A day out at Dataran Putrajaya

Once in a while it's fun to take the children out for a treat at a nice restaurant and then let them roam free on their bicycles after all the hardwork in schools and offices. We went to Dataran Putrajaya. There is ample space for hundreds of visitors from all walks of life to admire the beautiful scenery, snap some pictures, relax, chit chat, play, or take a nap, if it need be! Some regular visitors already know their ways around the place. They brought with them remote control cars (there's also one with a helicopter for show-off),  or play freesbie, and some of them even brought a flap chair and some magazines to read. The children enjoyed themselves very much, as much as we the parents did. Tired, but satisfied. It's shown on their faces. We ended up leaving for home at 12.30 a.m. Si tembam Aida was so tired that she dozed off in the car right away. Looking at her face when she sleep is so peaceful....

Sudirman Terasing

I seldom listen to the music. Most probably because I don't have a radio or any other music applications. But I like to listen to nice songs, sometimes I hummed them to reflect happiness in myself, in fact I like singing them outloud once in a while, just to reduce the tense that is building up in me. But nowadays, the opportunity of listening to the music only exist when I drive. Had it not been because car comes with audio equipment attached to its belly, I'll never get to listen to any songs at all. But worry not. I never cared who sings what. Not a priority in life.

But this morning when I was on my usual chore browsing the internet, I stumbled upon the lyric of a song by the late Sudirman Hj Arshad. He was my idol during the '70s and '80s. Back then I was his die hard fan(peminat mati keras???). I know all of his songs and memorise the lyrics. I even signed all my letters to my friends using his unique signature (ops!).

I can't tell which song I like the most because all of his songs were great. Including this one below. I used to sing it loudly in the bathroom, pretending that I was on stage, performing live in front of thousands of fans! (mati keras jugak???) Such an enegertic performance! I felt so alive! The crowd were cheering at me. Some of them even cried when they sang along with me..... Until I heard my mom's voice at high pitch outside the bathroom,

"Woi!! Dah lupa diri ke apa tu, terjerit-terlolong macam kena sampuk setan kat dalam bilik air tu!!!"

!!!--zzzaaaappppp--!!!

And so I'm thrown back to the ground. Hahahahaha......

TERASING by SUDIRMAN

Kegelisahan didalam kedinginan

Meniti sepi keseorangan

Sebuah kematian yang tiada bernisan

Sendu mengiringi perpisahan

Ruang nan luas diri bergerak bebas

Namun keupayaanku terbatas

Segala mimpi menjadi asing

Perit membakar diri

Sebuah cinta dan harapan

Menjadi mimpi berterbangan

Tersekat nafasku kabur pandangan mataku

Amat tersiksa diriku

Kerana kehilanganmu

Oh mengapakah terus mengharap menanti

Walau cukup kusedari

Kau tak kan kembali

Pemergianmu mengisi kekosongan

Biarpun dikau masih kuperlukan

Kita dikatakan pasangan bahagia

Kini terasing luka

Dear Sudirman,

Thank you for being such a great man during your days. You'll always be my favourite artist, till the end. Honestly, you're irreplaceable. Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohmu. Amin.

...and yes, Que Haidar does have resemblance with Sudirman.

Deep thinking while driving is bad for your eyesight

The new semester 2010 starts today at the Open University Malaysia (OUM). My teaching slot this time is allocated from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. I looked at the watch. It was already 2.35pm. Must rush to the City Campus, like, now! I don’t want to be late for the first seminar. Oh! Hey! The fuel tank was empty! Great! Just great!

So, with the speed of a hurricane, I drove the car to the fuel station, filled in the tank, and headed towards OUM. After about five minutes drive, I came upon an accident scene. The badly wrecked car has been removed to the side of the road but the scene was terrible. I wondered if the driver (and perhaps the passengers) was alright. Judging from the car condition, he has a slim chance of coming out unscratched. It made me shiver to think of sudden death caused by road accidents. It’s like you’re not given any last minute notice. It’s like an ugly punishment…

The accident scene was still haunting me when I got into the Touch‘n’Go lane at Kajang toll.

