appreciating life @ puteri central park ... 12th December, 2009

this has become our favourite spot every morning (almost) every weekend since we moved back about a month plus ago to bandar tasik puteri in rawang. when we left the township about 5 years ago, the hill was just ... a hill with no name, staircase, pathway, etc. but with lots of trees, bushes and lots and lots of lalang! now it is called puteri central park (bunyi macam kat noo yawk pulak).

there is also a playground within the compound. we decided to walk up the hill first before letting the kids do their stuff at the playground. after weeks and weeks of downpour, today we are blessed with bright blue sky where the sun shines brilliantly.

above is the top view of bandar tasik puteri from the hilltop. it's a booming township with (i think) more than 10,000 ppl. almost everything is here. 2 primary and 1 secondary schools, police station, post office, shops, restaurants, stalls, kindergartens, mosque and suraus, clinics, convenience store, workshops, soon-to-be-opened public library, fishing pond EXCEPT a bank and petrol station. for that we have to go to bandar country homes.

the ONLY let down here is the access road from the north-south highway. still have to exit rawang toll plaza and take the sg bakap - batu arang trunk road. it can be quite a hassle especially when travelling during peak period. other than that, no complain EXCEPT don't even think of moving here if you've not done so ... the jam is already bad enough! at least until they widen up the road or create another new access road ...

after spending few minutes stretching muscles climbing the stairs and breathing morning's fresh air, we went down the pathway around the hill. nice simple work out to chill down with the family after a week hard at work! it's a simple thing in life that we sometime take for granted. being with nature is naturally a bliss ...

the real 'puteri' at the park. on monday qesya will attend her pre-schooling trial class. opening up another new chapter in her life ...

the brother ... boy at this age really cannot put up a straight face when having their pictures taken. always with a pose! walking up and around the hill as we're trying to manage his kg. from now on fast food will only be once a month. most of the time, we the parent are the guilty party here!

at the playground. an unidentified boy just came and approached qesya and started to play together. hmmm ... very suspicious! in time, this will normally be every father's nightmare! hope i'll live long enough to see my kids all grown up and begin yet another chapter of their life ...

the big brother we're counting on to look after the lil sister. haris ... 'the protector'. we're trying to manage our expectations here. we'll prepare the kids with the best that we can give. our motto now is - "kalau bertanam padi, lalang pasti akan tumbuh juga tapi kalau bertanam lalang, gerenti padi tak akan tumbuh!"

so, there goes another morning. no fancy frills but was very well-spent. got a neighbour's wedding to attend to. and after that we're off to buy schooling stuffs for haris. alhamdulillah. end.

life is no fun without you ...

'balik kampung' ... that's how it felt when we finally moved back to bandar tasik puteri in rawang. after more than a week settling down and honing my handy manny skills, the time has come to go back to work (aaaarrggh!). lil' mookie 'merajuk habis' from morning till the next day ... what to do, life must go on ...

starting life all over again in a new school

last wednesday 4th November, we went to register haris at his new school. this place is huge with over 1,400 students divided into two sessions. unlike in usj20, the boy will now be schooling in the afternoon session. lucky for him for not having to re-sit his final exam. class for next year will be determined based on his result from the previous school.

missing his old friends already ... good that we managed to organize a birthday cum farewell party for haris on friday 30th november. the party was such a blast (except for the pizza guy incident) and thanks to auntie hezreen who generously sponsored the sand art kit for the kids! just can't seem to erase the images flashing by when the boy bid his farewell to his classmates a day earlier. it put tears in the eyes just thinking about it ... abah sincerely hope you'll never have to go through the same situation ever again.

good luck, boy! abah knows you will do well here ... and make even more friends than in usj20.

life is full of funnies

NADI ILMU AMALAN MEMBACA ... was never good in BM while in school but i definitely think there is something wrong with this slogan found in SK Bandar Tasik Puteri, Rawang. whaddya think? are they teaching the right things to our kids in school? go figure ...

life would be boring if everyone thinks the same ...

noticed anything amiss with the above picture? fresh jackfruit ... rambutan, emm ... sedapnya! courtesy of gerai buah buahan SEGAR from fama. SEGAR is the key word but why oh why in the logo the leaf is in the colour of a dead leaf? insensitive? somebody please shoot the designer!

they don't believe in life after death, meh?

