Ayu's Piece of Mind..

Betrayal of a memory?!?!

2012-01-19T23:41:00.109+08:00

So my fever is gone but my coughing doesn't seem to wanna go away. According to my usual pattern, my voice would be this way for almost two weeks but this also means that I'm getting better, especially since I could now sleep without the help of eucalyptus oil anymore.. so no complaints there. Just wanted to share something..

My class was fine for the first hour just now but during the second hour, maybe due to me talking a bit too much, I found myself coughing non-stop. Though I know I'm getting better, I didn't really want anyone to get uncomfortable with my coughs o after leaving my form 3 students with a few questions, I dashed to the grocery shop downstairs to find what they had as a remedy.

I saw the usual cough syrup I've always used (which actually hasn't been working that much for the last two bottle.. maybe because the doses are getting weaker kah.. or maybe jugak coz I'm already immune to that particular brand) but as I tried to grab that particular brand, my hand automatically went to the other brand beside it.

Guess my body was trying to remind me that I need a new cough syrup..

..which a lil' (very little!) part of me started feeling like I was betraying IM!

Ok.. ape kes? Hahah..

A few years ago, when I was still contemplating whether to do my MSc or not, I had come down with a bad cough. Well, not as bad as now but then I was rarely sick so coughing was so very not me and made me squirmish while trying to avoid people. I didn't go to work (I was an RO in my school) and stayed in my room all day. That day I had actually felt a bit better, but the air conditioned room worsened my condition so I decided to take the day off and went back to my room.

I wasn't really sick as in fever sick, only had a bad cough so I was really bored when I was back in my room. Luckily I always had a good stock of books so before long I found myself sitting at my desk, reading. A few moments into the book, my phone rang and I was a bit cheered up to see it was IM. He seldom called me in the day (or even at night if we were in USM.. the wonders of free internet kan!) so I was wondering why he called. Turned out, he had noticed me coming back early from work and was planning on 'investigating' if I was purposely 'tuang kerje'.

Ohh.. sy kan budak skema!

Anyway, I just told him I wanted to rest and didn't really need to tell him I was having a bit of a cough as he could hear my voice. I've always been uncomfortable of telling people I'm not well ke ape ke coz I don't want people to say I'm asking for their sympathy or something. He also didn't ask me to elaborate on my simple answer to his question and we continued to talk for a while before he told me he had to go somewhere to do something important.

I continued to read my book and was about to take a nap when once again my phone rang.. to my suprise it was him again. A suprise coz we seldom actually talk to each other (Ok, so dulu sy pemalu skit.. so what!) except for the nightly YMs, and this was two calls in one day.

He asked me to go down as he was waiting for me and though I was grumbling inside (Well, I'm a girl. Nak turun tu of course la kene tukar baju and pakai tudung elok² sumer..) I still went to see what he wanted.

When he saw me, he sheepishly handed me a plastic bag with something in it.. and I was wondering if it was another ice cream (he had once gone to Pekaka to do some photocopying.. and somehow when he saw the Walls freezer, he decided to buy some ice cream for the both of us. I almost laughed when he called me to go down to see him just so he could give me the already half-melted ice cream.. just because he was thinking of me..)

Err.. where was I?

Oh, yeah..

I opened the plastic bag in front of him and was confused to see this red box (Ok, I have to admit, I never liked buying off-the-shelf medicine before. I preferred going to the doctor so I didn't know it was a bottle of cough syrup at first). I looked at him and he just smiled and told me, just because I didn't wanna tell him, doesn't mean he couldn't guess what was wrong with me..

Well, I guess I had developed a bit of a crush on him then when I realized what his 'something important' actually was..

So.. Now I find it a bit 'menyusahkan' to go to the doctors sometimes so whenever I have a cough, I always buy the same brand of cough syrup.. even almost 10 years later now..

..but just now, I realized the cough syrup no longer provided me with the relief it once had. Mama used to say, too much of something makes you immune to it, so I guess thats what happened. It felt a bit surreal to see myself paying for another brand of cough syrup <-- Ok, cam drama lebey plak di situ

I guess a part of me just felt like it was betraying a memory.. <--Ok. konpem Ayu dok wat drama ni!

I went back to my class and suprises of suprises, I took one dose of the new cough syrup and I'm okay right till now..

Hmm..

What the...?!?!

2012-01-16T11:58:00.059+08:00

So there I was, driving alone back to my rented house after my form 5 class in Jawi. Usually the traffic at this hour is more leisurely than busy so I didn't have to worry much (Eversince the accident, I've been having stupid 'premonitions' of more accidents.. waaa, and I thought I wasn't traumatized!).

Well, didn't have to worry much, until..

I was at the traffic light at Taman Ilmu, waiting for the green light. I noticed a few teenagers on motorcycles in front of the car on the other lane and those kids were joking around while waiting for the green signal. I had no reason to panic as
1. They were dutifully waiting for the green light too
2. They were on the other lane
3. They were wearing their helmets and all, thus gave me this false security that they were careful.. duh!

When the light turned green, I just shifted into the drive gear and moved forward, gaining speed as I moved on. I wanted to go back quickly as I still wasn't feeling well but I wasn't THAT much in a hurry, thankfully!

The kids on the bikes were way in front of me when it happened and I can still fell my heart leaping outta my chest as I recall it in slow-mo <--Ok! Ade drama skit kot di situ hahah..

On the kid in the middle (there were 3 kids on 3 bikes) suddenly shoved his friend on his right, I assume, jokingly. However, his friend lost control of his motorcycle and fell off his bike right in the middle of the road as his motorcycle slid towards my lane (I was on the right). Syukur Alhamdulillah, I was at the right speed to avoid his motorcycle.. barely!

The car behind me had to slam his brakes just in time for the boy to get up quickly (his upper body was in our lane by that time) as his motorcycle slid ever further away and outta harm..

..and I was swearing like a sailor!

Err, ok la.. swearing as much as my limited vocabulary would allow me (which btw, would just make me the butt of jokes for sailors!) And NOT to the boy who fell in my lane..

What the hell?!?

His friend is like sooooo @%*($%^&. What was he thinking, joking around like that, ON THE ROAD.. ON A MOVING MOTORCYCLE.. budussss!

A lot of things went through my head as I avoided the boy and his motorcycle.. among them: I DO NOT want another accident in just 5 months!

Ok, on my part, it may seem selfish, thinking of myself before the boy who almost got into an accident there.. but as I said earlier, particularly my expanses haven't really recovered from the accident I had a few months ago.

Sheesh! And I still can't forget the 'scene' of what happened. Still seeing that boy falling off his bike as I was gaining speed.. Alhamdulillah la takde ape jadi..

But I'm still mad at his friend! Buduh! Sebab tu la budak² tak bleh ade lesen klau takde tanggungjawab camni..

Sape tak kenal tune ni kan hehe..

2012-01-15T10:57:00.001+08:00

As usual, every Sunday morning (12.30am that is) both TV3 and TV2 would be playing on some movies which I've religiously watched since I got my own television set. Wait! Or was it before eh.. when I still 'tumpang'ed Elie's tv?!?!

Anyway, usually TV3's choice was better (haha..) but lately, TV2s choice aren't bad. They sometimes love to put on James Bond classics and other so I kinda liked it too.

Just now, TV3 had on Just Like Heaven, which though I love, I just watched recently so I decided to see what TV2 had to offer.. Lets see..

Hmm.. does anyone NOT recognize this tune?

Hahah.. ok la, not actually the original (and yes, I prefer the original la of course but this one was a good rendition of it jugak kan).

I didn't grow up when the movie was famous but during my childhood, there was this weekly cartoon of them. Who could forget.. and which child did not want to become The Lone Ranger.. or Tonto.. err, Silver takde sape kot nak jadik kan =p

I'm not sure if children nowadays even know about this folk hero.. but I'm sure they too know this tune kan..

And the movie was so-and-so la.. but everytime the tune came on, I found myself drumming my hands to the music while 'tedede tedede tededek dek deeekkk' along with it hahah..

Kinda makes me miss my childhood in a good kinda way =)

P/S Ohhh, sy tadek Astro, k =p

Not well.. in weird kinda way

2012-01-13T15:19:00.007+08:00

I had this weird kinda fever I've only had once before.

I was getting ready for my form 3 class in Jawi when I noticed I had the shivers. I shrugged it off at first because the day had been rainy so it was kinda cold anyhow. However, as I went to my class, I realized my almost-non-existant aircond was getting a bit too cold for me, so I switched it off.. Only to switch it on a while later, not because I was feeling hot but because the air in the car felt 'lifeless' without it on.. so there I was, alternating between switching it on and off when it got too cold or too stuffy in the car, all the way to Jawi. No wonder la kan my airconmd tu suke wat hal klau sy pun suke dok switch on/off cenggitu hehe..

Anyway, arriving at the tuition centre, arini la pulak Cikgu Arun had serviced all the airconditioning units so me and my students were freezing. In the end, we switched off the aircond and only used the ceiling fans.. but I continued to shiver until one of my students asked me why. I just gave him my standard answer, "Lemak² sy ni mmg tak berfungsi sgt punnn.." Heheh..

On the way back home, the coldness was getting unbearable and once I arrived home, I was feeling cold to the bone. When I went to get my wudhu, I found that the water was freezing so, being the week me, I postponed my solah and tried to get some rest as my head was also pounding by then. There I was on my bed, in a full nightgown with my thick cardigan and blanket.

I woke up again around 11.30pm and forced myself to perform my prayers despite the icy cold water (or was it just my feverish imagination hard at work?!!) then tried to sleep but this time, my body temperature alternated between feeling freezingly cold to feeling hot. I woke up every hour to different feelings. 12.30am freezing, 1.30am hot, 2.30am freezing and 3.30am hot. When I couldn't take it any longer, I decided to take a bath.. and despite feeling really hot at that time, the water was still freezing cold.

Finally managed to sleep and when I woke up again at 4.30am, my headache was gone, my chilling/hot temperature was gone as well as my sore throat and cold. I was almost jumping with joy as I tried to remember what did I do to make the weird fever go away..

..until this morning when the fever came back at full force, thankfully without the alternating temperature..

*sniff*

P/S Entry ini ditulis setelah tak larat dah nak tidoq.. sekian

Once a KRU posse, always a KRU posse kah?

2012-01-03T18:04:00.000+08:00

Ok, I'm blaming Achik for this entry. The past new year, I was noticing him uploading old songs of KRU. This kinda surprised me as he's like 5 years younger than me kot so I always thought KRU was during 'my time' as he was still a kid mase tu. But I guess the influence of KRU was big la kot mase tu.

At that time, Malaysian music was mostly ballads and slow rock camtu la. So when KRU first came into the market, ade sedikit kejutan budaya lah kot haha.. But they were cute kan so their song went right to the top of the charts in no time.

However, I didn't quite like them that much as, well, I preferred ballads la kot. Especially after hearing one of their first songs yg jadik like an anthem time tu, 2020. Seryes like sejam sekali kot the VC kuar kat TV mau plak time tu ala² Vision 2020 baru kuar. I could actually still imagine the VC with them wearing caps and colourful windbreakers trying to be rappers. To me it was annoying especially the way they said two-zero-two-zero. Another yg famous time tu was Hanya Kaaauuu yg ku mahu.. Hanya kau yg ku tunggu oh kasih kasihh <--Yeah! I hated it but I know the song.. boley?

Then enter form 1, I sat behind Sharifah Nur a.k.a Chipah who was a huge fan and couldn't talk about anything else. Haiyaaa~~

By then everyone was hooked on Mengerti. It took me a while, but I finally succumbed to peer pressure haha.. Ok la, tipu! Mengerti tu bes la jugak and somehow, I still like hearing it even after all these years.. as well as other songs yg tak brape nak glamer hehe.. Still jugak nak cari song ala the ones I liked before kan.

So form 2 onwards, I became one of their not-so-hysterical fan. The one most people liked was of course la Yusry whom at that time, mcm ensem gila la kan. But my classmates knew better than to say they liked him sbb me and Baizurah were like giler berebut dia haha.. mcm bleh dpt right! God, when I remember those good ol' time, mmg nak gelak. Ami liked Norman more and Edry, poor Edry yg takdak sapa nak minat (well, not so many laa) was Suri's choice. I guess our friends were more amused on seeing me and Baizurah 'gaduh'. Berebut and hafal biodata segala.. I'm not sure if I'm right but Yusry's birthday is like 15th June kan? And he's 7 years older than me hehe.. ok, yg tu ingt la. Yang lain like dah lupe.. Ohh, favourite food at that time was Maggi perise Ayam ok. Colour tak ingt but was like blue, black or white camtu.. oh God! Gila apa Ayu ni time tu hahah..

When I was in form 4 and 5, I got a letter from an old friend from Sg Gelugor who had moved to KL and was then living in Taman Melawati, which all KRU fans know to be as the residence of KRU. Suhaila was a member of KRU posse and always went to their house for the fanclub gatherings and all that. And bless her dear soul, she knew I liked them so she sent me photos of them.. and just to rub salt, she sent a picture of heself and Yusry.. *suddenly terpk, mane la sy simpan gambo² tu eh*

In fact, I had curik² to buy a KRU cassette kot once dulu. Abah didn't let us buy cassettes, only CDs je. Like we can buy sgt la with our allowance (that was his plan la tu kan!). Though sbb curik² then I lost it *sobs* I don't remember which tp the cover was light coloured as opposed to the dark coloured ones cam Awas and all that. Haaa, I remember, ade lagu 'Semuanye kan Ok'.. which album pun I don't remember.. Haiyaaa~~

Nways, after listening to a few of Achik's choices (Yes! He actually uploaded multiple KRU songs to his profile that day), I did my own searching and just wanted to share a few of my tak-glamer-sgt favourite KRU songs hehe..

First one is Gadis Jelita.. not to be confused with Wanita Jelita which is also one of their songs.

Second one here is Di Depan Mata..

..and not-so-surprisingly, I still remember the lyrics verbatim, k! Masih leh nyanyi along, boley? Punye la minat kan dulu..

And this one as tribute to my missing cassette.. Semuanya kan Ok!

Hehe.. enjoy!

Oh, btw, Baizurah, this entry is for you.. and Suhaila though Suhaila tak tau pun pasal my blog ni!

*Achik is the grandson of Abah's adopted mum in Bayan Lepas. We call her Mak Tok and she and her family are the only 'family' we have in Penang. That makes Achik.. err, my adopted cousin?!?! Hahah..

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T23:31:00.001+08:00

So we're at the last few hours of 2011. I'm sitting here, trying to reflect on the year I've had.. and nothing comes to mind.

The only things I could see are regrets, regrets and more regrets.. *sigh*

The biggest regret being that I could not finish my PhD this year.. with that fault placed on my shoulders and mine alone. And still, while thinking it, I still couldn't conjure up any passion for it as I once had. I'm not even sure on how I stand in this field anymore and it scares me. But what terrifies me the most is how I couldn't even force myself to even look at my research and how for the last two months, I haven't even glanced at it, preferring to pretend its not there =(

And thats the biggest! What about the numerous small ones I've had?

..that once in a while, I feel as if I've also lost my passion in teaching? Sometime I go to classes with such a heavy heart, I amazed myself when I could go through the two-hour period of it. Luckily, this feeling doesn't come often.. but still, I'm scared that one day, I won't feel like teaching anymore.. when it was always something I wanted to do since I was a kid. Yeah! I know, most kids say they want to be a teacher just because that was what everyone else wanted (you know, the usual ambitions kids have like policeman, soldier, doctor and so on..) But I actually really wanted to be a teacher since I was a wee kid..

..that for the past two years, I've let myself believe that there might be life after IM, only to have my illusions shattered midway through the year. I've put my heart on my sleeve just to lose it once more and glued all the broken pieces of it, just to see it.. well, you get the picture.

..that I've always been a morning person before, but for this most part of this year, I no longer feel like wanting to go outta bed on most days. I've been like this before, years back when the problem with IM and Abah's new marriage had first surfaced but I managed to get back on my feet after a while and work on my MSc like there was no tomorrow.. but how come I can't seem to be able to do that now?

..that I've always believed in family ties but now.. err, lets not get to that!

..that I seem to also lose my passion in reading. Yes, I know I've bought books this year.. and a lot. But not so much compared to what I used to. And if before, I couldn't wait to finish all those written text, I now have books I've bought 5 months ago but haven't touched.. what has happened to me?!?

..that the money problems arising from the accident would never end! Okay la, I know la it would end, but I had the accident late August and now its very late December but still can't get my budget back together in one piece. I've always had problems from November and December due to the no class-no gaji policy but I usually barely make it by saving a bit each month and stretching my October pay. But after the accident which left me gaji-less for 2 months, and my October pay which I only got half than usual (coz dah abis exam and most students have stopped taking the class since we've already finished the syllabus), I've been feeling like sinking every now and then. Can't wait for the next pay which is mid-January BUT those will go to my 2-month-delayed rent, my barred phone bill, my road tax and car insurance.. aiyaaaa~~

..that I'll once again make the mistake of thinking that all teachers are good, kind-hearted, fatherly bla.. bla.. blaa.. Ok, I personally think that teachers are one of the best people around, but as you know the Malay saying about the setandan pisang mesti ade yg busuk (Hahah.. tetibe malu sbb tak ingt the actual saying =p) I'm still full with hatred whenever I see that particular teacher (as well as the Teacher From Hell I've always had problems with) and I'm always terrified whenever I see him from afar. Though he's stopped trying to call me or sms me, maybe due to the harsh sms I sent him the last time, but he still stalks my class and all that. Grrrr! But I really but I can't help feeling, did I ever do anything to make him think I was that kinda person?! I mean, I'm very sure I treat all male teachers the same way and especially yg tua² la to me are more like ayah². I really don't know =(

Gosh! Reading all those makes me feel so pathetic.. aiyooo~~

Well.. I guess, 2011 hasn't been a good year to me.. or rather, I'm not making any good outta the 365 days Allah gave me for it.

I really hope for a better 2012. That there'd be more ups than downs as opposed to what it feels like this year.. and of course, I wish all that too for my family and all my friends who've been with me through thick and thin.

So I hereby wish..

"Good riddance to you 2011. May I never see you (or rather the likes of you) ever again. As for 2012, let's have a good start and an even greater ending with great big and small moments in between, eh!"

Ok.. confirm! Hahah..

2011-12-26T03:07:00.000+08:00

Was about to swith of the computer when I came across this in Fb.. and laughed out loud! Seryes kah ni?!?! Patut la bile tension je, sy potong rambut heheh.. and just so you know, sy ni jarang tau potong rambut. But when I think about it, the last few times I cut it off, mesti mase tu tgh serabut. And I thot I was weird.. rupenye, ramai je heheh..

P/S And menyesal till now coz I DON'T LIKE SHORT HAIR.. rimas! Rambut, sile la panjang balikkkk.. =(

When your girlfriend or wife, who has had long hair since you’ve known her, suddenly decides one day that a nice shoulder length bob would flatter her more, or worse, comes home out of the blue one day with all her hair hacked off, look out. This is probably around the time she’ll stop having sex with you, and probably around the time she’ll start mentioning breaking up, or divorce. At the very least, you should understand that she is going through something very emotional, very unpleasant, and more than likely, something very much related to you.

Because hair, for almost every woman, represents femininity and beauty, and sometimes, therefore, what she thinks of herself.

A woman’s emotions are more closely linked to her hair than to any other part of her.

The Pie Entry

2011-12-22T21:14:00.001+08:00

I'd actually done this in May this year and had excitedly taken pictures of the process doing something I haven't done in years. However, the excitement disappeared the very next day when my world suddenly felt like crashing down (Yup! Thats the drama queen in me speaking!).. and continued to deteriorate, making me do things I wish I hadn't done (like cutting my hair too short for my liking)

Well, today is actually one of those days that remind me of what had happened (indirectly la kot.. ke bleh categorize as directly ye?) that has somehow changed my December and though, yes, I'm still upset and feeling like its a bit worse today, I decided to just write about this anyway.

So here's the chicken pie I did those months back.. and I'm actually thinking of making another one since Puga is now no longer a vegetarian after 'membayar her nazar' for the past 9 years ☺

Actually, I'd already bought the pie tins last year but never had the time to really sit down and make a proper pie since I'm the type who likes to make it from scratch, pastry and all. Somehow, I found the time to make it one day.. and to my delight, even all the ingredients were readily available in the kitchen so there was no reason for me to NOT do it kan?

First I made the filling. I just sauteed some onions and then used cut-up chicken thighs I had initially bought for some laksa Sarawak, Shiitake mushrooms, boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables. I seasoned it a bit with some odds and ends I found in the kitchen (mcm menakutkan la pulak bile ckp camtu.. like just mix in ANYTHING I find la plak kan hehe..)..

