Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Of nothing: Drama "tersalah cinta"

Dah jadik review drama plak ya...

As I said, I am not a fan. Tapi my sis smsed semalam cakap my dd recommended the above drama that she watched in Singapore and re-watched recently during Raya Haji holidays.

My brother and sis in-law watched with dd during Raya Haji and then kecoh lah mereka cerita pasal cerita ni pada my sis. My sis tegar mencari di YOUTUBE.


Lepas dah tengok, dia smsed kata memang best, pandai dd I recommend. (DD is just 10 years old)lawak dan penuh pengajaran.. So camner? Kot tak yah tengok kot? So malam tadi I pun cari sama di youtube... Ada tu ada tapi seingat I di singapore dulu ada beberapa shots yang tak ada di youtube.


Nevertheless memang terhibur. Tergelak2 I sorang sampai my husband tegur yang gelak kecil i secara tertahan2 tu masih lagi dapat mengacau dia tidur.. huhu....


Yang paling best cerita ni pasal boleh mengimbas kenangan dan pengalaman di Mekkah dan masjid Nabawi.... Hatiku semakin rindu. Dulu orang cakap rindu, tak faham. Now dah faham. Sampai sakit hati bila rindu sangat tu kengkadang.. sakit hati sebab sedih tak dapat pergi as and when we wanted....


Synopsis cerita google ya. I admit I pemalas... Sekadar nak kasi gempak jer drama ni best boleh. Pelakonnya, Aqasha (my sis cakap this is his best drama hehehe kalau tak dia suam2 je kan?), Rita Rudaini (best pasai dia guna loghat kedah ekekekeke), and Neelofa (tak tahan aku dengar cara dia panggil Aqasha.. Ustazzzzzzzzzzzzz ekekekekeke lemak sangat! ) dan beberapa pelakon yang aku tak kenal tapi lawak gak la hehe... So please do enjoy ya!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Of nothing : Adam & Hawa

Sebelum I review sesikit pasa tajuk di atas.......Selamat Hari Raya Korban... Happy belated Eid!

Pernah tak renung2 kembali pengorbanan ayah ibu, guru2 kita, kita sendiri sebagai isteri dan ibu, sebagai muslim dan hamba Allah....  Entah kenapa aku sayu bila pandang muka ibuku....Nampak sangat dia sudah aging. Aku jarang tenung dia, tapi bila aku pandang mukanya masa raya tu, aku jadi rindu saat dia muda dan memarahi aku supaya aku rajin2 belajar.. sedih aku jadiknya! Di sudut hati aku, aku tahu aku akan menyesal dan sedih sangat sekiranya dia pergi.... Ya Allah kurniakanlah kesihatan padanya dan panjangkan umurnya. Dalam pada tu, aku buat request pada mak aku, (erk sedey ni!) suruh dia masak tumis sardin sebab aku punya tak jadik macam dia buat huhuhuhuhu... MasyaAllah best sesangat makan dengan nasi panas. Adik aku makan dengan canai panas... Syoknya... teringat zaman kecil dulu.. itulah lauk kami.... So hari tu, kami tak pandang rendang dah! Tu dia kan! comfort food namanya!

Ok masa hari raya tu jugaklah , sibuk adik ipar dan kakak aku bercerita pasal siri drama di Mustika Astro ni - Adam & Hawa. Actually sebelum raya lagi. Pergi concert anak aku pun sempat pegang buku Adam & Hawa. Memang gila dah derang tu hehe...


Pada mulanya, sikit2 jer cerita, last2 sampai mereka beli buku sebab tak sabar punya pasal nak tahu ending. Yang paling aku tak tahan.... siap buat tanda kat buku tu bab2 romantik lol. Adehhhhh!


Aku memang tak minat sangat drama. Malas layan..... Dari kecik aku tak suka. Tapi lain dengan anak sulung perempuan aku tu, memang boleh layan drama dengan nenek dia.... Mak aku dulu kalau dia tengok cerita P.Ramlee ker, dayang senandung ker, adehhhh, bosan sungguh....Tapi si dd ni, dia memang bonding dengan nenek dia melalui cerita melayu... Aku pun tak tahu dapat genes dari mana hehe...


Bila dah asyik bercerita depan aku, sampai facebook setiap komen selit gakkk  nama aaron aziz, maka aku pun curious lah juga.....apalah yang best sangat pasal mamat ni. Masa kat Singapore dulu banyak jer drama dia aku miss, ok jer aku... malas aku nak tengok. Tak pulak aku tergila2kan dia, aku pun kan ker muda dulu hehe...


So malam tadi , lepas curious on Lance Amstrong and his dope scandal (rajin plak aku tengok Tour de France yang aku memang tak minat - semata2 kerana nak tengok how strong he was during the race and whether he deserved it or not. You see, I kind of agree, you can give drug to anyone, but can they have the same talent, energy and determination? kan? cuba ko kasi kat aku, kannnn??... tapi aku pahamlah IT IS WRONG! wrong ok!), lepas dah penat,  aku bukak la jugak adam & hawa.

Diorang cakap "Try tengok 1 episode , sure ko akan suka punya" Aku jawab... "erm tak paham aku lah, apa lah yang best sangat pun. Drama Aaron jer pun!" Ok memula aku tengok synopsis jer, tapi lepas tu lagi curious, amekkk, dapat plak website yang download semua episode. Sampai episode 36 aku habiskan malam tadi. The damage? I only slept for 2 hours last night! huhu....


(I watched the episode jumping) - My impression memang memula , pesal lah minah Hawa ni plain sangat. Tapi, lama kelamaan, ko tengok betul2 ya, dia memang lawa. Macam Wardina Safiyyah. And sejujurnya aku rasa.... yang buat kakak aku dan adik ipar aku tu mabuk, ialah lakonan aaron yang nakai tu kot.. Apa laaa derang ni kan! ekekeke!



Time dia kata "rambut hawa wangi, peh tu mabuk sampai nak pegang rambut minat tu..." adehhhh.... dan lagi satu part "si adam playboy tu hampir nak cium si hawa , sib kena penampar... " huhu.... Bagi aku tu jer lah sipi2 babak romantik. Yang lain bab "Aaron patah balik amik Hawa/Ain nak pergi beli barang lepas Ain nayakan dia suruh sepupu dia yang temankan" hehehe.... Ok ok satu lagi... Bab "Aaron tak kuasa nak bergaduh selepas kena stood up 2 hours tunggu Ain tengok wayang.. aku suka dialog ni....

