Confessions of the Confuzzled

Blog revival! (Attempt #5326189)

2011-09-23T08:47:00.008+08:00

I've decided, now that I am on quite an exciting journey in life (actually, most of my life has been an exciting wonderful ride, Alhamdulillah), I am going to try and revive my blog.

Hopefully I keep at it this time around, continue writing and updating. Stay tuned for the first 'proper' post in this revival! :D

Soundtrack: Death Cab for Cutie - Unobstructed Views
Mood: Excited
Location: Bedroom, friend's home in Sydenham, Christchurch New Zealand
Random thought: I think I'm starting to get used to this cold

The....band

2009-03-26T11:40:00.002+08:00

Cross-posted from my Tumblr

Kysern: from one of the pic captions:"The Altered Frequency band rocking on stage at Fly FM’s Campur Chart Goes Live In Support of Earth Hour 2009."
Kysern: that's one of my pet peeves "The AF BAND"
Kysern: it's like, it's just AF lah
Kysern: u dun say "the U2 BAND" or the "search BAND" or the "beatles BAND"
Kysern: idiots. and it's not just one writer
Kysern: it's like..... a whole bunch of them
Kysern: read so many writeups redy
Kysern: all also like that
Kysern: stupid
FizzyFizah: quite true
FizzyFizah: i wonder if it's the writers thinking they have to explain to an ignorant audience
or if they themselves are the ignorant ones hahaha
FizzyFizah: "let's go watch the Simple Plan band tonight!"
FizzyFizah: I'm a big fan of the Paramore band!
FizzyFizah: ahahaha
FizzyFizah: if you name your band The Band
FizzyFizah: it will be "The The Band band rocking on stage at Fly FM's campur chart"

Soundtrack: Jukebox The Ghost - Good Day
Mood: Neutral
Location: Living room, Shah Alam home
Random thought: Charades or a singalong?

Update you long time

2009-03-15T17:47:00.003+08:00

OH HAY!

I know, I've been bad. I have left this blog of mine, abandoned, alone, un-logged-in, for way too long. Oh weee what do we have here, a hint of green, a touch of fungi....ingrown hair, flaking pixels...

But I'm back! And that is what's important, yes?

Long story in point form-ish;

Work got pretty busy at one point, but now my project is winding down, I'm starting to be freed up a little. Am in discussions to start a new role. I've been offered something that I'm really keen on, so am hoping all goes well and according to plan! Will update when I have something confirmed.
Coke (my cat) has gotten REALLY BIG now. He's bigger than his mother. I really need to update http://thefurrycoke.blogspot.com and post up some new pictures and videos. Sadly, read next bullet point...
MY CONDO UNIT IN DAMANSARA PERDANA GOT BROKEN INTO! Yes. Oh my god indeed. This happened yesterday (Saturday, 14th March). I left the house at 11.30am to go to a friend's wedding with Eema and Muna. We returned around 2.30pm, after which we opened the cafe. I then left to The Curve and Tesco to run a quick errand. Returned at around 4pm, ate and chit chatted with Kelly at the cafe, and then decided to head upstairs to my condo to change out of my baju kebaya. Came out of the elevator, saw that the locked + bolted grill leading into my kitchen had been PRIED OPEN. Had sinking feeling, called Muna to stay on phone whilst I check the house out. Went into the house, saw that my bedroom door was ajar (I always keep it shut). Walked into bedroom, held back tears because my beloved Newton (my Macbook Pro's name) was GONE. Also stolen were my Sony digital camera (an old camera but I LOVE IT TO DEATH), and a white gold+diamond bracelet Mummy bought me :( So yes, I is very very very sad. All my prized memories, captured in pictures and videos, stored on Newton... all GONE.

Soundtrack: Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Mood: Bummed and missing my laptop + camera very muchly
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: Screw the person who stole my stuff, may you slow burn in the hell of all hells

Off to Karachi.... again

2009-01-25T01:16:00.003+08:00

So I'm waiting for my flight, my second trip (and most likely last, on this project) to Karachi, Pakistan. I guess after going there the first time around I'm a bit less anxious about the whole trip since I've already seen and experienced myself the environment and the people there. I know there are still a lot of instabilities in areas such as Peshawar and Islamabad, but InsyaAllah Karachi will be safe :)

I'm a bit sad to miss out on all the Chinese New Year excitement this Monday and Tuesday... and all the open house invitations I had to turn down... all that yummy fooooood!!! But hey, there's lots of yummy food to look forward to in Pakistan as well so my tummy will still get its fill haha.

I had some suspense two nights ago when I started feeling crummy myself (after Mummy and Amir coming down with some form of viral fever, I guess it was inevitable I would catch something too)... so yesterday morning I immediately went to see the company doctor and asked for any prescription that would make me feel better ASAP! I didn't want to fly out to Karachi with a fever! I felt worse by the evening, but thankfully my fever broke last night... I was all hot I could feel my heat off my feet. I took my meds, slept early, and woke up this morning feeling much better. I'm still feeling some heaviness in my muscles and joints though, and the tickle in my throat is still there. But at least my temperature's not high and my nose isn't blocked anymore. Would've been totally, majorly sucky if I had to go on the plane with a blocked nose... that'll just kill my ears what with the pressure and all.

Yosh I better pack up now as boarding time is near. Final thing to leave you with:

I'm sooooo looking forward to Coraline!!!!!

Soundtrack: Live football playing on the TV in the lounge
Mood: Anticipative
Location: Emirates Lounge, KLIA
Random thought: Arrrrhhhhh my shoulders.

Time to get fit yo!

2009-01-21T00:50:00.002+08:00

Shites!!! This seriously makes me think I gotta get fit like, now! Tercabar wei...

Soundtrack: Live telecast of Obama's inauguration on TV
Mood: Excited
Location: Shah Alam living room
Random thought: Najib's probably watching the inauguration imagining it was him up there boaahahahahaaahahaa.