Then I made the short crust pastry I used to do when I was smaller. Still had to recheck the recipe for the measurement of the ingredients la kan sbb dah ala² lupe skit. I found that I still enjoy making the dough.. its kinda therapeutic, if you know what I mean. Then I rolled it our and 'moulded' it into the pie tin without greasing coz the pastry pun dah kinda ok kan ☺

Ok, I prefer baking the bottom part of the pastry first as my pies usually turn out a bit too 'soft' and oily if I just bake it with the filling trus (though I've seen people bake trus and giler cantik je jadinye.. magic!) so I weighed it down with some kacang hijau. Wanted to find the heavier red beans tp kedai sini takde jual la pulak.

After baking for 15 minutes camtu, I took out the pie tin and used a spoon to scoop out the hot beans. Beans tu memang tak bleh gune dah, even for bubur so I kept it for later use.. kot la nak buat pie lagi kan <--macam rajin!

Then you just isi the filling made earlier ☺

And the next part is the one I don't really like, covering the pie. My problem is, my trimmings mmg tak cantik hahaha.. I just press the pastry together je. When I was smaller, I used to be a bit more rajin. you know, making the trimmings cantik skit. Like covering with plaits ke, the jambul² thingey ke ape ke.. tp beso² ni mcm sgt malas kot.

Then, after the second baking.. tadaaaa~~

Ok la.. Not really the yummiest pie on earth, tp boleh la nak makan and habiskan dengan senang hati.

(Err, ok la, tipu.. sebenonye dah anto ke org sbb tau tak larat nak abiskan sensorg kaaann hehe..)

P/S
Damn.. still feeling upset balik.. haiyaaaa~~

Like I said..

2011-12-22T00:54:00.000+08:00

..its different already..

The Bookworm strikes again..?!?

2011-12-21T12:09:00.085+08:00

This is a 'basi' kinda entry which I just realized I hadn't updated (as with a few more I just noticed haha.. ape ni Ayu, kate blog ni memoir utk diri sendiri tp cemmane nak ingat sumer bende klau tak mo update blog?!)

Well, a few months ago, when my cousin Dayang got married in Klang, me and Mama along with Iskandar went there la, of course. Usually, I wouldn't have the time to go to kenduris during the school term as I had my 'everyday-except-Sundays classes'. However, due to the accident, I was carless, thus classless and with free time on my hand so when Mama asked if I wanted to go, musti la sy mau ikut!

The kenduri was a blast with almost the whole extended family there (except for Ayah Yeop and Mak Yong). Even my nephews and nieces were all there (except anak Abg Lan la whom would've come klau ade Ayah Yeop ☺) and we had a good time especially when my cousins bullied the DJ towards the end of the kenduri. That night pun we cousins went to Wan Diah's to help with the clean-up and we still had a good time being a family.

The next day, we went to meet Adi and Ana at AmCorp Mall to give them some things (the wedding cake and extra goodies courtesy of Wan Diah and Dayang) and Izati introduced me to BookXcess. In Penang, we only have Popular and what-la-the-name-of-that-bookstore-in-QB? I'm sure we don't even have MPH, though once upon a time ago, we DID have Times and Arthurs Bookstore. Well, this one for the commercial bookstores la, second hand bookstore dah ade yg I baru kenal, courtesy of Shahnaz, the night after the Hard Rock Hotel stay I wrote about months ago *Thanx Shahnaz*

Anyway, my first impression was.. well, I was actually speechless!

True, it wasn't THAT big, but it was full of books. However, it wasn't the number of books that rendered me speechles, it was the PRICES! Giler murah ok.. I could go all crazy in here if I only had the money hahah..

And dalam takde duit tu, I still managed to grab these books..

..with prices are as can be seen. Giler murah kan.. and 3 of those were hardcovers!

There were many more books that I wanted tp my purse gave me a warning by showing how 'slim' it is! Hehe..

Anyway, another unique thing was the receipts. I was confused on why my purchase had this very long recepit. Perli ka? I only bought 5 books (the last book mntk tlg Adi byr kt kaunter coz I was embarrassed to go sekali lagi kat counter) but the recepit was like I had bought so much more.

To my pleasant surprise, the bottom part of the recepit were actually stories/poems sent by people. I was impressed..

..so a few weeks later, after a bout of amnesia, I decided to open the website and send my own entry, just for the sake of sending je pun. Didn't expect anything coz it wasn't anything I had written after deep thought ke ape ke, just something I had thought of outta the blue last year after yet another bout of amnesia and self-pity.

Imagine my surprise and excitement when a few weeks after that, I received an email saying my entry was among the top 4 for that round of selection. Yippie!!! I wrote about it here while the entry I sent can be found here.

And since I was having a hard time then, this small piece of good news felt like the news of the century to me.. and I was smiling like crazy while telling my Adi and Izati about it hehe..

I wasn't sure I could go pick up the prize though but as luck had it, Dr Mail asked if I'd go to the exhibition in KL. Still ,then pun I wasn't expecting much since we were busy but on the last night, Rashid took us there. I was a bit afraid since I hadn't bought the printed email along as I thought we'd be busy doing something else then but they askled for my IC, and voila, the next minute, the envelope containing my prize was in my hand.

True, the prize was only an RM20 book voucher but at BookXcess, that could mean TWO books.. or 10 children books which I regretfully only found after I'd already paid. Hey, they were the Mr Men books, my favourite when I was small tau! Heheh..

Ohh.. I also received a BookXcess bookmark along with this weaved boomark using Pandan leaves <-- Ok, sini sy wat pandai, mentang² la dia tulis Pandanus. The more logical side of me is saying its like daun mengkuang or something sturdier like that. And this was what I got..

Hmm.. So I admit, I was going for quantity here rather than quality kot but in my defense, my current favourite authors books were either out of stock or unavailable (Ohh.. where art thou, Jodi Picoult?) or I already had them. I don't normally go for Ms Steels books (and I now have a stronger reason why since I only kinda like ONE of those two books) ad the ONLY book she had I liked is Johnny Angel, buku dia paling nipis kot. Her other books seem to run around the same issue of org² kaya ditimpa masalah.. kinda like Malay soap operas actually.. oppsss.. I found that The Wedding was also like that I couldn't wait to finish it.. But The Ghost was quite okay la.. <--Hmm, why la both of her books yg I find ok mesti libatkan hantu?!?!

So there, at least ujung² tahun ni, I have something to be happy about, kan ☺

P/S
Ohh.. almost forgot! The adik who was manning the counter, when she noticed me using the voucher, she asked, "Ni Ayu Ikhwani kan?" (Okay, I know la, not my actual name pun) Well, NOT because I'm now a famous author ke ape ke.. but because I was the only Malay yg got the prize haha.. know what she did for me? She kindly made sure that on my receipt was my entry (normally you get them randomly je). Yeay! Mesti la sy nak tp mesti la malu nak saje² mntk kan.. so thanx you adik jage counter BookXcees heheh..

And from my oven, came this..

2011-12-19T01:41:00.083+08:00

So there I was on a cold Sunday afternoon, not knowing what to do (not that I didn't have anything to do since dah bape minggu tak sentuh research.. erkkk!)

I was pacing around the house when I realized, I haven't baked for a while. But baking cakes or cookies was a big no-no for me since I never really liked sweet things (except la anything chocolatey) THAT much. I started rummaging through the fridge and cabinets to find whatever ingredients I had in hand and suddenly remembered something.

When I was smaller, Mama used to make scones for breakfast during the weekends. I remember how simple it was and how I loved putting butter on the ones right outta the oven, just to see it melt. Then, I loved jam but for me, scones were best with butter.. especially when hot.

Actually, what triggered this memory was when someone uploaded a picture of scones kot on FB.. or something like that. Besides that, a few years ago we went to Camerom with some of the staff. We had gone to this tea garden where they sold scones like 2 pieces kot camtu, with jam and cream. Guess the price? Dlm RM10 kooooottt..

I was like, ridiculous! Dulu my mum buat cam setengah jam je before breakfast and I KNOW the ingredients cam plain flour, sugar, milk and eggs je kot camtu. Not anything fancy pun nak buh harge mahal cenggitu.

Anyway, back to the present day. I realized I had enough ingredients to make some (and the last time I ate them was like 14 years ago kot?!?!). Ok².. ngaku la, had to check the recipe jugak la since I don't really have THAT good a memory la kan =p

Sure enough, it took tak sampai 15 minutes to mix up the err, dough?!?! I made only half the recipe since I live alone. Kang sape nak abiskan? So I got this much la..

Then I used my fondant cutter to get same-sized bits (Klau Mama yg buat, dia bulat² pakai tgn je.. anak dia tak terre, ok!)

Err.. excuse the messy milk+egg glaze. Dah lame tak glaze bende ni and sgt la the very comot one hehe..

Baking took about another 15 minutes or so and I took the opportunity to make some tea. Mase ni dah perasan of having a very English kinda afternoon tea, indeed, complete with some Earl Grey hehe..

..and tadaaa~~

Ok la, I admit. Giler kene kemas my dining table la kan (sblm tu was full with my books) sbb nak amik gambo nye pasal..

..and yes! I was back to being a child again while I watched the butter melting on my hot scones while savouring the taste of it..

..and I was brought back to reality on why I never attempted to make scones before!

I.DON'T.LIKE.THEM!

I don't hate them la, tapi! When Mama made them, of course la I'd eat them. But unlike my siblings who liked them and who'd finish them while they were still hot, I'd eat only ONE piece, then go to the kitchen to find my trustworthy slice of bread.. boley?

I preferred it when Mama made sausage rolls.. or even the simple ol' french toast actually. Scones were never really my thing. That explains why, while some friends took the opportunity to eat the scones in Cameron the other day, I just didn't seem to mind.. except for the ridiculous price la yg they put!

And thats what happened that afternoon, I only ate ONE! Tp teh nye minum bercawan. Haiyaaaa.. yg lebih tu, sape nak makan?

P/S
That night, decided to eat some for dinner and while we never did this back then, I decided to try scones with cheese+tomatoes and some chicken slices. Kunun wanted to make it 'heavy' enough for dinner and here's the result..

Still, after that, there were still 13 pieces lagik!! Huwaaa.. seryes had to eat it for the whole week pastu tau and only finished the last piece 2 days ago.. aiyooo~~

A Dream and a Song.. related kah?

2011-12-09T23:34:00.001+08:00

I had a strange dream last night.. well, as strange as normal dreams go lah. You know how it is.. you start in one place, end up in another. Start with some people and end up with different ones. Well, that was how it started with mine.. and yeah, it was blurry around the edges, as it normally is jugak.

However, as the meaningless dream went along with me transported here and there, I finally found myself in a hall(?) with some students(?) and my friend, Mak Su. We were commenting on this weird food spread that consists of giant cream biscuits(?) and shredded roti canai(?) in plates smaller than a teacup saucer. Then we wanted to perform our Asar(?) prayers so we headed to the toilet but somehow I ended in the gents instead of the ladies.

It was a blur after that but when it came back in focus, I was in the correct(?) place to take my wudhu' along with Mak Su beside me. As she laughed at me and commented on why I was still wearing my name tag (a habit I could never shake off in real life), we suddenly realized the place to take the wudhu' was unisex. I was suddenly wearing a tudung labuh, not unlike the ones I wore at AlMashoor dulu, while trying to take the wudhu' without taking off my hijab (as what we sometimes did in the hostel once).

As I finished, I felt somebody tap my shoulder so I rearranged my hijab neatly and turned around..

..only to find myself face to face with IM!

He didn't seem suprised to see me though I felt, even in my dream, as if my heart had fallen from my chest. Its already 10.51pm now but I can still picture him as I saw in my dream in a red t-shirt (a colour he never wore except towards the end of his MSc after he had laughed at me for ONLY owning black t-shirts and I had retaliate by reminding him that he only owned black, white and grey t-shirts.. yeah²! I know! I'm boring when it came to colours!) When I continued to look at him in disbelief, Mak Su turned to say something to him and then I woke up.

And I was like, "What the.." (Ya, I know, we're supposed to say Alhamdulillah when we wake up as a thankful gesture that God has given us another day to live.. but I was too suprised.. a moment of weakness, perhaps?)

Throughout the day, I've been wondering, what on earth made me dream of him when I haven't even been thinking of him for a long time (except for a few weeks ago when I told my student a bit about him sbb kunun wanted to help him by sharing something with him.. huh! Teacher Ayu tertipu hahah..). In fact, I thought I was already thinking of someone else altogether but somehow, a distant memory must've snaked itself into my subconscious, making its way into my dreams last night and emerged as the image I saw in my dream.

Nway, I tried my best to ignore the question as I knew that dreams are usually forgotten. In fact, I've had dreams that seem so vivid when I just woke up that I could ponder upon it before forcing myself to jgn malas² lambatkan Subuh.. and around Zohor, I've already forgotten about it. But this one seemed to stubbornly engrave itself in my short-term memory.

However, just now, I was listening to some songs on the PC, but when this song came on, I suddenly understood why (maybe la) I dreamt of him last night..

Say Goodbye ~ Katharine McPhee

If I seem distant

Baby I am

Words are like scissors in your hands

And there’s no script to follow

So I just close my eyes

That way it won’t hurt so much

When we say goodbye

I feel just like an actress

Up on the stage

I can’t believe

What I’m hearing myself say

And the porch light is my spotlight

So I play along with this life

That way it won’t hurt so much

When we say goodbye

Did you ever love me?

Does it even matter?

Did you even notice the whole world shatter?

I just want to hold you ‘til you know I’m sorry

But I just keep it all inside

That way it won’t hurt so much

When we say goodbye

My heart feels like a circus

It’s too much to take in

It’s hard to lose love

But you were my best friend

So I walk this high wire

Alone….tonight

That way it won’t hurt so much

When we say goodbye

That way it won’t hurt so much

When we say goodbye

Actually, I heard this song on a CSI episode last week and just downloaded it coz I kinda like Katharine McPhee now. Hearing this song throughout the week, nothing actually came to mind but somehow today, I realized it has somehow attached itself to my brain.

(Okay then, this is, ignoring the fact that I have a student with the same name as IM, but spelt with an 'SY' instead of an 'SH'.. but I'm choosing to ignore that coz I've taught that boy for 3 weeks now, and if this boy was the reason for it, I'd've sure dreamt about it so much earlier, right?!)

And instead of feeling sadness, I found myself laughing out loud as I found it hilarious somehow.. apekah?

I mean.. what the hell?!?!

I just couldn't believe myself.. ade ke bleh camtu, Ayu oiii?!

I listened to it a few more time just to make sure, and sure enough, this time around, I got some ol' flashbacks.. like hell! Dah seminggu lebih dengar baru today it triggered something ke ape ke, I dunno.. but it felt stupid too.. =(

Okay, now I feel a bit funny pulak..

Nite²

Assalamualaikum

Activity Kutip-Mengutip~~

2011-12-06T11:13:00.082+08:00

When I was, ehem, younger, I actually loved going to exhibitions. To me, there was a lot you could learn and see and I'd almost look forward to it (tp senyap² je la sbb takut kene gelak ngan kengkawan yg sentiase rase exhibition tu boring hehe..)

However, as I turn 3216 (again?), I find the interest I once had, deteriorate to an alarming rate. Maybe because I've been to one too many exhibitions or maybe because most exhibitions I go now are usually the same thing over and over again.

So how to keep the interest at bay?!

By activity kutip mengutip lahhhh hehe..

See what I 'kutip' on the Hari UNESCO Malaysia held on the 18th~19th November recently (Okay, I know la not-so-recent.. I'm trying to spring-clean my blog here from the dust gathering in it.. so just amuse me by pretending its VERY recent!)

Gile bnyk kan?! Hehe..

I actually got more than what I've put here, for example, the black non-woven bag tu, we got around 4 each kot (2 on the first day and another 2 on the second day.. boley?) but I'd given some of these giveaways to some friends.. these are the ones I'm keeping.. at least for now la, unless nnt rase nak bg kat sesape.

And yes, we DID get an umbrella from the South-South Information Gateway booth.. umbrella?!?! 1st time kot dpt umbrella..

This booth actually gave us the most kot. The mug is also from their booth. We got a pen and note book too along with a keychain and cardholder! Gile kan! When we first realized that booth was giving out so much (one pakcik opened his goody bag in front of us and showed us..) terus je sy and Arep bergegas ke arah booth itu wpun mulenye rase boring nak round² sbb dah 2nd day kan.. Yeah! I know, buruk perangai hahahah..

The 2 giveaways with the white Hari UNESCO sticker was actually prizes for a quiz they had held. One for each day. At first I didn't wanna answer those questions (refer to second paragraph), but when I noticed Yun actually looking for the answers, it felt mcm bes la pulak nak gi carik jawapan haha.. boley? When Nana and Aisyah (Dr Ismail's daughters) saw what we got for the quiz, they wanted one too so I had to help them find the answers which unfortunately wasn't the same set as we had received earlier.. still, they got what they wanted too! Suke je budak 2 org tu ☺

Ohh, the highlighter pun I got two. One mase looking around other booths with Tiqah and the other one mase helping Nana and Aisyah find the answers.. I also got a note book from the same booth, much to Nana's displeasure sbb dia pun nak jugak tp tinggal satu je hehe.. In the end, I got around 5 notebooks kot?!?

The pens were more than those 5 tp sbb dah bg org kan ☺ And paper bags tu tak yah cakap la kan. Also a fridge magnet, some sturdy files I could use, a postcard, some bookmarks laminated with some botanical species from Tasik Chini

And this was only mine, tak kire lagi org lain punye. There were 7 of us kot (me, Rashid, Yun, Tiqah, Son Min, Arif and Azam) and all of us got around the same things each. 1st day of exhibition was at DBP. Pergi kete separa penuh, balik the car was ful with these goody bags je. Same with 2nd day (at Central Market plak), balik tu penuh je with goody bags..

Hehe.. and I actually find it kinda fun! Now I know what to do lain kali pergi exhibition ☺ ☻ ☺

P/S Okay, maybe kot I'm the one yg pelik sbb sblm ni tak penah pun wat keje camni so let me be 'perak' for a while, k

This December is different..

2011-12-05T08:07:00.002+08:00

..yeah! It's certainly gonna be that way..

...

2011-12-04T01:43:00.002+08:00

A birthday wish.. belated one, that is!

2011-11-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

This is a very late entry, if you ask me. Its to compensate on a late birthday wish to a dear ol' friend of mine..

..and by ol', I actually MEAN old! Hahaha..

Ok.. sgt tak sedar diri memandangkan I'm 8 months older than her hehe..

Sowi Baiii.. You know kan I've NEVER forgotten your birthday.. always nak lawan with Amin sape wish you first. This year of course la I remembered (tho admittedly, awal bulan aritu had to recheck the exact date sbb takut salah) and of course la I wanted to beat Amin to it but my phone was barred.. uwaaaaa~~

Seryes rase tak sedap duduk coz not only can't I use my phone, I was outta internet access so couldn't wish you online jugak. Only arrived home around Maghrib and wrote on your FB was ASAP wpun I knew I was among the last to wish.. Sorry sgt!

But I have to admit how much you made me smile with your text to me about 'waiting' hahahah.. Its things like this that make me NOT wanna forget your birthday tauuuu.. coz I know you appreciate it!

Nway, I found this on FB just now..

..and it reminded me of her so I decided to use it as a tribute to her belated birthday wish ni.

When I was in form 2, Abah was in the PTA committee and as usual, he'd take over the motivational programmes for the exam classes. Being in form 2 meant I still had a year before my PMR but Abah being Abah, forced me to join my seniors in those programmes.

It terrified me as I wasn't exactly someone everyone knew in school.. kang ade yg pandang serong je tgk budak form 2 dlm program tu kan? Besides that, I was a bit too shy and timid so I was dreading the weekend, knowing I'd be all alone.

I told Baizurah about it and was almost in tears as I talked to her. You see, the week before was the first part of the program and I had a bad experience with a senior who wanted to take me under her wing and treated me like a pet.. err, in a way an all-girls school could do and I didn't like it coz after that the senior kept pestering me to be her pet sister and all that. I was horrified! Baizurah just sat there, listened and sympathized but it made me feel better..

..and she surprised me by appearing in the program that weekend!

Only God knew how relieved I was to see her smiling face amidst the (frightening.. er, at least then la!) seniors!

And she sat with me throughout the whole weekend so I wasn't alone (or avoiding that certain senior).. yeay! Made me love her even more!

So here's to one of the special friends whom you can leave for so long (form 4 till after we got our degrees kottt) but pick up right where you left once you meet them again!

Happy birthday, Sentot! <--Jgn harap la sy nak benti panggil awak camtu =p

P/S
In accordance to my chubbiness, I hereby announce that I'm officially cuter than you!

Alkisahnye..

2011-11-12T20:24:00.048+08:00

Tersebut kisah seorg cikgu (emphasize on the 'CIK')

Ok laa.. tuko..

Tersebut kisah seorg pendita yang telah setahun menjadi guru pada sekumpulan anak muda yang ingin belajar dan memahirkan diri dalam bidang kira². Setelah tamat pertapaan mereka, mereka bersedia untuk meniggalkan si pendita demi mengejar cita² masing².. akan tetapi, si pendita menghalang mereka untuk sehari lagi, demi memantapkan lagi pertapaan anak² muda tersebut bagi sehari lagi..

