WHAT I DID ON MY 28TH BIRTHDAY

I just realized that I didn't have this post last year.. Now I'm wondering what I did to celebrate.. Huu~ Gotta check the trusty ol' diary after this..

First of all, huge thanks, hugs and kisses to my family and friends for the birthday wishes.. Be it on facebook, SMS or even with just a simple call.. Those really made the day extra special and made me feel remembered and appreciated.. I heart all of you..

In terms of activities of the day, nothing really out of the ordinary. Went to work as usual, wore all-pink.. Totally unplanned BTW.. Since my inbox was overflowing with fb wellwishers, replying to them took some time.. Which meant I didn't really do much work that morning.. On a side note, the big bosses of my company signed the deal for the sale of our land on my birthday.. Not really sure whether that's an event to celebrate or not.. Heh.. But it literally means a whole lotta work for us in the future and... Possible relocation?? Gulp..

After work I went to the gym. We did a new song for Cardio Dance but Uchop taught us only for like 2.5 sets.. He still haven't finished choreographing.. Tsk tsk.. My gym buddies then asked me to join them for Bodyjam and I just couldn't refuse. It's been awhile since I jammed due to Ramadhan, so I was quite out of breath towards the end. And the fact that the studio was kinda hot didn't really help. 

Since we haven't had a decent meal for buka puasa, me and the gang headed to Subway where we got a bit carried away with giggling at every little thing. They were playing raya songs and we were choreographing each song.. LOL.. I tried the spicy Italian, it was nice but BMT is still my favourite.

I got home and washed up.. Wanted to watch "Princess Man" or "Best Love" but ended up sleeping in front of the TV..

LET'S BOWL TOGETHER

When: 23 January 2011, 12am.

Who : Abah, Mama, Aunty Darl, Husna, Dini, Adam and me.

Where: Songbox, Jaya Jusco AU2

And we only realized it was the 23rd after we finished karaokeing at about 1am, when Mama promptly gave Ayed a call and I sang "Happy Birthday" to him with the last vestiges of voice that I had. As per usual, our post karaoke activity would be to stop by a nearby mamak's place and this time it was Ali Maju. I had just finished my Toffee Nut latte (Sigh, till we met again this Christmas...) and it was freaking ONE A.M. so I only ordered plain hot water. The others were mostly eating roti (canai, bakar, planta etc..) and generally managing to finish their food through the grogginess. We only got home at just before 2 and its lights out almost immediately.

I woke up around 9 and the early part of the morning was mostly spent with TV. Abah practically ordered all of us to join his "Let's Bowl Together" program at Alamanda. The event was organized by Landskap Malaysia, Sekretariat Malaysia Prihatin and Pejabat Tun Abdullah Badawi and to differentiate between the different organizations, people from Landskap Malaysia were supposed to wear white. Not really sure about the others though, heh..

I had a leeeetle problem with my phone memory card like right before when we were supposed to go to Putrajaya, which was why I ended up lugging my netbook around the entire frekking time. Huu.. We got there just as they were about to start but in the chaos of getting ready we forgot to eat!! Since Husna and me are not bowling (and Mama had to mingle) we had to go to McD and play delivery girls. Just as we reached the bowling alley shamelessly carrying our food and ignoring the "No outside food allowed" sign, the assignment of team began. Zaim had come with his "groupie" (LOLs) and he was the only one assigned to Team 2 while Huda, Zaid and Abah got in the same team (Team 4).

Husna and me sneaked out for a while to buy Ayed's birthday card, which took quite some time since I have never been to Alamanda and was kinda taking my time. We also had a hard time choosing a birthday card (sweet vs. cool) so when we got back they were already playing their second game. We spent the remaining time taking pictures, cheering and high-fiveing untill everybody has finished playing. Then, it's makan time!! After everybody had their fill, it's finally time for prize-giving. Abah gave a short remark and then the winners were announced. Zaim's team won a placing to our delight. The program ended amidst applause from all.

IMO this was just another excuse for the family to take pictures and be all cute with each other. But it was fun nonetheless and it was a good first Alamanda experinece for me.

