FIZZOU

1. New Year

2009-01-01T20:00:00.001+08:00

2009 yang indah.
Yang lebih baik.
Yang lebih bermakna.
Insha Allah.

OBITUARY

2008-09-19T08:00:00.002+08:00

broken:
window, front passenger seat

stolen:
my nikon + a 2-week old tamron + remote.
my external hardisk - containing a life-long accumulation of information and photos.
my favorite backpack.
my sweet lamy.
many other items.

culprit:
unknown

location:
bazar ramadhan taman melati.

approximate loss:
a couple of Ks.
value of info and photos..priceless.

mental status:
calm, physicaly.
chaotic, mentally.
peaceful, coz all is God's work

33. bandung 3 + 3...

2008-08-13T23:38:00.009+08:00

3 single guys and 3 families and 3 children (13 altogether) were seen strolling the streets of bandung from 7-10 August 2008. the group was led by pak arief who's a PR of bandung and could list the name of all factory outlets and the brands (and the prices sometimes) that the outlets carry alphabetically. it's a diverse group. me and razen were more into sightseeing. s.nag was into something err something err that's more 'impromptu and satisfying'. ali and family bought everything within their reach. and the other family 'borong' wedding stuffs for their son. that's the gang.

07.08.08 First day. Our flight took off an hour late at 10.30am. Arrived in Bandung 2 hours later. We were picked-up by 3 APVs. We stayed at hotel.riau (i won't recommend the hotel to you unless you are a budget traveller. take a family room, which is 100x nicer than normal rooms, if you got no where else to stay. nevertheless, i slept well there in a broken bed). Our first stop was nasi padang at Sederhana, opposite hotel.riau. sedap. Then off to Pasar Baru. Our APVs were parked on top of the building, which gave us a 360-degree-view of the city. Pasar Baru is just like Pekan Rabu x 10. Then tu Diaz. Then to what-ever-street-that-was. Only bought pisang goreng keju and later bought JCoDonuts for the first time at Cihampelas Walk. That's dinner. And pak.arief took us to a kinda warong for a real dinner. We were back in the hotel an hour later and I fell asleep immediately. Some of the guys went out for a massage by orang-tua-buta.

08.08.08 I was up early. The hotel served kopi and bread+butter. Destination - Ciwidey where Kawah Putih is located. We stopped by a strawberry farm for short break. s.nag had a field day with pak.arief's d80 at the farm. We spent about an hour there and continued our journey uphill. Kawah Putih area is still underdeveloped. The overpowering smell of sulfur kept some of the tourists at bay. Our next stop was Sidang Reret for lunch, followed by Cibabuyut where s.nag bought a nice leather jacket dengan murahnya. Then Toko Tiga (jeans, jeans, and more jeans). Then DSA. Then back to hotel.riau. Dinner at Sederhana again. It was a tiring day. The driver took us to orang-tua-buta again for a massage. I fell asleep in the hall waiting for them.

09.08.08 Tangkuban Perahu was the destination. Our supir somehow managed to get us up there earlier than the other two APVs. Me and Razen strolled along the kawah's 'tebing' to the other side of the viewing deck. There are 2 kawahs. The biggest one is Kawah Ratu. S.nag joined us 30 minutes later and popped his knee along the way. After spending an hour half-circling the kawah we checked out Gua Keramat where Ibu Sangkuriang's grave is located. We had to grope in the 20-meter, pitch black tunnel. The grave is at the center of the tunnel. Some indo girls washed up their faces with air keramat. Legend has it that whoever washes her face with the air keramat, she would remain young. Ya la tu... we rushed back to our APVs as pak.arief could not wait to spend his dough at the factory outlets.
We spent the rest of the day shopping. I would definitely go back to Zenith and Heritage next time. Later that nite, the guys went to see orang tua buta again for massage.

10.08.08 Early in the morning shida (ali's wife) asked me to accompany her to Pasar Baru again. Apparently she had not finished shopping. I warned her that we needed to get back to the hotel by 9.30am in order not to miss our flight home, and we did exactly that.
Our flight took off at around 12.30 noon.

There were many other activities in between the above that I could not recall anymore.

32. headache...

2008-08-06T02:26:00.007+08:00

left KL at 4 am.
left JB at 2 pm.
stuck at the immigration office - jordanian
stamps on passport.
drove in circles.
orchard road.
port canning.
huge crowd.
sweat, mine and other people's.
loud music.
lost prophet.
simple plan.
travis.
screaming fans.
lousy camera.
VIP pass and backstage access.
singapore music festival.

...worth the headache.

31. entangled in the net v.3

2008-07-06T19:14:00.006+08:00

I have a friend who'd just graduated from a local U. His name is Friend-A. He met another friend of mine, Friend-B, who is still a student. They got into a conversation for the first time and spoke about their lives. I was nearby and heard the things that they were discussing.

I know that Friend-A has been working his asses off for the past two months or so to earn just enough to sustain his simple lifestyle. Friend-B on the other hand has been spoon-fed for the past 3 years, as he is on a scholarship from a foreign country where he is studying. Friend-B has just come back for a 3-month semester break and found himself a part-time job, which is 70% easier than Friend-A’s job but pays 70% higher.

When Friend-A heard about Friend-B’s job and pay, I could hear Friend-A’s heart dropped on the floor and got itself sucked into a vacuum cleaner. I am not sure whether he managed to get it back after that.

He just got himself caught in the reality of today’s job market. The situation is so bad that even a badak (hippo) got to work to earn a living.

30. entangled in the net v.2...

2008-07-01T18:01:00.002+08:00

An acquaintance asked whether I would join the team that he was ‘assembling’. If his plan works out, there will be an exodus in TheCo. He is just an acquaintance from another unit in TheCo, been working for over 7 years and feels like he has had enough of all the craps in TheCo. I do share his sentiment, though not to the same extent. Even if I join him, it would be because of the way TheCo is being managed and not because TheCo itself.

On a different note, I do share the same view of an aspiring actress in TheCo. She is pretty much content with what she gets and believes that all these while she has been fairly rewarded by TheCo. She knows that her life is not just about work, and there are more to life outside TheCo. I am not sure whether she is aware that there is a Single-B, a neighbor of hers, who prefers to be a Single-B forever, also. Honestly, I think it takes a lot of courage for top performers to choose not to strive more than what they are supposed to, in order to have a balanced life, and at the same time accepts whatever rewards that they receive from TheCo as rizq.

They are content with their life.

They are caught in the net, but not entangled like others.

29. entangled in the net...

2008-06-30T17:52:00.000+08:00

Triple-B wanted to re-shuffle the seating arrangement of Non-Bs in TheCo. Triple-B mentioned it to Double-Bs and Single-Bs. Triple-B flew off to Florida for a summer tan. In Triple-B’s absence, Double-B and Single-B executed the plan. It was fail-proof, on paper at least, if the general feeling among Non-Bs was discounted.

