Megawati who?

No offense to my colleague Meg who share this famous (ke?) name. A search in Yahoo! and Google only give results for the former Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri. Nothing like someone who've fought for Malaysia independence, or Wanita UMNO legendaries or at least wife of Sultan or Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Yet, the one of the largest round-about in Shah Alam, near Matsushita Sports Complex, is named Bulatan Megawati. The only rationale for the name I could think of is that Mega means big and since it's a big round-about they name it Megawati. But where that Wati came from?

As if there's no other names, I mean meaningful names, local council could think of. Something like Bulatan Toyo or maybe Bulatan Siti Aishah, the wife of the Almarhum Sultan of Selangor and the 11th King. And does anyone remember Tengku Ampuan Jemaah? She was the wife of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, the first Sultan Selangor who was appointed as King (5th King). Selangor football fans, don't just watch football, read some history too!

Or might as well named the round-about Bulatan Jeanne, at least it makes someone or a family read: the first family happy. Oh, don't worry, sooner or later there'll be something named after her hopefully not public toilet, just like her 'predecessor'.

==
Do you notice schools now are named after sections or the area they're located at, instead of named after legendaries?

Southern California 17, Oregon 24

thanks Yahoo!

Oregon defensive back Matthew Harper could sense it. Southern California was trailing by touchdown and on the march in the final moments. The home fans were on their feet, urging the Ducks to make the one last play it needed to take down the kings of the Pac-10. Harper was confident. "We knew somebody would make the play, and luckily it was me," he said.

Harper's interception on USC's final drive preserved a 24-17 victory and put No. 5 Oregon on the short list of national title contenders. As for No. 9 Southern California, just defending its Pac-10 title could be a long shot at this point.

Jonathan Stewart ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns and Dennis Dixon completed 16 of 25 passes for 157 yards for Oregon (7-1, 4-1), which was fifth in the BCS standings this week. Dixon, who's starting to get some serious Heisman hype, also ran for 76 yards and a touchdown.

The Ducks, who came into the game ranked second nationally in total offense, managed only 339 yards -- more than 200 below their average -- against the Trojans' third-ranked defense. But it was turnovers, including a fumble recovery and a pair of interceptions, that gave Oregon the advantage over Southern California (6-2, 3-2). USC came into the season ranked No. 1 and a heavy favorite to play for a national title. Now the Trojans will need lots of help to gain even a share of the Pac-10 crown it's won at least a part of for five straight seasons.

Trailing 17-10, USC was driving late in third quarter thanks to some clutch third-down passes by quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was making his third straight start in place of the injured John David Booty. Oregon, though, halted the march when safety Matthew Harper picked off Sanchez at the 15-yard line. The Ducks took advantage of the turnover by staging a 58-yard drive that culminated in Jonathan Stewart's 1-yard touchdown run.

That made it 24-10, but USC countered with a scoring pass from Sanchez to David Ausberry to pull within one possession. And things really looked scary for Oregon when the Trojans got the ball back again with about 3 minutes left. That's because Harper came up big again for Oregon when he picked off Sanchez for the second time as USC attempted to tie the game in the final seconds. A record crowd of 59,277 went bananas when Harper made his game-clinching interception.

It was the first time in Autzen Stadium's 41-year history that two top-10 teams played. The game drew a stadium record of 59,277 fans, including former Ducks Joey Harrington, now with the Atlanta Falcons, and Haloti Ngata, who is with the Baltimore Ravens.

USC had won the last three games against the Ducks, including last year's 35-10 victory in Los Angeles. The Trojans now can only look forward to next week at home against Oregon State, and see how the season shakes out.

Things won't get any easier for the Ducks, who play host to Arizona State next week. "We've got something for A-State," Williams said. "Just like we had something today for USC." Oregon's final three games are against Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State – all "show-up games," Bellotti said. Tough as their upcoming opponents may be, the Ducks' biggest challenge may come off the field. Now more than ever, Oregon will be talked about as a national title contender. Stewart and quarterback Dennis Dixon are being mentioned as Heisman candidates.

