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Showing posts from March, 2011

Cycling to Work

We started cycling to work yesterday. Day One: I had trouble with the gears. Haven't really grasp the concept of bicycle gears. So, the ride to the office was a bit huru-hara and really tiring. I guess Hubby had the same problems too. There are 3 challenging hills to ride and we had to stop at two places. Really not fit enough lah. But then in the afternoon, my Kak Lang text saying she's outside and couldn't wait for Aliyah to come back from school. So Hubby had to cycle home and get the car. After office, I rode alone. The trip back is better because 2 steep hills are now downhill. Only one hill to ride up. Day Two: Better riding today now that I've basically learned the gear concept. And it helps that both of us exchanges what our gears were throughout the journey for each other to adjust. We still had to stop at the two places. I thought of some friends who cycle 50-60kms and wonder how they do that? Flat road? These hills are killing us! But today is not as tiring a

Look Look and Bought Bicycles

It was supposed to be a look look see see trip to Keen 2 Cycle at Sunway, but we ended up taking home 2 bicycles. Aku dah agak dah! This morning we left Aliyah with her Mak Long (she's not interested to tag along - would rather spend the time in the small blow-up pool with her cousins) to check out the bicycles. Hubby has been doing extensive research and we have decided on the kind of bikes but we just wanted to see the options. We ended up trying several bikes, occupying 3 hours of the owner's time (great guy named Yoon) and finally decided on mountain bikes. The hybrid type we initially wanted didn't look too appealing in real life - they are 30% faster but the thin tires look pretty scary. And who knows we might want to go off-roads! (Berangan!). We brought back the 2 bikes in our little Viva - surprisingly muat! And the price paid was very reasonable. We tried the bikes around the neighbourhood - very smooth and light. And insyaallah tomorrow, we'll start cycling t

Our Earth Hour

Unlike last year, I think this year's Earth Hour was not so publicized. I just saw one ad on TV. So, I only got to know about it just a few days ago. I personally think Earth Hour's activities should be extended - with more knowledge sharing and promotions. Hubby and me have been talking about going green a lot. We are fans of Greenest Homes on TLC. We are now planning to buy bicycles to cycle to work. (Tried cycling to Kedai Mamak near our office 2 weeks ago and I survived!). And when money permits, we would like to scout around for solar panels for our home. In Malaysia, we get enough sunlight every day that can power the whole house. The Government should do something about such green technology - perhaps making them more affordable or give tax deductions. I don't think TNB will suffer much from houses installing solar panels. Anyway, our Earth Hour activities: since Aliyah is with her Mak Long at my parents' place, Hubby and me decided to go out for dinner. At exact

Betrayal Always Hurts

This person came to me today with tears. She told of this story. I shall not elaborate but I truly understand. Her story might seem so trivial. It's just about her loved one hiding some facts from her. But the consequences were great. Her in-laws have negative perception about her even though she sacrificed everything for her loved one. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Most importantly, the heart is crushed. And when a heart is crushed, it leaves scars. And such scars can never be healed. I truly understand. My heart has still not healed.

Of Nothing Much

Drowned in work. Nothing much happened. School holidays over, Aliyah back to school. I actually miss having her at the office. She eats so much when she's here - especially eating sausage buns from the bakery downstairs. I'll be fetching her from school today for her "ko-ko" activities but I have a feeling she'll want to skip it. She was not so happy with her science results she got the other day. I guess because she said the test was easy but got not-so-good marks instead. But I can't really blame her. Now that she's in Std 4, the tests have become quite complicated. Hubby and me have made a pact to get really serious in helping her with her studies. Must take turns and adhere to the timetable. Work wise, things are really stressful but quite productive. Stressful not because of the work but the delay in getting the funding. I don't understand why this certain bank that's supposed to help small SMEs like us are so very slow. Asyik cuti je. Kalau t

