JB-Spore trip

DAY 1

The holiday was a bittersweet experience because it was an impromptu decision. Not much preparation was done.. I mean not as much as I wanted to.. On our first day, we spent the day by driving to JB and made a quick stop at Batu Pahat to taste the famous mee racun. Yes, you read it right.. the name is mee racun.. :0 It tasted more like mee bandung only the soup is thicker with potato and an egg in it. The stall received a good review from a forum on the net and I agreed with the writer. We continue on our journey to JB and found a cheap hotel which is within our budget. Haha! :D Well it was the first day and we're going to be on foot for most of the time, so why waste money? ;) We got a nice hotel (Tian Jin Hotel) for a merely RM59 per night. I think it was a good bargain as it was on school holiday and few days before xmas.. It has a hot shower, a tv, hot and cold water, maggi mee and coffee. It was better than what I expect for RM59. Later that night, we indulge ourselves with nasi ayam penyet at Benafe Cafe which also had a good review in forums on the net. :)

DAY 2

The next day was the big day as we were heading to Singapore for the next 2 days. We park our car near the pasar borong Larkin which is situated beside the bus terminal. It was RM2.50 per day which is affordable. ;) We took the Singapore-Johore Express (SJE) bus for a merely RM2.50 per person. We bought 2 tickets and continue our journey to Singapore. We had to stop 2 times before we reach Spore. The first was at JB Sentral - huge and very modern architecture. We check-in at the immigration Malaysia and straight towards Spore and had to stop again for the Spore immigration in order to continue our journey. It was exhausting to queue up every time you're at the terminal. I am surprised how the people that lives in Johor commute daily to Spore. Unfortunately, I had seen ugly scenes of people who cut queue and being kiasu at the terminal. We were not in rush so we gave in but it was shocking to see it personally. There was a lady standing beside me pretending to check if the bus has arrived and then, just stand there pretending not to the lines beside her and somehow the newcomers not knowingly just queuing up behind her and forming double lines. My mistake was I didn't confronted her earlier and it was too late when I did. She was being ignorance and kiasu. I hated the situation but I hated even more to be step on for such matter! That was my first impression of Singapore and I only can hope for the better. Fortunately, I met a Singaporean girl named Suriyanti while on the bus and she was very helpful on describing places, things to do on the island. Thanks to her, I'm able to plan my trip well. When we reached at the bus terminal at Bugis street, we walked to nearby MRT station. We were surprised with the MRT sytem that they have. The definitely have a good public transportation on their hands. We bought 2 Ez-Link cards for SGD30 and they're refundable. However, SGD5 was charged per card and that's not refundable but since they offer discounted price if you use EZ-link that's a good bargain for me. :)

Upon recommendation by Suriyanti, we made our way to Geylang by stopping at Paya Lebar station. The people are helpful in giving direction and we found our hotel in no time. We decided to stay at Hotel 81 Opera which situated at Joo Chiat Road. It's Singapore largest top value budget hotel chain at various locations. It cost us SGD59/night and it's a walking distance to a bus stop. :D After refresh ourselves at the hotel, we decided to make a move to Mustafa Centre. We took bus 33 from Joo Chiat Place and heading to MRT station. When we reached Mustafa Centre which is situated in Little India, little did we know that it's a 24 hours mall and anything that you need, you can get it there. The concept is more or less like Mydin but they stacked up branded expensive stuff such as Clarks like it only cost SGD5 while actually it was SGD100. :0 Finally, our last stop for the day was Orchard Road. We stopped at Wisma Atria - Orchard MRT station and we just stroll along the street with the beautiful lights and decorations along the street. :D

DAY 3

We had our lunch at a resraurant not too far from the hotel. We met a nice lady who's the owner of the restaurant. She was telling us on the high utility bills and rental that she has to pay. The rental alone cost her SGD11k. >.<>.< style="font-style: italic;">factory busses just took on pasengers over the limit and people keep on pushing to get in.. - in the middle of the road.. >.< style="font-weight: bold;">

DAY 4

Before we leave, we had our lunch at Singgah Selalu. They have a wide range of Malay food. Then, on our way to KL, we made a quick stop at Coconut Shake near Tg Keling, Melaka. There were a lot of people queuing up for it. It was good and refreshing! ;) Heavy downpour of rain welcoming us back home - just like when we left it.. :D

EMTC dinner party @ Westin

After hours of flipping coin - going or not going. Finally, I decided, why not? :) It was held in Westin Grand Ballroom. Very nice ambience and great lighting indeed. I hesitated when I walked into the hall. I was a little late since it started at 6:30 p.m. and I reached there around 7:30 p.m. so I missed out the cocktail and photography session. The door gift on the other hand is just - "useful" ?. Screw driver + torch light - well, you expect that from Exxon. I love it! No kidding! Haha!

As for the food, overall it was ok. Fancy dishes, served after one another and served by the servers was just nice. Nothing too great about the food. It was ok. You'd expect that from hotels. **Too much hotel food till it makes no difference** :( On the perfomance wise, I think it was great! EMIT are well known for being creative and sporting when it comes to performing on stage. Actually it was the event that we are looking forward to. However, this year, big disappointment from the leadership team. They didn't perform anything. As usual, every year, we are anticipating it. They came up looking like Monroe or Haitian warriors with pride. Love it! But this year, nothing. It's a bummer not to have our lovely AA performance as well. They're cool, hip and very young at heart! Bummer! I hope next year, it'll be different.

I am on-call for the week so my boss received a call earlier and was so worried if it was a problem call. So I hurriedly log on to my laptop in the parking lot and get connected. No P1, no calls and lastly I called up the HCC to confirm that if there's any calls made to our team. Luckily, no calls from them and my boss gave green light to get into the party again! Haha! I missed out 1-2 performance and sadly it was the winner. I hope they recorded it somewhere. *Keeps finger crossed*

Overall, the committee did a great job all year round with wonderful events and the dinner party was just classy indeed. Not all were happy with the concept -Prom Night but it turned out to be a hit! Kudos to all the committee! ;D

Eat All You Can - DURIAN

I promised my sister that I'd bring her over to durian buffet. We love durian! A proud Ipoh-rian indeed! Haha! I came across a webby on durian buffet located at SS2. It's fairly easy to find as it's just behind Bhp SS2. It has decent washing basin and free plain water for you. You can order up coconut drink as well. Yummy! Yummy!

Menu:
Durian buffet - RM15 (Served durian susu/kampung)
Coconut drink - RM4

Info: RM9 Buffet only available from Monday - Friday.
RM15 - Weekend / Public Holiday

Durian SS2
Ah Wai
012-234-5619
Operating Hours: 12 p.m. - 12 a.m.
Website: http://www.durianss2.com
Email: durianss2@gmail.com
Click here for Map

Lunch @ Selera Rimba, Sajian Ala Banjar & Jawa

Last week, I heard about exotic food being served at a restaurant not too far from KL. I was so eager to try it out and was trying to sell the idea hard to our makan2 team. I think there's no better way than to try it out myself first. Me, Fauzy, Jiejah (my sister) and Zhafran started our journey at 12 and reach there at 1:30 p.m. It was just beside the main road and it's located far deep inside felda. About 35km~ from the Felda Kg Soeharto sign board so be sure to have your tank checked and you can expect beautiful scenery along the way.

