Baju baru

Raya ni flat Embak akan berwajah baru, setelah mendapat biaya dari Unit Penyelarasan Perlaksanaan (ICU), Jabatan Perdana Menteri. Terima kasih banyak kepada Setiausaha Persatuan Penduduk, Puan Faridah yang telah bertungkus lumus membuat working paper. Pada mulanya, dijangka penduduk akan berkongsi 20% kos; alhamdulillah akhirnya mendapat 100% pembiayaan.

Blok C di peringkat lapisan asas

Blok D - menunggu giliran

Blok E dan F - sudah berganti baju

Selain dari cat baru, bumbung dan salur air juga akan diganti. Kos pembaikan dan cat semula hampir berjumlah RM1 juta. Sebanyak 4 blok  atau 320 unit rumah flat mendapat menafaat ini.

Flat Embak di Blok C; tinjauan tadi mendapati sekarang sedang di tahap "Base Coat". Blok E dan F telah siap dicat sepenuhnya.

I. Want

but my pocket says
I.Don't.Need

Yang Molek, Yang Jelek, Yang Pelik

Kisah benar 1:

J, pemuda 20 tahun menalipon saya untuk menempah emas 20g. Sebelum itu saya sudah pastikan yang dia betul-betul tidak memerlukan wang simpanan yang hendak digunakan untuk membeli emas tersebut. Almaklumlah dia masih belajar lagi. Dia kata pasti. Lepas itu dia menyuruh saya menghantar emas tersebut kepada ibu kawannya untuk disimpan. Boleh-boleh dia menyuruh saya meletakkan nama kawannya N dalam invois saya, walhal dia yang bayar. Terus saya bertanya "point-blank". "Awak nak book N ke?" Dia menjawab, "ya!!"

Apabila saya berjumpa dengan ibu N, ibu N menerangkan, beliau dah jumpa dengan J, dan sudah berkenan dengannya. Tapi dia memberitahu kepada J, semuanya terserah pada takdir. Kalau ada jodoh, tentu J dan N akan bersatu. Kalau boleh, biarlah tunggu sehingga kedua-duanya habis belajar. "Nanti kalau tak jadi, bagaimana?" tanya saya. Ibu N berkata, "J kata, emas tu kira rezeki N". Apakah kesudahannya? Nanti Embak akan update kalau ada perkembangan, insyaAllah. Embak sangat kagum dengan J yang berani, confident dan gentleman.

Kisah benar 2:

A, seorang gadis berkawan dengan seorang pemuda Y untuk beberapa bulan lamanya, dan menjadi serius sehingga membawanya berjumpa ibu-bapanya. Tup-tup, A berubah hati dan membatalkan perhubungan mereka. Bukannya sebab A ada kekasih baru. Y, mungkin kecewa, menuntut ganti rugi semua yang pernah dibelanjakan sepanjang perhubungan mereka. A akur, lalu setelah dihitung kesemuanya, membayar balik lebih RM4,000. Sampaikan dish TV yang dipasang di bumbung rumah A oleh Y dituntut agar dibuka dan dipulangkan kepadanya. A offer dish tv yang baru, tapi Y tak mahu. Memang sah, Y sakit hati. Nasib baiklah tak jadi kawin. Embak rasa terjawablah persoalan mengapa A bertindak untuk putuskan hubungan mereka in the first place.

Kisah benar 3:

M berkahwin dengan isterinya Disember lepas. Minggu ini, baru pihaknya membuat resepsi. Oleh kerana ibu bapa M telah membuat keputusan untuk tidak menyusahkan diri mereka, maka M buatlah majlis tersebut sendiri di rumah sewanya. Nasib baik, ibu saudaranya membantu menyiapkan bunga telur dan menempah katering. Ibunya akan datang menaiki bas dari kampung untuk turun meraikan majlis. Bapanya tidak dapat datang kerana urusan perniagaan. Saya bertanya kepada kawan saya iaitu ibu saudara M, samada M anak angkat. Kawan saya menjawab, tidak, anak sendiri! Kalau anda, sanggup buat begitu pada anak anda?

Begitulah 3 coretan hidup orang yang Embak secara tak sengaja telah terkongsi minggu lepas.