Pertapaan terakhir ditentukan pada masa matahari tepat di atas kepala di suatu hari Sabtu yang indah dan permai..

Pagi itu, pendita itu berase sgt letih kerana semalaman tidak dpt tidur. Maka, selepas solat Subuh, si pendita memutuskan untuk menyambung tidur agak tidak terleka semasa pertapaan terakhir bersama anak² guruannya. Namun begitu, tengiang² suara si cilik Nadhirah yang inginkan manisan hasil tangan gurunya buat kali terakhir.

Antara 2 pilihan.. menyambung tidur yg tidak cukup.. atau membuat manisan tersebut dan berharap agak tidak leka dan mengantuk semasa pertapaan?!

Akhirnya si pendita memilih untuk membuat manisannya itu (sambil minum Nescafe bnyk² dan berharap agar tak mengantuk nnt)

Setelah manisannya siap, si pendita bersiap sedia untuk ke kelas. Segala persediaan untuk pertapaan terakhir ini telah dibuat beberapa hari sblmnya dgn harapan ianya dpt memantapkan lagi pemahaman para anak didik nya. Si pendita agak terleka semasa sedang bersiap dan menyedari yg beliau akan terlewat untuk bertemu anak² didiknya, lantas beliau berkejar untuk ke sana..

Malangnya, apabila sampai di tempat pertapaan, si pendita mendapati, tidak ade sorg pun anak didiknya yang ada di situ wpun beliau sendiri telah terlewat sampai.

Sedih bercampur kesal timbul di hati si pendita terutama bila mengenangkan pertapaan terakhir itu adalah hadiah buat anak didiknya, selain dari manisan yang dibuatnya di awal pagi itu..

Dengna langkah lemah, si pendita menuju ke tempat pertapaan dengan harapan terdapat tanda² menunjukkan adanya anak didiknya yang datang. Tiba²..

"Kak Ayu, kelas kak Ayu puluk 12.00 la.. sekarang baru 11.00 lebih.. awat kak Ayu mai awal ni?"

Opppssss..

Heheh.. malu I!!

In the (E)mail today..

2011-11-11T20:13:00.000+08:00

Hi Ayu Ikhwani,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Your receipt story (I wish..) has been selected to be published in BookXcess cash sales receipts. It will be printed on our receipts from 12^th November 2011 until 4^th December 2011. On top of that, you also received RM 20 voucher (valid until 31^st December 2011), Pandanus bookmark and BookXcess Bookmark as a token of appreciation. There are 4 winning entries from our 24th round of selection and your story will be printed on our receipts randomly throughout the period as mentioned earlier.

Kindly reply this email with your particulars (Story title, Full Name, I.C Number and Phone number) for our reference within 3 days starting from 12^th November 2011 until 14^th November 2011. The prize will be invalid for redemption if we do not receive your verification via email together with your details.

The voucher can be redeemed from 15^th November 2011 until 4^th December 2011 at the BookXcess Customer Service counter by presenting a printout of this email and your I.C for verification.

Thank you.

--
Regards,
The BookXcess Team
L3-60 Amcorp Mall
18 Persiaran Barat
46050 Petaling Jaya
Selangor.
79560455
http://www.bookxcess.com
http://www.bookxcessblog.com
http://twitter.com/bookxcess
http://www.facebook.com/BookXcess

Stumbled upon this.. err, a few weeks ago..

2011-11-09T00:52:00.000+08:00

..and I wanna share it here! ♥

*Okay.. this is a 'main tipu' entry coz my blog dah lame without a new entry hehe..*

Di suatu malam yang tak berape sepi..

2011-10-27T03:34:00.000+08:00

..seorang gadis (Err.. klau umoq dah cam ni, bleh kate gadis ke? Hahaha..) sedang duduk dihadapan PC sambil cube membuat keje tertangguh.

Sudah la PhDnye tidak disentuh mahupun dipandang sejak 2-3 minggu kebelakangan ini (mati la ngan PF ni nnt weihhhhh..), keje yg senang-patut-5-minit-dah-siap pun dia blum start buat lagi..

..apehal ni, Ayu?!?!

Hahah..

Ok, mlm ni I only need to

1. REPRINT.. I repeat, REPRINT (bkn kene buat balik pun) the checklist to hand to the students on Friday

2. Make a list of numbers to call for emergency (yg all numbers already in my phone, tinggal nak list je pun)

3. Cari nama for the groups.. cari name je punnnnnnnnnnn.. haiyaaa~~

Was planning to tido awal so bleh bgn awal tomorrow to do these sblm bersiap gi sch, pick up bende² photostat kat Pekaka and finish everything 'sebelum pukul 3'.. tp klau 3.29am pun lum tido, how? Jgn I tak bgn trus esok, sudah la.. nangis kang klau sy sorg je yg lambat.. malu tatau nak letak muke kat ne kooottt..

♪ Lalalalaaa.. ♫ Dok dgr lagu oldies sambil tak bukak any document punnnn ♪

Ok.. nak sambung wat keje.. kunun!

Pantun tak romantik.. tp pada sy, chumel! ☺

2011-10-14T15:24:00.000+08:00

Beberapa minggu yang lalu, semasa masih dalam cuti semester dan adik sy, Izati, yang berada di rumah telah menjumpai satu pantun yang pernah sy berikan kepadanya. Pantun ini sebenarnya adalah hasil nukilan kawan sy, Dian dan pada waktu itu, ianya telah mencetuskan penjualan dan belian pantun di laman FB sy beserta YM sy. Sy pernah menulis mengenainya di sini

Rupanya, tindakan adik sy berkongsi semula pantun itu di laman FB nya turut disedari oleh kawan kepada Ikram (juga adik sy) iaitu Sofi (yg sy rasa seperti adik sy juga kerana sentiasa berada dirumah sy tiap kali Ikram pulang hehe..) dan bermulalah jualan dan belian pantun antara adik sy berdua ini.

Bermula dengan pantun indah dari Dian itu:

Sireh ada, pinang pun ada,
Sajalah saya tak letak di tepak,
Kasih ada, sayang pun ada,
Sajalah saya tak beri nampak

Dan dibalas oleh Sofi seperti ini:

Pi The Mines nak tgk wayang,
Bajet nak tgk cite benggali,
Walo x nmpk kasih dan sayang,
Kalo aku dah suka apa pun aku tak pduli

Dan ya, wpun pantun ini menggunakan bahasa pasar, tetapi pada sy, ia nya sgt chumel. Maka, sy telah kumpulkan pantun² dari adik sy berdua ini untuk dikongsi di sini..

Izati: Buah pisang dibuat pengat,
Buah betik jgn plak wat kari,
Kalo sayang jgn gelojoh sangat,
Takut satgi awek tu lari

Sofi : Kaki ayam sepak bola
Kaki minum tak cukup sejaq
Nak lari, lari la
Nnt kita bleh men kejaq2

Izati: Barang lepas usah dikenang,
Kain buruk buat lap lantai,
Tau la dok kat Pulau Pinang,
Nak wat crita hindi lari tepi pantai??

Sofi: Tepi pantai dok santai
Skali kentut bunyi puuuuuuuuuut
Kalo xmo atas pntai
Jom berguling2 atas rumput

Izati: Lawat zoo tgk tenggiling,
Sambil pakai jeans lusuh,
Dok sronok sgt bguling2,
Satgi baju kotoq sapa la nak basuh

Sofi: 2 3 kerbau meracau
Mana nak sama meracau kuda
Baju kotoq xyah risau..
Pencuci bau dynamo kan ada.

Ini pula pantun sy kepada kawan sy Baizurah apabila beliau mengekpresikan kekaguman beliau atas pantun pertama yang disangkakan karya sy =p

Bkn sy yang tanam kacang
Sy lebih suke mkn sayur
Bkn sy tak pandai berjiwang
Tp sy perlu control macho

Dan di jawab oleh Izati haha..

Petang2 goreng cucur,
Cucur dipos berkotak-kotak,
Kalo betul nak control macho,
Nape menjerit bile tgk katak??

Rambut Mek Maggi berketak²
Dibuat rebonding, jadi spaghetti
Bkn sy yg takut katak
Itu keje cik Ayu Ikhwani

Cantik berseri si mawar merah
Menambahkan manis si anak dara
Tidak lah sy pandai bermadah
Sekadar menghibur hari yang lara

Sesiapa ada pantun lagi untuk sy kongsikan?

P/S Izati dan Sofi bkn lah merupakan satu pasangan, harap maklum! Diorg ni mmg suka 'gaduh' je hehe..

Grr.. nak marah pun ade!! Sabo je lah..

2011-10-13T18:24:00.000+08:00

I've had my car back with me for more than 2 weeks now.. sepatutnye they (the workshop) had made sure everything was okay la kan.. sepatutnye.. *sigh*

My first impression when I got my car back was: Bisingnye engine dia skrg..

..which I ignored sbb ingt kot dia tuko bnyk sgt bende kan due to the accident. Ye la, the supervisor in-charge had assured me a few days earlier that my car was ready and they only had to make a THOROUGH INSPECTION to makes they had not made any mistakes.

Sungguh naif diriku ini..

Endured the noisy engine which made me cringe sbb rase cam satu taman leh dgr.. okay lagi..

Then a week after, I noticed that whenever I made a turn, there was a noise. Sheesh.. remembered when I once had this problem and they had to change the drive shaft(?) ka apa ka.. cost me RM400++ kot klau tak silap. Tp dlm hati, takkan aritu diorg tak tuko kot?!?!

I had planned to go and check with them but was told by some friends that some workshops have this 'warranty period' (usually 1 week) and since I only noticed this around 10 days after I got my car, I might have to pay for whatever it is they might do to my car.. sheesh! Dah la takde gaji niiiiiii.. bongok laaaa

Tawwakal je laaa..

Then on Tuesday, had to go to kak Nab's house for some briefing on the program we're having at the end of this month. Mule tu ok je, but when I started speeding on the highway, that was this queer noise coming from my left front tyre.. the same one that was bashed in the accident.. ohhh, apekah ini?

Me and Yun tried to see if there was anything (visibly) wrong but couldn't find anything. When we continued our journey, the noise became louder and stranger everytime I speeded that in the end, I drove only 80km/hr on the highway.. agak sabar la jugak kan sy nak bwk slow gitu kat highway hahah..

Then, rezeki turun dari langit.. I had not expected any gaji for this month as I had missed my classes for 2 months (first month due to Ramadhan.. the second due to no car after the accident) but I got a call from the tuition centre saying they had a cheque for me. I'm guessing my students who hadn't paid in the last few months hgad finally manage to pay.. yeay!

Still, I was only expecting around 200~300 only as yg berhutang pun ade la dlm 10~15 org je kot but I got a mild suprise when I saw a cheque for RM700++.. okay, sy tau tak la bnyk mane, but since I wasn't expecting ANYTHING, sgt la terase mcm suke. Mau pulak, I was worried about the condition of my car and really wanted to check it, just in case lambat² kang lagi teruk and my kete kene tahan workshop lagi.. which would lead to me missing my classes again and no gaji gaian plak kang next month klau camtu..

This time I went to my usual mechanic and he showed me the problem.. ok, boleh tak nak marah, my tyre was like hanging by a thread (okay, I'm exagerrating!). Sib baik tak jadi ape² mase going to and from kat Seberang Jaya smlm tu.. and the total cost? RM450.. huwaaaaa~~

So sile kire brape je balance dpt kat sy.. sewa rumah pun tak lepas ni..

Macam sedih tak rase?

My usual mechanic told me to file a report to my insurance company about what the previous workshop had done. He even kept the spare part buruk giler they had used on my car.. tatau la, ade gak perasaan nak buat smlm tp bese la Ayu, malas mengatasi segalenye..

Haishhhh..

On the bright side, tu pun nasib baik ade students byr utang kan.. so AT LEAST I have a bit of money to stretch around. Ce klau tadek langsung, mane nak cari duit byr mechanic smlm?!? Or worse, if I didn't go check my car and something bad happened while I was driving.. naudzubillah!

Anyway: Sesape ade keje kosong yg temporary punye dak?!?!

Then..

2011-10-09T00:11:00.000+08:00

IM: Tadi mase sy nye turn, awak tepuk tangan tak untuk sy?

SG: *laughing* Mane ade.. Kiri kanan sy org yg sy tak kenal. Segan la pulak nnt diorg heran tgk sy tetibe je tepuk tangan kan..

IM: *diam*

SG: Kenape?

IM: Hmm.. Tadi mase awak naik, sy rase sy yang tepuk paling kuat kot. Sy nmpk awak dah beratur nak naik, sy siap pakse Din tepuk untuk awak sekali..

SG: *rase bersalah tp nak kaver* Hahah.. abis la Din heran, ape ke he plak dia kene tepuk tgn kat sy..

IM: Sebab awak yg naik..

SG: *diam n sumpah diri sendiri kenape jujur sgt*

IM: *diam jugak*

SG: *semakin diam*

IM: Jadi.. awak memang tak tepuk tgn la untuk sy mase turn sy eh?

SG: Err..

.
.

Damn kete selebah ni.. kantoi plak dok lap mata ni tadi! Siap dibukaknye tingkap plak tu. Buat tatau je, buat tatau.. Cepat la lampu ijau ni, lame sgt plak merah arini..

But just for the record, I'm sure she was proud of you too.. ='(

6th Challenge ~ A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere

2011-10-06T03:09:00.001+08:00

Since I haven't written much in my blog for the past week, thought I'd get this over with hahah <--tipu! sbnrnye sbb tadi wat 500MB boost on my broadband whic expires at 6.00 in the morning nnt so wanna finish it all up hehe..

6th Challenge ~ A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere

Actually, not really 'somewhere' as much as once upon a time ago. This song makes me think of all my girlfriends, but especially my AlMashoor friends (this is where the 'somewhere' pops up) Dunno la why.. but maybe sbb diorg ni lah yg ade di sisi sy at the time I was searching and trying to understand the real ME.

I actually once wrote about this song --> here

So cheers to all of you who have grown up with me and leart all about life together. Love you guys ~ ♥

This One's for The Girls ~ Martina McBride

This one's for all you girls about thirteen

High school canbe so rough, can be so mean

Hold onto, on to your innocence

Stand your ground when everyone's giving in

This one's for the girls

This is for all you girls about twenty-five

In a little apartment, just trying to get by

Living on, on dreams and spaghetti-o's

Wondering where you life is gonna go

This one's for the girls

Who've ever had a broken heart

Who've wished upon a shooting star

You're beautiful the way you are

This one's for the girls

Who love without holding back

Who dream with everything they have

All around the world

This one's for the girls

This is for all you girls about forty-two

Tossing pennies into the Fountain of Youth

Every laugh, laugh line on your face

Made you who you are today

This one's for the girls

Who've ever had a broken heart

Who've wished upon a shooting star

You're beautiful the way you are

This one's for the girls

Who love without holding back

Who dream with everything they have

All around the world

This one's for the girls

Yeah, we're all the same inside (same inside)

From 1 to 99

This one's for the girls

Who've ever had a broken heart

Who've wished upon a shooting star

You're beautiful the way you are

This one's for the girls

Who love without holding back

Who dream with everything they have

All around the world

This one's for the girls

Yeah, this one's for the girls

Welcome home, Precious! ♥

2011-09-27T00:01:00.017+08:00

..and finally: YOU'RE HOME!! ♥

Last Friday, I called the workshop regarding my car yang dah berminggu berjauhan dari diriku yang amat memerlukan ini <--Drama? I knowwww.. =p

I had actually called on Tuesday jugak and katenye sedang dlm bilik cat.. tp takkan la berhari nak dicatnye kan, thats why I called on Friday and was told that my car was ready. They only needed to do some testing to make sure they had done a thorough job..

..maka tersengih la sy full with anticipation that I'd get my car petang tu.

Alas.. itu hanye kate² manis Anuar si supervisor workshop itu coz sampai ke petang pun dia tak call suh amik kete.. kecewenye diriku, hanya Tuhan sahaje yang tahu.

The next day we had planned to go to Tepet's kenduri then head to Perlis so I didn't wanna call the workshop.. just in case they DEMAND I go and get my car jugak.. ye la, gatal sgt nak call kaaann heheh..

Ahad tu daku keboringan dirumah.. sambil kecewe tak dpt gi open house umah Hasrul jugek.

Thats why petang tadi I made my mind, nak call jugak².. and the receptionist told me she didn't know anything and could she call me back later..

..haiyaaaa~~

But then, around 4.00pm, she called me and gave me the sweetest news I heard in a long time..

YEAYYYYY!!!

Ape lagi, terus ku call Rashid mintak dia anto kak Ayu dia ke workshop to finally get my car back.. suke tau! And tak benti senyum ☺ ☺ ☺

So.. wpun sgt lah ingin ku mengomplen bahwa kete ku sgt lah bising enginenye sekarang (Seryes bising.. rase cam satu taman leh dengar tau!), but I'm happy. PFK is back with me and I'm no longer alone ☺

Welcome home!

I wish..

2011-09-15T00:32:00.000+08:00

I wish I could take a look into your heart..

..just to see who owns it

I wish I'd have a chance explore your mind..

..just to see who fills it

I wish I could take a peek into your soul..

..just to see who colours it

I wish I could take a stroll into your dreams..

..just to see who holds your hand through it

~ Ya Allah.. give me the strength to take care of my own heart ~

Sy bertuah sebab..

2011-09-09T15:48:00.000+08:00

I'm a perasan human being who always considers herself to be independant and strong.

A few years ago when someone tried to molest me through my bedroom window (my bed was right beside the window panes) when I was asleep at 3am, I was terrified at that time. Managed to hide into the middle room of my rented house here while calling 911 (Ehh.. Malaysia bukan 911 kan? Hehe..) I was trembling the whole time, through the time the police arrived and way into the morning as I couldn' sleep after that.. but 2 weeks later, I was again going to school tgh² mlm buta (this means 1~2am la kuar umah) when it suited me klau sy nak buat keje.. but of course la I lebih mengamalkan ayat² Al Quran people gave me to shield me from harm (instead of sebelum tu tidak le ngamalkan sgt)

Before that, when I was still drying my clothes outside, someone had come into the house compound while I was away and stole my undergarments.. all of them! Now, some people believe that that is quite dangerous, especially since I'm a girl coz people could do unimaginable things to them. I'm quite skeptical, but bende² ghaib ni kan mmg ade.. Instead of being afraid, I was pissed.

Well, maybe I wasn't afraid coz they were new undergarments, I had washed them after buying them so mmg tak sempat nak pakai and they say the chances of doing 'anything' to me through those were slim.. but it was also the same reason I was pissed. Oiii, girls nye undergarments mahal ok.. giler makan ratus jugak sumer yg dicuri tu. Marah giler sy, tak leh ke curi bende yg murah skit.. and mine plak is the boring type, takde kaler² provocative ok (I know, coz sales girls pun selalu malas nak layan sy after I tell them, "Sy tanak yg kaler²!" Boring, I know hahah..) So sambil sy mengangkut tempat sidai baju tu masuk ke dalam (I hung my cloths inside since then.. seb baik tgh rumah ni mmg ade tmpt for sidai-ing kain pun), sy menyumpah² je la dlm hati.. tidak la jugak sy berase risau ke ape.

And once my grill buat hal, tak boleh bukak. I had come back letih from my classes and mcm sgt geram je bile the grill was jammed. Didn't know what to do so I called around to ask but it was Friday night maaaa.. sumer org pun kuar kan. Last² I godek² my car for a screwdriver and dismantled it all. Esok tu went to go buy a new knob for the grill and tukar la sy bende tu sensorg. Was told by Ajha, "Camne org nak ngorat kak Ayu klau sumer bende pun nak buat sendiri? Takde sape leh jadik Knight in Shining Armour".. which was also echoed by my Umi hahah..

However, these past few days have left me feeling quite pathetic and loser-like.. not to mention, SGT tak independant.

First was the accident nye incident that left me quite shaken and now terkurung dlm umah..

Second, for the first time ever, this house experienced its first blocked toilet drain pipe.. okay, sblm ni penah la kot tp ni first since I stayed here for the last *gulp* 6 years?!?! Biar btul dah 6 tahun sy duk sini?!? I tried doing what Abah would have done but not one of my efforts were rewarded. In the end, I had to call a plumber.. huwaaaa, klau tau kat Abah, buat malu je sbb sy tak leh buat sendiri padahal bkn tak pernah tolong dia when it happened at our home in Penang.

Thirdly, this morning there was a storm in the Pt Buntar/Nibong Tebal area and this house was flooded.. seriusly! Mcm boleh berenang kot <--Ok, tu nmpk sgt la tipu tp rumah sy mmg berair yang style mengalir dari bilik sy kat depan tu saaaaaaaaaampai la ke toilet yg belakang tu.. and I couldn't do anything about it..

..mcm seriuosly feeling sorry bout myself la kan.. BUT..

I'm actually very lucky bile duduk² balik and pk (sambil melihat air yg masih blum berenti mengalir itu) Why?