Catching up on Take That

2009-01-16T00:17:00.004+08:00

I spent tonight catching up with anything new on Take That. I didn't know they did an advert for Marks & Spencer! Oh sigh my boys look sooooo hotttttttt

And oooh looky looky I changed my desktop wallpaper (after almost 1 year of using the As Tall as Lions album artwork):

*giggles* Yes it's Jason Orange.... dududuuuu.... Sorry Mak Teh!!! His profile looks too sexy and good and ANYAAAAAA in this picture I couldn't resist. So now when I switch on my laptop I do a mental ruffle of his hair teeheeheee!

Soundtrack: The National - Squalor Victoria
Mood: Reflective
Location: Shah Alam
Random thought: Sudden crave of Cheezels

To Qik To Tweet For You

2009-01-15T02:17:00.002+08:00

Thanks to much web-hopping, I have come across some fabulous stuff on the Internet. Some are just highly interesting reads, some are eye-candy goodies there to make me swoon (read Alex Pettyfer Jason Orange Ed Westwick lots and lots of hot brit boys lalalaa), and some are of the niftiest, uber-cool brainchilds of tech geeks from around the world.

And although I'm now a bit less enthusiastic about signing up for new accounts left and right, I HAVE signed up for two new accounts that I thought are the coolest things ever. First, I now have a Twitter account. Secondly, I created a Qik profile and tried streaming my first live video via my phone. It worked really well and I'm quite amazed at the speed too! However, I need to check with my mobile service provider about the charges incurred to get the videos up. If it's too expensive I think I'm gonna have to scrap the whole Qik thing :P

Oh and for those of you not already using Flock, you HAVE to at least give it a try. Especially if you're already in a loving relationship with Firefox. I downloaded Flock in late September last year and I think it's better than chocolate cheese cake! Never had I imagined the web browser to take on such integration and high functionality and the levels of customization ahhhhh I'm just so in love with it.

Soundtrack: Take That - How Did It Come To This (have had this on loop for hours haha)
Mood: Tired but happy
Location: Living room, Shah Alam home
Random thought: If the sun smells too loud, does the moon sing too bright?

2008 Revisited

2009-01-05T19:36:00.003+08:00

I haven't written an entry to recap my 2008 yet... so here it is!

Key events of 2008, grouped into categories and not in chronological order. For chronology, check out a pictorial recap that I made and uploaded onto my Facebook account here.

Come and Go

Nina moved into new apartment
I moved out of my Putrajaya house and into a rented condominium in Damansara Perdana
MakTeh & UncaBob return to KL for a few weeks
Hairie completed his studies and returned home from Durham
Saie & Cipau move into new apartment
Fiqrie left for Singapore
Ili left for Manchester

Holidays and Trips

Family holiday to Jakarta & Bandung
Grads' trip to Singapore (I partially joined)
Terengganu road trip with Afiza, Jorge, Wee Kee and Sabun
First trip Miri and Bintulu for work
First trip to Pakistan for work
First trip to Dubai

Marriages

Zai & Ulfah got married (and I emcee'd the dinner function with Johan)
P.E. got married
Azida got married
Shahril got married
Bobol got married
Noreen got married
Shahrin & Ririn got married
E'am got married
Lavinia & Martin got engaged
Thomas got married
Stella got married
Fatim got married
Chris & Janenette got married
Azwan & Liza got married

Babies and Birthdays

Rykal's Akikah and 1st Birthday
Alham & Fasihah had a baby girl
PakBoy & KakLin announced their pregnancy
Zai & Ulfah had a baby girl
Emir's 1st birthday

Concerts & Events

Sold Offiicial Switchfoot merchandise at their Kuala Lumpur concert (hence getting into the show for free!)
Explosions in the Sky concert in Ruums, Kuala Lumpur
Got free tickets to watch Backstreet Boys at Sunway Lagoon
Watched We Will Rock You the musical TWICE, in Singapore
Incubus in Singapore
Incubus in Malaysia (Sunburst Music Festival)
Sunburst Music Festival (list of acts here)
Own band performance at Shell IT's annual dinner
Goodnight Electric in Ipoh
Performed at Shahrin & Ririn's wedding
Watched Chelsea FC vs Malaysia football friendly
Got free passes to Daughtry live at One Utama
ENVY in Singapore
Death Cab for Cutie in Singapore
Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller & Victor Wooten in Singapore
George Michael live in Abu Dhabi (opening by Alicia Keys)

Personal High/Low-lights

Bought and took over operations of Hoxe's Bookstore & Cafe
Started working with Muna & Eema at Hoxe's
Started on a new role at Shell as a Business Analyst with an HR Programme, consquently moving work location. Left Cyberjaya for Damansara Heights
Made my first investment in Unit Trust
MET AND TALKED TO INCUBUS LIKE OMG OMG OMG!!!! (except for Ben Kenney.. sigh)
Birthday surprise party thrown for my benefit, at my own cafe! Haha
Punked Bonnie big time on April Fools Day
Went for my HUGE family gathering (tracing back 4 generations).. the Abdul Rahman-Maimunah family
Passport stolen in Singapore
Lost my cat, Misfit, who was catnapped
Gained a cat, Coca Fandango, whom I adopted after the mother abandoned it

Phew, that was quite a year (and still I may have overlooked a few happenings here and there)! I can't wait to see what 2009 brings...

Soundtrack: British Sea Power - A Trip Out
Mood: Nostalgic
Location: Shah Alam home
Random thought: I need badminton rackets.

2009-01-04T01:31:00.003+08:00

Was going through Kevin Rose's blog and he had this in a list of 'Top 10 Gifts for Geeks':

It's like COOL and CONVENIENT combined! I want one!!!

Soundtrack: Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
Mood: Cheerful
Location: Bed, Shah Alam home
Random thought: I want to buy a pair of badminton rackets

Welcome 2009!

