hmm...

Just cant get this tune out of my head....hmm....

2010-07-30T22:20:00.000+08:00

Apa Khabar Semua?

2009-08-31T17:31:00.002+08:00

I dedicate this beautiful song to Bea, my one and only.
And to ALL my friends, I love you too...
Selamat Berpuasa. Pohon ampun dan maaf atas segala salah dan silap.

Salam ingatan,

Pycno.

Hmm...

2008-06-15T20:28:00.003+08:00

The greatest man I never knew
Lived just down the hall
And everyday we said hello
But never touched at all
He was in his paper
I was in my room
How was I to know he thought I hung the moon

The greatest man I never knew
Came home late every night
He never had too much to say
Too much was on his mind
I never really knew him
And now it seems so sad
Everything he gave to us took all he had

Then the days turned into years
And the memories to black and white
He grew cold like an old winter wind
Blowing across my life

The greatest words I never heard
I guess Ill never hear
The man I thought could never die
Sbeen dead almost a year
He was good at business
But there was business left to do
He never said he loved me
Guess he thought I knew

P/S - It may be a little too late now for Pycno, but Happy Father's Day, Ayah........and, to ALL Fathers of the world, "Happy Father's Day to YOU"

At no charge...

2007-12-30T08:30:00.000+08:00

And I will ALWAYS love you Ayah...

Sanggup kah kita?

2007-12-20T06:33:00.000+08:00

Berkorban apa saja.....
Harta atau pun nyawa
Itulah kasih mesra
Sejati dan mulia.....

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL ADHA.
Maaf kiranaya ada salah dan silap.

3 Hari 2 Malam With a Budu Twist

2007-12-01T08:57:00.000+08:00

For the past several years, it has been very hard for me to get everyone in the family to be available for a vacation together. And even though I grumble at this, I suppose it cannot be helped due to the different schedules everybody has. So nowadays, I have to be content with whoever happens to be having their holidays at the same time as I plan a getaway.

The most recent getaway would be, of course, the one we had throughout this week. It was a two-part 3 Hari 2 Malam vacation in firstly, Penang, and then in Kelantan. I seem to be going to these two places a lot these days. Maybe I should go to somewhere else instead, say oh, Sarawak? ;)))

Anyway, the ice-kacang seller whom I frequently pay a visit whenever I'm in Penang was so happy to see me being accompanied by Bea and my three available sons. "Wah, you have your family with you this time, Encik!" he said in the manner of a person who had just laid his eyes upon a business opportunity.

But this entry is not going to be on food. At least, not the gist of it, no. It's about how bad things happen to good people and then other people laugh at it because they think it's funny.

From Penang, we went back to my mother's place in Kelantan to deal with some urgent family matters. After spending another 3 Hari 2 Malam over there, we came back yesterday i.e. on Friday. On our way back, I decided to pop a visit to our little orchard somewhere in Jeli. It isn't a really big orchard, mind you, but still big enough for elephants and Orang Asli to come and help themselves to our fruits. I never knew there were that many Orang Asli people living in the depths of Jeli until I bought this orchard. And the same goes for elephants too.

Anyway, since we didn't take a satisfactory breakfast, we decided to have a very late lunch at the only eatery to be found in the vicinity of the 'fruit farm'. They served us rice, Soup and Gulai Ayam Kampung and glorious ulam with a big bowl of budu. Yes, budu. Since this was the real authentic Anchovy Sauce, Bea was already licking her lips at the mere sight of the budu bowl.

Mind you, we were eating in what was literally the middle of a jungle, thus it shouldn't have come as a surprise when one by one, we were attacked by pesky mosquitoes. Every minute or so, one of us would be making hand gestures as if we were shoo-ing away flies whereas in fact, it was mosquitoes.

Then, it happened.

A really big, vicious-looking mosquito with a proboscis so big I could have sworn it was the size of a baby's finger, came and landed on Bea's right arm. Bea, who was blissfully scooping budu onto her ulam which she creatively folded to form a miniature shovel, let out a small scream and asked for my assistance in getting rid of the blood-sucking menace.

Being the knight in shining armour, how could I ignore the sobbing pleas of my damsel in distress? So I got out my shining sword - hand, actually - and proceeded to what youngsters nowadays refer to as 'lay the smackdown' on that monstrosity of a creature.

Oh how cruel fate deals its blows to unsuspecting victims.

The moment my hand whacked that mosquito and sent him to meet his Maker, out of nowhere did a bowl of budu come leaping out right at me. And as if in slow-motion, I saw clearly how the dull grey, pungent liquid shot out of the bowl to come straight at my brand new, white-with-a-hint-of peach linen shirt; and how Bea's face distorted into one that of warning about imminent danger but funnily enough, with no sounds; and how my children gaped at the entire scene, just as I was.

When I finally came back to my senses, my white-with-a-hint-of-peach linen shirt had magically turned into a grey colour; Bea was crying from laughing too hard (and my God, can that woman laugh); and the rest of the diners seemed to be amazed at how we had managed to finish our bowl of budu so fast.

Now, you go picture the sight of Peachy-linen-wearing Pycno all drenched in BUDU!!

Of course after that, I had to go and change shirts by the roadside. To the motorists who happen to pass by me at that time, I'm sorry for the unsightly scene; it couldn't be helped.

P/S - I was just wondering what if, just what if, it was the other way around.......can I even dare to twinge my facial muscle to laugh at Budu-drenched Bea???

Ah, life is so unfair.

It's Raining Cats And Dogs

2007-11-23T21:35:00.000+08:00

Hooray! My internet connection is up and about again. Previously, I would be waiting for hours at end for a single page to finish downloading. Out of all the blogs I frequent, Mynn's was the worst (no offense taken, I hope). I suppose it's because Mynn has been eagerly touring Malaysia of late and snapping pictures even more so and uploading them onto his site. Beautiful pictures, no doubt - especially those of the udang galah. I would have tagged along just for those giant prawns. Perhaps next time Mynn?

Anyway, all those promises of Streamyx of it being so cheap and affordable and opening the windows to the world, and their promise of fast internet connection...what happened to them when the connection at my house come to a grinding halt?

Well first of all, those promises went out the window. Windows which were opened by themselves in the first place, I suppose. Me being the 'computer wizard' that I am, amazingly got Bea to do all the work in trying to solve our Streamyx woes. Unfortunately, Bea happens to be an incompetent apprentice and she, in turn, tried to get Customer Care to figure out the problem. And just like so many automated telephone responses you get nowadays, that was practically useless and expensive and got Bea nowhere. One of the suggestions they gave was to unplug the telephone from the socket. After doing so, Bea had to call them using her handphone just to tell them that there was no improvement in the speed (which was around 128kbps at that time)

I then waved my magic wand and got my second son to solve the problem, thinking that since he belongs to the IT generation, he should know a thing or two about kilobytes. Mind you, I belong to the BSJ (batu sejam) generation. I'm still struggling to adapt to kmph and now they are forcing me to understand kbps. It's too much I tell you.

My children don't go out that often so the computer is somewhat their 'gateway' to the outside world. And since my second son is the one who makes full use of the internet to socialise with his equally IT-literate friends, he tackled the job rather enthusiastically, I must say. Sadly, enthusiasm alone does not get you around much when it comes to slow internet speed. He failed miserably to have the problem sorted out over the phone.

I was beginning to run out magic. But wait! I still had one last trick up my sleeve - my eldest son. So I conveniently pulled him out of a black top hat, pretty much the way magicians pull out rabbits out of theirs, and sent him to do battle with those evil trolls at TMnet.

And my, did they have some ugly looking trolls.

On Saturday morning, my eldest and I went to the nearest TMnet shop (or TMPoint, as my son pointed out) to complain in person. Stepping into the spanking clean building, we were greeted by the cheerful receptionist who cheerfully asked "Nak bayar bil ke pakcik?" to which I quipped back "Bil saya tak pernah tertunggak. Sentiasa berbayar. Saya datang ni nak complain pasal perkhidmatan". She then dully handed me a number.

To be fair to them, I was attended to promptly. The unfortunate thing was that I was attended to by an ugly male troll who's smile resembled something like this.

Yes, I am being mean but I'm just refering to his smile and it really looked like that.

Anyway, I said politely that I wanted to put in a complaint concerning the slow speed of our internet which has persisted for the past few months. Before I could even elaborate, he quickly replied "Saya tak boleh buat apa-apa" and asked whether I had contacted Customer Care. My son answered back saying that we had already tried that numerous times to no avail and that a technician should be employed instead to solve the problem. Again, the troll gave another number. I was starting to get annoyed and told him that his numbers did not help at all.

It was at this point that two lady co-workers sensed imminent danger and come to the troll's rescue. One of them asked how slow our connection was while the other suggested a complaint form be given for us to filled in. The troll got up and disappeared into the back.

While waiting, I couldn't help but to blurt out rather loudly "Yang cekap hanya dalam iklan sahajalah". One of the female co-workers might have overheard my comment and shifted around uneasily in her seat. The troll came back, a form was filled and a promise was made that action would be taken latest on Tuesday.

Despite all that, Tuesday came and still there was no improvement. Since my eldest was back in class, the next best person who could keep pycno blog-happy i.e Bea, called them up and asked about the promised service. The operator then asked Bea for a complaint reference number. How were we supposed to know about a reference number when we had already given our address and telephone number? So, like it or not, another complaint had to be made and this time Bea insisted for a 'nombor rujukan'.

At long last, the next morning a technician was sent while we were in office. Guess what? The matter was attended to in just a few short minutes. When I told my eldest about the incident, his simple reply was that this is what happens when ducks and chickens try to talk to each other.

What I suspect is that those people at Streamyx do not have enough manpower to attend the problems of the customers every single time. So they try to get the users to solve their own woes over the phone, guided by some operator who might as well be digging his nose as he reads out the troubleshooting guide from his computer. And most of the time, they know that customers like me will not understand and thus put the blame on themselves or the computer.

My advice is to personally go there, fill in a complaint form and most importantly remember to take the blessed nombor rujukan aduan. Equally important would be to keep calling them, reminding them about the complaint which has been made and to read out loud the NOMBOR RUJUKAN ADUAN. Maybe it's also worth threatening to terminate your subscription and ask them for other alternative ISPs. (That's Internet Service Provider for those of you who don't know what it means)

And a final note to Mr Troll: Do try to smile. Even limping Mayo knows how to make someone feel warm and fuzzy inside by smiling.

Okay Me Love?

2007-11-18T09:21:00.000+08:00

I should be back blogging in a couple of weeks time. For now, l leave you with Sean Kingston with this feel-good song!

Ah I"m just SO HAPPY listening to this song!! ;)

6 Adab Puasa.

2007-09-20T15:08:00.000+08:00

PERTAMA
Elakkan diri daripada segala perbuatan perosak pahala puasa, menjauhkan diri daripada mengumpat, mencela dan memfitnah. Diriwayatkan oleh Al-Thabrani dari Rasulullah SAW bersabda: "Puasa itu Junnah (perisai) selama ia tidak dirosakkan dengan dusta dan umpat."

KEDUA
Kurangkan makan dan minum sewaktu berbuka dan bersahur. Orang yang berpuasa tidak akan dapat faedah berpuasa apabila gelojoh sewaktu berbuka dan sewaktu bersahur. Kesannya: kegagalan fungsi puasa sebagai pemotong hawa nafsu atau mematahkan syahwat yang berlebihan.

KETIGA
Kurangkan tidur terutama di siang hari. Kebanyakan antara kita mencari-cari jalan untuk tidur agar tidak keletihan berpuasa. Ini boleh menghilangkan rahsia dan hikmah puasa yang sebenarnya. Sepatutnya, keletihan dan kesusahan yang harus kita harungi dan kita hayati.

KEEMPAT
Menahan hati daripada memikirkan keinginan-keinginan yang remeh dan urusan-urusan yang tidak baik. Kita juga kerap memikirkan persediaan-persediaan menyambut hari raya yang kadangkala lebih banyak diselaputi kemewahan. Sepatutnya puasa mendorong kita menghindari sikap itu.

KELIMA
Sentiasa memikirkan azab akhirat dan memikirkan seksa neraka. Hendaklah kelaparan dan kehausan itu mengingatkan kita tentang kelaparan ahlul mahsyar pada hari akhirat yang sangat dahsyat.

KEENAM
Mencambahkan rasa berharap kepada keampunan dan kasih sayang Allah Taala. Kita tidak mengetahui, apakah puasa kita diterima oleh Allah atau tidak. Puasa tanpa adab samalah ertinya kita makan tanpa zat dan khasiat.

Pycno telah memetik 6 Adab Puasa dari Risalah Ramadhan yang Pycno terbaca dua hari yang lalu. Ingin pula rasanya untuk berkongsi dengan sahabat-sahabat di sini. Apakata kita muhasabah diri dan menilai sejauh mana kita patuh dengan 6 adab tersebut.

Bagi diri Pycno sendiri, yang PERTAMA - mungkin yang paling sukar. Saya bukan lah seorang yang suka berdusta atau mengumpat, terutama sekali di bulan Ramadhan. Tetapi apabila ada orang yang datang bersembang dan membuka cerita di hadapan saya dan mula masuk ke daerah terlarang diatas, saya terpaksa mengakui bahawa saya agak keberatan untuk memberitahu dia supaya menghentikan nya. Penyudahnya, saya turut sama mendengar, walaupun dalam hati ada rasa bersalah dan merasa bahawa kurus lah puasa saya pada hari tersebut.

