Weekendku di rumah pekan (hometown) - updated with pics

I had a full long weekend in Kuching.

Friday – went shopping with my mum for bakery goods and tools, then for mum's kasut raya, malamnya pulak main Monopoly with my siblings until 3am (pastu bangun balik at 4.30am for sahur)

Saturday – tidur until noon…my dad lagi dasat, pukul 3 petang baru bangun…then for buka puasa I decided to give mum a break and pegi sungkei kat Grand Margherita…it was nice, the buffet spread is full of variety…open air beside Sungai Sarawak. Good to see my family's happy faces. Yelah, kitorang jarang sekali makan di hotel. Dalam setahun boleh dibilang dengan jari tangan kiri je.

Sunday – after sahur, we went to Sarikin (a kampong near Indonesian-Malaysian border, at Sarawak side) for window shopping and eventually, shopping. I got myself a telekung raya which I paid using the leftover rupiahs from my previous Indon trip. Pakcik tukang jual tu pun tanya mana aku dapat duit Indon. It's still very early, so takdela panas terik jalan kat Sarikin tu. Sampai rumah almost noon, membuta sampai petang.

**gambar perasan...my moms and sis made me tried all the tudungs that we bought and catalogue it in my blog...I think about 14 tudungs..tapi tak sanggup la nak post

Monday – buat biskut London Almond with the help of mum (chocolate lady in charge) and Mimin, my 9 year old sis (tukang tabur the nibbed almond). My first time attempting this recipe, made about 300++ biji, cukupla untuk raya nanti. Pukul 3 petang, jemput kawan saya Mrs S from airport. Dia nak stopover my house before balik ke Miri bersama saya pagi esoknya (kitorang langsung ke ofis).

Which reminds me, I haven't been doing much about my workshop preparation. Tak taula jadi ke tak meeting kat KL minggu ni. I don't really care anymore. Lagipun, KL is not exactly my favorite place if not for the fact a lot of my friends are there…lagi-lagi bulan puasa ni, bukak puasa lambat sejam from Miri. Kalau bos cakap aku tak payah pergi pun takpe, banyak sangat benda nak kena buat kat sini.

Hoho…sebelum saya mengurangkan pahala puasa, I better stop. Gambar-gambar aktiviti weekend ini akan diupload kelak.

P/S: don't feel like going back to work.

Entri sempena Hari Kebangsaan ke-52

Kepada rakan-rakanku yang dihormati dan dirahmati serta dikenangi sepanjang pagi dan petang…

Yeay! My favorite drama series ever, Rosli Dhoby – Warkah Terakhir sedang disiarkan secara marathon di Astro Citra, saluran 131 sempena sambutan Hari Kebangsaan. Beliau mungkin kurang dikenali berbanding tokoh-tokoh kemerdekaan yang lain, but as a true Sarawakian, saya dibesarkan dengan mengenali beliau sebagai salah seorang wira Sarwak (seperti Rentap, yang rasanya lebih ramai orang kenal).

Jadi, saya berasa amat teruja bila KL Motion Pictures dan Cik Wan Hasliza tampil dengan siri drama ini (sehingga saya sanggup langgan Astro Citra dan influenced my mum to do so too) hehehehe… lagipun drama ni dihasilkan dalam bahasa Sarawak. Bersungguh-sungguh si Beto Kushairy dan actors lain yang bukan orang Sarawak belajar bahasa ibundaku ini…hehe

Drama ini memaparkan rentetan peristiwa (ditambah dengan sedikit elemen drama yang ditokok tambah sebagai rencah komersialisme) yang berlaku dalam 3 tahun terakir dalam hidup Rosli Dhoby sehingga ke peristiwa pembunuhan Sir Duncan George Stewart dan ke tali gantung.

Kenapa peristiwa ini penting? It signified the beginning of nationalism in Sarawak. Dulu-dulu instead of Kompeni Hindia Timur Inggeris (seperti di Malaya), Sarawak diperintah oleh keluarga Brooke. Hubungan rakyat Sarawak dan the White Rajahs baik. The people of Sarawak hidup aman dan makmur. Lepas tu Jepun datang…after Jepun kalah, maybe keadaan agak kelam kabut, so raja masa tu, Charles Vyner Brooke telah menjual Sarawak kepada British dengan harga 1 juta pound sahaja. Apa dia ingat harga diri dan hak orang Sarawak murah macam tu ke? Si Charles Vyner Brooke ni jugak telah mengikat perjanjian selama 75 tahun dengan syarikat Anglo Saxon (nama lama bagi kompeni yang saya bekerja sekarang, daym) yang menguntungkan dia dari tahun 1909-1984. So, orang Sarawak memang tak merasa kemewahan hasil bumi sendiri, dan cukai yang dibayar digunakan untuk membina rumah-rumah agam bagi pegawai British.

So, apa lagi…mestila rakyat rasa tertindas. Maka bermulalah gerakan anti-cession di Sarawak. Seramai 338 orang pegawai kerajaan (termasuk guru-guru) yang berhenti kerja sebagai tanda tak puas hati kepada kerajaan British yang baru. Anthony Brooke, anak saudara Charles Vyner cuba untuk meleraikan kekusutan yang timbul, tapi agak dihalang oleh British….yada yada, (selebihnya sila rujuk buku sejarah).