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/28/nation/20091028082225&sec=nation

alhamdulillah ... muhammad haris is 8 today!

anything spidey is what the birthday boy wishes for today

celebrating life during aidilfitri 1430H

1 syawal 1430H / 20 september 2009
k264a, kampung pasir puteh, 31650 ipoh, perak
while we adults are thankful to be able to fulfill our obligations during ramadhan and again celebrate syawal ... to the kids it is all about fun ...
mintak opah kek sepotong, saya mahu makan kerna perut kosong ... nur mukhlisah (3yo) waiting for opah to slice up the cake (courtesy of mak lang ... hand-made wei!)

tragedi di pagi raya ... then we used to look forward to wear our raya clothes but nowdays kids can get new clothes all year round. muhammad imaduddin (2yo) totally spent on opah's sofa after crying his heart out in protest. diaper will do for now ...

abah's little girl is all grown up now.

cucu dara pingitan cikgu an, mukhlisah and cousin, naurah sabihah (4yo)

having fun and about in opah's lawn ... can't find this in kl

hero-hero kampung pasir puteh (from l-r): jemi, muhammad saiful islam (7yo), imad, muhammad haris (8yo) and jehan.

... tadi ada lima, sekarang tinggal empat.

belangkas import dari kl.

imad: in your face ... until i get my duit raya!

there is still (more and longer) life yet in this ol dog

stoke city 0
man united 2 (berbatov, o'shea)
britannia stadium
26 september, 2009
ryan giggs is a man on a mission. super-sub giggs set up both goals for berbatov and o'shea after coming up from the bench and subsequently sent united to the top of the table.
he's out to prove that winning last season's PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR award wasn't a fluke or just out of sympathy from fellow pros.
english football's most decorated player is now playing at 35 like the same ol cocker spaniel way back in the '90s and made fergie's plan to replace him in the next one or two years almost an impossible task.
alongside scholes and neville, they're the last of fergie's fledglings. here's to SIR ryan giggs! truly a legend. nani, take note!

not in my lifetime - sir alex ferguson

man united 4 (rooney, fletcher 2, owen)
man city 3 (barry, bellamy 2)
old trafford
20 september, 2009
... cheeky reply from fergie before the derby match with regards to possibility of united playing second fiddle to the citizen.
i missed this game as it was on the first day of hari raya. a friend back in kl updated the score via text messages. 1-0 ... 1-1 ... 2-1 ... 2-2 ... i know i missed a blinder! in the end, fergie's charges made sure he did not have to swallow back his words when united came out top in one of the most pulsating derby ever seen in manchester.
ever so sweet when the killer punch came from owen, a player that was brought in to replace tevez and did not cost anything to united. like a true gentleman, he did not take all the credit to himself and only had this to say "... never going to pass up an opportunity to play for team like this". great stuff!

life is so precious ... always be thankful to Allah SWT

this picture was taken sometime early or mid last month...completely 'lembik'. haris was having high fever and at last (after some mix-up on findings and procedures that has seriously undermined the capability and competency of our education & health authorities) was confirmed to be Influenza A H1N1 positive along with one of his classmate.

syukur alhamdulillah, after losing almost 5kg ... he has now fully recovered. he's fasting as if nothing had happened. when we break our fast he's eating happily as before. loving whatever his mama cooks. insyaallah, haris will have no problem fulfilling the obligation of the 3rd pillars of Rukun Islam. these things make you appreciate life more and to be grateful with whatever you have. our son is back and is healthier than ever. insyaallah, we can now look forward to celebrate aidilfitri together again.