Once the Non-Bs were made aware of the change, some were quite upset and whispers of discontentment were heard every now and then, here and there. One or two Non-Bs voiced their frustration out in the open. They wanted to know the rationale behind the imminent change. Was it necessary? Why now? Why so soon? What difference would it made from the current layout? Double-B and Single-B gave the most reasonable but unacceptable answer for the change: “It’s Triple-B’s wish!”

One Non-B was really upset. He was already not comfortable having his Single-B breathing down his neck from a distance, what more if his Single-B sat right behind his back, if the new layout was implemented. Another Non-B was upset because that he would be put on display after the change and he was not ready for all the attention that he might get. Another Non-B just moved to his current place due to some irrational reasons and was furious to be asked to move again, 5 feet away.

And of course there were more Non-Bs who protested in silence, concerned with their fate, but only managed to let out a barely audible squeak. It was also obvious that a few Non-Bs clapped in silence, watched the agony of others in anticipation, as they could not wait to leave their current places.

The whole drama ended as soon as it started. One Single-B voiced out her opinion and the layout was shelved until further notice.

All got entangled in the net. All got out unscathed, at least for now.

Well, it’s just another day in TheCo.

28. movies and books in heaven.

2008-06-15T21:57:00.006+08:00

pix: street hawker's heaven in hanoi

...of movies
>i saw kungfu panda twice. first with s.arief+lin+haikal, and msk. it was a big movie theater and we sat at the back. while the movie was fine and the seats were ok to a certain extent, i missed out on a lot of things as the screen wass kinda small from where i sat; the following day i decided to watch it for the second time. that's when qadri, an old movie-going-friend, came into picture. he hadn't seen the movie and never been to the pavillion. i bought the tix and i had free dinner and transportation. the following day, saw the incredible hulk with s.arief, msk and s.nag. then, a few old movies all by myself in genting view.

...of books and movies
>i bought five novels this week. borrowed one from kmc. planning to read 'em all this week. ambitious indeed. managed to finish two - i am the clay and of mice and men. currently reading - playing for pizza.
>i paid eight ringgit for a peaceful saturday. alone in a decrepit room in genting view, cool weather, tonnes of old dvds, a couple of books, three empty beds...heaven!!!. snag + $ joined me later and abandoned their own eight ringgit room.

27. i am i.n.d.i.a....

2008-06-01T02:29:00.004+08:00

i had a brief chat with a colleague from an 'elite' dept of TheCo the other day. he's only four months my senior (in TheCo). our chat revolved around the kinda job that we do on daily basis. he's tired of it all. this guy got brains, but it was underutilised by TheCo.
he related to me how he had to amend the same slides presentation again and again and again. when he thought that it was over, he had to do a few more series of amendments. and it was just the 'first layer' that he had to go through. there were at least two more people who would vet the slides after the 'first layer'.
then he spoke about his fren who's working with a big 5 consulting firm. whenever this fren wanted to prepare slides presentation, all that his fren got to do was to scribble it on a piece of paper, fax it to i.n.d.i.a and just wait for the soft copy to be emailed back to him. basically the job was done by an outsourcing centre in i.n.d.i.a.
he concluded -"i am working for TheCo, which is as reputable as the big 5 consulting firm, but i am doing the job of I.N.D.I.A!!!"
i looked at him, smiled and replied- "well if that's the case, I AM I.N.D.I.A too!!!"

note: to whom it may concern. i do not need you to promote this blog coz it's meant for frens. while i'm happy that u read this blog, u don't need to announce it to TheCo.

26. family day...

2008-05-25T11:17:00.007+08:00

fx had its familyday in pd last week. it was well-organised. the resort was out-of-this-world.
the beach was dirty though (z.hass + baby dragon managed to clean the area before the games started)
we had fun.
the games were simple, but really drained our energy.
treasure hunting was challenging.
did not really have the chance to enjoy the bbq coz too tired (s.arief marinated well, people said).
one or two mgmtppl really let loose of their claws and made the event enjoyable for all.
while some, still dictated personal preferences, imposing their decisions on others.
i guess it's hard to let loose of the grip when making decisions for others is a habit, not just a job.

i learned a few things -

i. always agree with s.nag if it involves apples [only].
who knows best but him.
luckily i did heed his words while treasure hunting.
if not, the team would have lost 2 points.

ii. ..[removed to protect my safety LOL]...

iii. when you are a leader, just be like a lighthouse. providing direction and guidance. leave the rest to those who are actually manning the ships.
[rumah api tanjung tuan is a must-see place. side-pix]

25. we, the pacifiers...

2008-05-24T18:20:00.007+08:00

once
there was this woman
feared by all
adored by none
and
there were men
protested, loudly in silence
nodded, though firmly disagreed
and
there were men and women
they looked up and they bowed
they looked down and they scowled
and there were us
making fools of ourselves
pacifying
the woman
the men
the women and the men

24. let's grow old together...

2008-05-09T10:39:00.010+08:00

i was hoping

that she would say
"marry me..."
the moment i set my eyes on her
as i was too shy
to ask for her hand

she was hoping
that i would say
"let's grow old together..."
the first time she smiled
as she too
shy as i was
to say it out loud

we have yet to start
counting the wrinkles
of each other, together
as shyness still envelopes us..

pix 1. snapped randomly @ hoan kiem lake, hanoi.
pix 2. pottery farm @ hanoi

23. the trip...

2008-04-29T20:04:00.010+08:00

29.04.08 [Tuesday]
03.30am $ came to pick me + s.nag to lcct from pandan in his friend's altis. the journey was quick. $'s fren thot that he was only sending us to KL Sentral. poor guy. he had to stop by R&R for a redbull to keep himself awake. msk was already there when we arrived at lcct.

04.30am checked-in. had early breakfast at mcd. fajrprayer.

06.15am boarded ak760. the plane took off 15 minutes later. me and s.nag took aisle seats while msk and $ took window seats. s.nag + i studied quite a bit while msk and $ slept and mengelamun. the steward and stewardess were friendly, probably because we were the only malays on board. the steward was curious to know the purpose of our visit. why hanoi? i answered - it's the cheapest.

08.35am landed at noi bai. s.nag was the last to leave the airplane. why? it's a limited edition story which can only be shared with pdgmerbok's members. the plane ride was smooth. the airport was clean. our driver was already there waiting [holding msk's name] for us when we collected our luggage. our transpo - TOYOTA unser. cost USD14. tried to start a conversation with the driver. futile effort!

09.00am the journey to the city was around 45 minutes. our driver could not speak english. observations -
[1] lots of paddy fields on the way to the city. lots of graves in the paddy fields. lots of buffalows.
[2] 'skinny', colorful tall houses.
[3] telephone cables berselirat macam urat.
[4] our driver drove slow. but he honked all the times. out of habit. same with other drivers. car drivers, motorcyclists, bike riders, pemandu beca drove like they owned the streets. pedestrians crossed the streets like the're the king(s). nobody was bothered. you could only see calm faces, despite all the chaos.

