orkid's cafe: bunga kelentit

Blue Clitoria, a photo by Anupam Kamal on Flickr.

Do you have a friend who loves to curse so much; it just came naturally from his mouth like saliva?

I do.

There is a friend of mine who just couldn't stop cursing, regardless whether he is happy or unhappy about something.

Happy example:

"Bro! Aku bawak makanan! Jom makan..." I smiled jubilantly at him while showing off the plastic container.

He would answer, "Pantat kau! Apa tu? Sedap ke? Pantatlah...."

Well, I was not handing "pantat" out to him but even a delicious piece of steak could be a pantat. Frankly, I never thought that they would use that part as a steak. Don't you think so?

Sad example:

"Sori bro....aku tak dapat sangat nak tolong ko tengok benda ni..." I blinked back my tears as I brought up the sad news.

He would softly cursed, "Pantat betuuuulll diorang ni. Apalah pantat sangat perangai diorang ni..."

Well, I couldn't say anything. Pantat, apparently was his favourite word.

Not mine. I have that. So, I won't curse my own sexual organ, okay!

So, what is happening tonight?

I did not come to work this morning but I am under the missing mode of a friend with a vulgar word as his favourite word. My 2707 got some problem so I referred him since he was obsessed with cars. He told me what to do. Well, that was his good point. A friend in need was a friend indeed.

While I was waiting for my car to be fixed, I fixed my eyes towards the newly grown bunga telang in my garden. I took the pods at Seremban Lake Garden and sprinkled the seed all over. Surprisingly, the plants grew healthily in my garden and the blooming purple flowers were making me a happy woman.

It took me several hours...and there was nothing much I could do.

After 2707 has been fixed, I Googled bunga telang and found this:

The flowers of this vine have the shape of human female pudenda, hence the Latin name of the genus "Clitoria", from "clitoris". (Synonyms: Clitoris principissae.)[4] "Ternatea", the name of the species, comes from Ternate, a location in Indonesia.[citation needed] In some languages (Tamil, Malayalam) it is named after the seashell, which is a euphemism for a woman's external sexual organs.

-Wikipedia

Okay. I might be missing my friend so much this morning (or I was actually feeling quiet since I was not hearing any cursing) . The first person whom I remembered when I was reading bunga telang's article in wikipedia was him. Not only because he came from Kelantan (where bunga telang was used as a colouring agent for nasi kerabu), it was also because of his cursing habit which I found annoying for the first few months of knowing him and hilarious after years of dealing with his loudness.

Malaysians were quite timid in saying things out loud. Cursing was definitely a harsh action in this society. People like Mr Telang over here was not able to hide his reaction on something so his was an extraordinaire. I have to be frank to you folks. When I first saw this flower and knew its name, I had lots of things in my imagination. I did not try very hard to relate bunga telang and clitoria. In fact, I had this name in my mind:

Bunga Kelentit.

Well, Mr. Telang might curse a lot but I took the blame of being dirty minded.

Blame my mother too; she said the same thing. Perhaps, we were being too honest and less Malay in this but yes, in this situation we couldn't help giggling over the name of the flower. Hehehehe...sorry...

Some people said that when you have such a vulgar mind, it's otak kuning. Some said, it's otak biru. This time, I chose blue. But don't you think that sometimes scientists were not necessarily geeks or nerds, they might be people like us who named a flower with a wicked name?

I'm leaving this posting with a note saying that how lucky of us to have some adab, even though sometimes it's quite difficult. We chose our words carefully as we did not want to hurt others. But we also must bear in mind that sometimes an outspoken friend was not necessarily our enemy.

Like Mr. Telang.

I read that bunga telang is an aphrodisiac. Care to get one, folks?

sha: muntahlah...

Eastern Tent Catepillar, a photo by lowlight47 on Flickr.

Dome, KLCC

The smell of coffee filled the air. I sipped my Berry Bliss with a contented heart; knowing that the time for me to meet my sweetheart was getting near. I smiled towards the menu. "He would come after this...he would..." I told myself with the steady beat of my heart.

I haven't seen him for a while. Ever since I worked for the Red Mr. Round, I have not been able to look into his naughty eyes and challenged his stare. My work has been telling him no all the time while my heart grumbled. The feet of my disagreement stomped in my head. It hurt, knowing that I should at least spent some time with him, cherishing our good memories when we were together.

Suddenly, a glimpse of my past walked in front of me. My face dropped its smile and replaced that with a frown. This was awful. Nope. It couldn't be him. It should not be him.

A memory flashed in my mind...

"Sha!" he called me. I looked behind my shoulder.

"Jangan macam ni. Bagi dia chance la. Maybe dia busy..." he gasped for breath. I was running away from his explanation.

"Busy? Busy apa macam tu? Dahlah...aku bukan budak-budak. Antara busy dengan taknak layan, aku boleh paham..." I replied.

"Dia bukan macam dulu, Sha. Semua ni dia buat sebab kerja..." but my ears were blocked. Work. Yes, work. How could you work and forget about the person you loved?

Ridiculous!

"Sayang..." I heard a soft voice behind me. Suddenly my sight went dark. My eyes felt warm with the feel of human skin. It felt like rough palms on my eyelids. No...it couldn't be!

I started to panic. No...I did not want him to be there. I just saw him there. He was paying at the counter. And the man with him palms on my face was supposed to be...

Sepet.

"Jangan..." and I wracked myself free from the person's touch. No...please...no...

The person behind me held my shoulder. I slapped his hands.

"Garangnye. Kenapa ni..." he asked softly. And it was not Sepet's voice. This man has such a deep voice, fit for the warmth on his palms.

