the land of "tom yam"

Bangkok that was. I didn't set any expectation beforehand. I just need a place away from home that i don't have to think about work and selfish people. The flight was an early morning flight that i had to gather at KLIA as early as 6am. I didn't have enough sleep lately and i slept kinda late the night before for a last minute packing. The airport looked kinda empty and quiet. I was hungry and we were supposed to depart at 8:30am but due to some tchnical faulty (i hope it was not that serious even though i'm safely reached home now), we were about half an hour late. I took the chance to take a nap.

The time in Bangkok is 1 hour behind Malaysian time. Still in my sleepy lazy mode, we were welcomed by the age nt that brought us and i saw a sweet thai grl in a thai costume holding a banner welcoming us in warm smile. The guys in my team showed some excitement after one and half hour boring journey. I guess a good cross culture breaking session. I'm used to backpacking and this arranged protocol made me feel a bit weird. Ahhahaha.. the pic makes me look like a school girl going for an official school excursion! Sawasdee krup....

i wonder whether Thai schoolkids are allowed to wear fancy shoes

the muslim restaurant where we had our lunch.
Seafood Tomyam in Thailand mixed with coconut milk.
Something different from what we have in Malaysia.
Sweet & Sour Garoupa.. perfecto! I'm drooling already!

This whole stretch of alley is occupied by a muslim community.
By the way, it's Ali Selatan in case you read it as ALI SETAN! hehehe..

friday prayer at the mosque along the muslim alley.


some friendly villager striked a pose with a DIY baby-stroller!
Something that you don't see in KL.


aren't they adorable kids? a good mingler i might add.
.. the trip will be in silence without 'em.


it was a rainy season. Pic taken at Wat Arun.
A nice boat used to transfer Shangri-La hotel patrons.
We thought we are going to embark this.. but..


not even this..

here it comes...


me.. and bunch of guys enjoying the scenery of
chao phraya river in a "not-so-luxury" boat.


click on the thumbnail. I INSIST.

arm-sized fish. they don't catch them for food, they feed them.
Its a sacred beings protected by the temple.


"ratu" lebah.


more tom yam gung.. and a sweet sour garoupa. yummy!


Yes, i went to the famous chatuchak market by train.. TWICE! It is a 10x football field sized weekend market selling anything-you-name-it! It has 36 gates with 100s of markets in each section. Bring extra cash as they only accept cash term. I bought some crafts and home decor. It was extremely hot and that thin mini T dries that sweat off!


from home deco.. to pets!


the famous suan lum night bazaar. It was the night of worldcup and they have a big screen for live wordcup telecast. Massive people booking the seats and some even sits on the floor.


I had a great time in bangkok, the only place that i didn't get the chance to visit was the floating market. I bet its such a good scene to shoot photos. A tiring day was closed with a good retreat for my body... a Thai massage specially delivered to my door step. Never had a full body massage before, it was ticklish at first but it felt good after all..

i'm gonna miss Thailand and of course some "experience" i had in Bangkok which i don't blog here. And thanx to my new thai friend, ken. the tops are awesome. Thanx for being a good company even for a short period of time.

-The End-


erm.. did i mention i went to some "animal" show? period.

Sawasdee krup!!

Guess this is what i need.. Been overworked for the past 2 weeks. I need to be off my office suit. I'll be boarding the early morning flight tomorrow.. See ya once i'm back..

I got phished and I'm pissed!

I always doomed with negative energy on Monday. If you refer to my previous Monday blogs there's not much fortunate and nice things happened on that day.

I still managed to smile last week. But today, i think i have a strong reason to be pissed. It started when i tried logging in to my YM this morning but my attempt failed for the zillion times! I requsted for id verification from the "forgot password and id" section (even though i'm solidly sure about my password). It was a jawdropping moment when it stated that the ID does not exist!! What the..????

I'm not going to write lengthy stories over that matter but my Yahoo account got phished. Wanna know what fish with a "ph" is? refer here. Whoever phisher out there who phished my account, something embarassing will happen to you today.. tomorrow.. or the day after tomorrow. What about... you are going to pee your pants in front of the most gorgeous woman/man today!! Or your dog humiliates you in front of the public.. or you accidentally wear undergarments outside due to your dreams over superman last night. Thats a curse i make today for giving me so much hassle and depressions today!!

