KASHRETRO

3 Months on in Jakarta

2011-12-21T02:56:00.003Z

Assalamuaa'laikum

Things have been moving fast for 2011. Surprise after surprise keeps hitting me. Biggest of all is definitely being told that I will be posted in Jakarta, working with our Permanent Mission here (not to be confuse with the Embassy office). Now I literally know how it feels like when you are being told that you are going to be posted. It's not the feeling that i expected but I know other diplomats would understand. I bet they felt the same way for their first posting. Sorry but i won't share any further on that :P

Anyway Jakarta, besides the MACET (traffic), everything is great. Media, for most of the time, play a huge role in influencing people to view a certain something in a negative way and I was one of those sucker. But after landed here, live, work, play, eat and sleep in JKT...I'd be honest I love this place.

Shopping is a wonderland, you can shop from the most well known brands like LV, BOSS, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, to the alternate yet sophisticated ones like Raoul, Pedro, Braun Buffel, Tumi, MaxMara and lots more. Then you have the street brands, the ones that im in to such as Nudies (most comfortable jeans i've ever worn), Toms, Cheap Monday, Naked Famous, Junk Food, the Hundreds and the sneaker selections here are quite diverse too. All in all puas jua hati shopping.

One thing about Jakarta also it can make you fat (cos the local food is so good) and at the same time, burn your tongue (what they refer as mild is crazy hot for me).

I'm also planning to have a pet here, maybe getting myself a red tegu, as appear below, and probably a cat, persian or himalayan. Flat nose too can be an option.

Last weekend I went to the pasar burung where they were selling a huge variety of exotic animals. There were lizards, monkeys, rabbits, canaries, pigeons, parrots, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, bats, snakes, cats, dogs, eagles and the list goes on. That's when my brother told me it'll be a piece of cake to raise a tegu here since the mice are all just 5 mins away from my place and its cheap too. That's why im considering at the moment to have one. Though my apartment is strict for no pets allowed.

Currently Zaim and Syafiq is with me and as of this friday, Abil and Adek will join in as well as my beloved Lydia. To top it off, i'll be on leave!! So I'm enjoying the most of my time with my family after a grueling period since months before and during the Summit.

If you want to find out more, in pictoral form, on what's there in JKT, please click here.

Out for now

32 to 28

2011-02-13T02:29:00.004Z

I went to Miri on Friday, a final attempt to get check whether im suitable to wear braces. I already started to consider wearing braces since i was in SOAS but back then the dentist told me that i require to have a surgery (apparently i have an extra tooth in my gum) and that i have to wear these metal things, for the rest of my life, which prevents my teeth from moving inwards. I was freaking demotivated after that. Then I went again last year when my sister started to get her braces done. I was again turned down due to unhealthy gums (can't deny that tho). So final attemp. Last Friday. After check up, dr aziz asked "Do you want to remove your teeth today or some other time?"

I got so excited.

4 tooth behind my fangs got removed.

The experience was somewhat funny. The Dentist was acting all sid vicious on me, pulling my tooth with a plier and i can even hear the tweaking sound of my tooth being pulled out. Then again, i can't feel a single thing! Side effects: the numbness lasted for 3 hours. Damn the agony lol. On top of that i have separators in between my teeth which is really annoying. I can't eat most food without feeling pain. Its like eating something with tortilla chips stuck in your tooth. As they the say "the cost of beauty" lol, i'd go for macho :P

Breaststroke

2011-02-09T15:38:00.003Z

Earlier today i had my weekly swim with Amin and im really happy that after lots of practices, i manage to complete a lap: breaststroke style. If you're not sure which one, its the one illustrate as below:

Plan to do more laps from now. Biasa kn kampiskan beladar2 yang tak diingini :P

Also for those whose kind enough to just spend their money on me (dream on kash), please buy me these pair of shoes, but make sure ur quick as only 100 will be made available.

salary :D

2011-02-07T15:52:00.002Z

Today I receive a letter stating i can get a 42 day off anually :D

GAJI BULAN IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!

Will drop by SPA tomorrow to give the letter. Next stop, preparation for GO and FR. Gonna do it like lydz, ambil skali sja. And you guys thought udah kraja nada exam, think again.

Revive

2011-02-01T08:47:00.002Z

Assalamua’laikum dear readers,

This blog is unofficially dead. But I’m here to revive it. Not because people ask me to, but purely because I miss blogging. I treasure my previous entries, looking back as time shapes me for whoever I am now. I guess most of my readers now think I’m no longer blogging. I don’t blame you. Ntah2 while reading this you guys might think “eh angin ni si kash ah”. Again, I don’t blame you. But my heart is set for a new adventure. I use to blog when I was a student and during the hard times of unemployment. Might as well continue the habit. So I guess this is for 2011. Hello dear readers

A fellow friend told me with the stress of work engulfing us week after week, blogging is more of a therapy. It’s where you share with people your social and for some, private lives. People may look at us at a different angle at work and out of the office. As for myself, I’m happy with where I am now. I’m not denying that there’s zero-stress but the balance makes it wonderful. I couldn't say it’s my career as yet, I prefer to call it as half job/ career kind of thing. It’s been 5 months and I’m still learning new things.

Friends always come up to me asking me when im going to get married since both me and Lydz already work. I guess there are few commitments both of us need to fulfill before getting married. Usin bah jua mana kn ngurek~~ Don’t get me wrong, I’m up with the idea of marriage, plus I’m with Lydz for 5 years already, nda kerasahan I tell you. Kalau jodoh, adath tu nanti InsyaAllah, doakan saja

And doakan jua my car’s gonna be fine. Just few days ago while I was driving at Jln Babu Raja, something from the engine went ‘POP’. I thot my tires got burst but everything seemed fine. Next thing I know my engine couldn’t start :S Apparently it was the airflow. Now someone is getting the parts in singapore for me. My car was my mum’s: a 13 year old Volvo. But I love it. I’ve been adding accessories to it and I send it for maintenance from time to time. Hopefully I don’t need to buy a new car before I get married. Lydz has her is300 so that car can share meh once kawin :P

Just to share with you all, I had my Kopi Luwak :D

It tasted unique, but you need to drink it without milk in order to taste the difference. Add milk and itll taste like any other coffee. I took my chance to buy it when I was in Bal and damn it’s expensive. For 100gm it cost me around 35-40 Brunei dollars :S But to get my hands on the rarest coffee in the world is definitely worth it.

Bh I’m off. Hopefully something exciting will happen within the last week of January.

Phone update

2010-08-16T14:54:00.002+01:00

I need a new mobile phone.

So which one should it be? I narrowed down to three choices. Three awesome smartphones available in Brunei. The Samsung Galaxy S vs Iphone 4 vs HTC desire. But realistically, i don't think i can afford the Iphone 4 when the 16gb is still more than 1.5k :S

In terms of looks i prefer the Iphone 4 tho hehehe. But rationally i wont buy a phone judge on looks. Practicality is vital. I should take my time i guess. Read different tech reviews from the net. And if ur wondering, gaji ku alum masuk. Just merely planning ahead hehehe.

Earlier i had my sungkai at Kitaro Restaurant. For $22 there was alot being offered. Problem was the very slow service. I arrived 20mins before sungkai so i had the time to order. The first batch was fast. I decided to order again and 2nd batch took quite a while. Well more of like batah level. Ada jua stangah jam menunggu. It was very dissapointing. I guess the next time i go for a sungkai offer i'll make sure its a buffet and not on an order basis system.

World's most expensive coffee

2010-08-06T03:37:00.003+01:00

As a coffee lover, I always wonder what is the most expensive and exquisite coffee around. Apparently the most expensive turn out to be the most disgusting too.

Kopi luwak or civet coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, having kept their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.

It is produced mainly in Java, Sumatra and other certain parts of Indonesia. They call it Kopi Luwak. Maybe i'll have it one day when i can overcome the thought of drinking something which came out of a civet's faeces :S As for now i'm cool with nescafe and my starbucks house blend roast hehehe.

Syukur alhamdulillah I'm already around 3 weeks at work and I had met lots of wonderful people. With work comes salary and with money comes responsibility and 'wants'. The top of the list of my wants is a car. I always dream owning a car where i can modify and challenge other friends to a friendly, non-reckless, empty road race :P Lydia already pursue that dream, owning herself a Lexus IS300 and its one sweet ride. A V6 engine does do the trick and with some additional engine mods and aerodynamics i bet it would be one thrill of a ride. Thats one more factor i have to consider: my car has to be faster and smoother than hers (sorry babe) hehehe.

Then again...there's still a car i can use- my mum's old volvo 940 turbo. Kinda think of it syg jua if its left in the garage saja. My dad in someway entrusted me for the volvo's wellbeing. Its been 13 years so maintenance is a hassle. But everything else abt it is fine. Maybe i'll change it a bit so that it looks like a car came out from pimp-my-ride :P Just save my money for now and strive to achieve my dream car- Nissan Skyline GTR. Damn nda jua kawin ni karang lol.

As i said with money does come responsibility so i have to balance out for what i want and need to do to help my family. Eid is around the corner so the house needs a bit of refurbishment. And savings for the future is a must. Invest some in my dad's business and InsyaAllah, to perform the Haj for a 2nd time. Duniawi balance out with inner iman hehehe.

Syukur

2010-07-12T15:38:00.003+01:00

Syukur Alhamdulillah, I got the MOFAT job :D

8 months of waiting. But its been a good 8 months. I just hope this will be the right job for me, the correct career path to choose and for me to pursue my personal goal (nda bleh gtau :P).

Anyway last night I went for a little Kent gathering at Reza's place. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. Later that night we plan to stay awake for the final world cup match of Spain vs Netherlands and tarus tidur arah si Rez. I had an hr sleep before the match then the guys woke me up. I think i only stayed up till the 15th min...and woke back up again after they announce Spain is WC 2010 winner. So much for watching-the-finals-is-a-must. Yg pacahnya, after i fell asleep, atiq join the club and shortly before half-time Reza went parai. Shauqi slept just min after 2nd half started so basically no one watched the full match lol. Lalah bnr~~

It was a good thing i had my sleep cos earlier today i had to go to the hospital for my medical check up. Mum promise to accompany me so i texted her what time should i meet her at the hospital. She didn't reply. Then i called her but no answer so I thought she must be in a meeting. I decided to go back to my house. Once i arrived i found out my mum was still in her room and tau2 apanah? TIDUR. I woke her up, "Bu, its 8.45am" Tarus eh masuk jamban mandi. Then I found out my little brother was also still asleep. Mum was like "bangunkn tu ia ah, skulah ja akher udah". Au nda tekarang akher. Panya liat World Cup. But drg lagi steady, liat smpai abis :P

So I went for my medical check up. Went for the eye test and obviously there's the generally used Ishihara colour-blindness test. Thats where they pull out the special book and theres a circle filled with numerous coloured cirlces and i have to guess the number inside. I only able to answer the first page.

Then theres a new thing they introduced. I have to connect point A to point B by passing thru the circles and the doctor ask me to show the path. This was damn hard. Just before I left i did ask the doctor what exactly was the answer but he said he can't tell. I shall forever not know whats the answer to that special Ishihara book :P emo.

Btw took this yesterday. I always miss this sunset everytime i go to UK msa zaman blajar, wessseehhh.

Opportunity given

2010-06-30T10:02:00.002+01:00

I didn't go to work today since i have a JPM test tomorrow for the Pegawai Kerja post. I'm still not sure what exactly to read. This is my first time sitting for a test (for a government post). I just hope that it's gonna be multiple choice. Asked Lydia and she said usually it'll be an essay base test and all in malay :S I think im gonna buy media permata later and get the pelita brunei from the gas station, sharpen up my malay overnight. I picked the letter about the JPM test yesterday at it's main office and from the looks of it theres gonna be around 40+ sitting for the test. I bet im gonna meet the usual unemployed friends of mine lol.

As off tomorrow I'm officially 8 months unemployed. Well partially unemployed since for the past two months I've been working with my dad, helping out with his business...maybe at this point i could say 'our' business though he still is the mastermind hehehe. I always believe in the words that 'something happens for a reason'. One day I asked myself, why haven't i score a job, a career? 8 months is a long time and along the road theres frustration, anger and sadness involved every time a rejection letter sent home or news told from a friend 'you didn't get it'. What is Allah trying to tell me? testing me? punish me? or he tries to make me realize how lucky i am being in my current position?

I try to see my situation in a different light. Graduated in October. Start to search for a job in November. Got really serious in January. Multiple calls started only in February. Dad had been nagging to work for him since I first arrive in Brunei but my mind only opened up in April. Thats it... the business. It really makes me smile when i ponder how wonderful God had plan for us, life in the form of various pieces of puzzle, only to know theres a beautiful picture once everything is connected. It took me 6 months, since October, to make me realize my future opportunity lies within the business. For the two months I worked with my dad i had learnt a lot of useful skills and think more like a business oriented person. I think if did get a job somewhere before March i wouldn't even have the slightest of interest in knowing about the business. Syukur alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for the opportunity he given me and I thank my dad for shaping me for who i am now.

FYI, the business is nothing like a skim capat kaya or a pyramid style networking. Nope. More of a like you-have-to-work-your-ass-off-to-be-successful kind of business. Nothing big like Hua Ho or even Bismi. I guess what i'm really grateful off is not being in the business but how it changes my mindset in ways of taking risk and opportunities when one is given. I guess overall what I'm trying to tell is that behind every agenda, tragedy or crisis theres a hidden message Allah is trying to tell, a lesson to be learn, an opportunity to be grasp or a skill to acquire in the future. Once your mindset is change, then you can see a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel...just pray its not a train :P . I read off a poster something really inspiring. It goes something like this 'your eyes only can see whatever it looks for. Only when you can see the invisible that you can achieve the impossible...' Alright im gonna play basketball soon. Wish me luck for tomorrow :)

Singapore pt3

2010-06-20T18:03:00.005+01:00

It was my second last day in Singapore and I haven't decided on what new sneakers to invest on. All day long i covered Orchard rd just to get the perfect shoe and syukur Alhamdulillah I found the right piece :D That really made my day cause for the third time this year I got the last pair of sneakers, of my size, available. Pretty damn lucky. I don't have a decent picture of the shoe. Maybe I'll post it next time. Btw i got it from Limited Edition. For shoe enthusiast i really recommend you to check the store out if you're in Singapore.

On the same day my uncle arrived with her wife and later that day we had dinner with them at the famous gerai Newton Circus. Its like our Tamu Selera but at a much greater scale, both in terms of space and price. I admit it's quite pricy. I only realize that when i recommended Senor Pablo to eat there and he said that generally people think its pricy; which is unfortunately true. But that price does come with what you order.

The recommended stall

Chilli crabs

Homemade tofu masak something~

This is highly recommended; pari with homemade sambal. By far the best pari i've ever tasted. No offence mom :P

Tiger prawns masak nestum.

Im not a big fan of fresh coconut juice. Usually i prefer it with a bit of sugar but this particular coconut is just different. It's Kelapa pandan and it has a slight taste of pandan into it. nyaman bana~

Langis~

Final day and our flight was at 9.15pm. I had all morning to spend. Not knowing what to do and guess i haven't got enough of it, i went to Arab st again for a final dose of Shisha hehehe. Don't worry im not addicted to it. Better enjoy while you still can ;p Since hj lane is in Arab st so i gave it a final visit and i got a clip wallet from the Jia store.

A different shisha place from the last time.

We arrive at the airport quite early, didn't want to rush through everything. Plus my mum and i need to do our tax refund. My mum was so organize it went like a breeze. But prior to that the waiting was quite frustrating. Some officers were quite fussy and they need to check the items you bought to match with the one on the receipt. Then i saw this Indian guy who brought with him a 40+ inch lcd TV. Atu baru ia nda alang2. If that wasn't in-your-face to the officer then i don't know what will. Never in my 23 years of life travelling to and from airports had ever saw someone going to bring a 40+ inch tv back home lol.

Overall, it was a great trip. I love being independent when im travelling. Finding out interesting places, trying out local cuisines and all that. Being in a fairly big group restrict you from doing all that. Then again, you don't have anyone to share the fun with :P InsyaAllah if murah rezeki i want to go back to Singapore, maybe on the next grand sale. I really want to ride the battlestar and go up to the Marina Bay Sands.

Singapore pt2

2010-06-12T09:27:00.007+01:00

This is my every morning view. The morning buffet is great but i always prefer continental breakfast over others.

This was my third day in Singapore. Initially i planned to go to Marina Bay Sands where they have an enormous garden on top of the hotels (3 hotels, connected by one roof= the garden). The place is one of its kind. Unfortunate for me its still not open to public yet. Not until 26th June. So i went to city hall instead, window shopping at Suntec Mall and Marina Square. This is the Koi Garden in Suntec. Really inspires me to have one in the future...

Inside...
Inside Marina Bay Sq, just next to Suntec and look who i stumble into...DORAEMON!!

Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer from a distance.

Later that night we went to eat at an Indonesian restaurant in Takashimaya. Mum had it with Burger Kings all the time :P These are two of my mum's colleagues who she went to Singapore with.

The next morning my mum wanted to have a malay dish for breakfast so Sharul brought us to Kampung Glam. I really love the place due to its post-colonial buildings which is wonderfully preserved and the area, as anywhere in Singapore, clean and tidy.

I was meeting my friend Adelene later that day. I first met her in 2001 during my ASEAN student exchange programme. And after 9 years we meet again. Facebook and friendster have kept us in contact lol. I asked her to bring me to Haji Lane, one of the places Shauqi recommended. Was i in for a surprise.

