Diari Doha - Solat

Datang ke acara UN betul2 membuka mata. Manusia dari seluruh pelusuk dunia datang ke satu tempat untuk membincangkan persoalan hari esok. Dalam kesibukan menghadiri acara, aku cuba sedaya upaya tidak meninggalkan solat.

Dan di sini kita lihat pelbagai macam gaya wanita Muslim menunaikan ibadah harian ini. So far, ada sekali kot aku nampak orang pakai telekung. itu pun belah atas jer. Orang lain, termasuk aku sendiri solat memakai pakaian harian yang insya-Allah cukup menutup aurat. kaki pakai setokin. hari tu setokin jarang pun aku solat jugak. Mak2 arab tu tak pakai setokin pun ... hari tu lengan baju agak pendek, saya cover dengan shawl.

Kekadang kita ni terlalu terikat pada 'syarat' dan peraturan sehingga yang wajib tu tak terbuat. Yang penting kita solat. Selalu tak kita dengar alasan - tempat tu kurang bersih, tak bawak telekung.... alasan sebenarnya. kalau kita betul2 nak solat, insya-Allah boleh.

Semoga kita akan kurangkan alasan dan lebihkan ibadah, insya-Allah :-) 

Travelogue: Colombo

Monday, 26^th November

Traveled to Doha, stopping in Colombo en route.

Left KL at 8.50 a.m. and arrived in Colombo at 9.45 a.m. or so. Took a tuk-tuk to town after several rounds of haggling and boarding the airport shuttle etc. The guy looked half dead with red-eyes and his bike was no better. But sharing with another guy, it cost me 630 rupees, which was about half the going rate and I really didn’t have the time to wait for buses etc. Arrived in Pettah Market which turned out to be a market district instead of a single building. Was denied entry to a masjid, (apparently ladies did not pray in public places), I wandered around and did not find anything worth buying. Ate some snacks at a corner shop with Coke and milk tea which turned out unacceptably too sweet. Asked around and was directed to another masjid in the area. Apparently the first one catered to Indian “bonos’, whatever that meant.

Found the people there very friendly and helpful. Communicating was easy since we all spoke some kind of English and I have like 3 crucial words of Tamil I learnt in Malaysia. The caretakers kindly spread a sejadah for me at a corner of the ground floor so I could pray in relative privacy. Afterwards, I bought some fruits outside and made my way back to the airport. I caught the 187 bus from the main road but it was really slow going as it’s a normal bus which stopped all along the way. At one point a priest (who looked exactly like the one on my flight from KL) came on board and the guy next to me stood up. I gave him a dirty look, daring him to sit next to me, but soon found MYSELF the focus of imploring looks from the public! Ooopss… Apparently, one was supposed to give up yr coveted seat for exalted priests of the land. Eeps.. my bad! Another aunty quickly offered me her seat instead, which I was reluctant to take at first, but eventually accepted upon learning that it was still some distance to the airport. After more than an hour in that rattletrap, I was praying for the bus to quickly get to the airport already so that I could enjoy the relative comfort of the waiting hall. 

Almost missed the stop, but managed to get down in time, and took a tuk2 to the departure gate. It’s normally 50 rupees but of course the guy insisted I pay the special price of 100 rupees. Since I did not have small change on me, I offered him a loose USD1 I had in my purse and he accepted. Changed out of my dusty t-shirt into a blouse and washed my face in the bathroom once I got to the airport. Immediately felt better! Bought some overpriced  tea at the shop and just sat around waiting for boarding. Yun and Julia joined me there, having come over from Colombo; they had overnighted in Kandy the previous day.

If the airport was deserted during arrival, it was PACKED for departure. There were so many people sending family members off, and there were numerous people from Nepal, Philippines and Indonesia heading towards Doha. The 747 towards Colombo was quite empty, but the Airbus 330-200 to Doha was filled to the gills. I sat next to an Indian guy who dared to challenge me at Sudoku, even though he just learnt to do it 5 minutes earlier.  Heh, typical Indian overconfident male! He lost.  Everyone slept after dinner.

Upon arrival in Doha, we took a cab to Ezdan Hotel where we were booked. Unfortunately the hotel messed up our booking and we ended up in a standard room with one king bed which dominated 95% of the floor space. I ended up sleeping on the floor but I didn’t care because I was so damned exhausted.

