morning faces

i know i am not the only one having trouble waking up in the morning, one who wished that the alarm wouldn't go off so soon and one who hits the snooze button one too many times. like it or not, we have to eventually wake up and go to work. every time the alarm goes off, i would curse myself for not sleeping earlier the night before.
i am not a morning person and i know many people aren't too. i need about half an hour or more to get all perked up before i can really start the day. the half hour starts when i'm already in the office, by the way. i will try to minimize all contacts as much as i can. at least until 10 am. but if i have to attend court in the morning, that's a different story altogether.
the thing is, as much as i have morning blues, Monday blues, Tuesday blues and whatnot, i try my very best not to show it on my face. however, on some rare mornings, and by rare, i mean very rare, i would feel like i'm on top of the world, like i'm all set and ready to take the world. and then i bump into someone with a face so sour and i can literally feel the bad and negative aura coming out of that person and there goes my mood for the day. i mean, hello, everybody has their fair share of bad mornings, sometimes we do wake up on the wrong side of the bed or probably the night before you had a fight with your partner whatsoever (this is not applicable in my case) but seriously, do you have to show it on your face? do you have to tell the whole world that you are having a problem, that you are cranky and everything? ok fine you can go show it to the world but please do not show it to me. whenever i see someone's face so down, i tend to feel down as well and my mood for the day would be ruined. so unless you have a cheery, happy face and a sweet smile (but not cheeky, gatal or gedik smile or sengih please), stay away from me in the morning because you don't want to see me in my cranky mode. like, really, you don't. it is not a nice sight. you have been warned.

school holidays and me

it is the school holidays again. so, what does this mean? it does not affect me in any way, but it sure affects the traffic all right. hey, but that does affect me! the thing about school holidays is that either traffic is clear in the morning (slightly that is) or traffic gets pretty damn bad. traffic is slightly clear in the morning simply because there are less people on the road sending their kids to school or they went on a holiday. traffic gets pretty damn bad in the afternoon and evening because that is when these people go out for sightseeing. and how is this causing the bad traffic? because they drive like they are really going for a sightseeing. you can actually tell that they are not from KL by their car numbers. ok some KLites do have outstation car numbers but a tell tale sign is that they drive very slowly either because they are enjoying the sights of KL or they are not sure of the roads or they are just taking their own sweet and happy time chit chatting and showing their kids around.
have you tried going to the malls during school holidays? yeah, see if you can find a parking under 10 minutes. and see if you can get into the toilets without having to queue. and don't even think about going to the cinemas unless you have booked the tickets online.

glitter-graphics.com

there's aplenty but still nothing

in life, we have to face tons of dilemmas. no one can escape from the fact that life is complicated as it is. sometimes we are faced with one too many choices or options that we just don't know how to make the right choice. and sometimes, we are faced with no choice at all, thus making us stuck in that particular situation, which is also a dilemma. a dilemma of trying to figure out how the heck do we get out of that situation. what do we do? where do we go next?
naaah i'm not talking about anything serious here. i'm just talking about a dilemma i am facing at this moment. i received a few wedding invitations from my friends. i guess school holidays mean weddings, weddings and more weddings. hey, don't get me wrong. i couldn't be more happier for the lovebirds who are tying the knot and i couldn't be more appreciative and grateful that i am invited to their weddings. they will definitely be in my list too, when the time comes.
the thing about weddings and the dilemma that it's causing me is the dilemma of what to wear? it is weird to know that you have so many bajus yet you still have nothing to wear. seriously. as it is, i am already pening thinking about what to wear tonight. i have no new bajus (pengsan la kalau setiap kali ada wedding, buat baju baru) but i don't know which baju to wear. trust me i have been recycling the bajus for God knows how many times. and then there's the shoes and bag to match it with. as much as women love to look good, sometimes it is frustrating, especially when you have nothing much to begin with.
another dilemma is about who to attend the wedding with. let me ask you this, when you receive an invitation which states your name alone, would you still attend the wedding? are you confident enough to go alone, walk into the hall/ballroom or even to the pengantin's house alone? all by yourself? if you know that you have other friends attending it, then that shouldn't be much of a problem because you can just plan to go together. you can even ask the hostess's courtesy to put you at the same table with your friends. but what if you barely know anyone there? or the people who's gonna be there are the people whom you haven't seen in ages that you could hardly recognize them? if it clearly state your name alone, you can't possibly bring a partner with you, can you? unless it is clearly written "Your Name & Partner" or the rsvp card requires you to state if you're coming alone or with a partner, right? speaking of which, i once received an invitation stating "Izyan & Kekasih". seriously, kekasih? LOL, no?
told ya life is complicated as it is. or is it not?