My email is so important to me, i treasure those precious friends in my address book, the important email on my employment and some official matters. And ALL GONE. Farewell. I'm not talking today. period.

Survey for shorter lads and taller lass.

Guys, would you date taller lasses and why?

Girls, would you date shorter lads and why?

My Temper button

I gazed up to the bluish hue of the sourmilk sky and smile. Exhaling the fresh cool morning breeze deeply into my lungs. Its unlike the blue i always had on Mondays.. I feel good this morning. For the married couple, its like having an afterglow after a good pleasurable moment. No, didn't have sex (d'oh). I'm just trying not to think too much about life now, yeah atleast this beautiful morning.

Put on my new shoes. To women, shoes are their next bestfriend. Women and shoes has some chemistry that only certain women can describe. Albeit i'm not fetishly connected to shoes but i can imagine how its like to walk in confidence when you wear shoes you like. So, new shoes that is for today. New shoes give you confidence only if you are comfortable in it. I tried it at the shoe store and i thought it was comfortable enough. I have to admit its a lil bit the higher than my normal shoes/sandals. I'm totally not a sucker for high heels. Usually go for flat ones or sneekers. But i think a change would do me good. Will this shoes betray me like some other shoes i had (which are now in my store room)? Yes it did! Ku sangka kan panas sampai ke petang, tup tup hujan plak beb! (ceh!!). I reached the office in style but with few blisters on my soles! dayum!

Forget about the shoes. I hoped the day will treat me fairly today. But the moment i switched on my PC i noticed the machine was running extremely slower than it used to. It took me about a minute just to let the Start menu to appear. I have tonnes of work piled up. Few SAP queries to be done and this old engined taxi is not what i need when i'm already late to the airport!!! geez.

I have my sore and blistered feet stretched and this lousy machine flickering infront of me. My beautiful morning totally ruined. It was a disaster! I took a long deep breath. Try to smile and remember 'always take problems a day at a time'. (this scene reminds me to Bree Van deKamp in Desperate Housewive, the looks she always put on her face when major problems arises) Applied some cream on my feet, left it bare, pulled up my sleeves and this machine needs a serious surgery. It took me one slow day to backup, format and get everything back into it.

Its either i burst my temper out or smile and think positively and everyones happy with me. I hold the remote to my temper. I chose to OFF my temper button.

There goes my Monday.. and still managed to smile..

Presenting Furbol .. Betty Furbol

Lisa came to my house few nights ago with a lil pleasant surprise. A lil company that chased my blues away the moment i saw her. She found her peeping underneath her car. Ouh this tiny kitten was covered in dust and smoke. Poor kitten. She's too small to be left alone on the street. The mommy was not there and lisa decided to bring her home. Bought a kitten food and a milk and furbol was happy playing around like no one's business.

Furbol has short legs, big tummy and very puffy! She's probly a month old. I took some shots of Furbol in action. And i have to tell you she does know how to strike a pose. Enjoy the shots..


ouh.. i know i'm cute..

i'm striking a pose here


i lost my balance.. whats wrong with the gravity?


hey! be gentle okay! i'm a kitten here..


still getting to know


classic enough??


the teddy isn't that small anyway..


not me.. i didn't do it.. (ouh... this reminds me of the cat in shrek)


who says kitten doesn't have sex-say lips!! mwahh..

not a loser yet a winner..

Back then...

when i was in kindergarten, how many stars i got from the teacher counts. I'll be thrilled in joy.. bragging and start comparing with my fellow friends.. (kids). Stars.. as a sign of recognition and reward. Even kids appreciate that.

when i was in high school, no more braggings. Exam results will be kept silently to myself. Its either i got good results compared to my fellow friends and don't want them to feel bad, or too shy to share my pathetic scores.. but still recognition and reward are the source of motivation.. why i studied hard? for one reason. To get a good placement in a uni.

when i was in uni, everyone strived for GPAs, CGPAs (whatever alphabetics you might call). From the very 1st year i was already hoping i could end it up the soonest. Can't wait to see myself in an executive suit, driving my own luxury wheels, own a house and to be respected and rewarded for my skills and expertise. Dream as high as the sky. How i wished i didn't have to attend classes and read thick books with just text and no models in it. (I still have problems finishing a book) In spite of complains and hardwork and sometimes failures.. i still made it through on time.