This place is just awesome. The lane consist of old preserve buildings but the stores creatively decorate it to make the scene lively. Just have a look at the pictures i took. Btw most stores sell exclusive streetwear and funky deco. Below is Carbon.

Sup Clothing- a local brand, bought a cool shirt from here.

Jia's Store. The cashier looks like Princess Sarah, no kidding. Too bad i didn't take a picture of her.

'Know it nothing'- the products they sell are just a bit expensive, but the interior is just mesmerizing.

Not far from Haji Lane is Arab St and Adelene brought me to go for a shisha session which I haven't had for quite a while. I really love how the cafe design their shisha area. They had sofas and carpets where people could just sit on the floor and chill.

Introducing Adelene. We went to Bugis using the MRT earlier and we took the wrong direction. So much for a tour guide lol.

She's just amaze how i know a lot about shisha hahaha.

Arab St at night.

Ask Adelene what is this majestically looking building and she said 'we call it Gotham cos it looks like a building strip out off gotham city'. Spot on!

Adelene had her friends invited us for dinner at Vivo city. We took an MRT, went straight there and we felt bad that we were late and they've been waiting for us for an hr or so. But they were cool and Chris, who i just met that night, paid for our dinner. That made me feel more guilty :S

We ate at Modestos. Below are deserts- fudge brownie and tiramisu.

Adelene and Ganesh

Marcus, (forgot the one in the centre) and Chris.

Fin.

From Vivo we went to Clarke Quay where we ended the night. Such a happening place.

Singapore pt1

2010-06-11T01:17:00.012+01:00

As most of you know i went to Singapore last week from Tuesday to this week's Monday. Glad i arrived back home on time cos on the next day i had a call from Mofat for an interview. The interview was yesterday and i'm quite scared of the results...It's just that my interview was quite short, though i did talk and talk but i still feel it was really short. Hopefully the result is an acceptance rather than the opposite. I really want to expand my potential there...

As for Singapore it was awesome. Thanks to Shauqi for giving me a few tips of where to go and what to do. I flew off around 9.50am due to a technical delay and arrive Singapore around 2hrs later. Ratna and her cousin was in the same flight as me too. For the first 15 mins we were quite lost in Changi airport. The place is freaking huge without proper signs! Seriously they need to put up more useful arrows of where to go for arrivals.

whats so significant abt this cloud? It looks like UK!

My mum picked me up, had an assign driver for her (weseh) and tarus sent Ratna and her cousin Zidah to their hotel. I stayed at Royal plaza in Orchard Rd where i guess most Bruneians stay (since every morning for breakfast nampak org brunei saja). So the first day in Singapore I thought i just survey around Orchard road, check out the hype and the stores shauqi recommended for me. Here are some of the scenery around Orchard Rd.

This was around cineleisure and 313.

Limited Edition: Vault- Shauqi told me about this place. Its no longer in Hereen, moved to 313@Somerset. The store which sells the rarest and limited edition shoes ever produce. This is shoe haven. The most expensive shoe? Forgot the name but if im not mistaken it has a price tag of $1500. Baik ku bali IPhone. Below is the picture inside the vault itself, the store is bigger and better looking.

Paragon, home to Gucci and other unaffordable items...

The recently open Ion plaza. From afar...

and upclose...

The thing i like about this building is the random synchronization of glowing lights on it's wall

The next day i went to Universal studios with Ratna and Zidah. Good thing it only rained early in the morning.

I had breakfast at banquet in vivo city which was just before the bridge to Sentosa Island. And this cruise ship is just humongous.

Upon arrival...and i could already see the castle, wait this shouldn't be disneyland

A must take picture :D

Upon entering Universal studios, this is the 'Hollywood' section.

The Battlestar Gallactica rollercoaster, the first of it's kind. Two rollercoasters intertwined and at some point the difference in distance between the rollercoasters are just inches apart. Too bad its close for maintenance, D'OH!

Far Far Away kingdom! The castle houses the 4D shrek film and what an experience! I guess the screen couldn't contain the characters movement any further :P A must stop if ur in universal studios.

Just like in the movie...

Too bad we didn't get to take a picture with him

Shrek's home, no swamp involve

I just think this is a funny logo lol. This was in the Jurassic Park section. There's an interesting ride there involving fast flowing rapids. Again, unfortunate for us it was close for maintenance.

The egyptian section. Inside the pyramid is an indoor rollercoaster where you ride through the darkness. This was another new, fun and scary experience. Scary in a way that the ride was in complete darkness and at one point they used real fire torches to make the scene lively. They also use holograms which was pretty cool.

Marilyn Monroe...Ratna told me previously they had an uglier version, good thing they replaced her :P

Frankenstein!

The effects of nature creating a shadow which looks like i peed in my pants.

New York New York~

Maybe the type of cars the mob used in the '60s.

My personal favourite...

Childhood cartoon sensation, Woody Woodpecker.

These guys were the most entertaining group of the day. Madagascar section.

Yeah, a big ass ship crashed into the theme park.

The theme park is quite small compare to other foreign theme parks i had gone to. Unless the battlestar gallactica and rapids are open i guess its not worth the visit, not for $66 that is. If you're going there for your children then maybe yes. For a fact, the park isn't officially open yet. And that the battlestar has been in the news several times for technical difficulties. I guess maintenance could be quite a challenge. Nevertheless i had fun, taking pictures with celebrities and accompanied by two awesome friends. Okay will continue next time with part 2...

Cheesebaga killaa

2010-05-25T16:16:00.003+01:00

I'm quite disappointed with statistics shown that electric usage during energy day is similar on any other days! To the energy department i say never give up, it was a good initial step and i believe the conservative and ignorant local mentality could be change gradually.

On another note if your kid goes mental when he/she is hungry, then you should not take the risk of not getting him/her a cheeseburger :P

Happy SOS day

2010-05-24T01:07:00.004+01:00

Today is energy day and i already made my pledge at the SOS website, have you? I say its a really good move made by the energy department of JPM. However some of the public doesn't perceive it with an optimistic change, especially in terms of the petrol subsidy. There was quite a long queue last night at the TAIB oil station, up until it shuts down at 11pm. As for me I'll be glad to buy petrol today, just to know how much of a change its going to be. I hope from today people could learn not to take things for granted. Anywayyssss its been a while since i had a pictorial update :D

Gonna get one of these upon mum's continuous request

What i have been doing lately with Lydia. Yesterday we wanted to go to Karamunting but the hill was so steep and it looked pretty scary so we thought maybe next time when there's more company.

Perfect spider web at Bukit Helang

Next shoe in line

Now this is what i call a hardcore fan. A very detailed design.

I miss this sunset every time i fly back to UK. Taken not far from my house.

matter of rezeki....

2010-05-08T12:21:00.003+01:00

I've been unemployed since October. Month after month i kept on hunting for any available vacancy, knowing if it's rezeki, then it will meant to be. That's what my friend told me a couple of nights ago. She said that there's no such thing as competition of who will get the job, it's a matter of rezeki...it it's not yours then maybe god has something better for you. And i guess that did open up a little path in my way of seeing things.

So whats new with the world?

One thing that makes me wish im in UK right now is for the elections. It'll definitely be a hot debate every time going for lectures and seminars. Do you think a coalition will be form? :S

And have you heard that Al-Fayed has sold Harrods? DAMN how we all wish theres a my-last-day-being-the-ceo-sale. For more details click here.

Current Addiction :)

Sales assistant

2010-04-22T04:59:00.002+01:00

When i go to an electrical store or a sports shop, i like it when the sales assistant knows more about the item than i do, explaining the benefits, the technology etc. So say I go to a sports shop to buy a new pair of football boots, i would appreciate that the sales assistant assist me in choosing which shoe to buy, depending on my budget and type of play. What i don't like is when they're just there and explaining nonsense to me or worse, being blank and knows nothing.

Earlier today i went to the mall, planning to check out whats the big fuss about the 3D tv experience. Unfortunately for me the demo starts at noon. So i just have a look at other sony items that were being exhibited. The new technology added to sony digital cameras is the Exmor-R Sensor where you can take brilliant clear photos at night, minimizing blur and noise. I asked the sales assistant, which camera has the Exmor sensor? And he, who looks so bangang, acted as if I was talking gibberish. Rather than waiting for him to reply i just help myself to search for the camera and lucky it was on display. I did take a few shots with it yet its not as good as my S90 :P I knew that the sony produces 2 models with the Exmor-R so i purposely asked him wheres the other model (testing him whether he knows anything abt sony cameras). And as expected, again he look all bangang. How do you expect customers to buy your products?

Annoyed with the camera department, I moved on to the Bravia Tv Series. A different sales attendant came up to me. I ask how much is this Sony LED Bravia and he answered in a way as if nda kan melayan- "Ah tunah 2000+..."

I asked him (again to test whether he knows his products or not)- "I heard sony has a TV series with 200hz motionflow, do you have it here?" He pointed to the LED TV which clearly has a sticker on the side saying 100hz motionflow! So i said to him, " ani 100 jua ni, ni nah sticker nya" pointing directly at the label.

He then shrugged and said owh ndath kmi ada tu~ Seriously what a waste of time, baik lagi ia tidur di rumah saja tu. Frustrated with the company of the sony employees, I went to AV electronics to check out whether the Ipad is in stock. The sales assistant said it was sold out but he had a demo with him. So he showed me enthusiastically and with passion, giving all the pros that makes me, who initially just to look around, became a potential buyer. Dalam atingku ani baru ia beniaga. look out for Mohsin, you can't miss him cos he's the only Indian. I say, don't be a sales assistant if you're only there for the money rather than having an interest with the stuff you're promoting.

Payapok

2010-04-18T17:18:00.002+01:00

One day my dad went into my room, asking me to do him a favor.

"Bang cuba ko bukakan payapok, carikan ni cemana kn buat blablablabla" my dad said to me.

"Bukakan apa?"- replying him, thinking that i misheard what he said.

"Payapok bh, carikan pakai google"

Rupanya firefox! Hahahahahaha this is why i love my dad :D

Pink Foodie Event

2010-04-12T15:19:00.004+01:00

I'm really looking forward for the "Karnival Kerjaya" tomorrow, hoping to find a suitable job for myself. There are quite a number of companies in my head that i really want to apply. Just hope they'll show up at the carnival. And this baffles me...why do they use the term "carnival"? I checked it's definition and this is what i got

car·ni·val (kärn-vl)

1. often Carnival The period of merrymaking and feasting celebrated just before Lent.

2. A traveling amusement show usually including rides, games, and sideshows.

3. A festival or revel.

Definitely nothing like a celebrated feast and i'm sure the organizers wouldn't go through the hassle of setting up rides and games. And if you ask me what then should it be called...I seriously don't know hahaha. Just something to point out :P

Yesterday I went for the Pink Foodie Event at Pablo's crib. The event went well, with top contenders battle it out with their desserts to win the prize. But thats not the aim though, its more of to get the recipes from those who contributed and make a cookbook out of it. Sales from the cookbook will go to charity for breast cancer awareness of Brunei. Anything for a good cause, right? Too bad i came a bit late. I didn't get to taste the first place dessert which if im not mistaken the Chocolate Lava Cake or sumthing along that line... Well got a few shots from the event..

From cupcakes to muffins, fruit crumbles and a whole lot more sweet delicacies...

Banana cake with butterscotch topping. I'm not a big fan of banana cakes but this one is exceptional! The butterscotch really does the trick. Awesome Sas!

Although it could do better presentation wise but the taste is well balanced, good job!

This one is also one of my favourites!

This one was devilishly rich and lovely, I forgot the name but it was cheesecake with peanut butter and dark chocolate something something hahaha Only one problem though (eh c kash ani ngomnplen saja :P)... base nya hangus! I think the burnt taste was safely covered by the rich texture of the filling. But still, i love it :D

"Pink Cupcakes"- Beautiful decoration but it was too sweet!

I was full by the time i saw these carrot muffins, didn't get the chance to taste it...

Best on-the-go dessert and free hassle, the Peanut Butter Pops!

We were suffering from high consumptions of sugar by the time we were heading home hahaha. Nevertheless i had a good time. Everyone was socializing and chilling and the environment did suit well for the event. Awesome job to the organizers and especially to Pablo for hosting it. Really looking forward for the next one!

On another note, here's the latest addition to my list of nephews: Danish! Ia suka pout psl ia show off his lips hahaha

Iguana and Frats

2010-04-10T23:41:00.002+01:00

Syafiq recently got a new iguana from mum. The process of getting it here from KL is troublesome though. You need the health certificate approve by the Malaysian authority and a permit for it coming from MIPR of Brunei and the process does take a while. But now syafiq is a happy boy.

On Friday Lydia and I decided to eat at Fratinis since they have the "Happy Hour" where pastas and pizzas are 50% off. Just to confirm the offer was still on I asked Lydz to call them (fratinis bandar). They said the offer no longer available. I was really disappointed since i was craving for Fratini's awesome thin pizza. After solat Jumaat i gave it a try and they said its still available from 3-5pm. I even repeat every word she said and she confirmed it for me. Feeling happy we headed off to Bandar with our empty stomachs. When i arrived there i ask the waiter who opened the door for us. He said the offer was only valid from 4-5 for the Bandar branch. I was freaking annoyed. Firstly they said it wasn't available, then they gave me a wrong information saying its 3-5. Mau nda mau, since lapar dh, so makan saja. The message is DON'T eat at Fratini's Bandar, management is way beyond crap. Foodwise tho....

Since Lydia was ordering pizza, i took the liberty of ordering the calzone. Basically the idea of a calzone, which is a folded pizza, is that when you cut through it, the mozarella should flow out smoothly. This particular calzone of mine however manage to add the misery to my afternoon. I opened it up and what i got was steam coming out followed by runny tomato sauce. The filling was minimal and taste was bland. Definitely not worth the price.

Lydia's meat lovers pizza however did carve a smile on my face. Extra parmesan with tobasco sauce on it, baru complete!

Today is Sunday hopefully it'll be a beautiful day like the other day.

There's gonna be a foodie event later at Pablo's house and hopefully nothing coming up later. I really want to check out the event. And now im racking off my closet to find a pink t-shirt hahaha yeah its kind of a pink event, though wearing pink is not a necessity, just wanna join the crowd :P

Faint~~

2010-04-07T16:52:00.003+01:00

Earlier today in the morning i got a phone call from one of my Beribi teammates and he's in MD. He rarely call me so i thought to myself "surely this is about abil fainting again (my lil sister)." I answered the phone and my earlier prediction was correct. After 10 mins i arrived MD and there was an ambulance and a bit of "kecoh" at the SA (Student Affairs) office. As for me, Abil pengsan is normal. For people who experienced it first time it involves panic, frighten and a bit chaos. After the nurses did Abil's body check, they told me that my lil sister is having too much oxygen in her brain, leading to dizziness and feeling ill. This did surprised me. After all these years (yeah the paning has been there for a while) I thought it was all about lack of oxygen. No wonder my lil sister is very athletic. It does make sense though cos when she fainted, she was only doing her maths homework ( which i believe partly responsible :P). So the nurse advice her to bring a plastic bag around. Anytime she feels dizzy, she has to suffocate herself a bit. And you think suffocation is bad lol.

Few days ago Lydia and I watched "How to train your dragon"...I give it a 7/10, just good not great. Still can't beat the likes of Shrek and Toy Story.

I also watched "Shutter Island" (on dvd). Its quite a deep movie so you don't want to bring kids who ask questions every 5 minutes. Concentration is vital. I loved it. Martin Scorsese is a genius! Give it an 8.5.

Curious of how "The Hurt Locker" won an oscar, i gave it a try. Watched the movie- it was amazing and really did capture the reality of a soldier at war. I guess there are just too many movies out there that doesn't put the essence of realistic scenarios into it. Don't need to give a verdict on this one, the Oscar they won says it all.

As for now, i'm trying to finish watching the series "The Arrivals". Its an independent production, produce by two men working together and they put up the episodes on youtube. Basically the series is telling us what the world is today through the views of Islam. They relate events, individuals, issues with facts, conspiracy theories and religion to find answers. And it goes well beyond that. I can't explain everything here. I guess wikipedia could help you more with the details.

This series is an eye opener. It did help me to think one step further yet I didn't consume all the knowledge taught in the series wholeheartedly. Some made me think twice about what the producers said and if thats the case, i rather not jump into conclusion and better yet, do my own research. Other than that I surely recommend you to watch it. For those who believes that they are still weak and easily influenced, I advice you not to watch this series. Believe in yourself, in your religion (Islam in this manner) and in Allah, and your faith will not be distorted by any words or pictures...then you're ready for the series :)

Damn its 1am and i need to wake up early to send my siblings to school :S

Sorry for lack of updates :S

2010-04-04T05:32:00.009+01:00

Assalamua'laikum

I've been on hiatus for quite a while. I'm sorry to my readers for not updating this blog regularly. Msa new years bukan main new resolution kn slalu update2, tia karang. I seriously don't know why i left my blog for so long. I'm not really busy since i haven't work yet and i only go out once in a while. Biasalah, no income so i have to limit myself. If it wasn't for a couple of loyal readers nagging me to update this blog, i might not even remember that it exists. For that i say thank you. Don't get me wrong, im not updating just because you guys ask me to; im doing it because i want to...just needed a little boost to realize that :P I have nothing better to do to be honest when im infront of my pc...except for farmville, which is seriously addictive. So yeah this is the entry for April 2010. I shall bring you up to date with pictures. I think its quite a bless that now E-speed has upgraded itself hehehe laju upload gambar :P

This was taken 3 weeks after my Birthday. I told Lydz that she really can't pull off surprises. Guess i was the fool when they (Bibers) surprised me with this cake. First ever cake for 2010 hehehe.