The restaurant isn't as pack as I imagine it would be. My first impression was it's small but the interior is just nice and clean. They have variety of kampung (village) style food served for you to choose but I'm eyeing for the exotic ones so we have to order them separately. You just need to say it out loud what you want and the servers are helpful in suggesting the signature dish and favourite items. They don't have it on menu but they can custom made it for you. Our main menu is Landak (porcupine) Masak Lemak Cili Padi - a real spicy entry indeed. Then, we were intrigue to taste Rusa (deer) masak kicap and Baung (fish) masak cili so we picked them out as well. These are hard to get items even in Malaysia. We want to add something close to us such as Ayam (chicken) and Udang (prawn) goreng berempah into our menu. Last but not least my favourite ulam and definitely sambal tempoyak for me.

I enjoy a lot the authentic taste of the dishes and the spicy taste is just right for the dish. Landak (porcupine) taste is a bit unfamiliar to me. The meat is a little hard than what I expected and rusa (deer) meat has a strong smell to it. However it does blend well with the sauce. We finish our plate with a smile on our face. Love it.

On our way home, we stopped by at a Kelapa Pandan (Coconut juice) stall for RM2.50 per packet. It was refereshing and really nice.

Overall, it was a good experience for me and I enjoyed my luncheon wih my family. ;) Thinking of planning a trip with my mom and my friends later.. :)

Thanks Zhafran for being a good sport along the way.. :P Good boy!

Menu:
Landak Masak Lemak Cili Padi
Rusa Masak Kicap
Baung Masak Cili
Ayam Kampung Berempah
Udang Goreng Berempah
Ulam + Tempoyak Sambal Belacan
RM140 (after discount RM4)

Food: A-
Service: B+
Price: B- **Considering the authenticity and exotic food. Still ok.
Food Portion: A
Ambience: B+
Overall: B+

Selera Rimba Ala Banjar/Jawa
Hamka B Jaafar
Kg Belia 2, Jln Sg Panjang,
45300, Sg Besar, Selangor.
Tel: 016 316 0344
Operating hours:
11.00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Friday off)
Coordinates: 3°42'32"N 101°10'33"E

Zhafran admitted to the hospital for mild gastroenteritis

Zhafran was vomitting few days before we took him to Pantai Hospital. Started on Sunday and we brought him over to An-Nur for consultation and received medicine to cure the illness but on Wednesday, he's gone from bad to worst. At the time he lost a total of 900gm of his weight and Dr Azam immediately suggested Zhafran to be admitted on the same day. That was the best decision that I've made. He wasn't eating and slept all the time. If he does awake, he just laying onto his belly and look at me. No movement at all. Even when he sleeps, he wanted to sleep with me and not in his bed. I was so tired as I didn't sleep for 3 days because he even vomits when he sleeps and was so terrified of the idea of his choking his own vomit. It was very hard for me care for him - to see him that way.

Dr Azam took Zhafran's urine, stool and blood sample and there wasn't any trace of anbormailties. Since he weight keeps on declining plus he's not eating well, doctor suggested to give him intravenous drip. The sight of seeing him crying his lungs out just hurts us so bad. The doctor struggle to find a vein as for baby it's not easy to find it. Doctor tried on his hand but no avail finally he 'caught' one on the feet which I think it's great because it's away from his visual. I'm afraid that he might "play" with it if inserted on his hand.

The intravenous drip works wonders. He's energetic in the next morning and start taking his milk normally. We were ready to get out of the hospital but the doctor was very busy that day so we went back later the evening. :)

Now, after few days, he is healthy and has been eating ever since. He eats a lot and gained back the lost grams in no time. He's playful and happier now. :D

Thanks to Dr Azam for the good consultation and being able to tackle the situation very well. :)

Osvaldo & Diego - Trip to KL

Our colleagues from Argentina spent the whole 2 weeks in Malaysia and a week in Singapore for training. Aren't they lucky? :P Sadly I was on training on the first week and only met them on the second. It feels like you've known them for ages. They're great, easy going, fun people to be around with.





**The best team in EM**

My camera is still with Fahmy so I'm stuck at copying people's photos.. Haha!

The Spaghetti Farm @ Mid Valley

I love spaghetti. I just couldn't resist having spaghetti at any time on any day. I just love the home made spaghetti beef bolognese. I could finish the whole pot of it. Well, that's describe a little bit about my craziness towards spaghetti. Ha-ha!

Me and Fauzy went to Mid Valley to get Zhafran's 'free' pampers from Toy's 'R' Us and decided to have lunch there and once we saw the restaurant - The Spaghetti Farm, we know that's what we wanted to have. I was so excited as it's my favourite food. The tag line - Wholesome Italian Meal is just engaging and I was gladly to give it a try. The restaurant is nice, comfy and the service is not bad either. However, I can't say the same to the food - except for the mushroom soup which was nice.

We didn't wait for too long to have our pasta (which is a plus) but I was disapointed just by looking at it. It was served in a bowl, well that's the first in a restaurant. :) I've no complain on that though as I do eat my spaghetti a bowl at home. The visual presentation of the Spaghetti Beef Bolognese is just ee-yew. It's "sticky" which was overcooked and it has an unpleasant smell too. The sauce wasn't good either. It tasted like it was only cooked with maggi tomato sauce and added beef into it. That's all! I didn't even finish my food and I hated that. Then, I looked over to Fauzy's Carbonara dish and have it a try. It looks nice though (like the normal ones) but the taste is bland. It should have a creamy feeling to it but it was nothing. I tried to add cheese to it but still, nothing. It's a great idea to have such restaurant as many people loves Spaghetti. It's a simple dish and usually it is hard to not make it right. It is mostly disapointing because of it is their signature dish. You can not go wrong with that. That shows the whole concept of your restaurant.

I've had an authentic Italian food as I travel around a lot but this is not any near to the authentic Italian at all.

Spaghetti Beef Bolognese *Value meal + Coke + Mushroom soup
Carbonara *A la carte
=RM20.80 *Not sure why the waiter took our receipt when he found out the cashier wrongly key in the the table no. I should've took it back :P Oh well..

Food: D
Service: B *There was a mixed up on the table no but that's alright.
Price: B *OK price and the value meal is just great
Food Portion: B
Ambience: B
Overall: D *All about the food

The Spaghetti Farm,
Mid Valley
Check out their webby for more details.

Italiannies @ One Utama

We went to One Utama hoping to find a dinner dress pour moi but after a loooong window shopping we decided to have a bite. While cruising along, we stumble upon a restaurant called Italiannies and decided to check out the place. The ambience was good too and we chose to sit just beside the window that's next to the bar. Complimentary bread slices was served before we place our order. I love the aromatic dip - tuscany olive oil and vinegar. It's a great for starters.

