Thursday, June 21, 2007

i'm looking for this book!

I've been looking for this book. The one I have right now is sooo old, i am looking for the newer version. If nay of u have any info of any of the title below, or if u want to let go yours, please let me know!
This is one of my favourite book, ever!


Best Book Of Lists Ever! by Geoff Tibballs

People's Almanac Presents the Twentieth Century: History with the Boring Bits Left Out/Revised and Updated by David Wallechinsky

The Disinformation Book Of Lists by Russ Kick
PS: i tried amazon, but they don't ship to malaysia, at least, for this order! sob sob..

thanks..

Thursday, June 14, 2007

makan-makan, and where 2 party next bithday

Thanks to the friends here in equeue for being here, today, in conjunction with the makan-makan agenda. I was thinking of giving a treat to the officemates, and the Ghazal Restaurant's Nasi Beryani (Wangsa Melawati branch) comes to mind! We had their nasi bryani at least 4 times now , I think, and from the cakap-cakap, commnets and complaints, I'd say that that's what we should be having for lunch, today.
So, from 10am, the secretary, and the office boy and myself was out of the office, went to Giant Taman Permata for the paper cups and plates, and fruits, not forgetting the cordial.
Then we headed to the restaurant, and picked up the nasi bryani and the accompanying dishes. We also had a cake, Chocolate Indulgence ( tak bagus untuk kesihatan betullah menu hari ni) from SRcp.

I'm not sure how many of you know that Petrosains does have a Birthday Party Package for those who would like to have an educational big-bang party, dinosaur and hands-on science experiments included. Wooo hooo..sounds fun!

According to a friend, the party used to be at a cost of RM700, and it caters for 20 childrens and 5 adults. This package includes 1 cake, kids meals from Burger King, also meals from BK for the adults, a 45-minute tour in Petrosains, and it is arranged in such a way that the group will be able to see each show they have at their Science Station. At the end of the tour, somewhere at Station 2, meals are provided, and the kids will have great time with all the hands-on experiments...ohh...umar will loves this, but errkk..no, the last time we went there, (that was 2 weeks ago, he IS STILL afraid of the friendly-singing-TRex..oh boy!
I think our Petrosains visit will be an entry by itself. It's one of the place sthat I love as an outing for me and the whole family..tak tau lah kenapa..

*I kalau naik that round-oil-shaped ride yang bawak u back to millions year ago era, mesti I terharu, , jantung berdebar-debar dup-dap and I will feel like crying. It is such an emotional experience. It is mainly because of the voice of the narrator (??ye ke), and the background musics, something that really heighten up my spirit. Out of pride? Dunno. Out of fear? naaahh.. mestilah tidak..

Oh ya, that birthday party package is not available during school holiday (as far as I know).
But, it sounds good and if your kids love celebrating their birthdays outside, and they have always had it in McDonald or TGIF, try Petrosains... for a change..

Umar doesn't understand about birthday celebration yet. He knows birthday cake, or the birthday song, but whose is it, where is it, he doesn't care! bertuah I. So far, his birtday had always mean party packs for his friends at the nursery. And no candies..hehe .We only allow raisins, cookies, wafers, cupcakes, pudding, (no sumi jelly, either..bahaya, and I ngeri!), and yogurt drinks. Like Umar always says:" Tak apaa, manis sikit aje.." (yo lah tu!)

Next party pack for Umar's friends is due in August.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

..and come the news..



Thanks to grouchiosa for this article. Should we now be proud that we are about to move to one of the expensive cities in the world? Nope! (Are you kidding!)
I am nervous. I have browsed in the intenet, looking for some info for Sudan and surprisingly, one of the issues the expats are concerned about are the expensive prices of the groceries. Imagine a minimum of RM20 for chicken and RM4 for a kilo of onions (it doesn't help that i use a lot of onions, and garlic in my cooking- konon rasa lebih sedap). Luckily, we have not started our kids with fast food ( yet!). If not, the husband will have to spend RM 76 on a KFC single plate (one piece of chicken, fries and soft drink).

