August

August is a very meaningful month to me, why?

1. My wife's birthday
2. My 2nd daughter's birthday
3. and of course, Independence Day - Malaysia is celebrating 51 years as a nation!

So apart from feeling patriotic and such, my poket also kopak la this month! Hahha... I bought my wife a Nikon D60 with 18-55 VR lens. Her Olympus Mju700 went south during last years' Raya... My wife likes to take pictures and she really cherished her Mju700, so takpe aaa...janji dia suka, and nothing makes me happy than seeing my wife happy (now if only i can persuade her to let me buy a Lancer GT! -- Miahahhah!!!)

For Najah, i bought her a box of Fisher Price shape box. Seems like a bit to late for a box of shape sorting but i really don't know what to give her. It seems that children nowadays are far more advanced in terms of understanding, environment and expectations... so takpe la, she seems to be brave and don't mind a little dirt on her face. Maybe i'll buy her a Lego next time!

We had a little gathering before puasa for the family and also celebrate Najah's birthday while we're at it! Kak Duna and her family was there, Gandma and Yai Wak, Yai Soud and Tatabu, Kak Nina and kids... we had lots of fun. Loads of pics were taken with the aforementioned camera... ~tu dia, teruih test! Tgk at my wife's blog for that! I'm too lazy to upload...

Anyway, Selamat Menyambut Merdeka and to my wife and kids... i love you guys very much!

Gastronomy - Fig & Olive, Sunway Pyramid

Ladies and gentlemen, today we'll discuss a very interesting topic which is dear to all of us. Food!
My family and i and my friends of course, we are a "happy go makan" group, so to speak. We would try different kind of food from different kind of restaurant almost every day of the week.

This week alone is like a plethora of nasi kandar.

Monday - nasi goreng belacan Carrefour Subang
Tuesday - nasi kandar Kudu Bin Abdul, Jalan TAR <- Woo!
Wednesday - rehat... skip lunch
Thursday - nasi kandar kayu Taipan <-- Whoo!
Friday - ...? nasi kandar zainul, PJ? we'll see... <-- Woo!

So for now, i would like to talk about some of the food i've encountered during my makan journey.

Fig n Olive <-- http://www.figolive.com/















Fig & Olive is an upscale, cafe and bistro serving food items representing a blend of European and Mediterranean origins. And i must say the foods are nice. Menus are abundant from appetizers, salads, gourmet, sandwich... you will be spoilt for choice. The food reminds you of the Godfather movies... with the table setting and all... Portions are huge, plenty of choice when it comes to drink, shakes, icecream, coffees, tea, cakes... Foods served there are halal.

Some of the foods are:













































Overall the food is nice, the setting is nice, step outside and you get to see the whole of Sunway Lagoon.

The food is spectacular, especialy the rice. My daughters just love them. they actually have an online order form but i have yet to try. Maybe any of you guys can try and give me a holler.

How to get there?

LG2-122A, Lower Ground 2,
Marrakesh Sunway Pyramid,
46150 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel: 03-74920955

A toast!

As much as i would like to indulge in the happy time topic (~visualize clubs/bars where friends drinking and toasting to each other saying happy this and happy that~) but sadly it's not about that kind of toast. Not even roti bakar!

What i have in mind is actually the Toastmasters International, where a group of people meet and basically talk their hearts out. Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian. It is actually a good vehicle to improve your communication skills and your grammar, etc.

Now, i know about Toastmasters for quite some time and have never been bother to actually join them because i consider myself quite a speaker. (And i had the nerve to ask my english teacher what do they do? Drink beer and toast?)

Until today that is. A friend of mine by the name of Zack has been inviting me to join the office chapter. Reluctantly i agree to come as a favor because he said they weren't having enough speakers for today. There i was sitting and not knowing what to expect (Beer toasting kept popping up!). I was the 5th speaker for the table topic session which is a 2 minute session where you are given a topic and basically talk anything related to the topic. I chose "Transmute Gold". I wanted to do teleportation but an earlier speaker chose that and talk about Star Trek. Next was flight but Satish had to pick that and basically put pictures in our head of him in red undies... wahahhaha... so i chose Transmute Gold instead. After my 2 minutes session was done i sat and enjoyed the rest of the meeting.

