The year of 2014. Was it spent wisely?

I’m always pensive during year-end. Thinking about how time flies, how it seems to fly faster and faster. Can it not move slower? Hey time, can you please slow down?

A colleague confided that she sorts of trying to ignore each New Year. Entering my 4 series now, I do feel that I’m running out of time. Running out of time to do what?

More responsibility. Kids are growing, parents are ageing. More attention has to be given to them. At work, more accountability. New executives to coach and mentor. Always complaining that I need more time to complete my assignments. 

I guess I feel that I’m running out of time for myself. But surely god has given us enough time? So, it boils down to how wisely I will use my time.

Quoting from the movie Interstellar ‘We have to think about time as a resource..’, that’s it. My new year’s resolve. Treat time as a resource. Now, I have 2015, 365 days kalau umur panjang. Spend it wisely..ok?

"Demi Masa! Sesungguhnya manusia itu dalam kerugian; Kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan beramal soleh dan mereka pula berpesan-pesan dengan kebenaran serta berpesan-pesan dengan kesabaran."

(Surah Al-Asr,Ayat 1-3)

Gunung Ku Daki, Sungai Ku Redah

Dear God, thank you for making this trip a reality! Despite the worrying discomfort in my plantar fascia, throbbing sensation in my big toe joint and stiff Achilles tendon every morning. I was so worried about my kaki yang tak berapa best nih...macam2 teknologi diguna-pakai - Kinesio taping to manage the plantar & toe joint pain/discomfort, compression pants and compression socks to manage legs/hips fatigue, Achilles tendon pain and general foot pain.
Pills for AMS (thank you Zack!) and panadol for general headache. Gatorade for hydration, dates/ whittaker (nyum!) chocolate/ snickers/kitkat for fuelling.
Pole...oh pole....you were my third leg, without you, I would not reach the mountain top and kaki gunung.

There were 32 people in our group (Danz Travel agency). Originally there were 10 people opting for Timpohon trail and 22 opting for Mesilau. Last minute rearrangement, the number dropped to 6 pax. The rest switched to Mesilau trail. I was adamant to stick with Timpohon, less KM please!
I was really selllowww, was seriously worried that I would tear my plantar fascia. Tapi gatal nak proceed with the climb arr..ar..arr. Terima kasih lah hubby for being patient and committedly followed my slow lead. How slow? It was 8 hours from Timpohon to Laban Rata rest house during the ascent (830am from Timpohon, arrived at 420pm).

About 420pm. Hubby was happy. Last year he arrived at Laban Rata around 8pm via Mesilau.

Next day, it was 6 hours ascent from Gunting Lagadan hut to Low's Peak. If mood was jovial at Timpohon yesterday, it was a bit sombre that morning. Sombre sebab risau or mamai tak cukup tido? Made our move around 220am and summited at 820am. By that time, there were only me, hubby and 2 guides. The summit was practically ours. The guides, became our personal guides. Only 5 of us (out of 32) did not summit although all managed to reach Sayat2, the last shelter before the peak.

Muka happy, journey baru jee half done :D. Got another half on the way down.

Descent was even slower. From the summit, we reached Laban Rata around 2pm. Had a quick 15 mins lunch (thanks to the earlier fellow hikers, they put aside our lunch). Pak Azuan (our guide) hastened us to make our move coz it was already very late. Even pesan to bring along head lamp and poncho coz we'll be arriving at night & it might rain. I was sooo tired and got some dizzy spells already. I was spooning meehoon into my mouth (head hanging low) when Pak Wan asked about our weight...aiyoh...he was already thinking about carrying us ooo...
6KM descent from Laban Rata to Timpohon was the toughest part I tell you. Sleepy, tired, muscle fatigue, joint pain. Last 2KM, my balance was already a bit off. Shaky knees were not helping at all. After 21 hours, we reached Timpohon almost midnight (220am - 1120pm)...eheheheh...
Oh yes, I did it. I did it my waaaaayyy (slowly but surely).
We checked into Marina Court 3-room apartment in KK around 2am, had to ring sleeping fellow hikers to open the apartment door for us. Byk kali call hahahaha... Kesian,,,masing2 dah pengsan, tido nyenak tak hengat dunia. Nasib baik member akhirnya terjaga. Kalau tidak, tido kat koridor lerrr.

