Cheese!

I love cheese. If you want to be my friend, get me cheese. Any type of cheese is fine, except for the extra smelly ones.

I read with uncontainable excitement in Tun M's blog that there is now a mozzarella cheese-making factory in Langkawi. Efforts to google this wondrous place came up empty and now I am obsessed with finding out where this factory is.

I am also now interested in making my own cheese (though I'm sure this will go away very soon), although at the current prices, I think buying one gallon of milk to make cheese will be costlier than buying a block of cheese.

If it were up to me, I'd put cheese in every dish, but I don't want to be responsible for the bouts of food poisoning which may probably happen.

So.. I end this now so I can dream of cheese.

(Pic courtesy of stockphotography.com)

Fella's Birthday Dinner

I didn't make a cake for my fella's birthday. One, I didn't have time. Two, since moving to our own place, I didn't have time to buy bakeware (used to pau all Mom's bakeware + oven when we were living at my parents!). Three, I only have a teeny round electric oven which I got by redeeming Bonuslink points.

So anyway.. I just made him dinner. The menu was: fresh onion soup (with invisible cheese toast), steak with creamy turmeric sauce with creamy potato salad and banoffee pie for dessert. The reason the cheese toast was invisible was because I didn't have time to make it because we were trying to catch The Amazing Race Asia at 9 pm (So romantic, kan?). In the end we managed to miss TARA, but made it for 24, so all was not lost :)

Anyway... I forced the birthday boy to take photos of only the main course, so enjoy!

My Fella :)

Today is my hubby's birthday. We've known each other for about 10 years, and been married to 7 of them.

Yep. Seven years. Unfortunately, we haven't been blessed with any little ones, though that's in my prayers everyday. (But that's a different story). So instead, we've spent these years learning about each other and loving each other either more, or in spite of what we've learnt. Heh.

What I love about my fella is that he gets me. He knows me and he surprises me when I think he hasn't been listening. We think the same things, we finish each other's sentences and we voice each other's thoughts. And though we spend nearly every minute together, there are still things to talk about, and stories to share.

I'm blessed to have my fella in my life. And I hope he feels the same way about me too. (Sidenote: Yang, you'd better!!!)

I love you, yang :)

*Sigh*

I received a comment for my previous post, which questioned my views and basically said I know nothing about politics and whatnot. I choose not to post the comment because I like sunshine and happiness and everything positive in my comments section, but I will address the comment here.

One : I am not a politician, and I don't aspire to be one although I come from a long line of patriots and stalwart UMNO politicians, many of which have served or are still serving our beloved country. I don't profess to know politics, I am not influenced by anyone's views and all my views are just that-they are my views.

Two : What I've written is my personal observation on today's state of affairs. It makes me sad, because among others, race relations and the country's peace and stability have been affected as a result. It bothers me because I love the Malaysia I grew up in, and I want that Malaysia to still be around for the younger generations.

Hopefully in light of recent declarations, the country will go back to how it once was. And to me, for it to do that, we still need the present party to lead us. I still believe the country is in peril if it falls to the opposition, but the future leadership has to be strong enough to convince and prove to us that they are capable.

My only humble advice to those wanting positions in the party, if you're in it only for the position and the glamour, stop it. We want someone who can do the work and embrace the responsibility. People's faith in the party has eroded, so we need someone to strengthen and restore that faith. If you are that person, then by all means, run. If you're not, think hard and see if all that personal gain you're aiming for is worth ruining the party and worse, ultimately the country.

Again, all views and observations are my own. The only motivation behind these types of posts is wanting my Malaysia back.

Towards our 51st Merdeka

So PKR won Permatang Pauh. Yawn. A safe seat, at best, and weak opponents, in my opinion. Not to fault BN, because there's truly no suitable opponent, unless it was Tun Mahathir himself. Mind you, I'm not saying that DSAI is a good candidate, because I tell you, if he had the oratory skills of er, shall I say, a certain ex-minister who sort of embarassed himself and us when interviewed by a certain foreign media, he wouldn't even be where he is today.

To me, DSAI is all hype. He has the speech and charm and he has stepped into an era where people want change. But what kind of change has he wrought? Street demonstrations & protests, street violence, particularly towards the media and running to foreign powers for help when things don't go his way. And when all else fails, he has his bad back to fall on, pun intended. But is that the Malaysian way? For years, we've enjoyed peace. We read the papers, we congregate at kedai kopi-s and complain about everything under the sun. We write and complain to our assemblymen, and media, whenever we have grouses. We watch the news and see street demonstrations & violence happening all around the world and thank God that that's not the situation in our country.