When it came to the evaluation session, they were recording/keeping count of my Umm and Ahhs. and got 5 of them combined. I didn't realize that and i thought "Wow, i really need to weed these Umms and Ahhs out!". As a token of my silly table topic, i was voted "Best Table Topic" speaker for my version of the midas touch.

Zack cangratulated me for the funny speech i made and said, "if you want to join, just let me know".

I am seriously thinking about it...

plus the food was great!

Bloopers!

i had these 2 pictures for almost a year now, thinking whether to post or not. After so many considerations, i've decided to post them.

Malaysians are becoming more and more innovative in terms of life, business and products. just take a look below!
















ultromen! - supposed to spell Ultraman
















Gigimon! - supposed to spell Digimon

Maybe copyright infringement in progress?
Made by SweetKiss Food here: http://www.sweetkissfood.com/
If you have seen any bloopers like these, drop a note in the comments section!

tolong la tutup henfon kol 11 mlm!!

Update: I had a chat with a friend regarding this matter and i find his theory very insightful. the telco people started it! Imagine 1 person fwd 50 SMS to friends and relatives, and the each of the 50 fwd to another 50...!! WoW!!!

Korang pernah dpt tak mesej ni dlm IM ke atau SMS?

"Penting. Baca sebelum malam ni( 13 mei 2008) HANDPHONE malam ini
dimatikan. Menurut METRO TV, pada jam 11 malam ini akan ada gelombang radiasi
yang besar yang berbahaya utk manusia. yang akan tertangkap oleh semua hp &
pemancar. Beritahu yang lain/teman2 jgan taruh hp dekat kepala......"

"Semua HP perlu dimatikan mlm ini. Menurut MetroTV, pada 11 mlm ini akan
ada gelombang radiasi yang besar dan sangat berbahaya kepada manusia. Yang akan tertangkap leh semua HP & Pemancar. Bagi tahu semua kawan2 jangan letak HP
dekat kepala. Please forward..."

Ye lah cool gile la kan! Apa kata kita kupas mesej-mesej tersebut...

1. Kat Mesia ni takde MetroTV, Metrovision adalah (hingga 1998), tu pun tukar jadi 8TV oleh Media Prima pada 2004. So sapa MetroTV ni? Kat Google, MetroTV ni dr Indonesia, dah check website dia, takde pun pasal gelombang ni...
2. Kenapa yg 1st aku dapat ada tarikh, yg kedua takde? tak sama, tapi ayat lebih kurang je...
3. semua benda ada gelombang radiasi, TV, komputer, microwave... dan manusia ni ada tolerence level, kenapa effect telefon bimbit aja? kalau betul ada gelombang radiasi, jgn kata HP, TV, Laptop, Transformer elektrik, system pemancar TV, Radio semua akan terjejas sama... Tak logik la kalo efek kat HP je...
4. mesej kedua ada ayat tambahan jgn letak HP kat kepala... abis tu letak HP kat lutut kot baru betul!

Maka dari pengamatan saya yg amatur ni... semua ni hoax aje. tipu, bidaah, saja ja nak isi masa lapang org yg takde kerja. Maklum la org Mesia ni baik2 dan prihatin belaka... tapi kebaikan ni diambil kesempatan. Next time Malaysians.... pls, tolonglah buat sikit research sebelum fwd bende camni, buat semak mailbox, sms dan IM aku je... kita ni mudah melenting... kalut. Tu jelah komen aku... Ada masalah? Tak puas hati? jawab balik kat ruangan komen!

A little Update!

Yeah... i've been neglecting my blog recently. it's not because i'm lazy or busy... OK i'm lazy... hehehe.

I've started my new job as an Associate Solutions Architect. So far it's an interesting job with a few twists... i'll let you know later.

So the planned holiday is on, we are going to Langkawi in May but i'm not gonna tell when. Bought the flight tickets and booked the hotel... now all we need is more moolah for the car rental, food nd sightseing and maybe a little shopping... not going to ask from the wife, it wouldn't be right, so i hope with the new job and new salary i can make good this year...