I turned my back and sighed with relief.

It was Jack!

"Youuu..." I smiled weakly.

"Who did you think that was? Sepet?" he smiled lazily. His tone, regardless how light it was, full of cynicism.

I bowed. It was true. I was just being scared.

"I saw his friend just now. You saw him and you thought that Sepet was here kan?" he asked.

There. He managed to read my thoughts. I hated this. I didn't want to hurt him. He has been so kind, so nice and so thoughtful.

"I...I was not comfortable," I admitted.

"Or you forgot about me?" he said that with a lopsided grin. That cheeky grin which made me feel like pinching his smug face.

"Yes, I have forgotten about you," I replied casually.

And I saw a slump on his shoulder took an immediate effect. The proud grin has been banished from his face. His mood had swiveled 100% from the time he placed his hands on my eyes just now.

I winked.

"Oooo...now I know I have an effect on you..." I said softly.

To my pleasure, he blushed. Which made it easier to broaden my smile. I had no clue on this, actually. But ever since he brought me breakfast years ago, I seemed to be missing his blush and his smile everyday of my life. Life without his smile was like life without eating rice at North Pole.

"You are being a tease, my love," he reached for my hand. There, the fear of seeing my past just now had been replaced by the comfort of his callous hands.

"I just love to tease you, J..." ooo....my gedik voice has found its place!

"And I have been missing you, Sha..." he said with a challenging voice.

"J..."

"Yup..."

"Do you know how hard life for me now?" I asked him.

"Yup..."

"Where did you go, J?"

"I have been there, at the back of your mind, sayang..."

"Why didn't you turned up, J?"

"Because you stopped writing."

"Yeah...I know..." his eyes were pleading me not to go on.

"Sha..." I loved to here my name on his lips!

"Yes J..."

"Any other Js in your life, lately?"

"Which J?"

"I heard the gossip of you and another J..." his accusing tone was like an ice.

"Ohhh...that J!" I exclaimed.

"Yes...that J..." he said sarcastically.

"Noo....he is just a friend..." I said truthfully.

"There's only one J in my mind. Jebat...Jack...Jebat..."

"Two names?" he teased.

"One person. One love," and I felt the furry ulat bulu naik daun at the back of my throat.

"Don't go..." he said.

"I won't..." my smile was as sweet as berries.

That's definite.

I'll come back. I'll write more. So that I won't leave my Jack Bass. Regardless how busy I was with work.

Anyone wants to vomit?

Hahaha...

Sorry, I found Jack. So I am back in love:)

finding orkid: lawa ke?

Orchid flower reflection, a photo by andream66 on Flickr.

I was furious. Indeed. I lost control over someone I was supposed to respect, but hey...look at reasons! If you were in my shoes, folks, you would reacted the same way. When you had responsibilities, the last thing that you wanted was not to be able to fulfill it to the halt. Choosing between 211 people and a person was not difficult. However, choosing a person instead of the important 211 was devastating.

So, I expressed those feelings in a different manner. My Facebook status as at 23rd September 2011 was stated as...

"If I have a daughter, I won't name her Rapeah. Period."

The status received 9 comments overnight. Some could just read my mind, saying that I must have problems with a person with that name up to the exted I hated the name so much; and I didn't want anything got to do with it.

A friend talked about naming my girl according to her name or something Arabic like Khadeeja. Kak Dee commented that Rapeah was her friend's name while Pocket and Taca commented about Orkid.

Thanks for the comments, folks. Especially to those who were still thinking of Orkid.

I miss Orkid a lot. I haven't been talking about her for quite some time. Sometimes I wish I could write a story about her. But a story was not enough, the most important thing was how to get to her. Finding a partner to get Orkid was not showing a positive progress. Finding money to get Orkid was suffocating. Nevertheless, I must try.

Therefore, with high hopes like an airbus flying in the sky, I indulged myself by surfing the internet. Hmmmmm...let's see...

www.google.com

Type: Meaning of Muslims names.

Thousands of links appeared.

Aaaaahh...click the first one.

www.names4muslims.com

Let's check out Orkid's second name. Or her sister's name. Or her brother.

Orkid El-Jawahir - the name that I wanted her to have since the beginning. Well, I didn't search for Orkid. Of course, the meaning was crystal clear.

So...Orkid El-...???

I have always loved these names which described jewelry or treasure. Mata duitan? Eh, taklah! If only you could feel how I feel. Having a child was like having the best treasure on earth. That's why I chose...

...Jawahir - Jewels

...unlike the other good options like the ones I listed below:

...Azraa - Unpierced Pearl

...Dahab -Gold

...Durrah - Pearl

...Fareedah - Gem

...Hajar - Hard as a Rock

...Jammana - Pearl

...Johara - Jewel

...Jumanah - Silver Pearl

...Lu'lu - Pearls

...Lujaina - Silver

...Nageenah - Precious Stone

I would also prefer the other names of flower as such:

...Daliya - Dahlia

...Kanwal - Water Lily

...Abal - Wild Rose

...Elma/Alma - Apple

...Fellah - Jasmine

...Gul-e-Rana - sweet smelling Rose

...Humra - Rose

...Jannah - Garden of Paradise

...Jasmina - Jasmine

...Jehan - Flower

...Khuzamah - Lavender

...Wardah - Rose

...Lina - Palm Tree

...but Lina? Palm Tree? Hmmm...not my favourite among all!

My most favourites among the list (there were too many...but I have to be choosy) are these ones...

