Lagi cedokkan dari tulisan kawan Embak yang kreatif dari Yahoogroup alumni kami. Nak tergeliat leher Embak membacanya, tapi seronok.
Mamat rase malassang nok bangung tiddo. Nye gulling-gulling atah katil.Pusing kiri, pusing kanang. Serba dok kene dia berase. Mok Lijoh blèbèr hanyaar kot luor pitu, “Mat! Matahari nok tinggi galoh doh nim, ka’ak rezeki kalu bangung lèwat-lèwat. Mung tak dok kheje ke ari nim?”
Dok tahang kene blèbèr Mamat Ppayang pong bikah bangung ceggat dari katil.Baru dia teringat pukol 11 ada kene wat kheje sikit hok Boh dia suroh kemarèng. Mamat pong jungaa tangang dia ambèk tuala. Pèsèngang mandi P. Ramlee pulok pagi nim, al maklunglah pukol 10.30 doh. Dari Manir nok jembe ke Jalang Batah Baru tu jauh jugok. Pah tu nok kena bereti stèsèng minyok Petronah pulok dekat sipang trapik lait Pulau Musang. Dop ingat starang nok tamboh minyok kemarèng. Dok dang 10 minit Mamat siap belake doh. Minung air kopi-o setegok dua lepah tu pakaa kasut kulit atah tangge kak
lambo. Baru beli minggu lepah tu kasut tu. Bekilat ssio! Lepah tu Mamat pong stak muto vroooooong hale ke bando. Motosika sèkèng hèng jer, tapi boleh tahang lah.
Jalang Batah Baru ader banyok bangunang jabbat dengang kedaa. Kalu hale ke depang sikit ada kedaa Astro, hok tv kene bayor bulang-bulang tu. Kalu tebèng dok bayo jer kena potong hanyaar. Lepah pada suraa Flat Batah Baru tu ada lèrèk kedaa èkong. Kedaa makang pong ada gok. Kalu jallang sikit lagi sebelum kedaa Astro tu, ada kawasang lapang tepat juaa khète baru cap Hyundaa dengang Kia.
Di antara kedaa èkong dengang kedaa Astro tu ada celoh-celoh tu jabbat loyar baru buka. Pèsèngang baru pah jadi loyar tu Mamat mari mmkir sorrang. Slo-slo Mamat naèk tikat dua. Napok gaye ader dua orang jer kherani. Llaki sorang, ppuang sorang. Boleh tahang hok ppuang tu. Tapi pakaa cicing molèk ngak kat jari manih tu. Ttunang doh pèsèngang tu.. Dok napok gambo starang. Berat nnanang. Mamat kabo ke kherani ppuang tu dia nok jjuper Tuang Loyar. Hayat hidup Mamat dok rajing jjuper loyar skali habuk. Cakkak dengang loyar jauh skali.. Nye mari debo wèh.
Mamat pong ketok pitu masok. Loyar tu tengoh pegang gagang talipung cap Panasonic kat telinga dia. Wayar talipung tu tengoh beseranggoh lagi. “I dah uruskan fixed deposit you sebanyak RM10 juta tu. Lagi satu, minggu depan ni, I nak you ikut I ke Singapore. HSBC Singapore dah buat arrangement untuk finance syarikat klien I, tak banyak, dalam 20 juta Sing dollar. Firm I jadi lawyer jugak tu. I turun KL minggu ni, kita dinner kat Shook di Starhill ok?”
Mamat bukang pandaa sangat cakak orang putih. Tapi bila dengo haa pitih die pahang. Mainang apa juta-juta nim? Mamat mari mmikir.
Loyar muder tu pong letok gagang talipung sambil-sambil kheling ujung mata tengok ke Mamat. “Yer, nok mendero Saya sibuk sangat ni, dok tengok ker?” loyar tu tanye Mamat.
Mamat pucat kesi. Dok tahu nok kata mende. Nok jawak saloh. Tak mboh jawak saloh. Macang mase nok bangung tiddo sakning. Serbe dok kene. Sudohhang Mamat tebèng jugok jawak.
“Sebenornyer tuang, sayer nim kheje dengang sarikat Telekong. Saya mari nok sambung wayar talipung hok tuang wak lolok cakkak sakning. Dok sambung lagi wayar tu, guaner lah tuang boleh cakkak doh!”
Muka tuang loyar tu jadi biru bèrang!
Doh nok wat guana starang! Nok èksèng dok betepat! Adajugok loyar kècèk orang dèh! Pecoh bong! Orang jamang lenim kata “kantoi”!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Canadian woman loses benefits over Facebook photo
From Yahoo News! Sun Nov 22, 1:20 pm ET
BROMONT, Quebec – A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.
Nathalie Blanchard has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, for the last year.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits from insurance giant Manulife.
But the payments dried up this fall and when Blanchard called Manulife, she says she was told she was available to work because of Facebook.
She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on Facebook, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a sun holiday.
Blanchard said Manulife told her it's evidence she is no longer depressed. She's fighting to get her benefits reinstated and says her lawyer is exploring what the next step should be.
Blanchard told the CBC that on her doctor's advice, she tried to have fun, including nights out at her local bar with friends and short getaways to sun destinations, as a way to forget her problems.
Manulife wouldn't comment on Blanchard's case, but did say they would not deny or terminate a claim solely based on information published on Web sites such as Facebook.
Embak: Jangan ghairah sangat tayang gambar kat Facebook. Banyak mata yang memandang!
BROMONT, Quebec – A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.
Nathalie Blanchard has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, for the last year.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits from insurance giant Manulife.
But the payments dried up this fall and when Blanchard called Manulife, she says she was told she was available to work because of Facebook.
She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on Facebook, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a sun holiday.
Blanchard said Manulife told her it's evidence she is no longer depressed. She's fighting to get her benefits reinstated and says her lawyer is exploring what the next step should be.
Blanchard told the CBC that on her doctor's advice, she tried to have fun, including nights out at her local bar with friends and short getaways to sun destinations, as a way to forget her problems.
Manulife wouldn't comment on Blanchard's case, but did say they would not deny or terminate a claim solely based on information published on Web sites such as Facebook.
Embak: Jangan ghairah sangat tayang gambar kat Facebook. Banyak mata yang memandang!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Pakcik di 7-Eleven
Dah lama tak menulis; sememangnya tak ada ilham.
Tadi, kawan Embak tulis ni dalam Yahoogroup kami. Embak rasa amat kelakar..
****
baru kejap gi 7-11, beli roti... masa nak bayar Cashier tu cakap.." ada apa2 lagi..Pak Cik?"...saya pusing belakang..takde orang...
" RM8.20.." kata Cashier tu...saya pun bagi RM10.. "ada 20 sen Pak Cik?"... tambah Cashier tu.. saya pusing belakang lagi.. takde orang lain lagi... saya diam, Cashier tu pun diam dan bagi baki wang saya..RM1.80. .
Bila saya nak keluar ..saya dengar " Terima kasih Pak Cik..sila datang lagi..."
Heran saya....dalam kedai tu saya sorang saja....
Tadi, kawan Embak tulis ni dalam Yahoogroup kami. Embak rasa amat kelakar..
****
baru kejap gi 7-11, beli roti... masa nak bayar Cashier tu cakap.." ada apa2 lagi..Pak Cik?"...saya pusing belakang..takde orang...
" RM8.20.." kata Cashier tu...saya pun bagi RM10.. "ada 20 sen Pak Cik?"... tambah Cashier tu.. saya pusing belakang lagi.. takde orang lain lagi... saya diam, Cashier tu pun diam dan bagi baki wang saya..RM1.80. .
Bila saya nak keluar ..saya dengar " Terima kasih Pak Cik..sila datang lagi..."
Heran saya....dalam kedai tu saya sorang saja....
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Happiness is....
....finding good books for peanuts. Last Saturday at Payless Books Warehouse Sale at 3K Inn, Subang Jaya, I found these books which I will read in this order:
1. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. I will re-watch the movie to see how well the adaptation from book to film is.
2. Postcards by E.Annie Proulx. My frustration for not finding any book by Carol Shields was redeemed by finding this one.
3. A Confederancy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Never heard of this book but it is "a wildly comic masterpiece" that also won the Pulitzer Prize. The most expensive of the lot because it is a hardcover.
4. Possession by A.S.Byatt. I picked it up because I read somewhere that is a favourite of Marina Mahathir's or T.Elida's.
5. Reading Lolita in Tehran. Because I'm intrigued.
6. Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote. Because I like Capote's other book "In Cold Blood".
And all these for RM31!!! I am far from maxing on that RM1000 tax-relief for purchase of books. The next sale at the same venue will be held in December. Who wants to join me?
1. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. I will re-watch the movie to see how well the adaptation from book to film is.
2. Postcards by E.Annie Proulx. My frustration for not finding any book by Carol Shields was redeemed by finding this one.
3. A Confederancy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Never heard of this book but it is "a wildly comic masterpiece" that also won the Pulitzer Prize. The most expensive of the lot because it is a hardcover.
4. Possession by A.S.Byatt. I picked it up because I read somewhere that is a favourite of Marina Mahathir's or T.Elida's.
5. Reading Lolita in Tehran. Because I'm intrigued.
6. Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote. Because I like Capote's other book "In Cold Blood".
And all these for RM31!!! I am far from maxing on that RM1000 tax-relief for purchase of books. The next sale at the same venue will be held in December. Who wants to join me?
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Why I Should'nt Have That Audi Yet!
In their book, You Have More Than You Think, David and Tom Gardner said that one of the most common financial mistakes people make is buying an expensive car using borrowed money. Here are some excerpts:
"...When you purchase an automobile, on average it loses 30 percent of its value one year after the purchase - and sometimes does so at the moment you roll it out of the lot....
We know you need a car. We do too. But from an investment standpoint, it's never a good idea to covet expensive automobiles, and buying it on credit. On average you'll pay 10% interest anually on the loan plus the value of the car depreciates by 30% the first year and 10% per year subsequently. In the business world, they'd call this sort of leverages transaction "dumb". We are gentler; we'll call it a mistake.
Buy transport. Buy utility. You are not your car.
Our recommendation is simply that if you can swing it, you pick an automobile that you can buy with cash, or the next best thing to do, as much in cash as you can. Remember, you are not your car. Impress your friends with your heart, your mind, those natural good looks, and your sense of humor...."
In another book, The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and william Danko, after 20 years of profiling the wealthy, surmise that , "the flashy millionaires glamorized by the media actually represent only a tiny minority of America's rich. Most of the truly wealthy in this country don't live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue -- they live next door."
The authors say that the typical wealthy individual is a businessman who has lived in the same town for all of his adult life and owns a small factory, a chain of stores or a service company. He lives next door to people with a fraction of his wealth. Their survey indicated that while the paycheck-to-paycheck crowd drives new cars, most millionaires don't. They're not wearing expensive clothes and watches and their houses are relatively modest compared to their financial status.
Note to self: Live simply.
"...When you purchase an automobile, on average it loses 30 percent of its value one year after the purchase - and sometimes does so at the moment you roll it out of the lot....
We know you need a car. We do too. But from an investment standpoint, it's never a good idea to covet expensive automobiles, and buying it on credit. On average you'll pay 10% interest anually on the loan plus the value of the car depreciates by 30% the first year and 10% per year subsequently. In the business world, they'd call this sort of leverages transaction "dumb". We are gentler; we'll call it a mistake.
Buy transport. Buy utility. You are not your car.
Our recommendation is simply that if you can swing it, you pick an automobile that you can buy with cash, or the next best thing to do, as much in cash as you can. Remember, you are not your car. Impress your friends with your heart, your mind, those natural good looks, and your sense of humor...."
In another book, The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and william Danko, after 20 years of profiling the wealthy, surmise that , "the flashy millionaires glamorized by the media actually represent only a tiny minority of America's rich. Most of the truly wealthy in this country don't live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue -- they live next door."