10.00am our hotel was smacked in the middle of the old quarters. checked into our rooms. indah khabar dari rupa [dalam internet] but decent. got internet connection y'know! took a 2-hr tido.

12.00 noon an old fren, sha, gave the address to the only halal restaurant nearby - nisa restaurant, owned by a malaysian [or was it singaporean?]. had tomyam, daging masak merah, sayur campur, udang tepong and mango lassi for 375k (for 4 ppl). all was nice, except the daging. tasted weird.

01.00pm - 05.30pm walked the streets like we owned them [we got to adopt the locals' way of life, u see]. snapping pictures like there's no tomorrow. mostly pictures of the locals. unique and colorful. there was a lake in the vicinity. there's a temple in the middle of the lake. we did not go in as we would have to pay to go inside.

05.30 - 07.00pm back to hotel and tido.

07.30pm - went to nisa restaurant again for dinner. nasi goreng seafood, telur dadar and mango lassi for 375k (for 4 ppl). booked the trip to halong bay through azhar, the restaurant's manager. after dinner, took a cab to hanoi tower to visit a friend. had vietnamese coffee (bitter and strong) there with sha/aimy/aidan @ highland coffee. went up to their cozy apartment. nice! sha gave us some tips on where/what to visit/buy. a very useful one. she also advised us to eat Cha Ca, a local delicacy. a big loss if we did not try, she said.

11.00pm - got back to the hotel. $ received a complementary massage service from msk. i was dead tired. dozed off immediately.

30.04.08 [wednesday]
07.30am getting ready for pick-up. waited and waited. nobody came for us. breakfast was provided by the hotel. roti/bread/butter [we loved the bread so much].

08.30am ms. hang of apt travel came; behind her was a line of mat salehs (2 british couples, one austrian guy, one korean mom with her son, and us). we had to walk quite a bit to the street where a 15-seater coach was parked. hopped on the coach and off we went. the traffic was really bad as it was vietnam's independence day and vietnamese were leaving hanoi for their kampungs. the scenery was nothing different from what u see in msia. except for the architecture. the ride was slow. damn slow. driving @ 40-80km/hour made us spent 3-4 hours on the coach. while the mat sallehs yapping away and swapping experiences, s.nag gave them an experience of a lifetime when he snored his way to the jetty.

11.30am the coach stopped for a 1/2 hour rest at one lousy restaurant cum art/cultural center. there were no decent meals at all. we bought cookies - just in case we'd face food problems at halong bay. why cookies? well, they're the only thing that we could eat.

01.00noon - arrived at this crowded jetty at halong bay. right and left, front and back - all that we saw were tourists. and of course rows and rows of junk boats. ms hang went to get the tickets and we finally got on our boat around 15 minutes later. we were given a small glass of fresh orange (not knowing that was the only drink that we would get for free in the boat). as the boat started leaving the jetty (@ a snail pace. on the road & in the sea, the speed seems to be standardised), we were served lunch. just seafood. delicious!

the weather... it was mendung all the time. it's hazy. ms hang mentioned that it's because of the cool winds from wherever it was, as spring started to enter into summer. it was quite frustrating because the pix that we took were not as sharp as they were supposed to be due to the weather.

our junk boat... there were 4 levels. first, of course la the engine room. second, where the cabins were located. third, the makan place. top, viewing deck, where all the buayas could lepak and sun-bathe.

our room... two tiny beds. neat. with a fan and ac. the ac could be used at nite only. there's a small bathroom, with cold/hot water. and there's this portrait on the wall that kept us drooling.

late afternoon we were taken to an island where the biggest limestone cave was located. nothing fancy. i don't like rocks. there was this interesting formation called 'the pointing finger'. yeah rite.. see it yourself, whaddaya think?

then... went kayaking. snag and me. msk and $. first time in my entire life. we made a big circle around the limestone island. s.nag said i did not paddle as much as he did. how could he know? he sat in front of me. i lost count of the number of times he stopped paddling or pretending to paddle [without the paddles touching the water]. LOL.

after kayaking, the view of sunset was spectacular. it was so fast, not more than 5 minutes. we did not expect to see the sun due to the weather. so, did not have the chance to snap that many pictures.

nite... dinner. seafood again. no drinks. had to buy. i went to bed at around 10pm. woke up at 11pm. all was quiet. [except in my room of course, the whole team from dewan philharmonic was there led by s.nag]

$ and snag had a chat with the korean mom throughout the nite. we were told that snag dozed off while chatting with her...

01.05.08 [thursday]

05.00am i got up early. it was calm and serene on top of the viewing deck. thought of taking pix of sunrise. no sun to be seen. saw women rowing boats selling fruits and food from one boat to another. hardworking indeed, for a few dollars. msk joined me later and went back to sleep.

08.00am breakfast. roti bakar, roti and coffee. we were taken to one island for a swim. the water was so dirty. we refused to get off the boat. we were taken to another island. again, the beach was not clean. we climbed more than 400 steps to get to the top of the limestone hill. $ had this 'romantic' idea and went back to the beach earlier than us to execute his 'romantic' plan. the view from the top of the hill was magnificent. it was really worth the climb.

09.00am went back to the boat. took a quick shower and was asked to check out from the cabin. we lepak on the viewing deck while the boat merangkak2 balik ke jetty. $ spent some quality time with the korean boy [i guess he's hoping the mother would join also].

12.00noon arrived at the jetty. was driven to a seafood restaurant at Halong City. The food was nice until we were served pork & vegie. msk explained it better in his blog.

01.00pm started our journey back to hanoi. stopped at the same rest area. boring!

04.30pm arrived at our hotel. rushed to don xuan market to buy souvenirs. s.nag had been ranting about getting magnets from hanoi. the market was closed as soon as we got there. went back to our hotel and rested.

08.00pm dinner at nisa again. azhar was already waiting for us with our city-tour program the following day. he's leaving for msia the following morning and had to make sure that all arrangements were ok before he left. especially after the babi incident. after dinner we roameda the street of old quarters again. had coffee at GloriaJeans [thank god!] and lepak by the lake until 01.00am

02.05.08 [friday]

07.30am breakfast. that nice vietnamese roti/bread/butter and coffee.

08.30am the director of travel agency, Ms. Diem (dipanggil Zi-yem] herself showed up to ensure our plans were ok. she was very apologetic about the babi incident. she introduced our tour guide, Mr. Binh, a pleasant 29-yr old guy who spoke decent english and very accommodative of our 'whims' hahha. the 4 of us plus binh and driver - naik TOYOTA innova.

what binh shared with us:

[1] houses/aprtments were tall and narrow - in the old days, no space in hanoi. govt allocated small lands to people. hence the narrow design. the design was somehow adopted by people outside hanoi.