...Alima - Wise

...Aribah - Wise

...Ayra - Respectable

...Binish - Clever/Intelligent

...Dhakiyah - Bright/Intelligent

...Fahima - Intelligent

...Faiqa - Outstanding/Superior

...Fawz - Success

...Fikriyah - Intellectual

...Gazala - Charming Intelligent, flirt

...Lashirah - Very Intelligent

...Najihah - Victory

The most interesting one would be...

...Mohaddisa - Story Teller

But I don't really want her to be a story teller, it was better to be wise.

...Hudun - to become quiet

...Itaf - Clock

...Sameenah - Fat

And...these names has fascinated me the most:

...Aludra - Virgin

...Hur - Virgins of Paradise

...Areej - Sweet Smell

...Fayha - Fragrant

Wooowww...several names are in the options. Which one do you think is the best one among these options?

Help me...Orkid El-Jawahir...or...???

Sha: When you have the word LAWA in your name, it doesn't mean you're lawa. Buruk perangai means you're buruk:)

orkid's cafe: kempunan!

Fruit Cake Tatin, a photo by jupitersnest on Flickr.

Okay...I don't really have the time to update my blog but this was my favourite word yesterday!

Why?

Yesterday was my employer's Hari Raya open house day and I saw lots and lots of food! Kuih-kuih, roti jala, makanan raya....

...and fruit cake.

And I was so excited about the fruit cake. It was so moist, I could feel the texture of raisins and cherry in my mouth....

...and I did not realise that I was drooling!

So, I quickly looked around, finding for the place when exactly would I find any fruit cake. Just like the ones I saw in other people's plate....

Yuuummm....mmmm....

And my stomach was growling.

But where was the fruit cake?!!!

Huh?!

Someone told me it has finished already.

Huuuu.

Kempunan.

Kempunan.

Kempunan.

I was so sad because the image of the fruit cake was dangling in my mind!!!

So I slept last night with the word kempunan in my mind. I dreamed of...

....fruit cake...

...fruit cake...

...fruit cake...

...fruit cake...

...fruit cake...

And I came to work today with the word kempunan.

But then again someone came over to my room today and brought something...

...surprisingly it was...

FRUITCAKE!

Waaahhh...I'm so happy!

I licked the tasty crumps from my smiley lips. Lantaklah if someone wants to call me gemuk for me sweet tooth habit.

I was kempunan!

Eh, what do you call kempunan in English ye folks?

sha: the purple mercedes

Why so serious?!, a photo by Richard de Heus on Flickr.

It was a normal day. I hopped onto the bus at 6.45 a.m and slept for another hour. Plusliner was a good bus. I knew there were more comfortable buses out there but as far as traveling from Seremban to KLCC was concerned, that was the most comfortable bus. SKS was fine...but yes, most of the Plusliner's passenger got black memories in SKS buses. I would tell you later about that one, okay?

Well, double decker bus with head rest, plasma tv which is perfectly clean was what you want when you're travelling, right? I slept soundly that day. Well, there was no question of shame in the bus, trust me:)

After 45 minutes of snoring, I sensed that I would reach my destination soon. I didn't know how my head did it but each time the bus exited its way from MEX (Maju Expressway) and cruised into Jalan Tun Razak, my eyelids would automatically flipped open and the first thing I would see was RHB building.

Naaahh...it was neither the most beautiful building nor the sight that you would love to behold when you open your eyes in the morning. Unless you got Aaron Aziz standing in front of the building, that was a different story.

"Sayang...bangun..." I heard his husky voice whispering in my ears.

"Hmmm...dah bangun dah..." I murmured lazily.

"Kejap lagi sampai Tabung Haji. Lipat shawl tu cepat..." his voice made me wanted to wrap my shawl around him and continued sleeping. Aaaaah...Jack Bass!

"Okay darling..." I smiled.

"Darling? Apa darling-darling nieh, Sha?!" suddenly Jack Bass' voice was not his voice. Eh, how come?

I opened my eyes widely. There she was with a funny smile on her face. She was trying not to laugh.

"Yatiiiii...." the slowness of my voice was the indicator of my feeling. My face was hot. Red and hot.

"Mimpi siapa, Sha?" my friend grinned at me.

"Takde siapa-siapalah..." I blushed. No, I won't tell her. She would say that I was crazy. Only you knew who Jack Bass was, blog readers.

I had quickly folded my shawl and stuffed it into my bag. Time to get down from the bus!

After saying goodbyes to Yati and my other bus mates, I headed to my office. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.

"Itu ke bas Seremban? " I looked at her. She knew manners well. No greetings, nothing...and she just asked questions. Just like that.

I nodded. It was not in my habit to talk to her. She must have something up to her sleeves that day.

"Naik bas macam tu pergi kerja?" she asked incredulously.

"Mmmmhmmm..." my lazy tone was supposed to reflect my laziness of talking.

"Berapa ringgit tambang?"

"RM10...pergi balik."

"Oooo....murahlah..."

I clipped my smile without looking at her. My feet was walking faster than the usual days.

"Kesiannyeeee...tulah...lain kali beli kereta..." she provided an empathy which I didn't ask.

"Jimat naik bas," I used minimal words as possible. You know, the chatty me would be someone less chatty after wards.

"Yelah. Dekat Seremban tu mana ada LRT..." she jabbed again.

Then my phone rang. I picked it up.

"Babe...nak breakfast? Okay...jom...aku jap lagi sampai."

And I just ignored the person who was walking with me. Surprisingly, she could cope with my pace. Hmmm...selalu jalan melenggang je!

"Laaaaaa...pakai Nokia C3 je?!!! Apasal tak ada Blackberry?!" she made a fake surprise tone.

I just kept quiet.

