Life as it happens ....

The Big Year

2012-01-29T15:02:00.005+04:00

'Who knows, maybe I wouldn't have met Stu if he hadn't gotten sick that day.

Sometimes friendship, like birding, depends on luck. Blink and you'll miss it.'

- Jack Black as Brad Harris in The Big Year -

Sit Back & Relax

2012-01-28T13:20:00.006+04:00

The family is now safely back in Malaysia. Dear husband has just flown out to Iraq. I've got the house all to myself. So apa lagi, it's time to sit back, relax, catch up on my TV series, sambil makan keropok lekor panas. Aaahhh...bliss~

First up, THISSS...is American Idol!

Terukir Di Bintang

2012-01-15T18:55:00.008+04:00

1. L.O.V.E this song! As usual, Yuna never disappoints.

2. I like seeing Yuna and Qi together. I think they are one of those sempoi but very sweet couples. (Dear Qi, Please shave your beard. You are on the edge of losing your comel-ness. - Your concerned fan, Rina)

3. Dearest SRB, bilakah saye boleh merasa naik gondola romantika di Italy itu? Terukir di bintang, tak mungkin hilang, cintaku padamu (ayat kiss-ass ni ngeehehehee =P)

I Don't Know

2012-01-11T15:56:00.004+04:00

Most of the time, 'I don't know' means 'I know, but I don't want to tell you.'

- Dr. Dani Santino, Necessary Roughness -

Hmmm...interesting...

P/S: Sometimes while watching some TV shows or reading some books, I'd come across some lines which would make me pause and go, "Hmmm, that's true. I never thought of it that way." Like there are some kind of lessons to be learned there. Like something about those lines that sort of speak my mind. And I like to write them down here so I can be reminded of the lessons I learned or what I was thinking/feeling at the time of writing. That's why, in case you haven't noticed by now, this space is full of quotes instead of personal anecdotes. And if you don't like it or find it annoying, well, it's simple really - just piss off. Capisce?

50/50

2012-01-08T22:40:00.003+04:00

Adam: That's what everybody's been saying. You'll feel better and don't worry and this is all fine and it's not.

Katherine: You can't change your situation. The only thing that you can change is how you choose to deal with it.

I couldn't make him cry watching The Notebook (the ultimate tear-jerker movie ever). But tonight, 50/50 finally did the job. Actual tears were shed. Tonight, history was made. Hehe.

P/S: Joseph Gordon-Levitt sgt comelllll!

Staying Alive

2012-01-04T21:42:00.004+04:00

"I wish you told me how you felt."

"I thought you knew."

"That was your trouble, Murray - you always assumed I could read your mind."

"Isn't that how it's supposed to be? When you've been with someone for a while, you know what they're thinking. I always knew what's on your mind."

Ctrl Alt Del

2012-01-03T19:15:00.005+04:00

Check out those Ctrl Alt Del sofa pillows from Two and A Half Men.

So geeky yet so cool! I want! Although I'm not really a computer nerd like say...the gang in The Big Bang Theory, whom I'm sure these pillows are made for, who cares! Nerd schnerd, I think they'll look great on our grey couch huhu~

2011 Our Year in Sports

2012-01-03T15:50:00.010+04:00

...as spectators, that is.

Though I wish I could say that I played all these sports in the past year instead. If I did, man, I would've been the proud owner of a fantastic 6-pack abs by now dude hahah! (And I wouldn't be making the clichéd new year resolution - to lose weight and get fit - yet again this year *sighhh*)

Dubai International Parachuting Championship

(Highlight: The amazing air show)

Dubai Rugby Sevens World Series

(Highlight: The All Blacks)

Race to Dubai, European Golf Tour

(Highlight: Rory McIlroy)

Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Abu Dhabi

(Highlight: Rafael Nadal, of course!)

Here's to another eventful year (I hope)!

On Tour Guide Duties

2011-12-26T11:44:00.015+04:00

Winter = the best time to travel to Dubai = time for families to come visit = time for me to put my 'efficient tour guide' and 'great hostess' cap on (and gelabah fikir how to add variety to my cooking in order to provide guests with breakfast, lunch, minum petang and dinner for 7-9 days ngaaaa~)

December 2011: Father-in-law + 2 cousins were here.

January 2012: Mom + dad + 2 aunties will be coming to town.

February 2012: Taking a break from my tour guide duties. Time for us to be the tourists pulak hehe. Where to? Tungguuuu...

March 2012: Kakne + 2 brothers + sis-in-law + little niece will be here huyeahhh! Tak sabar nak tunggu si budak kecik yg celoteh tu datang Dubai huhu!

Spud

2011-12-25T18:01:00.002+04:00

"When all else fails, try the ostrich technique and bury your head in the sand."

Prince William in Msia?

2011-12-15T08:43:00.006+04:00

Whoa whoa whoa!! Will & Kate are coming to Malaysia next year?!!

Okay, stalker mode ONNNN!! (Provided they come when I'm back home for raya lah hehe)

So E!, is this So True or So False? So True, please!

The Zen Space

2011-12-13T13:52:00.007+04:00

Winter is slowly creeping in which makes it great to be outside now. So after 1 year of neglect, our balcony finally got a make-over (after sapu, penuh 1 plastik of pasir halus je!) and also its own furniture recently.

Now all I need is one of those small, battery-operated portable fountains. Then barulah I can truly call my balcony 'The Zen Space' =p

E

2011-12-01T12:41:00.004+04:00

"As sung by Sir Elton John, 'Sorry seems to be the hardest word.'

So I'm just gonna go ahead and NOT say it."

Tom Ford

2011-11-30T23:19:00.005+04:00

Not sure whether it's because Jennifer Aniston has it and carries it everywhere (and I am of course Team Jennifer all the way) or because the bag itself is simply gorgeous, but I am in loveeee...

Saya mahuuu! Unfortunately, it is out-of-this-world expensive huuu. Well, at least for someone like me laa. For the rich and famous like her, memang celah gigi je lah. She probably got the bags for free even. So once again, huuuu....

You Snooze, You Lose

2011-11-23T19:17:00.004+04:00

So apparently in Dubai Metro, if you snooze, you literally lose - 300 dirhams, that is.

Wow, I mean, WOW. Ridiculous, in this case, is an understatement.

The Book of Joe

2011-11-22T23:34:00.003+04:00

"Everyone always wants to know how you can tell when it's true love and the answer is this: when the pain doesn't fade and the scars don't heal, and it's too damned late."

Along the Fjords of Musandam

2011-11-17T20:41:00.002+04:00

Because I love the song...

(These Streets by Paolo Nutini)

Poor Barnaby!

2011-11-15T16:26:00.006+04:00

(To provide further proof that yes, I do watch too much TV eheh =p)

Kevin to Robin in HIMYM:

"If there's one thing I've learned as a therapist,

it's that just because something needs to be told,

doesn't always mean it needs to be heard."

Alaaaaa kesiaaan Barneyyyyy!!!! Huuu =(

By Color

2011-11-13T19:57:00.005+04:00

Inspired by Fatma.

To add more colors, I am now literally buying books with green covers only =p

(Hope you people didn't notice my Taboo board game on the shelf hahah!)

SNL Kardashian's Fairytale Divorce

2011-11-13T11:35:00.005+04:00

OMG this is just too funny for words!

Kristen Wiig was BRILLIANT as Kris Jenner - sebijik giler okkk!

Donorboy

2011-11-12T21:36:00.004+04:00

"I find that even twenty six years later, it hurts too much.

It never really hurts any less; it just hurts less often."

Dolphin-watching

2011-11-12T11:41:00.003+04:00

Lookit! Lookit!

Musandam, Oman - Nov 2011

Spot On!

2011-11-07T19:15:00.006+04:00

Gorgeous spots spotted @ Al Ain Zoo, Abu Dhabi

Now am very inspired to go for an African Safari trip huhu!

Two & A Half Men

2011-11-02T09:04:00.002+04:00

"Do you want to make your problem go away?

Or do you want to go away with your problem?"

- Jane Lynch as Dr. Linda Freeman in Two & A Half Men Season 9 -

Passed!