Lydz also baked me a cake, it was oreo+blueberry cheesecake and it was very delicious.

In return, i got to surprise her on her birthday, which i had to pull off some poker face acting to convince her various lies hahahaha

Me and my sister was at Giant and we can't avoid to take a picture of this girl. To whoever knows who she is, please please help her to eat the healthy way.

And what was i doing at Giant? Well i was really bored so i joined a cooking competition. Pictured is the guy who won the competition over all the machik2 that were participating. As for me tu nah be cap ah, iath aku tu.

Oreo cookie dough. Trial and error night, trying to achieve Millie's style cookies.

Well we didn't manage to but we did quite a number of different batches. I think we went wrong on the flour we used, the eggs and the absence of a cooling rack.

To those who are in the uk, this is what's happening to Brunei. This was taken otw to Miri and the locals there were burning the forest down. We went there around 10 in the morning and there were thick cloud of smokes coming out of the forest from a distance. When we headed back to Brunei around 4pm, the forest burning was still in progress! I was quite shock and officials should do something about it. The problem is that Brunei is sharing the consequences: haze.

One day i will buy this chair...

To smokers out there, be careful LOL

Against TJP. We won but i forgot whats the score. Its really great to play as a whole team again. We had won 3 matches in a row, hopefully can keep up the streak.

This was taken on a random night when Reza suddenly call and asked if I wanted to be in a zombie video. It was for nina of ninjabeats. You can check her videos on youtube.

Lastly I would like to point out on the BIBD wish campaign. I check out the website and i think the one which most deserve is the lady who represented SMARTER Brunei. Her story for me is the most inspiring and its just plain logic for her that she should win. I'm not saying the others do not deserve it but i guess for a sum of 1 million, no other participant should deserve it more. Hope you guys already cast your votes.

Bh till next time, later.

Hello No.2~

2010-01-24T16:30:00.002Z

Yesterday I attended a friend's wedding, although i didn't want initially due to my stomach ache problem. I got food poisoning the night before. Yet my parents insist on me going to the wedding so i went and luckily we were placed inside the house. No problem for emergency toilet situations.

I thought i would go safe without no.2 breaking out...but i was wrong. It happened and while i was doing my business somebody knocked. I replied 'ada org'. Then she ask "siapa tu?" and i knew these people don't know me so i was like " errr...org?". Yet in these situations, walaupun ur the tuan rumah, you will always respect for who is inside, right? Unless your bladder is about to burst maybe you could be excused. So yeah, i got the msg that someone wants to use the toilet. I finish as quickly as i can yet this lady kept on knocking AS IF she didn't hear my reply. Then when i was about to go out she knocked kuat2, i opened the door and she said to me "Nah ada jua org, lain kli sahut..." Dlm atingku nyahut kli ku udh dangg ndakan ku neriak...so i left her with a sarcastic smile.

Thought that was done and over but no~~ stomach has to go for a 2nd round. Similar to the first situation, someone kept on knocking. I learn't my lesson so i replied loudly and emphasizing "ADA ORG" ...there was a pause...then suddenly i heard the lady from outside was like "eh tkunci kli pintu jmban ani, aga ambil kunci jamban". Shit i was panic like crazy. I don't want to go through a whole awkward session at my friend's wedding! Talk about free show. So i finished up, and got behind the door, where i knew i'll be safe. If somebody tries to open it i just slam the door to his/her face. Au bnr nda be aman. Got out of the toilet and i went straight home. Sng lagi ku beurusan di rumah.

Btw just got COD Modern Warfare 2, AWESOME!!

troublemaker

2010-01-21T17:20:00.002Z

Tonight i had quite an interesting encounter with my mum's friend. She's one of those people who others label as a 'troublemaker'. We discussed on matters of Brunei's politics and economy and it was like clicking the refresh button for my brain. All those uni talks and arguments came out, debating, discussing, arguing etc. What we talk about for sure i won't post it here. It's too controversial. The thing is, i miss these kind of talks. Its good to have it from time to time. Problem is there's only limited people that i could talk to for such things. Well make it the ONLY person i talk to abt such things is with Lydia. Having a new person giving their respective insights is well worth knowing.

I remember during my first year there was one time when a class seminar turn into a chaotic rumble in the jungle. Perasanku mcm gorilla vs a group of chimps. One guy stand out as his views were quite drastic while most of the class thinks that he's utter nonsense. Even the tutor couldn't control it up till the end. And you know how unis are like when there's one person among the class who knows-it-all to the point that he/she is really annoying. I encounter the same problem...for the whole 3 years of my degree. I never met anyone who could cause so much trouble because of his arrogance and ignorance, at the same time, and i hate to admit the fact, that he's really smart. His name was Dominic and he did gather up so many haters. One time i swear one of our italian classmates nearly punch si Dominic ani. Muluutt wanngg racuuuunnnnnn.

Then again i envy him. He stand up, point out his veiws and defend them, no matter how controversial it is. For me however i rather remain low and just listen to the arguements. Low self-esteem. Owh shit i shouldn't talk abt my flaws. Cna org kn employ ni. Eh nadabah aku konfaiden kli slalu ah :P

Epic movies

2010-01-19T17:33:00.004Z

09' has been a great year for me in terms of watching the best movies. Some came from the year itself while others are from the nineties and few years back. I must admit i didn't regret watching it a bit late. I do know that if i watch such respective movies back then (yg 90's lah) i wouldn't be able to grasp what the movie is trying to tell or appreciate how brilliant the storyline is. These surely are among the best ever-

Memento (a lot of patience is needed)
The Usual Suspects
Fight Club (au akhir ku meliat)
Rocky (everything except for the new one)
Oldboy (sick!)
Dan in real life
500 days of summer
The Damned United (a must for football fanatics)
The boat that rocked (a must for radio djs)
REC (us version 'quarantine'- make sure to watch the Spanish version)
Taken
The Dark Knight
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Ong Bak 1 & 2
Once

I guess that's all i remember... UK was haven for downloading big size movies in a short time, i really miss that. Bh Brunei, lets bring some optic fibre speed to our internet!

S90 debut

2010-01-09T14:11:00.004Z

I thank everyone for all the birthday greetings :D

Now im 23....and i still feel like 19. I'm not in denial, im just being realistic. If people tell me that im 23 i would go shit im old! Next move will be finding a good job which pays more than i expect :P Well, honestly more to a job that im passionate in. Then go shopping with my salary, buying stuff that i know i'll appreciate for only the next two years...Everything i guess can be foreseen from now.

My sister went "You're 23?? Kawin ni!". How i wish I have the money to do just that and what comes next. No I'm not getting married anytime soon if that's what you expect. But eventually the day will come, InsyaAllah. All of you my beloved readers will be invited, that's my assurance for you guys :P

Anyway as of now, most of the pictures display in this blog will not be taken by my old blue Canon Ixus. Instead it'll be replace by my new Canon Powershot S90. Its an awesome compact camera. To make things simple, its like a portion of an slr dna fused with a compact's and this is what you get. I love it. It can even take good acceptable non-blurry pictures under low light without the help of a flash. ISO range is quite high and i can control the aperture and shutter speed! Here are some of the photos i took with it.

Sexy eyes

Orchid snapper

Dreamcones

Muha Penyamun

Sexy drummer

:D

Just pictures

2010-01-06T15:07:00.006Z

Happy 2010 everyone! Anyway i don't have anything new to update or any fancy story to tell so this post will yet again be a random pictorial post. Most of the pictures were taken when i went to uk last December for my graduation.

Took this in courtesy for my lil sister nazoha. She went all sakai after me showing her that only at a certain angle that she can view what im watching from the tv.

This is what she wrote after i told her an advice just to keep in her head.

All time fav chicken spot in bristol road...

and apparently this guy remembers me. He was asking why I dissapeared all of a sudden (btw he asked abt nisa, nawir and abu too). Too bad everyone graduated. To nisa esp, someone misses u :P

Newly renovated tesco, bigger with more choices.

Thats what you need to stay fit.

fav fruit stop

Checkpoint for essays

My new department, udah org abis baru drg pindah...ada starbucks lagi tu!

The orange room...where i spent most of my time during the dissertation period, along with abu, unc rajul n unc azmi.

The only people that i smile to early in the mornings (provided package is for me :P)

Graduation day :D

Farewell to the University...

30 mins of ^&*R%^&$R%^&T

2009-12-20T16:04:00.002Z

I have to update thios blog regularly* - That should be my new years resolution for tahun baru hijrah hehehe. Well I just got back yesterday and i think im still in jetlag mode. Syukur Alhamdulillah i'm now officially a masters graduate in International Studies of Pacific Asia, mainly focus on the security of Asia and got quite the best mark i could ever have dream of for my dissertation, writing on transnational crime occuring in the South East Asian region mainly focus on the drug trade and how ASEAN is tackling the issue. I would also to congratulate my colleagues, namely Abu,Ain, Azmi, Nawir, Mardiana, Rajul, Sepol, Ka Jams and Yusrina for each graduated as masters as well. It was definitely a great day to graduate. It wasn't raining, the weather wasn't that cold and top it all off, my name was pronounciated correctly!

As much as i had fun during my time in uk, i did go through the most tensed feeling ever and had to endeavour it for 30 mins! Well, this was what happened. After Birmingham, my sister and i went to Cardiff to visit our brother zaim. Since the train is an ass in 3-days-before-departure-date prices, i think its best just to use megabus. So we were off from Birmingham on Sunday at 7.20am, arriving Cardiff around 10.30am. We were suppose to stop at the city centre and I've been to cardiff once. I remembered the city centre has a proper bus station and all. Then again at that time i used national express. Megabus was different. They're last stop was at the very edge of the city centre. That was why when the last passenger from Birmingham went out of the bus, my sister and i weren't bothered to go down. We assumed that the bus driver will use his all surround speaker to tell the whole bus that it'll be the last stop but to my dissapointment he didn't. So what you're guessing now is right. We miss the stop to Cardiff. I realized that when after 30 mins drive, the bus was as if heading towards the motorway. I asked the driver "Excuse me, is your next stop cardiff city?"
He heard me wrong "Yes, yes London city" the busdriver replied.
"No, no, i mean cardiff city" me emphasizing on cardiff city.
"We already passed cardiff city. It was a while ago when everyone went on board (those who were going to london)"
I was like SHIT! Then i ask him whether theres any stop nearby that i could just go down and maybe take any terms of transportation to go back to cardiff. Busdriver couldnt think of one and he asked me again whether i have a ticket heading for london?
I relied no mine is for cardiff. So that was his basis for deciding to make a U-Turn and send me back to Cardiff city! I was so relieved at the same time felt very guilty to waste everone elses time. And NOW he used his all surround speaker stating " Im sorry everyone but I have to make a u-turn and get back to cardiff city as a passenger didn't get off his last stop, I'm sorry for the delay and i will make it as fast as i can, thank you".

UDAH ATU BARUTAH IA PAKAI SPEAKERNYA!! Well i wasn't that furious psl ia baik hati to turn around for me and my sis. But at that moment after he made the announcement i felt verrryyy guilty to waste peoples' time. I could feel the passengers' fury and anger. I could hear them calling their loved ones, friends, partners, anyone who was waiting for them...saying owh some asian kid just wasted our time (just an assumption on the asian kid). My sister had a glance at the back and she said everyone was eyeing on us, and some were like shaking their heads as they go through 30 mins of wasted time. As time passes by the tension was getting stronger and i was for sure felt very uneasy. Once we arrived back at the same point 30mins earlier, I stood up, faced to the back (good thing i sat 2nd row frm the front) and said " I'm really sorry everyone for wasting your time, It's my first time in Cardiff (bullshitting) and I hope you all have a nice day". Lapas atu tarus kluar, with my sister following me from behind, ambil luggage and never looked back. DAMN! what a way to start Cardiff!

On random stuff

2009-12-04T03:35:00.005Z

Three more days and im off to uk for my graduation :D Anyway I've been pretty busy since my stuff has arrive from the UK. Let this be another pictorial post on random stuff hehehe

Below is my dad and waser cleaning up the aquarium. So far we have an aquarium full of kois (zaims' pets), a big single aquarium only for zaim's/syafiq's alligator gar, another small aquarium for the gar's food and one last aquarium for parrot fish which we had for years. Too bad dad's marine fishes and corals didn't live long. Its really hard to maintain from stabilizing the temperature to salt levels and types of foods given. Not to mention the special light that has to be equip so that the corals could get their share of artificial sunlight. And the supplies are quite expensive. I know it's really attractive to have one, but quite a pain in the ass to maintain. Sorry pip ah nda gi ada :P

This is my fav krupuk msa skulah ugama, finally found it! Its no longer available in large supermarkets, i bought it from the small shop beside kk koya. The taste is still the same, damn its good~~

Ani bukan mascot krupuk d atas ah. This was taken a day before the Hari Raya Haji. Mum bought ayam tua to be slaughtered and serve for our Doa Kesyukuran which was the next day.
My lil sister si adek @ c jagau (yg tinggi) has been selected to squad the brunei's national u-15 netball team. She's now in Singapore until monday and so far they only beaten Australia and lost four other matches. The night before she flew off i helped her with packing up her things and below is her definition of 'healthy snacks' :P

I never knew the flight to Singapore was really early in the morning. We were at the airport by 6 in the morning :S

The whole team with their coach.

Later that day the whole family went to my aunt's place to bagi2 daging korban. I remember usually we use to have around 2 kerabau to korban and it needed a whole lot of manpower to slice and dice and divide. This year satu jer hehe

Also on the same day my cousin brought along my new nephew to have his head shaved. Namanya Mohd. Danish Ryan Ar-Razak bin Pijan* (nama bapa bukan nama sebenar psl aku nda tau namanya bnr lol). Ini dia family nya.

Teranah ia my neph ah, but udh ia menangis....

And this is my Along, the lady who shaved ryan's head.

A few days later i got a phone call from an unknown number while i was in the middle of having my lunch. A Pinoy guy called me up and ask me directions to my house so that he could deliver my stuff :D I was so excited, i couldn't even eat properly, sorry Lydz hehehehe But yeah i was really happy, after 3 months my stuff finally arrived!

One thing my gf and my sister have in common is that meruah rockband dulu. So yeah i was busy with the other stuff but the girls gladly set up the rockband set. Sampai ani nda branti2 main.
8 boxes, 1 bag and 1 barbell in total :D

Taken a few nights ago when ani was in Brunei. Its really nice to catch up with the rest of the OneKentHill gang. Its been a while, too bad zul and izan couldn't join us. Thanks Qi for the treat! bh nanti d excapade ah :p

I hope i got the time to update my blog once im in Uk. Good thing my sister is going with me. The flight there will not be as lonely. Bh saya nak main rockband dulu, taaa~

Happy Bday Apek

2009-11-22T15:20:00.006Z

Earlier today i went to my lil sister's graduation ceremony...and shes in form 5, next year InsyaAllah form 6. Ironically, they haven't got their o-level results yet but PDS or as it's newly name- Seri Mulia Sarjana School, insist on having one. They thought it would be a good idea to combine the form 5 graduation ceremony with the primary 6 graduation ceremony (as they just got their psr results). So the event was filled with award presentation, performances and unnecessary activities. I think the organizers didn't time the event well. We ended up having a 5 hour graduation ceremony. No kidding from 1.30 abis 6.30..galap bh d luar. Good thing me and Joha (3rd sister) decided to eskep tgh2 event ah...go out from the main hall and went to Delima to eat at Mum's bakery...Spicy Egg Roll NYYUUMMM! Then when we got back from having our afternoon snack, the ceremony was still going on. But i thought it was better we killed some time rather than just waiting in the hall. Towards the end of the event, people were scattered everywhere. No one was really paying attention of what is happening on stage. Everyone just want to go back home! Even the rows of chairs were filled with gaps. I feel sorry for PDS. Feel happy for my sister. Hopefully you get 8 o's for ur O-level :)

Half-an hr before the event ends...

Other random stuff...

Taken when mum got her wish from IBB.

Best place to eat in telisai, dri ku kecil hingga kini...

House on the road~

Huge bday cards given during my md years. This was back when the bday corner still exist. People used to hang big, creative bday cards at the corner so that everybody else could sign and at the end of the day the bday guy/girl picks it up. I had 5 i think and it was too big for me to carry it on my back at the same time stabilizing myself on my bike (yeah i cycle to school). So i had to call up my mum to pick me up lol.

Taken when we had dinner at Kimchi. As you can see right in the middle is where u grill your food and they give you all kinds of side dishes. I love the setting of the restaurant and the food is quite authentically Korean...not the type where they fuse foods with other similar asian dishes so i was quite happy with it.

and to my lil bro syafiq @ lapek @ mapek, HAPPY 13th BDAY! I was with him the moment the clock strikes 12 and the first thing i did was bullied him hahahahah nya 'apakan ni org 13 dh kna buli jua masih'. Well problem is he won't stop disturbing me as well lol. So for thafiq, hope you're gonna ace your ugama exam as well as your lower secondary exam. Your football boot is on its way, dont worry hensem boy hahahahha.