Apa yang saya nak cakap di sini tentang cerita Rosli Dhoby ni:

1. Masa Rosli bunuh gabenor tu, umur dia baru 17 tahun dan sudah faham akan makna perjuangan, masa umur saya 17 tahun, saya tengah sibuk bercinta monyet, main pancaragam dan SPM. Adik saya yang umur 16 tahun sekarang tahu nak mengamuk je jika kehendaknya tak dipenuhi.

2. Tentang cinta. Rosli Dhoby ada girlfriend. Nama dia Ani. Tapi orang dulu-dulu biasalah, bercinta sembunyi-sembunyi dan tulis surat pun sembunyi-sembunyi (bertapok kata orang Sarawak). Sampai sekarang, Hajah Ani tak kahwin (gambar dia boleh digoogle, rasanya masa muda dulu mesti cantik). Teringat kata-kata my friend, "kalau ikut kepercayaan kamek orang, semua orang ada jodohnya, mun orang ya sik kahwin, maknanya jodohnya dah mati". Rasanya ni kisah cinta sejati ni. Mungkin cinta Ani terhadap Rosli sungguh kukuh sampai dia tak boleh bukak hati untuk orang lain.

3. Sarawak finally gained independence (and joined Malaysia) in 1963, through negotiation. Mungkin tindakan Rukun 13 (yang merancang pembunuhan gabenor) agak terburu-buru dan radikal, tapi tak boleh salahkan diorang jugak. Takkan cukup berpuas hati dengan tampal poster je. Nak tampal poster pun macam-macam halangan dari British. Marah beb. However, sekarang ni pun penindasan akan hak rakyat dah berlaku kembali di Sarawak. Bukan oleh orang luar, tapi orang sendiri. Kekayaan sumber bumi dieksploitasi tanpa mengira hak dan kerosakan pada alam sekitar. Saya tak nak sebut panjang lebar kat sini nanti saya kena bunuh (hehehe, dramatic). Fikir-fikirkanlah sendiri what I meant by that.

OK…itu jelah yang dapat saya cakap hari ni..here are some pictures of Rosli Dhoby's and Awang Morshidi's batu nisan. Mereka dihukum gantung pada tahun 1950 di Penjara Sentral, Kuching dan dikebumikan di perkarangan penjara tersebut tanpa tanda. Dalam 1980s kot (if I got my facts right) baru diletak tanda dan pada tahun 199x, jenazahnya dan 3 orang rakan seperjuangan yang lain dibawa balik ke Sibu, tanah tumpah darah diorang. Gambar yang saya ambik ni, bekas batu nisan tu je yang diletakkan di perkarangan Muzium Islam Sarawak, Kuching.

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT HARI KEMERDEKAAN

JANGAN BIARKAN MINDA ANDA DIJAJAH

P/S: Saya ada tengok diorama di MONAS, Jakarta tentang perjuangan rakyat Indonesia menentang Belanda. Sangat kagum.

M.O.O.N

Bisikku pada bulan
Kembalikan temanku,
Kekasihku, syurgaku

Tanpa dia malam menemaniku
Sepi memelukku

Malam jangan biar siang
Biar alam ini kelam
Biar ia sepi sepertiku

**from Kabir Bhatia's 'Sepi'


P/S: puisi ni takde kaitan dengan my state of emotion sekarang....akan tetapi, saya rindu Miri...sedikit.

please blog so I don't have to talk to you

scene: the dim sum place in Mega



as usual, TC the geek got his smart phone out to browse the internet while waiting for our order to arrive..

"eh...how does your blogging career go?" (he once said that if I started one, I won't keep it, and I won't be able to write more than 3 lines....kejam kan)


"so far so good la, I try to update it every day."

"what's your URL?"

"I've told u once, and I'm not going to tell u again, especially when u are going to read it in front of me..." (grrrrr)


"hmmm....it's amalia and amidala....I don't know la why u use that amidala name....Star Wars?? ewww"


"sukati I la"

"I'm googling it (type in 'amalia amidala')...eh, what did u write about? how come this is the first result?"

I had a look... 'How to arouse a woman'.....apo kobondo ni...(pada masa article ini ditulis, the first thing on google is different already)

"Youla....tak taula apa yang u selalu tengok...my blog's link is the 3rd one."

So there he goes, reading my blog....in front of me...it's weird looking at people reading your thoughts in front of you

"Hmmm....if I follow your blog, then I don't need to talk to you again la..." (with a smile)

?!!!!??????

*it's kind of true, but I prefer human interaction, whenever possible

ha ha

my mum also follows my blog rupenye...dan dia sangatla tak puas ati coz I said in my previous post that she doesn't miss me...

ha ha

anyway, I had a sumptuos home-cooked sungkey yesterday...and again today (menu: ikan sembilang masak asam pedas campur tempoyak....nyum nyum, 10 hours to go)

I'm on leave today, sepatutnya ada kerahan tenaga to start off making the pineapple jam tarts...buat bodoh jela dulu, until kena bebel... (rasa macam nak melawat malls)

***BBuurrrrPPp**** excuse me

P/S: my dad cakap I dah kurus sikit...hehe

Kisah Natrah 'Cermin' buat Orang Melayu

source: www.utusan.com.my

ISTANA Budaya (IB) yang terletak di Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, tahun ini menyambut ulang tahun ke-10 penubuhannya.
Sejak sedekad lalu, IB telah menjadi pentas persembahan pelbagai naskhah seni dan budaya tempatan ataupun yang diimport dari luar negara.