2011-11-01T15:24:00.006+04:00

Alhamdulillah, passed my driving test dgn cemerlang today.

So am officially a legal driver of this Silver Surfer now yeay!

No more curik2 drive behind the husband's back (peace, dear =p)

And no more thrice-a-week driving class yg sgt mengantukkan.

Now I am freeeee!!! Woohooo jump for joy!!!

** Cue soundtrack from X Factor's Brian Bradley aka The Astronomical Kid **

Astro will make you - JUMP JUMP! X factor makes you - JUMP JUMP!

3 Sekawan

2011-10-28T23:37:00.005+04:00

Pose, Click!

Another one, Click!

Okay one last time, Click!

- @ Bimmah Sinkhole, Oman, Oct 2011 -

Come Homeee!

2011-10-27T23:50:00.007+04:00

Houston, we've got a problem.

Iskk...I miss youuuuu dearrrr!

Can't wait for you to come homeee!

Party in the USA

2011-10-22T08:51:00.006+04:00

SRB: Passport, check. Flight ticket, check.

So I dah takde tertinggal anything kan?

Oh ye, ade. YOU. *Hugs & kisses*

SRS: *Hugs & kisses back* =(

Have a safe journey and bring me something good from the US of A, babe! *Cough*iPhone4S*Cough* Hmmm? What? No, I didn't say anything. Did you hear me say something? Nope, I didn't say anything. Thehehe =p

A Visit From The Goon Squad

2011-10-20T18:36:00.003+04:00

Normally I like reading 'interconnecting-lives' kind of stories, but this I just don't get. Maybe I should just give up and accept the fact that I'm not smart and 'deep' enough to understand Pulitzer Prize-winning books huhu~

Oh Enrique...

2011-10-20T18:07:00.006+04:00

...you should've been one of the permanent judges,

coz you are just soo prettyyyyy ;p

Domestic Violets

2011-10-16T15:11:00.009+04:00

"I hate to say it," my wife says. "But I think your mother might have a point there. You know, about you imitating your father's writing."

"Really?" I ask.

"Maybe," she says.

When people are worried about delivering bad news, the word 'maybe' almost always means 'of course.'

Married couples really only have a few arguments. They just keep having them over and over again.

The Bro Code

2011-10-14T15:31:00.009+04:00

Hahah apparently there IS an actual book published on Barney Stinson's Bro Code called The Bro Code. It's stupid, ridiculous and hilarious as hell, just like the Barney character we've all come to love in HIMYM.

I know reading these kinds of books might potentially decrease my IQ level at some point, but hey, they say laughter is the best medicine, so it's safe to say that this book has just helped me improve my health, maybe not significantly but at least a little bit hehe.

ARTICLE 1: Bros before ho's

The bond between two men is stronger than the bond between a man and a woman because, on average, men are stronger than women. That's just science.

ARTICLE 5: Whether he cares about sports or not, a Bro cares about sports

ARTICLE 8: A Bro never sends a greeting card to another Bro

The following are a few emails for any Brocassion that succinctly get the message across without costing you the trouble and expense of having to find and then send an actual greeting card.

CONGRATULATIONS

To: Bro

From: Bro

Subject: Bro!

--------------------

Nice, Bro!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To: Bro

From: Bro

Subject: Dude!

--------------------

Drinks on me, Bro.

THINKING OF YOU

To: N/A

From: N/A

Subject: N/A

--------------------

N/A

ARTICLE 24: When wearing a baseball cap, a Bro may position the brim at either 12 or 6 o'clock. All other angles are reserved for rappers and the handicapped.

ARTICLE 69: Duh!

What's Going On With You?

2011-10-13T11:55:00.006+04:00

So I have finally started my driving classes here in Dubai, after attending the Road Rules & Safety lectures and passing my Theory Test almost a month ago. When dear SRB took the Theory Test early this year, there were only 10 questions. But when it's my turn to take the test, the government has increased the number of questions to 35, cisss! Not only that, they even changed the type of questions. Previously they will only test you on road & traffic signs; you know, what does this sign mean, what does that sign mean - which, you gotta admit, tutup sebelah mata pun boleh pass hehe.

But now, they've included questions on managing risk and safety on the road where you'll be given a diagram - for example, there are Car A, B, C on a junction, with some pedestrians or cyclists trying to cross the road and what not. The question will be something like, "Car A wants to turn right and Car B wants to go straight and Person A wants to cross the road, which is the safest way for Car A to turn right?" Memang if ikut common sense you'd know the answer, but since it's a multiple choice question, you gotta pick one answer from the options given and sometimes none of them make any sense at all!

I came across this one question in the practice test where the correct answer was, and I'm not joking here: "Driver of Car B should make an eye contact with driver of Car C before turning left." What the?!! If the other driver is on that other side of the road, can you actually see his/her eyes pun before nak buat eye contact tu? What if he/she is wearing a sunglasses (which, considering the climate over here, is always the case)?! And what if the car is tinted (which, again, because of the hot weather, is always the case here)?! Adoiii, mengarut I tell ya.

Haaaanyway, back to my driving classes. Based on my years of driving experience, I am required to take 20 driving classes, each class is 30 mins. Each driving session with the instructor lasts about 1 hour, so you'll complete 2 classes per session. So far I have gone for 2 driving sessions, so 4 classes down, 16 more to go huwarrrghh! I know it's wrong to say this, but it is very tiring 'memandu secara berhemah' aaalll the tiiime. Every 5 seconds must check all 3 mirrors, must put on car signal 25 meters before making the turn, must sit straight, hands on 10-and-2-o'clock-position on the steering wheel argghh! If I fail the driving test nanti, I'm telling you, it is not because I don't know how to drive, it's because I don't know how to drive secara skema gile babs hahah!

On another note, dear husband has been persuading/nagging me to sign up for golf lessons together with him since I got back. Ngaaa...I know I used to be a die-hard fan of Tiger Woods, but to be honest, I have never been interested in actually playing golf. It is a very slow, passive kind of sport and sangatlah menghitamkan kulit okkk. SRB has started playing golf with some of his 'senior' colleagues and getting some informal lessons from them since a few months back, but now he's determined to get a proper training to perfect his swings. And he wants to drag me along for the ride so that "nanti bila dah belajar, bolehlah kita pegi main golf sama2", he said. But just between you and me, I think it's because he doesn't want to feel guilty for leaving me behind whenever he wants to go out and play golf for hours (dahlah selalu tinggalkan bini sorang2 bila gi Iraq kan hehe). So his solution is plain and simple - bring the wife along hahah! * Just kidding dear =p, I know your intention came from a good place and I'll think about it ok? *

Other than that, since I got back from Msia, I've been staying at home, cooking and catching up on the new episodes of all my favorite TV shows - Modern Family (congrats to Phil and Claire Dunphy for winning the Emmys - you guys are hilarious!), HIMYM, The Big Bang Theory, Community, Glee, Vampire Diaries, etc. Started watching some new shows as well - New Girl, Happy Endings, Up All Night, Mike & Molly, among others. Watched the new episodes of Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher as one of the 'men' now, and I gotta say, so far I'm not impressed (except when he's showing his washboard abs hahah!). Coz I think his character in this show is just like most of the characters he's ever played in movies, which is a lazy little man-child. So there's nothing new there. Or maybe because he's so good at portraying a 'man-child', that's why he was given the part. And got paid a million per episode for it. Damn.

Oh also, Kim Kardashian has apparently landed on UAE and is currently making appearances all over Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The local newspapers, at the Kardashian's request I'm sure, has even detailed out her whereabouts for the next few days in order to encourage people to come and stalk her hehe. By now, I am actually sick of the Kardashians and their self-promoting TV shows already (I'm even more disgusted that people in E!, particularly Ryan Seacrest, just won't stop producing reality shows for each Kardashian sibling), so when I heard about Kim coming to Dubai, I was like, 'What-everrrr!' *dengan gaya typical American teenager hahah!* But since tomorrow she'll be in Dubai Mall, which is within walking distance from our place, we have decided to pretend to be one of her adoring fans and try to catch a glimpse of her in real life, while hating ourselves every step of the way hehe. If nak kena drive gi mall yang jauh, nak kena carik parking lagi, memang jangan haraplaa I nak pegi tengok okk. Plus, SRB wants to test his new camera, so bolehlah pura2 jadi paparazzi sikit hehe. But if sampai nak kena bertolak2 ke ape tomorrow, heheh you just come find me at either Forever 21 or H&M once you're done lah ye, dear?