dreams again

i have been dreaming about this one particular person twice this week. i don't know if it is a coincidence or is it a sign of something. naahh i'm not superstitious but what are the odds that this person came into my dream twice, in the same week? why him, of all people? yeah i do wonder about him once in a while but not that i think about him day and night. right, like i have nothing better to do than think about him, huh? heck, i don't even really know him that much (yet) and i'm not sure whether i will have the chance to get to know him. it's not that the dreams are unpleasant, trust me they are but i would love to dream about other things as well, say for example dream about winning something big, or perhaps dream about being in a place where all things nice. you get the drift.
anyway, in the first dream, he brought me to this one place, which i assumed is his hometown and he played tour guide and took me places. it was really nice because in that dream, i kinda went on a holiday. the second time i dreamt about him went something like this: i was walking along a road and he passed by in a van (don't ask me why it's a van but it would be nice if he was driving a sports car or a beemer hehe). he saw me walking and he waved at me and then the van stopped and he ran to me and passed me something. it was a gift actually but it wasn't nicely wrapped. instead, it was wrapped in tissue paper or newspaper. he handed it over to me and when i opened it, there was either a necklace or a bracelet. it was nice but he said, "sorry bukan original pun." i just smiled and then either the dream ended or i woke up because my phone was ringing. damn! i would love to know what happened next.
seriously, i can clearly see his face in both dreams and i remembered the dreams, though not the exact thing. usually, i would have a hard time remembering, let alone describing my dreams. but this is different. *sigh* oh well, i guess dreams are mainan tidur after all huh? but if he appears in my dream again in the near future, maybe, just maybe there is a hidden meaning behind it. and maybe, just maybe...oh never mind.

glitter-graphics.com

weekend project part 18

after not entering the kitchen ber-weekend project for quite some time, last weekend i decided to make something extra special for Mummy, in conjunction with Mother's Day. i made shepherd's pie and orange cupcakes for Mummy. the recipe for shepherd's pie was obtained from the newspaper some time ago. very easy, very simple to make, yet sinfully delicious and it is a hearty meal on its own. it wouldn't be perfect if there is no cake but i don't want to make the normal carrot cake or chocolate cake. i want to try a new recipe, something which i've never tried before. i have never made orange cake before so i thought it would be nice to give it a try. i googled for the recipe and found one which is really simple and very easy to follow. so i spent the whole Sunday afternoon making shepherd's pie and orange cupcakes, just for my Mum. of course, i added some extra ingredients in it, which is love and affection. hey i can easily run to the nearest Secret Recipe and get her a cake or take her out for brunch at one of those overly-priced buffets and save me all the trouble but i believe it is that extra effort you put in that matters the most. it's not every weekend that i bake and it's not everyday that i go into the kitchen (to cook/bake), right? ;P

This is one of my maids. she wanted to be in the pic so i layankan aje. after all, she helped me with the cleaning up.

chuck the ingredients into a food processor and voila~ told ya it's easy!

the thing about baking cupcakes is that it requires a whole lot of patience because you have to wait one batch to be done before putting in another. and patience is still not my strongest virtue. but since the kitchen smelled of nice orange cake, my patience level increased slightly.

one batch done, many more to go.

the cupcakes were slightly bantat, not fluffy and cakey. i have no idea why as i followed the recipe religiously. and the taste of the orange is a bit too strong because whole oranges were pureed. i don't think i'll be making it anymore. perhaps i will look for a different recipe.

this is the shepherd pie's filling. the ingredients include chicken breasts, chicken sausages, potatoes, mixed vege, evaporated milk and mushroom soup.