"Patutlah lambat je reply e-mail...tak ada Blackberry..." she made an assumption. For record, I have never sent any e-mails to her.

"Pernah ke awak hantar e-mail kat saya ek?" I asked stupidly.

"Ada! Banyak!" she said proudly.

"For what?"

"Adalah...macam-macam..." her tone was becoming slower.

"Awak ada superior, kenapa tak suruh dia je yang hantar? Saya tak pernah deal dengan awak sangat pun..." I said that calmly.

"Dia dah hantar...Kak Sha yang tak reply..." that was called "asking the wet thread to stand up" or menegakkan benang yang basah.

"Bagi bukti dulu, okay! Nanti saya cakap dengan boss awak..." I winked and walked straight.

There was no point of talking to her.

Later that morning I heard her voice in the pantry.

" Mak bapak dia mesti orang susah. Dah tua-tua macam tu tak ada kereta lagi!"
" Eh, dia bukan executive ke, kenapa tak ada duit?" her friend replied.
"Tengok badanlah...gemuk macam tu, kuat makan lah tu..." and all of them laughed histerically.

I smiled. Lantak koranglah...

"Eh, tau tak dia nieh. Dahlah cantik...pakai Mercedes..."

...and they continued talking.


Sha: Driving my 2707 to JB today. Please pray for my safety folks!

booksforcharity: sarah addison allen

Sarah Addison Allen, a photo by cheryna_27 on Flickr.

Hi Sarah!

It's quite amazing how you could exactly turned my frown into smile with your books. I started to read Garden Spell out of curiosity and ended up buying Sugar Queen and The Girl Who Chased The Moon all in the same month!

I loved the simplicity that you portrait on your art. You presented a day-to-day scenarios with a touch of humor and abundance of feelings in it. Despite that, there will also a moment in each book that you have written which made me cry like a baby.

Trust me, you have touched a lot of people's heart all around the world and that includes me. I hope there will be more to come. I'm yet to get a copy of The Peach Keeper over here and can't wait for the day to come. Brilliant, Sarah! Keep up the good work :)

Sha:
This is my official feedback in SAA's website. I bought all three books written by SAA from BooksforCharity. Thanks Kak Ida! (check out the picture of my books from SAA, isn't it nice?)

orkid's cafe: brussel sprout goreng ikan masin

Sprouts_Raw_IMG_9220, a photo by foodopera on Flickr.

"Brussel Sprouts have an undeserved reputation as one of the most unlikeable vegetables. This likely stems from an unpleasant sulfer smell that results when they are overcooked."
- Farmanac from flickr (the photo owner)

It was quite difficult to get fresh vegetables during Hari Raya. The price was quite high and places like Tesco or Giant only sold what I called a mainstream vegetable; the ones which were nice to have but not really a must have. Carrots, for example was something which was not that special during Hari Raya, considering that it had lesser importance compared to long beans or cucumbers.

As I have mentioned earlier, this canivorous season was part of our tradition. Nevertheless, it was also important for us to get some vegetables. Guess what happened to me after the series of unfortunate event with Miss Diarrhoea?

I couldn't eat vegetables. Why? Because vege got fibre and it made throwing the content of my stomach easier than I have ever thought.

In contrast to the unfruitful effort of finding vegetable at Pasar Besar Seremban on the second day of raya, I managed to get some of my favourite stuff in Tesco days afterwards. One of the things that I bought was brussel sprout.

Brussel sprout - something uncommon and not really tasty to everyone. A vege which was imported and not cultivated in our country. Check out your Facebook - you might realised that there were favourite pages for vegetables. Brussel sprout had lesser fans compared to other vege like carrots or even cabbage or broccoli - which were part of brussel sprout's family.

But I don't care. I'm a fan.

Even though brussel sprout had no greater place than petai (which is my most favourite), it still had the place in my heart. It was also not surprising that whenever I encountered brussel sprout in the market, I would still buy it. This was regardless the taste which was not everyone's favourite or the looks which was just a handful.

Why?

Brussels sprouts, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anticancer properties. Although boiling reduces the level of the anticancer compounds, steaming, microwaving, and stir frying does not result in significant loss. Brussels sprouts and other brassicas are also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.

- wikipedia

That was the main reason. We don't need something beautiful to cure us, we just need something useful. People always quoted, "don't judge a book by its cover." I said, "don't judge a vege by its taste." Sometimes our taste bud might betray our health.

Today, in the spirit of Malaysia Day, I want to cook Brussel Sprout Goreng Ikan Masin. The recipe? Aaaaaahhh...I won't give you. If you know how to make Kailan Goreng Ikan Masin and you can find nice brussel sprout, you'll know how to cook this recipe.

Yes, you might say that I was less patriotic. You are wrong.

We take things as they are but we also must remember that there are times when when we see something good in other country and bring it home and make it happen. Well, those were not my words, folks. Those were the words that I heard in the documentary that I watched this morning about KLCC.

I made Brussel Sprout Goreng Ikan Masin, as ridiculous as it sounds, a succes today. Proudly called it a fusion. Hehehe....

Thanks Malaysia...

...for providing education to your children which enable me to...

...watch tv, go to the bookstores, and learn, learn, learn, learn many things.

Even the tiniest thing like brussel sprout.

You make it happen.

Terima Kasih Malaysia!

Sha: I am a brussel sprout:P

eau de toilette: conversation with diarrhea

lilac tea, a photo by Lilydove & Chou Chou on Flickr.

"The journal Medical Record reported in 1905 that a toilet water spray restores energies lost in business, social, and domestic situations."
-wikipedia on Eau de Toilette

My situation today did not permit me to improve the lost in business, social and domestic situation. The reason being was because of lack of toilet water that I could flush from the toilet bowl. Meet my new friend. Her name is Diarrhea.