Till later peeps!

How To Talk To A Widower

2011-10-09T18:11:00.003+04:00

"Pity, I've learned, is like a fart.

You can tolerate your own, but you simply can't stand anyone else's."

BRILLIANT! =p

Replenished

2011-10-03T07:49:00.005+04:00

Diterbangkan khas dari Malaysia - stock replenished!

Macam boleh bukak kedai runcit pun ade gak eheh.

Sweetness

2011-10-02T07:47:00.004+04:00

Big smile.

Jaw hurts.

Thanks babe! :D

Bye Bye Sweet Home

2011-10-02T07:17:00.003+04:00

Keliling dunia dua tiga kali,

Ku tahu hanya satu perkara pasti,

Selagi bumi di atas paksi,

Bila tiba masa aku kembali...

- Altimet, Malaysian Boy -

Terpisah

2011-09-26T11:43:00.005+04:00

5 more days.

I miss you, babe!

Pic of the Day

2011-09-25T18:37:00.005+04:00

Like!

Belated Raya Wish

2011-09-14T16:44:00.003+04:00

Hope it's not too late to wish everyone

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri,

Mohon Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

After One Year

2011-08-23T17:43:00.005+04:00

So this is it.

Inhale deeply.

Hold your breath.

And brace yourself, Rina!

Mah Favorite!

2011-08-20T18:07:00.006+04:00

Homemade Roti John

For buka, moreh, sahur or late night snacks - I can eat them aaall niiight looong bebeh =p

(Hence puasa this year memang tak lost weight langsung ahahaha!)

Thank You!

2011-08-19T23:43:00.006+04:00

Dearest Generous Husband,

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Lots of Love,

Your Grateful Wife =)

The Silver Linings Playbook

2011-08-16T17:41:00.005+04:00

"But I'll tell you the same thing I tell my students when they complain about the depressing nature of American literature: life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly, like our marriage did, Pat. And the literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for people to endure nobly."

It's gonna be made into a movie, starring the gorgeous Bradley Cooper *drool*! I love it when they make movies out of the books I read, especially when my favorite actors are being cast in them. Can't wait~

Kekanda Adinda

2011-08-15T17:38:00.004+04:00

Was in the mood to listen to Butterfinger-ish Malay songs recently

and came across this Kekanda Adinda song by Monoloque.

Very cuteee!

Kanda segalanya

Dindalah nyawa....

Alalalala sweetnye Loque...I wish you'd cut your hair though =p

Blue

2011-08-14T13:54:00.005+04:00

Everything just depresses the hell out of me lately. The injured Malaysian kid who got robbed in London riot - couldn't get the image out of my head, I kinda regret watching that video now. The US debt crisis that could lead to global economic collapse - what if there'll be no money to buy food nanti iskkk. A friend who just lost her baby - may Allah continue to give her strength, Amiinnn.

And the PMS is definitely making me feel worse. Reading books about teenage angst and rebellion like Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (it's gonna be made into a movie yeay!) also doesn't help at all.

Tried to cheer myself up by watching my favorite TV shows - Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and my favorite movies - Closer, Love Actually for the past few days. I watch Closer everyday that I can almost memorize all the lines in every scene now. I don't know, I guess I feel a bit better after that. It's temporary but well, better than nothing huh? Cepatlah boleh sembahyang balik so I can get back my inner peace and get over this unpleasant feeling.

In the meantime, I leave you with my favorite lines from my favorite twisted love story ever, Closer, featuring the oh-so-awesome Clive Owen:

Dan the Obituarist: You think love is simple.

You think the heart is like a diagram.

Larry the Doctor: Have you ever seen a human heart?

It looks like a fist, wrapped in blood!

Go f**k yourself! You writer! You liar!

I Feel Like

2011-08-05T17:53:00.004+04:00

"I feel like I should be panicking right now but a good kind of panic, you know?

And I feel like I wanna die right now but I also feel very very good."

- Jason Bateman as Nick Hendricks in Horrible Bosses,

after accidentally sniffing cocaine -

Biking Around Buyukada

2011-08-02T12:30:00.005+04:00

A trip to Buyukada, the largest of 9 islands comprising

the Princes' Islands in Marmara Sea, Istanbul.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

2011-08-01T07:21:00.003+04:00

"I think that if my friends or family are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have. Good and bad. Just like what my sister said when I had been in the hospital for a while. She said that she was really worried about going to college, and considering what I was going through, she felt really dumb about it. But I don't know why she would feel dumb. I'd be worried, too. And really, I don't think I have it any better or worse than she does. I don't know. It's just different. Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Because it's okay to feel things. And be who you are about them."

Ramadhan Kali Ini

2011-07-31T19:32:00.011+04:00

Organized a small makan2 at home last week sempena menyambut kehadiran Ramadhan chewahhh! With some help from Aida, who came for a visit that weekend, I made nasi ayam, mee bandung, pulut kuning and rendang for the main dish and bought some fruits for dessert. And our guests brought a chocolate cake and cocktail pudding to add to the dessert. All in all, memang malam yang mengenyangkan, Alhamdulillah.

It was my first time making pulut kuning, sangat jakun - usually I let my pulut retains its natural color je which is white hehe. Baru ku tau kuning tu comes from soaking it with air kunyit. As usual, selama ni memang tau makan je, tak pernah amek tau pun how the pulut turns yellow hihi!

(Asked dear SRB to take some pics of the food I made and this is what I got.

Food cover pun tak bukak. Adoi pakcik tu mmg dah hilang mojo amek gambar =p)

This year is gonna be my first Ramadhan as a full-time housewife. So waking up early to prepare sahur should not be a problem at all coz I can ganti tidur kejap di siang hari if I want to hehe. Since it's summer now, Subuh is as early as 4.20AM, so gotta start eating sahur around 3-ish AM pergh! Dahlah selalu tido pun usually close to 1AM, then about 2 hours later nak kena bangun balik huhu! Today, SRB got back a bit late from work and we didn't eat dinner until about 10PM. And in about 5 more hours, nak kena bangun and makan nasi again pehhh!

And oh, dear SRB is going to Iraq tomorrow (#@$%&!), so I'm gonna go through my first week of puasa here all alone. You hear that dear - ALL ALONE. Kasi dramatik sikit di situ =p. Of course I'm sad, but am not gonna dwell on it too much coz by now I'm already used to him not being around during certain important occasions, e.g. my birthday thehehe, and I have accepted that it's one of the sacrifices I have to make in this new life. Oh yeahhh, I'm a big girl now bebeh, very mature hahah!

So anyway, Selamat Berpuasa everyone dan semoga Ramadhan kali ini membawa lebih keberkatan, Insya Allah, Amiiiinnn...

Around Town

2011-07-27T13:27:00.006+04:00

So apparently there was a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in Marmara Sea last 2 days which caused some mild tremors in certain parts of Istanbul. I was reading on a sofa by the window in our hotel room when it happened - dear SRB went out for dinner with his colleagues. Felt the floor shook a bit for a few minutes but thought it was just the building's normal vibration, macam selalu rasa kat Suria KLCC tu, so I wasn't really worried about it. The next day, dear SRB told me about the earthquake and I thought, damnnn, wasn't it a bit dangerous to sit right by the window during an earthquake? Nasib baik gua tak tau that itu adalah gempa bumi masa tu, if not, adalah agak cuak di situ dude, urksss!

