Not at work

Flu..... swine flu? who knows but this time of the year I seemed to be always down with this common cold. I don't have much faith in 'flu jab' that the hospital supply every year at the specialist clinic.. but I did it anyway (you gotta do the right thing by the people in charged...) .. still got the cold!

Every year there are hundreds of people die from flu anyway but why swine flu is special???
I was sick since Friday- couldn't get any appointment. Today I called my GP again - NOPE - not until Thursday. They kept on asking me if it were emergency..?? "Well - I don't think I am in that kind of emergency but it is sort of emergency - you see I work in Cancer Clinic. So I better -just stay away even if I have mild flu. Nowadays people are edgy you see.. but I can't stay away from work too long without medical certificate. So it's "I-need-the-certificate-from-the-doctor" kind of emergency.

'Sorry we can't help you'

So I rang two more clinics before I get a spot this arvo. Sweet. The funny thing was - this clinic asked me to enter from the back door and put on the mask and gloves before I enter. Huh.. maybe if I can just pretend that I have this swine flu.. are they going to give me a week holiday?
tempting tempting.....

so let's fake the symptoms a bit eh?
the test that they do for swine flu apparently take 2 days to know whether it is H1N1 or not.. but they stop doing this kind of tests anymore.. I supposed ignorant is bliss. I think the sytem cannot cope if more people are tested positive - so better not test it. Flu - stay home.

Sweeeeeet!... or.. is it?

dietku dah lama hancus - hmmmmmm

Kampung Halaman

This is my 'kampung' in Mengkuang Titi. I am proud to say it is probably one of few traditional kampungs left. To me personally - the tradisional part of it had long gone.. BUT it is still flaunted as traditional kampung on the net - go on google it: Mengkuang Titi

My uncle's nasik lemak's store (Pak Su)

Mak Su's folding her yummy nasik lemak. It's probably not the best nasik lemak in the world but it is close! For 50 cents! you can't go wrong.. yum.. I miss her nasik lemak.

My Chag's house -- behind this mystical rays of sunshine caused by .......????

Surau : located on tok's land

Paksu's

'Rumah Sekerat' Arwah Toktam's house : sad sad sad case of this house. This once beautiful house is now condemned - except for the car port bit.

The death of tok's verandah

The white area (concreted down stairs) was added long time ago. Infact it was added before tok yam (my tok ler) died. I guess maybe the 'innocence' part of her to want to feel living in "rumah batu" was to be blamed.

In the old days it is cool to have 'rumah batu' and it's often associated with being rich. I know it is not the case anymore.

The beranda (verandah) used to be the focal point of receiving and entertaining guests. Sitting and chatting on the verandah was a favourite passed time activities. This also used to be my play house when I was a kid, so many 'masak-masak' or 'pondok-pondok' games. The short stair case from verandah into the main house was our centre stage where we used to sing out loud all ...uji rashid, hail amir and djdave songs!! - aaahhh those days.

Not many verandah survived the 'modernisation' of the houses in Penang [only from my observation]. The one that did survived, like this one - is totally useless now.. nobody is entertaining on the verandah anymore, generally speaking.

The staircase from this verandah also changed, from modest tradisional 'tangga batu' into a simple not worth mentioning one now. Why I know it, I used to play on it countless time. (Fizah do you remember that old tangga?)It wasn't as decorative as some 'tangga batu' that you might still find in Melaka of Perak (again.. personal observation). Tok's tangga was mainly from bricks and rendered with rough cement.

Fondest memory [quite possible the only memory I have left about that tangga batu] : I got told off by tok for 'grating' my eraser (rubber) on that staircase. I got this square eraser which I wanted to make it go round quickly. So I rubbed off the edges but tok caught me in action. So I got told off for being wasteful... hmmm my tok my tok.. what would she think of me now if she still alive??

My grandma's house

This was my grandmother's house. She died about 22 years ago. I used to live here with my grandmother and 'teh' and two uncles.


It has evolved quite a bit since then. To me it has lost a lot of it's original charm.

Calculus and I are no longer friends :-(

Somebody asked me if I was good at calculus (she is doing medical statistics degree). I said, I am not good but let me have a look at it - I might know it. [In my mind - aah yeah.. dy/dx, maximum and minimum..bla bla bla... I used to like this - Thanks to 'Cikgu Din' where ever you are now]

BUT.... it turned out I am hopeless at it! Can't even find solutions to any of her tutorial questions. Instantly I knew that wasn't Cikgu Din's stuffs (ie SPM stuffs - hahahah whom am I kidding?. I sort of semi recognised these type of calculus which I did..
pre-U

hmmm why did I remembered my matrics maths but not my Uni maths [another story - long story..]

I once got F- for my calculus but I managed to pull out at the final. Sure I can do this... but NOPE - not even close... I spent half a day on her tutorial and felt so frustrated about not been able to do it.. UWAAA - my brain is GONE. hard rock!

Not quite my blinds

These pictures I got from googling the net. 45 mm slats western red cedar and cun! It also has a nice smell to it, offcourse this things only meant something if you are a woodworker. To me blinds are blinds - only cun or not cun in my eyes that is.

