Panglima

i'm going to put in thousands of words...

2008-04-03T17:46:00.003+08:00

they say a picture says a thousand words. so to safe my hands from carpal tunnel syndrome, i will be writing less - which is evident from the date of my last post - and put in my thoughts, views, and etcetera through pictures.

so, do visit my Fotopages and occasionally, my Flickr photo album.

until my next blog - don't know when - be safe, be good.

AWAS! Smart TAG sahaja

2007-10-01T20:36:00.000+08:00

Podacit...!!! Tak pepasal kena tag. ENAM BULAN nkau kata... nah ambik penangan tahap dewata ni. Doplopat jam pun tak sampai. ZASSSSSSSSSS...

5 menda dalam beg galas aku...
1. Notebook kerja
2. CD lagu raya
3. Documents kerja yang aku bawak balik rumah kononnya nak review
4. Check untuk bayar vendor
5. Charger spare untuk handphone

5 menda dalam dompet aku...
1. Duit la kan... <-- copy paste edit paro punya... hahaha
2. Kad membership MARES
3. IC, lesen memandu kelas B2, D dan GDL
4. Kad ATM dan kad kredit
5. Duit kertas RM2 untuk improve reception handphone

5 menda feveret dalam bilik tido...
1. Katil dan selimut
2. Radio clock, kasik tidur/gerak aku. <-- copy paste paro punya lagi...
3. Charger handphone dan wayarless aku
4. Bokken
5. Camera dan adik-beradiknya

5 menda aku wish nak buat...
1. Jadi kaya raya... muahahahaha.....
2. Pass exam CW
3. Ambik lesen scuba diving
4. Belayar dalam kapal selam
5. Memancing kat semua tasik-tasik besar kat Malaysia

5 menda aku buat skarang...
1. Tulis mende tagging bodo nih <-- copy paste paro punya... hahaha
2. Suruh harmonics buat homework
3. Belek mende nak beli kat internet
4. Belek fotopages family dan kenkawan
5. Tag kat tagbod aku. <-- copy paste paro punya lagi... muahahaha

5 orang kroni yang patut kena tag sekali...
1. Doctor In The House
2. Ifos
3. Ikelah
4. Boogey
5. Red

MIFC - Team Italy

2007-08-26T12:47:00.000+08:00

went to putrajaya last saturday night to watch malaysia international fireworks competition. that night team italy was firing up a very spectacular display. show started at 10 pm and ended around 10.20 pm. it was worth the wait and braving through traffic.

im facing problems uploading to my fotopage album, so im putting those photos up here.

heres a view of the cable bridge from the position we were at.

here is red adjusting his camera, sitting on tripod cap ayam. check out his photos on his fotopages.

a night in dsh

2007-05-17T16:12:00.000+08:00

salams people. got this flu from mikhail. he wasnt feeling well upon our return from taman negara so he slept with me. three times he sneezed in my face at point blank. had to use a towel to dry my face from his icky sneeze. so i got the flu from him. and everyone else got it too.

while everyone else recovered within 3-4 days, i didnt. changed antibiotics from erythromycin to augmentin (amoxycillin). still no apparent progress. had difficulty in breathing so went to see the doc for the third time, upon which he referred me to the hospital. my brother ikelah recommended dr mohd daud, consultant cardiologist at damansara specialist hospital. so off i waltzed to dsh, saw dr daud and... was admitted. he ran some tests and xray to rule out typhus, dengue, malaria and pneumonia. it turned out, i only had a simple virus infection. simple??? i think its a bit more complicated.

turns out the flu gave me a throat infection and aggravated my sinus. so i couldnt sleep well at night. but to wear off a viral infection, one has to sleep. so, while in the hospital, he put me on augmentin IV, poloramine (drowsy antihistamine), vitamin c, and dormicum. i slept and immediately felt better this morning. one of the best sleep in 2 weeks.

when he saw me again this morning, i could breathe easier and my mood was much better. he asked if i wanted to stay another night, to which i declined. i have my princess waiting for me at home :)

so now i know, next time i get the flu, and cant sleep, all i need is something that'll help me sleep.

oh yeah, the doctor said its okay for me to travel to kuantan for the weekend. i think good food will help speed up my recovery. heh heh...

Busy.. Stress... what else will come next?

2007-04-26T09:14:00.000+08:00

Salams all

been very busy at work. only checked my yahoo email once in two weeks. a bit stressed out.

happy belated birthday to ifos, ikelah and red. and upcoming birthday to boogey. who else..? aki's unofficial birthday is this month too.

later...

OMIGOSH!!! I've been tagged!!!

2007-03-22T17:25:00.000+08:00

i've been tagged. so i must reveal six weird things about me. here goes nothing...

six weird things about Pang5

1. i'm an amateur radio operator a.k.a. ham radio. i have two mobile amateur radio units - one in each car, four amateur radio walkie-talkies and four frs radios. i also have 7 antennas not including those for the walkie-talkies. im now learning morse code.

2. when blogging, most of the time i prefer to type in lowercase. on occasions i would restrain from using apostrophes as well.

3. i used to study for medicine. when i quit, everyone else followed suit - boogey, nona and khin. i was the pioneer of non-medical practitioner in the family. hahaha.... but i found strong interest in emergency response when i was in the usa.

4. i was a firefighter in the usa. i was certified to operate heavy rescue equipments. that means, i can drive and operate a heavy rescue vehicle (rescue 6) and its equipments - jaws of life (hydraulic cutter/spreader), hydraulic spreader, rescue air bag and an assortment of heavy cutting tools.

5. i hate flying. and everything that deprives me from being in contact with solid ground, direct or indirectly.

6. i dont like being under influenced of drugs. i try to avoid taking medicines that induce drowsiness. and thats why i preferred epidural over general anesthesia.

so who do i tag next? hmm...
1. red
2. dith
3. fahroe
4. aida
5. orang kilang
6. minah

tagging rules. once tagged, the target must reveal six weird things about him/herself. and then tag others. break the chain and youre a party pooper.

Lunar Eclipse This Sunday

2007-02-28T18:43:00.000+08:00

Picked this up from a forum. So, take out those cameras!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those interested to see the Total Lunar Eclipse , don't miss this event on the early morning of 4th March 2007 (this Sunday).

The moon will enter the penumbra (lighter part of the earth shadow) around 4.04 AM , barely noticable with the eye. But the real show starts around 5.30 AM, where we start to see the Moon slowly disappear in the earth shadow.

But that's not all.

The Moon will be totally eclipsed at 7.20 AM, sun rises at 7.23 AM. Therefore we should see some really cool eclipse , when the Moon is Setting in the west, while the Sun is rising in the east! whooaa!!

Kind Treatment of Wives

2007-02-24T17:00:00.000+08:00

i ran into Abu, an acquaintance last week. he asked about my leg and i told him how it happened and how much longer i have to be in crutches. then abu asked,

"are you married?"

"yes, i am"

"so now you can really appreciate your wife, eh"

"yes, i really do."

and we parted with those words. even without him pointing that out, i have been appreciating my significant other. only occasionally i have been quite poor at showing it. i got her gifts for 14 feb, and didn't complain (smirk) when the gift was not reciprocated.

so, to all you guys out there, appreciate your significant other. here's a nice article i'd like to share with you - Kind Treatment of Wives.

and to the ladies, please don't be too hard on your guys. and i have this nice article for you too - An Introduction to Polygamy.

Happy reading!

On trial... by His Almighty

2007-02-09T13:58:00.000+08:00

Wednesday 21 Feb: He has "checked-out" of the hospital. now on the way back to kuantan. x-ray and scan done earlier today were normal. insyaAllah he's out of danger already. Thank you all.

---------------------------------------------------------
Second op was a success. Has moved out of CICU and now back in normal ward. Thank you all for your kind wishes and prayers.

---------------------------------------------------------
He has to go for re-operation tomorrow Friday 16 Feb at 8 pm. Please pray for him.

---------------------------------------------------------
The operation was a success. He's recovering now although still under observation in ICU.

---------------------------------------------------------
My eldest brother is on trial, as defendant no 1.

Followed by his wife, children, parents, siblings, and the rest of the family.

He was having this incessant headache. Two days ago, he went for an MRI.

The result.... tumor in the brain.

He's in KL now, in preparation for a surgery to remove the tumor. Tomorrow - Saturday afternoon.

Please join me in prayer and doa for his safety and recovery. InsyaAllah.

Thank you.

im going skiing.... yeee haaaaa...!!!

2007-01-31T17:08:00.000+08:00

oh yeah... right!

went to the hospital this mornng.. to be fitted with a boot. its a plastic boot with straps and all, almost alike a ski boot. i had to wear a football socks underneath for hygiene purpose, but its all making my right foot all warm and sweaty.

the boot is quite heavy. can only take it off during shower and sleep. otherwise, it stays on. wednesday next week, i'll be seeing the doctor again to take the stitches off. and i'll be on mc again until that date.

someone invited me to shoot some thaipusam photos. like duh! he's well aware of my limited mobility situation, and yet still insist that i accompany him. oh, he's the same person that didn't dare including me at the canon zoo negara photo shoot. so, its pretty much confirmed.. he doesn't really dare to compete with me. hahaha.....

on another note, a mares team is leaving for batu pahat this evening. mares will be leading a group of volunteers with essentials, food, medical and school supplies to be delivered to hard to reach flood victims and those who havent received any aid from other groups.

... and oh, the boot is made in california, usa.

another day at the hospital

2007-01-25T09:00:00.000+08:00

salams people...

day 1.
first of all, the good doctor didnt allow me to take photos while being operated on. oh, i was awake. wide awake during the operation as i was only on epidural. no knock-out gas or pill or anything.

back track a lil bit. the morning of the operation, i woke up before fajr. took a shower, brush my teeth and left the room to look for a prayer room on the floor. the on call nurse said, 'kat sini tak ade, kat ground floor ada surau'. so i told her i'll be going to the surau on the ground floor and be back by 6.40 am after i had my breakfast. hehehe.. the look on the nurse's face was priceless! 100% pure shock and horror!!! had to calm her down saying i was just kidding about the breakfast. ahahaha...

so, about 6:45 they came for me. i changed into the hospital gown, bla bla bla... went to get the epidural needle stuffed in my back by the anesthesiologist. didnt hurt at all. then we rolled into the operation theatre, all prepared and with the cd playing.

we, that is the surgery team and i listened to music by cat stevens and others throughout. and we chat. the doctor described what he was doing to me as i cant witness it myself. twas cool. and occasionally i would sing along. towards the end of the surgery, when they were focusing on stitching me up with this fiber suture, i read a magazine that i brought along. almost immediately after the operation, i had my breakfast.

one good thing about not being knocked out is that i didnt suffer from the usual groggy and nauseating feeling most get when they come to. i was starving and stuffed myself up without any problem. hehehe....

but waist down was still numbed. had a major tough time to pee.

day 2.
the good doctor came to see me early in the morning. said i could go home later in the day if i wanted to. then, i was sent to the rehabilitation centre for some exercise and to learn the way of the crutches. the exercise involved latex rubber and bonding of my legs (see pic). kinky, eh? after the bondage session, it was the crutches. scared the life out of the physiotherapists when i went way too fast with the crutches. ahahaha... was funny. and i did ask if its driving lessons after the crutch session. :)

the doctor came again in the afternoon and decided he should keep me for another night. he was of the opinion that i was too active to be let loose home early. anyway, the hospital protocol was to keep me for a minimum of two days. oh well, another night for me.

day 3.
my right leg was feeling a bit numb. was like this since yesterday afternoon. the doctor came and undo the bandages as it was a bit tight. mmm... the feeling of blood returning to the foot was heavenly. the wound is healing nicely (see pic). i was left without bandages for about 15 minutes before they wrap me up again, a lot loosely this time.

my regular student nurse came and asked whether i wanted a bath. as i was feeling a bit sticky, i asked her to help. she got all the stuff ready, and i took my shower by myself. no way im letting her give me a bath. hahaha.. my right foot is still feeling a bit numb. i think i'll call the nurse. now, the hospital aide is here with a wheel chair to take me to rehab for another round of kung fu crutches!!!

Ops Banjir Batu Pahat 19-21 Jan 2007 and Ops Pantai 23 Jan 2007

2007-01-24T08:54:00.000+08:00

Greetings people...

It's been more than a month... been very very busy lor. Raya Haji and New Year and Maal Hijrah pun tak sempat nak blog. Many things have transpired but... didnt have time to blog. tak de interesting mana pun.

i went to batu pahat recently, to participate in relief mission under mares. you guys can go and read about it at mares website. there are many groups providing relief to the victims... but some took the easy way out and distribute only to relief centres that are already getting a lot of support. there are relief centres that have not received anything.

we discovered one relief centre that had not received anything from the relevant department, just because the centre was in the compound of a different political party. so its up to ngo like us to supply food and essentials to this place. outrageous i think. mares is not a relief organisation. our mission is to provide emergency communication network, but occasionally mares has to jump into doing humanitarian work to fill the gap. and when we did, the look of joy on the recipients face was enough. especially from the children... especially from the children.

i met a rodong from kuala krau. thats in central pahang, between temerloh and jerantut. so we went speaking in various pahang dialects - from pekan, temerloh and kuala tembeling dialects, much to the chagrin of a couple other friends. ahahaha.... rodong is in blue - emmy. in green is tank, in red is serina and finally fahroe in the background.

and on monday 22 jan 2007, checked into pantai medical bangsar for a scheduled surgery - brostrom -gould procedure. went under the knife fully conscious. an epidural to numb waist down.. couldnt feel the leg at all. no pain. no sensation. as i was fully conscious, they said i was the first patient to be chatting with the doc, sing a tune (the doc had some nice music on) and reading a magazine. hahaha... my first time hospitalized, my first surgery too since infant.

okay.. nuff for now. 73 take care. be safe, be good.

kisses... kisses...

2006-12-14T01:36:00.000+08:00

salams people. how is everyone doing? i'm dedicating this post to kisses. .. ie yours truly getting kisses from young ladies. this is lily. she doesn't even kiss her daddy. but she kissed me, and this was not the first time, nor the last. why did she kiss me but not her daddy? is it because i'm better looking? hmm... possible. possible.

this is nadia. she doesnt kiss her daddy either. and i've been getting kisses from here.

this is hannah. the photographer didnt manage to catch the kiss in action.

and this is alia. a kiss for his beloved uncle.

okay folks, that was my pictorial blog on kisses. other kiss photos are not suitable for public viewing.

Just because...

2006-11-08T18:04:00.000+08:00

smiles... :)

Beserah Guest House... just one kilometer away from ikelah's house.

a view from the serambi of the guest house. quite... serene...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 1427H

2006-10-21T05:31:00.000+08:00

Ucapan Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri dan Maaf Zahir Batin kepada semua pelawat blog ini.

