Seronok

Hari ni aku seronok sebab matahari bersinar terang je. Aku perasan matahari dah mula menunjukkan mukanya sejak 2-3 hari lepas. Waktu yang sama tahun lepas, sejuk giler lagi time2 camni. Pastu aku seronok sebab aku dah nampak sikit2 tentang statistik yang selama ini dok beku dalam kepala aku. Nampak sikit je tapi dah hepi. Ye la, selama ni aku tak nampak langsung. Yillek. Sekarang nampak cahaya sikit di hujung terowong tu walaupun cahayanya sebesar duit 50 sen je. Report tak buat lagik. Takpe, la slow2. Kata arnab, lambat tapi sampai. Jangan jadi macam monyet, cepat tapi tak sampai2 sebab tidur tengah jalan. Sajer je nak menyedapkan hati.

Pastu aku hepi sebab aku dah basuh semua baju yang berkoyan-koyan tu, dah lipat semua, dah clearkan barang2 antik lagi kuno dalam stor. Sesetengahnya aku jual kat e-bay, sesetengahnya aku buang, sesetengahnya aku sedekah kat orang. Lapang la sikit stor tu. Siap spring cleaning ku kali ni. Summer comes early dalam kamus aku. Yihaaaaaa!! Make way for the summer wardrobe, kehkeh keh.

Toys Alia tu pun aku nak jual je. Aku dah put aside pastu dia nampak, terus dia nangis bila aku cakap nak jual. Kesian pulak aku tengok. Pastu buat sepah je, toys merata-rata. Penah le beberapa kali aku (dan Alia jugak!) tersepak/terpijak/tersadung toys dia pastu jatuh tergolek. Time tu mau je aku buang semua tapi tak sampai hati lak. Rumah dah la kecik, satu bilik je. Takde tempat nak simpan. Hmmm..

Kejap lagi aku nak gi Sunningdale, amik Widad kat train station. Bestnya! Lama tak jumpa. Dulu ada le Widad datang beberapa kali , kami borak macam 100 tahun tak jumpa. Best sebab Widad ni gila2. Memang asyik gelak je le kerja kami. Widad ni kawan/opismate masa keja kat UiTM. Lepas tu dia berpaling tadah, pindah ke USM lak. Sekarang dia buat PhD kat East Anglia. Widad cakap dia dah gemuk sbb pregnant (Si Widad ni memang slim melim, miniature gitu). Aku cakap kat dia, gemuk sbb pregnant takpe, ada alasan. Aku paling suka pregnant sebab boleh makan apa saja, hahhaha. Masa tu sebut apapun suami aku akan carik. Boleh mengada-ngada. Kalau time lain, sori la. Tu bab yang best la. Bab yang tak best ialah aku muntah, pening, loya, sakit kepala yang over. Tu yang tak best. Lain2, best!

Cakap pasal suami, teringat pulak masa kat Msia suami aku suka layan Alia mandi buble kat paddling pool. Lokasinya kadang2 dalam bathroom, kadang2 kat porch, penah sekali kat dapur masa aku tgh masak. Abis berair dapur aku. Apa motifnya tah. Selalu aku tak layan le sbb aku banyak keja lain. Suami aku tunggu Alia main sambil dia baca buku. Suami aku ni bapak segala ulat buku. Kadang2 berjam2 Alia main, sampai biru sebab sejuk. Rindunye saat-saat tue! Baik suami aku ni. Sajer je puji bagi dia kembang sikit. Mana tau sebab kena puji, dia pos hadiah bday kat aku nanti, kihkihkih. Dah la tak jumpa, takleh celebrate, anggaplah hadiah pengganti diri, cewahhh! Bang, kalau pos perencah nasi goreng tu tak kira sbgai hadiah tau....tak aci.

Ok la. jumpa lagi nanti. Ciao!!

Moroccan Restaurant

Terkenang ikan bakar Bagan Lalang......

Belakang tu lentil soup yang Alia suka sangat2.

