zuma stage 13

this is my third time, actually.

 

 

i live in plentong

Following a thread of email conversation between Man I, Jali and I; it struck me how lucky I am right now living in Plentong.

 

Come this October, it will mark my 10th year living in Johor.

Currently I'm staying in Plentong, and loving it.

Funnily, whenever I mention that I'm staying in Plentong, people (mostly those living in Pasir Gudang) would give this remark:

"that's a bit far..."

 

Well, I don't think so.

Naza and I are working in JB and Pasir Gudang respectively.

Plentong is actually midway between JB and PG. Both ways from Plentong are around 16 to 18 kilometers.

 

The trend nowadays is that public amenities and facilities are built around the township. People in PG does not need to go outside of PG for shopping, school, work, entertainment (okay, well, they have to go to Tebrau City near Johor Jaya - that's nearby Plentong), and etc.

Likewise, for people in Plentong. In fact, I would say that Plentong has everything to offer (except that we have to travel outside our area to work/school).

We have all the hypermarkets in our vicinity. Giant, Tesco (Seri Alam and Plentong), Carrefour and Jusco (Permas Jaya and Tebrau City).

Recently Tesco Extra opened in Plentong following the takeover of Makro (and much easier to shop in Giant now, as there are fewer people).

Within the hypermarkets, there are other shops, family restaurants as well as public amenities.

 

In Giant: A post office, Traffic Police (to pay your summons), SenQ, Courts Metro, RHB Bank, Alliance Bank, ATMs (Eon Bank, Maybank, AmBank, BSN, RHB, Alliance, CIMB).

I have yet to take a comprehensive tour of Tesco Extra, but there's a Shakey's Pizza over there (the only one so far in JB, I think).

 

I used to send Avanza for service in Larkin (the nearest service center). Since the last 1 year Mutiara Motors opened a Toyota sales and service center just 5 minutes drive from where I live. Right opposite it is a Petronas station with A&W restaurant to boot.

Starting from 18th of this month, the surau nearby has started holding Jumaat prayers.

 

Well, in short, I don't have to travel to JB city anymore for anything. In fact, it has been quite some time since I last went to City Square in JB.

 

All I'm saying is that I'm grateful for all the convenience I'm having, living in Plentong.

Alhamdulillah.

 

Oh yes, one more thing: there'll be an Ikea opening soon (don't really know how soon) in Tebrau City area. Yippee!

another blog?

of late, my entries are more about my passion for mountain bike.
i'm contemplating on whether i should make another blog just for it.

shall i, or just leave things as it is?

well, if it does happen, it'll be listed in my blogger profile.

cantik

Adam said, "Mak, you are pretty".
And I thought quietly, "he's right".
It's not that hard to see, really.

On the other hand, I think Naza subconciously worried about not being beautiful.
Not being beautiful anymore?

To me, she is always beautiful. Especially more during her pregnancy.
People say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is true.

Sayang, this song is for you (especially the italicised few last verses).

Chantek
Altimet feat. Adeep Fabulous Cats

Hey wanita
Gembira dapat berjumpa
Teringat kembali kali pertama kita bersua
Ingat bila kita bersepatu serupa
Tak lama dahulu jangan kata kau dah lupa

Kau bersama kawan-kawan mu dan yang nyata
Kau paling menyerlah di antara mereka
Rambut hitam warna cokelat anak mata
Membuat aku kurang fasih bila bicara

Apa kata kita ambil sedikit masa
Untuk mengenali sesama kita dengan lanjutnya
Dan jika kau rasa apa yang ku rasa
Ayuh kita ke bab kedua dan seterusnya

Chantek…
Dirimu buat ku tertarik
Menghilang segala prasangka… Di jiwa…
Ohh chantek…
Sungguh aku cinta kamu

Dia…
Pandai menjaga hati ayah dan ibunya
Kelakuannya sama dengan orang tuaku juga…

