Friday, November 10, 2006

One month and counting

I'll be married in.... less than a month from today!

Late last week, my honey and I went to the Kelana Jaya government clinic to take the HIV test, which is compulsory for both of us (Selangor and Melaka has made it mandatory before permission can be obtained). The last time I visited a government hospital for anything was way back in my old MCKK days... though I could have sworn that whatever ailment I professed, they normally dispense the same type of medicine. It seemed to work, so I have no complain there !

Anyway, there must have been like one hundred people waiting to see the various doctors but all in all, it took us merely half an hour from the time we registered to the time we were handed our result. Not bad... not bad at all..

On Tuesday, with all the forms filled up, I went to the Pejabat Agama Islam Shah Alam to obtain the "Kebenaran Berkahwin untuk Lelaki diluar negeri/negara". Quite a mouthful but what it was all about is basically me getting married outside of my "qariah" or place of residence. Since i have to have two "saksi" to attest that, yes, I have never been married before, I decided to ask Rizal and Amran to come along. Two hours later, I have in my hand the "kebenaran" and I am on my way.... in less than a month :)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Back at Work...

I am back at my desk, after a really LONG hari raya break.

I arrived back from Kota Bharu yesterday afternoon due to unavailability of tickets for the sunday night flight.

Gonna miss Mek Piah's nasi berlauk for breakfast :)

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Aidilfitri Entry #3

Monday, October 23, 2006…

One day before Aidilfitri.

Mak told me that as a custom practiced in Melaka, I have to send to honey dearest some fresh items such as meat, fish and vegetable in the morning. She will then cook it and send it over to me in time for buka puasa. To be honest, I am not aware of such custom. Apparently it is unique to Melaka and only for those who are engaged. I guess it’s just one way of finding out the culinary skills of the future bride, but in a more subtle way J

Anyway, honey dearest came over to the house with adik around 6.00 pm with the cooked food and what a spread it was! Ayam goring rempah, daging masak lemak pisang, sayur campur, ikan pekasam and not forgetting, one of my favourite kuih, buah melaka. Needless to say, honey dearest’s cooking passed with flying coloursJ

Aidilfitri Entry #2

The coming of Aidilfitri will see a barrage of malay movies and drama on the airwaves, be it on satellite or terrestrial TV.

Despite what some people may say about it (and these are OUR people), some of these local fares aren’t that bad after all.
However, I really wish they could really work on the soundtrack and the background music. We do have talented musicians and composer and we have some of the best orchestra in Asia. It’s a shame that we do not utilize them to the fullest

Aidilfitri Entry #1 (albeit, belated:)

Time for Balik Kampung.

This raya would be significant, as it would be my last raya as a full-fledge single person. Come the next raya (Hari Raya Aidiladha that is), I’ll be celebrating it with my honey dearest, as husband and wife. Hopefully the next Hari Raya Haji, I’ll be celebrating it as a father J

The road was unbelievable clear throughout the whole journey from Subang Jaya to Masjid Tanah. All those horror stories about the Plus expressway crawl remains just a story as I drove effortlessly, making a respectable an hour and a half to my destination.
Now that I have arrived, time to catch up on some sleep

Friday, October 20, 2006

Eid Mubarak

It's the last day at the office before all of us break for the week-long Hari Raya holidays.

Hmmm.... maybe I should let the staff go off early today.

Anyway, wishing all of you Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin.

I'll be in Melaka and Kelantan for the whole week.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Happy Birthday Mak

Yesterday was my mother's birthday.

As a treat, we had our buka puasa at the golf club.

Mak is 54 years old now, two more years to her retirement. I must say that Mak has done pretty well in her career, where she is now the number two in the government agency she works for. Apparently it is almost impossible fot her to rise to the top position as it is "reserved" to certain grade of government officers (read: PTD). Mak is probably the most hardworking and honest government officer and she has the strictest level integrity.

Anyway, happy birthday Mak and I love you very much :)

Malam ke 24 Ramadhan.