Wish me luck!

Can't access Yahoo! and some other sites...

Update: service restored around 520pm.

Now IM is a cheap and good way of communicating with one another. I've been using YM since as long as i can remember.

But today, i can't access any of Yahoo! services? What gives? Some of my buddies are facing problems as well while others do not. i run a tracert and the hops stops at this IP which my friend sez belong to TMNet.

Any of you guys facing the same problem?

Ah well... there goes another productive day... i need YM for work and to work properly... :(

new year, new lease on life

2007 dah nak habis, masuk lak 2008.

Apa resolusi 2007 anda yang masih belum tercapai? apa yang akan anda buat untuk 2008? cuba capai resolusi 2007 yang sebenarnya resolusi 2006 dan seterusnya?

Myself? I'm hoping 2008 will start fresh with a new job. Yay people! I got myself a new job! I was supposed to submit my resignation letter today but i got an SMS from the boss saying i have to go up north come morning light. Since i'm commuting using wife's car it's gonna be tricky. And maybe to put up for the night... cisss. So i'm gonna hop in the office, drop the letter and then drove up north. Hahahha...

Anyway, to pass Sunday we made an early drive to Mid Valley MegaMall with the kids for lunch and take pictures of their season decorations. There was a fantasy lake like setting complete with "lalang", seed pods... it was marvelous. As we move to the jusco area (north side?) we see a christmas tree with giant mushrooms! Nisa was overjoyed!

Nisa: "Macam Mario la ayah!"

We had a great time and hoping all of you will have the same!

Happy New Year 2008!

Semoga Allah merahmati anda dan keluarga anda! Dan jgn cakap bohong!

PS: Pics will be up soon, if i can find a scanner and process the film... i know i'm still using an old school Nikon F55D... maybe i should add an addition to my resolution... buy a new digital camera!

Aidil Adha

Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Korban.

Semoga diberkati Allah sentiasa.

Year End events

So what is happening?

Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2 November - 29 December 2007
The country's premier gastronomic event, the annual Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) brings to the limelight some of the world's best chefs who make their home in Malaysia.

Malaysia Year End Sale 1 December 2007 - 1 January 2008
The 2007 Malaysia Year End Sale (MYES) is back, bringing with it a stream of bargains and promotions designed to tease and tantalise your shopping buds to the limit.

Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) 2007 4 December - 8 December 2007 (just wrapped)
This international event is held every two years once in Langkawi, featuring the best civil and defense technologies for land, air and sea weaponry.

PIKOM PCFAIR III 2007 7 December - 9 December 2007
The event waited by computer and gadget geeks alike... Wahoo!

Hari Raya Qurban 20 December 2007
The celebration of Eid-Ul-Adha is in commemoration of the command give by Allah to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his first born son Ismail (Ishmael) to Him. The fulfilment of this noble command of Allah by Ibrahim signifies his faith in Allah... Allah then replace Ismail with a Qibas.

Christmas 25 December 2007
A traditional celebration of the birthdate of Christ is also celebrated in Malaysia. Gotta love the decorations in malls!

Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan

Bagi umat Islam seluruh dunia,

Saya ucapkan selamat menyambut Ramadhan Al-Mubarak. Semoga hidup kita diberkati Allah dan kita diletakkan bersama-sama Rasullullah S.A.W di dalam Syurga.

Ampun dan Maaf dipinta, dari hujung rambut sampai hujung kaki dan minta halalkan makan, minum, dosa, perangai setan aku dan lain-lain lagi.

Picang

Some links you may find useful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan

http://www.ramadhanzone.com/

http://www.islam.gov.my/english/

KEMBARA BERNAMA 2007

I know it's last minute and all but here goes...

Hi Friends,

BERNAMA will hold a treasure hunt Kembara BERNAMA 2007 and this year our destination is the Awana Kijal in Terengganu! The event will be held from 3-4 November 2007. There are lots of prizes to be given away! Our last event in 2005 took us to the historical state of Malacca!