Its a wrap

2009-11-15T00:22:00.003Z

I went to the "Micbandits presents its a wrap" event last night, supporting Rez's work on producing and directing the official video for Micbandit's 'Cantik Rupamu, Hello'. First of all, the video was awesome, for Rez alone producing and directing it was totally worth it to check it out. I was even amazed that he got Joe Flizzow in the video too! The lighting, cast, some special background effects and camera angles were well organize and edited accordingly. Proud of you dude, you should've went on stage and give some comments hahaha.

There were other local talents as well performing namely projectunes, layzee clan, a band once, MNC, Khairy and one-d. A band once did an entertaining performance, too bad the mic for the vocals was too loud, can't really hear any of the background music. Beside micbandits, i would give the best performance to Juju of projectunes with the help of awg redja hahaha awal2 ndakutau rez ko atas stage ah, sandi~ Altimet of TehTarikCrew and MC David, vice of Cartel Records was also present to give their support for the newly signed cartel record's artistes, Micbandits. Everyone waited anxiously for the video which was the climax of the night. Prior to that, Micbandits perform various track from their latest album, which i must say I would'nt mind to download the album, eh salah, bali :P What i like most about them is their music. The beats they produce is simple, classy and in lots of ways, different, from the typical genre of Brunei music which i term 'Brunei Pop'. When i say 'Brunei Pop' I mean songs that have complicated electronic background music. Its just me. Another thing i want to comment is the dancers. Hands down they can breakdance, like proper breakdance. The only thing was, the dance moves weren't synchronize properly. Ada jua yg usulnya siuk sendiri, ada yang macam alum makan but well-done for those who gave their best. The event ended with Altimet's new single 'Syukur' while the dancers freestyle and battling it out. Awesome thing was that the single premiered for the first time last night here in Brunei! Lawa lagitu lagunya~

Was a great night nevertheless, click here for the photos of last night's event. One thing did made my night, kinda like the cherry of a cake. I was with shauqi and aiman cerita2 when sal of a sudden someone tagur aku from behind. It was Altimet and he was like " Excuse me, can i take a picture of your shoe"

Aku bangang for a second and said " yeah sure...". in a ttr manner.

Then aku singkap my jeans and still quite surprise for a superstar who's taking a picture of my shoe so i ask him again, "are you sure dude?" and he replied "yeah2" while focusing on my shoe with his digicam. Seriously awesome, superstar ambil gmbar kasutku, teharu ku ehhhh :P:P:P hahahahah.

Latky, I just wanna say again congratulations to Micbandit's for being artistes of Kartel Records and to Reza, hope you have an awesome future in cinematography. Now the song is stuck in my head...hellaw~~ hahaha

End of the road

2009-11-05T16:55:00.003Z

When i continued my masters, initially, there was only one thing in my head, to still enjoy the student life. I wasn't mentally prepared for what is coming up. I was just too happy and can't get enough of being a student studying overseas. When my first assignment was given, that was when it started to hit me...hard. I thought to myself, damn what did i get myself into? I did have like 7 seconds of panic then i start to calm down. I thought, it shouldn't be that hard plus it would be great to have an MA title. So i did what i have to do. Only problem then was my Political Economy module. I really didn't understand what the lecturer is saying or showing (long periods of watching videos). Luckily i have my housemate to work with, Nawir. he's an economics student and he too didn't understand political-economy (yup they're taking it too) but we're not in the same classes. Unfortunately overall i failed my assignments with an average of 47. Only exams could help me to gain back my marks back and it did. I got 58 overall :D and got 60+ for my other 2 modules. I was really happy. 40% of my whole course is done.

After i finished my exams, then i realized that in order to score a merit, all your exam marks has to be above 55. Say you score a 67,65 and 54...although on average you will get a 60+ but according to the master's handbook, it will not be consider as a merit :S Nasib jua exam ku ok! huhuhuh so yeah 40% done and now what is left is the dissertation, carrying a hefty 60% of the whole course. We were given 3 months to finish a 13500 essay. For the first month it was quite hard to concentrate on the dissertation since friends were still there and it was summer so I went there and about. Nda tau2 abis sebulan. The reason i wanted to start and finish early was because i didn't want to strain and stress myself during the fasting period...where in the first week we break our fast at around 8.30- 8.45pm while fajr was around 3am.

But finishing early of course didn't happen. Org brunei th bnr. I was quite the babal type. Udh akhir2 baruth kn d karihi. Luckily i lived with sepol and nawir, who were also trying to finish their own respective dissertation asap. And also Huda, who fed us (wesehmen, nyaman kli ah c hudz masak) and introduced us to banzuki brian and ninja warrior hahahaha. But it was a well worth struggle, through the sleepless nights, eating disorders, continuous stress and tensions and hourly caffeine shots. My bestfriend was nescafe 3 in 1. I usually lost the track of time...pagi udah matahari terbit baru tidur. Iath bari malas tu time2 lalah smpat lagi kana 'tindihi'. I can even count how many sleeps that i had that actually was a good healthy sleep. Another different case, I think i stared at the computer a bit too long that when i moved my head a bit to the right, it seems that the computer was tilting to the right as well hahaha.

I envied those who had on their FB status updates regarding on them alrady submitted their dissertation. I thought to myself, damn when is it gonna be my time? I didn't sleep the night before my deadline. By morning I look like a zombie's worst nightmare. Throughout writing my dissertation, I always check and proofread every time i finished a chapter or sub-chapter. Problem was, i didn't had a final proof reading session after everything was assembled. That made me scared...

That is why I was really afraid of my dissertation marks. I know that i just need a pass to receive my masters. Problem is I know some people who were ask to rewrite their dissertation. I was prepared for the worst. Abu, Nawir, Uncle Rajul and some of my other friends had their result way earlier than mine. I was told that it will come out this week.

Earlier today my coursemate nudged me, telling me that the results are out. I was trembling. My heart beat so fast it pass as a beat rhythm for a rap song. My fingers were shaking and i never in my life find it so difficult to click on the 'results' tab. I prayed and prayed, took a deep breath and there it was stated 'Dissertation-64'

I was stun

I was shock

I smiled

Then a tear came flowing (awu nda macho)

Rushed to my dad and i can't even organize my words. I was blabbering. Then told him properly i got Merit for my Masters! The whole family is happy, to bad mum couldn't share the excitement with us, shes in Thailand. So yeah, here's the comeback from a 2.2 degree result hahaha. Syukur Alhamdulillah. Berkat doa, usaha, tawakal, sabar, puasa, gigih plus a chunk of passion, enthusiasm, keen, willing and faith, syukur im unofficially a master holder :D

Other things that made me happy this week-

My 47 month monthsary. I love you Lydia hehehe

My newly born nephew! The new ManUtd supporter!

Futsal in Beribi is back

Syahmie's wedding this Sunday hehehe congrats dude

I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me thoughout my masters, who gave me encouragement and strength, the ones who's there for me through thick and thin, for the companions who shared the hardships, for those who always give that extra boost, you guys know who you are and most of all syukur Alhamdulillah. For me this is the end of the road for my academic studies. I don't think i have enough working brain cell capacity to continue doing a Phd. To those whose doing their masters now, i wish you the best of luck.

Now to nag the parents for a graduation present :P

F is for fitnah

2009-11-02T16:59:00.002Z

Lets talk on fitnah.

Fitnah, sedara jua dgn ngumpat, is one of the things that I'm afraid of. There is no escaping us from talking on others or listening to gossips. Even i admit i do it sometimes but trust me, i'm limiting myself and preventing it. It's not a healthy habit, yet again if that someone we talk about will not forgive us for what we had said.

Let me elaborate what fitnah is. Fitnah could be accusation, false news, or make up stories that is for the intention to put on a bad name to a person, whether its in forms of signals (for the deaf), writing (msn, blog) or, the most common one, through speech. Its difficult for us to escape from comitting or hearing fitnah made by somebody else, usually during gatherings, hangouts in cafes, wedding ceremonies etc Then there's the art of spreading it from texting msgs, forums, status updates (ada kli ah), long phone calls.

Random much im writing on this isn't it? Well the thing is I found out someone is making up stories.

All I can say is please stop your childish behavior because sooner or later, no one will believe you anymore. People will find it hard to trust you yet again believe for whatever you say in the future. You can talk about fabricated stories all you want, for a fact that it will not benefit you in any other way. I may or may not forgive you, but let Allah pass judgment as He is the only one eligible enough to do so.

Salam~

On the way we speak

2009-10-28T17:42:00.002Z

Do u realize that when we meet other races/ tourists/ nationals/ foreigners especially from the neighboring countries, we tend to imitate the way they speak or use their slang. Biggest example if a Bruneian meets an Indonesian, we always say or reply in an Indonesian slang or better, their language. Why not the other way around? This caught my attention when i was at the gym earlier in the afternoon. An average Bruneian gave me tips on lifting free-weights and for the first few secs i thought why in the globalwarming world is this guy not speaking properly with me. Then baru ku teklik ia pikir aku cina. So he was speaking to me like 'itu angkat basi ah naik tidak payah control, go down baru control bagi big muscle'. Dlm atingku sada kh org tuha ani. No offense to chinese tho, not being racist here, just clarifying my point. So i thought, the next time I'm meeting any other race in the country, I'm gonna speak like the average Bruneian. If ia nda faham ku alter sja sikit2 but not the whole lot hahaha i hope i could do that :P Another thing i realize is bring a Bruneian, our tongue is so flexible that we could pronounce and speak other dialects, slang and languages easily and fluently. Bruneians could well speak in a Malaysian or Indonesian slang but its hardly the other way around. Well there was a particular Malaysian friend of mine during my kent years who always hangs out with the Bruneian group and towards the end of the year, altho a bit karau, his bruneian malay was very good. Kudos dil lol.

mum's surprise

2009-10-25T02:55:00.003Z

As promised- surprise video

Thanks to nas for recording the video. I was so eager to surprise my mum that i forgot to ask them to record lol.

Life so far in Brunei....

2009-10-16T02:03:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone, im sorry for not updating quite to the day to day basis. Ever since i got back to Brunei there's like tons of stuff to do and every time i find myself free i rather play my ps3 ninja gaiden sigma on the newly bought 42 HD tv hehehehe.

To my surprise, people are still having open houses this time of the month when the raya hype is all gone. Biasalah everyone with their own business, work, exams and etc. Im just glad i can still enjoy some leftover raya spirit. Anyway lets rewind back when i got back home on the 2nd of October. Yes, my surprise was successful. I manage to shock my mum for 3 seconds...and then she started slapping me, then i think there were tears and finally hug hug hug :p and this happened after my cousin's nikah ceremony in SOAS mosque. I purposely surprise her after the event since i don't want to steal my cousin's spotlight, ada kna sembalih krg. Thanks to Fadz, Nas and Joha, everything went quite as expected. I changed at the airport from my casual attire to baju melayu, meruah bag jua ku tu.

So after i surprised my mum, then my sisters were shouting and hugged me, which caught the attention of Imam Suhaili :S, tarus kna tagur eh lol. Adakah adikku teriak dlm masjid. Then cousins, nephews, niece, uncles and aunts greet me. My dad was also there but ia nda as emosi as my mum. Mum was the main target and syukur, ia kana hehehe theres a video of it but Brunei's internet is sloooow so i upload it on the next post heeeheee. Funny thing was my cousin yg nikah didn't realize it was me who cause all the fuss and when i met him at his house he was like 'ko th yg org sibuk2 paluk tadi ani...' hahahaha. To my cuz, Selamat Pengantin Baru!

After the event i went to the British High Com in Yayasan. Lydz doesn't know that I'm back and last two days we had quite a fight. Well i purposely put on a fight tho, just so she wouldn't expect i'll be coming back. Sorry love. So went to Brit High Com, got in, and there she was behind a thick transparent glass at the reception area. Rather than surprised teriak2, she was well damn shock and speechless. I thought it was like in the movies that a glass wall was separating both of us from being together hahahahahaa corrrnnnnyyyyyyyy. I looovveee surprising people hehehe.

Anyway now im done with my studies, everyone still ask the same question, 'bila ko balik?' which followed by 'bila ko balik sna lagi?' It feels weird answering to that is 'nda lagi, abis dh'. Damn its been 4 years and i thought i just had choir practice in MD last week. Time flies so fast that in a blink of an eye your academic years are over now. Time to step up and search for a job. I haven't applied anything yet though. I'm surveying jobs that suits me. True, lots of friends and families told me to enjoy my free time while it still last. But i think over the course in searching for a job, i will have all the time in the world to enjoy. Its just the ka-ching issue. Siapa kn membari duit ah? hahahaha and promised my dad to help him build our house. So now im in the club of job hunters. Definitely lots of competition but i guess it'll be fun.

As for now, i need to clean up my room and re-arrange everything. I haven't sleep well in this room for over 4 years. Apa inda, balik summer on last around 3 months ish and i couldn't be bother to organize all the junk in the room. Zaim's the one usually took over. As for me, i prefer ngurak tilam and tidur bawah kipas d luar. For extra comfy, tidur nda bebaju :P. There's this one time when i was organizing some random boxes, i found one particular box full of md memories and damn i was so naive, and lame is just an understatement. I cringed looking at old pictures and reading things that i wrote. Baru ia kanak2. But i never knew i would stumble into such stuff after leaving it for quite a while.

Alright then, i have to finish up my chores.

Selamat Hari Raya!

2009-09-24T22:39:00.009+01:00

1st day raya photos!

Everyone skyping and chatting with family back in Brunei

Hudz and tapak gajah

Introducing the new Bibers- Wandi

Mina and Arif
Afwan

Nana

Lily

Variety of kuih yg bebali dri Chinatown :P

Shepherd's Pie

Satay ayam
Soto as the main menu, lama dh mengidam ni...

This was taken last night. Just when we thought we were about to finish the whole accumulated food stock, new stock ame in! The tiverton ladies are moving out and syukur alhamdulillah, bnyak makanan di sedakahkn arah kami.

I sorted out most of the condiments, from last night i found out we have 8 types of soy sauce, 7 bottles of salt and lot of herbs and spices.

Best sambal in a tin.

Freezer-full!

Easy food cheats

Stock of baby clams!

Finally corn beef!

Huda wasin the mood of cleaning so she cleaned up the stove. This was before..

and after, putih kilat!

Tomorrow, LONDON!

Say it and mean it

2009-09-12T22:44:00.003+01:00

Ramadhan...what a wonderful month. The thought of the rewards we are given in this blessed month. I'm really sad that it's gonna be over soon. True. I'm sure you all feel that differential feeling between this month and all other months, the feeling within you that you're not tainted by any of the devil's doing.

I've been looking into some of my friend's progress and changes on how they wanted to be close to god. Read their blog and it was, in lots of different ways, help me a lot. The things i read was definitely pure knowledge and most of the times, a guide for myself to be a better person. All i can say is for myself, La Illa Ha Illa Anta Subhanaka Inni Kuntu Minazzolimin. Day by day im pursuing and striving to be one step closer to god and ask for forgiveness, at the same time ponder on how magnificent it'll be to feel the spiritual uplift within you, especially when reading the Koran.

I think the first step is to be knowing what you're saying, and mean it. I've been reading the Koran from I was around 9 or 10, perfected my reading by the year. Biasalah blajar tajwid skulah ugama and read Koran arah rumah kawan. So yeah, I'm sure im eligible enough to teach anyone else how to read the Koran =) But honestly just this year it struck me that I'm still lacking in discipline. Yes i can read the holy book but do i know what it means? Wouldn't it be better if I know what I'm reading? Then i can have a deep thought for every single ayah i finish. This lead me to think of my solat. Of course we do solat five times a day. And of course we try and try our best to get the best khusyu solat ever. Its difficult without a doubt. I'm sure time puasa anith, angan2 tia: apa pakai sungkai krg ah? Apa baik ku buat lapas terawih? Lepak lah sma c bui and etc. So yeah, that essential understanding of what we're saying is quite vital. Imams cry for a reason when they recite pieces of a surah, there's a whole new meaning to it.

I think I wanna venture towards that path. I believe little by little I should be getting there. I think it all started when i started to wonder why is the Al-Fatihah is mostly used? Dlm solat, before doa, sebelum tidur and plus its the first surah in the Koran. And why do people say 'Amin' after finish reading it? My curiosity lead me to search for its meaning. It did answer my questions perfectly.

Best starting point will be with the surah that I usually recite in my daily solat... On another note, I think it would be more awesome if i start to learn arabic hehehe sng ku becommunicate with arabs bila naik haji or umrah + easy understanding of the Koran. My guru always said to me that if you have the time, learn arabic before learning any other language. Not saying to those who took extra language classes and learnt some other foreign language is wrong or utterly useless. Jeles juaku kadang2 mendgr org brunei fluent in Japanese or French etc but I hope I do learn arabic. Masuk MFA post ke abu dhabi ni :P Longshot but its a goal nevertheless.

Anyway I thought I just wanna share with you guys. Its nearly 3am and now lets eat some leftovers for sahur hehehe kes malas masak.

Birukilat

2009-09-12T00:55:00.004+01:00

I'm gonna get this-

lawa?

New Found Buffet

2009-09-08T12:06:00.009+01:00

Broad street~

Attention all Bibers, we found a new eating place!!

Its a buffet type restaurant serving a variety of dishes mostly indian, chinese, thai, italian and arab delicacies and in between they serve mexican enchiladas and guacamole, korean kimchi and greek salads. The best out of the menu is the Wok Station. Pick your veges, meat and noodles and they stir fry it to perfection and for the first time ever, mee goreng that has nearly the same taste with the ones in Brunei.