Daripada seni pementasan teater dan muzikal tradisional hinggalah kontemporari, IB menjadi medan terbaik dan paling berprestij dalam seni persembahan pentas di negara ini.
Sesuai dengan namanya, IB paling molek mengangkat naskhah-naskhah yang ada hubungkaitnya dalam menterjemah nilai-nilai seni dan budaya yang bertunjangkan masyarakat Malaysia amnya dan Melayu khususnya.

Natrah misalnya, merupakan naskhah teater terbaru yang akan dipentaskan di Panggung Sari, IB, mulai 17 hingga 25 November ini.
Teater yang bakal diarahkan oleh Erma Fatima itu merupakan naskhah yang cukup relevan untuk dipentaskan di IB sesuai dengan nama, peranan dan prestij IB. Juga dalam konteks persekitaran semasa yang berlaku pada ketika ini.

Biarpun barisan pelakon utama teater itu belum diputuskan lagi, tetapi daripada susur galur kisah Natrah itu, yang pasti banyak unsur tersirat yang boleh diselongkar bagi diketengahkan kepada khalayak.

Kita mungkin tidak terlalu teruja untuk mengetahui siapakah pelakon yang akan melakonkan watak Natrah.
Sebaliknya, ramai yang mungkin tertanya-tanya sejauh manakah naskhah Natrah mampu mengeksploitasi di sebalik kisah gadis Belanda itu bagi mencetuskan suatu nilai pemikiran di minda para penonton?

Kisah cinta lara dan rumahtangga Natrah pada tahun 1950-an yang penuh tragis itu secara kasarnya hanya berada di luar kerangka pengisahannya sahaja.
Namun, di sebalik paparan naskhah itu, ia mampu mengundang pelbagai nilai pemikiran yang tersirat untuk diinsafi oleh orang Melayu pada hari ini.

Isu murtad, krisis identiti, pemartabatan bahasa Melayu, agama Islam, semangat patriotik, kesepakatan dan cintakan bangsa sendiri merupakan antara perkara penting yang boleh ditekankan menerusi teater tersebut.

Kita tidak mahu teater Natrah kelak menjadi sebuah pementasan yang lebih membuai kisah asyik percintaan antara Natrah dan Mansor Adabi semata-mata.
Tugas berat Erma ialah bagaimana mahu membentangkan naskhah itu agar ia mampu mengetuk minda orang Melayu supaya sedar dengan realiti sosial dan politik yang sedang menghimpit mereka pada ketika ini.

Difahamkan ketika ini Erma sedang sibuk memilih pelakon yang akan melakonkan watak Natrah. Tidak dinafikan, pelakon watak utama itu amat penting bagi menghidupkan jalan cerita teater terbaru arahan Erma tersebut.
Beberapa nama pelakon yang mempunyai darah kacukan telah pun disebut-sebut sebagai pendokong watak Natrah. Sayangnya, perkara yang kurang penting seperti itu pula yang lebih heboh diperbualkan ketika ini.

Harus diingat bahawa pementasan Natrah jangan disamakan dengan persembahan muzikal yang lazimnya lebih hanyut dibuai oleh alunan iramanya sahaja. Natrah sebenarnya sebuah naskhah teater yang berat.
Ia berat dan penuh dengan tanggungjawab untuk agama Islam dan bangsa Melayu. Ini adalah naskhah terbitan IB yang terletak di bawah naungan Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan.

Pementasan ini menggunakan duit rakyat, di mana tentunya ia juga dipentaskan untuk rakyat.
Sejauh mana Natrah atau Maria Bertha Hertogh boleh mencetuskan kesedaran kepada orang Melayu? Bebanan itu tentunya terletak di atas bahu Erma.

Sepatutnya, soal mencari pelakon popular mana yang akan melakonkan watak Natrah menjadi perkara kedua.
Bagaimana dengan skrip teater ini? Adakah Erma mampu menyampaikan mesej-mesej itu menerusi Natrah?

Dalam isu pelakon utamanya pula, yang paling penting pelakon itu mestilah mampu menghayati dan melakonkan watak Natrah dengan berkesan.
Apalah gunanya mengambil pelakon muda yang baru setahun jagung berlakon dan hanya popular dengan kisah-kisah sensasi melakonkan watak tersebut? Bimbang nanti, lakonan entah ke mana, mesejnya pun entah ke mana.

Para penonton yang mengetahui latar kisah Natrah tentunya tidak kisah siapakah pelakon utama teater itu.
Sebabnya, Natrah bukanlah sebuah naskhah hiburan berkonsepkan penglipurlara, tetapi ia sebenarnya adalah sebuah pementasan yang boleh dijadikan 'serampang dua mata' untuk menguatkan lagi kesedaran orang Melayu pada hari ini.