Aaron :"kenapa awak tak beritahu saya dan biar saya tunggu 2 jam, susah saya nak percaya Ain".. Ain dengan selamba rock.. like she will not lose anything :"tak percaya tak apalah"

kan??? hehehehe....So mamat Aaron ni membawa lakonan sangat berkesan bila dia dapat lakonkan yang dia sayannggggggggggggggg sangat dengan Ain sampai dia mengalah.. walaupun begitu sempat la jugak dia keluarkan sedas dua.. hehehe.. Sebab tu lah agaknya penonton2 kat luar tu mabukkk sangat dengan mamat ni kan kan kan? haha!


Anzalna tu pulak. hehe... Aku cuma tahu dia pasal dia banyak la photo session kat surat2 khabar tu kan. Nasiblah dia pandai gak berlakon kalau tak sesia jer banyak publisiti, kan? You have talent girl!


Owh seperti tak percaya saya blog about drama series. I do not even blog about "Keeping up with the Kardashian"... That was my treat during my "cloth folding session"!


Ok saya malas nak letak link dan gambar2 sebab saya kurang tidur, so lain kali InsyaAllah. Toodles!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Travel : Pt 3 Jordan-Jerusalem-Jordan-Madinah-Mekkah

I ended my part 2 where we were asked to go for our final queue at the immigration office.

It was such a confusing phase and very nerve wrecking sebab first time pergi. We do not know what to expect except stories from blogs that the pre-visa approval is not a guarantee they will let you in.

And my hubby is a Singaporean and no pre-visa approval is needed. No guarantees what so ever. Singapore has their embassy there, but what if he can't go in. And what if I can't go in and he can? That questions went back and forth in our head... infact masa kat Malaysia lagi. Kita print information from the blog yang Singapore tak payah visa nak masuk bagai, but still... no guarantee. So memang kepada Allah sahaja lah pergantungan tu...

We hope Allah help us and they like our face, and minta Allah bagi mood derang tu baik...


At first mereka suruh kitorang tunggu. Lepas datang officer lain, marah pulak, kenapa linger around dan tak queue. So we queued. Ada 2 barisan kena buat sebab ada 2 kaunter jer pun masa tu. Lepas dah buat barisan, dia panggil nama dari list (of the pre-approval visa) dan dia naik moody bila dia panggil, orang2 yang dia panggil bukan dalam barisan dia dan di belakang. Plak dah kan. Haha!


So our guide (we called him ustaz zul), suruh kita berbaris ikut nombor dalam list tu and from then on, we were known by "numbers". If I am not mistaken my number is 22 and my hubby 23. gitulah. dah tak ingat dah. So the immigration officers akan panggil nombor dan sila lah ingat nombor masing2.... Untuk makcik2 tu, yang kat depan semua lepas.... sampai dekat orang kelima kot, mood officer tu dah berubah.. Dia interview seperti ini. "what is your name?" "what is your father's name?" "what is your grandfather's name". "Do you speak english" (sorry ya tang ni aku nak gelak... ko ingat diorang pandai english? broken english gak so motif tanya do you speak english tu ada sedikit unsur2 lawak di situ...) tu yang aku kata, they have insecurity also you know...


So saudara kita lelaki yang di tanya tu menjawab nama dia "fauzi" bukan nama sebenar tapi aku contohkan yang nama dia melayu bukan arab... tang bin tu dia jawab "abdullah".. aha! tang grandfather tu dia jawab "muhammad", kan? (dapat rasa tak bibit2 kemana conversation ni mengarah....) atau vise versa, tang do you speak english tu, dengan bangganya dia cakap "yes i speak english"... So selepas soklan2 bodoh yang tak kemana2 tu, saudara kita tu terus kena side line, tak lepas... ok isteri dia dah lepas, dia tak lepas... kalau dah lepas kena terusssss jalannnnn jangan toleh2 lagi haha! tapi nasib baik isteri dia belum lepas sangat, so dia tunggu kat depan ada tempat kerusi, kalau terus jalan kena surrender dah kertas putih tu dan keluar terus.


Kami dah tahap stress lah masa tu. sebenarnya, officer tu, tak puas hati dengan nama muhammad peh tu ada abdullah pulak. nama Rasulullah SAW kan. Lepas tu bila suruh panggil our guide, dia pulak kata dia boleh speak english. Tetapi jawapan yang di beri masih tak memuaskan hati dia. Soklan yang diberi tu pulak semua soklan carik pasal bukan soklan yang sepatutnya.....Walaupun tahu english, ko buatlah macam tak tahu speak english ya... suruh jer guide yang jawab. Tu post mortem ustaz zul lah kan.


Di pendekkan cerita, turn aku plak. Alhamdulillah senang jer, terus stamp. Aku tak terus jalan sebab risau. Turn hubby, officer tu melolong kat Ustaz zul. "Why his name is not in the list or why no pre-approved visa". "because he is a Singaporean" mungkin dia terasa kebodohan dia bila dapat jawapan bernas tu. sebab dia dah pegang passport Singapore hubby aku tu kan.


Maka officer tu cucuk lagi nak carik pasal "I know Malaysia passport I cannot stamp, but I will stamp his passport" ustaz zul dah sedikit agitated. "no you can't, later we can't enter Madinah or Mekkah"

I think sebab agitated, maka englishnya berbunyi nada "telling-off"..... huhu!

Maka dengan itu, ada lah sebab bagi oficer tu nak masuk jarum carik pasal lagi "are you telling me what to do?"

"No, but please do not stamp it" ... dan beberapa words exchange lagi , masa tu kitorang berdua sangat helpless, kitorang duk tengah dan pandang officer tu dan pandang ustaz zul everytime they have the heated exchange.

And .... of course ustaz zul kalah and my husband was sent to the side. No stamping. You wait. Katanya.