Chiang Mai Day 3

After breakfast we decided to explore the eateries around our hotel for authentic tomyam for surely a visit to Thailand would be incomplete without sampling tomyam in its native land. Much to our delight, we found several Halal restaurants in Anusarn Market, which is about 200 meters from our hotel, and all of them have tomyam on their menu. Satisfied with our survey, we returned to the hotel to rest.

Close to 9.30 am, we hailed a songtaew to Robinson's, the local mall which is located near the Airport. The mall opened at 11am, so it was a long wait outside the mall until we grew hot and sweaty. It was a relief when they opened the doors. We did some shopping and returned to the hotel for Zuhur before going back to Anusarn for lunch. 

We settled on a Chinese Muslim eatery and quickly set to order garoupa, steamed crab, seafood tomyam, omelette, broccoli and white rice. The tomyam was especially explosive followed by the steamed crab. Suffice to say, we cleaned up the plates save the bones. The bill came close to RM100 which was graciously settled by Sayyida. Thank you sistah.

Our original plan was to go the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, but we digressed to the massage centre. The fee for most types of massage/therapy was about half the price charged in Malaysia; between 180-200Baht. That's RM18-RM20 per hour. So, Zack and I signed up immediately for a half-hour reflexology session. We quickly realised that a half-hour was not going to be effective, so we extended to a full hour. Soon Ros joined in. Sayyida decided to skip the activity and returned to the hotel.

Zack's masseur who was the most fluent in English amongst her team-mates kept Zack and l entertained with her stories interspersed with a smattering of Malay words like Sedap? Sakit? Mahu? Tak Mahu? Ros went to sleep immediately after she settled in the recliner, and the massage lady began to work on her feet. The session was tremendous, so all three of us made an appointment for another session later that night. Fed and relaxed, we settled for a siesta in bed. I napped the longest.

Night time, we went to Anusarn for more shopping. Mid-way, we heard the sound of explosives. Above the canopies, up in the sky there was a display of fireworks. I asked one vendor lady what was happening. She said there was a government function, but methinks it's the work of some Americans celebrating 4th of July.

Bright lights inside and outside Anusarn night market.

We had to cut short our shopping for our 9 pm appointment at the massage centre. This time all three of us chose back, neck, hand and head massage. No oil was applied, as this was a Thai traditional massage. Suffice to say, it was another enjoyable experience. Something that I would repeat. I attest to the skill of my masseur as I didn't get blue black marks on my body, and I felt great afterwards.

The next day, we caught the 9 am flight back to LCCT and thus marked the end of our 3-day-3-night free and easy vacation in Chiang Mai.  Big up to Sayyida, Rosnah and Thai Zaikiah (tee hee) for being such agreeable travel companions.

Chiang Mai Day 2

We took our breakfast very early as we were going up north to Chiang Rai, which is 175 km away from Chiang Mai. For this trip, we have decided to engage Mr Mustafa of the day before instead of joining a tour group. Not only was it cheaper, but we figured only a Muslim brother would know how to care for his Muslim sisters. We heard Mr Mustafa said that along the way, we would stop at several places like the something something hot spring, then at a site where the famous white temple is, then the tribal village, then the Golden Triangle, and finally Mae Sai. Undoubtedly, we would return to Chiang Mai very late at night.

So that's what we did on Tuesday 3rd July, 2012. Here are some pictures:

20 Baht for one basket of eggs to boil in the hot spring

Of course we got weird stares from the locals for stopping and posing at a signboard

Wat Rong Khun or the White Temple, a modern architecture, a work still  in progress

This mosque belongs to a Muslim community in which we had our lunch. That car is a Pesona.

Traversing the tribal village with a walking stick.

With an Akha woman. One thing I notice with all this tribal villagers, they really perfected the art of smiling for the camera. Because later when she performed with her mates, she was all sullen faced.

With an Akha girl. She speaks English.

A Lahu girl with her grandmother

Sayyida offering her sympathy to the Karen woman. Or was she offering to scratch her neck?

With the Palong "Big Earings" people

A jump shot outside the tribal village showcase. Note to self: I must procure a better camera.

At the confluence of three countries; Mynmar, Thailand and Laos, thus the name the Golden Triangle. At one time this place was notorious for opium smuggling. Oops, forgot to suck in the tummy.