Go Ducks!

Oregon vs USC

#5 Oregon Ducks vs #9 USC Trojans

Saturday, 27th October, 3.30pm ET

Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR

Thanks Yahoo!

The ninth-ranked Trojans will be underdogs when they visit No. 5 Oregon on Saturday in the first matchup between top-10 teams in the 41-year history of Autzen Stadium.
USC hasn't been an underdog against a Pac-10 opponent since Nov. 17, 2001, when it upset UCLA 27-0 in the regular-season finale. The Trojans (6-1, 3-1), though, have been uncharacteristically shaky in conference games lately, and the Ducks (6-1, 3-1) enter this game as the higher-ranked team.

In its last three Pac-10 contests - all against unranked teams - USC has outscored opponents by an unimpressive 70-61 margin. In that stretch, the Trojans suffered their only loss of the year, falling 24-23 at home against Stanford for their first defeat at the Coliseum since Sept. 29, 2001. They will likely need a better effort against Oregon, which has used one of the nation's best offenses to earn its highest ranking since it finished the 2001 season as the No. 2 team in the country.

The Ducks are averaging 46.6 points per game, second in the Football Bowl Subdivision behind Hawaii. They're also second in total offense with 550.9 yards per game, trailing only Texas Tech. Oregon's prolific offense was on display last Saturday, when the Ducks racked up a school-record 465 rushing yards in a 55-34 win over Washington. The Ducks also had a program-record 39 first downs, and their 661 total yards were six shy of yet another record.

The Ducks were playing their first full game without running back Jeremiah Johnson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury the previous week against Washington State. Jonathan Stewart picked up the slack in Johnson's absence, running for a career-high 251 yards on 32 carries with two touchdowns. Stewart leads the Pac-10 and ranks sixth in the FBS with 134.3 rushing yards per game, but was held to 42 yards on 14 carries against the Trojans last season.

On Saturday, the Ducks can expect another challenge from a USC defense which ranks third in the FBS with just 252.1 total yards allowed per game. The Trojans, though, haven't faced an offense as good as Oregon's. Carroll's team is coming off a 38-0 rout of Notre Dame last Saturday. Backup quarterback Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes while playing in place of injured starter John David Booty as the Trojans took advantage of the now 1-7 Irish.

The Trojans got outgained by the Ducks last Nov. 11, but still cruised to a 35-10 victory - their third straight in the series after a four-game losing streak against Oregon. With a 36-15-2 record in the all-time series, USC has a higher winning percentage against Oregon than it does against any other Pac-10 opponent.

Go Ducks!

(continued) I just call to say...

On August 29, 2007 one waited for the next phone call.

55 days later, one received a phone call from a familiar number.

An appointment was set.

Another phone call received to reschedule the appointment.

Hours later, an email received with details on the appointment.

2 days later, one went for the appointment and one walked out feeling good.

Now, one continues to wait.

...will I 'Merdeka' soon?

==
I've been such appointments many times in my life but I've never been to such appoitnments within the same building, 35 floors above my current office. And funny enough, I've to go down to the parking to grab my documents and jacket and went up to a higher floor. Luckily, I didn't bump into anyone of my colleagues, otherwise they'd wonder what on earth I'm doing in suit.

Al-Fatihah - Shahrol Nizam Yusof

It was a wet and cold Monday morning, the first day at work after an 11-day long lebaran break. I was in the office, staring at tens of unread emails, figuring what month of financial reporting we're in and counting number of days to the next payday, when I received a call from Epit.

I thought he was after something that I owe him from the school days. Instead, he told me the last thing I would want to hear, one of my brothers passed away.

Shahrol Nizam (D37, Sulaiman House), passed away on 22nd October 2007 at 31 years old, leaving behind three kids and a wife who's carrying the fourth child. I remember him being a bright student (he was the best student for Social Science, if I'm not mistaken) and one of the earliest (if not the earliest) to get married among us. He was my basketball team mate during the early years and my classmate during the final years.