Sy bertuah sebab.. mase accident tu, wpun sy sorg² and serius panik tatau nak buat ape, there was this Indian uncle yg sgt la baik hati who saw through the 'machoness' I tried to put on in front of the guy yg dok menyumpah seranah me. He told me he couldn't stay with me sbb dia nak balik, but he was there beside me right until kemunculan kak Ros kat Shell tu. Uncle tu tak kenal sy pun but he was very kind to tell off the guy bile laki tu melampau sgt marah kat sy.

Sy bertuah sebab.. tetibe ade kak Ros yang sblm ni sy tak pernah jumpe kat luar wpun kitorg both teach at Arun. And though kak Ros had to send her mother back home, she helped to drop me off at the police station to file a report.. klau tak, jenuh jugak sy tatau camne nak gi balai polis tu. Terpk nak jalan kaki je dah time tu.. N balai polis tu is like from AlMashoor gi One Stop.

Sy bertuah sebab.. ade Mat yg sudi bantu wpun klau nak ikutkan dia tak payah pun sbb sy bukannye rapat sgt ngan dia. Yun, Arep and Rashid had already gone home and I was feeling so lonely and alone. Tatau nak mntk tolong kat sape coz I had no one here but then teringat kat dia. And when the process went a bit longer that I had anticipated, I had told him takpe la coz I could probably take a cab. Mase tu dah nak buke sgt dah tu and I was feeling like a burden pun ye.. but he still came to help send me home, and even offered to take me to the bazaar since sy mmg tak sempat nak beli makan pun. A few days ago pun, dlm demam² tu still he called nak tanyekan if he could help with anything dan sy rase sgt malu ngan dia sbb dia tak penah pun mntk tolong kat sy.. thanx Mat! Akak bertuah ade kawan cam Mat ☺

Sy bertuah sebab.. the next day after the accident, dlm takde transport to go to the workshop to send my insurance policy, grant bagai, tetibe the 'adik' from the workshop contacted me to help send me there and send me back home.. mcm baik tak? Padahal ni langsung la, mmg tak pernah kenal pun.. and he didn't even grumble! Thanx Nathan

Sy bertuah sebab.. ade adik jiran seperti Rashid who sent me to the workshop after raya to send Abahs IC and license copy (the car is under his name) and to check on my car. Then Rashid took me to Econsave dgn cara paksa rela kot coz sy mcm segan nak mntk tolong kat org utk gi kedai beli brg umah kan. Dpt la jugak buy a few supplies for home yg usually I just go buy myself.

Sy bertuah sebab.. ade AREP! Thanx bwk akak tgk Smurfs hahah.. ok, ape kene ngene?! Tetibe dok berjimba laaa kann.. Sbbnye, bile sy takde kete, sy tak leh gi kelas. So mlm²ku sgt la sunyi dah bosan. Before this, since kelas je tiap mlm, tak boleh nak kuar lgsg pulak kan. Maka, Arep ngan baik hatinye menambahkan Statistic Tengok Wayang Kak Ayu 2011 demi merawat hatiku yg lara dan membuang segala habuk dan lumut yg tumbuh di badan akibat terperuk di rumah. Rasenye last tgk wayang tahun ni was for Merong Mahawangsa kot (tu pun tgk time pegi Pahang with Yun, Bani, Ashraf, Jaja, Rashid and Azam). Seb bek Merong Mahawangsa bes and lagu dia cam giler suke.. Ohhh, ailapyu Anuar Zain~~ Ooohh.. n jugak thanx sbb kasik akak can amik Papa Smurf utk Happy Meal aritu

Sy bertuah sebab.. awal bln aritu mase nak byr duit kut, kak Sue bgtau kat sy, I had 'over-paid'. See, gaji sy tak same ngan org len, diorg dpt ujung bln, I get mine around the 15th so in order to make sure I don't pay dgn lmbt, I had paid up a few months in advance. Therefore, di hujung cycle kut kitorg ni, they found out that sy telah lebih byr RM100.. yeay! And jugak, suddenly Dr Meor called and insisted to pay me for teaching his son last year (which awalnye I refused sbb sy ajo pun 2~3 kali je kot) but in the spirit of Ramadhan, Dr Meor still wanted to pay so ade la jugak duit lebih sy bulan ni skit --> which went to bayar plumber smlm (RM100) AND to help pay the accident summon (RM300) and insurance access (RM200). Tidak lupe jugak, setelah bertahun tak mntk duit kat my parents, Mama gave me RM50.. to help anak dia byr sumer² bende ni hahah.. adoiiii~~ Sy ni dah 31 16 dah tauuuuuu..

Sy jugak bertuah sebab.. tadi time husband and anak² kak Fauziah (my landlord) dtg to check on the damages, diorg dgn obviously la perasan takde kete so they asked. I didn't really wanna tell them tp sbb 3 beranak cam tunggu jwpn sy. Then, they seemed to be discussing something which mule tu I thought was pasal bumbung yg bocor ni la.. sekali diorg tanye, "Bole bawak motor tak?" Ohhh.. cam terharu tak? Seb bek la sy mmg tatau bwk moto, tp klau boleh pun, segan aiiiiiiiiihhh nak minjam motor nye.. I am so lucky to have them as my landlords. Lepas tu, diorg mmg offer la to send me anywhere klau I needed to go sbb anak dia 2 org tu tgh cuti kan (rasenye anak dia sbnrnye gian nak bwk kete jugak kot hahah..) Tetibe rase cam terkebil² tahan air mate hahah..

So kesimpulannye:
1. Sy ni ade buat dosa kat org kot yg sy tak sedar sbb bnyk sgt dugaan bln ni
2. Tp Tuhan still sayang kat sy sebab dia letakkan org² sgt baik wpun yg takde pertalian darah ngn sy disekeliling sy
3. Tak pun, dosa sy Tuhan nak hapuskan ngan cara bg dugaan bnyk² gini, kan?

Ape pun, I'm thankful, ya Allah ~ ♥

Ehh.. ok.. husband kak Fauziah udah sampai to try fix the roof so I gotto go.. Tp sempena Jumaat ni, I am thankful that I've suddnely realized how blessed I actually am throughout all of this. Moga mereka semua ni sentiasa dibawah lindungan rahmatNya.. dan yg non-Muslim pula diberi hidayah olehNya.

Sesuatu yang berkesan dalam hati sy..

2011-09-08T12:43:00.055+08:00

Actually, I found this in the last few days of Ramadhan. On my friends status in FB, tho samapi skrg, sy cam tak leh ingat status sape laaaa.. (Sorry!) Pada hamba Allah yang berkenaan tu, terima kasih sbb sudi share.

Maybe most of you guys pun dah come across bende ni tp sy share je lah ye. Its about bacaan semase duduk antara dua sujud.

Now, I'm not one of the best when it comes to solat but Alhamdulillah, I never intentionally tinggalkannye. BUT, solat sy pun tidak sempurna sgt lah, especially kalau nak cepat kan.. (Ye, wpun sedar, masih lagi dok buat kot, Ayu?!). And like most of you, since kite sumer tau ape maksud AlFatihah and how it is actually a form of doa (jugak la sbb itu rukun solat pun kan):

Show us the straight path [Tujukkanlah kami jalan yang lurus], The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.[(iaitu) jalan orang yang telah Engkau beri nikmat kepada mereka, bukan (jalan) mereka yang dimurkai dan bukan (pula jalan) mereka yang sesat.

..we would usually sangat la menjaga bacaan ni and won't recite it too fast, no matter how cepat we wanna be, kan.

One of the recitations yg I usually, dan dgn malunye mengaku, nak cepat je bace is the recitation during duduk antara dua sujud.. that was until I read what my friend (God bless her!) shared this on the FB status. She wrote about the meaning of the recitation..

..and MasyaAllah! Its a very beautiful yet simple doa (which I have always overlooked la kan due to my 'kejahilan')

Rabbighfirli..

Tuhanku, ampuni aku..

Warhamni..
Sayangi aku..

Wajburnii..
Tutuplah aib-aibku..

Warfa'nii..

Angkatlah darjatku..

Warzuqnii..

Berilah aku rezeki..

Wahdinii..

Berilah aku petunjuk..

Wa'Aafinii..

Sihatkan aku..

Wa'fuannii..

Maafkan aku..

It made me regret always rushing through this part of the solah, never realizing how beautiful the meaning was.

Kepada hamba Allah yang share ni hari tu, wpn sampai harini sy masih tak boleh ingat awak ni kawan sy yang mane, sy doakan moga hidup awak diberkatiNya dengan limpah kurnia Rahmat, rezeki dan kesihatan. Terime kasih kerana sudi kongsikan sekaligus sedarkan seorang hambaNya yang leka..

Bile 1st time accident~

2011-08-28T21:40:00.000+08:00

This has got to be among the worst days of my life kot.. though it only became the said 'one-of-the-worst' around 5pm this afternoon.

I was on my way to Honeys for some last minute cookie-ingredient purchase and had planned to go to the Sg Bakap bazaar for my iftar. I was THiS close to achieving my target.. =(

On the way, I was observing the windy day and remembering how it felt like to go kite flying with my brothers. Maybe it was because I was to engrossed in the memory, or maybe because I was glad of the rather cold day in exchange to a few hot ones with had this much.. I guess I wasn't thinking much when I went through this junction.

It was my fault, I was on the minor road but I had looked both ways to see the only car moving was still quite far away so I just pushed the accelerator without realizing the moving car was also doing the same thing.. and since he was driving a Perdana V6, guess what happened?

I quickly pulled up my car to the nearest curb, and tho I knew my car was in trouble, I was more concerned on the other guys car coz it was plainly my fault.

Okay.. so sy kene maki.. and I deserved it.

He forced me to go see at what had happened to his car so I went tho I knew I would never understand all those parts he was talking about. The only thing I herad was, "Sy cat tu pun RM5 000, baru siap semalam.."

Dan sekali lagi sy kene sumpah.. but I deserved it.

I kept saying I was sorry tho I knew 'sorry' doesn't make everything better at all.. as what he told me after I told him I was sorry and admitted to my mistake.

Then he went to everyone who had come around us saying the same thing over and over again and I felt like such a loser that I didn't realized I was shaking all over until and kindly Indian Uncle came up to me and asked me if I was okay. I tried clenching my fist as not to show how much I was trembling.

And once again they guy came up to me, he deserved to be angry, telling me dia nak balik jauh la (Sg Petani), dia dah abis bnyk duit kat kereta dia la (mmg nmpk cam bermodify bagai), was I blind kah (Okay, that hurt, but it WAS my fault) and he demanded I paid him RM550 for the towing cost from here to Sg Petani..

Fine, it was an understandable demand.. but I'm not exactly what they say as, 'cap duit' here. I tried telling him that I'm only a student whose only source of income is from my tuition classes but he didn't wanna listen and kept asking everyone to tell me to pay up by giving examples to them such as, "Klau dia langgar kete korg pun korg buat mcm tu jugak kan?"

Finally, those people took me away from that guy and asked me to just wait by my car and not to go near that guy as he's still angry.. tp dia pulak ikuuuuuuttt sy smpi ke kete.. aduh!

I didn't realize how upset I was until out of no where, kak Ros (a fellow tuition teacher) came up beside me and asked what happened..

..it was then that sy yg cube nak macho just broke down unexpectedly!

Seriously, you don't think I wasn't upset do you?

I've had my license for 11 years now and not once have I been even in a minor accident. I'm not the most careful driver, but I think I do my best. Yes, I've had speeding tickets but only on highways, never on federal roads.

On top of that, I was all alone. All my friends had gone home for the raya holidays (even Puga!) and the only person here I could rely on before doesn't wanna be my friend anymore..

..and thinking about the cost the guy had demanded me to hand over to him made me shudder coz the pay I just received last week was to be stretched into to months expediture since there were no classes for Ramadhan, thus no pay for next month!

I.felt.so.lonely

I really didn't wanna cry. I didn't want that guy to think I was the kinda girl who'd ask for sympathy through tears (and NO! I'm not one of those.. I'm just a lame crybaby even dari dulu, not because I wanted to 'pancing' some sympathy.. my friends could vouch for that but would he know?!) but when I heard kak Ros asking me softly how I was, I couldn't stop myself..

It felt so bad when the guy talked to me as if I was this lousy driver who met with accidents every other day and who, since I knew I was wrong, I couldn't even defend myself coz I didn't wanna sound whiny. And it felt so stupid when I started crying tho I was trying my best to hide it by looking at the other direction all the time while discreetly trying to wipe the tears that just wouldn't stop falling.

God.. sometimes I wish I was more the defensive kinda person.. just to shut the person up!

I know I was wrong, but just because I rushed outta my car to apologize, didn't mean that I could take all that. I'm sure if I was more defensive, went out of my car and instead of apologizing, tried to point out his fault jugak, defensively I mean, mesti dia pun takde la melampau sgt kot nak kate kat sy mcm tu. Ni, mmg terpakse dengar and terime je ape dia nak cakap =(

..sedih tau!

And I didn't know WHERE to ask for help.

The people from the workshop told kak Ros to take me to the police station to file a report and back in kak Ros's car, I just let myself cry without trying to hide it anymore.

Ye, memang la sy sy salah.. memang sy deserve pun org tu ckp mcm² kat sy.. I just wish I could.. could ape? Ntah.. just wished it never happened..

At the police station, I told the police about what happened and they took the report (which somehow made me smile a bit through it when they told me NOT to say it was my fault) coz I kept insisting that it was.. depe pun penat kot dengar haha..

I really didn't know what to do, I had to ask the police what was the normal procedure and all that because that guy kan mntk me bg RM550 tu jugak² kat dia and when I went out, he wasn't around the police station so I didn't know how (or where I was gonna find the money) to pay him. I also didn't know how do you claim from your insurance or what was actually covered and all that.

But then I saw the guy from the workshop and since the police (Sarjan Nazri who was very kind) couldn't help me much there coz they didn't know much beyond the police report, I was kinda glad to see him. Nathan nama dia and he told me to bring a photocopy of the car grant, car insurance, my i/c and driving license to the workshop tomorrow. When I told him I didn't have any transport to go there, he was kind enough to offer to come and get it from me. Selamat tak yah nak pk call taxi ke ape ke coz number taxi stand tu pun sy dah tak simpan sejak² pakai kete..

..and it also turned out that they had asked kak Ros to send me to the ploce station just to get me away from that guy who had kept demanding at least RM550 there and then tu. I just hope they didn't do it out of pity (which I really hope was the case after Nathan made a face and told me to ignore it when I told him I had to pay the guy the money he wanted) I don't think I can stand any pity here.. =(

In the end, I asked help from Mat as I suddenly remembered about him. Thankfully, since his mother is staying with him at the moment, he didn't have to go back to Kulim for raye.. I felt a bit guilty for asking help from him as his house was on the opposite direction so he had to come pick me up mcm jauh la jugak kot but I'm glad he wanted to help me coz it turned out, taxi susah giler nak dapat from the police station in Jawi tu. He had offered to take me to the bazaar as I hadn't had a chance to buy anything for iftar but at that time, my appetite had gone AWOL and I wasn't really in the mood to be in a public place. I also didn't want to trouble Mat more so I just asked if he could send me home..

..so here I am now, in front of the computer with a grumbling tummy which suddenly decides to go hungry and a major headache. I do not even want to start thinking of whats gonna happen, how much I'm gonna have to pay or the perils of being without my dear, loyal PFK..

Hope you guys will have a WAY better end-of-Ramadhan-early-Syawal than me..

5th Challenge ~ A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

2011-08-27T20:58:00.000+08:00

So as I'm still pening from paying all those things I have to pay and wondering where the hell did some of my money go to (Nope! Haven't even bought anything for myself yet!), I decided to look up the next song challenge ☺

Day 05 ~ A Song That Reminds You of Someone

Okay.. who does this song remind me of? Errr, well.. errr.. hmmm..

Lets put it short. This is one of the many songs IM gave me which I really liked. At that point, I hadn't heard it on the radio yet so it was kinda like a new song for me.. which I listened to over and over again. The lyrics are so meaningful ~ ♥

Ok, tamau sambung the story (hahaha..). Enjoy!

LeAnn Rimes ~ I Believe In You

You breathe and life begins

You speak and my world makes sense

That's how it is when it comes to you

Your mercy has no end

You're more than just a friend

It amazes me you feel the way you do

I believe in you and nothing less

I believe in you
Can't help myself

You're all the hope the reason that I need
I believe in you just because

I don't need no one to prove your love

From all that I have seen

It's easier for me to believe in you

You are so beautiful

You are the miracle

That drys the tears, heals the wounded heart

And it's so clear to see

Your hand in everything

You were there for me, there to see me through no

I believe in you and nothing less

I believe in you
Can't help myself

You're all the hope the reason that I need

I believe in you, yeah, just because
I don't need no one to prove your love

From all that I have seen

It's easier for me to believe in you

Through the fire and through the rain

I know your love for me would never ever change

I believe in you and nothing less

I believe in you
Can't help myself

You're all the hope the reason that I need

I believe in you just because
I don't need no one to prove your love

From all that I have seen

It's easier for me to believe in you and nothing less

I believe in you I can't help myself

You're all the hope the reason that I need no no yeah

I believe in you
Just because I don't need no one to prove your love

From all that I have seen
It's easier for me to believe in you

no no yeah to believe in you no oh yeah

No Wonder I'm Not An Accountant!!

2011-08-25T01:28:00.016+08:00

I was texting with Baizurah about her Diaper Cake I had ordered for Remy when something hit me..

I might be a good Maths teacher (Good!?!? Perasan alert! Perasan alert! Hahah..) but I really suck in accountings.. specifically in my own household accounting which always drives me crazy!

Instead of getting my pay at the end of the month like normal people, I get mine in the middle of the month, memang usually on the 15th la. This is usually since parents only pay their kids fee at the end of the month (coz normal people get their pay then.. know what I mean?) so the tuition clerks could only calculate our cut of the pay AFTER most of them have paid since we only our pay based on who pays or not for our individual classes.

And like other normal people who start wishing payday would come quicker at the middle of the month, I also have days like that which usually fall on the first few days of the month pulak, for the likes of people like me.

So usually to take my mind off the, "Bile nak gaji ni?" thought, I'd list down all the neccessities I'd need to pay/buy for the next paycheck.

Eg.
1. House rent
2. Mobile & broadband bill
3. Utilities bills
4. Duit Kut
5. Study loan
6. Household items
7. Bla.. bla.. bla..

In doing this, I have this rough figure of what I HAVE to put aside yg WAJIB laaa dibayar kannnn.. and more often that not, I'm left with cukup² je for my daily expenses, tuition expenses and petrol. During this phase, I'm usually happily patting my back for a good job done..

UNTIL I get the actual gaji!

Since my pay isn't, like, tetap.. you know, some months you get this much, other months you get that much (but lucky for me, usually memang cover the WAJIB ones).. its usually a challenge for me to make sure the leftover money is used wisely.. which usually means trouble for me!

Hahah..

..and I'm not the shopping type pulak tu.. well, except if I find myself within a 2km radius of a bookstore je la kot.

And another problem is when I have some things I can only pay by hand (eg. house rent, kut) while some I pay thru CiMBClicks (all three bills, study loan, transfers) so it is here that my problem arises. My mind get all muddled when I have to merge my have-to-pay list with the CiMB/in-hand list..

Yes, I know.. simple household accounting only includes addition and subtraction, right? Tu pun bley salah² ke Ayu oiiiiii~~

Haiyaaa.. this months punye budget I've already calculated THRRE times and still not only tak balance, but I also get different values of the balances EVERY TIME! Huwaaaaaaa~~

It doesn't help that aside from 3 kenduris (Tepet, Anim and Fatin) this month, I'm also budgeting for a baby present (thus, my conversation with Bai.. but you guys gotta see her work, seryes cantik weiiihhhhh.. you can go see them --> here!)

And its the month of raya where my petrol+touchngo budget must be a bit higher than usual.. along with raya goodies budget. Like right now, in my first and third budget list, it seems like I could pretty much cover the needs.. but you just wait till the time comes when I actually have to go buy/pay those thing.. mesti jadik haywire punye lahhhh.. aiyaaaa! Wa manyak pening, loooo..

..and I haven't even started paying anything yet!

Arrrghhh.. I need a CHEAP (most preferably FREE) accountant please! (C'mon la, its just a household account, bkn ribu riban nye account hokay)

Anyone?

Pleaseeeeeeeee..

10 years ago.. to the date!

2011-08-21T23:42:00.003+08:00

10 years ago, to the date, was his 21st birthday.

As usual, I was among the first to wish him. I had given his birthday card to Dayah for her to pass to him (as usual haha..) and when he received it, he text me about it.

That afternoon, he told me that his housemates planned to go celebrate his birthday at Pizza Hut (mase tu mane ade Pizza Hut in Pt Buntar.. you had to go to Megamall for the nearest pizza joint) and jokingly asked if I wanted to go along.. KNOWING full well that I won't coz

i. Housemates dia of course la semua lelaki.. segan lahh
ii. I didn't really go out that much those days.. prefered to stay in my room *though not for the sake of studying la jugak)
iii. Since we don't talk that much outside of our emails, I didn't really know what I'd do if I had to talk face to face with him hahah..