2009-01-01T02:39:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

It's currently 2.41am and I think tonight was one of the best year-end/new-year nights I've ever had! Received several invitations from friends to parties, barbecues or just simple hang-out sessions at their houses to welcome in the new year, but I decided to turn them all down to stay home because tonight, after quite a long time, is the first time my whole family is back in this Section 9 house of ours... all in one place, at the same time!

I woke up at 5.50am this morning to Amir's SMS informing me he'd landed in KLIA from Melbourne. So Izhar, Farah and I all got out of bed early to drive there and pick him up. The minute we were all in the car the conversation had no end. We decided to have breakfast at the Dawood mamak place in Sec.6 and stayed there until 8.30 chit chatting. After dropping everyone off at home I drove out again to the Shah Alam lake for a jog, then came back home, showered, had MY breakfast and rested for a bit.

Around 1.30pm we all went back out again, Farah to join her family for lunch and us three siblings to PJ as Izhar needed to go to the Digital Mall for some computer stuff. We decided to have lunch after at Bangsar, but got caught in the beginnings of the anticipated New Year's Eve traffic jam *groan*. Didn't matter too much to us really 'cuz we still had a lot of story-mory to do haha. Made a bit of a funny booboo when we tried to take a 'shortcut' via Universiti Malaya to get from PJ to Bangsar, but instead got asked by the guards to turn around and go out the way we came from. Not such a long complicated story but you had to be there to experience the funny so I'm gonna skip telling it here :P

After finally arriving in Bangsar, we had our lunch at Nirwana for some good ol' banana leaf rice, and Farah joined us again after her dad dropped her off. I had a RM50 Haagen Dazs voucher that I got from Shell and that expired 31st December '08 so we nipped into Bangsar Village's Haagen Dazs outlet to spend that. Definitely very nice to tuck into rich creamy branded ice cream on the last day of the year, eh? I only had to top up RM15 on the total bill so it was well worth it! Yeay!

Earlier tonight Izhar, Amir and Farah made another trip to the airport and this time it was to pick Mummy and Baba up, who arrived from their 40+ days Hajj trip. I really wanted to go along and greet them at the airport but the car would've been too full by then so I stayed home instead. They reached Shah Alam at around 12.15am and we all went to Syed mamak in Sec 11 for some makan before finally settling in back home, everyone with so many stories to swap and tell we all barely felt the tiredness from each of our long days!

So as I said... I think tonight's one of the best new year's nights I've had. Just the whole family in the living room yakking away. It's just too bad Izhar has to return to Melbourne already tomorrow night, as his course doesn't have a long break and he's already cutting some classes to be home long enough for Mummy, Baba and Amir to return. Sob. But hey, 2 days is better than nothing right!

Here's to 2009 (well technically we celebrated our Islamic new year 3 days ago already so... here's to 1430M too!). May my blessed, wonderful start to this year bring significance to a great year ahead, InsyaAllah.

Soundtrack: The sound of Amir showing his sky-diving videos to Mummy and Baba
Mood: Happy, blessed and content
Location: Family home, Shah Alam

Top 40 Sense

2008-12-17T15:28:00.003+08:00

Not to boast or anything like that, but I have an ear to pick out songs that will be sure Top 40 hits. My close friends can vouch for this. You can give me a fresh new album and I'll pick out one or two songs which I 'like' and 6 months or so later it'll be on the top of one chart or another.

The theory proved itself again today but only because I'm a bit late in reviewing an album. Snow Patrol's new album, A Hundred Million Suns to be specific. They released the album sometime in late October but I'm only previewing it today for the first time. As I listen to the songs, one particularly caught my attention so I checked the title and it's called "Crack the Shutters". It's nicely composed, carries the typical Snow Patrol sound, and it's one of the most sexiest songs I've heard in quite a while. I did a YouTube search for it (with the intention of illegally ripping it off the 'net, if I may shamefully admit), and only then found out that it's already been released as a single off the album. I didn't know this because I never tune in to MTV / [V] / radio stations 'cuz I think mainstream media sucks. I haven't checked the charts, but all I can say is I have a feeling this song is going to become overplayed (like Chasing Cars) soon enough.

Now, I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, it's just a knack I have. Good I guess because I tend to 'spot' hits before they become overplayed. Bad because.. well... to me it just means that I get drawn to normal Top 40 hits that appeal to the masses. Heheh. I hate what the mainstream media tend to do with really good songs though. They overplay it and totally kill the magic.

Maybe my true calling is to work in A&R or marketing for a record company.

Soundtrack: Snow Patrol - Disaster Button
Mood: Upbeat and alert
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: Wouldn't it be really awesome if we could have chocolate-coated cotton candy? Imagine biting into a crisp, thin layer of dark bitter chocolate and then the disappearing, melting goodness of the sugary wisps of candy on your tongue. Yumm!!!

I am a Grup

2008-12-12T14:00:00.002+08:00

... but not of the Trekkie kind.

My friend Udjinn posted a link to this article on his Facebook account and I really liked the write-up, hence the decision to share :D

And copying here too my comment to him on his post:

" As I sit here in my MNC-office cubicle, wearing faded jeans, a Minus the Bear t-shirt, a frayed biker-esque crop jacket, iPod blasting out Mogwai to drown out the sounds of my colleagues on their work conversations, I realize I'm a Grup. I'm 3 years away from turning 30 but hardly panicking about it 'cuz I know at 30 I'll probably won't change much (aside from additional grey hairs popping up).

There ARE others younger than I am who've comfortably and happily molded themselves into 'adulthood' as we know it but.. somehow I don't see myself getting there.

What I've always wondered is, if/when I have kids... if there will come a day when they turn 18 and defiantly say "Mama. I want to study Physics" and I'll go "WHAT?!! But becoming a musician is SO YOUR CALLING! Now all that money I spent on that studio for you is going down the drain!! YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU FORGET ABOUT THAT SILLY SCIENTIST DREAM OF YOURS!"