End of Day 1

No Sense or Lack of Attention?

Reading about the father who raped his own daughter and fathered her child, I felt so sad...

There has been too many cases of (mostly illegitimate) children being born and murdered to cover up the mistake. Too many girls give in to their boyfriends' wishes to 'prove their love'; and in the end, they are the ones to pay for their actions. Imagine young girls suffering in silence for 9 months to cover their pregnancy, giving birth on their own without any medical attention and sometimes driven to kill their own child out of despair.

There were teens who followed 'new friends' out late at night and got raped; what were they doing out at that hour? Where were the parents? Did they not have responsibilities or chores to do at home? Shouldn't they be in bed, or at least home by midnight?

In this particular case, the girl admitted to allowing the man to rape/have sex with her. Why?? A much older man, which in this case turned out to be her own biological father, and she actually ALLOWED him to do it. Are you so starved for attention/love that you would allow someone you hardly know to take you home and take advantage of you? She was only 14 at the time. Old enough for sexual experimentation, I suppose, but in a normal world, it would be someone around her age, a boyfriend. Why follow an unknown man and do stuff with him? It boggles the mind.

A possible explanation is desperation for love and attention. Her mother is divorced, probably struggling to make ends meet without getting any support from the ex-husband. Probably there was no time or effort to guide her child about normal relationships and sex. I wonder if there was any emphasis on religion. So the girl goes around, guided (or misguided) by what she learns from her friends and the media. Sex is love, love love love... and she does whatever feels good... She gets the attention she craves, and she is happy, for a time. Until hell breaks loose and she finds herself pregnant. Did she tell her mum? Did she get any help? It was said that she and the child received assistance at 2 shelter homes. She is at least trying to finish her schooling. Thank goodness for that.

What worries me is that many children these days do not see the consequences of their actions. The media promotes FUN FUN FUN. Responsible kids are BORING and NERDS. Many don't have a vision for the future or know what they should be doing to prepare for adulthood; and a common missing ingredient is parental guidance. Parents work long hours to make ends meet, or earn more money to afford STUFF. Stuff which are not always necessary. It could be an opportunity to become more responsible when parents are absent, but it is also an opportunity to misbehave. Lord knows we always did what we liked up until the time our parents were scheduled to come home!!

And sometimes parents behave badly too. I know people who poisons their kids' minds about their dad since they divorced. I saw a nice boy change into someone quite unpleasant when his dad started to fool with another woman. He became an angry young man, torn between loving his now inconsiderate dad and protecting his mom. He started smoking and skipping school to earn money. He openly writes about his anger and relationships on Facebook. It is a sad thing to see...

I know I often get frustrated when I think about the lack of guidance I had from my own parents. I believe we could have become better people but missed that chance. But at least they were decent role models, if not perfect, so at least we didn't end up doing stupid things with unknown men.

I feel sorry for these children, growing up with no guidance, with equally misguided parents.. what would happen to them in the future?

Wanna Win Scrabble? Brush up yr math!!

The other day I played a newbie. He was so bad, I actually offered him pointers... And you know what he asked? "You mean it's not just luck?" I almost fell off my chair laughing!! And yet, when I was a newbie, I thought Scrab was about showing off my 'impressive' vocabulary.... so i guess I have no business being too hard on him.

I can hardly believe it's been at least five years since I started playing Scrabble. Well, it started with Lexulous, which was basically online Scrabble. They got into trouble with the Scrabble owners and had to change their game. Scrab started to offer the official version, which I found enjoyable, so now I've completely got off Lex. Met a lot of nice people on Lex, though. Some of my 'friends' are actually my Lexulous/Scrabble buddies. People on Scrab are usually more competitive. Only the lechers try to chat you up. Most of the time, anyway.

One thing I learned was, learn to combine the high value tiles and premium locations. Double letter points, triple word scores, both at the same time... That's how you win - by honing your math. A good vocab won't hurt either, knowing the best letter combination is crucial.

Don't waste high value tiles like J, Q, X and Z. Try to put them on triple letter point spaces (the dark blue ones) and try to double that up. You know what I mean? make them earn points twice by putting a word on top of another so that the points are counted twice. it's helpful if you remember all the 2 letter words.

