When I Can't Say What I Really Wanna Say

...I hide behind a quote from a book.

"Please," she says. "Tell me what you're thinking."

It's an absurd request. Our minds, unedited by guilt or shame, are selfish and unkind, and the majority of our thoughts, at any given time, are not for public consumption, because they would either be hurtful or else just make us look like the selfish and unkind bastards that we are. We don't share our thoughts, we share the carefully sanitized, watered-down versions of them, Hollywood adaptations of those thoughts dumbed down for the PG-13 crowd.

- This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper -

Still Here, Still Standing

Babe, it's that time of the year again to stop, look at each other, smile and say...

"Are we a great couple or what?" Hahaha!

Here's to another year of not giving up on trying to change each other

while at the same time not killing each other hehe.

Happy Anniversary, dear!

You know I love you long time =)

Eleven

"Sometimes, being able to read what people are trying not to say, seeing the insult they are tiptoeing around, is almost worse than if they had actually said it."

On a slightly different version of the book cover (the one that I bought), there's a review by Cosmopolitan saying, 'If you loved ONE DAY by David Nicholls, this is for you'. So of course lah I wasted no time in buying and reading the book.

And after finishing the book, yeah, I kinda get what Cosmopolitan was trying to say. I mean, overall, I definitely think One Day is waaaay better than this book (maybe coz One Day is an epic love story and Eleven is, well, not so much) but there's one thing both books have in common - the ending.

Just like One Day, this book's ending was also a bit of a BITCH! Huwarrgghhh!

Introducing...

...our new car!

Hahahaha I WISHHH! Truth is, we are still using the rented Honda City to get around and it's been nearly 4 months now. I know, I know - why the heck lama sangat nak carik keta untuk dibeli? Sampai bila asyik nak extend the car rental? You have pretty much decided on the make and model, so ape tunggu lagi?

Well my friends, it turned out, it's not that easy to find a decent pre-owned car (coz it sounds sooo much better than 'used cars' hehe) with a decent price. After countless trips to various car dealers and auto malls, we still haven't found 'the one'. (After our last visit to an open-air auto mall, when it was about 41-degree Celsius outside, demam jugak laa the next day).

Somehow, we always manage to find some kind of flaws, be it dents or scratches or even unflattering odor, on all of the pre-owned cars we've looked at so far, and they eventually became the 'turn-off' factor. Tapi nak beli the brand new, totally flawless one, tak mampu plak *sigh*. So camano? Bak kata Nabil Maharaja Lawak - adoyaiiii...

Apparently, it's been proven by experts that 'psychologically, most people often have a mindset of finding flaws while reviewing used cars for sale. Their mind will sharply focus on the flaws that are actually not there or could be neglected.' Hahaha very true indeed =p.

I dunno, I guess to purchase a second hand car, we need to really learn to let go of certain superficial flaws, to turn a blind eye to the minor and not-so-obvious defects - just like we do in relationships and marriages hehe.

Kaif Halak?

Dear SRB has started taking Arabic classes recently in an effort to build a better rapport with his Iraqi team members (very proactive - syabbasss inspektor sahabb!). After each class, he'd come home and teach me everything he learned that day. Sort of like free lessons for me and practice sessions for him. Among the first things he/we learned was occupation.

English: What is your job?

Arabic: Shu suglak?

English: I am a housewife.

Arabic: Ana rabbat bayt.

...which literally means 'Goddess of the House'.

So it's official people. I am indeed a goddess, awesomeee hahah =p

The Reason I Almost Joined Twitter

After being dumped by his longtime girlfriend, 28-year-old Justin Halpern found himself living at home with his 73-year-old dad. Sam Halpern, who is 'like Socrates, but angrier, and with worse hair,' has never minced his words. And when Justin moved back home, he began to record all the ridiculous things his dad said to him; at first, as his instant messenger away status, then a friend suggested he created a Twitter page, so he started @ShitMyDadSays and ended up getting millions of followers. A few of months later he landed a book deal with Harper Collins and television show with CBS called $#*! My Dad Says with William Shatner playing the father.

On Sharing

"I'm sorry, but if your brother doesn't want you to play with his shit, then you can't play with it. It's his shit. If he wants to be an asshole and not share, then that's his right. You always have the right to be an asshole - you just shouldn't use that right very often."