I forgot all about it till that night when he text me that night telling me he had bought some pizza for me and Lin along with a big slice of his birthday cake. Since he stayed outside at Taman Pekaka instead of the hostel, it was agreed that Din (one of his closest friends who was also my coursemate) would stop by the girls hostel to send the food to me.

Around 10pm, Din called to tell me he was waiting at the parking lot so I donned my sweater and hijab and went down to meet him.

Dari jauh Din dah sengih and I knew something was up..

As I neared him, his grin turned Chesire Cat-like and I was like, "What?!?!"

Din: Ohh.. cube bgtau kat sy, kenape dia suruh sy kasik ni kat awak je?

Me: Mane de.. sy ni gi makan skali ngan Lin lah ni..

Din: Tp dia sebut name awak sorg je..

Me: *silently cursing IM for his idiocy.. dah tau budak ni suke suspect bkn².. pi cari pasal camtu sape suruh?*

Din: Jawab cepat, kalau tak sy tak bg *smbil sengih nmpk gigi yg bakal je berterabur klau I was a boxer!*

Me: Hishh.. mane ade la.. dia saje la nak share. Kitorg kan baik ngan dia..

In the end, tak larat nak bergaduh ngan Din, I just took the box from his motorcycle and started to head back upstairs when he called me again.. Once again I was like, "Whaaatttt?" (tapi kali ni keras skit kot sbb tak larat nak layan)

Din: Dia suruh sy kasik satu bende lain jugak kat awak..

Me: Ape dia?

Know what he handed to me?

A RING!

I burst out laughing, which then wasn't how I usually acted.

Bongok tul budak ni.. punye nak korek nye, sanggup dia pinjam cincin sape² ntah..

Me: Awak ingat sy tatau ke ape awak nak buat ni, Din oiiiiiii. Sudah² la nak korek citer kitorg, kitorg kawan baik je pun.. takde lebey²!

..and then I left Din without even looking back.. Tak mau menggalakkan lagi suspicion dia.

I didn't tell him about what Din had done, but the next day he frantically smsed me apologizing for what Din had done. He had no idea.

I told him not to worry. I know him and he knows me. We were good friends.. bestfriends even. Close enough that we'd never fall in love with each other.. ever!

Guess the joke was on us then, huh?

Or at least, only on me..

~ Happy birthday, IM! ~

4th Challenge ~ A Song That Makes You Sad

2011-08-21T17:11:00.001+08:00

Hmm.. Today I was expecting a bit 'mendung'ness in my mood.. but somehow, I didn't! ~ ☺

Not that hari ni is like giler happy ke ape ke.. but more like indifferent. So I guess I have changed a lot, huh..

Still, I think this song is appropriate for what I had felt before.. and not only because of the date. So..

4th Challenge ~ A Song That Makes You Sad

I love this song.. though its kinda heartbreaking jugak kot hahah.. and I love Shania Twain, great singer! Good combination, I think =p

IM liked her too.. he had given me a few of her songs, but not this one. This one I found and liked on my own.. aci? Hahah..

Hmm.. how to describe eh.. I guess the obvious reason why I say this song makes me sad is because it somehow reflected what I felt. Yeahh, I know that they always say, "You can always find a song that suits what you're feeling!"

Well, this was mine..

Enjoy! ♥

It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing ~ Shania Twain

Hope life's been good to you since you've been gone
I'm doin' fine now, I've finally moved on
It's not so bad, I'm not that sad

I'm not surprised just how well I survived
I'm over the worst, and I feel so alive
I can't complain.. I'm free again

[Chorus:]
And it only hurts when I'm breathing
My heart only breaks when it's beating
My dreams only die when I'm dreaming
So, I hold my breath
To forget

Don't think I'm lyin' 'round cryin' at night
There's no need to worry, I'm really all right
I've never looked back--as a matter of fact

[Repeat Chorus]

It only hurts when I breathe

Mmm, no, I've never looked back--
as a matter fact

[Repeat Chorus]

Hurts when I'm breathing
Breaks when it's beating
Die when I'm dreaming
It only hurts when I breathe

Cookie dough Pt.2

2011-08-20T05:34:00.012+08:00

Alaaa.. lupe la pulok amik gambo the vanilla cookie dough.. aisshh..

Anyways..

Once again I couldn't sleep so I decided to finish up with my Ramadhan project. This time I made the same cookies as last year, the vanilla one.

So.. kelentang.. kelentung.. kelentang.. kelentung..

Siappppp..

Err.. lebey kurang half of the batch la. Sbb using royal icing ni I usually only bake it in 2 batches shj sbb nak minimumkan mase cookies kat luar.. takut masuk angin (since kene ade addition cooling time for the royal icing to set kan)

So, these are where they'd be placed.. mcm nak campur both flavours je in one container..

And this would be put on top ~ ☺

Hahah.. ye la, sy tak kreatip.. tiap tahun dok motip ketupat je kaaann =p

I'm a fan of cookie dough ~ ♥

2011-08-19T07:59:00.000+08:00

These past few days I've been busy (and 'brokenhearted') with my annual Ramadhan Project.

Why broken hearted? Hehe.. mengade kan.. actually I'm a bit frustrated je kot with the initial outcome ni..

Lets see, a few years ago, my Ramadhan project consisted of chocolate covered dates I ordered from Ellie D'Heart. Dia punye serius sedap.. Sedap enough that I ordered it from her year after year hehe.. The almond stuffed inside the date was oh-so-crunchy and the chocolate had just the right bitterness to team with the sweeteness of the date. I liked it enough that I felt sgt rugi order skit².. thus, I started to bulk order from her and give to my friends around here.. just so they could enjoy this sweet delicacy..

But since Yusoff Taiyoob pun dah start jual kurma chocolate, it didn't seem quite special anymore.. at least for me to give people la. So, last year, instead of my usual chocolate covered dates with almond/apricot (Yup, Ellie buat apricot sekali..), I decided to give something different.. Specially made sugar cookies from mah own kitchen! ~ ☺

Okay, mcm la sedap sgt kan.. but at least I knew my friends tak leh dpt kat tmpt len kaaaannn hahah..

This year plak, I had initially planned something different, tp kekangan masa dan kewangan menyebabkan sy kembali ke idea last year. But since I still wanted to make something different, instead of the vanilla sugar cookies I did last year, I decided to go with chocolate flavoured ones..

..yeah! Besaq sgt la difference nye kan Ayu oiiiiii~~

So a few days ago, you could find me mixing up my first batch of cookie dough..

..chocolatey, righhhhhtttt!

Alas, it was here that I was broken hearted.

For one, it was sweet (but turned out my tastebuds yg tak betoi since I don't really take a lot of sugar anyway hehe..)

And second, it wasn't crunchy.. more like towards the soft side, almost like a cake. And I swear it wasn't because I left it out to cool for a tad bit too long.

So the leftover cookie dough was wrapped and kept in the fridge while I wallowed in self-pity <--SANGAT drama kaaannnnnn

Then this morning, once I again I couldn't sleep.. and by 'morning', I meant 1am.

Tossing and turning, it suddenly came to me, that maybe I didn't bake them long enough. You see, for vanilla cookies, you could sorta guess when its baked at the right duration, due to the darkening colour. But for chocolate cookies, how the hell are you supposed to know, right? <--actually, org terre tau je.. Ayu ni bkn nak ngaku tak terre!

I mean, my first try wasn't like not cooked or something. It was thoroughly cooked, just maybe not as much as I'd like so instead of the 10 minutes suggested by the recipe, I did it at 20 minutes.. and tadaaaa~~

I got my just-right crunchy cookies.. yeay!

This time, I wasn't taking any chances so I frosted them as soon as possible and switched on the fan at full speed so the icing would harden more quickly (Ye ke? Hahah..) And voilaaaa~~

Presenting this years giveaway for my Ramadhan Project..

..okay! Still a bit too sweet for my taste la kot so next time I'll just reduce the sugar amount by a tablespoon or two perharps?

P/S
Ohh.. oooohhh.. presenting also, my caramelized apple tak jadi hehe..

Takpe, arini leh try lagi.. but need to go buy some cinnamon coz I used my last stick yesterday. Wish me luck!

3rd Challenge ~ A Song That Makes You Happy

2011-08-17T19:26:00.001+08:00

So we've got 15 minutes to iftar and since I haven't shut down the pc, thot I'd do the next song challenge.

3rd Challenge ~ A Song That Makes you Happy!

This song was nicknamed 'Lagu Chick-A-Boom Ayu' by abg Fadzil when I kept repeating this song on my player during my MSc thesis correction period. I dunno why, tp hearing this song makes me smile haha.. no matter how I was feeling at the specicfic moment..

..mcm chumel, hokey, lagu ni!

Memang sgt Chick-A-Boom la kot hehe.. and even till now, I still love it!

(Mau plak arini mengalami kekecewaan in the cookies-making department.. and trus to what abg Fadzil and Choong told me.. bile dgr lagu ni mesti sy sengih balik! Hehe..)

P/S

Oh, the actually video clip memang ade.. tp tak sesuai untuk bln Ramadhan ini ~ ☺ So I chose that clip instead ~ ☻

If Thats Okay With You ~ Shane Ward

I love the way that you look without your make-up
I had a girl before we met but we broke up
There's something 'bout you that makes me want to step up
Step up and be with you
If that's OK with you
We'll keep the neighbours awake too late, too late
'cause I'm gonna make you feel so good how I see it's happening
We'll keep the neighbours awake too late, too late
'cause baby I wanna step up and be with you
If that's OK with you

[Chorus]
I'm gonna make you feel like you are heaven on earth
I'm gonna saint your mother just for giving you birth
I'm gonna wanna hold you in my arms when you cry
If that's OK with you
If that's OK with you

I wanna keep your toothbrush at my apartment
Make a second set of keys and ask you to move in
I'm not crazy
I know what I'm getting myself in
I wanna live with you
If that's OK with you

[Chorus x2]
I'm gonna make you feel like you are heaven on earth
I'm gonna saint your mother just for giving you birth
I'm gonna wanna hold you in my arms when you cry
If that's OK with you
If that's OK with you
If that's OK with you
If that's OK with you
Yeah, yeah

We'll keep the neighbours awake too late too late
I wanna love you this way that way this way
We'll keep the neighbours away too late too late
I wanna love you this way that way this way

[Chorus x2]

Terkenang saat itu.. Pt2

2011-08-16T18:16:00.000+08:00

Actually, I had planned to write about my Ramadhan experience during forms 4 and 5, when I was no longer staying in the hostel, but I remembered a few things I had left outta the previous entry..

Only 2 things came to mind when I think about it hehe..

1st ~ Cerite laksa

As I has said earlier, after Tarawikh, we usually had a moreh-like supper with all sorts of heavier-than-usual food. One that stood out to me was laksa.

Now, I'm not really a fan of laksa, but I don't mind eating it. The best way to describe my feelings towards laksa is 'indifferent'.. except when it was this laksa from a pakcik who sold it by bicycle la.. dia punye laksa mmg kelas! I remember one time Mama had ask me to call out to the pakcik s he cycled along our house to buy some laksa. I was waiting when he asked me, "Chek nak otak udang tak?"

I.was.offended!

Why, sbb I thought he was calling ME 'otak udang' (Malay proverb for someones who's 'slow'!) haha.. sian pak cik tu. Panic dia bile tgk muke sy nak nangis time tu hahaha.. Oppss, back to my Ramadhan tale. Though I'm not a big fan of laksa (klau ade, sy makan la.. tp klau takde, idak le sy nak gi cari), I realized that most Penangites really love laksa. Take for instance our canteen. Pak Cik Mat's laksa sold like hot cakes. For laksa alone, he had this really huge pot for the laksa gravy.. I loved the gravy but only ate it for bihun kuah laksa (Haaa, budak² Mashoor mesti ramai tau this favourite kan ~ ?)

So imagine how happy most of the hostelites were when the moreh for the night was laksa.

It was on one of these days that I went to the dining hall with one of my budak kamar.. don't remember who lah.. Aida ke Azimah ke Mawar ke.. hmm.. sape eh?

We sat in front of two Form 3 seniors.. kak Naca and her friend, kak No'en kot klau tak silap and both of them were really enjoying their laksa while us Form 1 junior ala² segan nak makan depan senior.

Tgh² makan tu, suddenly kak Naca asked us, "Sedap tak?", so my friend answered, "Sedappp, kak!"

Then kak Naca turned to kak No'en and asked her the same question, to which kak No'en also answered like my friend..

"Korang tau tak ape rahsia laksa yg sedap?"

To which, hati kecil sy berkata, I don't think I wanna hear this hahah..

So, kak Naca went on to say, instead of using flakes of fish meat, they used old newspapers that were soaked in water until they turned into pulp.. thats why the gravy that night was sgt pekat!

Though I knew she was pulling our legs, my appetite suddenly went AWOL.

Then she continued saying that the dark colour of the gravy was made from old unwashed socks (Okay, ni cam bleh byg la kan sbb kaler mmg agak seropa!) and she made gestures of wringing some old socks into the gravy siap ngan mimik muke yg tak tahan tuuu..

Di kale itu, sy trus tolak pinggan laksa sy ke tepi..

..and to be frank, I didn't eat any laksa until I was in my 20s hahah.. kak Naca nye pasal lah ni

2nd ~ Cerite kad raye

Dari dulu lagi sy mmg jenis org yg suke kasik kad raye.. but when I was in form 2 and form 3, we took the 'kad raya' giveaway a bit too far.. well, as far as the objective we had in mind la..

In form 1, some of my classmates had given raya cards to teachers who don't teach our class, like Cikgu Pah. I was a bit afraid of her and tho I'm the letter/card-sending kinda person, sy takde la kasik kat org yg takde kene ngene sgt ngan sy. However, towards the end of Ramadhan, we realized that these teachers don't reply our card (duhh.. of course la jarang ade yg nak reply) BUT, they 'replied' with duit raya..

Jeng³..

You can guess the rest la kot..

We had identified these duit-raya giving teachers (among them Cikgu Pah, Cikgu Nab, PO) so when we were in form 2, Operasi Duit Raya was put into motion haha..

You can see how tamak we were. I mean, Cikgu Nab already given us duit raya during the fireworks night at the hostel kan.. tp naaaaaaaaakk jugak kasik kad kat dia. Imagine, ONE card tu sampai 10 org kot sign.. and all who signed, dpt duit raye hokey. This project ws only aimed to the teachers yg sebegitu and I'm sure we got around 5 teachers kot yg camni.

It didn't help that our class teacher was Ustaz Rushaidi a.k.a Ustaz Shai. We loved him simply because he was so kindhearted and it was easy to bully him. Bkn la bully cam bangang style.. more like once a month, ade je yg mntk Ustaz Shai belanja.. and know what, thats what he did. He'd come to our class later, telling us to go to the canteen and tell pak cik Mat we were from class 2 Melati and our food would be paid by him.. and we did this almost every month.. giler manje ahh kitorg ngan Ustaz Shai time tu hehe.. dlm kelas pun we could korek² his love life (which, rumour was, at that time was with a pretty senior in our school.. err, kot! Hahah.. sile jgn marah Ustaz kitorg.. dia baik hokey!) sampai malu² dia.. and he's lefthanded, like me! <--Tp sy tak pandai B.Arab pun jugak haha..

So that year, we also got duit raya from Ustaz Shai (without the card trick) but some of us (me included) decided to see what he'd do if we sent him a raya card.. and voila, we got another packet of duit raya.. waaaaa, nakal giler kan kitorg.. amik kesempatan pulak hahah..

We did this until form 3 even though Ustaz Shai no longer taught us and masih la dia melayan student² mengade dia ni heheh.. Naik form 4 and form 5, most of my friends who were in the Operasi Duit Raya gang had moved to other schools. The only ones left were me and Ami je la kot. so maybe sbb dah takde gang, or maybe sbb kitorg dah MATANG (lah sangaaaaaaat!!) sikit, we no longer did the trick. In fact, nak anto kad raye ngan ikhlas pun macam dah malu.. boley?

3rd ~ Salam Jemaah

Ohhhhhh.. I said two things je kan come in mind? Actually, another one just popped up. It was the Salam Jemaah done on the last day of school before the raya holidays (actually, we also do this on the last day of school, but thats another story sbb yg Ramadhan punye lagik spesel.. and you'd see why in a while).

AlMashoor is quite a small school. We only have a total of around 500 students from form 1 to the Upper Sixth form so Salam Jemaah was easy to do. We usually did it after the morning assembly and it'll start with the first formers yg akan salam teachers first, then come up to the seniors.

This was the time kot nak mntk maaf salah ape² ke yg selame ni malu nak ckp, coz no matter if you want it or not, you memang kene salam with THE WHOLE SCHOOL (except male teachers la where we'd just apologize for our cheekiness haha.. and wish them a great holiday ahead). Mase ni jugak la seniors nak usik² juniors ke with imaginary faults just to make the juniors apologize dgn lebih panik lagi hahah..

Ehem.. this was also the time we got another packet of duit raya.. this time from the school. Yeayyyyy!!

Giler tamak kan hahahah..

But it was a fun time coz we also got to miss the first two classes la kot hahah..

*Aisyy.. makin rindu plak sy ngan zaman sekolah dulu*

Okay, nnt sambung.. wanna get ready for iftar jap dulu.. selamat berbuke ye! ☺

2nd Challenge ~ You Least Favourite Song

2011-08-15T16:46:00.001+08:00

Sambil² menunggu rakan² yg dtg mengambil hasil dapur sy (Read: Makan at your own risk hahah..), felt like doing the next song challenge..

2nd Challenge ~ Your least favourite song!

Hahaha.. okay! Actually, this is tak la least favourite sgt.. I mean, klau least favourite, mcm giler bnyk lah kan lagunye so how can I choose? Instead, I'm choosing a song I wanna hate.

Why?

Coz the lyrics sgt la menunjukkan seorg lelaki bukan idaman yang perasan giler with no regards whatsoever klau the girl is enganged ke ape ke. When I first heard this song, I was like, "What the..?!?" Macam menyampah giler kan klau ade laki camni..

..and still you can't help loving this song! Hahah.. damn you, Uncle Cracker!

Follow Me ~ Uncle Cracker

You don't know how you met me
You don't know why, you cant turn around and say good-bye
All you know is when im with you I make you free
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea
I'm singing....

Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me

And I worry 'bout the ring you wear
Cause as long as no one knows
That nobody can care
Your fellin guilty
And I'm well aware
But you don't look ashamed
And baby I'm not scared
I'm singin...

Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me

Solo

Won't give you money
I can't give you the sky
Its better off if you don't ask why
I'm not the reason that you go astray
We'll be alright if you don't ask me to stay

Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me

You don't know how you met me
You don't know why, you cant turn around and say good-bye
All you know is when im with you I make you free
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea
I'm singing....

Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me

Terkenang saat itu.. Pt1

2011-08-14T05:44:00.000+08:00

So yesterday was the mid of the weekend and I had initially planned to COOK! Masalahnye, bumi Pt Buntar/Nibong Tebal yg sudah lame tidak disirami hujan telah menerima rahmat yang besar spjg hari smlm. Makanya, perasaan sgt lah seronok duduk di rumah yg sejuk tanpe perlu aricon itu.. dan bile duduknye pun selese, mule la menjadi malas kan hehe..

Around 3.30pm, when I was ready to cook for iftar, I realized I hadn't defrosted the chicken yet.. so the perasaan malas won!

I got ready to go out to buy some supplies for my usual Ramadhan Project and decided to just go to the nearest bazaar at Nibong Tebal.. Ok la, actually Bandar Baharu punye lagi la dekat tp sy tidak berperasaan mau bersesak².

At the bazaar, I first noticed a cucur udang stall and was pleasantly suprised to see my student at the stall. Mule la nak nagco.. terlupe jap sy si Yazib ni pun kelas form 5 yg sy merajuk aritu hahah..

Anyway, maybe it was the sight of him ke.. or maybe sbb tetibe teringtkan my old students whom I nickname my bazaar Ramadhan stalker (hahah.. rindu kat diorg!), I suddenly found myself down memory lane..

*bunyi music ala² slow² tp tak romantic laaaa..*

Errkk.. pjg n jauh la pulak memory lane sy ni.. tak nmpk simapng kuar dah ni.. mane nak start ye?

Hmm.. I first felt the joy of Ramadhan during secondary school la kot.. Sblm tu mmg la puase semua tu, tp maybe sbb lame sgt dah kot I don't remember much of it..

Anyway, first time I celebrated Ramadhan away from home was in form 1. Mase tu pulak masuk AlMashoor kan. Nak kate syahdu sgt pun idak le kot sbb AlMashoor ngan my home pun dlm half an hours journey je pun hehe..

Well, first time sahur at the hostel, mcm konpius je.. Ye la, klau kat rumah, sahur 1st mesti la sedap², ni bile sahur kat hostel, mkn dia ala yg selalu mkn tghari tu je pun (ikan goreng, sayur masak sup). Mcm terkebil² jugak la kot time tu hehe..