Erma yang juga penulis skrip Natrah haruslah lebih berani dan kreatif menekankan intipati maksud tersirat yang terdapat dalam kisah tersebut.
Antara persoalan penting yang harus kita sama-sama fikirkan daripada teater Natrah kelak ialah, berapa ramai lagikah insan seperti Natrah yang akan menjadi mangsa keadaan seperti itu?
Sudahkah kita bersedia dan rela kehilangan lebih ramai Natrah?

Watak Natrah secara simbolik menggambarkan kealpaan bangsa Melayu dalam mempertahankan agama mereka.
Kurangnya kesedaran kita terhadap persekitaran yang sedang berlaku termasuklah percaturan politik yang merugikan sesama Melayu, sikap keterbukaan sosial yang melampau-lampau merupakan antara 'penyakit' yang menyebabkan tragedi seperti itu tidak mustahil akan berlaku lagi pada masa depan.

Justeru, Natrah merupakan sebuah naskhah yang bukan sahaja berat untuk digalas oleh Erma dan IB.
Malah, ia juga menagih penghayatan yang tinggi buat kalangan audiensnya. Sama ada para penonton 'mendapat sesuatu' daripada Natrah atau tidak, ia adalah penanda aras kejayaan pementasan itu kelak.


P/S: who want to watch this theatre with me?

buat je la

No coffee break for me to refresh my mind, so let’s do this, since I’m tagged by Miss E.

1.If you married the person you last texted, what would your last name be?
**owh owh…I last texted a geek…so my last name would be GEEK…(or nerd, bully, irritable) - nama dirahsiakan, but if you’re reading this, jangan marah tau! Pulling your leg only…

2.What did you do today?
**sahur, pack for balik kampong this weekend, digitizing ancient capillary pressure curves data into excel and plotting them, before I got hungry and got tagged

3.Do you know a secret about your last featured friend that would embarrass them
**yeah, I guess so, but if they say it’s a secret, secretla

4.What is one fact about the last person who called you?
** half Chinese

5.Last time you were on the phone?
** 30 minutes ago, with my mak angkat. She misses me. (*perasan*) Before that, with my mum, who did not seem to miss me that much, judging by her non-committal yes to pick me up on time from airport today.

6.What’s for dinner?
**Sungkei - asked mom to tapau nasi kerabu from pasar ramadhan – with a non-committal InsyaAllah :(

7.Ever fought with someone older or younger?
** cat fight, never. Verbal fight, sangat jarang… I avoid fights in general…but in 1998, I was really upset at somebody and I really shouted at her…

8.How many e-mail addresses do you have?
** hotmail, gmail, yahoo and office mail

9.Last time you washed your hair?
**I wash my hair 2-3times a week, so, the last time might be 2 days ago

10.Do you like Oreo’s?
**dulu-dulu yes

11.Can you ice skate?
**I don’t think so, I’m hopeless when it comes to balancing myself on slippery surfaces

12.Do you have a brother?
**2 younger brothers…dua-dua perasan hensem, but both are popular with girls…sorang tu sebab dia ramah mesra, sorang tu sebab he’s so quiet and aloof

13.Do you know how to change a diaper?
**yes, practiced with my bro and sis (now 16 and 9) and anak-anak sedara yang berlambak (my cousins’ children)

14.Do you keep a planner?
**not really, just for flights (coz I bought a lot of cheap tickets)

15.What kind of mood are you in?
**peace

16.Do you take out the trash?
**have to

17.What’s the best part about being single?
**I am my top priority

18.Do you watch “The Hills”?
**nope…banyak sangat perempuan gedik

19.Who are you thinking of right now?
**for some reason, M…I wonder what he’s up to right now, is he thinking of me or not

20.Wearing any bracelet?
**yes. Silver one I bought in Jogja. So nice the flowery pattern.

21.What are you doing now?
**menahan lapar sambil jawab soalan 21

22.Who was the last person that helped you stop crying?
**only I can stop my crying, others can only comfort

23.Who do you trust with your life?
**my parents

24.If you could change your name to anything what would it be?
** Azizah kot…coz last night, I was watching “Penarek Becha” starring P.Ramlee and Saadiah. Their characters’ names are Amran and Azizah. Siap ada lagu lagi – Oh Azizah. Cair beb kalau ada orang nyanyi macam tu kat aku.

25.Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
**Depends on whether it is a selfish decision or not and how often I can go visit my parents. I want to take care of them when they’re old.

26.Have you ever talked on the phone while in the shower?
** at least once, I put it on speaker mode.

28.What are your parents middle names?
**Don't have one. But my mom has an alias. And their pet names in their family both start with B.

29.Righty or Lefty?
**Righty. But I use lefty to carry heavy stuff.