So, let's read our meeting minutes today.

12:00 a.m

Diarrhea: Hi Sha!
Sha: Hi...who are you?
Diarrhea: My name is Rhea...and for the next 10 hours you are going to face me.

Sha: I don't want to face anyone. I want to sleep!
Diarrhea: Tak boleh...kau, suka atau tak...kena stick together. Aku BFF baru kau!

Sha: Bila masa aku ada BFF? I'm not Paris Hilton!
Diarrhea: Kau Sha Seremban.
Sha: Tolong jangan kacau aku!Aku nak tido!
Diarrhea: Baik...kau marah ye! Nieh...penangan pertama aku...

Result: A toilet bowl full of Otak-Otak Kempas.


3:00 a.m

Diarrhea: Sha...ooooohh...Shaaaaaa...
Sha: Yeeeee...(I pulled up my fleece blanket)
Diarrhea: Bangun Sha...bangun...
Sha: Badan aku panas. Aku demam. Senyaplah.
Diarrhea: Meh aku cubit ko...

Proooottt...a sound and a smell emerged from behind.

Sha: Jangan main kotor boleh tak?
Diarrhea: You are going to get dirty, my dear...
Sha: Janganlaaaa...please...besok aku nak kerjaaaa...
Diarrhea: Habislah rekod MC kau besok Sha...
Sha: Shut up...

Result: Hours of farting and terkinciting...

05:00 a.m

Diarrhea: Shaaa...bangun...
Sha: Aku nak gi keje...diam!
Diarrhea: Ahahahaha...takleh...takleh..
Sha: Jangan kacau lah...
Diarrhea: Dah semalaman ko tak tido. Aku akan kacau kau dekat ofis pulak...
Sha: Huuhh..
Diarrhea: Cuba kau check tilam ko, kain batik ko...semua dah penuh taik...hahaha..
Sha: Sial...
Diarrhea: Jom...kita gi toilet...
Sha: Arrggghhh...
Diarrhea: Bau air toilet la kau Sha! Hahahahaa...


Result: Preeettt...the toilet couldn't be flushed anymore.

Well, I was annoyed. Of course. I sent a text message telling that I was going to be on MC for the first time. It turned out that my phone could not stopped ringing though I have sent what I needed to send. So much for the scolding that I just received few weeks ago. I called someone for an urgent matter and I was scolded. This morning, I refused to scold but I refused to talk either. At least if the person who scolded me was being a D&B, let's not follow the example. I was under medication and toilet was my sanctuary. DAMMIT~!

So, here I was...on the toilet floor...running my palms on my mouth before I...

BUWWWWWWEEEEEEEEKKKK....!!!

For I didn't know how many times.
The toilet didn't have lilac smell in it nor roses.

Who cares?

No one. Absolutely know one. And I can assure you tomorrow, that no one cares:)

Do you care about me?

* Sakit itu cuma ujian...

sha: apakah rupa peti sejuk anda?

Fridge 001, a photo by brixton on Flickr.

OMG..I'm tired, folks! Yesterday was a damn hectic day. Okay, we'll start with Monday. I was on leave due to physical and emotional needs of a rest day. But that was what I said. Actually the day was spent to make phone calls to the attendees for the family barbecue session. Nice one. Working in a telecommunication company in a way is forcing me to get a postpaid number. I don't really fancy using postpaid, but here we go...suddenly I appreciate my postpaid number on Monday. Makciks have lengthy conversation than ever!

Well, most of my cousins got married early this year;some getting pregnant.That left me as one of those who are not married yet. Besides, the event took place Seremban. So, Sha...the most obidient niece was trying to do all that she could to help on the barbecue. Well, I was not that noble, actually. I was NOMINATED to do all that chores.

Perfecting the details was a challenge; considering that most of us are not staying nearby. I even used e-mails to communicate with the other cousins; made 3 round of calls to make sure that I could budget the for the food; kept checking the to-do list and the food that everyone wanted to bring; just in case it was redundant.

Phhheeewwwwwwww...it was damn tiring! Now I wonder how it feels like to be Claudia Joy in Army's Wives...all beautiful, organised and smart (perasan la Sha...that beautiful part is thousand miles away! Haha). I'll tell you about my barbecue session, later...okay?

But at least I got something to do. I mean, I got friends with craziest ideas, family with even crazier ideas and a cat with a crazy mind. And shelves of crazy books.

With that, I tell you, I'm thankful for everything that I have.

Recently, I have been asking myself on how to actually describe my heart. You know, I was trying to make it more metaphoric and poetic.

Like...

My heart is like a sea where everyone can just swim in it...

or

My heart is like a flower which blooms in the depth of winter...

But I found out that actually I couldn't be one of those poetic and unrealistic people. And I believe that I'm a modern minded person despite the so-called Selangor and Kuala Lumpur people who loved to jibe me about Seremban being rural.

So, I described my heart as...

A FRIDGE.

Where it's spacious and organised from the way it was built.

Where several nutritious stuff could be allocated.

Where junks would have the space if I chose to store it.

Where rotten stuff could provide an epidemic; if I don't quickly dispose it.

Where ice are cold in the freezer

Where fish stinks and daun kesum is fragrant.

And where I chose to make it a happy or sad place or even; full or empty and colourful or colourless.

Care to add more, fridge is a good methaphor:)

Tell me, folks, what's your fridge like?

* Playing Sims Social in Facebook before going to sleep...just to keep some money to buy fridge. Well, hearts can be bought too. Don't you think?