KEDUA - Pada masa berbuka atau bersahur, saya rasa saya sendiri tidak pernah gelojoh. Makan pun tidak lah memilih. Apa yang ada tu, cukup lah. Namun, apabila berpuasa di kampung, saya terpaksa mengaku agak terlebih makan. Mungkin ini disebabkan pilihan juadah yang banyak, murah serta bersesuaian pula dengan selera. Ini ditambahkan lagi dengan suasana riang bila dapat bersama keluarga.

KETIGA - Saya memang kurang tidur, apa lagi pada bulan puasa. Pernah saya beritahu dulu bahawa saya lah orang nya yang jadi tukang kejut semua ahli keluarga pada bulan puasa ini. Kalau tidur di siang hari pada bulan puasa pun, biasa nya dengan satu niat sahaja - untuk lebih sihat dan cergas waktu sembahyang Tarawih pada malam nya. Itu pun, kira tak boleh juga ke?

KEEMPAT - Memikirkan persediaan menyambut hari raya tu, tak ada lah sangat. Mungkin ini disebabkan saya memang sudah lama membeli baju-baju Raya untuk anak, isteri dan juga diri sendiri. Kuih-kuih memang tidak pernah buat sendiri pun. Beli yang sudah siap dan tidak lah menghabiskan masa.

KELIMA - Ini mungkin kurang di buat. Bukan kerana tidak mahu memikir. Rasa nya lebih kerana tidak terfikir untuk memikir tentang itu....mungkin kerana sibuk. InsyaAllah sekarang dah tahu, akan saya mencari masa untuk berfikir.

KEENAM - Ini memanglah saya mengharap sangat. Satu-satu nya sebab mengapa Pycno gembira dan seronok sekali tiap kali menyambut Ramadhan, ialah kerana rasa lebih hampir, lebih ikhlas serta lebih insaf setiap kali memohon rahmat serta keampunan dari Allah taala.

Anda bagaimana? Sudi berkongsi?

5 perkara

2007-09-16T13:17:00.000+08:00

Kalaulah kita semua boleh mengingati dan mengamalkan 5 perkara sebelum datangnya 5 perkara ini, InsyaAllah selamat kita semua dunia dan akhirat.

Selamat menyempurnakan ibadat puasa di bulan Ramadhan, dan semoga ini adalah Ramadhan TERBAIK untuk kita semua.

Happy Birthday Bea...

2007-08-28T17:26:00.001+08:00

And on this special day, I'm dedicating this oldie to you....but the message is forever true.
Dont you worry, age is just a number. Of course, we can always ask Sarah (Mynn and Mama Sarah's daughter). After all, she is now in Shah Alam. From now onwards, I suspect that little Sarah will be our 'feel-good channel' especially on birthdays. So, Sarah, berapa umur Auntie Bea hari ni ye???? ;)

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the stars fall from the sky,
Yours (yours) until the rivers all run dry
In other words, until I die

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the sun no longer shines,
Yours (yours) until the poets run out of rhyme
In other words, until the end of time

I'm gonna stay right here by your side,
Do my best to keep you satisfied
Nothin' in the world can drive me away
'Cause every day, you'll hear me say

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until two and two is three,
Yours (yours) until the mountains crumble to the sea
In other words, until eternity

Baby, I'm yours
'Til the stars fall from the sky
Baby, I'm yours
'Til the rivers all run dry
Baby, I'm yours
'Til the poets run out of rhyme

One Flu Over The Cuckoo's Nest

2007-08-27T15:52:00.000+08:00

This entry is basically t o explain what I’ve been going through since my last real update.

It all started with a case of bad flu. One thing about me is that I seldom fall sick, but goodness when I do, it becomes something of an Altantuya case – the end is nowhere to be seen. And I happen to be the kind of person who will avoid the doctor at all costs unless it’s really necessary. So, the flu was a necessary case and the good doctor gave me antibiotics for three days. I did feel better after having down the pills, but it wasn’t enough to do something about my respiratory tract. The phlegm just wouldn’t go away. And from there, it went from bad to worse.

So I went to see the doctor again. This time, he gave a week’s worth of antibiotics and a whole lot of other medications. Still, there is a persistent feeling of uneasiness somewhere in the chest. Any doctors here want to take a guess what it is? Oh, and Bea is unwell too. She might have caught it from me.

However, being down doesn’t equate to being out and even though I’m feeling unwell, I’ve been going back to Kelantan; not only to see Wan my mother, but also to oversee the renovation works. Yes, it’s almost Ramadhan but the house is not yet 100% complete.

This is the door to the balcony of the upper floor.

Bear in mind that these are only the presentable parts of the house. Not every nook and cranny is as pretty as they are. Well, at least not yet.

You know how it is when it’s the fruit season in the kampong. You go into the orchards, enjoy a few durians, and then bring back a lot more back home to really dig in. Only in my case, it wasn’t just durians, but also mangosteens and rambutans and buah dokong. I thought that eating a lot of fruits would be good for the flu. But could it be the culprit that’s causing my persistent coughing and itchy throat?

I’ve been planning to visit ikelah and DITH at the house, knowing that their two daughters are back. But week after week, I just didn’t feel up to it; up until last weekend where the two daughters have gone back to Russia, and I was stuck in the convocation ceremony of Kak Zah’s only son. Do you remember Kak Zah? She’s the ‘wind beneath my wings’; the cousin who’s more like a sister who has been taking care of my aged mother at home. I think I owe it to them to make her day extra special. It’s the least I can do for this kind soul who has been of great help, may Allah bless her.

This is Mohd Syariza bin Ahmad, the graduate. Congratulations, your dad would have been so proud of you.

Who's the graduate here now? Amboi Kak Zah, sampai terseret ke lantai jubah tu!

The girl on the right is Syariza's half sister, Ayu.

To ikelah and DITH, the house must be very quiet now with only Maman at home. Don’t worry, ours is the same with only little Elvis constantly belting out new and unheard-of-before songs. I know that Mynn and Puan Mama Sarah are back in Malaysia. So where are the both of you now? If you’re around Setapak, perhaps we can meet at one of the nearby mamak stalls for some good old teh tarik?

So Sorry...

2007-08-22T06:37:00.000+08:00

SORRY...for the long silence.
and, SORRY...for not leaving comments to your entry/ies. I've been so busy and uninspired. So for now, can I just share with you this article written by Datin Ampikaipakan on.... "Saying Sorry" accompanied by this beautiful song from Akon. Enjoy...

Saying sorry
Learn all about the art of making an apology.
WINNING WAYS by DATIN T.D. AMPIKAIPAKAN

HOW difficult is it to say, “I’m sorry”? Many years ago we heard this famous phrase “love means never having to say that you are sorry” and we thought “wow, what a profound idea.” Think about this now and see how it affects the lives of everyone who is in love.
Imagine this scenario: You are in love and your boyfriend takes you for granted. He makes you wait, is perpetually late for appointments, has no regard for your needs and has no remorse for the trouble he causes you. To add insult to injury, all he says is “love means never having to say I’m sorry!”

Although this takes place between two people, you feel the indignation while reading this. If we were to follow suit, can you imagine the heartaches all around because we would then have the licence to hurt our loved ones and use the excuse of “love” not to show regret for our actions.
Why do we say, “I’m sorry”? Why should we apologise? When do we apologise? As part of good manners you say “sorry” when you have made a mistake or hurt someone unintentionally or intentionally and you begin to regret that. It is all about respect.

When you feel that your actions or words have caused someone pain, mental or physical, you regret the “lack of respect” that you have shown. Hence you feel the need to apologise. When you apologise you make amends, you are telling the person you have hurt that you regret your actions, and you do not want him/her to think badly of you because of your transgressions. That is the premise we work with when we apologise.

We often say “sorry” without thinking. We accidentally step on someone’s toes and we say, “oops, sorry”, and all is forgiven. We forget to do an errand and we apologise. We may even make some serious mistakes that cause other people to lose money, we become mortified and often struggle to find the right way to say “I’m sorry”.

When you make a mistake, say something out of turn or have hurt someone’s feelings, you need to examine the extent of your transgression.

· How serious was it? Did you embarrass someone or are you more embarrassed by your action?

· Who got hurt by your actions? If your transgression is detrimental to your reputation or your integrity, then rectify the situation quickly so that people forgive you.

· There are times when the mistakes you make are so phenomenal that a simple “I’m so sorry” sounds inadequate. What happens if you kill someone by causing an accident? How do you apologise to a parent whose child you ran over? How do you apologise to a child who lost a parent because of your carelessness? In times like these, apologies are so difficult to make and when even one is offered, acceptance and forgiveness is hard to come by.
When you plan to apologise, you have to decide whether it is verbal and/or written. If it is a verbal apology, you need to consider the following:

· The words you need to use
· Your body language/facial expressions
· The tone of voice

If it is a written apology, you need to consider:

· The words you use
· The tone of the letter
· Whether it gets the right message through

If you want to apologise for a mistake, do it properly so that your apology is given and accepted with equal grace.

A sincere apology is done with insight. You should always run what you want to say through your head or share it with a friend so that the apology sounds sincere and thoughtful. When you apologise, look at your body language and facial expressions.

You have to look sorry! You have to feel bad about the whole incident and your face must show regret when you say the words. A bad apology is just like the one made by our two esteemed MPs for the faux pas that happened a month ago.

Take another look at the facial expressions in their photo. They had a smirk on their faces and looked so unapologetic that it was obvious they were forced to say sorry when they did not mean it. The bottom line – apologise when you really mean what you say!

The following is an example of a thoughtful written apology that was made when a serious injustice was done to a person and how a heartfelt apology made a difference to the relationship and put it back on an even keel. This is part of a long letter of apology:

“I’m writing this letter to say I’m sorry. This letter has been written a thousand times in my head, drafting and redrafting to try and put in words what I feel – sorrow, sadness, regret for my part in the injustice done to you over the years ?

“Just because I have written this letter, you don’t have to feel you have to ‘forgive and forget’. If you feel the time is not right or you still have some residual anger or feel unease or disquiet, it is your right and I respect that. All I want to do is atone and acknowledge a misjudgement. It has been a salutary lesson for me and I hope it will be a cautionary tale to our children that they should always try to do the right thing and be fair and just to all and not to take relationships for granted and abuse it.

“So as I begin, let me end by saying SORRY. When all’s said and done, what is SORRY worth? Sometimes it’s little – a token, a crumb, a throwaway line like ‘sorry I’m late‘. Sometimes it’s huge and terrible like: The White House is sorry for the collateral damage to civilians in Iraq in our ‘justified‘ war. I hope my sorry is somewhere in between – terrible but retrievable – like an honest broker trying to forge a connection between our estranged relationships.”

Say what you mean and mean what you say, even if you are trying to say, ”my humble apologies!”

P/S : Pycno just would like to know.....Do you find it difficult to say that you are sorry?

A Belated Birthday Entry

2007-07-22T12:46:00.000+08:00

It has to be one of the quietest birthdays that I have ever celebrated. All the kids came back home. My eldest and Number 2 who are both in University, my Number 3 (only daughter) and Number 4 who are both in boarding school also happened to have their 'monthly holiday allowance', and of course my youngest; the only one left at home.

Everyone was very cooperative yesterday - waking up early and taking their shower. And instead of the usual arguments trying to decide where to go, everybody just said "Why don't you decide where we should go today, Birthday Boy?"

I've been to The Curve a couple of times before, but because of the distance (and traffic, possibly too), none of my children have had the chance to go there along with me. Therefore, I decided to take them yesterday. Thankfully, traffic wasn't as bad as I had expected. I parked the family vehicle at Cineleisure, which was a block away from The Curve. But it didn't matter much.

My youngest was tugging me, insisting that we should all go watch the new Harry Potter movie (by the way, I must tell you that I happened to be #61 in the queue of people at Carrefour Wangsa Maju yesterday, lining up to buy the final installment of The Boy Who Lived. I was there at 6.45 am, together with Bea and Number 2, who is simply potty over Potter. Since we were one of the earlier ones to arrive, we were served with breakfast. Also, I got to buy the bookS - note the 'S' - at RM 69.90 each. Potty Number 2 insisted we buy both editions for 'collectible reasons'. I decided to comply with his wishes as I am still beaming with pride over his exceptional MUET results - he was one of the hundred plus in the country who obtained Band 6)

Anyway, back to the movie. Since there was already quite a sizeable amount of people waiting to buy tickets to the movie, we decided to go watch it another time. Afterall, Number 1 was inquiring (in his usual tiresome manner) why should we waste two hours and a half to sit in a darkened room when we could stroll around and buy things. And stroll we did around The Curve.

Eventually, we ended up at Ikea (situated across the road from The Curve). My eldest has always expressed his desire to throw out all pieces of furniture in the house and replace them with new ones bought from Ikea. Naturally, he was admiring the simple and elegant designs of chairs and tables and wardrobes and pointed at how they'd all fit in nicely in our home. However, you know me to be an old faithful and I just can't bring myself to throw out (or even give to others) those dog-eared books, limping long serving tables or even those cracked cutlery - which I think looks like patterns, what with the 'retak seribu' design. However, the youngest child didn't find the activity fun at all and began to pull a long face. In fact, after a few metres, he just sat down and would not budge at all. Never mind that people were staring and Bea was scolding him. I took that as a sign to go for lunch.