30.Favorite juice?
**Mango

31.Have you had the chicken pox?
**not yet, demam campak pun tak pernah….and I’ve been near to people who got those…

32.Have you had a sore throat?
**yeah, it’s part of my tanda-tanda nak demam, if I fix it quickly, mesti tak jadi demam tu

33.Who knows you the best?
**Myself

34.Do you wear contact lenses or glasses?
**Glasses... sebab my friend said it makes me look intelligent…I guess, without it I look like a bimbo kot…anyway, tak larat la pakai lense pegi keja…pening tengok PC

35.Last person to see you cry?
**a lot of people, coz it was a funeral

36. People u tag!
** Jalan Terus, Puan Zue, Teratakku, Zack Zara, Yatt Ya

kisah sungkei (breaking of fast)

5th day of puasa...let's recount what I had for sungkei this past few days...this is also some sort of food diary for ramadhan

1st Ramadhan --> went for a 13 hours shopping trip in Brunei with 3 of my girlfriends....can't believe they filled out the huge space at the back of my D-Max plus we had to put additional shopping bags in the car as well...the initial plan is to break our fast in Excapade Sushi in KB, arrive there around 6pm, order the food and by 6.36pm, we can already eat...however, my preggie friend got excited with the "SALES" banner at Mothercare and we spent almost an hour there...so, my buka puasa was mango juice in a can, which I had in the car 5 minutes before we reached Seria (about 12km from KB). I drove really fast on a hungry stomach, hehehe. So, we had sungkei in Kaizen Sushi instead. Syukur Alhamdulillah, there's an empty table for us, and the other diners start flocking in around 7pm, so we get our food quite fast. I like Kaizen better than Excapade though....dua-dua pun sedap, butKaizen's portion is more manageable...

2nd Ramadhan --> flat out from the trip, post sahur slept until 11am...then kena kemas rumah/sapu lantai/mop lantai....luckily my friend, Miss E invited me to her house for makan...went to pasar ramadan before that, so I makan lontong with the lauk (prawns, sotong) and salad that Miss E and Miss FF prepared.

3rd Ramadhan --> unplanned pot luck in my house; I prepared begedil daging, Miss FF brought stir fried broccoli, Mrs KN brought 'mi keju' and Mrs S brought sugarcane drink (my Ramadhan favorite) with some cucur. I was out of my breath eating (which rarely happen), and could only finished 90% of my portion. My friends ok je....maybe I drank too much (did I mention air tebu is my favorite for Ramadan?)

4th Ramadhan --> I read Mrs Z's blog and had this craving for 'terubok bakar'.....after MSNing my regular friends to come over my place for sungkei, I rushed to the pasar ramadan near the indoor stadium, it's a bit far off from my house (which also has a pasar ramadan nearby), but for my 'mengada-ngada ness', I pegi jugak kat sana. Bought jellyfish 'umai' (a Melanau delicacy) as well. Sampai rumah, it's past 5.30 and I still need to prepare midin belacan + telur dadar + nasi. Alas, when friends started to arrive at 6.20, I am still cooking. Miss E made delicious banana & orange smoothies, which made a good starter for the meal. And the fish was nice!

5th Ramadhan --> My friend said he's going to cook nasi briyani with meatballs today and he'll let me tapau.....let's see if this will materialise...otherwise, I'll have midin again. (did I tell you, I was so late coming back home yesterday, I only managed to prepare 70% of the midin that I bought?)

hehehehe

The song in my head since yesterday...

Aku bisa menjadi
Raja yang paling ditakuti
Aku bisa taklukkan
Segala bangsa di dunia
Tapi apa artinya bila kau tak cinta

Apa artinya dunia yang bisa kugenggam
Bila tak ada cinta darimu untukku
Aku bukanlah siapa siapa
Bila tak ada cinta darimu untukku

Aku bisa melayang
Terbang di atas awan awan
Aku bisa selami lautan
Paling terdalam di dunia
Tapi apa artinya
Bila kau tak cinta

Apa artinya dunia yang bisa kugenggam
Bila tak ada cinta darimu untukku
Aku bukanlah siapa siapa
Bila tak ada cinta darimu untukku

*The Rock - Aku Bukan Siapa-Siapa

recipe for nerds

I was browsing through some choc cip cookies to bake for Raya (plus, thinking about food during fasting is fun, if I think about food during any other normal day, I will go and find it and the calories will go all to my butt)...and look what I've found....


Chemical Engineer Chocolate Chip Cookies

The following recipe for chocolate chip cookies appeared in Chemical & Engineering News (June 19, 1995). It was attributed to Jeannene Aackerman.

1. 532.35 cm3 gluten
2. 4.9 cm3 NaHCO3
3. 4.9 cm3 refined halite
4. 236.6 cm3 partially hydrogenated tallow triglyceride
5. 177.45 cm3 crystalline C12H22O11
6. 177.45 cm3 unrefined C12H22O11

To a 2-L jacketed round reactor vessel (reactor #1) with an overall heat-transfer coefficient of about 100 Btu/F-ft2-hr add one, two, and three with constant agitation.

In a second 2-L reactor vessel with a radial flow impeller operating at 100 rpm add four, five, six, and seven until the mixture is homogeneous.

To reactor #2 add eight followed by three equal portions of the homogeneous mixture in reactor #1. Additionally, add nine and ten slowly with constant agitation. Care must be taken at this point in the reaction to control any temperature rise that may be the resultof an exothermic reaction.

Using a screw extrude attached to a #4 nodulizer place the mixture piece-meal on a 316SS sheet (300 x 600 mm). Heat in a 460 K oven for a period of time that is in agreement with Frank & Johnston's first order rate expression (see JACOS, 21, 55), or until golden brown.