I went home and flipped my photo album from those days and found this one. It was our class photo when we were in Form Four. Shahrol is the one sitting second from left.

Ironically, Allahyarham Shahrol was on my right and on my left was Allahyarham Kamal Erfan (D54, Mohd Shah House) who passed away in 1994.

Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas roh kedua-dua sahabat...

Al-Fatihah

Direnjis renjis di Lipis

(sms conversation)
Me: Bro, I might not be able to attend, Nazir and Dunga (who were supposed to go along with me) will be working on Saturday. I have no one else.
The Groom: Bro, why don't you come alone?

I didn't reply further. But the confidence level of going to the wedding rose from 35% to 60% because of his expectation for me to show up. But I still need to find someone to accompany as I expected the trip to and from Kuala Lipis will be strenuous with anticipation that the road will be busy with vehicles from East Coast making their way back to the city.

Calls after calls, sms after sms to few close friends to no avail. I even went to watch Proton's football friendly match on Thursday night to look for friends who could accompany me but none could blame it on open houses. I finally managed to convinced Abg Usop to come along. Abg Usop never met the groom but at least the groom knows that Abg Usop used to live in Kajang.

During the football match, the groom called again to confirm my attendance. Gheez! I've no reason not to show up now since he called. Confidence level up to 90%.

We made our away to Bandar Kuala Lipis and there is that one huge round-about (or oval-about) at the center of the town which we circled three times finding the correct way to the groom's house. We finally found our way, not only after a call from the groom asking our whereabout, making me wonder what if I didn't come and was still in Shah Alam?

So, we arrived at the groom's house at around 4.15pm pengantin dah pakai baju tidur dah... Met faces I know, Dollah and wife Sharon and Hairul.

On our way back to KL, we made a stopover at Wati's mother house in Raub and Wati's mother has prepared a pack of 'sambal terung with ikan bilis' each for me and Abg Usop.

It was a second wedding I graced attended for the year. It's a great achievement for me since I don't fancy attending weddings, especially those attended by busy-body 'concerned' relatives.

Anyway, to my bro Razani and his wife, Izan... many congratulations, semoga dilimpahi rahmat dan dimurahkan rezeki; berbahagia dan berkekalan hingga ke akhir hayat.

Oregon 55, Washington 34

thanks Yahoo!


Jonathan Stewart ran for a career-high 251 yards and two touchdowns, Andre Crenshaw added 113 yards and two second-half scores, and Oregon pulled away late for a 55-34 win over Washington. The Ducks finished with a school-record 465 rushing yards and 661 total yards. The final numbers even staggered some of Oregon's offensive linemen, who bullied Washington's defense.

Whether it was pounding runs inside or stretching the Huskies to the perimeter, Stewart and the Ducks were never stopped. Stewart rushed for 144 yards at halftime, had 198 at the end of the three quarters, and became the first Oregon back to rush for 200 yards since Ontario Smith set a school record with 285 yards against Washington State in 2001. The Seattle-area native who spurned Washington, finished with 32 carries, seven more than his previous high.

Stewart picked up some help in the second half from Crenshaw, who added 107 yards after halftime. Crenshaw's 5-yard run with 12:54 left gave Oregon a 38-31 lead and put the Ducks ahead for good. Stewart and Crenshaw became the seventh and eighth backs in the last five weeks to rush for at least 100 yards on Washington; both USC and UCLA had two 100-yard rushers against the Huskies. Teams averaged 279 yards rushing during the previous four games.

Oregon's Andre Crenshaw, center, runs between Washington's Roy Lewis (28) and Wilson Afoa in the first half

Quarterback Dennis Dixon was 19-of-30 for 196 yards, added 99 yards rushing and a 13-yard scoring run with 4:52 left for the final margin.