The moment i stepped into working life, i started to turn back my head and say.. how i wished i were a student now. Used to make a big fuss of going to lectures, chasing datelines and studying for exams albeit it was all sponsored. How ungrateful. I was not aware how hard to earn and sponsor yourself with your own sweat and 4 bones. Only if i knew i would have studied harder and less complains. But i'm beginning to doubt excellent scores guarantees you all that. I have a friend whose excelled with dean's lists almost every semester but now end up being a fulltime housewife. (maybe thats what she wants or maybe there's no need to work because she's married to a filthy rich bloke).

Well, some people are just lucky to have good positions with handsome digits after graduating. Or even been sponsored a luxurious wheels by their parents when they are still studying and allocated lands, properties and houses as a wedding presents. But for me, my luxurious bubbles i had during my academic years are still my day/night time dreams. In a way, it is still stranded somewhere in heaven. But i do believe, rezeki ada di mana-mana and God is impartial. I believe in karma. Everything in this world is balanced. Its like bearing an opportunity cost. We won't get EVERYTHING our heart desires.

.. i will still strive to buy my own house, land, properties.. get a position i want in an organization with handsome pay.. to be respected and recognized for my capabilities and expertise. Again.. me with my high as sky dreams..

breaking the silence..

.. i said i needed to defrag.. and i think i did. How are you guys doing? I have to admit there was a major thing in my life that made me sit and think real hard about my life. There's no need to dig the reasons for my actions. But i'd like to share with ya few things that knocked me real hard on my head. Somethings that made me think and ponder..

Scenario 1 :
I was in the IT store lookin for a wireless router for my home wifi. My sis has been complaining about getting online and i can't keep myself away from the bandwidth. Since the ADSL is in my room, i get the connection on my own. How stingy.. We used to have a wifi but due to heavy storm few months ago in Subang, it striked my ADSL, wireless router and my network card. It is on the bottom of my list and we've been procrastinating to get a new router. Last 2 weeks we decided to get one. When we were eyeing and bargaining for the router, i came across one article posted in the store. "Research in Japan shows that spending more than 9 hours in front of the screen everyday can cause sudden blind. " WTF?????!!!! Calculating the number of years working and owning wifi at home : 3 years. Number of hours spend in the office : 8 hours. Number of hours spend at home : atleast 3 hours. That gives me a solid average of 11 hours daily. Multiply by 365 days = i don't want to know. I can sense my eyesight quality is degrading year by year. Imagining myself having a sudden blackout the next morning. NOO! thats why i cut down wi-fiing.

Scenario 2:
I was in the car with my dad one morning. My hand will automatically turn the radio on when i hop in my dad's car. Why? just to break the silence... and of course to avoid naggings or kuliah subuh or whatnot. My dad is a very music conservative person. He only listens to old Malay songs by Jamal or Francesca Peter and the only International artist he loves are Julio Iglesias and Mayumi Itsuwa. He even dislike loud music. So, i turned the radio to a medium volume tried to be considerate anough. It was "My Hips Don't Lie" by shakira on air at that time. I love this song undeniably for the fact that i love the way she moves her ass. But my dad's action gave me another knock on my head. He turned the volume louder and started to enjoy the song.

My dad : Ni Shakirakan? Penyanyi latino tu kan?
Me : Erm.. a ah. (puzzle)
My dad : Lagu ni dah berapa minggu dah first on the chart utk American Top Hits.
Me : Aik, camne papa tau? (surprised)
My dad : Dia ada version football jugakkan?
Me : (scratching my unitchy head.. hmm.. aku pun tak tau!)

Yup, i didn't even know it is one of the featured song for the Worldcup. How pathetic is that? Then i started to realize, i started to become a music conservative now and that old folk knows more than i do. Where was i all this while? I used to be very expert in Whats On what Hot and Whats in and whats out. Used to be one couch potato that holds a remote control for herself over MTVs. I watch less tv now. Almost don't watch tv sometimes. Look at how it effects my life? thats why i cut down wi-fiing.