We were both starving at that time. We have chosen out California Shrimp Salad, Spaghetti Meatball, Roasted Chicken Italiannies, Ice Lemon Tea and warm water. The waiter actually did remind us that the portion is made for 2 but I was sceptical bout it and just went along ordering it. Little that I know, - well I knew, maybe just a little stubborn - the spaghetti was huge. 2 huge meatballs are all I can see on the plate. Fauzy wasn't digging the spaghetti taste that much, according to him - the meatballs are saltier for his liking. Personally, I find it just nice. As for the salad entry, I'm loving the shrimp and the fresh salad. I do eat vege for side dish but never a course meal. He-he! It's a well-seasoned grilled shrimp, mangoes, oranges, tomatoes and cream cheese with baby spinach and romaine lettuce, tossed with orange vinaigrette dressing are just amazing. Maybe I should change my eating habit once in a while. Ha-ha! As for the third dish, we had a Roasted Chicken Italiannies and frankly I chose it for the pictures and the name. LOL! If it's named after the restaurant, I bet it must be their signature dish. So we took on the challenge and was satisfied by it. It a chicken roasted with peppers, pepperoncini and rosemary potatoes are just nice. I wish it's spicier than it was to give a certain kick over the meal. Overall I was satisfied with the food and the service. Although there were a minor 'accident' made by the bar tender. He was trying to make a milk shake - well it looks like it - and accidentally knock over the tower glass and managed to catch one of them while another just fell off to the floor. He kept on apologizing to us but I wasn't really bothered by it so that was okay. I can sense it was coming as he was showing off his skill and suddenly loose his balance. Ha-ha!

It was the first and I hope won't be the last time to dine in there. I had a pleasant evening and hope so do you. :)

Reminder: The portion is made for 2-3 persons. Choose your food wisely or else you can always da-pao it later. :P
California Shrimp Salad RM25.90
Roasted Chicken Italiannies RM38.90
Spaghetti Meatballs RM30.90
Ice Lemon Tea (bottomless) RM6.80
5% Gov Tax and 10% Srv Charge INCLUDED

Food: A-
Service: B+ *Attentive but he's just ermm.. weird.. I guess..
Price: B+ * I guess the price is okay considering the ambience and the type of restaurant
Food Portion: A
Ambience: B +
Overall: B+

F355/356/357, 1st Floor Rainforest, 1Utama
47800 Lebuh Bandar Utama
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Reservation - Tel: +603 - 7729 4822
Check out their webby for more details.

Butterfingers @ Istana Budaya

I was driving my car and listening to music. Then, I realized that most of my songs are from the my favourite band of all time - Butterfingers. I long for their three-chord, angst-ridden, grungy material. I know they moved on - being matured and the current musical growth. I need to feel like when I first felt their music. It was surreal, heart-wrenching and happiness at the same time.

When I heard they announced that they will play four final show before long hiatus, I know I had to be there and I was there. Being 9 months pregnant with Zhafran and actually having contraction just a few hours after the show and delivered 24 hours later. It's one of the best memories in my life. The staff was great, they gave me and Fauzy a chair to sit. It's a clear view and I enjoyed every minutes of it. Little that I know, they only performed songs for the new album so I wasn't follow nor know the song choices. I was hoping they performed my favourite songs. But I think that's alright, I know they will perform again and I know that I will be there with Zhafran. :)

When I think of Butterfingers, all I have was good memories and great life as a teenagers. I've been listening to Sober for 11 years now. Not once I could get over it. The tune still lingers in my head and has been a good companion throughout my sad, sorrow and happiness in life. Thank you for the wonderful songs. It has been a great pleasure of being one of the fans. Kudos to the line up. Long live the Butters!

ExxonMobil Community Project 2009

ExxonMobil believes in giving back to the community, not in monetary basis but involving our people into the underprivileged lives. This year I am fortunate enough to able to join into 3 activities which are organized by Drilling, HR and IT departments.

The first event for me is the Car Wash. Last year I joined the same activities and had a lot of fun! So this year, I would never missed out such opportunity. I was placed in the 3rd shift and I knew no one in my group. I am glad however that I see few familiar faces when the time came. According to Harlina, about 40 coupons was sold and we're expecting 50+ cars queuing up throughout the day. I was disappointed at all. Since I have experience the chaos last year, most of the issues are predictable. I had a lot of fun and doing good deeds along the way is just great! :)

The Drilling department has chosen Asrama Damai situated in Kuang Selangor, which is not far from KL. We took 2 buses and we reached there by 8:30 a.m. The facilities are far better than what I expected and it all came from the kind souls. Yes, no government sector sponsored the home and according to the Pengetua, he never writes any letter requesting for donation. I've been assigned as a 'cleaner' and stationed at the Girls dormitory. I am glad that I got the task. Hehe! The room was clean and only needed the windows and the floor to be cleaned. EM has provided new cupboards, shoe racks, bedsheets, paints, matresses and a lot more. I can see a pure joy from the children when they see the bedsheets. Especially the girls. :)

I was hard work when we went helping the other teams. I can see the teams that are in-charged of the store and kitchen had a very hard time fulfilling the task. There were tonnes of foods donated by the people and most of them are past expiration date. The good people actually sorted them out and re-arrange the items accordingly. It was not easy. It requires team work, hard work, determination to make this happen. I was exhausted by the end of the day. The drilling, production and operation team are so welcoming and never once that I feel left out. Thanks for the opportunity. ;0

The last but not least was today's event. We went to Awana Genting and it was organized by none other - EMIT. I was very excited when they decided to change the venue from Bukit Sentosa to Genting. Most of the families that was selected hasn't even step out of KL before. I heard, some other organization throw a similar event to Taman Titiwangsa and they loving each seconds of it. I didn't know what to expect nor to react as I am well known of being "not good" handling children and elderly. Ha-ha! To my surprise, everything works out like a charm. I was teamed in Group Alpha leading by Raj. I am very happy to be within among my friends. However, they divided us into smaller groups and I was in a group with Fiza, Jeya and 5 other mothers. Since safety playing a big role in EM, it's hard to ignore that one of the mothers are pregnant. Me and Fiza are so concerned bout it. She takes good care of herself although I keep on reminding her of being safe all the time. I was so happy to be in the group and so proud by the enthusiasm shown by the mothers. They work and think like a team. We completed every tasks with no sweats at all.

I love the food served by Awana. Truly shows that we care and really want to entertain our guest. Seeing people enjoying their food and happily chatting with one another really brings out the true objective of the event.
Kudos to the committee for their effort, the time that they spent and I am so proud on how they put in their souls in it. I am so happy being apart of it and hoping there'll be another great events from Community Project.

**Will upload pictures later.. Right now, the bed is keep on calling me and I don't want to hurt its feeling.. :P

Acute Bronchitis

Zhafran couldn't sleep for the past few days and last night was the worst. It worries me. He's having a terrible cough, phlegm and difficulty to breathe. Since Fifi's daughter just got admitted for fever and cough, me and Fauzy immediately think it's a good idea to bring him straight to the specialist. The clinic was packed with feverish children and we waited for a good 3 hours. I was frustrated and thinking that I would never go back to An-Nur again. Everything changes when I meet the doctor. Dr. Siti Arbaiyah is a caring and a very thoughtful doctor. She diagnos it quickly and explain on the cause, sign and symptom briefly in layman's term which I needed as to understand the disease. According to her, Zhafran has Acute bronchitis which is usually caused by a virus. Often a person gets acute bronchitis after having an upper respiratory tract infection such as a cold or the flu. The most common symptom of acute bronchitis is a cough that is dry and later develop heavier cough that may bring up mucus. He is now having a mild fever as well. I hope things will get better soon. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Upin & Ipin - Geng: The Adventure Begins

I am a skeptic when it comes to Malaysian-made movies. Definitely was not a fan of local movies. Not that I'm not being supportive but I like my money well spend. I tried being supportive and greatly dissapointed by the quality of the movies plus the terrible acting by the actors. However, I was pleasantly surprise by the Upin and Ipin the movie. I watched the movie on the way balik kampung in my brother's mpv. So we were "forced" to watch it since we were all stuck in it. It was meant to make my nephews to calm down and stay put. What amazes me, everyone including my mom couldn't help watching the cartoon. Ha-ha! I love the character Rajoo and his beloved cow named Sapy. It's a pure joy to watch it. Although I'm not fancy of the voice of Upin and Ipin but I could let that go for the dearest Sapy! Ha-ha! LOL! The movie is mixed with reality and fantasy - well it is a cartoon. I love the first part of the movie. Really shows what Malay and Malaysia is all about. I heard from my colleague that they ran minisodes of the cartoon every day during Ramadhan. Fortunately for me, I could watch it on youtube! YAY!