Last night was malam 24 Ramadhan.

Back when I was in primary school, it was a very big deal for us.

Not because of Malam Tujuh Likur or anything.

Nothing of that sort, really.

There is this is list of fadhilat solat tarawih (benefits or rewards), where it says that Allah will grant 24 of your doa if you were to perform tarawih that night.

Suddenly I see almost all my classmates at the mosque that night, praying to Allah in a manner not normally associated with them.

I miss those days.. :)

Monday, October 02, 2006

My Simple Wish

I wish for the following:

1. When driving in one of those narrow roads at any of our housing estate (where one house seems to have more two or three cars per house), sometime we have to give way to oncoming car. But could the person we gave way at least acknowledge by waving his/her hand and smile and not look like we are in his/her way ?

2. Signal.. signal! Turning left of right, give signal la...It's there for a reason.

3. During fasting month, could it be possible for those not fasting not to eat while they shop for the many delicacies at the pasar ramadan ?

Monday, September 25, 2006

Way to go, RapidKL

I confess, I longed for the day when I can take public transport to my office and it won't cost me a bomb. After all, getting from Subang Jaya to Subang Permai was almost impossible...

... until today...

RapidKL on saturday launched its new service to Damansara, Puchong, PJ, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang and Port Klang; an extension to its KL city shuttle service. Its free for three days (until today).

I left my house with my cousin at about 6.45 am and she dropped me at Batu 10. It was a 5 minutes wait for the T81 bus (KL Sentral - Subang Baru), and I boarded the bus with about 5 other passengers. We passed by Glomac, Hyatt Saujana, the old Subang Airport and I changed to bus 608 at Subang Perdana to my office in Subang Permai. Another 5 minutes and I already at my office.

Cool!

Selamat Berpuasa

Selamat Menyambut Ramadan to all fellow bloggers!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

A Good Day at Menara TM

We had a food tasting day for our My Siam product at Menara TM today.

I was super excited for two reasons: First of all, it was our first public food sampling and the demographic mix at Menara TM represents a good cross section of our potential customers. Secondly, hey, my fiance works at Menara so another reason I get to see her :)

We started to set up our booth at about 9.30 a.m., with Ida, her husband, Rizal and Ida Jr coming from office with the stuff for the booth while I took the stock from the warehouse in Port Klang. Haji Razak and Haji Mohamad, our two directors were there to lend a helping hand. Penny and Rizal's sis arrive a bit later and our team is complete!

We did both food sampling and promotional sales and it went quite well :)

Kudos to the team!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Passing of Pok Yeh

Today I received a very sad news....

My great uncle (my paternal grandfather's brother) passed away, succumbing to athma and heart ailment. He was fondly known as Pok Yeh (Idris) and will be missed by all of us.

My father was especially taken aback by the news. My uncle called him last night from the hospital and told him that Pok Yeh mentioned his name. My father was contemplating of flying back to KB for the weekend but alas, it was a moment too late.

I remembered my father told me that when he went to ITM Shah Alam in 1973, it was Pok yeh who gave him some pocket money.

*Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya. Amin*

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Rejection..

Rejection is always a touchy subject. The mere mention of it brings out different emotions in people. We all have our fair share of rejections.

My application got rejected by a bank.

... definitely switching to another bank

Friday, September 08, 2006

Delay ? What Delay ?

A week ago I boarded an Air Asia flight to Kota Bharu. You see, my grandmother was admitted to the Hospital USM, Kubang Kerian and from what was told, the condition was bordering critical (that's another story worth another discussion). I had earlier sent my parents on the 1.40 p.m. flight and bought tickets for the 8.20 p.m. flight as I had many things to settle at the office.

... and that night, the flight actually departed at 8.10 p.m. :) Not only it was not delayed, it was in fact early..

...wow..

Monday, August 28, 2006

Baldy Makes A Phone Call

I could hardly believe my ears when Tuan Haji told me this morning.

"Baldy called me."

"What does he want," I asked.

