kasi tapai sama dia

i was googling for "TAPAI" (i was at POPULAR Bookstore last week and saw that ridiculous cover of Rais's book) to find the book review. my search lead me to this guy's blog and it's by far the coolest malay blog i've read (but then, i rarely bloghop). he blog in grammatically correct English. (duh!) and most importantly, his blog leads me to this group. (so, there's such group in Malaysia). aku hampir terkentut.

i will definitely get that TAPAI. and it is not especially because he refers to food akin to sex. i am so bloated. i need to kentut, or else. (in my utak: org dusun main rabus saja, main hantam-hantam kasi masuk dalam balanga saja- how will that stands in Rais's comparison to the technique?)

this week hot story: Popong successfully baked her first batch of muffins. thus, the spell of kek inda kambang finally, officially over. and i wrongfully, gave her, buttermilk compositions. sorry, aku mengantuk baitu, butterscotch bah pulak. ya. yoghurt, works fine. bah. congrats.

cik adeks: nampaknya penyakit kelupaan kita makin jangkit berjangkit. psssttt.. mau bincang bisnes bagus punya. now, i really need to kentut.

i'm beyond the age of farting jokes being funny (sepatutnyala). i teach chemistry, so, ya, i knew for fact that it's just nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide gases from our stomach to anus. but, i do think kentut as funny. funny haha.. not funny peculiar. merah muka si kawan tahan kentut. seriously funny.

the point of missing

there's no point in missing to read somebody's blog, when you are not even an invited reader. a point i should always remember. (i miss the blog all the same). i miss the ideas, the perspectives, because it broaden mine. my loss.

so, jen's laptop went kong too. and she suggested us to re-visit HCMC. all pictures taken there went missing. hard disk problem. i have to laugh a bit here and tease jen. nah.. kan, mana ko punya saranan sendiri buat copy?. my beloved pinky Dell went kong a week earlier.

so, all my notes and slide presentations went missing with the hard disk. been a really busy week for me, preparing (again) those notes. hence the hiatus in my blog post. and i wont post any pictures for a while (not in august). i'll elaborate later.

i'm on my new patchwork project (nearly completed 2). Mimi seems to get infected. she started her log cabin patch. me with my hexagons. about 480 hexies to go! and my patchwork project's fancy title "pink pant her". i'll post picture of completed material. according to my calculation, that'll be sometime in september.

i'll go missing from the virtual world next week. its another field work. which i am actually looking forward for. i miss being in the woods, walk in the rain, play with muds and not to think too much. lately, thinking too much lead me to miss somebody, i shouldnt. O crap! exactly my point!

ice cream missing

i chopped my hair and my head look like a big 'bawang'.

my handphone 'melarikan diri' and i've changed my number. i'll somehow retrieve the old number. (i lost the darling 'icecream' LG Hp). sedih ni.

bought a new pair of NB running shoes. (yay! dengan harapan, akan rajin berjogging. hahahhaha!) lawak eh!

p/s depression mode. after satu minggu menghabiskan duit kerajaan and bermakan sakan with that sister yg menyelamatkan aku dari tiak berhp. (thanks jen!). aku shock dengan kerja yg banyak menimbun.

our orientation week lasted last monday. i had a super fun days with the juniors and seniors. (i guess, i miss my older kids- DKP10 bad)

i have yet, to love my new kids SPKA7.

and.. oh God! busy week ahead.

p/s sedih lagi ni.. Germany tidak dapat masuk Final World Cup. Cilaka.

a while ago,

what a week! the 'high' of being in HCMC still not fade and the bug to go travel and makan-makan hit us bad. until.. the credit card bills sobered me up.

i appreciate the dinner with this person and sorry to this person, aku lupa birthday kau. fail sungguh kawan kau ni. sorry.

i attended a full week (21-25/06) on 'ilmu-ilmu kedukunan'. i wish! (Bimbingan dan kaunseling) bah actually, (seeing ears, listening eyes). not my thing, but, in the end, i found it fascinating and well, i do love Simon Baker in the 'mentalist'. nah kan... macam dukun.

the dress

malam kebudayaan (26/06), i planned to wear the dress (tailored in HCMC~ mikirayou, because its bloody cheap) but, finally changed the plan. i settled for orang Ulu's traditional costume. (Di!, thanks for being my magician, less than 24 hours to get me one of those gorgeous costume! i cant thank you enough)

me

the 'date' with Noel and his 'mistresses?' (hahahhhah!) resulted on me knowing at least 2 of Ben's 10 Alien Forces (Heatblast and Fourarms). (Noel, aunty promise to memorize all 10)(Di, dont you think we need serious education upgrade?- you, google up V3. hahahah!)

