#Throwback 20I3

This same day, last year was the turning point for me.  On this very day last year, I received a letter that changed my career path.  I could still remember clearly the incident, the letter was sent to me at 3:00 p.m. informing me to report duty at my current office on I5th January 20I3.  I could still remember how I feel at that point of time, happy, relieved and anxious.......

My former boss got to know about this only on 2 January 20I3....and that left her with less than 2 weeks to look for my replacement.......

At first, I was struggling like hell, trying to learn new ropes and ways of doing things.  Slowly but steadily, I pick up whatever that I need to do.....in short, Fundamental in Business Development.  At the same time, I have to brush up my skills and knowledge in Finance, preparing P&L, estimation, CAPEX and sensitivity reports for new projects.  At least I have some understanding and knowledge in finance, I could understand and carry out my work with little hiccups....

Now, I have been in my current position for just over one year.....I took the challenge and tried to do my very best in all tasks that were given to me.  I am still at the learning curve as there are a lot more that I have not known.  What I know is this job is my passion....I've been wanting to do something totally different for years.

For year 20I4, I feel honoured because I'm among the I0 staff that was selected to enroll in professional course and hopefully by 3rd quarter next year, I would graduate as "Certified Fraud Examiner".  I guess I'm really lucky to be able to learn more new things as time goes by.

Be as it may, currently I enjoy doing whatever I'm doing and hope I would have the passion for years to come.  It came to my knowledge that there's other party who is keen and interested to have me in their division.  Without fail, they have been asking my superior to release me, to the extent of promoting me to a higher position.  I am thankful that my superior understands my needs/passion and declines their request politely.

There's bigger challenges next year and I do hope that I would be able to strive to give my very best in everything I do.

Nota kaki:  Where on earth would get a job that pays you to eat, a.k.a. food tasting at various dining places?? heheheh

Ambang Tahun Baru

Today I was in the office.  Office lengang, ramai yg bercuti.  Boss pun tak dak, cuti gak.  Aku terpaksa masuk opis ini hari kerana nak submit tender, due date nye hari ini.  So, nak tak nak terpaksa lar batalkan niat nak bercuti tu.

By pukul sepuluh lebih, tender submitted, next, keeping our fingers crossed about it.  Seriously, I would want the company that I worked for be awarded with the tender.  I want it to be our "test" outlet by operating it like any other F&B operator.  No SAP, no saji gourmet etc system.

Lepas submit tender, I did some final touch up for the new project in LBU.  Kira costing CAPEX bagai.....should be ok as I have forwarded it to my boss, let him decides and amend, if need be.

Lepas touch up new project, aku pn baca final review of the board paper, ada one of my colleagues mintak tolong.  Amended their version and forwarded it to them.  Biar ler mereka follow up with the next procedure.

Overall, I believe the outstanding/pending tasks have been settled.  Now have to start working on the P&L for the new project seblm boss tanya.  Tak pe, itu semua small matter, di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan.

Kiranya aku bekerja dgn tekun hingga petang ler before I left slightly earlier coz ada perkara yg perlu disettlekan.  Aku tgk opis pn selepas lunch makin lengang......ramai rupanye dah main ular2 lebih awal dari aku.

Anyway, wishing uols a very happy new year......keep up the good work, let's strive for a better year and earn heaps of $$ and bonus.....heheheh

Nota kaki:  Motif sungguhkan tiba2 dia volunteer nak datang umah aku semata2 nak collect access card.  Rather than u come to my house, I would meet you somewhere so that you could have your access card.  Tak payah susah2 nak ke rumah aku.....lain mcm aje modus operandi dia kali nie.....

Simple dishes that I love to prepare

I always enjoy my chit chat session with my lunch mate....We could talk about anything, politic, religion, beliefs and our most favourite topic would be food/cooking.

During one of our chit chat session, we discussed our favourite topic.  Then I told her that I love to cook stir fried "yaw mak tam" and "taw miew".  Her eyes suddenly went like, "what??  do you know that those veggies are expensive".  Which I replied "yes...abt RMI0 per kg"....tapi dah mmg itu sayur yg aku suka....gagahkan jugak ler membeli....