Ni interior restoran ni. Ida kata kat belah belakang wing kiri lagi cantik, tapi aku tak berkesempatan lak.

Gambar ni takde kena-mengena ngan Abu Zaad. Saja je nak tunjuk snow hangat2 tut tut ayam masa Alia nak gi skolah, last week.

Last week aku gi makan kat Abu Zaad, Moroccan Restaurant kat Shepherd's Bush. Ida belanja sempena meraikan hari patah pinggang sedunia. Sebab hari tu kami mengusung CRT tv 28 inci dari umah aku ke umah dia kat Acton. Besar gabak dan berat yang amat. Rasa cam nak patah segala jari-jemariku yang mulus. Kat restoran ni aku makan nasi ngan ayam panggang. Ayamnya sangat sedap tapi nasinya biasa je. Ida cakap kedai ni kalau time lunch hour memang sendat padat dengan manusia. Sedap le tu maknanya.

Alia suka lentil soup. Kiranya Ida punya abis le dia conquer, punyer le sedap sampai lengan baju dia abis tercelup kuah. Kalau aku tau dia suka, dah lama aku buat. Lentil soup tu ala2 kuah kacang dal mak aku je. Untuk pengetahuan korang, mak aku jual roti canai ngan nasi berlauk kat kampung aku di Kelantan. Kalau korang tersinggah ke, sebut le nama aku, musti dapat makan free punyer.

Sebenarnya Ida ni nak lentil soup lain tapi sebab dia tak tau apa nama masakan tu, dia main order je. Bila sampai, lain le pulak, tak seperti yang dia nak. Nasib baik ada Alia, tukang perabih. Sebab dia tak puas ati, dia order lain pulak. Selepas membuat penerangan panjang lebar mengenai menu yg dia kempunan tu, abang Arab ensem ni menggunakan segala imaginasi utk meneka apakah sebenarnya menu yg Ida nak sebenarnya. Nasib baik abang tu bijak. Bila sampai je kat meja, Ida seronok gila. "Ha! Ni la sebenarnya. Baru betul. Tadi tu bukan. Iskhh, Sedap!Sedap!Baru le lena tido aku malam ni dpt makan mende ni" kata Ida. Dialog ni aku reka ok.

Pada korang yang nak makan ayam panggang sedap, datang le ke Abu Zaad ni, okey. Jangan lupa ajak aku sekali.

Khas Untuk Jhazkitaro

Dear Jhazkitaro,

"...I don't really know how to tell you this, but our affair is over. I think I realized it last year in your closet and I saw you ignore my penpal in Ghana. I'm sure you're ashamed enough to understand that your Honda sucks. I'm returning your memories from the military service to you, but I'll keep your photo as a memory. You should also know that I hate your guts and embarrassing rash . Go and drown yourself..."

-Asmida-


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Muahahaha suspen kan? Sabar, baca kat bawah ni.

Tag dari Sufi yang telah lama bersawang.....dari dulu nak buat tapi asyik tertangguh-tangguh je. Maap ye Sufi. Lain kali aku pantas, pantas. Aku lambat bukan apa, aku nampak panjang giler, ingatkan susah nak buat tag ni, rupanya kacang. Kelakau la!!!

Jhazkitaro, jangan kau terkejut badak pulak baca entri yang khas utk kau nih ok. Moga dapat ceriakan hari mu.

