Seventh sons of a seventh son

Masih lagi cerita TAG. surat berantai dari cik mimie. Jawapannya...

7 ciri wanita/lelaki idaman anda

1. wanita yang mempunyai sifat kewanitaan
   
2. wanita yang menghargai sifat kewanitaan
3. wanita yang menghormati dirinya sebagai seorang wanita
4. wanita yang mengekalkan sifat dan ciri-ciri kewanitaanya
5. wanita yang masih wanita
6. wanita yang tahu menjaga hati lelakinya
7. seorang wanita dan hanya wanita

7 ciri wanita/lelaki yang anda tidak suka

1. wanita tapi lelaki
2. lelaki tapi wanita
3. wanita pot pet (sekali sekala o.k)
   
4. wanita banyak kaki
5. wanita panjang kaki
   
6. wanita yang tidak tahu menjaga hati lelakinya
7. wanita itu, jika bercakap matanya bulat

7 orang yang anda pernah minati seumur hidupmu

1. Ayahanda
2. Bonda
3. nenda
4. adinda
5. adiknda
   
6. anakanda
7. cikgunda

7 perasaan jika keluar dengan orang yang anda minati

1. sayang
2. kasih
3. rindu
4. cinta
5. mesra
6. belaian
7. hormat
   

7 tempat istimewa yang ingin dilawati bersama pasangan

Tujuh keajaiban dunia (Seven wonders of the world)

7 barangan istimewa yang akan dihadiahkan kepada pasangan

1. anak pertama
2. anak kedua
3. anak ketiga
4. anak keempat
5. anak kelima
6. anak keenam
7. anak ketujuh

7 lagu yang anda akan dinyanyikan kepada pasangan

1. sekuntum mawar merah
2. Munkir bahagia
3. Tika begini
4. Careless whisper
5. Suatu masa
6. Hingga akhir nanti
7. Lagu selamat harijadi pada ulangtahun hari lahirnya

7 rakan yang anda akan tag

Tujuh orang pertama yang menjadi follower blog ini :)

jangan mare, nanti kena jual.

In no particular order

Sebenarnya sudah lama menyimpan tag-tag dari rakan-rakan blogger. Baru kali ini berkesempatan mencari, membaca soalan-soalan tersebut dan menjawabnya. Insyallah akan disempurnakan semuanya. Mungkin ada yang telah basi, tapi tak mengapa. Jemputan perlu dipenuhi dan janji perlu ditepati. Jika ada tag yang terlepas pandang kerana terlampau lama diperam, harap ada yang mengingati.

(Ada satu tag yang tidak dijumpai sehingga sekarang iaitu dari Cik Aimanis, itu tag pertama yang terima. blog beliau pun tidak dapat dilawati secara tiba-tiba entah mengapa - harap maklum cik Aimanis ya)

1. Copy badge “2008 Cute’s 3logger Award” untuk diletakkan di blog anda.



2. Link/ceritakan kembali siapa yang memberikan award ini kepada anda.

tag ini adalah dari miss izzah. Beliau masih belajar di kolej yang penuh dengan pijat dan dia komplen selalu gatal-gatal. Sekarang tengah berdiet. Selalu merindui abangnya yang tersayang. Romantis gitu.

3. Setiap blogger mesti menyatakan 10 fakta/hobi diri sendiri sebelum memilih penerima award seterusnya


1. suka berkawan dengan orang yang menghargai setiakawan

2. senyum sokmo

3. suka makan nasi (terutama nasi dagang)

4. susah sangat kalau nak ingat nombor-nombor (nasib baik no. IC tidak lupa)

5. sangat mengambil berat tentang ketepatan masa

6. meninggalkan kelab bujang kelana 16 tahun lalu setelah bertemu cinta pada pandang pertama (phewitt)

7. tidak sampai hati untuk menghampakan permintaan orang lain

8. rancangan selepas bersara nak balik kampung berkebun, bela lembu dan kerbau

9. tidak suka masakan pedas, lihat lada pun kepala dah berpeluh

10. sering tertangguh nak jawab 'tag' dari rakan bloggers (ampun)

Anda perlu memilih 10 penerima award seterusnya dan menyatakan nama mereka di blog anda.

sesiapa yang tarikh lahirnya jatuh pada tahun 1968 sila jawab tag ini.