[2] only the front side of houses were painted. people entered the houses from the front door. no need to paint the sides. only robbers entered the houses from the sides.

[3] a lot of graves in the middle of paddy field. ancestors to guard the land.

[4] the most expensive 1km street in the world - in vietnam. govt had to compensate more than usd600 million to landowners to build the street.

[5] the bridge (in the city) was their pride. they built on their own. french govt wanted to give a french name- vietnames refused.

[6] helmets for bike riders were recently introduced. it was not well received in the beginning as the full-faced helmet was not suitable for the hot weather. now half-? helmet. the fine for not wearing helmet on the road > than cost of helmet.

our first stop was the pottery village. s.nag was so into 'ghost' [especially the part where demi moore was moulding the clay with the 'help' of swayze]. he was really disappointed to find out that it was a mass-production factory, where liquiefied clay was used [filled into a standard mould] instead of the ghost-like clay moulding. LOL. we tried our hands at painting the pottery and of couse they came out ugly.

we spent the next two hours scouring for souvenir items. me and msk, as usual made quick purchase, while s.nag and $ spent hours and hours of bargaining.

01.00pm we were back in the old quarters for lunch at Cha Ca (dipanggil ChaKa). Binh ordered Cha Ca for us and taught us how to eat it. ChaCa is a unique vietnamese delicacy. sha said that eating ChaCa is one of 100 things that u need to do in life. particularly from the restaurant that we went to. Binh left with the driver and came back 45 minutes later. that was the best meal that we had in our trip to hanoi. pix can be accessed from msk's blog.

02.00pm headed towards the silk village. was shown how silk was produced in the factory. we spent the next two hours buying silk stuffs from the many shops there. again, me and msk concluded our purchase in the first hour, while s.nag and $ went bargain-hunting.

04.30pm back to the hotel to drop our purchase. we left for don xuan market again with binh, minus msk. we said our goodbyes there to binh and the driver. s.nag and $ bought tons of magnets there. i bought 3 caps. cheap. we walked back to the hotel.

06.30pm started looking for a massage place as advised by sha. what sha failed to mention was that all masseurs were female there. me and $ were not ready for that. we walked back to the old quarters and found another place that provide the same service at 1/2 of the price. i only had foot massage.

08.30pm dinner at nisa restaurant again. final one. nicer dinner also. azhar kept his promise to give us the best meal. after dinner, we roamed the streets one last time. had coffee at GloriaJeans one last time. msk and i bought CDs.

12.00am got back to hotel and started packing.

03.05.08 [saturday]

05.00am woke up. getting ready to leave hanoi for good.

06.45am left the hotel. transpo: TOYOTA vios. USD14. checked in our stuffs. looking for a place to eat - McD and the likes - NONE!

08.50am we were supposed to board airasia at this time. stood in the line for ages. boarded the plane at 9.30am. no apology, nothing. except when we were already inside, the pilot mentioned that there was a computer glitch. i was in no mood to talk after boarding the plane. ignored the friendly stewardess or engineer. cifp was already in my mind. xm on monday. xm on monday. xm on monday. that was all i could think about. bought the bus ticket from them.

01.20pm landed @ lcct. $ rushed to McD to get lunch. then we took the bus to KL Sentral. we split ways. msk took the KTMKomuter, me the budget cab for rm25 and s.nag & $ went back together.

22. not a one way street...

2008-04-24T20:13:00.006+08:00

> friendship is not a one way street.
> that was what i said to 'fix', an old friend from djibouti when he complained about his best buddy.
> but lukman al-hakim's advice to his son made me re-think of what i'd said to him.
> lukman al-hakim to his son, .."wahai anakku ! Bila kamu mempunyai teman yang karib maka jadikanlah dirimu sebagai seorang yang tidak mengharapkan sesuatu apapun darinya sebaliknya biarkanlah temanmu itu sahaja yang mengharapkan sesuatu darimu."..
> but then again, "teman yang karib" would not take advantage of you at all times. so, maybe in his case the one way street is still applicable.

[i am not a wise man. i am just filling in this space with the above because syafiqk complained that my earlier post here was just a one liner]

> pix: wadi rum, JD.

21. apology, one after another...

2008-04-19T22:12:00.010+08:00

> march came and went.
> i can't wait for april to end.
> though...
i dread what awaits me in may.

> i missed out on a lot of things this week..
> sorry sya'ab for not being able to send you off.
> sorry intan for not being able to surprise you with the rest of the gang.
> sorry tamim for just signing the paper without having the usual chat.
> sorry ahmed for not being able to attend the nikah.
> sorry...

> pix - bousra, syria. she just sat there by the sidewalk, oblivious to what's going on around her. probably waiting for winter to end...

20. i ain't a brick...

2008-04-13T22:54:00.004+08:00

> i wrote a pretty long piece just now but decided not to post it as my writing may be used against me.
> but just a snapshot for those who know...part of the writing goes like this "It is just a creative manipulation of the system - to work the donkeys, leave the dogs barking and let the cows grazing in the field. At the end of the day, when the donkeys die of fatigue, the dogs are still the owner’s best friend and the cows are in abundance – that can be sold for more donkeys".
> i was told to 'multi-task'. i came from a small organization of fewer than 10 people where multi-tasking was a must, if not a religion. Basically I have a pretty ‘rough’ idea (definitely not crystal clear as I am at lost when it comes to the concept of multi-tasking in my current environment) of what multi-tasking entails. @ my old place, at the end of the day, multi-tasking helps achieve the organizational goals, within the eight hours of working. it was not done at the expense of the staff’s creativity or beyond the staff’s capability. and every single person in that company 'multi-tasked'. every single one was a donkey.
> for those who preach multi-tasking try read this for a different perspective.
> don't get me wrong though. i have nothing against multi-tasking. but when you are already doing it, it's kinda frustrating to have people asking you to multi-task! hell-o! knock-knock! anybody home?

19. one proud malaysian...

2008-04-10T00:08:00.001+08:00

>On my way to Puduraya today, I passed by Bangunan DBKL. From a distance I saw a group of three men, with loads of suitcases, taking a rest underneath the LRT track. As I was getting closer to the place they were sitting, one of them stood up. I could see a sign of hope plastered across his face. His face was ‘grilled-prawn’ kind of color, you know, I guess due to sunburn. Probably he’s been working under the sun for far too long. From the way they dressed and the choice of place for a rest, I knew for sure they were foreigners.

>He inched closer towards my path and stopped me. He’s one foot shorter than me and he had to strain his neck to look at my face when he started to talk. He uttered something, and I went “huh?” His two other friends nodded in agreement to whatever he was saying. I replied “English?” They stared at in me in bewilderment. The first guy started asking me questions again. I said, “Sorry, I don’t understand you”. Then I said “Bahasa Melayu?” All that I saw were their ‘blank’ faces.

>Then one of the two guys who were sitting down mentioned “Urdu”. And this time all three of them started looking at me like I was their savior or something.
Only then I realized, it was my nose that betrayed me and fooled them. I walked away from them, chuckling.