Answer the questions below;

1. What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - Our romance is over
Red - Our affair is over
White - I'll join the monastery
Black - I dislike you
Green - Our horoscope doesn't match
Grey - You're a pervert
Yellow - I'm selling myself
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - You're a loser
Other - I'm in love with your sister

2. Which is your birth month?
January - That night
February - Last year
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on sesame seeds
May - First of May
June - When you put cuffs on me
July - When I threw up
August - When I saw the shrunken head
September - When we skinny dipped
October - When I quoted Santa
November - When your dog ran amok
December - When I changed tennis shoes

3. Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Pizza - In your camping car
Pasta - Outside of Chicago
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad - As you ate enchilada
Chicken - In your closet
Kebab - With Paris Hilton
Fish - In women's clothing
Sandwiches - At the Hare Krishna graduation
Lasagna - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a state of trance
None of the above - With George Bush and his wife

4. What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Hit on
Red - Insult
Black - Ignore
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - Put leeches on
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the toupee off
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive out

5. What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My best friend
White - My father
Grey - Bill Clinton
Brown - My fart balloon
Purple - My mustard soufflé
Red - Donald Duck
Blue - My avocado plant
Yellow - My penpal in Ghana
Orange - My Kid Rock-collection
Pink - Manchester United's goalkeeper
None - My John F. Kennedy-statue
Other - The crazy monk

6. What do you prefer to watch on TV?
Scrubs - Man
O.C. - Emotional
One Tree Hill - Open
Heroes - Frostbitten
Lost - HighHouse - Scared
Simpsons - Cowardly
The news - MongolicIdol - Masochistic
Family Guy - Senile
Top Model - Middle-class
None of the above - Ashamed

7. Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful I've felt
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That Santa doesn't exist
Angry - That your pimples are at the last stage
Depressed - That we're cousins
Excited - That there is no solution to this
Nervous - The middle-east
Worried - That your Honda sucks
Apathetic - That I did a sex-change
Ashamed - That I'm allergic to your hamster
Cuddly - That I get turned on by garbage men
Overjoyous - That I'm open
Other - That Extreme Home Makeover sucks

8. What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your ring
Yellow - Your love letters
Red - Your Darth Vader-poster
Black - Your tame stone
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - The pictures from LA
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your contact book
Grey - Our matching snoopy-bibs
Purple - Your old lottery coupons
Pink - How awful I've felt
Other - Your memories from the military service

9. The first letter of your first name?
A/B - Your photo
C/D - The oil stocks
E/F - Your neighbour Martin
G/H - My virginity
I/J - The results of your blood-sample
K/L - Your left ear
M/N - Your suicide note
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X - David's tricot outfits
Y/Z - Your grades from college

10. The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Hate your guts
C/D - Never will forget
E/F - Always wanted to break
G/H - Never openly mocked
I/J - Always have felt dirty before
K/L - Will tell the authorities about
M/N - Told in my confession today about
O/P - Was interviewed by the Times about
Q/R - Told my psychiatrist about
S/T - Get sick when I think of
U/V - Always will try to forget
W/X - Am better off without
Y/Z - Never liked

11. What do you prefer to drink?
Water- Our friendship
Beer - Senility
Soft drink - A new life as a clone
Soda - The incarnation as an eskimo
Milk - The apartment building
Wine - Cocaine abuse
Cider - A passionate interest for mice
Juice - Oprah Winfrey imitations
Mineral water - Embarrassing rash
Hot chocolate - Eggplant-fetishism
Whisky - To ruin the second world war
Other - To hate the Boston Celtics

12. To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand - Warm regards
USA - Best regards
England - Good luck on your short-term leave from jail
Spain - Go and drown yourself
China - Disgusting regards
Germany - With ease
Japan - Go burn
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
Australia - Greetings to your frog Leonard
Egypt - Fuck off now
France - In pain


Based on the chosen answers, just fill in the blanks in this LETTER MEME :


Letter Meme:

Dear ________(the last person who left a comment on your blog/journal):

"...I don't really know how to tell you this, but ___1___. I think I realized it ___2___ ___3___ and I saw you ___4___ ___5___. I'm sure you're ___6___ enough to understand ___7___. I'm returning ___8___ to you, but I'll keep ___9___ as a memory. You should also know that I ___10___ ___11___ .___12___..."

-Your name-


Then, tag no less than 5 other people, and leave them a comment, informing them that they have been tagged.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kali ni aku nak menge 'tag' rakan2 alam maya baruku :

1. Emy Sulaiman
2. Kak D
3. Joely
4.
5.

Ala, aku tag 3 org je leh?