It's hard, but sometimes you can earn triple letter points AND double word points on top of that. Example: triple points on Q make it worth 30 points. Word points may be.. 35. Double that up and you get 70! Isn't that great?

Another way is to make a bingo. That means, use up all seven tiles on your rack. Not the same as making a 7 letter word, ok? If you manage to do that, you earn all the normal points, plus 50. and if you manage to place it on two triple word spots, yee ha!!

But luck is important too. there are days when you'll get the worst racks all the time - all vowels or no vowels; letters which cant make up a decent word... Otherwise, its mostly skill. blocking open spots, making sure you don't leave too many openings, stuff like that. there's quite a few tips on various websites about what to look out for.

Unfortunately, I'm a careless player. It's hard to win when I play people at a similar skill level. I try to stop after 2 games, because I tend to get tired and careless, or my luck just gets horribly bad. The other thing I often fail to do is to exchange bad tiles. Trying to use them up sometimes don't work. But sometimes... you exchange bad tiles for equally bad ones. urgh. So frustrating.

At the end of the day, it's a fun game, and a good, fair game is more important than winning.

Plans, plans, plans...

I'm  making a new resolution to be more positive and look forward instead of moaning all the time...

Just came back from FOS where I bought 1 pair of slacks for work, 1 seluar tidur and 2 casual tops for only RM101.20. Paid quite a bit for the bottoms, but I figure they're well worth the money. Saw some clothes which would be great for going round London/UK.

Am tightening the belt now, trying to pay off credit card AND save for my trip to see Uncle Bean. Hoping I can save enough to go go by spring, exploring workaway option so that I can stay for about a week in the Yorkshire Dales. Should be fun... :D

Oops.. was supposed to pay bills and stuff, not blog. hmm.. laters then. Ciao!!

Not Meant To Be..

Some things are just not meant to be. Registered for the Shape Night Run a couple months ago, but had to stop going to the gym due to work overload. Rugi tau, pay so much every month. The last I trained was in mid-May.

Was going to take part anyway, but last week totally forgot to pick up my race kit on Saturday. Sunday early morning dah push off to Kuantan... Emailed them mintak simpankan my kit, but had no response until late Thursday; which I did not see because the internet connection was so iffy at the hotel. Slept late because I stupidly removed the screw from my specs and had trouble putting in back in. I literally had a screw loose!! Drove home with a pin in my specs, ok. Not good.

Friday was driving home day, and by the time I went into the office I was so tired I didn't check my personal email. Today I was pretty off too. Actually tried to puasa ganti with no sahur and no Diamicron MR. Good luck with that! Lolled on the bed for a good half of the day until I decided I could not loll on the bed all day and went to eat/drink something. Anyway, good thing I bailed because for some strange reason my period came on early. Geez. Could have saved myself the trouble, right?

Ended up doing a bunch of useless stuff and only got online at night. Had to pay off my outstanding first so that the connection won't be jammed. i really need to fix the autobilling soon.

Anyway, it was late at night when I opened my personal email and saw the message that they would keep the kit and I could pick it up today itself. AARRGGGHHH... I really should have checked my mail earlier. But then I was so tired... I did, however ask Zainab to keep one set for me.

In any case, am I in any shape to run 5 km? With no training? Not even yoga for the past 2 months... Seriously, I like my job, but it takes up so much of my time!!I wish I could work faster so I could have a more balanced life. I haven't even watched Love Rain properly and have barely touched my Korean books. Luckily have managed to spend some time birding, so I did do something I like instead of working all the time. Even now I feel guilty for wanting to watch a movie or a drama instead of working.... Sigh.

I do enjoy travelling, but sometimes I do wish someone would accompany me, or that I had someone to come home to.... Watching Downton Abbey, I cried to see Mary pray for Mr Crawley's safety, and Anna's devotion to Mr Bates. I so understand how we pray for the men we love, even if they refuse to love us back, or just simply out of our reach. Maybe someday I would find someone who would love me as much as I love him. In the meantime, there's always work :P

Lazy vs tired

Feeling exhausted. keep conking out today. And I feel better after a date with the loo. Sorry, but it's the truth. Sometimes there's some toxic stuff in your system and you feel so much better after flushing it out. 