Dia…
Bisa cipta yang gula dari yang cuka
Pandai menukar yang duka kepada suka

Dia…
Bijak mengatur acara dan juga masa
Cekap memasak garam gula secukup rasa…

Dia…
Pandai menjaga harta dan juga duitnya
Tetap anggun tanpa mendedahkan kulitnya…

Dia…
Setia pada Yang Esa satu-satunya
Memenuhi tanggungjawab lima waktunya…

Dia…
Punya tempat dalam rancangan yang ku rangka

Kita…
Tak usah lengah
Ayuh kita berumah tangga

Chantek…
Sechantek suria menyinar
Seindah bunga yang di taman… Mekar…

Chantek…
Dirimu buat ku tertarik…
Menghilang segala prasangka… Di jiwa…

Ohh chantekk…
Sungguh aku cinta kamu

Aku…
Melihat kita bersama di hari tua

Dia…
Masih satu tiada empat tiga atau dua
Dan walaupun kau sudah kepudaran rupa
Kau tetap cantik padaku aku tak lupa

Kita bersama di anjung luangkan masa
Kewangan kita merdeka mampu bersara
Hasil usaha kita dari masa dahulu
Cukup untuk mengisi perut anak dan cucu

Hidup santai tak perlu terburu-buru
Punya masa kerja ibadah dan juga ilmu
Anak kita dan ayahnya semua sebulu
Aku bilang kau chantek dan mereka setuju

Chantek…
Sechantek suria menyinar
Seindah bunga yang di taman… Mekar…

Chantek…
Dirimu buatku tertarik…
Menghilang segala prasangka… Di jiwa…

Ohh chantek…
Sungguh aku cinta kamu…

cycled to work!

inspired by BC Kelolo and Yusof's bike-to-work experience, i finally gathered all strength to cycle to work yesterday (see "what are you looking at/for II - cycling").
by 'all strength', i mean mental (most important) and physical.
it doesn't have to be a day-to-day fare. it could be a saturdays-only recreation.

i chose saturday to cycle to work because:
1. not much traffic
2. it's not a school day - no need to pick up my daughter from school

basically, those two were the main things halting my plans to cycle to work. although there's another one, i chose to ignore it: cycling home in the hot afternoon (saturday being a half day).

there are enough reasons for me to cycle to work.
the obvious ones are the usual - save petrol, being green, health benefits, etc.
other than those, these are the things that i have at the office to support my cycling to work:
1. shower
2. shelter (use the pantry just beside the office to store the bike safely)
3. air-conditioned office (phew, alhamdulillah!)
4. saturdays are dress-down days - no need to wear pressed shirts and slacks in the office

perhaps it would make it easier if i cut my hair real short a la prisonheads - no need to worry about my hair, should i ever don't have the time to shower. just change to collared t-shirts and spray a li'l bit of perfume.

i used naza's bike as it is lighter than my t-bolt, and wouldn't make a front page news. her bike is not equipped with a meter, so no stats of the ride. a rough estimate of yesterday's ride time to work: 35 minutes. i originally thought it would take me 50 minutes. coming home, i didn't bother to gauge the time. happily spinning home under the hot sun (pant! pant!).

this inspires me to cycle to work every working saturday (2nd, 4th and 5th of the month). and, to build myself a hardtail for that.
heh heh heh...
;)

roll of honour

here's a list of names - people who helped me in building my first bike from ground up.
I'd like to thank you all.

In no particular order:
Apis - my brother. Got the stem, seatpost, wheelsets and v-brake bosses for front brake.
Hj. Ali - sold me the frame and headset, with seatpost clamp thrown in for free.
Zulhisham - sold me the crankset with pedals extremely cheap. Also for getting me the v-brakes. i appreciate it very much, bro!
BC Kelolo - wisdom, knowledge, tips and tricks, insight, and v-brake bosses for rear brake. Oh, and the teh tarik.
Ron - thru BBS sold me the FD, RD, shifters, cassette and chain. Delivered to me, some more.
Ah Meng - from Glenmarie. sold me the brakes with lever cheap2 one.
the bike building really started from those.
Pyan - thru BBS sold me the fork.
Auntie - bike shop in Tmn U. Well, I paid for the tires and other bits. Included in the honor roll because she gave me discounts.

