so I was a bit self-consciuos when I wanted to use the toilet SAMPAI la Shahnaz discovered that you just had to push the board aside and tadaaa.. the toilet would be as private as it should BUT with this singing guy (whom I still don't recognize) looming at the wall seemingly watching your every move.. creepy! And sgt la perak of me kaaaannn hahah..


We freshened up a bit before getting ready to go find some dinner. Ohhh, had a little 'fight' with the 'hidden' shower tho' hahaha..

When we arrived back at the hotel, it was nearly Maghrib and we met with Ray, the very person who had presented Shahnaz and her friend with the voucher we were currently using.. and the very reason Shahnaz chose this day to stay in the hotel as Ray and the Jazzhats were performing that night.

One word can be used to describe this 62-year old: ENERGETIC!

After performing Maghrib prayers, we went down to watch their performance. This was my very first time doing something like this and I was suprised at how much I enjoyed it. Shahnaz was right when she said you'd wanna sing along with them hehe..


Ray sang evergreen songs, most that I know. Maybe that was why I enjoyed it.. or maybe it was because of his infectious enthusiasm ☺

I went to sleep that night with some songs still playing in my head hehe..

The next morning, after breakfast, we went to fefeeling ala tourist at the beach behind the hotel. I forgot how beautiful Penang beaches can be and was glad to be reminded of it ☺


Here's the view of the hotel from the beach pulak..


Then when it started to get a bit too hot for us (but seemingly the right time for the tourists to go sun bathing) we went back to our room to pack our things and check out.. but first we went to the gift shop to look around first, not that I bought anything.

After checking out, Shahnaz took me to Leo's, a bookstore she's been raving about for months. I was excited until we realized the store was closed on Mondays. However my disappointment was not for long as the owner knew Shahnaz and she opened the store, JUST FOR US!


Sgt rase cam celebrity, hokey!

I was blinded but the choices they had in the store. It wasn't big like Popular or Borders but it was crammed with books as you can see here..


..and here!


Like bes giler kan!

In the end, I, who had said I just wanted to browse around, bought 4 books, one which I bought for Mama.. uhhh, sgt tak leh tahan the bookworm in me kan! Tu pun, the half hour we spent there didn't satisfy my hunger *sigh*

Our last stop for the touristy thingey, was to this Hokkien Mee stall near Island Plaza. This was my first time tasting it as I never was surec where to find a halal one.


Slurrppp.. it was superb! I took Shahnaz's cue and ordered some air Mata Kucing as well and both were good!

After that we went back to Shahnaz's to get my car and Shahnaz had to get ready for her class that afternoon. All in all, I enjoyed every moment!

To Shahnaz: Thanx sbb ajak sy! Didn't expect to enjoy myself so much with everything you introduced to me. Seryesly merasekan sgt kerdil di Penang sbb wpun lahir and besar kat situ, tp bnyk tak tau pasal negeri sendiri.. so since kite nye potluck is planned for bln pose, I suggest the NEXT one, kite ajak sumer buat something like this nak? Minus the hotel stay la, of course, kang mak sumer org marah tak tido kat umah kan hehe..

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Don't feel like getting outta bed.. =(


I had an awful Friday =(

The day started so promisingly. I felt better than I had felt since ages. But then, something made me snap I guess. I had to force myself to go to my class and was a bit ashamed when I voice kept breaking as I was trying to teach my students about Plans and Elevations so I quickly showed them a few examples and handed out some questions before I sat down and distracted myself with rewriting their names in the register since I'd come to the end of the current page.

I felt as if the class would never end and I guess it was the first time I ever checked my watch more frequently than my students.

As I arrived home, I was ready to just bury myself under my blanket and sleep the night away. I was almost regretting the kenduri the next day (Sorry Misa.. but I'm really glad I got my big butt outta the bed and went to celebrate your happiness ~ ♥) but I found myself enjoying Shahnaz and Wan's company as we went there together.. the girls have been bestfriends since we were at school and just looking at them makes you wish you still had your bestfriend near you..