life's all time favourite hari raya songs

1. Dendang Perantau P.Ramlee
2. Balik Kampung Sudirman
3. Suasana Di Hari Raya Anuar & Elina
4. Selamat Hari Raya Saloma
5. Menjelang Hari Raya D.J.Dave
6. Selamat Hari Raya Ahmad Jais
7. Suatu Hari Di Hari Raya M. Nasir
8. Selamat Hari Raya Sanisah Huri
9. Seloka Hari Raya Hail Amir & Uji Rashid
10. Cahaya Aidilfitri Black Dog Bone

14 September 2009 / 24 Ramadhan 1432H

life in crisis? what crisis?

tottenham hotspurs 1 (dafoe)

man united 3 (giggs, anderson, rooney)

white hart lane

12 September, 2009

life was great during the weekend. we're cruising along ramadhan with relative ease, alhamdulillah. celebrating my dear and lovely wife's 39th birthday. then there was also the game against the league leader. after gettin' over spurs' shockin' first minute goal, the team clawed back to outfought and outplayed spurs with only 10 men after the sending off of paul scholes (for what else other than the usual bad tackle ... we still love you anyway). united's display oozed the marriage of class and resolve that champions require, and sent out a clear warning to those teams aiming to prevent the Reds from bagging a fourth straight title...and a special note to anderson for finally breaking his duck in an open play with a thumping shot passed cuddicini. also, interestingly the match is won minus ronaldo, tevez and with none of the new signings!

14 September 2009

barclays premier league 2009/2010

i want milk!

here we go again, life with the new season has started! and the results so far ...

ran out of luck with penalty shootout against chelsea in the community shield ... managed only a 1-0 win against birmingham city ... slipped to burnley 0-1, steamrolled past wigan athletic 5-0, got lucky with a 2-1 home win against arsenal ... not that convincing, eh?!

well, it is always the case with united in the first couple of months of each new season. we are always a slow starter. come january (apart from 1 or 2 slip up here and there) till end may, a title or 2 will usually be ours to keep in the ever bulging trophy cabinets.

this season, it might end up differently. after 3 straight premiership titles, 2 successive champions league finals, losing 2 main stars and with no really major new signings ... could there be a possibility that we are in a danger of ending the season empty handed?

with ferguson's main intention this season is to blood the younger players into the first team, the possibility is definitely there. he is also tinkering with the team formation (still can't believe the formation he applied against arsenal!) at the moment. he's experimenting to build the 4th great united team in his lifetime.

so, for me if we end up titleless this season that's ok. i can understand it. a season without a title is still ok, what. life goes on. in fact, i will be really really surprised if we still become a champion for the 19th time at the end of this season (personally think liverpool will still walk alone and empty handed this season).

the onus is on the other teams. now is the best time for them to 'pinjam' the premier league trophy from united. they'll have no chance once fergie gets his (new) team going again!!!

PPSMI ... life should move forward

Kuala Lumpur
Wednesday 8th July, 2009

"... Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012 onwards ..."
“... only 19.2% of secondary teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers were sufficiently proficient in English ...”.

when will our policy makers ever learn?! not during our lifetime i guess. hell, even a 2 year old can tell you that cars cannot move without wheel or you cannot make ice kacang without the ice ... why do it in the first place when you know the teachers will not be able to do it?

our leaders always like to take 1 step forward and 2 steps back ... come on, man ... stop messin' with our kids' lives and future. please la for once, do it for the kids' sake and not for some political mumbo jumbo!

ciao carlito!