And I go to isteri abang "fauzi" tadi dan join her. I memang bukak semua buku dan baca doa yang sepatutnya. Ada doa untuk syaitan ke apa entah, aku baca doa tu banyak2. Ambil air wudhu' dan baca yaasin di situ pelan2... Allah is greater than them, Allah will help us. Only Allah will help us and not them. Kita masuk nak menyaksikan peninggalan nabi2, sejarah nabi dan untuk merasa tawaddhu', maka penting bagi kami nak masuk. Isra' mikraj berlaku di Aqsa, so kita memang dying to see it for ourselves of this place.


Another tourist group from India yang bersari bagai lepas. Lagi nerve wrecking. Semua jemaah lain lepas dan Ustaz Zul suruh naik ke bas terus, jangan berpaling lagi katanya hehe... Dia suruh aku dan kakak naik juga but we were contemplating, takkan lah kita nak pergi without husbands kan? So we waited. selepas 1 atau 2 jam, memang lama. Mereka kena panggil dengan officers yang dalam office. They interviewed my hubby. And Alhamdulillah lepas....


Orang yang dalam bas tadi pun bersorak gembira! Alhamdulillah, Allah really helps us. And abang "fauzi" kata Alhamdulillah for the experience kalau tak, tak ada apa nak cerita kan.. lawak dia.

Menurut kakak, abang fauzi dengan bangganya bercerita masa kat kampung yang sure dia akan lepas sebab muka dia jawa.... kan? So memang kena humble lah we just do not know. Allah may just want to test us.


For my hubby, maybe the confidence level of being a Singaporean. I do not know. Allah tested us for a reason. tapi kitorang memang dah plan, kalau dia tak dapat masuk, dia izinkan aku masuk sorang. tapi kalau aku tak dapat masuk, dia pun tak masuk... aku tatau kenapa dia buat perjanjian gitu, maybe tak nak tengok aku merana kat Jordan sorang2.... ustaz Zul pun cakap, dia pun tak akan masuk kalau one of us tak boleh masuk.


Syukurlah that everyone tak payah melalui atau membuat decision yang getir gitu.....bersambung....


We met our tour guide, a muslim. I forgotten his name but he was good! Then our journey continues.... first stop is jericho...beginilah pemandangan sepanjang ke jericho... masa ni macam tak percaya, we made it here! Syukur Alhamdulillah... years of envisioning myself going to Palestine. We are on our way to Baitul Maqdis atau nama barunya "Jerusalem"...
 Tembok yang ini tak berapa dramatik sangat lagi...

Hampir sampai, belok ke kanan ya...
 Ada juga palestinian yang berada contohnya, bila nampak kedai dentist dengan nama muslim... I am not sure whose house is this. Tapi di Jericho 95% are muslim. Sorry on the percentage. Not sure if it is 95% or 99%. Google sendiri boleh?
 Dah masuk kawasan Jericho, bandar tertua di Dunia...


Dah sampai...... Ni dah dalam cable car, so I get the shot from the top..... till then!










House Project : Kitchen cabinet

Back to the house project...Let me do the thinking out loud.


I am glad that I read this blog : the-malaysia-project.blogspot.com... Otherwise I would have not known the existence of "corian" solid top. Their good review gave Signature Kitchen (SK) on my top list. However, I can still request for this top from other contractor...so.....

Another blogger reviewed on Defuro kitchen (sorry I missed the link), otherwise I would not know their existence as well. However, I am re-thinking about them now. Hugely due to my limited budget.

For some reason, though Intech/Artak kitchen have good reviews from more than 1 blogger (mostly on their price), I am still not bonding with them.

I sengaja usik my boss that I might engage SK to do my kitchen.. sedikit tercabar boss I.. huhu...relax boss jangan jeles.... it is just about the brand! (ok aku terasa seperti aku di Singapore sekarang ini)... he was recommending Kian Classic as he did his condo's reno with them. I kind of like their "eco" wardrobe (and its price) but not really into their kitchen cabinet.

I still need to visit Artak Kitchen office , Chan's kitchen and houzdepot. Otherwise, I will be ...fidgety. Indecisive. Unsettled.

Time to visit? A lot need to be done I do not know how to organize my time anymore!

For stress reliever, please enjoy these pictures and feeling2 that my house will look like this eventually. Huhu....!

I actually like this you know. Some will say it looks bersepah. (that is my husband saying)... but i love it for practicality. Ko ingat ada masa nak lap2 bebaik during weekdays and letak kat dalam cabinet?? ohhhh semua orang tau itu memang dalam gambar jer begitu.. except for some truly neat people. I give you my respect for being such a rajin person.
Can my family dining room looks like this please? It looks so easy but how much is that table again? here in malaysia you can't get "those table looking design" under rm400. That's the whole problem. How do you quench your "expensive" taste when you only have MYR1 in the bank? (loan is unforgiven answer).

 Erm... do not like the table leg but love the top...the chair's character macam terlampau gah sangat, while I am looking for a "homely and inviting but modern style".... it is just an idea so.....

 None I like here, but this picture strenghten of what I like...

This picture actually told me that, "you do not necessarily need a big mirror to complement your dining area or your 9ft long buffet table..." so thank you picture.


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Travel : Gambar2 Jordan-Jerusalem-Jordan-Madinah-Mekkah

 Ramai yang tanya, bukan ker passport kita tak di benarkan ke negara yahudi ni? Ye, betul tu. For some awkward reason, dalam pada susah nak masuk, the custom officer tu boleh pulak buat statement gini " I know about Malaysia passport, we cannot stamp but we should stamp Singapore passport"... means, dia kasi kita masuk, negara kita tak kasik.. kot? kot lah.....

Jadi, for us, muslims, especially yang nak masuk ke Madinah and Mekkah, make sure dia tak tersilap atau buat2 silap stamp kat dalam passport kita. They will actually stamp in this piece of paper.... macam kat atas tu.
 Ni stamp/receipt nak keluar... covered by the travel agencies...
 Remember bila kita mula masuk, kena beratur kat sticker? macam ni lah sticker nya. and the date of arrival... Bila kita nak masuk Madinah or Mekkah, to take out this sticker, kalau tak, kita pulak ada problem dengan customs di Madinah/Mekkah...
 Border di Jordan tempat kita menunggu fax yang berjam2 lamanya...
 Queen Alia airport...sorry tak tersusun, malas huhu....
Pengisian dalam bas, sementara menunggu fax yang sangat lama dari Jerusalem...aku tak sure dari jabatan manalah kan.. kang banyak tanya, kena lempang plak hehehehe..... ikut orang duk dendiam.. Kalau backpack baru boleh panic....
Ok aku lupa ni kat Jordan ke kat Jerusalem... tapi cam ni lah... memang kosong tapi panas dia tak sekering di Madinah or Mekkah... Maybe ni yang dalam buku geography dulu describe "panas lembab" dan "panas kering"... dulu main hafal jer mana ada faham apa maksud sebenar....