In Mae Sai, the most northern city of Thailand at the border of Mynmar. The blue gate in the background is the Immigration point.

Indeed we reached Chiang Mai at about 10pm. We were too exhausted to do anymore night marketing, so we retired to our bed almost immediately. Thanks ladies, for a wonderful sharing of stories and fart banter throughout the journey. Mr Mustafa must have thought us nutty.

Chiang Mai Day 1

Our AK816 flight to Chiang Mai was scheduled to depart the LCCT at 7.00 am, but the moment the plane backed off from the runway, I smelled fumes, then the engine started to gurgle. The Captain announced that he could not proceed and had to call for an inspection. After some minutes, he came back on the PA system saying that the plane was found unfit to fly and we had to change plane. The suitable replacement was on its way from Penang, so we the passengers waited patiently. It's better to wait than to have our remnants strewn out from the stratosphere of Malaya right? Finally we took off at 8.30am, so the wait wasn't too long.

We reached Chiang Mai some three hours later. We took a cab from the airport that cost us 150 baht, which my head immediately divided by 10 to gauge it in RM. The driver introduced himself as a Muslim and his Muslim name was Mustafa. He responded to our salam and he said inshaAllah, but we were fully convinced when he showed us the picture of his wife and daughter wearing hijab.

The tiny hotel that we booked was nice enough. The receptionist gave directions to a "halal" restaurant  even though she was vague about what "halal" or Muslim mean. The first "Muslim" looking restaurant that we saw was an Israeli restaurant-- what nerve!! We marched on until we saw an Arabic Restaurant right across Shangri-la hotel. It was a decent lunch that cost us 700 baht.

Lilu Hotel reception hall

We had a rather embarrassing experience with the tuk-tuk on the way back which I will not elaborate, no thanks to one guy named U-Soop Mad-alee, phone number 085-0385846.  Be wise to avoid this opportunist if you ever come to Chiang Mai.

Outside the massive Warorot market

After Zohor, we went out to Warorot market; that's the day market that the locals go to for their supplies, a place usually overlooked by tourists. I got my supply of yarn (for shawl project, inshaAllah) while my friends got their supply of lychees and mangoes. Then we chartered a van for 200 baht to take us to a Thai silk factory, decisively skipping the silver and gems factory. My three companions came out of the store beaming with metres of silk material for their baju raya.

My travel buddies with their silk haul.

We took our dinner at the hotel before going out on foot to the night market some metres away from our hotel. Got our souvenirs and stuffs to bring home. We noticed  a few Muslim vendors from their attire. And of course we bumped into other Malaysians and Arabs. But surprisingly no Indonesians. Not even one during the entire stay which is surprising as I had always met them during my trips in other parts of the world save Japan. By the way, the time in Chiang Mai is minus one hour from Malaysia. 

One thing that I made sure I did on the first day was to pose a'la RITZ in the modified van called songtaew (means 2 rows). These are Chiang Mai's bus and taxi service rolled into one. So, my fellow travel buddies, now you know. Ta daa. Hehehe.

Chiang Mai Beckons

It calls out "Mai! Mai!" And so I'm going. I'll (try my best) be off the the internet for a few days; hopefully I come back a better tuned , balanced person and perked up and be more enthusiastic about work. And not take an extra day leave upon my return ha ha. So, see ya.

Desperately seeking ..... kuih

We have a potluck party today and I was assigned to bring kuih-muih Melayu. It is going to be a small gathering of 15 people, so I thought this one would be kacang.
But no! It wasn't easy. I went to the local wet market and food court. I wanted to place an order but my neighborhood kuih sellers insisted on a minimum order of 50 pcs or a loyang . And they only made karipap and pulut panggang, or whatever. I asked for kuih cara, they said, no can't do. Alhamdulillah, a friend brought some kuih to the office last week, and they all tasted nice. She said she bought it from ....a Mobil petrol station off Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi. So I scurried over and to my delight, there were many types to choose from.

So for today's makan, I have just collected my order for kuih kole kacang, seri muka and cara berlauk. They look nice, they taste wonderful-- so I don't mind paying. Seriously, this kuih business can be taken on if anyone is looking for an idea. Indeed, there is a market for it.