Aceh after 1 3/4 years

2006-10-01T15:10:00.000+08:00

i went to aceh recently, as part of a community relationship program my company is part of. from klia to medan and then to banda aceh. our first stop at banda aceh was the famous masjid baitul ar-rahman for friday prayers. cant really describe the feeling to be able to perform solat in such a blessed building, so im sharing with you the photo of the mosque at sunset.

the boy in the colorado tshirt is anbal. he lost his family during the tsunami and now residing at pondok pesantren modern babun najah in banda aceh. the content of the locker was all his worldly possession. reflecting on what my children have, not even a tenth of theirs would fit in that locker. anbal was friendly and thats how we managed to visit his room at the pesantren's hostel. it was small and cramped, minimum facilities and definitely lacking in comfort and luxury.

this is one of many children at pesantren kayee kunyit. some were just babies when they lost their family during the tsunami. our visit brought joy to their faces as visitors are not common. this boy caught my attention as eventhough he was young and small, he was quite independant.

we sponsored a number of children at pondok pesantren modern babun najah. the program was about adopting one child by the staff (or a group of staff) by paying for their living cost for 3 years. the payment was made upfront. these children were waiting to find out who their ibu/bapa asuh, grateful that for the next three years they'd have food to eat and school supplies available. they weren't asking much, but a chance to be a better person.

that's the first time this child had meat in almost 2 yeas. their daily food was rice and banana stew for breakfast, lunch and dinner. on a rare occasions they'll get to have fish. there are thousands of children made homeless by the tsunami. they live in poor orphanages, sleeping on floors or thin mattresses. a 12 x 14 room sleeps 6 to eight people plus their belongings.

itaqosari, 6 years old, very shy, daughter to ustaz marwan the pimpinan for pondok pesantren kayee kunyit. it took a lot patience and perserverance to get this photo. many failed miserably in their attempts. hahaha... aint she sweet?

mailizar, nursing student at universitas syiah banda aceh in traditional aceh bride wear.

fera, another nursing student in traditional aceh bride wear.

took this photo from the airplane. the coast of aceh changed when it was hit by tsunami. almost 2 years later, the coast line has not changed and so was the lives of acehnese. there have been a few demonstrations since i was in banda aceh. many have yet to receive the promised assistance for relocation and rehabilitation from their government.

someone remarked, why did we go so far when there are still many very poor orphanages and pondoks here in malaysia. i dont have an answer to that really. we do sponsor hundreds every year local orphans and schools. at the same time we also try to reach out where ever our operations is present. some of the pondoks in locally do get support from the local mosques and organisations. but in aceh, there are thousands of orphans and without community support as all are poor. they dont even get to have fish at meal.

be that as it may, i think we just have to do our part. we reach where ever and whenever we can regardless whether here or there. its easier to debate who we should help first than to actually lend out the helping hand.

aceh, i hope you shall recover.

i have been blessed

2006-09-28T17:25:00.000+08:00

got back from aceh last week. good experience. end of the day, the experience reminds me of how lucky and privileged my children are, and how blessed i am to have them.

i'll post aceh photos later.. when the internet connection is more forgiving. sekarang nak bayar bill telefon pun dah 10x try asyik page not found aje bila click "Confirm".

Berjenak-jenak dengan Latuk K

2006-08-14T21:00:00.000+08:00

I came across this stall in jakarta, in senayan. i have no idea what it means, and i wasnt about to ask the stall owner about it either. but i thought i'd take a photo of it to share with you folks.

jakarta was quite fun... that was during those times i could get away. folks there were friendly... really defines 'teman tapi mesra'. ahahaha.... but that's another story by itself.

we got to know many of the indonesian petronas staff at the end of the forum. there'll be a lot of following up to be done. fact of the matter, i might have to go there again.

so what's with the title? that's a request from dith and matderih. yeah, someone already told me that if the criteria is "amat sayangkan anak" then i'll be topping the charts! not to mention i'm better looking. ahahaha...

oh well, i've spent a good deal of time with latuk k. used to lunch and this and that. i really am looking forward to more lunches and maybe dinner in the future. see you again, latuk k. and to dith and matderih, here's the most sensational latuk k photo...

sejenak dengan datuk lat...

2006-08-08T17:51:00.000+08:00

i am at petronas health, safety & environment forum 2006 in jakarta indonesia. datuk lat, the renowned cartoonist visited our booth. it was such a memorable moment. i was quite speechless, things i wanted to say didnt quite come out. but, i managed to ask him to sketch and sign our guest book, plus take a photo with him.

i enjoy reading and pondering through his cartoons. my favorite is kampung boy. in my life time, i think i bought it 3 times. and then theres the town boy, mat som, and many many others. as a matter of fact, his travel journal inspired me to see the world.

my hats off to datuk lat. he's a great guy. absolutely wonderful.

and that's my blog for today. my moment... with datuk lat.

Waiting at KLIA

2006-08-05T07:47:00.000+08:00

on my way to Yankee Bravo land... specifically jakarta. ada health, safety & environment forum kat sana monday and tuesday. my saltmine ada exhibition booth, so my colleague and i will be manning it.

left the house at 6.15am on klia airport limo. my regular driver victor could not make it so he sent his colleague over. there wasn't any queue at counter c for jakarta flight check-in.

ok, my colleague just called. she just arrived via erl so now we're going for breakfast at level 2 food garden. starving!!!

and btw, at certain spot, the wifi is pretty good.

The Goat, The Water and The Beach

2006-07-20T20:00:00.000+08:00

salams. been a long while since i last blogged. many events have taken place. we performed an aqiqah for amira sofia in kuantan. there's the big healthy goat we selected for the ceremony. i slaughtered it, with my dad and ikelah holding the sacrificial goat still.

as ikelah had to run to a meeting immediately after, so it was up to me to skin the goat. yupp.. did it myself. when ikelah was back from his meeting, he then assisted to quarter the goat. oh yeah, i accidentally punctured its gut and the stench... pheeewwwww!!!

a week before the aqiqah i went white water rafting with a group of people in kuala kubu baru. it was the selangor river, just after the selangor dam. it was a lot of fun and the adrenalin rush was fantastic. cant describe the feeling! oh, my raft-mate bumped into me an i fell into the rapids injuring a finger. but it was okay i guess.

this one was taken by a waterfall about halfway down river. we had lunch there which consisted of biscuits and apples. the water was refreshing cool. been a long while since i last enjoyed myself under a waterfall. we're planning to go again next month! anyone? mark your calendar on the 12th of august 2006.

last weekend, my wife and i went to phuket for a 3 days 2 nights getaway. just the two of us on air asia go holiday package. we stayed at club andaman hotel on patong beach. here's a photo of downtown patong during the day. nothing much. i'll blog more on phuket in the next edition.

Angel and Dragons

2006-06-21T19:00:00.000+08:00

One month old, my darling angel... and her dragon guards!!!

Konco Tapi Rapet - original song Teman Tapi Mesra by Ratu

2006-06-15T20:00:00.000+08:00

salams... this jowo version is a tribute to ikelah for his recent trip to yogyakarta. :)

aku ono konco
konco sak mainan
nang endi ono de'e nang kunu lah ono aku

de'e ayu banget
kambek apik atine
de'e ono wa'e wetu
gawe rewang sama aku

GAWE aku mumet
wetu de'e ngomong CINTo
de'e jugak ngomongke
AREK djadikan endot'te

djadi lah koncoku wa'e
ojo ku'e njalok SENG ORA ORA
ku orak iso MENCINTAI ku'e
Kito berkonco wae
konco TAPI RAPET

aku memang sukak karo de'e
tapi aku wes ono seng du'e
apik'e kito konco wa'e
Kito berkonco wa'e
konco tapi rapet

Rodong Tapi Rasi - original song Teman Tapi Mesra by Ratu

2006-05-29T13:26:00.000+08:00

*nyanyi ikut slang Temerloh

Koi ade rodong,
rodong sepermainan,
mana ade koi ade la dier skali.

Dia bapok la lawo,
baik hati ye juge,
dier slalu ader masa
untuk tolong koi.

Namun koi bingung,
menkala dier cakap cinte,
dier pun cakap nak jadi gir-pren koi

Cukup ler berodong dengan koi
Usah ler mintok lelebih,
koi tak nok ngan awok pun,
kite berodong udah ler,
rodong tapi rasi.

Koi sebenornyer suka amat kat awok,
tapi koi dah ade yang lain,
maka itu la pasal,
kita berodong ajer,
rodong tapi rasi.......

Assalamualaikum world!!! Here I come...

2006-05-19T21:58:00.000+08:00

Captain's log, stardate 19.05.2006. (ala-ala captain picard, star trek)

Amira Sofia, 2.8 kg came to the world today at 3:53 pm.

Joy joy joy... alhamdulillah syukur.

One Fathom Bank

2006-05-13T15:14:00.000+08:00

hey people! salams and apa khabar?

a group of us went to one fathom bank to fish last may 5th. unfortunate for us, the water condition was not on our side. there weren't much water current. so, what? it means, no fish! or actually, not much fish. where ofb is usually a fishing haven, the trip did not really work out for us. we caught lots of tamban and selar kuning, and a few coral fish which we released back. 9w2ri caught a barracuda.

those fish we caught on friday ended up in the frying pan. 9w2bbs and yours truly took up kitchen duty. cleaned the fish, spice them up and threw them into the frying pan. so that night, we had rice, fried tamban in special spices, kerabu mangga (by kamal) and soy sauce onion. we cooked for like ten people but the seven of us managed to finished all the food!!! ahahaha...

the accommodation at ofb is pretty comfortable. enough to say that spending a night there without catching as many fish as we hoped for was not a total loss for some of us. so we are looking forward for the next trip to ofb, where we hope to get some serious fishing done! and the sunset was pretty amazing...

Rhode Island Alumni Dinner 2006

2006-05-03T21:31:00.000+08:00

salams everyone..!!!

arrived back in kl last sunday evening.. around 6 pm. and guess what? straight to tjambuhan restaurant (belongs to iswa) for rhode island alumni dinner at 8 pm. boy.. it was fun. the food was good. the turn out was great too. some couldnt make it but to those who did... thank you.

... and the food was good too. evidenced by the gusto at which moeid was attacking the food... and the poor plate.

the guest of honor was kak ida and family. they turned up from jb.. made the trip just to attend the dinner. most grateful!!! those who have not met wani for the past years... she turned out to be a big gurl now..!!! dah besor panjang... ahahaha... tak lama lagi dah boleh buat kenduri kahwin la kak ida... but whoever that guy might be, kena pass through the protective father first.. assuming he got through kak ida. ahaksss...

the restaurant has a small fish pond in the compound.. favourite hangout for the children. it wasn't long before one decided to swim with the fish. and the award goes to anak nora and haniff. hehehe... kesian kuyup budak tu. next time, iswa has agreed to have towels ready...

here's the group photo.. everyone with their family, spouse, and partner. din pun dah pandai dukung anak.. tak kekok pun nampak. hopefully, the next gathering will see a much bigger turnout!!! to all who came, thank you. to those who didnt make it.. hope to see you guys at the next one. HAVE A GOOD YEAR AHEAD!

from Heathrow with love

2006-04-25T23:36:00.000+08:00

salam everyone

right now im enjoying free internet service, courtesy of british airways business facility. apart from a few minor turbulence, the flight from kl this morning was uneventful. bought an 'action-thriller' from a bookstore at klia, but the first few pages were so boring that i only managed 22 pages during the 12 hour flight!

anyway, nothing much have changed on malaysia airlines. the golden smile was everywhere. good was good. service excellent. im proud to fly malaysia airlines...
(agak2 idris jala kasik aku free golden holidays tak kalau dia baca ni??)

anyway, my flight to lisbon is in less than 2 hours. naik british airways. tengok la camana servis dia nanti... i'll write about it.

skarang nak pegi kedai megezin jap.. tengok apa yang ada. cheers!!! heh.. w'salams

p/s: called kenakelayan tadi.. wonder how much vodafone will be charging me... times exchange rate of 6.7. atoiiiii....

'twas a night to remember

2006-04-03T12:30:00.000+08:00

twas a night to remember
last day of march
an evening of glitters
of klcc tenants nite

here's me with the host, zulbahrin. notice his hair... ahahaha...

the entertainment for the evening was by ferhad. oh yeah, he had the ladies went wild. funny man too...

and this was the emcee of the evening. naturally, i cant let down a one-thousand-word request from this lady... :p

Another One Thousand Word Entry

2006-03-18T19:36:00.000+08:00

Pulau Perhentian March 2006

2006-03-11T15:38:00.000+08:00

salams...

bulan ni aku busy yang amat sangat. tapi di atas permintaan ramai... ni dia. blog melebihi dua (2) ribu patah perkataan... ( a picture speaks a thousand words).

Selamat Sambut Awal Muharram 1427H

2006-02-06T16:45:00.000+08:00

salams!

apa khabar? selamat menyambut awal muharram 1427h. tapi peliknya, lebih ramai menyambut tahun baru cina dari menyambut awal muharram. kalau kaum tionghua yang galak menyambut tahun baru cina.. dah memang adat diaorangkan. memanglah sewajarnya. ni, kaum melayu pun sambut tahun baru cina sakan... tapi awal muharram dilupakan lak. pelik binti ajaib.

aku cuti panjang hari tu pergi jb memulanya. ada kenduri kahwin kat kulai. maaf ye, bukan kat felda taib andak. sedara buat kenduri. turun johor hari sabtu. seperti biasa, jam kat seremban sebab 4-6 lorong bergabung jadik 2 lorong. macam mana la tak jam, ye tak? ntah bila la kerja-kerja melebarkan highway tu nak siap.

sabtu malam minggu tu, famili kat johor bawak aku pegi danga bay. memang meriah. ramai bebudak pompuan pakai seksi macam ah lian sungai wang... walaupun separuh daripada diaorang ni tak de iras-iras cina pun. ahahaha... sedih ada, gelak pun ada. no sense of fashion langsung. kalau ada fashion police, sah-sah seme tu kena tangkap humban masuk lokap. ketuk-ketampi 100x pun aku setuju.

esoknya (ahad) lepas kenduri aku drive balik ke kuantan. ikut kota tinggi, mersing, rompin, pekan dan terus ke kuantan. diaorang cakap, laluan yang aku guna tu akan melepasi felda taib andak. ntah, tak nampak pun.

pendek citer, malam awal muharram tu, baca la doa akhir dan awal tahun. sambil tu family gathering. bbq ayam dan kambing. licin beb... aku yang masak, resipi bbq pun aku yang buat. aku bakar sensorang. diaorang seme puji sedap. tapi sebenarnya, tahu sangat dah... diaorang puji tu pasal guilty tak tolong.. pastu next time nak suh aku buat bbq sensorang lagik. peehhhhhh... macam orang tak tahu trick tu.

okay.. nanti aku pos gambar. ni gambar tak dimuat-turun lagi dari camera. 73

Selamat Datang 2006

2006-01-09T13:47:00.000+08:00

Greetings... i've been guilty of neglecting to update this space. as numerous reminders have been received (thank you kind friends... ada jugak peminat kite ni ye), i take a few minutes of my lunch time to update this space.

many things have transpired since my last post... ye la, dah lebih sebulan. for the record, i'd say i am most thankful to Allah for a good 2005. before 2005 closed it curtains, the family made a trip to zoo ayer keroh where we saw nicky the tiger cub. the zoo is a bigger place now and the place is being renovated still tho i wish all the animals have a much much bigger area to roam.

mares has a new mobile repeater - 9m4rme - set up. spent the whole day of saturday 7 jan to put it together. im proud to claim i lent a hand... connectors, tools and screwing. yupp... i screwed the repeater!!! here i am caught in action.