Washington lost its fifth straight, all to teams ranked in the top 12 at one point this season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker had the best yards passing night of his young career, throwing for 257 and four scores, but Washington's defense could never slow down the Ducks potent spread offense.


==
Next: Most probably ranked 5th and now-National title contender Oregon Ducks vs defending National champion and then-National title contender USC Trojans. With Cal lost to UCLA, Ducks need to win this match to have a shot at the Pac-10 title, even the National title is within reach.

Oregon at Washington

#7 Oregon Ducks vs Washington Huskies
Saturday, 20th October, 7.30pm ET
Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA

thanks Yahoo!

An improving defense has helped Oregon rise to its highest ranking in two years. That needs to continue now that the offense has been hit hard by injuries. The seventh-ranked Ducks will have to rely on their depth Saturday when they make the short trip north to face Pac-10 rival Washington at Husky Stadium.

Oregon (5-1, 2-1) rebounded from its first loss of the season with a dominant performance last Saturday in a 53-7 home victory over Washington State. Dennis Dixon threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as the high-powered Ducks went over the 50-point mark for the third time in four games. Oregon is fifth in the nation in scoring (45.2) and sixth in total offense (532.5).

The victory, though, could prove costly as senior wide receiver Cameron Colvin and junior running back Jeremiah Johnson suffered season-ending injuries. Colvin - second on the team with 20 receptions for 248 yards and two touchdowns - broke his ankle early in the game, likely ending his career at Oregon. Colvin was already filling in for Brian Paysinger, who suffered a season-ending right knee injury in practice last month. In the second quarter Saturday, Johnson took a handoff before a Washington player hit his right knee and tore his ACL. Johnson, third on the team with 360 rushing yards, will have surgery and is out for the rest of the season.

Although Oregon's offense should still be very good, the injuries will put the defense under greater pressure to continue its steady improvement. Since allowing 545 yards of total offense in a 48-27 season-opening win over Houston, the Ducks have given up an average of 361.6 yards in the past five games. They limited Washington State - the Pac-10's leader in passing offense - to 251 yards through the air.

Washington (2-4, 0-3) hopes to snap a four-game losing streak - its longest since dropping six in a row last season. The Huskies were again done in by a poor third quarter last Saturday in a 44-20 loss at then-No. 12 Arizona State. In the last four games, Washington has been outscored 56-0 in the third quarter. The Huskies haven't scored in that period since the 2:17 mark of the season opener against Syracuse, a 20-yard run by Louis Rankin.

The four-game skid has put Washington into the difficult position of needing five wins in its final seven games to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2002. Oregon will be the fifth ranked team the Huskies have faced this season. They have lost three of the first four versus Top 25 opponents, recording the lone win against then-No. 22 Boise State on Sept. 8.

Oregon has won three straight overall against Washington but hasn't won in Seattle since Nov. 8, 1997.

Go Ducks!

Lebaran - about the car and the girl

Just got a break for myself from family duties for lebaran. Just can't wait for Friday to come, when I'll be back to home sweet home. And this lebaran, for 6 days at least, it was all about the car and the girl. Well, a bit was discussed about my 2010 plan but it didn't catch much interest as everyone was more interested with the car and the girl. Aren't they the two of men's three fascination?

The attention and discussions during this lebaran were centered around my younger brother's newly-bought car and the girl whom he dated for 4 years now.

Nothing great about the car but at least it's bigger and better than mine. And it still has the showroom or factory odor (gheezz... I've smelled factory odor for more than 6 years, so what's so great about it?!) And the thought that I'd not drive the family around this year was shortlived as my father wanted me to drive the car read my brother's new car as my brother is still not confident enough to drive long-distance trips. Anyway, who cares who the driver was, people remember who the car belongs to and I just wonder how it feels sitting in the rear seat of my own car?!

And the girl... when the family was in Bukit Mertajam, there was a plan to visit the girl's family and my mom tried to persuade me to come along which I replied with "it's just wasting my time going to a stranger's place and we still don't know where or when the relationship between my brother and the girl will end up". Sorry, mom! And what other better things to do than to sleep and I still need to drive the car the next day.

