Friday, March 28, 2008

natra birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY nAtRa !!!




goodbye ol' boy

goodbye ol' boy

Sunset in Kallang.































That place is like a ghost town, man.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

4 Cs and a B

4 Cs & a B
Chalet, Course, Cousins, Cakes & BBQ

So my family booked a chalet at 'Island Resort' East Coast over the long Good Friday weekend.

'Resort', MY FOOT! With the exorbitant rates they charge for one room there, there's no harm in expecting good things, rite?

...Rite?

I mean, with that same amount, I can get myself a decent hotel room uptown!

I sure as hell did not expect these:

- mosquitoes buzzing around
- the wardrobe door to almost come off the hinges
- the main doors to being unable to lock properly
- the overhead fan to spin at a pathetic speed
- to have only a naked bulb for overhead lighting (some units have chandeliers)
- have no extra power point for the kettle (you need to use the switch meant for the standing fan)
- the aircon to work miserably (obviously they haven't been serviced for quite sometime)
- bits of gypsum board coming off the stair edge
- the tap in the toilet washbasin to leak

It's no wonder that there are still available rooms despite us booking it less than a month prior to the long weekend. All Costa Sands resorts were fully booked by then.

Upon checking out, my dad spotted the proprietor. Turns out there was another unhappy guest. Both of them demanded requested for a feedback form. They believe that it's their right as a customer to be able to give comments on the lack of service and poor maintenance.

Okay, back to happier things... Pictures!


My maternal cousins.

Location of camera: On the dustbin.
Hence the green foreground.

My wearing the hijab is due to that I just came from my marriage preparatory course.







Natra and my Dad with the cakes.
Mango cake from Polar, chosen by me, paid by my fiance.
Chocolate cake baked by Natra.

Dad's b'dae: 24th March Age: 60
OMG! So old already?!

Natra's bdae: 28th March Age: 18

Date of celebration: 22nd March






3 goons. My bro and his close pals.












Our bdae gift for Daddy. An mp3 player.

That pic was taken when I was transferring songs. Songs from me are the likes of Scorpions ballads, Broery Marantika, Abiet G. Ade, Sudirman, Chrisye etc....

Songs from my bro are by Helloween, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple etc...

He's out to give my dad heart palpitations.



Quite a rarity. My camera-shy guy posing for the camera!

(unlike me, the aspiring cam-whore)















It was quite hectic for my family that Saturday. That Friday night itself, was pretty madcap, with me having to drive back and forth, bringing the things meant for the chalet/bbq.

My mum must have thought that we're moving house, with the amount of things she had arranged to bring. Then there's the last minute grocery shopping at NTUC.

The next morning was worse. My parents had to go back to attend a wedding. My brother works in the morning and I had to fetch my fiance to attend the Marriage Preparatory Course (kursus perkahwinan).

Considering that the course was a full day affair, I decide to park at Golden Landmark instead, since I can't imagine the number of coupons that I may have to tear out if I parked outside. But I sure as hell didn't expect the $18++ charge. I mean, it's a Saturday after all!

The course was a blast. It's does work to open up our eyes to what we'll be in for. Everything was direct, straight-in-the-face. Coincidentally, issues that he and I have discussed about, was a topic of discussion with the jovial Ustazah Hamidah.

Anyway, I send him back to his house just so that he can wash up and I managed to get his parents to come along to the bbq.

Which was also a blast, by the way.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

meet-up with matt

meet-up with matt

Ho ho.

I believe, our poly life would have been different had there been no one called 'Matthew' in our class.

Matt the prankster.

Oh the things he did.... He's always up to something. Not to mention his 'quotable' quotes.

The whole bunch of us love to recall these moments when he wasn't around, just for a good round of laughs. Never mind the fact that we do repeat the same things with every time we meet.

Yesterday, we finally met up with him since he's back from Auckland for a short while.

Funnily enough, he couldn't remember much about his antics from way back then. We were more than happy to jolt his memory, after which he'll have this smirk, followed by, "Oh, ya..."
Then, "Ho, ho..." (that's the way he seem to laugh).

I thought he never changed much when he quoted, "Whatever turns you on.." (we usually say 'whatever rocks ur boat'). But he does seem to mellow a lil' bit.