Screwing 9M4RME, originally uploaded by AZG.

on the same day we had a kenduri kesyukuran at mares. this is in appreciation of receiving 6 repeater licenses and 1 club station license - 9m4cme - from mcmc the previous month. of course no mares activities have ever lacked in antics by its ceria-ful members. geng botak is set to take over the year 2006 - on and off the air.

Geng Botak! rules, originally uploaded by AZG.

in addition to that, you cant call it a party without beautiful pretty young ones gracing the scene. 2006 is going to be a good year.

SWL Bidadari & SWL Bidadari, originally uploaded by AZG.

2005-12-02T12:38:00.000+08:00

salams. just realized been 2 weeks since i last posted. many things have transpired and expired.

i just got back from kerteh yesterday. was there for 3 days for work. it drizzled occasionally thus grateful was not hit by flood. in any case, as i was in and out mostly, i returned to kl with a mean headache and fever. haha...

stopped by kuantan to meet ikelah and sample drroza's kuih cara. yummy..!!! i could sure use for some more. may be i'll get to do that this weekend!

im going to singapore this weekend to visit friends and do some shopping. so i called the bank that never sleeps for its sgd rates. got it. sure seems higher than cash. but a call to the world's local bank, they cant give the rate. reason? they'll get charged by visa or master for the inquiry. ridiculous? well, now i know which card im going to use.

hahaha...

A380 @KLCC

2005-11-21T09:49:00.000+08:00

A380 KLCC, originally uploaded by AZG.

the airbus a380 mother of all passenger planes flew past klcc twice! on its way back to france.

got this on a mobile camera phone. the a380 was really big. impressive. exciting.

Aquaria KLCC

2005-11-16T07:30:00.000+08:00

aida and the iguana, originally uploaded by AZG.

took the kids - 2 small kids, 1 big kid - to aquaria last saturday. group rate was rm90. it turned out to be an excellent trip.

we've been to langkawi underwater world and singapore underwater world. i'd say aquaria is the best, followed by langkawi underwater world.

all the three kids enjoyed the trip, especially the big kid that was taking photos on her cameraphone almost non-stop.

be that as it may, i think aquaria's design is not children friendly. some of the exhibits of insects and spiders are located 5 feet above ground level. i had to lift the kids one by one so that they could see the exhibits. a few other visitors were heard making similar remarks.

the designers of aquaria apparently overlooked that their main customers would be kids.

have you guys encountered any other children attractions but not built to be children friendly? let me know.

Raya aftermath...

2005-11-07T18:56:00.000+08:00

today is the fifth day of syawal. i was back in kuantan before iftar on the last day of ramadhan, hence managed to have iftar together with my parents and brothers. it was a feast and i cant really remember what we had. all i remembered was later that night i went to ikelah's house to learn to feed his cats for later to be taught to boogey. of course, i made ikelah to tell me how to logon to internet on his computer first. heh heh heh....

i managed to meet up with kuantan based ham radio group ie Persatuan Radio Amatur Negeri Pahang (PERAMAH). was at 9w2pdb followed by 9w2www homes past midnight on friday. quite a number of stations congregated there. i'll post the group photo at MARES website.

i was in kuantan for 4 days before hitting the road for perak, my wife's place. we took the road to genting highland and then to batang kali. we entered the plus highway at tanjung malim and proceeded to tapah exit. the journey was smooth. not much traffic. however, on the plus highway, the south-bound traffic was horrendous. at some points, the traffic came to a stand still.
today we made it back to kl from teluk intan. we took the coastal road and stopped by bukit melawati in kuala selangor on the way. the kids loved the huge iron cannon and the monkeys or lotongs.

overall, the raya this year was as interesting as previous years. there's always some drama. this year there were two, but i shall keep the tale to myself.

i am still on raya leave until end of this week. im thinking of taking the kids to toysrus to spend their duit raya and then maybe to aquaria. aida has promised to babysit them and i shall have her make good on that promise.

selamat hari raya to all my readers, maaf zahir batin. to those planning to continue fasting, selamat menunaikan puasa enam.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

2005-10-31T10:21:00.000+08:00

one quiet night at jalan seroja, originally uploaded by AZG.

selamat hari raya aidil fitri. maaf zahir batin. pagi tadi drive ke ofis. traffic clear. kalau lah hari2 traffic kat kl camtu.. best!!! keluar rumah kul 7 lebih, 7.45 dah sampai ofis.

raya nanti balik kuantan, petang rabu. stay sampai sabtu, pastu balik perak. ahad atau isnin back in kl. cuti seminggu pasal maid balik kampung cuti raya. so plan nak bawak bebudak pegi aquaria. tengok la camana nanti.

to all my family, relatives, friends, associates and fellow bloggers, selamat hari raya.

be safe, be good.

Mikhail's Pre-School Concert

2005-10-19T17:00:00.000+08:00

DSC_0069, originally uploaded by AZG.

last sunday was mikhail's pre-school concert. it was at pj civic centre, one big hall with lousy sound system and poor lighting. but that did not hamper the kids spirit and in fact their energetic performances made the day.

i took this photo at about 50 metes away, using nikkor af f3.5/4 70-210mm lens at f6 210mm. with 1.5 crop factor, that makes it 315mm. a bit blurry as shot at low speed. could have been better with a better lens but poor moi cant afford one yet.

so if anyone out there can buy me a good telephoto lens, please please please. i am liking a tamron 90mm f2.8 di 1:1 macro, tamron 300mm f2.8 ld (if) and tamron 200-500mm f5/6.3 di dl (if) zoom lenses.

DSC_0044, originally uploaded by AZG.

and this is my friend. his daughter was performing as well. peace bro.

for the pi judges out there, here's a link to wesley photo review. wesley has a collection of good lenses. and good photos too.

View from The Sky

2005-10-11T06:55:00.000+08:00

today on the frontpage the picture of the pm sending off the smart team, to help provide rescue and relief work at the earthquake devastated pakistan. question! why so late? other countries like japan sent their rescue team on the day itself. why cant we do the same? distance wise, i think we are closer. the first 24 hours is critical to rescue any surviving trapped victims. after that, the survival rate drops. it seems our smart team response time still leaves much room for improvement.

View from The Sky, originally uploaded by AZG.

went to the skybridge on oct 2. located at the 42nd floor of the twin towers, the bridge is "suspended" between the two towers to allow for motion of the towers.

together with the family was a group of 45 people from sekolah tunku ampuan durah seremban. later they went to petrosains. as i did not join, no photos la.

i would like to take this opportunity to share with you these delicious Berbuka Puasa juadah from cozy house restaurant, 3f great eastern mall. enjoy...

Dinner in Kertih

2005-10-07T12:40:00.000+08:00

DSC_0121, originally uploaded by AZG.

i was in kertih tuesday till thursday for some work. i had dinner with some clients tuesday night and this is one of the dishes we had - shrimp and broccoli. we also had fish maw soup, black pepper beef and another fish dish. delicious!

DSC_0108, originally uploaded by AZG.

my favorite snack - mamee. didnt have enough of it when i was a child. so now, im eating as much as i can reasonably manage. can anyone tell me where i can find chickadees?

Happy Birthday Librans

2005-10-05T13:20:00.000+08:00

DSC_0070, originally uploaded by AZG.

october 2nd was mikhail's birthday he turned 5. and mine was oct 1st. so we threw a party for mikhail on saturday the 2nd. he got plenty of toys. i got a couple of gifts too. yeaaa... the stuff on the settee are the stuff we received. thank you very much. moga dibalas berkali ganda sempena bulan puasa ni. next year's birthday will be in middle of puasa month. maybe have to do a buka puasa birthday party kot.

DSC_0020, originally uploaded by AZG.

here's boogey enjoying countless rounds of laksa asam, sate, kuih, laksa asam... oh what big mouth he has!

DSC_0041, originally uploaded by AZG.

my good friend foxxyana a.k.a. musang. oh, what big teeth she has!

DSC_0046, originally uploaded by AZG.

this is musang's sister - idda poo. both of em came to celebrate mikhail's birthday. and mine too.. hehehe.. and they got me a lovely present! thanks!!!

Cabut Kemuncup

2005-09-28T18:45:00.000+08:00

DSC_000300030001, originally uploaded by AZG.

when i was a lot younger, the most notorious task could be assigned to my siblings and i was "cabut kemuncup". we would be under the hot sun, picking on weeds with our bare hands.

those days, we'd thought it was a brutal punishment. now, on reflection we tend to laugh about those memories of performing such a mundane and incomprehensible task.

so i decided to reignite and continue the tradition of "cabut kemuncup". how else but to start with the young ones.

but trouble was, they seemed to be much enjoying themselves. hahaha...

Heaven Striketh

2005-09-24T18:51:00.000+08:00

DSC_004100400005, originally uploaded by AZG.

This photo was taken the same evening as the strong storm hit kuantan. we had a farewell (good riddance?) party for my niece ifos the same evening.

she brought some friends over, who tried as they might to maintain a demure decorum befitting a young lady. however, check out my photo album that revealed some truth on being a human.

From Gwailo Father

2005-09-19T13:29:00.000+08:00

FromGwailoFather, originally uploaded by AZG.

photo taken at bukit melawati, kuala selangor. there are a few families of "lotong" loitering at the top of the hill. very shy, but will accept food from tourists.

the small ones are orangy in color but will gain darker colors as grow up.

so no, this particular tyke was not fathered by a gwailo. hee hee...

for more photos, check out my photo album.

31 August, to Commemorate or to Party?

2005-09-05T13:51:00.000+08:00

i arrived klia from bintulu at 9.30 pm 30 august. as the family is at suitestay apartment jln ampang to best view the fireworks, i headed there. had a change of clothes into my duty uniform and by 11 i was at klcc park amidst the thousands.

as usual, where there's a concert there will be a few foolish ones creating trouble thus suffered the wrath of the police and the fru. oh yes, what a party it was. when rosyam nor the mc shouted MERDEKA only a soft shout returned from the crowd. trash was all over the place. patriotic?

31st august i was on duty at dataran putrajaya. we had to be there as early as 6 am. first i noticed was lack of surau to cater for the thousands parade participants. the mosque is a good distance away. im not suprised many missed the subuh prayers. patriotic?

the arrival of the yang dipertuan agong almost went unnoticed. only as his carriage approached 100m from the center stand did the announcers "woke up" and asked the crowd to wave their flags. no music. no cheering. very somber. almost like a funeral procession. patriotic?

then it was followed by the national anthem, but not amplified by the sound system. at 150m away, no one noticed. only when a few of us saw some policemen at attention did we hear the soft sound of negaraku. immediately we came to attention and sang along so as to alert the others. patriotic!

what national event can it be without speeches. this year's speech somehow did not catch people's attention. could it be the sound system again? maybe. and then the national anthem was played again, thankfully over the sound system thus all heard and stood at attention. some sang along together. and BOOM the firing of the guns accentuated the negaraku. SHOCK!!! three national service trainees in their blue uniform broke rank and ran towards the firing gun for a close look. and negaraku is still playing. what a blatant display of disrespect to the national anthem. merdeka?

the morning ended with a good amount of trash on the ground, plus some discarded flags. jalur gemilang lying on the ground? ohh.. how patriotic is that?

and this morning i passed through the national stadium bukit jalil, a day after the tv3 sure heboh carnival. trash littered all over like a waste dump. is this how the current generation define merdeka?

from the land of the hornbills with love

2005-08-29T23:02:00.000+08:00

greetings from bintulu. its not a typo as i truly am in bintulu in body and spirit. have a meeting tomorrow hence an overnight trip. will be back in kl by tuesday evening 9.30 pm.

the departure at klia was quite something this morning. a bit of delay since there's a very long queue of aircraft waiting to take off. i mean i visually saw no less than ten aircraft queueing to take off. apparently, as the merdeka day celebration air show was taking place at nearby putrajaya, there wasnt any flight allowed to depart between 9 am and 11 am. hence, quite a number of flights were delayed. as mine was scheduled at 11.15 am, so there was about 40 minutes delay as we were queueing behind a bunch of other aircraft.

flight was uneventful. saw the islands of ambas and natuna of indonesia. beautiful sight of blue green water and coral reefs from the air.

i ventured to bintulu pasar malam. found the much coveted belacan bintulu as well as udang kering. unfortunately, didnt find any ulat mulok, so cant take on the dare by fahroe. hehehe... as if. nonetheless, i was amazed by the number of local fruits and vegetables never encountered in semenanjung. and they all look yummy.

tapau some fried mee and fried chicken for dinner later at the hotel. this time i didnt dare to buy the umai tenggiri as i still remember the rejection my tummy made the last time i had it last year.

i have to thank parkcity everly hotel bintulu for providing free wifi to its guests. only wish the speed is a lot faster. but then, shouldnt complain about free stuff, right?

Fraser's Hill is chilly... and lovely

2005-08-22T09:51:00.000+08:00

greetings muggles. just got back from a weekend at fraser's hill, situated deep in the mountains of pahang. its about 2 hours to get to lower gap, the entry to fraser's hill. mind you, as the road up from lower gap is only one way traffic during the day, it would be good to plan the journey. traffic going uphill is during odd hours, and downhill on the even hours. we arrived at the lower gap at 5:10 pm which is just perfect.

the temperature up there is on the low twenties. in the morning its pleasantly warm but as noon approaches, mist and cloud will make the temperature drop. some of the activities we took part was jungle trekking along hemmant's trail, horseback riding for the kids and archery for moi. and a stop at the playground plus just mindless roaming around fraser's hill. we also drove to jeriau waterfall, where the water was too cold for a dip. the town square is by the roundabout actually, where you can find eateries, souvenirs and the golf club. i got myself some ASAM RONG, sold on lady guillemard road, across from shahzan inn.

we stayed at silverpark in a nice 2 room apartment. fraser's hill was discovered by mr fraser while he was searching for tin ore (what else?). he disappeared one day and a search by his friend, a mr bishop could not determine where or how fraser went missing. this reminds me a of james thomson disappearance in cameron highland. i think i'll look this story up some more.

if you care for a trip to fraser's hill, its a nice quiet town. if you enjoy outdoor activities or appreciate a place to immerse yourself in a good book, then fraser's hill is for you.

where are my marbles?