The whole puasa day was like usual coz we still kene gi skola la sumer tu kan.. tp ptg tu, after Asar, was a new experience for me.. TADARUS!

Okay, in AlMashoor, we're supposed to Tadarus every morning pun. But we usually just recite the Al Quran together so this was the first time I had to recite Al Quran in front of 7~8 people who would be listening carefully to everything I read.. waaaaaa, kecut perut! Gile takuuuuuttt.. Dah la memang I don't really have the confidence in reciting the Al Quran, kali ni, terpakse pulak bace depan org.. seryes tergagap mcm ape je.. and sgt la malu sy rase.. but the seniors and my friend were kind enough to help me along the way so sikit demi sikit, I managed to get over the bumps.. wpun not entirely la (even sampai form 5 pun sy still takut bile Ustaz suruh bace dpn kelas) but at least I gained a bit of confidence kan ☺

Itu lah yg kitorg buat every Ramadhan sampai la we were in form 3 (Form 4 I no longer stayed in the hostel).. ye sy tau, skolah lain pun bnuat jugak.. but to me, it was a new experience.

Then, habis Tadarus, all of us got ready for iftar. Around 7pm dah boleh pegi dining hall dah beratur amik makanan. During Ramadhan, usually we'd sit with our roomates or 'ahli kamar' instead of with our friends. Seronok la jugak kan sbb once you've grown close to your classmates, agak jarang la jugak akan turun with bdk² kamar..

Haa.. mase ni pun terkebil² jugak.. sbb? Bukak puase mkn dlm tray hehe.. but the food was better than sahur la, of course.. Biasenye me and my bdk² kamar would go get our food, susun tray atas meje then go out to the garden ke ape ke to while the time away.. 5 minutes to iftar, everyone would have already been sitted and once azan je, everyone would eat.. the dining hall which was usually noisy akan sgt la sunyi sepi hahah..

Then, since mase tu mkn sgt cepat, even before azan Maghrib abis, ramai je dah abis makan.. boley? Sumer terus ke surau for Maghrib prayer. Biasenye during Ramadhan, mesti berjemaah² solat Maghrib nye. Sape abis makan dulu would pray with the first jemaah and sape yg kemudian would join the later one.

The usual post-Maghrib prep would be cancelled as we waited for Isya and tarawikh. during this time, student² cemerlang mmg will go to class to study la.. sy yg tidak la cemerlang sgt akan duk di kamar sembang with roomates while waiting. And when the time came, we'd all go to the musolla for Isya and tarawikh prayers together~

After prayers, we'd have our supper which was usually something nicer than the usual biscuits given to us. Rasenye sbb org sedekah kot something like that. Macam² la we got to eat during supper during Ramadhan. Laksa, mee kuah and such.. once in a while we'd get those milk or dadih from the Jabatan Haiwan (errkk, btul ke Jabatan ni eh?)

Then it was back to prep until 11.15pm.. then sleep. Simple kan hidup time tu.. and fun bile puase ramai² gitu (even if I DID dread the tadarus haha.. perangai tak senonoh sbb malu n takut org gelak sy bace Al Quran.. ade ke?)

Every year, there would be one day where both hostels (we had two different hostels at two different locations) would join together for a joint iftar with our teachers. During this time, we'd be asked to wear the hostel or school sorta uniform (baju batik laaa, not the white and blue baju kurung) and since the school musolla sgt la kecik, we'd perform our prayers on the netball court. Sejuk je.. and best! Solat bawah bintang weihhh, sape tak suke~ ☺

Sometimes, when I was in form 3, Aniza would ask me if I wanted to qiamullail with her. We had the qiam scheduled by the hostel but I'm glad I had friend who wanted to educate themselves to strengthen their belief. We weren't allowed to go to the musolla after 12am (Actually, I'm sure the warden tak kisah klau nak gi solat, she was only worried klau tido ke ape ke je dlm surau tu) so me, Aniza and Fikriah (kot.. I can't remember sape lagi) would stay up in our class eventhough lights off was at 12am.

Now, I don't remember where we got the idea but we sorta understood that Tahajjud can only be done if you had slept and bgn balik but mesti after 12am (skrg sy cari balik tp mcm tak perlu je.. yg afdhalnye is sepertige terakhir kan.. ke sy yg konpius ni ye?) so boleh tak, all of us will gilir² tidur hehe.. example, Monday would be my turn to not sleep so nnt only Ani and Fik je would qiam after I wake them up. Then Tuesday Ani pulak would not sleep as to wake us up to qiam and the cycle goes on mcm tu lah.. well, we were students.. agak jahil la kan but I love the fact that there was a give and take in here ☺

Now Ani is a teacher in Seri Nibong while Fik at SMKA Nibong Tebal.. and still I don't see them that much.. *sigh*

Mase form 2 pulak, lagi bes. Form 2s and form 4s stay at the hostel farther from school, at Jalan Perak so we had a bit of a freedom here. We were allowed to go out to Padang Brown everyday instead of only on Tuesdays so we enjoyed it here a bit more la kot.

But the best was when Ustazah Che Maznah and Cikgu Nab picked one night to give us duit raya. Giler seronok hokey.. and bkn itu aje, they bought us fireworks too!! Okay la, not la the noisy² ones, just the sparkles and the mercun you throw at people tu.. Hahah, I had a good time chasing Zahroh with a fistful of these.

Ohh, and also one they called mercun tarik.

Now the mercun tarik ni mcm special skit.. why? Our hostel at jalan Perak is like the long houses in Sarawak/Sabah and only had doors at each end as well as the very middle of it. Only the middle door was used tho so the girl in the kamar nearest to the door would tie up these mercun on peoples slippers. The fireworks were small and you wouldn't really notice it at first glance and most of us didn't notice them doing this as our kamar were far from the door.

So the name pun mercun tarik kan.. iamgine what happened when you wore a pair of slippers tied with the mercun and you tried to walk, thus 'tarik'king the mercun tarik along?

Hahah.. mmg nakal giler lah budak² tu haha..

I kinda missed the joy of Ramadhan at school once I stayed at home.. and I kinda miss it now.

Bes kan jadik budak² balik hehe..

Anyway, ade lagik ni nak citer, tp len entry.. dah nak imsak dah ni.. need to drink..

Selamat berpuase ye..

1st Challenge ~ Your Favourite Song

2011-08-13T18:49:00.001+08:00

Okay.. sementara menunggu berbuke puasa, I thought I'd put in the first song in the challange.. Err.. TOLONG JGN GELAK ye, you guys hahah..

1st Challenge ~ Your favourite song!

Actually, as you guys know, sgt la susah wanna choose what is your favourite songs for all the songs you've loved for the past 31 16 years. I kept changing my choices. But in the end I settled with this.. Tadaaa~~~

Ye.. so I'm guilty of being a big fan of Westlife!

So dlm bnyk² lagu Westlife sy suke, why choose this one? Well, there's a story behind it, which always makes me smile whenever I feel.. err.. well.. unloved!

When I was in secondary school, Abah banned the TV from the house. Instead, we were left with the only stereo in the house which was located downstairs. Because of this, I always made it a point to do my homework at the dining table, instead of my 'well-equipped' bedroom. One reason was because, Ikram and Izati who stay in my room don't have a proper desk unlike the desk I had since the time I was a kid. The second reason, the radio was the ONLY entertainment time mlm², hokey!

Tu pun, sometimes Abah would switch of the radio, tak bg dgr sumer sbb takut we weren't doing homework and was mostly listening to the radio (which I was guilty of anyway.. tp my homework sentiase siap tau!). Dah la zaman Tok Nadoq tu dulu we only had Radio Muzik, aside form Radio Pulau Pinang.. mcm sedey tak? Hahah..

Anyway, because of this, I always switched of the radio whenever Abah came down to check on us. He was always grumbling on the things we listened to lah ape lah kannn.. the only thing he'd agree upon is if we switched on the CD player with his oldies songs hehe..

A few years in the future saw me going to USM la segale and falling in love with Westlife (haha..). My brothers knew about this but nobody else.. I thought la. Sbbnye, mase ni dah pandai beli Walkman sendiri (mase tu mane ade iPod segale male ye!) so I could listen in the privacy of my home. Mase tu pulak, Hitz and Mix baruuuu je started going on air so dah ade la choice skit in radio stations and once in a while, I'd still hear this song on the stereo downstairs tp bese la, control depan Abah, takut dia tak suke.

Then one day, Adi excitedly told me something. Mase tu, was the end of the year and he was still in school. So seperti biase, my family would troop towards the one and only Popular in Penang during that time, kat KOMTAR.

Popular dulu bkn cam Popular skrg yg agak la senyap. Dulu, Popular rajin pasang² lagu la ape la kan. So here was Adi choosing the stationaries he needed for the school year with Abah when this song was aired throughout the store. It would have just passed Adi just like that if something didn't happen. Out of no where..

"Adi, ni lagu yang kak Yong suke tu kan?"

..dan Adi ternganga! Hahah..

Thats why balik tu, Adi trus told me what happened. Sape nak sangke, Abah actually knew what song I was into at that time! Haha.. sy terkejut, tp tak leh byg perasaan Adi nak terkejut mcmmane la kan coz he was the one who experienced it first-hand..

..and me, the girl who thought Abah never noticed anything about me, was suddenly feeling so loved!

Heheh.. boley?

So, here's to one of my most favourite songs all time ~ ♥

If I Let You Go ~ Westlife

Day after day
Time pass away
And I just can´t get you off my mind
Nobody knows

I hide it inside
I keep on searching but I can´t find

The courage to show
To letting you know
I´ve never felt so much love before
And once again I´m thinking about
Taking the easy way out

CHORUS:
But if I let you go
I will never know
What my life would be
Holding you close to me
Will I ever see
You smiling back at me
How will I know?
If I let you go

Night after night
I hear myself sayin´
Why can´t this feeling just fade away?
There´s no one like you
You speak to my heart
It´s such a shame we´re worlds apart

I´m too shy to ask
I´m too proud to lose
But sooner or later I gotta choose
And once again I´m thinking about

Taking the easy way out

CHORUS

Once again I´m thinking about
Taking the easy way out

Tatkale writing sy stuck dek writers block..

2011-08-11T22:50:00.000+08:00

I've a 'date' with my supervisor tomorrow.. takuuuuuuuutt~~ Maklum la, dah lame tak jumpe kan hehe.. Actually, he's now back from his attachment at MIROS and he's VERY glad. He was supposed to come back last year tp jodoh dia ngan MIROS dilanjutkan, much to his disappointment (and mine too sbb I know, tanpe dia, berganda lah kemalasan sy hehe..)

Anyway, I've checked and rechecked all the things to present to him tomorrow.. but it must be jitters or something, ade je tak cukup. Kejap bende ni ilang.. kejap bende tu ilang. And just now after tarawikh, I had to go back to school to search for a missing important file (Yup! Hardcopy nye file, bkn softcopy --> Note to self: Tolong la jgn dok save file merate² dlm dlm PC, boley tak Ayu? Pastu kalut bile tak jumpe.. aisshhhh!)

Now I'm reading back a few chapters of my thesis and terase seperti kate² yg ku nukilkan tidak seindah bahase ku semase MSc.. aaarrrgghhhhhh!!!

Untuk mencari ilham, ku mengodek² desktop ku.. (Okay, cut the 'ku' crap.. I don't even talk that way kan hehe..) I found this 'challenge' I got from Mas a few weeks ago which I meant to do but never really did it yet. Nak tau challenge ape? <--Ceh! Kunun mystery la tuuuu

30 Day Song Challenge!

Basically, err, well, the name of the challenge tell it all dah kan. You have this list of songs to put in your blog for 30 days, according to certain syarat la. Lemme copy and paste them here

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 – Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

So there! Hehe.. now I have 30 guaranteed entries in my blog.. aci?

So according to Mas, tak payah la pi carik every day. Ni mcm suke² only so takyah la start 11 August then benti 11 September nnt pulak kan.. yeayy!!

Hmm.. bile nak start? *takde idea la pulak.. same je ngan thesis.. haiyaaaaa~~

And it goes without saying..

2011-08-09T21:53:00.000+08:00

Turns out, it wasn't just a simple crush, huh?

Guess I really did fall in ♥ with you!

Now I just need a way to fall out of it..

='(

AND.. drum rolls

2011-08-02T22:23:00.005+08:00

I'm back!! ☺

Tetibe.. haha..

(Around 1 month and 5 days.. hmm, not bad, huh?)

='(

2011-08-01T20:01:00.006+08:00

Tak yah cari gaduh..

boleh tak?

="(

When I think of kak Shima and Ramadhan, I also think of..

2011-07-31T23:23:00.000+08:00

..STEAMED FISH ala kak Shima!

My housemate kak Shima used to make this all the time, especially during the fasting month. Somehow, the last few weeks, I've been thinking of this haha.. boley?

Actually, I made this a few weeks ago but since I want ot perabis buang all the entry tertangguh, especially ones involving food (and right before Ramadhan hehe..)..

Anyway, its quite simple, what kak Shima would call campak² shj.. See!

Campak² je.. and using any vege you have in your fridge ☺ I used some green pepper, tomatoes and baby corn. And since I ♥ mushrooms, I had put a whole packet here too. Then only had to squeeze some lime on top and voila~

I actually did this during Izati's birthday on the 10th earlier this month aritu and since she wasn't here, I sent her the picture telling her its the thought of cooking for her that counts hehe.. jahat kan kak Yong dia?

And the taste?

Simply superb! Org tak makan sayur pun will eat all those vegetables up tau..

Mmm~mmm..

Has anyone seen where my patience has gone to? =(

2011-07-29T23:17:00.001+08:00

..and I was so happy today!

I'd finished making 50++ cupcakes for my class tonight at 2.00pm this afternoon and was looking forward to give it to them. I really wanted to suprise them and make them happy coz we won't be seeing each other for a month after this, and tho I won't tell them in their face, I knew I was gonna miss them..

Then I finally went to the Yusuf Taiyoob factory me and my friends have planned to go for ages now.

I was smiling the whole day and was singing along as I went to the tuition centre with my Tupperwares full of cupcakes and 2 boxes of dates for Aza and kak Sawiyah who have helped me a lot.

The class started okay². They listened when I was babbling in front (well, almost all laaa..) and at least tried to answer the questions I gave them tho I knew most of them hated Earth as A Sphere. Around 9.45pm, I went to my car (yg sy parking sgt jauh!) to get the cakes I'd hidden in my car.

Berat tak bwk bnyk tu sorg², naik tangge plak tu =(

When some of them noticed my cakes, they whooped with joy and this made me even more happy BUT..

..after that ade je yg tak kene!

I had left the Tupperwares at Aza while I finished the class.. or at least tried to laaa..

When I asked them to discuss the questions with me, most were talking. It started to annoy me when I had to keep talking louder and louder just to hear myself teach. But when it came to the point where I saw almost all the boys at the back talking, and some girls texting thru their phone WHILE I WAS TALKING, I just LOST IT!

No, I didn't scream at them or anything.. I guess I just gave up.

I wrote the answers on the board (and still they talked as loudly as ever) and kept whispering to myself pleading to them, "Not now, please not now!"

And to cool myself down, I went out to Aza with hopes that they would write down the answers I had given them.

After a while, I felt a bit guilty towards them so I started to go back in class.. it was only 5 minutes (Yes, I looked at my watch the whole time) I had planned to give my biggest fake smile to my class, hand out the cupcakes I had made especially for them since the morning and try to forget hat they had gotten on my nerves a few minutes earlier. I almost manged to convince myself I was overreacting while I started pushing the door.

Guess what?

Some of the boys at the back had already kept all their books in their bags and were standing and walking around in class.. LAUGHING!

That does it!

I went to take my things and sekali lagi mengangkut Tupperware² yg penuh itu turun bawah pulak! Klau sy tau, baik sy tak payah angkut naik atas tadi tu.

And up until 9.45pm, things were just perfect.. what went wrong?

I felt to frustrated.. and sad! I so wanted to do something to make them happy as it was the last class before our month-long vacation. I was so looking forward to give them something I hoped they would like.. but they don't appreciate me at all!

Sedih nye sy.. ='(

I really, really didn't want to make a scene ke ape ke.. I wanted us to part happily so that sebulan ni takde rase tak puas hati ke ape ke.. but they must hate me now!

God! I really don't understand kenape la my patience nowadays ni sgt short-lived?

I was never the most patient person on earth, but I'm also not the most short-tempered one either. Most of my students won't even describe me as garang ke ape ke but these few weeks, I've been quite on the emotional roller coaster.

A few weeks ago, while I was teaching the same class, they were talking so loudly and not even looking at me while I tried to show them how to do the problem, I just burst into tears! Boleh ka cikgu pi nangis dlm kelas sbb student buat?!? Adoi la Ayu, what happened here?!

I was so ashamed of myself that when I had composed myself, I couldn't even look at them..

Then last week, 10 minutes before my class ended, sy dgn jayenye telah menghalau all the boys in my form 2 class coz they were talking too much in class. But at least I manged to make it up to them this week..

This class camne? I won't be seeing them for a month dah ni and I dunno how to undo what had just happened in class..

..they're gonna hate me after this kan!

='( ='( ='(

Now I have 50++ cupcakes that I dunno what to do with.. =(

And I feel like total crap!

And really regret what happened..

..and I really wanna cry..

P/S
Today is the last Friday before Ramadhan, a time where they say is good for doa. I had prayed for my PhD as well as for quidance in a few things I'm struggling with right now.. I should've also prayed for patience la klau mcm ni.. ="(

Guess where I just came back from?

2011-07-29T19:06:00.000+08:00

Hehe.. Around noon, Rashid called to ask me if I wanted to follow him and his housemates s.o.m.e.w.h.e.r.e..

Mane ye?

Heheh.. jeng³!

Akhrinye, setelah bertahun asyik lalu je kat highway tu! <--Okay, cam sgt perak lah Ayu ni kan..

Upon arriving, we had to register as visitors first (Duh.. bese lah tu, Ayu oiii). Had time to snap another picture jugak then haha.. Then we entered..

Ok.. takde la cam gah sgt sebegitu ye, saje je sy kasik kunun cam suspen sbb first time kan masuk kilang itu. Was imagining a padang-pasir-like view.. double duh!

I also had imagined it was like a super-huge store where you have this big basket to put it the boxes and boxes of kurma you wanted to buy.. tough luck la klau nak dpt camtu kan! Hahah.. actually it was just a small crowded room, with a glass display of only a select few form the long list of items on sale. You were given a list each and on the walls were these large posters of the things on sale. You only had to make you choice on the form given to oyu, then you go right up to there long line of people at the counter to place your order.. and then you pay lah!

Then you wait for a while till they call your number and you go out to pick up your boxes of order.

Done!

Haiyaaaa.. ilang daya imaginasiku kalu begini!

Heheh.. anyway, the dates were sold in bulk la since you bought it at the factory and there were a dozen boxes per package ranging from RM69 to RM200++. You could also buy them per kg if you want where the Kurma Nabi was the most expensive at RM400 per 5kg (tp Rashid kate murah coz at Makkah they sold it at RM80 per half kilogram).

The four of us bought 3 large packages of kurma (1 box of Safina dates and another 2 boxes of Bledi dates). Then since I had told the boys I wanted to buy the chocolate covered kurma (which was sold at RM70 for 5 boxes of 150g), they dgn baik hatinye took one box each so I won't be stuck with the whole 5 boxes hehe.. selamat~~

I also bought this..

..sgt sedap hokey! Bleh lawan my favourite Quality Street nye chocolates wpun choice kurang skit kot ~ chocodate, strawberry flavoured chocs, milk choc, caramel, white truffle, coconut cream, praline and crispy cream) tp seryes sedap. This one you don't have to buy in bulk and at only RM13 je (Quality Street kan mcm RM50 per box!)

All in all, this was my purchase..

..haha, ok, yg chocodate tu mcm tipu la kan since the guys took 3 boxes dah pun and dlm tu just tinggal 2 more boxes je. All those tak sampai RM150 pun tau.. Rasenye RM121 camtu kot.

Tinggal mau distribute je ~ ♥

So sape yg duk dekat² sini, sile²! Especially if you plan to give boxes of dates to friends and family.. we already calculated, you save more than 25% and sgt la bnyk lagi choice than if you buy from your local shops.

Oh yeah.. selamat bersedia utk Ramadhan ye kengkawan ~ ☺

I know I'm getting better when

2011-07-23T23:27:00.013+08:00

..I never realized I was singing along (dengan PENUH semangat.. no less!) to Because Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes in my car until I swtopped at the traffic light and notice the makcik in the kerete sebelah gaping at me while the pakcik was smiling amusedly..

Opsss.. bumi, telanlah sy demi meng'cover' malu sy ini! Hahaha..

..and the goodnights sleep last night didn't hurt either. First time I slept like a baby in these last few weeks!

And finally.. ♥

2011-07-22T23:24:00.072+08:00

Today's still Friday, right?

(Err, well, technically la since its not 12.00am yet.. tp klau dalam Islam, udah masuk Sabtu dah ni kan tadi after Maghrib)

Anyway, eversince I've stopped going to school, I've kinda missed wearing my baju kurungs on Fridays.. boley?

