Bring it on!!

Hi everybody! Guess what?


I'm all in the mood for RAYA!!!!!!!

Ketawa riang si Anak Cik Leh,
Ketawa sampai hingus meleleh.
Banyak aku nye takde mood eh...
Sampai berpantun-mantun sekali la seh!

Heheehehehee!



Thank you to those who comforted me by saying Raya mood will settle in on me soon.
Berkat doamu, dapatlah diriku ini menikmati Raya sepenuhnya.
Hahaha. Dah happy sampai buang tebiat aku. Ni namenya Happy Giler.. Get it get it?
Hehehehe.

But I mean the thanks ok guys! :)

I think it's because I've managed, with herculean effort, to push aside the stress and headache and whatever schizz from school.
And I really think we should have one whole week of holiday if Raya falls on a weekday. The mood's kinda disrupted if you have to think about sch/work the next day.
Eh?
And to be fair, same goes for Chinese New Year and Deepavali and Christmas lah eh.

Okk, actually the point of this post is to show off my pathetic pantun skills.
What is Raya without pantuns, man!



Cik Siti cantik berbaju kebaya
Terkedek-kedek nak membeli taugey
Dah kata tengah mood raya
Senyum lebar, hooray hooray!

Orang Arab suka kurma,
Orang Arab juga suka kebab.
Nikmatilah juadah tapi ingatlah dunia
Jangan sampai jadi member taf kelab.

Bulan Ramadhan penuh keajaiban
Bulan Syawal penuh keriangan.
Dengan penuh keikhlasan dan ketulusan
Ku pohon ampun bagi setiap kesilapan.

Mahu berpantun, bahasa karat
Kerana dah mahu, tulislah juga
Selamat Aidilfitri kepada semua sahabat
Semoga rayamu indah, riang gembira!

:)

Wheeeeeeeee~
SELAMAT HARI RAYA!

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Bogged.

I'm doing assignments til my head hurts and I'm not even being metaphoric here.
It REALLY hurts.
Yucks.

*************


And there's something about this new house that's making everyone feel strangely lethargic.




*************

Just called up the boyfriend only to hear Raya songs blasting in the background.

The exuberant, shouting boyfriend:
'I tengah vacuum bilik for raya! Dengan dengar lagu raya!
I looove lagu Raya! I can't wait for raya!'

And instantly I miss that kind of enthusiasm and excitement.... which I used to feel whenever Lebaran was near. I used to remember noticing a different sensation rippling in the atmosphere as I counted down the last 3 days of Iftar, as I looked forward to hearing the Takbir replacing the decades-old 'Yaaa karrimmu Yaaa karriim' song (oh you know... that song which is always played after Azan).

I even remembered how different the air smelt when Syawal was nearing... Maybe it was an influx of kuih-making coz I was afterall living along a corridor of Malay houses. Or maybe it was the smell of imminent wealth. But nonetheless, I was feeling all joyous and festive.

I remembered feeling horrified when my father once told me that the day would come when Raya becomes almost like a chore. I remembered telling myself that that day would never come for me. It would only be for old people like my dad, who gets tired of entertaining people the whole day.

And old people like my mother too. Because she sometimes would make us all pretend to 'not be at home' when neighbours or relatives knocked, 10pm onwards.

But now look at me. I notice my interest waning eversince I got left behind for Raya mugging for my A levels... which was 2 years ago. Ever since then, it was, whoopdedoo raya is here again. I don't even remember what raya was like last year. It was just a great blur of kuih cornflakes, nice colourful outfits which I envy and... oh yes! I remember falling sick with stomach flu and losing 3 kgs. Very happy with that!

Oh and you think if it's just about me being a grinch for having to give the green packets, no... I wish it is as simple as that.

And you really can't blame me for not trying... I tried by splurging $199 of my blood-sweated money on an outfit and tried feeling all excited on wearing it. But now it looks plain absurd to me and I just feel plain absurd....

I think it would devastate Yus to hear me feeling this way because he just cannot imagine anyone feeling callous about raya at all. Though sometimes I wonder if he's actually a 5 year old caught in hormonal complexities that make him look 25. But that's how naive my bofriend is.