>Been there before one time too many. People spoke to me in Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese and Urdu like I was one of them. Sometimes it was my nose and sometimes it was my skin color that tricked people into believing that I was one of them. Maybe I was, but as far as I know – my mom is Malaysian and my late dad was Malaysian. And that makes me [one funny looking] Malaysian also.

18. blur...

2008-04-08T22:29:00.001+08:00

>people say that if you don't change by 40, there's a high probability that you'll be the same person for the rest of your life. the gap between my age and 40 is getting narrower and narrower with each passing day. and there are so many loose ends that i have yet to tie up.

>should i wait till the day i reach 39 years + 364 days before i change for the better? will i be able to change then?

>should i work my a**es off day and night, weekdays and weekend alike, when work is just a fraction of the whole equation? should i wait till i reach 40 to realize that?

>should i toe the line when the line is just an imaginery one? a line that will only be visible when it benefits the person who drew it and disappears the moment it loses its function? or should i question why the line was there in the first place?

>i whine and complain a lot. maybe i should zipp.it and resign to the fact that they have passed the goalpost and will not change anymore.

>or maybe i should stop whining and complaining before i get there. at least i still have ample time to change.

...note to self: try reduce your caffein intake. 10 cups of nescafe + fresh milk + sugar = incoherent thoughts. you should not wait till you reach 40 to realize that!

...note to s.arieff: good luck in your xm.

...note to halongbaygang: sunglasses dah beli ke?

...note to nik271: kutukukutumu jua, tapi bilanya?

17. babysitting...

2008-03-23T23:15:00.007+08:00

...i babysat these two hyperactive boys yesterday, while their dad played soccer and mom was on vacation. their dad scored one goal for his team.

after a bottle of milk, a bottle of mineral water, a packet of cookies, two packets of snack, rounds and rounds of cat + mouse chase, we left and i was rewarded with nasi dagang and a good night sleep. babysitting is a tiring job...unless you are rewarded with a car **hint**hint**.

pix: adam+aman bin pyan @ kompleks sukan bsn, bangi

16. rest in peace...

2008-03-18T07:00:00.002+08:00

It was January 1994 when I first met Kerek. He was 3 semesters my junior. I used to hang out at his neighbor’s secluded room, which was a good hideout for freshies who sought a peaceful semester, away from the so-called ‘induction’ programs illegally organized by the seniors.

His closest friend had just passed away in a motorcycle accident during his orientation week. He was one sad soul and spoke a lot about this friend in the beginning. Unknowingly a group of seniors seeking entertainment and false respect by bullying new students managed to get hold of him under the pretext of being ‘kerek’ to the seniors. While still mourning for his dead friend and being the center of ridicule of the seniors, he continued to hold his head high. That was how he got his nickname - Kerek, and of course I was the only one, and sometimes Lat, who'd called him by that name.

From then on we just got along very well. Not that many people - my friends or his -from college were aware that we were close friends and in fact more like brothers. I remember those nights when we just stayed up late and he would talk about his girlfriend who was studying at one of the colleges in Johor. And later about the countless arguments and misunderstandings that they went through. And of his crush on girls on campus and the girl who used to have a crush on him.

He loved motorbikes. He’s one of the guys who would ride his bike (just a Honda and sometimes Kips) to the campus in Terengganu from his parent’s house in Tanjung Malim through KL and Pahang. He would talk about the races, the parts, yadda, yadda… non-stop. Only later I found out about his interest in cars.

He was active in sports and other extra curricular activities. He’s one of a few friends of mine who naturally had very high level of self-confidence. He’s a daredevil. Heck, he even sang in a nasyid competition.

He smiled a lot.

Looking at him, one would not believe that he loved Air Supply instead of Metallicca, Nirvana and the likes- the groups his peers idolized.

He was one of a few friends who would send me Aerograms (yeah, zaman before Internet) updating me on what was happening in our college when I was overseas.

Lat loved him like her own brother. There was a brief period when they even worked in the same office. But office life was not for him. Despite having good grades and a stable job, he joined MAS as a steward. That’s when I started to hear less from him. Occasionally we would call each other when he’s in town. Then he got married.

Lat and other friends told me that they bumped into him in KLIA sometimes. Then there was no news from him or of him. His phone line was no longer in service. Lat did not hear from him also. That was 2003.

Every time I went to KLIA, I looked around hoping to bump into this old friend of mine, again. Since he was a junior, I did not know most of his friends, and those whom I knew – we never kept in touch. I even asked a steward friend to check his name in their system. None. I continued looking for him and hoping to see him whenever I was in KLIA over the next 3 years.

February 2006, out of the blue one of my juniors called. He spoke about those days when we were still in Terengganu and updated me on the lives of our mutual friends. I asked about Kerek. He mentioned that Kerek had passed away in 2003 in a motorcycle accident. I was speechless. I was not aware of his passing for over 3 years. I immediately called Lat and she was as shocked as I was. Later I found out on the internet about the accident – his friends wrote about him in an internet forum of a group that he helped established. He passed away on 18 March 2003 – 5 years ago, today.

may he rest in peace.

.......by his group members in 2006- the actual link is no longer there.
Pada tanggal 23 Februari 2003, Ahad, seorang rakan yang kita kasihi iaitu YAJ telah terlibat dalam satu kemalangan motor dengan sebuah van. Kemalangan yang berlaku dengan sekelip mata itu berlaku di Ulu Yam dan turut terlibat dalam kemalangan itu ialah rakannya yang juga menunggang motor. Mereka dibawa ke Hospital Selayang dan selepas itu dipindahkan ke Hospital Universiti Kuala Lumpur di dalam keadaan koma. Selepas 2 minggu di dalam keadaan koma, rakannya menghembuskan nafas yang terakhir dah pada minggu ketiga YAJ pula menghembuskan nafas yang terakhir pada 18hb March 2003 pada waktu Isya.
Marilah kita bersama sama sedekahkan AlFatihah kepada aruah YAJ moga moga roh beliau ditempatkan bersama sama mereka yang beriman....
aminnn.

Artikel ini di petik dari egroup sejurusnye selepas pemergian YAJ untuk kita jadikan kenangan bersama

:::Wan
YAJ dalam kenangan....
Pertama kali aku jumpa masa aku mula-mula join weekly gathering KBs,kali kedua aku jumpa seminggu sebelum dia meninggalkan kita buat selama-lamanya.Walaupun hanya dua kali jumpa,aku rasa macam dah lama kenal,tapi aku tak sangka sekejap sangat aku jumpa YAJ ni.Bagaimanapun,Allah lebih menyayangi beliau.....
Marilah kita sama-sama menyedekahkan bacaan al-fatihah semoga roh beliau akan ditempatkan bersama-sama golongan yang beriman.Amin.