The authors say that the typical wealthy individual is a businessman who has lived in the same town for all of his adult life and owns a small factory, a chain of stores or a service company. He lives next door to people with a fraction of his wealth. Their survey indicated that while the paycheck-to-paycheck crowd drives new cars, most millionaires don't. They're not wearing expensive clothes and watches and their houses are relatively modest compared to their financial status.
Note to self: Live simply.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
1 Syawal 1430H
Picture courtesy of Nedim Muhic - (Excellent picture btw. Note the bird at top left corner)
Here's me blogging at 5.51pm on Eid on the loft of my father's house. Some of my house guests are away visiting relatives; the other half are at a rented house 200 meters away from this house which we specially rent for this raya as my father's house is too small to accommodate 21 cucus from 5 households plus the 5 permanent residents. 5 or 6 people are at in front of the TV watching a stream of Raya programmes on ASTRO channels. At 4pm just now as I sat for my tea of more ketupat, I had a chat with Abah about our plans for next raya. We concurred that we need to procure a new house, big enough for everyone to enjoy Raya under one roof. May Allah grant us this wish.
This Raya around, I am blown away by the amount of food my nieces and nephews are capable of consuming. A marked difference from last year. Thank God, we have Angah who brought more sarung ketupat and for the first time she made ketupat palas, so the threat of food shortage was arrested. Last night's iftar and today's breakfast was chaotic; actually this happens every year with one or two new additions yearly for the last 18 years; but this year is the qauntum leap. The eldest nephew is 18 going 19. Not many more years to go before he gets a household of his own.
With the end of Ramadhan, life slowly comes back to norm. In about a week, Acu will return to Germany, and me to work. I have to get some money if I want to jalan-jalan next year. And also to look out for a new house before the next Eid. My Abah wants it to be within the same Taman as our current house. So it makes the search more focused. Allah help us.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Satu Malaysia
Baru-baru ini Embak berjumpa dengan seorang pelanggan lama, Puan E. Sebelum berbual bisnes, seperti biasa kami bercerita perihal keluarga dan semasa. Sampailah ke satu topik yang menjadi aspirasi PM Najib; Satu Malaysia. Puan E jelas tak setuju dengan aspirasi ini; katanya ini hanya untuk menjaga hati kaum bukan Melayu dan menidakkan hak keistimewaan Melayu. Embak kata, jangan risau, PM tak akan buat benda ni secara mendadak. Puan E berkata, anak sulongnya telah dimasukkan ke Sekolah Yayasan Saad di Melaka. Yang mendukacitakannya ialah dia dikenakan yuran sepertimana pelajar-pelajar bangsa bukan Melayu hanya sebab beliau dan suami bergaji lumayan. Anaknya telah bekerja keras untuk melayakkan dirinya ke sekolah tersebut. Sebagai ibubapa, Puan E berkata, mahu tak mahu , dia dan suami kena berbelanja RM20,000 setahun untuk membayar yuran. And I went like, WTH is this lady talking about? Kalau tak nak bayar yuran mahal, hantar saja ke sekolah biasa, atau sekolah berasrama kerajaan. Tak payah nak komplen.
Embak dengan secara diplomasi berkata, saya rasa sistem meritokrasi ini baik untuk Malaysia. Jadi semua orang akan berkerja lebih keras, lebih produktif. Orang Melayu yang selama ini mendapat hak istimewa kenalah baiki diri; lama kelamaan jati diri juga akan meningkat dan mertabat Melayu akan bertambah baik. Sampai bila orang Melayu nak menidakkan hak bangsa lain yang telah turun-temurun di Malaysia. Orang Melayu juga asalnya bukan dari Tanah Melayu. Saya juga berdarah campuran. Puan E pun cakap, dia juga berdarah campuran, tapi, blah, blah, blah……(masih tak setuju).
Embak pelik sebab kalau yang bercakap tu orang kampong yang tak bersekolah tinggi, Embak paham, tapi ini Puan E yang telah mengecapi nikmat DEB semasa kecil, ditanggungi kerajaan hinggalah ke peringkat universiti. Dan sekarang berjawatan bukan calang-calang di sebuah GLC. Bukankan beliau sepatutnya tidak lagi tergugat apabila biasiswa mula dibuka kepada anak-anak bangsa bukan Melayu yang miskin? Belum 100 peratus pun, masih pada peratusan yang rendah.
Siapa kata Malaysia ialah hak bangsa Melayu sahaja?
Kita menunding jari pada orang putih di Amerika apabila mereka meminggir golongan kulit hitam dan minoriti lain. Apa kurangnya orang Melayu apabila menidakkan hak bangsa-bangsa lain di Malaysia? Kalau kita yakin bahawa setiap rezeki datang dari Allah,"insecurity" orang Melayu tak timbul. Allah juga sangat suka sekiranya kita berlaku adil.
Tahun lepas, kawan Embak, sepasang orang Melayu yang beranak pinak di Amerika memberitahu anak sulong mereka diterima masuk ke Standford dengan biasiswa penuh universiti. Kalau Puan E di Amerika tentunya dia juga mahukan anaknya diberi hak saksama seperti orang Amerika. Itu contoh terbaik meritokrasi. Nampaknya keadilan di Amerika telah bertambah baik. Ayuh Melayu, masa untuk berada di "comfort zone" telah tamat.
Embak dengan secara diplomasi berkata, saya rasa sistem meritokrasi ini baik untuk Malaysia. Jadi semua orang akan berkerja lebih keras, lebih produktif. Orang Melayu yang selama ini mendapat hak istimewa kenalah baiki diri; lama kelamaan jati diri juga akan meningkat dan mertabat Melayu akan bertambah baik. Sampai bila orang Melayu nak menidakkan hak bangsa lain yang telah turun-temurun di Malaysia. Orang Melayu juga asalnya bukan dari Tanah Melayu. Saya juga berdarah campuran. Puan E pun cakap, dia juga berdarah campuran, tapi, blah, blah, blah……(masih tak setuju).
Embak pelik sebab kalau yang bercakap tu orang kampong yang tak bersekolah tinggi, Embak paham, tapi ini Puan E yang telah mengecapi nikmat DEB semasa kecil, ditanggungi kerajaan hinggalah ke peringkat universiti. Dan sekarang berjawatan bukan calang-calang di sebuah GLC. Bukankan beliau sepatutnya tidak lagi tergugat apabila biasiswa mula dibuka kepada anak-anak bangsa bukan Melayu yang miskin? Belum 100 peratus pun, masih pada peratusan yang rendah.
Siapa kata Malaysia ialah hak bangsa Melayu sahaja?
Kita menunding jari pada orang putih di Amerika apabila mereka meminggir golongan kulit hitam dan minoriti lain. Apa kurangnya orang Melayu apabila menidakkan hak bangsa-bangsa lain di Malaysia? Kalau kita yakin bahawa setiap rezeki datang dari Allah,"insecurity" orang Melayu tak timbul. Allah juga sangat suka sekiranya kita berlaku adil.
Tahun lepas, kawan Embak, sepasang orang Melayu yang beranak pinak di Amerika memberitahu anak sulong mereka diterima masuk ke Standford dengan biasiswa penuh universiti. Kalau Puan E di Amerika tentunya dia juga mahukan anaknya diberi hak saksama seperti orang Amerika. Itu contoh terbaik meritokrasi. Nampaknya keadilan di Amerika telah bertambah baik. Ayuh Melayu, masa untuk berada di "comfort zone" telah tamat.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Introducing Zee Avi
I may be a little late here, but a video link in my friend Andreas Frangipani's facebook led me to discover this talent. Here's the writeup in wikipedia:
Zee Avi (born Izyan Alirahman,[1] also known as KokoKaina; b. 1986)[citation needed] is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player. She was born in Miri, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. She moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12.[2] She studied fashion design at American InterContinental University in London.[3]
Zee originally posted a video of her first song on YouTube because one of her friends had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur, so she created a video on YouTube for him to watch. He convinced Zee to leave the video up, and soon she received positive feedback, which inspired her to put more videos on YouTube.[3] After she was featured on YouTube, she was signed by Brushfire Records, which is partly owned by Jack Johnson.[2] Her song "No Christmas For Me" is featured on Brushfire Records's 2008 Christmas album This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday.[4] Her single "Bitter Heart" was first to become available on the US iTunes store, and her full self-titled debut album was released on May 19, 2009. On the day of her album's release, YouTube featured her on the front page in Spotlight: Music Tuesday. She is currently (June - August 2009) touring the United States with Pete Yorn.
Her song "Monte" was featured in the second season finale of Private Practice.
This is the catchy song that made me research her other songs. Go Zee!
Zee Avi (born Izyan Alirahman,[1] also known as KokoKaina; b. 1986)[citation needed] is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player. She was born in Miri, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. She moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12.[2] She studied fashion design at American InterContinental University in London.[3]
Zee originally posted a video of her first song on YouTube because one of her friends had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur, so she created a video on YouTube for him to watch. He convinced Zee to leave the video up, and soon she received positive feedback, which inspired her to put more videos on YouTube.[3] After she was featured on YouTube, she was signed by Brushfire Records, which is partly owned by Jack Johnson.[2] Her song "No Christmas For Me" is featured on Brushfire Records's 2008 Christmas album This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday.[4] Her single "Bitter Heart" was first to become available on the US iTunes store, and her full self-titled debut album was released on May 19, 2009. On the day of her album's release, YouTube featured her on the front page in Spotlight: Music Tuesday. She is currently (June - August 2009) touring the United States with Pete Yorn.
Her song "Monte" was featured in the second season finale of Private Practice.
This is the catchy song that made me research her other songs. Go Zee!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Adieu Yasmin Ahmad
I met Yasmin once on an Air Asia flight from Bali in 2006. (See blog entry here)
I, of course knew her films (at that time, she already had great success with Sepet and was about to launch Mukhsin) and her Petronas ads. So, I felt 'gabrah' when she chose to sit next to me, but she quickly put me at ease, and during the first half of the flight we chatted about a dozen of topics; general and personal. (During the other half, she busied herself with a portable computer game). She surprised me when she said she believed all Malays have Chinese ancestors. I thought she wanted to play with me and see my reaction. Probably because yours truly look like one. I too have Chinese ancestors, she said. And she was going to do a film about May 13th. I said, why would you want to do that? That is so risky! I wish I can recall what her response was.
When the stewardess came with the food trolley, I purchased a maggi-in-a-cup, and Yasmin, tuna and crackers. She partook of the maggi with me. She spread tuna on the crackers, and offered them to surrounding fellow passengers.
She joked with the cabin crew. She made everyone feel comfortable with her, a celebrity on board. I am glad to have that chance encounter, albeit a brief one. She was very personable, very warm and down to earth. Genuinely a nice person.
I was sad to learn about her passing this morning from Roz. Memories of that flight came to my mind instantly. Tributes are pouring from all around the globe speak volume of the impact this talented director had left to us all through her works.
Truly, we are all given a limited time to do as much good as we can for this life and the next. There is no more once the time is up. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihirajiun. From Him we come, and unto Him we return. Rest in peace, Yasmin.
I, of course knew her films (at that time, she already had great success with Sepet and was about to launch Mukhsin) and her Petronas ads. So, I felt 'gabrah' when she chose to sit next to me, but she quickly put me at ease, and during the first half of the flight we chatted about a dozen of topics; general and personal. (During the other half, she busied herself with a portable computer game). She surprised me when she said she believed all Malays have Chinese ancestors. I thought she wanted to play with me and see my reaction. Probably because yours truly look like one. I too have Chinese ancestors, she said. And she was going to do a film about May 13th. I said, why would you want to do that? That is so risky! I wish I can recall what her response was.
When the stewardess came with the food trolley, I purchased a maggi-in-a-cup, and Yasmin, tuna and crackers. She partook of the maggi with me. She spread tuna on the crackers, and offered them to surrounding fellow passengers.
She joked with the cabin crew. She made everyone feel comfortable with her, a celebrity on board. I am glad to have that chance encounter, albeit a brief one. She was very personable, very warm and down to earth. Genuinely a nice person.
