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..

RELAY FOR LIFE 2011 (KUALA LUMPUR)

For some odd reason, lots of people thought 16th July would be the perfect date to organize their event.. Merck had their treasure hunt, Fitness First had a Miracle event, AMAR had an open house, and it was also the day of RFL KL. Maybe because it's a few weeks shy of Ramadhan.. Anyway, Fitness First had their Miracle event for the entire day at Empire Subang. They set up tent outside the shopping complex where ShowOff performances and also classes took place. The staff and instructors have been hyping up the event, selling coupons and T-shirt to members, all in the name of charity. There are also a couple of classes going on in the gym itself; one of which was Line Dance Funk.. So it was a no-brainer that me and Ama headed there if only for Bernard's class. Woo!! We saw a few ShowOff performances and then had to take-off after I bought myself a grande Java Chip frap. Yum..

I would've stayed the whole day at the Empire Subang except for the fact that I had committed to volunteering for RFL KL with Aunty Darl (including Ama and hubby Yazid).. We got to UKM Stadium later than promised (even got slightly lost) and proceeded to report to Aunty as soon as we got there.. We found the surau, changed into our yellow T-shirt and walked around the stadium taking pictures.

The event proper started at 6pm, with cancer survivors (in purple) started the relay with much applause from the participants in yellow.. They carried banners and some even had on costumes.. Then, it was the yellow people's turn on the tracks and who do you think lead the way carrying NCSM banners? Why.. Us of course!! We screamed and laughed and had to slow down our walk because the others at the back couldn't catch up.. LOL..

I think by now I've bought my Mocha frap from the Starbucks vehicle parked at the F&B section. But not before we bought our Luminarias and did some decorating.. I dedicated mine to Mok Nab.. May her soul rest in peace.. Then, a few more rounds on the track.. We decided to buy our dinner (meatball with gravy and mashed potato for me!!) right before the Luminaria session but I only ate mine after the session has ended. There was a tribute to Liza, a former cancer survivor who lost her battle in May. Her two sons went up the stage and bravely gave a speech. After a video presentation all the luminarias were lit up and a slow procession started. One interesting fact is that the only time the track is allowed to be empty is during Luminaria.

Dini and Adma then dragged us to join one of the games. Although we just had dinner (and also my Mango Passion frap) we got in line. We formed a team of five and were briefed on the rules: blow the flour off and scoop up the candy.. And the group next to us is lead by none other than Adam.. Luckily for us, Dini went first and she blew hard enough to send the flour flying, revealing almost all the candies. It was funny when she and Adam were fighting over the same flour.. LOL.. We got second and was in high spirits by the end of the game..

Mama, Abah, Huda and Husna came a bit later to escort Tun Jeanne Abdullah in RFL KL. She got here later so she missed some of the earlier performances on stage. The line dances were fun (Achy Breaky Heart was pure FUN) and the traditional Malay dance got everybody swaying their hands. The Miss RFL was hilarious, people were screaming and shouting their favourite Miss (who for the uninitiated is NOT a Miss, rather a Mister..).. I danced with Ama when we heard LDF songs, like right in the middle of the field.. Awesome.. As it was nearing midnight I quickly got in line for my last frap of the day (Java Chip again..)..

Come 2am everything started to quiet down. Games were still going on and our shift officially began. I manned the merchandise counter while Ama and Yazid were at the information counter. Previously we went to Aunty's hotel room with Dini to freshen up. I asked Husna to keep me company.. Threaten actually since she preferred to hang out with her friends. And I asked her to buy some food when an uncle stopped by and said that the F&B were closing. She did leave me when Alya, Aunty's eldest came. By 4am there were no more customers and the morning air was very cold. People had started dozing off and when Aunty came by I asked for some nap time in my car (the hotel room was already full and we forgot to book tents). Me and Alya were just about to drift off when Husna knocked on the window and the three of us had a brief sleep until 7am.

After freshening up, I went back to the merchandise counter. Ama and Yazid got breakfast (Milo and Fitnesse cereal). We enjoyed the yoga and aerobic sessions.. Then it's working time again as we had to help with cleaning up and clearing the tent. I did a few laps around the track all by myself and finished just before the last relay at 10am. We stayed behind just long enough to burst the balloons and then cleaning that mess up before we bid adieu and went home. Can't wait for next years'!! Go NCSM!! Go RFL!!!

ILLI'S WEDDING DAY

Aaaand one more goes over to the other side.. Now it's just me and my lonely self wallowing in my so-called freedom.. Which was why later in the day when all was settled Ama bought me a Starbucks frap to cheer me up after our Line Dance Funk session.

The day started as a total shock because I woke up at 7am when I promised Ama I would be at her place by 7.30..!! And I haven't even ironed my clothes yet.. Ugh, total disaster.. But luckily, both me and Ama made it just in time and managed to witness Illi's (and her sister Aimi's) solemnization.. She was officially Yusuf's wife at 8.50am.. On a side note, it was nice seeing Yusuf. I have't seen the guy in like years.. He looks the same.. Huhu.. There were almost no time for photographs at the masjid because the space was to be used for the hajj classes at 9am sharp. So all of us made our way to the hall where a small pelamin for both couples stood. That's where we got our Bride's Maid badges.. Cuuutee.. Then, families take turns for pictures with the couples. Of course there are also some with the bride's maids.. Hee~

We had some breakfast while the pengantins did their meet-and-greet with their closest friends and family. Then we followed Illi to her room, (like in between the dining hall and the hall) for her to change into her reception gown (which is gorgeous BTW..) Guests were expected to come at noon, so while Yusuf changed we went to the dining hall for lunch.. Yeap, and we just had breakfast.. LOL.. Anyway, the food was extremely nice and if I didn't just had breakfast I would've eaten a lot more. Ama fell in love with the tart teratai and Rabi' was forever bringing cakes over.. Heheh..

