Selamat Hari Raya!

1 Syawwal 1429 Hijr
Have a safe Eid ul Fitri.
Enjoy your holiday, and come back in one piece.

background design inspired by Mandelbrot Set from Ned Batchelder

merdeka!

31st August 2008
2008 Merdeka celebration - Johor Bahru chapter
Dataran Bandaraya Johor Bahru


Naza, Akmal & Adam | photo by Marsya Akmal Hizam


Adam & Marsya

cats

ahhh... those charming little creatures.

indeed they are, depending on their mood. well, most of the time they are.
well, i don't know that much about cats, but I've been living with them more than half of my life.
Naza shares this liking with me. Her sister even more - brought back a cat from Manchester, and now living with two big cats in KL (one rescued from RSPCA Ampang, another brought back from Plentong).

i like cats. why?

therapeutic
stroking their body gives a nice sensual feeling to your hand (or feet - try it).
even when looking at them from far, would induce a smile on my face.
it's a welcoming sight to see them walking lazily, grooming busily, fast asleep without a worry in the world, or my favourite - kittens wiggling their backside while in a stealthily low stance ready to pounce another kitten.

friendly
especially of the siamese breed (like the one in the photo).
i don't really know about cat breed, but i just refer to the likes of the siamese breed.
they are very fond of human. whether you're at a friend's or a stranger's, their cats of that breed will surely come up to you and twirl around your leg. take it as a complimentary massage.
i love those.

clean
yes, they spent many hours of the day grooming (besides sleeping).
they bury their droppings.

tough
they say cats have nine lives.
of course it's not true, but i do know one truth - they are tough creatures.
once i had a birman who was in a sorry state. she had bad wound on her ear, and went missing for few days.
housefly went on her and laid eggs on the wound. later it turned into maggots and had eaten up her left ear, and part of the head. yes, it is scary. the stench is unbearable even for me.
still, she marched on and not a hint of pain displayed through her face.

playful
even the king of cats and his cubs living in the savannah are playful.
especially kittens, they play all the time, like my kids.
but unlike my kids, they don't play while having their meals.
i used to come to school with fresh scars. my teacher casually quipped: 'i see you've been playing with cats'. only a cat lover would know another.

left: cumi. male macho cat. dearly missed.

ats come and go. some just went off without saying goodbye. some were found lifeless somewhere around the house - the result of previous night's brawl. two died on my lap - one hit by a car while happily crossing the road coming towards me, another slowly losing her life (and unborn kittens) due to poisoned rice meant for rats.

over the years, the yard around the house in Plentong is like a pet cemetery. i never counted how many of them, and they were not marked. My late Abah did one tombstone for Keng (Akak's cat from Man), though. It's always a sad thing to bury a cat, a kitten very much so. I wish I wouldn't have to do it, but it's inevitable.

the house in Plentong is like a cat magnet. often there'll be a cat coming round the house. and stay for good (of course, where else they could get Iams for free?). many times also kittens are brought back home - Naza's the one who does this. The latest, we brought home a kitten from Jusco Tebrau. It was raining, and he was lost, treading alone on the divider.

i like the fact that there are cats around the house. they somehow bring the air of peacefulness.
while typing this, i'm smiling thinking of them.
ahhh... those charming little creatures.

ikea's swedish meatballs

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-make-your-own-swedish-meatballs.html

huhuhu...
okay, have to try this one out.
minus the pork.

be brave

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)

Very often, the general public would always have something to say about things that happen around them, including your acts.
The best thing to do is to have your own justification.
For Muslims, we have Al-Quran and As-Sunnah as our guidance. We can have our justifications based on these two.

The story of an old man, a child and a donkey illustrates this point very nicely. Whatever they do, people in the village that they pass by would always have their comments. Not one act is the right one.
It is up to them to decide which is the right one - for them. And, to ignore whatever remarks or comments from others. For they would themselves know that is the best possible thing to do, in their circumstances.

meatballs

I bought Naza a recipe book from Borders quite some time ago.
One-Pot Casserole Recipes.
Simple dishes - cooked in one pot.

For Ramadhan, she decided to try the recipes out.
We had meatballs for buka puasa on the 8th Ramadhan.
Interestingly, they are easy to make.
Well, I helped Naza to make the meatballs. She prepared the ingredients.

It's really simple, I'm listing it here from the top of my head.
½kg Minced meat
1 teaspoon Italian herbs (or mixed herb)
1 egg
Salt & pepper to taste

Mixed them all together (I used bare hands - a la Jamie Oliver).
Roll into balls. Size - up to you.
Do note that it will 'shrink' a bit after fried. And not too big, as it will take longer time to cook.

Deep fry the meatballs until brown.

I prepared the protein (with fat), and Naza prepared the gravy, carb and fibre.
Gravy is from Ikea - okay, so we cheated a bit.
Carb - boiled potatoes.
Fibre - boiled carrots and broccoli

Nice coloured meal, and yummy.
I don't know why though, the meatballs are kinda 'dry' inside, not quite like the ones in Ikea.

Let's Get Rich!

PendapatanLumayan.Com - Naskah Mengandungi Khazanah Rahsia Terulung Bagaimana Mencipta Wang Atas Angin Di Bocorkan Secara Tiba-Tiba Untuk Anda!

The link above is interesting.
Sure. It has all the right words to get people to visit the website - lumayan, rahsia, wang.



I got it from my Gmail inbox ad header this morning.
I'm not a big believer of this easy peasey get rich quick thingy.
Anyway, I went with it just to see what he's offering.

As usual, it's a lengthy page.
From beginning to the end, luring people to buy the ebook of his so-called technique to buy his set of tools to get rich fast.