Things he used to do:
- Call Weng Yi (one of us) and pass the phone to our lecturer when WY picked up, saying, "Mdm Z*****, Weng Yi has something to ask you."

- Walk into the room despite being more than 15mins late for lecture. Shield one side of his face from lecturer's view and tried treading slowly while PASSING IN FRONT OF the lecturer. When questioned by the her, he gave an 'innocent' look and ask, "Am I late?"

- Replace the faces of the Star Wars crew (yes, including Chewbacca) with that of our lecturers and print the picture. Then paste it on the class studio door.

- Agitate the lecturers then say, "Cher (sic)... Don't be angry, lah." Or, "Why you so stressed?"

- Stand at the big, clear glass window and do the 'going down the lift' or the 'swim backstroke across the window' actions. When others are doing their presentation.

- Using the roller chairs in the studio to play gladiator games.


But the biggest comeback against him was on his birthday that one year.

He went around, shaking peoples' hands saying, "Happy Birthday to me!" while twisting his wrist up to show everyone his new Tag Heuer watch. That smug look on his face then....

Until he came to our classmate who is pretty well-versed in branded watches, who asked to look at his watch a little closer. As soon as he held it in his hand, he exclaimed, "This is a fake, lah!"

The look on Matt's face then... Priceless.

"How much did you pay for it?"

I remember he mumbling something in the range of almost 'two thousand'. OMG, I tell you, ALL of us had a good laugh and we were quick to spread the word about 'Matthew and his fake Tag Heuer that cost thousands'.

Man, that was fun... Rest assured, those are not all of his crazy antics. I can just go bonkers just recalling them all.

With Matthew, by being himself, is being full of crap.



























































Looking at this pic, I think you'll know which one is Matthew...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

JHJ

Turn Back The Clock - Johnny Hates Jazz

Another day is ended
And I still can't sleep
Remembering my yesterdays
I begin to weep
If I could have it over
Live my life again
I wouldn't change a single day

(Chorus)
I wish that I could turn back the clock
Bring the wheels of time to a stop
Back to the days when life was so much better

Lying here in silence
Picture in my hand
Of a boy I still resemble
But I no longer understand
And as the tears run freely
How I realise they were the best years of my life

(Chorus)

You might say it's just
A case of giving up
No
But without these memories where is the love
Where is the love

If I could have it over
Live my life again
I wouldn't change a single day

(Chorus)

Why can't I turn back the clock
Bring the wheels of time to a stop
Back to the days
Oh no no
I remember when
Life was so good
I'd go back if I could
Oh oh I wouldn't change a single day
Don't let the memories slip away
I wouldn't change a single day
Don't let the memories slip away

Monday, March 17, 2008

over the weekend

over the weekend...

hey the weekend's been effing hot, ain't it?

But it didn't stop Effy (my cousin) & me from having a good time.

Well, mainly because we stayed indoors, that's why.

Step Up 2 was a good show to watch on a weekend. When you don't/can't dance, just enjoy watching others do it.

If they are entertainers, someone's gotta be entertained, rite?

A tub of Yami yoghurt never taste so good...



Camwhore, I'm not.

But it's not easy getting someone who also has a penchant to go crazy in front of the camera.

And loving every moment of it.

May be our first meet-up together but please, don't make it the last.

Can? Can...?







And many, many congratulations to my old pal from way back in secondary school, Siti Rufeah.

Welcome to the Fiancee Club, yo!

Skala-skali make-up, jamboo, you!





That's my mum and me with the highlight of the day.

Semoga tabah mengaharungi alam pertunangan bersama yang tersayang. . .

Shyba had asked that we go out together to make up for her absence yesterday.

We get her to treat us, howabout' tat?

Thursday, March 13, 2008

cosy birthday meet-up

a cosy birthday meet-up

Meet Khama, the birthday boy yesterday. He just turned 27.

Yesterday afternoon, he kena saboh-ed by his mum.

She called the Malay radio station, Ria and have the female dj play a prank on him, getting her to pretend to ask him out.

He freaked out of course but was quick to discover something fishy with the whole get-up.


His mum's wish to him (over the airwaves, mind you!) is for him to find a life partner. Quickly.

LOL.

He almost didn't get to eat his cake yesterday (Choc. Brownie Cheesecake).

Blame it on the prank he tried on us. It almost worked.