(nota: berpeluh juga nak jawab tag ni ye.)

My first Mozart experience

First assignment - Similar to the world war II bunker, I spent four weeks in this small underground dungeon, shying away from any civilization that may exist outside. Luckily I didn't come back looking like a zombie.

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Having just finished a long marathon of university exams, the only thing that struck my mind was to quickly find a job. Any job would do as long as it doesn't require me to just sit down in front of the workstation and the only buddy you can talk to was a 386 computer. With no MP3, no CD ROM and the only games that you can play were tetris and pac man that time. If it was not the germs, the claustrophobia will kill me. The year was 1992.

When I first started my career in a local semi-government organization, little did I realize how much fun and sometimes wacky it would be. Having to work in the dark labyrinth of laboratories and handling microscopic organisms that could rot your arm with gangrenous flesh was one thing, but dealing with a bunch of weirdos in a white coat was even more nauseating for me. The rewards however, could be really a mind boggling. The sheer satisfaction was like the after feeling of eating raw wasabi.

My first assignment was the one which actually saved me from being a marauding moonlighter and a deciding factor for me to stick to my gun that this place will be my primary playing ground. Less than a month after I reported for duty, I was asked to go to Seefeld, Austria. A remote place in a foreign country that if not pronounced properly will be mistaken for a country down under. That was what happened to me. I faced several technical glitches with the ticketing department initially and even the appointed travel agent didn't quite sure where the place was.

Being for the first time abroad and alone could be a very intimidating experience. During that time, Singapore was the only country I've visited so far, that if we can consider it as a foreign land. To cut the long story short, I finally arrived at Vienna after a long hauled flight via Dubai. Still excited and intoxicated with so many glasses of orange juice to keep me awoke, I didn't really know where to start my journey really. Luckily I met this lovely young Austrian gal who was in the same flight with me and from then she was my unofficial tourist guide. But to my utterly surprise, she then told me that it will take another six-long-hours from Vienna to Seefeld by train. Nobody told me that earlier. I thought that was it. If it was not because of my eagerness and my will not to surrender to this odd circumstances I would have asked her to help me finding me a cheap hotel and retire for the day. But I didn't. I was young and full of spirit.

Since my new friend was heading to Salzburg which was in the same line, we took the train off the Westbahnhof station and headed west. Before embarking the train I bought two sandwiches since my tummy has started to alert me with that familiar tune. The last time I've had my meal was a good 6 hours ago in the flight. By then I started to miss 'nasi lemak' and 'roti canai' already. But something really troubling me and keep bugging my mind while hungrily consuming the sandwich. I guess your mind just could not think properly if you tummy was empty. Then it struck me. I just could not simply buy any food and anywhere. Not in this new territory. Oh no...! I felt like I want to vomit there and then. Having to cope up with the language was one thing, and now I got my food crisis to deal with. The word famine became so real!

We passed through the musical city of Salzburg where my unofficial guide disembarked, leaving me to spent the remaining journey wondering what to expect next. By the time the train reached its final destination Innsbruck, it was almost dark. Still I have to hop on another tram for a short commuting to my final destination Seefeld, a small village in the valley of the Tyrolean province. The next four weeks, instant noodle and load of Brahims have saved me from my insanity.

There were lessons to be learned :

1. Never trust your travel agent! Find as much information as possible beforehand. Ask Uncle Goodle if you have to.
   
2. Think first then eat, not the other way around.
3. Travel alone can be very boring and loneliness kills. Make lot and lot of friends.
4. If you think you can elude the tight security at the airport, bring anything that is edible.
   