Today, it's a different life. Ever since that stupid (pardon my strong language) Reformasi movement, life has changed for Malaysians everywhere. Hardcore supporters would say that it's a welcome change, but is it really? To me, we're now no different from countries who throw away their leaders like yesterday's stale bread. To be fair, part of the blame lies on the present weaker government. Wishy-washy decisions, weak leaders and outdated policies need to be addressed immediately, and to me, we still need the present government (albeit a change in the leaders. perhaps?) to bring us back to the situation when the great Tun was our leader.

I fear that if (God forbid!) another coalition rules the country, Malaysia will be another Iraq or the other countries governed indirectly by the US. Don't throw rocks at me, it is going to happen, if a certain party leads the nation. You can already see it now, the secret meetings with foreign representatives, running to other embassies for assistance, slamming our beloved nation in other countries. It doesn't help that youngsters nowadays lack the pride and love for our country that we have, and which sadly, most of my generation is also starting to lose.

For all that we dislike about the US, one thing can be said about them. They are proud of their country and their flag. They rally around each other when situations need them to. Can that be said about Malaysia? Are we already losing our identity, when we are still such a young country? That's what I fear. Already, not too long ago, Bahasa Baku was implemented, which to me, sounded too much like a neighbouring country's language, which, to me, was the beginning of the erosion of our nation from what it once was. Although Bahasa Baku has now been curbed, I still remember who introduced it, as well as all the foreign elements I've mentioned above.

To me, that is unforgivable. I cannot forgive such a person for changing this country for the worse. I cannot forgive such a person who lacks so much respect for this country that he/she is willing to badmouth us to any foreign power who wants to listen, yet harbours ambition to rule us all. I cannot forgive such a person who makes a mockery of our democratic system by "suggesting" to his loyal supporters to vacate the seats which we, the people, have chosen them for, so he/she could pursue his own political agenda. I cannot forgive such a person who changes his/her views to suit whichever audience he/she is facing, even if that means he/she is betraying his/her race or people.

And for now, I cannot forgive the situation that has forced such a person onto us all.

Our country will be 51 come Sunday (which incidentally coincides with my 7th wedding anniversary!). I pray for her long life and prosperity, and hope that the worst won't happen, because I need for the Malaysia that I know to still be around for my grandchildren.

Selamat Hari Merdeka!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

My Mom, and her favourite pastime, before the era of the blog

Today is my mom's birthday. Due to the fear of repercussion (heh!), I shall not tell you how old she is, but just tell you that she looks younger than her age.

My mom is the kind of person I hope to be, but have yet to be. And don't even know if I can be half the person she is today. Sure, I blame some "quirks" on my mom, i.e. the short eyebrows and the tummy rumblings when I don't eat at the desired time. Not to mention the sudden leg cramps at night (yep, Mom, I inherited that as well). But all things considered, these "quirks" are special because these are things I share with my mom. OKlah.. unfortunately all my siblings inherited the short eyebrows thing, so note to all, if in doubt as to whether we're related, just look at our eyebrows.

I am lucky to have a mom like mine. She always had time for us, even at the peak of her political career, and boy, did she have patience, even when I threw up all over her at the beginning of a long flight to US when I was just a wee 2 year old.

At an early age, she and my dad introduced us to our love of food, books and travel. And normally we'd do all three at the same time. When we were in US, I remember my parents being the ideal hosts. Everyone congregated at our house, and birthday parties and gatherings were the best. Everyone loved my Mom's cooking and relished at any excuse to go to our house. (I wish I knew people like my parents when I was studying overseas!).

My parents loved to pack us up and drive everywhere whenever they could. My siblings and I are fortunate to have travelled so much in our lifetime, which is a big thanks to my parents. They always found a way to take us somewhere, even when they were earning teachers' salaries. Even now, we make it a point to have a family holiday once a year.

My mom did it all. She is a great wife, a great mother, a great Opah, a great daughter, a great sister, a great teacher and a great leader. I only hope one day I'll be able to be like her. In the meantime, I'll just invest in eyebrow pencils to make my brows look longer.

Happy birthday, Mak!

When Nostalgia Hits, It Sure Hits Hard!

The past few months I've been attacked by bouts of nostalgia. The reason? My alma mater, MRSM Balik Pulau, will be celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year. That means, it's been 19 years since I've first stepped foot on MRSMBP soil.