Scenario 3 :
My mom (whose not very up-to-date in fashion) once complained about how i look nowadays. She says i really do need a new hair cut. Its getting too long and ungroomed. "Macam orang kampung je. Taknak gunting rambutke?". Imagine that words being uttered from a conservative mom to a daughter whose used to take care of her personal style. That shows how neglective i am now. "Macam orang kampung?" Oh, thats hard to swallow. Do i look that bad?? (i have nothing against orang kampung.. but i know what my mom meant) Ahahaha.. I guess its time have a new hair cut. Skin? Afro? Mohawk? Any suggestions? Hehhehe.. No i don't think i need an extreme hairstyle. I guess less wi-fi and more beauty therapy is what i need. Its time to get pampered.

Conclusions i get...

More tv, friends and socializing, get pampered and less wi-fi.

System Defragmentation.

Dear blog/bloggers/friends/Dato'/Datin/tan Sri/Puan Sri..

I don't think dato'/datin reads my blog.. ahaha.. i know it has been quite a long silence here. Yup, i'm still alive.. But i'm taking a break from my routine bloggings. There are so many things to write, to ramble and i will be back with more juicy/sad/funny stories.. but time has to be spent on something else which is more important at the moment. In a mean time.. feel free to browse here. Take care and have a great day, people.

A chocolate cake & my boring weekend

A friend told me i had brownie issue. And now, chocolate cake. Tell me how do i resist this moist mouth-watering chocolate cake. And the sad thing is, i have bad sore throat. I couldn't care less, this cake is too good to resist. This weekend is not a good weekend for me as i'm not feeling well. It got worsen after i took doc's prescriptions. It was not that bad before. It must be the chemical reactions. The pills make me so drowsy and lethargy as i had to lock my butt on my bed all the time. And it makes it worse as i'm not really a sleeper. Excessive of sleep gives me headache. So, whatelse to do at home and my mom wants me to stay at home instead of hanging out. Indoor photography sounds fair. So, these are the shots that i took to occupy my boring hour..

Faces of Medan.

I know this blog is a bit outdated. It was taken during my trip to medan weeks ago. Not much to shout about just some pics of people i took on the street.

This was where we stayed. Yeah.. Peterpan, Kris Dayanti, and a whole lot bunch of Indonesian artist used to be here.. ehehehh.. Not bad for a 3 star hotel

This money changer givs a lot cheaper rate than malaysia. So the next time you're visiting indonesia you might want to consider changing your money there.

You never know this dark alley in between construction buldings have food stalls

People at streets

Is it worth risking life like the beggar above?

The mobile salesman

folks in medan

Transportation

cheaper alternative to hop around towns

Another Saturday musings.

Woke up early this morning because i know my body needs some exercise. I was supposed to go jogging brisk walking with a friend atleast twice a week during the weekdays. Running is too much for my dislocated knee.But lazyness overule everything and always put traffic jam as an excuse for not doing so. But today, i went for a swim with sis and friend. After few sets i'm relief i don't get tired.. that means i still have my stamina.. continued for another few lapse ( i guess its enough to cover 2 weeks of not having any exercises).

So, whats for this week? did my laundry.. helped mom doing karipap daging since i'm very good in twisting the edges! hehehh.. chit chat a bit with mom.. guess i need this quality hour to chit chat with mom since i rarely spend time to sit and daughter-to-mom talk. I'll be leaving the office at 7 every morning and come back about 9 pm and by the time i reach home, mom probably watching tv in her room before going to bed. That goes for 5 days.. Now i'm giving her chance to nag and babble while i sit and listen more or less being her sounding board. Well, thats what moms do. I understand she sometimes need a chanel to detox her mind from stressfull days. Everyone needs that!

