Pioneer Achievement - Husna Eka

Husna Eka first achievement in academia - Nuri Pre-School.

10As, all are well - good student, obedient, fast learner, hard working, ambitious, good team player - exemplary.

Atta girl!

Fresh from Chef's Santuary

Taaadaaa...tried this recipe yesterday. A breakthrough for the new kitchen, after the Nasi Goreng Kampung prepared on 19th Oct. 2008 (Sunday). Finally, a kitchen which serves its intended purpose.

AYAM KASTURI

INGREDIENTS:
300 gm isi ayam [hiris nipis tetapi agak lebar]
3 biji limau kasturi [ambil air]
2 sudu besar air
minyak untuk tumis
garam
kunyit

BAHAN MAYANG / HIRIS:
5 biji cili merah
3 biji cili hijau
5 biji cili api
2 labu bawang besar
3 ulas bawang putih
1 inci halia

METHODS:

1. Gaulkan ayam dengan kunyit dan garam.
2. Panaskan minyak dan tumiskan bahan mayang. [Kalau nak pedas boleh tambah ciliapi].
3. Bila dah layu dan wangi masukkan ayam dan sedikit air.
4. Bila ayam telah lembut masukkan jus limau kasturi dan gaulkan rata.
5. Boleh angkat dan hidangkan.

Happy trying.

Buckle Up, Baby!

The Seat Belt Convincer
The Seat Belt Convincer demonstrates the importance of wearing seat belts to a diverse group of individuals. The system enables a passenger to experience the actual force generated during a low speed collision and the value of the restraint provided by the seat belt. Once passengers experience the force generated during a 5 mph collision, a new respect is gained for the protection that seat belts can provide.

www.seatbeltconvincer.com

Hohoho..just got back from lunch, entered the working place and saw a tent from the entrance. Heard about it since last 2 weeks, so this is the chance to experience the real thing. In we went.

I just had a plate of mee goreng, and with full tummy, the impact of dizziness far outweigh the shock. At the simulated speed of 10km per hour, the g-force is at 0.5, enough to make me feel all the internal organs shocks and am experiencing chest pain. Imagine if it is at 110km/h?

No matter where you sit in the car, buckle up people!

Kekasih Gelapku

Anything to do with black normally is not good, at all. There we have it:

1. Black market - pasaran gelap
2. Black gold - minyak, people can do anything to get it, the source of power.

And now we have it in a song, as depicted by the trend in our modernized society - Kekasih Gelap, with lyrics as below. The melody is nice, the singer has a good voice, but the lyrics can be a little sickening to some.

Kekasih Gelapku - Ungu

Ku mencintai mu, lebih dari apapun
Meskipun tiada satu orang pun yang tahu
Ku mencintai mu, sedalam-dalam hati ku
Meskipun engkau hanya, kekasih gelap ku

Yakinlah bahwa engkau adalah cinta ku,
Yang ku cari s’lama ini, dalam hidup ku
Dan hanya pada mu ku berikan sisa cinta ku
Yang panjang dalam hidup ku,hidup ku…

Ku mencintai mu, sedalam-dalam hati ku
Meskipun kau hanya, kekasih gelap ku
Kekasih gelap ku…

Normally, anything that is forbidden, really creates excitement. It's like something that you look forward to have or to do or to be with. Since it is forbidden, the challenge to get it creates that necessary 'drive' or 'motivation' for you to strive for, since a lot of things that happen around us are just rituals, or routines. We crave for something exciting, something unpredictable, and something that we can't have but would like to have. It'll give that nice feeling for some time, but I'm sure it won't last long. Soon, the euphoria will definitely die off after it too has turned into part of our routine of life. What's next after that?

Hence, how do we break ourselves from this vicious cycle? Is having dark secret or delving ourselves in unexpectedness of life really help? How do we constantly create that much sought after motivation to stay happy and positive in life?

Ladies and gentlemen, what really motivate you?

Rebonding - Part 2 (Stereotype No More)

I was late during the first day of the course. Left with no choice, I was forced to sit at the very end. It's not the strategic location of the seating that matters, it's the person that you have to seat next to which is more heart wrenching.

There he was. I had stereotyped him as being a person with these characters (based on my past trainings conducted which he had participated in):

1. Unlimited grudge against all souls in my department (I'm doing business improvement, and somehow people don't seem to like us, we know but heck with it, life has to go on).
2. Out there to create mess or havoc in any class.
3. Won't talk to me.