Morine, kalau u duduk sana and Angel is her usual self yang go for fancy restaurants every now and then, habis la you...

With US sanction, and EU , too, soon? It's not helping, at all.
Okay, I'll do this. I will definitely have to go to the internet, look for some local main ingredients that are used in local dishes, look for the recipes, and make sure I know how to prepare them. At least tak lah bengong sangat sampai sana. Plus, with the very s l o w connection we'll have there, ....just hope it won't discourage me frm blogging! :-)

This reminds me of someone was given some flax seed from Sudan, and both the guy and his wife do not know what to do with it. After asking around, he was informed that in Sudan or over Africa, they just spread the seed on their bread or rice*

*me: i thought flax seed are also great for bread making? just like what we have in the hi-fibre gardenia bread yang ada raisins, peaches, apricots etc tu , ye tak?

BTW, DH told me that, over there, only the rich eat rice. ..( sedih la dengar..)

Over and over again, to show how expensive things are there, DH will relate how he bought a Conetto ice-cream for RM11 ! okay, now I'm convinced! Looks like Umar and his siblings will stay inside the house all the time! Only tour to the local dry market ( where they have goats, camels, goat's milk, camel's milk, etc) are allowed, no shopping malls for them! hehehe..

No worries! Umar will love looking at live animals at the market, than he will at the malls!

Monday, June 11, 2007

little updates of the little ones..

Last weeks, all three boys; Umar, Hafiz and Lutfil were down with fever.
Hafiz had been coughing for more than week and the Azidoe, and Virtec didn't help at all. Neither Mucosolvent (??) I recently bought a chinese herbs-base medicine, something like an ointment where you just rub a little portion of the liquid on the chest, neck and nose.
I guess, I should be more consistent on applying the medicine on Hafiz, then I will be seeing results in less than a week .. okay, sabar, sabar ..

Umar is in his normal mood, when it's time for school (taska). Almost every afternoon,when I pick him up from school, he would say: "Ibu, esok Umar tak nak pergi sekolah, okay.". I used to asked him why , but he didn't answer. Or sometimes he would say, "Arif buat Umar, or "tadi Arif marah Umar". What should I say? So, I just told him, "Arif tak sengaja kot" or "Umar main elok-elok dengan Arif, nanti dia baiklah dengan Uamr"..

Yesterday, I was driving to Giant Kajang, and as always, Umar would be the chosen one to follow me.

He asked me," Where are we going ?" " I don't want to go to school" (Kita nak pergi mana ni, Ibu? Umar tak nak pergi sekolah..)

Me: To Giant, we need to buy milk, remember? Why don't you want to go to school?
(Kita nak pegi Giant, kan kita nak beli susu)

Umar: The teacher said I don't know how to read, because I'm small.
(Cikgu kata Umar tak pandai baca, sebab Umar kecik lagi..!!)

What I don't understand is (wondering):

1. cikgu kata Umar tak pandai baca sebab Umar kecik or
2. cikgu kata Umar ni tak pandai baca , and THEN umar reasoned that he doesnn't know how to read because he is small

(btw, Umar is 3+ yo, will turn 4 yo this coming August)
I know that other kids could read when they turn 3, or 4 yo. But personally, I don't think that if he doesn't read when he is already 3+ yo, that's a bad sign, like "You are not smart enough".
Plus, I didn't actually sit with him and teach him like ABC, pointing to some cards ( hmm..I'm lazy , I guess) and then proceed to some phonic cards or whatsoever.
That's not my way. But, but, what i usually do with him, is to sit with him and read the book (read: as in pointing to the picture, identifying objects, shapes, colours, making up stories, making up dialogues, explaining to him how some things work, actually tell him the names and functions of stuffs and things, etc- (you know like planets, plants, bugs), answer his questions ( he always relates new things that he sees to the stuffs that you have told him previously and I'd be amazed at how he remembers, and understands and uses his 'database' to question you further about his surroundings!) . He loves books!