I wanted to bring them to Ikea's own dine-in spot as I've heard so much about their famous Swedish meatballs. However to my dismay, there were too many people queuing. And to find joined tables which could sit all seven of us was practically impossible. But thank goodness for the existence of small eateries scattered at the ground floor of Ikea. So to please everybody, I announced that it was a 'free-for-all' affair. That ended up with Bea, my eldest and Number 3 having mee rojak, Number 4 having a sandwich, my youngest tucking into white rice and chicken curry, and yours truly having a modest serving of kuih onde-onde and Nyonya Yam Cake. However, my will of steel soon waned, and I ended up buying 'Paus' (no, not that big mammal that lives in the sea) at Baoz.

After having refueled, we went back to the Curve via an underground tunnel joining the two buildings. Number 1 cunningly took the opportunity of buying himself a pair of non-pleated pants which in my opinion, makes him look similar to a walking ironing board due to his tall and slender frame. There also happened to be an education fair, and Bea decided to buy some workbooks for attention-deficit Elvis.

Around three plus, we drove back and along the way it rained heavily. So you can imagine our dismay when we arrived home to the sight of soaking wet laundry that was, ironically enough, left out to dry earlier on in the morning. After having said our prayers, everyone settled down for a short afternoon nap.

Later on after Maghrib, I took the family out again for some makan-makan. Again, everyone was thoughtful enough to leave the decision making to me. How I wish they are as polite and obedient on other days, and not only on my birthday! But considerate Pycno, knowing fully well that his adoloscent children like snappy meals, took them for pizza. And what kind of birthday would it be without a birthday cake? Thus, the children took me to Secret Recipe so that I could choose my (rather late) birthday cake. Funnily enough, everybody was too full to eat anymore, and the cake went into the fridge and only came out again this morning for breakfast. There's still some left. Anybody?

And here are cards from Number 3 and Number 5 respectively. I was especially touched by little Elvis' card. He was tugging the mother at The Curve to buy the card and standing in a corner after that to personally write down his birthday message. Not only that, he was also very expressive - giving me bear hugs and saying how much he loved me. How thoughtful of him!

This came from Number 3 - she made it herself from some manila card and newspaper.

This is from Elvis. Can you read what it says?

What are you doing the rest of your life?

2007-07-13T18:43:00.000+08:00

Hmm.....entahlah.

Aduh sedih nya.....

2007-05-21T10:10:00.000+08:00

The first time I heard this song was at a supermarket - I was instantly mesmerised by the slow and sad tune. From that moment, the haunting music kept playing in my ears, all the while I was trying to find out who the singer was.

As you can see, I've finally managed to track down the song, titled Izinkan Ku Pergi. It's sung by a fellow named Kaer. Does anyone know who he is?. In the meantime, I think I'll let myself be carried away in the sad, sad melody...

(Please don't think that I am all about songs and melodies. It's just that at the moment, I am rather 'uninspired' to write about anything worth mentioning. However, not wanting to be left behind, I feel that it's just appropriate to fill up the empty space with something, wouldn't you agree?)

Selamat Hari Ibu!!

2007-05-13T06:37:00.000+08:00

Some of the heaven sent mothers that I have known and who have touched my life

Oh, sweet mother of mine, I love you more than you will ever know. You are loved more than words can say. I may not have that many opportunities to see or call you, but I never stop loving you. You made me who I am today... good and wonderful all because of you.

Mothers are the flowers of our lives, the thorns that prick us when we're off track, the leaves that catch us when we fall. Every day I see what a wonderful job you do raising all your children and I could never thank you enough for all that you have done. Thank you for your LOVE, SUPPORT, and GOOD HOME COOKING. And not forgetting, for potty training me.

To the sweetest Mom of them all. To the greatest Mom anyone ever had! You’re the absolute BEST Mom we could have and an inspiration to us all…thank you for your love, your joy, your guidance, your wisdom, and your smile.

We hope your every day is wonderful, especially today. May ALLAH bless you ALWAYS.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Mungkin?

2007-05-05T11:06:00.000+08:00

Shaken To The Bones

2007-05-02T21:58:00.000+08:00

Pycno is finally back, alhamdulillah, after a long journey that has taken me to my favourite haunt up north, then to Kelantan. And now I'm back in KL. Arrived around 3 o' clock in the afternoon.

To be honest, Pycno extended invitations to the rest of the family, but nobody wanted to tag along. So you see, I'm always revealing myself! Pycno may appear to be lovable in cyberspace, but not to his loved ones in real life; so much so that they don't want to follow him even on holiday. So DITH, there's no need for the raised eyebrows. My solo holidays are actually a win-win situation for them and also for me.

I'm the kind of person who when around, I just can't pretend not seeing, or not knowing things which are happening around me. Case taken into example - waking up the household every morning. But even when I'm not around, I will still hold onto my 'reign of terror' (as described by my children). You can ask Bea, even when I was away in Penang, how many times did I SMS her in the mornings, just to check up on her whether she has woken up the children and performed their Subuh prayers or not.

Ayyo. Pycno really needs to learn to let go. I remember one of the entries written by DITH - the one about having an almost empty nest now. Why is it that I am not feeling as sad as her? Maybe when my nest is empty, only then do I no longer need those solo excursions to retain my sanity.

One thing I want to share with you about my trip to Penang this time around, is about the public transport on the island. If you ask me, Penang is only second to Kuala Lumpur. But why is it that I get the feeling that public transport there is comparable to India? Not that I've been to India, but perhaps Ayumi can enlighten us on this.

Now you just have a look at this:

Do you notice how the door is tied to the pole using a piece of rope?

I used to think that it was just my luck to get all the bone shaking buses. But as my recent trip proved, all of the buses serving Penang Island are very much capable of rattling your bones (Unfortunately, Pycno's bones aren't that young anymore. Does that mean I have to start taking Anelene Gold too?)

Now, Penang is a favourite with tourists; and just like Pycno, foreign visitors would also like to really get the feel of being a Malaysian, and not just show photos to their friends back in the UK. I wonder then, how do they feel when they board a bus to reach their destination - and I'm not only talking the feeling in their hearts, but also in their bones. Can you imagine the picture where those bone shakers go for the emergency brake? Not a pretty sight I can assure you.

Now you may be asking "If you have all those complaints, why not just take a taxi?". The reason is because I like using public transport. Even here in KL, I will always use the buses and the LRTs. So, every time I read about complaints by angry commuters in the newspapers, I can empathise with them. How I wish our big menteris try to board a packed LRT early in the mornings, or better still, try to stand directly under the sweaty armpits of a fat salesperson in a packed bus that hasn't been moving since the past 30 minutes, all the while being treated to the aroma of some cheap imitation perfume mixed with the piercing bodily odours from the rest of the passengers. Then you can tell us whether we are still 'almost there' as a developed nation.

I noticed this eatery at the Sungai Nibong bus terminal:

I guess that that the chef must absolutely love adding garlic and lots of ginger to his dishes. So much so that he's even inviting the customers to F**T disini as a show of appreciation.

Note: That was just a personal joke. Perhaps in Arabic, the name has a beautiful meaning. But to a person like me, I couldn't help but find it amusing, to say the least. Of course, I did not take my meal there, for I did not wish to show my appreciation through that way. Not in a cafeteria at least. Sorry for the blurred image. My son told me that I had forgotten to turn on the flash.

From Penang, I took another bus to Kota Bharu. Due to the long weekend, all the seats in the usual buses were already taken. So, I had to settle for a 'bas tambahan'. I was assured by the person selling the tickets that I'd be getting a comfortable 'bas persiaran'. However, that was not the case. Just like its cousins in Penang, this bus was also a bone shaker. Frankly speaking , I'm amazed it managed to arrive in one piece. Sure, the air conditioning was cold - something like winter in Coventry I suppose. But that does not really matter. So long as it took me safely to my destination to see my mother.

Just to share with readers here: the bad news is that the house is still not completed since the workers shifted their work to my brother-in-law's house, which is due for a wedding in June. So, kita mengalah dahulu lah. The good news is that the lower floor is done, and ready for occupation. In fact, my mother has moved back from my sister's house into that new room. I promise to post a picture once the whole thing is finished and painted nicely. As of now, there's not much difference between the interior and the exterior, except that the roof is now there, and the walls have been plastered.

I suppose it was because of my tales about the bus from hell that one of my favourite nieces offered her car for me to go back to KL. How nice! Can you believe it, I left my mother's house at 4 in the morning, and had my breakfast of nasi dagang at Kuala Terengganu, bought keropok lekor along the way, and even lemang at Kijal.The children absolutely loved the lemang, which I also gave some to my neighbours.

So Ikelah and DITH, I actually drove past Kuantan, Cherating and Gebeng, some time around noon. Of course I remembered all of you, but the idea of stopping all by myself was not a comfortable one. So when I read that comment from DITH about when are we going to go to TC, I quickly told Bea that we have to find time to visit you. But how do we go about doing that without bothering you? So, if you promise only to accept us when you are truly free, then we will come and drop by. If not, the most that we'll do is stroll along barefooted, with big straw hats and big shades, walking leisurely incognito on the beach behind (or is it in front of?) your house.

This is an entry written without much thought as I'm feeling a bit under the weather. I've always told you that I need a holiday after my holiday. Ni pun dah rasa seram sejuk dah. I think I'll go and cover myself now, if you'll excuse me.

Belum Tentu Berapa Hari dan Berapa Malam

2007-04-25T21:15:00.000+08:00

I know many cannot stand this song, not because that it's not a beautiful melody, but simply because a certain 'Malaysian sweetheart' happens to like it so much, just before her wedding day for reasons only known to her. Even Bea cannot stand listening to this tune. But fair and non-partisan Pycno will never allow emotions to rule his decision.

I've always loved this song, and it does not matter who else happens to like it too. Even if it is the worst of my enemies, I'll at least give that person credit for having the same good taste in music. So Bea, much as I can understand the reason why you cannot be listening and admiring this song so much loved by Malaysian's sweetheart, I still feel that you should not allow your emotions to rule your judgement, unless you honestly despise it. The song I mean.

So to keep it safe, I'm not dedicating this song to anybody else other than myself. Thank you :)

P.s. I'm going away for a short holiday to Penang and Kota Bharu, Kelantan. I'll be back at the end of next week. I know Yoshi that you'll be going to Cameron Highlands. Maybe I should drop by to meet you on my way to Penang? *wink*wink*

Tak apalah. Cukuplah kita berjumpa di Langkawi dulu, ye?

A True story about Racism

2007-04-19T10:18:00.000+08:00

The following scene took place on a BA flight between

Johannesburg and London.

This is a true story.

A White woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a Black man.
Obviously disturbed by this, she called the air Hostess.

"Madam, what is the matter," the Hostess asked.

"You obviously do not see it then?" she responded.

"You placed me next to a Black man.

I do not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group.

Give me an alternative seat."

"Be calm please, " the Hostess replied.

"Almost all the places on this flight are taken.

I will go to see if another seat is available."

The Hostess went away and then came back a few minutes later.

"Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats

in the Economy class.

I spoke to the Captain and he informed me that there is

also no seats in the Business class.

All the same, we still have one seat in the First class."

Before the woman could say anything, the Hostess continued:

"It is not usual for our company to permit someone from

the Economy class to sit in the First class.

However, given the circumstances,

the Captain feels that it would be scandalous to make

someone sit next to someone so disgusting."

She turned to the Black guy, and said,

"Therefore, Sir,

if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage,

a seat awaits you in First class."

At that moment, the other passengers who were shocked by

what they had just witnessed stood up and applauded.

If you are against Racism, please send this message to all your
friends.

Don't matter......

2007-04-19T06:00:00.000+08:00

I'm posting this simple, yet beautiful and meaningful lyrics to assist Mynn and my Elvis to sing along. To the "muda dan semakin remaja" bloggers, you can also do the UB 40's moves to get the feel of the rythmn. And, I'm also dedicating Akon's song to Hiyoshi, who will be celebrating his 21st birthday today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY to you. Dah daftar mengundi?? And more importantly, dah ada calon untuk di undi??? ;)

"Don't Matter"

Konvict Konvict
Oh
Ohoohwooe
Oooh
Ooohhwooe

Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Cause we gon' fight
Oh yes we gon' fight
Believe we gon' fight
We gon' fight
Fight for our right to love yeah
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you

Nobody wanna see us together
Nobody thought we'd last forever
I feel I'm hopin' and prayin'
Things between us don't get better
Men steady comin' after you
Women steady comin' after me
Seem like everybody wanna go for self
And don't wanna respect boundaries
Tellin' you all those lies
Just to get on your side
But I must admit there was a couple secrets
I held inside
But just know that I tried
To always apologize
And I'ma have you first always in my heart
To keep you satisfied

Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Cause we gon' fight
Oh yes we gon' fight
Believe we gon' fight
We gon' fight
Fight for our right to love yeah
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you

Got every right to wanna leave
Got every right to wanna go
Got every right to hit the road
And never talk to me no more
You don't even have to call
Even check for me at all
Because the way I been actin' lately
Has been off the wall
Especially toward you
Puttin' girls before you
And they watchin' everything I been doin'
Just to hurt you
Most of it just ain't you
Ain't true
And they won't show you
How much of a queen you are to me
And why I love you baby

Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Cause we gon' fight
Oh yes we gon' fight
Believe we gon' fight
We gon' fight
Fight for our right to love yeah
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you

Oh oh oh oh oh
Cause I got you
Cause I got you
Ooooh
Cause I got you babe
Cause I got you

Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Cause we gon' fight
Oh yes we gon' fight
Believe we gon' fight
We gon' fight
Fight for our right to love yeah
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you babe
Cause we gon' fight
Oh yes we gon' fight
Believe we gon' fight
We gon' fight
Fight for our right to love yeah
Nobody wanna see us together
But it don't matter no
Cause I got you

Terlalu Istimewa

2007-03-24T11:40:00.001+08:00

It's that time of year again when I'm very, very busy with work (what else?) - not to say that I'm not around, reading and leaving comments wherever appropriate *wink*

Just to remind everyone that I'm still in business, the above video clip is dedicated to all the special people in my life. In more ways than one, you have touched my life and I will never be the same man again, ever.

