the sweetest thing

note : i actually started with writing stuff up as one long post..then i realised even i got a headache reading it as twas wayyyy too long, so i cut them up instead hehe :p

i met an ex utp-ian friend the other day, and had dinner at Dome in KLCC, she has had a very succesful career and now lives in Dubai where she is the Manager for one major-est international oil company in the world, and her normal schedule revolves around jet setting to the States, to Europe, South Africa or parts of Asia on monthly basis..we had always predicted she will be highly succesful, she's smart and funny and friendly and most importantly, she's nice, like really really helpful friendly and kindly nice :)

anyway, since i have not seen her for about 5 years already, the dinner was spent catching up on news and such, there were only five of us there but i think we created enough noise for twenty hehe the major issue was, she's getting married! and her love story was one of the sweetest i have ever heard! straight out of the movies! she's getting married to her best friend, a best friend since childhood as they grew up together, she confessed that she has had a crush on him since forever but not wanting to ruin the friendship etc etc she kept it to herself, little did she know that he feels the same way too!

so they both went separate ways and fell in love with other people, although it all never seems to work out, finally early this year, a day before Valentine's Day, they both found themselves single again, and she somehow found the courage to say what she wanted to say, and of course he felt the same way too! so last august they got engaged, which funnily enough happened while she is Dubai and they do it over the phone! and now, on the 22nd Nov, they will be getting married!

i asked her why she never confessed her feelings earlier, they could have gotten together sooner! think of all those years! but she explained that the timing just wasnt right and she herself didnt know what came over her to confess something like that, its really not in her at all! but she said, that night she just had the strongest feeling that this is the right time to say it, and she was right, the timing was perfect :) isnt that the sweetest and loveliest thing you've ever heard!its the greatest feeling in the world to fall in love with your best friend, someone you knew so well and respected :) and i wish them a happy and long lasting marriage, insyallah :)

have a good weekend folks (^_^)

said the hearts all over the world tonight...

me very jiwang and sad and sober and silent today..cos me miss someone very much :(

which really does not gives any excuse for the bad English huhu

thank god today is Friday :)

and already have plans to have drinks after work with besties :p

me miss you very much :( come back la, naper nak duk jauh2 huhu..

sigh.....

i miss yewwwwwww :(

Photo Location : Smeaton Tower, Plymouth South West, United Kingdom

Date : 19th January 2008

Photographer : Mr Sun

Models : Me and Miss Huny Bunny

keeping diaries

do you keep diaries when you were young(er)?

i did

and being a typical Gemini, i actually have two diaries, one about my real life and the other about an imaginary life i wish i have :) i started keeping diaries when i turned 9, having been inspired by Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables, of course :p i remember my first diary, it was one of those big brown leather diaries from my father's company, he used to only give them to my sisters, but that year he gave me two of them, saying how he's always seeing me scribbling stuff on bits and pieces of paper. he knew even then that i dearly love to write stories and would more likely to waste printer papers, hence the gift :p

what sort of things you write in your diary? i bet its the usual, your hopes and dreams, your favourite star, your favourite movie and things you wish you have, like a pony or a playhouse or be one of the kids in Sesame Street :p

the first thing i always do when i got diaries was to look up my birthday. of course, everybody does that, no matter what your age right? and when you are 9, and you proudly marked your birthday as a very busy day, you schedule is free for the rest of the year but comes Jun 7, yep, you will be busy :p

i wrote quite feverishly in those diaries, writing what really happened in one diary, and creating a totally imaginary world in another, thank god i never got confuse of the two! being the middle child, with two temperemental older sisters and one younger brother who demands all attention, i was pretty much left quite alone, mostly staying in my room reading or writing.

i didnt keep a diary every year but one of thickest diary i have was i was in Form 5, writing about add maths (yucks), crushes, being captain of the house cheering squad, writing and directing my first award winning school play and dikir barat practices, being the features editor of the school magazine, interviewed two good looking astronauts, being featured on TV3 (hehe yess, i did, will tell you in another story) and of course boys and parties, i remember arguing with my parents to let me go to the News Straits Times Writer's Bloc Camp after Form 5, i was one of the 25 that was selected from hundreds all over the country, of course I want to go right? they were not too happy that i secretly applied :p i can see the pattern there when i secretly applied for Chevening and got that too :p

i found one of my diaries last week, when i was cleaning up the junk in the storeroom. amidst the pictures and love letters from THE ex boyfriend, there lay a blue and green spiral notebook with the words Private and Confidential written in bold black lettering on it, subtle i know :p it was the diary i kept when i was 12 years old, and i wrote about falling in love for the first time with that cute boy in my religious class and i wrote about how confident i was that i will be married by the age of 26 and most importantly i wrote that my biggest dream would be working and living independently, either here or in overseas, having my own apartment, i even wrote how i would decorate it and the dinner parties i would host in it, even then, my dreams were pretty big..

i put the diary back into the box, along the pictures and love letters, somethings you just cant throw out, and put the box in my room, instead of back in the storage. i had a dream to achieve :)