My lunch mate kat I got expensive taste....what to do lor....

She briefly told me some natural remedies to control sugar level, buang angin etc....of which I am more than willing to try it later.  I also told her that I love to cook "ham choy thong", salted veg soup in english.  She was so surprised coz majority of her malay friends tak tau pun pasal masakan cina.  I told her that I like my ham choy thong to have soft taufu and lots of thinly sliced young ginger in it.....terasa nyaman aje badan selepas minum soup tu....

Besides yaw mak tam and taw miew, ada satu lagi sayur yg aku suka sgt and it is getting expensive by the day, brussels sprouts.....normally I would blanched the brussels sprouts in boiling water for few minutes, and then gaul dgn butter.....makan mcm tu aje.....sedaps nye tak terperi....Masa zaman aku crave like hell for brussels sprouts, one small pack only cost me around RM7.00, now, around belas2 hengget gak lah kan.....tapi kalo dah teringin sgt, mmg aku beli and makan sorang2 ler....heheheh.

In short, I like simple and easy to cook dishes.....masakan yg menggunakan santan2 tu mmg aku boleh masak but to makan, aku jarang ler.  For me, kalo tahap kemalasan dah melanda, a simple telur dadar with hot rice and kicap cili pun dah ok....cukup menyelerakan....

I am still searching the "kai pau" recipe, sejibik mcm yg dijual oleh restoran cina.  Those days masa zaman jahiliyah, mmg aku beli aje....sebab inti pau itu adalah solid ketulan daging ayam yg di stir fried bersama kicap, sos and sengkuang and topped up with sebiji telur rebus....cukup mengenyangkan.....Selain dari kai pau, I am trying to buat sendiri "loh mai kai"....pulut kicap yg dikukus bersama daging ayam and cendawan kering...Not to be forgotten the steamed yam cake.....walla wei....memang membuka selera......

Just by writing this posting, mulut aku dah terliur.....harusss lah masuk dapur pada kadar segera nie.....hehehhe

 

Yam Mak Tam

 Taw Miew

 Kai Pao looks a bit like this

 Ham Choy Thong with lots of soft taufu....yummy

Loh Mai Kai.. 

** Semua gambo adalah ihsan pakcik google....credit to the photo owners

Nota kaki:  I love simple food....especially chinese food.....I think maybe ada kena mengena kot dgn arwah moyang aku (sebelah mak), dgr citer nye dia adalah anak cina yg diserahkan kpd keluarga melayu utk dijaga.....really?? And at times I find that chinese guys are attractive and interesting....It runs in blood, I guess....hehehehehe

New Year Resolution

New year is just around the corner.  Yes, I know I'm the type yang tak suka nak buat new year's resolution.....but this time round, I would want to give it a try.

I think below are the aspects/areas I would like to make improvement:

- To be a more dedicated muslim....To improve my iman for the better;

- To lessen procrastination in all aspects of my life;

- To love myself first before anybody/anything else.  I wouldn't want to be taken for granted anymore;

- To complete and pass my study with flying colours.  My first class would start on 28 and 29 January 20I4 so that I would be certified as "Certified Fraud Examiner";

- To go on short holiday, be it domestic or international....thinking of going as "backpackers";

- To be more dedicated in my work coz what I'm doing now is my passion;

- Lesser drama and sinetron in my life;

- To be financially stable and independent.....insya allah......(working out on something and hope to get a positive result as time goes by)....

 - To find someone whom I can proudly and officially call as "My Sayang".

Apa lagi yek....I think that's all for now.....nanti kalo teringat, the list will be updated accordingly.

Wordless Wednesday

Wishes

If only I could, I would wish that I could hear your voice again.....I wish that I could talk to you again....share with you all the stories that had happened ever since you were gone...talk with you for hours like what we used to do.....Laugh at your jokes....do the things we used to do together such as driving around, watch kids playing football at the field....etc.  I wish I could hold you in my arms once again....