So, it's maybe my fault, then. I'm the one who didn't teach him enough. Instead of just singing Ants On The Apples, or ABC, or make up my own songs, or singing songs he learnt from school, maybe I should have a proper 'How-To-Read" lesson with him.

And oh yes, he likes to zikr as well. I remember a few times when we were shopping or at the wet market, (dok sibuk pilih udang), and he would go" Subhanallh, walhamdulillah, etc.."..all the way. Even at clinics. One Atuk-like gentleman, even commented ."Bagusnya dia berzikir, bertuah dapat anak cam dia". hehe..malulah i..

Next week, there would be a perjumpaan dengan guru for Umar. So, I guess, I would have a chance to ask how he is at school, in his class, does he seem to enjoy his day at school..

Oh yes, I meant to write that Lutfil has one tooth showing up, err..you can hardly see it actually. tapi, when I put my fingers on it, woww..definitely terasa tajam..
I guess Hafiz has a rival now.. berhati-hati ..

Friday, June 8, 2007

oh, i feel gneiss..

granite formation on Pulau Tepur, Langkawi


layers in sandstone

The fact that langkawi given geopark status as reported today is very much welcomed. After the Tg Balau magnificent structural formation is known as one of the Geological Heritage Sites in Malaysia, this recognition is never too late. Geologist/geology students in Malaysia or from South-East Asia, ( if not the world) have long branded Singa Formation and Machincang Formation as a must stop for outcrop lovers.
Geological sites have not only remnants (rocks, rocks and rocks). Take a closer look, and you would see communities of sponges, bivalves ( the humble, oyster, calm-like), gastropods ( that's like your modern looking snail), and yes,humongous lizard, etc. But of course, outcrops like the famous Morrison Fm, A'insa Fm have been in the limelight since years ago. Give a chance to our local 'lipatan and nendatan', kekar, ricih, batu kapur berfosil dan batu pasir berstratifikasi (jenuh nak ingat the 'local' term, are they correct?) to make the headlines.

Next time you are in Langkawi, stop by these formation/geoparks and have your photos taken there. Bear in mind that in the background, you have there, rocks (geologically) that were formed billion years ago. As for the formations in Langkawi, they are one of the oldest, dated back to Cambrian (eg: Machincang Formation is the eldest in Asia). Singa Formation (mudstone, silstone, ), Setul Formation - a limestone , with some secondary sandstone and shale. Another limestone formation is the Chuping Formation, which is also the youngest among the four formations.
For those in Johor, another attraction for geological park, is the Tanjung Balau area. It has a resort nearby, with a small nelayan community. (On a lighter note, 1 minggu di Tg Balau, aktiviti mandi laut di waktu petang itu musti selepas seharian 'berjemur' di atas batu-batan).

oh those days..




I was so glad when Na uploaded a photo in her flickr, of us during our sedimentary field trip in Raub-Mentakab, back in 1998. Thanks to Na, I get to see the pic, since I don't have it in my collection!

Thursday, June 7, 2007

..but I'll be back..!

a signboard in surburban chicago

I have tendered my resignation last week, with one month notice, effective 30th May 2007.
My last day at the office would be on the 29th June 2007, if you exclude the Saturday, 30th June. I am preparing a presentation for a project I am working on, mainly busy preparing for the materials and rushing to get it done with the proper v0lumetric calculation ..


It was not easy making the decision to move to Sudan. It wasn't easy either to tender my resignation, even harder to actually tell my bosses and my all dear colleagues that I am leaving. Even so it is for the sake of my family. I had a great time working for this company, surrounded by these warm, ever-friendly, good people. When I first joined this company, I realized that I'm about to work with some of the legends in the 0il & gas industry business. I was nervous when I was introduced to all the very familiar names I have heard over and over again, from former colleagues, even from DH, and in my busy mind, I was having things like: "Oh, so THIS IS so-and-so, or "eh, he's not like what I imagined him to be", or the :"he looks younger than I thought" or the reverse: "hmm..never thought that he looks this old"..heheh..