Here's the movie trailer and a Raya minisode. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!!

Can't get enough of them ? Visit their official webby!! Enjoy! :D

Raya @ Bakau D'Muara

I long for another makan-makan at Bakau D'Muara and at last we did manage to spare some time to go to Sitiawan. The food was GREAT! I love the Ketam Cili Kering, Jenahak masak Kerabu and Sotong Goreng Tepung. It's the best seafood that I've had so far. Hands down! :P The presentation was simple but the taste was impeccable. I first tried it at the HQ of the restaurant chain however the HQ was closed due to most of the staff were still on Raya holiday so reluctantly we booked our table at the second restaurant - Bakau D'Muara II. I was pleasantly surprise by the food. It has the same taste and texture as if it was cooked by the same cook. Maybe it was. :P I wanted to take pictures of the food but having dinner with my family is just insane. In seconds I could only see a clean plate of what it suppose to be Sotong goreng tepung. I couldn't lift a finger let alone a camera. LOL! It was fun eating out with family - different vibe and more meaningful. Definitely will pay another visit to the restaurant. Worth every penny! :D

Hey, if you're going to Lumut, Manjung, Sitiawan or even Ipoh. It's worth a visit! Trust me! Hehehe~! :D

RM200 for 9 ppl
2 jugs of fresh orange and 1 jug of cold water
Jenahak masak Kerabu
Sweet Sour Siakap
Sotong Goreng Tepung (8)
Ketam Cili Kering (8)
Kailan Ikan Masin (for 4)
Kangkung masak Belacan (for4)
Tomyam Campur (for 5)
Nasi putih (for 10)

Must try
Jenahak masak Kerabu
Ketam Cili Kering
Sotong Goreng Tepung
Jus Kedondong

Food: A
Service: B
Price: A
Food Portion: B
Ambience: B
Overall: A+ - It's all about the food..

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Bakau D'Muara
1 - Batu 8, Jln Lekir, 32020, Sitiawan, Perak
2 - Batu 6, Jln Lekir, 32020, Sitiawan, Perak
3 - Jalan Titi Panjang, Lumut, Perak
Tel: 6012-432 6449 / 017-569 1550
Visit their webby!

Wishes all a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

My favourite Hari raya song is Selamat Hari Raya sang by Saloma. Every year I have to listen to the song to get my Raya mood. It's a evergreen song and loves every bit of it! This is Zhafran's first Raya and we bought him a bright yellow baju Melayu, the same color as mine. I'm not too crazy of the color but since Fauzy liked it so much, decided to play along with it. :)

This is not much different from last year. Eve of Raya will go to Rawang - spend a night and the next day -afternoon- will go straight to Ipoh. I can't wait to meet up with my family and spend the whole week with them. My mom just celebrated her birthday (Islamic calendar) on 27th Ramadhan. I hope she likes the telekung that I sent over on her birthday.. Maybe we'll celebrate together at Lumut. Hurmm... I miss her rendang, her smiles and her company. It's been awhile.. :)

I hope everyone have a joyous Eid Mubarak and have a safe trip back home. Will be back at the office on Sept 18th. Till then... :D

Ramadhan Buffet @ Chinoz on the Park

Our audit turned out a success which is a relief to the team. So my boss decided to have berbuka puasa session combining 3 groups; NAS, PCMS and Net Sec. A few couldn't make it so only 10 people attended the session. Since this week is the last week before Raya, we're in a rush as time constraints and most of the Ramadhan buffet are fully booked. So we opt to Chinoz on the park instead since it's within vicinity and they have wireless, in case someone needed to be online at that hour.

I managed to reach there minutes after berbuka. The ambience was great but that's all. It cost us RM79 Nett for the buffet and there aren't variety of choices to choose from. The "lauk" (malay dish area), there are only 10 dishes and 2 of them are tempe masak merah and telur rebus (boiled egg) masak merah which is relatively cheap and the fact that 1 large fish to cater 40+ of people (at a time) seems to be ridiculous. Sadly, I had the worst spaghetti ever. It's vegetarian and the sauce is made of tomato puree and GARLIC. I like garlic but I'm not crazy bout it. They've put in 3 handful cloves of roast garlic - which I thought it was the mushroom at first. The garlic taste is so over powering and I hated the dish! All you taste was garlic! Even the tomato taste fades away. I love sushi but they only served 3 types of sushi which is very limited - really slow in topping that up too. As for the western area, apart from Spaghetti, I find the beef and lamb was ok. I liked the sauce and gravy. Still, the taste isn't to die for. You can find the same flavour at other restaurants. The desert was not much but they're ok - choc mousse was good - although they did served fruit cocktail from the can.

I am not satisfied with the services either. We requested for cold drinks and it took us 20 mins to get that. I even have to request the waiters to clean up the plates. The part that was ok is when it's time to pay. At least they have the decency to expedite the process. I won't ever organize any dinner, berbuka puasa nor having casual lunch there. The experience was very unpleasant!

Though there's one funny story to share. While waiting to break fast, Fifi did caught a guy doing something really funny. He was with his friends - 3 caucasians and a chinese guy. The Malay guy actually say his break fast prayer out loud and drink a big cold Carlsberg beer. We were speechless to hear that and we burst out laughing. Well, that's between him and God. Nuff said.

Buffet - RM79/pax (nett)

So, here's the verdict:

Food: D
Service: C
Price: E
*This verdict is the compared price to other berbuka puasa buffet price.
Food Portion: C
Ambience: A
Overall: E - It's all about the food..

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Chinoz on the Park
Esplanade (G47), KLCC.
Tel: 603-2166 8277

Sahur @ Seri Melayu

Finally, we did carry out our plan to have sahur (late supper/early morning breakfast) at Seri Melayu. It was Helme's crazy idea. He saw the Seri Melayu banner and quickly suggested to have the get together. Only 6 people came to the session; Me, Helme, Oche, Famy, Un and Husein. For RM25 we get Nasi Lemah, Bubur nasi, Mee Rebus, Sup Tulang, Nasi Campur and variety of lauk. We came at approximately 12 a.m. and end up staying till 4 a.m. Hehe! I tasted nearly every dish on the table. The hottest item on the table had to be the Sup tulang, loved by Husein and Un. They got themselves a few bowls and it tasted better wih bread. The food was generally good. I see that few chefs do cook during that time so I don't think it's a leftover food from Berbuka earlier. Ha-ha!

I personally think it's a great idea. It's more like hangout with friends late at night, having a good conversations and basically enjoy life. Since I am on-call this week, I had to bring my precious laptop in case I receive a call. Thankfully I didn't although there were a few schedule change that night. The downturn is, I had to wake up early in the morning to assist on the delayed changes. I bet they're -still- having a good morning sleep till late after noon. LOL!