I was sad to learn about her passing this morning from Roz. Memories of that flight came to my mind instantly. Tributes are pouring from all around the globe speak volume of the impact this talented director had left to us all through her works.
Truly, we are all given a limited time to do as much good as we can for this life and the next. There is no more once the time is up. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihirajiun. From Him we come, and unto Him we return. Rest in peace, Yasmin.
Monday, July 20, 2009
'Angela's Ashes' author McCourt dies at 78
NEW YORK – Frank McCourt, the beloved raconteur and former public school teacher who enjoyed post-retirement fame as the author of "Angela's Ashes," the Pulitzer Prize-winning "epic of woe" about his impoverished Irish childhood, died Sunday of cancer.
McCourt, who was 78, had been gravely ill with meningitis and recently was treated for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer and the cause of his death, said his publisher, Scribner. He died at a Manhattan hospice, his brother Malachy McCourt said.
Until his mid-60s, Frank McCourt was known primarily around New York as a creative writing teacher and as a local character — the kind who might turn up in a New York novel — singing songs and telling stories with his younger brother Malachy and otherwise joining the crowds at the White Horse Tavern and other literary hangouts.
But there was always a book or two being formed in his mind, and the world would learn his name, and story, in 1996, after a friend helped him get an agent and his then-unfinished manuscript was quickly signed by Scribner. With a first printing of just 25,000, "Angela's Ashes" was an instant favorite with critics and readers and perhaps the ultimate case of the non-celebrity memoir, the extraordinary life of an ordinary man.
"F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. I think I've proven him wrong," McCourt later explained. "And all because I refused to settle for a one-act existence, the 30 years I taught English in various New York City high schools."
The book has been published in 25 languages and 30 countries.
McCourt, a native of New York, was good company in the classroom and at the bar, but few had such a burden to unload. His parents were so poor that they returned to their native Ireland when he was little and settled in the slums of Limerick. Simply surviving his childhood was a tale; McCourt's father was an alcoholic who drank up the little money his family had. Three of McCourt's seven siblings died, and he nearly perished from typhoid fever.
"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood," was McCourt's unforgettable opening. "People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty, the shiftless loquacious father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests, bullying schoolmasters; the English and all the terrible things they did to us for 800 long years."
The book was a long Irish wake, "an epic of woe," McCourt called it, finding laughter and lyricism in life's very worst. Although some in Ireland complained that McCourt had revealed too much (and revealed a little too well), "Angela's Ashes" became a million seller, won the Pulitzer and was made into a movie of the same name, starring Emily Watson as the title character, McCourt's mother.
Author Peter Matthiessen, who became friendly with McCourt after "Angela's Ashes" came out, said he was "stunned" when he read it.
"I remember thinking, 'Where did this guy come from?" Matthiessen said. "His book was so good, and it came out of nowhere."
The white-haired, sad-eyed, always quotable McCourt, his Irish accent still thick despite decades in the U.S., became a regular at parties, readings, conferences and other gatherings, so much the eager late-life celebrity that he later compared himself to a "dancing clown, available to everybody." His friend and fellow memoirist Mary Karr once kidded him that her idea of a rare book was an unsigned copy of "Angela's Ashes."
McCourt told The Associated Press in 2005 he wasn't prepared for fame.
"After teaching, I was getting all this attention," he said. "They actually looked at me — people I had known for years — and they were friendly and they looked me in a different way. And I was thinking, `All those years I was a teacher, why didn't you look at me like that then?'"
But the part of it he liked best, he said, was hearing "from all those kids who were in my classes."
"At least they knew that when I talked about writing I wasn't just talking through my hat," he said.
Much of his teaching was spent in the English department at the elite Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, where he defied the advice of his colleagues and shared his personal stories with the class; he slapped a student with a magazine and took on another known to have a black belt in karate.
After "Angela's Ashes," McCourt continued his story, to strong but diminished sales and reviews, in "'Tis," which told of his return to New York in the 1940s, and in "Teacher Man." McCourt also wrote a children's story, "Angela and the Baby Jesus," released in 2007.
More than 10 million copies of his books have been sold in North America alone, said Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc.
"We have been privileged to publish his books, which have touched, and will continue to touch, millions of readers in myriad positive and meaningful ways," Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy said in a statement.
McCourt was married twice and had a daughter, Maggie McCourt, from his first marriage.
His brother Malachy McCourt is an actor, commentator and singer who wrote two memoirs and, in 2006, ran for New York governor as the Green Party candidate. At least one of his former students, Susan Gilman, became a writer.
McCourt will be cremated, his brother said. A memorial service is planned for September.
___
Associated Press writer Tom McElroy contributed to this story.
Embak's Notes: I have Frank's 3 books and Malachy's book in case anyone wants to borrow. See my old post on Frank McCourt in 2007 here.
Friday, July 17, 2009
MRSM Old Boys and Girls
As a custom, the (old) boys and girls of MRSM KB Batch XX will sing the alma mater song everytime we convene. When the MC calls for all to stand in attention, the brain starts to work its magic, frantically combing out that hidden compartment that stores the words to the "Lagu Maktab", which we routinely sang at our weekly assemblies many, many moons ago. That's what we did recently when we gathered to celebrate the appointment of one of ours as Timbalan Menteri. (That's me in the middle in white tudung).
Here are the words:
wahai putera puteri bangsaku
ayuh segera menuju
mengikut gerak langkah maju
bersatu mencari ilmu
di zaman sains dan teknologi
negara perlukan jasamu
janganlah rasa malas lagi
bersatu memegang teraju
di maktab rendah sains m.a.r.a
tuntut ilmu jangan jemu
ikrar taat setia pada guru
berdisiplin selalu
hari ini hari mulanya
hari esok berjaya
lengkapkan segala yang ada
ke kuliah kita segera...
Note: This is actually a shameless, bragging post to let y'all know that I have friends in high places. Ehek.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Especially for you _deli
The following words I copy verbatim from MasterclassLady.Com.
"I was absolutely flabbergasted when I saw this video.
Apparently, young Gina suffers from autism, but this learning disability cannot diminish the astounding vocal talent of this young lady.
Her vocal passion and enthusiasm are absolutely inspiring and should be a source of encouragement and hope for all families who have to cope with a loved one with a similar disability.
When God closes one door, He most certainly opens another one!
Brava little Gina!"
"I was absolutely flabbergasted when I saw this video.
Apparently, young Gina suffers from autism, but this learning disability cannot diminish the astounding vocal talent of this young lady.
Her vocal passion and enthusiasm are absolutely inspiring and should be a source of encouragement and hope for all families who have to cope with a loved one with a similar disability.
When God closes one door, He most certainly opens another one!
Brava little Gina!"
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tips Hapuskan Lipas
Diambil dari email kawan Embak Ray, tuan Pak Malim, kucing yang alim. Embak belum cuba jadi tak tahu keberkesanannya, tapi Embak suka nak cuba sebab Embak tak tahan bau spray Baygon, Ridsect dan seumpanya.
1. Membunuh lipas dengan cara yang tidak bijak
Memijak atau memukul lipas dgn kasut atau suratkhabar atau penyapu.
Lipas betina ada ribuan telur halus dalam perutnya. Telur ini tidak pecah kerana sangat kuat. Ia akan bertaburan merata-rata tempat. Jika dah terbuat jugak, pastikan tempat terpenyeknya lipas itu dibersihkan dan dilap betul-betul dgn air dan sabun.
2. Membunuh lipas dgn cara natural tanpa insecticide dan tanpa racun
Sediakan botol yang ada kepala spray. Masukkan air yang telah dicampurkan dengan sabun mandi. Bila nampak aje lipas, spray ke atasnya. Lipas akan mati cepat sebab tidak dapat bernafas kerana ia bernafas dari kulit kepala sehingga ke kulit badan. Air dan sabun akan menutup lubang nafas mereka. Dapatlah jimat duit sikit daripada dok memperkayakan pembuat Baygon dan Ridsect. Gunakan duit tu untuk bersedekah.
3. Memerangkap lipas dgn cara natural tanpa insecticide dan tanpa racun
Sediakan botol kaca yang terbuka mulutnya seperti botol jam dan madu. Letakkan sedikit serbok kopi atau koko dalam botol.Letak berhampiran dinding atau tempat yang biasa nampak lipas. Biasanya lipas boleh panjat masuk botol tapi tak dapat nak keluar. Bila dah terperangkap, spray dgn air sabun.
Jika lipas merangkak-rangkak dan berterbangan macam filem ngeri Omputih, maka terpaksalah menggunakan racun untuk mengurangkannya. Buat racun buatan sendiri yang tidak sebahaya spray insecticide. Namun racun buatan sendiri ini tetap berbahaya, maka jauhkan daripada kanak-kanak.
4. Bahan-bahan untuk racun buatan sendiri:
Satu bahagian serbuk borik acid ( ini yang pembuat mee kuning dok kasik kita makan tu walaupun dah diharamkan oleh kerajaan )
Dua bahagian tepung gandum
Satu bahagian koko
Gaulkan dan letak di di dalam kotak kertas yang kecil. Jangan terhidu tau. Sebelum start process, ikat sapu tangan atau singlet kat muka supaya hidung tertutup.
Letakkan di tempat-tempat gelap seperti bawah kabinet dapur dan belakang almari dan sebagainya. BASUH TANGAN ANDA !!!!!!!!
Bahan-bahan ini menarik perhatian lipas. Lipas makan dan suapkan pula pada anak-anaknya yang dok lepak dalam telur warna cokelat. Anak-anaknya akan mati dan tak sempat membesar dan membiak.
Semoga info ini membawa manfaat pada yang mempunyai masaalah lipas.
1. Membunuh lipas dengan cara yang tidak bijak
Memijak atau memukul lipas dgn kasut atau suratkhabar atau penyapu.
Lipas betina ada ribuan telur halus dalam perutnya. Telur ini tidak pecah kerana sangat kuat. Ia akan bertaburan merata-rata tempat. Jika dah terbuat jugak, pastikan tempat terpenyeknya lipas itu dibersihkan dan dilap betul-betul dgn air dan sabun.
2. Membunuh lipas dgn cara natural tanpa insecticide dan tanpa racun
Sediakan botol yang ada kepala spray. Masukkan air yang telah dicampurkan dengan sabun mandi. Bila nampak aje lipas, spray ke atasnya. Lipas akan mati cepat sebab tidak dapat bernafas kerana ia bernafas dari kulit kepala sehingga ke kulit badan. Air dan sabun akan menutup lubang nafas mereka. Dapatlah jimat duit sikit daripada dok memperkayakan pembuat Baygon dan Ridsect. Gunakan duit tu untuk bersedekah.
3. Memerangkap lipas dgn cara natural tanpa insecticide dan tanpa racun
Sediakan botol kaca yang terbuka mulutnya seperti botol jam dan madu. Letakkan sedikit serbok kopi atau koko dalam botol.Letak berhampiran dinding atau tempat yang biasa nampak lipas. Biasanya lipas boleh panjat masuk botol tapi tak dapat nak keluar. Bila dah terperangkap, spray dgn air sabun.
Jika lipas merangkak-rangkak dan berterbangan macam filem ngeri Omputih, maka terpaksalah menggunakan racun untuk mengurangkannya. Buat racun buatan sendiri yang tidak sebahaya spray insecticide. Namun racun buatan sendiri ini tetap berbahaya, maka jauhkan daripada kanak-kanak.
4. Bahan-bahan untuk racun buatan sendiri:
Satu bahagian serbuk borik acid ( ini yang pembuat mee kuning dok kasik kita makan tu walaupun dah diharamkan oleh kerajaan )
Dua bahagian tepung gandum
Satu bahagian koko
Gaulkan dan letak di di dalam kotak kertas yang kecil. Jangan terhidu tau. Sebelum start process, ikat sapu tangan atau singlet kat muka supaya hidung tertutup.
Letakkan di tempat-tempat gelap seperti bawah kabinet dapur dan belakang almari dan sebagainya. BASUH TANGAN ANDA !!!!!!!!