Dear SRB took my precious camera with him to his group dinner last night and came back without it. At first I thought he was joking and was waiting for him to say "Acah jeee!" like he always does. But when I realized he was serious, he actually left it somewhere, at the restaurant, in the taxi, he's not sure, I actually meraung satu bilik hotel hahah! A bit childish I know, but I love my camera and the thought of someone else (the one who bought it for me plak tu) hilangkan dia made me very sad. While pakcik tu panik, walking back and forth tak tentu arah, trying to find the restaurant's phone number etc, I sat quietly on the bed, contemplating whether to merajuk, marah or menangis - hahah drama kan? Turned out he left the camera at the restaurant and went there to get it back. Nasib baik jumpa balik, if not, D90 satu, no question asked okay, dear?

I went to Sultanahmet (where the main historical monuments, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, etc are located) via tram yesterday to see how the place looked like in the summer. It definitely had a different look - more greenery, more people, more skin ahah!

Look at the queue to enter Hagia Sophia in the summer - ngaaa memang give up beb! During winter aritu I think the longest was just 1/4 of that je kot.

Hagia Sophia was the only place that I wanted to visit again in this trip but unfortunately, I didn't have enough patience to queue that long, so instead I just walked around, snapped some pictures and did some people-watching (a lot of Chinese tourists this time around) while dehydrating myself on a bench, sambil bermandi peluh and membakar kulit huhu.

Adehhh, memang tak sempat nak putih again before balik Msia if camni =p

Istanbul 2.0

2011-07-26T14:25:00.007+04:00

Blue Mosque in Winter vs. Blue Mosque in Summer

I bet it's gonna be even more gorgeous when the leaves turn yellow/orange in Fall.

Oldest Friends

2011-07-24T13:31:00.006+04:00

"A good friend is cheaper than therapy."

We miss you, Fatma!

On Repeat

2011-07-15T11:28:00.006+04:00

...until I'm ready to come out of my cave.

Not Guilty, Your Honor

2011-07-08T12:52:00.013+04:00

For the past few months, I've been diligently following the trial of Casey Anthony, who has recently been acquitted in the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony. The trial has been filled with tears, lies, twists and shocking revelations that it's been said to be America's summer obsession this year. It's wayyy scandalous than reality TV shows that even reality TV stars like the Kardashians were hooked to it hehe.

Many people were 'sick to their stomachs' by the 'Not Guilty' verdict - some blamed the prosecution team for failing to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, while some blamed the jurors/system for letting people in the country get away with murder. If Casey were found guilty, she would have faced the toughest sentence in American Law: death by lethal injection - perghhhh tu memang lagi drama beb! Suddenly teringat plak the horrifying electric chair scene in The Green Mile movie huhu.

So, do I believe she's guilty? Well, as a Google-based trial watcher, my answer would be a big fat gigantic YESSSS! I definitely think, without a doubt, that she did it. Whether it was accidental or pre-meditated, we will never know, but the bottom line is, she killed her daughter. If she didn't do it, why wait for 31 days before reporting Caylee missing? If she has nothing to hide, what's up with all these elaborate lies about the non-existence nanny, the rich boyfriend in New York and the job at Universal Studio? Psycho-ness okayyy. I agree 200% with the prosecutor, no one else benefited from Caylee's death except Casey, the party-loving mother. And now that she's been found not guilty, she'll be free to live the partying, fun-filled life that she always wanted. Argghhh marah lah niii!

However, in America, everyone is supposedly innocent until proven guilty. And unfortunately, in this case, the evidence presented in court was just not enough to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Casey killed her daughter. There were just too many questions left unanswered, especially the most important one - how did Caylee die? There were no witnesses, no cause of death (it couldn't be determined coz the body was too badly decomposed when found), no DNA or fingerprints of Casey found anywhere near Caylee's dead body, so couldn't 100% link her to the child's death booo! Maybe if the body was found earlier, they could get some traces of DNA, but oh well, I think it's lucky that it's been found at all.

So based on that, I think the jurors did the right thing with the 'Not Guilty' verdict - it doesn't necessarily means that they think she's innocent, it's just that there's not enough proof to convict her. Dahlah nak kasi death penalty, lagilah kena ada hard evidence to support the charges kan. I am truly disappointed with the verdict of course, but I realized that it's a fair decision, made based on everything presented in court rather than personal feelings or emotions. If ikut perasaan, pehhh kalau boleh the next day kasi teros inject sampai mati kot huhu!

Some experts say that the popular TV show CSI may have influenced how jurors think in recent years, "giving them a false impression that every case has the same clear-cut forensic evidence featured in that fictional series. Jurors have now gotten less likely to convict because they are under the false impression that every case is going to have some sort of forensic smoking gun."

Hahah funny but I think very true at some point. In CSI, selalu macam ada je dia jumpe setitik darah or serpihan tulang whatsoever among percikan minyak or serpihan batu or kaca and I have always wondered - is it that easy to detect in real life? Tipuuuuu~

P/S: I just read this from People.com - Apparently, in a letter she wrote to an inmate while in jail awaiting trial, she said she dreamed of having another baby once she's out, she wanted to get pregnant again or adopt. What the BLOODY FFFF???!! Who in their right mind would let her near a child after this? She's crazy and delusional!!!

Curiosity Killed the Cat

2011-07-06T09:54:00.005+04:00

** Spoiler alert for those of you who haven't seen Paranormal Activity and plan to watch it someday (I'd very much advise against it though) **

First and foremost, let me tell you that I am NOT a horror movie fan, not ever. But I heard about Paranormal Activity being the scariest, most haunting horror film ever made in recent years that some viewers even walked out in the middle of screening because it scared the hell out of them and they just couldn't continue watching. Definitely not the kind of movie for a penakut like me laa kan.

But this movie has been on repeat for a few months on our cable channels that I became increasingly curious - "Apa yang takot sangat pasal movie ni? Rupa hantu dia ke? Or tak nampak pun hantu dia?" As far as I know, hantu Indon ialah hantu yang paling menakutkan sekali di dunia, so I don't think an American ghost could be THAT scary.

So I made a "brilliant" decision one night to watch Paranormal Activity from the beginning till the end, but not before reading the detailed plot from Wiki so I could anticipate the 'sakit jantung' moments hehe. Yeah I know, memang kinda ruin the feel, but that's the only way I'd be able to make it through a scary movie, so sukati aa kan.

It turned out, BLARDYHELL citer ni memang takot nak mamposss!!! They say, curiosity killed the cat. Well, I say curiosity gave me nightmares huwaaarrgghhh!!! There was no gory, scary-looking ghost or anything like that in the movie, just some shadows lurking here and there je. But the things done by the possessed Katie tu yang extremely disturbing and haunting, especially when she stood by the bed, doing nothing except staring at his sleeping boyfriend in the middle of the night, for several hours - OMG horror! I slept with the lights and iPod on coz I kept imagining someone standing by the bed watching me sleep urrkksss!

And to make it worse, I watched the movie a night before dear SRB left for Iraq, leaving me all alone at home - memang sangat "bijak" kan? Yup, ternyata saya sangatlah "bijak". Luckily he's making just a short 3-day/2-night trip this time so he'll be home tonight, thank God.

But now I am really curious about Paranormal Activity 2 pulak. So how? Hihihihi =p

Anniversary Getaway: JBH + Wild Wadi

2011-07-05T12:17:00.014+04:00

I was too lazy to plan for any overseas getaway for our wedding anniversary recently, so suggested going for a 'Cuti-cuti Dubai' instead. And since my idea of a perfect vacation always includes a beach and water-related activities, we decided to book a 2-night weekend stay at the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which offers private beach access and most importantly, FREE access to the neighboring Wild Wadi Water Park, oh yeahhh~

Upon checking in, the hotel receptionist asked whether we're there to celebrate any special occasion; weddings, birthdays, graduations (do we look like we just graduated from college or something?), etc, so we told her yes, we're celebrating our wedding anniversary and she kindly upgraded our room to the one with a balcony yeay! But to be honest, I believed she would've given the upgrade even if we're not celebrating anything coz it's not really a peak season, hence, they had a lot of room-with-balcony available, so they used it as an opportunity to make hotel guests feel great - by giving them upgrades/free stuff hehe. Well, whatever the reason, we appreciated the nice gesture since the view from our balcony was just fantastic!