Once the reaction is complete, place the sheet on a 25 C heat-transfer table allowing the product to come to equilibrium.



P/S: yeah....chemical engineers are the dorkiest one of the lot...I know, I'm one of them

saya..............


LAAPPAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

5 hours to go

P/S: and you think I'm a grown-up :P

cerita pensel

The story of the pencil

February 17, 2007

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:

‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:

‘I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

'That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

Source: Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho

Dialog Sehari Sebelum Ramadhan

Z: Am apa target puasa tahun tok. Kamek target nak tamatkan terawih kamek di masjid tahun tok. Hehe tahun lepas sik jalan niat ya.

A: (erk….apa aku nak cakap ni…..takde fikir pun pasal azam)…Kamek tok ada malas sikit pegi terawih…hopefully tahun tok ada rajin sikit (this one, mungkin tak berapa benar). Tapi kamek maok tolong orang banyak sikitla…maok baca quran banyak sikit juak…(these are true though).


And then, he began to talk about Palestine la….the importance of doing goodla….ajal, jodoh dan maut….to the point that I started to freak out…sebab rakan-rakan saya yang lain semuanya suka cakap pasal hal yang bengong-bengong belaka (but they have good heart and diorang juga baik tingkahlaku), so saya tak biasa la bercakap macam ustazah (and I didn’t talk like one).

Saya tak sedar, bila saya tertidur…bila terjaga tu, there were a couple of messages…

Z:………………………….Sempena malam yang berkat tok kamek berdoa mudah-mudahan kawan kamek (my full name, A binti B) akan jadi muslimah yang berjaya dunia n akhirat. AMIN.

A: Wah sebut full name indah (macam nak akad nikahla pulak)…kamek bukannya bait gilak pun. Berolah juak. Tutup aurat pun sik berapa lengkap. Mestila banyak polah benda bait yang lain untuk cover yang kurang. Sama²la kita jadi bait ho.

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADHAN SEMUA DAN SEMOGA MENDAPAT KEBERKATAN

aksi splurge yang terlampau

it all started masa aku tengah syok² tengok finale "Pilih Kasih" and was cheering happily (alone) when my friend's bro (Sofian Bujang) won the title Pelakon Lelaki Terbaik.

PPOPPPP!!!! and then, aku bau benda hangus...Raja Azura masa tu nak announce the winner for the next category, dan muka dia pun aku dah tak nampak lagi...sah! kena beli TV baru...

the next day, the quest for a new TV pun start, am thinking of getting an LCD TV...1st trip, pegilah dengan 2 rakan yang berbeza pendapat....I couldn't make up my mind, but was pretty sure that I wouldn't spend more than 2k on the new TV...tapi, bila I call my mum...this is what she said,

"Kalau nak beli TV kecik, baik beli computer je, or tengok TV kat laptop." My mum, who I expected to tell me to jangan mengada-ngada dan belilah TV cap ayam.

2nd trip, still could not make up my mind. 3rd trip, after dah research sikit² (although regrettably I should have done more)...I decided on a big ass, high end TV which is more than double my original budget. DAYM! And, top it off with a full HD upscaling DVD player complete with a 850W home theatre system (which I felt really stupid after the purchase sebab aku bukannya suka dengar TV kuat-kuat pon...kat movie pun sometimes I tutup telinga).

then, seperti biasa, a trip down the guilt lane....baru je nak pujuk diri that I deserve all that after working so hard and I need all the entertainment because Miri is boring and I'm all alone...my TC ajak gi Dubai...and AirAsiaX baru bukak route baru to UAE...guess what, I bought the tix...even tho I know it will be in between 2 overseas trip and everything is expensive in Middle East....double daym...

bila dah bukak website AA, startla gatal tangan....managed to book a weekend trip to hometown sometime next year (I've taken care all this year's trip)....and also flight to attend a friend's wedding (which costs more than the UAE return trip because of the date she chose!)...

and, I'm going to KL next week for work...gonna take one day off for shopping raya...need to spend on hotel for that oso...not to mention barang-barang yang nak dibeli....then, nak gi Brunei for annual puasa trip tengok kain....then, I ordered one set of diet food for puasa, since I'm starting to really feel the appearance of love handles (or FAT)....Amalia, Amalia....apsal tetiba melampau ni...nak raya lagi lepas ni....

AAAGHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dahla tadi, kawan aku cakap gula kat pasar dah habis, macam mana nak buat kuih raya ni....Cik F yang kerja kat kilang gula jauh sangatla pulak...


p/S: ada hati pulak tu nak beli Nintendo Wii

ABC...

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTVWXYZ

Notice anything that’s missing?

U

Yes, I miss u, even though u might not care about me anymore.

I’m suddenly reminded of the roller coaster ride.

Of all the things that happened. Bitter or sweet.

Of how I can’t forget u, regardless of how much I tried.

Of how I still manage to think of u, even though I’m happy now.

Of how, every time I pray to God for a sign, it will always be u that I see.

Despite everything, I’m surprised for the calmness in my heart. Not hoping for anything, but just cool, calm and confident.

My heart misses u.