carlos tevez
aug '07 - june '09
Kes merajuk ... in the end nobody wins. one of the hardest working player on the field. scored some crucial goals. won the champions league in 2008, the world club cup, 2 premier league titles in a row (season 07/08 and 08/09) and a carling cup in 2009 with the red devils. not bad an achievement. now decided to quit despite united matching the permanent transfer deal + making him one of the highest paid player at the club.
well whether it was him or his agent, apache is now no longer a united player. he has signed for the blue-half of manchester. carlos tevez is now part of the blues' revolution under another former united great, mark 'sparky' hughes.
the blues is blue-printing their revolution based on the path taken by chelsea few years back. they are using money to buy them success. tevez among others will have robinho, santa cruz, adebayor and barry as company. however beware, instead of emulating chelsea ... you can become leeds united instead!
so, good luck to you tevez (and sparky too)!

obrigado ... e adeus!

cristiano ronaldo

august '03 - june '09

"united accepted a world-record offer of 80 million pound from real madrid". a special talent indeed. nurtured by sir alex and the best around him. lost out to really become one of old trafford greats. the signs were all there to see. he'll never gonna stick around for long.

life is short, so he deserves this chance. anyway, there is no place for diva here. no player is bigger than this great club. we survived and gone to be even stronger after cantona, beckham, ruud and keano's exit.

the red machines will go marching on to more glory. man united vs real madrid in the coming champions league campaign? bring it on ... and good luck with the galacticos!

win or lose ... there is only one united!

season 2008/2009

down to barca 0 - 2 in the champions league ... but what the heck.

we still won the lot! december 2008

world club champions

united 1 vs 0 ldu quito

march 2009

carling cup champions

united 0 (4) vs 0 (1) spurs (penalty)

may 2009

premier league champions

united vs liverpool, chelsea, arsenal and 16 other losers ...

well done, lads!

Lived Life In Langkawi 24.04.2009 - 27.04.2009

one of the great joy in life ... quality time with family. at home or away on a vacation. this time we're off to the legendary island of langkawi.

day 1 friday 24.04.09

was a bit worried how the kids would react. this being first time in their life taking flight. yes, they were excited and cannot stop talking about it since I told them bout the trip. would they get panic, scared, start to cry, etc. once we're off the ground? will we have to travel back home by land!? well, life is full of surprises! kids will time and again proved you wrong and taught us never to underestimate them. they took to it like a duck to water ... absolutely no problem at all!

alhamdulillah, smooth landing on airasia flight AK6302. on time too. had our brunch, drove around town a bit. went for friday prayer in padang mat sirat town mosque. checked in into langkasuka beach resort and off to where else ... the pool! haris all suited up for a splashing good time!

mukhlisah ... sejuknyaaaaaa!

after an hour or two in the pool, time to head to the beach pulak. nice one (ok la ni and way better than what you can find in pd, bagan lalang or melaka). bright sunny day but with cool seabreeze from the andaman sea ... instantly, all the blues are blown away. mama nya: "... b, tiba2 kepala macam rasa kosong je, kan!". syoknya ...

budak2 pun syok jugak! where got chance to play like this in kl ... with flour-like white sandy beach, nak baring ke, nak berguling ke ... life (here, at least) is to be lived, silakan! so much fun watching and playing with them.

love at first sight for the kids. haris: "abah, kita pindah kat sini boleh tak? kat sini pun ada sekolah, kan?" hmm, if only life is that simple, son.

mukhlisah: "abah, abah ... boleh main cam ni kat rumah?!"

cool wind, therapeutic sound of ocean waves hitting the beach, picturesque scenery, fun time with the family, etc. alhamdulillah, life was so good today (add to that a simple yet superb seafood dinner we had in restoran difiqa at pantai cenang). marvellous!

day 2 saturday 25.04.09

everybody was up early. done with breakfast and another pool session, we're now ready for a sciencesational time at petrosains playsmart in telaga harbour park, pantai kok. seen here haris, mama nya and mukhlisah about to go up the lift to the 1st floor where playsmart is located. two hours and the kids just loved it here. lots of interesting and interactive exhibits here not only for kids but parents too. definitely a smarter way to learn about science. if only learning science in school is this much fun (sigh) ... i could have become a scientist instead of an adman ... but that's life ... with all its possibilities.