and i'm glad i bought this. A story, in a story, in a story, of a story. (Dickens' story, in Watt's, in Matilda's by Jones). i only can think of 'Blood Diamond' (the film) to match the horror and deep, deep fear it potrayed.

the book

"phooing" session

pho bo

i love pho

good guide

kaibigans

definitely will come back to Saigon. good food. friendly people. warm city. cheap cotton. great nightlife.

5 days, and i'm in love.

Be Radical, Love Green

a friend who work at mineral and geoscience department will shun me for this post. (i knew for fact, he loves coal and mineral hunting..so, sorry in advance, mate)

chance upon Farish A. Noor's "what your techer didn't tell you-the annexe lectures vol.1". interesting, provocative and stimulating. i dont entirely agree with some of his opinion, but, its his book. his says. (after all, his articles are havily padded with back up literature-- evidence enough to tell, he knew what he's talking)

honestly, i picked up the book because i need inspiration to write my PTK essay, which is due 17th this month. and i only have today and tomorrow for the 'groundwork'. wednesday, i'll be away for a 'phooooooooooooing' session with my sista!

this morning, i'm still leafing through this book (still nothing for my PTK essay..). googling Farish, (o! so he's a radical), ended up here and here

the 2nd here is the story that will irritate that good friend of mine. the coal plant proposal in Sinakut, LD, Sabah. my initial decision is to go against. (as i am for excessive making of hydroelectric dams in Sarawak).

in the long run, NO COAL MINE in Sabah will benefit the state much more. read the borneo post article about the alternatives. and.. no, i wont give you the link fo Najib's blog in 1malaysia website. go search for it. (he made interesting comment tho)

Sabah kita bah ini. kita punya.

mid year

we're having our 2 days off for Gawai celebration. reread Frank McCourt "Angela's Ashes", found a lot in common with Andrea Hirata's "Sang Pemimpi". both are semi-autobiography, of their early days, poverty, hardship and aspiration to make a better living.

McCourt of Limerick's slum and drunkard, useless father. him, presenting his faith (birth control, the church's control, --you really need to read the book to understand the nauseating helpless i felt for him--) and his way of getting the fare to USA (as a telegram boy at post office and some other odd jobs)

Hirata of small island (pulau belitong) in between west kalimantan and Java island (Indonesia). here he showed his background of 'sekolah pondok', presenting his faith (people resisting the traditional schooling system and opted for structured schooling system--which is for me, a better option--) and his journey to Jakarta, and eventually to Sorbonne (he worked at a post office in Bogor as a postman to pay for his univ tuition fee)

both are inspirational. just, when we thought, we have had enough hardship. mine, are certainly nothing in comparison to those two. relatively speaking, i'll vote McCourt for a nastier childhood. by just reading his book, i cried for hours. i cant imagine how he lived through.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i'm reading Mark Haddon "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time". ya. another reread. lack of good reading material. i'll be in KL next week. hope i can find some books at a flea market. and hopefully a wonderful holiday with my kaibigans.

my patchwork top cover almost done. i've yet to buy a fabric for the backcover. (not too happy, the colour coordinations not really to my liking. i dont have fabric with solid colour!) (hahhah! 3 negative statements). but, its my first, hand-stitched patchwork. (reason enough to make me happy)

my living room smell wickedly of lavender. i sooooo love! and decided, its a lavender room. theme colours: lilac, pink, brown, white and green.

no picture. my camera not with me.

Gawai and Kaamatan

obstetric trauma, cord prolapse, women's health, etc. i gained more in the short two days of our recent course and probably the best i've attended in quite a while. i love the way they presented it. its so humbling to hear people with so much knowledge and experience, sharing it generously, and never once chided you for asking a silly, downright stupid question.

plus, they served a super hot Tom Yum Kung for lunch. if i were a man, i'd marry one of those jururawat masyarakat. they are super hot! (i mean they're cool ladies who can deliver any baby with just a blink of an eye. i mean, not them delivering. they help mommies to deliver their babies. i mean.. that's just cool). i dont think, i want that for a career.

i started making patchwork! all those hexagons! its a slow and very tedious job. but, somehow it get me occupied and partially happy (i get irritated mostly).

its almost Gawai. i have one wedding invitation in Serian. i wont be home for Kaamatan. and i'll see all my inner circle friends in about 2 weeks for our little walkabout.

architecture. it sounds grand. maybe it is. i'll tell her. we'll talk.