Sesungguhnya kalian semua terlalu istimewa dalam hidup pycno....

Of Needles and Squirrels

2007-03-10T23:43:00.000+08:00

When Ikelah tagged me, I was a bit stunned. Honestly, what kind of weird things would a man of my age have left inside of me? But anyway, since he's such a good friend, I don't mind scavenging my 'box of memories' in search of perhaps some of the more crazy things I might have done as a young adult.

Note to family members: IF you happen to come across this, don't think of it as an opportunity to take personal swipes at me. You are not allowed to do so, so long as I'm the first to rise in the household.

One more thing: I do hope that I'm not revealing myself too much by telling you all these things.

1. I am, what you could call, a regular visitor of the gents. This however, has nothing to do with a lack of control over my bladder. Instead, it is an attribute of my water drinking habit. I drink a lot of water - something common with the Chinese - to the extent that I will make several trips to the loo in a day. My children have in the past, nicknamed me "The Pee-man". Now you know the real meaning behind the nickname Pycno - which is pronounced as Pee-no, mind you, or...should I change it to Pee-yes now? :)

2. As much as I frequent the toilet, I floss my teeth even more frequently. In fact, I can floss more than I brush. This would be a habit that I picked up during my days as a student overseas. So Mynn, I do hope you'll join me in a floss fiesta once you come back.

3. I suppose you already know how much I love to shop for clothes. However, what you don't know is that, when I like a particular article of clothing, I will buy several 'copies' of it - in different colours.

4. I am afraid of needles. In fact, I avoid them as one would avoid the plague. I hold so much terror in my heart for the thing, that when I was going for my hajj, I tried convincing the doctor in charge of my check up to skip the poking bit of the process. Thank goodness, I managed to pull it off. Ha'ah kan? What reason did I give to him? I've forgotten already.

5. I'm an old faithful - though this hardly counts as weird since I know of several other people who are also the same.

6. I have this unusual compulsion to hide the things that I've bought - and clothes would be right at the top of the list. In the end, I forget where I've hidden them. Bea calls me a squirrel for this trait of mine. Well, at least the next time we want to hold a treasure hunt, we needn't go to the woods or parks. It'd be enough just to hunt down all my past purchases scattered around the house.

So, how about that? Go on ikelah...have a good laugh. After all, laughter is always the BEST medicine. I hope my list of eccentricities would be therapeutic. Take care and ....semoga cepat sembuh. ;)

Back In Bangkok...Hmm, Takde Tempat Lain Ke?

2007-03-10T14:25:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum and hello everybody. Sorry for keeping quiet for the last couple of weeks. I've been too busy and have actually been away out of the country. When Drroza was complaining how expensive it was to buy tickets for Mohamad's trip to London despite the recent MAS fair, boy, don't I know about that for I just bought tickets for myself, Bea and Elvis. I did not tell about it since our good friend was in hospital recently, and I don't think it was appropriate for me to be talking about merry making with everyone else feeling rather sober. However, the tickets had been bought, and plans had been made and so when the time came, I could no longer postpone it.

Yes, it was a belated anniversary gift for Bea. Not for Elvis though, even if I did have to bring him along (and have him missing school for a week). Yes, I was back in Bangkok for one whole week. Told you I'm an old faithful. If I like a place, then I'll go over and over again.

The weather was very hot - in the range of 3o to 35 degrees. Thankfully, it wasn't much of a sight seeing trip, more of like a really relaxing getaway, with lots of makan-makan to boot. Can you believe it that we spent most of our time at the shopping complexes? Not to say that we shopped extensively as we didn't carry that much cash with us. Maklumlah, rumah belum siap lagi. To be honest, with the current condition of the house, I felt a bit guilty to be going for a holiday. But both of us have been busy, and Bea has been very kind and helpful. Even my children were very supportive and thought that we deserve the break. Surprisingly, none of them whined, asking to tag along. Besides, my eldest has his exams sometime next month, my second will be sitting for his finals starting today, and my only daughter is also busy preparing for her SPM this year. Number 4 is so busy and so into rugby right now, and of course, the little Elvis; I just can't let him out of my sight even for a second.

Well, here are some pictures that I'd like to share with you. Just in case you would like to plan your own Bangkok getaway :))

I thought this was a good guide for tourists when hailing cabs.

This was at one of the Sky Train stations. Over there, they have security guards to ensure the safety of passengers. Definitely something we can learn.

The Thais are very creative. Can you see? Sugar cane being sold in the peeled form, just waiting to be chewed.

This Ferris Wheel was at Suan Lun Night Market. Elvis enjoyed himself very much riding it.

Meet Rahoo, the demon who according to myth, had something to do with the lunar eclipse. He was one of the characters at the Joe Louis Thai Traditional Puppet Theatre.

Well, you see how popular Elvis is. Here, he - or rather, his forehead - is flanked by two very pretty Thai girls.

At the Calypso Cabaret, Evis met another of his fans - Dan from Michigan.

Even on the way back at the departure hall, this Thai boy insisted to have his picture taken with Elvis (or was it the other way round?)

Another one of Elvis' antics - posing next to the Three Headed Dragon

p.s. I know that I've been tagged by Ikelah, however, I'm not quite in the right frame of mind yet to be telling weird things about myself. I promise to work on that once I'm back to normal. It's good to know that you are on the road to recovery, Ikelah. Still on leave? Take care my friend.

Tentang Rumah Yang Belum Siap, Majlis Pertunangan dan Singa Yang Menjelma

2007-02-20T09:44:00.000+08:00

Sudah lebih sebulan berlalu, dan rasa nya telah terlalu lama saya menghilangkan diri dari alam cyber. Walau pun ‘malas’ telah saya jadikan sebagai alasan sebelum ini, namun itu bukan sesungguhnya alasan yang sebenarnya. Sibuk tu, memang lah sibuk juga. Tapi, siapa pula, terutama sekali yang tinggal di ibu kota ini, yang tidak sibuk, ya?

Selama sebulan lebih yang telah berlalu, banyak sekali yang telah berlaku. Ada yang boleh saya berkongsi dengan rakan-rakan di sini, ada yang tidak boleh, dan ada juga yang saya sendiri tidak tahu cara untuk berkongsi. Entah bagaimana, tetapi tiba-tiba terasa perkataan dan ungkapan samada dalam Bahasa Inggeris mahupun Bahasa Ibunda sudah tidak cukup untuk menggambarkan segala apa yang di rasa dan di lalui. Sementelah pula, saya sedari bahawa penguasaan bahasa saya tidak lah begitu baik, ditambah cacatkan lagi oleh kurangnya latihan yang di buat.

Walau apa pun, biarlah kita berbicara tentang perkara-perkara yang boleh dan sanggup saya kongsikan bersama dengan anda di sini. Yang selebihnya, mungkin ada rakan lain yang akan menyentuh dan memperkatakan tentang nya, atau juga, suatu hari nanti, saya mungkin akan diberikan ilham serta kekuatan untuk menulis mengenainya.

Saya pernah memberitahu pada Aidil Fitri yang lalu, bahawa saya sedang membaiki rumah yang di diami oleh ibu saya di kampung. Pada masa itu harapan saya, ianya dapat disiapkan pada Hari Raya Korban. Betul sebagaimana dijangkakan oleh DITH….memang ianya belum lagi siap. Mungkin lepas ini DITH boleh menilik bila pula saya akan mendapat kenaikan gaji? Bergurau sahaja. Lebih baik saya bertanya kepada bos saya (Aha! Adakah itu bermakna pycno makan gaji? Jeng jeng jeng….)

Bagaimanapun, beginilah rupa rumah itu sekarang. Lebih baik daripada dulu, tidak begitu?

Seperti jangkaan drroza, beginilah rupa rumah ibu saya yang belum siap. Seperti sebuah kubu pertahanan Belanda.

Salah satu sudut di dalam bilik ibu saya

Inilah rupa siling berhias di dalam. Saya sukakan motif yang ringkas sahaja

Adakah para pembaca sekalian masih mengingati Arwah Pakcik Lan dan Mak Nab? Semalam, anak bongsu mereka melangsungkan pertunangan dengan seorang jejaka pilihan hatinya. Memandangkan ibu bapanya sudah tiada, maka kakak sulungnya, Fuzainee yang mengaturkan segala persiapan untuk acara istimewa itu. Saya berasa sangat gembira menghadiri upacara pertunangan tersebut kerana dapat berjumpa dengan ramai sanak saudara saya yang berasal dari sebelah Johor.

Dan walaupun saya tidak melafazkannya di majlis tersebut, namun saya pasti sekiranya arwah Pakcik Lan dan Mak Nab masih ada, mereka tentu akan merasa terlalu gembira dengan pertunangan anak bongsu mereka itu. Saya dapat bayangkan Pakcik Lan dan jenaka-jenakanya yang sentiasa menghiburkan hati para hadirin, manakala Mak Nab pula tentu sekali akan sibuk membuat kerja sambil berceloteh bersama para wanita di dapur.

Kepada Nur Hafizah Mazlan, ucapan TAHNIAH dari Abang Pycno.....(itu lah nama Abang di alam cyber ini). Beritahu awal-awal ye bila nak kenduri nanti. Kami semua nak pergi ke Johor beramai-ramai untuk memeriahkan majlis dan bertemu sanak saudara di sana.

P/S: Dan baru sebentar tadi, rumah jiran kami di kunjungi dua ekor Singa. Saya mengambil kesempatan untuk mengucapkan Selamat Tahun Baru. Semoga di tahun "Baby" ini, kita semua akan mendapat kebaikan dan kesejahteraan

Sang Singa mencari-cari ang pau

Seperti mahu berkelahi pula mereka berdua ini. Agaknya yang satu mendapat ang pau lebih?

Only the best wishes for a good friend...on her special day!!

2007-02-18T05:34:00.000+08:00

From Bea and Pycno:

Happy Birthday Roza, our very good friend
To us you are heaven sent
We’ve never known a brighter spirit
With all good thoughts and deeds of merit

A kinder person we’ve rarely known
Your friendship true and love you’ve shown
So today our special friend
With all our love we do send

Special bouquets of all God’s flowers
Filled with prayers with all His powers
To keep you safe throughout your days
And strength no matter what comes your way

Be strong my friend, and may Allah always be with you

...zzzzz........

2007-01-13T01:05:00.000+08:00

I'm just lazy to post anything for now. Lazy to leave any comments and lazy to even think. I'm lazy to even finish this sentence.........zzzzzzzzzz........

White flag.....I surrender.

Cinta.

2006-12-16T00:29:00.000+08:00

Sungguh pun Pycno suka menonton, tidak lah pula gemar Pycno mengheboh-hebohkan cerita apa yang telah ditonton atau bakal ditonton. Bukan nya apa....Pycno sendiri tidak bangga dengan hobi ini, malah sedar dan malu dengan diri sendiri. Ingin sekali saya mencari sebab dan alasan untuk membawa bersama anak atau isteri untuk menonton bersama. Setidak-tidaknya kalau terserempak dengan orang yang mengenali Pycno di pawagam, senang saja saya memberikan alasan bahawa Pycno sebenarnya di 'paksa' anak atau isteri untuk menemani mereka menonton, walaupun hakikat adalah sebaliknya.

Paling saya gemar ialah menonton sendirian di pawagam yang tidak ramai penonton, atau lebih baik lagi, langsung tidak ada orang yang menonton selain dari Pycno. Apa lagi kalau cerita nya bagus, dapatlah saya menghayati cerita sepenuhnya tanpa gangguan orang disebelah yang mengunyah bertih jagung atau menghirup coke atau pepsi, siap dengan kesan bunyi nya sekali. Pycno juga tidak sabar dengan orang yang menerima panggilan dari telefon bimbit mereka sewaktu menonton. Demikian juga dengan pasangan yang bukan sebenarnya berhajat untuk datang menonton, tapi sebaliknya lebih berminat untuk berlakon didalam panggung. Gelagat-gelagat yang kurang sihat inilah menyebabkan Pycno tidak berapa gemar untuk membawa anak-anak bersama. Mujurlah juga anak-anak saya sendiri tidak pula gemar menonton.

Namun begitu, kalaulah anda kelapangan, pergilah menonton filem CINTA. Bawalah anak dan pasangan anda bersama. Ada pengajaran untuk semua. Saya telah membawa Bea dan anak-anak menonton semalam, dan kami semua bersetuju ini adalah satu-satu nya filem Melayu yang baik sekali. Kalau sudah menyaksikan filem itu nanti, berikan apa pendapat anda mengenainya.

Selamat menonton...