Travel : Pt 2 Jordan-Jerusalem-Jordan-Madinah-Mekkah

Kursus Umrah

Secara ringkasnya, kami pergi dengan sekumpulan family yang besar... Bukan setakat ibu bapa anak sahaja tapi nenek, nenek sedara, makcik sedara, ipar duai, uncle, nephew dan seumpamanya. So sedikit hairan padamulanya bila kita dijemput untuk kursus di tempat yang tak berapa familiar tapi juga sedikit special....

Tengok nama tempat macam private property. So anggapan I betul. memang bukan office travel agency tu tapi office "cum" rumah mereka... Masa tu, I bawa semua askar2 I yang tak berapa nak behave nya...esp semasa waktu makan.. huhu....

So, adalah satu makcik tu bertanya dekat 5-6 kali, adakah aku akan bawa baby dan anak2 aku ni.. hehehehehee... Aunty, I sendiri pun tak nak bawa mereka sebab nanti I tak boleh focus, tak boleh nak jalan cepat bagai. Dah lah I first timer, so adalah lebih bagus kalau I pergi sendiri dulu....Aku respect dengan orang yang bawa anak kecik... kalau pergi Zoo atau London aku bawa kot, tapi nak pergi focus ibadat ni, aku tak leh imagine nak kejut mereka awal2 pagi, mandikan, lepas tu nak jalan cepat2 sebab nak dapat saf depan, nak tunggu berjam2 tunggu turn Malaysia di raudhah, aku sendiri tak boleh jaga diri aku, tak sure aku boleh tidur selewat pukul 12 dan bangun pukul 3 pagi, inikan pula nak take care anak2 kecik......

Ustazah yang beri kursus tu bagus... ada 2 kali kursus, dan aku rasa oklah kot. tak ada masalah sangat. Di bantu dengan blog2 dan buku2, macam dah ada confident skit. Faham lah mana yang rukun. Yang penting bagi aku ialah larangan2 tu....paling suspen kot...


Yang interesting nya pertanyaan2 antara makcik2 ni. Mereka ni adalah dari orang2 berada. Tahap2 ada swimming pool kat rumah. Tapi yang lain2nya sangat humble especially yang muda2 ni. A bit of intimidating at first tapi pada akhirnya Alhamdulillah nothing bad happened. They are nice people. Makcik yang sangat mengintimidate aku dengan soklan2 panasnya tu pada akhirnya semasa menunggu turn di Raudhah kata kat aku..."kita memang lahir cakap kasar ini macam tapi hati kita baik, apa mau buat..." So I tend to accept that it is the way they talk and pose the questions but actually they do not have any bad agenda....


Day of Departure

Ni satu lagi big challengenya but sangat peribadi nak mention. Tapi cukuplah dengan peringatan "sabar" mesti bermula berbulan2 dari departure sampai hari nak balik :P

We booked a taxi, got a very peramah young malay chap yang dulunya an ex-diver in Singapore so he conversed in english basically. Memang rasa pelik tapi we enjoyed his company during the journey to KLIA.

We found out that we are extremely early, like 2 hours in advance. Patutlah tak ada orang langsung. Rupa2nya we were not updated by the agent berkumpul pukul 7pm bukan 5pm.... Sedikit merajuk di situ tapi as my hubby puts it, Allah knows best, we came early and we had our dinner and solat calmly. penting tu. sebab bila azan maghrib jer jadik crowded giler kat KLIA tu.

Selepas tu, aku belilah digital kamera sebab nak harap camera bb phone jer ker macam tak puas. pergi Palestine tu kan, entah bila dapat pergi lagi... so maybe tu perancangan Allah, sempat beli camera bagai dan charge the battery sampai departure time.


After dah berkumpul lepas maghrib, senang dah, bergerak je lah. tag smua dah buat, solat sudah. tunggu jer lah kumpulan kita di panggil masuk. Jordanian airlines ni or maybe semua umrah group, seating arrangement ada sedikit tunggang langgang. Tapi sebab pergi dengan family ramai2 tu, senang je lah nak kawtimnya walaupun air stewardessnya macam muka geram campur bengang bila kita bertukar2 boarding pass...hehe...


Landed in Jordan
Kita landed sangat early, I think about 4 or 5am. But masa tu dah tak ada subuh rasanya. Ada travel agency yang lain juga. Masa tu sebab our agency combined with 3 others, memang ada sedikit confused siapa group kita so tak boleh cam.

Jordan customs suruh semua beratur, mengikut agency dan beri passport pada mereka. Sesuatu pengalaman yang baru.... Bukan dan tu stamp dan tu collect. Lepas tu kita collect baggage dan tunggu passport sama transport.

Dalam 30mins gitu, clear semua, baru naik bas dan menghala ke Restaurant Cina for breakfast. Walaupun matahari dah naik tapi tak ada kereta sangat kat jalan. As per my update in pt1, makanannya macam asian tapi tekak tetap rasa cam makanan Arab...


Lepas selesai sarapan, simpan bag2 besar sebab nak masuk Jerusalem, kena avoid thorough check , kenalah limitkan luggage masuk (kedai tutup lagi tapi pekerja dia dah collect bag kitorang, sedikit risau di situ tapi Alhamdulillah, semuanya ok bila balik dari Jerusalem lepas tu)...


So bawa sorang satu hand carry saja cukup untuk 4 hari 3 malam di sana.... Lepas tu gila excited bercampur2 rasa berdebar2 takut sangat kena tahan tak dapat masuk ke Jerusalem. Walaupun dah pre-approved visa tapi sistem diorang ni boleh jer ikut mood masing2 huhu... My hubby pulak passport Singapore yang tak perlu apply visa. Lagilah berdebar, sebab tak ada guarantee langsung boleh masuk.. memang banyak berdoa dan baca Quran masa menunggu tu.