Selamat Gawai. gayu guru gerai nyamai. kotobian tadau tagayo do kaamatan. bah, miramai-ramai tokou no ngawi.

ADVICE

i dont really fancy reading poem for the energy it takes to understand in depth. i like my prose plain and simple. Robert Frost is one. and Sheree Fitch. she never failed to amuse me. i got her first collection "in this house are many women", a 1993 publication. (confession: i bought it for the cover painting, a nude). sure, i got it from flea market. where else?

ADVICE

read everything Gloria Steinem ever wrote

her last book first

ego is like a hat

useful protection

but it should always be taken off

before entering a room

or sitting at a table

with others

you are not only what you do

or who you love

but you must do to discover

who you are

love to discover

why you are

i wont retype the whole lot. i have yet to read anything of Gloria Steinem. i absolutely trust the ego-cap thing. (unrelated matter, i bought a nice cap to match Dawn's stylish cap an jane's penjahat punya cap~ so, i can't wait to see you guys and show it off!). and i have yet to grasp a simple essence of the third stanza. (i got it alright, but seeing like, in a dim light or something.. bukan mentol yang menyala-nyala. hahahahha. ngok!)

ooooo.. last week was hell.

mad-der day

Previous post was stupid. but, i wont delete it. period.

i was supposed to post this for Mother's Day. but, here's anyway, i finally planted my 'magic' beans. only one live though.. so much for a support.

1/2 day

4th day

10th day-today!

(look at the cloud!)

i read Jonathan Kellerman's Monster, sunday (mother's day). my first of his work. quite interesting. (criminal mind, the mentalist approach). he's a psychologist by profession, turned writer. (so, i guess, he knew his stuff well). but, that also makes him sane enough to write a mad story. thus, to my opinion, too structured and too predictable. (and too many jargon..). but, to be able to write a fine story like that. he is very good.

MONSTER

my favourite mad writer is Poe. i read his "The tell tale heart" in Indonesian version "Jantong yang membuka rahasia" when i was about 10, and it haunted me ever since. i managed to read the english version 10 years later. (too much stephen King has since entered my mind, that the suspense and horror somehow, diluted). but, i remember, the clouded mind of the main character. its frightening. and not a genre i usually read.

i remember asking my mom when i was a child if orang gila can go to heaven. i wonder, still.

because my mom didnt answered me. (i want to ask her now. but, she'll speculate me yang gila. better not bugger her.) Happy Mother's day mom.

...and stop being tetchy

you know whats more irritating than to work with an uninspiring leader? to have had work with a very persuasive and very inspiring leader, a person true to his words and then, work with a not so inspiring leader, with no sense of punctuality and no sense of direction.

and sometimes, he's an idiot too.

maybe it's about time, to consider other options.

maybe i just need to shut up. and stop being tetchy.

those asides, i had a good weekend with Kowalski's Eddie's Bastard. i love the man's vivid portrayal of landscape and sheer emotions in each character. he intertwined those sinister and dark theme: eg: vietnam war, incest, drunkenness to form a novel, easy enough to read. easy to inspire and heavily hit my heart.

this morning, over scalding not-so-great hot tea, i remember the reason why i'm here and the promise i made. ...ke mana pun Kau pimpin, ke negeri yang Kau pilih, ini aku, utuslah Tuhan, dan ku kan pergi.

hahaha

had a 'breather' weekend with my 'sisters' in Malacca!

the initial plan: go strolling Jonker Street, lunch at A Famosa Chicken Rice and shoot.

reality: strolled at Jonker street which was fun!(the rings, my tortoise, Portuguese egg tart! yummy!, ais potong and lots of hilarious quotes), lunch at A Famosa Chicken Rice (the cendol A++)-non halal outlet. shoot! i forgot my SD card. (i told you, i'm clumsy! and pelupa)

me now, safely tucked in (astaga! dalam utak: park, perk, pork, fork, fuck!) my comfort zone. and long to be in a concert (may, 1st-UNGU at stadium putra, bukit Jalil, KL). hampeh!

in the mood of: aku-malas-betul-ni. aku-mau-tidur. bah-iyalah.