ша: Мразя трудно сърдя

Sulking, a photo by Benoit Michelot on Flickr.

има хора, настоявайки за мен. dahlah намръщен, лош pulak вик. Чувствам се много скучно с човек силно настояват това не е основателна причина да ме убеди на всички. Попитах как може би това?

Аз не мисля, че трябва да убеди дори. причина трябва да бъде убеден е ...

аз

sha: rona rani and banana split factory

Banana Split Cupcake, a photo by Miss Cupcakery on Flickr.

Feedback Form #1

Dear A&W,

We were so disappointed with the treatment that we have received from your staff in A&W Seremban on 30th July 2011. That was our first mini gathering after almost 20 years.

There were approximately 25-30 of us (we didn't expect a number of us would turned up for a simple meet up). For your information, A&W has such a very sentimental value to us considering that we came to A&W since we were small and our schools were just nearby.

One of your staff by the name of Rani had rudely asked us to return all mugs of root beer floats (which each of us has ordered) due to the reason insufficient amount of glasses which she claimed would be used by other customers. In other words, she was saying that the profit that we have contributed on that day as a team did not mean anything to A&W.

Few minutes later we have been chased out by Rani because of lack of seats. At first we tried to compromise by sitting near to each other and used only few tables. Some of us even opted to go home earlier. But no appreciation or alternatives given; she just simply demanded that our presence were too long in your outlet (1 hour was so long for her. Imagine how other F&Bs were making money using WiFi as attraction, have they chased their customers too?).

I have never been exposed to such rudeness and inconvenience. In my opinion, Rani should just provided us or other customers options on the mugs. It was either advising the other customers that the mugs were insufficient or provide us with paper cups as alternatives. And while doing so, she could just adhere to the ethics that you have uphold for as long as we ever remembered as children.

My regret was that the quality; not only in the area of customer service but also the quantity and quality of food and drinks which your are serving these days.

Thanks for a very high class customer service. I trust that you should improve. As for our memories, thanks for both the good and the bad ones. Congratulations for being versatile!

Feedback Form #2

Dear A&W,

This is my second feedback in a week. I went to your drive through outlet in Seremban to get some banana split for buka puasa in the first week of August.

The lady who caused the turmoil during my school gathering few days prior to my visit was being rude again!

My friends have informed me that they hated to go to A&W if she was the one who took care of the drive through service and now I know why.

I understood the fact that she was not happy that I ordered for a packed banana split but it was Ramadhan and the parking was inconvenient. Therefore she should not be grumbling when she did her job ESPECIALLY when the customer was asking first before ordering.

She did not repeat the orders, she put up a sour face while preparing the banana split and I truly believe that it was not done according to the standard she she did it half-heartedly. I have then given her RM50 since she did not mentioned the price. She has then returned the money without receipt or mentioning the balance.

I have no intention of wasting my time by sending you 2 feedback in one day for 2 occasions which happened 1-2 months ago but this should be stopped.

It is either you train your staff or make sure that there won't be any more unfortunate customers who are going to be humiliated, disrespect and maybe even cheated.

If she is so unhappy with her work, please advise her to get another job. I believe it is in your code of ethics to be respectful, it is in your job description that you should be dealing with customers and it is also a norm for a human to come into her senses that one day the bad thing that you did to other people might just return to you.

We are ALL customers wherever we go. Thank you again for the brilliant opportunity to utilize this form effectively. Good job, A&W!

Sha: I watched "Mahive" video clip from Kal Ho Naa Ho. Rani Mukerjee looked so sweet and sexy. Apparently, the other Rani was the opposite. This is my copy of feedback forms to A&W, I'll wait for the reply.

sha: hati-hati balang

[[ 103/365 ]] jar of hearts, a photo by | Erin | on Flickr.

I want to ask you a question. Do you have any favourite song? I have one that I particular like these days. Frankly speaking, I'm not just liking the song, I'm obsessed with the song. I'm not sure what caused me to like this song in the first place, considering the music is not really my music. Maybe listening to it make me relax and calm because the song does not require lots of instrument or high pitch vocal. Just a simple and steady piano and a woman's voice.

But then again the song...regardless how sad it sounds; makes me laugh each time I hear it. My Malay mind is translating the song accidentally on the way back from work. I mean, the song is quite hot now; with all radio station playing it except for Klasik Nasional.

For example, there was a situation which caused me to laugh at this song one evening. I was on my way back from Genting Highlands when I decided to stop at KLCC just to take glimpse of books. I know, it sounds crazy but then again for the sake of not missing anything, I simply went there; hoping above hope that I could just hold the book.

I ended up buying five books and thinking of how am I going to cope with the books that I have eyed in BooksofCharity before this. MMmmmmmhhmmm...

I parked my car at the basement of KLCC, near Topshop as the entrance. It was easier since I could just walk down there all the way to KL Convention Center. I walked too fast that day and I made pretty quick decisions on which book to buy. Seriously, I was taking risks but then again I have read the reviews before this and I have not found those books in B4C...which made it better to buy.

And my thought of going to Aseana for quick drinks was not materialised. Aseana closed at 9.30pm and there I was, clad in my denim robe; looking bored. Now, please believe me that I am now wearing robes! Especially to open houses. I'm yet to wear purdah soon...hehe.

So, I went down to basement again, thinking that I should just have my drink at the nearest R&R. No more carbonated drinks. I'm just too tired of drinking over sweet liquids!

My mind was not focused. And I was not sure why I turned to my left. I was not sure why my mind worked at its peak on that day. Fast decision on travelling, choosing books...and spotting...Sepet's car in KLCC basement. The car was next to my car!