Bahan-bahan ini menarik perhatian lipas. Lipas makan dan suapkan pula pada anak-anaknya yang dok lepak dalam telur warna cokelat. Anak-anaknya akan mati dan tak sempat membesar dan membiak.
Semoga info ini membawa manfaat pada yang mempunyai masaalah lipas.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Tribute to the Late King of Pop
A moving tribute with images from various stages of his life. How happy and cute he looked in his early years.
Was Michael Jackson a Muslim?
Here's one person's view of the matter. (Piece taken from this link).
Thursday July 2, 2009
Like many aspects of singer Michael Jackson's life, his religious faith remains a mystery. Rumors are that he had embraced Islam this past November, with others declaring that these reports are invalid. Jackson's family has not yet announced funeral and burial arrangements, but there is speculation that Jackson might be buried in accordance with Islamic tradition.
There are some clues that perhaps Michael Jackson had indeed embraced Islam:
His older brother, Jermaine, has been a Muslim for the past 20 years and has spoken publicly about his faith. He reportedly talked to his brother about Islam and was hoping that he might convert. When announcing his brother's death, Jermaine commented, "May Allah be with you, Michael, always."
In 2005-06, Jackson spent nearly a year living in the Muslim country of Bahrain.
In November 2008, several news agencies reported that Michael Jackson had embraced Islam in a brief ceremony in Los Angeles. Both the Telegraph and NY Post tabloids ran stories about the conversion.
However, there are also signs that perhaps these assumptions are misleading. Several Muslims who were reported to be present or involved in Jackson's conversion process have recently made statements indicating that they did not attend any conversion ceremony, and indeed had never even met the singer.
The Canadian Muslim singer Dawud Wharnsby Ali posted on his blog the following clarification: "Though our professional circles did cross-over slightly with various common professional acquaintances - I never had the honour or pleasure of meeting Michael Jackson personally, nor did we ever correspond on matters of our professions, personal lives or faiths."
Singer Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) also posted a statement: "Contrary to persistent press rumours, I was not at any kind of conversion ceremony for Michael Jackson."
In the end, only God knows the intentions of people's hearts, and He Alone is the One to judge.
Jackson's family has taken his body to a private funeral home, are awaiting an independent autopsy, and arrangements for his burial are confidential at this time. Michael Jackson's recently-released will, dated in 2002, does not mention any burial wishes. If the family believes that Jackson was indeed a Muslim, then he would presumably be buried in an Islamic burial ceremony (janazah). Such plans are not known or announced at this time.
Embak's notes: Allahualam. But I sincerely wish and hope MJ died triumphant. BTW, my sister Angah opined that my preoccupation with MJ's death proves that I have way too much free time.
Thursday July 2, 2009
Like many aspects of singer Michael Jackson's life, his religious faith remains a mystery. Rumors are that he had embraced Islam this past November, with others declaring that these reports are invalid. Jackson's family has not yet announced funeral and burial arrangements, but there is speculation that Jackson might be buried in accordance with Islamic tradition.
There are some clues that perhaps Michael Jackson had indeed embraced Islam:
His older brother, Jermaine, has been a Muslim for the past 20 years and has spoken publicly about his faith. He reportedly talked to his brother about Islam and was hoping that he might convert. When announcing his brother's death, Jermaine commented, "May Allah be with you, Michael, always."
In 2005-06, Jackson spent nearly a year living in the Muslim country of Bahrain.
In November 2008, several news agencies reported that Michael Jackson had embraced Islam in a brief ceremony in Los Angeles. Both the Telegraph and NY Post tabloids ran stories about the conversion.
However, there are also signs that perhaps these assumptions are misleading. Several Muslims who were reported to be present or involved in Jackson's conversion process have recently made statements indicating that they did not attend any conversion ceremony, and indeed had never even met the singer.
The Canadian Muslim singer Dawud Wharnsby Ali posted on his blog the following clarification: "Though our professional circles did cross-over slightly with various common professional acquaintances - I never had the honour or pleasure of meeting Michael Jackson personally, nor did we ever correspond on matters of our professions, personal lives or faiths."
Singer Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) also posted a statement: "Contrary to persistent press rumours, I was not at any kind of conversion ceremony for Michael Jackson."
In the end, only God knows the intentions of people's hearts, and He Alone is the One to judge.
Jackson's family has taken his body to a private funeral home, are awaiting an independent autopsy, and arrangements for his burial are confidential at this time. Michael Jackson's recently-released will, dated in 2002, does not mention any burial wishes. If the family believes that Jackson was indeed a Muslim, then he would presumably be buried in an Islamic burial ceremony (janazah). Such plans are not known or announced at this time.
Embak's notes: Allahualam. But I sincerely wish and hope MJ died triumphant. BTW, my sister Angah opined that my preoccupation with MJ's death proves that I have way too much free time.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ex Jemco Staff Reunion
Pernah dengar orang buat reunion untuk bekas kawan-kawan sekerja? Kalau reunion rakan sekolah biasalah kan? Tapi itulah yang Embak sertai siang tadi bersama dengan bekas staf Jemco Sdn Bhd. Walaupun Embak telah meninggalkan syarikat ini sejak 1997, Embak masih lagi berhubung dengan rakan-rakan Embak walaupun ramai dari mereka telah berhijrah ke pekerjaan baru. Tapi ramai juga yang sudah terputus hubungan. Yang moleknya, perjumpaan ini dicetuskan oleh cadangan bos-bos kami yang lama; rasa gumbira pula apabila bos-bos yang rindu pada staf.
Alhamdulillah, seramai 60 orang dapat hadir bersama pasangan dan ahli keluarga mereka hadir pada reunion sulung ini.
Lokasi yang kami pilih ialah di restoran D'Saji Felda Villa, yang terletak di Jalan Perumahan Gurney. Para hadirin memberi maklumbalas mereka berpuashati dengan hidangan dan suasana tempat. Aturcara majlis santai sahaja memandangkan masing-masing sibuk nak catch-up dengan berita terkini.
Yang riuhnya ialah pada 1 jam yang terakhir apabila peluang dibuka untuk peserta ke mikrofon; ramai yang mengambil kesempatan untuk bernostalgia. Kesimpulannya, kami semua sangat teruja dan berasa bertuah dapat melalui suatu waktu bekerja di bawah satu bumbung di Jemco dahulu.Hasil daripada reunion ini, Embak peroleh satu database untuk diedarkan untuk kegunaan jemputan kenduri-kendara sementara menunggu reunion yang akan datang. Maklumlah, masing dah ada anak-anak teruna dan dara.
Nota sisi: Secara tak sengaja, Embak berpakaian hitam ke majlis ini. Sub-consciously, I am still in mourning.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Blue
This is truly a sad day, the weather seems to agree. The passing of Micheal Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett, two great icons of my younger days, affirm (yet again) that I am getting older, and the distance to the grave is getting shorter.
Non, the DJ on Lite & Easy played Micheal Jackson's songs back to back while I drove to work, and I bawled like a child in tantrums. After lunch, I started to feel a vein in my head throb, signalling a looming migraine, so I cancelled all my afternoon appointments.
A quiet afternoon alone hopefully will revive me. I am mourning.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Mendekati Faisal Tehrani
Beberapa hari lepas, Embak berpeluang mengenali Faisal Tehrani melalui rancangan Malaysia Hari Ini semasa sarapan pagi di dapur. Satu nama tersohor dalam sastera tanahair tetapi baru pertama kali Embak ketahui. Terukkan Embak? Setelah pergi ke blog beliau, barulah Embak lebih maklum tentang penglibatan dan sumbangan beliau.
"Hobi saya ialah membaca, kalau ada masa lapang saya akan membaca terutama novel tulisan Faisal Tehrani. Saya bercita-cita untuk menjadi seorang ahli fizik, disebabkan tidak ramai orang Melayu menjadi ahli fizik. - Nik Nur Madihah Nik Mohd. Kamal, mencatat keputusan cemerlang 20A dalam SPM."
Embak memang ketinggalan zaman!
Dalam sessi temuramah di Malaysia Hari Ini, FT menceritakan semasa beliau di bangku sekolah, beliau telah menalipon A Samad Said untuk bertemu; maka mereka berjumpa di Masjid Negara selepas solat Jumaat. FT meminta tips bagaimana menjadi penulis yang baik. Pak Samad bilang, ada 5 perkara. Membaca, membaca, membaca, membaca dan kelima, menulis. FT bertanya, kalau yang kelima juga membaca, bagaimana? Pak Samad bilang, orang itu akan jadi pembaca! Alahai, Pak Samad bercerita tentang Embaklah tu.
Embak sebenarnya berangan nak jadi penulis, tapi masih belum nampak bakatnya. Setakat blog, bolehlah. Itupun caca-marba. Karya-karya FT nampak gaya macam heavy je. Nanti pelan-pelan Embak nak intai kat Perpustakaan Negara.
Embak tertarik dengan nama pena FT, kenapa dia pilih Tehran ya? Mungkin dia pernah tinggal di sana kot. Ramai orang memakai nama tempat kelahiran sebagai gelaran mereka, seperti ulama-ulama dahulu, yang kalau hujungnya al-Fatani, atau al-Kelantani, kita tahu asal mereka adalah dari Patani,Kelantan dsb. Embak tinggal di Bandar Tun Razak, maka nama-nama yang mungkin Embak pakai ialah Embak Bandari, Embak BT Razaki, Embak Bantunrazi .....
"Hobi saya ialah membaca, kalau ada masa lapang saya akan membaca terutama novel tulisan Faisal Tehrani. Saya bercita-cita untuk menjadi seorang ahli fizik, disebabkan tidak ramai orang Melayu menjadi ahli fizik. - Nik Nur Madihah Nik Mohd. Kamal, mencatat keputusan cemerlang 20A dalam SPM." Embak memang ketinggalan zaman!
Dalam sessi temuramah di Malaysia Hari Ini, FT menceritakan semasa beliau di bangku sekolah, beliau telah menalipon A Samad Said untuk bertemu; maka mereka berjumpa di Masjid Negara selepas solat Jumaat. FT meminta tips bagaimana menjadi penulis yang baik. Pak Samad bilang, ada 5 perkara. Membaca, membaca, membaca, membaca dan kelima, menulis. FT bertanya, kalau yang kelima juga membaca, bagaimana? Pak Samad bilang, orang itu akan jadi pembaca! Alahai, Pak Samad bercerita tentang Embaklah tu.
Embak sebenarnya berangan nak jadi penulis, tapi masih belum nampak bakatnya. Setakat blog, bolehlah. Itupun caca-marba. Karya-karya FT nampak gaya macam heavy je. Nanti pelan-pelan Embak nak intai kat Perpustakaan Negara.
Embak tertarik dengan nama pena FT, kenapa dia pilih Tehran ya? Mungkin dia pernah tinggal di sana kot. Ramai orang memakai nama tempat kelahiran sebagai gelaran mereka, seperti ulama-ulama dahulu, yang kalau hujungnya al-Fatani, atau al-Kelantani, kita tahu asal mereka adalah dari Patani,Kelantan dsb. Embak tinggal di Bandar Tun Razak, maka nama-nama yang mungkin Embak pakai ialah Embak Bandari, Embak BT Razaki, Embak Bantunrazi .....
Monday, June 22, 2009
Antara 2 Mekanik
Semenjak Embak bekerja sendiri, Embak bertukar ke mekanik di tempat tinggal Embak di Bandar Tun Razak ni. Setelah beberapa percubaan, Embak berjumpa dengan seorang mekanik yang Embak lantik sebagai mekanik peribadi sebab dia caj dengan adil, dan hasil kerjanya bolehlah tahan. Embak tahu, dia tak handal, tapi kalau setakat tukar minyak hitam dan perkara-perkara asas ni Embak hantar je kereta kat dia. Katakanlah mekanik ni Abu.
