The Journey

The journey in life was never easy. It is full of many bumps and detours. My own journey into life was never a smooth one. I have been through the best and even the worst of times...

Today I had an opportunity to take a glimpse into my near future (insyaallah) and also took a trip back into the past. And it was indeed an eventful day to be doing so, since it is the last day of the year.


After all that my family has gone through for the past 8 years, we finally saw a ray of light peeking out from the thick gloomy cloud today. Though we have seen many of those moments before only to be welcomed with a downpour, the one we saw today seems 'right'. It feels 'right'. It just gives us such promising hope for a delightful future ahead.


What would the future be without the past? Today, after almost 2 years, we found ourselves staring back into our dark past. All the four of us were filled with mixed emotions and thoughts that had only one common theme - sadness. Images of the good old days ran through my mind as I stared right back into the monument of my past. Oh how I wished all of us could have done it differently back then. However, if it were different then I won't be the person that I am today, rite?


As I watch the fireworks display that marks the coming of a new year tonight, I can't seem to imagine how my life would be in 2006. No doubt major renovation to my routine will be required by the 2nd quarter, though I am not planning to revamp my entire life for it. There will be no new year resolution for 2006. I am going to try and make my way into it with small tiny baby steps. Insyaallah, I will reach my destination one day...

Fireworks from Ikano. Picture taken frm my sister's bedroom window.

binx: happy new year everyone!!!

I've been cursed!

Disclaimer: a drama queen's entry. Read it at your own risk!




It has been a tradition for my department to organise a secret Christmas / gift-exchange party every December during Uncle Dan's long Christmas holiday. We have been doing it for the past few years without Uncle Dan's knowledge. This is the time when everyone will feel relax enough to wind down and have fun without worrying about the BIG boss.

This year I have been assigned a special task to pick out gifts for the lucky draw. Besides exchanging gifts between staff, we also have special prizes for the lucky people who manage to pick out the "lucky" piece of paper. Mr. Tilam said, "Binx should buy the presents because she has such good taste"... Aheemmmm.. Ala.. actually they did not want to take the responsibility aje.. So saje puji laa a bit suruh I semangat sikit nak beli..

Anyway, I went to get the gifts last weekend and ended up with 4 gifts...


1. a matching IKEA's bedside lamps

2. RM50 MPH's gift voucher

3. 2 x Aussino's bedsheets



and my personal gift for the gift-exchange session - an IKEA cool purple alarm clock..




Ok what... with the small budget that I have received... Plus, it was way better than last year's gifts!

You see, most of the people in my department have such lousy taste in the gift selection. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why spend RM20 on something that people don't appreciate. You might else well get something nice, regardless of the size and price. I would not mind getting something cheap but nice.

So guess what I got this year...


A floormat!


Wait, I'm not finished...


And a food container!



Which amounts up to RM20.





Call me ungrateful, but just can't seem to appreciate the gift. The guy whose gift I received from actually gave the money to Uncle Dan's secretary, who was the culprit that had picked out the gifts from a catalogue. I wished she had picked out something else.

The irony of the whole situation is that I have received a gift from the same lady last year! It was a blind with lots of plastic colorful fruit dangling around. I have seen one with barbie doll pictures on it too. My face fell the moment I unwrapped the gift. I just don't know how to appreciate the thing. I might have liked it, if I have received it 20 years ago.

Last year, my ever-so-irritating colleague suggested that I hang the blind at the entrance of my cubicle.. He actually tried to stick the funny looking blind between the two partitions, while the rest laughed their heads off...

This year, the same colleague suggested that I put the floormat at the entrance of my cubicle and that anyone who wants to come in has to wipe off their feet on it! The idiot actually cracked up laughing as soon as he saw my gift. He said, hopefully next year I'll get a wok and then my house will be complete!

I guess I have been cursed to receive bad gifts every year. Luckily there will be no such party for me anymore next year.




binx: anyone want to trade gifts with me?

When I was a little girl...

Can you recall the nursery rhymes that you use to sing when you were small? From "twinkle-twinkle little star" to "humpty dumpty sat on the wall"... We used to have a PC game with all the nursery rhymes in it. Hence, hours will be spent in front of the PC, singing along to the various rhymes.