P/S: Untuk menyenangkan Mama Sarah menyanyi bersama, saya sertakan lirik lagu dari UNGU. Mama sarah hanya dibenarkan menyanyi bersama, BUKAN me'nyumbangkan' lagu tersebut, ya!! ;)

Tercipta Untukku

menatap indahnya senyuman diwajahmu
membuat ku terdiam dan terpaku
mengerti akan hadirnya cinta terindah
saat kau peluk mesra tubuhku

banyak kata
yang tak mampu kuungkapkan
kepada dirimu

Chorus:
aku ingin engkau slalu
hadir dan temani aku
disetiap langkah
yang meyakiniku
kau tercipta untukku
sepanjang hidupku

aku ingin engkau slalu
hadir dan temani aku
disetiap langkah
yang meyakiniku
kau tercipta untukku
meski waktu akan mampu
memanggil seluruh ragaku
ku ingin kau tau
kuslalu milikmu
yang mencintaimu
sepanjang hidupku

aku ingin engkau slalu
hadir dan temani aku
disetiap langkah
yang meyakiniku
kau tercipta untukku
meski waktu akan mampu
memanggil seluruh ragaku
ku ingin kau tau
kuslalu milikmu
yang mencintaimu

Papa Bear

2006-11-25T08:37:00.000+08:00

I was scratching my head wondering where my profile picture had gone to when my eldest son came around and casually provided the answer. Since he was so kind in explaining why my picture had mysteriously disappeared, I also asked him to find a new picture for me. I thought I almost heard a snort of disgruntlement from him

Anyway, this picture really depicts me. On more than one occasion I've found myself falling asleep in my chair while reading the daily newspaper, or any other reading material for that matter. Somehow or rather, even Bea and Elvis also ask me to go sleep in the room. The problem is, when I want to go sleep, I can't. So I end up sleeping on the chair in the end. Kadang-kadang sampai sakit leher dibuatnya.

Just a short, short entry. To relieve the sakit mata from reading too much ;)

Apa khabar semua?

2006-11-24T05:40:00.001+08:00

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder as part of the soundtrack to the 1984 film The Woman in Red. The midtempo ballad expresses how simply calling someone to tell them you love them can make even the most unremarkable day of your life magical. It's one of Wonder's most simplistic, sweetly melodic and sentimental songs, and, with its quintessentially mid-80s synthesizers and drum machines, is a far cry from his more organic and experimental 1970s material. For those reasons it was savaged by critics upon its release. However, the public were seduced by its simple charms, making it easily Wonder's most successful single to date.

The song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13, 1984 and also became Wonder's first UK number-one hit, staying at the top for 6 weeks. It also won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Song."

The extract above is from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I'm pretty sure though that DITH and Ikelah would be so familiar with the lyrics and the simple tune. In fact that was also our (Bea and me) special song. It was as if Stevie Wonder knew what was going on and had specially written those lyrics when Bea was so busy 'kelip-kelip mata kat Pycno tidak berapa lama dahulu'....he...he.... ;)

I am still very busy at the moment. This short entry is just to say that I love you....ALL of you.

And to Bea, Pycno sayang kamu!! Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.

On Pause Mode..........

2006-11-13T21:44:00.000+08:00

I will not be making any new entries for the next three or four weeks. Which is funny, because that seems to be what I have been doing all along. But at least before this, the thought of posting something was there. However, in these coming weeks, I won't even have the capacity to think of writing a new entry as I will be too busy to do so. But this is some relaxing music to accompany those who happen to drop by. Just ease into your chair and loosen up. Light up a scented candle for some added aromatherapy. Pour yourself some sparkling fruit juice and close your eyes as the music takes over.

Music has always been a very important part of me. For all you know, we might just be listening to and enjoying the relaxing music together :)

Enjoy.......

Satu Hari di Hari Raya.....

2006-11-07T00:44:00.000+08:00

Perubahan pada lagu yang mengiringi entri ini hanyalah sekadar menandakan kejayaan Pycno yang baru sahaja menamatkan 'puasa 6'. Syukur Alhamdulillah. Walaupun rancangan pada awalnya ialah untuk memulakan puasa enam hari di bulan Syawal, sehari selepas Hari Raya Aidil Fitri yang lalu, Pycno hanya berjaya memulakan misi pada hari Isnin yang lalu. Itu pun Pycno tidak dapat melaksanakan nya secara berterusan. Maklum saja lah, bila sudah mula bekerja, ada-ada saja cabaran nya, samada dalam bentuk jamuan yang diadakan di pejabat, atau jemputan rumah terbuka yang di adakan. Tidak kurang juga cobaan dan dugaan dalam bentuk kueh-mueh yang masih ada di rumah, di tambah pula dengan ahli keluarga yang semuanya belum lagi memulakan puasa 6 lagi.

Sebenarnya Bea kurang sihat sejak seminggu yang lalu, batuk dan demam. Alhamdulillah beliau sudah kembali pulih, bahkan sudah memulakan berpuasa hari ini. Jadi sempat juga lah kami berbuka puasa bersama-sama petang tadi. (Bagi Bea puasa hari pertama) Pada kebiasaan nya, Bea yang lebih awal menamatkan puasa 6 nya, tapi kali ini Pycno yang berjaya mengatasi nya. Sebagai merayakan kejayaan, selepas menghantar Elvis ke pusat tuisyen 8 malam tadi, Pycno bawa dan belanja Bea makan di Kopitiam Old Town, di cawangan terbaru mereka di Alpha Angle, Wangsa Maju. Kami minum kopi susu, dan makan roti bakar disapu kaya dan mentega, dan telur masak separuh. Makanan nya 'simple' sekali, tapi suasana di situ mengembalikan ingatan kepada zaman 60an dan awal 70an. Terkenang Pycno betapa seronoknya minum di kedai kopi sebegitu bersama arwah Ayah dulu. Kalau lah Ayah masih ada, pasti Pycno membawa nya untuk minum bersama-sama lagi, tapi apakan daya...

Sebagai merayakan kejayaan menamatkan puasa 6 ini juga, InsyaAllah Pycno bercadang untuk membawa Bea dan Elvis bercuti 3 hari 2 malam. InsyaAllah, kami akan ke Pulau Pinang pada hari Rabu ini. Bea sebenarnya agak keberatan untuk pergi sebab katanya, beliau baru sahaja memulakan puasa Syawal nya. Tapi Pycno memujuknya dan berjanji akan memberikan sokongan moral agar puasa nya tidak akan terjejas, bahkan ini juga memberi peluang baik bagi Bea untuk berbuka puasa dengan nasi kandar di Penang nanti.

Okay lah, kalau rajin Pycno akan menulis lagi di Penang nanti. Kalau tidak, dengar dan nikmati serta hayati lah lirik puitis dari M. Nasir dalam lagu ini...

Satu hari di Hari Raya

Ku lihat cahaya bersinar indah

Langit cemerlang tak terkira

Tanda kuasa yang Maha Esa

Memberi nikmat pada manusia

Satu hari di Hari Raya

Ku dengar irama yang sungguh indah

Ku coba mendekati padanya

Kira irama itu adalah

Suara pujian pada yang Esa

Satu hari di Hari Raya

Aku menangis tanda gembira

Aku menangis tanda ku cinta kepadaNya

Satu hari di Hari Raya

Ku lihat wajah suci ibuku

Ku lihat wajah kasih ayahku

Ku gembira

Mungkin inilah dia kebahagiaan

Bila Takbir Bergema

2006-10-27T14:46:00.000+08:00

What a journey…

Yes, it was. It was on Saturday afternoon – after Asar, to be exact – that I decided to 'balik kampong'. Initially, the journey back was promising even when you take into consideration the mamak who virtually slaughtered us with his pricey (and may I add, unpalatable) curry at a restaurant in a quaint, small town three hours away from Kuala Lumpur. Yes, that was where we broke our fast. But that did not dampen our festive spirit. In fact, my Elvis was singing non-stop his latest craze, a song entitled “But It’s Better If You Do So” by Panic! At The Disco. Musical bands today have such funny names, wouldn’t you agree?

It was only when we reached the next town, that the nightmare began. As we were ascending the steep hills, traffic was at almost a standstill. I had frightening thoughts that probably an accident had occurred ahead of us. Thankfully, it was only a very heavy lorry in the way. Still……

So how was my Raya?

It wasn’t so much of the celebration, neither the place nor the food. Instead, it was more of spending time together with my aged mother. Raya this time around was all about her. In fact, I was hardly moving around, going out. I wasn't even going around visiting my relatives. Time was not only short, but also precious to me and the children. It was more of me staying at home and reminding my children to go sit down and make small talk with their grandmother.

What made me feel so proud was when Bea and my only daughter helped my mother to 'mandi sunat Eidulfitri'. My old mother was so touched by this gesture of kindness that she couldn’t help but cry. In fact, she cries a lot now. When we salam, kiss and hug her on Raya morning, tears roll down her cheeks. Deep down inside, I know that they are tears of happiness. And I am the kind of person that can’t help but feel choked with emotion everytime I see another person crying. As she was being bathed, my mother asked Bea whether she (Bea) had the opportunity to do the same thing with her own mother. Bea replied that she did not have that chance. You see, my mother-in-law suffered for only a brief period before passing away due to cervical cancer, which was only discovered at a very late stage.

That simple episode, to me, was a chance for Bea to do something which she never got to do with her own mother. And for my own mother, it was an opportunity for her to see another side of her daughter-in-law which she has never seen before this.

I’ve told you that I am now helping to repair my mother’s house to make it more comfortable for her. As a result, she is at present staying with my eldest sister, whose house is just a couple of houses away. I was hoping that the renovation work would be complete before Raya, but it turned out that progress was a bit slow. This is how the repaired house looks like, as of now. What do you think? Can it be ready by Raya Haji?

Raya pics

Mama Sarah and Mynn were asking for my Raya pictures, but unfortunately, the only pictures that I can share with readers here would be the one above and the one below. So, to both Mynn and Mama Sarah, can I present you with a bouquet instead?

Sorry Mynn and Mama Sarah. You see, if Pycno shows himself, then he will have to stop blogging. You wouldn’t want that, would you? Both DITH and Ikelah already know the reason to this because we’ve already met in person. But believe me Mynn, as a ‘celebrity’, I am quite sure that you’ve seen me around. Try looking back in all the entertainment magazines that you possess, or you can either go to the World Wide Web. I’m really, really sure that you must have seen me once or twice without realizing that it was me. Here’s a tip for you: Wikipedia hehehehe……Sorry, just kidding Mynn. But don’t worry. I’ll reveal my true self when the time is right.

Lastly, much as I’ve reminded DITH to start on Puasa 6 as soon as possible, I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t started with my own. But I’ll get to it. I promise. Let’s have a challenge to see who’ll finish first, shall we?

Selamat Hari Raya everyone :)

And Finally...A Ramadhan/Syawal Entry

2006-10-21T01:48:00.000+08:00

Jangan Raya lagi, we’re still in Ramadhan…

Just a couple more days of Ramadhan left. A good friend of mine sent me a message at the beginning of the fasting month, reminding that this may just be the last Ramadhan of our lives. It was somewhat a shock treatment to me. But when the message finally sank in, how true it can be. And sometimes, we take for granted our Ramadhans, and then Raya comes by and we have fun. And then another year goes by, and by the time we realize it, the fasting month has once again arrive at our doorsteps. And so the cycle continues. Just goes on to show how we take things for granted; our loved ones, our fasting, and indeed, our lives too sometimes. But what if, this year really was the last Ramadhan that we get to celebrate? Hmm…..

Balik Kampung

I have not yet decided when exactly to begin the long journey back home. As of now, I am still waiting for the masses to finish with their ‘exodus’ (the news predicted that these two days would see a massive convoy going back to their respective kampungs). To those who decide to drive this Raya, please do take care. It was only just tonight, as I was fetching my eldest son did I witness an accident along the Genting-Klang road. Send shivers down my spine, it did; and I don’t think that the driver survived, judging from how bad the state of the vehicle was in. I don’t enjoy driving, especially long distances. If I had my way, balik kampong should be either before or after everybody has gone back. But mental images of my aged mother waiting in anticipation for our return push away any thoughts of procrastination. Just as I am happy now that all my children are back home, I am sure that my mother too would be happy to see us arrive at her doorstep.

Baju Raya

I once wrote that in my younger days, Raya was quite full of suspense since I would be always asking “Will there be a Baju Raya for me this year?” This is not so with my children since they already know that they will get Baju Raya. Instead, the question that they frequently ask would be “What colour is our theme this year?” It has been for many years now that I try to have the family members wear different shades of the same colour. I am tempted to tell you what colour we’re wearing this year, but I think I’ll keep that as a surprise. Who knows? Maybe you will get to see....hmmmm……..

Kuih Raya

Pycnogenol has not made any kuih raya since…dinosaur ages, I would say. We have always been busy and friends have always been so kind hearted to give us their kuih raya. Of course, as a saving grace, I do also buy my own kuih, to bring back to the kampung. Kak Zah (if you remember her) has given up on asking me whether the kuih that I bring back are bought or made, as she already knows the answer – and so do you, I think. What is your favourite kuih raya?

Raya gatherings.

Last year has got to be one of the more memorable Rayas for me since it was the Raya where I had the opportunity to meet a number of good friends. And even now, I am still smiling as I remember the looks on both ikelah and drroza‘s face when they finally found out who pycnogenol really was *wink* They were so surprised that they managed to forget about asking for an autograph. Not forgetting, nurelhuda and her lovely children. It was such a joy to finally meet all these wonderful people in person. Of course, it was only this year that I was able to meet sofi, sarah, habibah and solehah. But the same facial expression was painted on all of their faces – especially solehah and habibah ;) Actually, all this talk about raya gathering is just to tease mynn and mama sarah. So mynn, if you want to have a personal raya gathering with pycnogenol, do tell my ‘secretary’ earlier – three months in advance would be just nice. And do bring along that DSLR of yours. You wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity of taking pictures with me, would you?