5. Seefeld is a nice place for my next honeymoon trip!
   

Seefeld has two mountain areas along the Alps, very famous for walking during the summer and skiing during the winter. This one is known as Roßhütte. There was a large restaurant half way up with a view of the whole village down the valley. Unprepared to this challenging activity, I borrowed a windbreaker from the host and conquered the peak with my newly bought Alain Delon, of which became the topic over dinner table during the whole course.

Prof. Sitte (the host who was sitting next to me), was really trying hard to make me felling at home. However for the first time traveler, I found it quite a daunting task in trying to explain why i still couldn't even eat a fish in a soup that was previously taken out from another meat soup which was prepared earlier (the fish was prepared specially for me).

Scientists can be very funny too. The host finally revealed the secret of preparing strawberry icecream using left over liquid nitrogen (the person next to Prof Sitte holding the liquid nitrogen tank was the one who invented this signature icecream). The taste was as good as Haagen Daaz if you ask me.

I got an opportunity to witness a traditional summer festival with colourful procession like this in the middle of the village. The folks here even though hardly conversed in English, they were very friendly. Guten morgen...Guten taag!

Innsbruck is only 17km away from Seefeld. The older pedestrian district of Innsbruck like this one, where Goldenes Dachl (Golden roof) a landmark to this place supposedly located. But I somehow missed the spot and wandering cluelessly in the oblivion, admiring the unfamiliar atmosphere surrounded me.

Can't cook, won't cook

Apart from having many skills my significant half are gifted with (among others are shopping, shopping and shopping :), her cooking skill is the best none to other. The skill is so natural, she can prepare a good dish with just anything that is edible thrown into a cooking pot. Presumably she inherited this skill from her late mother, who was also very good at pleasing anybody's taste bud.

One good thing about having a good cook in your house is that you don't have to worry about what dishes to put on your dinner table day in and day out. In fact I don't even have to think about the food at all. I just go back home and succumbed to my hungry appetite and consumed everything that was prepared on the table. As I am not a very fussy type-of-person when it comes into what to tuck into my tummy, any simple dish will do.

On the other hand, it can be a daunted task though in deciding what menu-of-the-day would be. That was the downside of it when you are presented with so many gastronomic choices to choose from. If from time to time you got a call from your significant half, asking what to have for lunch or dinner, sometime it can got on your nerves as well. A hungry man is an angry man the wise man says.

wife : "Hello darling, what do you fancy for dinner tonight?"
hubby : "Anything dear."
wife : "Nasi beriani with Moroccan-style chicken or Nasi Bukhari with mutton cooked Iranian-style ?"
hubby : Anything will do dear.
wife : Or do you fancy a chicken masallah with shish kebab?
hubby: "Better get you hot pan(t) ready or I will have you for dinner instead!"

With such a good cook she is, who am I to complain?

Ever since my last intimate liaison with the "Bujang Club" long time ago, I seldom make myself busy in the kitchen anymore. At the same time, I lost all my skill in handling all the kitchen paraphernalia, thus my cooking skill as well. Skill needs to be practiced, and since the kitchen is not my domain anymore, I can hardly remember now how to make my famous "mee goreng berangan", which has earned me a name among the members of my former club. Fancy that recipe anyone?

Going abroad was the only time I can reclaim my excellent cooking skill. Thanks to Abang Brahim, cooking beef rendang was as easy as finding your way through London undergrounds. If you look close enough you will notice that I have not forgotten my past time delicacy, even thousand miles separate me from Losong Dato' Amar. (my wife laughed at me when she saw the sorry state of that 'khepok' - apparently the oil was not hot enough!)

This is not my secret recipe that I've mentioned earlier. You won't be left to surrender yourself to starvation in the far land if there were Malaysians around and you knew how to make friends along the way

Aisey man...brader Jon!