Haha. "

Soundtrack: The S.I.G.I.T. - Let It Go
Mood: Cheery
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: If the UAE can play host to great international acts like Queen+Paul Rodgers and George Michael.... why can't we?? *sniff*

Greetings from Karachi

2008-11-26T17:17:00.010+08:00

So I'm blogging from Karachi heheh. Been meaning to post this since I got in a couple of days ago but it's been a bit busy. Even now I'm actually still in the middle of today's workshop but we're on a bit of a longer break due to some of the participants having meetings. Plus we're a little bit ahead of schedule today so we have some slack.

Anyway, I still need to keep this to a quick-ish update so here you go:

There are SO MANY local security forces standing/driving around the city with rifles in their hands. It's kinda intimidating.

Otherwise it's actually been quite alright here for me. The people in general are polite. They stare a lot but they're not hostile towards you or anything. Not that I've approached any of them heh.

Hotel's quite nice. The gym has great equipment (I went at 6am this morning for a workout)

The local food is AWESOME, but oh so fattening (hence gym visit). Lots of capati and naan (they have different names here tho) and kebabs and masalas and hummus and mmmm yummy.

Coincidentally this same week, our hotel is the venue for an "IDEAS (International Defence Exhibition and Seminar) - Arms for Peace" convention. Yes, Arms for Peace. Kind of an oxymoron isn't it? Anyhoo. What that means is that I'm staying at the same hotel with a huge bunch of the leaders of armed forces of the World. We have no idea if that's a good or a bad thing!!! Good because security is heightened 'cuz so many important army people are here. Bad because, well.. doesn't that make Sheraton a hotspot???? Eek.

I did however meet two top Generals of Malaysia last night (if I'm not mistaken one was from the Airforce and another was from the Navy, although I don't remember their titles 'cuz they sounded complicated and long when they introduced themselves to me). I was waiting at the hotel foyer whilst a whole bunch of the delegates were there and the Malaysian delegates saw me and asked if I was Malaysian or Mongolian (wut? Ingat aku Altantuya kah??). Kinda cool to have chit-chatted with them all the way here in Pakistan when the chances of that happening in KL would be nada.

Sadly none of the delegates were hot men in uniform. Oh they wore their uniforms alright, hundreds of them in their navy/airforce/army uniforms with loads of badges and stars and medals etc but none looking like Pierce Brosnan or Robert Downey Jr hahaha.

The Shell office here is pretty nice. It's not too big a building but the interior's good. However, the electricity goes out for about a minute or two, occuring about 6-7 times a day. Like India and Indonesia, they also get quite an unsteady supply of electricy. So we'll be in the meeting room discussing when *poof* it goes dark and the airconds shut off. Thankfully the computer ports and projector are on backup power supply so they remain on. When this happened on the first day we were here in the office us visitors kept jumping and going "oh!" everytime there was a blackout. But after that happening so many times, we're now as calm and steady as the locals haha! I don't even stop midsentence now when the power goes out... I just continue talking like nothing happened. Dah champion ah macam local :P

They have A LOT of hawks flying around in the skies. I've always thought hawks were lone creatures and don't live in flocks but there's a whole big bunch of them hovering in the skies above the city all the time. And they're pretty huge. I was up on the office building roof yesterday getting a view of the city and the birds flew pretty close. It was quite cool.

We were out for dinner last nite, one of the local HR managers took us and gave us a semi-tour around the places we passed by. We drove by Benazir's late father's house, and along the road her brother was killed by local police whilst she was in power.

Books here are quite cheap. I went into a local bookstore chain (Liberty Books) and found some great titles at about 30-40% the price of books in Malaysia at full price. And guess what. I've bought 5 books from here so far haha :D

Will write more comprehensive stories of my trip when I have the time!

Soundtrack: Nothing at the moment. Office is pretty quiet.
Mood: Work work work
Location: Shell Pakistan Limited, Karachi office
Random thought: I'll get fat if I stay here very long.

Post-Graduate Musical

2008-11-16T23:39:00.002+08:00

Heehee I know this is soooo lame but ohmygod I'm splitting my sides from the amusement! :D

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Soundtrack: Pitty Sing - Anyway
Mood: LOLapallooza
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: OMG gotta try all the other JibJab HSM3 stuff now!

ZAC!!!!!!!!

2008-11-12T17:08:00.002+08:00

CILAKAK ADIKKU BERJUMPA ZAC EFRON DAN ASHLEY TISDALE (and Vanessa Hudgens but I don't care that much about her nyeh)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I was that close to Zac I would have bitten into/licked his arm muscles. Maybe that's why it wasn't fated that I too was in Melbourne and thus able to push little children aside at the HSM3 red carpet premiere.

BLADIHEL JELES GILERRRRR!!!! Hahahahahaaa

Soundtrack: The Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown
Mood: Extremely excited and jealous
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: No random thoughts at the moment, sorry. Visions of Zac Efron's perfectly-sculpted body clouds my mind.

Pakistan Here I Come

2008-11-09T20:26:00.002+08:00

Here's some news. My trip to Pakistan, though initially avoided, is back on again. Obladi oblada.

For the past two weeks the project team has been going around in circles trying to determine the location of our next workshop. We wanted to have it in KL (more convenient for the project team). The country HR manager of Pakistan wanted to have it in Karachi due to cost limitations on his team. We offered to do it somewhere closer to Pakistan, say Qatar or Dubai. That was initially accepted as the option at first... but then the country manager again came back and said the project team MUST come onsite for the workshop.

My program manager asked how I felt about that and if I felt ok about going. I said, OF COURSE NOT! They're still setting off bombs left and right over there! The recent earthquake didn't help much to lessen my anxiety about going, so no. I didn't want to go, not at this point in time. My project manager also responded the same, and that was that. We sorta expected that given our company still has a global travel ban on business trips to Pakistan, we're good to proceed with the plan to have it somewhere else.