Selamat Hari Raya

As much as pycnogenol likes to make jokes and pull the legs of others, I always remind myself not to go too far. But as a human being, I may be unaware of the mistakes that I have made. So to those who may have felt a bit disturbed by my banter, do forgive me. It wasn’t intended to be malicious; just to lighten up the festive spirit. So guys, Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin dari pycno, bea and anak-anak.

p.s. you will realize that there’s a raya song accompanying this entry. Thanks go to sofi for her help. I know that you’ve sent me the instructions a long time ago, but it was only after my eldest son came back today, did I manage to make the thing work (Yes, I am that bad with technology).

Food for thought

Some people misunderstand the meaning of exchanging ‘salam’ and seeking for forgiveness during Raya, or any other day for that matter. I have given this some serious thought and am I right to say that: Forgiveness is a gift that you can give anyone - the dead, the dangerous or even The Big Creep, your enemy - at any time, without strings. And such a gift may be the healthiest thing you can do for yourself. Reconciliation, however, is not always possible or even desirable. For example, you can forgive someone who has battered you, but your safety requires that you keep away. Or you may forgive a compulsive gambler, but never loan them money. So forgiveness is always a good first step, but the next step, reconciliation, takes careful consideration because it takes two.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.......

2006-09-30T07:21:00.000+08:00

My Elvis had a good laugh watching this clip after Subuh tadi. Enjoy...

May the blessings of Allah shower on you...

2006-09-22T05:59:00.000+08:00

As the crescent moon is sighted, and the holy month of Ramadhan begins....

May the blessings of Allah shower on you...

A few more shots...

2006-09-11T21:08:00.000+08:00

I’ve wanted to properly update my entry and continue with my tales of Thailand, but last week I was so busy conducting workshop to train colleagues at my work place. Not only that, my third son, who is in a boarding school in Kajang got his left middle finger slammed by the door (caused by the wind) at the mosque in his school.

The nail which was causing excruciating pain to him has to be pulled out. As a result, I had to take him home and the whole of last week he had to be taken to the clinic almost every day for dressing. He is now back in school, but I still have to visit him every other day to send him for dressing. Luckily the school is only in Kajang which is only half an hour’s drive away from home.

To continue with my tale, one of the places I visited in Bangkok was Jim Thompson’s house. This intriguing American came to Bangkok in 1945 and three years later, founded the Thai Silk Company before setting about the mammoth task of dismantling six teak houses from other parts of Thailand and reassembling them in their current location.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photos inside the house itself.

Another classic northern-style teak house that I saw was Baan Kamthieng which was originally constructed in Chiang Mai more than 200 years ago and donated to Siam Society by its owners and reconstructed right in the middle of the city of Bangkok.

Displayed are items traditionally used by Thai farmers and fishermen. Unfortunately again, we were not allowed to take any photographs inside the house itself. A very large variety of Thai flora and fauna can be seen in the garden of the house. The following is just a sample:

Both Jim Thompson’s house and Baan Kamthieng is open daily, except Sunday and Monday from 9:00 A.M.-12 noon and 1 P.M. - 5 P.M. An admission fee of 100 Baht, is charged to help maintain the property and grounds. It is located on 131 Soi Asoke (Soi 21), Sukhumvit Road.

It is located on 131 Soi Asoke (Soi 21), Sukhumvit Road.

A Belated Anniversary Wish…..

2006-09-10T07:09:00.000+08:00

Dear Ikelah and DITH,
It’s wonderful to see love strengthen and grow through the ups and downs of life.
I only hope that ALL of us will find that kind of love, commitment and passion in our lives.

Happy Anniversary guys. I know now that you had your special 'makan-makan' at the Lemon Tree, so the above song is specially dedicated to you...Better late than never. ;)

Goodbye to you, my yellow brickroad........

2006-09-06T13:24:00.000+08:00

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

When are you gonna come down
When are you going to land
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man

You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you'll do then
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again

Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground

Tak kan naik 'sky train' aje...

2006-09-03T15:10:00.000+08:00

Besides the sky train, Bangkok offers an array of colourful taxis, a total of 9 colours we were told, and they are all mostly Toyota cars.

Bangkok taxis all have meters and thus would be a good way to travel around. They bear the legend 'Taxi Meter' on the roof. The price starts at 35 bahts (about Rm3.50) for the first two kilometres and approximately 5 bahts per kilometre thereafter.
(The ladies would look pretty in pink taxis)
There is no need to tip although it is appreciated. To call a taxi phone 02 319 9911 and will cost 20 bahts extra. Make sure the meter is switched on as you move off. If the driver refuses, leave that taxi.
(A metallic saga-red taxi)

For long distance destinations such as the airport the price can be negotiated but it is normally cheaper to use the meter.

(Tuk-tuks in a row)

Tuk-tuks (that’s the correct spelling, Ayumi) are those charismatic little three-wheelers with a padded bench for two in the semi-open rear. They are two-stroke vehicles, named for the sound made by their engines, which belch out at high volume noxious fumes to pollute even further a city already swimming in carbon monoxide. Fares in tuk-tuks are negotiable, which is not to be misinterpreted as meaning that they are cheap. I remember once taking the tuk-tuk back to my hotel, and I was charged 50 bahts, whereas when I took a metered taxi, I had to only pay 350 bahts for the same distance.

Since customers seem to prefer the comfort and fixed fares of metered taxis these days, it has become even harder to bargain for a reasonable price in a tuk-tuk. The shortest journeys will cost about Bt30, and that will cover only about two kilometres. In general they are no cheaper than metered taxis, although more colourful. If using one, be careful with possessions. Since the rear is only partially enclosed, anything on the extremity of the seat is vulnerable to the hand of a passing motor-cyclist, for example.

Much as a ride on the tuk-tuk is an experience not to be missed in Thailand and much as you would also enjoy taking a ride in all those colourful, wonderful metered-taxis, for Pycno, it was nothing less than this to take him round Bangkok in style….he…he…..

(Oh yes, keep on dreaming Pycno....)

A Thai Song to spice up my Thai entry...

2006-09-01T15:34:00.000+08:00

Bangkok Part 1 (reason why I was on pause mode)

2006-08-31T22:46:00.000+08:00

Bangkok is hot and humid this time of the year. Yes Mama Sarah, that was what Bea presented me with for my last birthday - a holiday in Bangkok!! She knew that I had such a great time the last time we were there, and that was December last year. We had such a wonderful holiday with the whole family (except for my eldest), in Bangkok last year and I have not stopped talking about it. Bea must have sensed that I wanted to go to Bangkok again, and that would have also been a good opportunity for me to take my eldest son with me for a holiday cum bonding session. Unfortunately that was not to be, for my son had to be back in College for some programme.

Ah well…you guys would know me by now. I don’t really need company to have a good time all by myself. In fact my entry of Saturday, August 19^th, was to mentally prepare readers of my blog for what’s coming in this entry. Yes, I was all myself holidaying in Bangkok for one whole week!!

(That was my hotel in Bangkok)

Grand Tower Inn Rama IV is situated on prime location with easy access to major business and shopping areas. Visitors can take full advantage of easy access to the expressway with Rama VI exits both northbound andsouthbound nearby. In addition, BTS sky train (Saphan Khwai Station) is within a few minutes walking distance.

I find travelling by BTS sky train so convenient.

They have bigger and more spacious trains.

I bought myself the unlimited day-travel ticket, and that will take me to any of the following destinations:

(For a mere 100 bahts, you can travel to any of the above destinations the whole day long)

On Sunday, 20^th August, Chatuchuk market was my first destination.

This has to be any serious shoppers’ priority itinerary in Bangkok. It was so hot, and I sweated so much, but it was okay because it was so much fun, and I got so many great deals. This market is indescribable - you really can't understand the enormity of it until you see it yourself. Essentially, it's just a bunch of stalls that you can find good deals at (if you know how to bargain), but really it was so much more because you shop with the locals. It isn't like shopping at the souvenir stalls on the street. I expected to see many more tourists at the market, but really, the locals seemed to outnumber us by far. You will see things that are so odd and quite hilarious and unexpected. I’m not going into the details of that. My advice: Try to arrive fairly early - it'll be less busy and slightly cooler; Drink lots of water; Don't be afraid to bargain, but if that's not your thing, you'll still get a reasonable deal. Believe me,you’ll have lots of fun!

(To be continued...)

Happy Birthday Bea...

2006-08-28T00:57:00.000+08:00

A True Love Is The Only Rose Without A Thorn

Thank You For Being Everything I Could Ever Want. You've Filled My Life With Joy. I Am So Glad You're A Part Of My Life…..

Happy Birthday Bea…..

Dont Worry....Be HAPPY !!

2006-08-19T00:39:00.000+08:00

"If I do not want what you want, please do not try to tell me that my want is wrong.

Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.

Or if my emotion is less than yours, or more, given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly.

Or yet if I act, or fail to act, in the manner of your design for action, let me be.

I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will come only when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you.

I may be your spouse, your parent, your offspring, your friend, or your colleague. If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right – for me. To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated and disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness. And in understanding me you might come to prize my differences from you, and, far from seeking to change me, preserve and even nurture those differences.”

I was so moved by the extract above, taken from an old book as I was browsing at the Pay Less Book at their Amcorp Mall branch, yesterday. You guessed it right. I just have to buy the book entitled: Please Understand Me, a book about character and temperament types, written by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates and I am reading it right now.

In my last entry, I gave you a list of the things which made me happy. And if you remember, I put “I’m going to be very VERY happy end of next week. Don’t ask me why cos I’m not telling you” as the last point on the agenda. Yes, I did. If you don’t believe me, you can look back.

Well, it’s already nearing the end of the week and I’m starting to get giddy with the feeling of joy. Don’t ask me why cause I’m still not telling you. However, I will let you in on this much: I will be on pause mode for a week *wink*wink*

In the mean time, please ponder on the extract above and tell me what you think of it. I will be so busy and so HAPPY till end of the month.

Till then, have a happy week everybody!

Happiness is....

2006-08-08T13:07:00.000+08:00

Hiyoshi in his latest gloomy entry appears to be so doomed. I am not going to allow the contents of a pessimist’s entry affect my happiness. I chose to be happy and there are so many reasons for me to be happy. I am happy because:

1. I’m attending a short course in Port Dickson this Thursday 10th – 12th August 2006.
2. This is Rejab. Soon, it’ll be Shaaban and wonderful, wonderful Ramadhan. Let us fast and be happy.
3. My children may not believe this, but I am happy and so proud of them.
4. I’m surrounded by many good friends. You guys made me SO happy.
5. I’m fit and taking good care of my health…tak boroi, and that makes me happy too.
6. True that I am busy, but I’m not bored. Happiness is having something to do, kan?
7. I’ve expressed my anger and unhappiness to someone yesterday. He/she may not be happy now. So what? I am happy. I got that out of my chest, and I told him/her politely. If he/she can take it in the positive spirit, he/she can be happy too.
8. And, I’m going to be very VERY happy end of next week. Don’t ask me why cos I’m not telling you. ;)

So Hiyoshi, unhappy, pessimistic people tend to believe that they are a toy of fate, whilst happy people are characterized by the belief that they are able to control their situation and destiny. YOU pick your choice!!

Care to share with me your happiness?

P/S: BTW, happiness is also seeing Mama Sarah’s parading ‘bilis’ on her plate of Nasi Lemak..hehe...

<>Happiness Story: Why do so many of us delay happiness

>We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get
>married, have a baby, then another.

Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.
After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.
We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.
The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.
If not now, when?
Your life will always be filled with challenges.
It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said,

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.
But there was always some obstacle in the way, Something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid.
Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my "life".
This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness.
Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you finish school,
until you go back to school,
until you lose ten pounds,
until you gain ten pounds,
until you have kids,
until your kids leave the house,
until you start work,
until you retire,
until you get married,
until you get divorced,
until Friday night, until Sunday morning,
until you get a new car or home,
until your car or home is paid off,
until spring,
until summer,
until fall,
until winter,
until you are off welfare,
until the first or fifteenth,
until your song comes on,
until you've had a drink,
until you've sobered up,
until you die,
until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Author Unknown

Fresh from the cauldron…

2006-08-06T20:11:00.000+08:00

Thanks to my blogger friends, I’m 'forced' to come up with an entry. Much as this may be fresh from the cauldron, it was hurriedly prepared. Oh wait….there’s not much preparation really. I’m simply tapping away on the keyboard, hoping that I will get some inspiration as I go along.

Now let’s see what I have been up to the last couple of weeks. There was no dreaming, nor were there nightmares disrupting my sleep. Thank God!! No birthday parties either, (except kenakelayan’s birthday brash we had over cyber space). Otherwise, I’ve not been invited to any parties, not even to a Tupperwear party….huhu….that’s how popular I have been. I’ve been doing some kite-flying though, which is unavoidable, really. The little kite that we still have with us can be a real challenge at times. Other than that, there have been a series of meetings. One of such meetings was held on Friday, 4th August 2006.

That particular meeting was held at the PDRM College, Jalan Cheras. It is the first time I had a meeting there. My, the place is pretty impressive. We had to first climb this flight of grand staircase. Once in there, we were greeted by some police personnel who gave us the salute. To be honest, I don’t know how or what I should do when given this kind of salute. Usually, I will just nod and smile back to acknowledge. That may not be the right or proper etiquette, but somehow I can never bring myself to salute back.