Pertama : Secara ikhlasnya aku ingin mengucapkan terimakasih kepada brader Jon. Sahabat yang jika dikira umur perkenalan, cuma seusia anak yang baru bertatih, bersusah payah dan bersungguh-sungguh untuk belanja aku makan. Walaupun hari lahir ku sudah berlalu agak lama dan kek yang disimpan didalam peti sejuk tempoh hari pun hanya meniggalkan baunya sahaja, namun beliau tetap beria-beria juga. Mulanya aku yang mengajak dan mahu belanja dia makan. Tapi lain jadinya. Terimakasih brader Jon! Terimakasih daun keladi. Aku ingat kamu.

Kedua : Eh..kenapa tulis dalam bahasa ibunda pula? Selama ini menulis dalam bahasa mat saleh? Rasionalnya begini. Aku ada menerima e-mail dari rakan yang malu-malu kucing untuk turut serta di blog ini, tetapi mushkil dan mungkin mashgul. Soalan cepu emas beliau : kenapa mesti menulis dalam bahasa penjajah sedangkan yang komen di dalam blog ini hampir kesemua faham Bahasa Malaysia? Ada juga kebenarannya. Namun aku ada sebab dan musababnya tersendiri. Baiklah, buat pertama kalinya dan tidak ingin menghampakan permintaan. Bagaimanapun, aku akan terus menulis di dalam bahasa Mat Saleh mengikut sebab musabab awal. Encik malu-kucing, jika mahukan penjelasan yang terperinci kita boleh berjumpa di sesi 'mengeteh' seterusnya.

Ketiga : Aku dan bukan saya. Teringat ketika di sekolah pertanyaan sama aku utarakan kepada muallim yang sentiasa membahasakan dirinya aku, walaupun ketika mengajar didalam kelas. Limaza ya sheikh? Jawapan ringkas muallim - bahasa itu bahasa munajat, bahasa merendah diri, hormat, tawadduk dan insaf kepadaNYA. Cuma kekadang itu, sebagai ibubapa moden aku pun terbawa-bawa dengan bahasa anggun masa kini dan selalu menegur anak-anak. Tidak sopan kata aku. "cakap saya" :)

Terimakasih sekali lagi brader Jon!

United cartoons of Enteloz

When I was in my early education stage up to the primary schools (four primary schools altogether), I have only one small bag to carry everyday. I called that bag a "bag kotak". It was actually a box with a safety latch on top of it.

I walked to school everyday. Almost all my friends walked to school as well. It was fun. On one of the bad days though, while walking to the school, the latch will just snapped open, throwing everything inside the bag onto the open road for everyone to see your precious treasure. And it contained just about everything from my exercise books, the stationary, my favorite comics (among other were Bujal and Wak segan) and also my lunch pack. If it was raining a day earlier, everything that fell into the puddle will look more or less like bubur asyura.

Nowadays, our kids have so many bags to carry to their schools. One for their primary school, one for their religious school and one or two more bags for their tuition classes. The bag weigh many kilos too, by the time they reach their puberty, their back will look similar to the hunchback of Notre Dame. If you have many kids, then I am not surprised to see their study room will resemble a store full of bags.

With so many bags around, you'll never know what to expect or find if you peek into one of those bags. Once in a while the parent should do just that. Have a peek into their bags. I just found out recently that in one of my kids' bag there were several scrap books and they were full with sketches similar to these ones. I found some interesting but yet peculiar sketches in one of my second son's bag. It was very interesting to note that my second son has started to show sketching skills since he was about four or five and this was evidence on the walls of my house. Never mind about that, since I don't have to pay a single cent and yet the interior designing has been taken care off by my second son. What more interesting was, he managed to sell few of his collection to his peers. What a good combination. Creativity plus entrepeneurship skill.