The hotel's private beach was right in front of the 5-star Burj Al Arab Hotel - kalau swim dari tepi pantai memang boleh sampai lah Burj Al Arab tu. And it made me realized, semahal2 Burj Al Arab tu, dia takde private beach on the island itself, instead you have to cross the bridge to get to the beach, tak best ahh. Should reduce 1 star di situ hehe.

The Wild Wadi Water Park right beside the hotel was smaller than Atlantis' Aquaventure Water Park, but the rides were much more awesome than those in Aquaventure. Unlike in Aquaventure, Wild Wadi didn't have water escalators to take you up, instead, they used something like water-boosters to push you and your tube up the slides. Kinda fun coz they made the rides seemed longer tapi adehhh, sakit bontot weh!

Dear SRB got stuck halfway once, somehow the water-booster didn't manage to push him up the slide and they had to stop the water flow and start it up all over again while the rest of us waited and wondered, "OMG am I heavier than that guy who's stuck? Will I be able to make it through?" ahaha! Well, I think it was a technical glitch sikit kot, coz ramai je orang lain yg lagi bapak besar compared to SRB and they berjaya je naik hehe.

Besides a variety of slides, another awesome-factor of Wild Wadi was their surfing simulators called Flowriders, one for beginners, one for those with a bit of experience. SRB tried the one for beginners, after queuing for almost 2 hours and ended up with some bruises. I guess surfing on artificial waves was not much easier than surfing on real waves.

And oh, this time we did try the tallest free-fall slide in the water park. Setelah survey2 and kaji2 sikit, we decided that it's less scary than Aquaventure's Leap of Faith since dia banyak lengkung2 so it's not really a vertical drop, hence do-able sikit laa. Agak lemah lutut while climbing up the tower (ada org tu dah nak patah balik turun pun hihi) but in the end, it was not so bad. NOT gonna try it again though hahaks!

So peeps, if you come to Dubai and want to cool yourself down to beat the brutal Middle-East summer heat, I'd recommend going to Wild Wadi Water Park instead of Aquaventure. (Free advertising sedikit di situ hehe).

Silly at the Grocery

2011-07-03T11:21:00.005+04:00

*** I heart you with a potato ***

*** I heart you with the tomatoes ***

Okay readers, you can go puke now. Thehehehehee...

When I Can't Say What I Really Wanna Say

2011-06-29T14:25:00.005+04:00

...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

2011-06-24T11:44:00.004+04:00

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

2011-06-23T12:14:00.007+04:00

"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...

2011-06-20T20:22:00.011+04:00

...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?

2011-06-19T21:36:00.009+04:00

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

2011-06-16T12:14:00.004+04:00

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

2011-06-15T12:45:00.004+04:00

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

2011-06-14T11:49:00.006+04:00

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

2011-06-07T21:53:00.004+04:00

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...

2011-06-06T13:45:00.004+04:00

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

Birthday Brunch

2011-06-05T14:37:00.007+04:00

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

2011-06-02T10:47:00.009+04:00

"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

Challenge Accepted

2011-05-29T16:16:00.006+04:00

A few weeks back, one of dear SRB's colleagues who's staying at the Shangri La Hotel invited a bunch of us for a dinner at the hotel's restaurant that was hosting a Malaysian Festival - Malaysian food, Malaysian traditional dances, basically that whole 'Malaysia Truly Asia' showcase lah. We're thrilled of course, dalam kepala dah terbayang sate, laksa, bubur kacang merah, etc but to be honest, the food turned out to be a bit of a disappointment even though they were prepared by Malaysian chefs flown from Shangri La Malaysia, but oh well, better than nothing kan.

One of SRB's American colleagues who used to work and live in Malaysia for quite some time back in the early 90's was also very happy and excited to be eating Malaysian food again that night - "Makan timeeee", he said. Rupanya his wife later told me that he's been a big fan of beef rendang ever since he first had it in Malaysia almost a decade ago and not only that, she also asked me to teach her how to cook rendang so she could sort of surprise her husband. Say whattt? Me teach you cook rendang, like, manually? Not from Brahims packet or something like that? Ngaaaaa...

I have never in my life masak rendang from scratch, it has always been one of those complicated dishes that I categorized as 'tau-makan-je', so really, wrong person to ask m'am! But I thought it was beyond sweet of her, an elderly American, to want to learn how to cook a dish from a totally different culture just to make her husband happy that I didn't have the heart to completely say no. So as Barney in HIMYM would say it - CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Hehe.

Asked my mom for the recipe, decided to try and cook it myself first before ada hati nak ajar orang plak kan, and tadaaa...

First attempt berjaya yeehaaa! Tasted just like my mom's, if not better (ewahhh takkan nak lawan tokey plak kan hihi). Hopefully the next time around it will turn out as good, if not, aduiii malu lah daku sebagai tenaga pengajar hehe =p

The Lover's Dictionary

2011-05-25T13:06:00.008+04:00

My favourite words:

only, adj.

That's the dilemma, isn't it? When you're single, there's the sadness and joy of only me. And when you're paired, there's the sadness and joy of only you.

ubiquitous, adj.

When it's going well, the fact of it is everywhere. It's there in the song that shuffles into your ears. It's there in the book you're reading. It's there on the shelves of the store as you reach for a towel and forget about the towel. It's there as you open the door. As you stare off on the subway, it's what you're looking at. You wear it on the inside of your hat. It lines your pockets. It's the temperature.

The hitch, of course, is that when it's going badly, it's in all the same places.

And saving the best for last...

woo, v.

I told you that it was ridiculous to pay thirty dollars for a dozen roses on Valentine's Day. I forbade you to do it.

So that day, when I went to pay for lunch, what did I find? In my wallet, thirty singles, each with roses printed on it. I imagined you feeding them through your color printer. Oh, the smile that must have played across your face. I had to ask the woman behind the counter to take a quick picture of my own smile, to send it right back to you.

Say it with me people, awwwwwwww... =p

Check This Out...

2011-05-23T18:02:00.013+04:00

Saw this in the 'Outsourced' sitcom the other day and I sooo want it!!! It'll be cool and at the same time hilarious to drink out of this toilet bowl mug hahah! A bit disgusting maybe, especially if you're drinking brown-colored liquid, but definitely HILARIOUSSS!!!

And check out this Halloween costume worn by one of the characters in the series - can you guess it? A magnet and some chickens attached to it - chick magnet! LOL lawak gilerrrr!

Too bad NBC is cancelling the show after only one season, alaaa. I was really looking forward to see what other ridiculous novelty items they gonna come up with tapi now dah kena cancel plak cisss~

Berjaya!

2011-05-22T20:41:00.004+04:00

Mee bandung Muar - BERJAYAAA yappediduuu~

Boooo!

2011-05-21T11:29:00.003+04:00

BOOOOHOOOOO!!! The finale's gonna be a real snoozefest boooo!!!

Entering My Last Year of 20's

2011-05-17T11:53:00.024+04:00

*** Warning: Corniness ahead ***

Last Sunday, 2 days before my birthday, while dear SRB was taking a shower after returning home from work, as usual, I set up the table for dinner and went to the kitchen to reheat the lauk-pauk. Then, as usual, I brought out the reheated lauk from the kitchen, saw that SRB's already seated, arranged the food on the table, pulled out my chair ready to sit down when ehhhh, apakah iniii??? A box and a card with my name on it on my seat??? I looked up and there he was, tersengih2 kambing, proud that he somehow still managed to surprise me. "Happy birthday in advance, dear!" he said, before urging me to quickly unwrap the gift.

And then the next day, swoooshhh he flew off to Iraq, leaving me all alone on this very day cissss! So yeah, that explained the in-advance gift.

But since today is not only the day I turn a year older, but also the day I start living the last year of my 20's, I'm gonna try to stop whining and be totally mature about having to spend this special day by myself and be 'zen' about this whole business of 'getting old' nyaaarrgghk! So today, I'm gonna shake off this feeling of doom & gloom and make myself feel better & hopefully healthier by sweating it out at the gym and maybe after that, treat myself to the delicious CPK's thin crust pizza (healthy laa sangat kan haha).