Forgot to pick up my race kit from the venue, hope I can persuade them to keep it for me... 

Have packed, but need to sort out papers and work on presentation. Leaving early tomorrow. Am feeling so left behind.... Ouch. Can I upgrade my brain, please? 

Sick of Being Sick...

Woke up with a sore mouth... the roof, to be exact, the part near the throat. Was feverish and couldn't get any work done until late when the fever abated... Sigh.. Being sick does throw a spanner in the works. I want antibiotics but worried some dumb doctor would make me go to the hospital again. I so don't have time for that ok? My workshop is in 2 weeks and there's a million details to sort out.

Was going to work on the Peer Learning report, at least transcribe my notes, what little I have, that is... I ended up in a sorry huddle either on bed or in front of the TV..

It seems to be some kind of infection, there's yellowish stuff coming out if I gargle. It's much better now, but I bet it's going to get worse tomorrow morning :( Probably should stop at the clinic before I go in to work. Hate meds, but at times like this, just give me the goddamn antibiotics, all right?

Addictions

Some people can't live without their cigarettes. Some let alcohol take over their lives. Others screw their lives with drugs. I screw my life with games.

Some games are addictive because they're repetitive and require almost no thinking skills. I can sit there for hours playing Bejeweled trying to reach a certain score or achieve a certain challenge. Blitz is worse because it 'only' takes 1 minute per game, that you keep going for another minute, and another, and another, until 3 hours have passed and you end up being zombified by the experience. Not to mention the amount of actual work that you could have accomplished in the meantime.

I find that the best way to stop the addiction is to cut off access to the abusive substance. I did that with Zombies and many other games I used to be addicted to. The problem is, it's too easy to find other things to be addicted to!

Recently it was Korean dramas. Ojakgyo was the worst because I couldn't stop wondering what would happen next. And there were so many cast that I spent too much time looking them up - to the detriment of my actual work. Sheez. Once Ojakgyo finished, I watched another series, which thankfully was short and not too addictive. I only spent too many hours trying to watch them all in one go. Scent of a Woman got me all overexcited and crazy. Now the craziness is petering out and it's easier to be in control. But God knows what will trigger the insanity yet again :(

I know for sure one thing lacking in my life is a close relationship. Nix is hardly online these days. I barely see the girls, and lately meeting up seems more of a bragging session than just having fun. I don't join a lot of MNS activities anymore and the WWF gang is all over the place already. I don't go to TSEA or MYCAT much. And the GEC people are not very fun loving. We did have a few nice dinners, but then you still have to deal with asinine stories and the lembu babi jabs. I understand, mister, just because I don't retaliate doesn't mean I'm a complete airhead.

Cutting off the anak ikan left a big void which was hard to fill. Graham is so far away and there's no one else on the horizon. All the people I met online didn't pan out and right now, I think I'm better off alone/with old friends rather than layaning some silly guy and wasting my time.

Kena sound brought another thing to my attention - I was 'blank' or stupefied not because I couldn't think, but because I was filling my mind with junk information, crowding out the small bits of relevant knowledge that are essential to my survival and growth... Instead of looking for the information that I needed, I was running away from the fact that I didn't know how to get something done properly. So, feeling like a total loser, I drowned my sorrows in distraction instead of learning something new..

So you know what needs to be done now, right? Hwaiting!!

Clarity

It's strange... now that I've recovered from last week's illness, I feel so much better than before. Perhaps it's true that sometimes you have an underlying condition that lays dormant so you seem OK, but actually your insides are pretty messed up. My sinuses could have clogged up my brains or something. I had been feeling off for quite some time, and the run in with the fish bone just made it worse. Muscles were really tight and I had digestion problems.The massage I had must have loosened the knot, and later the yoga pose allowed the blood to break through and suffuse my brain... Being ill wasn't much fun, I was miserable for more than a week! Even now I still have a bit of residual mucous and my sinuses isn't properly balanced, it hurts if I bend over, feels like blood rushing to my upper right quarter of the brain. Ouch!!

Bought a neti pot from Serina last night, but haven't used it yet. I should, though. My sinus is a little sore on the right side and I'm doing some facial massage to relieve the pressure. You know it works when bits of snot slide down into yr throat. Not an entirely pleasant sensation, but necessary all the same. Hope it will get better soon. I have SO much work to do....