:::Bro K
sebak dada aku tengok gambar tu. tak sedar airmata pun berlinang. aku kenal dia melalui encik Abb. Dia bawak YAJ datang rumah aku , tengok project B8T Diy aku dulu. Very nice guy. Siap layan kami macam duduk atas kapalterbang jer. tuang air dll. pastu tu ade lah jugak jumpa dia si ShahAlam kat kedai nasi kandar. Sekali sekala berselisih kat federal highway. Last sekali jumpa dia masa dia kahwin. Mungkin ada rahmat disebalik pemergiannye.
Alfatihah.

:::Kengkawan,
Sebenarnya....aku kalau bleh tak nak taip nih tapi aku tak bleh tahan sebak aku...... tambah plak Lan attach ulang tayang gambar kawin arwah.

First time aku kenai YAJ ialah first time jugak bebudak KBs kenai dia.....iaitu pada Gath. KBs yg ke-2 di Awan Besar. Masa tu di awal penubuhan KBs. Banyak jasa dia kat aku/keta aku.. kebanyakkan barang keta aku, dia yang carikan...... bank-in duit jer barang sampai.Jasa dia takkan aku lupakannnnn.....dia jugak jadi tempat mengadu/ rujukan aku kalau nak set game ngan sapa².....Dia jugak sempat beberapa kali datang Penang dan lepak rumah aku.... pomen aku pun kenai dia...... dan setiap kali kalau datang penang (masa tu dia buat Domestic flight saja) mesti aku gi ambik dia..... datang rumah aku mesti race GT2 ngan dia...... Tapi kini semua tinggai kenangan.... yang pergi biarkan lah berlalu.... sesungguhnya ALLAH lebih menyayanginya.
Al-Fatihahhhhh.....

:::Moderator
AKu pun sama rasa kehilangan dia...kalau tak arwah setiap kali turun flight sure telifon aku tanya khabar. Lawak jenaka.Banyak benda yang aku & arwah buat bersama terutama pasal kereta la. Dia tak kedekut ilmu segala info diberi seikhlas mungkin. AIC, VJ20 setup, Ekzos mazdaspeed, boost meter, boost meter holder & banyak lagi adalah datangnya dari arwah.

Suka & duka semua bersama. Arwah suka meluahkan perasaan dia dengan aku...masaalah dia...kisah hidup dia. Begitu juga dengan aku. Mana yang aku tak pergi ngan dia..runner kedai potong, lepak umah dia, keluar hang out, race, lepak w/shop, Bt 3, konvoi & macam macam lagi. Itu sebab aku tak putus2 melawat dia dari hari pertama dia masuk ward sampai la arwah meninggal.

YAJ...kau tetap dalam kenangan aku. Website kita nanti ada ruangan khas untuk dia sebagai tanda terima kasih atas sumbangan arwah keatas penubuhan KBs. SO aku minta kawan kawan sedekahkan arwah al fatihah banyak banyak semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat. Amin
TQ

::: A GT
Guyz,
Aku tak tahu nak mula kat mana. Kita dah kehilangan seorang kawan yang begitu baik hati. Tak lokek ilmu. Kalau kau dalam kesusahan atau kereta kau problem dia lah org yang paling sibuk untuk solvekan problem tu. VJ20 setup yang aku pakai sekarang ni adalah dari kereta arwah. Arwah jual semua sekali termasuk boost con, EGT, VJ20 setup + AIC dengan harga yang paling reasonable sekali dan aku rasa mcm tak percaya dengan apa yang aku dengar.

Kalau aku kerja kat area shah alam, arwah selalu temankan aku lunch kalau dia takde flight. Walaupun wife dia ada kat rumah dia masih nak temankan aku dan tinggalkan wife dia kat rumah. Serba-salah aku tapi dia sikit pun tak kisah. Satu perkataan yang dia selalu guna "AKU NO HAL" . Aku rasa mcm terdengar lagi dia sebut perkataan tu. Dia suka makan Kedai Lontong Klang kat sek 7, kat area rumah dia. Dia suka sangat makan lontong kat kedai tu. Dia yang bawak aku kat kedai tu. Aku rasa aku tak sanggup nak pergi kedai tu lagi.

Arwah selalu datang kedai Pomen kat Selayang malam-malam tak kira pukul berapa. Kalau arwah pergi rumah mentua dia kat gombak. Arwah mesti singgah kat kedai Pomen. Mesti ajak Pomen test drag tak kisah kat mana. Aku jadi starter, Cat kat finishing, arwah drag ngan Pomen. Kadang-kadang arwah dtg ngan wife dia. Nak drag punya pasal, hantar wife dia balik dulu kat gombak, lepas tu dtg balik. Kalau aku call arwah pukul berapa sekalipun dia mesti angkat phone dan entertain aku. Kadang-kadang time call tu agak melampau sikit, yelah call pukul 3 pagi. Banyak perkara yang aku belajar ngan arwah, susah kita nak jumpa seorang kawan seperti arwah YAJ. Semalam sewaktu aku mengusung jenazah arwah untuk ke kubur, aku rasa mcm tak percaya jenazah YAJ. Aku rasa sedih teramat sangat sewaktu bersama-sama mengebumikan jenazah arwah.

Aku dah tak sanggup nak tulis pasal arwah sebab aku dah tak boleh nak tahan daripada nak menangis. Seperti Az cakap, banyak benda yang aku ngan arwah buat bersama. Semoga rohnya ditempatkan disamping orang-orang yang beriman dan soleh. Semoga dirinya diringankan daripada seksa kubur. Marilah kita berdoa untuk seorang kawan yang pernah kita kenal, pernah ketawa dan menangis bersama. Seorang kawan yang tidak akan kembali untuk selama-lamanya.

P/s:- Marilah kita sedekahkan Al-Fatihah dan bacakan surah Yaasin di malam jumaat yang mulia ini. Semoga dengan izin Allah S.W.T apa yang kita lakukan sampai ke arwah.

:::Vince
memang betul semua yg disebut oleh member member tentang YAJ.
I have been bless to have known a friend like YAJ...Who have taught me so many things .....and always encouraing u to do things...
he never put people down....only keep on encouraging u to go on...i will miss him...and i will always have him in my memories....saya punya EBC pun, datang dari YAJ....semua ni, akan jadi memori yg diingati selama lamanya

::: Dugong
seingat aku, aku cuma jumpa dia 10kali je camtu. bila dia accident, aku tau dia kuat semangat. bila chunut sms aku malam tu, aku kat
cameron rumah abang aku. cam tak percaya dia dah takde. aku duduk termenung lama. bergenang airmata aku teringatkan dia. bila bangun pagi aku sms chunut lagi. aku cam tak percaya dia dah takde. chunut confirmkan sekali lagi. bila nengok gambar yg lan attach tu, sebak dada aku. aku sempat jumpa dia 10kali je sejak aku join KBs. walaupun 10kali, rasa cam dah lama kenal dia. dia memang best & cool orangnye tak boleh dinafikan lagi. orangnye baik hati. bila borak dgn dia, cam dah lama kenal. knowledge toksah crita lah, tak kedekut langsung. aku hormat betul kat dia. tak sangka dia dah takde, ye laa kan, Allah lebih sayangkan dia.Bila
dia accident, aku tak dpt jengok dia. 2nd day dia accident, pegi hukm tapi dia kat operation theatre. sabtu lepas nak pegi tapi keta
sangkut kat bengkel buat preparation sblm pegi lumut bercuti. mmg takde rezeki aku nak jumpa dia masa dia sakit sampailah dia meninggal.