"He told me, Has-Been Dato' kicked him out" (exact sentence: "Dato' tendang aku la..")

"Aik.. how come ? I thought he is Has-Been Dato's numero uno adviser?"

"That's what he said. Complaining to me.. apalah nasib kita... how funny.."

"Yeah, hilarious.."

So, Has-Been Dato' will probably put his entirely family in. Perhaps his 10 year old son from his second wife can sit on the board...ye la, early training kan ?

stay tuned..

Konsert Irama Tanah Pusaka 2

I would have missed it if Honey Dearest did not tell me about it. A two day concert held at the Istana Budaya with the National Symphony Orchestra playing "lagu rakyat". Called the "Konsert Irama Tanah Pusaka 2", the first one was held last year at about the same time and featured the National Symphony Orchestra with Siti Nurhaliza and Aishah as the special guest performers.

We arrived at approximately 8.00 p.m. for the 8.30 p.m. curtain call and unlike the PGLtM, it was relatively easy to find parking. A sign of the number of audience, I told Honey Dearest. We booked our tickets for the upper circle but we were ushered to the lower stalls, apparently due to the low turnout. So unlike PGLtM :)

I truly enjoyed the concert, especially the opening number with the solo violinist backed the orchestra, belting out traditional tunes like Kenek Kenek Udang, Bunga Melor and Dayung Sampan. Honey Dearest especially likes the fusion of Indian instrument with symphony and it was a shame that not many audience were present. Perhaps due to minimal publicity or perhaps traditional music is still "uncool".

I will definitely watch Konsert Tanah Pusaka 3 next year!

Sunday Morning Workout

"Honey, I will come pick you up early morning on sunday. Sesudah subuh!"

Come sunday morning, it was raining quite heavily. I called Honey Dearest and she said it'll be better if I were to pick her up at 7.30am instead since the rain looks like its going to subside. The rain did went away in Subang Jaya and Kerinchi but as we made our way towards the city center, we realized that many roads were closed for a Larian Merdeka. To make matters worse, the area around KLCC park is still raining and doesn't look like its going to stop any time soon. So, we made a turn and headed for the Lake Garden instead.

I haven't been to the Lake Garden for ages and I am totally impressed with what they have done to the place. Definitely going to come here more often.

Academic Excellence ?

Overhead during a wedding on saturday:

"Anak you yang pergi ********* yang dapat 11A tu kan?

"No lah, anak I dapat 10A. Yang dapat 11 A tu anak ******** "

"Budak sekarang, dapat 8A pun ada yang suicidal. Zaman kita dulu dapat 2A pun dah kira hebat"


Whatever happened to 6 aggregates ? Below ten ?

Friday, August 25, 2006

It's Friday Night

It's 8.15 pm on a friday night and I am still at the office. I am actually waiting for a very important email and at the same time, killing time before my family join me here for dinner to celebrate my cousin's birthday.

Still no email... and boy, am I hungry or what!

30 Minutes a day, 3 times a week

I have a confession to make.

I haven't been exercising since.. oh, like... ages ago (unless walking from the buggy to the golf ball and back can be considered as "brisk" walking)

Yes, I do wanna look good but most importantly, I want to stay healthy. With medical history from both my parents not being favourable, I really don't have much choice.

Besides, I actually enjoy it... just that time can be a big constraint.

Honey dear, when we are married, can you at least make sure I don't sleep past 7 a.m. on sundays ya :)

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Nostalgia: Madison, WI - Prt 2

I was quite excited to read Deya's blog as I was able to get a snapshot of the place I left almost ten years ago. Gosh, has it been that long ? If anyone were to ask me, kampung kat mana, I would answer this (in no particular order):

1. Subang Jaya (my ACTUAL hometown, so to speak)
2. Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan (my dad's)
3. Masjid Tanah, Melaka (mum's)
4. Kuala Kangsar, Perak (you-know-why la, hehe)
5. MADISON, WI

I really love the place, although I have to admit I wasn't really excited about it when I first got there. However, as the days passed and after several visit to my other friend's place in DC, NY etc.. I began to appreciate Madison... truly the quintessential midwest town. What is not to like about a town located right at the Isthmus of two lakes, with winter practically stretching until May and where ATM's are called TYME machine ? :)

... wonder if they still have Michael's Frozen Custard ? :)

Lunch with old friends...

