Mari Gelak Togeder-Geder..:D

Hola!!

This is the fest that I've been waiting for this whole month:)



PJ Laugh Fest 2010.

Seriously, when do we seek laughter in our life? We know the saying, laughter is the best medicine. But why so serious?

In our quest for happiness, we benchmark that with the amount of money we have, the things we buy, the children we have, the property we own and the job we do. But have we thought about being happy in the friends we have, the smile we give and receive everyday, and of course, the laughter we have?

Let's look at the sunny side of life shall we? I know I want to, and always try to.

So starting from tomorrow night, PJ Live Art will be presenting the month-long PJ Laugh Fest, starting with..



This is what I'm gonna watch tomorrow night. Got my tickets earlier (discounted price of RM36 only), and here's a bit of info on that performance.

So You Think You Can Mamak?
30th April - 1st May : 3 PM & 8.30 PM
Starring - Na'a Murad, Megat Sharizal, Bella Rahim, Nick Davis & Kuah Jenhan
Directed by - Joanna Bessey

Synopsis :
What happens when a Malaysian Adventurer, an Ambitious Achiever, a Protective Father-type and a Nerdy Pragmatist sit down for a typical Mamak Session? Find out in this devised, original comedy piece. Which type person are you? So you think YOU can mamak?

Many other performances-skits, live acts and comedy theatre such as this are lined up throughout this Fest. I hope I can catch more, and at the same time, be able to support our local arts movement.

In the meantime, let me just go to my corner and practice my laugh...Muahahahhahahahha?? Or kekekkekekekekkeke??? Or ahakkkkkssss..? Or Hahahhahhihiihihhiiihuhuhuhuhhuuhu..?

So let's all laugh togeder-geder OK!!:)

*p.s- Mizz Ray tak dapat upah pun promote benda ni. Just buat public announcement jer. Review will come later OK;)
*p.p.s- All photos and infos from PJ Laugh Fest website:)

Project Kitchen: Sue's (Hopefuly) Healthy Multi-Grain Cookies

Heh...
I'm telling ya, playing in my kitchen, whipping up something that will end up in your stomach memang my ultimate therapy la...(alongside shopping, of course).

So today I thought instead of the usual dish or cake, I'd bake cookies. I've got butter on standby in the fridge, and keep telling myself maybe I'll come up with a hopefully healthy type of cookie, so today is just the right time to do it.

OK here's what happened in my kitchen today:

Butter 250g, softly whisk with around 100g brown sugar. Brown sugar is essentially less sweet than the normal white sugar.


Lepas tu masukkan separuh sudu teh baking powder, and sebijik telur. Campurkan lagi. (Ehhh???Tukar mode bahasa pulak?)


Then get about 2 1/2 - 3 cups of multigrain cereal. This is how it looks like, and I used Nestum Multigrain. Boleh kata their new product jugak la. Dalamnya ada nestum, oat and corn ( I think). Masukkan dalam adunan butter/brown sugar/egg tadi. I also added in about half a cup of flour. Ala campur je guna tangan. Lagi senang so we can feel the texture.



Ni dah siap diuli, and ready to be baked. At the same time, heat up your oven at 200degrees. Then shape the cookies any way you like - I did mine besar-besar sebab niatnya memang nak makan for breakfast so bolehla adjust makan seketul sehari hahahha. You can use cookie cutter, or smaller size freestyle ke. Anything will do, boleh je hentam ikut suka hahahha..

Anyway, bake it at 150-200 for 20 minutes.


This is how they look like. Tadi kan, time my cookies were baking in the oven, baunya mak aii...Heaven!! Rasa macam time-time nak Raya dah sebab bau semerbak biskut ni.

Alhamdulillah, sedap, kurang manis sebab the multigrain cereal tu pun ada gak kandungan gula sikit. Fuhh..ni kalau makan dengan Starbucks latte ni mesti best:)

So happy trying!:)

Homecoming and Reunion of the Janda's

Hola!

One of my uni friends, Hasni, married a Dutch and is now residing in Amsterdam. Occasionally she and her hubby, Perry would make their way back to Malaysia in between their various travel adventures (Hamboi Hasni...berjalan je keje ko yerrr...!!).

The last time she was back in Malaysia was during Raya last year, but when she wanted to meet up with us I was in Kuching then, enjoying my long extended Raya holiday. So I had to miss that reunion.

And last week, she and her husband managed to reach KL just before the notorious Icelandic volcanic eruption that later on crippled the almost worldwide aviation and travel industry up until a couple of days ago. Then a few days ago I got a viral SMS from friends inviting those based in KL to a reunion dinner at our old makan-makan haunt at our residential college in UM.