After waiting for more than an hour for him, he sms-ed me:

K (Khama) : Have u guys waited long?
M (me) : Well, of course!
K: Oh no are you guys mad if I say I cannot make it?
M: (pissed) It's ok if you're busy. There's always another time.

At this point, I was kinda infuriated but it's hard getting angry at Mr B'dae boy for long. So Kai & I ordered the cake that we intend to share with him.

As always, I took a photo of is first (can't resist!). After which I saw that I had 2 more sms-es.

It was Khama.

K: He he he just kidding. ok will be there at about 1030. (I didn't reply. By this time I almost hit the roof)
K: Hoit don't leave tau. Me still coming over. (grrrr...... -_-)

So we send the cake back and made a request to bring it out 'with a candle' when me make another drink order. Kai told me that the last time he came here for a friend's birthday, that's what he said and they got a surprise.

After Mr Diva's arrival and after he finally made up his mind as to what to drink, they served our hot chocolate. Followed by this.


Make a wish.
































Then the waiter served the birthday boy with the 'surprise'.


A cup of ice-cream with a slab of choc wishing 'Happy Birthday'.

Initiative from the cafe owners who are usually present.










Happy boy.














Happy Birthday to meeee!

*chomp!*













Bonus pic:

Our favourite from this cafe.

Chocolate Cheesecake.

Must. Try.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

back from Selangor

back from Selangor

ok, me back.

always back with a different set of mixed feelings.

the trip this time..... fwah!

there's drama, action/adventure, fun and even horror.

i mean, how thrilling can a trip back to the kampung for a wedding be, right?

well, when u got: an-attached-girl-who-realised-that-her-ex-brought-his-gal-to-the-kampung-with-him-and-got-really-jealous, while the current-gal-of-the-guy-looks-warily-at-the-ex and that idiot-of-the guy-give longing-looks-to-the-ex whenever he saw her.

obviously they still like each other! how drama can that get?!

wait there's more...

i didn't know guys from Terengganu (the bride is from there) can be pretty HOT!!!!

when the bride and groom came, all of us cheeky girls were quick to spot that the best man was pretty cute. so we took lots of photos of the couple, supposedly. somehow, we kept aiming more at him. ooohh... sooo mentel!

there there's the guy who came with his parents and brother who looked like this gorgeous thai actor. really really droolsome. my cousin was glared at by his mum when she wasn't so discreet after all, in trying to snap his pic.

then there's the bride's brother... oh well.

action adventure... hmmmm... try taking a bus from kampung to kl. only to realise that the guide we rely on have not taken buses for the past 5 years (at least) cos' he's been driving since. naturally, we missed a stop, had to do some walking...

And try standing throughout the 1.5 hrs journey, with part of it involves driving through some winding, hilly roads.


And along the way to KL, the Selangor Bus actually drove into the bus depot to refuel before continuing its journey, ok?

can u imagine taking an sbs/smrt bus from bedok to jurong and it refuel somewhere in clementi? with all the passengers inside? haha... I so jakun, liddat.

Then, on our journey back to KL, this time to head back home, the bus actually broke down after it refuel! the whole load of passengers have to alight and wait for another bus! imagine us with our luggage and boxes of food!

And talk about blessings. how we had a close shave from a possible tragedy.

You know in malaysia, it's pretty common to see those pointy, circus-like tents being put up right? well if the supplier miscalculated the structural strength of that tentage, can you imagine what might happen?





In my opinion, the tentage there was assembled for dry-weather protection. not wet weather. apparently, right after the reception was over that late afternoon, the family of the groom (including us) were having the 'makan beradab'.


Then it started raining. heavily. first it's the rain. then the winds. halfway through our meal, we heard a very loud crash. VERY loud. the i saw my grandaunt stumbled when running out of the tent and the pointed part of the tent actually CAME DOWN. From a 'V' to an inverted 'V'. And in the middle of the 'V' was a fan that was still whirring.

Thank goodness. I tell you. THANK GOODNESS the reception was over and not many were under the 2 tents that crashed. Can you imagine what could have happened had the reception be in full force?

Funnily enough, we ACTUALLY continued eating. The people there were aghast. The we screaming at us to get out of there. So we carried our plates to move out.