Friday morning I was getting ready to go to work when my program manager called to tell me that the travel ban has been lifted just the night before. Actually the travel ban was lifted on travel to Karachi and southern parts of Pakistan... there's still a cautionary note for travel to Islamabad. And that meant we have no reason to avoid from making the trip since the office is based in Karachi.

So yeah. I guess I understand the importance of us having to actually be present in the country to get our work done efficiently and all, but still... I'm not feeling too keen about having to go.

On the slight plus side, however, I will be making a transit in Dubai for a few days before returning to KL. There's another project workshop there in the days following the Pakistan one so a bunch of my other project colleagues will be there, most importantly Pam! So we're excited to get to do a bit of touristy things together whilst we're there (might as well make the most of the trip right!!! I've never been to Dubai). Also, I'm planning to meet up with Yang, see her place and what she gets up to when she's working and based in that city. Should be fun (provided I get out of Pakistan muahaha. Ok ok. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts).

Should be nothing to worry about though... the country manager has given his assurance that all aspects of security will be taken care of, and that Karachi's been quite peaceful anyway. I'll just pray :)

The major downer for me is that I now have to go back to the Pakistani Embassy to re-apply for my visa since my passport was stolen just before Raya. All I know is, I ain't going there alone! Dragging one of the guys at work with me whether they like it or not. Someone's gotta play my bodyguard.

Soundtrack: Aqualung - Good Goodnight
Mood: Sleepy
Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: Why do cheesecakes taste so darned good??

A great day for America and the World

2008-11-05T14:34:00.008+08:00

I am not an American, and the closest tie I have to that country is my Uncle Bob who is married to my maternal aunt, Mak Teh.

Yet I stayed glued to the TV last night up until 2am, watching live telecasts of voting polls opening across the US of A. I woke up early this morning, and immediately ran out of the room to switch the TV on and check on standings. And once in the office, I've been tuned in to the live video feed on CNN.com, heart racing as bit by bit polls close and I see the numbers for Obama rise... and rise... and finally... VICTORY!

So why do I care so much? I don't give this much attention or concern about my own country's politics. So why America, and why now? Well. Obama is why. And I think that is the answer for why millions of other non-Americans around the world are more captivated and supportive of this year's elections as any other. Obama seemed to have appeared at the right time... a beacon of hope for Americans, and a symbol of change for the world. And a historical one at that!

Don't get me wrong. I am not wishing that I am an American, or that I am professing my utmost love for a nation I'm so far removed from. But as much as one might try to ignore or deny it, America is somewhat the 'center of the world'. The superpower nation. Their foreign policies impact more lives globally than any other country's. The Bush administration has wreaked havoc not only for his country but worse still, other nations as well.

Obama has promised change. And after following the presidential debates and watching him address his nation, I have faith in him and what he can do for his country. True, there is still a tiny cynical voice inside me which is saying "well anyone can promise a bright and peachy future. He's probably just an extremely charismatic salesman who can make you believe in anything". But for once I think I'll put my cynicism on politicians aside, and risk believing. If there's anyone in this world today who I think is worth risking my belief in, it's Barrack Obama.

So America.. congratulations! For voting your first African-American president of the USA. But we know race wasn't the reason behind it at all. I say congratulations for voting the right man for the job based on his intelligence and integrity, for his dream and vision, and for that I respect you as a nation.

I'm smiling. And I can't stop smiling. Because today is all about the strength of hope and unity :)

p/s: Adding this in as I absolutely love this interview (I LOVE John Cleese! I think he's one of the most wacky, intelligent men on Earth. I'd vote him for President if I could ;p)

Soundtrack: Web feed from CNN.com Live
Mood: Exhilirated
Location: Office cubicle
(Not-so)Random thought: And oh COME ON... McCain and Palin? I've never seen a more non-intellectually-challenging pair of presidential candidates ever. Aside from Malaysia's own politicans of course.
(The truly)Random thought: Hey. Looks like our local ulamas and politicians need not worry about how to be rid of the heavy metal/black metal social problem anymore. Har har.

Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur

2008-11-02T16:54:00.006+08:00

Mummy, Baba, Kelly, Muna, Ayman and myself (amongst thousands of others) participated in the Terry Fox Charity Run for cancer research this morning. It was held at the Lake Gardens in KL, and this is the first year that I'm taking part in the run and it was fun! Thousands of people participated, from the tiniest and cutest of babies (ANYAAA!!!!) to the oldest of grandmas.. people walking, running, roller-blading, cycling, in prams, in wheelchairs, from all walks of life. It's always a great feeling to be a part of a huge group of people united for a common cause.

Ah, and I cannot refrain from making a comment about all the eye-candy. OH MY GOD SO MANY GOOD-LOOKING BOYS/MEN. Hee. That was unexpected. Kelly, Muna and I were like "Wow... didn't expect there to be an added benefit to participating in this run, eh girls!". Ahh. Certainly was pleasant to the eyes, and made waking up early in the morning so much more worth the effort for us non-morning persons.

Shallowness aside. It's been aaaaages since I've gone to the Lake Gardens and I was quite pleased to see how it's so beautiful and peaceful there. I'm making a point to visit the garden more often after this, just for a morning walk, a picnic or something.

"Team Shell". Our company sponsored 100 employees
for the run hence we had to run with our brand ;p

Booyah. We who managed to wake up at
'ass-o-clock' in the morning, in the words of Izyan

Arriving at the assembly area

Muna changing t-shirt secara stealth. Sungguh skill.

Ayman and friends geared for the run in Kain Pelikat! Haha gile comel

Team Petronas. :P

Team Sime Darby brought a big flag (center, distance). Ish. Tercabar.

All gung-ho to start the run. L-R: Kelly, Muna, myself, Baba

The start was slow, as there were thousands of people squeezed onto a small footpath.
So it wasn't really a 'run'... everyone just walked! I only started my jog in the last 1.5km

Oooh lookie we're in London

Our not-so-power-walk included singing, silly walking, random sports-like
commentating, and sudden bursts into conga-line

I finished the run to find Baba (who was ahead) tucking
into ice-cream... ONE IN EACH HAND!!!