<--- And this is one of few good pictures of mine taken during lebaran, the rest in my camera were pictures of others. Who else in the family take good pictures? Rephrase: Who else in the family has good digital camera? Or would next lebaran's discussion will center around new digital camera?

If only I could find a strong enough reason to stay 'away' for the coming lebarans, at least until 2010. Celebrating lebaran in Taiwan, perhaps...

Oregon 53, Washington State 7

thanks Yahoo!

Dennis Dixon threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns and No. 9 Oregon handed Washington State its fourth straight loss, 53-7 on Saturday. Dixon also ran for a touchdown for the Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10). Oregon's easy victory over Washington State also came at a high cost -- receiver Cameron Colvin and running back Jeremiah Johnson left with injuries, and could miss the rest of the season. Colvin broke his ankle early in the game, and Johnson injured his right knee after scoring two touchdowns.

The Ducks were coming off a bye week, after a 31-24 loss to California at Autzen Stadium back on Sept. 29, and took advantage of three Washington State turnovers in the first quarter. Alex Brink was intercepted on the first drive and Oregon capitalized with Johnson's 42-yard touchdown run. On the next series, Washington got to the Oregon 2, but Brink was sacked for a 17-yard loss and then was intercepted by Jerome Boyd on the next throw. The Ducks took advantage of another Brink turnover late in the quarter. Oregon got the ball when Brink's fumble was recovered by Boyd, leading to Johnson's 18-yard scoring run. Brink was sacked in the end zone by Nick Reed and Cole Linehan for a safety to put Oregon up 19-0.

Jaison Williams #4 of the Oregon Ducks evades the defense of the Washington State Cougars

Dixon scored on a 1-yard keeper midway through the second quarter, then hit Jaison Williams with a 52-yard scoring pass and capped the first half with a 12-yard TD to Derrick Jones that made it 40-0. Oregon opened the second half with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Dixon to freshman Aaron Pflugrad. Washington finally got into the end zone on Brink's 8-yard pass to Michael Bumpus, but Daniel Padilla added field goals of 43 and 39 yards for the Ducks, who scored more points against the Cougars than in 85 previous meetings.


Next: Oregon (ranked 7th or 8th??) at Washington

من العائدين والفائزين

Minnal 'Aidin Wal Faizin

to each and everyone of Ada Ada Saje reader or visitor...

especially to my family and relatives,

friends in my Yahoo! and Gmail address books,

friends in YM or Gtalk lists,

Joe Perantau and taggers who hang out at dendam perantau,

especially night taggers delinn, kiahronggeng, elf, krozz,

kong, dj awie, kyora, xydee, dll...

my office mates (Boss Imri, Meg, Arifin, Muneer, Joe, Hong) and colleagues,

ex colleagues when I was working in Cyberjaya and

in Menara Boustead, Jln Sultan Ismail,

my beloved ex-bosses and friends in Proton - those who are still there and who have left,

my fellow brothers from the Class of 8993 and from other classes,

ADP2 PPP/ITM Section 18 friends - who blogs and who doesn't,

Mas Adiwibowo and Mbak Nina in Jakarta, Om Hidayat in Jogja/Adelaide,

fellow bloggers who link my blog to theirs and

to anyone who knows me in any way.

Maaf Lahir dan Batin.

Semoga Syawal ini membawa seribu keberkatan dan membawa sinar kebahagiaan kepada seisi keluarga. Be safe wherever your destination is and hope to see you again.

==
I'm away from 11th to 20th October in Ipoh-Grik-Butterworth before returning to Shah Alam for Razani's wedding in Lipis. So, Ada Ada Saje may not have or may only have limited entries published during that period. Selamat hari raya aildifitri.

Ayam golek

This is a testimonial to Ayam Golek Restaurant in Pantai Dalam, KL by no other that delinn who always make her presence felt at the restaurant.

