Thursday, June 30, 2005

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

Grace tagged me (though I was doubtful where on earth would I have the time to answer this, but pssst! don't tell anyone ah, I managed to squeeze sometime in between doing tasks to answer this... Who's gonna be tagged next? read on to find out..Hahaha)

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
Main masak-masak/dango was when I was 3 or 4 with 2nd brother. hehehe... Real cooking, when I was 10 - masak nasi (not using automatic rice cooker, mind you!)

Who had the most influence on your cooking?
Mum lah, who else. But then most of the time I do my own experiment. Trial and error. Sedap tak sedap, my brothers sure sapu licin. Hahahaha...they jadi my guinea pigs. (If not, I execute merajuk.exe)

Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Dunno. Must ask Dad since he took lots of photos of me. Mana tau kot2 ada. But washing dishes pic when I was 4 years old ada le.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
Uhhh... dunno la. But I dunno (don't want to) cook rebung/bamboo shoots. I cannot stand the smell. Yuck!
oh, wait wait wait.... I DEFINITELY CANNOT SEMBELIH CHICKEN. So damn scared & kesian the chicken.(Kelak ada aku menangis depan2 ayam ya)

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down?
Aahh.... kitchen knife la (plus the pots n pans lah). Dun have then how to cook?

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
Ripe banana mix with sambal belacan mix with rice. :)
(Grace - aku suka makan lusit/rusit juak. boleh la geng tok)

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
  1. Fish (freshwater is the best - e.g: ikan semah, jelawat etc)
  2. Meat - Chicken and *ahem*
  3. Veggie la (used to hate eating veggies when I was a kid. My dad say that last time my veggies got tulang since I always gag when I makan veggie)

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one!
  1. I will never eat - the meat of: phyton, dog, empeliau (dunno what its called in BM or English), enturun (same case), bear
  2. My favorite dish(es) that I love to cook : My mean chicken curry and ayam kukus :)
  3. Currently I'm craving to eat - pama (frog) and spaghetti
And my own question that I would loved to answer:
Some exotic foods that i've tried...
  1. pangolin (tenggiling) - Mum told me last time they gave me raw cogealed pangolin blood to eat. apparently, I liked it very much then. But now...eeewwwww. I told mum, how could you give me something like that and raw some more. Actually, they gave it to me because it is believed that it is good for my health (I was one real sick kid then)
  2. kesa (red ants & eggs) -- don't remember the taste. I was too small then.
  3. Pama (frog) - I'm loving it :) good for health & skin also la
  4. Entambah ( a species of bat) -- ok. quite good.
  5. Tindoh (sago worm) -- Yummy-licious :)
  6. kasam babi -- need I say more?
  7. kasam ikan
  8. biji getah -- grace, this is tastier than kepayang when added to kasam :)
  9. terrapin & turtles -- mmmm... nice :)
  10. babi kampong/wildboar -- wins anytime :)
  11. jellyfish -- very nice when eaten with lime n chilli
  12. ikan mudik -- semah, kolong, empurau, etc. Sadly can get in Kapit only. Nasib baik husband org Kapit. Hahaha
  13. Monkey (forgot what type la)
  14. pelanduk
  15. rusa -- didn't really eat this one since mum cannot tahan the smell. She'll mabuk if the meat is brought into the house. So, don't really eat lah.
  16. Bayak/biawak (monitor lizard) -- this one's sedap :)
  17. snake (belawai) -- ok ok la
  18. Umai ikan -- Woohoo!!! I love it
I think there some more but I just couldn't recall at the moment.

Jeng..jeng..jeng... I'm gonna tag:
  1. Low E - want to know what culinary adventures he's had :)
  2. Carneyz - Bintulu lass currently fighting in a corporate jungle in JB :)
  3. Junaidix - Pandei sik member ku tok masak oh?
  4. Kimmy Wang - Want to know Sabah's exotic food
  5. Anyone else who's interested to do this :)

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

NESCAFE OVERDOSE

I SWEAR I WILL NEVER AGAIN DRINK TWO MUGS OF NESCAFE IN ONE NIGHT

cos I'll end up being awake until it was 5 bl**dy a.m. and I'm gonna be working in the day. argh!!!

10 pm : doing some work
11 pm : still doing work
12 am: doing work but thinking "hmm... i should be sleeping"
1 am : lying in bed staring at the ceiling but eyes wide open
2 am : Got up to do work
3 am(!) : still no sign of sleepy eyes
4 am(!) : decided to lie down and force self to sleep
5 am($%^#%^!!) : %^&^&(%#@$^*^%T!!!

Woke up at 7 am (reluctantly) and dragged my sorry ass to shower and off to work (after having nescafe fix again)

mental note: drink ONE if I really have to tonight :(

TO DO LIST

Currently my to do list looks somekinda like this

  1. literature review
  2. literature review
  3. literature review
  4. literature review
  5. literature review
  6. and, uh yeah, cohen still due (boss already 'peramah' ask progress)
  7. but before that i need to tweak the coding table first...
  8. see ENT (that's next week)
currently: in desperate need of sleep.

Monday, June 27, 2005

taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap.....