..and the sight of Misa was also something to smile and be happy about! Congrats Misa.. wish I had taken a picture of her amidst the chaos.

But the sight of home depressed me again and once again I only wanted to lose myself in dreamland!

*sigh*

Such a drama queen kan!

The only thing I can look forward to is an unexpected offer from Shahnaz for a chance for me to be a tourist in my own Penang that will start today at around 11am and end tomorrow around 2pm.. so I'm gonna have a 27-hour tourist time and I'm determined to enjoy myself!
So lets see..

Friday, June 24, 2011

Not gonna do it.. am I?

I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry.. I'm not gonna cry..

..but I MIGHT have dust in my eyes ='(

Swimming in Books.. boley?

So my birthday has come and gone sejak berbulan dahulu.. but the birthday presents I had lined up for MYSELF still keeps coming! Hahah.. I'd actualloy ordered some of these books then but it took time for the ordering from the agent and all that so I'm still calling it my personal birthday treat. THe final order arrived at my doorstep last Friday and I've only got the time to update on these thingeys today ☺

First of all.. hmm, lets see.. I ordered these books from Penjaja Buku on FB. Books I've been meaning to buy for so long tp asyik takde mase or takde duit. I love Cecila Ahern and recently have started liking Jodi Picoult (though this book fell short of expectation)


This second batch is what I bought for myself during the World Book Day. Yup, some splurge on shoes, handbags.. but me, I'd spend every penny on books haha.. Dan Brown tu dah lame nak beli but never had time to find it while Jefferey Deaver is one of my favourite thriller authors. All these book were discounted from 50% ~ 70%.. bargain kan!


This 3rd batch I bought outta boredom.. boley? The classics are something I've always meant to read but NEVER finished (dan nampaknye nasib classics² ini pun agak serupe sbb bace a tenth and dah pilih buku lain haha..) but Room mmg bes. I did a review on this book here.


4th one(s) I bought at, believe it or not, Carrefour.. boley? The books were cheaper than in store. This time I loved the Jodi Picoult one.. and I must admit, I bought The Lovely Bones after reading how it was being compared to Room, and sgt tak menyesal! Love it!


Last but not least, the books I've been waiting for. Supernatural books hehe.. I'm a great fan of the series so when The Books Galore (another noline bookstore) recommended it to me a few years ago, I bought the available two books she had. These are the latest ones from the series AND they're not the ones you watch on TV.


Opppss.. tidak lupe the book GIVEN to me for my birthday from my brother and sis-in-law..


..ni pun sgt bes okay! Its all about Pandora, the Na'vi and all.. thanx adik dan adik ipar! ☺

After covering the book the plastic covering, I realized I no longer have any available bookshelves for these new books. Existing books pun I've started susun on the flor or any available space. Tu tak masuk half-read The Bodies Left Behind on my bedside, half-reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on my dining table, half-read One Year Gone dpn TV (Hey, I need books at all places hehe..) and others hehe.. so I made one last splurge still categorized under birthday treat. Tada..


A new book case! I am now rearranging all my books in all available places (blum abis lagi actually.. gosh! Brape bnyk buku sy ade ni sbnrnye?) But lets just say: I'm really enjoying myself here and have somehow managed to not think about something I wanna forget. See, books are a great therapy! ~ ♥

Ohh.. on another note, saje wanted to share something my student gave me.. comey kan! Hehe..

Monday, June 20, 2011

Dia buat balik daaaahhhhh!!



I'm pissed right now.. Major pissed! Sakit ati tak abis la ngan cikgu-pasan-bagus-tp-cam-bangang nii <--Okay, excuse the French here tp sy tak tahan laaaaa

Remember the Teacher from Hell I complained about almost every year? Yg perasan just because he's a real teacher, dia la cikgu paling bagus dlm dunia ni and just because I'm not a real teacher, sy la cikgu paling bodo dlm alam ni? Grrrrr.. marah tul la ngan mangkuk ni!