I hastily retrieved the smartcard from the front compartment and hit the electronic card reader. Normally I will hear a ‘beep’ sound to indicate that the transaction is successful (or that the card has been read). The automatic lane barrier or the flap gate will then be lifted up and I can continue my journey. However, this time, no matter how many times I waved and touched and up to one point, knock the card reader, the magical beep didn’t realise at all…! Nothing happened. Tak terangkat pun palang tol ni, pehal? Oh! No! This could not be happening to me. I took a peep at the side mirror and saw that cars were forming a long queue behind me and that created bigger panic in me. Could it be possible that I don’t have sufficient balance in the smartcard?

Ala Kassim…Mati la mak macam ni..!

For a few seconds, my head was blank. I wish I could turn my car invisible and reappear in front of my house. That would solve the problem. Next time I’ll consider installing a special car seat that could be ejected and !!puff!! ......here I land somewhere far away from the toll. But for now, what must I do? How do I face this humiliation?

Hey, wait a second. There’s a “panic button” that stucked drivers like me can press when they need help. The intercom, of course! Okay, I’ll call someone for help. Stay calm, do not overreact. Where’s the button…

Ahh.. there it is.. Eh, this looks just like…..

ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

I have just realized that actually I did not wave my card at the electronic card reader, instead, I repeatedly waved and touched it on the intercom speaker right next to the reader…!! No wonder it's not working. Ayoyo, malunyer aku!!! Gosh! Where was I just now, at the planet of the apes? When returned to reality, I touched the smartcard on the reader and !!puff!! , this time the lane barrier lifted up.

So magic...!

Hurry, Ati…! Make a move…

Ceh!! So malu….!!!

Highlight of the week...

This is the second day of water disruption at the university. Early this morning when I reached office, I received this message in my mailbox:

"SYABAS has repaired the pipe. Unfortunately, because of the water pressure or the lack of it, the rate of water flow into our reservoir is very slow, and it will be sometime before normal supply is restored. Syabas and JPPHB are monitoring the situation and taking whatever action that is necessary to restore supplies. Meanwhile, SYABAS will continue to send their tankers to supply water to campus"

Well, it's good that actions have been taken almost immediately to rectify the problem, but even when water is being supplied by SYABAS tankers as temporary solution, I believe they are meant only for colleges, cafes and the mosque. What about the offices?  I made a visit to ALL the washrooms located in this faculty in search of water (due to urgency to @#$%^&)  but to no avail! AAAArrrrggggghhhhh.....!!!!! This is serious problem, man!

"In view of the above situation, kindly be more judicious in your usage of water." 

Message in the email read further. Yeah, right.... !


About an hour ago I bought mineral water in a 500ml bottle from a convenient shop. Not to quench my thirst. But to take ablution so that I could perform my Zuhr prayer. Later I need to give my soulmate a call and ask him if we could retire early from the office today. I can't think properly right now. My mind is messed up. I am looking forward for tomorrow to come. I feel like it's been ages since I last sit at the sofa and tease my baby girl till she cry...

What a brilliant idea!

I found this on YouTube today. Thought of sharing it here with everyone. Very brilliant, especially the book wrapper and the bag. Will try it later at home.

Cute and adorable he is...

Last Saturday, my family and I went to visit Chah at her home in Shah Alam. She is already in 7th day of confinement, after giving birth to a 3.65kg healthy baby boy that brings joy and happiness to the whole family.

This is Ahmad Ariff Hakimi, the baby who absorbed his mom's PhD journey and synthesizes them in his dream.

Penat la, tido kejap ye...

A tiny whisper on the global warming issue.... Huh!?

Patut la tak berbedung...alasan!

Such a fine baby who is always in deep slumber but loves to stretch every 20 seconds


Aida Amani & Ahmad Aqil Danial.... pipi sama bulat, badan sama tembam!

A perfect match, perhaps?

Note of desperation: Chah, you must get back to UM as early as possible. I am running a campaign to become the VC. Need your physical support. On top of everything, I need you to run amok at the DTC building every Saturdays 3 weeks before election. Rose could not do it well because everybody thought she's experiencing her first menses. Do you get what I mean???