Good time in Terengganu

I am on my last day of training in Terengganu. Sometimes it feels good to get rid of the workload hassle and have a getaway to learn new knowledge cum vacation at a place far away from the buzzing and hectic KL. I was blessed as the training was held in a peaceful resort at the estuary in Kuala Terengganu. Well wait, when was the last time I went to K.T.? Was it more than 10 years ago?

So you know, learning during the day and spending time in a spacious hotel room at night for a few days, this is what I really need. I have no reason what so ever to think about office work. PPA review? Checked. LBVF? Checked. Only a meeting awaited for me on Friday afternoon, but none other urgent matter to be attended (database updating/analysis yang tak pernah habis tu, abaikan saje. Haha). The moment I realize that I need a break from office work was when I attended a 2-days health programme, and I did my blood test. It was higher than usual! I was shocked and panicked. As since university time I checked my blood pressure every now and then without fail, and it is always the normal reading 80/120. Kebetulan these past few weeks there were so many things happened and so many things to be taken care of, and I was kind of tensed and miserable.

Here, I gained my peace of mind. I read newspapers and books, watching news and surfing the net every night. Therefore I managed to update my blog everyday this week. But I do thought of staying in this comfort hotel alone, with all the facilities are meant for two, is kind of a waste. I did try to persuade my Mum to come along but my Dad tak bagi.Haha as expected.. but as I went to Pasar Payang today and seen the lovely silks and batiks ( and bargained for a pair or two, ahem ahem), I was actually relieved my Mum did not tag along. Kalau tak mungkin dia takmau balik. Then we asked the driver's hospitality (we went to pekan K.T using the hotel's shuttle) to drop us at Losong for a short shopping of the ever famous Keropok lekor Losong. Wah I did felt like a tourist, hehe.

The truth is I missed the experience of a local, Malaysian-type vacation. And Terengganu is one of the best place to be, with its friendly citizen,beautiful beaches, lovely batik and songket, and keropok lekor (saya adalah hantu keropok lekor, for your info), who could actually resist? I even bought Awang Goneng's book- Growing up in Terengganu (although I haven't even start to read it yet) as I heard the exotic element of Terengganu's culture was beautifully written in it. And on the way back on a bridge of the main road heading to Pulau Duyong, I could see Masjid Kristal and the rest of the monuments in Pulau Wan Man. It is beautiful indeed, but I hope people nearby would use the mosque as what it is supposed to be used, and not just as an adornment.

And tomorrow, my flight to KL will be at 10.05 am and I'll be straight back to office for the afternoon meeting. Haih, life must go on anyway.

'Kemudian setelah selesai sembahyang maka bertebarlah kamu di muka bumi (untuk menjalankan urusan masing-masing), dan carilah apa yang kamu hajati dari limpah kurnia Allah serta ingatlah akan Allah banyak-banyak (dalam segala keadaan) supaya kamu berjaya (di dunia dan di akhirat)'

(Surah al-Jumu’ah: 10)

P/S: Another reason I am inspired to write many posts is because of Jeremy Sheldon's (an article of his visit to Malaysia in NST, today. Btw he is an avid and successful British writer) tagline : 'Get the writing muscle toned!'

Cuti Pra-Bersalin 5 Hari

Kelantan dah buat, negeri lain bila lagi

Salmah Mat Husain Wed Feb 25, 09 6:20:41 pm MYT

KOTA BHARU, 25 Feb (Hrkh) - Kelantan sekali lagi mencetus reformasi baru dalam pentadbiran kerajaan apabila hari ini meluluskan cuti pra bersalin selama lima hari sebelum tarikh melahirkan anak.