And right now, I'd give anything for that naivety.

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At Long Last

You have no idea how disconnected I have felt during those days without the Internet. I felt SO primitive and felt like I've lost all my senses I'd rather be better off dead. So now if u ask me what is the one thing I would die not having, it would definitely be
MY LAPTOP WITH AN INTERNET CONNECTION.

There. I've said it like a true brat of the modern generation.
And I'm not ashamed.

******



My house is still a box-y affair. What with my dad taking lightyears to unpack his stuffs. 89% of the boxes we carried are my dad's stuff. He's such a pack rat that he would bark at anyone who tried to throw away his typewriters. TYPEWRITERS can you believe it!
I won't be surprise if I find a caveman in one of his boxes.

But things are definitely clearing up. It's slow but sure.

******

Went to Geylang with Yus yesterday. And for once in all my experience of going Geylang,
I is very happy!
I got what I wanted, am super satisfied with them, and all in under 4 hours! Whoopeee!

I used to dread going Geyland in the day, when the weather suddenly decides to be mighty hot that you see mirages of people drinking nice cool water everywhere you look. And even the air-conditioned Joo Chiat Shopping Centre or Tanjong Katong Complex cannot save you from these hallucinations. Worse, you have to tag your mum to every damn store and then later to the Geylang Market.
You just can't help but feel parched and bad-tempered all the way.

But our trip was a fully utilised one. Even the foods we bought to break fast was good. Even my driving was good. It was all good, man.

*******

On a dreadful note, I now have SEVEN assignments waiting happily to be done in 1 week. Why in God's good name do they always give these things in one single shot. I swear educators have a sadistic pleasure in seeing their students in frenzied agony; flailing to get their work done, desperately clawing at their brains to save their souls....

And yes, I will be one of those sadists real soon. Muhahmuhahahah.

Oh well.

This sem is such a disorganized, disrupted mess. I need to get my game together fast enough. There is no excuse. No matter if you fall and break 99.99% of your bones, you gotta catch up because Time never waits.

*******



Random but this is an interesting observation I made while watching MTV's Cribs Special Edition where they show Cribs consecutively for 2 hours (?).
Whenever the celebs enter the master suites (literally suites ok), 99% would say
"...This is where they say the magic happens..."

It got to the point when I would just anticipate the moment they enter the master suites and see whether I can fit that phrase just when the celebs are saying it.

So if one day you get featured on MTV's Crib, please REFRAIN from using that phrase. It's such an ultimate cliche.

And 50 Cent's house is a freaking palace.



He has 19 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms I think (?), 6 kitchens, and around 6 Ferraris. And a small lake of his own. And a movie theatre with 3000 movies stored in his hi-tech movie player. And a pool that stretches as far as the beach. (Ok that one I exaggerate. But it's huge.) And a helicopter.



I think the whole of Singapore can be fitted on 50Cent's property.

******

Oh and if you kindly turn your attention to the column on the right.. yes, now scroll up abit..
Ahhh.. you will realise that my Current Addiction is
Epok Epok Sardine.

But it's no ordinary Epok Epok. The one I'm in love is what I will call
The King of All Epokepoks.
Sold exclusively at Jurong Island. Yus' working there so he bought some for me from his canteen and BAM! I was hooked.

No Epok-epok can match The King's standard. It's really BIG, the fillings are generous, not dry but tastes really fresh with slight spiciness, and the crusts are delightfully thick yet crunchy. Ultimate Yumminess.

I don't mind not eating rice at all for break fast. Give me 2 of these lovelies and I'm a happy gobber.

*******

As you can see from this verbal diarrhea, I miss blogging!

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Pause

Hello dearies,

Sorry but I'm still disorganized from all the shifting.

Once things are more or less settled and once my phone line is connected, I'll reply to your comments ok!

And for those whom I promised 'buka' dates, please pleaase hold on a little longer k!

We're almost done.

InsyaAllah. Huhuhaha.

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Goodbye~

This is what I'm going to miss...




The unimpended view of beautiful sunrise and sunsets.

The way the sunlight filters through in the morning.