Alhamdulillah, now I feel so much better, I can even hear myself think... Before, my head was one giant clogged up mess, seriously. I felt so confused and guilty and scared and everything... Not very comforting for someone who has no one to turn to. Have finally come to terms with letting the young one go. Strangely I feel like someone else is on the way, and if I concentrate on dealing with my own issues, things will fall into place. I DO hope so :-)

Right now, am trying to help K Ayu stem her financial problem. She can't simply let things run out of control! But I do  understand how you sometimes feel so helpless that you just let go... She needs the support, and I'll try to help her the best I can. She also needs a big smack upside the head. Seriously. Oh well, we grew up without any support, and we're all pretty much screwed, so all we can do now is to do what we can to help each other, right?

I hope I don't get sick anymore. Have been sick on and off so much these past few months, I couldn't get much done. Hope I can catch up and do well this year. It would be nice to be reliable and appreciated for a change. Hwaiting!!

P/S - Have decided to concentrate on paying off my credit card first and worry about my grand holiday plans later. Will keep car since it's no use selling it off at a ridiculously low price. MAY fork out money to change the paint colour. May just keep the money I saved since it feels so good not to be completely impoverished... Insya-Allah will do more things once I achieve financial independence :-) Amin....

Scent of a Woman

It's a sweet, rainy morning on a public holiday. Perfect! Meeting Kew for lunch later.

Went to bed with a lingering smile in the early morning after watching the finale of Kimchi Drama 'Scent of a Woman'. Seriously, I have no idea why the title is such because at no time was there any mention of the heroine's smell! Didn't think I'd get addicted to Korean stuff, but I have to admit, they do make good dramas. Much less annoying than local ones.

The interest started with "He Who Can't Marry", a silly thing about a brilliant architect who is hopelessly insensitive and utterly unable to interact with fellow humans. He jealously guards his privacy until fate intervenes and his life becomes hopelessly entangled with his doctor and next door neighbour, plus a sweet little dog called Sangu. It was overacted and silly, but it was cute and watchable too. 

Then came Ojakgyo Brothers which I didn't quite like when I watched it in bits and pieces, but got crazily addicted to it when I watched from the very beginning. I must have mentioned it somewhere, it's about a family with granny, mom, dad and 4 good-looking sons. Throw in a pretty young girl and voila! Hit show. Each brother had their own little story arc, which made the story long, but exponentially more interesting.

I watched Wild Romance just for kicks after Ojakgyo ended. Featuring the super cute Lee Dong Wook, it was quite silly, but entertaining enough to get my attention. Throughout, it still featured good family values and bonds of friendship. Although the growing fondness between the main characters was rough and tumble, you get their strengths and why they start to actually like each other.

Scent of a Woman was watched on a whim since my dear friend already mentioned it. I really didn't like the main character in the beginning because she was horrendously unkempt and had no self respect at all. But as time went by, she 'woke up' and transformed into a lovely woman. Throw in super handsome boss (LDW again) and it was all set. Of course I hated the people from Seo Jin group, but then, we were supposed to, right? In the beginning it was hard to shift thinking of LDW as baseballer Park Mu Yeol to idle rich man's son Kang Ji Wook. But i got the hang of it... 

What I got most from the series was a sense of hope, that things CAN change for the better, despite challenges. There was a gentleness to the Ji Uk-Yeon Jae love affair, not only passion. And the consideration Yeon Jae had for her mom and people around her was probably what made Ji Wook love her all the more. I loved everything, even Mal Bok who is so doggily cute, and the nice Dr Chae.

Yeah, it helps to have smart scriptwiters create dazzlingly insightful words of wisdom to come out of your mouth. And it helps that it happened in fantasyland where everything falls into place and all is well in the end. There was a smattering of setbacks to keep it real, but I have to say that the ending was really inspired. Compared to the Ojakgyo ending which was nice, but felt like an anticlimax after the Tae Hui-Jaeun wedding, in SOAW, we were kept guessing right till the end. 