*THUMP* ~head lands on desk, looks leftandright, thinks "uh, why bother"

sorry.i'm having a headache, itsthattimeofthemonth, dunnowhattosay

come again later


p/s: I felt like Marvin (manic depressive Paranoid Android) from The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Friday, June 24, 2005

After 5 years, migraine decided to pay a visit.

I tarik balik what I said yesterday about sleeping at the unthinkable hour of 9pm. it's not as bad as waking up at 1 am with the feeling that someone is lovingly chipping my skull with a spike. pain? it is by far much much worse than pain that i couldn't find the exact description for it yet.

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everything's blur, disoriented and it hurts as hell [credits to Low E for image]

imagine feeling as if your right eye is being squeezed out of its socket and the throbbing pain, whoa, let's not go there. every movement brings me to greater heights of agony. swallowed painkillers to bring relief but the minutes seems to crawl by ever so slowly. i cried. yes, i did. though crying doesn't really help but to release the frustrations of being helpless. i prayed. i hit my fist against my head. trying anything, anything that might ease the pain.

finally i slept. not the deep, restful sleep that i craved... but at least it provides brief respite from the agony.

went in late for work today. slept until 9 am when there's only minimal throbbings in my head.

i think my brain's fried by that horrible episode of migraine.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY

Ahhh... *cautiously opening mouth not so wide wide*

had my 10-hours sleep last nite. was in agonizing pain until my housemate went and buy Voren Plus Gel for me. rub the cool gel on jaw to ease the pain. before it hurts when i walk, it hurts when i turn in bed, it even hurts, well, all the time lah. even the painkiller was not working. thanks to voren plus gel, finally can sleep at the unthinkable hour of 9 pm. with the lights on until about midnight when i woke up and switched off the lights. and sleep again.

and the pain was gone until 10 minutes ago when the little throbbing sensations starts again. time to rub gel again...

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

BLOWING NOSE - a possible hazard to health!

I didn't know this until I had to see the Doctor.

Rewind to last week. me feeling miserable and unable to resist the temptation to expel mucus from my sinus cavity decided to do what mothers always tell their kids to do when they have the cold.

yes. I blew my nose.

so hard that there a loud POP sound in my right ear. pain. felt like my gegendang telinga pecah already. after a while the pain went away.

but (there's always a but la), then i started to have pain located at my jaw area when i 'tarik' the mucus (yes, i know it sounds disgusting). and there this 'click' sound in my right jaw when i tarik it sideways.

and then it turns nasty. imagine sakit gigi multiplied by the hundreds. yes, it was that bad. only this time it not gigi pain, it's jaw pain...

went to see the doctor (two weeks in a row go see her. the frequency that i went to see her surpasses the times i went to see my friends.yes, it was that frequent). the diagnosis : minor dislocation of the jaw. the Doctor asked me, "why lah u always have funny2 things happen to you? You know u got sinus problem so must take care la."

again i have to makan ubat. Yark!!!!

MORAL OF THE STORY: mummies, don't make your kids blow their nose. it's dangerous. you've been warned.

PARENTHOOD :)


Oh ya, Congratulations to Sarini, a dear friend from matric days, and her husband on the birth of their daughter, Tengku Hana Haziqah last Thursday.
Welcome to the joys of parenthood :)
(as if i dah ada anak..hahahha)

HAPPENINGS, FATHER'S DAY, NEWS & DECISIONS

Just came back yesterday.

The Trip
Arrived at Saratok and went back to Bintangor the next day [Fred & Grace: I did pass your house and I think I know which it is... but heheh, no guts to horn la.anyway, my cousin just whiz past it so fast also]. The bus trip as usual la, nothing interesting just that we stopped to help another bus rosak on our way. Anyway, I slept most of the time also.

Father's Day
Actually quite embarassing since I wished Dad Happy Father's Day a week earlier than supposed to. Guess my memory got a bit haywire then. Sis called me on Sunday, asking me to buy a cake for Dad.
Bought a cake in Saratok and actually rather regretted it since I can get a better cake in Bintangor for the price that I paid in Saratok. So that evening, we had a small party to celebrate Father's Day. Dad and Ika Ila (my cousin's husband) cut the cake since they were the fathers. Too bad eldest and 2nd brother werent there to celebrate as well as my sister's husband. After makan2 cake, we had a wonderful dinner courtesy of my nieces... :)
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The Cake
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the Dads