After 2 hours of listening while doing karipap, its time for myself. I do need sometime for myself. At this few hours i will lock myself in a room, do whatever shit i need to do. Sometimes it made me think, why do i blog? Why i'm spending time writing what i do in this screen. I am not a diary-type of person. And you.. for reading this piece of crap.. i bet you're in my shoes. Stuck in front of the pc with no interesting agenda. Or your date broke promise or forgets that she/he supposed to meet you now.. i know there are more silent reader out there than those who commented on my blogs. I appreciate your visits. Atleast it keeps you occupied and atleast it makes you laugh with my day to day stupid incidents.. and sorry if it offends you in any way. I'm quite overwhelmed with feedbacks i get from people. It feels good to be inspirational to some people. And some thought i was a profesional photographer. Well, i have a deep passion in doing photography but for me to be considered as a profesional.. not even close to it yet.. there's a lot of things to learn. There's one visitor asked for a quotation for a wedding photography. I have not done anything like that yet. And trust me i have no idea how to quote and i feel bad for turning some of them down. I always wanted to do it, but i guess i'm just not ready for it yet. Atleast let me have a better lense and create atleast one portfolio, then i'll be ready to take clients. Thanx for the support. And please, keep supporting me! And speaking of clients, i have a model photoshoot tonite and the models are noone else but my own friends and colleagues who love my photos and willing to be shot by me. I'll take it as a practise before i charge any model shootings.. heheh.. after this, no more FOC yeah?!

I was thinking a way to gain side income because i need to tick my wishlist by this year.. I need to get an iBook and a macro lense and atleast a 70/210 lense. But not MLM or direct selling please! I f***ing hate it when people come to me with that agenda! While i was contemplating, i got an sms from my ex client. I gotta freelance job on creating some layouts for his client. I have no idea on the topic but we're going to discuss about it tomorrow morning.. God listens to my prayer.. kcing!! kcing!! wuhoo!!

On other side, I am creating another blogspot account for my photo galleries. There's not much photos yet, but i'm currently working on black and white series. I have quite a collections of it, but its been stored in my external disk for sometime, (post-editing, cropping and resizing are tiring) guess might as well utilize it as a portfolio for my next incoming project. Feel free to peep in here. Have a great Saturday!



".. karipap daging yang baru digoreng. Sedap dimakan panas-panas bersam teh O!.."

Nat Geog baby!

looks like i'm the certified National Geographic Society! No they don't sponsor me to go photoshoot with steve mccurry to afghan, nor fly on business class to Europe.. Just feel like showing off this piece of paper.. No biggy!

Get up on the wrong side of the bed.

I remembered my mom used to say to me when we were in medan. She noticed that i always have this habit of sleeping at the very end of the bed. Be it on the left or right. A slight turn will make me end up being on the floor! And i tend not to move my body during my sleep. After sometime, it made me wonder. I don't think i was like that years and years back. And it may not be good for my blood circulation and i always have this back ache, neck restrain when i got up. Everytime it happens, i keep saying i might got up on the wrong side of my bed. Biologically and scientifically it's true.

But i'm beginning to realize there's a reason for this change of habit. I pretty much assure that it relates to my psychological emotion. After my breakups, i've been living in the mansion called "insecurity" and the feeling of unable to be free, afraid of scrutinization and.. come to think of the worse case scenario.. being a doormat! Why i say that? All my life, i've been too nice.. too kind and too accomodative untill sometimes it hurts me. Especially now. I have ample space but still i'm not fully utilizing the space i have for myself.. thinking i might hurt and always want to comfort people surrounds me and make them feel at home. There's nothing wrong with that and people will say.. "hey, its one good quality you have.. and don't change! People feel comfortable talking to you, consult to you when they need ears to listen to their problems". But what about my feelings? what about my problems? what about my space? Don't get me wrong.. i'm not complaining. Infact, I am more than happy to listen, to help, to see the cheer on their face after some miserable episode of life. I always be there for them.. but sometimes my kindness has been taken advantage on. When it comes to my problem i'll end up being a solo entertainer. A clown without an audience. Who's going to listen to it? i guess whats left is myself. And the best i could do is put that fake smile on my face and act like nothing happens! I've been doing it over and over again.. There goes back to my sleeping pattern. I know, i have no one sleeping beside me (apart of sometimes lisa does come and sleep over), but i'm afraid to take more space than i should to myself, and stay motionless afraid i might wake someone up. Make sense?

I guess its time to sleep at center of my bed. I want to be free, get full control of myself while still be in control, do whatever i want to do and move wherever i like whithout have to think i might make someone uncomfortable for my actions or less happy with space i conquered. And moreover i'm sleeping alone every night and why can't i enjoy the space i have! I'm the queen on my queen bed! Veni! Vedi! Vici!


Tips: for sex and relationships. You can diagnose here. For self diagnose, here.

Camera, lights, action!

Testing over my new toyboy. I guess flash does make a huge difference!