2005-08-17T22:03:00.000+08:00

Tis been a while since I last wrote. a few things have taken place. i have moved to klcc where my internet connection is a bit limited. my blog updates has taken low in priority with additional tasks i shoulder.

when i was in lumut last week, met a guy offering me use of his boat for fishing and recreation. all he requires is some money for fuel and food. aint that great?

then i went to kertih for two days for a few meetings. other than the meetings, was bored there. my beloved cousing didnt renew his car road tax hence unable to meet up with me. hmm.. guess he has been driving illegally before he realised it. ahahaha....

earlier today i thought i'll have plenty to write. as now is 10pm and im in the office, my brain decides to go into stupor. i'll try to write more next time.

in any case, it seems my visitors are spending more time here than me own self. boy, do i have to work harder to update this page.

Balik Kampung.... again

2005-08-01T20:00:00.000+08:00

i went back to kuantan again last weekend.

but on friday i went to lumut and on the way back stopped by teluk intan for lunch at restoran ghulam rasul. delicious signature ayam goreng. brought back 10 pieces of ayam goreng and 2 large kepala ikan. heh heh... fahroe came over that night to belasah the ayam and kapla ikan. sendat perut kekenyangan.

left kl around 4 pm saturday, as xyl was still working in the morning. banks are starting the 5-day week only in august. so arrived kl uneventful at 7 pm.. as i slept most of the way. hahaha...

had dinner at parents place and a race to my sis for she has astro. i've missed two af concerts and would not want to miss the one before the final. but it's also fun to meet my sister and her family as havent seen her for a few months already. last trip back did not have a chance to visit. i also found out my niece (not ifos, mind you) is an "ardent" fan of kefli and elliza. tsk tsk tsk... kantoi. so her disappointment and disapproval of that nights result was, shall i say, conspicuous?

went to kebun sunday morning and harvested sacks of manggis, rambutan and cempedak. climbed the manggis tree all the way up until about 20 feet above ground. big tree about 30-35 feet tall. challenging but i proved i can still climb. yeayy...

collecting rambutans proved to be quite challenging and adventurous. my maid got swarmed by lebah lalat and i got stung too when i was removing the lebah lalat. boy, was painful but nothing that cannot be remedied by continuous application of minyak geliga. could have been avoided if she had recognized that sarang semut does not have "semuts" flying around it.

Balik kampung.. panjat pokok

2005-07-25T13:52:00.000+08:00

sabtu lepas aku balik kuantan. petang baru sampai. pegi rumah abang aku tolong dia gantung frame. penat la jugak. dia banjer makan mee calong. sedapppppp...!!! anak2 sedara pun dah besar panjang. ish.. cepat betul diaorang ni membesar. ada sorang tu kaki blog juga rupanya.. ni blog dia. comel tak anak sedara aku ni? tapi jangan ada yang berani rapat... aku sekeh karang.

esoknya ahad pegi beli lauk as usual sebelum balik kl. sotong, ikan, ketam, dsbnya. pastu on the way balik, kitaorang singgah kebun buah. kait rambutan, panjat manggis, kutip cempedak. durian tak menjadi. sukun pun tak ada. petai pun tak nampak. langsat dalam 2 minggu lagi kot. habis sakit tekak makan rambutan dan manggis banyak sangat.

weekend ni, plan nak balik perak pulak. haaa... sana ada durian. tak dapat durian, tempoyak pun jadiklah. lepas tu, mandi air terjun! yessssss...

TV3 Bersamamu - Episod 8

2005-07-19T13:39:00.000+08:00

last night i watched TV3 Bersamamu episod 8 with my kids. my elder son wanted to donate his whole tabung.

the first segment was about 5 kids being brought up by their elderly grandmother as the parents have passed away.

the second was about a 14-year old who quit school to support his mother and younger siblings.

read about these two sad stories yourself here, in TV3 Bersamamu episod 8.

Anda boleh membuat sumbangan sebanyak RM2, RM5 dan RM10 melalui SMS.
Jika anda hendak membuat sumbangan sebanyak
RM2 - taip Tabung2
RM5 - taip Tabung5
RM10 - taip Tabung10
Kemudian, hantar ke 33533

Wira terkorban

2005-07-18T17:30:00.000+08:00

segala ucapan takziah dan Al-Fatihah kepada keluarga Mohd Noor Afifi Mohamad Rosli, 19, yang terkorban semasa membantu menyelamatkan mangsa kemalangan jalanraya di Sungai Buloh pagi semalam.

semoga kejadian ini tidak meruntunkan semangat dan amalan bantu-membantu masyarakat malaysia. Al-Fatihah.

Berita kepada kawan...

2005-07-14T08:00:00.000+08:00

ini ada soalan yang baik. andainya sesuatu kecemasan berlaku di kuala lumpur misalnya, adakah agensi-agensi yang berkaitan boleh bertindak cekap, pantas dan penuh keterampilan dalam tempoh 1 jam yang pertama? bagaimana dalam tempoh 24 jam yang berikutnya? 72 jam?

tempoh 1 jam yang pertama dapat membantu menyelamatkan mangsa kecederaan yang kritikal. lihat saja apa yang telah berlaku di kota london baru-baru ini. sebaik sahaja kecemasan dikenal pasti, sebuah lokasi yang berhampiran - dalam satu kes sebuah hotel - dijadikan pusat pemeriksaan dan bantuan kepada mangsa letupan bom.

kita bagaimana? angguk-angguk, geleng-geleng... sila baca artikel berikut. Ensure preparedness.

di dalam keperitan dan penderitaan rakyat palestine (majalah3 tv3 9 julai 2005), tangisan anak-anak afghanistan (qaisy dan laila), makan nasi berlaukkan siput babi (tv3 bersamamu) dan akhir sekali kematian sim yee lim (astro misi suara hati 1) lebih kuat lagi tangisan rakyat malaysia apabila elliza, fuad, idayu, reza, amy dan aidil terkeluar dari akademi fantasia 3. air mata anak dara hasil dari af3 lebih dari 7 tempayan, cukup untuk sultan melaka meminang puteri gunung ledang. lentingan marah reaksi dari komen adlin aman ramli pada pelajar af3 tersayang lebih dahsyat dari pencabulan hak asasi manusia dia iraq dan kem x-ray guantanamo bay. mungkin mereka ini tidak pernah merasa keperitan? sila baca Put it all into perspective

jangan sampai alam mulai enggan bersahabat dengan kita (berita kepada kawan - ebiet g ade).

Condolence - Sim Yee Lim

2005-07-13T11:58:00.000+08:00

My condolence to the family of Sim Yee Lim (19) of ASTRO Misi Suara Hati 1. She passed away this morning from leukemia.

Studio101 Natalia

2005-07-11T12:30:00.000+08:00

Studio101 Natalia, originally uploaded by AZG.

natalia, please smile to to the blog readers. readers, meet natalia. she's one of the three beautiful models at my studio photography 101 class. ahaha...

i'm shocked and deeply saddened by the news from london. i have a cousin there and am glad she's okay. thank you to sms technology for allowing me to check on her immediately last friday.

i read in sunday's paper on how the brits commented their pre-planning for counter-terrorist attacks have helped in containing the situation as well as responding to the multiple location mass casualty calls.

this make me wonder, do we have a similar plan? have all the agencies trained together to execute the plan? can we react as fast? observing the few sporadic emergency drills that has taken over the past few years, i cant say we are prepared.

allow me to gather my thoughts before i write more on this. watch this space.

photography 101 and cigars

2005-07-05T17:35:00.000+08:00

i took a photography class about a week+ ago. studio photography 101. i'll say it was fun. 3 hour session, 3 beautiful models, 2 rolls of film (yes, i shot on negatives). i hope to be able to improve my human photoshoots in the future. watch this space as i might publish my work.

last week went to marriot putrajaya for a meeting and cigar smoking session. had a cuban cigar by punch. supposed to be a decent cigar but i guess they did not store it properly. the cigars were dry hence the adversely affected its taste. i finished mine by my friend decided to stuff his.

but, since he was nice enough to buy me that cigar, i gave him my own punch cigarritos. nice and humid. his remark was, "this is how a cigar should taste like". next time, i'll let him try my teamo. then upgrade him to partagas. ahahaha...

best, today someone gave me a cigar cutter. thank you zatil!!! used to cut my cigars with a 20sen blade or nt-cutter. not anymore. joy joy joy... made my day.

now i just have to find a new cigar lighter as the one i have stopped firing up. :(

TV3 Bersamamu - Episod 5

2005-06-28T08:00:00.000+08:00

Semalam tengok Episod 5 - Keluarga Maini Mariam

Bagaimana rasanya makan siput babi sebagai santapan harian, diulami rumput dan daun kayu?

majlis agama dan pusat zakat, bagaimana? tak layak ke mereka ini? jangan sampai dipersoal lagi kenapa pokok bunga boleh dibaja tetapi mulut rakyat ternganga kelaparan.

kejap lagi aku nak hantar cek.

untuk menderma, taip TABUNG2, TABUNG5 atau TABUNG10 dan hantar ke 33533 untuk menderma RM2, RM5 atau RM10 kepada Tabung TV3 Bersamamu.

Sumbangan Melalui Cek
Untuk membuat sumbangan melalui cek, ikuti langkah-langkah berikut:
1. Bayar cek kepada Tabung TV3 Bersamamu - BSM
2. Nyatakan jumlah yang hendak disumbangkan
3. Di belakang cek anda, sila tulis
- Nama dan nombor telefon penyumbang
- Jika sumbangan itu ingin disalurkan kepada responden tertentu atau episod tertentu, sertakan sekali nama responden atau episod.
4. Salurkan cek anda kepada:
Jabatan Komunikasi Korporat STMB
Sri Pentas, No. 3
Persiaran Bandar Utama
Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling
Selangor

Jika anda mempunyai persoalan tentang sumbangan, hubungi Jabatan Komunikasi Korporat di talian 03-77266333 sambungan 3302/5121.

Dari Misi Suara Hati ke Bersamamu

2005-06-27T13:50:00.000+08:00

dulu Misi Suara Hati bersama Astro. kini Bersamamu dengan TV3.

jalan cerita yang tidak sama tetapi hasratnya tetap satu - untuk membantu meringankan beban mereka yang memerlukan.

tetapi bila melihat kedaifan dan kesusahan yang dialami oleh mereka ini, terbayang juga ke mana perginya jabatan dan kementerian yang berkaitan? jabatan kebajikan masyarakat, kementerian perpaduan, exco-exco, adun, wakil rakyat, penghulu, pegawai daerah, ahli majlis perbandaran, biro kebajikan parti-parti politik dan macam-macam lagi.

kenapa kena astro dan tv3 yang menjadi teras program ini? tapi yang pasti, jika ditanya kepada mereka, jawapan yang bakal diterima
a) kami tiada terima laporan / tak tahu
b) kami sedang siasat untuk pertimbangan
c) itu tanggungjawab jabatan/orang lain. saya tak tahu.
d) ini keluar tv ke?

bak kata datuk paduka rafidah aziz, lebih banyak duit untuk bunga daripada untuk orang susah.

orang kita ni, buta mata buta hati ke? cuba bagi pendapat sikit.

untuk menderma, taip TABUNG2, TABUNG5 atau TABUNG10 dan hantar ke 33533 untuk menderma RM2, RM5 atau RM10 kepada Tabung TV3 Bersamamu.

Budi Bahasa Naik LRT

2005-06-22T08:00:00.000+08:00

pagi tadi seperti biasa aku naik star lrt kat stesen sri petaling. tak ramai orang kat platform tadi dan kebetulan tren 6 koc yang sampai. berlebih-lebih tempat duduk kosong.

bila dah sampai stesen bukit jalil boleh tahan jugak ramai orang kat situ. tapi yang tak tahannya diaorang berebut naik tren nak dapatkan tempat duduk. yang dahsyatnya, orang lelaki boleh berebut tempat duduk dengan pompuan. camana? dia ni cepat mencelah masuk pastu landing punggung bedebuk. padahal ada la sorang pompuan ni dah on the way nak duduk tapi tak de la gelojoh habat mengejar tempat duduk tu. tak tahu malu betul jantan tu.

dah sampai stesen sg besi, ramai jugak la naik tapi tak de la berebut pasal tren dah ramai orang. rebut pun tak de faedahnya. ada la akak mengandung ni masuk. aku duduk kat jauh hujung sambil perhati dia masuk. time aku bangun je nak offer tempat duduk, ada la pompuan yang duduk paling tepi offer dia duduk. ish.. yang jantan lain duduk dekat2 situ macam tak nampak lak perut boyot tu. mangkuk buta hayun betul. diaorang ni anak buluh betung ke tak de emak? anyway, pasal aku dah bangun, aku offer la tempat duduk aku kat ada satu awek ni, yang mulanya malu-malu menolak. tapi, takkan la aku nak duduk balik kan?

dua minggu lepas, aku naik tren kat masjid jamek time balik kerja. kena berdiri la pasal ramai orang. takkan aku nak buat kerja berebut kan? kat stesen plaza rakyat ada la akak mengandung ni masuk. mamat yang duduk paling tepi tu, ntah rabun tak nampak kot. tapi badan besar tegap. maka aku jalankanlah kewajipan aku sebagai rakyat prihatin. aku tepuk bahu mamat tu pastu tunjuk kat akak mengandung tu. melompat dia bangun. malu kot sebab akak tu dah dekat seminit lebih terpacak sebelah dia.

jadi aku seru pada korang semua, bila nampak ketidakadilan macam ni, suruh aje sesiapa yang nampak lebih sihat tu bangun. kerana walaupun kita sama berdiri dan tak betulkan apa yang tak sepatutnya, maknanya kita sama bersubahat dan... tak malu???

kasi tau sama saya.

Bersama Ebiet G Ade

2005-06-17T14:00:00.000+08:00

dah agak lama tak dengar lagu-lagu oleh Ebiet G Ade. tak kenal siapa Ebiet G Ade? beliau adalah seorang penulis lagu, lirik dan penyanyi puisi amat berbakat dari indonesia.

aku punya favourite banyak, tapi yang paling dekat di hati lagu-lagu Camellia I, II, III & IV. cerita dia sendu menyentuh perasaan.

dulu ada album kompilasi dia... 2 cd dekat 40 lagu. letak dalam kereta.. pastu hilang kena cilok. ntah sapa ambik pun tak tahu. mujur kat website ni boleh dengar lagu-lagu ebiet dengan real audio player.

agak-agak la, pelajar-pelajar af3 boleh tak bawa lagu ebiet? teringin nak dengar mawi bawa lagu Camellia IV. rasa-rasa boleh ke dia bawa?