Being given the opportunity working with the experts, (some with 30-year-experience, with local and global technical expertise and recognition), I would say that I'm lucky. I'm grateful, very, very grateful.

It's funny how the gap between the very expert senior people, compared to the juniors (me included!). When we moved from U0A building , to the legendary Menara Promet in Jln Sultan Ismail, we, the green ones, had so many boxes, of print-outs, maps (isopach/sructure, time map, correlation ), ( and I thought we are in the digital world; paperless la sekarang wooiit!), books, references: journals, all sorts of blletin, etc.
The expert? Needles to say, they have everything inside their brains! They just get up, walked out and then in, to the new office.Talking about mobility here!

I can see my hope of achieving that level of seniority and expertise crash right away when I decided to quit. Not working, means I will loose my seniority, and perhaps by the time I'm ready to get back to work in a few years time, I'll be interviewed by the at-present-internship-students who have just came in this morning. They will be my future bosses, no doubt!
Oh I see them already, better go and ask them if they need anything! *wink*

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

how do you like africa, maam?


I hope that when i am asked this question in the future, i'll be positively answering it with : "O' I love it very much, can't wait to go back there!". Before I can answer that question, I guess, I have to be there, live there?! Yup! You are right, my friends! In a few months time, I will have a world map poster on the wall, and the tag "YOU ARE HERE"" will be pointing right on Khartoum, Sudan .

I am in between, can't really decide whether I'm excited ( to be able to be with DH ) , nervous and worries after warnings, after warnings, after warnings from everybody ( well, almost!). But, thanks to a few friends who have given me some very sound advices about raising children in such condition, I am,.. well, a bit calm..

* my busy brain is asking these questions: how do i pack my things, what to pack ( DH said, bring almost everything?, huh?, how to buy milk powder that will last for one year? where to get it? where to get it at a cheaper price? diaper supplies? if current maid cannot follow, so how?, is it easy to get a maid there?, stocks of medicine for the children?, what dried food to bring? how about our current house?, what will I do there? will I be okay? will the boys be okay? will I be okay if the boys are not okay?, will DH be okay if I'm not okay?, should I be bringing all my books, take with me as many books as I can, any book shops there?, if I order online, how sure it will reach me? UKS will send to sudan tak? , hehe.. what, what, what...*

in the news

i got the news that a group of employee (4 of them) from my previous company were abducted from their office! *gasp*. This is in one of the African country, where there's a lot of chaos, and marked as red zone. I know one of them, we worked together once, he's of different nationalitiy, though. I hope they will be ok, i really hope they will get all the help they need.

Monday, June 4, 2007

when he talks..




Umar is one smart boy (of course, he's my boy! hehe), and he regularly switches from his mischief-kuat ragam-self to very sweet-demure-loving boy in just a second! This morning, he almost made Bibik cried. Of 'terharu'. He was already inside the car when Bibik who was holding baby Lutfil was standing beside the car. I was about to get inside the car when I heard him murmur something to Bibik. Looking out from inside the car, I saw Bibik eyes were red, like she was about to cry! So i asked, what did he said, and Bibik replied: "Tak apa-apa, cuma dia kata: 'Nanti Bibik tolong suap adik makan ya!'" Not in his high-pitch-loud-voice, but so softly, in a very brotherly manner, in a very concerned way as if telling Bibik, please, please take good care of my little brother.


Knowing my eldest baby, he is very loving towards his younger brothers, always in a soft voice, almost a hush, consoling and comforting them when they cry ...and I would sometimes heard him telling the little ones: Hush..hush, jangan nangis, ibu ada, ibu ada.."

Oh Umar..


But wait till you see the other side of him...

Well, the other side of him, is totally ....opposite..you get the picture! heheh..