When the couples were all ready to make their grand entrance, I sneaked in to join the procession but stopped at the hall. We met Mai and Ziha and sat down to join their table. Kak Erin called just then so I went to keep her company while waiting for other KC'ers to show up. Yun, Izatul and Kerol arrived just as Kak Erin was taking her food. So there we had a nice little KC reunion.. I like.. And with many KC occasions, a LOT of pictures were taken.. Yun even snapped a few of me gobbling up the tart teratai.. *Blush*

Then, me and Ama hung around, saying hi to friends that we haven't seen for ages.. At a little after 3pm, we took our leave so as not to miss Bernard's class in Klang. But not before a last shot with the happy couple. I didn't get to really talk and catch up with Yusuf, but I guess we'll have time for that later. Insya Allah. So here's wishing all the happiness for Illi and Yusuf in their journey together. May Allah bless you with a beautiful family and success in all your challenges. Congratulations. And Yusuf, please take the bestest care of Illi ok?

HELLO HOLLAND..!!

According to the label, this post is about Jalan-Jalan.. It's not actually.. Unless you count the walk to and from the course venue back to the hotel as Jalan-Jalan.. But luckily the course organizers gave us one (and a half) day break to explore more of Holland.. And boy did we explore..

Oops, I forgot to give some intro.. Hee.. It was declared by the upper management of my company to attend a 2-week course in Delft, The Netherlands a mere 3 weeks before the said course. Alhamdulillah, me and my fellow colleague managed to make our preparations accordingly and were on the 12 hour flight to Schipol Airport on the 13th June..

The city we stayed in, Delft is in South Holland, an hour away from Amsterdam and is located between Rotterdam and The Hague. It's a quaint and quiet city and everybody mostly got by on foot or with bicycles. I read somewhere that it is one of the prettiest cities in Holland and I have to say the article did not exaggerate. With its winding canals and wonderfully preserved buildings it has a certain charm big cities are so lacking these days. It's nearing summer there so it's not really cold. We even had to take off our jackets in the last few days there. But the rain is not so predictable. Thankfully, I learnt my lesson from Kelana Convoy last year and brought an umbrella with me. And also, the days are quite long. Sunrise is at 3am and dusk were around 10pm. This may be why our course is from 9am to 7pm everyday. Long, huh.. And the shops here close at 6pm.. Great..

On days where we finished class early, or skipped class (just once!!) we would walk around the city and do this thing we call SHOPPING.. Heh.. We mostly went to souvenir shops (duh..!), supermarkets, clothing store and our favourite spot: a Turkish cafe which serves up heavenly kapsalon (french fries and shredded chicken with melted cheese).. Yum..

When we got the time, we took the tram to The Hague and the first place we went there is Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature city where most of Holland's landmark buildings are scaled down to a 25th of its original size. It has castles, churches, and even the Schipol airport. Trains and trams all run their course and stopping at their stations. Being there literally makes you feel like a giant. And being our first time there we initially ooohed and aaahed at almost every structure, which stopped after a while. They even had these little human statues sort of froze in motion and when you take a picture, you wouldn't know that thay are miniatures.

We went to a friends' house not far from Madurodam. Mun lives with her two children, Amni and Amar. Both soo adorable I regret spending soo little time with them.

Mun brought us to Zaanse Schans where we could be a bit closer to the windmills, and even go inside one. The stairs were so steep that the safest way to go down is facing the ladder. We saw how they made cheese and clogs and even got to taste some of the cheese with yummy dips. On our way out I bought the collectible calendar with our faces on for a frikkin 10euros... Expensive much?

Then, we took off for Volendam. And as usual when in Volendam, it's Dutch costume time! Mun treated us to fried seafood for lunch, which is like super tasty. Especially after almost everyday of bread and butter. The shopping here was fantastic, almost everything is cheaper so in order not to fel too cheated, we bought a few souvenirs.

Mun dropped us at a bus station heading to Amsterdam and after a while spent wondering around finding the canal ride, we gave up and just took the tram to Museumplein for a picture with I amsterdam. When we were queueing up for tickets back to Delft, a kind lady gave us two daycards, which meant we got a ride home for free..!!

The last few days were spent looking for things to bring back home. We bought loads of stroopwafels and I got myself a few shirts (All of them black.. Blegh..) But I especially loved the "Good Girls Go To Heaven; Bad Girls Go To Amsterdam" one.. We went to the same souvenir shop five times (even went in twicw in ONE day!!) at went out with different things in hand.. LOL..

I truly thank Allah for giving me the opportunity (again) to be in this part of world.. It seems surreal now that I'm back in Malaysia.. Like it all happened in a dream.. With His permission a dream I will get to live again, Insya Allah..