Camellia IV – lagu dan lirik Ebiet G Ade
Senja hitam
Di tengah ladang
Di hujung permatang engkau berdiri
Putih di antara ribuan kembang
Langit di atas rambutmu
Merah tembaga
Engkau memandangku
Bergetar bibirmu memanggilku
Basah di pipimu air mata
Kerinduan
Kedamaian
Batu hitam
Di atas tanah merah
Di sini akan aku tumpahkan rindu
Ku genggam lalu ku taburkan kembang
Berlutut dan berdoa
Syurgalah di tanganmu
Tuhanlah di sisimu
Kematian hanyalah tidur panjang
Maka mimpi indahlah engkau
Camellia
Pagi
Engkau berangkat
Hati mulai membatu
Malam
Ku petik gitar dan terdengar
Senandung ombak di lautan
Menambah rindu dan gelisah
Adakah angin gunung
Adakah angin padang
Mendengar keluhanku
Mendengar jeritanku
Dan membebaskan nasibku
Dari belenggu
Sepi

Taman Negara, Kuala Tahan, Pahang

2005-06-02T18:05:00.000+08:00

LittleSnake, originally uploaded by AZG.

Recently the family went to Taman Negara, Kuala Tahan for a two night stay. Twas fun. Journey from KL started around 11 am on Saturday. We arrived Jerantut town at 1 pm for lunch and rest. Departed Jerantut around 4 pm and arrived Kuala Tahan just before 5 pm. The journey was uneventful and the road condition was good.

On the second day we trekked the Terasek Trail to the Canopy Walkway. Encountered a small brown snake about 2 feet long that ran across our path. We chased and cornered it at the base of a huge tree. In its attempt to run away, it climbed up my leg! I maintained my cool and didnt move a muscle. It felt a bit ticklish. Eventhough its small and may not be poisonous, but Im willing to bet its teeth can still give me a nasty wound and very painful. That was the motivation not to move.

CanopyWalk, originally uploaded by AZG.

The Canopy Walkway was about a 45 minute trek in. If not mistaken, there were 9 platforms with 8 suspended bridges. The highest spanned 150 meters above ground. It swayed a bit but fun. Enjoyed the "birds-eye-view". I even say a Perah tree, where its fruit is used to make asam rong, a delicious ingredient to make a deliciously thermonuclear spicy dish.

After the Canopy Walk, we trekked up Bukit Terasek (Terasek Hill) that stands tall facing Gunung Tahan (Tahan Mountain). However, only on a clear day Gunung Tahan can be seen. Otherwise, the valley that lays in between is constantly misty.

Climbing the hill was a great challenge, since I had to carry Mikhail on my back throughout the whole trek. At the end of the trek, he complained that it was tiring. Bertuah betul.

RapidShooting, originally uploaded by AZG.

We went rapid shooting the following day - Monday morning, before we left. The boat took us towards Kuala Trenggan. We passed through several rapids. Nothing scary but exciting enough. On the way back, we stopped by Jeram Nusa (Nusa Rapid) for a dip in the refreshingly cold clear creek. Heavenly.

AgohFamilyRoom, originally uploaded by AZG.

At Kuala Tahan we stayed at Agoh Chalet. The rooms are clean and comfortable. All air-conditioned. Some battle with the mosquitoes but we finally prevailed with the aid of mosquito coils. Hahaha... I highly recommend this place. Family room chalet costs only RM100 per night. Single room chalet costs RM50 and a 4-person (twin double-deckers) costs RM80 per night. All are air-conditioned with attached bathroom. You can call Wan Ahmad Fakharuddin at mobile 019-928 0414 or tel/fax 09-266 9570 for reservation.

Restaurants and eateries are near-by. A medical clinic is available. Except for Digi (coming soon), all cellular carriers are available. I could get full bars at the Canopy Walk and at the top of Bukit Terasek.

It is unfortunate that the Tembeling River itself is brownish muddy in color. We were told its due to logging up river. We hope this will stop.

After checking out, we stopped by Jerantut town again for lunch. This time, we managed to locate Gulai Asam Rong Ikan Kenerak. I do not know how to exactly describe it but for those who enjoy fresh water fish dish, this is one you should try. I forgot to take a picture of that dish. Guess my stomach was doing the thinking at that time.

So Fahroe, Man, Nale, TJ, Aida... bila lagi? Jom!!!

Misi Suara Hati 2 Stars n Glitterin' Nite

2005-05-24T15:54:00.000+08:00

MSH2 Gala, originally uploaded by AZG.

Last Friday 20 May 2005, my wife and I attended the Misi Suara Hati 2 Stars n Glitterin' Nite dinner at Holiday Villa Hotel in Subang. We were invited by our good friend from Digi Motion Media Production, Lionel Tay and his wife Queenie. DMMP does the post-production work for MSH as well as some other work for me.

Misi Suara Hati is a reality program by Astro that focuses on charity work and raising money for its target(s). Misi Suara Hati 2 is working on raising RM90,000 for two special children, Ahmad Zakir (2) and Nitiawarie (8). Find out more at Misi Suara Hati website and Misi Suara Hati blogsite.

Ezlyn, Vanessa (kakak Vince), Adibah Noor and Vince, originally uploaded by AZG.

A number of artistes performed that night. It is very enlightening and touching to find them giving support for these two special children. Ahmad Zakir is suffering from Sensor Neural disease requires RM80,000. Nitiawarie suffers from Lypo Monogosiel Tethered Court, Neurogenic Bowel/Bladder and Lower Limb Weakness requires RM10,000.

If Malaysians can sms millions for Akademi Fantasia, why can't we sms a few ringgit for these children who obviously need more support from us? In Vince's song, one of the lyrics went, "... these are our children too." Lets show our support, people.

SMS 32999 to donate to MSH2 fund. Your donation can be in the amount of RM1, RM5 and RM10. For example, if you want to donate RM10, type MISI2 10 and send to 32999.

Alternately, you can credit your donation into RHB Bank Account 214129-00190020 or send a check to 106 Rumah Tetamu, Kolej Ungku Omar, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi Selangor.

DMMP&Us, originally uploaded by AZG.

We care.

Songket Wedding Aidid - Norzie

2005-05-16T14:07:00.000+08:00

I was honored with an invitation to Aidid and Norzie's wedding reception. Norzie Pak Wan Chek is the anchorlady for Majalah3, a magazine program on TV3. Aidid Marcello Azhari is the host of Remaja, a youth program also on TV3. The reception was held at Sri Pentas TV3, Bandar Utama. The akad nikah ceremony had taken place 9 days earlier at Dewan Perdana Felda.

with the bride and groom, originally uploaded by AZG.

It was an event to remember, with songket everywhere synonimous with the theme - Songket Seni Warisan Agung. It was a most lovely evening. Among the guests of honor were the HH Raja Perempuan Besar Perlis Tuanku Budriah Almarhum Tengku Ismail, Prime Minister's wife Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood, and HH Johore Crown Prince's wife Raja Zarith Sofia Almarhum Sultan Idris.

with the bride's beaming father, originally uploaded by AZG.

Her father, Kol (B) Pak Wan Chek. He's happy that her daughter has found someone. So were the mother and sister. As my camera was running out of battery, we didn't not have a chance to have a photo taken with Norzie's mother.

with actor Ahmad Idham, originally uploaded by AZG.

Ahmad Idham sat at a table next to us. He was with his lovely wife, Lisdawati, Nasreen Ngasree, Annahita and a few others. I think they are all casts of TV3 Samarinda - Aku, Dia dan Capetown.

All throughout the evening their look was in my direction... not just because I was awesome looking that evening, but a 42-inch plasma screen was just above my head. :D

Cough, Chicken Pox and Chicken Soup...

2005-05-12T12:30:00.000+08:00

I got the cough. uhuk.. uhuk... uhuk...

yesterday my eyes got irritated. really itchy. redness. felt like scratching the eye balls out. went to the clinic and diagnosed for allergic conjunctivitis. so eye-drops and anti-histamine. i also had a cough coming up hence a bottle of cough syrup and some lozenges for the itchy throat.

two drops in each eye and the itchiness disappeared. what a big relief. then the cough syrup. supposed to be drowsy. but heck! it was a total knock-out. could do a thing yesterday afternoon.

got home, and was told mikhail has fever with spots/blisters on his body. my first thought - chicken pox. so off to selangor medical centre about 9.00 pm. yupp.. confirmed. chicken pox. so no school for him for at least one week.

since i think danial has not contracted chicken pox yet.. so there'll be a quarantine and decontamination policy and procedure. separate wash, daily sheet change, etc etc.

by the way, went to the clinic again this morning to get a non-drowsy cough syrup for day intake. the other one, still have to take it at night. oh yeah, im still drowsy from yesterday's evening dose.

oh well, c'esl la vie.

Cough.. cough.. cough...

2005-05-10T17:55:00.000+08:00

Its the season to be coughing, tra la la la la... la la la la...

Danial been coughing for almost a month now. went to the gp like three times, before last sunday to selangor medical centre. got referred to a paediatrician the next day. paeds said no alarm but put him on a course of 4 medication including anti-biotics. big bottles. asked danial whether he still want to have cold drinks... the answer was a definite NO.

other than that, im getting a second car. something that's inexpensive and economical, yeah with petrol at rm1.52 per litre. im seeing more frequent use of my motorcycle and kelisa in the future.

the weekend before we were at 1-utama to shopping for... cant remember what. anyway, there was this catwalk in conjunction with kl fashion week 2005. unfortunately i didnt have my nikon on me so, have to satisfy with my nokia instead.

KL Fashion Week 2005, by AZG

Hari JPA3 dan Perasmian ALPHA

2005-05-03T11:40:00.000+08:00

MARES - Saving Lives Over The Air Wave

Good Morning Tuesday! I have a splitting headache, tender stomach and a bit lethargic. Dr Azahari Klinik Kita said I might have a stomach virus infection. Simultaneously to observe any pain in the appendix area. Otherwise, Im supposed to rest at home and watch my diet - no oil, no lactose.

Sabtu lepas iaitu pada 30 April 2005 bersamaan dengan hari terakhir pemulangan borang BE Hasil Dalam Negeri adalah hari sambutan Jabatan Pertahanan Awam (JPA3) peringkat kebangsaan dan perasmian Akademi Latihan Pertahanan Awam (ALPHA) di Bangi oleh YAB Perdana Menteri Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Malaysian Amateur Radio Emergency Service (MARES) diberi penghormatan dengan jemputan untuk membuat pameran. Lokasi gerai pameran adalah yang pertama di sebelah pintu utama. MARES adalah satu-satunya badan bukan kerajaan membuat pameran di situ. Lain-lain gerai di situ adalah dari JPA3, Jabatan Kesihatan, Pusat Darah Negara, Jabatan Penjara, PDRM Cawangan Trafik dan Agensi Dadah Kebangsaan.

9M2AU briefing YAB Dato Seri on MARES activities.

It was a great honor. Our booth was the first visited by Pak Lah. He gave his attention to the briefing given by MARES club president on the clubs activities. I hope theb riefing will have a positive impact on our future activities and will gain sufficient support for us to continue serving the nation and the region.

Throughout the visit, I was busy taking everyone's photos with Pak Lah. Of course the cameraman never has his own photo taken during the moment. Is there a hint of envy there? Biasa la kan...

Donating blood at National Blood Centre booth.

For more photos, click here

Sistem Taksir Sendiri Cukai Pendapatan Peribadi 2004

2005-04-29T09:34:00.000+08:00

taksiran sendiri
amatlah mudah
cukai pendapatan
amatlah mudah
marilah kita
jayakan diri

i have fulfilled a requirement of a responsible citizen. i have submitted my income tax Borang BE last night at the kelana jaya lhdn branch. place was full! anyway, took me less than 10 minutes to sort everything out. selesai.

but while filling in the form, there was this part where i just could not figure out and it was not explained in the booklet. Bahagian A - Penuhi Keperluan Umum. what on earth is that? at first i took a number - 1243 and they were serving number 1115. luckily there was a roaming lovely lady officer that was up for grab, which i did almost literally. apparently she's been answering that question all day long. it was just a simple explaination.
but then it raised two questions in me,
(1) why didnt they explain it in the book and save a lot of taxpayers grief,
(2) everyone is going to mark they are conforming. who's not? to my understanding, it is not necessary. furthermore, everyone has to sign a declaration in the last section of the borang BE that they are submitting the truth etc. so pelik la.

Today I finally managed to download the electronic Borang BE 2004. Just for the fun of it as I have submitted my forms last night. Well, it has not turn out to be any fun coz I cant get the #!@% thing running. asyik not responding aje. ntah la labu...

i have lots of suggestions and comments on the BE form. main thing is, the form should be designed by idiots like me who does his own taxes painstakingly once a year hence making it idiot proof. at the moment, it seems its being constructed by people who are familiar with the terms and technicalities of tax filing.

taksiran sendiri amatlah mudah... is relative.

Maulidur Rasul and the Weekend

2005-04-27T11:34:00.000+08:00

Stayed at home. Im installing a turbine ventilation vent today. 1 unit of 16 inch turbine with 9 vent outlets. In total costed me rm673. The house a bit cooler now, or less warm rather. Not a bad investment. However, i had the means, would have installed an electric based vent fan. More powerful.

Friday at work was a breeze. Had a meeting in the morning and afternoon.

Saturday installed an additional air-conditioner in mikhail's room as well as a new washing machine. The old one washing machine Man took.

Sunday is danial's school sports day. on friday he had already won an event. second place for pulling a ball with a hoop. sunday was just the usual march pass and track event. haa.. i entered the parents vs teachers tug-o-war. parents team lost the first game. swiched places and we won coz the ground is not slippery. we refused to move back to the slippery side of the field. however, at the toss of a coin we lost and so lost the game. anyway dapat juga hadiah. hantam saja lah.

on of the school teacher asked me to help out with connecting the school computer lab with to the internet. hmm.. they have a line in but the vendor did not connect the lab to the switch. why..? ntah la.. but this vendor very famous one.

Tuesday blues

2005-04-19T15:30:00.000+08:00

good morning, afternoon and evening. different place in the world, same time but different timing. what am i babbling about nih... iskk...

last wednesday i fixed my car door. thursday problem balik. so friday hantar semula pegi kedai. and they fixed it again. and this time, thank you so far without any problem.

thursday night sent fahroe and tj to putrajaya erl station. they're going to kuching. not bad paying rm70 for a return flight to kuching albeit some delay. it beats paying a few hundred bucks. i can still recall paying rm400 for a red-eye flight to kuching on mas a few years ago.

went back to kuantan on saturday morning. left the house about 7 ish. traffic was pretty clear in kl. dropped by the office to pick up my notebook. gotto do some work during the weekend la. about 10.15 arrived at my brother's new house. beautiful. facing the calm south china sea. a mere 300 meters from the beach. had breakfast there. the evening was his housewarming kenduri tahlil. kenyang.

sunday morning the usual activities prior to leaving back for kl. went for seafood shopping. we bought 1 red snapper, 1 jemuduk, 1 kg kembung, 1kg selayang, 1 kg squids, 1 kg prawns, 1 tetuka (small ray) and 4 large blue shell crabs. totalled rm122. the guy gave me rm4 discount. but seafood prices have gone up due to rough sea. the crabs that normally priced at rm13 were rm16 last sunday. squids were rm12.

we left kl about 1 ish. singgah temerloh for lunch ikan patin masak asam pedas tempoyak. fuhhhhhh... heavenly. then there's this group of bikers. super bikes with their honeys. what an awesome sight.

arrived kl 4 ish. dropped stuff of. had burgers for dinner. that night after the rain subsided i booked a turbine ventilator for the house. its damn hot nowadays. the installation is going to be on thursday.

so life's been good over the weekend. thank you Allah. Your blessings has been more than of my offerings.