Muna made new friends

I like this picture of my parents :)

Soundtrack: Mogwai - Scotland's Shame
Mood: Feeling refreshed
Location: Hoxe's cafe
Random thought: Apparently I don't have a Googleganger. Every result (5 pages' worth) of 'Mufizah Moslim' in Google points to me. I feel so unique and special :p. Heh. Do YOU have a Googleganger?

More than Paris Hilton

2008-10-30T16:53:00.003+08:00

The fact that I write using a Westin hotel ballpoint pen, on a Le Meridien hotel A4 lined notepad, and marking notes with a Nikko hotel post-it, says a lot about where I've had to spend my working days lately.

p/s: Adopted a kitten recently. Chronologizing the whole thing on http://thefurrycoke.blogspot.com for other cat-lovers to keep track of the little one's growth and development :)

Soundtrack: Stars - Take Me To The Riot
Mood: Sniffly... getting-over-a-fever-kinda-moody
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: Should I stay or should I go now?

Major bummers

2008-09-15T16:08:00.003+08:00

Today sucks. I found out I still have to go to Miri this Wednesday & Thursday despite my best efforts trying to emphasise how this will be a waste of time. But oh well. For the 'greater good', Enterprise First, all that jazz.

Secondly, I'm bummed 'cuz Martin & Lavinia invited me to their engagement party in October, and be one of the 'tray girls'... but I can't because it's one day before I return from my Karachi trip! It's bad enough I have to miss Emilly's wedding as that falls on the same day as my flight TO Karachi... now I'm missing out on another friends' ceremony too because of my flight BACK. Shitty shitty.

Soundtrack: Elektrons - Stop Hold It
Mood: Frustrated
Location: Office cubicle
Random thought: Why? Why? Why why why why? Why why why why why why why? Oh.. and I wonder if there really is a Planet Nibiru aka Planet X....

Jamming it up with Rock Band

2008-09-14T18:30:00.008+08:00

Had a major blast playing Rock Band on PS3 at Jorge's crib Friday night! Thaaankk youuuu Pija and Jorge! I've been dyiiingggg to try my hands on the game and it was awesoooommmmeeee hahahaa!!! OHMYGOD I wish I had loads of money and can buy myself a PS3 or Xbox and play Rock Band all day everyday.

Check us out, mucking about like the worst rock band ever:

Soundtrack: The Wombats - Little Miss Pipedream
Mood: Contented
Location: Bedroom, Shah Alam
Random thought: I praise and thank the genius who first put together the recipe and weaving design of the ketupat daun palas. Yummy.

Car washing elves

2008-09-10T23:10:00.002+08:00

Someone (or something) washed my car without me knowing. Weird.

I haven't moved my car from my apartment basement parking lot for 2 days (I carpool to work mostly, and I haven't been feeling well yesterday and today so I didn't drive). I went down to the car late this afternoon to get a book I left in it, and found my wipers raised up to dry and that the car was so clean and shiny! Just the exterior though, the interior was untouched. I guess because whoever helped wash the car didn't have the keys.

I've seen a couple of Indian men who go around in our basement carpark wheeling a trolley and washing cars, but I always figured that their services are acquired and owners pay them to help wash their respective cars. So I have no idea if they were the ones who helped wash my car. And if so, why. It wasn't like my car was horribly dirty to begin with... it's been in a dirtier state before and nobody helped wash it back then!

I sort of expected someone to come up to me and ask for a payment whilst I was down there, but nobody did. So... hmm. Kinda curious now about how my Darth Monty got all cleaned up.

Soundtrack: Big Bang live performance playing on Muna's computer
Mood: Puzzled
Location: Muna's living room
Random thought: When will I ever be skinny enough to fit into skinny jeans? Tsk.

High tension at High Commission

2008-09-04T16:21:00.002+08:00

I've just reached the office after a somewhat distressing experience at the High Commission of Pakistan in KL. I had to go there to apply for a business visa, as the next project I'll be working on is for Pakistan and the first trip will be to Karachi in October.

I'm already nervous about going as it is, based on colleagues who tell me of their experiences whilst they were there, and from current news. The 'preview' I had this morning didn't help diminish my anxiety. As soon as I walked into the tiny, musty and hot room I thought, "ohhh no...". I stood there motionless for a while as I processed the fact that I was one of only 2 females in a room of about 40-50 men, majority of which were Pakistanis; the other female was a Chinese lady who was there with her husband and child. The rest of the men there all stared at me throughout the whole time I was there. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my life!!

If only I had known it was like that, I'd have asked one of my guyfriends or Baba to accompany me. But then I thought, oh well.. I was there already anyway, might as well get it over and done with. I proceeded to take a number from the counter, but the ticket machine was off. I looked around for someone to help me, and the sole security guy there told me "No number. Just line-up or sit down" and I'm like... wha...?

I decided to try and 'line-up' in the queue, but hardly anyone else seemed to notice that there was a line in the first place. The men were simply cutting queue, brushing and pushing against once another and being very LOUD about trying to get to the front and have their papers processed. After only about 15-20 minutes of timidly standing there trying not to make physical contact with these people, I gave up the idea of lining up and went to sit on one of the chairs.

I waited... and waited... an hour passed. Thankfully I brought reading material. The situation near the counter didn't change, still a lot of shoving and general chaos. I got up and asked the guard again, perhaps if I come tomorrow the numbering system would work. He told me don't leave, sit down. I sat back down and continued to read whilst trying my darndest to ignore the men leering around me.