And it was such a relief to see that Yeon Jae was still alive. She was still sick, but there is hope, and you know that she will live well till the end of her days. The pitiful loser girl had transformed into a beautiful, strong woman and had a good man by her side. I also liked the way that Ji Wook changed from a listless, bored overgrown boy to a man who knew what he wanted and was willing to fight for his business and the woman that he loved. Yeon Jae touched the lives of the people around her, even the nasty ones... The presents bit at the end was so sweet. I think they didn't really get married since the chapel scene was a dream, but it doesn't seem to matter much to the Koreans, so whatever lah.

Thinking back, why do I like Korean dramas so much? Is it the cute actors? Or fantastic storylines? 

Well, for one, I like the way they're respectful to the elders, even when they happen to be insane mobsters. There's often strong family ties and deep consideration for parents. There's a premium on doing the right thing.  I feel Malay dramas feature too many spoilt idiots and rude bastards as well as overbearing, or weak, parents. The 'good' ones are too often passive losers who'd rather cry than actually do something to get out of the bad situation they were in. I hardly ever see any determination and effort, it's always bad luck and despair in local dramas. The rich and the downtrodden. The pious and the sinful. Too many cliches for my liking.

I like the way they say 'you have worked hard' in Korea. It's probably a bad translation thing, but it shows their attitude to hard work, effort and determination. Even if they are stiffly formal among colleagues, they work together to achieve something. We are spoilt brats in comparison. 

But I have to say they often play up intimate scenes too much. Replayed hugs and kisses get old after a while. And the Ojakgyo kisses were extremely prissy. Mostly the guys just mashed their lips awkwardly over the girls'! Joo Won n Uee, especially. Jaeun always looked like she was unsure she wanted to be kissed, then she reluctantly gives in. Oh come on! You're not really THAT innocent!! Jeez. Tae Bum & Soo Young's kiss masa drunk OK, tapi masa sober tak best. At least Lee Dong Wook does good kiss scenes. Good chemistry between him and Kim Sun Ah :-) The one with Eun Jae in Wild Romance didn't really work for me since she was too tomboyish. 

Another thing - why are the names always so similar one? Soo Young, Yeon Jae, Eun Jae, Dong Wook, Ji Wook... Aigoo...And the Koreans CAN be a little old-fashioned and chauvinistic at times. 

But what I like is that the stories are often very insightful; they can turn something expected into something very unexpected. And in the end you get this warm fuzzy feeling that makes you smile as you close your eyes to go to sleep. 

Wonder what would happen if I made a bucket list? 

:: To be hugged hard when I need it most :: 

:: To watch my son go to the mosque with his father :: 

:: To close my eyes in the arms of the one I love :: 

Would any of them come true? Well, I hope SOME of them will :) 

Upsets

Have been feeling a little down lately. Bambi escaped her cage and disappeared at Abang's. Spent hours pulling out the junk in the tiny under-the-stairs store room looking for her, but didn't find her. Assumed that she had left the house, but you just can't be sure. She really has a talent for hiding. Sigh. Hope she's all right, wherever she is...

Haven't got that much work done and have been feeling off for a bit. Blood sugar has been up despite upping my meds. Am aware that I need to hit the gym, but have been trying to catch up with work too. Between work, cat and kids, it was a bad time to get addicted to games again. I deleted the links. Ojakgyo is over, but haven't downloaded the few final episodes.

Made use of the yoga mat I bought recently. At least I got some basic movements going. Was huffing and puffing after a few basic push ups and crunches. So bad! Will need to do more workouts at home now that I've pared down my gym membership down to basics. At least I got a bit of savings there.

Had to go all the way to OU to pay my UMobile bill. Bills were sent to old house and I never got them, so line was barred when I failed to pay the January bill. Not a good thing to happen on a weekend, and it made me really unhappy not to be able to go online at home... On top of all the crap that was happening, it was too much. Still, had to pay cash 'coz I accidentally left credit card at home. And the online payment didn't work when I tried since yesterday.

Saturday, sent the bike for a checkup. It was fine on the way to the shop; on the way back, it sputtered and died just before the toll. One of the boys came, failed to fix the problem and went off to find a friend. They came, took my bike, and without a word, zoomed off with my handbag with my wallet, phone and keys inside. I walked back, thinking they were going to the apartment. Got anxious when I couldn't find them anywhere. Nasib baik K Ayu was home. Called the shop and they confirmed that my bike was there along with my things. Had to borrow K Ayu's car because my spare remote didn't work anymore. So annoying! They all said the boy memang 'sengal' sikit... He even left my stuff in the bakul, outside the shop unattended... Geez! Seb baik takde benda hilang.