Note : i am glad i had kept those diaries and i am glad that we now have a better diary system, i think blogs have got to be one of the best thing about the world wide web, what you write will be around forever and forever and a testimonial that you have once existed and that it had mattered to a lot of people. you had mattered to a lot of people and i think that's all most people really want in this world :)

Tips to Menawan Hati Orang Tua aka Ibu Bapa

Ecehwahhh..title so Melayu leddet :p

I had an interesting conversation with a good friend a few days ago who pointed out that I, me, yours truly have a certain charming way with parents and old(er) people that they all simply adored me :)

hahaha

actually that is true :p

at the risk of sounding berlagak, i know that i usually can get along with all of my friends' parents, ade yang said if they have a daughter, they want her to be exactly like me la, yang nak i jadi menantu pun ade, even though they dont have any sons! of all which im truly flattered and glad cos really, you can learn a lot from the wisdom of the older generations

so anyhooo, berbalik kepada conversation with the good friend above, he mentioned that the girls he brought home somehow selalu tak mencapai kehendak his mother, and its not that the girls are not great but they simply behave in a weird way in front of parents, maybe kes terlampau control ayu la kut, till his mom declared "dont bring back girls i cannot have a decent conversation with! bring Nique next time!" (ahahaha nie saye tambah sendiri hehe)

so he asked me to list down tips or do's and dont's when visiting the parents supaya menjadi tauladan kepada semua :) to be honest, i dont know what exactly i do sebenarnye but okay, here are some things i thought you might find interesting :)

Tip No 1

Basic Grooming - dun la go and meet your friends parents pakai baju serabai koyak2 or too sexy or mcm baru bangun tido or too much makeup or no makeup at all or macam orang nak gi night club, rambut tak sikat, tudung senget la etc etc u know wat i mean, parents like to see fresh faced young people, makeup natural looking, dressed sopanly and appropriately baru la they will trust their daughter/son to be friends with you, right?

Tip No 2

Be Helpful - make yourself at home, asked if they need any assistance, dont ask and still sit down on the sofa macam punggung tu berat sangat nak angkat, ask while standing up and usually even if they say no follow them into the kitchen anyway, and ringan kan tangan tu and here you can find plennnnty of conversational stuff you can bond with the mother, regardless of whether you can cook or not (note : i know this cos i cant cook!), the kitchen is usually the mother's pride and joy and u can usually find something u can complement her with, BE SINCERE, she can tell if yr faking it :p

Tip No 3

Conversations - regardless of what people say, parents are human too and human nature is that people likes to talk about themselves (ape la saya merepek nie haha korang faham2 je la kan) of course they are interested in you, but balance it out, ask about them too, with mothers safe topics are household decorations, gardening, cooking, their hobbies (most of them have hobbies, better ask your friend before going over) about their work, childhood memory etc, with fathers, if u know basic politics better, without getting into argument of course, i know nothing bout politics so i usually ask about his cars, his work or his vintage and antique collection :p they surely have something u can talk about and really its not that difficult, trust me all you have to do is be open about it, kalau tak tau ckp jer, just dont berlagak pandai la, but again BE SINCERE. one topic i do like to ask, usually if i know them much longer; is how the parents meet and fall in love (^_^) really, best korang dengar citer cinta zaman2 dolu kala nie and u can learn a lot from them :)

Tip No 4

First Time Visit - its usually best if yr visiting for the first time to bring something, food is good, cakes or kuih muih or fruits..i usually get this and a bunch of flowers, simple flowers like daisies or carnations or gerberras, trust me they will always remember you then and ive said over and over again, flowers are highly underatted, they have the simple power to bring an instant smile to your frend's parents face, so folks, food for the fathers, flowers for the mothers, kapish?

Tip No 5

Thank you and SMILE - i think this tip speaks for itself right? kalau tak tau nak cakap ape, smile jer la korang, tapi jangan tersengeh2 mcm kerang busuk plak, smile and laugh and make jokes or at least laugh at the father's jokes, even if it is a quite poyo joke, trust me, even my father makes some poyo jokes okey tapi takpe at least he makes the effort so you guys better laugh! Saying thank you ni kalau korang tak tau jugak, tak tau la nak ckp ape, kalau yr friend tu future bf or gf, send the parents flowers with a thank you note the next day, gerenti korang boleh jadi menantu kesayangan hehehe

Tip No 6

Remember - when you have the conversations, whatever you talked about, remember it for the next time, if they mentioned a recent health problem, ask them again when you see them or when you talk to your friends and they are with their parents, ask after them, if you talked about a pet or a particular show or gardening stuff, follow up and they will be happy that you remember them :)

Tip No 7

Other Visits - by this time you should be at home enough to get your drinks or at least know where the fridge is, so just be familiar BUT NOT TOO FAMILIAR sampai buleh tido2 kat living room la kan, i am so close to one of my best friend's parents to the point that i have visited them, without even the presence of my friend around, its because i want to see her parents and lepak with them hehe so that's saying something rite :p