Hutang Tag Dari Sheri

Ni hutang yang telah berkurun, baru sekarang sempat buat. Sori ye Sheri. Jangan serik nak hntr lagi, wokey!

Soalan: Nyatakan 5 kedai yang anda pantang jumpa mesti nak masuk dan beli barang.

Sebenarnya sejak dok UK nih, aku downgrade myself.....dah tak mampu dah nak gi designer boutique nih segala (macam la kat Msia selalu pegi!). So kedai cikai2 je yang menjadi pilihanku....Antaranya ialah:

1) Julian Graves
Aku suka sangat dried fruits kat sini macam apricots, prunes, mango etc. Paling suka ialah unsalted cashew nuts. Susah nak dapat yg natural nih. Selalunya mesti salut honey atau bergaram. Dulu masa aku mengamalkan gaya hidup sihat (konon) aku memang selalu beli stok kat sini. Kalau keluar rumah tanpa bekalan dari Julian Graves ni, nanti aku merapu makan macam2 mende yg tak berkhasiat. Pastu kat sini selalu ada Grapevines (magazine) utk kanak-kanak.

2) Debenhams
Aku suka bahagian perfumenya sebab diorang selalu jual dalam bentuk gift set. Kalau kat tempat lain, gift set tu ada banyak masa time sale je. Kat Debenhams ada all the time. Pastu bahagian kosmetik pun camtu. Untuk orang macam aku yang memang hantu perfume ni, sesuai sangat la. Tapi kak Ina Glasgow lagi terer....dia tu bapak punya hantu perfume. Punya ler banyak perfumenya, boleh bukak kedai! Awas kak Ina, nanti kastam ingat kak Ina seludup buat berniaga lak. Kihkihkih.

3) Mothercare
Biasa le...kedai wajib utk orang yg beranak-pinak. Kalau tak beli pun, dapat tengok dan belek2 pun ok. Cerita pasal anak2 ni, aku dari dulu lagi kempunan nak beli pushchair (dan jugak car seat) yang elok sikit utk Alia. Dia ni kalu gi jalan2, WAJIB bawak pushchair sebab dia jenis yang malas jalan dan suka tido. Meleleh air liur aku tengok pushchair cantik2 macam Sufi punya. Ko tak nak perturunkan kat aku ke? Kihkihkih. Disebabkan harga pushchair yang MAHA mahal tu jadi aku pendamkan je hasrat tu. Nanti sebelum aku balik Msia, aku mesti beli 2 bijik. Untuk anak aku yang akan datang. Single sebijik dan sebijik lagi yang 2 tingkat tu. Walaupun Alia takde adik lagi, aku beli je dulu...bak kata orang "pandang ke hadapan". Muahahahah. Untuk pengetahuan korang, aku tak pregnant tau, tu perancangan masa depan je.

3) Primark
Ni departmental store yang jual semua benda dgn harga yg sangat2 murah. Aku suka sangat. Kat tempat aku baru bukak Primark besar, suka la aku. Sufi, sampai sekarang aku rasa bersalah sebab bawak kau pegi Primark kat Hounslow yang hampeh tu. Rupanya kat Slough pun ada, 4 kali lagi besar dari Hounslow. Aku tak tau masa tu. Kesian kau, dah la tergesa2 nak balik Msia time tu. Kat Primark ni, barang2 kanak-kanak sangat murah dan banyak pilihan. Inilah syurga membeli-belah bagi pendatang halal macam aku. Tapi owang putih pun suka gi Primark! Al-maklum la, keadaan ekonomi kat UK jatuh merudum. Banyak kilang kena tutup, pekerja kena buang. Kilang Honda kat Swindon tutup pengeluaran selama 2 bulan mulai Feb ni. Besday aku bulan Feb ni...saje je bagi peringatan awal kat orang2 yang berkenaan :) Honda cakap takde permintaan, stok keta berlambak-lambak sebab tu berhenti operasi 2 bulan. Kenapa dia tak jual lelong je keta2 dlm gudang tu ek? Boleh le aku beli 2-3 bijik buat mainan Alia ke. Selain Honda, company tradisi British macam Woolworth dan Wedgewood pun gulung tikar. Banyak company besar2 macam Barclays, BT, Virgin etc tergugat. Beribu2 orang kena buang keje. Alhamdulillah la kami semua tak terjejas.