My uncle thought it'll still be safe and sat back at the other table. My mum followed suit. I was like, "Mum, I don't think it's even safe to eat here anymore. They're telling us to get out."

So we rushed out. And no surprise for guessing what happened in a couple of minutes.

Yes, the very tent we JUST hurried out of, it turned down too. Imagine what'll happen had we continued with our meal there!

As for the 'horror' part, well I did stay up late one night and snapped pictures into the darkness. Somehow, it's no longer as thrilling, considering they already installed streetlights on the kampung road.

But I do get some orbs here and there and one photo had a suspicious-looking face hovering suspiciously somewhere.... But hey, it can be water droplets+flash+something-something so I'm not gonna vouch for that.

But on our last night there, my uncle who slept outside (inside too warm) claimed to have seen 2 pontianaks flying out of the palm oil plantation. Both had long fangs. One had 1/2 of the face rotting away while the other one had really red eyes. He saw them twice.

So there. Over there my mum already extend advance invitations to my wedding reception, to get them prepared to come down here. Cos' somehow, over there, they are not really willing to go through the hassle of having their passports made. Cos' it's expensive, the process tedious and they hardly travel.

I may be going back to KL to source for more stuff for the wedding and maybe give my dad a chance to visit Selangor again, seeing that he didn't manage to get leave to go there this time.

Till' then!

Friday, March 07, 2008

not packed - yet again

not packed - yet again

yes. u read right.

I'm setting off early tomorrow morning and I have not packed.

I bet by now some of you out there are just so sick and tired of this common gripe of mine that you just wanna reach into your screen and slap me. Or send a virtual slap.

Doesn't that sound like something out of facebook?

At least I'm happy about something. I settled that andaman part of my wedding preps. Wowee!

Simply because I don't bother to source from anywhere else. Hey, the variety is there, the price good, the service great, why shouldn't I just accept?

For this, I gotta thank my buddy Tini for her help. Tak sesia ada members kerja kat Majalah Perkahwinan!

Although it was some adventure, yesterday. Getting to the bridal house. With Sri, my mum and my fiance. My future M-I-L backed out last min.

With me at the wheel, it's ALWAYS an adventure.

I actually referred to streetdirectory.com, okay? Specifically because I'm coming from my fiance's place. And I dunno how to go from there. How was I to know that streetdirectory.com actually ask me to turn right into a 'no-right-turn' lane!

So in my panic, I missed the ACTUAL lane to turn into. So I decide to keep right so that I can u-turn at the next junction. 3 junctions later and still no way to u-turn. I know that I can turn left into a lane down the road and turn back out but it didn't cross my mind back then.

Only when I saw the entry to the highway ahead (egad!) that made an effort to outrun all the cars at the next green light and filtered all the way to the left, upon which I finally discovered the revered u-turn signboard at the junction ahead. By then, we're more than 2km overshot.

I got Sri to contact the people at the bridal shop cos' they're closing at 9pm and seeing that it's almost time, last thing I need is to drive all the way to a bridal shop that's closed.

Thankfully, they were so busy making preparations for the 10 weddings they had under them this weekend so even the boss is staying back till late. I actually left around 10pm! Heh.

So that's my adventure last night. Pathetic, I know.

Another issue now. Ladies, do you know that exercise can affect your menstruation??

I learn that some time ago when watching G.I. Jane (starring Demi Moore). The intense training that she went through caused her menstruation to halt, albeit maybe temporarily.

I'm going through that now. Cos' as of a month ago, I started going to the gym and the sudden change in my lifestyle and habits caused my body, specifically my hormones to go on an overhaul.

I'm still waiting for my menstruation that's due last month. I'm finally getting PMS now. But instead of the usual slight abdominal cramps, I'm getting headaches. And the pimples... Argh..!

Thing is, the timing couldn't be ANY better.

Cos' now that I've been given signs telling me tat' I'll be getting it soon, rite?

Tomorrow I'm headed for the kampong! In Selangor! For a wedding!

It'll be sooo convenient to dispose of my sanitary pad over there, wouldn't it? What with the place being so hyped up with activity and all the people dropping by to help out.

Where in the world do they dispose of their rubbish anyway? And it's such a taboo to just toss these sanitary napkins anywhere. You know how creepy the kampong surroundings can be... Geez!