Today plak, I had a few things to do (OK, bunyi cam banyak la kunun but only wanted to service my car *huaaaa.. melayang RM285 tadi* then go buy my monthly supplies. Usually for these things, I just put on my old jeans and any available t-shirt but yesterday, I decided to wear my baju kurung..

Oooohhhhh.. SGT ladylike kaaaaannn.. pi service kete then shopping dgn berbaju kurung! =p

Anyway, I hadn't planned on going to Popular since I almost always managed to coax myself in buying something. Still, tarikan sebuah kedai buku adelah satu godaan yg tak pernah dpt sy tolak =p

I told myself I WON'T buy anything..

..but then I saw this!

Yeayyy! Finally setelah bertahun² plan mau membeli, sy dpt jugak beli!

I know, I know.. dah tua bangka pun baru nak beli tafsir kah?

Actually, my first one I bought during my time at AlMashoor dah ilang or something. And frankly, I don't really like that one coz tulisan kecik giler and they only give you the meaning of the verses. The only use we had for it that time was for the daily tadarus every morning at school. Even then, I'd rather go to Abah's tafsir whenever I needed anything. Not that I used it that much kan.. the ignorance of youth!

Nowadays, you've got all sorts of tafsir where most of them even have referances on when and why a particular verse was err.. what the word eh? 'diturunkan'.. combined with the fact that most tafsirs now have larger fonts which makes it easier for you to read both the actual Al Quran verse and its meaning (yg dulu punye, dhommah pun sometimes nmpk like fathah kaaaann!) makes tafsir reading easier..

(I guess age factor pun same kot.. makin tua makin sedar diri sikit nak tau makne ape yg dibace tu hehe.. but not admitting to that in public la kan.. sy kan mude lagik =p)

Last year I bought one for my junior Salleh for him to take to Japan but regretfully, the only tafsir I found then, though gave thorough explanation on verses, had a-bit-too-small-for-my-liking kinda fonts. I would have prefered to buy him a better one (Read: bigger fonts) but couldn't find one anywhere.. aisyy, mmg rezeki Salleh was that one je lah kot..

Then Yun had also told me about this tafsir she was trying to find where instead of a book for the whole AlQuran, it was divided into a few books with tafsir for a few juzu' each but somehow I never found that one too.

So when I came across that one at Popular, which had the just-right kinda fonts and quite adequet explanation, I thought, why not!

(Jugak since I just got my gaji lah jugak kan which was syukur Alhamdulillah la.. klau idak, tangguh beli ape!)

Bagus lah jugak this Ramadhan, I can now not only read my old trustworthy AlQuran I've been using since I was 18, I can also try to understand what I read (instead of just recite je).. and I'm really glad that instead of skipping Popular as I had first planned, 'something' made me go in.

And instead of my novels I keep buying, I've bought something better di ambang Ramadhan ini.. Let's just hope that I'll really be using this tafsir instead of being excited about it for a few weeks then ignoring it kemudian (seperti nasib tafsir zaman sekolahku itu).. Naudzubillah

Err.. well, actually, I did buy a book jugak but I think its appropriate with the coming Ramadhan as well as the purchase of my tafsir yesterday..

Ok, I admit, I felt a bit guilty about buying books at first when I saw this while I was in line to pay for my tafsir. I was already in my car to head back when I just ran up back to Popular to also buy this book. Adik kaunter itu mcm heran je tgk sy dok beratur lagi kooott hehe..

Anyway, since we have less than 10 days in Sya'aban, I'd like to wish everyone a blessed Ramadhan for this year and may all of us become better Muslims while taking advatage of the blessed month ☺

Always a bridesmaid, never THE bride?!?!

2011-07-20T15:34:00.000+08:00

I got an sms from my cousin, Sayang, yesterday afternoon stating..

..wait for it..

..wait for it..

..wait for ittttt..

..I'm to be the maid of honour on our other cousin's birthday!

No, it wasn't a request. It was sorta like an order (ok la, 'order' seems harsh here tp saje nak drama lebey hehe..). And by whom?

By mummy dearest as well as the council of Aunties who had held the meeting (I suspect la since I know Mama and Wan Chik went ther after Fatin's solemnization on Sunday) at Tangkak, at mak Yang's house.

Sayang told me she was to be the M.O.H for the reception on our side while I'll be the one on the reception for the bridegrooms side.. and yes, she was 'ordered' too!

The reason: We were the only two eligible nieces of the Council who are still unmarried though we're both in our 30s (ok, pangakuan sekejap je ye.. pasni I'm back to being 16!)

Caiittttttt.. ada kaaaaaaa camtu?!?! Cisssss..

I have my own reasons for refusing which I will present to the Council, IF I have a chance (as if!)

1. I've been the maid of honour for THREE times already.. that I can remember la

First one to Lin who got married in Kuantan making it also the first experience for me driving all the way up there. I still have the peach and green baju kurung she gave me for the event tho.. ehem.. dah tak brape nak muat kot hahahahaaha..
Second to my dear old friend (NO, she's NOT old!), Sentot a.k.a Baizurah for the reception on Amin's side. I wore my favourite blue baju kurung then.. AND got the bouquet, tho not caught la.. more like she handed it to me herself ngan harapan ianye akan sgt mujarab =p
Third, a last minute pengapit to my bestfriend during the Uni years, kak Wahid. I went just to give support during the solemnization but ended up to being the 'bidan terjun' style pengapit. And to think that I was wearing a green suit which was the exact same colour with the hantaran making people joke asking if I was also the hantaran she was giving to her husband.. caiittt! Seb baik akak ku itu sporting bile org ckp camtu.. klau sy, mesti muke dah lain koooottt

So three times the charm.. kah?

Sepatutnye sy dah pencen la kan bab² jadi pengapit ni kaaannn

2. Another thing is, Iskandar already told all of us to find something green for raya (Ada kaa my adik bongsu plak call the shots.. cissss! Terpakse laa nak amik ati kaaaannn =p) So, I'm not gonna waste my money buying 2 new baju kurungs since the one required for the M.O.H. duty is Maroon! Very different colours both at the end of the spectrum la kaaannn..

3. People who know me, also know: Instead of a blushing bride, they'll have a BLUSHING BRIDESMAID on their hands. During Lin's reception, I was soooo afraid and kept looking at the floor the whole time ok.. During Baizurah's time pulak, I actually hid behind the stage during the times I wasn't needed for my duties.. boley? While during kak Wahid's, the photographers, a husband (Apit) and wife (Fisya) team that I know from USM, kept commenting on, "Awat laaa pengapit yg malu niiiii?!?!" and ayat tak leh blah from Apit, "Camne kak Ayu nak kawen ni klau dah jadi pengapit pun dok merah² muke camni?!"

So there! I've got THREE strong reasons for that la kann..

Except, I was reminded that the actual superstition was Three Times A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride. So I've actually shot my chances of being a bride when I agreed to be the last-minute MOH to kak Wahid. So what's a fourth time kan? You can't really break whats already broken!

Hehehe.. ok la. ok la.. I know la its superstition and sgt la khurafat for me to believe.. I saje nak drama lebey je in front of my Aunties tu sumer nnt =p So, I'd better make sure they don't read this hehe..

Aiyaaaa~~ Looks like me and Sayang can't really run away from our duty to our cousin, Fatin (and from the orders of the Council)

So Ndar, takdenye kak Yong nak beli baju kaler ijau tahun ni ye!!

Haisyyy.. better practice my blush-proof face before September, huh?

Mabuk karipaf la sy pasni.. =p~

2011-07-17T23:33:00.000+08:00

Being still not quite right in the head yet, I was ready to stay in bed this morning. I would have done so if I didn't have this sudden need for currypuffs..

Huik.. bleh ade sudden need utk karipaf ke? Hahah..

Ok la, the 'sudden need' was yesterday actually so I had bought all the things to make them. It was the WANT of making them that had forced me outta bed..

Hmm.. actually, I have a 'story' about currypuffs I once wrote about here.. haha, cerite di waktu sy jatuh chenta kali pertama dolu yg cam tah pape je Ayu ni kaaaannn.. =p

Anyway, berbalik pade mase skrg ☺

I was fasting so the taste was a challenge la kot kan (mcm la klau tak pose bleh jadik sedap karipaf sy kaaaannnn!).. jap rase garam sikit, jap rase bnyk.. last² redha je.

Since I didn't remember how I had actually done it dulu (Ye, aside form the first time I did it as in the above link, this is the first time I've made it since. Thus, making it the 2nd time I've done them myself, unsupervised. Bleh ka dah umo 31 16 tp baru 2 kali buat sendiri?!?!), I just bantai je the recipe for the filling. One pack of minced beef, 7 small potatoes, 3 onions and a packet of curry powder.. garam se'taktau' rase hehe..

Errr, nampak rupe cam jadik kan?

Next was the pastry. At first, mau tunjuk pandai nye pasal, I did one using my instinct (pbffttttttt!) Just trial mix je pun (Ecehhh.. cam trial mix for concrete lah pulakkk). I tried using the tip someone gave me on using melted shortening for a crispier pastry. Managed to get around 12 kot kat sini but somehow, the other half of my instinct mcm tak suke je this way of making the pastry.. boley?

So the next one I did like dolu jugak lahhh.. and terase sedikit kagum ngan diri sendiri sbb ala² ingt jugak la how to make the pastry wpun dah bertahun tak buat.. boley? Mcm bongok je Ayu ni hahahaha..

Taraaa..

Kunun workspace la.. work in progress lah sgt kaaaannnn..

The first trial of my currypuffs looked like this.

Huuuu.. sgt tebal sy punye kelim tu kan? Adessshhhhhh.. nmpk sgt out of practice kaannn!

Anyway, sib baik I only used half a kg of flour as opposed to 1kg Mama suggested. Mama told me my filling cam bnyk sgt je I made. But somehow the prospect of kneading 1kg of flour sgt tak menarik so I only made half.. sekali, filling tak cukup!

Apekah?

I think I did something wrong sini kot.. just can't put my finger on what is it I did wrong coz as I remember, when we were smaller, we used to make pastry with 1kg flour jugak la when we used 1 pack of minced meat.. Hmm, ape la salah sy buat eh?

Anyway, since the was still around one-third pastry left, I knew I couldn't just throw it away lah kan. Tp sgt la malas wanna go out but some minced meat lagi.. mau pulak today is the pasar malam so confirm la lagi malas wanna go out bersesak² like that kan.

Last², I godek² the freezer to survey my options and settled with some crab sausages and prawns. Tp sbb mcm sikit, I added some chopped mushrooms and potatoes. Masak all of it with some chilli and oyster sauce je sbb takde bende len bleh ku buat masak nye..

..and jugak tambah some slices of cheese in each currypuff.. boley? Pasan wat calzone kah Ayu ni, siap cheese bagai heheh.. ☻

In the end, though I didn't get 100 pieces as Mama predicted, I got jugak la dlm 6 full containers yg cenggini..

Huuu.. nangis nak perabis!

Ade yg 10 hari dok minum petang with currypuffs ni..

And the sad truth is, niat asal making it was for iftar today, tp tak sempat pun nak goreng for iftar.. huwaaaaaaaa~~~

(Tp makan bende bes jugak la for iftar hehe.. something simple but filling!)

Anyway, pictures of the fried currypuffs tadek la ye.. coz all of it is already stored in the fridge and freezer since my iftar meal was quite filling so like buang mase la kan goreng, kang tak makan pulak.. so can't really give my own verdict of my 2nd-time-make-currypuffs-alone.

P/S

While making the currypuffs, I heard the song Sugar² by the Archies and tanpe berfiir panjang I took the rolling pin and made it into a makeshift microphone while nyanyi² keliling dapur dgn semangat. Bile lagu dah abis, tetibe rase bersalah for being happy over a song coz I'm supposed to be sad kan skrg?!?!?

Current Mantra..

2011-07-15T01:33:00.000+08:00

I'll be fine..

I'll Be Fine..

~~I'll be fine..~~

I'll be fine..

I'll Be Fine..

I'll be fine..

I'll Be Fine..

I'll be fine..

I'll be fine..

I'll Be Fine..

I'll be fine..

~~I'll Be Fine..~~

I'll be fine..

I'll be fine..

I'll Be Fine..

Transformers?!?! Ke minor makeover je? Hehe..

2011-07-10T22:02:00.000+08:00

O-kaaaayyyy! Why the picture of a wee lil' me laughing at the camera?

The last two weeks have been a bit stressful for me, on the state-of-mind part of me. Its still bothering me now but at least I'm starting to get a bit in control of my emotions.

As in a few entries ago, I had written about my tourist-experience-in-my-hometown courtesy of Shahnaz, that was something I think I really needed as things were still fresh in my mind. The 'getaway' provided me the distraction I needed at the moment and I'm very² thankful to The One up above for it.

Anyways, what happened after me and Shahnaz parted ways was a different matter.

I was ready to go back to Pt Buntar when Ikram (and then Iskandar) called asking if I'd like to have lunch with them. Since I was still in Penang, I agreed so I headed back home to Sg Ara.

As I entered the place where I had grown up once upon a time ago, I realized not many things had changed. Afew shops were replaced with some newer ones but I think that was all it. The homwtown I grew up was still recognizable as it was since I was a kid.. I noticed one shop I used to go to once every, lets say, 2 years.. but I continued my drive back home.

At home, Ikram and Iskandar had friends along so I excused myself to perform my Zohor prayers. When Ikram told me he still wasn't finished cooking, my mind wandered back to the shop I had noticed earlier so I decided to go make a visit. The last time I went there was probably 10 years ago.. and I'm guessing my estimate here is quite accurate..

..but the shop was full, much to my disappointment! I went back home and had lunch with Mama and the boys (Ohhhh.. dulu only Iwan and Adi je I call 'the boys'.. now its my younger siblings and their friends!)

As I was ready to go back to PB, I decided to head to the bakery in Sg Ara for some cake fix but somehow, I felt like checking out the shop I had earlier went to and to my delight, there were only two customers in there so there wasn't a long wait.

And what did I do there?!?!

Well, I turned THIS..

..into THIS! Tadaaaaa~~

Okay², obviously those two pictures are not at all like me la kan! I can't really put my pictures coz

1. Aurat weihhhhh

2. I really wanted long wavy and curly hair like that (colour tamau la blonde gitu.. my normal hair clour would do!)

3. Gambo² tu mcm lebih comey je dari realiti diri sy (Ohh, kene la kaver kekurangan diri haha..) especially the short hair one. Why la my hair not like that ahhhh?

My hair was already long enough, right below my butt. The problem with me is that I never know when to cut my hair. When its long enough, I'd complain everytime I wash my hair coz its to much work and it dries VERY slowly due to my thick tresses.. but once their clean and dry, mule la malas nak gi hairdresser kaaaannnn..

I decided, what better time than present to cut my hair?

Who knows, it might ringankan my kepala that was feeling a bit too heavy to handle! Kan.. kaaaaannnnn..

A few customers seperti biase drama lebih than me and the hairdresser plak, asking: Betul ke adik nak potong rambut tu? Tak sayang ke?

One makcik even sat beside me watching the entire process.. boleh gitu?

My head did feel a bit lighter though, and for a while, I imagined that it was lighter due to my problems being blown away..

Yeahhhhh RIGHT!

Hahah..

So, why the connection with my picture at the topmost?

Sbb that picture was taken when I was 2 years old, and that is the last picture I have of myself with hair this short!

I've always cut my hair shoulder length, somehow I have this strange need to still be able to tie up my hair, but this time, I can't even bunch it up, its REALLY short hehe..

..and I still can't recognize the girl I see in the mirror tho' I've had this haircut for two weeks, tomorrow!

No more huge bun under my headscarf!

No more brushing my hair with my big hairbrush.. I can use combs now!

No more worrying if my hair would dry properly before I wear my hijab! I can wash my hair
every time I take a bath now hehe..

..and I could even sometimes feel the breeze going through my hair, cooling my head!

Serius! Sgt kagum okay since I've nver known how soothing it could be..

I'm FREE!!!

Heheh.. well, at least for the next few months la since my hair grows quite faster compared to most of my friends..

So I'm gonna enjoy it as long as I can coz trust me, next time, I'm NEVER GONNA CUT MY HAIR THIS WAY AGAIN!

Aik.. tadi suke sgt rambut pendek, skrg takmo potong camni dah pasni.. why ah?

Coz, as I said earlier, I still don't recognize the girl in the mirror AND, its just not me! I'm a pony-tailed kinda girl, and I'm afraid that every now and then, I get tired of my short hair coz it doesn't feel familiar..

So hair, please grow quickly (especially quickly below my shoulders since my hair seems to be tickling me at the back of neck). I'll wait for you patiently (for a while la before I grom impatient) and my hair brush (that is now banished into the bottom drawer) misses you..

Muaahhh~~

Pukul 3 pagiii~~ ♪ <--tipu, baru kul 2.45am

2011-07-09T03:23:00.000+08:00

Saya sangat lah berbau ikan-ish dan udang-ish sekarang!!

Tp sy suke.. sbb? Sy rase hari ni sgt laaaaa produktif ~~wpun sy bangun sgt giler lambat arini~~

Ehh.. Iklan jap! Ari Isnin (ke Selase ntah) aritu merupekan episode Hari Ini Dlm Sejarah buat sy sbb sy berjaye mengupas durian pertama sy! Selame 31 16 tahun hidup ni, selalu org len je yg tolong kupaskan tp di hari yg permai itu, SY KUPAS SENDIRI! Percaye tak? <--Okay, cm sgt over la pulak budak Ayu ni..

Okay, sambung balik..

Siang tadi, setelah beberape hari membasuh langsir (yg sebenarnye sudah kering pade hari sy basuh jugak.. opppssss!), akhirnye sy berjaya meyakinkan diri sy yg sy cukup rajin untuk memasang langsir tersebut kembali! Maka, sudah tertutup lah kembali tingkap sy yg pecah ituuuu (Opppsss, lagi!)

Siang tadi jugak, sy telah berjaya menghabiskan sisa² akhir kerja² penyusunan buku² sy hehe.. boley? Minggu lepas start, minggu ni baru siap, Ayu? Ohhh, sungguh 'rajin' sy kan.. Sekarang, sudah tiade lagi buku² sy yg berserakkan di atas lantai, di tepi katil, di meja makan dan sebagainye kerane semuanye sudah sy susun di rak² sy yg baru dan lame itu. Seronok, okay!

Tapi..

Sy ingt buku sy banyak sangat. Sbbnye, rak² sblm ni pun tidak dpt menampung buku² sy (sbb tu la sy gedik beli rak baru hari tu kaaannn!) Tp rupenye, bile sy dah susun kesemua buku² sy, sy dapati masih terdapat ruang untuk.. hmm.. satu.. dua..

Tiga..

Empat..

Hmm.. Lima?!?!

Lima buku koooooooottttttttt!

Ape patut sy buat?

Hmmm.. terpakse la pegi Popular beli buku baru kan? Heheh.. sgt tak sedar diri kan padahal sedang menunggu lagi 4 buah buku dari The BooksGalore yg sy dah pesan bulan lepas. Itu pun nasib baik sy dah tutup FB sy buat sementara ni, klau tak, mesti sy rase mcm TERpakse pergi ke pautan untuk The BooksGalore atau Penjaja Buku kan.. kannnnn

Ohh.. lupe pule! Sy jugak telah berjaya mengemop (ade ke perkataan ni?) bilik belajar sy itu (Bilik belajar la sangaaaaaaaaatttt.. lebih kepade STOR BUKU shj!) setelah beberape ~~tahun~~.. err, bulan.. tidak melakukan aktiviti tersebut. Maka, bilik ini sudah boleh digunekan dgn selese kembali.. yeayyy!

Petang tadi pule, sedang sy bersiap mahu ke pasar malam, kedengaran tepon sy berbunyi menandekan rezeki hari Jumaat sudah masuk hehe.. nak tau ape sy dpt? Tadaaaa~~

TQ Abg Azahar.. ni boleh simpan sampai raye ni, bukan senang nak dpt kek rasmi Sarawak ni! Tp mcm sedikit ragu² je, sempat ke nak simpan sampai raye, takut blum sempat bulan pose pun dah abis kooottt.. oppssss! Ohh, tak leh. tak leh.. paling tidak simpan ke bulan pose buat jamu kwn² mase berbuke, sebarkan sikit pahale org yg kasik, ye tak?

Tapi.. laratkah anda nak buat jamuan bukak pose ni, Ayu?!?!

Di pasar malam, sy dpt membeli sayur²an, udang dan sotong. Sgt tidak dpt digambarkan perasaan sy bile lihat peti sejuk sy penuh di bahagian simpanan sayur ituuuuuu <--nmpk sgt ruang tu sgt jarang laaaa diisi kaaannnn

Balik ke rumah, sy mule menyiang dan membersihkan barangan yg dibelikan.. tetibe mcm perasan rajin la kan, klau tidak, sblm ni dgn plastik² bungkusan tu sy campak di bahagian sejuk beku <--dasar M!