One Friday Night

This writeup appears on http://tangisanbulanmadu.blogspot.com which echoes my general sentiment about the series.

ONE FRIDAY NIGHT

I've always believed Friday nights were meant for anywhere but home. Until an unusual Friday came along out of nowhere. I didn't know an innocent visit to grandma's crib could cause such a stir in the being that is me. The stir came in the form of Nur Kasih (Light of Love).

Hollywood has always been my brand of heroin. My affection with the Malay entertainment industry began with Tan Sri P Ramlee and ended with P Ramlee The Musical. In between them lies the late and great director Yasmin Ahmad's invalueable Petronas commercials. Truth be told, I am the least interested in Malay films and dramas. I find them rather similar and mediocre. High expectations or not, a drama should be awe inspiring, with a pinch of uniqueness, a sense of familiarity and a touch of originality. Add those up and you get Nur Kasih.

The 26 episodes drama, said to be inspired by Indonesian blockbuster Ayat-Ayat Cinta (Letters of Love), is a tale of redemption and realisation. Being a non subscriber for Sensasi (the Starhub channel which is airing Nur Kasih here in Singapore), I was intrigued by the sneak preview I caught at Grandma's place (where Sensasi was at) . Thus one Friday night, I gave the drama a shot. In return, it gave me an engaging plot which made me hook, line and sinker. For once, I didn't yawn at the thought of a Malay drama.

My jaw first dropped at the cinematography of the drama. Each scene was shot tremendously well especially the flashbacks. They were nothing short of perfect. I gave the plot my green light and mid way through the drama, it has yet to disappoint. The pace of the story, as it unfolds, is just about right although I do have problems with the slightly long timeline which is minor. Even the background music played was soothing and heart wrenching enough to toy with emotions. Kudos to Kabir Bhatia for bringing the story to life, capturing the essence of each scene in an integral angle. While he breathes life into the story, the team of scriptwriters, Mira Mustaffa, Mariana Hashim and Maizura Mohd Ederis are the heartbeat of it. The dialogues written are simply phenomenal that it brought us the same anguish, misery and guilt portayed by the cast. The cast definitely brought their characters to life as well.

While I am only familiar with Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan, I had never heard of the rest of the cast prior to Nur Kasih. Even for a few episodes, Dato Jalaluddin Hassan stood out, proving what a versatile actor he is till today, potraying a strict father with a religious upbringing he adhered to. Liza Othman as the mother delivered some of the best dialogues thus far. Sharifah Sofea was in a familiar territory who added a different dynamic to her sub plot. The scene between her, Adam (Remy Ishak) and Nur Amina (Tiz Zaqyah) belonged to Sharifah Sofea by far. Although I believe no one in this world is as angelic as Aidil but Fizz Fairuz as a filial son and doting brother had me almost convinced. Ummi Nazeera as the devilish step sister worked out pretty well as audience would love nothing more than to hate her character, Sarah.

The most convincing of the lot had to be Remy Ishak as the bad boy gone good Adam. I believed him when he was bad as much I believed him when he turned good. The last but certainly not the least, the debut of lead actress, Tiz Zaqyah Razak, just how did she fair? If Remy is the convincing one, let me introduce you to the promising one. Nothing short of sensational, she proves to be a natural as the persevering good girl, Nur Amina. Her misery made us teared while her smile is just as contagious. More than that, the on screen chemistry between Remy Ishak and Tiz Zaqyah reminded me of the chemistry shared between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (pardon the Hollywood comparison). It is just as sizzling, making the viewers anticipate their interaction in each episode. From a mere audience, I turned into a fan.

In a nutshell, Nur Kasih is a drama of relationships of many kinds. Relationships of a being to the parents, of the parents to the children followed by the kinships of siblings and friendship. It also portrays the ties of two generations of husbands and wives, more importantly it depicts the ties between God and human. These are the ties that bind. Even if it is broken, it can be fixed, in due time. It is a tale of sacrifice, of ignorance, of responsibility and of love. The drama dives deep into Islam for a better understanding of the misunderstood religion. From a sacrifice of a brother, to a repentance of a husband, to an acceptance of a wife, it goes to show there is light at the end of every tunnel.

Travel bug

The travel bug is biting me again. How apt I found these on emilayusof.com. Thank you Emila Yusof for sharing your  lovely illustrations. Enjoy!