Seri Melayu doesn't require reservation for sahur session as the crowd wasn't that much. According to one of the staff, this is the first time that Seri Melayu held such event. There were actually very slow nights during the first 2 weeks of Ramadhan. Now, I see that the crowd is quite good. Some even came when it rains heavily. ;)

We part ways when the rain started to go wild. We were starting to miss our bed terribly and call it a night. Ha-ha! Hopefully we're going to have more sahur get together next year! :D

No. 1 Jalan Conlay, 50450 Kuala Lumpur
Reservations: 03 - 2145 1833
Fax: 03-2145 1755

You can find the map here. ;)

**Sorry no pictures, out of battery :P **

We won! We won the Baby Crawling Competition! Yay!

On the previous entry, I wrote about Baby Crawling Competition organized by Toys"R"Us. We actually went day on Friday (yesterday) to register Zhafran as when I called, we can't make registration via phone. On Friday, the traffic jam was horrible and we were actually are insane as we're brave enough to go through an ocean of car to get there. Not a very wise idea. However, everything paid of..

We came late - well because of the jam - again. People are rushing for last minute shopping Raya which is just around the corner. This week is the last weekend before Raya. I feel time flies very quickly. Hardly had time to breathe let alone having mood celebrating Raya. OK, enough about Raya. It is about Zhafran!

He won the Baby Crawling Competition and won himself a 6 months supply of Pampers! YAY! He actually won something when he's 7 months old! Hehe!

My battery camera died on me so we only have a short clip.. Check it out. ;)

Baby Crawling Competition @ Toys"R"Us Midvalley

I went to Toys"R"Us KLCC to buy Rubiks for Fauzy. At the counter, I stumble upon a very interesting flyer on the Baby Crawling Competition. Zhafran way of crawling is more of like a soldier crawl. He hasn't get the skill of the proper crawler yet. I am not sure if the "crawl" will be accepted in the competition. Ha-ha! I called up the MidValley Toys"R"Us store but sadly they don't accept calls registeration. Thankfully we can walk-in on the day itself. Wish me luck! Hopefully, there'll be enough room for Zhafran's application. Ha-ha!

Grand Prize: 6 months supply of diapers (3 packs monthly)
2nd Prize: RM50 TRU gift voucher
3rd Prize: RM30 TRU gift voucher

I'll update later whether we could get into the competition! YAY!

Gregorian-Hijri Dates Converter

It's good to know when you were born on Hijri Calendar (Islamic Calendar). Most of us have no idea what's the date. I am fortunate enough that my mom actually remember the date. Mostly because it is easy to remember ;P I was born on Ramadhan which is this month! Thinking of celebrating the day with Fauzy which leads to tonnes of presents! YAY! Ha-ha! How I wish! :P

Zhafran
Tuesday 23 Muharram 1430 A.H.
Saturday 9 January 2010

Fauzy
Monday 13 Safar 1403 A.H.
Thursday 28 January 2010

Aisyah
Friday 15 Ramadhaan 1404 A.H.
Wednesday 25 August 2010

Aini (my mom)
Friday 27 Ramadhaan 1374 A.H.
Monday 6 September 2010

This is fun! Try this out!

Berbuka puasa @ Tupai Tupai Restaurant & Café

We just had our berbuka puasa organized by Fahmy at Tupai Tupai. It has ample parking space but I don't think it can accommodate more than 30 cars. It was packed with people. The staff who was guarding the entrance told us that, there were >300 people that night. I went there once before so I got a good look of the place. It was on lunch hours and they served a really good Malay cuisine. It wasn't pricey though it wasn't cheap either. Ha-ha! I think I had a good price. :)

OK, back to our berbuka puasa, they served a variety of food; Malay, Chinese and Western. I love buffet style but I don't know why I didn't eat much that night. Maybe when you're fasting, it's easy for you to get full or it wasn't just my day. :) The nasi campur was good although I couldn't say the same thing to the Spaghetti bolognaise and the Assam Laksa. I was craving for Spaghetti so I had to have a try on it. The spaghetti sauce wasn't good at all. It seems like it has been cook and reheat for several days. Then, my colleague asked me to try the Assam Laksa. Fauzy helped me getting the dish and I asked him to put in extra gravy on it. Well, he did put 1 thing extra alright. ;P The infamous chilli padi and makes it unbearable. Ha-ha! After that, I don't have a stomach for anything.

Zhafran was having a mild fever and thankfully a lot of uncles and aunties hold him throughout dinner. He was a bit mellow and quiet. I couldn't really walk or eat when Zhafran is around. He can't seat in the baby seat yet so I only eat when someone wants to hold him. Ahh.. That's alright. I still have fun chatting and eating with my colleagues. :)

Oh yeah! One more thing, there's a warning sign. Ha-ha! Be careful! :P
"Perhatian: Pembaziran melebihi 100gm akan dikenakan bayaran RM10/100gm" (Notice: Wastage more than 100gm will be charged RM10/100gm)

Buffet - RM46/pax

So, here's the verdict:

Food: B
Service: B
Price: B (Depends on how much you can eat)
*This verdict is the compared price to other berbuka puasa buffet price.
Food Portion: A
Ambience: B
Overall: B+

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Tupai Tupai Restaurant & Café
No. 551A, Jalan Bukit Petaling
50460 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 03-2143 2525



**Credit to Fahmy. My camera broke down after only 1 year of service. :( **

Fever - Zhafran

Fauzy was having a mild fever and so do Haziq. So it was not a mystery that Zhafran will have fever too. Plus he just got his first teeth. It has been lasting from Friday and thankfully it has been subsided a bit. The body temperature was only about 37ºC. We went to An-Nur hospital to get checked up as a precaution over the terrifying H1N1 cases. It was ok, the doctor said Zhafran has a mild fever. The doctor even gave permission to bring him along to berbuka puasa with my colleague that night. It was a relieve to us. We strip his down all the time and gave him a cold bath. That helps a lot to cool down his temperature. Hopefully he'll get healthy soon. ;)

Zhafran's first teeth

YAY! His first and foremost teeth! His nanny told me bout it today! I am very happy! Can't wait to tell Fauzy..

Date: Sept 2, 2009
Time: 4:40 p.m.

** Finally I've got the pictures! Hehe!**

1 million safe hours celebrations!

It was as per invitation only. Who cares! It's for all - because each and everyone of you contributes the success of it. I enjoyed the ceremonny. S&W team did a great job organizing the event. I love the video montage, don't know who has the time to do it though. Hehe!

We were anticipating the good news from Intan - can't wait for her to announce what do we get for this year: 1 million safe hours. Last 2 years we were getting MP4. The quality was very poor. My MP4 only survive for 2 months. Even the installer had virus in it! HAHAHAHA! Many people commented on it. It's not like you're being ungrateful. It's just that at least get the quality stuff. The company allocated a huge amount of money for these. It's a waste. :(

Ok, the past is the past. Now we move on to this year's 1 million safe hours! The company spent an insane figure for this one! RM175K for the whole EMIT! Mindblowing, I'd say! Phew~! I wish I get that for a salary. Haha! :)

Drum roll please~~!! It's the IPOD SHUFFLE for everyone! Yes, for contractors as well!!! YAY!!