And oh, a very special shout out to dearest husband yang kini berada nun jauh di padang pasir - THANK YOU for the gift, dear (you know I love it), THANK YOU for the thoughtful sayings in the card and THANK YOU for everything else that you've given me, which sometimes, kinda makes me feel like every other day IS my birthday hehe.

Me love you long time, babe =)

The Ruins of Gerasa

2011-05-16T13:19:00.012+04:00

Jerash (north of Amman) or known in Greco-Roman times as Gerasa was founded by the Greeks during the time of Alexander the Great. It was one of the ten Roman commercial cities that became collectively known as Decapolis.

The best part here for me was the Roman Army and Chariot Experience - kelakar tengok Pak2 Arab berlakon jadi askar Roman and gladiators ahah! But gotta applaud lah their efforts in re-creating the Roman scene coz with the soundtrack semua, it kinda DID make me feel macam dalam movie 'Gladiator' hehe.

Dear SRB said, since we already saw all these Roman stuff here in Jordan, then tak payah dahlah pegi Rome or anywhere in Italy coz they basically have the same things there. Alaaaaaaa..... (Bimbo much, Rina? =p)

I was thinking, kat Jordan re-create scenes from 'Gladiator', kat Italy kena re-create scenes from 'The Tourist' plak wakakaka! Berangan je lebih =p

The Dead Sea

2011-05-15T12:57:00.006+04:00

Never thought that we'd ever get the chance to come here, but here we are - at the Dead Sea, the lowest elevation on Earth's surface on dry land. While driving down below the sea level tu, telinga ada rase tersumbat gaklaa, just like when riding up escalator in tall buildings.

There are public facilities; showers, changing rooms, swimming pool, etc, in a place called Amman Beach (but gotta pay an entrance fee lah) which makes it easier for people to have dip in the water without checking into the expensive resorts along the Dead Sea. It's best to have a shower right after bermandi-manda di Dead Sea coz once you got out you'd be coated with salt encrustation and it'd be uncomfortable if you don't immediately wash it off.

I didn't fully believe it at first, but yeap, apparently it's true. You CAN float in the Dead Sea, effortlessly. Once you're in the water, just lift your feet up and tadaa...the water will somehow automatically push your whole body up to float.

The salinity of Dead Sea water is 9 times that of the ocean, very lah the masin which prevents any kinds of life forms to flourish in it, hence the name lah kan. I did try tasting the water and urkksss...memang masin tahap naga beb!

Being in the Dead Sea made me miss the white sandy beaches in M'sian east coast even more. Mahu balik and pegi Pulau Perhentiannnn!

Ashabul Kahfi

2011-05-14T19:47:00.008+04:00

"(Remember) when the young men fled for refuge (from their disbelieving folk) to the Cave, they said: 'Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!' Therefore We covered up their (sense of) hearing (causing them to go into deep sleep) in the Cave for a number of years."

:Surah Al-Kahf, 10-11

Mentioned in Al-Quran in surah Al-Kahf (The Cave), this is believed to be the cave where a group of young, religious men who fled persecution took refuge in and were protected and put to sleep by Allah for 300 years (they thought they were asleep for a day or two). This is one of the several locations that claim to be that cave, the most famous one being Ephesus in Turkey.

Inside the cave are some tombs and remains of clay jars believed to be used by the People of the Cave (Ashabul Kahfi).

On one of the tombs, there's a hole covered by glass and if you press up your camera against the glass and take a picture using flash, you'd capture an image of the tomb's contents. I was hesitant at first (sebab takut to find out what's inside the tomb hehe), but the cavekeeper kept on insisting me to take a picture through the hole. Since I didn't want to offend him, amek gaklaa gambar. And the image I got - some brownish bones and skulls. Ngaaaa...iskk!

The Red Rose City of Petra

2011-05-10T22:59:00.013+04:00

Are we there yet? ...NO.

*Walking with a spring in our steps, sambil bergelak ketawa penuh excited*

Are we there yet? ...NO.

*Less talking, walking at a slower pace, ketiak dah start berpeluh*

Are we there yet? ...NO.

*No talking at all, tercungap-cungap, adoiii mengah dah niii!*

Are we there yet? ...Still NO.
*Arrkkk...lutut dah nak tercabut, mata dah start berpinar-pinar*

Are we there yet? ...YESSS, FINALLY!!!
*Melonjak kegembiraan wooohooo*

This, my friends, is the spectacular Monastery - the most legendary monument of Petra (also known as the Red Rose City for the rose-colored mountain walls in which Petra is carved). It was originally built as a Nabataean tomb for their king and was later used as a church during Byzantine times and as the backdrop of a number of movies during recent times.

Looking at this majestic facade from the opposite cave-turned-drinks-stall, I was reminded again of that saying by Karl Pilkington in 'An Idiot Abroad'; "It's much better to look out of a hole at a palace, than live in a palace overlooking a hole." This time, yesss...literally true indeed!

It was a truly magnificent sight! I was spellbound, I could not take my eyes off it even for a second the whole time I was there. And then someone had to ruin the moment by saying how awesome it was to come to the place where Transformers pernah lawan2 and how this place was probably built by those highly-advanced robots as well. Urrksss dearrrr...please laaahhh! Bikin spoil laa orang tengah nak menghayati sejarah ni! =p

The Citadel

2011-05-09T23:16:00.010+04:00

Citadel is a historical complex that sits on the highest hill in Amman, Jebel Al-Qala'a (just like Rome, Amman is built on seven major hills or 'jebels' in Arabic). This place is like a big, open-air museum that contains artifacts from the Bronze & Iron Age, and some outstanding ruins from the Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad periods.

From the Roman period - the remaining pillars of the Temple of Hercules. The temple was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius - yup, the very same Roman Emperor whom Russell Crowe used to serve as General to in the 'Gladiator' movie hehe, as mentioned before.

From the Byzantine period - the remains of a Byzantine Church from 6th or 7th century AD. Most of the structure has been destroyed by an earthquake.

From the Umayyad period - the remains of the Umayyad Palace and mosque. Umayyad is the second of four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.

My favorite spot in this whole complex? This cute little bench, under this cute little tree. Hihi~

Somehow it reminds me of the tree in that Korean tear-jerker movie, My Sassy Girl, where they buried the time capsule tu - yup I know, memang takde kena mengena langsung dengan history di Citadel ini hehe.

Amman's Roman Theatre

2011-05-08T21:43:00.008+04:00

The Roman Theatre is the most impressive remnants of Roman Philadelphia in the city of Amman. It was built on the northern side of a hill (to keep the sun off the spectators) with three tiers: the rulers, of course, sat closest to the action, the military had the middle section, and the general public sat perched, squinting, way up the top - kata Encik Lonely Planet.

I tried to video myself while climbing down the steep stairs from the highest section, ala2 James Franco in 127 Hours (barulaa adventure sikit beb hahaks!), but had to stop after only 4 steps coz 'Mr. Gayat' kat belakang dah bising2 suruh simpan camera sebab dia yang seriau hehe.

Cuti-cuti Middle East

2011-05-08T19:30:00.008+04:00

In an effort to stalk Prince William and the gorgeous Kate Middleton, I have persuaded dear husband to take some time off work so we could fly over to one of the countries rumored to be the newlyweds honeymoon destination and try to track their every move there hehe.

So here we are, bebeh! Ahlan wasahlan! Welcome to the Kingdom of Jordan!

But Will & Kate then decided to totally ruin my plan of becoming among the first people to capture the Royal Honeymoon pictures and pegi postpone their honeymoon pulak, ciiiissss!

Anyway, since we're already here, might as well take the chance to, bak kata SRB, 'cuti-cuti Middle East' eheh!

P/S: Of course I was kidding about coming to Jordan to stalk the royal couple. Mu gilo ke? It's nothing but just a huge almost-coincidence =p.