P/s: pathetic

photos from my weekend

start the journey after work on Friday and drove to Bintulu. driver said, cannot drive during the dark...so, we stayed in Imperial Suites - 3 bedroom apartment RM299 per nite nett. check it out..

next day, drive to Sibu, tengokla betapa chanteknya highway kat Sarawak ni....bergegar seluruh organ di dalam badanku...sampai kat Sibu, makan kat KFC and go to my cousin's house...luckily, kitorang pandai carik direction..

orang-orang yang tengah semangat nak cycle....huhu, adikku

I jadik ambulans je...standby dalam kereta, in case ada yang tak larat (adala sorang tu)...

after cycling, time for food, but not until everybody worked hard for their meal...macam best je makan kat luar rumah kan..

Ikan tongkol with kerisik and daun kunyit...bakar atas daun pisang...sedap..

MORE food

my traveling companions with my cousin in-law

the next day, kitorang balik Miri, on the way, stop by kat Selangau for lunch and DURIANS!!! ni gambar² durian kampung yang orang jual kat tepi jalan..

the durian seller

don't stare at my b**t!!

sekian dari saya

getaway

I suddenly feel like I want a bit of family company this weekend...so am going out of town this weekend to meet my sis somewhere in between where we both live. An impromptu decision I made yesterday. Really looking forward to it.

Enjoy your weekend.

Single Women, Never Lose Hope

*this is not written by me...it's just one of the feel good articles I read post-breakup, found it and am sharing it here..it's written by Shiam El-Bassiouni, staff writer from IslamOnline.net

Regardless of any professional or academic achievement, young women from different cultural and social backgrounds worldwide share one almost indispensible dream: that of having families of their own through marriage.

Are you a manager in a multinational company or a famous figure in your society who still craves for the feeling of being a wife and a mother? As time goes by, several single women start to lose hope that they might some day get married.

Dreary Feelings

Plenty of questions arouse in the minds of many single women: Why am I not married yet? Will I stay single for the rest of my life? These questions can sometimes be accompanied with feelings of sadness and depression. Further, some single women can experience a feeling of low self-esteem.Birthdays can sometimes add fuel to the fire as they serve to remind some single women that they are growing older without marriage, which turns this supposedly happy day to a sad one.

Attending a wedding or an engagement party can even make things worse when a single woman starts to read words of pity in the eyes of some of those who know she is single. In fact, those people do not understand that these looks of sympathy can seriously aggravate the feelings of grieve in a single woman’s soul.

Test of Faith

But, have you ever thought of the reason why you are single? Actually, it can be a test from Almighty Allah for your patience. Will you be grateful to Him? Will you be capable of enduring hardships? Such a test serves to measure the strength of your faith. It might also be the wisdom of Almighty Allah that you are currently single because you have been “chosen” by Him for a specific role that does not suit the responsibilities of a wife and a mother.

You have to remember that life is a series of ups and downs; it is simply a sunset followed by a sunrise. If we do not experience the darkness, we will not be able to enjoy the beauty of the sunlight. Similarly, if we do not experience hardships, we will not be able to realize the blessings that Almighty Allah has bestowed upon us.

When you feel gloomy to the extent that you might sometimes burst into tears, be sure that Almighty Allah knows your pain. Be sure that your rank as a believer increases before Him when you say al-hamdu lillah (Arabic for the expression: “thank God”) along with a feeling of utmost satisfaction. Remember also that passing through this test means that Almighty Allah loves you.

Be patient and always remember that every single feeling of pain increases your reward in the Hereafter.The point that should always be remembered is that every one has his or her share of misfortunes. Those who are mistakenly thought to be leading a perfect life have their own problems, even if they are smart enough to show the converse.

Almighty Allah says,[And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and crops, but give glad tidings to the patient.] (Al-Baqarah 2:155)

Patience and Hope

Do not lose hope of getting married; Almighty Allah will not leave you with your sadness and depression. Marriage is one of the gifts that Almighty Allah bestow upon us according to His will.What you can do is trying to build the strongest spiritual bonds with the Creator Who has the keys of the heavens and earth through supplication and recitation of His book. Having an ultimate faith of every single word you read can make a great difference.

In addition, try to fill your life with different activities, such as practicing your favorite sport and attending Qur’an sessions. Practicing hobbies and other activities can help eliminate any negative thoughts.Another helpful aspect is participating in charity work. Lending a helping hand to others - especially the needy, the handicapped, the orphans, and the elderly - greatly helps to recognize Almighty Allah’s blessings and to comprehend the true meaning of the word al-hamdu lillah.

No one has a crystal ball to predict the future. So you should believe that everything will take place in its appropriate timing. Now, are you still miserable and disheartened? I hope not!

P/S: Senyumlah walaupun hatimu berduka. Smile will keep you young. Be thankful for what you have, not what you have not. (and think of what line you want to use for this upcoming Raya season when people start asking you when are you getting married)

Al-Fatihah...

Satu lagi kematian dalam keluarga angkat yang saya (dan kawan saya, Cik F) sayangi kat Miri ni. Pakcik meninggal awal petang semalam. Saya baru dapat tahu malamnya dan terus bergegas ke sana. Pagi ni jenazah selamat dimandi dan dikuburkan (bersebelahan dengan pusara anaknya).