Can't wait for it to arrive! huhu!!~~~

Al-Rawsha Restaurant, Jalan Damai

It was our 3rd time going there. The first time I tasted Arab food, I was amaze by the portion of each serving. It was huge! Fauzy enjoyed the food most! Fifi was feeling generous last night and bought us our sahur. YAY! Fauzy had Chicken Mandy with Barbicante Peach while I got myself Al-Rawsha Grilled and Honeydew Shake. Chicken Mandy's was insanely huge. It's the size for 2 people and Yes, the half chicken is served for you. The chicken marinated very well. Loved it! As for Al-Rawsha Grilled. It served with 4 different meat - Beef, Chicken, Lamb and Mutton. Very well marinated and it was very good.

During Ramadhan they're having buffet for breaking fast. The price is RM50 per pax. Big eaters - you have to be there and have a taste yourself! Well worth it.
**It's a good place to bring the whole family with you.**

Food: A
Service: B
Price: B
Food Portion: A
Ambience: B
Overall: B+

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

California Pizza Kitchen KLCC

We've been there a couple of times and the food was OK. Sadly, yesterday was bad. Very dissapointing! :( I had Fettucine with cream sauce (prawn) and it was awful. It was bland, the pasta was bit harder than usual and the gravy was very little. I hardly taste the gravy. :(

8 people went there to celebrate Ramadhan. You need good food on the eve of Ramadhan. Hehe! Well, that's why we choose CPK. We went there last year when our Manager came to Malaysia. The food was good and the service was great! I couldn't say the same about yesterday and neither my friends. Yusry was having Carbonara and was hardly finishes his food and so everyone else with their food. We had to order another set of pizza. Hurmm.. I forgot the name of it. Sadly, even the pizza taste bland. It was too simple and the toppings were little. It was their signature dish and if that's already dissapointing, I couldn't say the same on the other entries in the menu. On top of that, we have to spend more than RM300 for 8 pax. Ridiculous!

Food: E
Freshness: B
Service: B
Price: E
Food Portion: B
Ambience: E
Overall: E

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

HOMST TTDI: Chinese Muslim Restaurant

Awesome! The food was great! Went there with Helme, Shah, Nad, Shahrul G and Fauzy yesterday. The food was delicious and the choice was great. We had Szechuan Soup, Brocolli with Oyster Sauce, Chili Padi Siakap (Steam), Claypot Toufu, Butter Prawns, Ginger Chicken and Egg FuYong. It was all good! The best I'd say was the Butter Prawns and Claypot Toufu. The presentation looks plain but the taste is delicious. By far the best chinese dish I've ever had. I wasn't expect much as I've read reviews from bloggers in the internet. Some of it are good reviews and some of it aren't. As for me, HOMST provides a good service and it's suitable for family dinner. I'd bring my family anytime and any day. You have to taste it yourself.

Originally, the plan is to have dinner together with 10 people but sadly only 5 turn up. The night starts very slow but everything changes when the foods arrive. Zhafran was behaving nicely and he helps "clean" the table. Ha-ha! We had a blast chatting and eating good food at the same. Definitely will plan another dinner plan at HOMST! Worth every penny! :D

Food: A
Freshness: A
Service: B
Price: B
Food Portion: B (You can choose the size yourself. It has Small, Med and Large)
Ambience: C
Overall: A (All about of the good food. Who cares about the petty things! LOL!)

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Jenny invited us to watch a movie; either The Proposal or G.I Joe. I heard that the The Proposal is a fun romantic comedy and I need a dose of some of it too. Too bad, Pei Wern and Jenny have watched the movie so we opt to G.I Joe instead. It was an action pack movie. An Okay movie, I'd say. The CGI effect can be refined and I've spotted few funny frames in the movie. Car crashing, explosion here and there, cars collide, train was wrecked - total chaos! Even with all that you can see bystanders standing still at the edge of the road and passer by looking confused. Ha-ha!

Sienna Miller looks stunning. However, it's very uncomfortable to watch her walking in those latex suit. She couldn't barely walk. Insanely tight. I'm amaze that she could breathe in it. Madness! :P

Jenny, thanks for inviting us and buy us the popcorns and drinks. Really appreciate it and we had a good time together! Hope that we could arrange another get together. It's fun! Thanks again! :D

*****
I'll start on-call today. Couldn't wait for the week to end! Argh! Wish me luck! :(
*****

Overall: C

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Flu shot - Get vaccinated now?!

Found out today that my company will sponsor any kind of immunization needed under CAD (Company Appointed Doctor). Thinking of getting the flu shot although it's not effective towards H1N1 but at least we need to have some preventative measure against the rapid movement of the pandemic flu. According to WHO, the H1N1 flu pandemic -is- the fastest-moving pandemic ever and that it was now pointless to count every case. Listening horror stories on the arising death toll concerning H1N1 influenza is no laughing matter. As a mother, I'm terrified thinking of my little Zhafran. There are new cases day by day and babies are the highest concern right now. Malaysia is currently on the high alert and one of the highest recorded cases in the world.

I've made an appointment this Thursday - Flu, Chicken pox and Cervical Cancer shot. I'm thankful that the company really concern of the well-being of its employees. Keeping fingers crossed - I hope we have enough H1N1 vaccine to cater the current needs.

Makan-makan at Restoran Ikan Bakar Pantai Jeram

Being a food lover, I'd go miles to find good food around Malaysia. Eventhough it's at the farthest away, I will find the time and most importantly another "kaki" (other food lovers) - all because of a good food. Hehe! Thankfully I have a few kaki(s) around to accept the food challenge.

Last time we went to Bagan Lalang and the latest challenge was Jeram. The ambience was ok.. It rainy night was very dark and I didn't realize that the restaurant was next to an estuary. I could see small boats just beside our seats. Too bad couldn't take any pictures since it was pitch black. Don't think that my camera is high-tech enough and lately it has been acting weird. I can only take high-speed burst image and with a sad picture size of 2Mb. Anyway, better than nothing. :)

I mostly enjoyed the company of my 2 Indonesian colleagues (Memo and Herlia). They're staying at the Traders Hotel for a month! Lucky lucky ladies! :D Memo and Herlia have been lovely towards Zhafran. They're natural with babies. Thanks ladies for coming to Jeram with us. I hope we will have another trip together before both of you fly back to Indonesia! ;D

The restaurant is about 1 hour away from KL. The food was ok. It's a bit bland for my liking. Definitely D'Muara Lumut is the defending champion! Worth every hour spend on driving and every penny of it. I wish we could have a trip to D'Muara.

Here are the pictures. Mind the resolution of each frames. :P



Food: C
Freshness: B
Service: B
Price: B
Food Portion: B
Ambience: C
Overall: C+

Rating System:
A : Recommended
B : Worth A Visit
C : Average
D : Below Average
E : Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Zhafran's growing milestone

My growing milestone

I was born in Pantai Hospital, KL
My Name: Zhafran Mohd Fauzy
Date of Birth: 20th January 2009
Time of Birth: 4:39 a.m.
My Weight: 2.74 KGs
My head circumference: 34 cm
My total length: 47 cm
My Apgar score: 8/10
My Blood Group: O positive
I first saw Dr Wong Sum Keong, mommy's gynae.