All these are only my wishes...I know for definite that it would never happen again.....I wish you joy, I wish you happiness wherever you may be now....

KUL-KCH-MYY-LBU-BKI-KUL

Buat kesekian kalinya dlm jangkamasa 2 bulan, aku ditugaskan utk cover semua destination yg tertera di atas.  Mission kali ini adalah utk membuat evaluation and observation as to whether we could open outlets there.....Tempoh perjalanan, 4 hari 3 malam.

First day of traveling started on I6th December....we cant book a later flight coz semuanya penuh.  So, at 5:30 a.m. aku dah terpacak kat KLIA, together with my colleague and boss.  Muka sekor2 mcm zombie aje.....Flight pukul 7 pagi.....sampai KCH around 8:45 a.m.....hambek ko....terus berduyun2 kitaorg ke outlet di sana.

Selepas buat inspection, kitaorg masuk semula ke departure area to evaluate the performance of one fast food outlet kat situ......Pi mai, pi mai.....kitaorg keluar dari terminal jam 4 petang....terus ke 2 shopping complexes to check on the latest F&B trend in town.....

Had early dinner kat Singapore Chicken Rice in Spring Mall.  How come I never know food offered kat sini sedapssss.......

Lepas dinner, we took a taxi back to airport, amek luggage bagai and terus ke hotel utk check in.  We stayed in Pullman Hotel.

I7th December

2nd day of traveling and also 2nd day I woke up at 4:00 a.m.  Penat tak leh cakap....terus mandi dan bersiap2.....then check out.  Ada kejadian terjadi, kitaorg dah pesan dgn hotel, to pack our breakfast so that we could have it masa kat airport.  Sampai dah check out baru ler depa perasan kitaorg tak dapat breakfast lagi......Cepat2 ler depa hulur kat kitaorg our packed breakfast.  The same taxi driver took us to the airport.

Sampai airport pukul 5:30 pagi.....terus check in.  Then we had breakfast at our outlet there.  Flight time again kul 7 pagi....semua tertido kepenatan.  Then we landed kat MYY.  Transit kat situ around 2 jam lebih seblm meneruskan perjalanan ke LBU.  Masa kat MYY, kitaorg buat gak some observation and study.....around kul I2, board on a MAS Wings flight to LBU.  First time naik plane yg kecik and ada propeller kat luar....kecut perut wei especially bila plane tu senget2...terasa nak muntah....

Sampai kat LBU around I:00 tgh hari....Visited our duty free outlet then the staff took us around the airport seblm kitaorg jumpa Airport Manager.  Had a brief discussion and the Airport Manager took us around the airport.  We had lunch about half and hour after that.  We departed from there.....one of the staff sent us to the hotel around 2:30 p.m. In LBU, we stayed at Grand Dorsett Hotel.  Best giler hotel nie, wifi free.......

About 2 hours after check in, kitaorg took a stroll kat Ujana Kewangan, the one and only shopping complex in LBU.  Surveyed the area then we had early dinner kat Medan Selera sebelah Dorsett Hotel.  Kat sini mmg kitaorg kena sembelih ler, bayangkan daging masak merah depa charge almost 20 hengget utk sorang makan.....giler ke hapa.

Around 9:00 p.m kitaorg took a cab to the airport again.  Nak observe the night crowd pada waktu malam.  Balik ke hotel semula around II:00 p.m., itu pun selepas aku nyaris tersembam ke meja....hehehehe.

I8th December

Had breakfast then kitaorg siap2 nak check out.  Sampai airport, terus letak barang and kitaorg pg lepak (to observe the morning crowd) kat Old Town White Coffee.  Ada kejadian berlaku masa nie, my colleague tak sihat....berpusing satu airport nak cari minyak cap kapak.....hinggakan boss suh aku pg cari dia kat mana.

After check in, kitaorg pun naik flight ke BKI.  Sampai BKI tepat jam I:30 p.m.  Terus menuju ke outlet kitaorg.....tak sengaja, the outlet manager pun turun ke kedai tu.  Had lunch seblm meneruskan misi berikutnye.......