The registration form is attached here as well.

So gather your friends and register your group fast as seats are limited!

For more information kindly contact:

En. Mohd Noor Atan - 03.26962377 or 019.2116614

Cik Maznah Abu Bakar - 03.20504541 or 017.6750665

Or visit: kkb.bernama.com

and download the form online!!

See you there!!!!!

FAQ - Zai dah dpt anak? Bila dia kawin?

Update: 11/9/2007 - Baby Hariz dah discharge from Pusrawi on 10/9/2007
Update: Nama baby telah dibetulkan


Oleh kerana tajuk ni popular sejak kengkawan dapat tau yang zai baru aja dpt anak dan saya serta abg moderator Obor-Obor juga sudah pening untuk memberikan jawapannya, maka saya telah membuat keputusan untuk membuat FAQ ini bagi memudahkan anda mencari jawapan kepada soalan-soalan lazim yang mungkin timbul. Bagi soalan yang tidak terdapat dalam FAQ ini boleh tuan-tuan dan puan-puan yang dihormati bertanya sendiri pada En Mohd Zai Azurin melalui emel atau telefon.

Q1: Bila zai kawin?
A1: 14 Disember 2006.

Q2: Apasal tak bagitau kawan-kawan?
A2: Tak sempat sebab keputusan last minit.

Q3: Kenapa tak buat kenduri? Bila kenduri?
A3: Kenduri tidak buat kecuali pada hari majlis penikahan. Itu kena tanya tuan empunya diri.

Q4: Habis tu, Zai kahwin dengan siapa?
A4: Isteri Zai bernama Azriza. Bekerja di TNB.

Q5: Oh, begitu rupanya. Sejak bila putus tunang?
A5: Dah setahun juga la.

Q6: Kenapa putus?
A6: Tak tahu saya. Itu kena tanya tuan empunya diri.

Q7: Ok, dapat baby boy ke girl?
A7: Dapat baby boy, Hariz Firdaus Bin Mohd Zai Azurin. Lahir pada jam 9 pagi di Hospital Pusrawi Kuala Lumpur pada 1/9/2007. Mama dan papa OK. Baby premature 7.5 bulan so dimasukkan kedalam ICU untuk pemerhatian. Setakat FAQ ini ditulis, tidak pasti samada Hariz telah discharge atau belum. Kita doakan agar baby Hariz sihat.

Q8: Zai sekarang duduk mana?
A8: Zai sekarang bermastautin di Serendah.

Disclaimer:
Sebarang soalan boleh tuan-tuan dan puan-puan ajukan kepada tuan empunya diri. Zai bole dihubungi melalui emel azurie78@yahoo.com . Walaupun tindakan membuat FAQ ini agak tidak sensitif, tetapi soalan-soalan yang kami terima telah menjurus kepada serkap jarang dan mengaibkan Sdr Zai. Ampun dan maaf dipinta.

Picang

Celebrating 50 years of Independence

All around Kuala Lumpur, i can see people are gearing up for the Merdeka Celebration!! (Merdeka = Indepence). Flags waving, signage are up and running, the International Fireworks Show to coincide with the Merdeka Celebration... traffic notices of road closure for the Merdeka Parade rehearsals... and i thought... Plenty of Time...

So, this morning it was business as usual. I was driving to work when i saw the helicopters practising for the parade which is this Friday (31 August) i know now that i'm really behind schedule for this post.

Here to a very eventful, united Malaysia!!!

Happy 50th MErdeka DaY!!!

Malaysiaku Gemilang!!!

testing

Tagged again!

Whats with this fascination of tagging people? Okla, as a dutiful netizen (wish i could say the same in reeal world)! Here i go!

Weirdos:

WEIRDO 1- I am often become the fashion reference by my female peers... probably because i'm a male and i'm willing enough to be dragged along... sigh!

WEIRDO 2- I am also the unofficial shouder to cry on... sigh!

WEIRDO 3- I have a friend who claims he can see apparitions!!

WEIRDO 4- I have a friend who thinks that we are living in a matrix-like environment... (lame!)