Wondering what the heck is the name of that mountain in the horizon.

The shrieks of laughter when children play in the afternoons.



The whizz of vehicles as they pass by the expressway.

The occasional smell of dung from Farmart.

Spotting couples making out late at night in the park tower below.

The fierce winds during rainy days.



The cool and breezy nights.

The closeness to the skies.

The jogs from the neighbourhood track all the way to Gombak Gym.

The flight of 15 stairs.



The bermuda triangle me, Nurul and Iza make.

And the perpetual mystery as to why we never meet eventhough we live so near one another.

The convenience for almost everything.







Sigh.
Beggars can't be choosers.


Goodbye BLK 461. *sobs*

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"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo"

Last night, Channel 5 has finally something good to offer. So good that I will overlook the fact that they chopped the movie into 2 parts and stuffed 2339 hours of freakin advertisements.

I thought King Kong is a pffft movie, but NO! It's as tragic as Titanic ok. Because after breaking fast, Yus stayed on to rest his bloated tummy. So we watched my pathetic selection of channels and King Kong came on.

And then I got pretty hooked.
Dammit King Kong! Why must you be so cute?!



Dunno how many times I cried throughout the movie ok.
Cried as though my mother disowned me.
Cried until my younger brother looked at me in disgust, called me a pathetic monkey lover and then refused to acknowledge my presence. Dramamama man, that boy.

And because of that movie, I hate Jack Black everytime I think about King Kong. Stupid man. He's like a freaking cockroach. There are many instances apt for his death: like the attack of the scary islanders, getting trampled by the running Brontosauruses, getting eaten by huge insects/plants/dinosaurs....
But did he die? NO. That big cockroach with potbelly had to be immortal and live!

If he had died earlier, King Kong would've lived to become Naomi Watt's pet.



Aaargh I'm a sucker for romantic tragedy. I don't care if the lover is a 100foot primate or a freaking octopus. But if it/he/she is willing to die for love, you get my vote!!




Ok I'm so gonna search the Frankenstein movie and ooh! rewatch Edwards Scissorshand.


****
On a random note, I was youtubing and heard a lovely song. So with all the semangatness, I googled bits and pieces of the lyrics which I managed to catch.
Turns out I've been humming some Christian nasyid the past 10 mins.
"Come ye sinners.....Jesus will save you..."

Astaghfirullahalaziiiiiiiiim.
Hmm. Batal tak eh?
Heh Heh Heh
.............
........

O_O
...
Astaghfirullahalaziiiiiiiiim.

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It's for sure

Today is significant for you and me.
Because today we know more than ever, that this is forever.

*****

My fears and doubts vanish when I recognise that quiet welcome in those rather scary jests. And I smile because I know it's his awkward way of learning to let go. And I smile when you turn to me helplessly... because you're left speechless when he told you if you go home, you'll have to come back in a groom's suit.

Amid my silent joy and besides my fluttering heart, it touches me to see sadness in his eyes; For he has to understand that it's nearly my time to fly, to see me as a grown up even I myself can't see. And know that it is not easy when he had promised upon his life to protect me and give me life's very best.

*****

We have prayed for us.
And I am humbled by Him, His Graciousness, for listening to me, an unrepentant sinner,

For bringing you into my life.
For opportunities.
For coincidences.
For opening up their hearts to welcome us.
For every ounce of indescribable joy I feel when they did.

*****

Now, all we need is that small ceremony, and oh yes.. money.
But that's chicken feet now, isn't it?
;)

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Al-Ameen, Woodlands

Helo! I'm bored at home and today, I shall do a small promoting for Al-Ameen at Woodlands.


The 2 creatures flanking me are Gelojoh and Perakus. Both can vcauum a big plate of food in less than 15 mins.

****
Be warned:
This post may contain disturbing images which may induce excessive salivating, hyperventilating, compulsive desire to kill author of blog, and other minor reactions caused by hunger.
Should you feel uncomfortable reading, please quietly leave this page.
****

Al-Ameen should be one of my favourite hawker dining places.( Another is the new Mr. Teh Tarik at Jurong, but this will be on another day, another story. Hehe). For one, the service is efficient most of the time. But most importantly, I think the food is worth the money.