Tip2 Tambahan

Presents - one of my friend who always goes travelling always remember to buy something for my mother, simple things je like fridge magnets or keychains but my mom LOVES her, so its not the material things babeh, its the thought that counts! others include wishing your friends mothers happy birthday, buy them simple bouquets of flowers or chocolates etc etc u know the drill :p i dont really do this tip cos selalu terlupe hehehe and terlepas tapi takpe yang penting niat tu ade, tak kesah pun if u never give them presents yang penting BE SINCERE :p

Picking up your Friends - my parents pantang tok nenek 7 keturunan kalau my friends datang pick me and hon jer depan pagar, pantang okey! luckily most of my frends dont do this, kalau tamo masuk pun, call yr frend and ask her to wait outside, so it is considered extremely rude not too mention annoying to hear that honking sound..better still, turun la salam sekejap, bukan susah and lama sangat pun kan :)

So cukup kah tips tips di atas?

hehe

tak lah susah sangat kan? i know the cliche is for you to be yourself, but extra efforts are always appreciated to make "yourself" a better, parents loving person (^_^)

(walauwei, panjang gak entry nie, well folks enjoy it while u can before i get busy and start dissapearing again hehe)

im craving for..

BANANA AND NUTTELA CREPES!!

me and mr sun were gorging ourselves in Paris and Spain over this heavenly dessert!

me wanna eat!

nak buat la, kena carik recipe..missy olyn, jom wat sesame hehe

what im reading..

folks, am currently reading this latest book by Candace Bushnell :)

get it at 20% less at Borders (wahaa free advert) if u purchase something else, but worth it cos then its only rm48 and its hard cover!

nak pinjam saya punye pun buleh..kena queue yer :)

*this post is part of nique_naq's community service and an effort to create budaya membaca, membaca itu amalan mulia :p*

GoOd LuCk (^_^)

To my dear Mr Sun, wishing you CONGRATULATIONS! and BEST OF LUCK! for your one year internship in Barcelona, Spain (^_^)

I will try to come and visit you there next year okey :) It will be as part of the backpacking Europe Trip hehe :p

So work hard, work smart, have fun, take care of yourself and have a safe journey :)

happyness is a four letter word...

i have been pretty quiet, havent i?

was not my intention to wait until the end of october to post something, but i am clearly suffering from a writer's block, or a blogger's block, and the risk of not have anything posted at all for this month, i'll attempt to write something :)

lets see...

so raya was fun, right? i was looking forward to it, having been away from the family for the two previous rayas, it was great meeting the aunts and uncles and cousins and wat nots but i think the highlight of the whole raya was when i met Nik Aziz (yes, THE Nik Aziz) who performed the akad nikah for my cousin's wedding, and meeting the Tok Guru (as he is affectionately known) is a highly spiritual experience, there's something about him that just radiates and he glows, and he just makes everything feel so..tenang..i suppose that's what you call "cahaya keimanan" kan? i didnt expect him to be funny but he is, in a smart cool and effortless kind of way :)

the post raya stuff, the open houses and wat nots was okay too. but i was just deeply dissapointed with two things, the first, the fact that some people do not have the courtesy to reply to your invitations, like its an acceptable and expected thing now? what is so difficult to quickly text back and say, "yes, i would love to come, thank you" or "sorry cant make it, thank you"...simple aite? but people just dont anymore and so u have to call and sms repeatedly, "are u coming?", "can u come?" etc etc etc.. really folks, so not good manners okey, hilang semangat raya tu tau tsk tsk. and the second thing is, the clothes! yikes! wat ever happen to the basic baju kurung rule? and men, you do not wear three quater cargo pants and a shirt to an open house, even if it is a branded pants and shirt!! not done! and ladies, jeans and a baby T shirt? hello?? really, such an insult to the host for you to come to a Raya Open House like that. and while im in the mood, i hated those konon-wanna-be-cool girls who wear jeans with a kebaya top to a wedding..jeans are always a no-no la folks at weddings, kan lagi cantik and ayu and manis if you just wear the full kebaya or kurung? why do you have to drag out your hip hugging jeans and and proudly showing off your midrift under the short kebaya top and shows of your underwear or (god forbid) butt cracks cos the jeans are too low? confuse ni kat wedding ke kat night club? im sure u guys agree with me on this kan kan :) i remember masa kat uk everyone will wear their baju raya, even the guys berbaju melayu bersampin bagai for all the open houses, baru la meriah! entahlah, and you wonder why org duk sebok ckp raya dah meriah mcm dulu, sebab nye people are just plain LAZY!

oh, ive started work at the new place, yeay :)

work wise, so far im still pretty bored, the first three weeks was the worse as i do not have access to internet or their respective wide web and as such i was not able to do anything at all, and no work given yet..i tewll u, for a an international world wide organization, they are not very organized huhu but hey, early days yet :p

oops, gotta go, post yg nie dulu ek nanti samung, daa :)

(wah2 dari "dont know wat to write bla bla" last banyak jugak saya membebel kat sini yer hehe)