DAMMIT.

I looked around and made sure that the owner of the car was there. Then I left with my 2707; switching the radio on to choke the lump in my throat. Well, the last thing I wanted to have for a perfect evening was to stay away from my horrible past. Aiseehhh....why laaaa...

At first, the song sounded so sad; I wanted to change the station....

I know I can't take one more step towards you

Cause all that's waiting is regret

And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore?

You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live, half-alive

And now you want me one more time

Huhuhuhu....why....whyyyyyy....I asked myself. It felt like movies when Shah Rukh Khan had tears in his eyes and the wind was blowing only the front part of his hairs...

Christina Perri sounded like Lata Mangeshkar...oooooo....whyyyyy...

Then suddenly I laughed. Christina Perri didn't sound like Lata, she sounded like Normadiah...

Saya tahu saya tidak boleh mengambil satu lagi langkah ke arah anda

Menyebabkan semua yang yang menunggu menyesal

Dan tidak anda tahu saya bukan hantu anda lagi?

Anda kehilangan cinta Saya suka yang paling

Saya belajar untuk hidup, separuh hidup

Dan sekarang anda ingin saya sekali lagi

Dan siapakah yang anda fikir anda?

Runnin 'pusingan meninggalkan parut

Mengumpul jar hati anda

Dan mengoyak cinta selain

Anda akan menangkap sejuk

Dari ais di dalam jiwa anda

Oleh itu, tidak kembali untuk saya

Siapa yang anda fikir anda?

Saya mendengar anda bertanya di seluruh

Jika saya di mana-mana yang akan dijumpai

Saya telah berkembang terlalu kuat

Untuk yang pernah jatuh kembali di tangan anda

Saya telah belajar untuk hidup, separuh hidup

Sekarang anda ingin saya sekali lagi

Dear, ia mengambil masa yang lama

Semata-mata untuk merasa baik-baik saja

Ingat bagaimana untuk menghalang

Cahaya di mata saya

I grinned. The translation was absurd. I couldn't figure it out even with my insane mind. Besides, it was my pride which was hurt. Not my heart.

Dan tidak anda tahu saya bukan hantu anda lagi?

Hihi. I wonder how my other favourite song called Pura Cendana from Musang Berjanggut is going to sound if we translate the song directly to English:

Pura pura sandalwood sandalwood. Domestic peace and harmony. Pura pura sandalwood sandalwood. Domestic peace and harmony. Natural environment shahbana shahbana his name His Royal Highness

Hohohoho...don't get absurd about songs, folks. There are many people out there who are in and out of love.

The song does not really about you:)

Dan tidak anda tahu saya bukan hantu anda lagi?

...is not about me and I should not feel to personal about it. But....could I just ignore this part...

Saya telah berkembang terlalu kuat...

* Sha telah mengembang dengan kuat! Hahahaha....

raya: aku seekor ulat

Grilled Romaine, a photo by Another Pint Please... on Flickr.

Kerbau. Lembu. Kambing. Ayam. Itik. Ostrich. Rusa.

Buffalo. Cow. Goat. Lamb. Chicken. Duck. Ostrich. Deer.

Beef. Mutton. Meat. Venison.

Have you ever heard about rendang ikan? Rendang sotong? Rendang udang? I have not. Or rendang sayur? I have not but I know there is rendang pucuk ubi (a Rembau specialty) and rendang pucuk maman (a Gemencheh specialty).

Rendang kerang? Maybe. For nasi lemak lovers, this is a common dish. I, personally love rendang kerang. Especially the one made by my wan. See, she has her own way in cooking cockles. She used to tell me that cockles were cheap in the olden days and she needed to be creative in feeding 8 children.

But still, she had rendang ayam or rendang daging during Hari Raya. Apparently people tend to be carnivorous during Hari Raya. Especially here in my kampong, where we uphold the tradition of feeding our guests with good food. In fact, we have this tradition called mantai; the occassion where meat was sold at cheaper prices. Some of us might be more traditional, like my parents. We served buffalo beef and duck rendang for raya. Total Negeri Sembilan style:)

But the drawback of this tradition is lack of fibre in the servings. Imagine eating meat for consecutively 10 days or 30 days of your life with little amount of fibre. The effect is not that wondrous but we can't help wondering why we still eat all the dishes on the table.

Aaaaa...the answer is simple. The food is tastier in Hari Raya. For some reason:)

So, can you imagine, a guest who says...

"Eeeee...berminyaknya semua makanan ni!"

"Daging...rendang...takde ke sayur-sayur ke? Saya diet!"

"Kuah lodeh ni pon ada santan..."

"Kuah kacang? Errr...ada ayam kan! Carbo ni...carbo..."

The hosts are annoyed.

Well, folks...let me tell you something. Squid or prawn have side effects too. Especially when the uric acid is high and you have gout or migrain. It's still not good for your health. And be realistic about ikan kembung price during hari raya. It's not even available in supermarkets so you can't expect everyone to cook laksa for Hari Raya.

My aunt's neighbour is asking her whether she can cook something suitable with her diet. See, she says she rather starve if it means she has to eat Rendang ayam during Hari Raya. She doesn't want to gain another inch to fit in her sweet kebaya nyonya, she says.

Okaylah...okaylah. She is lucky because she is coming to my aunt's house. She is lucky that she is not our family. This is because she is not going to come for our family get together barbecue party this weekend.

I'm going to be the organiser. It's going to be a potluck thingy. So far I've only heard mutton, lamb, beef, chicken, drumsticks, wings, frankfurters, burgers and potato salad. Some even suggested a bit of raya meal like rendang in case someone wants to eat rice.