Far Away Friends

2011-04-29T12:38:00.005+04:00

*** Friends-sick mode ***

I wish I'm hosting a Royal Wedding Viewing Party today so you girls can come over, and we can all laugh at those crazy hats the wedding guests are wearing, fall for the dashing prince/groom, gush over the bride's wedding dress, all the while telling ourselves, "It should've been me!" hehe.

I miss you peeps!

Momentary Weakness

2011-04-22T14:25:00.008+04:00

Store-bought caesar salad...

Homemade baked fusilli...

Dinner in front of the TV while watching American Idol...HEAVENNN!

That's right people. The vegetarian diet is out of the window, kabooshh!

And the high-carb diet is now in the house yoo! I'm weak, I know huhuhu =p

Come Back!

2011-04-16T14:41:00.006+04:00

*** PDA Alert ***

I usually try not to portray myself as a needy person. Who likes to be seen as needy or clingy anyway? We usually like to think of ourselves as strong, independent women (which we are most of the time - girl power bebeh!). But the truth is, once in a while, we just want to let our guard down, peel off that 'I'm-a-woman-of-steel' mask and just be a helpless little girl.

And since I am in touch with that 'girly' side of me right now, I'm just gonna go ahead and say...

BABYYY COME BACKKKK!!!! :(

So today I...

2011-04-15T22:42:00.005+04:00

Went to the gym. Felt a bit like a loser running/dying on the treadmill beside a pakcik who was so much faster. Got home. Showered. Grilled some veggies.

(What you didn't see in the pic is a side dish of 2 slices of toast with butter

theehehee. And you wonder why I can't shed those extra kgs off hahah!)

Planted myself on the couch with my somewhat vegetarian dinner. Got all psyched up for AI results, only to find out that PAUL IS OUTTTT??? WHAT THEEE!!! AAARRGGHHHH BENCIIIII!!!

If Scotty, who keeps holding the microphone like it's a bloody flute, wins this season, I am SERIOUSLY gonna boycott the show for years to come mannn!!! Well, I say that every year, every time the person I root for gets booted off hehe. But like a tragic car wreck on a highway, I just can't stop myself from watching hahaks!

P/S: Isn't it lame to write the first 2-3 words of your sentence as the title and then continue the rest in the blog entry like that? Hahah I always thought it's lame. But my favorite AI contestant just got kicked off the show tonight, so let's just embrace the lame-ness this time peeps =p.

Real Life

2011-04-13T17:51:00.014+04:00

After more than a month of togetherness, I'm now back to being a stay-at-home-alone wife, boo to the hooo! Dear SRB is now in Iraq and, according to his SMS, is currently walking around the desert, with some ex-British army as his bodyguards, trying to 'cari minyak' hehe. He has not been there for almost 2 months, ever since we got back from Istanbul - the longest he has gone without making his regular trip to Iraq. Which was totally awesome for me, but I guess not good for his 'hands-on experience' points and also our air miles collection =p.

Since I'm home-alone this week, I'm using this opportunity to do a bit of detox. (When dear SRB is not around, I don't usually do any fancy schmancy kind of cooking, as in lauk pauk, nasi, etc. Bak kata orang tua, dapur tu tak berapa nak berasap laa hehe.) My version of konon2 detox is eat less whites and more greens, reds and yellows chewahhh. So less rice, and more fruits and veggies. It's been a looong time (or is it more like, never? =p) since I eat only fruits for dinner. So far, so good. Tapi bila lapar giler tu, rasa macam setandan pisang pun boleh habis huhu! I dunno, I guess it's always easier to 'diet' when you don't have to cook for other people and actually sit down for a proper dinner, with homemade food terhidang in front of you. Yelaa, bila dah penat2 masak untuk husband baru balik keje, takkan lepas tu kita nak nganga makan buah je while dia sedap2 makan nasi, ayam masak merah? Uuuuu mungkin tidak beb! I am not THAT strong hehe.

On a completely unrelated note, my latest hobby nowadays is renting movies from iTunes. Yelah, sini takde kedai DVD murah maa. So, with $3.99 per movie for standard def. and $4.99 for HD, iTunes jelah the cheapest source I can get over here. Downloading movies from internet for free is out of the question because I just don't have the patience. When there's no good programs on TV, I'd rent a movie from iTunes, wait for about 15-30 minutes for the movie to finish download, hook the laptop to TV, then hoorayyy - movie night is all set baby!

And oh, it's been raining every night for 4 days straight over here. Siap kilat sabung menyabung. At first we thought it was someone's camera flash from the hotel across our house, rupanya kilat beb! It was my first time ever dengar guruh kat sini so masa tu memang jakun and homesick gilerrr. I stood by the sliding door for quite some time to watch and listen to the raindrops, huhu syahduuu! I've been told that usually it only rains like once or twice a year in Dubai. Tu pun hujan acah-acah je. But lately it's been raining real rain like in Malaysia and I so so love it! The news said this 'unpredictable weather' will last the whole week, so hopefully I'll be sleeping with the sound of rain, just like back home, every night, for the rest of the week.

I don't know why I write about these things. They are silly and trivial, I know. But I guess I'm just trying to include the ordinary, mundane things in life in this blog. There's this new illness/condition that doctors warn about, called 'Facebook Depression', where people get depressed because they thought other people are always having much more fun in life compared to them. (Facebook or no Facebook, we all feel that way sometimes, don't we?). Well, I'm here to tell you that I do lead a boring life sometimes and I believe, so does everyone else. There are days when you go out with friends, go skydiving, swim with the dolphins, travel around the world and what not, but there are also days when you just sit at home, do laundry, makan maggi and watch crappy TV shows.

I think it's called real life.

A New Lesson

2011-04-10T20:46:00.005+04:00

So here's a new lesson. One of the tricks to motivate yourself to go to the gym? Lots of self-loathing; you gotta really insult and harassed yourself to the point of abuse I guess hahah! Hilarious!

And now that he's lost some weight, Jerry Ferrara a.k.a Turtle from Entourage looks good bordering on gorgeous yo! Too bad Season 8 is gonna be Entourage's last season. Ari Gold is definitely one of my favorite assholes on TV (besides Glee's Sue Sylvester) hehe. Hopefully the rumor about turning it into a movie ends up to be true.

Good Times

2011-04-08T12:28:00.016+04:00

Good friends. Good conversations. Great time =)

P/S: I DID manage to go to the gym last Wednesday, at last huhu! Syabbass inspektor sahabb!

Random Achievements

2011-04-06T11:24:00.010+04:00

It's getting hotter and hotter everyday here, about 36-37 degree Celsius, which is beginning to make my usual 10-min walk to the nearby mall totally insufferable (hohoho someone sounds like a puteri lilin biatch =p). It feels like I'm walking in a hot, burning oven and it's not even summer yet huwaargghh!

Managed to randomly find 2 books with good reviews from Nick Hornby on the covers at Kinokuniya yesterday. I hope this means I'm getting back my 'book-selection' mojo. I used to have the ability to find good books (for my taste) by chance, but lately, almost all of the books I picked turned out to be rather disappointing and well, crap. (There's one where the whole book turned out to be the story of an imaginary friend's life. WHAT THEEE? Ngarut aah!)

Also, managed to, for the first time ever, successfully buat begedel from scratch, all by myself, to complement my soto yesterday. Maybe it's lame to most of you, but I still consider this my personal cooking achievement. I remember there's one time, it took 3 of us girls, each with a specific task, baru berjaya buat begedel ni; sorang gaul and buat bentuk bulat, sorang celup dalam telur and sorang lagi goreng hahah! Back at home when my mom made them, I was only involved in the buat-bentuk-bulat process and makan je hehe.

Tomorrow, I hope I can write here that I manage to go to the gym and do some exercise today. So I am heading upstairs now to change and hopefully I won't somehow end up being 'held captive' by my own bed, lured into some reading and eventually...an afternoon nap =p.

Wish me luck!

Love and Other Near-Death Experiences

2011-04-03T13:18:00.005+04:00

'You can't stop yourself from having terrible, cruel thoughts about other people. It's simply the way we're made. It's probably even a good thing that we have them - that they come from within us, to disgust us, to make us actively claw ourselves back towards what it means to be decent.'