Around 7:00 p.m we check in kat Klagan Hotel.  Itu pun coz my colleague dah mabuk darat dan nak muntah2.  She decided to stay in the room while aku, boss and outlet manager keluar dinner.......Balik semula ke bilik jam I0:45 malam.

I9th December

Pg menyinggah Pasar Philippine jap, ada yg memesan ikan bilis, udang kering dan ikan masin.  Then, kitaorg check out dan terus berkampung kat airport.

I had lengthy discussion with outlet manager before my boss came to join us.  Lepas tu kitaorg pg visit another outlet......Sempat gak aku beli some chocolates utk anak buah kat umah.

Plane left BKI around 5:30 p.m. and touch down at KLIA around 9:00 p.m.

Overall, trip kali nie memang teramat memenatkan.  We achieved our mission and now banyak ler report kena siapkan.......

Dlm byk2 tempat kitaorg singgah, aku terasa nak berada lebih lama di BKI......I think I left my heart in BKI....I could never get bored there.......maybe because BKI reminds me of Penang kot, bandar tepi laut......

Nota kaki:  Yes, I could see you are trying to be close to me.....somehow I managed to buat tak faham aje....I notice that you are very observant, dok perati aje apa yg aku buat hatta apa yg aku makan.....I know the look in your eyes when you came to our room to collect your bags......again, I pretend that I dont understand.....you want to spend more time to get to know me right??  

The usual bebel-bebelan

Niat aku sewaktu mula mengubah penampilan ku adalah kerana tuntutan agama.  At the same time, aku tak nak timbul sebarang fitnah dan prasangka terhadap diri ku lagi selepas kejadian ditikam kawan baik sendiri...(kes lama dah nie, dah 4 tahun berlalu).

Aku ingat aku berjaya setakat nie.......sehinggalah baru2 nie....ada yg kelihatannye mahu mendekati......aku biarkan sahaja.....sebab aku tak terbuka hati nak mengenali dia dgn lebih dekat...

And the most recent, aku dah terasa akan kewujudan bunga2 ada yg mahu kenal aku dengan lebih rapat....tetapi kali ini seorg yg berlainan bangsa dan agama.....

I dont mind to be friends with sesiapa yang tahu menghormati orang lain....but dont do any silly things that would jepordise your chances to be friends with me.....

Be more gentleman, come and tell me straight that you would like to get to know me better.  Jangan dok bagi idea yang merapu....sebab tak pasal2 nanti, terus aku pangkah besar2.....

Nota kaki:  notice the changes ever since annual dinner ittew hari....yes, maybe I have the ability to "read" your behaviour accurately...

Misteri jam 6:00 petang

Misteri lah sangat kan.

Kejadian berlaku petang tadi.  Aku sibuk membuat persiapan terakhir seblm pg outstation for one week minggu depan.  Tiba2 terasa perlu yg amat nak pergi toilet.  So, aku pergi ler sengsorang, macam biasa.

Tak lewat mana pun, baru jam 6:00 petang aje.  Some more toilet tu depan surau lelaki, memang laluan yg busy ler kat situ.  Aku pun melangkah masuk.  Selalunye ada orang tapi kali ni, aku sengsorang aje.  Dah cantik dah tu.  Terus aku terasa happy sebab my peberet cubicle kosong.  In fact, semua pintu cubicle ternganga luas.

As I was walking to my peberet cubicle, tiba2 terdengar satu suara pompuan bergema, memanggil nama ku dalam nada yg menakutkan....

For few seconds aku mcm terpaku di situ....siap aku pandang semua cubicle yg ternganga tu....mana tau ada yg nk prank aku kan

Then I realise, I was the only living soul there, apa lagi.....cha alip bot ler aku....terasa jauh lak pintu keluar.....

Walaupun lutut aku sakit, aku gagahkan jugak utk berlari.....