15. seeing doubles...

2008-03-14T19:42:00.003+08:00

>lessons learnt:

1. if you lose your thaji passbook, you gotta go to the LTH counter, present your nric, tell the nice lady at the counter that you've lost your passbook, she'll check into the system, fill-in some details in the form, and the process does not end there, people. you've gotta go to lembagahasil for ringgit10 stamping or you can buy a ringgit10 'setem hasil' and go find a commissioner of oath [which is not in the vicinity of LTH HQ] for his signature, then resubmit the form to the nice lady to get your new passbook. in my case, i asked her to print out my latest statement...coz all that i wanted to know was the balance in my account. the lost passbook can be replaced later...

2. buying a house is not as simple as i thought it was. you spend ringgit today, you spend ringgit tomorrow and you spend ringgit again the day after tomorrow...and so on. today, i forked out ringgit2k+ for additional power outlets in my future apt. if i don't, my future apt may not look as nice as the showroom...it's all about lighting people! of course after spending that double k, i start seeing doubles also la...

>pix: PV8

14. bila izrail...

2008-03-06T22:50:00.004+08:00

>it was around 8.00pm. and it was a split second decision that saved my life and others tonite.

>i was driving home from work. in front of me was another car, and he was tailing another car. we were on the fast lane. i was ready to slow down and move to the middle lane.
>i stole a glance, a quick one, a 1-second glance..just to check whether there's another vehicle behind mine in the other lane.
>at that very moment the cars in front of me decided to floor their accelerators, for whatever reasons. i was so close, another meter away from the one in front of me.
>alhamdulillah, my hands and legs made the decision before my brain could process what my eyes were seeing...one leg slammed the brake, one hand held on tight to the steering and the other shifting the gear, the burning tyres made a screeching sound when i swerved the car to the left, i was safe in the middle lane, and continued driving like normal.

>only later my brain came to its senses. and i came to my senses. and i start wondering...... [incomplete...]

[pix: Bousra, Syria]

13. the tragedy that didn't happen...

2008-02-27T22:56:00.004+08:00

"this is a good read, no kidding!"

> was ready to say 'choy kin'.

> salary adjustment

> ok, but still whined.

> prayer's answered.

> staff movement in TheCo.

> new boss.

> new portfolio.

> new cubicle, maybe.

> happy? well, we'll see how it goes.

> job search? well, let's put it on hold for while.

> alhamdulillah.

...definitely a personal tragedy that didn't (although almost) happen.

12. organized clutters...

2008-02-20T23:27:00.005+08:00

>sometimes i am so organized to a point where i consider being disorganized as an art.

>sometimes i get so disorganized to a point where being organized seems to me a like a fairy-tale.

>sometimes i get so confused to a point where i could not differentiate between the two.

>and that the state i am in.

>right now.

...pix: klcc@nite

11. come and set me free...

2008-02-19T23:05:00.018+08:00

"If you wanna be with me. Baby there's a price to pay.

I'm a genie in a bottle. You gotta rub me the right way.

If you wanna be with me. I can make your wish come true.

Come and set me free, baby.

And I'll be with you"

Christina Aguilera. Genie In A Bottle.

>obviously the niu shooter had his own way to set himself free - by injuring 18 and killing 5 and himself. before the shooting, dekalb was [not really] known for its barb wires, then corns, then cindy crawford. and now of course the whole world is aware of niu's existence due to the 'massacre'. google niu, see what's the first result. you won't see that 2 months ago. hmm...

pix:Bousra.Syria

10. give back my 2, 3, 2, 3, 4 cents...

2008-02-17T10:42:00.010+08:00

>s.arief mentioned that he was cheated RM5 in broad daylight when he bought a new battery for his N95 [yeah rite] at pertama. being someone who could negotiate the best deal for himself in most instances, the cheating was such an insult to his ‘super-power’ ability. even if s.kam gave him RM5 as a replacement, the scratch+bruises that he got could not be healed or erased from his mind easily. well, in his case the cheating was obvious.

>how about the not so obvious ones? sometimes it amazes me to see how the cashiers at the hypermarkets, boutique rstrnts, mamax restrnts or even pakcikjualsayo make quick bucks out of us by ‘stashing’ away our money, with or without our consent. not as much as RM5 like s.arief, but in a much smaller amount, usually less than 5 cents.

>their modus operandi:
ONE, claim that they do not have 1 cent in their cash register and asked if it’s okay to return the balance minus the 2-3 cents.
contoh: you buy kopi.yg.susah.nak.sebut.nama for RM9.97. you give the cashier RM10. she looks at you apologetically [fake one] and spits out the usual script “kita takde duit kecik la bang”. you look into her mata-ayu, act like a jejaka yang pemurah gila and reply, “tak pe la, keep the change” [cakap mat saleh – maklum la baru lepas minum kopi.yg.susah.nak.sebut.nama].

TWO, they don’t say a word. they quietly return our balance minus the 2-3 cents.
contoh: you buy the same kopi-yg-susah-nak-sebut-nama for the same price and hand over RM10 to mamat gondola yang jaga kaunter. this time, mamat gondola only gives you the receipt. of course you will not ask for your 3 cents back. maklum la, apa kelas mintak 3 sen dari mamat gondola tu. kalau mintak pun buat malu saja kalau mamat gondola tu buat muka seposen.

>most of us tend to ignore the fact that we are being shortchanged, especially @ places like the above, where the cashiers wear tailored uniforms or the places where the menu can make your tongue forgets its natural position . why? is it because the amount involved is too small? is it because we are a generous lot, kind hearted? or is it because we do not want to appear tamak.harta.satu.sen in front of our friends or other customers or the boleh.kira.pretty.jugak cashiers?

>it is not us who set the prices. it is not us who do not have the smaller change. why can’t they return 5 cents or 10 cents if they do not have smaller change. why would they take our 2-3 cents away? you tell me!

>sometimes we tend to forget that we are being generous to a wrong person or entity. these are salary-earned cashiers working for profit-making companies. if today we are approached by volunteers for a donate-3-cents-a-day-for-cancer-patients program, are we going to stop, listen to them and sign up? most probably not. we’d rather be cheated by those profit making companies than letting go of our 3 cents to charity and those who are really in need.