Hot Air Balloon Fiesta Putrajaya

It's such a short school holidays, we can't really take Aliyah anywhere. So she's been spending her days at our office. Kesian kat dia. Good thing I heard this competition on radio about the Hot Air Ballon Fiesta so we decided to go today - on the very first day before the place got crowded. Ajak Miqdam the Contractor and my other 2 nieces. Surprisingly the trip was fun. Never thought Putrajaya can be this interesting :) Several of the hot air balloons. We were there early but still tickets were sold out. Not many this morning. I suspect the Japanese didn't enter this year. I might be wrong. But we didn't see the Doraemon balloon. Nurul rock-climbing. She's quite good. Hubby lepas geram meng-paintball. Aliyah mana boleh miss naik horse. Very majestic looking horses. Naik lake cruise. It was fun. There's a lot about Putrajaya that we don't know... Aliyah trying archery. Siap tanya Abah dia - boleh beli ke?

Amazing Japanese

I have always admired the Japanese. Never been to their country before but I've always found something admirable about them - their culture, country, food, movies, technology, royal family, even little stuff like origami and bento boxes. My father knows and will always hand me the quarterly Nippon magazine he receives from the Japanese Embassy for the past (more than) 30 years, ever since his visit there when I was in my primary school. And I would be engrossed reading the magazine, just a very thin magazine, yet serves as the window to their amazing culture. When the tsunami struck, I watched the video in horror. For the first time in history, a disaster of this magnitude is being documented and watched live by the world to see. Such advancement in technology and communication. And to see the beautifully lined farming areas being swept away by black sea water as fast as a jet plane... houses and buildings being ripped apart... vehicles thrown around like toys... One would feel suc

Always be Thankful

With the catastrophe going on in this world currently, I believe one needs to always be thankful to Allah s.w.t. Even for the little things that we receive. Always be thankful. At times it really angers me that some people I know are always complaining about every single thing. Why can't we just cleanse our hearts from being so judgmental and accept and appreciate what we have? Insyaallah, Allah s.w.t. will bestow rezeki upon those are always thankful. Or if the rezeki is not there yet, maybe the time has not come for us to enjoy it. Maybe it will come tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after... Just don't stop being thankful.

New Office - All Completed

Finally, it's completed. All installed including the rubber mat at the door and near the surau. Some chairs have to be sent back due to some scratches and stuff. We should get them back next week. Now, only need to wait for Miqdam the Contractor to install the curtain railings in the surau and the entrance to the toilets. And also to complete the wirings at the workstations. Alhamdulillah, feels great to have completed the new office. We have started planning the trainings. Our website is also in the midst of being revamped. Insyaallah, we will welcome a new staff next week - someone from my previous company. There are several mini-"of-my-old-company" around actually where the teams are spin-offs. Like I always say, I only work with people I know. I pray for our rezeki. Insyaallah... Semoga Allah s.w.t permudahkan segala urusan kami, semoga Allah s.w.t. limpah ruahkan rezeki ke atas kami. Amin. Aliyah loves the new office. She's got her spot here at the old sofa in my

Makan-makan Birthday Kak Lang

We had a small makan-makan at Ice Room Nilai 1 just now to celebrate my Kak Lang's birthday. Miqdam the Contractor belanja. Hubby, Miqdam and my father... My two elder sisters... Nurul and Fatiyah... Aliyah dengan friesnya... Romantic couple sharing mango snow ice...

Boboi Settled Down

Boboi, the little kitten has settled down. We know this as he now has more energy and has started to fight back whenever Mimi bullies him. And many, many times now we caught him starting first - he would bite Mimi's tail or jump on her. So naughty... Mula-mula relax and intai Mimi from the sofa, last-last tertido... He has grown a bit. Bottle-fed only 2 days. Seems he's a survivor - could eat kitten biscuits even though susah sikit. You may notice that this big cushion is a favourite nap place for our cats - from Bubu to Kiki to Mimi to Boboi.