Yes, we were 3rd. Collegians, a.k.a Kolej Janda, or by its real name, Kolej Kediaman Tunku Kurshiah. Why is the college called Kolej Janda?? Haiyoo...of course la Kolej Janda. That's what we get when there're three residential blocks for girls and only ONE block for boys. Historically, it was built especially for female undergraduates only, after that they put in the boys there too.

I lived there along with most of the people I met last night throughout our two years of Asasi studies. That's our Foundation years. Ala-ala A Level la tu...

So after work yesterday I managed to squeeze in about one hour of cardio training at the gym before I hit the shower and drove the short distance to UM campus.

Goshh..I can't believe how much 3rd. (as we call the kolej tu) has changed. Our makan place, Sahur (the name of the taukey la) used to be located at the back, below our dining hall and just facing one of the girls' blocks. But now it has been shifted to the front side of the compound, still below the dining hall, but right next to what used to be an empty lot next to the great staircase where we used to have college-related meetings, performance or lepak with friends. Ohh...and paktow place too (not me ya...)

And none of us can actually believe that it's been X years (hehehe...saje taknak bagitau) since we left 3rd. and graduated and going on each other's separate life direction.

It really felt like it was only yesterday that we marched in our Boria batik baju kurung to and from the Dewan Tunku Chanselor while at the same time shouting boos at the neighbouring collegians (that means 4th. and 7th.) during Orientation Week (torture tau!!!), singing Yippi Ya-ya..Yippi ya-ya Eh song (lagu 3rd. RC daaa...) and Kodok ngorok reketok..reketok. And of walking the long distance from our college to the Pusat Asasi Sains, which is on the other side of the campus. And of laughing over our antics with grumpy old lecturers, as well as of remembering the ones whom we loved.

We had big meals and super-duper great reminiscing session. Of life at 3rd., of the people we encountered, of the friends who couldn't make it last night, of the lecturers that made our campus life memorable, of the alma mater in general, and of course, of our life after leaving UM.

Friends married and have kids. Friends got into relationships, some may work out, some may not. Some may be in the midst of getting to know other people. Some moved out of the country, some stayed behind. Some tried out many things, travelled to places, experienced the ups and downs of life.

And yet, it's when something like this, the reunion that we had last night and have big loud laughs over shared experience that made me apreciate these people's presence in my life. We may have gone to various directions, and yet, our past binds us in (hopefully) an eternal friendship and kinship.

Enjoy the pix!:)


Hasni is the one in the middle, wearing black top


From left: Sureena, Hasni, Perry, Zeeda, Shireen, Syakie, me, and Nina. A few others have already left by this point

We were just so caught up in our chatters that we didn't take that many photos:)

Best kan dok lepak-lepak and have reunions with your friends?:)

*P.S Aiyoo..my cheeks look like mereka sedang mengalami pengembangan ala-ala pau yang sedang dikukus ahhahaha..Must be because in anticipation of the good monthly good friend nih!! (ayat pujuk diri sendirik..hikss...)

A Dedication from Afar

Deng Sayang,

Today is your 34th birthday. I know there's nothing between us anymore, but still, I can't help thinking about your birthday, our past celebrations, our good times, our bad times, and everything we've shared the last eight years that we were together.

I am moving on with my life, and I wish you all the best too. I want us to resolve our pending issues so that the clouds overshadowing us all this while will go away. I am happy with my life, and I hope you will be too.

I wish I can just call and tell you I love you and I miss you, but I can't do that anymore. You'll always be my first love, the man who taught me how it's like to love and lose, the value of sacrifice, of being there for each other, of accepting each other's flaws and faults, of valueing and appreciating each other's presence, and many more.

I'm glad we're separated by the sea. So here's my dedication to you from afar. Happy Birthday, and I wish you all the best.



Need You Now

Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor
Reachin for the phone cause I can't fight it anymore
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now

Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now

Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothin at all

It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now

And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now

And I don't know how I can do without

I just need you now

I just need you now

Ooo, baby, I need you now

Love,
Deng Sue

Sorry for my melancholic mode today:). I'm fine though, smiling as always, laughing as always. But deep in my heart, I do think about the significance that is today. Bear with me ya..it's just for this one day:)

Project Kitchen: Makan-Makan at Carol's Place and Chilli Prawn a la Pak Aji Japar

Fuhhh...!!