However, the focus today is not on the western nursery rhymes.

Besides those english nursery rhymes, we were also brought up exposed to the various Malay nursery rhymes and folk songs. I don't know what has got into me today, but I was recalling an old Kelantan folk song on my way to work today. I was playing it in my mind throughout the day because I can't recall how it ends. Hence, I have been asking various people, from online friends to cousins and even my aunt and my mom.

This is how it goes...

Cak klepik klepuk klepa
buoh brange lokoh kulit
akat cano takdok baka
mari samo kito balik
lek lek gung
pok talib keno sigung
(this is where I got stuck.. then came many different versions)
ling ling ling
basika masuk rok
mu kato aku keling
mu tokpek tok basuh beghok
(there's more but I just could not catch on)
wah adaina tok cheh..!

It's amazing how people can actually come up with those songs. Most of it is based on jokes and cynical advises. However, for people like me, who doesn't understand most of the words, it is just another childhood song that lingers at the back of my head every now and then.

Another one of my favorite would be...

(it begins with.. "sep sep sep.. bom bom bom")
Ola Oli ku beri nama
saudara saudari
cikebum cikebum
malam-malam minggu
siang-siang minggu
disko disko
putih putih melati... ali baba
merah merah jelita... meow meow
siapa yang baik hati... cinderella
lama-lama menjadi patung...

*lol*

Well, laugh all you want. I am not ashamed to admit that that used to be one of my favourite games. I bet if you are around the same age as I am, you will be singing along to it by now. Haaa... kantoi! It can be deduced that almost every Malay kid in Malaysia would have played or sing the song at least once in their lifetime.

Looking back, one would wonder what was the song all about. One could not make any sense out of the lyrics at all. And that is not the only song that has weird and funny lyrics or wordings in it. There's more!

Assalamualaikum
kom apa? kombat
bat apa? batman
man apa? mentol
tol apa? tolak
lak apa? laksa
sa apa? sepak
pak apa? pakcik
ci apa? cicak
ca apa? cawan
wan apa?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
ten apa? tembak
bak apa? bak duit!

Someone actually told me that there's another version to this song.. A more ganas version though... It goes like this...

(the starting is the same until...)
sa apa? satu
tu apa? tulang
lang apa? langkah
ka apa? kayu
yu apa? you bodoh!

Wanna read some more? Of course there's more!

Malam yang sepi pi pi
Pak Mat jual kopi pi pi
Kopi nya enak nak nak
Pak Mat jual anak nak nak
Anak nya hilang lang lang
Pak Mat jual gelang lang lang
Gelang nya patah tah tah
Pak Mat jual getah tah tah
Getah nya putus tus tus
(One version will stop here with "Pak Mat terus mampus pus pus!")
Pak Mat jual sugus gus gus
Sugus nya manis nis nis
Pak Mat kencing manis nis nis!

So which version is better? Is it better to let the poor old Pak Mat to mampus immediately after selling all the getah putus or let him suffer the long agony of being a diebetic? *lol*

Another song that I can recall contain some explicit lyrics. However, it is not actually a nursery rhyme though. It's a song I learnt during my time being a girl scout in school. The scouts are famous with its jamboree songs. Most of it are just some "happy" songs that do not actually make any sense. Here's one of it...

Atas rumput ada kaki
kaki cantik tak pernah lihat..
Kaki atas rumput
Rumput nya panjang hey!
Rumput nya panjang

Atas kaki ada lutut
lutut cantik tak pernah lihat...
Lutut atas kaki
Kaki atas rumput
Rumput nya panjang hey!
Rumput nya panjang

Atas lutut ada peha
peha cantik tak pernah lihat...
Peha atas lutut
Lutut atas kaki
Kaki atas rumput
Rumput nya panjang hey!
Rumput nya panjang

Atas peha ada uk uk
uk uk cantik tak pernah lihat...
Uk uk atas peha
Peha atas lutut
Lutut atas kaki
Kaki atas rumput
Rumput nya panjang hey!
Rumput nya panjang

And the song goes on, naming each and every body parts there is, naming the private parts as "uk uk". *lol*...