WEIRDO 5- I have a friend who actualy likes matured women!!! (eeeeiiiiii!!!)

WEIRDO 6- I can't think of anything else except that i am really a sweet and caring and very strict person. So far my family has show great resilience to my antics. It makes me wonder, if my family are Borg? Weird...

The next 6 WEIRDOERs should be > anybody who read this. and please hit back!!

Happy New Year

i know it's late, but happy new year to all my friendsss

Huh? Tag? Amende nih?

My wife was so kind to have tagged me with these 3 things about me... err... thingy. So here goes!

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
a. Feizal - colleagues
b. Paman Chu - nephews & nieces
c. Picang - Close friends

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
a. Antu_MD
b. Picang
c. DoDo

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
a. I have an ingrow toe nail on one of my right toe... sakit siyut!!!
b. My tummy - i'm endowed with a full size beer gut..
c. My a$$ - the size of JLo's A$$

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
a. I'm like 1/2 javanese...
b. another 1/2 is malay...
c. another half from the ghetto... heheh

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
a. missing my monthly ritual-like credit card payment.
b. missing my monthly ritual-like car payment.
c. not being able to fulfill my duties as a father and husband...

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
a. My handphone
b. My car
c. My laptop

THREE OF YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESIONS:
a. My 12 YO Perdana
b. My laptop... mmm.. i love you, i love youuuuuu...
c. My DVD Collections which i enjoy with my family

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
a. t-shirt
b. glasses
c. boxer... waakakkaka!!!

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
a. The Darkness .. sama la...
b. Guns and Roses
c. Foo Fighters

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE SONGS:
a. 1 way ticket to hell and back - The Darkness
b. Route 66 - Chuck Berry
c. Lips of an Angel - Hinder

THREE THINGS YOU WISH YOU HAVE BUT WHICH YOU DO NOT HAVE RIGHT NOW:
a. Money la... sapa tak nak?!
b. BMW E34 Sedan/Touring... huyooo... ni baru la hensem
c. Transplant my 12 YO Perdana with an EVO engine, upgrade the suspension, replace the interior, new headlamp and rear lamp, DVD player with 5.1 surround system, and a 17" super mangkuk hayun sport rims... complete with Yokohama tyres - basically getting my ride pimped by Xzibit!!!!

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
a. Fun and loving relationship
b. To understand that i sometimes need some time on my own/friends...
c. Understanding my personal needs

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
a. Muka yg sedap mata memandang... ~very deep~
b. Boobies... hehehhe
c. Rear-end like JLo's... Wakakakkaka!!!

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE HOBBIES:
a. Cars
b. Movies
c. Comics

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BADLY RIGHT NOW:
a. Built a new PC for my self
b. Start my own company
c. Open a can of whoopa$$ on some people!!! @%!^&$!$%

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
a. Pulau Redang
b. Pulau Perhentian
c. Disneyland....!!!!

THREE KIDS' NAMES YOU LIKE:
a. Nisa - Ikut you la mama
b. Najah - Ikut you la mama
c. Amir Imran - Future baby.. kalau boy laa.. - Ikut you la mama

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
ntah, tak pikir...

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A WOMAN, WIFE AND MOTHER:
Hoi... Aku lelaki laaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!

NEXT --> Saya Tag; Rizal, Yusrizal, Irma... Haa... sila la yeee

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Deepavali

Without even realising it, Ramadhan is almost over. I wish to all my Muslim friends

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.
Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

Where ever you maybe!

And to all my Hindu friends

Happy Deepavali!

To help you guys be in the mood

Here's the link to Petronas's TVC for this years festive season

http://202.71.107.161/petronas/bm/index.asp

Enjoy :D

Al-Fatihah...

Today is a sad day for ex-AIMKL,

our lecturer, Miss Puteri passed away earlier this morning at her home due to breathing complications.

May Allah bless her soul and place her in Heaven... Amin.

Those who wishes to pay his/her last respect, please do so at the following address:

No. 67,
Lorong Cakera Purnama 12/12,
Fasa 3A,
42300 Bandar Baru Puncak Alam