Sabah State Railway - Sini je boleh buang tabiat macam ni

430am we were already up for next adventure. Whitewater rafting at Sungai Padas. Tak cukup tido tapi excited. Body ache OMG....hate stairs...hate stairs. But we helped each other laughingly going up/down any stairs, getting in/out of van.

If climbing Kinabalu was filled with sense of accomplishment, rafting was thrilling and exciting. Climbing Mount Kinabalu was in my bucket list. Checked, done, what's next in the list, nope, not doing it again. But white water rafting, is something I can do again in future. Syiokkk ooo.
Hah...what a great journey. Cool places, cool companions.

First Experience Watching a Football Match Live

Love it! Hahahaha!
Hubby is a football fan and I am not. However, I do include 'watching a live football match in a stadium' in my bucket list. So when Malaysia went into semi-final for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014, I decided, hey, I can put a check mark beside this particular bucket list.
Hubby got tix for both of us and off we went to Stadium Shah Alam on 7th Dec, naik moto haaaa. Siap beli helmet for me ptg tu, coz hubby only has his helmet.

Nasib baik dalam byk2 running tees, ada yg kaler kuning

I was there mainly to experience the atmosphere of a live football game. What an experience! And drama! Malaysia scored only once that night but the roar...my goodness. I dunno how high is the decibles...it was deafening allright. 120dB? 150dB? When Safiq Rahim scored (nice kick!), everybody cheered, roared and I planted my hands on my ears, laughing.

Cards formation (harimau mata merah) by the Ultras when Malaysian players walked into the stadium

Special appreciation to Ultras Malaya. These bunch of energetic people..they chanted non-stop, they even moved, swayed, jumped in sync (except when Vietnam scored hahaha! terpaku gitu).
With Malaysia going into the final (YEYYY!), I am sooo going to the watch the Harimau Malaya plays against Thai, LIVE this 20th Dec.
Now...I just need to buy the ticket. ehehehe. And check if I have any running tees in blue/red.

A pile of books

Saw this pile on my office desk this morning...

My favourite non-fiction writer.

Gahhhh!! Went into ecstasy mode sekejap hahahah. I felt a bit sad actually parting with Blink, such a pleasant reading experience. Soo, having this pile of Malcolm Gladwell's book...over-dosed laaa.
Thanks to an office mate, who's lending his books to me.
Nak setat yang mana satu ni...?
And it's Friday...cloud nine..

A surprising page turner -BLINK-

This is the first time ever, I read a non-fiction book and found it sooo engrossing! Quiet a number of my colleagues have read this book and even read this writer's other books. Kita baru nak baca akakaka..

It says that we have 2 minds actually - unconscious and conscious. It also teaches to trust your snap judgement and when to use it properly.
I cannot help thinking about my two seniors and their frequent clash of opinions. No wonder lah, one is keen to use unconscious judgement and the other being very organized, prefer to present her case using conscious judgement.
Why not marry both minds, takyah gaduh2, make them sekepala eh?

Tanya Sampai Puas Hati...

I like this ayat which I found sometime ago, sempena kes Wardina mempersoal isi kuliah Ustaz Don Daniyal.

Surah Al Baqarah:260

“Dan (ingatlah) ketika Nabi Ibrahim (merayu dengan) berkata: “Wahai Tuhanku! Perlihatkanlah kepadaku bagaimana Engkau menghidupkan makhluk-mahkluk yang mati?” Allah berfirman: “Adakah engkau belum percaya (kepada kekuasaanKu)?” Nabi Ibrahim menjawab: “Bahkan (aku percaya dan yaqin), akan tetapi (aku memohon yang demikian ialah) supaya tenteram hatiku (yang sangat-sangat ingin menyaksikannya).”

So, apa lagi...kalau musykil, mintak pencerahan sampai tenteram hati. Sedangkan seorang nabi pun boleh mintak pencerahan daripada Allah. Kita2 insan yang nipis iman dan kelabu asap banyak benda ni, kena la lagi gigih mintak pencerahan kan.

Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival

I was searching the net on scholarship offers for post-graduate program, when the search results directed me to Yayasan Sime Darby site. Benda lain pulak yang caught my attention. Kakakaka
Yep, Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival. To be held on 13-14th September at KL Performance Art Center's building and ground. Soooo activities - dance, film, theatre, music, traditional, contemporary. Rambang jugak la mata. Yasmin Ahmad's movies included - Sepet, Gubra, Muallaf.
With so many activities, I decided to settle on one which really stood out (in my eyes) coz Sheila Majid & Zainal will be performing...*squeal!!* All admissions are free actually but for a ticketed shows, a person can only collect personally 1 ticket, on first come first serve basis. Thankfully, there was a limited online giveaway ie 2 tix per person which I signed up and dapat yoooUU *squeal!*
During lunch hour break today, I drove to KLPAC nervously takut sesat barat. Nasib baik ada Waze.

What a nice place this KLPAC. Especially the building!
'The impressive KLpac building has in fact a long history. The railway warehouse was in Sentul Park, a piece of land which came under YTL ownership with the acquisition of another company. The remodel features glass windows along the front of the building, as well as a walkway leading up to the building. In the 1800s, the building was a wood-crafting workshop and sawmill. In 1906, it became part of Sentul Works becoming the region’s most important railway depot & workshop. It then was bombed during tail end of WWII but was soon rebuilt. It was converted into a makeshift golf clubhouse in the late 1960s, but became abandoned in the early 1990s.' Wikipedia

The interior is also very nice, lapang and very colourful.

*Squeal!*

D-day, 14th September

Husband was out-stationed and thankfully his flight back was on time (flew out from Heathrow). The plan was to wait for hubby to arrive at home and drove together to KLPAC. Event started 830pm and I would prefer to be there perhaps 30 mins before the curtain call. Mr Mike of KLPAC did advise to be there early since parking spaces are limited, thankfully we could still park at the roadside even though we arrived around 8pm.

I love the Colonel's Mansion, located at the park's entrance. (Photos from : http://savoirvivrekl.blogspot.com). Night time was even more spectacular, with strategically located lights. The mansion seriously looked creepy and yet hauntingly beautiful. Wished I had more time (and night photo-shooting skill) to take photos.

Waiting excitedly for show to start

The show opened with a Hand Percussion performance. Very thrilling! My heartbeat somehow resonates with each sound of the drums.

There were 2 ladies, machoOO

Then ala2 broadway show came. They guys sang 'Cant take my eyes off from you' and the ladies sang 'Mama Mia'. Cute.. :)

It was followed by a duet. Sedap nya suara. Aiyoh...so nice lah that song. A love song. I was so frustrated trying to identify the song coz it sounded so familiar. When the male singer uttered 'Christine...' then I knew it! It was the love song from Phantom of the Opera. I looked it up after the show. Song title - All I Ask of You. Dah jadi macam ulat dalam kepala lagu ni these few days...keep playing on and on.

Raoul : Christine...That's all I ask of you...

Then the full company put on a last rendition of 'Can You Hear the People Sing' from Les Miserables, all garbed in black.
Next - a symphony orchestra by KLPAC orchestra. Lady conductor..girlll power! Unfortunately, I could not recognize 3 out of 4 songs...too bad. Got a littleee sleepy hahahaha, except the parts when an orchestra member squeaked a rubber ducky ehehehe. Thankfully, the last orchestra played was 'My Way'. Segar balik.

Next performance was by ASWARA? Well known I guess since half of the hall cheered loudly for them. Honestly, I was reminded of a contemporary piece in So You Think You Can Dance except depa2 ni tak boleh lah nak dicompare dgn SYTYCD kan...song was a bit haunting...I think Gregorian chant or something. In between dancing, they ran, skipped, convulsed, threw themselves on the floor. Me and hubby shook our heads through out this piece. Hahahaha..tak tercapai akal fikiran weiii..

A band called Monoloque performed in the next segment. Boleh tahan jugak la lagu2 dia. But the lead singer is definitely a bit eccentric. Pakai tanjak siap...Main terjah je nyayi, sometimes off tune a bit, sound system berdengung. Siap mintak maaf to the audience because 'we dragged on and on yesterday. Kitaorg dah naik sheh..' or something. The finale was really theatrical..it was loud and noisy. Drummer, guitarists went crazy with their instruments . The lead singer, he just punched the keyboards randomly, dragging his hands accross the keyboards here & there. And the funny thing was, the audience clapped, cheered, roared, woot-wooted, they loved it! It was hilarious and yet heart-warming coz to me, it really shows that this event was very supportive of artistic expression. Express it all you want babe! Wooohooo!!!