News & Decisions
Mum broke the news to me over the weekend. They decided not to tell me through the phone because they don't want to cause any undue stress. Mum's going to have an operation in Hospital Sibu to remove THREE growths in her colon. What makes me angry is that the growth was not detected earlier even when my mother frequently complains about having stomachaches. They (the Hospital people) just prescribed her with some Buscopans. All this makes me lose even more faith in the medical care given by Govt hospitals.
So on 4th of August Mum is admitted into the hospital and on the 5th she's going to have the operation. I'll be returning back to Bintangor on the end of July. Which means, I will be doing my research long-distance and coming up to Kch to meet my supervisor every month.
After the operation Mum will need plenty of rest and I will be taking care of the household. Dad's also having health problem. He's recently diagnosed as having Gout and this requires extra care in his daily diet and knowing Dad, I know he couldn't resist making exceptions to the rules.
Which means, I will be the Diet police for Dad la...hehehe
Making the decision to come back home and doing research long distance was made after careful deliberations . So coming back means I will rely on the slow Dial up connection and sacrificing the broadband connections (hmm...maybe i should get streamyx then) to do my research (and blogging). So friends, this means that I will be online only on certain times of the day. I will be commuting every month to Kch to meet my supervisor for developments of my research. But decisions have been made, responsibilities must be carried..
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Dad & Mum

other stuffs
returned yesterday to Kch using express boat. Have to move seats from the back to far far front since there were 3 noisy aunties (ah so) chatting so loud that I just couldn't concentrate on my book or to sleep.
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I so want to strangle the noisy aunties

Salem's getting bigger. So surprised to see him growing so fast when I last saw him only two weeks ago. Rolly Polly Salem so manja and kuat makan. And to think that he used to be the size of my palm
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Salem: "What u lookin at?"

Salem (1-week old) & Me

Thursday, June 16, 2005

I FELT LIKE SHOOTING SOMEONE!!!

uh huh... i'm not kidding you

i spent 3 d*mn weeks (okay okay maybe 2 weeks only. the other one week spent solely for Gawai but still..) trying to figure out what went wrong with my codes and trying to re-code it again while almost bursting my cranium.

until last night

when i compared my coding results with the other rater

and i found out

that it was HER MISTAKE all along... ARGH!!!!!!! (mistake in entering data results in data being added TWICE! no wonder her value 2 kali ganda from mine)

muttering under my breath next time don't simply assume that it's my mistake in the coding. Bos did not hire me if I'm intellectually challenged

and to think that i could've used those time to do my research proposal which i've procrastinated for TOO LOOOOOOOONG...

Oooohhh... I'm gonna have a blast 'tiu'ing both of them...

grrrrrr................

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

A GOOD SON

Yesterday went to the SGH to visit Khong & his mom.

What I saw brings a whole new meaning to the word filial piety.

What I saw was...

a son who refused to be admitted into hospital to treat his fractured shoulder because he wants to take care of his ill mother.

a son who spent the last 32 days in hospital caring for the mother

a son who lost weight caring for his mother yet did not for a second, regret caring for her

a son who loved his mother very much

a son who still managed to make his mother smile and laugh and keep her spirits high

a son who still smiles despite the curveball life has thrown his way

and I really admire aunty Wasling. Despite undergoing radiotherapy everyday and becoming weak that she couldn't walk, she still has that twinkle in her eyes and that smile in her voice.

Spent the time chatting with both Khong & aunty. aunty & I teased (kutuk) Knong non-stop just like in better times. For a moment we forgot where we are and what situation we are in.

Hmmm... A strong woman like aunty Wasling deserves a loyal and good son like Khong. Get well soon aunty...

Monday, June 13, 2005

How would u react when

...u just found out that your dearest friend was in an accident a month ago yesterday?

...he suffered a broken shoulder?

...he's in the same city as u for the past month without u knowing it?

...he's in the hospital everyday for the past month? taking care of his mother whose undergoing radiotherapy for treating cancer?

I'm speechless and numb. I don't know how to react.

Khong is my godbrother and we're very close. He is one dear dear friend who will call me and talk to me for hours if there anything wrong. He'll share his problems with me and mine with him. He's the kind of friend that will listen patiently while you wail your heartache on the phone for hours...He was there for me for both good times and bad times...
I've met Khong's mom before and she is one cheerful and nice woman. Taking care of four sons she'd done well.
Forgive me.I'm not questioning fate, but why such things happen to good people? Why test them to the very limit of their being?Why test every ounce of strength that they possess?
I will visit Khong & Aunty tonight.

Pls pray for their recovery. Thanks

Thursday, June 09, 2005

MyVi vs Savvy


Savvy

MyVi
Hmmm...

Am contemplating with B bout which is better. With the release of two models by rival automakers Perodua & Proton, B & I am having serious considerations to do and which is better suited for our needs (and, ahem, budgets).

B wants a Gen 2 but I prefer something more compact since I am (almost) hopeless when it comes to parking a full length car. also no-no to big 4WDs since I am hopelessly 'gayat' driving it :(

I want a Kelisa since I am used to driving one back home but B said it's too small for our *ahem* future use and to 'angkut' stuffs everytime we travel back to kampung.

Solution: look for a compact car but with more available space

MyVi vs Savvy

But IMHO, I prefer MyVi. It looks more 'clean' and aesthetically pleasing than Savvy with its bulky and err, lumpy looks. Pricewise, Savvy 1.2L cost around RM42K (a fren in Penang told me this, price in Kch, I dunno maybe around RM45K) and MyVi 1.0L cost around RM43K in Kch.

The tech specs for Myvi is as below



Sorry but I havent managed to get the tech specs for Savvy. Guess proton website is flooded by visitor taking a peek at Savvy.

For me, I prefer MyVi. B, i dunno. Have to go window shopping for car later... thehehe

Extra: More on MyVi