4) Matalan
Kedai ni nak kata bagus sangat tak le jugak. Bajunya agak mahal sikit tapi kadang-kadang tu ok jugak. Hari tu kebetulan ada sale sakan, aku borong la 5 helai. Kalau takde sale aku jarang le menyinggah kedai ni. Lagipun kedainya tak le besar sangat jadi tak banyak pilihan.

5) E-bay
Ni kedai kegemaran aku! Aku rasa aku boleh dok depan komputer 2 hari berturut-turut kalau menghadap e-bay. Apa2 barang yang aku nak beli, aku carik kat e-bay dulu. Lepas tu kalau takde atau mahal, baru aku gi beli kat kedai. Boleh dikatakan kebanyakan barang2 aku beli kat e-bay. Dari lipstick ke kasut, baju, barang letrik, jam, segala la. Aku suka beli kat distributor sebab ada warranty n guarantee macam kat kedai. Sekarang aku dok berkenan jam tangan Fossil yang ada diamond2 tu. Berkenan sangat. Tapi setakat berangan je le. Jam tangan aku dah tamat riwayat (abis bateri je tapi aku tak tau nak pegi tukar kat mana) jadi kat sini sbb tak mampu pakai Fossil atau apa2 branded item sekalipun, aku resort to pakai jam tangan cap kapak je....

Itulah dia, alkisah spending spree aku kat sini. Aku kena jimat2 dok negara orang ni, sebab kalu susah sapa nak tolong? Kaum-keluarga jauh.....

Tag untuk 5 orang berikutnya, inilah mangsa-mangsa aku:
1. Viruspadu (kalau dia baca blog aku-walaupun aku rasa dia tak baca-takpe, nanti aku hantar amaran keras kat dia kalu dia tak baca).
2. Halwafy -Hepi Birthday!!!
3. Ezwin
4. Mangsa aku seperti biasa ialah kak Ina Glasgow
5. takde dah la...tu je.

Okey dokey....

Data oh data

Bertemu kembali,

Kali ni aku nak berbahasa Melayu pulak. Sebabnya ada seorang insan prihatin yang menegur aku. Katanya dulu aku pernah tulis dalam salah satu post yang aku nak menulis blog ni dalam bahasa Melayu, nak bagi kaum-keluarga dan saudara-mara kat kampung baca. Tiba2 tulis bahasa English pulak. Orang yg prihatin tu ialah suamiku yg tercinta. Biasa la...dia editor tak bertauliah utk blog aku nih. Aku ni sebenarnya menulis ikut mood. Sebab tu kadang2 Melayu kadang2 English. So maapkan lah ye.

Ok la, cerita tentang kehidupan pulak. Semenjak 2-3 minggu ni aku sibuk buat analisis untuk data kerjalapangan. Hai, susahnya nak buat Biostatistik nih. Tu la, dulu masa buat Degree tak belajar betul2. Sekarang baru menyesal. Dulu masa 3rd year ada satu subjek ni nama Biometri. Lecturer yg mengajar tu memang baik hati (dia ada anak lelaki hensem...masa tu kami budak2 lagi). Aku dan geng2 borak aku selalu duduk seat paling belakang sebab senang nak borak2. Kalau kelas lain kami duduk tengah2 (tak mau dok depan sbb yg dok depan tu budak2 nerd-ni alasan je, sebenarnya kalau dok depan tak boleh tido takut lecturer nampak). Tapi sebab Biometri ni sangat la susah nak paham (in fact tak faham langsung) so kami awal2 lagi memilih time Biometri ni utk buat benda2 lain. Si Intan tulis surat/sajak (memang hobi dia sejak dulu- dia nak jadi penulis), aku conteng2 lirik lagu kat note pad dan Nazrul dok baling2 bola kertas kat org bawah. Sorang lagi kawan aku (lupa nama dia) selalu dok bentang bisnes plan dia (skim piramid-aku nyaris nak join, nasib baik cepat insaf) time Biometri ni. Amaran : Adik2 yang baca blog ni, jangan tiru perangai kakak ni tau. Tak baik. Masa belajar, belajar betul2. Duduk row paling depan ok. Kalau kena tempias air liur lecturer lagi bagus. Berkat, kihkihkih.