Jeng..jeng..jeng..next performers did not require introduction...the main reason why I wanted to come to this event. Zainal & Sheila laaa!

This was the seond time I saw Zainal performed. Surprisingly, half of the time, he did a stand-up comedy and he was really funny. I should have recorded it, but forgot to do so, busy laughing okay. Suara tak payah cakap laaa..maintain sedap. Everybody was shouting for him to sing Hijau. His answer ? 'Itu National Anthem, memang mesti nyayi punya.' Memang pun hahahaha.
Sheila was very elegant. Lawak pun lawak elegant. It was cute the way Zainal and Sheila kidded with each other. She got all of us standing up, clapping and singing together to her 'Sinaran'. Serak2 suara den weiii. Next year, will be her 30th year in show biz (can you believe that..) and there'll be concerts lined up. Stay tuned!
Owwhh...forgot to mention. Harith Iskandar was the emcee. No picture..Too busy paying attention to his jokes...ngehehehe..
What can I say. best huhuh! Ticket free and I got to see all these great performance. One thing I noticed, the hall was actually not fully occupied. Honestly, I think the organizer kept this event low key. Otherwise, people would be flooding the place. Free ticket some more, so there must be people (with tickets) who thinked tak rugi pun kalau tak pergi. Well, their loss!
Hah...it's a bi-annual event. See you in 2 years time.

Celebrating Merdeka a bit differently

Sale! Sale! Apa lagi, shopping time :)
Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan.

Alang2, mai pasang lagu Warisan (Sudirman)

Disini lahirnya sebuah cinta
Yang murni abadi sejati
Disini tersemai cita cita
Bercambah menjadi warisan

( korus )
Andai ku terbuang tak diterima
Andai aku disingkirkan
Kemana harusku bawakan
Kemana harusku semaikan cinta ini

Betapa
Dibumi ini ku melangkah
Keutara selatan timur dan barat
Ku jejaki

Aku
Bukanlah seorang perwira
Gagah menjunjung senjata
Namun hati rela berjuang 
Walau dengan cara sendiri
Demi cinta ini

( ulang korus )
Ku ingin kotakan seribu janji
Sepanjang kedewasaan ini
Ku ingin sampaikan pesanan
Aku lah penyambung warisan


As usual, kindergartens would grab the opportunities to liven up the environment. You know kids, they are easily bored. So, Huda's kindy had a Merdeka celebration this morning.

Permata harapan negara

I also had the pleasure of watching the latihan perbarisan this morning, while commuting to work.

Scary looking, huh? :D

Raya Gathering @Dataran Underground

I never knew that there is something literally under Dataran Merdeka. The name is Dataran Underground. I was not alone, most of my colleagues admitted the same thing. As usual, seronok je dapat makan2 free. Lagi2, kalau buat kat tempat luar biasa sikit. Excited jugak la when we made our moves to the place.

The place is not yet fully occupied. More like a bazaar down there. Souvenirs, muslimah dress shop, baby stuff shop. Food court - need to explore this one in future, kenyang melantak sampai malas nak explore.

I saw a restoran nasi arab. And there is a chocolate museum (that sells chocolate) tapi cuma ada 4-5 chocolate making equipment je kuttt..I'm a chocolate lover, tapi tak tertarik langsung nak masuk.

Hah..berbalik kepada kisah raya gathering. Standard raya food, except...laksa sarawak ooooooOOOiii sedaaap nya. Macam tau2 je makcik teringin nak makan laksa sarawak. This dish was specifically requested by our SGM who is a chinese Sarawakian. Excellent choice Mr Pau! Had two servings, huhuhu...nak lagiii. Pulut with kuah durian...mmmmpphh..sedap nye. Pulut tu dah digumpal siap2, clever...clever.