Selang tiga lot dari woksyop Abu ni ada satu lagi woksyop, Embak samarkan dia dengan nama Woksyop Ah Beng. Woksyop Ah Beng ni lagi popular dari Woksyop Abu. Ramai warga BTR dan sekitarnya melanggani woksyop ini. Satu hari, kereta Embak rosak; susah tukar gear. Abu pun tukarkanlah partnya. Kena dalam RM500. Tapi problem masih tak selesai. Embak bawa senyap-senyap ke Woksyop Ah Beng. Dia bukak bonet, pastu tuang sikit minyak kat tempat yang rosak tu, terus masalah selesai. Happylah Embak. Si Ah Beng tak nak ambil sesen pun. Alamak, Embak dah malu. Tapi Embak tahu, Ah Beng dah pasang "goodwill".
Selang dua tiga bulan, gear kereta buat hal lagih. Embak mengadu kat Pak Abu; haritukan, Ah Beng tuang minyak sikit dah ok. Abu tak tahu minyak apa yang Ah Beng pakai. Kesudahannya, Embak suruh abah Embak pergi hantar kat Ah Beng sebab nak hantar sendiri, diri sudah segan. Guess what? Ah Beng tuang sikit minyak, dan gear pun ok, sampailah sekarang. Duit, sesen pun dia tak nak ambik. Sudah 2 kali "goodwill".
Alkisah, kawan abah Embak hantar keretanya ke seorang mekanik di Taman Midah. Masalahnya mudah sahaja, ada benda tersumbat, caj mungkin dalam RM50 sahaja. Tapi nak repair benda tu, kena keluarkan enjin kereta; caj tu yang mahal kena RM500. Pakcik ni bawak kereta dia ke kedai Ah Beng, mekanik dia pakai "blower", terus benda tersumbat tu keluar, selesai masalah. Pun tak ambik duit.
Begitulah pendekatan Ah Beng. Kalau dah sekali terhutang budi, lain kali mesti servis kereta kat woksyop diakan? Tak dinafikan Ah Beng terrer betul diagnose dan selesaikan masalah (macam House M.D). Ini yang buat Embak serba salah. Kalau Embak tak sokong Abu, sampai bila pulak dia nak terrer repair keretakan? So, Embak terus hantar kereta kat Abu. Kalau dia tak boleh buat, barulah Embak hantar kat Ah Beng. Buat muka sepuluh sen je la. Tapi kena sorok-sorok, nanti Abu merajuk.
Selang tiga lot dari woksyop Abu ni ada satu lagi woksyop, Embak samarkan dia dengan nama Woksyop Ah Beng. Woksyop Ah Beng ni lagi popular dari Woksyop Abu. Ramai warga BTR dan sekitarnya melanggani woksyop ini. Satu hari, kereta Embak rosak; susah tukar gear. Abu pun tukarkanlah partnya. Kena dalam RM500. Tapi problem masih tak selesai. Embak bawa senyap-senyap ke Woksyop Ah Beng. Dia bukak bonet, pastu tuang sikit minyak kat tempat yang rosak tu, terus masalah selesai. Happylah Embak. Si Ah Beng tak nak ambil sesen pun. Alamak, Embak dah malu. Tapi Embak tahu, Ah Beng dah pasang "goodwill".
Selang dua tiga bulan, gear kereta buat hal lagih. Embak mengadu kat Pak Abu; haritukan, Ah Beng tuang minyak sikit dah ok. Abu tak tahu minyak apa yang Ah Beng pakai. Kesudahannya, Embak suruh abah Embak pergi hantar kat Ah Beng sebab nak hantar sendiri, diri sudah segan. Guess what? Ah Beng tuang sikit minyak, dan gear pun ok, sampailah sekarang. Duit, sesen pun dia tak nak ambik. Sudah 2 kali "goodwill".
Alkisah, kawan abah Embak hantar keretanya ke seorang mekanik di Taman Midah. Masalahnya mudah sahaja, ada benda tersumbat, caj mungkin dalam RM50 sahaja. Tapi nak repair benda tu, kena keluarkan enjin kereta; caj tu yang mahal kena RM500. Pakcik ni bawak kereta dia ke kedai Ah Beng, mekanik dia pakai "blower", terus benda tersumbat tu keluar, selesai masalah. Pun tak ambik duit.
Begitulah pendekatan Ah Beng. Kalau dah sekali terhutang budi, lain kali mesti servis kereta kat woksyop diakan? Tak dinafikan Ah Beng terrer betul diagnose dan selesaikan masalah (macam House M.D). Ini yang buat Embak serba salah. Kalau Embak tak sokong Abu, sampai bila pulak dia nak terrer repair keretakan? So, Embak terus hantar kereta kat Abu. Kalau dia tak boleh buat, barulah Embak hantar kat Ah Beng. Buat muka sepuluh sen je la. Tapi kena sorok-sorok, nanti Abu merajuk.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ayoyo... Orang kampung gue..
Woman fined to tune of $1.9 million for illegal downloads
(CNN) -- A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.
Illegal downloads of musical files will cost a Minnesota woman $1.9 million, a jury has decided.
Jammie Thomas-Rasset's case was the first such copyright infringement case to go to trial in the United States, her attorney said.
Attorney Joe Sibley said that his client was shocked at the fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents.
She plans to appeal, he said.
Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said the association was "pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable."
"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," she said.
Thomas-Rasset downloaded work by artists such as No Doubt, Linkin Park, Gloria Estefan and Sheryl Crow.
This was the second trial for Thomas-Rasset. The judge ordered a retrial in 2007 after there was an error in the wording of jury instructions.
The fines jumped considerably from the first trial, which granted just $220,000 to the recording companies.
Thomas-Rasset is married with four children and works for an Indian tribe in Minnesota.
(CNN) -- A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.
Illegal downloads of musical files will cost a Minnesota woman $1.9 million, a jury has decided.
Jammie Thomas-Rasset's case was the first such copyright infringement case to go to trial in the United States, her attorney said.
Attorney Joe Sibley said that his client was shocked at the fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents.
She plans to appeal, he said.
Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said the association was "pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable."
"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," she said.
Thomas-Rasset downloaded work by artists such as No Doubt, Linkin Park, Gloria Estefan and Sheryl Crow.
This was the second trial for Thomas-Rasset. The judge ordered a retrial in 2007 after there was an error in the wording of jury instructions.
The fines jumped considerably from the first trial, which granted just $220,000 to the recording companies.
Thomas-Rasset is married with four children and works for an Indian tribe in Minnesota.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
'House' is world's most popular TV show
Hugh Laurie stars as the unconventional medical genius Doctor Gregory House.
Fri Jun 12, 7:21 am ET (extracted from Yahoo! news)
PARIS (AFP) – US drama "House", starring Britain's Hugh Laurie as unconventional medical genius Doctor Gregory House, out-gunned rivals in 2008 to become the world's most watched show on television.
According to ratings agency Eurodata TV Worldwide, House and his team of canny diagnosticians last year gathered more than 81.8 million viewers in 66 countries, representing a potential 1.6 billion viewers.
That was far more than the 2007 and 2006 winners in the same TV drama category, "CSI: Las Vegas", about a team of forensic experts, and its spin-off "CSI: Miami".
In the TV comedy category, the US female-star cast of "Desperate Housewives" for the second year running beat "Monk" (US) and "Ugly Betty" (US), attracting 65.3 million viewers worldwide in 2008.
"The Bold and the Beautiful", also a US show, with 24.5 million viewers was the most popular soap for the second consecutive year, thrashing Mexican telenovela "Marina" and US competitor "The Young And The Restless."
Embak's notes: In case you don't know already, 'House' is my most favourite show on tv for the past 5 years.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Gold- beyond its glitter
Dalam Embak berangan nak tulis artikel mengempen kawan-kawan pembaca blog ini membeli emas, Embak menjenguk blog-blog teman-teman agen Public Gold yang lain. Rupanya mereke lebih kedepan. Banyak maklumat telah mereka kongsikan. Pergi lihat blog En. Shukor, dan En. Nizam mengapa di masa kini emas adalah pelaburan yang sangat logika.
Embak rasa terkesan dengan hadis Rasulullah S.A.W:
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Maryam melapurkan beliau mendengar Rasulullah S.A.W bersabda, "akan pasti datang satu masa tiada lagi yang berguna kepada manusia melainkan dinar dan dirham."
- Musnad Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Embak berpendapat, sebab utama kenapa kita perlu membeli emas sekarang, lebih dari mendapat untung pelaburan emas, adalah untuk menyelamatkan nilai harta kita. Emas kalis inflasi. Buktinya, semasa zaman Rasulullah dahulu, 1 dinar emas boleh beli seekor kambing; sekarang juga 1 dinar emas (yang sekarang bernilai sekitar RM500) juga boleh beli seekor kambing!
Sekiranya kita ada simpanan di bank, ASB, dalam gerobok, bawah katil etc., eloklah ditukar bentuknya ke emas. Tapi janganlah semua. Nanti nak beli aiskerim pun tak ada pitih. Kenapa?
Kalau dibiarkan dalam bentuk kertas (RM, USD, Euro etc), nilainya akan diragut oleh hiperinflasi (inflasi yang teruk) yang sedang berdikit-dikit melanda dunia. Penyebab utama hiperinflasi ini berpunca dari tindakan Amerika "menyuntik" USD 1 trillion ke pasaran matawang dalam usaha nak "menyelamatkan" ekonomi negara mereka yang dah bankrap. Wang kertas yang langsung tak ada sandaran emas. Masih samar-samar? Google "fiat money", "Bretton Woods", anda akan lebih jelas.
Adakah Embak terlalu pesimistik? Sebenarnya banyak betul pembohongan dan manipulasi matawang selama ini yang kita tak tahu. Melambak maklumat di internet. Sebab itulah, dah banyak pertubuhan menggunakan emas sebagai matawang sebab duit kertas sebenarnya tiada nilai. Sebab itu juga, Tun Dr. M amat bersemangat mahukan perdagangan OIC menggunakan dinar emas. Kalau pakai emas, OIC dan OPEC akan lebih powerful. Menurut cerita, Tun pernah jumpa dengan Raja Saudi, beritahu baginda kepentingan dinar emas ini, tapi Raja Saudi tak faham. Baginda ingat Tun nak pinjam duit nak beli emas. @%#$&! Apa daa...
Akhir kalam, kalau nak beli emas, call lah Embak. Nanti boleh story lagi.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
* Spoiler Alert - House MD Season 5 Finale
Saw this picture when I was looking for info on House finale which has not quite made to our tvs yet. Dr. Chase and Dr. Cameron got married! Aren't they a cute couple? To think that they were actually once engaged to each other in real life, how hard was it to act it out for a tv show? But then, they are actors.
The DVD set for season 5 will come out some time in August. The bootleggers are probably selling them already at Feringghi Night Market :D
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Damage Done
Kawan Embak, Kak U suka menggunakan istilah “Damage Done” untuk setiap musibah yang memaksa keluar belanja. Contohnya, bila paip di dapurnya tersumbat, dia kata, “Tadi Akak kena panggil si Yap betulkan paip, damage done enampuluh ringgit!”.Akhir-akhir ni Embak pula kena "Damage Done", bertimpa-timpa. Dua minggu lepas, tayar kereta Embak pancit. Kereta dan Embak tersadai di tepi Federal Highway dekat 2 jam jugak sebelum trak tarik datang. Masa tu damage done seratus empat puluh ringgit. Sabtu baru-baru ni, tayar yang lain pulak pancit. Nasib baik dah dekat dengan kedai tayar. Sebenarnya, Embak dah lama tak tukar tayar; dah banyak tahun jugak Embak bukan setakat gasak malah lanyak sampai haus. Apatah lagi shock absorber yang tak pernah ditukar sejak sebelas tahun lalu. Spark plug pun Embak boleh pakai sampai pecah. Kiranya Embak dah perah habis-habisan hayat parts kereta. Bukannya sengaja, sebetulnya tak ambil pot. Bila mekanik rekomen Embak tukar semua, Embak pun bulatkan hati, ikut saja walaupun lumayan damage donenya; kena seribu empat ratus tiga puluh ringgit!