Bila sampai kat border Jordan, selalunya clear, terus kita pergi ke border Jerusalem. Tapi kali ni kena tunggu lama. Ingatkan ada orang pergi toilet, sekali sampai 2 jam tunggu. Rupa2nya dah bertukar sistem, we now have to wait for the clearance for the bus to go to the Jerusalem border. We need to wait for them to fax us the clearance...  Sampai dah tengahari, baru dapat fax tu,  lega dapat bus tu bergerak..... letih sangat menunggu. Dahlah suspence jer masa tunggu tu kan.. Pengisian jemaah tu ada so best jugalah, berharap sangat pada bantuan Allah masa tu.


Sampai ke custom Jerusalem, laa kecik jer. Tak canggih langsung. Di situ nampak ke vulnerabilitian mereka...Taklah banyak duit sangat that they can enhance their systems anytime they like.... Armed army di mana2 sangat intimidate. Bila masuk kena beratur dapat sticker dulu then beratur lagi to scan bag. Kami dipesan suruh ikut jer cakap or arahan mereka. Sebab nak tengok Al-Aqsa kan dan sejarah para Anbia' memang lah kena sabar..... Gambar sila jangan ambil nanti kamera terus di rampas... Sangat suspence kan? Ada pernah pergi negara yang macam tu? masa pergi Estonia via Denmark and Copenhagen (waktu balik) pun tak macam tu, cuma di Denmark they asked us to show the conference invitation sahaja...


Lepas dah scan bag, baru lah pegi ke satu lagi area untuk stamp passport..... Jumpa palestinian yang balik dari US (migrated to US), they told us, it would be a long process katanya.. kami senyum saja... We already prepared for it. Masa kat stamping process ni lah lagi nak jatuh luruh jantung.. This is when "the mood" will make the differences!


Sambung later.....enjoy the picture first.


 pemandangan dari custom border Jordan menuju ke Jerusalem beginilah seterusnya... kosong.. kosong....
 Taxi di Jordan, perasan tak "light taxi" tu odd sangat kedudukannya...
 ha nak dekat sampai dah ni....

Ha ni dah lepas suspense semua.. hehehehehe






















Monday, October 22, 2012

Travel : Pt1 - Jordan-Jerusalem-Jordan-Madinah-Mekkah June 2012

The highlight for this year for me is visiting Jerusalem. I have interest in Palestine since I was young and envisioning myself to be with the convoy saving lives, and help Palestinian women and children with food and medicine.

Nevertheless, lepas kahwin, walaupun semangat masih membara, susah lah nak tinggal anak2 segala to just jump the ship to be a volunteer. Apatah lagi financial burden yang ada kan....


Sampai lah last 29 May 2012, dapat peluang. Dapat bonus yang tak terfikir dan increment yang memang out of my expectation, rezeki dari Allah. Alhamdulillah yang tidak terhingga. So peluang tu dengan segera di sambut. The initial plan is to keep the money for renovation, but again, the house can wait. The Mekkah, Madinah and Palestine cannot wait. Seperti memanggil2....


The challenges

At first, memang plan nak pergi Jerusalem, but then sebab pegi berdua macam tak cukup budget, terpaksa lupakan niat murni dan impian tu. Pergilah book untuk Egypt. Dapat tengok peninggalan nabi Musa sebelum baginda berhijrah ke Palestine. Tetapi, entah macamana cuti my hubby kena cancel for the umrah trip. So I change my plan to Jerusalem back. This time alone.

Seperti roller coaster, selang beberapa hari, my hubby dapat pulak new job offer. He accepted it due to the umrah intention (as well as we thought it is quite odd to cancel the leaves after approving it and after we are very frank about performing the umrah with the company)...The journey is not that straight forward, sampai lagi berapa minggu jer nak berlepas baru dapat confirm he got the offer and can hand over his resignation letter to the existing company. Sampai saat2 akhir gitu.... And that is not the only challenge we had actually. Stay on.....


Preparation - weeks before departure

Apa pun yang terjadi, aku tetap excited, aku dah nekad akan pergi juga untuk bertemu rumah Allah, dan melawat makam2 nabi dan makam rasulullah....

So the first thing I did of courselah.... beli buku. Sebab I have no idea macamana nak mengerjakan umrah. End up, later on, the agency kasi 1, dan kawan office kasi aku 2 lagi buku. Ohhh sangat penting ada banyak version sebab ilmu2 itu ada lain, so it is good untuk tambah ilmu. Dan bila aku blur habis semasa di "Ar-Raudhah" macamana nak queue untuk pergi ker bahagian perempuan Ar-Raudhah dalam buku tak ada graphic or map sebab kebanyakan buku di tulis oleh lelaki. Dan aku tak tahu juga tiang mana or mana satu maqam Rasulullah since semua dah di tutup... jadik ada satu buku ni yang aku tak perasan masa kat Malaysia, give the description and map... ha nasib bawak smua buku.. nasiblah aku kiasu....

Salah satu buku aku beli ialah "Travelog Haji - Mengubah sempadan iman" - oh penting baca buku ni. sebab you can really relate to someone's experience. I blog walked as well. One of the blogs yang paling best baca and details is "mariafirdaus.blogspot.com".... dan "ustazamin.com". Yang lain2 best juga, aku dah lupa link tapi pengalaman mereka di Jerusalem's customs sangat interesting.


Untuk perempuan, ada lagi challengesnya. iaitu, the menstrual. I was at the time for months and months tak datang my "bulan dan bintang". This is due to aku ambil injection for our family planning. Entah macamana, final weeks tu, aku dapat pula. Yang paling membimbangkan, I had it like spots, spots, clear, clear and then the spots come back. Pergi clinic more than twice, they give tablets to prevent, still I am having it tak tentu hala hari sampai nak solat pun susah. Hari ni solat esok tak solat. Esok solat balik and so on....So kira penat mandi wajib.. huhu....... Ustazah ada ajar doa untuk tahan datang "bulan dan bintang", it might works, but since it did not show any stopping signs, I opt tu see a gynae at SDMC.