Bila food sedap & perut dah kenyang...rasa macam floating in happy2 place...*high*

Jaundice Scare

For the past 1-2 weeks, I was getting paranoia coz when I looked at Umar, his skin had this yellow tinge. But I kept this paranoia to myself, since no one else seemed to notice it. Last Saturday, I mentioned about it to my mom but my mom saw none of the yellow tinge...at first. Later however, she said 'Macam ya jugak nampak kuning.' Press Umar here, press Umar there. Yep, I did a lot of Umar pressing.
Monday then, coming back from work, I entered our home, saw Umar and his yellow tinge. I told hubby 'Let's go to clinic and have him checked.' Hubby told me that dia tak perasan pun Umar kuning. Tak kisah lah, I was worried and had this need to make sure that it is not jaundice. While waiting for our turn at the clinic, I pressed Umar's palm and foot sole. Only then hubby noticed the yellow tinge.
The doctor also did a lot of pressing. Luckily the kid was all happy and smiling through out the examination. One thing was pointed out by the doctor ie the whites of the eyes. Umar's were...well..white. Jaundice will cause the sclera of the eyes to turn yellow too. Nevertheless, he also noted the yellow tinge and told us to proceed to Hospital Emergency and have his blood checked.

Umar dgn kulit yg kaler tak best...Mata putih, ok

So we went to the SDMC Subang Jaya's Emergency. Poor guy was pricked for blood samples - 2 blood samples! Tapi tak nangis pun...most probably he was too engrossed with the different surrounding and happening.
We finally met the med officer around 11pm and explained our concern a bit. The first thing that he asked after membelek2 Umar, 'You bagi makan apa?' I was ready to naik angin at this point of time (what..? I tak reti bagi makan anak sendiri ke?). His next question stumped me. 'You bagi makan carrot ka?'. Errrr...yes, with rice porridge, together with pumpkin? The doc bulldozed an explanation, something to do with beta carotene bla..bla..Wellll...we do consistently feed Umar rice porridge+chicken+carrot+pumpkin. For a few seconds, I had trouble taking this in his explanation and I was like, eh really ka? Talk about a jaundice threat being undone by a mere carrot. Again, the MO said to wait  for the blood test results (bilirubin & liver function test) just to be sure and call tomorrow morning for the results. Ok, go home for now. We went home dengan agak terpinga2.
Morning came and I called the hospital. Results...all normal. Lerrr...Oleh kerana masih musykil, I googled yellow skin and carrots and found lots of articles about it. No harm done, except you will be aesthetically challenged by looking a bit yellow :P Penat makcik dok paranoia. Apa2 pun, alhamdulillah..

Riding in Citroen DS5

I don't do cars so it's hard for me to get excited over cars and I usually do not know what's hot in the car markets. Coincidentally today, a bunch of us had to attend a company event elsewhere and a lady colleague offered a ride. Three of my male colleague jumped immediately at the offer (to my surprise...apa halllll la diaorg2 ni). Rupa2nya, nak rasa naik kereta Citroen DS5 which the lady colleague is driving. Lerrrrr....guys... (roll-eye). Makcik pun baru tahu what car she is driving.

Anyways, rasa macam Star Trek gitu in the car. The things that got me excited, were the tele-prompter-like thingy in front of the driver and separate moon roofs (term baru belajo ni..kakaka) for driver, passenger and back seat.

Flipped open the moon roof, enjoying the bright day light. The tele-prompter thingy? Sampai sudah tak nampak apa yang tertulis walaupun dah mengintai2, menjenguk2. For driver's eyes only I guess ;)

Must shine ka?

This is a personal protest against the work demand (boss's demand..more like it..) that requires everybody to shine, be visible, be noticeable, create value, have niche skills/ area of expertise bla...bla..bla..

Outshine the shining stars? Puhleez..and ceramic plaque I found. Hang it on my cubicle wall..

I always feel harassed when the time for performance review and leadership feedback is approaching . And the email with subject 'Are you ready to shine?' makes me feel burdened. I just want to complete my work quietly, boleh tak?

Raya Potluck & Fireworks at Greenlane

I've lost count, but I think this is the 3rd pot luck done in Greenlane. I remembered bringing satay kajang once and fried nugget & drummet in another potluck. Unless I missed some potluck erkk..