Oh such fun it was back then! Life was full of merry songs, making silly jokes out of every single things. How I wish I can relive the moment... Forget all the problems at work. Forget all the negative thoughts that have been polluting your mine for the past decade. And just sing and play...

...Sep sep sep
bom bom bom...



binx: help! I can't stop singing!

Weekend rambling...

1.

It has been a good break from work, though I didn't actually get much rest during the 3 days break. However, I did manage to finish one of the three storybooks that I've bought early of the month (yipee..!).


2.

Was stuck in a difficult situation last Saturday, when I went to Maju Junction to pick up my Mycard with Lil Sis. We were half way to the entrance when I realised that I left the parking ticket in the car. Hence, I ran back to the car only to find no trace of it anywhere. Peeking through between the handbreak, I found it stuck between the namecard holder that I thought I'll never see again (I thought I've lost it for good). So the smart me tried to pry it out only to push it deeper between the narrow space. Then it just fell underneath the seat.

Without thinking much further, my hand dived underneath the seat in search for the ticket and the cardholder. I stuck my hands in between the seat and the metal thingy, only to find my shoe that I had stashed underneath the seats. Realising that it was better for me to search for it from the backseat, I tried to pull my hand out from under the seat but it was STUCK! I tried to gently pry it out but to no avail. I was practically glued to the seat, with my feet dangling outside the door.

I tried signaling to Lil Sis who was waiting for me near the entrance, but she was busy with her phone. Shouting for help was out of question because I didn't want to attract any attention that would cause further embarrassment. If anyone would have caught a sight of me at that time, they would have rolled on the floor laughing out loud. Seriously, even I was laughing hard at that time.

How I got out from the sticky situation? Well, after 5 minute trying to pull my ranting-like right hand, I suddenly realised that it would be much easier if I slide the seat further backwards. Once I did that, it was much easier to wiggle the hand out... and I was free!

When I went back to the entrance with a laughing face, Lil Sis gave me a weird look.

LS: What were you doing back there?
Me: Trying to wiggle out my way from under the seat..
LS: I saw you wiggling your legs up in the air.. I thought you were doing some dance act..
Me: Idiot! I was calling you for help laar
LS: rotflol.... You should have seen yourself girl.. hahahaha
Me: Shuuush!


3.

Finally got my dream handphone! Got a good bargain for it. All thanks to Lil Sis's friend, Ahmad from Peace Corner, Pertama Complex.


4.

Spent the whole day shopping on Sunday. I didn't know that it could be very tiring looking for gifts for a friend's wedding and the department's Christmas party. Since I was put in charge of selecting the gifts for the lucky draw, I was out on a mission to get some value for money gifts for everyone. Finally there will be no more lousy gifts this year. I was actually having fun roaming through Ikano and The Curve, selecting things that I "like", with the hope that I will actually get at least one of the gifts.. hehehe..


5.

2 cousins got married over the weekend, a double wedding ceremony. While helping out with the preparation, an aunt turned and faced us, three sisters..

Aunt: So lepas nieh the 3 of you qada' and buat triple wedding laa pulak ek..
Me: Errmmm.. maybe not kut..
Aunt: Why not?
Me: It's gonna be bigger.. 4 in 1 wedding...
Aunt: Huh?
Me: You forgot to include Mama.. Mama skali laa
Aunt: *tergamam*

That will keep them busy for awhile... hehehe..




Hope all of you had a great weekend too. May the merry "vibe" last throughout the coming week and spill over into the next year!


Have a good Monday ya...



binx: can't wait for the next break...

Lost In Translation

Disclaimer: Read this at your own risk. The author should not be held responsible for any headaches or brain malfunction after reading this post.

Tak penoh seumur hidup kawe duduk dale satu dewe besar penuh denge oghe Klate belako. Segho supo duduk dale panggung woye kulit.

Company tempat kawe kijo doh sponsor so mejo untuk dinner "Malam Persatuan Anak-Anak Kelantan di Perantauan". Boss hok book mejo tuh suruh secretary dio panggey sapo-sapo hok takdo buak gapo-gapo male nieh, suruh penuh ke mejo tuh. Jadi, kawe denge pakso relo nyo pegi la KLCC Convention Centre male tadi denge Abe Zorro, denge hajak nok make makene klate.