mama nya (or what's left of her) seen here with one of the more intriguing exhibits. you can get your head chopped by a guillotine too in playsmart if you wish so! hope more parents will expose their kids to this kind of activity. anytime a better way to take a break with the kids rather than dragging them for crockery-hunting in pekan kuah. best of all, admission is free! for more info, check out http://www.petrosains.com.my/reachingout/playsmart.html

next stop - oriental village for cable car ride. mama nya and haris were not that eager to go up in the beginning. giving all sorts of excuses. but by the time they gave up, it rained. so cable car operation was suspended due to safety reason. next best thing to do, visit the mini animal farm next door. watch out for deer harassment! you have been warned. the day ended back at the pool and beach. the nite ended with another seafood feast at restoran haji ramli (not as good as last nite, though) and stroll along row of the shops at pantai cenang.

day 3 sunday 26.04.09

adventure day. we went out for the kids' first boat ride. first stop ... pulau dayang bunting. took this pic of the island as our guide stopped the boat to tell us about the famous folklore. Allahhuakbar ... what a sight! wonders of life.

dah sampai ... a tip for those planning to go here in future ... do not hold any plastic bag while walking to the lake coz according to our guide, there are lots of snatch thieves around. turns out the thieves are just a bunch of primates! poor fellas ... they've become dependent on human to feed them and when they see plastic bag it means there is food in it.

tasik dayang bunting ... a fresh water lake in a middle of an island. quite big too. legend has it that this used to be the favourite bathing place of a celestial princess by the name of mambang sari. we malay and our never ending myths ...

good idea to have this platform built here. people can walk around and there is even a pool for kids to swim about. me, i'm standing here with my knees still shaking and rattling. my daughter piggy-backed me from the boat to the lake, you see ...

another attractions ... natural fish foot therapy courtesy of a friendly group of catfishes gently nibbling at your feet. geli wa cakap lu. it's ok to do it here but i'll never do it in shops back in kl. they never clean the water after each person finished a session ... you'll just never know, eeeuw!

2nd stop. feeding the eagles. there were about 20 - 30 of them circling our boat. pity, according to our guide the eagles can no longer find their own foods. they've lost the predatory skills and instincts. now being fed with chicken belly daily by the visiting boats. impressive demonstration from the birds nevertheless when they dived down to the sea.

3rd stop. rain welcomed us as we reached pulau beras basah jetty. rain or not, the show must go on. before this, the kids were never really hot bout swimmin' in the sea. can't really blame them. here ... different story altogether.

mama nya pun cannot resists ... yand mula2 malas nak membasahkan diri pun akhirnya berendam jugak.

done with the dip in the sea we all headed back to the jetty. i tell you this must be the shortest 3 hours i've felt in my life! time really flies when you're having a splashing good time. masa begitu mencemburui kita ... (hahaha, always wanted to write this line)

that evening we went to recce pekan kuah. sempat jugak mama nya grab a handbag at sembonia outlet in jetty point complex. dinner was at 'great-food-but-can't-remember-the-name' nasi kandar shop. recommend to try out 'cinta madu' here.

day 4 monday 27.04.09

our last day again started in the pool. checked out before noon and went on a prowl for ideal lunch. simple dish but 'laksa power' memang power. set the right kind of mood for our next 'adventure' ... shopping! giler ada kelakar pun ada ... earlier planned only to buy fork & spoon but we ended up with bowls, pots and pans! sampai terpaksa beli satu lagi extra luggage. other than that biasa la, handbag, chocolates, crocs (macam la kat kl takde jual), etc.

decided to check in early and lepak kat airport. on board the kids were eager to try out 'airline meal'. what they said and what the reality is is totally the opposite! nevertheless, smooth and safe journey back to lcct on flight AK6309. syukur alhamdulillah.

langkawi really rocks! life there was great. everybody had so much fun (and stuffs). can't wait to go back there again. hope it'll be sooner rather than later ...

monday

29 june, 2009