the top layer is covered with mashed potato and baked in the oven.

the pie ready to be eaten.

how did you celebrate your Mother's Day? what did you do for your mum?

a twist of luck

just when I thought I was lucky, Lady Luck twisted my luck a bit. I was supposed to watch the premiere of X-Men last night when my friend texted me and asked if I wanted to watch Mahsuri instead because he just received free tickets from his aunt at the very last minute. oh man, what are the odds? both shows are for free and both are on the same night. *sigh* why can't it be on different nights? oh well, one can't always have the best of both worlds, right? After some thinking, I chose to watch Mahsuri over X-Men. The reasons being:

1. X-Men can be watched some other time whereas Mahsuri ends tomorrow night.
2. There's always DVD for X-Men.
3. Another reason for us to go out perhaps to watch X-Men?
   
4. X-Men is free seating while Mahsuri is numbered seats.
5. Istana Budaya is very much nearer to my house than One Utama.

so yeah, I said YES. and then it hit me, rugilah the X-Men passes. I asked my officemates if they wanted the tickets but they passed. thank God for the live feed on Facebook, I made an offer to see if anyone is interested. within seconds, i received responds and a friend wanted the tickets so I gave it to him. phew~ at least the tickets didn't go to waste.

oh well, I may not be so lucky in love but at least I'm lucky in other areas. the best part is, I get to choose who I share the goodies with, who I go to the events with and who I invited to accompany me. after all, it's the company that matters. if you have the right company, a boring event will be just as fun, and vice versa. I believe the more you give, the more you receive so I shall give to the deserving ones.

and I thank Lady Luck for the twist of luck.

glitter-graphics.com

Lady Luck, please keep on smiling

Sometimes luck comes a-knocking on my door and it comes in various forms. I may not be the luckiest person on earth but I can say that I am pretty lucky, though in certain areas, I do need all the luck in the world. What I notice is that being lucky is seasonal in my case. When the luck strikes, it strikes like nobody’s business. When there’s no luck, I have a series of bad luck/unfortunate events.

It’s been a while since I last won anything from a contest. I did enter a few contests here and there but I didn’t win. Until recently, I won a Dutch Lady bath towel, passes to see Alexa (an Indonesian band) perform at Zouk Club and passes to Redfm's Love Classifieds party at Luna Bar. On the day of the party, I had to pick my Bestie at Subang Parade so I parked my car by the roadside. Who would have known that Skuad Era Avanza was there as well, right in front of me. I didn't even know it was them until one of the guys came to my car and asked me to come down to collect the goodies. I said to him that I will only come down when my friend is here. There were about 10 guys and who knows, they might bundle me up and put me in the trunk of their car! Better safe than sorry, right? Even though it was in broad daylight, I dare not take any chances. A few minutes later, the guy came to my car again and said that they were leaving soon so it's best if I go and collect the goodies. I was lazy to get out of the car so I said, "Ala, bagi je lah barang-barang tu." They know they had to give it out anyway so they gave me a bottle of 7Up Revive and two passes to catch the premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. How cool is that? Now I get to watch the movie for free, and a day earlier before it hits the cinema. When my friend came, she wanted to take pics with them so we went and they gave us more canned drinks and a tumbler.

A few days ago a friend told me that she saw my name in May's issue of CLEO. My name is one of the consolation prize winners for one of CLEO's contests held in March. Today, i received an email stating that I scored two passes to the Capital Dance Anthem at Red Square.

I can't believe myself either. Told ya that when it strikes, it strikes like nobody's business. All I can say is Alhamdulillah. Now i'm just waiting for the day to announce that I have won a house and/or some really cold hard cash. Really. I can't wait for the day.

lipan oh lipan

How often do you dream of something in your sleep? When and if you do, how often do you actually remember about your dream? I often have dreamless sleeps but sometimes I do have weird dreams. I hardly have a pleasant dream. Or perhaps, I did but I don't remember it. The thing is, of late I have been dreaming about lipan. It creeps and scares the hell out of me and it doesn't help that sometimes I bump into them. One time a huge one appeared out of nowhere while I was taking my bath so I grabbed the towel and frantically looked for the aerosol. When you needed one, that’s when you couldn’t find it, or you don’t see it because you were too menggelabah to see it. At the end, I called my maid. I didn't dare kill it because it was huge! And it moved so fast that I’m scared that it will climb on my leg. *shivers* And then another time a teeny weenie baby lipan appeared out of nowhere. I grabbed the pail and hit and squash it dead. lantakla kalau baldi tu pecah, yang penting lipan tu mati. Seriously, what are the odds? Why do they have to come to me?