The meeting was not only well attended, but there was also a good presentation and I must admit I was quite enlightened with all the explanation. Mind you, I just hate it when meetings are long winded, with many people eager to speak, but ended up not making much sense. Not this meeting. It was not too short, nor too long. Well chaired by the Commandant of the College, and members invited were all perfect gentlemen, Pycno including…ehem…ehem…Now wait, Bea attended the meeting too. Apa kerja si Bea and Pycno ni ye? Keep guessing folks…..(Ikelah and DITH, keep smiling)

After the meeting, we were invited to an early lunch (that being a Friday, and many of us had to rush for our Friday prayers). Now, just before lunch, a gentlemen with greyish-balding hair came to greet me and ask if I am Tun/Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Encik so-and-so, and if I can still recognise and remember him? I was stunned, and for a moment I was lost for words and was so embarrassed. There he was, this man, who remembered me from my London days ages ago, and he used to call me ABANG then. And I swear to you that you would pardon me had I called him Abang now. Mujur lah Pycno tak tersasul and ask him, apa nama Abang ye? In terms of age, I know that he is much younger than me, but I realised that he can no longer bring himself to call me by that title. I was cursing myself for not remembering his name, up till this very second I’m typing this entry. You think I should ask him at our next meeting? Tapi segan lah…our relationship was such that I’ve been to his place in London and had spent nights there and all, just as he had been to mine. How can I not remember his name?????? (See Mynn, your awet muda secret recipe can be a curse in this case ;)

All in all, that was one of the best lunches I’ve had for a long, long time. The food served was simple. Ikan Bawal Goreng Berlada, Sayur Kobis Cina, Sweet-Sour Big-Fresh Prawns, Chicken Curry, Soup Ekor and Plain Rice. Dessert was Fresh local fruits and plain Kopi-O.

However, meeting that long-lost-‘brother’-friend of mine was like finding a jewel that you thought you’ve lost forever. Even Bea said that he seemed a nice man. Now, I’m looking forward to our next meeting, which we will be hosting. I sure hope that we’ll be able to serve a decent lunch. More importantly though, I have to remember his name by then. I cannot keep calling him brother, much as he has been a dear brother to me, a long, long time ago and still is.

For now, I’m still scratching my itchy-less, non balding head in search of the name of that goody-baldy friend of mine…..Haiyya……HELP ME!!!!

Am I still single?

2006-08-03T16:43:00.000+08:00

I came across this simple quotation:

... No man is truly married - Until he understands
Every word his wife is NOT saying ...

Can that possibly be the common trait in women????? (yes Hiyoshi, I'm referring to your latest entry).........i.e. NOT saying, and and then expect us, MEN to understand your silence?

If that is the case, then I'm still SINGLE......;)

p/s: Before anyone here jumps to ANY conclusion, I'm still on speaking terms with Bea, though she does give me the silent treatment from time to time. :(

An all-time favourite of mine....

2006-08-01T16:16:00.000+08:00

Thank you so much mama Sarah.

2006-07-25T04:54:00.000+08:00

Save the Best for Last ....

2006-07-24T21:17:00.000+08:00

Sometimes the snow comes down in June
sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon
I see the passion in your eyes
sometimes It's all a big surprise
'cause there was a time when all I did was wish
you'd tell me this was love
It's not the way I hoped or how I planned
but some how it's enough
and now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
just when I thought our chance had passed
you go and save the best for last
all of the nights you came to me
when some silly girl had set you free
you wondered how you'd make it through
I wondered what was wrong with you
'cause how could you give your love to someone else
and share your dreams with me
sometimes the very thing you're looking for
is the one thing you can't see
but now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
just when I thought our chance had passed
you'd go and save the best for last
sometimes the very thing you're looking for
is the one thing you can't see
sometimes the snow comes down in june
sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon
just when I thought our chance had passed
you'd go and save the best for last
you went and saved the best for last

P/s: And...can you guess to who I'm dedicating this song to?

2006-07-21T21:43:00.000+08:00

Today is my birthday. Since I started blogging a couple of years ago, I always try to have an entry, and in all of my birthday entries, I always try to reveal just a little bit more of myself. For those who came to the Hari Raya gathering, they would know who Pycno is by now, but they were ALL made to take the Lord Baden Powell’s oath never to reveal Pycno’s identity, for reasons already made known to them. My good friends, you too will all get to know me sooner or later. It’s just that, for now, I still am not prepared to reveal my true identity in blog land. In short, Pycno lebih senang mengenali anda semua di alam nyata, bukan di alam maya. Di alam cyber ini, biarlah Pycno terus ber -RAHSIA……………………….

Having said that, I’m pretty sure you already know me from reading some, if not all of my entries and my comments too, at some of your sites. This year, let me share with you some of my traits that I’ve extracted from a couple of sites describing about people born under this star sign CANCER, and that is me. ;)

“CANCER is the fourth sign of the zodiac and is ruled by the Moon. CANCER is the most sensitive sign and is the strongest of the water signs. The changes in the Moon, CANCERS ruling planet, affect them at every moment of their life. Like the Moon and like the force of water, they can exert an amazing yet undetectable power over others. The Moon via Water combo can be likened to the shifting tides of the oceans. Like the tides, CANCER is the sign of powerful forces moving under the surface. That surface, however, is quite difficult to penetrate, for CANCERIANS tend to build up an elaborate array of defenses to hide their deep feelings and extreme sensitivity.

CANCERS are easily hurt by the slights of others. These are very complex people, sometimes appearing extremely strong and at other times to be as vulnerable as a child. Very few people ever really understand CANCERS; therefore they never receive the necessary understanding from others. CANCERS individuals are intelligent, organized, generous, and tenacious. CANCERS needs constant support and encouragement. They want desperately to be loved and approved of but resent needing approval so badly. When they get what they need, they give the best they have in return. When a CANCER really care for someone there is nothing anyone can say about that person that will make the least bit of difference. People may pour their hearts out to a CANCER, but the flow never goes in the other direction. They guard their secrets well.

CANCER'S symbol, the crab, has a hard outer shell that protects soft, vulnerable flesh underneath. The same is true of CANCERIANS, who are often crusty, gruff and grumpy, but possess a proverbial heart of gold. Beneath their tough exterior they are a sentimental softy who will make any sacrifice for someone in need. CANCERS are devoted to family and home and continue to believe in the old fashioned idea that marriage is forever, even if the events of their own life contradict this. It is hard to deceive a CANCER, for they can spot the tiniest subtle variations of behavior. In fact, they are almost psychic in their intuitions. A photographic memory added to intense powers of observation makes them extremely cautious about divining other people's inner motivations.

If channeled in the right direction, the CANCERS enormous sensitivity can be a great source of strength. Once they overcome their touchiness and master their turbulent emotions, their intellect and imagination enable them to become a success in almost anything they undertake.

The CANCER lover is extremely romantic and passionate people. They enjoy all the traditional rituals of wooing and winning a sweetheart and usually opt for marriage or a long-term relationship. They make loyal mates and will champion their spouse's career and expect the same in return. These individuals are intensely attuned to the needs and wants of their partner; they are exceptionally sensitive lovers. A CANCERIAN never gets enough love and approval; they always need more. It is very easy to fall in love with this loyal, devoted, affectionate, and protective Moonchild.

The CANCER friend with their gentle and caring spirit, CANCERIANS are the ones to whom others turn with problems, worries and life choice concerns. Despite their ability to support and nurture their pals, they do not make friends easily. This may be because they take friendship seriously and don't bother to indulge in superficial associations. They are often shy people who wait for friendships to develop instead of actively pursuing them. In general, CANCER likes friends who will support his or her emotional and financial needs when necessary and CANCER will reciprocate.

At another site, CANCER has been described as:

In the Sign of Cancer the heavens are developing the feeling side of things. This is what a true Cancerian is all about - feelings. Where Aries will tend to err on the side of action, Taurus on the side of inaction and Gemini on the side of thought, Cancer will tend to err on the side of feeling.
Cancerians tend to mistrust logic. Perhaps rightfully so. For them it is not enough for an argument or a project to be logical - it must feel right as well. If it is does not feel right a Cancerian will reject it or chafe against it. The phrase 'follow your heart' could have been coined by a Cancerian, because it describes exactly the Cancerian attitude to life.
The power to feel is a more direct - more immediate - method of knowing than thinking is. Thinking is indirect. Thinking about a thing never touches a thing itself. Feeling is a faculty that touches directly the thing or issue in question. We actually experience it. Emotional feeling is almost like another sense which humans possess - a psychic sense. Since the realities that we come in contact with during our lifetime are often painful and even destructive, it is not surprising that the Cancerian chooses to erect barriers - a shell - to protect his or her vulnerable, sensitive nature. To a Cancerian this is only common sense.
If Cancerians are in the presense of people they do not know, or find themselves in a hostile environment, up goes the shell and they feel protected. Other people often complain about this, but one must question these other people's motives. Why does this shell disturb them? Is it perhaps because they would like to sting, and feel frustrated that they cannot? If your intentions are honourable and you are patient, have no fear. The shell will open up and you will be accepted as part of the Cancerian's circle of family and friends.
Thought-processes are generally analytic and dissociating. In order to think clearly we must make distinctions, comparisons and the like. But feeling is unifying and integrative.
To think clearly about something you have to distnace yourself from it. To feel something you must get close to it. Once a Cancerian has accepted you as a friend he or she will hang on. You have to be really bad to lose the friendship of a Cancerian. If you are related to Cancerians they will never let you go no matter what you do. They will always try to maintain some kind of connection even in the most extreme circumstanses.

Finance
The Cancer-born has a deep sense of what other people feel about things and why they feel as they do. This faculty is a great asset in the workplace and in the business world. Of course it is also idispensable in raising a family and building a home, but it also has its uses in business. Cancerians often attain great wealth in a family type of business. Even if the business is not a family operation, they will treat it as one. If the Cancerian works for somebody else, then the boss is the parental figure and the co-workers are brothers and sisters. If a Cancerian is the boss, then all the workers are his or her children.Cancerians like the feeling of being providers for others. They enjoy knowing that others derive their sustenance because of what they do. It is another form of nurturing.
With Leo on their Solar 2nd House (of Money) cusp, Cancerians are often lucky speculators, especially with residental property or hotels and restaurants. Resort hotels and nightclubs are also profitable for the Cancerian. Waterside propeties allure them. Though they are basically conventional people, they sometimes like to earn their livelihood in glamorous ways.
The Sun, Cancer's Money Planet, represents an important financial message: in finacial matters Cancerians need to be less moody, more stable and fixed. They cannot allow their moods - which are here today and gone tomorrow - to get in the way of their business lives. They need to develop their self-esteem and feelings of self-worth if they are to realize their greatest financial potential.

Career and Public Image
Aries rules the 10th Solar House (of Career) cusp of Cancer, which indicates that Cancerians long to start their own business, to be more active publicly and politically and to be more independent. Family responsibilities and fear of hurting other people's feelings - or getting hurt themselves - often inhibit them from attaining these goals. However, this is what they want and long to do.
Cancerians like their bosses and leaders to act freely and to be a bit self-willed. They can deal with that in a superior. Cancerians expect their leaders to be fierce on their behalf.
When the Cancerians is in the position of boss he or she behaves very much like a 'warlord'. Of course the wars they wage are not egocentric but in defence of those under their care. If they lack some of this fighting instinct - independence and pioneering spirit - Cancerians will have extreme difficulty in attaining their highest career goals. They will be hampered in their attempts to lead others.
Since they are so parental, Cancerians like to work with children and make great educators and teachers.

Love and Relationships
Like Taurus, Cancer likes commited relatonships. Cancerians function best when the relationships is clearly defined and everyone knows his or her role. When they marry it is usually for life. They are extremely loyal to their beloved. The family is the ultimate end for them.
If you are in love with a Cancerian you must tread lightly on his or her feelings. It will take you a good deal of time to realize how deep and sensitive Cancerians can be. The smallest negativity upsets them. Your tone voice, your irritation, a look in your eye, an expression on your face can cause great distress for the Cancerian. Your slightest gesture is registered by them and reacted to. This can be hard to get used to, but stick by your love - Cancerians make great partners once you learn how to deal with them. Your Cancerian lover will react not so mich to what you say but to the way you are actually feeling at the moment.

Home and Domestic Life
This is where Cancerians really excell. The home environment and the family are their personal works of art. They strive to make things of beauty that will outlast them. Very often they succeded.
Cancerians feel very close to their family, their relatives and especially their mothers. These bonds last throughout their lives and mature as they grow older. They are very fond of those members of their family who become successful, and they are also quite attached to family heirlooms and mementos. Cancerians also love children and like to provide them with all the things they need and want. With their nurturing, feeling nature, Cancerians make very good parents - especially the Cancerian woman, who is the mother par excellence of the Zodiac.
As a parent the Cancerian's attitude is 'my children right or wrong'. Unconditional devotion is the order of the day. No matter what a family member does, the Cancerian will eventually forgive him or her, because 'you are, after all, family'. The preservation of the institution - the tradition - of the family is one of the Cancerian's main reasons for living. They have many lessons to teach others about it.
Being so family- orientated, the Cancerian's home is always clean, orderly and comfortable. They like old-fashioned furnishing but they also like to have all the modern comforts. Cancerians love to have family and friends over, to organize parties and to entertain at home - they make great hosts.

Honestly, I find the above description so very amazing. I could not have come up with a better description of the things that are close to my heart, the things that can make me happy and sad, things that I can tolerate and things that I just cannot stand.

Lastly, thank you all for the kind wishes. I’m still waiting for another son to come home. Guess celebration will have to be postponed till tomorrow. :(

A Bag of Mixed Thoughts

2006-07-16T09:34:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month since my last entry. I guess without me realising, I was on a pause mode (ikelah, penyakit berjangkit ke?). I've been very busy of late. That's an excuse really; if you want to do something, you'll always try to find time to do it anyway. But at least, I've been leaving comments, haven't I? :))

The reason for my busy-ness lately is because there have been a surge of new faces at the place where I work (if I work, that is). So, I've been entrusted to guide these newbies around their new surroundings. My second son is also a freshie at the matriculation center, and I really do hope that he's doing fine adjusting himself to the new environment. Of course, there would be the weekly visits to see my two children at the boarding school as well as keeping a watchful eye on my eldest son (belajar ke budak tu, atau apa dah dia buat?)