Throughout the 2 days, surprisingly we did communicate well. He admitted that he too had these sceptics about me and all those in my department:

1. Stuck up bunch of people
2. Out there to mess with people's comfort zone
3. Never socialize with the masses

At the end of the day, somehow we manage to click to my great surprise. We even talked about family matters and he even asked if he could come over my house should I plan to organize any parties in future.

Hmmm...really such a turnover of perception for 2 individuals who really despised each other before. Before it all ended, I gave him a warning though, not to complicate our people more than what he had contributed in the past.

To all my CBI (Capability Building Initiatives) friends - I present to you a guy from Procurement. Stereotype no more.

That Thing called "Rebonding"

Hair Rebonding. Very common. But what is the purpose? I've heard of it umpteenth times, my friends have done it since ice age, and yet I'd never had the interest to find out what is it, let alone experiment its excitement.

My early assumption was it is for reconnect back loose hair. Sounds a little bit brainless. To kill off my curiosity, I'd visited a few saloons last nite. With price range of RM100++ to RM200++, I was thinking that hey, maybe it's not such a bad idea to experiment it once.

Of course, approval and recommendation from Mr X was sought beforehand. Don't even think of putting any hair color, he commanded (as I was thinking of doing a little bit of highlighting here and there, or maybe some burgundy may be nice :P). The sweet amoi kept on insisting that I put some color, but to her disappointment, I told her that my sweet Mr X will kill me off and I won't have the chance to come to her saloon again. What she did was:

1. Hair washing
2. Putting on some gel
3. On the hair heating machine
4. Hair washing
5. Putting on some more gel
6. Hair washing
7. Dry my hair using the flat dryer
8. More gel
9. On the heater again
10. Hair washing
11. Apply cream for treatment
12. Hair washing

Finally, after 3 hours and 5 times hair washing, I've got a new look.

Couldn't wait to get home and showed off to my family members. Showed to my nephews, their comment was - "You look like high school girl. Tingkatan berapa??" The show stopper of it all, of course, has got to be the exposure to Mr X. This is what he said:

"I think it doesn't suit you".

Verdict - hair rebonding - never again.

However, last week I've got a success in Rebonding of a long lost friendship. People with great chemistry normally will remember each other for life. So a success in another type of rebonding. Rekindle of a jurassic friendship.

Posh and David - Loyalty?

I got a glimpse of Posh on Ugly Betty last week, aired on Channel 5 S'pore. Not too bad in acting.

This morning, Glenn and Flying Dutchman of Class 95 mumbled about Posh, her body and what she's trying to do with her life. Apparently she got her own clothing line, perfume, modelling activity and of course, singing and acting.

But for today, I'd like to focus on one aspect of her which does not receive that much attention. Her loyalty to her husband, and of his to her.

Being married to a handsome hunk who happened to be the football superstar and spokeperson for several brands has never been easy. David Beckham - no need to say more on his attraction on females. But one event that may have changed Posh's life must be on the scandal David had with Rebecca Loose.

A few years ago, there was a big hoohaa on many tabloids on the scandal. How could a fatherly figure and much emulated after husband turned into this monster who committed this crime deemed unforgiven for many females? Interviews upon interviews were aired and published on views of several people. Rebecca became instant celebrity. Paparazzis were chasing after the couples and Rebecca, but mostly views were sought from either David or Rebecca. Very least frequent on Posh's.

What do you think Posh was thinking at that time? It must have been a dilemma for her to maintain the status of a happy family as potrayed by the media vs. going berzerk with David's stupidity. Nobody really knows the true story, only the three of them know better. We could only speculate. What we only see in tabloids today is a sign of a happy family, as for any other family, as if nothing has ever happened.

Loyalty - being true and faithful, as defined in Oxford dictionary.

Being true - maybe easy. Being faithful - may not be that easy.

How would you react if someday should your partner be disloyal or unfaithful to you? For this, I'd like to recommend that no matter what your status is (single/"it's complicated"/married), please have some sort of risk management plan ready. You never know when it shall happen. Have the plan handy, so that you can just apply your mitigation actions when disaster strike.

I guess Posh must have implemented a very well organized plan, so we can see them continue to be seen as a happy family throughout.

Chef's Rendezvous

Violaaaaaaaaaaaa...finally, I get to sharpen my skill in food preparation more often with addition of a new part of our house - a wet kitchen.

