1st day @ work

after 2 weeks...and i can't seem to get started!! Pagi tadi gi WTO...tapi tension tak leh get renverse (cafe latte, basically...saje nak eksyen..show off the only french word that i know!) coz i had to fast for the blood test at 2 pm. Just my routine blood test..nothing nobody need to worry about..(ada orang worry ker??)

Nways..am back in office..trying to clear my inboxes and got bored so, masuk sini jap (excuse jer laaa...just in case the boss is reading! :-))

You guys read about Sheikh Muszaphar's announcement of his impending marriage? Waaa..that also can make headlines, huh!? Almaklum..angkasawan negara lah kata kaaaannnnn...am thinking...he's gonna marry his late brother's widow and help raise his nephew and niece...you think?

Jalan-jalan cari makan part 2 - on request by Teeny and Ika, been asked to tell about the time I ate with them whilst in KL. (Before that...hey guys..you all kan ada blog sendiri...next time ceritalah sendiri tau!!).

1. Chillie's @ KLCC. Went to meet with Teeny and Kak Dor on the first night I arrived. It was good...good food..good company (had to say this coz they are reading!). Had lamb with mashed potatoes..hmmmmm..and desserts was da bomb - some chocolotey thingymagic shared between the 4 of us! Needn't have shared, actually! It would be good to each have their own! Next time, k Teeny!?

2. Italianies @ One Utama. Joined Ika and her family and later joined by Kak Dor and Hanafiah...Good italian food...although I did not order anything sebab still kenyang after visit to Rebung earlier that day! Ordered cappucino, which, like Ika said, came in this humungus cup!! but can only cerita coz didn't think of taking pictures then! Company was good too, of course (again..those people are reading this!!). Desserts was the best! Nicked off Kak Tam's strawberry (or was it rasberry?) cheese cake. Masya ALLAH sedapnya!!!! Am definitely planning a return visit with the gang nanti! In the mean time, here's us in Italianies..

I have handsome nephews..no? And of course, a very pretty niece (just in case ika gets upset!)..:-)

I'm Back in Geneva...

So soon? No..not soon enough! Perhaps it would be different if I had gone back with the rest of the gang...As it was, Malaysia wasn't all that exciting as I was alone, missing Soraya terribly! Ye lah..for the past 2 years the gang were hardly apart as Mummy never had to go outstation.

I came back yesterday..received by hugs at Geneva airport! Yay! Pegi 2 bag..balik 3 bags!! Full of food and VCDs! And i bought a whole load of magazines in Heathrow. So, everybody got something..most magazines were read and half the junk food eaten by the end of yesterday!!

So...what happened in Malaysia? Quite a bit, actually and i'll tell them as I remember them, OK...Before that, superwomanwannabe and Mr, apologies coz tak meet up with you guys...was thinking there'll be plenty of time (really?) to meet once we all balik for good nanti, K...but Jab..thanks for the call!

1. PTK...

The course was alright, I guess...except for the exam bit! Am too old to be mugging for exams!! Mujur ada Anoi and Mabel who shared everything they know with me so, was able to answer 4 questions reasonably well (thats my own assessment...the examiners' assessments belum tentu!). We needed to answer 5 question so my fifth answer was done in about 10 minutes with the kind help of Ros**, who showed me where to look for the answer! So..if I pass, I would have to belanja these people!

The 2nd part..the public speaking bit..turned out to be fun! A bit nerve racking when your turn comes but it was good fun to see other people trying to attract the panel's attention! They boys were very creative, one even started singing a song when trying to convey the feelings of Nurin Jazlin's parents (the title of his speech was "Nurin"). One brought all kinds of gadgets...plastic bags..wrappers..to illustrate pollution of all kinds...heard he got top marks! The ladies were more conservative...biasa laaaa...maintain giteww!

So...lets hope for the best. Pray that I will get enough marks to pass the damn thing! BTW, here's me during one of the public speaking segment! Cam real jer, ek!

2. Jalan-jalan cari makan...

Ate quite a bit...hehe...but the most memorable meal was the one Muzi and I had in Rebung...restaurant co-owned by our astronaut and this Chef Ismail. We went for lunch and they served buffet....sooooo much lauk!! and there was also mee soto..laksa...lemang...goreng pisang...few desserts...all served fresh and very tasty. I was also impressed that there seems to be personal service provided...i saw Chef Ismail busily greeting customers as they enter, explaining food to some touristy looking customers and his staff helps to the extent of stopping taxis in the street for those who need them! Good, eh? Am defintiely going back there with the gang! Here's some pixes..of the food and me with Chef Ismail himself! Didn't i tell you about personal service....

Same cannot be said for Kelab Tasik Putrajaya and the Roadhouse Grill..both I visited for old times' sake. Food was not the same...not as good as before! Menyesal pergi as they were not cheap! But whilst in Kelab Tasik Putrajaya, i played tourist and took pictures of this beautiful mosque...sorry its not very clear..pakai camera handphone jer...