Oh there are many branches, by the way. But I always frequent the ones at Bukit Timah, and Woodlands, near Woodgrove Mall.

First up, my most favourite prata:
Banana Prata



The shiny-shiny liquid which looks like oil is not oil, but maple syrup.
YES! You must eat banana prata with maple syrup to feel the oopmh.
I'm a big fan of maple syrup and bananas so this, to me, is a sweet delight.
Eventhough I do have sweet tooth, I don't think this is the sweet-til-you get-headache kind coz the doughy taste of prata balances the sweetness well.

It's especially nice if the bananas are sweet and are cut into soft chunks. So when you eat them with the prata, it's just like banana pancakes: Chewy and sweeeet and simply sioso!


The Gelojoh was craving for Western, so she ordered
Sambal Chicken Set.



The plate is twice the size of your face, and on top of fries, beans, and salad, you get rice somemore. So the Gelojoh was very happy.

The gravy on the chicken is mixed with cheese, that's why you get that yellowish streaks on the meat. But it's tangy and really delicious, although the meat is a bit too tough.
The rice is something like briyani but lighter. I don't exactly know what it is, but it has an Indian taste to it. Still, it complements the meat really well.

So where is the sambal? It's actually given in a small separate cup (like the one for the chilli sauce). The sambal has all the right blend of sweet, sour and spicy.

Very good for very hungry people.

The Perakus' order is next:
Chicken Cutlet Set



Very generous serving. The cutlet is humongous. Only the Perakus can finish this and still ask to taste other people's food..
The gravy is almost similar to the gravy for the Sambal Chicken. Only this one is more thicker.
And I like the cheese in the gravy. Made this supposedly ordinary dish somewhat different from the usual.

Murtabak Pizza
is another one of the satisfying foods you can order.



In it, are exactly the ingredients you may find on a basic pizza: cheese, capsicums, mushrooms, little meatballs and tomatoes.
But because the 'crust' is prata, it makes this 'pizza' extra chewy and doughy. And I find it really goooooood.

The parents ordered those mix-n-match food.



And since they licked every plate clean without once complaining, I guess it must be delicious.


A hungry man is an angry man.
So a full man is a...? Happy man!...
Well done, kids!



Overall Food Experience 4.1/5
:))

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Sis's 15th!

Here's a tragic story...
As a child, my sis was never brought to the zoo before. And up til the age of 15, she yearns to see the elephants and the monkeys, to hear for herself the roar of a lion, to see the graceful swim of the penguins...
She looks sadly at old photos of her elder sister, aged 3, waving happily at the camera while standing beside an orang utan.
She can't blame her parents for loving her elder sister more than her because everyone knows how unselfish, caring, considerate, irresistibly cute, intelligent, loving and just how pure her elder sister is...She understands why her parents brought her elder sister (and also elder brother, but he is insignificant to the story) to the zoo. Her elder sister truly deserves a wonderful childhood.

Ok to cut the story short, I brought my poor deprived sis to the zoo to celebrate
her 15th birthday!



*confettis confettis*
My actual plan was to leave her there where she truly belongs but... oh well.

This is the company for the day!




The trip was made into a surprise and Of course my plan went perfectly well. I got visual proof which captured her reaction pretty well but she insisted that she looked like a horse in the photo.
And I must say it's quite true. Hahaha.

I am trying to be as un-mean as possible today so I shall not post that horsey-ish photo.

It was my 234748th time to the zoo, so my aim was to look out for things I might've missed out in those previous trips.
As for the sis, she wanted to practically snap pictures of every damn leaf... while Shazwin, smiled and waited oh-so patiently nearby. Good boy, Shazwin!




Oh and I'm excited to say that I finally got to see THE SAKI MONKEY!
Woowheewoowhee!
This slippery creature was practically sitting at the tip of the branch eating, and staring at us as though we were the animals in the zoo.

And there were many varieties of the Saki Monkeys.






Ok lah, actually I must admit that I don't really know if they are the Saki Monkeys. Hahahaa.