It started with a sketch by Mr X on a piece of paper, enhanced by the Indonesian contractor and reviewed by yours truly (no CAD/CAM system, PDMS, BOCAD, etc). Just a sketch, applying the concept of how Shah Jehan built the Taj.

Resolution - insya Allah I will try my best to cook more often.

Answer to the Call of Nature

Last month, a lady named Sue called me from the WWF Malaysia office in KL, politely requested me to consider to increase my monthly donation amount. I told her that I'd think about it (errr, in order to be polite and diplomatic).

Last week, I received the WWF journal, but only got the chance to flip through it today. Flipped through the pages, read a few lines, and somehow it got into me that hey, I really need to consider Sue's request. Besides, it's tax deductible. Untung di dunia, untung di akhirat (mudah-mudahan).

Last hour, I picked up the phone and called back Sue. OK, agreed to give my donation a booster.

For all the rhinos, turtles, tigers, orang utans and elephants:

Here is a wee bit of my contribution for you.

I pray that you will all continue to exist, with the help of the experts in the conservation and protection program from WWF.

I hope that all my kids, grand kids and great grand kids will be able to hold you, touch you and pat your back for generations to come.

Oh Allah the Almighty, please help us to help them continue to exist on this planet.

Wanna do your part? Visit this website - www.wwf.org.my

Ultimate Reward - Reward Yourself

It's high time where I think I need to reward myself, for surviving and maintaining my sanity and health despite all challenges life puts me through.

Welcome Aboard My Friend

Date joined the family - 27th September 2008 (Saturday)

Welcome aboard my friend.

Your first journey was indeed a very long and winding road exceeding 600km from JB to the town of Kuala Terengganu. We purposely wanted to put you through this challenging road for you to prove your worth.

As of today, after more than 3000km of journey, you have shown us nothing but relief.

Thank you my friend for being there.

Let us go through this turmoil and all challenges of life together.

Sweetness of Bitterness

Kenapa ubat untuk orang dewasa pahit rasanya?
Kenapa ubat untuk kanak-kanak manis rasanya?
This is another dose I've got last nite from program Channel 106 - Bersama Dato'.

Batu permata, seperti mutiara jugak, makan masa bertahun-tahun untuk menjadi satu benda yang sangat tinggi nilainya. It has to go through years of evolution and overcome all obstacles to finally be precious. Apply that to ourselves.

In order to get that wisdom, we have to undergo tests after tests, and then only we realize whether we've become wiser, or "hampeh". Only we know how we fared.

Therefore, adults need to go through the motion of experiencing tumults and many many challenges, to gain that wisdom. Wisdom does not come from just doing routines of our life. No doubt routine is safe, but it is predictable. We know how to react, we can anticipate. That is the very reason why suddenly Allah impose heavy tests sometimes, to test how far we can survive and how deep is our love towards Him. Or perhaps, we have forgotten about Him for a long long time, and He just wants us to go back to Him.

Jika kita mendekatkan diri 1 langkah kepadaNya, Dia akan datang 1000 langkah kepada kita.
Jika kita menjauhkan diri 1 langkah dariNya, Dia akan jauh dari kita 1000 kali lagi.

Confirm, today is the beginning of That Time of the Month. Stay solemn please....
Always, go back to Him and ask for forgiveness and guidance. For all of it, only He knows best.

Sacrifice - Berkorban, Terkorban or Mangsa Korban?

Oxford dictionary defines "sacrifice" as:

The giving up of something of great value to oneself for a special purpose, to benefit somebody else.

In Malay, "sacrifice" means "korban". Either you are:

1. Terkorban - dead
2. Mangsa Korban - also dead, victim of an event
3. Berkorban - pretend to be dead to make someone else happy
4. Pengorbanan - doing things for someone whom normally would forget that you ever exist

Sounds cynical huh? I am in a cynical mood these days. Perhaps its that time of the month.

There is a song in Malay about "sacrifice" or "korban", with lyrics as below:

Berkorban apa saja
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia

Kepentingan sendiri
Tidak diingini
Bahagia kekasih
Saja yang diharapi

Berkorban apa saja
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia
hmm... hmm... hmm...