Am stressed again pasal my projects are not progressing well and I need to get things sorted out before the regional workshop and conference in Brunei. Spent all day in a discussion w Mr Chai today, so nothing got done. Went home early, but what with sorting out the internet, TV and games, tgh malam baru boleh online.

Hope things get better soon, am so feeling unhappy and unbalanced at the moment.. :(

Headache!

Taking Bambi was a major mistake. She was halfway all right with me yesterday, then Trina had to sneak in and scared her again. I fished her from under the bed and she almost fell out the window trying to hide. Then she zoomed off into the fucking storeroom, being attacked from all sides along the way. I really need to rehome her lar... The others were growling at her this morning. Sorry babe, can't reach you in between the box towers. It's a fight or flight situation. Couldn't even see them in the dimly lit store, so all the best to you Bambi. Gotta grow a backbone or you'll forever be a mouse.

SIlly Kitty - Continued

Yesterday I let the kitten come out of her cage. As expected she his under the bed. But then she started freaking out when I was carrying her to the cage at night... And it just got worse and worse!! She ran all over the place, bit and scratched and climbed the window and peed all over my table.... Aigoo... That cat ah....

In the end, I cornered her under the desk and talked to her nicely, stroked her, and she was docile enough to be guided into her cage.... Seriously, this cat is so messed up!! I gave her food and stroked her and talked to her in the cage, and eventually she was OK enough to be pilled and given her meds. She didn't even put up a fight. Thank goodness for that!!

She might be afraid of the penyapu, so won't use that again. But she seemed scared to be out in the open, so maybe she'll need to be caged the rest of her life... Funny. the other brats would wail non-stop if they were caged up for any period of time!! Maybe I can get her one of those big cages with a landing so she'll be more comfortable... Problem is, I don't really have the space, do I?

On another note, I dreamt about you know who... He was living in a kampung, married with a pregnant wife. There were other girls too, presumably renters. Mummy dearest - not so sure. For some reason I ended up in the area because of a problem with the bike and bumped into him. My car (strangely) was somewhere nearby and I needed a ride there. But for some strange reason we ended up in a swanky new shopping mall!! We were 'dating', hugging, holding hands and all, but I was feeling uneasy because he had a pregnant wife at home! In the end, I went off to find Anaz, who was hanging out there, and lost him. Then I lost Anaz too. Seriously, maybe I've been reading too many FB updates or watching too many Korean dramas because it totally didn't make any sense. But then, it was a dream. Since when did dreams make any sense?? :P

Drama Kucing

Hari tu si pengecut tu panik, lari keluar tingkap, duduk kat atas ledge 2 hari. Call Bomba, takut dia jatuh nak pujuk dia masuk dulu. Tau2, some stupid woman pergi call bomba suruh rescue. Stupid bitch tak tau hujung pangkal lagi nak busybody. I baru pergi gym, bomba datang. K Ayu yg kena deal dengan diorang. Dia gigit jari bomba tu, terus terlepas jatuh sampai awning ground floor. Pastu dah injured, aku jugak yang bawak pergi vet, bayar lebih seratus, pastu dok jaga dia kasi makan semua. Yang menyibuk tu cuci tangan aje. Babi betul!!

Yang aku ni hari baru nak baik demam. Dah sibuk dengan kucing semua, lambat la nak sembuh. Lagi nak prepare untuk SPMM satu benda haram tak buat lagi. Copier pun baru aje beli. Concept papers belum buat. Presentation papers belum compile. Copying semua esok buat ramai2. Tapi nak kena plan jugak... tension!!

Stress...

Woke up with a sore throat and cold, sugar level is way off the mark... Itu la, malam2 buta makan apple pie! dah kau tau apple pie tu manis kan...

Semalam balik kerja pi tengokkan anak kucing Ammar. Hari tu sebuk nak ambik, pastu tak reti nak jaga. Juju ok aje dengan Anis. Dah terpaksa memujuk dia makan. Rupanya Juju makan buas, dia tak kasi chan Mr T makan... sabar ajelah.