Keputusan yang menggembirakan kakitangan wanita itu dibuat pada mesyuarat Exco kerajaan negeri.
Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Perancangan Ekonomi, Kewangan dan Kebajikan Negeri, Dato' Husam Musa, berkata cuti bergaji itu akan dilaksanakan segera.
"Ia akan berjalan sebaik sahaja surat pekeliling dikeluarkan oleh Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mesyuarat terbabit di Kota Darulnaim.
Beliau berkata, walau pun cuti pra bersalin itu hanya lima hari, namun ia akan menjadi tujuh hari apabila dicampur dengan cuti mingguan dua hari.
Menurutnya, dengan penambahan cuti berkenaan kakitangan awam wanita yang melahirkan anak akan memperolehi cuti sebanyak 65 hari termasuk cuti selepas bersalin.
Beliau berkata, kemudahan cuti berkenaan diberikan kepada kakitangan wanita bagi memberi ruang secukupnya kepada mereka untuk berehat sebelum melahirkan anak.
"Semua orang tahu, setiap ibu yang mengandung akan mengalami masalah keletihan yang berpanjangan khususnya di saat-saat akhir ketika mahu melahirkan anak," katanya. - mj

A Curious Case of..

I an currently undergoing a training in the East Coast. Some of the keypoints I learnt today is about concept of ultrasonic, and how it differs in range.

Before a cat gets killed out of curiousity, I asked Uncle Google on the definition of ultrasonic:

The term "ultrasonic" applied to sound refers to anything above the frequencies of audible sound, and nominally includes anything over 20,000 Hz. Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz) in healthy, young adults and thus, 20 kHz serves as a useful lower limit in describing ultrasound. The production of ultrasound is used in many different fields, typically to penetrate a medium and measure the reflection signature or supply focused energy.

Then I wonder, how is supersonic differs in range, compared to ultrasonic?

The term supersonic is used to define a speed that is over the speed of sound (Mach 1). At a typical temperature like 21 °C (70 °F), the threshold value required for an object to be traveling at a supersonic speed is approximately 344 m/s, (1,129 ft/s, 761 mph or 1,238 km/h).

Ooh ok, actually they're incomparable to each other, like comparing apple and orange. Ultrasonic refers to very high frequency, whereas supersonic refers to very high speed.

Thus I can't avoid but thinking,

superman lawan ultraman, sape yang akan menang nanti?

P/S : I'm high on caffein, thus the merapu thought

Boycott Extended

These past few months show most Muslims' dedication on boycotting Israel-related products, especially a lot of American products. This is to show our true support for our brothers and sisters whom living over possibility of life or death everyday. But what most people did not aware, including me, is we forgot to boycott their other strong alliance whom is very dear to our heart, at least geographically, Singapore. I even have plans in mind to go to Singapore during summer sale or just to hang around in the many tourist attractions there, and now I felt bad. Many sources pointed Singapore as one of Israel's main sponsor in their deadly blown of innocent people in Gaza.Until it is proven otherwise, lets extend our boycott to the country.

Eating habits

Some people asked about my eating habits, as I told them its hard for me to gain weight. Actually the reason is they noticed me being very choosy in selecting my food.

As now I'm used to consume green tea, I even drink normal tea without sugar.

And I prefer hot beverages more than cold ones. I even order air buah suam kalo nak sangat minum air buah.

I don't consume carbonated drinks.

I hate teh tarik and always avoid caffeinated drinks.

Nasi lemak and roti canai is not among my favourite dishes.

I started to drink milk everyday every morning (although initially I hate it).

In buffet meals, I choose one or two lauk je and ignore the rest, or just take a little portion of each.

I don't drink in between meal.

I hate veggie but opt for fruits.

But I do eat some veggie that looks good and `comel' (if not, I won't consume it)

I dont eat mutton and control my beef intake.

I don't eat most of animal organs i.e liver, pedal, etc etc

Instead, I eat lots of white meat (chicken and fish).

Ever since I got food poisoning two years ago, I stopped eating kerang bakar.

I love rice and could not stand more than a day without it (unless masa tu takde nasi la kan)

I have one major weakness; I could not resist fried food. They are too tasty to be ignored.

I could not stop but comment on the fat content in rendang, the carbons & carcinogen on satay, etc etc everytime I eat those food.

.........

Am I a health freak?
(I secretly think I am.Minus the fried food part)
........
When I think again, my current eating habits are quite irony since I am the total opposite 5-10 years ago. Hmm.