Pakcik seorang yang tak banyak cakap. Tapi, kalau dia bercakap, memang banyak idea yang nak dibualkan. Dari politik ke hal-hal memancing ikan. Ada sekali tu, Pakcik tolong hantarkan saya ke airport. Jarang berbual panjang dengan dia, sebab kalau pergi ke rumahnya, saya lebih senang berborak dengan kaum wanita (Makcik dan anak-anaknya).



Pagi tadi, semasa menunggu jenazah diuruskan, Makcik berkata kepada saya dan Cik F, "Teringat makcik, arwah tu kalau dengar je kamu berdua nak datang, sibuk dia pegi beli makanan untuk dimasak untuk kamu, dialah yang paling beria-ia." Saya tidak dapat menahan terharu dan air mata.



Terima kasih Pakcik. Untuk segalanya. Semoga tenang di alam sana.



Al-Fatihah

jerebu

my eyes are getting irritations, my nose can't stand the haze....the API (air pollutant index) for Miri has gone up from 115 last Friday to 140 yesterday to 184 today! at least Samarahan and Sibu have gone down from 155 and 187 to 80++ today...and the rain that looked so promising an hour ago only lasted for 5 minutes.... cobaan...

SMS 2

photo source: Wikipedia

Z: Am, kamek nak tanyak kita satu, dua soalan boleh?

A: Apakah soalan ya?

Z: Ok satu, mun kitak ditakdirkan jadi binatang apa yang kitak mauk jadi dan 5 sebab. Dua, pilih satu warna kegemaran kitak dan kenak pilih warna ya 5 sebab. Jawab jujur k.

A: (dalam hati: what the h***?!) Ikan yang kalerful ya sebab ceria, funny, boleh berenang pegi sine², boleh nangga keindahan alam dalam laut dan sentiasa dikelilingi ikan-ikan lain. Warna susah sikit sebab kamek suka banyak warna tapi mungkin kuning air sebab lembut, tenang, bersih, ceria dan sejuk mata memandang. Apakah makna soalan² tok?

Z: Soalan 1 adalah siapa Amalia ya. Soalan 2 adalah tanggapan orang lain terhadap Amalia. Tok soalan usrah kamek yang pertama dolok kamek ingat sampe kinek tok untuk kenal orang jadi macam ne ada tepat sik?


Hmmm….
1. what do you think?
2. mamat ni pegi usrah? Wah… perkataan usrah pun dah lama saya tak dengar. *cheeky smile*



P/S: I cried in my dream last night…maybe I should write a script based on that.

what a day!

we set out for Brunei around 10.20 am after exchanging currencies in e-mart. we thought the haze around permyjaya/senadin/miri town is bad...little that we know it gets worse as we go towards the border...

it's like driving through a tragic movie where disaster had strike....except for the fact that people in the car were a bit too cheerful and excited singing to the hits from the 80's...

happily posing with red fire engine....

one of the volunteers giving us the thumbs up (maybe for surviving the disastrous ride)

the view from the comfy car....it was drizzling and hazing outside...

at the Sungai Tujuh border, one of the custom officers pointed out that one of the tyres is flat, we decided to pump air at the nearest Shell station, however once we get there, we found out there's a tear on the tyre itself and air is wheezing out of it...so, we decided to drive as slow as possible to kuala belait where we can get new tyre...unfortunately, the situation worsened and we are forced to stop in the middle of a bend...

we needed a manual to figure out (first of all), how to get the spare tyre out of its place....THAT took us almost 30 minutes...

the flat tyre...

up-close...

the driver positioning the jack...

"sikit lagi...sikit lagi!!!" we cheered on....which did not help much, judging by the look on his face...

this is what we call teamwork...in total we got the deed done in 52 mins!

the manual reader....

so...how many engineers does it take to change a flat tyre?

THREE - one to read the manual, one to photograph the whole process (that person is yours truly), one to actually change the tyre and one geologist which did as much work as the 3rd engineer.

after that, we couldn't wait until we reach Gadong to get lunch...we had it in KB since there is also a tyre shop there....I only remembered to take the photo after we finished our meal...

Then, off we go to Madang, for the soft launching of Ikmal's CROCS shop.

Ikmal's sis took some pictures of us in the shop, however I didn't remember to take any...

I only managed to take a snapshot of Ikmal in front of his shop as we're leaving... each of us got something from the shop...even Anura was initiated to his first pair of crete canvas Crocs...

I got myself a turqoise Malindi and a Mardi Gras jibbits...

Then, we're off to the Mall in Gadong..

for some retail therapy....that white snake skin patterned heels from Charles & Keith look like a Jimmy Choo's... the only difference is the latter costs 4000 pounds and this one is 47 Bruneian Dollars...unfortunately, this is the last pair and a size bigger for me... :(

then, we watched GI Joe...one of the main agenda of this trip...I so wish that Miri's cineplex is going to be upgraded soon...thumbs up for this movie!

reached Miri about 9.50 pm and had dinner at Muara 2. ZZzzzzZZzzz

P/S: walaupun penat, tetapi kami rasa gembira