Pagi tadi, dalam Embak bergegas nak ke kursus satu hari, kereta Embak enggan nak mula. Aisey, baterilah pulak kong. Damage done lagih. Mekanik Embak kata, tukar aje kereta, kurang sakit kepala. Embak sengeh. Sekali-sekala fening boleh tahan lagi. Tapi fening setiap bulan bayar ansuran kereta, Embak tak sanggup. Patutnya dia gembira, orang macam Embak dok berulang ke woksyop dia. Rasanya akan bertahan dengan Iswara antik nih. Sesiapa yang kesiankan Embak, boleh belikan Embak yang dalam gambar atas tu sebijik. Pastu, Embak kena carik sorang untuk taja belanja aelenggaranya pulak..
Friday, May 22, 2009
To each, his/her own
Hurrah! My fav contestant, Kris Allen won this year’s American Idol. To add sugar to the pudding was his win was unexpected by the judges, who had proclaimed Adam Lambert the champion since very early of the season. I wish I had the picture of their faces when Kris Allen’s name was announced as the winner. Even Kris Allen was shocked (see picture). That makes my choice come out tops two years running; last year I was on the money with David Cook. My other favourite this season is Matt Giraud, who appeared nervous in most of his live performances, but sounded fantastic in the studio recordings.
My past favourite contestants were Anwar Robinson (Anwar who?), Melinda Doolittle and Elliot Yamin, whom to date is still my most favourite. So, what can you surmise by my choices? That I am a middle of the pack, non-risk taker, non-confrontational, gentle, sensitive, peace loving, war hating person? You bet I am.
Here's the video of Mr Allen's gorgeous studio recording of the song, Falling Slowly.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Inside an insurance agency
I received this sms from my Agency Manager near midnight 9th May, 2009.
" AGENCY MEETING – 12th MAY 2009 10 AM. Attendance is compulsory. Pls be there yrself. There will be some changes on rules in my agency. Those who do not attend don’t start singing that u r not aware on this n that. C u all team. Pls b punctual meeting will start sharp. Time is MONEY. "
Hmm.. i wonder what storm is brewing in my manager's cup. But I suspect it's just an enticement for us to come to the meeting. Ha ha! Bad seniors!
ETA 12th May, 2009 5.20 pm - My manager means business! He says he is not our boss; rather we, the agents and he are business partners. So, from now on, we have to pay for each fax that goes out and comes in via his fax machine; RM 0.50 for incoming, RM1 for local outgoing, RM3 for outstation outgoing and RM5 for international outgoing. The two senior agents are too worn out to argue. We are going to install a fax machine in our houses and thus we now have less reason to show up at the office.
" AGENCY MEETING – 12th MAY 2009 10 AM. Attendance is compulsory. Pls be there yrself. There will be some changes on rules in my agency. Those who do not attend don’t start singing that u r not aware on this n that. C u all team. Pls b punctual meeting will start sharp. Time is MONEY. "
Hmm.. i wonder what storm is brewing in my manager's cup. But I suspect it's just an enticement for us to come to the meeting. Ha ha! Bad seniors!
ETA 12th May, 2009 5.20 pm - My manager means business! He says he is not our boss; rather we, the agents and he are business partners. So, from now on, we have to pay for each fax that goes out and comes in via his fax machine; RM 0.50 for incoming, RM1 for local outgoing, RM3 for outstation outgoing and RM5 for international outgoing. The two senior agents are too worn out to argue. We are going to install a fax machine in our houses and thus we now have less reason to show up at the office.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Asmaul Husna - Al Mannan
Al Mannan is one of Allah's names. It means, among other things, reminding about one’s good deeds. But this attribute belongs to Allah alone. The humans are not allowed to remind others (mengungkit) (even while talking to Allah) of their good deeds. Allah says in Al Baqarah 263-264:
(Translation):
**Kind words and forgiving (of faults) are better than charity followed by injury. And Allah is Rich (Free of all needs) and He is Most-Forbearing.
O you who believe! Do not render in vain your Sadaqah by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen of men, and he does not believe in Allah, nor in the Last Day. His likeness is the likeness of a smooth rock on which is a little dust, on it falls heavy rain which leaves it bare. They are not able to do anything with what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.**
How not to commit mannan? The ulama recommend that after one does a good deed, shut up and forget about it!
(Translation):
**Kind words and forgiving (of faults) are better than charity followed by injury. And Allah is Rich (Free of all needs) and He is Most-Forbearing.
O you who believe! Do not render in vain your Sadaqah by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen of men, and he does not believe in Allah, nor in the Last Day. His likeness is the likeness of a smooth rock on which is a little dust, on it falls heavy rain which leaves it bare. They are not able to do anything with what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.**
How not to commit mannan? The ulama recommend that after one does a good deed, shut up and forget about it!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Misriyyun Yattahaddasu Kelantayyun
To Sal: Remember our moments in the underground tunnel, Al Azhar Mosque and Khan al Khalili? O baby, those memories came crushing thru...
Economic Meltdown Lecture
The intended speaker, Umar Vadillo was a no-show at al Hunafa today. As replacement, Dr Ahmad Kameel Mydin Meera (profile here) lectured. He is an Associate Professor at Economics and Management Sciences Faculty, UIA. If you google his name, you will find that he's a proponent of the gold dinar; a regular speaker at Islamic Finance and Economics meets, as well as a much sought-after consultant.
His delivery was simple and easily understood by this layperson on a topic so academic. He explained the fundamental flaws of the conventional monetary system namely 1) fiat money; 2) fractional reserve requirement; and 3) interest rates have caused the global crisis that the world is experiencing now. The recent 1 trillion USD that the US is printing (out of nothing) will create hyperinflation the world over; its domino effect will hit Malaysia within this year or next, thus rendering the value of our money in the bank much reduced. Our best defence, he says is to invest our money in land, commodities or gold, and do it ASAP!
So friends, let be forewarned. Do not let your savings sit idly in the bank. If you choose to buy gold, I know a source.
BTW, do you know how much a trillion is? It is a million millions. Question: If you were to spend 1 million dollars a day, how many years will a trillion dollars run out?
His delivery was simple and easily understood by this layperson on a topic so academic. He explained the fundamental flaws of the conventional monetary system namely 1) fiat money; 2) fractional reserve requirement; and 3) interest rates have caused the global crisis that the world is experiencing now. The recent 1 trillion USD that the US is printing (out of nothing) will create hyperinflation the world over; its domino effect will hit Malaysia within this year or next, thus rendering the value of our money in the bank much reduced. Our best defence, he says is to invest our money in land, commodities or gold, and do it ASAP!
So friends, let be forewarned. Do not let your savings sit idly in the bank. If you choose to buy gold, I know a source.
BTW, do you know how much a trillion is? It is a million millions. Question: If you were to spend 1 million dollars a day, how many years will a trillion dollars run out?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Mid-life crisis
I chuckled when somebody used this expression “ stand out like a white hair” instead of the usual “stand out like a sore thumb”. Different words, but you get the meaning straight away, right?
White hair is becoming a major concern to a lot of my peers (cough, cough). Once you start having them, there's no turning back. The way the white hair just sticks out in the mirror any which way you try to comb your hair can be unnerving. The message is beemed to you bright and clear, indeed.
My reaction when I first notice one white hair was to pluck it, but I stopped when someone warned me that it would just bring more. Why is it that when you pluck one white hair, more white hair will appear? The wonderful wide world web has the answer. Apparently, when you pluck a single hair, you damage the follicle and it takes a really long time for the replacement hair to grow back. So by the time it grows back, more white hairs have sprouted out in the same area.
So hold the itch, and let the white hair takes its time to crowd your crown. You can appease your anxiety dragon by having streaks of golden blonde, chestnut brown or indigo blue in place of the white hair. Or, get an afro!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Susan Boyle — Britain’s Got Talent — I Dreamed a Dream
Now that I know how to post videos, here's one more that I feel worth your time.
What a lovely surprise! It was a similar experience with Paul Potts from a while back. Have your tissues ready!
What a lovely surprise! It was a similar experience with Paul Potts from a while back. Have your tissues ready!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
David Archuleta
Can you picture, this very minute, in this rainy weather, David Archuleta could be sipping mineral water, licking his nervous lips before his concert tonight in Koalla Lumpoor. Seen here, (photo copied with permission from her facebook) is my friend Ja who is fofular herself, standing beside the cute American Idol 7 runner-up. Next time, if the winner David came to Malaysia, I would have to ring Ja up for a fix-up.
ETA: Ja told me that David Cook will be performing in Manila on 16th May and she won't be around for that concert. Truthfully, I am a fan of the AI David Cook, but not the rock music Cook is peddling post AI, even though his album went platinum.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Mr Mean
This is a true story related to me by my friend’s mother, Makcik N recently.
A 42-year old single Malay lady was introduced to and later married a 70-year old Malay widower. As newlyweds, they came to Makcik N's house once. She quit her government job to follow her husband on an overseas posting as a diplomat. After two years, the couple returned to Malaysia. Upon disembarkation at KLIA, the husband dropped the talak bomb on her. Soon after, he married another Malay lady who until then, was married to another man. The old man gave the first Malay lady RM30,000 for her tenure as wife. She is now jobless. She doesn’t care to ask for more money as she loves him still.
Now, whenever the old man comes on TV (for he is an important man), Makcik N would switch channel. I don’t blame her.
Someone said: I used to complain for not having shoes until I found someone with no feet.
A 42-year old single Malay lady was introduced to and later married a 70-year old Malay widower. As newlyweds, they came to Makcik N's house once. She quit her government job to follow her husband on an overseas posting as a diplomat. After two years, the couple returned to Malaysia. Upon disembarkation at KLIA, the husband dropped the talak bomb on her. Soon after, he married another Malay lady who until then, was married to another man. The old man gave the first Malay lady RM30,000 for her tenure as wife. She is now jobless. She doesn’t care to ask for more money as she loves him still.
Now, whenever the old man comes on TV (for he is an important man), Makcik N would switch channel. I don’t blame her.
Someone said: I used to complain for not having shoes until I found someone with no feet.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Points to ponder
I scoop this gem from another blog, whose owner has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative nerve disease.
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God [or your higher power] about what is going on in your life.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________.
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive, present moment.
8 . Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journeys are all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this really matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD [or your higher power] heals everything - but you have to ask Him/Her/It.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God [or your higher power] about what is going on in your life.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________.
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive, present moment.
8 . Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journeys are all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this really matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD [or your higher power] heals everything - but you have to ask Him/Her/It.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
How's this as a deterrent!
Blogger jailed for insulting the King
By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 3/04/2009 at 05:13 PM
The Criminal Court sentenced a blogger to 10 years in jail on Friday after he pleaded guilty to insulting His Majesty the King in a landmark conviction under the computer crimes law.
It was the first sentencing under the new Computer Crimes Act enacted in 2007.
Suwicha Thakhor, 34, admitted to doctoring photos of His Majesty and posting them on the Internet, according to a court statement.
He was initially sentenced to 20 years, but the court reduced the term to 10 years in prison because of his guilty plea. If he had been charged with lese majeste under the Criminal Code, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Suwicha, an oil engineer, was detained in January.
He wept after the sentence was handed down. A father of three, Suwicha told reporters he has a family to support and that he needs help.
The verdict comes after the three-month old government launched a campaign to prevent lese majeste on the internet. About 4,000 websites have been closed down in recent months.
By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 3/04/2009 at 05:13 PM
The Criminal Court sentenced a blogger to 10 years in jail on Friday after he pleaded guilty to insulting His Majesty the King in a landmark conviction under the computer crimes law.
It was the first sentencing under the new Computer Crimes Act enacted in 2007.
Suwicha Thakhor, 34, admitted to doctoring photos of His Majesty and posting them on the Internet, according to a court statement.
He was initially sentenced to 20 years, but the court reduced the term to 10 years in prison because of his guilty plea. If he had been charged with lese majeste under the Criminal Code, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Suwicha, an oil engineer, was detained in January.