Balik2, kena memujuk di pengecut sekor tu pulak. Dah dia menyorok sana, menyorok sini... Silap la aku ambik kucing pengecut, kucing2 aku ganas2... Sigh. Pagi ni dah terlepas, menyorok dalam bilik stor pulak. Tau la bilik tu penuh dengan segala macam barang... Dah la takde lampu. Malam ni nak kena cari, masukkan dalam cage and paksa dia kawan dengan budak2 tu biar dia jangan pengecut sangat. Last resort, hantar balik.

Tengah stress gila ni, kerja banyak.

Feng Shui

Sempena Raya Cina ni... masuk pulak cerita feng shui, kan? Actually been feeling a little slow lately, and my bad habit of sleeping late isn't helping. Went back to Pump, but I may have overexerted myself a little... Still, I need to work on my horribly flabby body. Didn't notice it until I started shopping for clothes, la kan?

Anyway, when I reinstated the bed, I put the headboard against the outside wall because it seemed the most practical option. Unfortunately, I have been feeling unrested despite hours of sleep. So today I moved it against the inner wall, as it was before, when I was sleeping Japanese style. Took an afternoon nap and now I feel so much better... Wonder if there's any science in this feng shui thing because I did read somewhere about windows at yr head being bad for the personal chi. Or maybe it's just the flow is better when the window is on my side instead of at my head. Anyway, I think I'll keep this orientation since it's working well.

Moved the lights and now I have the standing light by the door, which is good. Senang nak pasang and matikan before tidur and going out. Discovered that with some juggling, I can create a pretty nice big space for solat. As long as I have that, I'm happy. Hope I don't become stupefied again... I'm enjoying some normalcy for once in my life!! Ya Allah, please protect me from stupidity and dishonor!

Silly Things That Drive Me Nuts

I hate being stumped. Dead ended. Blocked. Stuck.

One such an example: a jar of strawberry jam in the office pantry. I wasn't planning to eat it right away; I had had breakfast. I had no bread anyway. But one day I tried opening it and failed. So it became a problem and my obsession. For more than a week I have tried various things to open the stubborn jar, but the lid refused to budge.

I had submerged it in hot water, in the hopes of expanding the lid so that it would come off. I tried twisting it with rubber bands for extra grip (usually works). Did it until my hand hurt (RSI) and still the lid wouldn't budge. This morning I even borrowed a lighter and heated the lid; to no avail. I almost smashed the lid against the wall so that it would open - I was THAT frustrated.

Until the simplest solution presented itself - I took a knife and jimmied the lid. With a woosh, air was sucked into the jar, releasing the vacuum stranglehold on the lid. It opened at the slightest twist. Yeay!

Problem solved. The world is green again.... Such is my life.... I need a husband :P

Addicted much?

In a strange turn of events, I actually watched an awards show spoken in a tongue I do not speak. All I understand are 'Sarang he" and "Gamsahabnida", homonim, abudje and Ojakgyo. But it was enough because my sister & I combined recognised a number of the stars, and the names of the dramas. The rest, such as the actual categories, we simply made up.

Example: Oh, this must be the best evil warlord category. Or the makcik2 category. Or bitchiest woman.

Despite the noise from my apartment courtyard where some event or other was taking place, I understood enough to enjoy the event. Joo Won cried a little when he made his acceptance speech. I have no idea why... I was chuffed to see Ojakgyo Brothers win quite a number of awards. I'm not sure what they were for, but as long as they win, I'm happy.

The Ojakgyo wins were:
Joo Won for one of the best dudes/ cutest guy? Hell, what do I know. There were 3 winners. Wish someone could explain it to me.

Uwee for (I assume) best female actress (there were 2 winners)

Mama Hwang for (we assume) best leading actress, senior category. Man, she's so pretty despite her age!

Guy who plays Hwang Tae Sik - donno why - guy who cries the most or more realistically?

Ryu Soo Young and Choi Jung Yoon - cutest couple? I love these guys...


Boy who plays Gun Suk - best child actor (male)


One lady won lots of bouquets - she could be the producer, director or scriptwriter. I have no clue. 


Strange. I won't even watch the Malaysian awards show, but I sit down for this? Pakai ilmu apa org Korea ni ek??