Kemudian mase untuk ke kelas.. TAPI, sblm tu sy sempat singgah Econsave untuk mencari ikan sbb mase dok perasan rajin menyiang udang sotong segale sambil teringt sayuran yg bnyk itu, sy teringat ikan kukus kak Shima yg sedap~~

Rindu pulak kat kakak² sy tu dulu (Ishhh.. sedey tetibe)

Maka, bile balik rumah semule, sy menyambung menyiang udang (ye, sy buat keje ngan lembap!) termasuk la ikan yg baru dibeli ~~sambil berlari ke ruang TV sekali sekale untuk melayan 2 buah muvi dia TV3 dan RTM2 tadi hehe..~~

Sbb tu la pukul 2.30am baruuuuuu la siap semua keje² tu..

..dan sbb tu la sy rase sy bau cam ikan dan udang skrg!

~~Sib baik sy tido sorg, klau tak, dah kene halau dari katil dah gamaknye hehe..~~

Dan skrg baru sy nak rase mengantuk.. tp sy nak mandi dulu kasik wangi sblm tido ~~wpun tido sorg~~!

Ye, entri ni mcm tah pape.. tp sy seronok sbb rase mcm sgt terisi hari sy hari ni. Kan seronok klau hari² sy bleh rase hari tersisi camni.. tak payah la sy nak pk pasal bende yg sy tanak pk tu kaaannn.. kaaaannn..

='(

FB Ayu M.I.A?!?!

2011-07-03T22:19:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum

Dear Friends who've been concerned..

You won't know how it made me feel when you guys asked why I was missing from FB.. and I thought no one would notice! Not la that it was a flag for attention pun kan.. dah deactivate FB, mau attention mcm mana, right? But you guys made me feel that you cared, and I really appreciate that right now..

And for those who've asked, yes, I will activate my FB again one day (which I hope would be in the very near future since I DO feel that sometimes this is the only place I get to know about updates from you guys, especially the ones far away from me)

Its just that I'm in a sorta rough patch right now. I need to sort out a few things and sort out my feelings too. I've always thought of myself as a secretive person (klau tak, idak le cume kwn² je yg tau pasal my blog ni wpun dah bertahun I've been writing in this) but with FB, I realize that I tend to share almost everything.

From boring and mundane things like when I'm stuck in the traffic jam (and suprised that I could experience it HERE in Pt Buntar) to the times I win stuff on the radio/online to the times of my encounter with the horrific Mr K haha.. to things that happen in my classes and the list goes on.

I just don't think I'm ready to be defeated by my impulse to share everything (sometimes without even realizing it) especially in time like these. Tau la kaaaan, nak update status or gambo in FB bkn susah sgt pun. Don't hafta go online pun, its just an sms/MMS away je punnnn.. tu yg kadang² tidak berape sedar sgt what I share on my wall..

Hahah.. boley gitu?!?

Thats why, for a while, I'm going in hiding.. not because I hate you guys. I love you guys especially for making me feel that someone (or a bunch of someoneS like the whole lot of you~♥) would go search for me if I ever get lost one day <--Okay, sgt DRAMA!

I'd only planned on going away for a week, but my emotions the other day were still quite jumbled up so I decided to take a longer 'vacation' for a while, so yeah..

..at least for a while!

But still, to all of you've who've cared enough to ask (you know who you are though most of you don't even know my blog), thanx for making me feel not totally worthless as I had initially felt at the beginning of my 'vacation'. You guys are the best and may Allah grant you happiness a thousand time over as what you have made me feel.

I love you guys! ~ ♥

Wassalam

With love from,

~Ayu~

..=(

2011-07-01T23:09:00.000+08:00

I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. ~~I'm not upset~~.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. ~~I'm not upset~~.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. ~~I'm not upset~~.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. ~~I'm not upset~~.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. I'm not upset.. ~~I'm not upset~~..

27-hour Tourist in Penang ~ ☺

2011-06-29T02:40:00.013+08:00

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..

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

2011-06-26T07:39:00.005+08:00

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..

Not gonna do it.. am I?

2011-06-24T17:28:00.000+08:00

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?

2011-06-24T16:35:00.000+08:00

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..

Dia buat balik daaaahhhhh!!

2011-06-20T22:35:00.004+08:00

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..

Reunion @KFC lagi?!? =p

2011-06-14T12:27:00.001+08:00

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!

Just for laughs

2011-06-10T12:23:00.001+08:00

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

Reunion @KFC? Hahah.. =p

2011-06-06T09:20:00.001+08:00

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!

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

2011-06-05T22:53:00.003+08:00

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~♥

Weekend di mane dapur sy berasap! Hehe..

2011-05-30T11:18:00.000+08:00

Don't you just hate waiting for something you're not sure you'll get?

Haiyaaaa.. sy pening laaa~~

Wanted to do somethings to keep my mind of other certain things so I checked my fridge to see whats available. Kebetulan jugak, on Friday, I went outta my usual 'route' through the pasar malam and for the first time in my life went to the wet market part of the pasar malam. Okay la, admittedly, I don't cook that much and on weekends where I choose to go to the market instead of taking my morning stroll are like the only times I'd cook. I just wanted to look around but the sight of squiggly squid in their black in and smelly prawns tempted me. Okay, somethings wrong with the picture here, camne raw seafood leh tempt me ni?!?! Klu yg dah sedia masak tu cam logic la jugak kan? Hahah..

Anyways.. the next morning I found myself slaving in the kitchen menyiang the sotong and udang (ye, udang sy selalu bogel klau sy yg masak!). I'd bought a can of carbonara (A'ah.. carbonara or any other creamy pasta sauce sy mmg tatau buat from scratch but any tomato-ey kinda sauce, I'd gladly waste my time for that hehe..) a few MONTHS ago so I decided to dump all the seafood (the sotongs, udang bogels, cut-up dory fillet and some crabsticks) in the sauce to eat with some fetucinni.. yummy! Niat nak hantar ke jiran terbantut coz I didn't realize how hungry I was.. boley?

The next day I was fasting so while thinking of what to do for iftar, I remembered the cheesy mayo I bought a few days before so I decided to whip up some potato salad in the morning so by iftar, it would be nicely chilled ☺

Pastu bleh plak while texting with my sister, Izati, pasal meatballs, I felt like making them but unfortunately, I didn't have any minced meat in my freezer. Kuciwa, until I found some leftover dory fillets.. jeng²! Kepale mencari idea~~

I marinated the fillets (along with a few leftover prawns form the day before) in some garlic and paprika. Then a few minutes before iftar, dumped them in a bowl of flour and dipped those in some beaten egg before I covered them with crushed cornflakes (lebihan from my choc with cornflakes experiment). Then of course la musti mau goreng dan hasilnye..

Hmm.. not bad! Got a crunchy coat from the cornflakes but leftover minyak dia mmg tak leh pakai balik dah la heheh..

Tp besa la nafsu org berpuase hehe *redfaced* Actually telah termasak sgt la lebey kan.. sampai malam la sy kene makan abiskan, padan muke!

Actually suprised myself that I'd cook 2 days in a row.. boley?

Haa.. another one I wanted to share dah lame. I tried another recipe for non-baked cheesecake I got from Maya. Sedap la jugakk, a bit more creamier that the current recipe I've been using. The topping plak, now I'm a bit of a 'perak', trying out all the available toppings at the shop I usually buy my supplies. So here's the un-artistic (my student actually told me nasib baik cikgu bkn arts teacher.. cisss.. hahah..) outcome for my cheesecake with orange, blueberry, kiwi and blueberries with fruit topping. Antara sumer I think I prefer the kiwi and normal blueberry (fruitless) topping kot (though more than half dpt kat jiran coz tak larat la sy nak abiskan satu cake tuuuuu..

Still, I bought some dragonfruit+strawbery and mango topping baru ni.. hmm, bile la nak try pulak yg tu kan? =p

Today I learned..

2011-05-22T07:24:00.002+08:00

..that if you suddenly feel the pricks of the first tears coming to your eyes, you can stop them from falling by taking a long and deep breath through your mouth ='(

A truckload of memories.. ok la, tipu! Just boxfuls of them.. ☺

2011-05-11T08:21:00.004+08:00

Last week, my room got flooded!

There was something wrong with the roof or something but during a storm on Monday, I found myself swimming in my room.. Okay, I'm exagerrating, but you get what I'm saying right.

The water ran down from the front wall of my bedroom and practically flow across the house right out the back door *sigh* I had to spend the best of the morning mopping up the water but gave up after a while since the flow vs Ayu's mopping was showing signs of the flow winning by means of being so much faster than the speed of my mopping.

It was only on Sunday did I manage to clear up my room that was already having that queer smell of wet cardboard. Why wet cardboard? Well, when I first rented here, I thought I was ONLY staying for the duration of my masters so I had kept all my moving boxes in preparation for a move. I didn't expect to still stay here 5 years later. nyway, I kept all those boxes neatly under my bed but after the leaking roof disaster, all those boxes were beyong saving so I had to throw them away.. or risk having a room that smells unpleasant enough to make me rather sleep on the couch.

Some of those boxes were empty but some had a few things in them that I had totally forgotten about..

The first thing I found in the first box I was throwing away were a few jars I had filled with dried petals. It made me smile for a long time since these were the flowers I had received during my graduation for my bachelors degree. I had received at least 12 bouquets of flowers (a first for me ok!) and treasured them all enough to not wanna throw them away after they had withered. Instead, I bought these jars and filled them with the dried petals..

Actually, one of these jars also contains the rose petals from the flowers given to me my IM. Somehow, instead of making me sad, it actually made me smile as I remembered my feelings at that exact time. Nope, I don't want him back la (just coz I was smiling.. duh!), but I guess some memories just stick around in your head anyway!

The next thing I found, was actually also indirectly related to IM. You see, I had bought this photo frame to put our graduation picture (the one and only picture of us together) in it but after things went astray, I had hidden the picture somewhere else (where I mysteriously can't remember till today) and kept the frame back into its styrofoam box, empty with no picture in it. This part made me feel sad (but just a bit je la..) coz I guess I didn't expect things to happen the way they had.. =(

Then I found some A4-sized papers neatly folded. I opened them and almost laughed when I realized they were song lyrics I had compiled once upon a time ago. Almost immediately I began singing some of those songs. There were a mixture of all sorts but certainly songs I had really liked once upon a time ago.

After putting those papers into the recyclable pile, I found another pile of papers in another box and was suprised to see that they were Additional Mathematics notes I had made for my students when I had taught the subject a few years ago. The thing is, I've been avoiding teaching the subject for years now.. and I can't remember why! I've almost forgotten that I once taught that and everytime my students want to ask me a question on that, instead of Modern Mathematics, I always tell them I don't teach that subject when I had actually taught it for 3 years kot klau tak silap hehe..

Another folder of papers were revealed to be my MSc notes. I didn't expect to find them in the boxes under my bed since most of them have already been filed away in my MSc box files for easy referance but here they were, complete with Dr Wan's handwriting on some of them ☻

In another box, I found a few more smaller boxes and I opened them to find old gift given to me by.. by.. errr, by sape eh? Hahaha.. aiyak! I've totally forgotten by whom. There's an essential oil burner, a stationary stand, another burner and a few other knick knacks given to me through all the years..

Next I found an old Dragon Ball comic book, salvaged from my school days (my recent one were all recently bought since my original ones sumer telah dihilangkan oleh adik² ku yg tersayang). It was without its dust jacket and all, but it made me go back to my school years when me, Misa and Amoi (and Nafisah sometimes) would go hunt for those comic books.

The last box made me laugh out loud when I found my first pair of spectacles. I had bought them during matriculation after complaining of headaches and had my doctor tell me to go check my eyes. I didn't believe her when she said my eyesight was the source of my headaches since had the BEST eyesight in my classes for years! Seriously, I could see farther than anyone else (proven ok.. bkn sy ckp je ni!) so imagine my suprise when it was revealed that I had to wear glasses. Granted the lense power was only around 50~75 but it sure made me realize why it was so hard for me to focus on the writings on the whiteboard once I started to wear them.

I remember Mama laughing at me as I was so conscious of myself whenever I wore them. I only wore them in class, mind you. A habit that has stayed with me till now (tho I also wear it when driving at night too nowadays)

But what made me a bit sad was what I had found at the bottom of that last box. A few old photo negatives during the time digital cameras were still not that affordable and not that easy-to-get like now. Those were negatives of pictures from my convocation, from my data collection days during MSc and alos from the baktisiswa I had joined then, PEWARIS where I had met my juniors whom I'm still close too till now. Luckily I still have the original photos so I just need to digitalyze them but still, there are some mising photos from my collection..

Well, I had fun clearing up my room that day. All sorts of memories jumped right up at me and most of them made me smile and reminisce those good ol' days..

*sigh* Don't you miss all those times you just can't get back, too?

Then hantaransssssss.. and my own try at icing bigger cakes than cupcakes =p~

2011-05-07T17:31:00.006+08:00

*Finally blogspot is usable again.. adehh!*

This is a backdated entry which I have 'updated' hahah.. It was supposed to be of me showing of my non-existant skills at icing big cakes (sy budak baru belajo!) but I've also added some pictures of the latest cupcakes I've been doing for hantaran. Still no improvement sgt but.. boley la kot? <--updated 7th May 2011

Okay, this is the cake which lead to my tries on trying to cover big cakes with cream. I'd promised my youngest sister who turned 2 last month that I'd make he a cake so voila!

Hahah.. boley la kot nooo.. I'm not that creative but I was glad she loved it (Kak Yong buat, mesti la adik dia suke je.. buat ngan penuh kasih sayang kaaaannn hehe..)

Before that, I tried my hand at a few cakes. My aim was to make a smooth coating so I had to do it a few times la kan.. with kinda boring toppings sbb pas penat mengcover cake, sy malas nak pk dia nye hiasan.. boley?

My 1st try..

My 2nd try for Duwe..

My 3rd try for Yun's birthday (which still tak brape nak smooth *sigh*)

Well, then there's the hantarans I did as per request. I really have to learn other kinds of deco laaaa~~

For kak Sue's cousin. She wanted a black and red theme like the I ♥ New York girl's hantaran the other day..

For my student's sister who got engaged on the 1st of May..

And for my cousin's wedding..

Which she tuko to look like this (along with the cookies and chocolates I also made for her) hehe..

Ok.. malas wanna write out much.. (and since I've been having some problems uploading photos jugak so malas tulis panjang kot nnt kene cancel je entry nihhh)

My Polkadot Experience

2011-05-06T09:35:00.004+08:00

Okay.. I couldn't sleep well last night. Kept thinking and thinking and getting kinda sick at it so here I am, trying to do another 'colourful' entry to chase the blues away..

It started when I was struggling with my chocoloate-making (non-existant) skills. I kept getting all non-too-pleased with the result that I think Diana dah tak larat nak layan (haha..!) so she suggested I try something she was enjoying doing at the moment: Apam polkadot a.k.a Telur Dinosaur!

I can't say that I haven't noticed those colourful kuih on her profile but I was still trying my best at the chocolate thingey that it didn't register in my mind that I could do this. However, due to being locked up in the house coz malas nak keluar, I decided to try my hand at it.

Now Diana, bless her soul, had given the recipe along with a few tips she learnt and me being me, didn't ask her any questions and just copied the recipe.

My for my first try, I was quite impressed on how easy and less messy it was compared to cupcakes. I was having fun colouring the batter and all that UNTIL came the time for the polkadots.

I was debating with myself whether to put the dot before of after steaming (halfway la) and was a bit embarassed to kacau Diana and ask her so I decided to steam it halfway THEN only put the dots.

Lalalaaaa~~

Halfway through, baru la kan terkedek nak buh the dots but after a few apams, I somehow felt there was something wrong somewhere so I didn't continue dotting the other apams..

..and this is the result!

Hahaha.. cam berbisul la pulak sy punye apam! Huduh giler hokey.. (wpun stil consumable laaa)

See the other apams which I didn't dot, jauh lagi lawa dari Apam Bisul sy haha..

So the next steamed batch (stil same mixture sbb dpt bnyk kannn!) I learnt my lesson and did the dots BEFORE steaming and voila!

Yeay! Jadik punnn hehe..

This batch I gave to my students (Ok, nape tetibe rase sedih di sini??!) but the next day I made another batch, nak test skill kah? Hahaha..

Very colourful kan.. ni Diana nye keje la ni pi ajaq kak Ayu dia! But thanx ye cik adik.. sgt seronok buat bende ni~☺

Dlm ke'kacauan jiwa', masih sempat mencari tempat gelak dan ketawa =)

2011-04-29T08:03:00.004+08:00

I've not been feeling that good since the past few weeks. My health pun not very good (style demam tak demam yg sgt la menyakitkan hati, baik la demam teruk sekali gus rather than demam skit² for 2 weeks) and my mental health pun agak tunggang langgang due to some things I'd rather keep to myself..

Anyway, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and all that but then I realized, this week hasn't been all blues and greys. In fact, I've found time to actually be amused and laugh a bit here and then.

Hmm.. lets see!
Monday: Had my form 1 class in Pt Buntar (my one and only form 1 class.. klau tak, beratur je kelas form 1 sy.. syukur la sgt sikit je tahun ni hehe..) I was laughing along with my class when outta the blue, one of my students declared "Besar nnt sy nak ngorat cikgu tau!"

What embarassed me the most was that, instead of laughing it off, I found myself blushing furiously to the delight of my students who started teasing me endlessly hahah.. adoi laaa Ayu!
Tuesday: Went to Honey to buy some chocolate moulds for my cousins wedding. The moulds cost only about RM2.80~RM3.50 each and I bought TWO.. only TWO! Know what I was charged?

RM 70 000++

..and I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud at the cashiers look on her face when she looked at the receipt!

Wednesday: I met two of my exstudents in Watsons and when they got home, they started reenacting the act of me singing in my car! Aiyakkk.. kantoi la plak ngan diorg but I couldn't help laughing at them as they teased me senselessly.. aishhh, miss those guys!

Thursday: Went about doing the chocolates for Intan's reception and was thoroughly amused when I looked at the outcome.. yup! My chocolates turned out to be kinda upside-down-inside-out when it came to the letterings.. faulty moulds (The ones that cost me RM70 000++ tuuuuu..) Hahaha..

Friday: Well, today I'm gonna be busy with cupcakes and cookies for Intan.. but I'm not gonna miss the wedding of the decade, am I?

Ayu's Piece of Mind..

Betrayal of a memory?!?!

What the...?!?!

Sape tak kenal tune ni kan hehe..

Not well.. in weird kinda way

Once a KRU posse, always a KRU posse kah?

Goodbye 2011

Ok.. confirm! Hahah..

The Pie Entry

Like I said..

The Bookworm strikes again..?!?

And from my oven, came this..

A Dream and a Song.. related kah?

Activity Kutip-Mengutip~~

This December is different..

...

A birthday wish.. belated one, that is!

Alkisahnye..

In the (E)mail today..

Stumbled upon this.. err, a few weeks ago..

Di suatu malam yang tak berape sepi..

Pantun tak romantik.. tp pada sy, chumel! ☺

Grr.. nak marah pun ade!! Sabo je lah..

Then..

6th Challenge ~ A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere

Welcome home, Precious! ♥

I wish..

Sy bertuah sebab..

Sesuatu yang berkesan dalam hati sy..

Bile 1st time accident~

5th Challenge ~ A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

No Wonder I'm Not An Accountant!!

10 years ago.. to the date!

4th Challenge ~ A Song That Makes You Sad

Cookie dough Pt.2

I'm a fan of cookie dough ~ ♥

3rd Challenge ~ A Song That Makes You Happy

Terkenang saat itu.. Pt2

2nd Challenge ~ You Least Favourite Song

Terkenang saat itu.. Pt1

1st Challenge ~ Your Favourite Song

Tatkale writing sy stuck dek writers block..

And it goes without saying..

AND.. *drum rolls*

='(

When I think of kak Shima and Ramadhan, I also think of..

Has anyone seen where my patience has gone to? =(

Guess where I just came back from?

I know I'm getting better when

And finally.. ♥

Always a bridesmaid, never THE bride?!?!

Mabuk karipaf la sy pasni.. =p~

Current Mantra..

Transformers?!?! Ke minor makeover je? Hehe..

Pukul 3 pagiii~~ ♪ <--tipu, baru kul 2.45am

FB Ayu M.I.A?!?!

..=(

27-hour Tourist in Penang ~ ☺

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

Not gonna do it.. am I?

Swimming in Books.. boley?

Dia buat balik daaaahhhhh!!

Reunion @KFC lagi?!? =p

Just for laughs

Reunion @KFC? Hahah.. =p

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

Weekend di mane dapur sy berasap! Hehe..

Today I learned..

A truckload of memories.. ok la, tipu! Just boxfuls of them.. ☺

Then hantaransssssss.. and my own try at icing bigger cakes than cupcakes =p~

My Polkadot Experience

Dlm ke'kacauan jiwa', masih sempat mencari tempat gelak dan ketawa =)

AND.. drum rolls