Sekarang ni bila aku tak pandai nak buat statistik, baru nyesal. Tapi yang peliknya, bila result keluar kami semua dapat gred yg sangat ok. Tak sangka langsung.

Sekarang ni, data aku tak siap2 jugak sebab aku tak confident dgn analisis yg aku buat. Puas la aku dok menung data tu lama2, baca buku statistik 5-6 bijik pun aku masih tak yakin analisis yang aku buat tu tepat. Dah siap buat, print, pastu tak confident, tukar. Siap. Tukar. Buat lain. Tukar. Begitulah seterusnya. First time aku hantar kat supervisor ari tu, dia kata separuh analisis yang aku buat tu betul, separuh lagi ubah kepada method lain. Kawan2 yg sama2 buat PhD kat sini pun cakap bab statistik ni le yg paling susah. Diorang cakap "We all hate statistics". Aku tu benci jugak tapi statistik ni bahagian paling penting dalam result. Tanpa statistik, data yg diambil tak reliable dan bias. Ada sorang member aku tu hari2 nangis bila ngadap data. Aku rasa dah 2 minggu dia nangis. Tiap2 hari Ahad petang dia mesti call aku mencurah kesedihannya. Katanya method apa nak pakai, sesuai ke dgn data dia? Ada kaitan ke dgn parameter yg diambil? Significant ke tidak? Mcmana dgn linear regression? ANOVA? Correlation? GLiM? Penin penin.

Kat sini diorang pakai software yg aku tak penah dengar pun. Namanya 'R'. Kat Malaysia dulu pakai SPSS ke MVSP ke atau kalau zaman dulu2, MINITAB atau MATHLAB. Nak tanya org pun susah sebab data setiap org lain2 so pendekatan pun lain. Sikit2 boleh la diorang ajar. Selebihnya aku kena mentelaah sendiri le jawabnya. Aku paham konsep tapi tak reti nak kaitkan dgn data aku. Maknanya aku tak paham betul2 le konsepnya kan? Ish..kompius betul. Harap2 tak lama lagi aku terer la bab2 statistik nih. Boleh la aku mula tulis laporan. Senang sikit hati aku. Selagi analisis tak siap nampaknya selagi itulah aku dok macam ni je. Adoiii...selepas setahun kat sini baru aku mula terasa payahnya buat PhD nih. Kawan2 dan keluarga semua, doakan aku berjaya ye. Doakan aku rajin, bijak, fokus, cemerlang, pantas, tekun dan segala-galanya yg positif tuh! Hati aku ni berdebar je tiap2 hari selagi tak siap statistik nih. Ayooo...manyak susah lor!

R oh R kenapakah kau susah sangat utk dipahami...........
Tak boleh ke present data pakai graf2 biasa je........... oh statistik, kenapalah kau wujud?!

Calling all Friends

Calling all fellow friends to do your bit in helping out those in the need.

I read this appeal from Kak Teh's blog (http://kakteh.blogspot.com) this very moment. We cannot just sit here and do nothing. Do something, play your role, even the smallest part.