Anything mechanical will fail... and fail it did.

2005-04-13T13:49:00.000+08:00

yesterday evening i attended mares committee and sub-committee meeting. i'm in the sub-committees floating around as required. we finished the meeting about 10 ish but as usual, the post-meeting chat lasted a while. it wasnt until past 11 all of us left.

stopped at petronas gas station to fill up. spent rm15 and ready to leave. as i was opening the car door to enter, the car locked itself. the locking mechanism engaged itself. my keys and mobile phone were inside. mortifying! it was already mid-night by then.

so with a puppy face, went to see the station supervisor and borrowed his motorcycle to get another set of car keys at home. good thing i was only 1 km away from home.

hence this morning i sent the car to our friendly neighbourhood workshop. guess what! i cant emulate the problem again. so they cant do anything. next i drove to the nearest honda service centre. the service manager said, its the central locking motor. i have to go to cobra to get it fixed. and where is cobra? taman tun dr ismail. so, braved thru the jam on ldp. evenhaving a smart tag didnt help. i ended up going thru the manual lane. faster. the traffic was bad up until the cable bridge and past motorola.

finally got there 10 ish. the folks at cobra were very helpful. my car was done in about 30 minutes. they adjusted the motor tension and that was it. didnt pay a single sen. and now im parked in dayabumi and shall be paying the parking fee through the nose upon exit later.

there went murphy's law. if it can break then it will break. the kereta lembu in front of central market is starting to look very tempting. c'est la vie.

It's Monday...

2005-04-11T11:50:00.000+08:00

its monday. isnin. senin. ithnaini.

first thing. badan aku sakit2. semalam, after so many months tak training, pegi la akhirnya. berkarat habis. training sambil pakai splint kat wrist kanan. doktor cakap, for the next 3-4 months, kalau nak buat kerja berat dgn tangan kanan, kena pakai splint tu. just to provide some sort of protection for wrist. anyway camana pun, it was good. peluh baik punya. segar rasa badan. cuma lepas tu la sengal2 pasal dah lama tak kena banting atas mat. adehh..

oh, today's fahroe's birthday. hepi hepi birthday to fahroe. moga ceria selalu.

and pagi ni bangun tekak sakit. ada bengkak sikit. jap lagi gi pharmacy beli strepsil. dah sip air sejuk.. tapi tak de kurang.

okay. its lunch time! almost...

Wednesday is mid-week.

2005-04-06T15:54:00.000+08:00

salams.

just finished re-edit balik travelog. added a few more photos and description. so korang boleh revisit balik bangkok day 1 sampai 6 tu semula. dah add more stuff.

semalam tengok buletin utama tv3. ibupejabat persatuan bulan sabit merah malaysia kat jalan ampang tu kena raid oleh orang ramai. curi barang-barang bantuan pakaian, makanan dan minuman untuk mangsa tsunami. kotak, plastik, pintu habis kena pecah. bila orang nak halang, boleh pula diaorang nak ugut pukul. tak ingat dosa ke diaorang ni? tak pun takkan tak ingat lokap?

patutnya orang macam ni disumbat dalam lokap, pastu kunci pintu lokap tu flush kat toilet. tidak pun hantar pergi acheh untuk kerja-kerja kebajikan untuk seminggu dua. suruh cari mayat kat pulau nias tu. tak sedar diri.

My Bangkok Trip - Day 6

2005-04-04T15:26:00.000+08:00

haadyai from 30,000 feet.

Day 6. last and final day. the flight was at 12pm. so gotto make way to the airport by 8am. did nothing much. woke up. finished packing and securing luggages with tapes. marked and label. last night bought a roll of masking tape and permanent marker.

went down for breakfast. had a group photo with the nice cute waitress. ohhh.. she's so fond of mikhail. then left for the airport. think the bell boy is happy with the tip. hope so. never tipped that much in my entire life!

once checked in and paid B500 pax for airport tax or they call it service charge, we loitered in the duty free area. shheesshhh.. things are pricey. even books were ridiculously priced. so we didnt buy anything and ended up with still B1000 in cash. bawak balik kl.

when the captain informed we were over haadyai, i took a few shots of it. hmm.. cant see much from 30,000 feet.

landed at klia safely at 3 pm after a two hour flight. the landing was something... i'd rate the pilot's landing an 8.5

... on a richter scale!

in my history of flying, its one of the worst for a malaysia airline pilot. its quite normal id say to experience "crash" land on other airlines but not malaysian airline. he bumped hard on the tarmac. twas clear sunny day too. mas had better do something about this before it becomes a norm.

My Bangkok Trip - Day 5

2005-04-01T15:20:00.000+08:00

wat arun or arun temple. located on the bank of river chao phraya, bangkok. went there by one of the express boat. photo taken from the boat, minutes before disembarking.

day 5. we're leaving the next day. so thought of taking the day easy. we decided to go on a river cruise on chao phraya. went to wat arun. its a buddhist temple. very famous. than off to kuan yins temple.

on the way there were some people selling their wares from boats. you know, floating market. bought a loaf of bread. in front kuan yin's temple in the river was where a huge school of patin lingers. fed them with the bread. besar-besar. instantly reminds me of patin masak tempoyak!

found on a wall in the great palace, bangkok. the monster creature is female. very graphic. the walls of the inner palace is full of these story, mostly based on stories of ramayana and mahabrata.

next stop was the grand palace. heres where the official function of the kingdom takes place, ie coronation. the emerald buddha is also located here. theres also a museum. the walls of the inner palace have paintings depicting stories from the ramayana and mahabrata. fascinating.

once done with the grand palace, off to dreamworld we go! its a theme park. definitely one of the best in the region, if not the best. there was this hanging coaster. instead of railing beneath the cars, its above. you can say its a cable car going at a million miles an hour. i havent ridden in a roller coaster for the longest time. after the ride, i remember the reason. swear im not going into one again!

there were a lot of rides in dreamworld and plenty of them cater for kids. and there's a hollywood show. fascinating. water and wet rides. yupp.. i got wet splashed. then there's this haunted house. we went in there. i was second. not bad as i still can see the scary things that jumps out of nowhere. then, this group of girls came in. and they're like bunch of scaredy cats. only worse. they went up front, holding to each other, and scared. im deprived from being jumped by the ghosts. tried to get ahead but they wouldnt let me. so fine. if i cant be scared, might as well i do the scaring. so thats what i did. i laughed. like a mad man. boy, these girls were so scared, they ran but couldnt as the place was very dark and narrow. instead they tripped over each other, sprawling on the floor. i laughed.. and they were like terrified until i stopped. hmm.. served them right!

going down a snowhill on a sled. head first. aaaaeeeiiiiiiiiii....!!!!!!!!!!! this was in a snow house at dreamland, a theme park near bangkok.

we also entered a snow house. freezing cold even with the supplied winter coats. and they have this snow slope where you can sled down in a rubber sled. cool. fascinating. fun! fun! thats the end of the day.

dinner that night was a feast at usman. fish, prawn, tom yam gung, etc. we even bought several pieces of thai silk from usman. oh yeah, the bazaar where we bought the thai cushion also delivered the cushions that night. both of em fit in a 29 inch tv box. hmm.. still no thai massage for me. bum-mer.

My Bangkok Trip - Day 4

2005-04-01T15:09:00.000+08:00

PETRONAS petrol station in Bangkok.

On day 4. woke up early. had a good breakfast. today we decided to go to ayuddhya. on the way there, we spied a petronas petrol station while on an elevated highway.

Bhang Pa-In Summer Palace.

first stop before ayuddhya was bang pa-in palace (click here for virtual environment). this summer palace located on an island in chao phraya river was a favorite of king mongkut (rama iv) and king chulalongkorn (rama v). remember the summer palace from anna and the king?

after spending some time there, we proceeded to the ancient capital at ayuddhya. we first stopped for lunch at a restaurant located on the bank of chao phraya river. rice, kangkong, and fish.

the ancient city were mostly ruins but it was a great sight. one cant help but wonder how the ancient city was hundreds years ago.

we also went on an elephant ride that costed me B800 for a 20 minute ride. figured it was worth it as we travelled quite a distance and you really cant get a decent elephant ride elsewhere.

done there, all were dead tired. with the day ending... we called it.

dinner that night was no other place than..... usman.

My Bangkok Trip - Day 3

2005-03-28T15:27:00.000+08:00

isn't it beautiful..?

day 3 in bangkok. spent the morning at the hotel pool. berendam sampai kecut. then off to the city. first stop was jim thompson house. The Jim Thompson House is the home of James H.W. Thompson, a self-made American entrepreneur who was the founder of the world renowned Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company. Thompson's achievements during his 25 year stay in the Kingdom of Thailand have won him much fame as the "Legendary American of Thailand". He disappeared in cameron highland in 1967 after going out for a walk.

after that we took a tut-tut to maboonkrong or mbk. it is one of the largest shopping mall in bangkok. huge. there are many large shopping malls in bangkok. mbk is similar to sungei wang plaza in a way.

after mbk we went to siam discovery centre. it is another mall but more similar to suria klcc. then off to siam square where hard rock cafe is located. bought a couple of t-shirts there. met a police officer who suggested we go to thai export centre where there are inexpensive rubies. bummer. they are still around B10,000 a pop. not cheap, at least according to my check book.

so back to the hotel, stopping at usman for dinner.

after dinner, we took a cab to suam lum night bazaar. a new and very large night market with over 3,000 stalls. spent a few hours there, sampai lembik. bought a few t-shirts, souvenirs and two thai sofa cushions - the triangular shaped head rest. since the cushions are too big and the color we wanted were at the warehouse, we agreed to have it delivered to the hotel the following day, boxed. so senang nak bawa naik kapalterbang.

that's for day 3 in bangkok.

My Bangkok Trip - Day 2

2005-03-23T17:15:00.000+08:00

Sawaddee kap monday 14 march

a white rhinocerous at safari park, bangkok.

hari ni we all pergi safari park located just outside of bankok. naik van travel agency c/w driver and guide. about 45 minutes. campur tiket, lunch semua sekali B3800 tak silap. heh heh.. tak ingat dah. memula safari drive thru tengok la zirafah, gajah, kuda belang, badak sumbu, kambing, burung, rusa, singa, rimau, dan bermacam-macam natang. pastu masuk dia punya safari world theme park. ada memacam show. tengok polar bear. show dolphin dan paus. stunt show. cowboy stunt. bird show. semua tu ada la sampai petang. lembik.

toll gate girl, bangkok. pollution is so bad.

malam tu makan kat mana..? mana lagi kalau bukan kat usman. tom yam gung!

My Bangkok Trip - Day 1

2005-03-22T17:00:00.000+08:00

sawaddee kap - ahad 13 march

Koh Samui from 30,000 feet. cannot see much from up here.

haha.. just got back from bankok actually. went there for a week, time cuti sekolah ari tu. the whole family. pegi sunday balik friday. banyak gak jenjalan.

ahad. left klia flight 10 am. flight time 2 hrs 5 minutes. sampai bangkok 11:05 am coz bkk time is 1 hr behind than kul. ada org tunggu dah kat epot. dia bawak pegi hotel check-in kat park avenue @22 hotel di sukhumvit. itu kira business district la, cam jalan sultan ismail lebih kurang. pas check-in dia bawak pegi jenjalan for our half day tour of bkk.

These pots hold ashes of cremated bodies at Wat In.

First stop adalah sebuah kuil bernama Wat In (wat intharavihan. di situ terdapat patung buddha "luang pho to". patung ini mula dibina dalam tahun 1867 mengambil masa 60 tahun. ianya setinggi 32 meter dengan kelebaran 11 meter. hanya di dalam tahun 1957 raja dan permaisuri thailand menyelaputi patung buddha ini dengan daun emas 24 karat.

Ruby cutting. The ruby is the small dark shadow at the tip of the gem holder.

ntah mana pusing sampai la kat satu kedai permata ni. masuk tengok jer. mem ada la beli sapphire loose 2-3 butir. mahal. tapi dia punya salesgirl nama boby tu comel cam pan-asian skit. punya la dia layan pujuk aku.. dia ingat aku la tukang bayar. padahal sebenarnya ministry of finance bukan aku. nasib la dia.. hehehe... abis situ kitaorang balik hotel.

dinner kat restoran halal kat betul-betul depan hotel. orang pattani. pandai la cakap melayu slang kelate. restoran usman thai muslim food. 259/9 sukhumvit 22, sukhumvit road, klongtoey, prakanong, bkk 10100. tel (01) 855 7124. email samarnyama@hotmail.com

murah sedap dan lazat. isteri dia sendiri yang masak. nasi goreng seafood baru B350. udang dia saiz besar cam udang galah. belasah tom yam gung. fuuhhhh... kekenyangan cam sawa telan kambing sekor.

balik hotel cari kiblat solat dan tido. lembik bang oi...

iP 2005 Annual Dinner

2005-03-21T15:10:00.000+08:00

nots-17, originally uploaded by jeanscott.

ahh.. last saturday was company's annual dinner. here's one phote of the ladies and austin powers. that wasnt me.