This is my 2nd round. Chicken Tikka, Lamb Sheesh, Fish in garlic sauce and sweet potatoes. I didn't bother to take pictures for the following rounds. Nyaman bh, tunggap sja tia :P

On top of that they serve quite a variety of deserts, best one is the little round balls, a layered cake top with kiwi pieces and definitely the ice cream. All of this, on a weekday for dinner, cost 14 pounds saja :) We had a voucher so we only pay 11pounds. Totally worth it. Best sungkai ever. The place is in Broad Street near ICC and its called Jimmy Spices.

jgn mkn the cheesecake, panya be gelatin, nasib jua huda tagur.

The layout of the restaurant. This is the salad section. I think on some other nights they serve sushi too.

Deep fried foods section. Spring rolls, crackers, chips, cucur indian style and mcm2 lagi. They also serve pizza and its not those typical pizzas you get from fast food branches. They use proper dough and its really nice. Too bad the toppings didn't compliment much of the base.

This is Arab, Italian and Thai section. Also you can order dosai from one of the chefs. Freshly made dpn2 ah, too bad i was quite full by then. The spaghetti bolognese wasn't that good tho according to Huda. It was sour, maybe too much tomato, less salt and sugar.

Indian and Oriental section. I didn't bother eating from this section, menu is quite the typical indian oriental cuisine. Nevertheless everything looks delicious.

Where all the magic happens. Eh wait...is that guy scratching his back? :O

Dessert section.

IceCream station.

Us with UncRajul.
Unc Rajul was also there last night with his course mates. I've been playing football with them for quite a while and they're really nice people. The guy holding the icecream is one of the worst trash talkers i ever met hahahaha that makes the game priceless. Thanks to Unc Rajul for the picture, for more quality, clear picture go here.

Gangsta mna ni??

Later that night the Tiverton girls came by sedakah foods, thank you!

Bh sambung on dissertation.

Lately in Sep 09

2009-09-01T00:11:00.010+01:00

Finally moved out from 30 Alton Road. Its really sad i have to admit. Lots of memories of that place. Starting from the drama of housemates in the early stages up until the end where we got locked out of the house lol.

Everyone got locked out. Naili was still with her laptop. Gonna miss this anti-christ house.

Yeah we got locked out when we were busy moving out of the house. Luckily our landlord was around with a spare key. Quite embarrassing though. I did think of various options before calling the landlord. First was climbing up the water pipe and go in through Nawir's window. Unfortunately the water pipe wasn't rigid enough. Second was to climb over our neighbor's fence. Unfortunately again both our neighbors weren't at home. So there was nothing we could do but call the landlord. Nasib jua ia sporting.

Early the next morning (3am), Naili took the coach to heathrow for her flight back home. How i wish i could do the same thing. Dissertation....

Below are moving out pictures.

This is my room before packing.

After...

This was our last night rocking out. Next day rockband sudah jalan~

Introducing john, our new housemate. He stayed with us for around 2 months. We got him into playing rockband with us. He left the house a few days early since he got married. Congratulations to both John and Rachel. Soalan paling mahal yg di ajukan to John is by Sepol. How long is your marriage going to end? (maksud sepol kawinnya brapa lama?)
John replied- Hopefully forever. LOL. Direct translation pol~

I miss Alton's 24hr tesco. We randomly go to tesco anytime of the night. Pernah pukul 2-3 pagi kes lapar tu :P

The kitchen, still full of condiments, herbs, sauces, spices, oils, veges, fruits etc u name it and we probably got it :P
Next few days...
The house ready to be cleared out. Bear in mind everything in here moved to first ave :S Good thing Unc Azmi helped us out. It took us around 6-7 trips back and forth from Alton to FirstAve just to clear up everything. And tgh2 atu drama te lock out d luar...

5 bags worth of fooooodd.

Clearing up everything...
The side effect of cleaning

Langis~ Btw new tenants got an extra fridge and a new cooker.

Went to london on Tuesday to see yani. We have been best buds/ close friends/ best friends whatever u name it, for ages. I didn't wanna miss the chance to see her while she was in London. She was from sending off her sister in florida (congratz wana!) and now staying for a couple of nights in london. It was great catching up with her. And i really do miss talking with her parents. Awesome people. Ate at melur for iftar. Not bad although its quite pricey. Really recommend the kambing bakar and sambal udang.

Went back to Brunei Hall after sending yani back home. Found this parked infront of lolitas. A CHROME Audi R8. Luckily we manage to take a picture of the owner..

Ok nda lama lagi kn raya. Baik abis dissertation awal2 :P Anyway to those who are offended with my previous post, im truly sorry. I never meant to offend sesiapa yg perasan in any other way :P Its to some certain people who shall remain nameless. Siapa yg terasa baikth minta maaf lakas2 Im an open guy :)

To my Lydia, happy 45 monthsary =) Luv ya babes~

Who's ambung?

2009-08-30T04:20:00.003+01:00

A quick note.

To all friends and families in Brunei who said I'm ambung because no news coming from me, i never nudge you on msn, I never call you up to say hi or any sort of communication that requires me to initiate first...Well think again.

Have YOU ever contacted me and say hi and even ask me how am I doing? Have you ever wonder how lonely it is to spend Ramadhan abroad when you yourself, is comfortable with ur own family back at home? And that 'sudah behajat' then you contact me and ask me to do favors?

Please reflect yourself before saying that I'm ambung. Dont be a stereotypical Bruneian and say 'org uk ambung'. I never thought of you as such, why should you be the one to pre-judge me without knowing what i've been thru? You think you're the only one that i have to think of? Everyone wants a piece of my attention but only a tiny portion of people have the decency just to say hi to me and concern of my well-being.

Get over yourself.

BBQ versi puasa

2009-08-24T00:24:00.005+01:00

Last night i felt like writing and adding some bits on my dissertation. Had spaghetti and take away pizza for sungkai and that kept me full up to sahur. Had the same thing for sahur though. Can't be bothered to cook. I was up until 6+ and the morning sun was shining directly into my room. My head was all spinning and I thought yes this is the limit, should not push myself any further and i should have some rest. The problem with my room is 1.- facing sunrise and 2.- i have a lousy curtain. I can only sleep with only a minimal amount of light in my room. So i had to modify a bit so my room appears darker. Its a combination of the lousy curtain, 2 towels and kain sampang.

Woke up at 12pm and i thought it was gonna rain outside. Removed the whole curtain apa and damn what a nice day it was. We planned to have a bbq sungkai later that day. Bought some ribs and wings the day before, marinated it with HP bbq sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and rosemary. Turn out pretty damn good.

This is the instant bbq set, bought from tesco. Ready in 20 minutes. Last up to 1.5 hrs. Very effective for small bbqs.

Lighting up. Took more or less 20mins for the charcoals to be covered in white ashes (thats when its ready).

This is one huge mistake though. Why? Because i put the instant bbq on top of a box. Some bits of coal spat out and got the box on fire! Luckily we acted quickly. Naili panicked though and instead of getting a jug of water to put out the fire, she continued to blow the fire away by fanning it with another carton box. Makin tia menjadi lol~~~ No harm done to the food, selamat.

As you can see here, we used a metal chair and a bbq stand in replacement.
Model Tesco instant BBQ.

Cara ngiap org kelaparan :P

Ribs~~

Wings~~

Plum~~?
Yeah we just found out we have a plum tree in our backyard! According to Sepol the 'bubble' that comes out of the plum is the nectar. Look closely and you can see the reflection of my camera. We didn't dare to eat it though. Maybe one day. Most of the plums aren't ripe jua.

Huda came over a couple of mins before sungkai. We watched 'World's Greatest Dad' (movie). In someway its a bit disturbing but siuk jua lah. Has an 8.0 ImDB rating. Not bad~ Im really looking forward for UK cinemas showing District 9. Apparently theres lots of good reviews on it. Anyway i better get some sleep. Kn bgn sahur lagi.

Goodies from Brunei

2009-08-22T12:01:00.000+01:00

Naili arrived a couple of days ago. Brought my stuff along with her. Thank you to Along for the lovely cupcakes as well as Pipops. To Lydia, thanks a lot love for the cookies!

Sorry again pip, the cupcakes got smooshed :P As requested ;). Apip's @ Pipop's cupcakes are really rich. She made peanut butter for me (my fav) and it was delicious. Moist base, rich filling., awesome taste. Below is in front of Selfridges in Birmingham.

Ramadan starts on Tuesday and for us here, we will be breaking our fast around 8.20pm and it gradually goes down to 7+ pm as the days pass by. So we thought lets have our last starbucks session. Our other bibers counterpart is having their share of starbucks in Miri :P Had Java Chip, its upon request, not in the menu.

These are lydia's cookies. Best eaten with starbucks coffee. Overall i say she's getting the hang of it. Certainly more room for improvement. This batch was her choc chip cookies and it was really well made for a first timer hehehe. Bite-size and ala2 famous amos. Once im back i'll be expecting millie's type cookies hehehe. Thanks again love!

This is my cousin Along's cupcakes. Official website is cupcake princezz. I like the cup she uses. It makes the cupcake firm. Her cupcakes are quite different. I like the fact there's 'hidden treasures' inside the cupcakes hehehe. Im yet to try other flavours. This is another cupcake brand that you should try.

Below are models (weseh) wearing the BBSS polo shirts. After a long month wait finally it was ready. Mali designed the men's polo while Nena and Hanis (luruskh?) designed the women's polo. All i can say is, it looks better in real life than the animated design. And thanks to eena too for the logo. To the Bibers back home sabar2 yer.

If you guys are wondering what my dissertation is all about, here is a glimpse of it. Basically it's about transnational crime in south-east asia. Imagine goodfellas going global. Its really interesting and im starting to get passionate about it. Yes, starting. In the early stages it was damn hard to start ur dissertation. That first leap, the first sentences, the first actual dissertation plan...it was hard. Now i get the hang of it. Kira I can write anything, anytime. Dulu payah2 bepajal. Ada time2 yg nda dpt buat lagi tu. Ikut mood. Now im always on fire. Sorry mum and dad if ur reading this :P I know they wud go lahhh padanth balik akhir kedia ani, suruh buat awal nda mau heheheh.

Today was a good 1st day puasa, syukur Alhamdulillah nda banyak dugaan. I miss having my fast back at home. I miss sungkai ramai2 with family, ke stadium bali tofu sumbat and air kausar, terawih with lydia and main futsal d rimba. I remember once i had sungkai with Lydia's family and the whole family is really into spicy food. Her mum made my fav mee jawa. Damn it was spicy, i was literally soak with sweat. The whole family (mum, dad and lil bro) was like cool saja and i look like a sissy drinking water constantly hahahaha. Turun point :P

Okay work work work.

Between facts and myths/hoax

2009-08-16T00:53:00.000+01:00

U know how interesting forwarded emails can be. Whether its humor, science fiction, trivia, religious or videos, people love to share. Problem is when they start sharing/ spreading something which makes us very skeptical. I admit i was once the gullible person who took every word from the email. Now, I'm more skeptical and curious to know the real truth. I would do my research into depth just to prove to myself that what i'm receiving is the real thing. I'm not saying i don't trust the sender, its just to satisfy myself that the email i receive is indeed the truth.

I just wanna prove some bad rumors in the world of forwarding emails. The first one, which i think most of you would know probably by now, is that Tommy Hilfiger is a racist. Here's how the fwd email looks like:

"Did you see the recent Oprah Winfrey show on which Tommy Hilfiger was a guest? Oprah asked Hilfiger if his alleged statements about people of color were true - he's been accused of saying things such as "If I had known that African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians would buy my clothes, I would not have made them so nice," and "I wish those people would not buy my clothes - they were made for upper-class whites." What did he say when Oprah asked him if he said these things? He said "Yes." Oprah immediately asked Hilfiger to leave her show. Now, let's give Hilfiger what he's asked for - let's not buy his clothes. Boycott! Please - pass this message "

Check here for the real truth. The rumor was dated back in 1996 or 97. 10 years on then, Tommy came to Oprah to clarify things. Nda pasal2 kna ucap racist~ The reason why i brought this up because i just receive an email abt this...setelah sekian lama.

The other fwd email that has every other muslim blood pumping is the speech by Starbuck's CEO on supporting the Israelian army so therefore we should boycott starbucks. This is how the email should look like:

A Thankyou To All Starbucks Customers

by Howard Schultz

Dear Starbucks Customer,

First and foremost I want to thank you for making Starbucks the $6.4 billion global company it is today, with more than 90,000 employees, 9,700 stores, and 33 million weekly customers. Every latte and macchiato you drink at Starbucks is a contribution to the close alliance between the United States and Israel, in fact it is - as I was assured when being honored with the “Israel 50th Anniversary Friend of Zion Tribute Award” - key to Israel’s long-term PR success. Your daily Chocolate Chips Frappucino helps paying for student projects in North America and Israel, presenting them with the badly needed Israeli perspective of the Intifada.

Starbucks, through the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah, an international network of Jewish education centres, sponsors Israeli military arms fairs in an effort to strengthen the special connection between the American, European and Israeli defense (actually war) industries and to showcase the newest Israeli innovations in defense (war making). As my contribution to the fight against the global rise of anti-Semitism, the reason behind the current conflict in the Middle-East, I help Aish HaTorah sponsoring the website "honestreporting.com” and produce material informing of Israel’s side of the story.

Without you, my valued customer, I wouldn’t be able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars each year to protect Israeli citizens from "terrorist" attacks (Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation) and keep reminding every Jew in America, to defend Israel at any cost. $5 billion per year from the US government are no way near enough to pay for all the weaponry, bulldozers and security fences needed to protect innocent Israeli citizens from anti-Semitic "Muslim terrorism" (as described by Israeli occupiers and their supporters) Corporate sponsorships are essential.

Having the bigger picture in mind, Starbucks have donated a store to the US army to help in the “War on Terror”. I cannot emphasize enough, how vital the “War on Terror” is for the continued viability and prospering of the Zionist State.

So next time you feel like chilling out at a Starbucks store, please remember that with every cup you drink at Starbucks you are helping with a "noble" cause (i.e. helping Israelis maintain their oppression of the Palestinian people).

Howard Schultz
Chairman & Chief Global Strategist
Starbucks Coffee Stores

I did for quite some time, boycott against starbucks. However, since not all other muslims boycott against it so I said to myself well if i do want to boycott properly for a good cause, i should know how legit is this fwd email. So after around half an hour of googling and checking various websites, its proven that the email is a hoax. It was written by Andrew Winkler.

The Howard Schultz spoof letter above has caused quite a bit of a stir. In the first month of its publication, it has been read by more than 100,000 visitors on the ZioPedia site alone, and republished on hundreds of blogs all over the world. Some readers were not quite sure whether the article was 'kosher' or not. Well, it is and it isn't. Howard Schultz never wrote that letter, I did. However, all the statements I made in that letter about donations, sponsorships, political views etc. - are based on factual Howard Schultz actions and quotes, as 1/2 hour of 'Googling' will easily confirm to anyone interested.

There is obviously a lot of emphasis right now on Israel's most recent brutal aggression against Lebanon and the Gaza strip. However it's important not to forget that the current events are part of a bigger picture, Israel's criminal social-Darwinist and 19th century style colonialist plans for the region, a Jewish 'Lebensraum' from the Euphrates to the Nile. Let's face it, whatever critics will say against Israel, it will always be interpreted as being anti-Semitic. In fact, the current edition of the US dictionary Webster defines anti-Semitism as 'criticism of Israel'. How cool is that?

Andrew Winkler
Editor/Publisher
ZioPedia - A Rebel Media Group Project

Checkout Ziopedia for further details. HOWEVER, I don't know the real truth whether starbucks do sponsor the Israelian Army or not. All i know the letter is a hoax, so don't get attach by it. If you do find out that Starbucks does sponsor the Israelian army,then by all means please give me a legit link, thanks, it'll be very helpful.

Some other minor emails, like the video on Arabs partying and having the night of their life then all of a sudden the hotel floor collapsed.

They're jews, not arabs. Someone who posted the video (not u ain :) ) corrected me saying "arab juakan, arab yahudi". But come on. Realistically, the moment we saw the word Arab, it will mean middle-eastern muslims. Nda jua tpikir arab yahudi. Maybe for some :P

So yeah there's thousands of fwd emails that truly is a hoax. Myth. Not factual. Even some of the religious emails i receive, if it sounds a bit 'off', i would do my own research utk memuaskn hati. Some of them even said "If you fwd this to 50 people, you will get luck in 50 days" or some sort.

fwd this and you will receive good news tomorrow.
fwd this to 12 people within 12 hours and your prayers will be answered within 12 hours.

Who are you to decide all of these?

If you do feel that the email is useful, please don't put something towards the end about luck lah, pahala lah, rezeki lah because you don't decide on those things, its up to Allah. Seriously, some people do need to be aware about this. Its wrong. Horrifically wrong. I just hope these people realize their mistakes.

So siapa2 fwd arh ku email, and ujung2nya ada betulis cmani, jgn ambil hati if aku tagur ah hehehehe demi kebaikan. We help each other out.