I was extremely late for lunch with some of my ex-MCKK buddies, well, it would've time out well had the Damansara toll not as congested as it was. We are meeting, of all places, at Devi's Corner in Jalan Telawi, an area not to be known as a parking-friendly area (unlike my office, where I can take up two parking space and there are plenty more available for the lorries and whatnot:)

I ended up being almost 20 minutes late (thank goodness there were plenty of parking at the Bangsar Village) and joined the rest for lunch (food was hardly memorable.. and they made a big fuss about the drink, but let's not waste our time there). It's great to be able to catch up with the guys during lunch break like this. I did realized though, that I was the only non-banker/VC around.

Anyway, the conversation steered towards my upcoming wedding (all four are married, with at least one kid) and as expected, one question came up.

"You sure about wanting to get married ? You really sure ah ?"

To which I answered resoundingly, "Yes"

Of course, there were more follow ups which I rather not print here... hehe :)

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Nostalgia: Madison, WI

I was actually reading Fizzy'z blog (still waiting for the Akok, with K Ruby) when I came across the blog for Dheya, who happens to be Fizzy'z batchmate in TKC. What makes it interesting is that Dheya is a fellow Badger (University of Wisconsin, Madison - yours truly is an alumnus there!). I was able to catch up on a lot of happenings there via her blog - the flood (back then, I was more concern about tornado. Flooding was the least of my concern), the heatwave and of course what's hot and what's not. Gosh, I was suddenly swept in a wave of nostalgia, though I was there like ten years ago...

... and I could remember all as if it was yesterday. The Dane County Airport on the first day of our arrival. The blizzard on our very second day. My first job at Red Oak Grill and subsequently at the Social Science Library. West Towne Mall. Farmer's Market. Espresso Royale. Memorial Union. Memorial Library. Camp Randall and Field House. The Autumn leaves in the park. The frozen Lake Mendota. Trips to Wisconsin Dells.

...Honey dearest, I am gonna take you there one day!

p/s yeah, I did study and got a degree, in case you guys are wondering :)

Has-Been Dato' ex-Politician...

The problem with Has-Been Dato' ex politician is that he cannot grasp the concept of company directorship and fiduciary duty of a director. Enough said.

The Move

I have almost lost count of the number of times I have to move office, whether out of neccesity (expiry of lease) or due to some ill-intention by Mr Baldy (who, despite having qualified as a lawyer still can't muster anything coherent when it comes to doing the "dirty job" like evicting you from the office, or firing the Chairman, for that matter. But when it comes to condemning people, aha... you the man!).

Truth be told, I am actually quite tired of moving. Not only it cost you a bomb (but hey, I do OWN a moving company, heheh) but its tiring. However, I like this office the best. Where else can you get an office where a laundrette is the floor below you and a restaurant next to it. If the company do well this year, the staff can always walk across the street and place a booking for a new Satria Neo (hmmm, the orange coloured Neo looks good la...).

We decided to do away with rooms and have an open office concept. Well, thats just another way of saying we are quite low on renovation budget... :)

Still, I believe many great things will happen to the company. Hopefully, in two years time we have to move out again, this time to a place we can truly call our own.. :))

109 days...

In less than 109 days, I will sit in front of Honey Dearest's father and take an oath before Allah that I will love, guide and protect her for the remainder of my life. In less than 109 days, I will finally experience the joy of matrimony and taste the sweetness of wedded bliss. In less than 109 days, I will finally be able to mark the box "married" in all applications form, heheh...