Penatnya badan

2005-03-07T11:32:00.000+08:00

salams

sabtu buat birthday party untuk danial. hepi sakan dia. yang penatnya aku. adehhh... member-member pun ramai datang. ada sorang tu call pepagi ahad minta maaf. dia dah salah hari.. dok ingat hari ahad.

pastu pagi ahad pergi kelas cw - morse code. fail. kepala blank. huruf A pun lambat nak register dalam kepala. last-last give up.. relax dan buat sending je. tengah hari balik makan.

petang tu, pergi cycling. ajak danial - ajak-ajak ayam je - tapi tengok dia nak ikut. so hantam off track. ada la dekat sejam. balik penat.. basah peluh. tapi puas! malam tido nyaman...

hari ni another surat aku kuar paper. the star. iqra'

Amateur Radio on Majalah 3

2005-03-01T11:06:00.000+08:00

did you manage to catch majalah 3 on saturday 19 feb 9 pm and its repeat broadcast on friday 25 feb 1.30 pm? it was great. the first segment featured amateur radio communication usage in recreational and emergency. it was a full 18-minute segment. and i appeared a few times. yeahhh....

i also got my palm t3 last friday. picked it up from abedib. yee haa.. having fun with it now. synch it with the star newspaper online edition. hmm... i wish the sun would do the same.

the haze over the weekend was horrendous, especially on saturday. could hardly see anything beyond 500 meters. good thing it rained on sunday morning and evening. cleared the sky good and put out the brush and peat fires.

it rained again heavily yesterday late afternoon. wasnt too long but somehow managed to drive the taxi drivers away. theres usually plenty of taxi in front of klang bus stand but yesterday, there was a queue and after 10 minutes, still no taxi. i decided to take the lrt instead.

some time last week i took a taxi from kl sentral to old klang road. discovered had to purchase a coupon to board a cab. just like at klia. and it costs more too. from kl sentral to old klang road near oug is rm10. usuall cost me rm5.50. rm7 if the traffic is really bad.

had a chat with the driver. out of the rm10 fare, kl sentral takes rm1. he gets rm9. to him, its fair price. the fare has not been revised for so many years. between then, the cost of fuel has gone up 30%. price of car also went up. cost of living also up.

i feel bad for that guy, and taxi drivers in general. but then again, i may not afford to get a taxi if the cost goes up unless its a business trip. we just have to wait and see. me dont know.

Could it get any better?

2005-02-18T15:02:00.000+08:00

salams people

two days back i met Abedib at klcc. he's selling of his palm t3 and sony ericsson t630. im buying the t3. after 2 long years of palmless, im getting a palm again. oohhh.. what a wonderful feeling. he's going to back his data up first and by tuesday the baby should be in my palm. hahaha...

i was informed this saturday on majalah3 at 9 pm will feature amateur radio. hopefully it will not be overtaken by other events or news. so, tune your television to majalah3 this saturday!

Selamat Maal Hijrah

2005-02-15T13:08:00.000+08:00

Selamat Maal Hijrah. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

with the coming of new year, we are now a year older, hopefully a year wiser. another way to look at it, a year closer to the other world.

first day of cny, pergi sungai sendat with ham radio group. gambar kat sini - blog fahroe. ada buat majalah3 shoot kat situ. seronotsss..

malam tu pula pegi klia ambil cousin balik dari haji. pehh... punya la ramai orang. pergi dengan my bro and his son. saja ajak teman drive + menunggu kat epot. kalau sensorang boring gak. sampai sana... macam carnival sure heboh ramainya orang. sorang dua yang balik dari haji tapi yang menunggunya dua tiga bas. siap kamera, videocam dan bermacam aksi pelik2. patut boleh masuk misteri nusantara.

siang esoknya diaorang balik la ke pahang. jumaat pepagi 3.30 am bertolak ke kuantan. fahroe lak dah sampai situ hari khamis. nasib baik dia jumpa chalet kat cherating. kalau tak, tido dalam keta la jawabnya.

esoknya dia pindah ke pantai sepat, penor. rekemen pegi sanubari resort. ahaha... dia cakap best. tak nak balik. hehehe... petang jumaat tu kitaorang beramai2 kacau dia kat sanubari. cuma sekarang air besar, jadi tak sesuai mandi. tempat nak best mandi laut kat kuantan antaranya adalah pantai balok dan pantai batu hitam. pantainya cantik, tak dalam sangat dan ada beting pasir. kalau cherating dekat dengan kuala sungai. sama juga dengan sepat jadi tak cantik sangat air dia. pantai sepat, arus bawah air kuat walaupun di paras lutut. merbahaya. pantai teluk chempedak pun sama merbahaya disebabkan arus dan juga pantai yang menjunam.

lain tak de cerita. lusa my brother will be going to banda acheh for a one week medical relief work.

My Right Hand Hurts

2005-02-07T14:16:00.000+08:00

My right hand hurts. send help fast.

Selamat Pengantin Baru

2005-02-07T13:47:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log

last saturday went to syariman's wedding. twas fun. day trip. sunday morning had an interview with majalah3 on radio communication. this wednesday gong xi fa cai we are going to conduct a search and rescue excercise with focus on radio communication advantages. whole day exercise.

then gotto go to klia to pick-up my cousins back from hajj. what a week.

gong xi fa cai.

selamat menyambut tahun baru hijrah.

Sorry lah... I'm a bit busy. Next time, okay?

2005-01-31T13:28:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log 31 Jan 2005

todays blog will be my bitching session. i shall not claim im a good fella nor an examplar citizen. just an average man that wants to make a tiny difference in the world he is living in. so, whats the bitch?

i know many people. acquantance you may call them. or colleagues. or former school/college mates. i call some of them friends. during the past 4 weeks i have been campaigning for people to help provide relief for the tsunami victims - both local and abroad. my campaign mostly fell on deaf ears. biasa la tu. the common excuse, "busy la this time.. next time lah". yeah right, as if theres going to be another disaster. to which i am quite sure these people will be busy again. another excuse that i heard recently was, "kalau buat tak ikhlas tak guna juga." classic! kalau betul2 busy tak pe la. jangan la kasi excuse yang menginsult intelligence. alahai... i wonder if the next time they ask for favor from me, should i give them the same answer? rasa tak ikhlas tak payah la tolong kan?

and then theres this species that drops by for an hour or so at the relief corrdination centres watching others work, only to proudly hail later that they did so much for the disaster victims. hogwash! ada juga yang cuma jadi pemerhati. ish ish ish...

but some of these same people have also been complaining about the lack courtesy and sensitivity among malaysians! my point, easier to talk than to walk the walk.

when i was at a few of donations collection centres, i witnessed a sizeable amount of rags and junks donated. oh youve seen some of them in the papers and other web sites. torn clothes, soiled under garments, trophies, plaques and photo frames. disgusting!!!

and then there are those who donated a measly amount (compared to their income and what they spent on entertainment and other vices) and very proud of it. their excuse, "sikit tak apa asalkan ikhlas." ive seen poorer people given more to the cause and i think its because they have been true hardship and know that a small amount wont help much. if you want to give, give an amount that matters. if you can afford 2 boxes of cigarette a day, why not sacrifice the value of one box and donate it to charity. everyday. i figure, if your pay check is rm 3000 a month, what's rm50-200 to charity if you can spend more on entertainment. an average person probably spent much more for mamak teh tarik. if you are still on a tight budget as those who supports a large family then it is understood.

we in kl so far has been fortunate not to have been at the center of the disaster. maybe that what makes some of us so numb to the suffering and need of others.

simultaneously, i take this opportunity to thank and praise those who have sincerely contributed whether in time, kind or cash to the disaster victims. you guys did it selflessly. its easy to identify these people - you see them more than once, and they are always doing something. thank you. hope to see you again.

selamat hari wilayah.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha / Korban

2005-01-24T17:46:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Monday 24 January 2005

selamat hari raya aidil adha dan selamat hari raya korban. cuti weekend panjang bagi ramai orang termasuk la aku. pepagi raya kul 3 pagi aku dah bertolak ke perak, beraya dengan pak/mak sedara belah orang rumah. petang sebelum balik mandi air terjun kat lata kinjang. fuhhhh... sejuk menyegarkan.. macam minum eno. pastu balik kl. trafik kedua2 hala tak de jam. iye le.. kul 3 pagi apa nak jam. tapi dengan jem tengah malam tu teruk la jugak. kesempatan nampak bangkai kenderaan yang eksiden teruk meninggal sekeluarga kat area rawang tu. memang tak de rupa kenderaan langsung apa yang tinggal tu. innalillahi wainna ilaihirajiun.

sabtu pagi kul 8 lebih bertolak ke taman negara kuala tahan di pahang. sampai jerantut dalam pukul 10 lebih. breakfast and lunch dulu. pastu pegi ziarah rumah member kat jerantut. plan asalnya sekejap je.. last2 sejam lebih. raya la katakan.. takkan nak touch n go aje kan? lepas tu baru la sambung perjalanan ke kuala tahan dengan melalui jalan darat.

lebih kurang 1 jam aje dari jerantut. tapi jalan dia elok sikit dari camel trophy. kenapa? pasal banyak kena lanyak dengan lori balak. overloading lak tu rasanya. hancur berlubang sesetengah tempat tu. camana pun masih boleh dilalui oleh kenderaan ringan termasuklah kereta kancil. jadi kul 2.30 gitu sampai la kat kuala tahan.

check-in chalet Agoh. ambil 2 bilik air con. setiap bilik ada 4 katil. tapi kena buat gitu pasal takkan la aku nak tidur sebilik dengan maid aku kan.. camana nak tukar baju bagai. pastu nak 18sx lagi... jadi anak aku yang besar tu pun tido bilik lagi satu. karang kacau daun lak yea.

first thing aku tido dulu.. penat drive wehhhh. sampai la kul 4. pastu ke seberang sungai tembeling ke taman negara resort. tambang bot lima posen sorang. budak tak kira. ambil permit kat perhilitan. permit budak kira juga. tak kisah la... RM1 sorang aje.. teramat murah bila dibandingkan dengan apa yang diaorang dah belanja jaga tamana negara tu. pastu jenjalan masuk trek hutan menuju ke bukit terasek/laluan kanopi.

pastu pegi naik tahan hide atau bumbun tahan intai2 binatang kat salt lick. tak de nampak apa pun. nyamuk pun tak nampak. dan sebelum gelap.. berkejar ke lubuk simpon untuk mandi sungai!!! yeaaa... sejuk menyegarkan macam minum eno.

malam tu makan kat restoran di atas air.. atas rakit. bukan atas tiang macam restoran kat tasik titiwangsa tu. nasi 5 orang, lauk paprik, tomyam dan fresh orange 5 orang seme total RM48. fuhhhh... taman negara la katakan. tak kisah la. lain kali aku bawa roti dengan sardin.

pastu pegi balik taman negara resort tengok tayangan video. adalah 25 minit 40 saat. pastu pasal bebudak dah lembik, balik tido.

pepagi esok lepas sarapan (1 teh o, 4 milo, 6 roti canai = RM16) pegi sewa bot untuk ke lata berkoh. satu bot 4 orang RM120. jadi kena la ambil 1 bot. perjalanan lebih kurang 30 minit naik bot dan 15 minit jalan kaki untuk sampai ke jeram lata berkoh tu. mandi lagi..!!! lebih sejuk daripada eno! masih menyegarkan. kalau boleh tak mahu balik. ada group dari singapore datang mandi lagi. apa kan daya... takkan nak berendam sampai kecut pulak kan. so balik semula ke bot. on the way tu, singgah di kelah sanctuary tempat ikan kelah dijaga rapi. besar2!!! bagi makan ikan situ... makanan ikan free. pastu baru balik ke chalet dan terus check out.

sebelum balik ke kl, singgah di kampung pasir durian, kuala tembeling untuk makan tengahari di kenduri kahwin - iaitu sebab sebenar ke kuala tahan tu. selepas kenduri, beli ikan patin 2 ekor, tilapia merah 3 ekor dan kerai jelawat sekor. semua ni ikan kuala tembeling yang rasanya 100x ganda lebih best dari ikan yang sama dijual kat kl. kalau kat kl ni aku tak makan ikan tilapia, tapi tilapia kuala tembeling fuhhhh... bakar bodo pun lazat. manis. tu belum citer pasal patin dan kerai jelawat lagi. ahaha... aku nak pegi lagi, so sapa nak ikut sila register nama.

tu aje for now... 73 QRX.

Another weekend at Red Crescent HQ

2005-01-18T09:35:00.000+08:00

twas another weekend like the last at mrcs hq where a bunch of us volunteer doing things that need to be done for the tsunami relief ops. but last saturday i was joined by a few of my colleagues at work. marisa, neza, mimi, marlin, bee, haniza, haliza, izham, ridzwan. twas a pleasant surprise.

so what did we do? the usual lah. pack boxes on wooden pallets, and shrink wrap them. move and stack em until the trucks come for pick up. the ladies sort out the donated clothes - wearable from the junks. oh yeah, there are still inconsiderate people donating kain buruk - that most of us wouldnt even think of using them to wipe the kitchen floor.

saturday evening i attended a different event. my malaysian amateur radio emergency service society (mares) annual dinner. the same evening, we sent two of our members to acheh under yayasan salam banner. they'll be there for two weeks, providing emergency radio communication as well as communication management between various organisations there. my doa to them selamat pergi, selamat kembali.

sunday was another day at mrcs hq. two of my colleagues came again. wee weee marlin and bee. at 2:30 pm a convoy of 2 40-foot trailers, 10 trucks and a few vehicles fully loaded with supplies left mrcs hq with police escort for port klang. the supplies will be delivered to acheh via navy vessels kd mahawangsa and kd inderasakti.

today im going to mares club house after work. we're delivering boxes of supplies to mindef collection centre. when that's done, it'll be to mrcs for the rest of the evening.

"energy receive, energy return, aspiring people everywhere"

2005-01-12T05:51:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Tuesday 11 January 2005 1347 hrs

it's been another long week. I spent my weekend at Malaysian Red Crescent Society in Jalan Ampang (behind Gleneagles Hospital). There are a lot of work needs to be done there ie sorting, packing, loading and unloading food and supplies for the tsunami victims.
There are many volunteer groups there, but the amount of work is still overwhelming. They need more volunteers everyday. It opens 8:30am until midnight everyday so anyone that can spend about 3 hours after work, or weekends is much appreciated.

I would like to call for any volunteers, to assist MRCS in organizing, sorting, packing and labelling food, clothes and drinks for Tsunami victims in Aceh and Sri Lanka.

Currently, MRCS needs volunteer, on daily basis, to help them to do the above. For those interested, you can drop by at MRCS, 32 Jalan Nipah off Jalan Ampang (behind Gleneagles Hospital). Look for Mr Azmi Tajuddin and tell him that you would like to volunteer. The
center is open from 8am till 12 midnite. Food and drinks are provided for volunteers. Please register with Mr Azmi or Ms Azura.

As per my personal visits yesterday, there are still tonnes of items that still needs to be sort out, pack, and label. Pix can be found here - http://fahroe.textamerica.com

For those who wish to donate items, you can send cash, medication, food or bottled water to the same center. Please do not give inappropriate stuff ie junks, discards, unsuitalbe clothes.