My achievements:
Milestone:
1st day = Smile (involuntarily)
2 m(s) = Lift head briefly
3 m(s) = Meaningful smile
4 m(s) = Turn over + Reach for objects + Laughing
5 m(s) = Combat Crawl (one leg is the pusher and the opposite arm the lead puller) + Bite stuff
6 m(s) = Bite things
7 m(s) = Climb ppl/things, 1st teeth (Sept 2), temporarily stand on his feet
8 m(s) = Stand w/out support for 2 seconds, exploring objects, recognizes ppl

Weight gain:
1st day = 2.7 KG
1 m = 4.87 KG (6 weeks)
2 m(s) = 5.6 KG (9 weeks)
3 m(s) = 7.0 KG (12 weeks)
4 m(s) = 7.5 KG (16 weeks)
5 m(s) = 7.9 KG (22 weeks)
6 m(s) = 8.2 KG (25 weeks)
7 m(s) = 8.5 KG (32 weeks)
8 m(s) = 8.8 KG (36 weeks)

FHM: Great exhibition! **Two thumbs up!

Ayip urged me to sign-up for pre-registeration for FHM (Food & Hotel Malaysia) event. I thought it was for sure the infamous magazine and "foolishly" I did sign-up for it. Upon receiving the email for confirmation, little that I know, it was for a food exhibition. I was ok, not too excited and was a bit disapointed, I must say..

Everything changes when I actually attended the event. It was lively, happening and most importantly flushed with food on every table that you lay your eyes on. It was a food heaven! I'm amaze on the numbers of exhibitors participate in the event. Congratulations to the organizer of making the event succesful and it has been a wonderful experience for us. (Onlookers, food seekers, freeloaders - anything that you want to call us! :P )

I went there with Oche, Fahmy and Un. We were actually eyeing on the RM8 -eat all you want "buffet" but since Un is fasting today, we opt to the free entry exhibition instead. We thought we might have missed the best part of the show but actually we get more than what we think.. and it's all free! We went zigzag-ing and I'm proudly going to say that we covered the whole hall! Hehe! From oranges (real fruits) to poultry/meat products to cakes to ice-creams to machinery; It's all in one place! You'll never going to regret going there! Tomorrow is the last day! Hurry Up! Pick up a spoon and make a full use of it! Enjoy!!! :D

** Going to the RM8 tommorow noon! Wish me luck! I'll post some photos - IF I'm not too busy eating!! LOL!

*******************
Went to the RM8 ticket to Food & Hotel Malaysia exhibition. Certainly not as I expected. It is not the place where you can eat, it's for your eyes only. Yes, literally. It's actually a competition between the chefs representing their restaurant or hotels. The food looks nice actually it looks fabulous. My mouth waters and my heart pounding. All because of the delicious -looking- food. It's waiting for me to dig into it and heavenly taste it. Of course, everything shuts as I realize that you can only take photos of it and nothing more. I was so frustrated with the girl (at the counter) that actually mentioned that you can eat all you want. Naturally I - being an informal food PR to the Network team, brainwashed my colleagues' head and we all went to the exhibition together. Thank goodness that only me, Fahmy and Un went in first. At least I could warn them about the "false" alarm. Fahmy did captured the pictures of the 'beautiful' looking dish. I was too upset to even hold the camera.

Anyway, we had a blast on the other side of the hall. Where's the free food really is! I love every second of it and definitely would go again next year! ;D

***As promised, here are the picas!! :D

Well.. I am HAPPY! :D

Answering the question on previous post.. I conclude that.. I am happy! :D Maybe it was just weekdays blues or you know.. having bad days.. I am all giddy and happy again. Forget those stuff I said earlier.. I am positive and I'll take everything that may come no matter good or bad as a blessing.

**Maybe you'll see another emo post around - soon? It doesn't hurt to get emo once in awhile, right? :P

Am I happy?

I am sure am happy to receive gifts from anybody but what if you don't like the gifts? Will you wear it, will you pretend to like it? I am a very simple person who likes anything black, simple and nice. My baju raya this year is yellow in color which is not my first choice but Fauzy likes it and being married you have to -try- to like what your partner likes. So I went along with it and bought it. It wasn't really my insecurities that prevents me from choosing the colors. It is what I am. What I like. What I prefer. I do think that I act differently in front of family members. It wasn't like I wanted to pretend to be someone else. It's just that I'm trying to not severe the relationship that's going to be - ermm.. forever? You can't just break family-ties. My friends see me as outspoken, happy and energetic person -so I've been told. :P But when it comes to family, I'm more reserved, complying and quiet. I just didn't know how to mingle with the elders or with a person who has a different mind-set than me. It's my lost not theirs.

Me, being complying and quiet, maybe that's why Fauzy's family likes me. Or maybe they love Fauzy and had to deal with me. LOL! Either way, his mom is being really generous towards me and I'm having a really hard time to repay it. Every week, she'll packed us fish, fruits, snacks, toys, clothes for Zhafran and the list goes on and on.. I am very grateful for what I have - happy family and we eat really well. :P I feel happy that I am accepted into the family. On one fine night, after we had dinner (It was last Saturday - Aug 8). His mom suddenly gave me a necklace, a bracelet and an ankle bracelet in out of the blue. I was dumbfounded by it and couldn't response well. Being a moron is my speciality these days. :P I know I should be happy since the gold price isn't cheap these days. But my concerns are do I have to wear it everytime? Or do I have pretend to like it? Am I an ungrateful brat who doesn't appreciate gifts? I know many girls wanted to switch place with me now. Am I a fool? Or am I just over-think on stuff... again?

Crazy colours of Monday blues..

I was shocked to find a substance that looked like blood on my baby's diaper. I decided to pay a visit to An-Nur Specialist Hospital which located in Bangi although Zhafran isn't showing any signs of pain. He actually looks very happy. :) The specialist clinics are all full at the time I arrived so I have to opt to a GP at the hospital. The doctor doesn't know much about babies but he did say it doesn't look like blood. He gave me small bottle for urine sample which I find it hard to use. I wasn't sure on how to make Zhafran pee in it and not to spill it. Then, it hit me. Maybe Makcik Zhafran (his nanny) knows how to do this. Hehe! So I'm out of the consultation room feeling relief and happy. When I reached at counter, without thinking, I open up my wallet and withdrew my credit card. Thinking the fees will be the same as Pantai Hospital. Again.. I was shock to find the fee is very reasonable cheap compared to other private hospitals in Malaysia. I had my credit card prepared but when the staff told me that the fees was only RM10, I was going to faint as I know I don't have cash at all in my wallet (so much for the cost-cutting in the family budget) and obviously they don't accept credit card for a mere RM10, do they? I made a complete fool of myself. I couldn't even pay RM10 for my son's treatment. Haha! And then, it hits me again. Gosh, again.. Thanks to my super duper idea of saving... I've withdrawn all the money and locked it up in my (office) drawer. This is *so to say* to avoid overspend on my monthly allowance. I had.. definately not intended.. to go back to the office and finish up my day..