The times when I ate alone..i had fried chicken...KFC and from A&W...those were as good as they ever were!! Very nice...

Oh..I must mention the Linda Onn's restaurant..been reading quite a bit about it in MrManager's blog and finally had a chance to drop by on the last morning I was in Ampang. When I first got there, it has not opened...(unlike in Geneva, shops in Malaysia opens late and closes late) so I went into the Indian shop next to it and had 2 ghee thosai! Those are gooooddd...when LO's (its officially called My Mom's Chicken Rice Shop, i think!) were opened, I went and ordered the mee rebus to take away...It was good! Well done, LO!

OK..this is part 1. Will try and post some pixes too. Later, dudes and dudettes!!

Malaysia Tanahair ku

Well well...its been 3 days...if not for missing my girls and Abah...it would be good 3 days!!

To start with, its not as hot as I thought it would be...the rain has made Malaysia cool enough a place. And there are air condition everywhere! In fact, in the classroom where my course is conducted it got so cold that I complained, drawing wondering comments why orang baru balik from Swiss tak tahan sejuk!

Can't write much coz am at Kak Sham's house at the moment and this amounts to ignoring the tuanrumah! So, I'll try to get to a computer at ILKAP tomorrow and write some mo, K.

Later then!

Balik Kampung

OK folks..not much time..so much to do before my flight petang ni..
will try and post news from Malaysia!

p.s. did any of you see Tun M's picture dalam papers today? So the hensem in red!!

Banyak Hal...

Posting title courtesy of Abang Y....

yes...banyak hal lah of late ni! Lots happened..happening..should be happening..will happen...where do I start?

But first, let me just say how glad I am to learn that Tun M is well on the road to full recovery! Saw latest pictures of him in MarinaM's blog and he looks good! I ni peminat setia Tun M...I may not agree with him half the time but I have tremendous respect for him! Those around me has heard countless times of the story when I met Tun in Sogo Bakery (back when I was huge - pregnant with Kak Long..) and could only think of asking him for a handshake! He said yes, we shook hand, I said thank you and we went on our merry ways...hahaha..so tak intelligent!

2. Reunion with Musri Tukiman.

Musri was my classmate - way back in 1983/4 - form 4 and 5 kat SMS Muar Tanjung Agas. And yesterday was the first time we met again after leaving school!! i.e. after almost 23 years!!! He emailed a couple of weeks back, saying he'll be in Geneva for a day, I emailed him back with my phone numbers and voila! there was a reunion..a very rushed and short one as he had to go back to Zug (somewhere dalam Switzerland ni lah jugak..donno exactly where though...) and due to meetings, I could not meet him earlier. There wasn't time to dwell on the past as we rushed from one tourist spot to another. It was just as well that I had my camera with me so..this is Musri and mumsie...don't you think he looks older than me? kan..kan?

3. ETA in KL

I've discovered, to my greatest irritation that flying out from Heathrow means am only arriving petang in KL...that means a whole day wasted!! That means no immediate trip to the hairdresser!! AArrrghhhhh....

4. Parent-teacher conference


We went to see Kak Ngah's teacher - Ms Denis Liew. As usual...we hear only praises for Kak Ngah. I missed the one with Kak Long's teacher but Abah said she received puji-pujian as well. Thats what i like about teachers kat sini...they only focus on the positive sides of your children and hopes to build on them. I think it works. I think children tends to work harder when they know they'll get appreciation at the end of it...well...come to think of it, adults pun perform better when they receives pats on the back from time to time...ye dak?

On the way to Kak Ngah's class, we bumped into Kak Long's Class 4 teacher - Sandra Heiger. I like her. I wish she was my teacher! Anyway, we chat for a while and told her of our impending leave. Sempat juga I express worry about the girls adapting into Malaysian school system and she said, "if anyone can do it, it will be your daughter (she was referring to Kak Long..). If she cannot cope..it will be the school's fault..it will not be hers!" Awwwww...like i said..i wish she was my teacher!! we left her in the school corridor with Mumsie feeling quite comforted!

I forgot to whip out the camera in the classroom but we did take some pictures in the school lobby..they were getting ready for halloween....

5. More raya pictures...courtesy of yati and rashidi..tapi kecik arr...

6. More pictures of Geneva..taken when I was taking Musri around town...

BTW, the picture of the 3 legged chair is actually of a sculpture of by a swiss artist called Daniel Berset. He named it The Broken Chair. Apparently, it is a symbol of the fight against anti-personnel land mines and the lost leg symbolizes what so many land mine victims suffer. The Chair can be found right in front of the UN building.

and I leave this posting with a picture of a view which greets us whenever we leave the apartment in the mornings....when weather is good lah!

i think its the range of Mount Jura....siggghhhhh.....

Facts and figures on world's worst food crises

Dalam kita berhari raya and menjamu selera, lets spend a couple of minutes and think of those people mentioned below - found this in today's STAR....