Selepas mendapat pandangan dan ubat yang lebih professional dari a gynae compared to a GP, barulah stabil. Ayat Gynae tu "Your endometrium lining is 10mm, you will bleed anytime now! No wonder you are having this...Normal is about 3mm only!" kan????? Lega sangat selepas mendapat point2 yang bernas bersandarkan fakta sains tapi tak lega juga sebab anything could happen since Qada' and Qadr adalah salah satu rukun iman.... Selepas baca pengalaman orang lain yang lepas2 , ustazah semasa kursus pun ada bercerita, orang yang dah menapaus bertahun2 sedangkan boleh datang, inikan lagi i... So sangat humble lah masa tu. A humbling experience. Allah nak train aku untuk kesabaran dan redha.


Another obvious challenge ialah..... entah kenapa few weeks before departure, ada satu kucing yang jiran aku kasi makan (kucing liar - dan jiran aku suka kasik dia makan tak halallah kan....obviously so bau najis dia amat dahsyat dari biasa) kucing ni suka makan kat sana, tapi buang air kat sinun... kat sinun tu belakang rumah aku. Betul2 di bawah tingkap bilik bawah......atau depan pintu belakang... sabau jer lakan....


Dalam satu hari mesti ada 3 spot of najis kucing ni..... So dalam 2-3 minggu itu ajalah kerja aku lepas balik kerja. I will take plastic glove and a loads of newspaper and plastic bag untuk bersihkan.. Tuang clorox supaya hilang bau dan rasa... Semakin aku bersih, semakin best dia membuang....


Nak hilang juga kesabaran, sampai I suruh aunty sebelah tu jangan kasi makan lagi sebab dia akan membuang kat rumah aku... tapi aunty tu tak sampai hati dengan dia mengiau... so ikhtiar aku yang seterusnya ialah dengan menutup semua lubang2 pagar... barulah redaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....


Sepanjang incident tu, I reminded myself, kucing ialah binatang yang paling Rasulullah sayang... so it really calm me down a bit. Sampai satu ketika kitorang yang tak reti pegang kucing ni cuba nak tangkap dan buang, obviously misi kitorang gagal sebab memang tak tau pegang kucing hehehehehe..... kesian DS aku paksa dia jadi penahan kucing tapi bolos gak ekekekeke!



Banyak lagi cerita menarik, semasa kursus pun ada. So sepanjang hidup aku, inilah paling banyak aku merasa cabaran. Alhamdulillah semuanya secara sedar. So aku boleh remind myself of my intention to go to Mekkah. Kalau tahap tak sedar di uji entah apa yang akan berlaku kan??


Bersambung later... Enjoy the picture first.


We took Royal Jourdanian's airline. Overall it was ok. Masa pergi tak berani nak tengok entertainment. So memang banyakkan baca Quran, Allah can give and take us just like that, bagi aku sesia kalau tak sampai... huhu...  Bawaklah spray, senang nak ambil wudhu'. Actually cuma untuk subuh saja pun... sebab yang lain dah jamak sesiap, atau akan di jamak... It helps me a lot as perempuan ni leceh sket nak ambil wudhu' dalam kapal terbang...
Pemandangan dalam perjalanan dari airport Queen Alia to the chinese restaurant, It is so early walaupun dah terang benderang in the morning, pak2 arab dan minah2 arab blom bangun katanya....
 Restaurant chinese halal yang di operate oleh Jordanian...
 The inside...
Menunya, sup sayur, telur dadar, fries and ayam goreng... Walaupun begitu, rasanya tak sama macam makan di Malaysia, I pun tak paham kenapa... bukan tu menu biasa? hehehehe.... Yang mula aku notice di sini, satu meja bulat walaupun ramai orang dia kasi sebotol air mineral besar untuk di kongsi... So dari situ akan bermula trend yang sama (macam... sangat kekurangan air gitu)... sampai la ke Jerusalem nanti trend yang sama.. infact kat sana lagi la.......... nanti i cerita ya...


Sunday, October 21, 2012

House project : Quotation for curtains

I went back to Homedec with baby 'am today. I was so ready to buy the sink and the kitchen tap (with shower mixer). Even though my mind was made up to buy bareno brand, due to the past mistakes, i still survey the restlah.

End up, tak jadi beli. I did collect few brochures though. manalah tahu kalau dah made up my mind nanti tahulah mana nak pergi beli.

The highlight of today was the curtain quotation. was a very calming process and we received a very good service from the personnel there. Selalunya pun good juga cuma kali ni lebih lama dari biasa. and my choice is getting better. The price for 10 feet x 8 feet x 5 rooms = RM12k..... Amik ko! Average price per meter is RM50 so that's the cause of it. Compared to Jakel, 129 per meter, and sheer curtain for RM35, lagi pengsan!


Dengan kedai lagi satu we managed to get price for RM28 per meter but quotation is for 4 room so minus 1 room but additional blind for another room = RM6k. So we might opt for this shop. We really hope the service will be better. My reservation for this shop is the chinese man ni cam ah kua sket so dia plak lebih diva dari aku, tapi dia sgt baik pada ibu dia yang sudah tua, so aku dapat rasa hati dia lembut sket....Let's hope for the best.


I realized, aku tak suka pilih curtain kat Nilai 3 or kat Jakel. It makes me rushed. Maybe the heat, maybe the crowd and maybe sebab tak ada tempat duduk. Experience pergi kedai langsir, you just name the budget, they will bring the samples to you in a kind of album gitu. So I think I prefer this.


I still need to buy blind and simple curtain for DS room and Dylan&baby's room so I still may go to Nilai 3.


I am so loving my choice today. Grey for the dining room n living room. The sheer curtain makes me excited. I chose different pattern for dining and living so i hope it blended well. They better be.


Semua pun I pilih mengikut concept di internet.... hehe.... cemana lah jadinya nanti ya....

Saturday, October 20, 2012

House Project : Homedec 2012

On last friday night we visited Homedec at KL Convec.

We met Signature Kitchen guy to see the 3D design of our wet kitchen, laundry room and dining room. Sabar jelah, mintak quotation kat IOI mall, tapi review kena datang KL Convec....untuk dptkan 10% discount katanya.