He wept after the sentence was handed down. A father of three, Suwicha told reporters he has a family to support and that he needs help.
The verdict comes after the three-month old government launched a campaign to prevent lese majeste on the internet. About 4,000 websites have been closed down in recent months.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Loophole
Minggu lepas, semasa melalui jalan sebelah tanah perkuburan Kiara, Embak terlihat sebuah kereta Proton, alahai buruknya ditahan polis. Hati berkata, Apek manalah yang kena tahan ni, kesian! Bila tengok betul-betul, laa, rupa-rupanya kawan Embak. Tak pulak Embak berhenti, takut nak kacau daun. Lagipun masa tu kereta tengah banyak dan tak ada tempat berhenti pun.
Sejam kemudian Embak telefon kawan Embak, si Wong (bukan nama sebenar, dia Melayu). Sori, Embak kata, tak dapat nak berhenti tadi. Dia bercerita sengajaje dia berhenti kat situ, supaya polis tak boleh tahan lama-lama. Sudah banyak kali dia kena tahan sebab tak ada roadtax. Rupa-rupanya dah empat tahun member Embak ni bawak kereta tak bayar cukai. Bukan dia tak nak bayar, katanya, “ Siapa yang tak nak bayar roadtax? Saya bayar RM60, dapat rebet RM625, tapi polis yang tak bagi!”
Dia disenaraihitam oleh polis sebab tak jelaskan saman-saman dia yang lama-lama. Kenapa dia tak settlekan? Tu, Embak tak tanya pulak. Tapi hakikatnya, polis tak boleh saman dia atas sebab tak ada roadtax sebab polis yang blacklist dia in the first place. Anda nak cuba macam Wong? Hassellah sikit, tapi jimat duit!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Bahagia II
One galpal is in cloud nine. Next week, her long-lost one-time date is coming to Malaysia to see her. She is thrilled but at the same time terrified. It’s too fast. Considering she only googled him up two months ago. After which, they spend a few hours each day on skype. Then, he told her that his long pending divorce has been finalized; he’s a free man. How about her flying to America? No, she had been to America, remember? But he has never been to Malaysia, why not he come? OK, he said after she assured him she’ll not have cold feet and will indeed show up at KLIA.
My pal says they are both hopeful to take their friendship to the next level, but are realistic enough it might not take off. Whatever the outcome, i think their story is cute and good material for a teledrama, no? :)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Bahagia
Hari ni Embak bangun dengan gembiranya bila sedar hari ni hari Ahad, yay! boleh bersantai lagi. Emak dan abahpun nak ke kenduri orang kahwin, jadi tak payah masak makan tengahari. Jam 10.35 pagi dah sampai kat TTDI, kira 'punctual' jugak hari ni untuk kelas aqidah Dr Kabuye. Hari ni ustaz mengajar makna aqidah uluhiyah, berbeza dengan aqidah rububiyah. Antara lain kandungan ceramahnya ialah aqidah uluhiyah dicapai apabila seseorang itu percaya kepada Allah dalam percakapannya, di dalam hatinya dan manifestasikan dalam perbuatannya. Tetapi sekiranya seseorang itu terpaksa menyembunyikan keimanannya kerana terancam walhal di hatinya beriman, ianya dibolehkan seperti dalam kes Amar anak Yassir dan Sumayyah.
Selepas sessi di Al Hunafa, Embak sangat-sangat kepingin pergi ke Ikea dan MPH; kedua-duanya ada jualan murah di hari terakhir. Kedua-duanya pulak dekat dengan Taman Tun. Tapi disebabkan masa dah terhad, Embak kena pilih satu sahaja. Timbang punya timbang, kocek Embak akan lebih terjamin di kedai buku dari kedai serbaneka perabot, maka Embak pilih MPH. Al kisah, satupun buku Embak tak beli, sebab bila dilihat harga-harganya taklah semurah mana. Sebenarnya Embak mengharapkan harga tawaran setaraf Payless Books Warehouse Sale; mana nak dapat, wei. Lagipun buku-buku kat situ melaut banyaknya, dan tak tersusun; tengok sahaja dah lelah dibuatnya, hilang selera nak memilih.
Tapi kesudahannya, Embak balik rumah bawa balik empat buah buku baru juga, yang Embak beli di Big Bookstore di Atria. (Bab berbelanja, Embak memang pintar!) Kira boleh tahan murahlah. Semuanya RM56.80 untuk 4 buku yang Embak sangat-sangat suka: The Da Vinci Code, The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code, (yang dua ni sahlah nak mentelaah) dan The Almond Blossom oleh Chris Stewart dan Spain by the Horns oleh Tim Elliott (yang dua ni sebab masih terkenang rehlah di Sepanyol). Sebenarnya Embak nak cari buku Tales of the Alhambra oleh Washington Irving. Masa kat Sepanyol haritu, punyalah Embak menahan diri dari membeli walaupun harganya tak sampai 10 euro. Nak cari kat Malaysia kononnya. Tapi belum ada rezeki untuk jumpa.
Setakat ni dulu. Nak baca buku baru sebelum tidur :)
Selepas sessi di Al Hunafa, Embak sangat-sangat kepingin pergi ke Ikea dan MPH; kedua-duanya ada jualan murah di hari terakhir. Kedua-duanya pulak dekat dengan Taman Tun. Tapi disebabkan masa dah terhad, Embak kena pilih satu sahaja. Timbang punya timbang, kocek Embak akan lebih terjamin di kedai buku dari kedai serbaneka perabot, maka Embak pilih MPH. Al kisah, satupun buku Embak tak beli, sebab bila dilihat harga-harganya taklah semurah mana. Sebenarnya Embak mengharapkan harga tawaran setaraf Payless Books Warehouse Sale; mana nak dapat, wei. Lagipun buku-buku kat situ melaut banyaknya, dan tak tersusun; tengok sahaja dah lelah dibuatnya, hilang selera nak memilih.
Tapi kesudahannya, Embak balik rumah bawa balik empat buah buku baru juga, yang Embak beli di Big Bookstore di Atria. (Bab berbelanja, Embak memang pintar!) Kira boleh tahan murahlah. Semuanya RM56.80 untuk 4 buku yang Embak sangat-sangat suka: The Da Vinci Code, The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code, (yang dua ni sahlah nak mentelaah) dan The Almond Blossom oleh Chris Stewart dan Spain by the Horns oleh Tim Elliott (yang dua ni sebab masih terkenang rehlah di Sepanyol). Sebenarnya Embak nak cari buku Tales of the Alhambra oleh Washington Irving. Masa kat Sepanyol haritu, punyalah Embak menahan diri dari membeli walaupun harganya tak sampai 10 euro. Nak cari kat Malaysia kononnya. Tapi belum ada rezeki untuk jumpa.
Setakat ni dulu. Nak baca buku baru sebelum tidur :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Hola Madrid Redux
Pic: All smiles at the coaches' box, Bernabeu Stadium
2nd March, 2009
***************
We entered Madrid in the middle of morning rush-hour; too early to check-in, so we made the first stop at the famous Bernabeu stadium, home of Real Madrid, so proclaimed “the best club of the 20th century”. Me, am not really a big fan of Real Madrid (Real is Spanish for Royal), or club football for that matter. But since I was traveling with two young men who are football crazy, a stop at this place was inevitable, no?
That Monday morning, we were joined by about 30 other tourists including a group of noisy school children from England who paid 15 euro each to see up close the inside of an empty stadium and the pitch being groomed (the grass is real); and to walk through the players’ changing room, a mini museum, a trophy gallery and the press room. The final part of the tour was the Real Madrid shop where they really try to steal our money - would you believe 69 euro for a kid’s t-shirt! That’s like RM325, almost a month’s salary for bibik!
We then drove to Carrefour (sorry!) for tidbits before adjourning to the Islamic Centre for solat and lunch. At Al Zahra, the restaurant located at the centre’s basement we sat down to a three-course meal; our first proper meal in Spain. What I love about the centre was that we got to practice our smattering Arabic with the people there as the Arabs there speak Spanish and hardly any English. And we got free parking inside the compound. That’s a privilege as parking in Madrid is extremely difficult.
With our bellies full, we happily checked into our hotel, which is situated right smack in the city centre at 4 pm. We had to scrap our plan to the bullring as we dared not chance getting caught in the rush-hour traffic as we needed to return the car before 7 pm.
The three of us minus Sal then roamed the city on foot into the night until my nearly cramped, cold legs made me beg the guys to head back to the hotel. I saw many sides of Madrid that night. At one posh place, a group of well-dressed people were milling around a theater while not far away, homeless people sleep on the sidewalk, in the cold. At one point I found myself walking through a red light area, marked so by shops selling lurid stuff and “kufu-kufu malam” lining up the street. I also stumbled upon a Eurovision crew, probably covering the on-going election; and a group of not so young punks or rockers dressed in tights a’la Mick Jagger. Or they could be old gays promoting themselves. We also ran into a group of good-looking young Indonesians who could be models, Sinetron stars or children of the Indonesian elite. These Indonesians, they are everywhere, aren’t there? I remember meeting them, or hearing them in the dark as we ascended Mount Sinai last year.
The next day, we flew out of Madrid's Barajas International Airport into Frankfurt. On my birthday, I was in two different cities in Europe; what are the chances of it happening again? So, Adios Espana. It had been terrific.
After a day in Frankfurt, we flew back to Kuala Lumpur. Throughout the following week, for reasons I cannot fanthom, I was always forced to wake up with time zone calculations in my head. It's not jetlag, but something else....
Thank you Acu and Iqbal for the comraderie; and En Haizat and Puan Suharti for feeding us scrumptious Malaysian food and your warm hospitality; and the rest of Acu's friends for making the trip very enjoyable.
And Iqbal, should you ever read this blog, Kak Sal and I, lurve, lurve your German accent!
2nd March, 2009
***************
We entered Madrid in the middle of morning rush-hour; too early to check-in, so we made the first stop at the famous Bernabeu stadium, home of Real Madrid, so proclaimed “the best club of the 20th century”. Me, am not really a big fan of Real Madrid (Real is Spanish for Royal), or club football for that matter. But since I was traveling with two young men who are football crazy, a stop at this place was inevitable, no?
That Monday morning, we were joined by about 30 other tourists including a group of noisy school children from England who paid 15 euro each to see up close the inside of an empty stadium and the pitch being groomed (the grass is real); and to walk through the players’ changing room, a mini museum, a trophy gallery and the press room. The final part of the tour was the Real Madrid shop where they really try to steal our money - would you believe 69 euro for a kid’s t-shirt! That’s like RM325, almost a month’s salary for bibik!
We then drove to Carrefour (sorry!) for tidbits before adjourning to the Islamic Centre for solat and lunch. At Al Zahra, the restaurant located at the centre’s basement we sat down to a three-course meal; our first proper meal in Spain. What I love about the centre was that we got to practice our smattering Arabic with the people there as the Arabs there speak Spanish and hardly any English. And we got free parking inside the compound. That’s a privilege as parking in Madrid is extremely difficult.
With our bellies full, we happily checked into our hotel, which is situated right smack in the city centre at 4 pm. We had to scrap our plan to the bullring as we dared not chance getting caught in the rush-hour traffic as we needed to return the car before 7 pm.
The three of us minus Sal then roamed the city on foot into the night until my nearly cramped, cold legs made me beg the guys to head back to the hotel. I saw many sides of Madrid that night. At one posh place, a group of well-dressed people were milling around a theater while not far away, homeless people sleep on the sidewalk, in the cold. At one point I found myself walking through a red light area, marked so by shops selling lurid stuff and “kufu-kufu malam” lining up the street. I also stumbled upon a Eurovision crew, probably covering the on-going election; and a group of not so young punks or rockers dressed in tights a’la Mick Jagger. Or they could be old gays promoting themselves. We also ran into a group of good-looking young Indonesians who could be models, Sinetron stars or children of the Indonesian elite. These Indonesians, they are everywhere, aren’t there? I remember meeting them, or hearing them in the dark as we ascended Mount Sinai last year.
