..this year's birthday present..

balik raya that day dapat birthday presents from my mom and sis.

so, 'tributing' this entry to them. besides experimenting with light and angle while taking the pics (ok, tipu..manela i tau pun pasal light and angle bagai - experimenting kunun, huh. *gelakkan diri sendiri)

1. i was in need for a new handbag and my mom just happened to have the instinct hehe. thanks mak, sayang mak :)

*background hijau/merah

2. and my sis, buyan, actually did take note wat i published in facebook few months ago (ala, yang Living Social's 5 things i want for my birthday) and telah sangat bermurah hati to give me the Elizabeth Arden's Pretty. isnt she sweet? thanks buyan, love u :)

*background hitam
3. since this year memang tak banyak dapat hadiah, (and to be frank wishes pun tak banyak) jadi letak lagi sekali my hubby's present walaupun dah buat entri pasal ni hari tu. kira macam summary la.

(tukar background merah pulak..ngee..;p)

p/s : anyway, i realised now that i'm getting nearer to that scary age (30++), birthday is not something to look forward to anymore. yes, scary..

..what's up..

hola.

rasa macam dah lama tak berblog. nak tulis pasal hari raya hari tu, tapi mood tu belum sampai.
mungkin weekend ni kot sebab weekdays adalah stressful and tired sangat (konon!!).

tadi keluar kejap pergi makan. dalam kereta ada bau petrol yang kuat. lepas tu, saya rasa mood saya tak baik. rasa macam jantung ni berdegup (<---pelik rasa guna perkataan ni) kuat. saya pun bertanyalah pada En Hubby "kenapa rasa lain macam ni?rasa macam berdebar-debar. effect bau petrol tadi ker?" (well, that is typical me being paranoid). and En Hubby had the best answer "awak memang selalu macam tu" which shut me up instantly. and rasa berdebar-debar tu pun macam terus hilang. saiko sungguh.

oh, one more update. next week ingat nak buat open house. kawan-kawan, jemputlah ke pondok buruk kami next saturday ye?

..back in JB..

just arrived JB at 9pm.

paip air + tangki umah problem..

what a bad start..

The Trilogy of Balik Kampung [Part II - The Journey]

we were punctual this time. hit the road at 10 pm as planned.

En hubby's turn to drive first. i fall asleep at 11++ and woke up at 12 when we arrived mersing. my cousin called - rupa-rupanya dia pun balik malam ni, pukul 10 jugak. dia call cakap dia kat mersing, berhenti dekat masjid nak pegi toilet. 2, 3 minit lepas tu saya ternampak la 2 orang (she and her fiance) bersidaian <-- dalam erti kata lain meregang-regangkan otot tepi jalan. what a coincidence!

dalam pukul 130 camtu, En Hubby tanya "tak ngantuk ke?" as a hint for me to take over. sebagai co-pilot yang sentiasa (yeke?) bersedia, saya mengambil alih pemanduan ditemani lagu-lagu keane. our rule is : whoever's driving got to choose what to listen on radio.

nak masuk pekan, hujan pulak. saya yang rabun/silau ni memang bermasalah sikit kalau drive malam kat jalan yang takde lampu jalan. saya akan mengalami masalah silau dan tak nampak apa-apa bila bertembung dengan kenderaan dari arah bertentangan. my tips untuk orang yang bermasalah macam saya, stick to the line jalan tengah and left side. as long as you're within the line, then you should be fine.

lagi satu problem - ada lori gas pulak kat depan. bersusun-susun kereta belakang dia. macam mana nak overtake kalau silau and tak dapat agak jarak kenderaan on opposite lane? tapi takkan nak stay belakang lori, nanti sahur pun tak sampai rumah lagi. tak boleh jadi ni.. bila ada kereta lain dari belakang overtake, saya pon follow. tapi ni nasihat yang tak baik kot.

dah berjaya melepasi halangan pertama. masuk pekan, hujan makin lebat sampai tak nampak apa-apa. rasa macam nak tambah kelajuan wiper. since it is not wise to berhenti tepi jalan, i just kept going. pakai lampu tinggi sangat tidak membantu sebab tak akan nampak jalan langsung, hanya nampak ttitisan hujan yang menjunam ke cermin kereta. keadaan jalan yang masih under construction walaupun dah bertahun-tahun sangatlah tidak membantu.

oh ya, masa kat road-block (tak ingat kat mana), pak polisi boleh tanya pasal kerepek yang memenuhi seat belakang. "nak meniaga ke?" tanya pak polisi. haha.

at last nampak sign board "SUSUR KELUAR KE KUANTAN". tak dapat digambarkan betapa leganya perasaan saya bila dah masuk jalan yang ada lampu jalan. the journey went smooth afterwards.