On Yard Work

"What are you doing with that rake? ...No, that is not raking. ...What? Different styles of raking? No, there's one style of raking, and then there's bullshit. Guess which one you're doing."

On Getting Rejected By A Girl

"Sorry to hear that. Hey, have you seen my fanny pack? ...No, I care about what you said, I told you I was sorry to hear it. What? I can't be sorry and wonder where my fanny pack is at the same fucking time?"

On Education and Hard Work

"If you work hard and study hard, and you fuck up, that's okay. But if you fuck up and you fuck up, then you're a fuckup."

On Driving Lesson

"First things first: A car has five gears. What is that smell? ...Okay, first thing before that first thing: Farting in a car that's not moving makes you an asshole."

On Managing Bank Account

"Don't get mad at the overdraft charge. ...No, no - see, there's your problem. You think of it as a penalty for taking out money you don't have, but instead, it might help you to think of it as a reminder that you're a dumb shit."

On Telemarketer Phone Calls

"Hello? ...Fuck you."

Hahahah his dad is just hilarious! A bit vulgar, but hilarious! Kinda reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne in The Osbournes. And almost made me wanna join Twitter, like for real, just so I could read more of his dad's amusing sayings. Well, as I said, ALMOST =p.

The TV show, $#*! My Dad Says (pronounced 'Bleep My Dad Says') inspired by the Twitter feeds and the book was not funny at all though (it got cancelled after only one season) - I guess it's hard to portray a character like Sam Halpern on a network TV where you're not allowed to swear. At. All. Hehe.

Sweet Potato Doughnuts

First trial of making sweet potato doughnuts or kuih keria. (Coz this is the only Malay dessert in the cookbook given by my MIL that doesn't require a steamer. Me ain't got no steamer, bebeh. Apparently most traditional kuih-muih are steamed instead of baked, baru ku tahu.)

The recipe says, "Traditionally, these doughnuts are rolled in melted sugar so the sugar creates a frosting around them. An easier and healthier way is to simply roll them in caster sugar." But looking at the picture now, mannn...that amount of sugar, "healthier" lah sangat!

The recipe also says the preparation + cooking time is about 50 minutes. It took me nearly 2 hours instead, bluwaerrghhh!

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

Two days after checking into Argenon Hospital, Adult Psychiatric for depression:

"I feel a lot better now and I think I'm ready to go," I told Dr. Mahmoud.

"We can't rush it," Dr. Mahmoud says. "Right now, to me, you look much better, but maybe this is a false recovery --"

"A Fake Shift."

"I'm sorry?"

"A Fake Shift. That's what I call it. When you think you've beaten it, but you haven't," I explain.

"Exactly." Dr. Mahmoud nods. "We don't want one of those."

"So, I'm going to be here until I have the Real Shift?"

"I don't follow."

"I'm going to be here until I'm cured?"

Dr. Mahmoud leans in, "Life is not cured, Mr. Gilner. Life is managed."

F In Exams

A laugh-out-loud book that cannot be read at public places unless you don't mind people staring at you like you're crazy. I got stomach cramps trying to suppress a full-on laughing fit while reading it at the Kinokuniya cafe, alone.

Among all of the unbelievably "creative" answers, these 2 are definitely my favorites:

Memang tak boleh tahan beb, sampai sekarang gelak guling-guling hahah!

The Many Faces Of...

Blueerrhhh...Alamak tertumpah kat baju plak...Theehehehehe...

Birthday Brunch

Went on an Asian food frenzy for brunch/SRB's birthday celebration at Dusit Thani Hotel yesterday. Ketam masak cili, nasi goreng belacan, tomyam kung, Thai noodle soup, dumplings, tempura and many more - BAHAGIAAA!

And the most precious find...Kek Sarang Semut as one of the desserts. OMG my favourite! If I wasn't too full that I could barely move by the time I got to the desserts, I think I could've eaten like a dozen of them sekaligus kot.

Now I am happy, less-homesick and definitely FATTT huwaarrghhh!

Birthday Beau

"The secret to staying young is to lie about your age." - Lucille Ball

Happy birthday dearest!

It's the start of a new decade but don't worry babe,

you don't look a day over 25 eheh.

P/S: Now we match ;p