My take on NKTM

I watched the dvd before I watched the series in completion but after I watched a few condensed videos of the series some fans put up at youtube. So I have formed an expectation going in. And perhaps that is the cause of my unhappiness with the movie. 

A scene filmed at Wadi Ram, Jordan

Warning. There will be more negativity after this. I sincerely apologize. But I have to be honest. 

*SPOILER ALERT*

Nur, Adam and Aidil looked the same, but they seemed distant from the characters of the series. Granted the movie picked up six years after the series ended, and granted the characters have lived their lives over time, thus the changes. But Nur and Adam couldn't have given up their architectural career to become volunteers, right? Or were they still architects? No hints to that at all. 

The movie was depressingly dark. And I was watching it in my living room. In a cinema, I imagine the effect would be more enveloping. The scenes were short and did not linger, and sadly the dialogue so sparse, that left me with little to enjoy. I think the dialogue in the series was one of the key factors that made it a phenomenon. Moreover, I felt forced. Forced to laugh and to cry. The comedy sequence when Adam became over exuberant with Nur’s pregnancy failed; it was too cliché; it's something you’d find in a Hindi movie.  I couldn't muster a chuckle. 

The scenes of joy were brief as the movie was filled with sadness and melancholy. Poor Nur, she still could not find happiness after all this time.The direction was focused on pulling at your heart strings. I did cry a little  when Aidil slumped to the floor in grief, but that was about it.The rest of the time, I was numb.   

With regards to the new characters, I felt zero connection. The inclusion of the troubled youths was solely for the lead-in for the organ donation plot later. Was it the heart or spleen? By the time I got to that part, I was beyond caring.  

My biggest problem was with the ending. At the start of the movie, we believed that Nur and Adam were living in the current time frame, i.e 2011, 2012. And the movie ended with Nur aged and Adam gone; in what year would that be?  2042? 2050?  So, why is the set still look the same? The house, the padi field, the TREE? 

I felt old and tired as they rolled the credits. 

The main players

Am I disappointed? YES, big time. I wish the director and writer have not put a seal on the story. I wish they had done what Richard Linklater did to "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset". The possibility of a sequel or sequels will keep the fans excited and CURRENT. Besides, just imagine the money potential of those sequels. So sayang!

I did get some of my money's worth from  “The Making of Nur Kasih” video that was included in the DVD that I watched it twice. I don’t know when I will re-watch the movie. It still pains me. Thank God for the series.

Update: I am watching the series for the 3rd time this year (27/10/12) and am still delighted with its brilliance. So I am going to pretend this movie never happened!

Fun with Photoscape

This useful FREE software may turn your sad-looking photos into professionally-shot photos. It empowers you to edit and have fun. Yang gelap boleh diterangkan. Yang terang, boleh dikaburkan. Dan sebagainya. Here are some examples:

All pictures are credited to Lin Ajis. If you need tutorial, just search them at youtube. You have been pre-warned: This could be addictive.

Grand wedding

On 3rd June, I attended a wedding of my client, Jay at Dewan Merdeka, PWTC.

I have no photos of the bride and groom, but I have the photos of the celebrity emcees, Engku Azmin and Suraya Hot FM. I was wondering how the family managed to hire these people. It was later revealed that the bride's brother is Ikhwan, the Hot FM DJ. (Honestly I only got to know these names and faces recently.)

The highlight of the ceremony was the surprise appearance of the singer Alyah who dashed from a concert at Stadium KL to be at her pet-sister's wedding. I was hoping she'd sing "Kisah Hati" but she did Sheila's Majid's "Dia" and an English song instead.

Suraya, Engku Azmin and Ikhwan. Picture taken from Engku Azmin's twitter.

View from my table

Alyah

Acting from a hunch, I googled the bride's name. Ah ha. just as I expected. She was a singer of some repute and was a child actress. No wonder she sang like a pro when she serenaded the guests with a song.

I came as usual without a plus-one. Luckily I was seated with my (senior) Uni friends who are also parents-in-law to Ashraf Muslim. Talk about my brush with celebs and near celebs. Last night I hit the jackpot.

Update: Here's a photo of Jay and Erna, courtesy of Engku Azmin.