It wasn't until it was 12pm (and I was getting restless that this would NEVER end and I'd end up being stuck in there forever never to step on Malaysian soil again), that I finally got a glimpse as to the 'system' they had over there:

The guard started shooing everyone else, asking them to leave the premise and indicating that the counter was now closed for processing for the day. Chaos continued as the men made a LOT of noise, generally unhappy they were being chased out. This took some 10-15 minutes to settle. Finally when the place was empty, quiet, the air was clear for me to breathe again, and I was confused as to whether I had to leave too when the guy at the counter stood up, looked at me and said "Malaysian Passport? Ok now you come" and proceeded to take my documents and process my visa application.

So here are my tips to any other Malaysian females out there who might have the unfortunate need to get Pakistani visas done:

Don't go alone. Bring a big/confident/strong MAN with you. This will serve two purposes; to help do the pushing and shoving to get to the counter, and to give deadly stares back at those leering at you
If you DO have to go alone, don't bother going early. Just arrive at around 11.30am, tell the guard you have a Malaysian passport, sit, read, and wait for the place to close
Once everyone else gets shoved out by the guard at closing time, you will have a clear passage to the counter where the person behind it will treat you as if you are beneath him, ask you questions in a condescending tone and making you feel belittled, but hey at least you get your visa processed.

That's just my experience at the embassy.... ooh boy I can't wait for the real country. My friend Wee Kee didn't help much by forwarding me this article when I reached the office and told him of what had happened. *meep*

Soundtrack: House, Season 2 Episode 19 playing on my second monitor
Mood: Semi-freaked out
Location: Office cubicle
(Not so)Random thought: Maybe there'll be a travel advisory against going to Pakistan in the next couple of weeks and I end up having to cancel my trip :P

Secondhand Wonderland

2008-08-02T16:28:00.003+08:00

Block your calendars for the 16th of August and come for this event!! We're hosting a junkyard sale at the cafe and hope to see a big bunch of interesting secondhand items up for grabs :)

For more info visit the Nineteen Notes blog.

Now start rummaging through your old books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, etc and pack up those items you wanna sell off. Helps you declutter your room, and get some money out of it too!

Spread the love... mwuahs.

A Cold Port Dickson / Steel Teeth No More

2008-07-06T21:00:00.007+08:00

I had another one of my weird random dreams last night. I dreamt that Eema, Muna and I flew to Melbourne for a concert. I can't remember which band though, because when I woke up the band name totally blanked on me. What I do remember is that we rented a bungalow there for our stay (yeah, so rich!) and a whole bunch of other people joined us including Rayman, Apik, Ell, Huda, Matyie, etc (which were expected)... as well as the Goodnight Electric boys (a tad weird).

Weirder still, from what I can remember of the dream, what was supposed to be Melbourne wasn't really Melbourne. Our rented bungalow was by the beach, and in the scenes where we went sightseeing (yes, we went sightseeing before the concert :p), the landscape looked more like Port Dickson to me! A cold, wintery version of Port Dickson. There were some random unconnected conversations in the dream too, including one of the guys asking me how we were going to populate a spreadsheet whilst watching the concert (must be my Shell related work-stress creeping into my dreams).

Dreams aside, another thing worth noting is that I have steel teeth no more! Yep. The braces came off yesterday. I was still quite hesitant to take them off ('cuz I wanted to make sure my mouth had enough room for every single tooth to grow and that my entire set of chomps were set in their proper alignment instead of taking them off now and having to wear them again in the future or something like that). But the dentist was insistant that it's time to take them off... so off they went! It feels weird though... I feel like I have fake teeth and my mouth is missing something. My smile is also missing a certain sparkle too, without the metal there for extra shine! Hehe.

*grins widely*

Soundtrack: Minus The Bear - Let's Play Clowns
Mood: Anticipative. Of what, I have no idea.
Location: Hoxe's
Random thought: I have a suspicion that all the video stores (licensed and pirated) are hiding their stock of Peter Pan DVDs to purposely deprive me of my Jeremy Sumpter fix. Sob.

Family Tree

2008-06-22T22:30:00.006+08:00

A few weekends back my mom, along with her cousins, organized a huge family reunion to gather 5 generations of family members traced back to my Great-Grandfather, Abdul Rahman (who was Javanese and came to settle in Malaysia in 1911... which makes me only 3rd-generation Malaysian!) and his wife Maimunah. The gathering was great, I had fun and got to meet all my distant relatives.

One of the agendas (yes, we had an agenda!) of the gathering was to have each family 'clan' present their family tree. Clans were grouped by the children of Abdul Rahman and Maimunah. My family fell under the "Talha" clan (Talha is my grandfather, son of AR&M), and instead of doing a dry powerpoint presentation to showcase our family, my uncle created this video instead

Soundtrack: The Dreadful Yawns - November Nights
Mood: Too lazy to complete the pile of Kerang-related work I need to do
Location: Hoxe's
Random thought: If an entire world of Superheroes exist, would they make movies and television series about normal people?

Nothing Intelligible

2008-06-05T23:47:00.003+08:00

You know that famous phrase, "See you later, alligator!" ?

Well..here's the Trimontel's take on more juicier versions:

See you later, masturbator!

After a while, pedophile!

So long, sotong!

So long, sexy thong!

Tata, pornstar!

Adios, speedos!

Adios, dildos!

.... and more to come as and when inspiration occurs.

Soundtrack: Ben Kenney - Girl

Mood: Tired and just a tad moody from the flu

Location: In my bedroom in Shah Alam, which I haven't slept in in months and months

Random thought: I think this post is random enough as it is

Marital Overload

2008-05-30T11:28:00.005+08:00

Today is my Mummy's birthday!! The greatest, smartest, most respected, most hip & happening, cool, supportive, loveable woman in my world :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MA!!!

Referring back to my previous post and its wedding theme.... guess what has kept me busy this past weekend? WEDDINGS!

I was invited to 5, but went to 4:
1) P.E's wedding on Saturday night (yes, that blueguy is MARRIED!)
2) Shahril's wedding on Sunday afternoon
3) Azida's wedding right after Shahril's wedding
4) Noreen's wedding on Sunday night

And no, none of the above were for the invites that I mentioned about receiving in the previous post. Those are for weddings occuring in September onwards!