Untuk menjadi bukti
Kasih yang sejati
Itulah tandanya
Jika mahu diuji

Berkorban apa saja
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia

Berkorban for Kekasih huh? If that Kekasih is Allah, then it's OK. What about if the Kekasih is your partner? Your children? Do we have to show our sacrifices act first, before they realize that we actually love them? Is it necessary? Is there any way that I don't want to sacrifice anything, but yet declare that I love them? Will that be acceptable? Worst, after all the sacrifices, they still do not acknowledge the love we shower upon them. So, in the end, after all the pengorbanan, either you terkorban, jadik mangsa korban, atau dikorbankan. Kesian....

In Islam, korban is an ibadah, with ultimate objective to clean oneself from harta and kepentingan dunia and contribute some of that to the needy. This ibadah is a commemoration of an ultimate sacrificial act of Nabi Ibrahim for his son Nabi Ismail. You see, Nabi Ibrahim had been married for many years but did not have any child. Until after almost 30 years, he finally got Ismail, and then at about age 8, Allah commanded him to sacrifice Ismail (as a test of Iman). How far can he go to sacrifice his one and only, much awaited child? Because of Ibrahim's deepest commitment to Allah, he placed Ismail's neck on a rock, closed his eyes, ever ready to swing down the sabre, recite "bismillah" and swing down the sabre he did. But when he opened his eyes, it was a kibas. It was such a relief. Verdict - Ibrahim passed the test with flying colors.

This is the ultimate sacrificial act, and it is about LOVE (kasih sayang). If you realize, in our solat, the tahyat akhir would mention about religion of Ibrahim and Muhammad. Allah wants us to have the guts of Ibrahim. Whatever test that we are facing, remember what these 2 prophets had to go thru, and compare that against our test. Is it comparable? Only we know how we fared. How far can we go in Allah's every test?

All in all, sacrifice, let me give you a new definition:

Sacrifice - a noble act to forgo one's greatest interest for the happiness of another person, with no intention for payback, but in the hope that the other person would remember and appreciates the act.

But maybe for another species:

Sacrifice - a vocabulary which has never existed in life, an act which can be easily forgotten, what more to be acknowledged.

Similarities vs. Differences

When do similarities between couples become important?
- when they are in love
- when they share the same ambition
- when they care for each other
- when both realize that each has his/her own responsibilities towards each other

When do differences between couples become a pain in the b***?
When their love for each other deteriorates.

There are many reasons why Allah made us as couples, besides all the differences we share, above all:
To complement each other.

Hence,
Should we focus on the similarities that we share or should we continuosly argue about our differences?
Depend on the love thermometer that the couples share. At 100 degree or at 0 degree.
At 100 degree, maybe it's all fine and dandy.
At 0 degree, forget it.
In between - how do we regulate?

Satu Kemaafan

Apakah signifikannya bermaafan di pagi 1 Syawal? Kenapa dipanggil Aidil Fitri?
Fitri bererti "fitrah". We are supposed to clean ourselves inside out during Ramadhan, so on 1 Syawal, we are supposed to be a piece of white cloth again - plain, pure, immaculate, precious.
But then again,
Kena tunggu 1 Syawal baru nak salam ke? Sebelum tu kita kutuk abis2an, marah puas2, hentam2 giler2, tapi on pagi raya, boleh minta maaf. Is that how it works?

OK, what about a person you love the most has hurt you so bad, that you feel there's no way on earth you will forgive the person. I always remember what Dr Fadzilah Kamsah said :
Maafkan semua orang sebelum tido. Baru hati bersih. Mana tahu kot2 masa tido tu dah tak bangun terus...tak baik tu, hati kotor..
Memang betullah apa dia kata. Mampukah kita memaafkan?

Sedangkan Nabi ampunkan umat, kata orang. I remember a story about a man who always threw shits at Nabi's house, and 1 day Nabi realized that there was no more shit thrown. He inquired about the guy, apparently he was sicked. Nabi went to visit the guy. That's how he changed things. Only through pureness of heart and kindness, will beat all hasad. Can we be like Nabi? Can we clean our heart and memaafkan semua orang? No matter how painful, how miserly, how disappointed, how disheartened our feeling is? Mampukah?

Hati mesti bersih bang, kak. Hati bersih, wajah pun berseri, orang pandang kita seperti tiada masalah. How to bersihkan hati? For more panduan, refer to my friend's blog on Hidup Itu Singkat (link is below). Siap ada lagu Aspalela by Apek on HATI.