Ah, and there's a Disclaimer page too - with normal size font.

Taken from the Disclaimer page:

MANY FACTORS WILL BE IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING YOUR ACTUAL RESULTS AND NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE RESULTS SIMILAR TO OURS OR ANYBODY ELSES, IN FACT NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE ANY RESULTS FROM OUR IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES IN OUR MATERIAL.

Huh? 'Nuff said. I'm investing my RM50 elsewhere.

BTW, check this out: Azizi Ali's thoughts

Johor Bahru Public Library

On Saturday (6th Sept), I went out to send Marsya to school - a replacement for Hari Raya holiday extension. We arrived 45 minutes early, so I made a detour to the new JB public library in Jalan Yahya Awal, a stone's throw from her school. Opened nearly a month ago (despite delays), I still haven't been there. A good time to check out what RM5.7mil library can offer.

First impression being important, they got it right. It's a nice place, and looks organised. Well, it doesn't look like a library, but much more like a bookstore in a shopping mall. The atmosphere is like being in a bookstore - but much better. It has an open cafeteria right behind the service counter, and you can borrow books (and other media) for free, up to 14 days.

It is a modern library, very much different with the one I went frequently during my younger years. There are many different section for visitors to enjoy different medium that knowledge can be enjoyed.

Ground Floor:

• Magazine Rack - like the ones in Borders in Times Square, but with much lesser spread of titles
• Audio and Video (DVD/VCD) shelves - can be viewed upstairs in tv room.
• Cafe Aras - for refreshments
• Children's Corner - much like a kindergarten setting with cool Ikea stuff (no kidding!) and lots of books
  
• Petronas Street Smart - now until 22nd Sept

First Floor:

• Adult Sections - divided into two - Fiction (on the left) and Non-Fiction (on the right)
• Games Room - I saw children playing congkak in there
• Teenager Section - with lots of interesting titles
• Reference Section - didn't get in there, yet
• Discussion Rooms - a few enclosed rooms with glasswall for discussion.
• Media Room - for viewing video
• Islamic Media Room - for viewing digital Quran

Second Floor: closed (for now)

Note: the room names above is only my designation, not the official name given by the library authority.

Here's a few things I have to say about the library:

1. Af first I wonder why there were discussion rooms provided. After sitting down with a book for a while, then it finally occured to me. The library is not as quiet as it is supposed to be (or used to be?). With the Petronas Street Smart in town, children playing with it can be heard on the first floor. Discussion rooms were full, and teenagers doing their discussion out in the reading area. I really couldn't believe that I was sitting with a book in a library, with all these noise. I wonder if this is the concept of a library these days. I looked around, there were no 'please be silent' reminders posted.
2. The collection of books is impressive. It's close to browsing the bookshelves in a bookstore. Most of the materials are new, modern titles. You don't feel like you're transported to 10 or 20 years back in time when browsing through the book titles. For non-fiction works, titles are abound in many different subjects - religion, management, self-improvement, hobbies and craft, etc. There's also Chinese and Tamil collection, albeit very limited. And yes, they do have Michael Crichton's in Fiction section (recent titles only). Kudos to the management.
3. The desks and chairs are nice - they're teak. However, comfort is compromised while giving way for appearance. I strongly feel that they could spend on quality plastic/steel chairs with cushion for better comfort.
4. Everywhere in the building you could see people deeply sunk in their laptops. That's because it is equipped with wifi connection.
5. For mobility in the building, there are hits and misses. There are ramps and an elevator for the disabled. If you choose to use the stairs (most would do), please be extra careful. Due to the design, the steps are varied in width along a single step. If left side is narrow, the right side is wider (and vice-versa). The center has constant width, but you have to forgo the handrail.
6. Amenities are quite good. There are toilets and surau provided (at the time of writing, I haven't checked them out yet). If you fancy a drink and light snack, there's a cafe on the ground floor. In the children section, there's a baby cot provided. I'm not sure whether there's a feeding area, though.
7. I like the fact that the library is not just a depository of books. Here, multimedia learning takes on its true meaning - and they are accessible to everyone.
8. Opening hours are from 9am to 5.30pm (until 5pm during Ramadhan). I think it would be superb if it is open till late - say, 9pm. Closed on Mondays, and, it will be closed during 1st and 3rd Saturdays soon. Aahhh... not really convenient, eh?
   

After that short while in the library, Marsya and I went off to her school. It turned out that actually classes for evening session were cancelled (or postponed?) without official letter from the school. Anyway, this was informed by one of the teachers, so it's okay. That means another round in the library, then.

We went back the following day, too. This time with the whole family. We registered with the library and got our library card each - and went back home with at least a book. Oh, and please be reminded that there's an annual registration fee.

Nuff said, I suggest you go experience the library yourself.

Read more:
Johor Bahru Public Library site
article from The Star
article from NST - Johor Buzz

go ahead, overtake me

If you're a driver behind me and driving recklessly, go ahead and overtake me.
Just because you're a few seconds late than I was on the road, you were driving like mad and feel the need to go in front of my car, and others too.
My elder brother Amri has this to say: If you'd like to be in front of me, be a few seconds earlier than I did.
Plain simple.

I really love it when a hurrying car behind overtakes only to find that he's behind a red traffic light.
Such a fool.

I'm a defensive driver. Ah Teck (of Masai's Pusat Memandu Berjaya) taught me so.
I've been in situations where saving a few seconds only meant wasting a few hours (or days) and tons of money.
The very thing to do is to go out and drive to the destination earlier that it should be.
That way, you won't be in a hurry. Simply enjoying the ride.

So yeah, if you want to have an accident of yours, go have it elsewhere. Not with me.
Go ahead, overtake me. I'm cruising just fine.