10 Soalan dalam Kepala

Nak tulis pasal banyaaaakk benda.

Pasal work life, personal life, Perak, Elizabeth Wong, musim panas dan hujan di petang hari, banyak outstation, banyak keje, evaluation season (PPA) telah tiba, competency being assessed, anak buah dah pandai meniarap, kekawan ramai kawin, taktau kenapa tapi malas nak update blog, gosip terkini..

Tapi akhirnya I settled with posting a few questions yang keep on lingering on my mind:

1.Kenapa cuaca panas sangat sekarang, sampai boleh capai 35 degree during day.

2.Kenapa sekarang rasanya senang sangat jumpa gadis Melayu yang tanpa segan silu pakai dress/skirt pendek and sleeveless. Sekali pandang cam amoi, banyak kali pandang kulit sawo matang je rupanya.Kalau 10 tahun dulu rasanya agak rare sight la kot.

3. Kenapa someone can be just annoying in nature.

4. Kenapa kalau stress, tekanan darah naik (tak caya kalau stress keje tu, gi jumpa doktor buat blood test)

5. Baru-baru ni kes ada orang meninggal dunia termakan ikan buntal. Adakah memang ramai orang masih tidak tahu ikan buntal adalah beracun?Kesedaran itu kurangkah di kalangan masyarakat? (I'm not questioning, just curious)

6. Kenapa adat perkahwinan Melayu nie leceh sangat. Kena buat majlis risik, majlis tunang, kena hantar kad wangi custom printed, majlis nikah, kena bagi hadiah, kena bagi doorgifts, kena ada kek 3 tingkat/pulut kuning 3 tingkat, majlis sanding,majlis bertandang.

7. Kenapa sekarang economic crisis tapi our goverment insisted that Malaysia ni kebal dan tak terjejas. Sah-sah setiap hari berita tulis (the Sun la at least) ramai yang kena buang kerja dan some factory workers dah kena suruh pergi keje 2 minggu je sebulan (lagi 2 minggu disuruh cuti i.e unpaid leave)

8. Kenapa Elizabeth Wong nak letak gak jawatan padahal memang jelas ada orang nak trap dia supaya letak jawatan. Tapi jika tindakan itu yang terbaik utk PR (you know, ada pihak yang akan mensensasikan isu moral macam yang pernah panas sebelum ini), maybe another by election is the best solution.

9. Kenapa orang nak buat baik selalu disalah erti dan kalau buat jahat ada je orang sokong.

10. Kenapa manusia selalu berperang (dan selalunya kalah) dengan nafsu dunia i.e nak kasut baru, handbag baru, baju baru, keta baru, rumah baru.. the list never end.

Cukup la kot 10. Nanti kalau dah ingat tulis lagi.



6.

konflik identiti

Blog mengalami konflik identiti.. will resume soonest.

Thanks :)

On for high end stuff

Once a senior in her near 40 ( and obviously, filthy rich) gave me an advise on woman's way of shopping, and I believe it is worth sharing.

(sebelum tu, i need to caution male readers that what you will read might not be important to you, or will not understand the dilemma that women always have. But a good read if you want to understand your spouse better.)

She was plain shock when she just started working in KLCC. I think because of the office is in the same building with the shopping mall and the mall is filled with high end brands boutiques that cause most women (and some men!) striving all their mights to get hold on these branded stuff. Even there's a remark among the staffs " Kalau keje kat KLCC takyah la you pakai beg Coach, sebab ramai sangat orang pakai and takut sama ngan diorang plak nanti " Yes, Coach bags that are the cheapest would worth RM1000++.

Ye,memang normal women's instict suka sangat branded stuffs, at least if you can't afford it you still like it and dreamt that one day you would own at least one. I've no problem with the hundred ringgit range but thousands, are, quite ridiculous in my point of view. One more thing, this issue won't arise if you're really an SM or GM with puluhan tahun experience and people can easily guess your salary, or if you're married with wealthy men, VIPs or VVIPs, then LV and Ferragamo would be your best friends and people will easily respect that. But if you're a fresh grads or with less than 5 years experience?? Please jangan melenting if people talk and talk about you and the way you spend, because that is just beyond normal for ordinary people.