Nobody...I repeat, nobody ever commit for grilled carrots or lettuce yet.

Any tips for barbecue party, anyone?

Maybe I'll invite you to my vege barbecue one day.

Urrrgghh.

p/s: what do you call a the person who likes to read books? BOOKWORM. What will you call a person who loves to eat vege?

blog recap: angry sha

Angry Bird Collection, a photo by Movieslist2010 on Flickr.

During the first few months of being Mr. Sepet's girlfriend, I had to face one cold truth: my boyfriend was simply a charmer and a people person. He was friendly, caring especially to his co-workers and delegates, and he smiled a lot!

So, when I thought that he was the cruellest creature alive - most people would declined. They (especially the women) would say, "He is very kind and helpful." They would talk about their boyfriends and husband with him. The best thing about him was he would listen;)

One of the girls was his co-worker, Lynn. Lynn was sweet, pretty and she was someone that the guys classified as "manja". She is very soft spoken and she smiled a lot.

But she rarely smiled to me and I often wondered why. I smiled to her!

One day, I came to work early and managed to see my sweetheart on the floor. He nodded and gave me a small smile. Well, even though we were working at the same work place, we would never show it off. We knew that people already knew about our relationship but we maintained the professionalism most of the time.

I was trying to cover my expression when Lynn came over to his place and touched his shoulder. Suddenly, I felt the heat crept on my OWN shoulder. Yes, I knew that was normal - at least when it came to my boyfriend. They always came and asked things. But, body contact? Woooo....with that kind of soft touch on his shoulder? Woooo....those shoulders were mine!!!

I was silent until he came to my place and told me he was about to go home (we were working different hours). He recognised my rigidity but as usual he just shrugged things off. Later, when he called me during my break time, he told me, "Lynn belikan I turkey sandwich tadi!"

The jealous me answered, "Mesti sedap kan?"

He just laughed. I guess he didn't realised what was happening.

One thing happened after another. Since we were working in the same building, I could see how much Lynn was trying to get close to him. His delegates were telling me that they had lunch together. People asked me whether I was close to Lynn since he was close to her. Honestly, all those incidents made me angry and ashamed at the same time. But I had to be rationale. My boyfriend has always been misinterpreted because of his worldly personality.

And if Lynn was just a friend, discussing her with my boyfriend was impossible. His friends were his priority and that was our rules in relationship.

I must obey.

So, I was THE PATIENT ONE.

I was sitting in front of my boyfriend one weekend when he received a text message. When I looked at him, he was smiling to his phone. Nasty thoughts came into mind. I loathed the grin on his face. My bubbly mood changed and as usual, the jealousy was making me more quiet than ever.

He didn't realised that.

So, when he went to the toilet after a movie, I held his hand phone with a deep curiosity. He received a text message and I had the urge of reading the message. As I was dwelling whether to or not to press the button, my darling came and smiled.

"You nak baca message tu kan?" he asked.

I looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Yup." My lips were trembling. I felt like crying. Well, I managed to handle other girls perfectly well, but ever since Lynn came into the picture, hell broke loose.

We were in the car and he showed me his handphone.

"F, kan best kalau awak yang nak kahwin dengan Lynn...."

My tears were on the brink. God...the girl has guts! It was no wonder she didn't shake my hand when my boyfriend was introducing me to her!!!

"I dah dapat benda ni berbulan-bulan dah. Minggu depan Lynn nak kawen..." he began.

"Jangan cerita lagi boleh tak. Sha taknak dengar semua ni...." I started to get up and switched on the radio.

"Lynn is unhappy dengan tunang dia. I was just trying to help but it turned out this way. I'm sorry...I know you're hurt and you heard enough, " he carefully explained.

What happened to the chatty Sha?She gave Sepet a silent treatment.

I was watching DVD when the company held its annual dinner. Sepet went there with his friends. He called me when he got back at 2 a.m.

"Jom...I belikan you satay. You tak makan satu hari dah..." he consoled me. I was silent again.

"You tak tango tadi ke?" I asked him. The theme for the dinner was Latin.

"Tak. I duduk dengan budak-budak ni je. Lepak ngan my geng..."

"Ooooo...." I was silent again.

"You marah lagi ke? Jangan macam ni boleh tak. You have been handling things well before this!" Sepet could be temperamental sometimes.

"Someone is wishing you to be her husband. What else can I say...." I said quietly.

"Am I wishing her to be my wife? Have you asked that question?" he raised his voice a bit. I kept my silent again. When I reached home, I cried my heart out.

When I reached the office the following week, my colleague called me.

"Your man has been a very good boy, " she laughed.

"You mean?"

"He was with the men all the time. Didn't do anything you should be concerned of. Except that Lynn was trying to ask him to send her home but he said no straight away."

"Are you sure you're talking about MY MAN?"

"Positive. Look, I know you're angry but he has done all he could. She told me she liked your man and regretting the decision to marry her fiancé. But your man made it clear that you're the one."

"Yeah right...."

"Hey, this Lynn girl is seriously attracted to your man. But she won't leave her fiancé. She told me she just wanted to be sure that she is still wanted. "

Which appeared to be the case for the next two weeks. I have been patient to see that he held his breath when Lynn called him every time he talked to me. Or when Lynn sweetly text him when we were together.

So much for the uncertainty before marriage.

Note:
I'm not sure why I'm re-posting this story. I was playing Angry Birds. It was my way to reduce stress. Eventually it was not. I got stressed up with the blue Angry Bird and recalled this posting instead.

Enjoy the story folks...even though it is in past tense:)