Today I had my usual Monday class in Pt Buntar, students in Form 1. Tau la kan, budak Form 1 ni pasan dah besar so agak la jugak bising nye TP TAK PENAH LA PI KACAU KELAS LAIN YG BAAAAIIIKKKK LA SGT TU! Paling kuat pun, kacau their own classmates je la pun.. ade ke bongok nak pi kacau kelas lain. Tarak akai punye cikgu <--Haha.. nape sy rase lega ckp bende ni eh? Don't get me wrong, sy rase ni 1st time kot sy ckp org takde akal! But serves his royal ass right!! Marah tak abis lagi ni!

I taught thme about Basic Measurements and gave them a few questions to finish while I sat just outside the door of my class to watch them. Tetibe TFH ni bukak pintu his class and giler dok marah my students. Sgt marah hokey..

Ade ke pegi warn budak² dia nak tampar muke sorg² sbb dia tuduh my students KACAU BUDAK KELAS DIA! What the hell?!?! Budak² kelas dia yg dok masuk my class kacau my students ok, but because I think they're trying to be cute, sy TAK PENAH MARAH PUN BEBUDAK TUHH!

Ni tetibe budak kelas sy tak kacau ape pun, dok tuduh cam bangang! Giler ke ape tah dia ni.. sewel!

Nak tambah kan marah, he said, "Sy tak kira la cikgu kamu ade ke tak dlm kelas, sy tampar jugak!" What the hell ngkau ni.. nak marah sy punye student dah satu hal dah, pastu nak tunjuk sgt tak hormat kat sy as colleague pi cakap macam tu kat budak² tanpa address kat sy yg berdiri just at the door. Mmg panas hati betul sy tadi.

Seriusly dia ni, apasal tah dok cari gaduh ngan my class every year. Dia ngan kwn dia sorg lagi tu same je bangang! Not all male teachers yg ajo sekolah rendah camtu tp sy dah jadik cam chop je diorg camtu sbb cikgu len relek je. Dulu, this same teacher gak yg marah kerani sbb TAKDE STUDENT NAK AMIK KELAS DIA! Hambik ngkau.. Students pun tak suke tp dok tuduh kerani sabotage kelas dia. Bongok ape tah..

I can only sedapkan hati with two things je:

1. Dia dengki la tu my students are close with me when his students sumer kecut ngan dia. Yg amik kelas dia pun students yg daftar lambat and kelas lain dah penuh (Hambikkkk!! Dia ingat sy tak penah dgr ke org cerite camtu pasal dia)

2. In class tadi, ALL OF US got a note from Cikgu Arun menegur beberape cikgu yg suke dtg kelas lambat.. and what do you know, dia ni mmg kaki dtg lambat pun kat kelas! So dia terase la tu (no names were mentioned punnn) pastu nak lepaskan geram kat kelas sy plakkk.. budusssss!

As I was going home, I saw him with his stupidness-at-same-level friend <-- Ye sy marah so sy tgh tak pk dua kali ape yg sy tulis ni!

This bongok teacher sent me an SMS on Teachers Day. Ok la, sesame cikgu wish kan.. Cikgu Arun pun suke anto SMS kat sumer cikgu² dia wish Teachers Day. But then, 2-3 jam sekali dok sms tanye soklan bodo² that really made me uncomfortable.

Why?

1. Cikgu tu dah KAWEN

2. He made me feel cheap plak sbb when he sent that 1st sms, sy layan! Nyesal! But seriusly sy jumpe wish balik je kat dia punn.. just like what I imagine everyone else would do

3. His daughter was MY STUDENT 3 YEARS AGO!!!

Ohh.. yg ni mmg horror la for the whole time it lasted. He'd try calling me wpun sy tak pernah jwb calls dia and continues texting me 2-3 jam sekali for weeks wpun, jugak, sy tak reply dah. When he started commenting on how I looked on a particular day or about what I was wearing, sy mmg panik giler. Even mntk tolong kat Rashid to pretend to be my boyfriend and pick me up at the tuition centre (Sowi Mahirah, akak pinjam boyfriend awak jap huhu..)

Finally when he kept harassing me and made me sgt nak pakai baju itam berkabung je pi kelas sbb dah sgt geli ngan sms² dia, I replied saying, "TOLONG DELETE NUMBER PHONE SY.. TERIMA KASIH!"