Okay back to where i started, yes im more of a skeptical person now. This brings me to our old folk tradition on variety of scenarios of pantang. Some of it:

Jgn nyanyi d dapur- dpt laki tua
Jgn tukar2 tmpat duduk time makan- bnyak bini
Jgn main bawah jemuran- ani lupaku effectnya :P
Jgn putung kuku malam- pendek umur.
Jgn makan ah mua pintu- payah cari jodoh

and my all time favourite- abiskan nasi ah, menangis ia krg lol. Imagine ku nasiku karing tarus2 bekuah.

and so on..

Bnyak nyamu pantang org2 tua ani. Most of it I know is untuk mendiscipline msa tani kanak2. But if tebawa2 smpai ke tua? Some are still stuck by these principles. How far should we believe in these superstitions? Should we believe in these kind of superstitions when we know that all the decisions made in life is from the will of Allah alone? I think its wrong to believe such superstitions, not relating to any religious issue, will lead to something that is beyond our control. Same goes to horoscopes. Tarang2 nda bleh pecaya, ada jua majalah nyimpan, babal~

But please, don't take my word for granted. If i do appear wrong, please do tell me. That way we can help one another. After all im not really knowledgeable. Just budak baru belajar :P

London weekend

2009-08-12T09:30:00.000+01:00

Went to London last weekend for a day trip with Abu, Sepol and Nawer. Met up with Fadz in Brunei Hall. Sepol and Abu went separate ways so i brought Fadz and Nawir to Caranby Street, Covent Garden and Tower Bridge. It was a beautiful day and we stumble on lots of interesting and cool stuffs. Before we began the day, we went to Malaysian Hall. Had the nasi lemak. Its been a while. I just found out that you have to be accompanied at least by one malaysian to eat there. But none of us are so we just pretend to be Malaysians lol. If tekluar ckp Brunei, akun sja org sabah.

The new Primiership Ball taken inside Nike Town.

Ben's Cookies, situated in Covent Garden. A bit pricey but according to Fadz, the best cookies she ever tasted. The cookie shes holding is a peanut butter cookie with real nuts. Mine's the double chocolate cookie and it has a thick chocolate sauce in it. Nyyumm!!

The thing i like about covent garden is that it's always lively over there. With live street acts and performances, some of them are really good. Others however is just for the money. This guy is new to the addition, what a great gimmick to attract the kids.

I've always go to the side of Covent Garden where all the live shows are but never really wonder about the other side on Neal Street. Rupanya bnyak lagi kadai! And the best thing is its the independent shops.I bet Lydz and Pipos would love this shop. And i bet they've been here too hehehe.

I was quite frustrated about this. We passed him and he hasn't finish his art. So kmi jln2 for like half-an hr and still he hasn't finish it. Aku kn begambar konon masuk lubang hahahah Nevertheless awesome piece of art. I always get fwd emails on these kind of artworks but last weekend, watched it live! I saw a man with a big dslr waiting at the corner for him to finish.

This was towards the end of Neal Street, the big and awesome Forbidden Planet! Found it! The toys, gadgets and comics in here are mostly quite exclusive. The display cabinet was filled with action figures that i could just dream of buying hahahahha. Kluar my inner kid.

This photo is dedicated to Ehsan from Bristol. Never knew you open your own restaurant :P

This was taken otw to Tower Bridge. Before I explain the pic below, let me complain about something. Its the tube an weekends. Its really annoying! The whole circle line was shut down and the district and victoria line were partly operating. We were just on stop away from Tower Bridge and we had to change lines. Unfortunately the lines were not working. So we had to walk. Nasib jua bestamina masih. So yeah otw walking to Tower Bridge we cross a movie set! We thought its one of those hollywood movies but from the looks of the actor and actress, mcm creta hindustan. Jadith heheheh and we couldn't take any photographs bnrnya so ini gambar curi :P

At last, Tower Bridge. Luckily it didn't fall down that day.
Everyone met up at CNR that night for dinner. Mcm biasa, I ate the Wa Tan Ho aka Kuey Tiaw Basah, sedapp~ We had a big crowd too eating with us- Muna (nawir's sister) joined us along with donald. Taufiq also joined us along with Mamdoh, Hanim and Rina. they just finished watching G.I.Joe. Need to watch that movie someday.

The next day we helped Abu cleaned up his place. He left for Brunei earlier today. Makin tia sunyi sini ani. No more 'bh dinner rumah ku krg, ko masak' or 'bh aku masak, jgn tagur klu funky ah' lol. Funky is his description when the food has a mix of flavours and we had tasted quite a few :P But paling ku miss ni, nada gym buddy ku. It's hard for me to workout esp on chest when no one is supporting. Nda tia ku brani angkat barat2 nah. Kacau c Abu ani adakah balik awal. Anyway Bu, it has been an awesome year with you around especially with ur 'jahat' antics. Bh buat dissertation tu, copy paste nda asi tu lol Cya in September.

In pictures of the dissertation period.

2009-08-07T09:16:00.001+01:00

Updates through pictures

Tony had to move out from 688 so we helped him. Me, Abu, Nawir, Sepol and Tony ngangkat brg to first ave. Nasib jua 5 man team. Brg yg d angkat adalah brg Fatin, Hanis, Mus, Mallie, Dawls and Tony. So dlm manyap2 rumah guess what Nawir did...yoyo!

Siapa tinggal certificate nya ah~~
Sorry Shuhir bilikmu tmpat kmi nyimpan the stuff. Don't worry by the time ko smpai lanyap tu hehehe so this is ur room before...

and after~

The next day we went on a road trip to Bicester Village and Oxford. Abu and I met Unc Rajul at the car rental company. We stop over at his place and met our two most beloved cutest friends, Hani and Nisa hehehe. This is their play room and look how creative they are.

Nisa and Hani
lost

We head out for Bicester around 11am. We did get a bit lost once we reached bicester but all was fine. My target was to buy something for my dad and myself, preferably a polo shirt. Dad wanted Fred Perry and luckily it was on sale, 2 for 60 pounds! Usually its 45 pounds each. On top of that, me and sepol got ourselves Puma X Evisu jeans which RRP is 85 pounds...we got it for 30 pounds each! Untung yaw!

Our big book of UK's finest highways.

hehehehAfter Bicester we headed for Oxford. Too bad it was raining and didn't get to enter Harry Potter's movie set. So we just took a stroll along Oxford town.

Infront of the well-known Oxford made ice cream. Sepol imitating Statue of Liberty.

Harry Potter's movie set.

The car that made our day.

Yesterday was Nisfu Sya'ban. Abu, Nawir, Sepol and I were fasting. Abu decided to sungkai at his place and what a feast we had. I made buttermilk chicken, Sepol made mushroom soup, Nawir brought along his Nachos Set, Abu cooked spinach with mince meat and had grapes and rasberries for desert. Complete!

Abu's going home next week. Nadath gym buddy ku lagi ni~ boooooooo. And we're gonna miss his apartment. Awesome kli ah. I still remember when he first moved in and all of us were quite sakai about it. Well anyway tomorrow again the usual 4 of us will be heading for London, each 4 with different purposes. Gonna be a day trip. Just to let all the stress out :P

stroke

2009-07-26T11:24:00.000+01:00

Damn its been a month since i last updated. Honestly I had mostly been preoccupied by doing varied activities with the bibers. Anyway quick update to bibers, unfortunately the badminton video is still out of luck. The problem is that each clip is recorder in the highest pixel and theres more than 20 clips to be compiled therefore when i tried to publish the movie at 42% it takes another 2hrs to finish. Anyone could help me with this matter? Quite frustrated though. Ani kli ke 3 the mengcompile ni urgghhh.

Dissertation update- moooviiinnn slooowwwllllyyyyyyyyyy

I really miss home. This time around for the past three years i would be, at this hr, play futsal with LCN near my house. My sisters have been nagging me to come back. Lydia always think that i'm lying and i would surprise her anytime soon right infornt of her door step. I really wanna go back though but I know going back to Brunei is a vacation. I could not be categorize as people who could enjoy Brunei at the same time doing their dissertation. Balik Brunei nanti InsyaAllah kerja~ Student to work life.

I already finish half of the module, its just dissertation left. Buleh ni Kaspul! Aim distinction but i know merit would be more realistic :P To all of the postgraduates i wish u all luck on ur dissertation.

I bet you all heard the famous malaysian director Yasmin Ahmad passed away. It was from stroke. I read an article that mostly people in their 40's could suffer from stroke. Naudzubillah! To those who have high blood pressure, diabetes, cholestrol and still smoking, baikth jaga2. Apparently stroke is the 2nd in place with highest death cause, just behind heart attacks. Bh we all have to stay healthy!

Anything else to ramble about?

Results and FB.

2009-06-19T23:47:00.001+01:00

Today i woke up at 8am. 4 more hours to go till my results were out. I was anxious and scared. In my prayers I always berdoa that I will pass my exams. I was afraid because I know i didn't give everything i got. I admit I was laidback and slacking off. Time exam main game Resident Evil 5 lagi, smpai jam. I even play football, gerenti udah balik ndagi tblajar kengalehan. So my point is, i regret of what i did. I would be more satisfied if i did give my all yet didn't go through.

Ek, a thai friend of mine, call me all the way from Thailand just to ask me to get his results from the department. Everyone was on WebCT (Uni comp. software that generates our progress) and its running slow. I never knew the results were online. I went to the library to use the PCs and gave it a try. I logged in successfully. Only god knows how my body trembled and how fast my heart beat was the moment before clicking on the 'my exam results' tab. Syukur alhamdulillah, the first two words came out of my mouth. I passed all of my exams. I was really happy senyum smpai ke telinga hehehehe. Half of my course is done. Now is dissertation time.

On a different note

Points that i seriously agree on.

2# Poking- I really don't see the reason behind it.

8# Status updates- Chill yo~ It really does get annoying when you update your status like for every action you take. Si Pulan is " going to makan talur" or " kan beria".
What i dont understand some group of people even click on the 'like' button for such foul updates. Wanna be vain, click 'like' for your own status updates (ani lagi ku inda paham ni).

#9 Old people- I second this. No furthter comments :P

#12 Top friend- I don't have the app though. Think for a second. If you put someone like on the no.1 spot of your top friends list, gerenti all of ur other close friends trasa. Why would you wanna rate your close friends and make it public? Nonsense I tell u! lol.

#24 Duplicate pictures- Vain.

A point that i would like to add. My recent hate of fb.

'What type..' quizes- Sometimes there should be a border to what extent this quizes should go. Some are really offensive like the 'what type of bruneian are you?'. Racist bh. Yeah2 for the fun but is it fun for the people you mock? Don't think so.
Then some of the quizes yg nda tau malu. Like what type of sex position are you, what type of body are you, what type of nipples, kisser, person in bed and the list goes on. Why in the world would you want to answer these type of quizes? Pillow face. Answering these type of questions does look like promoting yourself being a whore.

Don't be an FB addict. There are other things in life that is worth spending time on than sitting infront of your pc and 24/7 dpn facebook.

What do you hate?

Artsfest

2009-06-17T19:34:00.000+01:00

Went to london last thursday. I promised myself not to overspend, especially when I know i'm gonna travel around. Quite jobless that night so i thought of meeting Amy, my friend during my first year in uni. She was a final year back then, did her masters in London the following year and now working while still sitting for exams to be certified as ACCA. I haven't seen her for nearly 3 years and i promised her to meet up if i happen to be in London.

Was good to see her. Had dinner at Bonda (apparently serves one of the best asam padas fish) and then we lepak at her place. Btw she's a perfectionist. Like a Monica perfectionist. Her apartment was spotless, her kitchen is white and her living room smells of potpouri with coasters ready to be use (Dipesh really had a good taste for bday presents :P). If i was to come the day after, i could have meet up the other three (ramesh, dipesh and shaq). These guys made my first year memorable. Awesome seniors. Add Nadz to make 5 of them and the group is complete. Really miss my first year~

The next day i went to kent and i promised, also, a first year friend to meet up. Well more of my housemate during my first year. Shes Kirsty and she was one great housemate. Haven't met her for 3 years, since last year she had been away in Spain for her course. The best thing about her is that she remembers all the things i told and thought her then. The bad thing was, her friends were around and she told them everything. She said 'kash here cannot touch dogs and pigs'. Then i was bombarded with questions of curiosity and anxiety to know more. She even told them how generous the Sultan of Brunei is (cos i told her im under scholarship....along with 70 other people). One time she told me she used to hate me lol. I asked why and she said because you're too fussy. Then i ask her what made you change your mind? She replied 'Cos youre a cool and nice person' hahahhaa.

And shes like a memory box. She remembers what i told her then, about the five pillars of Islam, she knows that I pray five times a day (esp Subuh when i was quite loud and she was still sleeping), I only eat slaughtered food and no sex before marriage (this came up after i told her i was going out with Lydz lol). Anyway good times, good times.

Next day it was artsfest. Picked a spot where it was easy to watch the fireworks later that night.

This is jim. He's the 3 legged cat.
Yasmin's red velvet.
Rabz's cupcakes. Preferred the one you brought on artsfest. Peanut butter kli ah~

I miss this view.

Went back to Birmingham on Monday. The next day we had our farewell dinner. Didn't have a theme for it. Just semi-formal. Had our dinner at the Oriental, a Chinese-Malaysian restaurant that serves only halal chicken and lamb. They gave the option that we could change duck and beef dishes and replace it with chicken and lamb. Everyone had a good time. For me, the food was a bit over-priced. Though i might be bias since im used to eat these kind of dishes. Some of the food wasn't even restaurant material. One of it was Abu's nasi goreng thai. He sum it up that the nasi goreng was just a mixture of rice, oyster sauce, kicap and talur. That night i ordered scallop masak sambal, nyaman~ I post pictures once i get it from everyone.

We went back around 10-ish. Otw back we saw a helpless guy pushing his car alone assuming its out of gas. Abu and I gave him a hand, pushing it to the the station (tesco) nearby, which was just a few metres away. We both push at the back of the car and he hop in the car, ready to steer the car to the right to get to the filling station. Bodohnya, he didn't put any power in the steering and we ended up blocking the other side of the road (imagine the hecticness). So we had to push the car from the bonet, in order for it to reverse and then steer in successfully. Problem was, the car was heavy and we tried our best to push, bnr eh turun kanyang. Baju yg lawa awal2 pun tarus jadi cawie bh bepaluh2. Then nawir came, took a peek inside the car and he said ' you should put the gear in neutral'. HE WAS IN FREAKIN 4th GEAR! Padanth barat kreta ah. Eventually some other 2 white dudes tag along and push the car all the way to the station. We concluded that he was new with manual and doesn't know anything when a car breaks down. If i did get that on video i will send it to failblog under the caption 'Gear change fail'.

Some other updates-

In 4 hrs time- doa kesyukuran, Mallie n Mus got 1st class. Kayun and Azrul 2.1. Congrats!!

Tomorrow- my result kluar. Just doakan aku pass, AMIN.

Lusa- Badminton tourney between Lufbru Shuttlers and Brum Pengambat.

Till then. Salam.

Post-exams activities

2009-06-10T02:15:00.000+01:00

I finished my exams last week on Monday and since then it had been quite a week, up until yesterday.

The next day after i attained freedom from exams, we decided to go for a movie marathon at the cinemas. 2 for 1 ticket offer means each of us only pay 2 pounds per ticket. We watched Star Trek, Angels and Demons and Wolverine. 3 big movies. We started around 2.30. We went home by 10pm. We were worn out by the time we reached home but it was worth it. Verdicts for the 3 movies will be 8, 7.5 and 7 respectively. I would give Angels and Demons a higher rating but i read the book prior before the movie came out so my judgement is slightly bias :P

Otw we found a rare breed of convertible- it has only one front wheel. Skali imbas mcm trabang.

The next day i went out with Nisa to buy groceries for Nisa's Bday BBQ which was on the friday of the week. Abu told us that there's a butcher store that sells cheap chicken wings at arab street. We didn't knew to what extent does 'cheap' means. We went there and asked how much was the chicken wings per kilo. He answered 55p per kilo. We ordered 6 kilos and that only cost us 3.30. MURAH!!

Thursday was Nisa's bday. She didn't have the BBQ that day because Mallie and Mus had their public presentation. They all went to it while I decided to stay put at home preparing for Nisa's B'day surprise. I was the one pulling strings at home while Azrul make sure everything is ok being side by side with Nisa. Syukur alhamdulillah akhirnya tesurprise jua si nisa. There's a video on it. Its on FB and you can check it in my profile. Im sorry i literally shouted at u Nis. Excited brabisbh. Im just glad Nisa was surprised hehehehe. Menjadi!

Cappuccino Layered Cake.

The laydees~
The Gents~

Ini gambar Kayun teharu dn hadiah c Mallie heheheh

An awesome gift from Azrul, his guitar.

I got the bday girl Yonex Musclepower 22 LT. So far lawa mainannya :P

Expressing what Naili drew of each of us on an egg.

The weather forecast for friday was rain. Not even a sunny interval in between times. Before Solat Jumaa't it was drizzling. We had to improvised so we set up a tent. Bekraja bnr ih. From the pictures it looks like sunny but don't be deceived. Later that day it was non-stop raining. Nasib jua be kem. We had a great time nevertheless. Nisa made laksa nyumm!! Everyone was eager to play rockband, some just chilling out outside shisha while talking about continuous stupid stuff (org2 d luar tau ni psl apa :P), others were playing around with the lil kids. But here goes the storyline through pictures.

Setting up the self-inspired tent.

Laksa, ikan salai, chicken, sausages...semua ada.