It was a pretty bad 3d actually...I have seen better huhu... I said bad because a 9 feet long cabinet was drawn to look like it was 4 feet. and coming from 'Signature Kitchen'? Nasiblah baik, they incorporate some good items, I like it that they use corian top, include blum drawer and undermount work walaupun I did not ask specifically. I did ask the other contractor to quote me with all that only with them I didn't. So patutlah pun harganya for wet Kitchen sahaja about 18k.


With artak kitchen, 12k. But the design and material are slightly different so you can't compare apple to apple. The best thing is Artak Kitchen included in the quotation not only blum drawer but also the wire rack and the bottle rack.


So what I have to do now is to go back to Artak kitchen and ask them to requote with high gloss spray paint.


We went to Defuro kitchen also.  they quote 18k for wet kitchen. Since Defuro is from germany, memang tak payah suruhlah dia quote the Blum drawer bagai..... memang automatic masuk. They use LG solid surface. i like it except that they have problem in doing up to ceiling. So we were thinking to get Defuro do our dining room only since their design is quite unique.

Apa lagi yang best kat homedec?

1. The smart key - the cheapest is MYR700 plus from Valor Force. tapi ada banyak jenis, samsung pun ada....We can use Touch 'n Go card juga untuk access the door systems. So I 'super jump' to the idea. Convenientkan? There is finger print access type as well so it is a good idea if you have MYR1.5k extra to spend...They have the type for sliding door as well. So techie which I like.


2. Ions CCTV - for under 2k you can have 4cameras and the vcr. However, price did not include cabling and MYR800 for a one time installation fees.


3. Eubic systems - This one I like. why? because I do not have to pay extra to the electrician man to hack the wall and add extra wall electric power. Price? MYR1.2k plus MYR250 of outside Klang Valley. With that price you will get 3 track with 13 regular head. So about MYR100 each. I haven't asked around on electrician fees but kalau tak nak headache maybe I just put down deposit for this.


4. Bareno sink n kitchen accessories - the big single bowl for less than MYR800 and the tap that I want for MYR600. Thats like the cheapest so far! I am thinking about getting those first tomorrow...let's see.


5. For our wardrobe hunt - I heard from my boss that Kian Classic give good price for the wardrobe. So betullah kot? sebab offer dia 8 feet for only 2.8k tak silap with eco material. Selalu 8 feet about 4k. cantik pulak tu. but i am looking for swing door since I hate sharingdoor with my hubby. The offer is for the sliding door though. Maybe for DD's room oklah kot? am considering....


6. Reliance glass - omg. shower screen glass for 2.2k only.... if not for a lousy salesperson, I would have booked.

Other things like polyroof etc, good to have but not our priority yet...... so betullah to certain extend that they offer good price. but for us, we won't rush to buy since we have bad experience in choosing our oven. Choose calmly n wisely.




Kids : Dylan's concert today

Dylan, my third son is 5 years old this year and he goes to Smart reader kids Saujana Puchong. Today is his annual year concert - held at The Summit.

So semua orang pun datang, mak long, atuk, nenek, pak usu, fav cousin pun ada hehe...paginya kita pergi concert his fav cousin in Shah Alam. So it was a concert day today.

Overall, the kid's performances for the smart reader are impressive for their age. No crying on the stage. Compared to Qdees- my second son DS's kindergarten, this is better. but in terms of the presentation from the teachers perspective, Qdees is better. Krista - DD's kindergarten, best juga tapi masa tu combined with other Krista school n their performance tunggang langgang so ada gap utk boring....huhu....

The memorable one was the story telling about the boy n the tree... it left a big impression in me. Not by my son but the girl could really tell a story. Kudos to her. Dylan's performance was good. We know he likes to perform so obviously he did enjoy showing off his dancing and singing skills.

Will add picture later.



Thursday, October 18, 2012

Travel : Reminiscing London & Paris June 2009

Kita ingat negara kita ni tak maju... tapi ada hikmahnya kita lambat... tengok laa train mereka ni dah tua.... This is in Paris.
The roller yang warna kelabu (depan the screen) is the mechanism to choose the options on the screen... I was like ...smiling.... blur sekejap macamana nak choose memula. This is the machine to top up the card. I sudah lupa apa nama card kat paris ni.
 Tak silap this is on the ferry cruise and the building at the back is the Notre dame de Paris.
 We were excited when we first saw the Eiffel tower. Tapi kita malas nak beratur panjang2.... so kita lepak sajalah kat garden sini and makan kuaci.... sambil tengok budak2 main bola sepak. Memang terasa macam best betul summer in Paris....
 At the back is the "Monalisa" potrait. Boleh tengok dari jauh sajalah because they put barrier.... The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre), tapi masa aku pergi tu aku cuma tahu kat dalam ni ada potrait monalisa so I must go. Tatau lain2 info. Tak cukup masa buat homework sebelum pergi...... Tapi bila dah sampai sana, there are a couple of things that you will discover..yang dulu baca jer, now di depan mata. Siapalah yang tak excited kan? You want to be there for hours and hours...
 The most expensive kebab.. Tak silap, Euro17 (x 4 berapa da tu?) Tapi I memang tak pernah rasa kebab best macam ni lagi. Kedai ni di belakang shopping2 center near the LV boutique.
Oklah, for a cheap accomodation, it is comfy. The owner is muslim. And we stay in a muslim majority area. So banyak makanan halal.
Kalau tak silap i , ini dalam Westminster Abbey. I was intrigued by London sebab dulu2 masa kecil suka baca buku novel and they describe the place like it was the best place you should be.
 Ni verandah in the hotel (or hostel) in Paris. Very nice and cheap.

Westminster Abby. Bolehlah imagine apa yang kita baca dalam sejarah sistem2 raja dulu kala tu bila dah witness sendiri peninggalan2 sejarah tu. Ada yang kata tak boleh masuk church... tapi niat tu kena pasang betullah ya.....
Tak susah rupanya nak naik tube. The first station we stop, keluar ikut orang2 lain yang berpusu2, tetiba, eh..... terus nampak ni...MasyaAllah... (sebenarnya nampak buruk sangat..... macam bertahun tak di cat atau di jaga, tetapi sebab london ni synonym dengan big ben, so memanglah kena tengok sendiri kan...)
 
The best experience is attending the shakespeare open theatre "Romeo & Juliet" at the Shakespeare's Globe. Kawan2 aku tak minat, so I booked online for myself, pergi naik train sendiri (ahh seronoknya rasa macam dah bertahun2 hidup kat London haha) dan tu la first time aku pergi theatre. I loss my theatre virginity in London, glamer sangat! haha!
 