He was quiet for a week but then sambung balik. Dok begging me to answer him la ape la yg made me sgt geli and sgt kesian kat wife dia as well as sgt takut klau wife dia tau sbb konpem la dia akan ckp kat wife dia sy yg kacau dia kaaaaaannnn pastu nnt sy plak kene pecat ke ape ke, nanti mane sy nak cari duit?!?! Dasar lelaki tak sedar untung dah ade wife baik!!!

In the end, I didn't actually ask him to go to hell (tho I soooo wanted to!) but I replied, "NI BANGANG NAK MAMPUS KENAPE? DAH SURUH BUANG NUMBER PHONE. BUANG LA. BUDAK KECIK PUN PAHAM, TAKKAN ORG TUA TAK PAHAM KOT!!!"

Harsh, I know! Tp bile sy ckp elok² takmo paham.. Okay, sy tau, sy pun tua jugak hahah.. tp dia lagi tua kot klau sy dah penah jadi cikgu ANAK DIA!

So understand now why sy dah chop 2 org yg bangang ni. When I saw both of them sitting together, meluap² je rase. Seryes menggeletar sy tahan marah tadi kat TFH tu mase dia marah kelas sy sesuke ati dia je.. mcm bagus ehh ngkau! Blah aaaaaaa..

Okayyy.. nape bengang sy tak ilang lagi ni eh? Should ilang la skit bile dah lepas gini kan?

*Gulp* Ohh, sy tau nape.. sbb lum solat Isya lagi.. balik² trus on PC nak lepas kan marah.. Oppsssssss..

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Reunion @KFC lagi?!? =p

Wahhh.. KFC Pt Buntar 2 has turned into a kinda of reunion place for me or what?

I went there this afternoon after picking up my cheque at Walinong Sari (Cikgu Arun's side business). Deciding I was hungry, I walked to the KFC which ws just a block away from cikgu Arun's store. Since I had recently met Amir and Asyraf there, I was expecting to maybe cross paths with them (or at least one of them) again if it was their shift.

Entering the store, I noticed Amir but didn't go to his line since it was quite long and since I didn't want to startle him so I went to the other line. After I ordered and paid, the cashier has given me my change and as I was trying to cram the change in my purse, I noticed someone else stand at the cashiers place (she was preparing my order). Thinking that maybe they had given me too much change ke ape ke, I looked up to ask but was suprised to see the person standing there smiling like there was something amusing..

Mule la sy dok pk, tudung sy senget ke ape ni?

Then he asked me if I was a tutor at Arun Jaya and I started fretting coz I couldn't place his face.. but then I glanced at his nametag

AIMAN

Waaaahhh.. nasib baik tak jerit! Hahaha..

This was the 'famous' Aiman my juniors and my sister once called my favourite student coz I kept talking about him after classes ☺ The Aiman who said "Cikgu la yg takde harapan ni ye!" when he knew I was an unmarried 26-year-old dulu hahah.. The Aiman who always 'complained' of my handwriting just to make me mad. I've always wondered about him whenever I met any of my ex-students and here he was in flesh.. I could feel an uncontrollable grin spreading across my face as all the memories I had of him came back at me.. and I just had to laugh!

He looks sooo different. Taller than I remember. Gone was the cute round faced and curly haired boy I had once known and in his place.. someone totally different. Seryes mmg beze sgt. Patut la sy tak kenal mule² tu.. but his chatty mouth was still the same! Glad of that ☺

He's doing law at UIA now and I was dying to tell Izati he's her junior tho lain school (actually balik tu sy trus update status FB and Izati noticed it and trus 'like'.. even my sis remembers THIS Aiman hahah..). I thought he'd be doing engineering or something coz he's very good in Math so I was suprised when he told he'd even managed to get on the Deans List. Waaaaahhh.. bangge giler sy!

I must've spent half an hour kot sembang² with him. Mesti boss dia ban sy dari gi KFC dah pasni hahah..