And if I am to get those bloody cramps during my journey there, it sure wouldn't help things. Especially knowing that there will definitely be a jam at the customs, since that fugitive has yet to be found and they gonna thoroughly check every vehicle that goes through....

Oh man!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

in 1 year

in a year's time....

I'll be running around like a headless chicken.

If not me, maybe my mum. Or maybe, the both of us.

women. weddings. Nightmare.

I can never be more glad for the Bali getaway. I didn't really realise the actual occurence of this psychological/emotional transition but it happened somehow.

Cos' I remember doing a lot of thinking and self-reflecting while I'm there.

What with the lush greenery of the vast paddy fields in Ubud and the crashing waves on the dark-sand beach of Seraya.

I guess it somewhat put me at peace.










Now, believe it or not, I dare say that I, Siti Nurbayya Rajiken, am finally ready for marriage.

Yes, this self-professed commitment-phobic is finally discarding her outer shell. The shell that shield her from commitment other than that required from her family, friends and work.

I finally relented on a lot of issues. I open up more to my parents and *ahem* fiance on marriage preparations.

I remember, the day after I came back from Bali, my mum went out early that morning. When she came back, she refused to talk to me. Turns out, when I was away in Bali, she finally found out that I had requested for the day to be pushed to June.

And boy was she pissed...

She gave a good talking to. Kena whacked left, right, centre.

I remember this line that she said, "... if you say you're not prepared, and you don't intend to prepare yourself, then you'll NEVER be prepared. Even if you're 50."

And she then proceed to ask me, "SO what's your reason for pushing the date?"

Oh man. Talk about irony.....

Maternal instincts. And how mums tend to read our minds. It's scary!

Anyway, so far so good.

My parents have confirmed the caterer/cook for the reception. I think that package also includes the decor. However, if the decor they offer is not up to my taste, I'll be more than willing to source for an independent decor company.

I'm going down to the bridal shop to enquire about their package and maybe get one that comes with photography. Both of us wanna videography but we'll see about that.

Pulot pahar, my neighbour's offered to do. Sireh dara, my aunt can help.

Berkat, I leave this to my parents. Apparently both of them have different ideas as to what will be nice AND practical.

The invites. I was told that it's better to make my own. Simple will do. People are just gonna read and discard it anyway. But I want a nice-nice card! With fragrance! Pretty please...?

Then again, in my line of work, I'm surrounded by creative peeps who can more than help with design ideas.... Maybe a unique card will be nice. Hmmm.... *rubs chin*

Shopping for the hantaran, I can leave it till the post-Christmas sale.

Honeymoon...? Ahhh...... Let the both of us decide first, ya...? *winks*

Oh my goodness. For a disorganised person like me, wedding preps can be a nightmare, can it...? In all my 'bochup'-ness, I still want everything to go smoothly, okay..?

Should have gotten a wedding planner.... Pfft..

Monday, March 03, 2008

Worst Word Vote

Worst Word Vote

In reference to the article from BBC

Disabled and not disabled:
how the vote compared

Here's a side-by-side comparison of how the top ten Worst Words differed between disabled and non-disabled people who took part in the poll.

DISABLED NOT DISABLED
Spastic Retard
15.1% (57 votes) 21.5% (328 votes)
Retard Window-licker
14.3% (54 votes) 19.6% (298 votes)
Brave Spastic
14% (53 votes) 19.2% (292 votes)
Special Mong
13.5% (51 votes) 15.7% (240 votes)
Cripple Special
10.8% (41 votes) 8.8% (135 votes)
Handicapped Brave
7.9% (30 votes) 6.2% (95 votes)
Wheelchair-bound Cripple
6.3% (24 votes) 4.3% (65 votes)
Mong Psycho
5.8% (22 votes) 2% (31 votes)
Psycho Handicapped
5.5% (21 votes) 1.1% (17 votes)
Window-licker Wheelchair-bound
5.3% (20 votes) 0.9% (14 votes)

I know how hard it is to be politically-correct with our choice of words. Many times, we tried hard to practice more tact when around them.

But I guess, if they can see how hard we try, they won't really hold it against us, even if we failed. Maybe they can keep their sensitivity in check.

My apologies for using a 'third-party' term here. You know, using "they" and "them". Just so that I can avoid using any words listed above.

....Till I learn of the more proper words, that is.