That's a mouthful title kan? Sorry bout that:)

My good friend at the office, Carol and her husband, Jeff, are migrating to Australia next month. She's my lunch buddy all these years, and throughout our time as colleagues, I shared my home-cooked food with her from time to time. She's also been learning cooking tips from me and tried out some of the recipes she's learnt from me. So kiranya I ni cikgu masak-masak dia la hehhehe.

So last Saturday, she asked me to come over to her place, which is just 10 minutes away from mine, for lunchtime cookout as she wanted me to show her firsthand, as well as to do them herself, some of the recipes she's always wanted to try cooking. Ye lah, at least sekarang if she wants to get anything she could just go to any restaurant and get them kan? But nanti duduk Austalia semua kena masak sendiri:)..Poor girl.

She listed the menu last week and before she left (her last day was last Thursday), I gave her a list of ingredients she needed to get. Coming along was another one of our colleague, Siew Teng, who brought along her younger sister, Siew Hoon.

So here's what we cooked:

Acar jelatah, nasi tomato, ayam masak merah (tapi jadi gelap sebab terlebih kicap pekat), roti jala, and kari ayam which I cooked earlier at home

Seronok, sebab semuanya sedap-sedap!Hehehhe..
Really, with collective efforts, glad that these girls had fun cooking and now can learn something, and they had fun especially learning how to make roti jala style Mizz Ray;)

And here we are before cleaning all those food off the plates:

Jeff took the photo. Carol's the one wearing pink, Siew Teng and her sis are there, and well..you know how I look like kan?;)

OK, now on to the chilli prawn a la Pak Aji Japar. That's my project today. In fact, Baru je siap, tak makan lagi pun. Why do I name the prawn that way? Well, because that's the way my Dad cooks them at home, and the recipe is passed down to us. Yes, my Dad likes to cook too.

In fact, I grew up watching my Dad cooking alongside Mum. He's a pretty good cook. Bukan apa, my Mum, as a tailor, used to be really busy with her jahitan that sometimes she didn't have time to cook (especially after all of us left home for boarding school and/or universities). When there were just the two of them at home, he would be the one who does the cooking. Bukan nak kata my Mum malas or tak reti masak (in fact she's a fantastic cook OK:)), but she's busy sewing and he's doing his part with the household chores.

This chilli prawn is one of my Dad's specialty. But of course, now he can't eat that anymore, alongside many other seafood because he has gout. So takpe la, the name chilli prawn a la Pak Aji Japar is my tribute to him.

Basically, you just need to tumbuk bawang merah, bawang putih, halia, serai, lengkuas (tadi I tak masuk, sebab takde stok lengkuas), and kunyit hidup sikit, cili fresh or cili padi (depends on your preference, kalau tak cili giling pun OK). Tumis. Bila dan sedap naik bau, masukkan pulak udang fresh yang dah elok dicuci. If you want to peel and devein it is also fine-ikut style masing-masing OK. Bila udang dah bertukar jadi kaler merah pulak, masukkan sos cili sikit, and sos tomato. Lebihkan sos tomato ya! Let the udang simmer. Takpun tambah je air sikit so that they can combine with the prawn juice.

Depending on your preferred thickness of the prawn, finally masukkan telur. Scramble it first ok. This is to thicken the kuah. Finally masukkan tomato potong empat. Bila agak-agak dah cukup pekat and masak, boleh angkat dah.

Nak tau tak, kalau takde nasik, this is also enjoyable when eaten with bread! Here's how it looks like:)


Selamat mencuba:)

Syukur..

Salam...

Alhamdulillah...One of my wishes has been granted by Allah. I can now smile, and prepare myself for a new chapter in life:)


thank you Googie for the wonderful image;)

I won't elaborate much. Suffice to say it's all rezeki from His Almighty.

Monday 19 April

This took place yesterday. Had a brief SMS session with him.

*******************************************************
Me to him: Hai. When are you going to .........................(something to do with our shared problem)? Plz, I really really need u to help. Sum others also pending.

Him to me: Hi I know I'm waiting for ......(his explanation) Hang on k...

Me to him: OK tq

Him to me: Tq for being patient wif me.
*******************************************************

I didn't reply after that. Didn't know how to. Yeah I've been very patient, but patience has its limit, and I don't want to hang around anymore.

Which reminds me, next week, Monday, is his birthday. I can't help thinking of our past celebrations, my gifts to him. I even still keep in my drawer, a Chinese silk tie that I got for him from my trip to Beijing last year, which was meant to be a birthday gift for him. And mostly, of the love we shared.