Today, right after finishing work, Afiza, Jorge, Wee Kee and I are going on a road trip to Kuala Terengganu for another friend, Bobol's wedding. We'll be sleeping over at Sabun's family home there (she's gone home by bus already), attend the wedding tomorrow, try to squeeze in some sight seeing in a couple of hours, buy keropok lekor, and then drive back to KL. That's a looooooooooooong drive to look forward to. Heh.

Oh! Sidenote: I just finished watching the animated Speed Racer: Next Generation movie. Cute! Speed Racer has two sons he named Speed and X. Talk about being full of himself hahahaha. Kidding. I enjoyed the cartoon :D Also started watching The Big Bang Theory TV series and I think it's hilarious!

Soundtrack: The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
Mood: Excited about the road trip
Location: Office
Random thought: James McAvoy is soooooo ANYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! Have recently watched a number of his movies (Inside I'm Dancing, Last King of Scotland, Penelope, Atonement, Becoming Jane) and he's soooo versatile with the characters he plays! He could be like the next Leo DiCaprio or something heheh. Much more yummy too. Me likey. Me likey very muchly.

5 Weddings and a Confused Girl

2008-05-06T15:45:00.003+08:00

Mass marriages... eeek! Just this morning alone I received 2 SMSes and 3 emails inviting me to 5 separate weddings. I had to restrain myself from running around asking for a brown bag to breathe into. The big M word gets me into a panic attack every time... what more 5 couples dropping the news in one morning.

My personal anxiety aside, I'm extremely happy for my friends though. Congratulations to all of you, and I've booked all your dates into my diary :) (invitations coming with emceeing requests, we'll need to pick that up separately yah!)

On a side note. Work is a tad confusing today. I thought I know what I know, and know what I don't know. But right now I am not really knowing what I know, and don't know if what I know is what is the right thing to know.

I need to get a grip! Watching male models prancing around in their briefs in Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency show yesterday seemed to help me focus *ahem*. Looks like another round of late-night working in front of the telly again for me tonight.

Soundtrack: Blur - Country House
Mood: Apprehensive
Location: Office
Random thought: I can't believe JP is gay! What a lossssssssss!!!!!

Cookie Tunes

2008-05-04T18:03:00.012+08:00

I experimented with a recipe today for chewy chocolate chip cookies. They turned out yummy... crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Sinful.

On an unrelated note, sharing one of my fave PlayRadioPlay!'s videos;

Love the song, and the video's just too cute.

On yet another unrelated note, Eema, Feruz and Izyan bought me a tank top with this design courtesy of Munkao as a belated birthday present. I love!

Soundtrack: Envy - Thousand Scars

Mood: Satisfied

Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: So much work to do, no mood at all to do it.

Birthday gift dilemma

2008-05-03T23:46:00.005+08:00

Yesterday was my brother's 24th birthday, and today is my best friend Iliana's 26th birthday. I love birthdays, because it's a celebration of the birth of a loved one... and of another year having the person in your life.

But every time someone's birthday comes around, I get caught in the worst cracking-of-the-brain trying to come up with a meaningful present to give. This is especially so for those whom I've known for very very long, and whom I love very much. For me, every time I give something to someone I treasure, I want it to be something meaningful and useful. Not just some random marketing-gimmick mug or picture frame.

Sometimes, I will know in advance what to get someone, either because there's something they obviously need and can't afford/don't manage to get around buying it themselves, or because they straight-out mention it's something they want as a gift (which I prefer! Makes my job in present-hunting easier :D), or I stumble upon something that I know will light up their day. Other times however, as in the case of Izhar and Iliana this year... I'm left clueless. They both tell me there's nothing they need or want, and that's not helping!

A number of my close friends can attest to getting their presents months -sometimes even close to a year- later. That's what I usually resort to.. not buying someone anything, until I find the perfect gift. And finding the perfect gift for the perfect person every year is not an easy task!

But then again, I also like to randomly buy gifts or treats for my loved ones for no reason. Things that I know they'd love. So hopefully, that makes up for my inability to find birthday presents in a timely manner!

Soundtrack: PlayRadioPlay - See You Soon

Mood: Perky

Location: Hoxe's Cafe
Random thought: What cool stuff can I kirim from Japan?

Blog revival

2008-05-02T17:45:00.003+08:00

Newsflash. I have decided to attempt to blog again. Yeay me.

I used to blog somewhat religiously, especially during my days in university, but that slowly but surely dwindled down to nothingness. Long daily posts turned into 3 to 4 shorter ones a week.. which turned into weekly posts... which turned into one or two updates a month if you're lucky... which then finally ended up with random, guilt-triggered posts to explain my disappearances and empty promises to update more frequently. Yes, I hang my head in shame. My blog used to get good hits, considering I'm a nobody. But all thanks to my own lack of discipline in updating content, my readers have long since stopped visiting my page (previously hosted on LiveJournal).

But in my own defense, my time has been consumed by... well, life. A lot has happened (a lot happened back then too, but somehow or other I found the time to blog!). However it is for my own reflections (and personal entertainment) that I should at least try to be less lazy and spend a few minutes to put some of my random thoughts and experiences to paper. I mean, pixels.

Then again... it's a weakness of mine to want to ramble on and on (and on... and on... and on...) and end up writing a 5-page essay on something that can be summed up in 2 sentences. And knowing that I can't keep my entries short is what makes me become too lazy to even start. Heh.

So this is my first attempt to keep this entry short. Somewhat. Here's to me and my resolution to keep writing.

Soundtrack: Dark Crystal movie playing in the background
Mood: Sleepy but inspired
Location: Living room
Random thought: I miss eating steaming hot jacket potatoes on cold mornings whilst rummaging through items at car-boot sales in London.