>demand for your 1, 2 ,3 and 4 cents back. unless the sight of the-power-that-be in his mercedes or lear jet bought using our 1, 2, 3, 4 cents make you sleep better at night. or may be you want to boast to your grandson, ”you know what, atok la yang fund uncle.gemok tu punya mercedes”

>come april, the new rounding mechanism will be implemented. at least this time, there’s a give and take. who knows, they may start running out of 5 cents... a much faster way to own a lear jet.

p.s. congrats tu z.hass on the new addition. a mouthful @ home + a mouthful in the office - we feel ya'.

9. whateva...

2008-02-11T22:37:00.000+08:00

>when i was in college, there was this required course that i had to take. basically, we were required to attend a number of performances organized by the arts dept and submit our not-so-interesting reviews as part of the assignment. i guess that's how they made money and managed to fill up the auditorium. i remember this one MUTE performance that i had to endure for over 2 hours (that felt like eternity).. it's just like the show at ttwangsa the other day. a group of guys, dressed in black, climbed up some kinda flexible poles, got themselves inside baloon-shaped-whateva-thingy, started swaying left and right, back and forth. there's a princess at the center surrounded by clowns. there was some kind of music playing in the background. of course they're trying to tell a story. but i was lost. whateva.

8. me and the eye...

2008-02-10T22:53:00.000+08:00

"i'm too cute for the ride..."

>s.arief +family and i were at ttwangsa last nite. we planned to take photos of the eye on msia. mission not accomplished. one, i was still struggling with aperture, iso, shutter speed yadda yadda yadda. two, i only had w.a.l with me. the pix were all distorted. three, i did not use tripod at all. as a result, none of the pix is decent enough to be saved. may be s.arief's luckier.

>it was my first time there. may be going for the ride one of these days. planning to drag s.nag and $fee with me next time.

7. autumn in february...

2008-02-09T19:05:00.000+08:00

"they say there are only two seasons in tanahmelayu- wet and dry. some others would say it's hot and humid throughout the year. i don't disagree with them. they are probably right. but there's autumn where i came from. at least that's what i call it.

it's the season when the leaves turn into different shades of yellow, orange and red; fall off or get blown away; and change the landscape into colorful carpets of dry leaves. it's chilly at night. it's autumn, i tell you! and it's now! ...but there's no winter to look forward to."

>it's already february. ppl are getting busier in TheCo. d'Boss gave a group of us a compilation of reading materials to be read over the long weekend. i repeat, over the long weekend. i have to read other things also - to start on MIII and three other courses that i'm planning to take. i went back to see mom the first 2 days of CNY and only have one more day to read 'em. shisshhh...

>it's already february. as usual thepowerthatbe throw[s] promises upon promises of what lays ahead of us and the rewards that we will reap along the way. as usual i play the game of see-la-what's-gonna-happen. i heard one of the courses that i was nominated for had been X-ed. see-la-what's-gonna happen.

>it's already february. it's autumn. but there's no winter to look forward to.

6. upside down...

2008-02-05T22:37:00.000+08:00

"look closely...it's a matter of perspective!"

>anxiously waiting for the 4-day CNY holiday. i did not rest much during the 3-day break last weekend. was @ TheCo on fri + sat. did laundry + spring cleaning on sun.

>went to klcc sun nite. watched cloverfield with n.azman. took photos around klcc. n.azman tried his new d40x. it was raining cats + dogs. since i love my d80 more than anything rite now, i let n.azman took most of the photos using his d40x. bumped into s.nag with his latest collection, shoulda taken their pix as proof. luckily did not hv 135mm or s.arief's 200mm with me. lucky you bro.

>z.hass got bitten by a bug, the 'shutter bug'. s.arief proved how strong his power of persuasion was coz z.hass only wanted to get a compact, but ended up buying d40. size does matter, in this case the size of z.hass' wallet. tak sia2 TheCo bagi increment. [intentionally left out my role in influencing z.hass to buy d40 ;)]

>work is upside down as usual. been dodging fiery bullets this week. stray bullets (that were meant for some other people) hit me from time to time. they hit fast and i'd only feel the pain later. but hey, i don't get paid (enough) to get hit by stray bullets, unlike z.hass. it's ok for him even if he doesn't deserve it hahha he's gonna kill me for writing this part. luckily he doesn't have the slightest idea of this blog's existence, as yet!

>got F1 for MIII. considering the fact that i gave up before the xm and managed to get F1, ok la tu. gotta start early next time. [don't laugh at me s.nag + z.hass, it's your mantra too]

>...again, can't wait for thursday.

5. i am tired...

2008-02-01T12:35:00.001+08:00

"..it's a long journey.one that i have no control and makes me lose control. the journey continues, even when i stop travelling.." [fizzou:010208]

>i am sick and tired of repeating the same mistake that i did in the past!
- mistaking stupidity for patience!
the only difference this time, i'm many2 moons wiser.

>FedTerritoryDay- and i was in TheCo, along with S.nag, $.fi & S.schit...if u guys are reading this, enough with Gantung! it's a nice song until u played it a gazillion times.

4. i'll stand right here till you get back...

2008-01-30T00:39:00.000+08:00

i was here yesterday.
i am here today.
and i will be here tomorrow.
my patience is as deep as the ocean.
i will wait for as long as i can.
though it is no match to yours.
to leave and never return... [fizzou:30:01:08]

----

> made two important decisions today:
1. booked a trip for three to a dollarised country in mid-08. thx tony, now i can fly!
2. bought a new lens for my baby. now she can see things from a different angle. a lot wider than before.

> persuaded n.azman to grab s.arief's one-month old girlfriend, D forty X. s.arief immediately found a replacement, an upgrade!

3. catch me if you can...

2008-01-27T15:28:00.000+08:00

i don't want to be the first, nor the last. i just want to be where i belong.

i don't mind you taking the lead. but i do mind if you don't know how to lead.

for i'd rather be led by the blind ...

whose heart is made of gold

& whose soul is never too young nor too old! [fizzou:27:01:08]

2. hey..watcha looking at?

2008-01-23T07:48:00.000+08:00

You have changed… You are not the same person anymore… Why can’t you help me now? Why are you treating me this way? Why are you so upset? Why did you not call? ...

Sometimes we would get one, sometimes more and sometimes all of the above from our so-called friends.

A long lecture would follow with how normal and easygoing their other friends were or how much alike their and their other friends’ characters were… in other words, how different we were in treating them from the way their other friends treated them or how bad we were for not treating them the way they expected us to treat them.

What they failed to see was we treated them exactly the same way they treated us… especially when we'd had enough of their crap and wanted them to go taste their own medicine!

1. one thousand steps at a time, if not...

2008-01-21T21:31:00.000+08:00

mak kata...
kalau boleh laju, laju.
kalau tak boleh pelan pun tak pa!

kawan kata... kayuh pelan-pelan!
a friend asked... what's the hurry?
boss kata... cepat la!

aku nak ikut cakap mak!