330. tiba di kemaman. yabedabedu.

i'm home :)

p/s : inilah catatan anak perantau terenganu di johor yang nak balik kampung. kami nak highway (so that bila ada highway nanti kami boleh complain pasal tol pulak <-- speaking of the ungratefulness)

The Trilogy of Balik Kampung [Part I - The Preparation]

preparation nak balik kampung which has started since tuesday:

1 - Raya stuff (baju kurung, tudung,baju melayu, carpet untuk ibu mertuaku..etc) 1 bag, 1 plastic bag ---> checked

2 - Non-Raya stuff 2 bags ---> checked

3 - barang-barang BIL (sebab dia balik kampung naik motor, jadi barang-barangnya kami tolong bawa balik) 3 bags---> checked

4 - kasut raya (En Hubby over tahun ni sampai 3 pasang kasut included 1 pair which he didnt purposely buy sebab tertinggal kasut masa pegi outstation that day) ---> checked.

5 - toiletries, skincare, etc ---> checked

6 - kuih raya (buat sendiri, nak jugak mention walaupun cuma 2 jenis saje yang sempat dibuat) ---> checked

7 - kerepek ---> checked

8 - not to forget, the laundry ---> checked

9 - trash ---> checked.

10 - check semua pintu / tingkap ---> checked.

11 - bagi ikan makan ---> checked.

rasanya semua dah settle. so, we're good to go back now. we'll be heading east coast in a while.

taylor swift vs kanye west @ VMA

read the headline on yahoo page 2, 3 days ago at office. thought of finding it on you tube at home later, but only get the chance today.

check this out [0:44]:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8gCZ7zpsQ

kesian tengok taylor swift. ntah apa-apa la si kanye west tu.
and beyonce - isnt she sweet?

saya tak minat pun mereka-mereka ini, tapi kelakar kan?

read on for more details [copied and pasted]:

Kanye West ruins Taylor Swift's MTV VMA victory
Finally, Taylor Swift won her first-ever MTV Video Music Award and she had her triumph literally snatched from her hands by Kanye West.

When Taylor won best female video, she told MTV viewers, "I alwaysI dreamed about winning this someday, but I never thought it would happen. I sing country music." Then Kanye West ripped the microphone from her grasp and gave an outraged shout-out to one losing nominee.
"Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'll let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"
Cameras cut to Beyonce, who sat in the audience with jaw dropped in disbelief. Meantime, Taylor was literally speechless as Kanye gave her the microphone back and marched off stage. The audience booed. Feeling the awkwardness of the lingering moment, MTV VMA producers cut to a taped video clip of "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan and rapper Eminem while Taylor tried to continue her acceptance speech — but couldn't be heard. Her mike was cut off. Giving up, she strolled off stage.
Later, when Beyonce won best video of the year, she said, "This is amazing. I remember being 17 years old, up for my first MTV award with Destiny’s Child and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, so I would like for Taylor to come out and have her moment."
Taylor returned to the stage and said, smiling graciously, "Maybe we can try this again," said, thanking "all of my fans on Twitter and MySpace and everyone who came out to my shows this summer."

..How to feel 100% happier in 10 days..

sounds like Kate Hudson as Miss How-To in "How To Lose A Guy In 10 days?"..haha, kind of-lah..

what am i doing still up at 230 am? arggh, i guess it's the caffeine effect kot. bile dh keja ni, suddenly drinking coffee affected my sleep plak..dulu mase study, minumla bape mug nescaffe pon, i could still fall asleep right after that.

tula td gatal sgt pi GJ, kan dh terkebil2 xleh tdo, hence the 3 entries in a row...

Here's something to share - "How to feel 100% happier in 10 days". (Actually taken this from Women's Weekly 100th issue)

Day 1 - Wake Up Happy
Day 2 - Steal some time
Day 3 - Believe in yourself
Day 4 - Do as you please
Day 5 - Do something meaningful
Day 6 - Look back
Day 7 - Spread a little love
Day 8 - Become a pleasure seeker
Day 9 - Turn dreams into reality <--haha, yg ni mcm susah jek?
Day 10 - Celebrate your strengths

so come on, let us be 100% happier in 10 days, shall we?

eh, bile belek2 majalah rase ngntuk plak..huhu..i guess i need to sleep now so tomorrow can wake up happy..

gudnite.