My camera has gone missing - I will try to get some pictures of my (errr our) blinds. The one that we bought almost the same as in these picture except ours has a tilt control on the left and the 'pull string' on the right.

I know what my dad will say : HUH! duniaaaAAAA DuniAAAAAAAAA

I'm blind when it comes to blinds

UwaaarrghhHH! - I spent $$$ on the weekends- hastily, and regretting it now. All because of Hisham (Yeahhhh I got to blame somebody for it).

We had a nice matching curtains when we moved in to our house (about some 3 years ago??). I don't mind those curtains - even though they are a bit daggy, to me as long as they serve their purpose.. I am cool.

... but not Hisham... He doesn't like the colors, the looks etc.. So whenever he saw a nice curtain/s [to his eyes.. and when I say 'to his eyes', I meant to his eyes ALONE] he bought it, guess where from? non other than his 'oh so favourite shop'... which is OP SHOP. I have nothing against op shops - It is my fav. shops too (but for something else - not curtains)

Everytime he bought it, I will advise him gently and lovingly (please dahling - no more mixed and match multi-colour and multi-fashion curtains) - YEAH RIGHT!

But he never heed my 'gentle and loving advice'

I kept on getting more new 'old' curtains.

SO, I have to step in - looked like all those gentle and loving advices didn't work [and so were threats of killing him]. OKAYYYYYYYY no more curtains! I want to change all the curtains - get some blinds. Various people advised me on various types of blinds - day and night, californian, roman, .... and timber. I quite like the idea of timber blind, I have a timber house so it will be nice and 'matched'. Went to spotlight and spot this gorgeous western red cedar timber venetian blinds. OK I am sold. Bought one to test. Loved it!

Went to spotlight the next day and got 4 more of different sizes. "Money No Object" so I thought... and today I just realised how expensive they were (even with a $40 discount). One of our windows is quite big and spotlight doesn't have that size. So I thought not to worry - we'll get two for that particular window. I just discovered today on the net that there are some other place selling the size that I need and cheaper too. SAME THING!

UWAAAAA I must return the two for one window and I hope spotlight will refund me.

O's first day at 'play' school

O supposed to start the play school 3 weeks ago. The school is ON every other Fridays and it's only from 9 am to 10:30 am. 1.5 hours every fortnight isn't much. But O already 'kantoi' on the first day. He just stood outside and refused to go in.

Hmmmmmm

Today he did his first play school! hoorey! It was mummy's cunning bribery plan. This time it was 'colourful sugar-coated chocolate confectionery'... hmmmm... I wonder how long my cunning plan would last?

Cradle Mountain - Marion's Lookout

I have posted these (or some of) on facebook. Stale story. My half a day hike up to Marion's Lookout at Cradle Mountain. We started at 7 am. Everybody still sleeping.. actually Aladdin and Orion already awake but we decided to go without the kids since O had his big walk the day before.

Fagus from far [that yellowy- orangey colored shrubs]

My guide - all set.

Aminah had to start work at 10-ish so she can only accompany me half the way... maybe?

Little waterfall along the track

Stony and ccccolddd!

Just before entering the 'rainforest bit'

Inside the rain forest

Fagus tree. The only true deciduos Tasmanian natives.. it's trunk structure so bonsai-like

This time of year [late April-May] the leaves turning yellow/orange

Can get reddish too - I love fagus

Button grass. I can see the blue sky so hopefully we'll have a nice weather

On bad weather you have to rely on this orange top posts [spaced out along the tracks] to see where you are going.

This is Crater Lake.. The day still quiet. Not even a single bird. Serene

I was like - AAAAWWWWW

I wish the boys were with me to enjoy this magnificent view

Can see the patches on sunny spot.. moving as I walk along the Crater Lake
More fagus

It's hard to take! but I better keep on walking/hiking

The track I left behind as I continue my journey towards Marion's Look Out. I heard the view is even more spectacular from up the top.

Pencil pines

The track get very pebbly and hard on the feet. Also have to watchout for wet patches on the track

Crater Lake that I left behind me and this is the actual track.. I was like - should I keep on or turn back??? What if I fall off the track here!?? No other human soul around (not yet).

Suffered rocks [frozen in winter and baked in summer]

This is actually steeper than it looked. I had to hang on that chain really hard and I haven't got gloves... auch! I seriously don't think that I can do it with a full load on my back (for overland track)

This picture is looking down the track (aiyyo 'gayat' sangat) . Started to see some ice on the way.. hmmm should I keep going? I must be closer

At this point I thought another 10 mins... better keep going.... and 20 minutes later - still looking for ... 'where the heck is this Marion's lookout?!'

This was it!!! and the view....... alamak! the clouds is coming in fast.. I better get back soon!

So I didn't get the supposedly stunning view.. I saw one lady coming up by then.. and it rained on the way back and most trekkers I saw after that didn't get the nice sunny photos at Crater Lake.

So it's worth starting early... especially a slow walker like me. I definitely would love to come back to this place. must must must.