For convenience sake, any type of unfamiliar looking monkeys will be called Saki Monkeys ok.
Incuding this one:

Hahahaha.

Moving on to an animal which me and Yus find most intriguing...
THE CROCODILE



We were looking out for this HUGEASS false gharvial which we saw the last time we came to the zoo. It was about 3m. I'm serious! But too bad. No sightings of that monster. But if you guys ever go to the zoo soon, make sure you keep a lookout as you are walking on the wooden bridge.
And becareful. You might never know how big the monster had grown by then and when it would just leap out of water to snap your head off.

It was raining lightly and continuously but eventhough we were quite wet already, we did not missed the Splash Show.





And these are my new favourite animals! The SEACOWS a.k.a Dugong!
Look how cute and harmless and slow and fat they are!




They have droopy eyes and smiley mouths and I just adore them....
UNTIL YESTERDAY
when Nana told me that male dugongs like to rape the females.
IDIOT!!

Then there's Carlos the cute SeaLion which, when look at upclose, has super BIG BROWN eyes. Really! So cute. But I'll never in my life go anywhere near it.




We wanted to catch the Elephants at Play but it was raining quite heavily by then that it was postphoned :((
I wanted Sis to watch the elephants because they are really super cute!
Me and Yus stayed under the sheltered huts while Sis and Win went to explore some more.
So..........





The potato chips is $3 !


The steamed corn is $3 !


Our faces are $3 !


Ok the monkey looks as though it wants to kill us.. time to move on...



I know what I'm going to say next sounds stupid and very duuuuh, but monkeys are really like humans! From the way they sit, they look uncannily like an AhPek at a kopitiam. Especially the baboons.



And of course, the most human-like creature, the ORANG UTANs!




See what I mean when I say we are almost similar to monkeys? (refer to the sis to see clearer resemblance)



Ok one more cuuuuute creature: the MINIATURE HORSE! Yus said it's a hybrid of a dwarf and a horse. I really dun wanna know.
In any case, it's soooo cute and fat! I feel like kicking this thing down a slope.



After all the zoo-ing, we need foood for the rumbling tummies. So off we went to Marina



Please don't ask me why sis likes to do stupid faces.

We settled for SOURPUSS, which is by the Esplanade Walkway.



Once we settled, ushered by an over-enthusiastic manager, another surprise was given to the berfday girl...

A FAMOUS AMOS COOKIE CAKE :)




And there was no berfday songs.. only the berfday girl wolfing down 1/4 of the cake. Hahaha.


Ok time for food critique-ing..


I forgot what's this soup because it tastes as bland as water.


Seafood pasta tastes like... NOTHING. Poor Shazwin, it was his order and he was convincing himself that there was actually some taste in it. But I didn't say that it was the carrots that was giving the pasta some taste. Hehe.


The fish cutlets are served in pretty big portions and overall, it does taste fine. But nothing to dream about.



This is called the Twosome. I wanted an Orgy but they don't have it. Hehehe. Ok anyway..
The burger buns are those fluffy-fluffy kinds.. so when you bite into it, the first thing that comes out is air. Hahah. Really.
I ordered Surfer's Paradise, coz I thought it would be big, but its actually medium-sized fish burger *shrugs*.
And I feel kinda cheated coz the fillet is actually the cutlet from the Fish-n-Chips. Hrrmph!
And for sis's burger, it was a typical beef burger which you can find at any pasar malam near you.
As for those brownish rings.. they are the Calamari Rings and I'm happy to report that there were real sotongs inside and not just flour.

NO desserts! :(((
Overall food experience: 2.5/5

After the food for tummy, we filled our mind with games!



And after watching Shazwin gulp one big glass of Ice Lemon Tea for losing at Scrabble, we headed home :)




Dear Yaya,
Hope you had fun!
Please stop torturing me at home and please go and buy more clothes with your birthday money and leave my clothes alone
:)
Eventhough you bully me 238% of the time, I still do care about you and I always pray you'll grow up to be a fine lady. But I guess I don't have to worry too much coz I see you're growing up fine :)

Looooove yoooou!
*huuugs*

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