On this table - Meehoon in periuk, sandwich, nasi lemak bungkus, rambutan, manggis, buah cucuk2 (mcm satay)

Before potluck was adopted as our main event, we did a proper food catering for our neighbourhood gathering. Sama je meriahnya, except doing the potluck has more merits :
- Everybody can chip in.
- Much more food varieties I tell you! Main dish, side dish, starter, kuih/cookies, deserts, drinks, fruits
- Everybody has the opportunity to flaunt their culinary skills
The last but quite important merit also, no leftover foods. Because everybody will take back their food containers and whatever left of it. Or they can fill their empty container with whichever leftover food that they fancy. Tak payah susah2 pikir nak bungkus extra food, nak bahagi etc2
The committee usually handles the canopy, tables, chairs plus paper plates/ cups/ forks & spoons. Oh yes, make-shift bins. And AV system.

Fireworks display, courtesy of neighbour Zamri. Err...honestly... too noisy for my comfort. But the kids loved it. There's a playground nearby where the kids can play and run around, while the parents were socializing, so the fireworks were a bit too close to the kids. Tapi budak2 tu...tak heran pun...haishhh.
Naturally, each time there's loud noise, I would look out for Hayaa'. Before she was 6yrs, she would freak-out. Lately, she would plug her ears and cry to go home. This time however, she ran into the tent, plugged her ears and watched the fireworks till the end. I guess she's learning to manage her fear of loud noise.
Huda? She ran around the playground like there was no tomorrow. She walked back to the tent barefooted and when I asked about her shoes, she just put on her surprised face, 'It disappear.' Right...So I had to walk all over the padded playground surface and thankfully found it near the slide.
Umar just sat peacefully in the stroller, except he gave a few startled expressions during the fireworks. Put my hand on his chest, it was beating like mad but no crying. Good boy!
What did I bring this time around? Beryl's Almond Dark Chocolate je....eheh..eheh..punya lah kalut sampai tak sempat nak beli, apatah lagi nak prepare. So sauk je la balang coklat yang ada kat rumah tu (courtesy of my mom..tq mom!).

Ucapan Hari Raya - Flood of Raya Family Photos

Got so many of family-photos-in-raya-dress-with-ucapan raya-text this time around, instead of long-winded, poem style wishes. Must be because there's a lot of free user-friendly photo editing apps available out there.
I've compiled some that I got...ermm...not using photo editing apps lah kan, byk sgt kott

Dalam banyak2 gambar, me & my friends sort of voted 1 picture in particular as the Best Raya Family Photo.

Lain dari yang lain and cute pun ya gak :)
Selamat Hari Raya !!

Office so quiet...and peaceful :)

Yep...already masuk kerja. Since Thursday (yesterday) in fact. I had to cut short raya holidays since my annual leave is depleting. My bibik is on raya & yearly leave, she's away for 1 month. So most of my leaves are already allocated to take care of the kids at home.
Anyways, back in the office. Hah...aman tenteram. Work at my own pace....or do other stuff (hehehehe..). The office is so quiet, the only noise is coming from the air-conditioning. Sounds of clicking keyboards are also amplified somehow.

Empty...except Indian office mate, Shini

After the horrible and long hours of balik kampung to Penang (9hours to, 5hours from), the blissfully short and traffic-free journey to/from the office this week has been a godsend.
Still have a couple of hours before I go home today. I shall enjoy the short drive back home, one last time. Next week things will be back to normal...*sigh*

Mahal nya buah ni...

I could not believe my eyes...siap did a double take lagi.

Anggur RM108...peluh..peluh

Just because the fruits are flown from Japan Greenhouse you...

But the winner goes to....

Ni harus makan sehingga ke kulit2 nya yang keras itu

Apa jenis orang agaknya yang very particular and makan buah2 yg ditanam dalam greenhouse ni.

Musim rama2 ke?

I am spotting a lot of butterflies around KL area lately, 1 type of species only lah (tropical swallowtail moth). I wonder what actually happened? I don't think this phenomena occurred in previous years.

Found on the floor in Suria KLCC

On Marini's On 57 board

On pedestrian walkway along Jalan Tun Razak

Also saw them from my office window, fluttering in the sky and I work at level 60. Tah camne diaorg ni boleh naik tinggi.

Apparently, this phenomenon is occurring nationwide. Someone told me about these butterflies in Stadium Darul Makmur Pahang vs JDT and I found this photo.

Yikes..

Also found this photo