You can visit them at http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
 
I thought that was my first and last trip to London, I was thinking jadiklah kan teringinnnn sangat pergi London, dapat juga seumur pergi, mana tahu Allah rancang lagi bagus... Tahun depannya, ada pulak business trip to London........and Brighton. Alhamdulillah for the chances Allah.

Kids : DD's hospitalization

It has been 5 days since dd, my first daughter , hospitalized at SDMC.

Dr Sofia is not around today. Dr Endon is replacing her until tomorrow. She is ok overall just the cough is bothering her. and bothering us..... She had it for 2 weeks plus now..

My CEO said (infront of the management members) to me that I should not be at work when my daughter is in hospital. "You should get your priority right"....... kata dia. Malu sebenarnya bila dia cakap depan senior management. Even I know he has the best intention in the world.

Depending on how you translate it, some would say, he is nice. He is nice!I can tell you he is the only CEO that is so human I ever met and work with.


How do I translate that? Nice, and.... "am I not putting my priority rights? really?" I am a mum. I should know what is my priority kan? so I am a bit of...... "please do not say I am not putting my priority rights, I am just worry about delivering the best for you..."


I just do not want him to look bad at this trying time. So I just need to be there even if for half day. But since you think I should not, oh kay laahh........


The least I could do is just by checking my emails regularly. True enough, there is one incident today that is so out of hand. I am not sure how the department could give wrong information. This is not the first time. Totally unacceptable. After 1000 times of confirmation and we still miss it!


The CEO has reminded all staff that we need a "high performing" culture in the organization. If only they know what it means. Seriously rasa nak lempang jer semua orang.. hehe.. i mean not literally but sometimes I can go "mereng" sekejap. "what is wrong with all of you? how difficult can it be?"


Somehow, I am thankful that I am in this organization where there is a lot of improvement can be done. It is a learning process for me. I tried to adopt what I am in the office at home too.....Like managing a project, I have a gantt chart and a work plan. At home, dulu2 sebelum busy, I am actually quite a good mum. Ambitious mum...I have work plan, I have reading chart, I have white board.


After 4 kids and career is growing, so does accountability and responsibilities. I admit that I am not a very good COO at home. But I have included this project next year. Yes, I have AOP as well for next year. One of the AOP is the reading chart. We need to revive that. The list can go very long, depending on my time. I have not had time to review their hafazan too. They are part timer in Darul Huffaz actually.


DD told me they will have competition on memorization of surah yaasin and as-sajadah before end of school term. We can start with that this year just to warm up.

Found an old picture at the other blog.

Dd is blue. She was 1 year or 2 years? I can't remember.
 
During SARS in SG. She is our first child so a bit kiasu there....
She started the swimming school at 8mths old I think. Or was it earlier? DD is in pink with me. The instructor is australian couple. It was one of the greatest experience with dd.
I remember this part... we will sing "humpty dumpty sat on the wall, humpty dumpty fall from the wall.." and gedebush! the kids were suppose to terjun dalam kolam.... and later stage they will dive up to the bottom with the correct techniques.... Visit them at http://www.marsdenswimschool.com/home.htm
 
Si Jane ni muka masih muda walaupun sekarang DD dah 10 years old...kan? If you think it is expensive, it is not. I was young at that time. Earning about SGD2.5k jer kot.....
This is during DD's admission to KK hospital. Waktu kitorang dah tak berapa nak ada duit so we stayed in 6 bedded room.. hehehehe.. This must be when us self-employed. DD was at her kindergarten, 4 years or 5 years old gitu...
The oxygen level at that time. Better a bit.
DD managed to get good grading during her "ballet" exam. And that was her only exam... Her nenek convinced her enough to stop the class due to the sexy baju.. I was thinking it was a good exercise for her since she tak minat taekwondo... I regretted the decision to stop her ballet class.

DD in an ex-KRISTA. We chose KRISTA as there is a continuance of her "peter and jane" series after our move to Malaysia. Dia sempat dapat 2 piala dari KRISTA. She is actually a bright student... especially during my "GLORIOUS" day as a dedicated mum... I am so excited to bring that back next year... I hope the house is organized enough to start the "good mum is back" project. including cooking I hope.

House Project : Laundry area ideas

At first, this is not even included in my plan.


Our plan was to bring the current washing machine (which is from my parents), dump it in the common bathroom and that is all. End of story.


And then, we start to think (dangerously). When we start to think, it will cause a hole in our pocket. So that is dangerous.


One of our many problems is the laundry. We were so busy that we will have up to 5 laundry baskets to clear. And usually our laundry time is during weekend. And that weekend sometimes consists of sunday only. Saturday is extra class day. Sometimes the kids have school activities so we can't do laundry on saturday. Sometimes we just want to lepak lepak with our family - rumah kakak, rumah adik, when that happens, our saturday will be a non house chore day.


Sometimes it will be a rainy weekend. In this situation, our 5 full laundry baskets will not progress well.


We need to include a dryer in our plan. That is the point when we changed our plan totally.


When we chose our oven (it was a mistake), actually we were there to choose our dryer. And they have offers of MYR1999 for washer and dryer package. So we closed the deal and went home. I started planning on what to do with it. where to put it.

Here are some of my inspiration. Dun forget that the dining table for the family dining room will be here too...... It will serve dual purpose. A table to eat, and a table to fold my laundry. (will i fold any clothes in the end is another storylah).....


 Not bad kan? I seriously think white is a way to go...

 Wasn't that bad kan letak kat tepi tangga cam tu... haha!

 Maybe?


Ok, the above is more like it. I will do white. the washer and dryer memang I chose silver. Because the initial plan is to stack it up bottom and up in the kitchen. So mungkinlah akan match dengan stainless steel yang lain kat kitchen tu... tapi lepas tu I have a second thought to put this in the family dining area.

And look at the table in the middle? That is what I want to do. Exactly this. Oh my goodness, it is so beautiful in my eyes..... How much again? MYR4k to have those in my family dining room? huhuhuhuhu.... But wait, there is always the cheap solution right? Mungkin tak vavavoom, but oklah kan......