Oh well, I'm moving on now. Always praying for strength from His Almighty. Always praying for someone better than him. Always praying for the wellbeing for him also, and to doakan that I don't think bad thoughts of him. If he is meant for me, then so be it. But I know he's not for me, and I'm redha, and I am moving on.

Everybody's Fine

Hi..

On Friday, while waiting for the time to get to gym, I pop by at Section 14 and went to Jaya 33. The thing is, my favourite dvd store is over there and I needed some new dvd's,as well as to get to the Digital Mall to check out the price for a new memory card for my camera. I misplaced that memory card and I cannot find it!:(

So I bought 5 dvd's for RM40, and they are Sherlock Holmes (which I already watched at the cinema), Precious, Everybody's Fine, Nine, and It's Complicated.

So I just finished watching Everybody's Fine, and somehow, after watching it, I sort of...reevaluated my relationship with my Dad.


Some still snippets of the movie:




Here's a bit of an info about the movie:
Widower Frank Goode has had to make plenty of adjustments since losing his wife about a year ago, but maybe the hardest one has been maintaining his relationships with his four adult children. It would seem that Frank's wife was the glue who held the family together, and when all of the kids bug out on a planned visit home, he decides to set out on a trip around the country, dropping in on each of their lives in order to help put things right. But their relationships aren't as simple as they once seemed, and Frank's paternal intuition is telling him that his sons and daughters are hiding something from him - and if the Goodes want to become the family they once were, the truth will have to come out before Frank returns home.
*Sourced from here

I guess the movie is all about familial connection, the irony being now that we have gadgets like the cellphones and fast internet connection, Skype, 3.5G connections and video calls and such, by right we should be closer. But instead, how can families drift further apart even when they live within easy access to each other?

It's also about kids meeting their parents' expectation and whether they have made their parents proud. I admit, I never really gave it much thought but I do wonder if I've made my parents, especially my Dad, proud. I'd like to think I did. But as much as I know, education-wise, I've fulfilled his hope for me, have I done enough in any other parts and roles I play?

Do I communicate with him enough? Shamefully, I don't think so. Yeah I call home everyday, but just like in this movie, it's normally to talk to Mum. Do I tell him about my life enough? No, because I think as an adult, I'd want to portray the impression that I got everything sorted, even when in a really deep $#!+..I guess as kids, we are used to not disclosing everything to our parents. We keep our secrets from them, and though we always say our life's fine, in some ways it can't be perfect, it can't be all rosy and dandy. For example, I kept the fact that I bought an apartment until the purchase is final because I was afraid they might stop me from buying that house. We want to prove to our parents that we can manage everything there is to manage in our life. Hmm...but sometimes, turning to them is not that bad at all ehh?

We don't know how much time we have left to be with our parents, and I guess, watching this movie jolted me out of my carelessness and the fact that I may have taken them for granted.

OK..this is a promise to myself, I'll talk to my Dad more. I'll again be his little girl who tell him everything (Everything??Takkan laaa..???)..err well..I might have to give more thoughts on that:)

*P.S-Project Kitchen hari ini: Asam Pedas (yang tak pedas langsung, apala punya cili giling tak boleh pakai ni!!) and Creme Caramel. Boleh bawak bekal ke office esok!:)

Nak Kejar Deadline

Ishh...Peningnya kepala!! Sebab apa? Dah bulan April ni, tau-tau aje la sebab apa. Tambah-tambah deadline pulak is on 30 April 2010.

Apakah bendanya itu?



Yes, nak submit tax filing. Sekarang ni semua orang dah boleh buat filing ni secara online, tapi sebelum tu kena la buat treasure hunt kat rumah, geledah balik carik resit-resit untuk berbelanjaan yang tax-deductible.

Not sure whether you're eligible to pay tax? Kalau tak sure, senang je, pegi tanya kat HR nun!! Hehehhe. But still, mestila kita sendiri tahu sama ada kita bayar tax ke tak kan? Dah terang-terang benda tu mesti masuk dalam salary slip. For more info, you can find out from LHDN website or a bit more info kat sini.

But bear in mind that there are some expenditures which are tax-deductibles. Kalau support mak ayah dapatkan rawatan kat hospital, make sure mintak resit sebab perbelanjaan ni tax-deductible. Even when you buy sports equipment pun tax-deductible. Hmm..kan best kalau gym membership pun dikecualikan dari cukai kan??Mesti syok:)..yelah, kita ni bayar beratus jugak every month for gym membership, so it would be a nice motivator untuk kita semua bersenam dan amalkan cara hidup sihat kalau dapat pengecualian cukai atas membership gym ni. Dah tu kalau beli notebook atau komputer, make sure jugak simpan resit. Beli buku, magazine, majalh ilmiah, semuanya boleh dikecualikan dari cukai. Ada a few expenditures yang mungkin kta tak tahu sebenarnya boleh dikecualikan daripada cukai tau!!
Adehh...berapa kali mau ulang tax-deductible daa...