Operation runs daily from 8 am until 12 midnight. A few hours after work helps a lot.

http://fahroe.textamerica.com
http://www.jeffooi.com/archives/2005/01/tsunami_relief_6.php
http://www.jeffooi.com/archives/2005/01/tsunami_yes_we_1.php
http://www.jeffooi.com/

Tsunami... what we could have done but did not

2004-12-30T01:40:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Wednesday 29 Dec 2004 0915 hours

if you guys have not heard the news (http://www.bernama.com.my or http://news.google.com or http://www.thesundaily.com or http://www.thestar.com.my) then you have missed one of the most significant event of the century!

simply put, an earthquake a few kilometers below the sea bed west of north sumatera triggered a tremor recently graded as 9.0 on the richter scale, as well as a tsunami that hit the coast of indonesia, malaysia, thailand, myanmar, india, bangladesh, sri lanka, maldives, seychelles, somalia, kenya and tanzania. to date the death toll is almost 60,000 lives. more are seriously injured. the details can be read in the news as i am not about to copy and paste everything into this tiny space.

could we have done something? if there is, probably very little. it took approximately an hour for the tsunami to travel from the epicenter to malaysia. it cant be predicted. it can only be tracked with difficulty once it is generated. and good ol' malaysia has never been under threat of a tsunami before for at least a hundred years (that's how far i know and its a very conservative number). even if we had known it's coming over, there's nothing much we could do in an hour.

we do not have a well practised mass emergency public notification system. name a beach in malaysia that has a siren and pa system with someone constantly at watch. you'll be lucky if you see the notorious red flag which most ignored or went unnoticed.

most malaysians have never seen a tsunami before in their lives. those fortunate to be watching it on discovery channel may still not recognize it again, even if it occurs before their own eyes. in penang, what happened when the sea receded 200 meters (pulled to form the wave)? picnickers ran towards the sea to pick clams and flopping fish left by the water. when the waves reappeared minutes later, very little time was left to realize that they are sitting duck. doomed.

we are ignorant about a lot of things. apathy too. every year we experienced major flood. after each relief operations, the powers that be hold a post-mortem meeting to discuss the shortfalls of the operation. and it ends the moment the meeting ends. the following year we make the same errors again.

we face similar problems after a multi-agencies joint emergency exercise. post-mortem meeting carried out and the same mistakes are made at the next exercise.

who are to be blamed but our own ignorant self? everybody - the federal and local government, their agencies, and the rakyat including the victims too.

i can go on and on but looking at the photos in the paper just derailed my train of thought. until next time... be safe, be good.

Almost Weekend...

2004-12-24T09:45:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Thursday 23 Dec 2004 1745 hrs

it's been a very long while since i last wrote. too much work and too little time to post my thoughts and feelings etcetera etcetera etcetera...

let's work backward. just completed a presentation pack for the bosses meeting at mindef. spent 3 weeks developing this thing. finally all done, printed and bound. siap kaler print lagi... jenuh menunggu printer tu tendang 6 copies out.

before that meetings and meetings and meetings with various vendors and partners. presentations left and right. ahah! went to microsoft education conference at crown surya mutiara hotel. about 300 people showed up. interesting conference.

anyway, tomorrow i have been asked to become voice talent for a video recording. not for the real thing but only for draft presentation. dont have a voice good enough to compete with geoffrey nicholson or rodney michael. hahaha.... but it'll be a fun experience.

its almost six pm... time to knock off from the office. tomorrow's another day...

had an interesting discussion the other day on PLUS toll hike.

i'll try to write more often. if you like to read other fun stuff, go to http://www.parlimen.gov.my/hansard.php and select any documents. The starting of it is usually quite dry but as you go along... you'll discover what i meant.

later...

Wedding Weekend

2004-12-07T07:49:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Mon 6 Dec 2004 1537 hrs

what a busy weekend. i took friday off. first thing in the morning was to elder scn's school. he's entering primary 1 next year. so went to his school to buy his text books, exercise books, workbooks etc. the school shop didnt have all the required books yet. maybe in a couple of weeks. boy, did i find out the cost of text books nowadays! bapak mahalnya!!!!!! standard 1 and his books cost as if he is entering university. nak masuk skim pinjaman buku teks, tapi tak layak. adehhh....

all that over, left for kampar perak. wife punya female cousin punya wedding. arrived kampar around 2:30 pm.. ahhh, just perfect for lunch. gulai ikan kembung masak tempoyak and some other things which i cannot recall. my target was the tempoyak. had a good lunch. for the wedding, the uncle slaughtered 3 goats. so the rest of the afternoon was spent melapah memotong kambing. that lasted the whole afternoon. boy, self ended up smelling like a goat tak mandi seumur hidup. the smell stuck. it took a lot of scrubbing to rid of the strong pungent kambing smell under a hot shower at the small hotel we were staying.

that evening was the akad nikah ceremony. i didnt witness it as i was spending time outside the house with the other cousins smoking my stogies. the others were cigarette smokers. one of the cousin was an air force trainer. he invited his students over to the wedding and they assist. aduh.. ada pilot wanita juga but dont think i want to mess with them. we left for the hotel almost 1 am.

saturday - kenduri day. didnt do much. help out a bit here and there as most of the job was taken care of by the helpers. oh, one of the female pilot was attractive. appreared to be close to one of the guys. lucky bloke. late afternoon, a group of us made our way to lata kinjang, a popular waterfall. twas fun as usual. boy, was the water freezing cold! macam ais.

that night after wedding present opening session was the photography session. i was called upon (i did not volunteer eh) to direct the session. so i have to fix up their look. the grooms shirt was a bit loose so tucked it in. the brides tiara kept falling senget. fixed that too. so seronok la getting them to pose intimately. malu-malu... pehhhh. i think we shot around 100 poses. of course using digital camera.

the following day was the groom's family kenduri. oh, both the bride and groom are from kampar. so easy one. and this time i got called again to prepare the groom. apparently the mak andam - another cousin - didnt know how to tie the sampin. so, with the experience i have - over a few weddings - tied the sampin p ramlee style, fixed up the bengkung really nice and tight and voila.. the grooms ready. after that, off to the grooms reception.

left back for kl that sunday afternoon. rained quite heavily near tapah. made it to kl around 6 pm. had a raya open house invitation but all of us were like dead tired. had maggi for dinner. kesian kat maid penat. but then, none of us had appetite for anything else either.

today, back at work. meeting in the morning. so drowsy after taking anti-histamine medication. still reeling from that effect. so, catch up with you guys later.

take care. be good.

Open house, viral fever and stomach flu

2004-12-03T06:40:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Thu 2 Dec 2004 1430 hrs

greetings..! it has been almost a month since i last posted. what has happened since..? well, let see... first it was raya. spent a whole week in kuantan. on second day of raya my elder son underwent circumcision. first he was apprehensive.. but as soon as he was given an injection and the needle bent, all went well. actually the doctor bent the needle but i told him the needle bent because he was tough. that's when he felt better. he sat through the whole event awake and even watched the skin being cut away. only the injection hurt.. but then, even for adults, even the thought of an injection at you-know-where would hurt. ouch!

the following days were just me taking care of him. by the third day he was already running around in sarong playing with his cousin. two days after that he was running around in trousers. see... the trick to early healing is by strictly following the doctor's orders. no oily, fatty and gatal food. keep dry at all times. air it when ever possible as it keeps the area dry and accelerates healing. no gamat ointment either. drink lotsa fluids. oily and fatty food stalls healing. gatal food including eggs will make the healing unbearable. water and moisture stalls healing. by two weeks he's off pantang and can take regular bath already. and now.. i've got to get the skateboard i promised him.

got back to kl friday. did nothing much but laze around. went to aunt and cousin's open house. by monday back to work. monday morning greeted with news that two of my good friends each got a new baby daughter. had lunch and that's when it started moving down hill. got migraine after work. two panadols did the trick. tuesday was better but got sick again after work. wednesday slightly better but cannot tahan so went to the clinic near the office. doc said got fever with temperature of 37.8C or something. gave me a bunch of medication with antibiotics. went home immediately. slept. that night, my body temperature went up to 39.2C. yikes!!! i was away from work for the rest of the week.

by weekend i was already feeling better. went to five open houses on saturday but didnt eat much. took more fluids in than solids. monday back to work. tuesday evening i vomitted my guts out. thought it was food poisoning from the briyani at lunch. wednesday after morning meeting, vomitted again, this time mostly spit and water as i had nothing in the stomach except water. went to clinic after morning meeting and a series of vomitting. doc said, post-fever viral infection and dehydration. sent me packing home with another course of antibiotics, anti-nausea, oral rehydration salt and a couple more types of pills. got home and slept until morning. woke up just for dinner of nasi bubur. doc said, no spicy oily fried food. no milk and caffeine either.

that brings us to today thursday. still feeling shitty... like getting up after being hit by a 20-tonne truck! but alive... and that's a lot to be grateful for. i'll be on leave tomorrow for the wife's cousin wedding in perak.

till then, take care.

Esok Deepavali

2004-11-11T08:45:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Wed 10 Nov 2004 1630 hrs

so tomorrow's deepavali. another public holiday in the multi-racial malaysia. no other contries in the world observes such diversity to this extend. including those countries that yells of equal rights, equal opportunities, equal sugar bla bla bla...

let me pick off where i left off last week. haa.... saturday went back to perak. iftar there and stayed overnight. got gulai tempoyak you.... sedap. and then sahur thought of just having suji porridge. but the fish in the gulai tempoyak was beckoning. i did not have the heart to jilt her. so, i ate her. ahahaha... buntal perut aku.

and then sunday back to kl. iftar at my brother's place. hmmm... ayam panggang sekor. and petai. serawa durian. and im very sure there were other lauks but cannot remember la. the petai was good enough for me.

monday back to work. went for a meeting at mindef by taxi. on the way out, it rained. and no taxi. had to walk all the way to datuk keramat lrt station. boy.. sure built my appetite for iftar.

tuesday i was on leave. picked-up my kid's report card from his pre-school. overall its okay, especially for an active boy! ahahaha... that's my boy!

so this morning was my quarterly appointment at hukm. first in the morning brought the younger one to clinic for flu. after that dropped the missus at lrt before proceeding to hukm. got there at 9 am. registered. waited. waited to see the doctor. waited. met a school mate that just went for surgery. got part of his tongue cut out due to cancer a few weeks ago. he is talking funny now. waited some more. and finally saw the doctor at 12:30 pm. the room was cold so i was freezing my butt out. my sore butt from seating too long.

oh well.. c'est la vie. a happy deepavali to my hindu friends.

and to all muslims, selamat hari raya aidil fitri minal walfaizin. maaf zahir batin.

to those that's going to be on the road, do be cautios as well as courteous. there are plenty of idiots on the road. take care...

Iftar Seri Melayu @Conlay

2004-11-05T09:45:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Thu 4 Nov 1720 hrs

salams everyone! yesterday had iftar (buka puasa) at restoran seri melayu di jalan conlay. of course orang belanja, as usual. the food was good. unfortunately the huge crowd turned me off.. as well as my appetite. some people do not mind the crowd. however i personally prefer a quiter place. so, between seri melayu and santini... i prefer santini.

our table was wayyyy at the back in the glass room. since my back was to the stage, did not see who's singing or what. one thing i can really appreciate is the surau. it is spacious and proper.

the office is freezing again. yesterday i taped shut the air-conditioning vent. today there is a breach and some artic air is leaking out. i am guessing the air pressure increased since yesterday. it is like being in the tundra although i have no idea how cold the tundra can be but i think you get the message.

anyway today's iftar will be at home.

# my attempt at french
La notation Thu de Panglima 4 nov. 1720 heures

salams chacun! hier a eu iftar (puasa de buka) à conlay jalan de Di de melayu de seri de restoran. naturellement le belanja d'orang, comme d'habitude la nourriture était bon malheureusement la foule énorme m'a arrêté. aussi bien que mon appétit que certains ne s'occupent pas de la foule cependant je préfère personnellement un endroit de quiter. ainsi, entre le melayu de seri et le santini... je préfère le santini.

notre table était manière au fond dans la salle de verre puisque mon dos était à l'étape, n'a pas vu qui chante ou ce qui une chose que je puis vraiment apprécier est le surau. c'est spacieux et approprié.

le bureau me gèle encore hier a attaché du ruban adhésif a fermé le passage de climatisation il y a aujourd'hui une infraction et de l'air artic me fuit dehors devine la pression atmosphérique accrue depuis hier. il est comme être dans la toundra bien que je n'aie aucune idée comment le froid la toundra peut être mais je pense que vous recevez le message.

quoi qu'il en soit iftar d'aujourd'hui sera à la maison.

I am FREEZING....... brain frozen solid.

2004-11-03T05:10:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Tue 2 Nov 1305 hrs

tis freezing cold. by end of day i'm sure i'll have icicles dropping from the tip of my nose. it's not like we can adjust the central air conditioning here at dayabumi.

nothing new today. the boss is still not well. on mc still. me.. i think i've recovered from whatever bug i've been suffering from the past two days. think twas stomach flu. oh heck.. just a few more hours to go before end of day.

dont know what to write coz my brain is frozen solid.

It's Monday... d'uh...

2004-11-02T08:00:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Monday 1 Nov 2004 1555 hrs

monday morning blues... so what's new.

yesterday had bbs rindu gathering potluck buka puasa at home. eleven people showed up, plus 3 kids. food was for 20 ppl but all gone. menu was white rice, fried mee hoon, white bread, sup tulang, ulam, ikan talang masin, sambal belacan, rendang ayam, ayam goreng, ayam panggang, sayur campur, fruit cocktail, cordial orange, jelly and whatever else that i can no longer recall after a night of eating and eating. and to top it off... we enjoyed a round of shisha.

next gathering.. will probably be in kajang!

It is Saturday!

2004-10-31T02:30:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Saturday 30 Oct 2004 1125 hrs

what a wonderful day it is. first thing i did was play serious sam! ahaha.. some of you may think its a dumb game. i agree. but i'll call it tension release. after five full days at the office doing serious stuff... i dont want to go back home for more serious thinking. i'll be happy just blasting some monsters away in god mode! muahahaha.....

went to immigration to renew the maid's permit. parking at pusat bandar damansara now accepts entry and payment with touch n go. excellent. no more fumbling for small change or using up the last ten ringgit in your pocket... which was all i had this morning in my pocket. the whole deal at immigration took me less than thirty minutes. impressive! kudos to the immigration officers.

now back home.. im due to complete more chores. this evening will be potluck buka puasa at a college mate's house. then tomorrow will be at mine. so gotto go and fix some lighting outside else y'all be eating in the dark.

cheerios. before i take off on the motorbike.. might as well change the roadtax to a new one. just renewed last week.. tho it expired last august. hehehe.. ter-forgot.

take care.

2004-10-30T04:35:00.000+08:00

Panglima's log Friday 29 Oct 2004 1430 hrs

this morning i hooked up an extra 15" monitor to my notebook. adjust window's display settings and voila! i have a 2 screen configuration. so now i can display design spec on one screen and do work on the other. no more alt-tab 20 times a minute. yea ha ha ha ha..... and then guess what? someone suggested i should try to hook up more monitors together so that i'll get a surround screen effect. hmmm.... interesting thought!

yesterday's buka puasa was good. twas at santini's klcc. the food choice there was excellent! rm42 pax but since boss banjer.. not a problem la. had a wild time eating... i think the food tastes better than the ones i've had at hotels.

that's all for now folks. i'll check back with you later...