Open House

Tun Rahah's open house. Even Datin Norjuma asked me the soalan cepumas.

L-R : Nor (host), Kak Ros & Syarliz

Ol' mates from Uni days. L-R : Moi, Ijal a.k.a JM, Sepol and Mud (he does part-time catering and cooks deliciously wicked Nasi Beriyani)

My wife can cook too! Masak air. Siti Azlina and hubby Azman Aura

Ijal : Ko tengok kaki kawan baik ko dalam gambar ni... mana ada bengkok?

Siti Azlina : Bengkok la... eh baju ko padded kat perut ke? Besar semacam je.

Last open house before I left for Jakarta. One ahli, Kak Zai, was missing.

Illuminated Earpick

The device above is called Lighting Earpick. There are some manufacturers who name it Illuminated Earpick.

Whatever name it goes by, the purpose of this device is to remove ear wax. And to make the process easier, someone decided to attach a light bulb to it.

It was my first time seeing such a gadget.

Unsure on how to correctly use the device? No worries. Just flip to the back and read the instruction.


Instruction 1 - Occay, I guess deeply here means you have to poke the thin end deep into you ear canal. But oppsss... be sure to do it slowly. And of course... slight.

Instruction 2 - Allright. Ocasionally there are children around me. So I have to be cautious. But who the hell is a Moring person?

Lastly, it says this product requires three AGB. What in the friggin world is an AGB? If finding AGB isn't difficult enough, you also have to make sure that the AGB must be mini and could be exchanged. Exchange with what? Earwax??

In Need of A Quick Loan?

I'm sure you've seen the many ads offering fast loans around Kuala Lumpur. They're on the lamp posts, letter boxes, telephone booths, elevators... pokoknya merata-rata lah.

They're not loans offered by banking/finance institutions but by loan sharks or more "affectionately" known as Ah Longs.

They don't send nicely worded reminders if you default your first payment. No. They'd most probably splash red paint over your car or your house door. So if any of your friends or relatives keep an unusually large number of red paint tubs in their house, chances are, he is an Ah Long.

OK. Back to the ads. The ad below, caught my attention.

Allright. The name itself is a joke. IMMORTAL Finance? Hmm... maybe they'd be here longer than Lehmann Brothers.

As if resorting to a loan shark for a loan isn't humiliating enough, you're even asked to call them secara rahsia (discreetly).

Ya lor? Who the hell would want to boast about calling a loan shark?

Hmm... let me see... where is the place which best suit the secara rahsia criteria? Under the bed? In the closet? Smelly and dark store room?

I think the correct term should be "rahsia terjamin" and not "secara rahsia".

Peanutbutter's Flickr Photo Pages

She's a dear friend of mine. A sister. She has a new found hobby - photography which she took up barely a year ago. Enjoy her lovely photos here .

1st Syawal

This year's 1st Syawal was special.

With the addition of a new member in the family, it was natural that all attention was focused on him.

Just like when Hari Raya was celebrated at my maternal grandfather's house, the family group photo session was a must. Back then in Kuala Kangsar, the group photo session would involve almost 40 people.

Hari Raya in those days were so much merrier. Ye la... masa tu still dapat duit raya. Mana le tak happy sakan.

I remember fondly how all the grandchildren would queue from one uncle and auntie to another for duit raya on the morning of 1st Syawal. We would then compare who among us cousins got the most money.

And at night, we would help our youngest uncle to lit up the pelita or panjut around the house. My grandfather's house was huge. It had a vast compound where us kids would play and run freely.

My grandfather passed away in 2004. Since then, there was no more balik kampung to Kuala Kangsar.

I'm lucky for I still have my maternal grandmother. At 84, she still has a very good memory and she could hear well too. But, her mobility is quite restricted.

The whole family went to visit her on the 1st day of Raya. She was at an auntie's house in Shah Alam.

"Bila nak kahwin?" was the first question which came from her. Not "Bila sampai dari Jakarta?". Not "Ada beli apa2 untuk Pah tak?". No. She had to ask the soalan cepumas.

My answer was the standard "Lepas raya".

And I had to repeat that answer at almost every relatives' house.

Capek deh!!

Iftar At Rebung

On the 27th day of Ramadhan, the whole family went to Rebung for iftar. Rebung is co-owned by a celebrity chef and Malaysia's first man in space (who was there and sat behind our table).

If I were the co-owner of the reastaurant, I would make an effort to go from one table to another and do a short greeting to my customers. A good PR exercise I believe. Rather than mingle only with those at my table. Rather snobbish, don't you think?

Those who want to try authentic Malay kampung dishes should visit Rebung. The food in general was good. I'm not a food lover so please don't ask me what's the must-try dish there.

The only downside to Rebung was the service. None of the waiters were warm and friendly (they probably pick this up from the co-owner.. hehe). Seriously, even the staff at Jakarta's KFC are more pleasant!

Aidil Fitri Break

Just got back from my long break in Malaysia.Actually, it wasn't a break at all. A break is when you just laze around and relax. My so called break was far from that.

It was hectic the moment I touched down at KLIA. Hectic spelled out as F A N T A S T I C.

I managed to do things which I had set to do while in Malaysia, some of them were:

• Meet my closest dearest friends and had a blast. You guys know who you are. I really appreciate those who put aside some of their time to meet me. Thank you so much!
• Visit Pasar Ramadhan in Desa Pandan, Pandan Indah and Tasik Permaisuri. The popiah at Desa Pandan was as good as ever! (sans the long queue.. it was 2 days before Lebaran, afterall. Everybody has balik kampung).
• Taste the real Teh Tarik. However I now have a new favourite drink. Old Town White Coffee. I would go for it's white coffee over Starbucks' cafe latte anyday.
• Savour the delicious rojak mamak. Had one at Pelita Ampang Point.
• Visit Pavilion!

There were more but writing them down would draw jeers from some. But hey, living in another country makes me long for the simple things that I normally do back home.

Anyway, the happiest moment during my short holiday was when I meet my nephews. The youngest, at 6-month old, finally met his uncle for the first time.

The eldest. Concentrating on the games on the laptop.

This one waited until 12 am for me to reach home from KLIA. He had not seen me for almost a year.

The youngest nephew. The reason I felt sad to fly back to Jakarta.