Night walk @ KLCC

I went out for dinner with Honey Dearest last night and it was a unanimous decision : Little Penang Cafe @ KLCC. I am crazy over the cendol while she's absolutely nuts about the Ice Kacang (no puns intended, hehe), not to mention the keow teoy too. Pick her up straight from office within 15 minutes we were ready to order. Not many patrons this time around, so our food was ready in less than ten minutes (though in the menu, it said that the Keow Teoy takes 20 minutes to prepare... hmmm, ada orang lain punye ke ni ? :)

After dinner, I remember that I have to make some deposit into my Citibank account (read: pay credit card debt la) and we decided to walk from KLCC to Menara Citibank. It was quite a distance actually but truly the sight of the buildings, especially the magnificent Petronas Twin Towers is truly breathtaking. Quite a few high end condos are taking shape around and even Honey Dearest remarked that we only notice all these new buildings if we were to actually take a leisurely stroll. Most of the time when we are driving, we tend not to notice but that night, I counted at least two buildings which to me, came out of nowhere.

Truly glorious KLCC...

Monday, August 14, 2006

The Letter


....dengan itu saya sendiri akan mengambil alih jawatan Pengurusi dalam semua syarikat dalam kumpulan. Ini termasuk jawatan Pengurusi yang di pegang oleh tuan.....berkuatkuasa Julai 15, 2006......digugurkan.....ucapkan terima kasih di atas sumbangan.....

Excuse me you moron, the letter was dated July 15, 2006 and it was delivered to him on August 11, 2006. Backdated.. huh ? What you think this is.. a bloody board resolution ? You terminated someone and you had to do it by letter. Dont you think I don't know about the numerous times you asked the despatch "Dah bagi surat kat Tuan Haji?". Don't you have the decency to face him and explain the situation of the company to him personally and why it is in the best interest of the company for the Has-Been Dato' to takeover the chairmanship of the all the companies? You, who literally asked him for financial help when things were tough (remember the '97-98 crisis).. did he ever asked you to repay him back ? He felt it was his responsibilty to help you since he is part owner. Don't you think I don't know that it's about the medical bill that you refuse to pay?

But you know what pisses me off the most ? It is you and your Has-Been Dato' who acted as though you own the company 100%. Remember the arrangement before we did the buyout ? Remember the 80:20 thingy? What happened to the proceed from the sales of shares ? At RM3.80 per share for 450,000 shares, that's close to RM1.7 million. What happened to the money ? The proceed from the palm oil ? The red soil ? I guess truth is what's convenient to you. I do not wish to say more because I can dedicate a whole blog about you and not even sure if that's enough.

... I leave you with this. When you take something that does not belongs to you... well.. you know the rest....

... and I am not done with you.....yet

Venting off some steam...

I could barely contain my anger when I found out about it. This has Boldy (bukan nama sebenar) written all over it, although the letter itself was signed by the Has-Been Dato' cum expired politician. Only Baldy would hatch something as dispicable and low as this, though there must be some assistance from Tommy. These so-called "management guru" must have played their parts well to influence Has-Been Dato' to "reorganize" and "restructure" the company...

.... that letter was a big mistake Boldy... atlhough it wasn't for me but you have hurt a very very dear person in my life...

This is Final, I promise..

This is the third title change and I promise that it'll the be last..

Instead of maintaining the three blogs that I currently have, I decided to combined everything into one. So, please be prepared for my ramblings on everything Malaysia, business and my upcoming wedding (specially for K Ruby and Fizzy, ;)

Let's start...

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

The Big Day revisited...

I should have started this blog from the day we got engaged but since here we now, two months AFTER, I will need to once in a while back track and go into the "nostalgic mode" (just like the typical Malay cerekarama... lots of flashback:). It's quite easy to tell as I will write in Italic if the event is before today (August 2, 2006). Gosh, I wonder if I can put one of those countdown clock on this blog :)

... enjoy !

Thursday, July 27, 2006

I have been procastinating this for such a long, long time and so ok, here's my first entry for my blog.

..... i did say its my first entry, doesn't mean that it has to be long kan ? :)