Reuters - Tuesday marks World Food Day, with aid workers warning that war, weather, disease and deepening poverty leave more people hungry and in need of food aid each year just as rising prices make feeding them more expensive.
Below are some global statistics on food shortages and aid and a summary of some of the world's current food crises.
-- 854 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat, more than the combined populations of the United States, Canada and the European Union.
-- In the 1990s, global poverty dropped by 20 percent, as the number of hungry people increased by 18 million.
-- Every five seconds a child dies because of hunger.
-- One in four children in developing countries is underweight.

AFRICA
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO -- widespread shortages persist despite the end of Africa's most destructive civil war, with the U.N. unable to reach a third of the 300,000 people newly displaced by renewed fighting in the east.
ETHIOPIA -- as Ethiopia's government fights a counter-insurgency campaign in its ethnic Somali Ogaden region, rebels accuse the government of "man-made famine" and aid workers say delivery of food aid to 600,000 people is patchy at best. The Red Cross and aid group MSF have both been expelled from the region.
LESOTHO and SWAZILAND -- the two southern African kingdoms are suffering drought, soil erosion and some of the world's highest HIV rates and have suffered serious shortages every year this decade.
MALAWI and ZAMBIA -- having suffered years of repeated shortages from drought, the impact of HIV and deepening poverty, both countries have reported a surplus this year after better weather and improved access to inputs such as fertiliser.
SOMALIA -- ongoing conflict and the worst drought in years combined to restrict access to aid agencies and commercial supply of food, particularly after the closure of the main market in the capital Mogadishu. The U.N. says there have been 13 deaths at WFP food distributions this year and the number of incidents is rising. Maritime aid shipments run the risk of piracy.
SUDAN -- despite growing insecurity aid workers continue to feed some 4 million people in need of assistance in Darfur, as well as others affected by the now ended conflict in the south and recent flooding.
UGANDA -- widespread flooding in northern Uganda, home to people displaced by conflict, has led to WFP airdrops of food. Some 250,000 people in camps did not receive their September rations because of flooding.
WEST AFRICA -- after serious shortages in the Sahel in 2005, West Africa is seen as having had a good agricultural year but aid workers warn pockets of shortage remain in countries such as Niger, which remain vulnerable to massive crop failures.
ZIMBABWE -- drought, HIV, economic and agricultural collapse have hit harvests and the U.N. sees food aid needs rising from a current one million people to 4 million by the end of the year.

ASIA
AFGHANISTAN -- despite ongoing conflict, Afghanistan has seen its best grain harvest in years.
NORTH KOREA -- still recovering from a devastating famine in the 1990s, North Korea this year suffered floods that damaged nearly a sixth of arable land. WFP is providing flood emergency food rations to 215,000 people.
SRI LANKA -- the resumption of civil war in 2006 restricted both commercial food deliveries and aid flows particularly to rebel Tamil Tiger areas in the north and east. The government-held northern Jaffna enclave has been effectively cut off for over a year, with rising prices and malnutrition rates.

MIDDLE EAST
IRAQ - food distribution in Iraq is difficult due to widespread violence, and AID agencies find it hard to reach the 2 million displaced within Iraq. Another 2 million people have fled mainly to neighbouring Syria and Jordan.
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES -- some 2 million Palestinians receive food aid either from WFP or from the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency, which works with Palestinian refugees. Food aid has been allowed through Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip since the takeover by Islamist group Hamas. With Gaza unable to export, food stalls are unusually well-stocked but with the economy collapsing many are too poor to buy.

LATIN AMERICA
COLOMBIA -- with years of war giving Colombia one of the highest rates of displacement in the world, WFP feeds half a million people displaced by conflict.

SOURCES: United Nations World Food Programme, UNRWA, Reuters
Copyright © 2007 Reuters

so folks...you reckon anything we can do??

Hari Raya 2007

So much to tell...so, why don''t i let the pictures tell them, OK...

As you can see...we had a blast!! Loads of food and good company....and its still ain't over yet...

BTW, the last picture is of my carrot cake...got quite a few praises for it...kembang kuncup i youuuu...

One place deserves a special mention, though...the house of a young diplomat named Azril...sungguh cozy, canggih and nicely(very) decorated..he managed to shame the kakak2 and auntie2 who went visiting...here's some photos..but these doesn't really do justice to the apartment...i should have taken some pictures of the bedrooms, his own lepak area and especially the dressing room!! Like we told him yesterday...bertuahlaaa bini ko nanti!!

The cooking and hidangan was by the tuanrumah..done alllll by himself!!

the abang-abang..memperagakan the living room....

the girls and uncle azril...simply having a good time...

p.s. sorrylah azril, anak2 i pecahkan meja you tu....

P. Ramlee - Suara Takbir (Full Song) (Lagu Raya)

yang diperantauan tu...jangan nangis!!