The 'Ayam Gols', as what dendam perantau taggers refer the place to, is where they celebrate birthdays, small gatherings to celebrate someone from out of town who's in town, or whenever they feel like to mengumpat or simply hang out looking for potential boyfriends and anak ayams.

And I was told that our Group Corp Comm has censored delinn's last statement fromt he article... "Saya juga berharap dapat bertemu jodoh di Restoran Ayam Golek ini..." :-)

We're in space

Let's celebrate the first Malaysian in space!
10.10.2007 will always be in our record book.
Hopefully 20.10.2010 will be in my record book hehehehe

The space shuttle will launch at 9.21pm, but don't forget it's 29th terawih too. :-)

==
I just learnt how they pee and poo poo in space, tying themselves down to the toilet with a special tube for urinating and sucked by air, not water. And also, they have to bring their sh*t back to earth.

Oregon vs Washington State

#9 Oregon Ducks vs Washington State Cougars

Saturday, 13th October, 3.00pm ET

Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR

thanks Yahoo!

Oregon was unranked to start the season and lost its last game. But with shocking upsets seemingly happening every weekend in college football, the Ducks have managed to move into the Top 10 without even playing a game. The No. 9 Ducks look to justify their high ranking and avenge last year's upset loss when they host Washington State on Saturday.

The Ducks haven't played since a 31-24 loss to then-No. 6 California on Sept. 29. That defeat dropped Oregon slightly in the rankings, but since then, there's been an upheaval that included the previous highest-ranked team in the Pac-10. Heavyweight USC lost to 41-point underdog Stanford, Cal took its place as No. 2 in the country and No. 14 Arizona State remains unbeaten in the conference. All of that happened while Oregon (4-1, 1-1) sat idle last weekend. Now, with the Trojans having been upset, the Ducks would like to jump into the title race. Oregon would also like to get revenge for last year's loss to Washington State. The Ducks were ranked 16th when the Cougars won 34-23 at home.

But first, the Ducks will have to put the disappointing loss to Cal behind them. Oregon nearly tied the game late in the fourth quarter, but lost a costly fumble. With 22 seconds left, Dennis Dixon hit Cameron Colvin with a pass, but Colvin fumbled the ball as he tried to stretch it over the goal line. The ball went through the back of the end zone and was ruled a touchback for Cal. Oregon has already lost receiver Bryan Paysinger for the season with a knee injury and lost linebacker A.J. Tuitele for six to eight weeks after the defensive captain broke his foot.

The Ducks will have to rely on Dixon and their strong offense to hold off the Cougars. Oregon is first in the Pac-10 and fourth nationally in rushing, averaging 277 yards per game. The Ducks are also first in the conference in total offense (529 yards per game) and scoring offense (43.6 points per game). Washington State (2-4, 0-3) is facing its third Top 10 opponent and fourth ranked team of the season. The Cougars lost to Wisconsin and USC and still have to face Cal before the season is over. Washington State nearly upset then-No. 18 Arizona State last weekend before a late field goal gave the Sun Devils a 23-20 victory.

Washington State will need another strong performance by the defense to hold off the high-powered Ducks. A victory in Oregon would be especially sweet for Cougars quarterback Alex Brink, who grew up in Eugene but wasn't recruited by the Ducks. Brink had 369 yards passing against Arizona State to surpass Jason Gesser as the school's all-time passing leader with 8,923 yards. Oregon leads the all-time series 39-38-7, but Washington State has won three of the past five. The Cougars won 55-16 in their last visit to Autzen Stadium in 2003, their largest margin of victory in the series.

Go Ducks!

Burung apa?

I don't know if it's the sign of aging but I almost break down into tears the first time watching this Petronas commercial for Aidilfitri 1428H.



For me, it's simply the best Petronas tv commercial ever, so far.
For you and I, remember if we think that taking care our parents are difficult, it was much much more difficult for them to take care of us and raise us up.