And it doesn’t help that I even dream about them. Is there some kind of hidden meaning behind the dream or perhaps I got too carried away? Whatever the reason may be, it is not a pleasant feeling. *sigh*

do your part

so we have less than 48 hours to go until the much anticipated Earth Hour. everyone is encouraged, or rather urged to turn off the lights for one hour on 28 March 2009 from 830pm to 930pm. i wonder how many people would actually turn off the lights. i think we should turn off most, if not all electrical appliances, save and except for the refrigerator.

however, from what i learn, many events will take place all around KL. for instance, there will be an event in Starhill, one in Mont Kiara and also Capsquare, among others. the question is, what is the point of turning off the lights when most people, youngsters especially will be out and about, driving their vehicles to the events, partying away, with sounds and lights blasting all night long? ok maybe during that one hour period, the lights will be turned off and no music will be played (if i am not mistaken, at one of the events, the musicians will be performing acapella) but later on, i'm sure it will be played all night, which may use more energy than what was saved during the one hour period. this is just my two cents worth but i think it defeats the purpose.
well, i won't be in the country on that day anyway but then again, if i were, maybe, just maybe i will be at one of the places i mentioned above. if i am married, i'm sure i'll just stay at home and make full use of the dark by making love having a nice, romantic candle-lit dinner with my loved one but then i'm not so scrap that thought.
wherever i may be, I'll try to do my part and turn off the lights and other electrical appliances too, if it is possible.
what about you? what are you going to do and where will you be on that date, at that particular time?

almost

here's the thing about calling in radio stations. either you did not manage to get through because the line is busy or when (and if) you do, you are either not the caller that they're looking for OR it is not the cue to call yet.

Hitz.fm is currently giving away tickets to the Sunburst Music Festival so as i was driving from Court today, i heard the deejay (i wasn't sure who he was) saying about the ticket giveaway, which i thought was the cue to call. so i immediately reached for my phone in my handbag (had to korek2 the bag, which was on the floor of the passenger seat) and frantically tried to call in. to my surprise, there was a ringing tone at the other end. so i thought, hmmmm this is gonna be easy. and then the deejay picked up the phone. he said, "hello hitz.fm. who is this?" i said, "helloooo...this is Izyan sepaking" and then he said, "Hi Izyan. apa khabar?" "Baikkkkk." of course lah i felt baik because first, i managed to get through the line and second, they actually picked up the phone so i mati2 thought that i'm the caller that they're looking for. and then he asked me, "so Izyan, what can i do for you?" i answered, "I wanna win the Sunburst tickets" and then he said, "Ohhhh the tickets. tell me, who do you wanna see at the music festival?" to be honest, i don't have any singer/band in particular that i like and i don't remember nuts who will be performing anyway but earlier i heard a caller said he wants to watch N.E.R.D so i simply said "i wanna see N.E.R.D!" padahal i don't even know their songs pun! hahaha. and then the deejay asked me "why do you wanna see them?" so i just said "because they're the bomb!!" lame, i know but what was i suppose to say, right? hahaha. luckily he didn't ask me to name their songs or else i would be so malu. and then he said "tell you what Izyan, i can't exactly give you the tickets right now" damn! i said, "why not??" he said "because it's not the cue to call yet" hampehhhhhh....so i said, "ohhh i thought i heard the cue to call?" then he said, "nooo that was a trick actually but we're gonna give the tickets at 12 so stay tuned." uh huh...then i said, "no wonder i can get through the line so easily. oh well, i guess i'll be on standby then."

so there. i almost won the tickets. almost.