"Mercy Malaysia has, on 30th December 2008, formed an Emergency Response Assessment Team to face the humanitarian crisis in Gaza strip. The team has been promptly dispatched to Egypt led by President, Datuk Dr. Jemilah Mahmood and Exco Member Norazam Ab. Samah".

Mercy Malaysia appeals to generous Malaysians to send it cash donations. Contributions will support Mercy Malaysia to procure emergency surgical kits, medicines and hospital equipments to help the hospitals in Gaza.

• Cheque is to be made payable to “MERCY MALAYSIA” and addressed to Mercy Malaysia, Level 2, Podium Block, City Point, Kompleks Dayabumi, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.
• Cash donations can be made via on-line transmission or deposit at CIMB Bank Account No: 1424-000-6561053.
• Donation form can be downloaded from here.
• Further enquiries are to be directed to +603-22733999 or info@mercy.org.my

Please convey this message to people you know.

Freezzzing

It was bitterly cold these days. The temperature was almost -17C in some places (the worst was -27C many many years ago). I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw the news. Imagine the fountain at Trafalgar Square stopped functioning because the water was frozen, ducks and swans missed their happy times in the water 'coz it all turned to ice (kesian itik takde tempat nak berenang-takde arah tujuan dah) and it was reported that AA and RAC received almost 40,000 calls reporting motor accidents, minor and major everyday. Furthermore, kerajaan siap tawarkan bayaran insentif utk org2 tua dan org miskin bagi meringankan beban bil pemanas.

There are many non-profit organisations offering free hot food/sdrinks for the elderly and homeless people in London. I cannot imagine how terrible they must have felt, to put up a brave face and braven the cold to get somewhere warm and cosy. And I just sit there on my sofa with a plate of hot curry and watched the telly 24/7 while others are struggling to survive. I am so lucky since the gas and electricity bills are included in my house rent. And God...the bill is really expensive. No wonder many of us choose to cut on gas bill and bear with the deathly temperature. They cannot even cook hot food/drink since this requires gas as well. Alhamdulillah aku tak terjejas kat sini. Sentiasa panas dan sentiasa ada makanan. Bila lihat kesusahan org lain baru sedar nikmat yang selama ini kita ambil ringan. I just cannot imagine life without heater during winter (seperti yg berlaku sekarang di Sarajevo and many countries in central Europe). Dreadful, I think.

Another thing that thug my heart is the tragic situation in Gaza. It was so heartbreaking seeing little childrens, fathers and mothers, silently crying or screaming their heart out as the life of their loved ones were snapped before their very eyes. I feel useless not be able to do anything but be witness to their agony. The best thing I could do is to pray for their safety and security. Marilah kita sama2 berdoa untuk mereka. No matter who they are, they are our brothers and sisters. Let us hope for peace all over the world.

End of 2008....Welcome 2009!!

Sorry for the long silence.... I was so attached to something else, so not be able to update this blog regularly. Sufi, I'll do the tag later, ok.

Today is the first Sunday of 2009 and this marked the end of one long holiday for Christmas and New Year. I'll get to work tomorrow and Alia will be in school again. And the routine goes on and on and on...oh, what a routine. But the new year is here! I really hope that this new year will bring a new light, turn a new leaf and me finally be able to look back at this time next year with a smile on my face.

The kick-start of 2009 begins with a trip to Tefal warehouse with Sufi and Maswa. I bought a new Tefal 6 litre pressure cooker there (Clipso Vitaly model) and George Foreman's health grill the day before. Both items were a real bargain. 50% of RRP for the grill and only 21 pounds for the pressure cooker. It is still selling at 59-90 pounds in shops!! Great! This is what I called big girl's toys....I'm so pleased with the purchase. What a way to start a new year!

Health grill....dah lama teringin nak beli George Foreman punya tapi tak mampu, bila turun separuh harga, apalagi..sambar le!

Sooo convenient and my curry tastes better, too! All the vitamins intact kot.