what are you looking at/for II (cycling)

i'm very much into cycling nowadays.
because of that, i think, everything i see is about bicycles.
i noticed that i my head would turn whenever i see a pedaling machine, whatever kind it is.
this scares me a bit.

on the other hand, i think, cycling is picking up pace in Malaysia.
a few days ago, a newspaper covered about Bernard Chandran. It was also highlighted that one of his passion is cycling. the fact that he owns a rm24k bike is another thing, though. the main thing is that people takes up cycling. doesn't matter if it is for weekend foray offroad, or riding to work.

well, in the topic of celebrity cyclist:
there are three more i know of:
azlee senario, the comedian (owns a bicycle shop in tambun, perak).
riezman khuzaimi, the actor (also selling bike parts online).
haliza misbun (rides mountain bike, as well as roller blading, etc.).

well, i'd like to think that cycling is picking up pace and as a guy said it: it makes sense as an alternative transport.
obvious benefit to your health, and wealth.
read more here:
www.kelolo.blogspot.com
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2007/6/13/central/17949987&sec=central

nite ride - danga bay

(l to r):zudi, akmal, isaac. not in picture (taking photo): yad.
the ride started from plentong.
route: plentong - permas jaya - bridge - bakar batu - pasir pelangi - stulang darat - ring road - dataran bandaraya johor bahru - lido coastal line - danga bay.
had supper at a stall in jln sungai chat before going back.
going back: danga bay - bukit serene - ring road - stulang darat - taman pelangi - bakar batu - bridge - permas jaya - plentong.


roughly started from plentong at 9.30pm, reached dataran around 10.15pm. danga bay around 10.30pm.
nobody has a meter attached, nor taking the time of the ride.
so, no stats other than that.

what are you looking at/for?

My A-Level English lecturer Ms. Kiranjeet Kaur Dhillon taught us this: skimming and scanning.
They are important skills to master. The benefit is that you can save time going through a long article that you have to read.
What you should do first is to skim through the paragraphs. Go through them quickly, to grasp the essence of the article throughout.
Next, you go a bit more detail - scanning. Here, you scan through the article to get detail information that you need in order to understand it in full.

I tried to do this with technical/engineering articles - not much of a success. Especially on codes, standars and regulations. Very much because as if they are written by lawyers. Duhh!!

Anyway, I always apply those skills in life - in general.

Generally, what Ms. Dhillon taught us was really basic: "while skimming and scanning, your mind will only look for things that you want".
In life, it is really true. We would only find things that we want to look at/for.
My life in its stages, have gone through many wants and focuses.
I wanted to marry my girl, so I did.
I wanted to go to university, so I went.
I wanted a set of hi-fi separates, so I had.
I didn't really want to go through Europe, so it didn't happen.
I wanted a job in Malaysia, so I went back home and got one.
And now I'm into mountain biking, so that's my focus.
Hence, my current cross-stitch project is just a whenever-i-have-time-besides-mountain-biking hobby.

Mr. Robbins, Hill, Covey and Ms. Dhillon said just the basic idea of life - focus on what you want.
You'll eventually get it.

But most of all, Rasulullah Muhammad (pbuh) said about it much, much earlier:
'Innamal a'malu bin niyyat'
Whatever you're doing, it starts with a niyyat.
A niyyat is a broad term encompassing 'want', 'desire', and a whole lot big words.

What are we looking for?
Remember to have our niyyat - good and noble ones, so that our time and energy spent looking for it are worth it.

working 9 to 5

it's a cliche, 'working from 9 to 5'.
and i literally attended a technical meeting from 9am to 5pm today.
well, actually it was 9am to 5.55pm. minus the 45 minutes lunch and a few 5 minutes smoking breaks in between.
huuuaaaaaarrghhh... so tiring.
fortunately not a boring one.
at the end of the session, i get to have a one-to-one session with the boiler vendor, to understand more of the steam boiler design.
interesting.
one more knowledge today.
alhamdulillah.