Aksi2 group yg fail memarakkan arang seperti kami :P

I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day~~

Sipun membagi bunga pol, akar pun kn ko bagi hahahah

It was all fun earlier that but later that night the mood sway to a sad tone. Naili is going home. Promised her that i'll send her to the coach station, direct to heathrow. We stayed up despite being awfully knackered by the BBQ. Abu and Nisa went to sent her off as well. Went to the coach station by 2.15am and got back home by 3am.

This is our last IstanaLagenda housemate picture.

Im gonna miss-
randomly going into ur room and lepak,
your 'moody' time of the month...and have to live with it ughhhh hahahah nadabah nyle,
movie nights and you sleeping through it,
and most of all, nada org buka pintu pagi2 when the royalmail people come for delivery:P
It would be a whole post if i was to write on how we as bibers miss you. Your room now is slowly cleared up, by us ah not the council tax people. I already sent ur letter, dont worry. Ok nyle hope you have a good time in Brunei!

In 3 hours time i have to wake up. Same goes to Nisa and Abu cos we were going to Cheshire Oaks, a factory outlet in Liverpool.

We had to make a change at Crewe then ride a train to Chester, get a shuttlebus to the city centre and then take another bus going to Cheshire Oaks. Lengthy trip.

Chester city. Beautiful. Most of the city is still encompass by old well maintained buildings.

Mallie's bebeh.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy if it was my size.
Us with our shopping bags. Treated myself with some stuff. Awesome lah the outlet. Bigger than Ashford and Bicester.

Otw back each of us had our show off moments hahahha.

Beside all that we had some other side activities to prevent ourselves from post-exam boredom.

Badminton practice for Bibers VS Lufbru.

Football at canon hill park.
and lan parties.

Will be in Kent this weekend. Yes, i'll be enjoyin my time first before everybody leaves...then dissertation starts :S

Last but not least, to all my readers (weseh mcm bnyak sja readers ku) do visit Pipops (under food section). Shes a friend of mine and now starting her own cupcake business and fondants as well. I haven't tried one yet but im confidently sure its delicious. Great variety of cupcakes offered in small amount of prices. Some of the cupcakes presented which i would like to taste once im in Brunei.

Rocky road

Peanut Butter

This will certainly attract the kids.
Just ask her if you have any special requirements for your cupcakes or any requests on any other cakes. Shes a wonderful and approachable person. If you want a 30% discount just say Kashful introduce me to you LOL nadabah, eh aku EKSEN ni. Don't take this seriously. Kna tikam ku krg uleh c apip hahahahah Bh pip i want a welcome home cupcake! :P

Youtubing

2009-05-19T19:52:00.000+01:00

I had my International Political Economy exam on Monday. By far, one of the hardest exams i ever have to sit for. Good thing now its all over. I really hope i pass this module amin. Now my next exam will be on 1st june, lots of time to do revision but doesn't mean i'll be slacking off. Yet, i thought i should give myself a day off.

Anyone up to date with the auditions for Britains Got Talent 2009? I bet you all do. One of Britain's best reality TV shows. The winner will perform infront of the queen for the royal variety. Stupid and ridiculous acts ranging from atrocious 'fart music' (he's called Methane Man and makes music with his fart) to boring siuk sendiri punya stuff like hand knitting (i seriously don't know how these old ladies come up with teaching people hand knitting to win the show). Was quite surprise when the host asked so whats your act?
This is our act, we're going to sit on the middle of the stage and teach people how to hand knit.

At this point i was silence by the dumbfold statement, which was made with confidence. Well so far there are lots of entertaining, stunning and mind blowing acts and if i were to choose the 3 act whose going to the semis itll be...

Shaheen

Diversity (nda dpt embed)

and

definitely, Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle has a very beautiful classical voice. Not lots of people could pull that off.
Just a note to Lydia, Im really proud of you for getting that job walaupun temporary hehehe, at least now you have something to do. And to those of you who are wondering who's the receptionist on my msn nick, iath c Lydz tu :P
Yesterday we chatted and she introduce me to this singer name Yuna and how overexagerrated her (lydia's) statement was describing how talented this Yuna girl is. And damn well shes talented! Never i heard a Malaysian girl singing with such a beautiful, original voice. Norah Jones melayu nevertheless. Current fav. Thanks love :)

Seriously halal bh?

2009-05-10T22:23:00.003+01:00

Just found out that Birmingham owns a genuine HALAL Domino's pizza! Awesome! I really want to try it out. Too bad they dont do delivery up to my place so have to go there. No worries there's no pork serve. Okay fellow bibers, when should we go there? After exam? Rmi2? ON! Its at Hall Green. Just 5 mins walk frm the station. For more info click here.

To assure it's halalness click here.

They have been receiving quite a number of criticism and complaints by the locals though. They are so close minded if you ask me. Maybe i'm being bias but why do they want to complain over just one branch that gives out halal menu when they themselves can endeavour on the other 500 other non halal branches. I bet Subway even received such comments when they started to convert some of their branches to serve halal products. So Subway and Dominos have introduce their halal products for us muslims in the UK to appreciate. Hopefully McDonalds, BurgerKing and KFC will do the same thing. Wait. Did i mention KFC?

Another awesome thing is happening to KFC. Click ni :)!

I really want to try that out. Hopefully they open more branches serving Halal chicken. The comments are harsh though. Seriously UK have to be open minded about this. These multi-national food chain companies are big business and they strive to their very best to produce profit at the same time for customer's satisfaction. I really don't wanna comment further on this because im just afraid some anti-change-restaurants-to-halal activists google out for Halal KFC and finds my blog.

So there you have it. Halal Dominos and Halal KFC. To Melo and Erman and Aida, theres also halal dominos in Bradford, cari tia! hehehehe just spreading the love.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T01:52:00.000+01:00

This is for you mum. Happy Mothers Day :)

love
anak kita paling hensem.

Exam period.

2009-05-06T14:04:00.000+01:00

Exam is in a week. Revision has been going pretty well. Theres something different with this year's exam. I'm really nervous. Usually i put up to the fight. I don't know why this year. I can sense im losing my momentum. But when i have my own 'me' time, i think about it. Not only im doing this for my parents who wishes to see their son graduating with a masters degree nor my siblings who look up on me but myself. I need to end this with a fairy tale finish. Pray for my success people.

Anyway what has been happening out there? Well the best news will be Manchester, again, for two years running, will be goin to the Champions League finals. The 3-1 win over Arsenal was all i need to put my misery aside. But that's only on the surface. How do u feel as an Arsenal fan? Devastated? Depressed? Down? Well i bet you're not as a diehard fan as this guy. He hang himself, while still wearing his Arsenal jersey. He must be losing a big bet.

FHM. For Him Magazine. Awesome mag to read anywhere anytime. Well the recent issue is on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women. Carla Bruni (First lady of France), made it into the list at no. 40. A very sophisticated lady from model, turn singer and after 1 month of going out, married to France's prime minister. Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) made it to no.10, making her the highest new entry. Also, unbelievable comeback, is Britney Spears on the 5th spot (wth is what you're thinking right now). Megan Fox, last year winner move down to no.2. And the no.1 spot goes to, and seriously wth are british men thinking of, Cheryl Cole. I would agree if she makes it into the list, maybe top 20, but not the no.1 spot. Homaigat. Full story here. My favs and their respective position-

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (DieHard 4)- 88
Miranda Kerr (Victoria Angel)- 56
Kelly Brook (Brit Model)- 48
Doutzen Kroes (Victoria Angel)- 35
Frankie Sandford (The Saturdays)- 17

And i think Yvonne Strahovsky (Chuck), Agness Deyn (Burberry) and Natalia Vodianova (CK Euphoria) should be in the list. Nevertheless awesome issue.

Somehow KASH is a girl's name. How so? Apparently random poklen guys added me up and kn bekenalan. Palak2 nick ku Kash on msn and how don't these narrow minded society could click that that name is a guy's name. Recently some poklen (i realized that because his email has 'boyz' in it and he open his convo with 'uikz'). So instead of just spoil his mood or kn bknalan,i just play along with it. Asking me such ludicrous and cliche' questions like 'Ko single?', 'Umur brapa?' and 'Masih skulah?'. Loser. Owh mind you im pretending to be a single girl, umur 19 masuk 20, skulah ITB and baru putus. At this moment i was laughing my head off in the library. To make the chat more interesting i said 'jgnth pki aku n ko cos that sound so kasar, tani pki me you k?'. That trick never fails lol. Then he ask for my picture. I asked Lydz (yes shes into this also) bagi gmbar siapa baik. She suggested anyone. Then i ask can i give your picture. I could feel the virtual slap from the msn reply lol :P. I didn't give him any, though he was pemajal, and he thought any right minded women (assuming in his position) could be pulled into the words like 'plish', 'coe' (sorry) and ''ahakz'. Ended the chat by telling him im a guy. He said 'Owh aku ikhlas kn bekawan, nda jua papa laki2 bknalan'. WTH. Cover malu lah. Which rational guy would want to, if th bekenalan ani berterusan, give his picture? GAY! Too bad the conversation wasn't isaved in my history inbox. Could've paste it here. Made my day to layan these losers. Bitch, i know.

Okay, back to study.

Wonderful Easter

2009-04-17T17:57:00.000+01:00

It has been a great easter break for me. Sorry for the lack of updates. Thot it would be better if i just compile my easter all in one post. Nizam came over to visit me. Too bad he can't join us for Jason Mraz. My friends and I went to his concert and it was worth it. Though he didn't play his old mainstream songs, the songs from the new album weren't so bad. But i was really looking fwd for 'bella luna', too bad he didn't incluse it in his playlist. Best thing was we were at the centre, near to the stage. Opening performances were good. It was a local band and the half of the once famous M2M (the blonde girl). When Jason Mraz made his appearance that nite i swear he looks like he was just after a joint. He came out with a cereal box on top of his head and we were like 'Ih, isn't that Jason Mraz?'. He was there on the stage looking stoned with an asparagus in his mouth. He threw the asparagus and landed at Mus's jacket lol. We're keeping it for collection purposes :P Here are some pics of the night.

Luckily we queue very early.
Cardiff friends joinin us, potong q beb~

Si daus kesian, he's on crutches due to his knee injury and he can't bear the idea standing for 3 hours during the concert so he decided to take the cab home and watched Man Utd vs Porto.

Jason Mraz's asparagus.
Marit Larsen, she has a cute unique voice.

2nd act, forgot their name but damn they're good.

On first glance, the cellist looks like Pablo.

The multi-talented Jason Mraz.

Singing Lucky.

As you can see from the pic below the lady is trying to move sideways because the guy in front is blocking her view. The guy is Mus and we ask him to block her view psl this lady keeps on pushing her way through and shes pushing Naili further and furher away. Naili didn't want to lawan balik so we ask Mus sja to block her view hahahah but thats not all, she was a bit pissed so makin ia menulak. Apalagi kmi dua c abu sasak dh so what we did was everytime the song ends, we screamt so loud into her ear. At one point she covered her ears before the song even finish hahahahah. Devilish~

Sangal bh~~

Then a few days after the concert we went to Alton Towers. We went on all of the thrill rides except Nemesis cos it was closed. Memorable moments were when we ride the Oblivion and Rita. Rita pushes you to a pressure of 10g and oblivion is nothing more than a vertical rollercoaster ride, 90 degrees! Memorable moments was when we were in the cable car and mus hold on tight to the rib cage cos the cable car rocked a bit. Also the looks on each of their faces after Oblivion. Priceless, expecially Abu, didn't dare to look down. Our day would be a lot better if it wasn't raining... next will be Thorpe Park, this summer!

First ride, warming up dulu~

Comes the Congo River Rapid.

Then move on to the edge, siuk gi pirate :P

Ripsaw! we were swinged and turn 360 degrees and the worst part, water was shot from below.

The amazing 'Air'. We were flying all the way~

We also went on 'Rita: Queen of Speed'. It took off so fast, it produces a pressure of 10g at it's peak point. Then we went on the most horrifying ride in the park, the Oblivion. You're plumetted vertically down while facing the ground (not like giant drop where you just face forward). Just think of it as a 90 degree vertical drop roller coaster. Once you go straight down...

You'll go through this hole. Best ride. Too bad Nemesis was closed that day.

In frontof Alton Castle. The essential jump photo.

Then we visited Villa Park.

The last one will be our BBSS Annual Easter BBQ. We had a great time. Delicious foods, chaotic crowd and competitive games, what more do u want? lol.

Unc. Rajul menghayati lazatnya sosej yg tgh ia makan.
Yes, we had Choc Fountain. What a mess we made.

Bakas Unc. Rajul merambat, belureh~~~
Aksi2 seorang professional mengiap.

Fadz was about to puke upon Mallie's moto.

Limbo King!

Lydia;)

Everyone loves my hat :P- Azrul

Nyls

Fadz 'Ih lawa jua c nisa pakai ani ah, cuba aku..'
Nah~~ lol.

The new committee, congratulations! So anyone who plans to study in Birmingham, contact anyone of these people, surely they will be glad to help, esp tu nah yg usulnya be ulah ah :P.

Prez and Vice Prez.

We had games to fill the day. There were 3 teams. 7 categories to play for and we were the overall champions. Among the best ones was the step-on-ur-opponent's-balloon. We have to tie a balloon to our ankle and last man standing wins. Everyone went amok on the pont of start. The last game challenge was also a good one, talent show. Create your own song and sang using a mainstream beat. Ours was the Kicap song and sang to a PCD Don't Cha' Beat. Out of 7 categories we won creative team logo, charades of famous people, Balloon fight and Talent show. Overall our team won heheheh. Thank you to the organizers and judges for the great challenges.

Huddle, i don't know what's with Tony's face.

The winning team- say KICAP~!
Easter has been great but now its back to reality. Assesments and exams are coming soon. Wish me luck. I hope i'll pass with flying colours. I leave you guys with this song.

Londresss

2009-04-01T13:23:00.000+01:00

I had a good five-day stay in London. Just got back yesterday. Went on Friday for the rehearsals for Brunei Cultural Nite which was the next day. I never been to any of the choir practices due to the amount of assignments given. I felt really bad about it. There were lots of new faces tho. We left Brunei Hall early for the event. It has 2 sessions, the afternoon one and the one at night. We were at the venue from 8.30am. Practicing and rehearsing till everything is right. It was a good experience, with all the backstage mayhem and handling guests. The venue was at Leceister Square Theater. The place was quite tricky to find. I saw couple of Bruneians lost in Leceister Square searching for the place. Theres this one time a group of Bruneians looking at me, indecisive whether im just a random chinese guy or bruneian so i just break the ice and said 'yeah the BCN is inside' lol.

Stayed over at Nizam's

At BCN-
Ticket counters- amal and shidah.

Guy's dressing room. Getting ready for the next show.

Choir with Sultan Bolkiah.

Emcees- VV and Tony
PA and lighting team at work.

Bruleedians. One of em won the Grand Prize to Paris which cost 2500 pounds. SIukk~~~

Backstage.

Choir ladies have to wear sinjang.
Karen (middle) is our makeup artist.

Tribal dancers. (luruskh?)

Sorry i didn't took any on stage performances due to bad lighting. My pictures look like it was printed on paper then soaked in water. Congratulations to the production team of BCN for making it a very wonderful event. The storyline of tiupan seruling was good. The dances were incredible. There was commitment everywhere though we were really tired, being in two sessions and stayed there frm morning up till 9pm. Staggering 12 hrs but it was fun. Also to the person who made the Kuih Batik Pandan warn hijau atu, ur the best~!! If you are reading this, i would be happy to cook you anything in exchange of your kuih pandan! Nyamannnn!!! Ur on my list of who makes the best kuih batik pandan evaaaaa :P

Back to the storyline, it made people wanna know more of the story. The jokes and funny moments inserted were not lame at all, made people laugh, my fav was the slap. Damn it made some jaws drop. Too bad can't enjoy another one of these. Udh final year baruth ektip apa inda. Well later that night, once i got to BH i was really tired. Had my shower, ate dinner and went straight to sleep. The next day i was sending a friend back to Brunei so needed an early wake up call. I was asleep most of the time during the journey back to BH. Good thing i didn't miss the stop. Later that night i stayed over at Yasmin's. Asked her to cook dinner. She made homemade tuna delight pizza and Choc Brownie ice cream along with my help.

What a way to get the PM's attention.

Yas's ayam.
Cara2 buat pizza. Firstly prepare the dough.

Roll it out. If you want a thin and licak pizza (like fratinis), then dont roll too much, left some air in the dough.
Prepare the inti. We had tuna delight.

Spread..Sprinkle...

Heat in the oven for 15 mins and serve~

Ani for eskrem. Prepare the mixture.

Put it inside the ice-cream maker and let it do it's magic.

Choc brownie- before and..
After.

The ice cream maker needed to be frozen at least 12hrs but yas onl remember to put it inside the fridge that afternoon. Ice cream kmi nda menjadi :( so we decided to put the mixture into a container and froze it overnight. The results...The texture was in between a normal ice-cream and an ice-cream that melted and refroze.

The next ay we went to Westfield, biggest mall in London. I prefer westfield to bluewater tho for the fact that the interior design and shops are way better. Everything is under one roof, from High Street designer stores to home furniture, tho i don't need that. Tiring nevertheless walking and exploring the whole mall.

My hosts Yas and Yeen.