New Office - Most Furniture In

Such an exhausting day. The furniture people from 2 different companies came today at the same time - the workstation people and the rest of the stuff people. Workstation almost complete - tomorrow a bit more adjustments and all will be ready. The chairs and cupboards also came in. So far so good. Starting tomorrow, we'll be working at our own places. The training room will be cleaned and arranged and ready for classes. Now, the aftermath of such hectic activities is surely the dust and rubbish. Another round of vacuuming will be needed. End of the day, I looked around and felt so glad that this episode is almost over. Must move on. But felt proud that we did all these by ourselves. From planning the whole office up to doing stuff like choosing and buying curtains, and even cleaning the toilets till they shine. Workstation in the middle of the office. I didn't make the colour choice, the rest did. The directors' place at the side. My little girl was there too. Took her to t

Must Get Fit!

I had full medical check-up last week with Dr Marissa, my Kak Long's SIL. It's been years since my last check-up. At this age, it should be a yearly affair. Seems that I am quite healthy - everything OK or acceptable except that my cholesterol level is a bit on the high side. I guess that's the price to pay after sitting on my bum in front of the computer for hours and hours doing translation work for about 5 months. I promise myself I must lose some weight and get fit. My fitness programme must take off, seriously. So, starting last Saturday, I have started on light exercises. It's either cycling with Hubby (he bought a bigger bike for Aliyah and me - the one that both of us can ride just adjusting the seat height) or playing badminton. The dusty pedometer is now my constant companion. Ever since our move to the new office - 2nd floor, 80ft x 37ft - I clock at least 2500 steps a day, some days even 5000 steps. Hubby and me also made a pact - cereal breakfast in the mor

Hello New Office, Farewell Old Office

Yesterday we finally moved all stuff from old place to new place. Took us only about half a lorry. We left some old furniture to sell off, sold my table and chair to Miqdam the Contractor (which he took to the new place) and took the rest. Such challenging task to take them down the stairs, then up 3 flights of stairs at the new place. And funny that the furniture was dwarfed by the sheer vastness of the new place. Like - nothing much changes when we brought them in. I stood alone at my room at the old place and looked around when the stuff has been moved out. I will miss that room. Our first official office. We had our ups and downs there, good news and bad news, made mistakes and learned lessons, we took chances, we won projects, we lost projects... I said my final goodbye and thanked the small space I called "my room". It has been my workplace and sanctuary when things go bad. Farewell room. Thank you. Empty now... Old address... After almost 5 years, my life was reduced t

Boboi in the House

Taking care of one cat is already a full-time job, now we added another one. (Yes, we did!!!) We used to have this rule - one cat at a time. But I broke the rule. Last Saturday, we had breakfast at our usual place - Kak Ruby - when I heard of this meowing of a kitten from under the tables. We know that there are at least 7 kittens at that gerai (which Kak Ruby transferred to the back later on). When it emerged, I saw that this is not one of the 7. This is a new kitten someone has thrown away and what really took me back was that it looked exactly like Bubu. The colour, the stripes, the furry ears... Hubby asked me to decide. Aliyah gave me that "please, please, please" look. I called the kitten and it came near me. Alamak.... I held it up and actually asked it: "Are you related to Bubu?" 10 minutes later, we took the kitten, brought it straight to the Vet, got it dewormed and sprayed. Then, back to its new home. Mimi is not so happy actually. She's a bit jealous

New Office - Finally Moved In!

1 March 2011: we finally moved in. Morning we brought in the "fragile" items. The other bulky and heavy items will be brought in later in the week. The training room furniture also came today. Phone and fax lines ok (despite having to get the contractors to come back). Streamyx, if I tell you we got our Internet line today, I'm sure your jaws will drop kan? Well, you won't be having any jaw-ache because we didn't get the line. In fact, after Hubby complained, seemed that we have requested for the transfer 32 days ago and still pending. Bagus sungguh service kan. Siapa yang bangang bagi diaorg ni best customer service award hari tu? Let's see if we get it tomorrow. Two rooms vacuumed by Linda, then we unwrapped and set up these furniture, wiped them clean, tested the projector to mark the spot to project and also to hang the white board, cleaned the windows and the toilets (again)... That's the job of the company CEO...