The next day, we flew out of Madrid's Barajas International Airport into Frankfurt. On my birthday, I was in two different cities in Europe; what are the chances of it happening again? So, Adios Espana. It had been terrific.
After a day in Frankfurt, we flew back to Kuala Lumpur. Throughout the following week, for reasons I cannot fanthom, I was always forced to wake up with time zone calculations in my head. It's not jetlag, but something else....
Thank you Acu and Iqbal for the comraderie; and En Haizat and Puan Suharti for feeding us scrumptious Malaysian food and your warm hospitality; and the rest of Acu's friends for making the trip very enjoyable.
And Iqbal, should you ever read this blog, Kak Sal and I, lurve, lurve your German accent!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Toledo
Pic: View from my hotel window & Toledo skyline at dusk.
I don't have many good photos of this city of Toledo, which was proclaimed a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1986. Under Arab rule, the city was called Tulaytulah.
Accoding to Wikipedia:
"Toledo reached its zenith in the era of Islamic Caliphate. Historian P. de Gayangos writes: The Muslim scientists of this age were not rivaled in the world. Perhaps among their greatest feats were the famous waterlocks of Toledo."
Most of the historical buildings are jam-packed in the old city, which is situated on a hilltop with a 150 degrees view, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tajo River. Our "hostal" was also situated here, daintily perched on the slopes and besides twisted alleys. Amongst the important buildings is the Alcázar, which we only saw from the outside as it is temporarily closed for renovation; the cathedral, which we saw from afar in between buildings, and two mosques which we wanted to see but didn't because it was past their opening hours. Needless to say, I lost some enthusiasm in Toledo as the weather was dreary and I guess the sights in Toledo just could not compete with the sights of Granada and Cordoba.
Our failed attempt to locate a kebab shop, and then a Pakistani restaurant that resorted us to settle for fillet-o-fish at McDonald's didn't help lift our spirit at all. I, for one was glad we left the next morning to our final destination, that is the metropolitan Madrid, a mere 1 hour drive away.
Medina Az Zahara
Medina Az Zahara was a palace and administrative complex built by Caliph Abd Rahman III who named it after his favourite wife which also means the radiant.
Excerpts from Rough Guide to Andalucia:
"10,000 workers and 1500 mules and camels were employed in the construction of Medina Az Zahara....In addition to the palace buildings, the complex contained a zoo, an aviary, four huge fish ponds, 300 baths, 400 houses, weapon factories, two barracks for the royal guard as well as numerous markets, workshops and mosques..... According to chronicles, visitors were stunned by its wealth and brilliance: one conference room contained a pile of pure crystals, creating a rainbow when lit by the sun; another was built round a huge shallow bowl of mercury which, when the sun rays fell on it, would be rocked by a slave, sending sunbeams reflected from its surface flashing and whizzing around the room, apparently alarming guests but greatly amusing the caliph".
What I saw that misty morning of 1st March, 2009 was ruins; ony a tenth of the original site had been excavated since its first rediscovery in 1905. Much of the place is still buried under the slopes and green pasture, on which I saw cows grazing. Concerted efforts to preserve the area only began in 1960s. Several reconstructed parts of the area reveal that the architecture is much the same as the contemporary Moors design of the time, similar to the design of the Mezquita in Cordoba city.
As we leave Medina Az Zahara for Toledo some 400km away, the view of much loved orange trees and extensive olive groves that had accompanied our journey throughout Andalucia passed by us. These trees are almost non-existent in Toledo nor Madrid.
Banos Arabes dan Mezquita
Pics: Tembok Luar Mezquita & Keindahan di dalamnya
Sabtu, 28 Februari 2009
*************
Destinasi kami berikutnya ialah ke Cordoba. Setelah mendalami buku Rough Guide to Andalucia dan peta, Embak mencadangkan singgah ke Jaen untuk melihat Banos Arabes, atau tempat mandi wap orang Moor kurun ke 13, yang asalnya sebahagian dari sebuah istana. Berpandukan GPS, Acu dengan cekapnya memandu melalui lorong-lorong sempit yang selayaknya untuk pejalan kaki sahaja. Mencari tempat letak kereta punyalah susah, nak buat illegal parking pun tak ada tempat. Akhirnya, kami terjumpa tempat kereta awam bawah tanah, dan menapak mencari Banos Arabes.
Orang-orang Jaen peramah betul. (Ada seorang mamat bertanya khabar pada Acu, "Ni hao?" -- lucu!) Beberapa orang melayan pertanyaan kami dalam bahasa isyarat dan ayam-itek, sehingga akhirnya seorang anak muda memimpin kami sehingga sampai ke tempat yang diidami. Rupa-rupanya Banos Arabes ini terletak di dalam sebuah bangunan yang kini dijadikan muzium lukisan “naïf” dan beberapa artifak pertanian tradisional; 3 dalam 1 gitu. Kami dilarang mengambil gambar di dalamnya, jadi tiadalah gambar yang Embak dapat tempel di sini.
Memandangkan kesuntukan waktu, Embak batalkan hasrat ke Baena, bandar yang terkemuka dengan penghasilan minyak zaitun. Sebenarnya, kat Espana ni banyak tempat-tempat menarik untuk diziarahi, tapi apokan dayo, kena pilih-memilih, kalau tak, hujung tahunpun tak balik Malaysia…
Kami akhirnya tiba di Cordoba dalam jam 3 petang. Dalam mencari-cari hotel kami, jalanraya pulak macet. Rupa-rupanya ada perarakan berkuda yang ditunggani oleh penduduk tempatan dengan pakaian tradisi mereka. Menarik, kami rasa bertuah, tapi pada masa yang sama mencemaskan kerana kami mengejar masa agar tidak terlepas waktu melawat “Mezquita”, masjid agam Moors indah yang berusia 1200 tahun, satu lagi ikon Andalucia. Tiket masuk berharga 8 euro, dan kami sempat di dalamnya hanya 30 minit sahaja sebelum ditutup.
Seperti di Alhambra, semua yang masuk buat pertama kali ke dalam bangunan ini mengeluarkan bunyi-bunyi kekaguman. Suasana di dalam bekas masjid ini semacam, mungkin kerana lampu didalamnya disuramkan. Embak disulami perasaan kagum, tetapi sedih dan geram kerana sebahagian besar masjid ini telah ditambah dengan patung-patung dan relik-relik Kristian, setelah kuasa Islam ditumbangkan. Embak kurang pasti samada bangunan ini masih digunakan sebagai gereja atau tidak, tapi Embak melihat di satu sudut semacam ada persiapan sebuah “Concert” pada sebelah malamnya.
Merujuk pada buku Rough Guide, ada restoran halal berselahan Mezquita. Malangnya restoran tu dah “bungkus”. Akhirnya, kami makan Paella Mariscos, masakan nasi Sepanyol dimasak dengan minyak zaitun dan makanan laut. Harganya 10 euro tak termasuk caj kualinya 1.90 euro, cukup untuk 2 orang makan. Taklah sesedap mana. Kalau orang Sepanyol makan nasi goreng Cina ke, nasi goreng kampong ke, mesti mereka takda nak aksyen dengan paella mereka.
Keesokan harinya, kami bercadang singgah ke Medina Az- Zahara, 7 km ke barat Cordoba sebelum ke Toledo.
Friday, March 06, 2009
A twist of fate & Grrranada!
********
Our party of four planned to enter Spain via Malaga, then proceed to Granada-Cordoba-Toledo and Madrid. But what we didn’t plan was to miss the flight! We reached the Frankfurt-Hahn airport 3 minutes shy of the last check-in call. The boys put to use their best German to reason with the airport officials that we came all the way from Weingarten, but to no avail. So what were we to do?
After mulling over a few options, we settled on buying another ticket to Madrid the next day. Pick our hired car in Madrid, scrap Malaga off our itinerary, and stick to the rest of our plan from Granada onwards. We accepted it as taqdir. Allahualam.
So, on 26th February, we flew into Madrid on Ryanair. The flight took over three hours. Spain's time is the same as Germany’s, so we needn't adjust our watches. After collecting our rented VW Jetta at the airport, my brother, being the designated driver consulted the excellent Garmin GPS and drove us to the Islamic Cultural Centre. What a relief to know that Islam is alive in Madrid, judging from the facilities at the centre and the respectable size of jemaah at Isya’ prayer that night. After dinner at Sinbad Restaurant, we hit the highway to Granada that is some 500km away. Alhamdulillah for my brother’s driving skill and his able co-pilot, we arrived in Granada at 3 am, and thanks to the GPS, finding the hotel was a breeze.
Friday, 27th February 2009, Alhambra
************************************
Our first day in Andalucia was dedicated to the famous Alhambra, that sits on a hill the Moors called Sabika, and the surrounding Albaicin. My brother has pre-booked the entry tickets for 2pm admission and it cost us 10 euros each. The Alhambra is basically divided into three parts; first Los Palacious Nazaries or the Nasrid Palaces, the Alcazabar or the fortress, and the Generalife, a luscious garden and summer palace.
Many praises have been given to this place that I was scared it would not live up to its honours. But my jaw dropped to the floor when I entered Los Palacious Nazaries. I overheard another visitor said that she had “goosebumps on her skull” – (is that possible?) – in describing her reaction to this place. You have to be there in person to experience the beauty and splendour of this place; the pictures, well at least my pictures don’t do justice. It’s a blessing that this delicate and beautiful masterpiece survived the time for us to appreciate and reflect. It tore me inside to see Arabic inscriptions and intricate carvings and floral motifs throughout the complex evidencing the height of Islam at one time in Spain.
We spent a good four hours at this complex – we would spend much longer if we were not chased out of the grounds as they close at 6 pm. (Apr-Oct hours 8.30am-8 pm.) We adjourned to the nearby souvenir shops. My regret was that I didn’t buy enough as the prices there is the cheapest compared to other parts of Spain. We returned to our hotel “Villa Blanca”, but the boys later ventured out for a mosque or Islamic Centre that eluded us during the first half of the day.
Granada is gorgeous to me for the Alhambra plus the ubiquitous orange trees that add colour to that place. I puzzled why people don’t eat the fruits off the trees; I just learnt that they are sour. The trees are so laden with this bright-coloured things that the oranges that fell under the trees looked like a chap-goh-meh aftermath.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Winter in Weingarten
Pic: Embak and Acu on his Campus grounds. Macam emak ngan anak kan?
Kami tiba di Frankfurt jam 6 pagi, 22 Februari 2009. Selepas memusing mencari surau di lapangan terbang, Allah jumpakan kami dengan seorang cleaner berwajah Arab. Dia tunjukkan satu ceruk untuk kami solat, siap dibentangkan untuk kami plastik.
Selesai solat, barulah berjaya hubungi Acu yang kami sudah sampai. Dia yang datang bermalam di Frankfurt menjemput kami ke rumah seorang staf JPA untuk sarapan. Alangkah bahagianya dihidangkan nasi lemak!
Selesai makan, kami mengikut Acu ke tempat persekolahannya di Weingarten, di selatan Jerman, 5 jam perjalanan dari Frankfurt. Dalam perjalanan, kami sempat singgah di kilang Porche dan Daimler dan solat di Masjid Stuttgart. Di Weingarten, Allah murahkan rezeki kami dapat tumpang tinggal di bilik seorang pelajar yang kebetulan tiada kerana buat praktikal di bandar lain. Kalau tidak, berhimpitlah di bilik Acu yang, walaupun sewanya sebulan 220 Euro, tak sampai 200 kaki persegipun saiznya.
Semasa di Jerman, kami sempat ke Lake Konstanz dan ke Zurich, Switzerland (melalui laluan indah negara-negara Alpine Austria dan Liechtenstein). Seronok dapat melihat salji, tapi sejuknya, brrr... boleh tahan. Selepas 3 hari di Jerman, kami berangkat ke Sepanyol yang hangat, seperti yang kami rancang.
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