Yas and Yeen decided to watch a movie but i promised to meet a friend that night, fatin. Dibah was there too so we went to Kiasu for dinner. C fatin forgot to change her time to one hour early so there i was in BH waiting for her for one whole hour, ishishish :P But thanks for dinner hehehe. Kiasu was ok. I still prefer CNR. Dont order the chendol tho, for a price tag like that its definitely not worth it. Ndagi nyaman tu. Nyamn gi yg the people who sells chendol in a white van near pasar.

Deebs and Fatin

Limited edition blue maltesers.

Fatin jeles cameranya mcm gue.

On Tuesday i went to the bank with Nizam and while waiting for him to cash in his money, i asked one of the staff whether i could change my solo debit card to maestro. He ask me to use phone banking and ask the customer care centre. So gave them a ring, gave my details and to my luck, the guy on the other side of the phone said i fulfil all the requirements (he didn't tell me what was it) and my card will be change to a Visa Debit Card! Happy :) Went home later that afternoon. Will be missing London but then again, abis bh duit d london ani huhuhu. Virgin trains are the best. Got back, went to Tesco and found this. Nyaman~

The one with essays and brunotts

2009-03-27T00:49:00.000Z

Earlier today i submitted my International Political Economy Essay writing on the Washington Consensus. To be honest im struggling with this module particularly because of the economics bits in it. Well, that's an understatement. Politics alone is quite hard to grasp but when you add economics to it, it changes to a whole new level. I just hope i get pass through this. Definitely not my field, though i find it quite interesting when it comes to policy outcomes devise by states and it affects the economy of the region/ global financial system. Yet when they try to explain deeply how this and that works, my brain just shut off, repelling anything going through like magnets on the same side. Yesterday I sent another essay on new security agenda. Basically security is not all about state vs state (traditional view). Now since its a globalized world, new security challenges emerged, mainly on human security such as drug trafficking, mass illegal migration, human trafficking (prostitutes) and other kind of issues like environmental. That was a good essay question and i thought i wanna write more on it so i decided to write my dissertation base on transnational crime in South East Asia.

For the past few weeks me and Abu had spent hours in the library. Both of us trying to finish our assignments. Staying at home equals to lots of distrations. Mine mostly come from my bed, calling me like a baloney sandwich to Joey. Seeing people working their ass off in the library makes me wanna do my work too. Stop slacking off and make some progress. It's a healthy lifestyle nevertheless rather than being at home procastinating when to get back home :P but i really do wish i could go back *sigh*.

Now my easter break has officially started. Lots of things coming up ahead. There's gonna be Brunei Cultural Night this weekend and maybe the next day i'll go to Portobello market meeting up with cookie lady or play paintball with my friends. Then Monday comes and I really wanna go to Westfield, a new mall in London. I only passed it once and its really huge. Then on 7th theres Jason Mraz. 9th Alton Towers. Towards end of easter Bibers BBQ and between it maybe there's some inter society tourney. Hectic i must say. Gonna be a fun easter. However I can't leave my books. The moment UNI reopens our exams will be waiting for us huhuhuhu. So cuti2 jua, blajar mesti~

Speaking of belajar and doing assignments, a friend of mine just deleted her facebook because she finds it distracting. Spontaneously. You guys know who she is. Whoever just suddenly dissapeared from your friends list paham2th :P

Aku ada creta. I participated fo Brunotts this year, playing for Prestija. SOme of my friends also joined in playing for various teams. SO i gave them moral support....by shouting with my loudest voice with a pasar gadong slang- imagine me going 'bagi lagi gol sebiji~~' like 'Ikan rumahan serringit sekilo~~'. So with all of that, i did enjoy. One time i shouted when the spectators were all silent. That was a bit embarassing, can only here the echo of my voise and 2 seconds of awkward silence. But with all the shouting, the next day my voice was all gone. The only thing coming out of my mouth is rusty noises and if i try to speak normally, a squeaky rat's voice just spat out. That was Monday. By Wednesday I could do those sarak2 basah punya voices. The reason why i was all panic is because on Friday, which is tomorrow, owh wait its past midnight already; later, we will have a choir practice for BCN. Dlm atingku kepisan ni kana marah uleh c imah and Hana lol. Sudahth before this i never came to choir practice, with all the assignments stacking up. Gladly my voice has come back.Its getting late and i need some sleep. Haven't been sleeping properly for the past two nights.

Laters~

sibuk ler

2009-03-19T20:03:00.001Z

Sorry i have been long gone from blogging. Quite busy at the moment with essays. Apa inda before this quite cbuk with other stuff. Just make everything brief.

Thanks for those who supported me throughout Brumanch!

1 essay technically down, 1 more to go. Due next wed.

To Imah, don't worry, i'll be practicing at home for BCN 2009.

To kapten Azam, dgn smngat, usaha dan doa, buleh mng ni BEG 2009 heheheh.

ANd Apip tagged me so here you go pipo.

Rule 1: Whoever gets tagged has to write 10 things about the person who tagged him/her.

1. is annoyed with me cos aku cakap nasi ayam nya 2nd best lol.
2. has a very cute unique anime voice that is sweet to hear (esp klu ia main sma c ryan)
3. has a good taste in fashion that goes with a hijab
4. throws the best party
5. waits the day when i ace my juggling skills
6. was formerly known as augustgypsy :P
7. is always a great company to have around esp time dinner ( aku miss having dinner with u and lyds msa ur 3rd year)
8. loves the work of Ignatius Stephen
9. loves convent garden and i bet shes missing it terribly right now.
10. will get sasak if i don't update my blog regularly hehehe.

Rule 2: the person who gets tagged has to write 10 things about him/herself.

1. use to be an operator at 151.
2. has a thing inside him telling him to jump off if he is in tall places.
3. thrill seeker.
4. loves Sainsbury's Chocolate Gateau. He still remember the long bicycle journey from parkwood to sainsbury just to get the chocolate gateau.
5. wants to go to Mallorca to visit his wonderful cousin.
6. sayang his aunty che and the whole family who have always been there ever since he was in his first year in UK. Thank You beri much :) Mucho Gracias!
7. is tukang kabun bedegree. Inda ja pip? :D hehehe
8.Love surprises. Definitely.
9.hates tesco's sushi. CRAP berabis!!
10.is craving for tofu sumbat, mum's steam fish, gelato ice cream and cooki girl's cupcakes.

My awesome weekend

2009-02-25T03:22:00.001Z

It has been great since Lydz arrive. Sorry for the lack of updates. Preoccupied most of the time :P. So yeah, I've been quite busy jua. To summarise in a timeline, last Tuesday I went to London, stay overnight in Brunei Hall cos the next day early in the morning Lydz smpai. Fetched her up, went back to Birmingham in the afternoon and went to Hull the following day. On friday was Lydia's graduation. Then Saturday came and it was MadPaintball 2k9.Nasib jua Sunday time off.

Bh mari becreta.

I wanna surprise Lydia on Wednesday by arriving a bit early and when she comes out of the arrival gate, i'llgive her a call saying i just took off from Brunei Hall. Sadly that plan didn't happen. I got off the wrong terminal. Flights from Brunei land in terminal 3. I was in Terminal 4. Cam setaie lagi ku tu menanya information kn jalan batis ke Terminal 3. Information told me i could just take the free train transfer...so off course i did. Lydia was on the phone with me that time. I just lied to her that im still otw in the tube and a couple of stops to go. Gladly i arrived terminal 3 before she snapped. Sapa jua inda, ngalih2 dri Brunei tpi nda kna smbut :P Sorry~~~ hehehhe. When i saw her, waiting on her own, looking all pissed, my gut feeling just wanna go there and hug her. But instead, i hid in the corner and called her saying i'll be a bit late due to diversion. Lain slajur mua c lyds hahahaha. While ia marah2 on the phone, i sneak quietly and sat beside her. Then she had mix emotions of marah+happy+surprised+relief. For me, im the happiest guy in London that morning :D

Friday came and it was Lydia's graduation that morning. The convo went well. It wasn't a big ceremony like a degree convo. Master's was better. Short and simple. I love the lecturers who handled the convo. They know how to keep the audience entertained. To Noorlydiawati Hj Zamain, CONGRATULATIONS!! You're officially a Masters holder now on Globalization and Governance.

Benetton Ad.

Spot Lydia.

Cosy.

We arrived Birmingham at aroun 10pm that night. Most of the bibers were at 688 pershore rd helping out to prepare food for all the participating teams in madpaintball 2k9, which was the next day. We were pretty tired but didn't wanna miss all the fun. Tolong sikit2 ler. Next day, took off at around 7.15 for Cosford. MDP 2k9, 14 teams and Birmingham sent 2 teams, Brum Supremacy and Brum Ultimatum.

I was part of Brum Supremacy. Team captain-Donny. Strategist-Alif. Right flank- Topx, Me, Razan and Tiqa. Left flank- Azrul, Mus n Hanif. Charlie's Angel- Fatin, Radh n Lydia. Centre- Nawir. Proud of you guys. We had a very good start. Score 100 points for grabbing the flag first and post it on the enemy's base. Me and topx shot the last man. We were glad we had the chance to go head to head with Bristol Supremacy. Sama bh nama kmi atu and dua2 nda mau tukar. There could only be one supremacy and it was settled on the field....and winner goes to the Brum Supremacy! mwahahahhahaha (devilish). We lost two out of 7 matches in the qualifyings. Got second place in our division where first goes to Kaizoku. The battle for 2nd place was really tough. This was because Kelabit (the team we lost to) was gaining on us. They had a total of 425 points. Our points were 425 also with one game in hand...

Our last opponent was Kaizoku which we only have a 5% chance of winning the game. We had to score something. 50 points awarded for whoever catches the flag first. Another 50 will be added if that flag is pot on the enemy's base. 25 bonus is awarded if you display an awesome gameplay. We definitely should score sumthin. So then Brum Supremacy aim for the flag only. It was head to head. Kaizoku VS Supremacy. The moment the marshall said GO! Alif and Donny rushed to the flag. The girls back them up from behind. Me and TopX went straight right flank position. The problem was we were given the bad side of the terrain. We were down hill while Kaizoku was got the upper side. They got to the flag first. We were eliminated in seconds. I got shot on the face and the head. Head shots are not counted but my marker got shot so i was out. The only one left on the field was topX. He was given an option whether to surrender, since he was surrounded by all the kaizoku players, thus eliminate the chances of pain from getting shot, OR play on. He chose the latter. Going all heroic he lunge himself towards the enemy and shot as much as he can. We lost. We didnt get the flag and all of the team was eliminated. In our heads we were tie with Kelabit. Then Marshall called everyone. Due to TopX heroic act we were given 25 bonus points!!! We were so relieved! A nerve wrecking ending for the division battle. Here as we stand. Supremacy's on the left, Ultimatum's on the right. If im not mistaken Ultimatum only lost once. Steady bh both Brum teams.

Final battle was Brum Supremacy VS Brum Ultimatum. It was last year all over again. The Brum Derby. Last year was battle for 7th and 8th place. This year we notch up a bit. The best part is the trash talk. Damn that was funny hahahhaha. Jgn nda labih2 trash talk ani lol. Battle of the Brums baby!

Supremacy on the left VS Ultimatum on the right.

It was definitely a close match. The terrain was the killing field; an open field with few covers. We start off with rushing towards the flag. because we know Ultimatum's speedy gonzalez- Kimin, will be running for it and damn he's fast. He got the firt grab of the flag. Luckily all of us were already in position by then. We shot him from all corners. He dropped the flag into the trench. No one grabbed it after that. I was with Razan on the right flank covering TopX . He manage to shoot quite a handful of the Ultimatum's. There was around 7 of us left on the field. towards the end. Two of em were Ultimatum's- Zaim and Sepol. Most of us however were out of bullets. Azrul ended the battle since he 'accidentally' saw the flag in the trench. Grab it and ran to Ultimatum's base. Results us 75 (flag to base and awesome gameplay by TopX) and Ultimatum 50 (grabbing the flag first). Final standings after Supremacy reign supreme over the Ultimatums :P

Tips for battle ready. Firstly, display of terror. Facepaints thanks to my bro Zaim. Sorry nis abis eyeliner mu :P

The artist.
Tribe Wrestler
Rockstar

Catwoman

Dynamic Duo.
Naruto melayu Sage mode

Sepol- bakat luka bakas tangsi ah muanya psl mengait kikik org. Kimin- kna kakai uleh ucingnya.
Fadz and her toy.

2nd tip- Get your tippman right and...

Your pellets full.

Then ur battle ready!

Mng third place Syukur Alhamdulillah. We never knew we could. We all came with a mindset just to have fun. Once in the battlefield, that mindset changed to a strive to beat the opponent. Our will and determination change the fate of the game. Same goes to Ultimatum. Everytime both of us ended a match, we ask each other, apath kamu mng? And its always the same answer, auweh mestilah mng! hahahahha Usul kmi mcm rookies tpi steady~~ Don't judge a book by it's cover.

The Brum Supremacy- before and...

After.

Right Flanks!

The Brum Ultimatum.

Group photo over the big army car.

Zaim's work.

A special thanks to Tony for working extra hard for organizing the paintball tournament. It was successful. I can't see any fault during the event. Kn mau makanan nyaman gi? Baik makan restaurant lol Thanks to all the Bibers for preparing the food. Too bad nda smpat merasa sambal Kayun psl takut krg rumah bebau sambal for a whole week. Okay now is crunch time buat preparations for essay. Kerajaan amanahkn ketani supaya belajar :P

Loving what we eat

2009-02-13T01:20:00.000Z

Thanks to Ali, Apis, Daus and Syai for coming over. Had an awesome weekend with them especially msa main bula. Si apis steady and sori pis housemate ku bukan omputih:P And sori daus nda smpat balikn eshkrem BenNJerrys lol. n Li, bali tia acai juice di Holland n Barrets ah.

This was yesterday. Thought i have a go with pastry. Check some websites for the recipe. I modified it a lil bit tho. Intinya Sausage and Mushroom + cream of chicken with a bit of tarragon for flavour. Sedap~~

N yes i love cooking. Trying out different recipes is a treat for my taste buds. So far i can cook chinese, italian and some western delicacies. Not really into malay food or any other recipes that involve spices. I'm more into herbs. Owh and a new addiction is trying out different varieties of milkshakes. The best so far was my snickers milkshake hehehe. But thats as far as i go. I can't bake :( i'm really bad with measuring quantity and i don't have delicate hands. Found out when i tried to help my mum once making her 'kek roll'. Initially the kek roll has to be flatten while its in it's semi-liquid form, into the oven and then you roll it. Mine wasn't flat, instead it looks like a heavenly sweet grand canyon for ants. I really envy for those who knows how to bake. Thats why i ask Lydz to learn some baking skills :P

Azrul taught me how to cook Kolo Mee and i tried it the other day. I didn't succeed in my first attempt. Kali dua baruth. It was quite simple to be honest. Its just the matter of having the right ingredients especially the noodles. I used wonton noodles which didn't go with the sauce (ihsan did the same mistake too). Tapi ada jualah rsa2nya atu and im satisfied with it :)

Nawir taught me how to make Nasi Ayam. Pip, secret ingredientnya sesame oil! Add more to yours! hehehehe and for best result, masak dlm pot instead of rice cooker.

I think i should make a list who makes the best what heheheheh so here it goes

Mee Jawa and TomYam -Lydz
Carbonara- Suki
ButterMilk Chicken- Chip n Jul
Nasi Ayam- Nawir
Satay and KuahKacang- Kasdi @ jack
Tiramisu- Nadz
Cocktail Desert- Reza
Tuna Spaghetti- Fadz
Bannofee Pie- Tony
Mackerel masak Kicap- Apip (2nd year you cook for society function)
Nasi Goreng- Wani
FudgeBrownie- Connie :P
Mee Goreng Mamak- Syahmi
Mee Goreng Daging- Jirin
Ayam Kari- Melo
Blueberry Cheesecake- Mizah Manaf
Sambal Ikan Pusu- Arfah
Burger in BBQ sauce- Nisa (masak malas- fast and delicious)
Popia- Bazil
Lasagna- Rey
Sushi- Yasmin
Bake Cornflakes & BlackPepper Beef- Along
Prepare the best Shisha- Wafi

Also i would like to mention about the growing interest and popularity of preparing cupcakes among Bruneians. I've tried a several variations from different bakerys. Most of em are overrated and i shall not mention who they are. Yet none match the Cookie Girl. For those of you who are studying in the UK, you guys are lucky enough to taste Cookie Girl's cupcakes. She has this fancy stall in Portobello Market. It all started when friends of mine recommended to try Hummingbird cupcakes if i go to Portobello market. I asked for directions and who else to ask but a competitor (the Cookie girl but then i thought she was a random lady). She said to me ' I bet you that my cupcakes are better than those of Hummingbirds.'
At first i thought maybe its just a gimmick for her to sell her cupcakes but she looks like a really nice lady and shes sweet too. So i bought one, ate it and it was heavenly delicious. Texture wise and sweetness is all balance. Tried hummingbirds and it was truly overrated. Hantap manisnya.
I only knew the Cookie Girl was famous after i read reviews from a newspaper a couple days later. Apprently celebrities like Orlando Bloom and Russell Brand also buys from her. Highly recommended :-3 Also try Ben's Cookies in Convent Garden, theres a unique texture in their cookies that makes it special.

Lastly Happy Birthday to my cute shawty Abil! Shes the shortest among the three sisters but the brightest so far in Maths, kn bil? I'll get u sumthin, don't worry, and its not food and I HOPE you will not lose it:P and take good care of our room. Love n miss you Bil!

5 more days :D