Together with this celebration, a few of my fellow batch-mates, or fellow Batch '89ers ("89" denoting the year we entered MRSM, and not the year of SPM) felt that a reunion was long overdue, so we decided to organise a reunion dinner on 26 July 2008 in Penang.

What brought on these influx of memories is that ever since we decided to have this reunion, we've been meeting up more often, and our once-dormant yahoogroup has been beseiged by a deluge of emails in the past few months. And as usual, this leads to talking and reminiscing about the good old days.

While I have reminisced about MRSM days here and here, there are so many more memories which the 89ers were a part of.

For instance, only the 89ers were a part of the original batch which came in in Form 2, and had only 121 people, 25 of which were girls.

And only these 121 souls had homerooms with a maximum of 3 girls in it, with some sports houses having only four girls maximum representing it. My sports house, Suria, had only 4 girls, and the sad lot of us had to represent the house in all sports from athletics to team sports. Needless to say, the Suria girls were always near the bottom, if not there already.

And only the 25 girls knew how it felt to be teased mercilessly by most of the 96 boys, which only led to these girls learning how to stand up for themselves and holding their own against these boys. However, instead of declaring outright war against these boys, these 25 girls decided to stand up for them in Form 3 when the boys threatened to leave the MRSM en masse, for reasons only we know, and persuaded them to stay. This strenghtened the bond we have 'til this day.

And, I believe, only the 89ers had the highest number of kerja bakti "volunteers" (which nearly every original 89er was involved in) and JDM "participants".

And only the 89ers were the source of much rantings and frustrations by teachers, with many of us going through punishments which if were done this day, would probably be the cause of many lawsuits against the teaching profession. Hee. However, rather than complain to our parents, we were ashamed of our actions (rightfully so!), and opted to do the punishments quietly, hoping frantically that our parents wouldn't be informed. Unfortunately, that remorse lasted only briefly, and we were then back to our hantu ways, figuring out new ways to aggravate the teachers and wardens.

Side Note: Such punishments included:

1. Having chalk, markers and/or whiteboard dusters being thrown at us, sometimes all in succession. This was normally if the student was sleeping in class.


2. The 4 steps of not knowing the answers to teachers' questions: Step 1 was standing, Step 2 was standing on the chair, Step 3 was standing on the table, Step 4 was standing with a table on your head. I think my highest level was Step 2. There was an implied Step 5, which meant leaving the class immediately. Step 6 was when the teacher had to look for the student who used this as an excuse to go missing entirely.


3. Washing the school bus. A form of kerja bakti, normally reserved for groups of boys in trouble for different offences.


4. Raking the long jump box and pulling weed from the field. Another form of kerja bakti for lesser offences. During the jarum mas season, this kerja bakti became quite the profitable activity.

And only the 89ers were notorious for the co-op incident, which had probably contributed to any high blood pressure our teachers may now have. Which, rather unfortunately, our then vice-principal remembers to this day.

And it was only our batch in Forms 2 & 3, who lived in the same dormitory block, where the boys lived downstairs and the girls upstairs. And it was only these girls who were regularly entertained by the guys bellowing songs like Cintamu Mekar di Hati and Right Here Waiting at the top of their lungs downstairs. Heck, we never needed to buy radios and cassettes at the rate they were "serenading" us.

And it was only our batch whose football team was both the Penang Under-15 and Under-18 champions. The Under-18 girls hockey team was also the Penang vice-champions. And it was our batch which had a representative who made 4th place in the Men's Junior Open category in the Penang International Triathlon in 1991.

However, among the good memories, there are also some sad facts. Unfortunately, some of our friends are no longer with us, namely, Azman Yazit (Man Dayak), Husaini (Hussin), Rahman, Fadli Ayob (Korok) and Khairul (Romeo). Al-Fatihah. Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas roh-roh mereka.

What I can say for my batch is that even though it's been nearly 16 years since most of us had last met, it's as if we last met yesterday. Every memory is as fresh as if it just happened, and most of us still look essentially the same, although some are *umm* a bit more vertical than they were before. Heh.

Whatever it is, this batch shares a special bond. Even now, whenever any of us is in a fix, rest assured, help is on the way, no questions asked. The good thing is, I think I bond more with them now then I did when I was in school.

To all 89ers, I'm glad I got the chance to know you. I'm glad we grew up together and managed to be friends although we were all from different backgrounds. I'm glad we can still maintain a sense of loyalty to each other, although so many years have gone by. I'm glad no matter how much we fought or argued back then, that only served as a bond to strengthen our friendship further.

And finally, I'm glad we're all sisters and brothers from another mother (heh!).