The Aquaventure Adventure

2011-03-29T11:48:00.012+04:00

As mentioned earlier, dear SRB had a sudden urge to bermandi-manda di waterpark so last Saturday, off we went to Aquaventure in Palm Jumeirah. It.was.a.load.of.fun. Sakit badan for 2 days after that though.

The thing that I love the most about this place is how they use flowing rivers and uphill water escalators to transport you from one slide to another. So you don't have to leave your tube ever in order to enjoy all of the slides. Just sit tight on your tube, enjoy the scenery and the flowing water will bring you to the slide of your choice. Awesome gilerrr! And unlike Sunway Lagoon, the tube rent is included in the entrance ticket so you don't have to really guard your tube and bring it everywhere you go to avoid tube-theft (we experienced this once in Sunway Lagoon before, cisss!) coz there are lots of them and you can just grab them from wherever, whenever you want. Coolness!

The Rapids ride is my favourite coz it felt exactly like white water rafting but without having to worry about tercampak keluar from boat or terlanggar batu2 sungai and what not. Besttt! We had our picture taken during one of our Rapids ride and the outcome urkss, seriously, my face couldn't look even more cacat than that hahah! But since SRB wanted to buy the pic for kenangan, ok fine, but I will make sure that it's not revealed to the public - ever! =p

The most famous water slide in Aquaventure is of course the 100 feet high, 45-degree slide, appropriately named the 'Leap of Faith'. Now, in case you guys didn't know, SRB and I are most definitely NOT a fan of any activities involving plunging ourselves down from great heights (but at least I'm all good at cable car rides, unlike some pakcik, *uhuk*SRB*uhuk* =p). Hence nope, we did not make this 'Leap of Faith' ahah! My life motto is: only do things that you enjoy, so if you don't enjoy jumping off a cliff, don't do it - as simple as that hehe.

What's cool about this slide though, is when you slide down, you don't simply plunge into a pool of water. You will slide through a shark-infested pool first (oklaa it's actually a big fish tank hehe), then only you 'gedebushhh' into the water. I don't know about you, but if I were to do this 100-foot plunge, I'd be too busy being scared shitless that I wouldn't be able to notice let alone be mesmerized by the view of shark, stingrays or whatever colorful fishes they have in that tank hehe.

First you slide down here...

...into the shark tank...

...then continue some more, then straight into the water.

Standing at the balcony right across 'Leap of Faith', memang boleh dengar different kinds of screams. Some were screams yg buat2 takut, but some were definitely in the 'scared shitless' scream category hehe. Lagilaaa we taknak naik bende ni eeee! So amek gambar and senyum kambing jelaa ye hihi!

Dear SRB made a promise that before leaving Dubai for good nanti, he'll do the 'Leap of Faith' plunge. Well, your words babe, not mine. Don't you even dare thinking of nak tarik I sekali nanti dear, tidaaaaaaakkkssss!

Central Perk

2011-03-27T14:52:00.013+04:00

Central Perk is now in Dubai, y'all! Woot woot!!! =D

Found this place while driving around town one weekend, during one of our jalan-jalan, cuci-mata-mansions excursions. For the non-fans out there, this might not be a big deal, but for a huuuge Friends fan like me, this is very very exciting!!! I mean, of course it's not exactly where the casts actually sat and shoot the scenes, but dapat gi to the cafe franchise pun jadilaa kan?

The famous orange couch - again, not exactly the same, but I applaud their effort in finding the one that looks similar enough to the original couch.

Inside the cafe - very different from the Friends set, but it does look cozy and inviting for lepak2-sambil-minum2 sessions. The cafe menu includes a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, pies, muffins, coffees and smoothies - menarik. And they also have breakfast sets as well, so we definitely gonna come here again soon for our weekend brunch.

Being in Central Perk that day somehow made me thought of one of those silly quizzes that will determine 'Which Friends Character Are You?' Hahah toye I know, but I think I am more of a Monica; the non-OCD version of her lah kehkehkeh! Dear SRB is definitely a Ross, no question about it hehe. But wait a minute, Monica and Ross are siblings. Ok ok, I take back my words. I am not a Monica, I am definitely more like the beautiful, fashionista Rachel (AS IF!) hahaks =p

Someone Else's Life

2011-03-27T13:57:00.005+04:00

'Chris boiled with indignation and resolved there and then that he would never have another drink - ever. Just to make her look stupid. The human spirit is a powerful, powerful thing, and there's very little that it can't achieve, especially if it's out of spite.'

When it comes to domestic arguments, yesss, I found this to be very very true theeheehehee...

Paul and Bradley

2011-03-24T22:51:00.008+04:00

Paul McDonald (AI 10) and Bradley Cooper - nak dekat sama kan?

Or am I the only one who sees the resemblance? And the only one who thinks Bradley Cooper is HOT? Hellooo, piercing blue eyes peeps!

But anyway, all the more reason to support Paul on American Idol this year bebeh! Besides having a one-of-a-kind voice, one-of-a-kind dancing style (some people found his erratic movement on stage irritating, I found it adorable), he also looks like the hot & macho Bradley Cooper =p. What more do you want?!! Hehe.

And oh, can't wait for Hangover 2!!! (I think I have to send you a reminderrr, here it is...)

Roti Canai Satu!

2011-03-23T15:10:00.012+04:00

Dear SRB,

I had some rangup roti canai with kari sambal for lunch.

Like you always say (even though I hate it), terbaik dari ladang bebbb =p

Jangan jelesss muahahaha!

P/S: Since when do people start saying 'terbaik dari ladang' ni? Where did the phrase come from? It is becoming irritating, just like that over-used 'tau takpe' phrase.

Around Palm Jumeirah

2011-03-20T16:24:00.011+04:00

At dear SRB's Christmas/New Year holiday party a few months back, I met one of his colleagues, an Egyptian who, interestingly, used to live right across the street from the Pyramids of Giza but has never, in all his life, really been to the pyramids (if you look at the map, there is actually a large residential area next to the pyramids). And I thought, whoaa, that's like 'taking things for granted' at a whole another level dude! Now that I think about it, arrgghhhh sangat jealous aa plak, especially since we had to cancel our Egypt trip due to the unrest there recently and don't know when things will be stable enough for us to be able to go there and see the pyramids ourselves!

Aaanyway, since then, we sort of made a vow not to take things for granted here and to make the time to explore the tourist spots in Dubai, as many as we can. So as a start, last weekend we drove up to Palm Jumeirah, parked the car, then took the Palm monorail around the island. Since the monorail is elevated, we could get a good view of the Palm as the train cruises along the island's trunk.

It costs 15 dirhams per person for a one-way ticket and 25 dirhams for a return one. Quite expensive for just a 20-minute ride, but oh well, everything's here memang expensive, so terpaksalah live with it. But I wish the monorail track is built higher so we can get a better aerial view of the palm-shaped island, macam view from helicopter hehe.

But I guess this is the next best thing to the much more expensive helicopter ride, so let's just enjoy whatever that we can get, huh?

The Atlantis Hotel

Aquaventure (the waterpark in Atlantis Hotel)

Luxurious villas on the fronds

Jumeirah Beach

After seeing the view of Aquaventure, dear SRB suddenly got excited utk bermandi-manda plak so this weekend, Insya Allah, we're gonna go have some fun in the water bebehhh woohoo!

The Terrible Privacy

2011-03-16T13:47:00.007+04:00

"I seem to have lost a number of friends in the last few years. I don't mean that I've fallen out with them, in any dramatic way. We've just decided not to stay in touch. And that's what it's been: a decision, a conscious decision, because it's not difficult to stay in touch with people nowadays, there are so many different ways of doing it. But as you get older, I think that some friendships start to feel increasingly redundant. You just find yourself asking, 'What's the point?' And then you stop." -- Maxwell Sim

Talk about the harsh truth, huh? Hmmm...

*Put one hand under the chin, stare into the distance and ponder*

The Evil Laugh

2011-03-15T20:54:00.009+04:00

**Major vanity alert**

Didn't know that I sound like an evil witch who eats children when I laugh muahahaha!