Sapa-sapa yah dekak Ballroom tuh, kejut beruk kawe kelih ado due oghe tuo duduk dekat luar dewe main alat musik gapo entoh sambil duk sughuh oghe sumo masuk dewe.

"Bakpo laa sumo duduk cace depe dewe nieh weee... Sleke laa masuk ambik tepak duduk. Lepah nieh kito sambung laa duduk cace pulok"

Selok kawe gelok bilo denga oghe tua tuh kecek gitu mo. Nasib baik laa kawe pehe gapo dio oghe tuh ghoyak. Abe Zorro duk cace tok pehe. Ciye dio.

Bilo doh jupo mejo Company kawe, kawe tera laa kelih menu make male atah mejo. Seghoo supo buke male untuk oghe Klate yah bilo kelih menu. Makene hok dia ogher serve sumo buke makene Klate. Kawe ingat ado nasi krabu ko, nasi dage ko, ike singge ko, kuih akok ko, lompat tike ko, dll. Takdok! Dio serve makene biaso yah.. Nasi minyok, aye kari, rojok buoh, rende tok, sutung goreng kunyit and bubur chacha. Meme bengong sungguh organizer male nieh. Ado ko buat lagu tuh?

Nasib baik bilo tengoh make nasik tuh, dia buak show woye kulit. Bilo bunyi yah suaro "Where's my Golok", sumo oghe pakat gelok blako. Tuh baru laa sero supo kat Klate. Selok ogher sumo pakat suko tengok show tuh. Mano tok nyo.. ado ko, sumo bendo laa dia ghoyak maghri dari Klate. Dia ghoyak persident Amarika dulu pun oghre Klate jugok - President Nixon.. Nixon = Nik Hasse dari Tumpat Klate. hahaha... Tapi Abe Zorro duduk diye yah sebeloh kawe. Dio ghoyak dekat kawe, dio keno ada translator soghe duduk sebeloh dio baru dia buleh pehe. Meme lost. "Ciye diyo.. mok takdo.. pok takdok.. taik tepek jubo.."... hahaha...

Habih licing makene, baghru la PM sapa.. Ciye dio.. Dari pagi pegi Perlis duk kelih mangso banjir pahtu pegi Penang, pahtu pegi Alor Setar, pahtu baru turung KLCC. Tapi kawe suko bena tengok muko PM bilo dio duk ghoyak pasa arwoh oghe ghumoh dio. Bulih kelih air muko dio, meme saye sokmo kat Allahyarham Endon. Sedih kawe dengar bilo dio duk alik sebut yah namo arwoh.

Kawe kelik lewak jugok male tadi. Tapi nate sungguh laaa organiser majelih tuh.. Meme tak organise langsung. Gege semace. Sumo mache tok pernoh organise majelih.

Pagi nieh pulok, kawe tak habih nyupoh.. Bakpo nyo? Lekak kat kpalo kawe nieh lagu dikir kemarin... Aduh laaa... Kawe harap tok melarat laa.. Kalu dok, kawe duk nyanyi laa lagu goni satu haghri nieh...



Demo lo nieh tok supo mulo...
Tak berani kawe nok tegor...
Tengok kelih hujung mato...
Tengok kelih hujung mato...
Nyo maghri nyo angin sekak demo kayo...

~Kapilla - Dikir Rambong




Cik Mek Binx: Pening weih kecek lagu nieh...

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


~ Robert Frost

binx: I hope I've chosen the right road..

The Countdown...

10 more days to 2006.

I still have lots of unresolved issues at hand…

… the unpaid bills

… the messy room

… the tempting storybooks

… the dream handphone

… the long-awaited exam result

… the year end financial statement

… the long-awaited beach getaway (yeah rite!)

… the reports that are due by the end of the month and early next year

… the unavoidable wedding this coming Monday (another Chinese wedding)

… the dreaded resignation letter

So many things to settle, so little time.

Hope the rest of you have a smooth venture into the new year!

binx: I wanna breakfree!