And also Happy 19th to Ayed. The last of your teen years. You'll be twenty next year!! OMG and I still remember when you were just the cutest littlest brother, all curly hair and no front teeth.. It's been wonderful seeing you grow up into a man and coming into your own. We still butt heads (literally) sometimes but we always have fun together right? Do your best in life and know that you'll always have us.. Muah!!! Love you Yed..!

HUDA'S BIRTHDAY AND... KURSUS KAHWIN??

Huda's 24th birthday was exactly the same day that I had.. Wait for it.. A whole day of meeting at the Shang-ri La hotel.. (Yeays half-heartedly).. Thankfully, the meeting ended earlier than the planned 7pm (Yeays!!) so it was kinda fated that Huda would find me walking slowly home because my heels were definitely killing me. We got back together and to our surprise Nenek was there!!

Abah suggested we go celebrate somewhere near and after some begging from Huda, Ayang also agreed to join in on the fun. She came right as we were leaving for.. Wait for it.. BORA OMBAK!! It's been a while since we dined there, the ambience is totally purrty and we get to sit in this hut, cross-legged in semi darkness. Dini also joined but sadly Zaim had to leave for college earlier that day so he was MIA. Miss you, Adik!

There were lots of waiting around, which lead to many pictures being taken to pass the time. I think mine was the.. Wait for it.. Last one to reach the table.. Heheh.. I ordered Australian Striploin (not a good choice) and Cofee Toffee Delight (which lived up to its name). After we've gobbled up all the deeeeliciuos food, it was time to give Huda her birthday card. Look at us trying to pose out her reading it.. Hee..

And just because, both me and Huda attended our ... Wait for it.. Kursus Kahwin that weekend. The topics discussed were quite general but because we sat right at the front and center, it was kinda hard not to focus on what the ustaz was imparting. And I got a first-hand view of what Huda becomes in class. A total geek. LOL.. She kept writing down stuff and referring to the book provided while I would just calmly sit back and listen. The ladies outnumber the men, but not by a big margin since most of the participants came in couples. The course was organized by Huda's workplace and so I got to see her office and even met some of her co-workers. Yeay me!!

So, Huda has survived another year. Next year she'll be half-of-a-decade or quarter-of-a-century. May she continue to spread love and happiness with that effervescent personality she has. Although I really do hope she cuts down on the aegyo, it gets annoying after a while.. Stay healthy and may Allah bless you forever and always.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABAH..!!

"Mama & anak-anak yg dikasihi, sempena dgn hari jadi yg ke 53 ini babah bersyukur dgn rezeki, kesihatan dan kebahagian yg ada. Tetapi sebagai insan biasa babah sudah tentu banyak kelemahan dan kekurangan sebagai suami dan ayah. Oleh itu babah mohon ampun. Doakanlah utk kebahagian, keselamatn, kesejahteraan, kesihatan dan keimanan utk kita sekeluarga. Aaaaamiiiin. TQ

ibn"
Above is the message given by Abah at 10.27am on the 13th of November, which also marks my parents' 28th wedding anniversary and also a year since Abah took his pencen. And what did the birthday boy do on his special day? Drawing up plans for our Nilai home.. Huhu..

Anyway, this year Mama left the celebration up to us. I suggested we have a yaasin recitation and tahlil and then we figure out something to eat. Me and Huda had already bought the food (Johnys) and cake (Baker's) before Maghrib. After the tahlil, it's Isya' (jama'ah, of course) and then it's eating time!

Since the menu is steamboat, obviously we could only start to prepare the food after the solat. As the girls scramble in the kitchen, Zaim went out to get some thing to eat for Nenek. It took some time, but we managed to get everything (steamboat, drinks, tomyam, naan, tandoori chicken) ready.

Then, we brought out the cake, all candles lit up and sang "Happy Birthday" and also "Allah Selamatkan Kamu" (for Nenek's benefit) to Abah. He blew out the candles and we all continue eating happily. When Abah finished eating, I gave him his birthday card and also their anniversary card. He must've felt quite touched because he ended up lying on the sofa with the cards on his chest.. Auuww..