This kakak then shared her experience and conveyed her advise.

She think most Malaysian ladies, especially in cities are getting more `kiasu' than ever. She met several ladies yang kalau dikira harga semua baju, aksesori satu badan would worth more than RM10000! Dan ada gak yang beli selipar basahan (kan orang selalu ada selipar kat ofis) brand Ferragamo. Gila tak gila kan orang sekarang. Huhu

Her advice were:

She suggested that a fresh grad employees should realize her own financial state, and draw a line and do not go overboard. The istilah was 'just graduate', and it doesn't hurt to spend a few hundreds to award yourself with handbags and shoes every now and then, but not too often. Usually the normal range for 'just graduates' worth hundreds, and the brands in the market are the usual : Sembonia, Paris Hilton, Renoma, GL, CR, Guess etc. Tapi ni pun come in various range, some RM200-RM300, some RM400-RM600. Depends on your budget and your preference.

Tapi tapi tapi.. ada satu lagi style `just graduates' nie. They might not buy something that is more than RM80 or won't go for branded stuff (so its cheaper), tapi masalahnya they buy alot.. ni syndrom compulsive shoppers la nie. Nampak kasuk ni lawa, sandal ni cantik, baju tu cam cun, handbag nie in trend dan terpaut dihati dan semua beli. Pastu campur-campur semua spending dah lebih daripada you buy one branded stuff. Camne tu? :P

And then after some time, maybe in 5 or 10 years, when you're quite stable and can afford them, you're advanced to `Masters' where you can start on Coach and Bonia, where the range can be in (RM800-RM2000 or more, depends on the model). Sometimes when the time is right, you can seek a good bargain for Furla, Celine or Aigner yang small size (read : smaller of course cheaper!) or brands yang baru je sampai Malaysia dan harga belum tinggi lagi.

Lepas tu when you're in `pHd' level, then you have nothing to loose after belasan atau puluhan tahun working experience with huge paycheck. Then, you're entitle to experience an LV, Prada, Ferragamo and aything from the long lists of high end boutiques that normally can be found only at KLCC and Pavillion.

Well those were her advise to me and several other young ladies who were with me at the time.

Of course people might disagree with her and have their different views on this. But for me, those advise are practical for normal people yang makan gaji in normal circumstances in Malaysia. If you were born with silver spoon in mouth and don't mind your wealthy parents pay for everything, then it is a whole different story. Or if you're a super successful direct seller/ marketer or you live oversea where you can get those branded stuffs in much lower prices.

For myself, with a normal salary of an exec with less than one year experience, bonus pun tak penah dapat lagi, I winced in reluctance and would never buy anything above RM400. Most of whatever I owned that worth more than that were given by my parents, itupun sebab diorang sendiri yang pujuk I suruh pakai apa yang diorang belikan. And I was blessed, thank God sebab I'm not a compulsive shopper or shopaholics.. :) I, like other ordinary ladies are also so in love with branded stuffs and suka sangat tengok-tengok show rooms tu kan, try-try depan cermin, tapi to date, I can stop myself from buying most of the time (kadang-kadang terlepas gak, haha reward yourself la kiranya tu hehe).Sangat suka ok, save duit and can use for something much more important ( like, helping for the betterment of others?) Satu lagi I'm also blessed that I'm surrounded by friends yang tak la kiasu on branded stuff, so I takde la terkena peer pressure ke apa. Cayalah korang!

OK tu je, i think its worth sharing sebab terkesan di hatiku, and her advice makes me think. This senior of mine are definitely already in `pHd' level, but what she carried was just a free pouch to sumbat her basic needs i.e purse, tissues and keys (that I think she obtained from buying cosmetics or something) and her appearance adalah sederhana. I kind of respect her for that.

Buy smart! :)