I must confess at this point , when I was at their age, If I wasn't playing with friends, I will spend almost every evening watching cartoons. Especially the English one. I realized later on, apart from reading comics and books (of which sharpened my writing skill) my command of English getting better and better the more I indulged myself with this obsession. It was hard those days when almost all of your keropok-lekor peers who did not converse in English and you want to practice that language at the same time. It became more difficult because I did not attend ordinary school, but Arabic school (in my hometown, sekolah arab = sekolah agama) which did not emphasize much on English subject. I attended Arabic school and then the Arabic college until I was seventeen. Why didn't I became an Ustaz then? That was another interesting story though :)

Even today I am not ashamed to admit that I still fancy watching the many cartoon shows on TV, especially the Japanese anime. As for now, I am trying to learn and pick up the Japanese language as my other foreign language. Just for fun. We'll see.

I met a headhunter.....head to head!

Sixteen years ago. My first official trip to the Tyrolean alps.

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Today is another historic day for me. It was sixteen years ago, I walked through that big colonial door in my office and began my life as a working class citizen. I can still remember vividly, riding my trusty "kapcai" from Bangi to Jln. Ampang. Even though my appearance might look like one of the members from local rock bands at that time, when it comes to handling my kapcai on the road, by the current standard, any "minah rempit" would have laughed like mad at me.

I was just finishing my final year exam and did not even officially receive my holy scroll from the Chancellor. Frankly speaking, I just wanted to get some experience attending interviews, as many as possible, and get used to answering tricky and silly questions that may have caught me off guard during the 'real' interview. The next thing I knew, I received an offer letter a week later . Great.

Since the post was actually some 40 km away from Jl. Ampang, and I was quite new to Kay El, the prospect of wandering into uncharted territories and probably a place for "jin bertendang" had almost put me off. Kota Damansara was still in a blue print at PKNS office that time. But as a young and adventurous kampung boy, I ventured into the street and just follow the instinct. I sidetrack somewhere at Jinjang and got lost in Selayang. By the time I reached the office it was already late in the evening. I was so knackered but still managed to drag my feet to see the boss. Luckily he was quite a supporting guy, a veteran in the scientific community. (Later I found out that my boss was a very punctual guy. Everything must be on the dot. I survived until his retirement day though.) And that was the first day I reported for duty for my first and current job.

A few days ago I attended another job interview. This time from a headhunting company. A lady from that company persistently called me to arrange for a meeting. At first I just wanted to straight away decline the offer and lay on my bed watching Naruto (that time I was still bed-ridden). But then my adventurous instinct started to kick in again. As if the lady knew that chocolate banana cake is my favorite cake, she suggested that we meet at The Secret Recipe, D' curve Mutiara Damansara. It was quite close to my place too. (Even when I write this, my saliva is dripping.)

Since my mind has long being conditioned to respect the time by my first boss , I arrived 20 minutes earlier than her. She turned out to be a 29 years-old-philipino beauty. She introduced herself as Carla. To cut a long story short, she was actually commissioned by one rival company to find a suitable candidate to fill a post, a directorate post. To be frank, being interviewed in a restaurant is one thing, but I did not expect to be interviewed by somebody that was considered quite young , especially for that kind of job position. The interview went out smoothly though, until I mentioned my expected salary should be no less than twice my current salary. I sensed some hesitation in her voice from then on. And the whole package didn't turned out to be very attractive enough to drag me out from my comfort zone. No M5, No flying in a first class, No unlimited spending on platinum credit card and most importantly no quality time left at all for my family. Am I asking too much?

Looking back at what that company has to offer, I have to agree with my colleagues that my current job place is still the best sanctuary on earth. My colleagues call it a heaven . No wonder people do not want to retire and keep extending their services, year after year.

Festive seasons may bring load of colorful atmosphere. I met the headhunter here.
Sorry no picture of Carla as I forgot to ask her to sign a model release form. Publishing a photograph of a person/persons without a written consent may result in civil liability you know :)

Later that evening, I spent some good time with my significant half. Over a cup of camomile tea we had a chat and good laugh. I have to accept the fact that apart from happiness, money can't buy me my precious time, especially with the loved ones.

More scones sir! Nope, I am happy with what I am having now.