So long as the year 2008 are concerned, I guessed it was a good year all around. We celebrate the year-end by winding up in Swindon Shopping Outlet. On the same day, we joined the crowd at Debenhams, Reading to grabbed many items on sale during Boxing Day crazy sale. Then we headed off to Swindon. Had fish n chips for brunch and then joined Sufi n family for a guilt-free-spend-all-your-money mania. After spending the whole day wandering around the large shopping outlet, we called it a day and headed off to Slough for a good buffet dinner. This place called Shahnaz Restaurant is only 30 minutes from my house and boy, I never knew it even exist! This is the place where I bought my fortnightly groceries. But I didn't know it has such a nice, decent halal restaurant. It offers a small selections of buffet dishes at affordable price. They have 4-5 chicken dishes such as chicken tikka, chicken kurma, jalfrezi etc, several choice of beef and mutton and the starters are fish pakoras and finger food. The deserts inclusive of a selection of vanilla, dates or chocolate ice-cream and sweet rice pudding amongst many others. What a shame I did not managed to snapped a picture for you to see. Thanks to Sufi's friend, Maswan for his generosity....semoga murah rezeki ko ye....nanti kami blanja ko pulak.

Alia suka sangat present banyak2 ni. Posing depan Whittard of Chelsea. Tehnya memang sedap...

Brunch at services, on the way to Swindon

At the Oracle, Reading

Good news for McD lovers, we have Halal McD in London! Yeayyy.....
But the not-so-good news is only the chicken choices are halal (chicken burgers and all) but not the beef. This is the first halal McD in UK and if the feedback is good, they plan to have more halal McDs in the future. They might offer fully halal meals as well! So if you really love Big Mac as I do (oh, my hubby lovvvvess it so much), so do send a positive feedback to McD and they will consider the option to have fully halal meals. Silap2 haribulan, Prosperity burger pun ada. Hahah hah...suka la Ida tu. The place is in Southall, Britain's little india. Majority of their residents are Muslims so kedai halal sangat banyak and people telling me that Southall have the best beriani ever. Kedai mana tak sure lak. So, here's the pics for you to enjoy.

Mama makan Mayo Chicken, Alia makan fries and Mc Flurry je...

Alia dan Cik Ida

A few days back, I went to Egham to say my final goodbye to Kak Mas and family. She left UK for Malaysia, for good. Terima kasih Kak Mas atas segala pertolongan selama ini. It was really nice to get to know someone as nice as you. Rumah K Mas sangat cantik, with large patio door, garden and all. Nanti aku kaya aku nak buat rumah yang ada conservatory, nice garden and most importantly bath tub supaya aku tak payah sental bathroom tiap2 minggu. Hahaha...berangan le.

K Mas and anak-anak

Alia tak sabar2 nak bukak hadiah yang kak Syeeda bagi

Jeng jeng.. ni la hadiahnya. Chocolates from Crabtree & Evelyn. Terima kasih K Mas

On Christmas Day, we (aku and Ida) get bored so we went to Windsor, snapped a few pictures and lazying around. You cannot claim you've been to Windsor if you did not go to Windsor Castle, so off we went then. Before that, we went to Eton College. The place for famous peoples such as the descendants of England Royalties, 18 former British Prime Ministers, Andrew Lloyd Webber (maestro in theathre and music), JK Rowling (Harry Potter), Vivienne Westwood (famous fashion designer tu ke?), Boris Johnson (current Mayor of London ), PM Thai sekarang, apa namanya tah and not forgotten the one and only Mr Rowan Atkinson, our beloved Mr Bean! However great this place are, it was closed that day....we half expected that but still have some hope that it will open but I guessed we were wrong all along. We were not the only tourists there, there are many others as well. Great minds think alike, eh?

Well, yeah...that sort of conclude on how I spent the long public holiday last year. May 2009 brings lots meaningful memories to all of us. Selamat tahun baru semua terutamanya buat keluarga dan rakan-rakan di Malaysia....ada rezeki kita jumpa!! Doakan kejayaanku di sini....