Even smpi mlm ni pun I'm still grinnig like crazy. Tak sangke he remembers me coz I only taught him for 6 weeks je pun and klau dia tak tegur tu tadi, mmg I wouldn't know it was him..

Now I realy have to emphasize: Mmg seronok la jadik cikgu!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Just for laughs


Found this on the net a few weeks ago.. kinda reminds you of ME.. right? Hahahah..

Monday, June 06, 2011

Reunion @KFC? Hahah.. =p

Prior to my cousins kenduri, I went out to buy those huge containers to put all the packed chocolates and apams. Now in Pt Buntar, its like a trend ke ape tah that a lot of stores bukak yg style jual plasticware sumer² tu so you have quite a big choice if you wanna find these kinda things. That afternoon I decided to go to this store I've never been.. the reason: dekat ngan KFC coz I was starving and malas nak masak hehe..

After I paid for my purchases, I just went across the street into KFC. As usual, I would scan the line with the least queue and while I went there, my eyes would scan the menu on what I wanted to eat. Without looking at the staff in charge, I told him, "Bawak balik ye.."

When I made my decision and finally looked at the cashier, I was thrown off-guard when I found him grinning at me.. rupenye si Asyraf Ikhwan.

Hahah.. I laughed when I realized who he was while he was just smiling shyly.. as usual! I had noticed his recent statuses on FB about his part-time job during the semester break, but didn't actually know he worked here

Then, while I was talking to him, I noticed the 2nd cashier coming towards us. Uh-oh, I thought he wanted to come tegur, "Sile jgn sembg ngan staf, boley!" so I quickly stopped laughing but then..

"Cikgu, sy dapat A utk maths, Tak mau belanja ka?"

Eikk.. waahhh... Amiruddin! One of my favourite students last year sbb
i. dia suke duk dpn
ii. sgt rajin tanye soklan
iii. he was the student who said, "Suami cikgu mesti hensem kaaannn!" <--boleh?

Asyraf is on his semester break while Amir would be registering in Politeknik Melaka(?) next month..

But what are the odds untuk both cashiers to be my exstudents?!!?

Simply amazing.. and made me smile like crazy since I like both these guys and kinda enjoyed seeing them.

See.. seronok kan jadik cikgu!

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Tolong²! Sy tamau amik order klau yg camniii~ =p

Yesterday was the kenduri of my cousin (who is 3 years younger than me *sigh*). I drove all the way to Teluk Intan (siap sesat² lagi haha..) with Mama and Iskandar from 5am and arrived there around 9.30am after I promised my cousin Azilah, "Takpe, kak Yong mesti sampai pukul 7.30pagi ni nanti.." Aiseyyy, maluuuuu haha..

Anyway, we arrived home this morning around 2am and I slept like a log the whole day, dah la tak leh solat, lagi la takde alasan nak bgn awal kaaaaannnn =p

So why so tired (aside from the fact I was the sole driver la!)?

I had spent the whole of Friday making some things for my cousins wedding ni laaa.. dari pagi Jumaat, sampai la awal pagi Sabtu around 2.45am baru abis.. Ohh, rase cam Supergirl, boley?

(Blah la Ayu, org len buat bnyk lagi dari yg ni, relek jeeeee!)

First I made these..


..first time woo buat choc bnyk²! Dah la baru belajo kaaannn hehe.. seb bek ade Ma and Iskandar tolong pack-kan!

Then I made a few batches of Diana's Apom Polkadot =)


Ni pun seb bek ade pembantu bile tibe time nak membungkus.. klau tak, nangis gak la doing it all by myself..

By 2.45am, tho I wasn't sleepy (didn't dare to sleep sbb kul 5am dah nak gerak kan!) tp sgt la penat badan. Seriusly, sy tamau la amik order bnyk² klau akan penat gini. Wpun buat bnyk ni je punnnnn, mcm la buat beratus-ribu kaaaaannn hehe..


Ohh.. lupe plak.. atas permintaan pengantin, I made some cupcakes tp ni bkn utk hantaran or ape je.. Just for the family to eat shj~♥