So, Happy Birhday to my dearest Abah.. You are without a doubt the best father a daughter can ever ask for and we will always love and support you.. Thank you for the joys you shared and may you fulfil all your dreams even tho you pencen already.. Muacks..!!

(no pictures of me with the birthday boy, as I was not quite..ummm...decent..)

HAPPY 45TH SHAHRUKH!!

Happy 45th Shahrukh!! May you stay healthy and continue to be the entertainer that you are born to be.

I used to LOVE Shahrukh. And I really mean LOVE love. Like I would spend hours just reading up his Yahoo! thread. It was torture everytime I couldn't get access to the Internet when I started Matrics. Those times, I would play his "songs" (coz he doesn't really sing) and just look through his pictures saved on my computer. Hee... My absolute favourite film was Kal Ho Naa Ho. It's just a perfect blend of emotions and was so aesthetically refreshing... Shahrukh was absolutely glorious in it. I thank god that KJo didn't show Aman's death scene as it somehow made him ethereal-like, as opposed to Dev's death scene which sometimes brings a shudder through my entire body.

The obsession started simply enough with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and I slowly started to seek other stories. I would buy all of his movies and watch them, either alone or together with my family. I knew I was hooked when my heart literally ached for this dissheveled guy going after his girl in Dilwale. That still is one of my favorite scene ever! (BTW, Shahrukh and Kajol is pure LOVE on screen, I love them!!)

Phir Bhi Dil Hai is the first Shahrukh movie that I saw at the cinema. I even brought Zaid and Husna along.. While I was stepping into the cinema, only one thought crossed my mind.. Would they have subtitles? Haha.. Ever since I try to at least watch his movies once in the cinemas, but have failed to do so lately due to my obsession with boys in other parts of the world (cough*TVXQ*cough*Arashi*). If I remember correctly, I watched Devdas an impressive NINE times at the cinema and Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Ghum, and KHNH comes at a close SEVEN. Don't ask me why, it just happened like that.. I used to be able to just fawn and spazz over Shahrukh until I could fill an entire FOUR pages just gushing about him. Aah, those were the days.. I couldn't find that paper, but if I do, I'll make sure to re-type it here for posterity. Hee...

What actually drew me to Bollywood was their song and dance. It's so full of life and (used to be) fun. It's gotten a bit vulgar now, which is kinda why I don't really watch Hindi movies (except for Shahrukh's, of course!) ... Back to the dancing, I used to memorize the steps and danced along whenever I got the chance. It was good workout. I've forgotten a lot but still remember some like Dola Re Dola from Devdas, Banke Tera Jogi from Phir Bhi, Bole Chudiyan from Kabhi Khushie Kabhi Gham and Dil Se from Dil Se. The songs were also one of the factors that drew me in. I loved the fact that they use songs to convey emotions and I'm such a sucka for good songs in a movie. Hindi singers also have a way of singing that totally pulls at your heartstrings. They have this sort of lilting that just brings more emotion to the songs. I particularly love Shreya Goshal and Sonu Nigam. Their voices just rock!

I still read up on Shahrukh. Just not as obsessively as before. His newer movies were OK. I cried when watching Billu, friendship themes just get to me somehow... Rab Ne was OK.. Surinder Sahni or Raj is just too cute! I love the picturisation of Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte.. The five heroines were amazing! My Name is Khan is phenomenal.. I've gotten all of my family and most of my colleagues to watch it.. As cheesy as the movie was (as pointed out in my previous post) the message it carried is worth to be shared by everyone. His upcoming movie is one that he's been thinking of doing for a while, which is a superhero movie.. Can't wait for Ra1.. Go Shahrukh!!

OK, so yeah.. Janamdin Mubarak Shahrukh Saab.. Stay happy with your family, friends and other loved ones.. May you have all the success and happiness you deserve.. Keep being the cheeky, rapid-mouthed entertainer that you are.. God bless you..

P/s-Is is OK for me not to use Dato' even once? Hee..