However while working on an issue, I got a call on my cell. I wasn't sure who the person was but I hurriedly say I'd call back and hang up - mind my manners.. After I've done talking with the Backup team analyst, I picked up the phone and dial-in the numbers. It hit me again, what if the nurse that called me up asking bout the payment.. Before my brain starts to work on a brilliant"excuses", a lovely lady picked up the phone. Guess it or not. It's the lady on the counter whom I "lied" bout going to be briefly withdrawing the money but fled soon after.. Haha! Again, I appologies and told the lady I'll be coming back to make the payment on the same evening - after work. :P

It was raining heavily when I'm on my way to makcik Zhafran's house. I had to.. again.. had to.. spend a couple of hours at her house because the parking lot located quite far from my block. I definately don't want to have Zhafran catching cold in H1N1 frenzy. I was there till 7pm which is when Fauzy gets home. I waited Fauzy at home and have dinner which I bought from a stall on my way home. The nasi tomato has a unique taste which is not my liking. This post will keep me from buying from the makcik ever again. *_*

Fauzy is home and we quickly drove to Bangi. Reached there around 8pm (plus the jam and toll). It was late.. way later than what I promised the lady.. Ok, this is when I reached over the counter. Wearing my smile-innocent face, withdrawing out the precious RM10 from my wallet while asking for the fees. I wasn't so sure if they were sinical, glad or happy? that I'm there to make the payment - since they're all wearing a surgical mask. I'm sure of one thing.. They'll remember my face and it wasn't a pleasant memory, for sure.. Errmm.. maybe a funny- embarassing memory.. LOL! :P

Skip with the embarassing moment. Now it's the moment of truth, we went to paed and have a specialist to have a look on Zhafran. The doctor is young and very charming. The consultation went well. He thinks the discoloration was due to the food intake. As new parents, we are hype and excited on buying foods for our little Zhafran. I think we bought everything on the rack and Zhafran loves it! He loves to eat and we end up experimenting all kinds of food. Well.. duh! baby food. The doctor advice us to take it slow and have him eat a product and one time and see if the color changes. We're going to experiment it and see which product is the culprit. :)
The only thing I can do is to collect the urine sample and have it tested on lab. Better be sure than sorry. I'll update soon once I get the news. Hopefully it's a good one. Ciou!

Shah's bday @ TGI

The birthday bash has become hiatus for quite some time now and I want to bring up the spirit again. I was quite sad with the team as people doesn't seem to even care attending the party. Since Mai and Ayip became an item, they just disappear.. No more lunches, dinners and hang outs with the team. They isolated themselves and it's making me really sad. The friendship that we had just the drifted away. Ayip will not be around much longer in the team. I hope things will change for the better. I hated when I'm feeling this way.. argh!

All has been said and done.. Move on... Thanks to those who attended the party and we had a blast. As usual, Shah had to stand on a chair and deliver a speech which he hates the most. Sorry Shah.. :P The ice-cream cake was nice. The stupid thing is a moronic TGI staff came to our table, looking around with a cake on his hand! Obviously Shah had noticed it and ruin the surprise. Shah was being a sport and still keep his composure smiling and "pretend" to be calm. :) The food was 'surprisingly' nice. I went there last year and the food was ok but not on par to the price that they charged. This time most of us had a set lunch which is cheaper compared to the items in a la carte. I had boneless buffalo wings and shrimp-chicken pasta. The portion was big and I was very happy with it! :) I ta-pao the buffalo wings and fried mac and cheese. Fauzy loves it too. :D

Thanks again guys. No worries, I'll have the bill break down and mail it to you. Remember, I'm not paying for it! LOL!

Attendees:
Shah
Tasha
Famy
Un
Herlia (3 months exchange staff from Indonesia)
Joan (New hire)
Irwan Hussein
Me

WE FOUND THE PHOTOS! YAY!

I was surreal when Fauzy shown me the LOST photos of Zhafran! No words to describe the joy that I had. The only thing in my mind is BACKUP the photos! BACKUP the photos! I'm still uploading the photos on Flickr. The connection is really slow. :( That's OK.. As long as the photos are there and safe! :D

Sneak preview.... Please view our gallery for more photos.

Atok Zhafran's bday!

Mc D. That's where we go for Atok's birthday this year and that's where Zhafran took his first bite of ice cream. I didn't know how to react nor to say anything on it. So I just get along with it. Not a very good decision on my end though. :) We decided to buy Atok a phone which has camera on it since he has been craving to have one according to Opah. Sadly, the camera will only arrive the next day of the event. I don't really mind because I knew this would happen. When you plan to buy something last minute, you won't get the satisfactory outcome. ;) Kak Lin was to be put in charge of buying the camera but she's busy with canteen that day and couldn't make the time for it. That's ok.. For me, it's the thought that counts! ;P



Date: Aug 4th, 2009
Time: 8:30 pm
Venue: Mc D, Setapak

No photos from the hospital *sighs*

Didn't get photos from the hospital! sighs.. How stupid am I to leave the camera behind?! Plus, nobody to blame.. but me.. hehe! I was visiting Kak Sherry and Isma (Hendra's wife) at Pantai hospital. Coincidentally they stay in just a couple suites away and delivered on the same day :) . Kak Sherry is in C331 and Isma - C326. I think Kak Sherry will be discharged this morning (Aug-2). It is costly to stay longer at Pantai. Last time it cost me nearly 5K and only stayed there for 2 days. The fact that it was four-bedded room - RIDICULOUS! Next time, I'm going to deliver at Ipoh.. It is cheaper and going to stay for confinement at my mom's house again. YAY!

Congratulations to Abg Ya and Kak Sherry!

My brother and his wife have been blessed with new born baby girl this morning weighing 2.6kg. I haven't lay my eyes on my niece yet but I will definitely go to Pantai Hospital tomorrow and get a glimps of the baby. We have been longing for a girl in our family. Eventhough both of my second brothers children are girls, we only get to see them during Raya. We miss having girls around. Can't wait for them to come back to Malaysia during Raya.

Will update with photos later... ;P

*************************************
Here's the photos coming right up! Baby Iffah Insyirah cute as a button! Our little angel.. :)

In memory of a good friend, loving mother and a devoted wife - Al-Fatihah..

I wanted to start off the blog with cheerful writings and happy postings just like what I've been feeling for the past couple of years. However, after a recent departure of my dear friend, it makes me realized that we take things for granted and never appreciate things around you. You hurt people's feelings and end up losing good friends and your partner. After I've seen the lost of the family, a mother and a devoted wife - to a hideous car crash, made me feel humble and touched. Definitely a reality check for me. I was out of words to express my sympathy towards the family.

Beng dropped the big news. I could not believe when I was hearing the news. Kak Nozy was involved in a car crashed at Cyberjaya and couldn't make it. She was -then- sent to the morgue. I went with Kak Siti (along with few others) to the morgue and met En Zalhan and Madam Mardewee. At that time, I actually was composed and I thought I could I could handle the situation. None of us felt the loss yet. It was so sudden and abrupt and none of us could register the news yet.

But.. everything changed when me and Kak Huda went to the Kak Nozy's house at Kajang. The air filled with sorrow and sadness. We went to a room where baby-Irfan slept. It was so sad to see the child lost his mother so sudden and a husband loses his wife. Kak Nozy was a very happy and cheerful person. I was blessed to have known her in this lifetime.

Heartfelt condolences to the family. Al-Fatihah..

** Photos of the accidents were posted on a blog. The blogger happens to be on the road at the time of event.

My 6 months old Zhafran

The pictures taken when Zhafran touched his 6 months base. It was taken at Opah's house which resides in Ipoh. Going to upload more of these. Stay tune.. ;)

WELCOME

I decided to have a webby to represent my family and having a place to share stories and of course pictures. Mainly because we have just lost our precious photos of Zhafran when our external hard disk crashed. The data was not retrievable and it makes us very sad. We lost my pregnancy photos and photos of Zhafran from the day he was born till today. So here it is, I hope I can capture each moment of our family and learn my lesson of storing the pictures safe. Till then.. ;)