Masuk semula opis, ada staff yg perasan muka aku pucat dan bertanya kenapa.  Aku citer aje lah kan kat diaorg....terus semua pakat pack barang dan balik....hampeh betul....

So conclusionnye, sila bawak escort bila terasa nak memerut selepas ini, wokeh.....

When blur and innocent combines......

Dialog sewaktu lunch time semalam:

X:  If possible plse change the flight.  Dont you realise, we will be taking the smaller plane, the one with the propellers outside from LBU to BKI?

Me:  Oh really??  Ok, I'll try to see whether we could change the flight.

X:  In BKI, where will we be staying?  Le Meridien right?

Me:  No, it's beyond our entitlement.  When I combine my entitlement and Siti, still we cant get a room there.  Promonade is fully booked.  They managed to book us at Klagan Hotel.

X:  Breakfast at that hotel is like having breakfast in Anwar Maju (restoran mamak kat charterfield, KLIA).  What if we combine all our entitlement, and book one room that has two rooms in the unit at Le Meridien Hotel??

Me:  (blinking2.....dlm mode tak faham apa X cakap)....You mean we book a suite and all of us stay in one unit??

X:  Yes, we sleep separate room lah....you and siti in one room, I sleep in one room....

Wokeh.....sampai the last sentence tu, aku dah terkedu....Dia nie biar betul.....Dia tau tak, kang tak pasal2 kena tangkap khalwat.....dgn 2 org pompuan pulak tu and to make things worse, sorang tu, bini orang......(geleng kepala kejap)....

Staff aku pun cakap, kat BKI lain sikit.....Jabatan Agama dia aktif walaupun nampak cam tak berapa "religious" sgt org kat sana.  Anyway, si X nie kadang2 pikiran dia blur sikit, kadang2 cam terlebih advance.  Aku tak leh lupa dialog dia masa kitaorg naik transit nak balik opis hari Isnin hari tu.

X:  Ok, we better go back to office lah.  The rest can wait for the next shuttle.

Staff aku: Ok

Dlm perjalanan:

X:  Azim, kau tak sembahyang ke?

(Dia blur coz ada 2 org lagi tu sembahyang time kitaorg call diaorg ajak balik)

Azim:  hah??  (muka terkejut ditanya soklan mcm tu)

Of course I pray.....they pray early, I will pray later.  We still have till 4:00 p.m. to perform zuhur prayer.

Kadang2 rasa cuak....kadang2 rasa lawak sangat dgn soklan2 blur dia.......

Nota kaki:  Air tenang jgn disangka tak ada buaya......lately tgk dh mcm lain mcm aje cara nye.....

 

My bff

Had early dinner appointment with my bff, Umi today.  She broke the news to me.  I was so happy for her...But then later I realised, she is going to settle down soon, insya allah, by next year.  And that leave me alone.....again.....my bff is getting hooked....and I'm nowhere close to her status.

She will be someone's fiancee by end of next week....The news somehow did ring a bell to me.....Apparently, according to her, she gave ultimatum to her bf, if he doesn't have any interest in pursuing their relationship on a serious note, she will find someone else.  

Umi did ask me how's my life, who am I seeing now etc.  I then begin to realise that I've been seeing this someone for quite a long time...off and on basis.....and there's no indication as to whether we are going to be serious or just wasting time.....Am I not brave enuf to know the truth (where I stand and where are we heading to) or just plainly playing along very well.....Am I afraid of commitment?  Hell no......but I have to admit, I do "chicken out" whenever I sense things are getting serious.....I'm afraid I cant be the perfect "other half" for someone......

I'm feeling so down at the moment.....my bff is finally settling down, I dont have someone official that I can call as "my sayang", I dont know where I stand in this so called "relationship"...am I thinking too much or what??

Anyway my dear bff, congratulations....I will remember what you told me just now that you will remain the same....you will always be my bff no matter what.......

Nota kaki:  Seriously, for the past 4 years (after the demise of my fiancee) I have more or less limit myself from going out for a date.....Guess now is the time for me to start meeting new people and make new friends.....