Meh sini Mizz Ray tepek sikit an article my friend sent me a few months ago on what are the tax-deductible expenditures ok!
Click to read ya!

So benda ni la yang buatkan I pening kepala dah seminggu dua ni. Pening sikit je la..:). Banyak ruang yang tak isi lagi tau!

OK OK..back to my E-filing. Selamat menjalankan tanggungjawab kewarganegaraan anda everybody!!:)...(huhuu...panjangnya ucapan!) Have fun with the info OK, Mizz Ray saje nak share, sharing is caring kann?? (poyo-time:D)

Project Kitchen: Bingka Labu

Hi!! Mizz Ray's kitchen projects makin menjadi-jadi pulak:)

By the way, this bingka is fresh off the oven, so I thought might as well share it with you all.

The recipe itself is super simple je. Tapi sebab time nak campur-campur bahan tu takde ambik gambar, I'll just show the end result je la OK!:) Ala lagipun takat bingka ni rasanya semua orang boleh buat. Mizz Ray je nyebok nak masukkan dalam blog.

Why is it a super simple recipe? Ye la, I just mix mashed pumpkin yang telah direbus (half of small pumpkin) with some sugar and salt. In another bowl, some low-fat milk (sepatutnya orang guna santan tau, but I opted for the healthier version, so guna susu je la), and then 3 bijik telur. Once sufficiently mixed, masukkan telur + susu ni dalam mashed pumpkin tadi, stir well. Dah tu masukkan pulak about 3/4 glass of flour.

Ni la rupa bancuhan tadi. Whisk it so that takde gumpalan tepung. The texture should not be too cair, and neither should it be too flour-y.

Meanwhile, get the oven ready by pre-heating it at 200. At the same time, prepare the acuan, lengserkan dengan butter. Masukkan bancuhan dalam acuan, then masukkan dalam oven dan bakar selama 40-45 minit atau bila dah agak-agak elok masak la. Bukan apa, ada orang suka kalau tepi tu hitam and berkerak. I love my bingka tu be berkerak tau, best je:)


Ready to be baked...


And fresh out of the oven, ready to be eaten:)


Bon apetit!

What's A Girl Without Her Shoes?

Heard that saying before? If not, it must be something that I coined myself. But then again, true enough, we girls can never have enough shoes kan? Ye lah..You need to wear that pair of shoes that suits the occassion. Wrong shoes can ruin the whole look, and not to mention ruin your mood.

And what could be worse than a ruined mood? Deflated confidence.

Aiyo...apa plak cerita kasut ni?? Bukan apa, it's a debt I need to pay. A tag debt la hahha.. Thank youMadam Lady of Leisure, ni I bayar hutang k?:)

The tag states that I need to talk about my favourite pair of shoes:)


Brand: Scholl
Price: RM175.00
Date of Purchase: Can't remember, but I know it's sometime early 2009?? Hmmm..can't really recall.
Reason for Buying: Actually this was an impulsive buy. But then again memang I was looking for a comfy flat shoes. Went window shopping with my friend Nina at Sunway Pyramid at that time and mula-mula tu kitorang carik kat Clarks and other shoe stores. But me, having Cinderella feet, memang have been having trouble finding suitable shoes (size 3 ok..)..So happened that the Scholl outlet was right opposite the Clarks store and we went in, and I found this one! Nina bought another pair as well, but of a different pattern.

Why do I love it? Because it's soooooo...super comfy! It's nice to wear with just about anything, and after all these years, it hasn't shown any signs of wear and 'tear' (I really jaga my shoes tau..):)..It also protects my feet nicely.

OK this is how it looks like when worn:


Ni pulak another favourite of mine, but suitable to wear only during formal affairs. 3-inch heels mahh. My Raya shoes:)

And this is my shoe rack. Currently can only hold about 16 pairs of shoes je.


Hmm..now feel the need to pass on this tag to other people la..How about..

Zazabam
Egeh Babe
Darleng Bakal Pengantin Leo
Mama Jue

And you, and you, and you out there, please accept this tag and do this simple homework OK!:)

Toodlooo..!

P.S- In need of another pair of shoes la...