I was also back to visit my mother at the kampung. This, would of course, be my routine visit. It's difficult for her to come to Kuala Lumpur now, with her age. And now, every time I come back to visit her, she will always cry.

I thought of repairing her house, just to make it a bit more comfortable for her. Work is already on its way. So I guess for the next couple of months, my trips back to my kampung will more frequent.

Actually, with my age, it's tiring to be doing all of this. Not to say that I'm old, but still...with the amount of things I'm doing, I rather doubt it that anyone would still feel energetic if they were to step in my shoes. But I've been taking supplements and that really helps.

As you could figure out, the only child left staying with me and bea is the youngest "Elvis". I still send and fetch him from school, as well as the tuition center twice a week. With none of the children at home except for Elvis (fancy that, we're parents of that legendary American heart-throb!), bea has had more time to clean up the mess that is our home. But still, even the youngest one can surprisingly be good at messing things up, so bea's shrill at the little one can still be heard, eventhough the rest aren't at home.

There would be weekends where the elder brothers and sisters will come home - usually to do the laundry. Of course, during these rare occasions, bea would be inspired to cook. Somehow, it's just not appealing to her to cook for only three people in the house.

This *short* ranting of no significance whatsoever is due to the guilty feeling I'm holding inside for not having updated for so long. Okay, I'm going off now to see my boarding school children. We're going to have lunch together today and bea is already calling from downstairs. See you!

Tiga Hari Dua Malam (Tapi Kali Ini Berteman!)

2006-06-12T22:38:00.000+08:00

By the time you read this entry, I will already be on my way to Penang (yet again) for another 3 hari 2 malam. Before drroza gets choked on her supper or breakfast (depending on when you're reading this), let me tell you that I have my second son to accompany me on this trip.

It's all part of a new tradition I'm starting i.e. to take my children on a bonding-trip before they leave home for university. My second son will be leaving home soon to join Matriculation early in July, so I thought it would be in the best of interest of both him and me to go on a trip together. Just to spend some father-son quality time.

I also did the same with my first son. In his case, I took him to Langkawi (yes, that island which Hiyoshi visited recently). Together with the both of us was my son's good friend. However, there will be no other persons besides my second son and I this time around as he is not too sociable. Also, he's rather close to me compared to the first. So, on this trip to Penang, it'll be just the two of us.

What will I do with him once we're there? Oh, there'll be the usual sessions of nasihat - to be independent, self-reliant, not to go looking for girlfriends yet, taking care of his actions and words.

Next in line will be my daughter - my Kak Baby. I have reminded Bea that she will have to go on that bonding trip with her. Bea has expressed interest in Johore. Perhaps I will also be there to keep a watchful eye on my beloved wife and only daughter hahahaha....

On another note, I'm feeling rather sad as on Sunday, I had sent my daughter and son back to boarding school. Soon, it will be time to send the first back to his place. Then, the only people left in the house will be myself, Bea and the youngest. It's going to be really quiet....

p.s. By the way Hiyoshi, you might want to listen to the music that I've put up at my Xanga bungalow.

It's the 8th of June....

2006-06-08T07:36:00.000+08:00

Today is my secretary’s birthday. Unlike most bosses out there, I have a male secretary. Now, don’t you start questioning my orientation. My secretary has been with me for a good 18 years. Told you that I’m an old faithful kind of guy. So with someone who has been with me for this long a time, and been faithful all along, it’s just fair that I keep him with me, right?

He is a very polite, quite good looking young man. He has also been more than a secretary to me. Being a male, it’s easy for him to be my good friend. In fact, he has been the one who I can take with me to movies; otherwise you know that I prefer to watch movies alone. That’s how close I am to him. I even buy him clothes on Hari Raya and his birthday.

As with most secretaries, mine also has his faults. Happy go lucky he may be, but this attribute of his can be nerve wrecking and sometimes Bea cannot stand him leaving things to the last minute. So, at times when I want to see things done and I want him to use his full potential, he can be quite a letdown. However, I can’t be angry with him for too long. He is really a charming lad.

A few weeks back, I had entrusted my secretary to pick up my youngest son from tuition class since I was busy attending to other matters. But guess what happened? My secretary grazed my vehicle against another car. Yes. And he took it for a long scratch. In the end, I had to fork out one thousand ringgit to pay for the other person’s damaged car. And I’ve not even sent my own car for repairs yet. I can’t hope for my secretary to pay the total sum, what with his meagre pay. I suppose this is what you could call the burden of being boss.

Even so, I must say that I’m really proud of him now as he will be furthering his studies in law. I always knew that he had it in him, so you can imagine my joy when he told me that he had gained admission into the law programme of one of our local universities. Even though I will be losing a very much trusted secretary, it’s okay. To him, I wish nothing but all the best. Here’s to a brighter future to you, dear secretary!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you. I want you to always remember that:

You are very special
and you deserve the best.
I wish you a wonderful life
filled with love and happiness.
I hope others bring you joy,
just as you've brought joy to me,
then you can weather any storm
and be all you want to be.

Did I or did I not….meet Hiyoshi?

2006-06-05T12:37:00.000+08:00

The above title is actually inspired by my non-inspiration over not having something to write about my Langkawi trip. Hiyoshi has intelligently left us all with a cliffhanger in his part 1. And I’m sure that everyone must have been clicking at his site (me included) from time to time, just to see whether he has posted his part 2. I must admit that he’s a better story-teller than me. So rather than be compared to him, let me choose another area of discussion.

I have been to Langkawi a number of times and there are so many places to visit there. But I always make it a point never to visit all those places of interest in one go (Idaman Suri and the other shopping areas being the exception, of course. And you know the reason for that, don’t you?) I know I promised to post an entry on my “makan-makan” in Langkawi. Unfortunately, food in Langkawi is nothing to shout about. Except for the chendol utara. I particularly like chendol from Utara because they have this authentic pandan flavour. I wish they would be more creative like the Kelantanese that not only add pulut and kacang to their chendol, but also tapai. Have you tried that? You must, if you have not. It’s just heavenly; simply out of this world.

My trip to Langkawi this time around has been more of a relaxed kind of vacation. It’s more of me having the luxury of lazing around; even going to the gym and the sauna at the resort. That makes me feel good, although I don’t really think I’ve been successful in shedding the inches off my waist. Perhaps even adding them, due to the sinful chocolates (Yes, blame it on the chocolates!).

The other reason is because I wasn’t feeling too well, even before going for the trip. I accidentally swallowed a small fishbone whilst having an asam laksa meal at Amcorp Mall prior to Langkawi. And it so happens that this was one little fishbone that that got stuck and refused to dissolve away. So, I brought along my uncomfortable tonsil to my holiday destination. Unluckily for me, it turned out worse (I developed a slight fever) and that forced me to the clinic on my final night in Langakwi. True enough, the doctor prescribed antibiotics – Cephalexin. I still have another six tablets to finish. So now you know, why this late entry. Besides that, my youngest also developed a slight fever, and I had to attend a wedding in KL upon arrival. Aduh sibuknya bila dah tua-tua ni, ye? Walaupun hati senantiasa rasa muda :))

So, back to the title; did I or did I not meet Hiyoshi? I don’t want to spoil Hiyoshi’s cliffhanger. Let him finish with his life lessons. I’m just posting this entry because I felt that I owe it to everybody here since I already told them that I’d be going on this Island trip.

Don’t you get this feeling that when you’re just back from holiday, you need to go for another one? Another solo tiga hari dua malam, perhaps? Now drroza, don’t you go nagging me hehehehe….

Yes, I'll Be Driving (title inspired by drroza's question)

2006-05-27T11:12:00.000+08:00

I will be driving up north early tomorrow morning. You may be asking how early is early. To me, early is really, literally early (very much to the disgust of my children, including bea). I don't care. I'm an early bird and I like to wake up before the sun rises. I like to start the journey before Subuh, therefore morning prayers will be at one of the RnR along the way.

There are a number of reasons why I like travelling in the morning. The first is, I don't have to sweat for almost half the journey. Secondly, the kids can also have a restful sleep - which they normally do - on the vehicle. Besides that, you also get the luxury of having breakfast in a strange new land. Now, this can either work to the advantage or against me. It all depends on luck actually. Thankfuly, I'm able to say that I've had more hits than misses. The next reason why I like to travel early is because I can drive in a relaxed manner. I don't have to rush and I won't feel guilty to stop at the roadside stalls to buy the wares offered. One such place is Bidor where there are fresh guavas. It's such a joy to be munching away on the juicy fruit with their "cholek".

The other thing is that I get to arrive early at my destination. And that is always a good thing. Just like drroza and ikelah who managed to get an early ride to Redang recently ;) It's good to reach destinations like Langkawi early, for there are still things to be settled like getting a car for hire.

I still haven't decided whether to take the ferry or speedboat at Kuala Perlis or Kuala Kedah. But most probably it'll be Kuala Perlis. The number of times I've been to Langkawi, it has always been Kuala Perlis. And remember, I'm an old faithful (now I'm starting to feel guilty about abandoning my Xanga blog. Just to make myself feel better, I'll try to post up an entry about the trip on my previous blog)...InsyaAllah.

Things that I like to do whilst driving: I like to sing to my favourite tunes over Light and Easy (itulah Ayumi, I want you to include me in your karaoke list. I sure can put you to shame with my karaoke skills!) Other than that, I also like to reminisce about the past. Somehow or rather, bea and I will always end up talking about the times we were all snuggling together in the living room of our basement apartment with our small children in Edinburgh. Can you imagine; in Edinburgh, in Autumn and Winter? So you can imagine about the many things I'll be talking with Bea during the long journey. Looking into the rear view mirror, I can't help but think about how the kids have grown up right before my eyes.

So, on long journeys like this, although I don't like driving for hours at end, these are the small redeeming qualities that make up for the torture of being behind the wheel.

Okay, I've got to start packing now. Care to remind me of the things that I shouldn't forget to bring along on this trip? (I have ways of enticing people to come and leave comments here) But make sure that the suggestions come quick for I have less than 24 hours before I'm off to Langkawi. So Hiyoshi, shopping areas would be the best place to meet me. Feel free to sms me. You still have my number don't you? I really hope to see you there. Tell me what you want for lunch or dinner and I'll belanja you makan. A promise is a promise :)))

p.s. I have to share this with you. We had breakfast outside this morning. On our way back, my two children from boarding school were teasing the youngest one about their place of birth. Below is a recollection of the dialogue (after translation):

Youngest: Eventhough you two were born overseas, I speak better English than you two!
The Girl: Eleh, tapi kitorang boleh cakap Arab. Bahasa Quran, bahasa di syurga.
Youngest: Ala...Tau jugak Bahasa Arab! Klau pandai, apa anta? Haa....Apa ana?
The Girl: Hahaha...Pandainya dia cakap Arab! Takutnya!!
The Boy (his elder brother): Ala...Klau pandai sangat, apa babi?
Youngest: Anta la!

I know I should have scolded him for that, but we all couldn't help but laugh out loud at his witty remark.

2006-05-25T10:54:00.000+08:00

This is my first posting. Everybody seems to be moving to blogspot, so I think I'd do the same. But I'm still keeping my old blog at xanga. Maybe I'll post up entries alternately. Maybe I'll post up Malay entries in one and English entries in another. Or maybe I won't be posting entries at all; just comments on my favourite sites. That has always been my favourite pastime.

The good thing about blogspot is that the pictures look stunning. But then again, that's probably because ikelah has been taking them. However, don't hope for a picture of myself in the future. I'm still keeping my identity to myself. Besides, ikelah and boogey have set the bar up high, so much so that I think I'd best just stick to writing entries. Even then, I'm still not that good a story-teller. That would be drroza. She has set the standard too high that I feel rather hesitant to post up entries of my own. Nanti rasa hambar pula. So drroza, if you've noticed I haven't put up any new posts lately, you're partly to blame! Many a times have I written something, only to read it back and find it to be 'tasteless'.

But the main reason I set up this account is because of the pop-up comment box. Whenever anybody wants to leave their comments, they can do so without having to leave the main page. And I find that really nice.

Still, I haven't decided whether to religiously post here as I have my xanga blog. I'm not the type of person who would simply leave an 'old faithful' friend just because I've found a new one. I have many fond memories with xanga as I got to know so many talented and intelligent people. Also, I got to see them grow up into budding adults. Afie, ayumi, crimsonskye, witchazel,
hiyoshi, inositol, iFos. And devoleb (yes, we have not forgotten about you, you lazy blogger!)

note: I'm not too sure whether inositol is a young blogger or not.

Do you realise that I used the word 'lazy' to describe devoleb? Well, that's only because I know her and am comfortable with her. For people who I'm not too familiar with, I wouldn't pull their leg like that because they have yet to accustomize themselves with me. That's why I believe that we should always be courteous to people who are new. We should only be funny with people whom we are comfortable with. Witty and funny jokes are welcomed, but caution should always be practised as to not offend the other party taking the joke.

Having said that, don't be hesitant to leave comments. I appreciate feedback on the things that I've written, be it in agreement or otherwise. Difference in opinions are the spices of life. But let's try to leave only nice comments, shall we?

Since this is a new blog, I'll keep it short :))))