Sadness... between principle and happiness

"Dear Marilyn,

Happy birthday! I still remember the day you told me you'd love to have a big, delicious cake for your birthday this time. You even wanted to have the leftover piece of cake from my last birthday but I don't think I'm that cruel to let you have that expired piece although I'd love very much to let you have a birthday cake as delicious as what I had.

But, I just don't know where the best bakery in town and I need to get advise from your friends, what flavor you like, what size or pattern of cake would make you happy. And your friends, who knows you long before I came into your life wanted to share in bringing the happiness to you on your birthday.

Great plan they have for you, nothing was close to what I've planned on my own. But one thing they don't have which I have, your birthdate. What would a birthday cake means to you without knowing when is your birthday. And mArcello knows where is the best bakery in town which could give discount to her/us since she's a privileged member at the bakery. And the bakery does delivery too, to which I think it's proper for me to let mArcello knows your birthdate for the delivery, in time for your birthday.

Marilyn, I know you're so sensitive about your age, your birth date and only handful of friends know your birthdate. But I was stuck in between your principle and my intention to bring happiness to your life, at least for a moment. I don't always cheat and lie. Most of the time, I lie in favor of someone as precious as you.

I heard, you were angry knowing that others know your birthdate and you could sense that I'm the one who told them that. You said repeatedly, it's about principle. You publicly said that I should've inform you that I told others your birthdate. You questioned the surprise we wanted to present to you. In all, you don't seem to appreciate our intention to bring happiness to you.

And please understand, I have my principle too. I don't lie unnecessarily, I don't break people's trust on me. I'm trying to bring joy, I'm trying to bring happiness but I just couldn't do it alone. Something has to be sacrificed and in this case, your birthdate.

I lied to my mom for an extra ten cent (I told her that I want to get a new eraser) just to treat my best friend an ice cream on his birthday. I gave tens of reasons to my boss to not stay back after work just to take my mom for a dinner so that she doesn't have to cook on mother's day. I called in office to lie to my boss that my car breaks down just to meet an old friend, whom I didn't meet for 15 years, who was in transit in KLIA for 2 1/2 hours.

And I didn't tell you where I went that day with another friend because I don't want you to know that we went to the bakery to confirm our order - what flavor, design and topping for your brithday cake. I also get to taste sample of cakes before choosing the one just delivered to your doorstep.

Now I heard, you've received the cake. I heard you're happy. It was a special one for you as you hadn't had a cake as nice for quite some time. I'm glad you're happy. And I don't mind if you're still questioning why I gave them (read your friends) your birthdate and I don't mind if you want to call me untrustworthy.... as long as you're happy.

regards and selamat hari raya aidilfitri happy birthday."

Quote of the day:
"Call me untrustworthy, I'm fine if people think that's what I am for the happiness I try to bring to life. I am what I am and I don't regret it" - deoughtred

Why I want to eat at Friday's

Original entry title: Lonely Ramadhan

Zakat, or tithe, is the fourth obligation in the five pillars of Islam. Paying Zakat Fitrah in the month of Ramadhan will definitely pool resources to help the needy. Payment of zakat may be made throughout Ramadhan and the latest, the morning before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri's prayer.

There was an announcement at the office mosque before last Friday prayer that the rate for zakat fitrah in KL is RM4.70 whereas in the neighbouring Selangor, it is RM5.20. And I was confused as in which state I should pay my zakat, my income is harvested in KL but I live and my qariah is in Selangor. Well, I've paid in Selangor earlier and I thin it's a right decision to contribute to the more needy ones, whom can be found more in Selangor than in KL or the other way round as Selangor is becoming a developed state, kata MB nya?

For some people, they tend to wait until the very last minute to pay zakat fitrah. I'm not sure if it's more 'afdal' (just like bersahur) or they'll get extra pahala for paying later. I don't think there should be any reason for waiting until the very last minute to pay zakat fitrah as payment counters are now available even in shopping malls and payment can also be made via sms. As for me, I'd usually pay in the second week of Ramadhan, among reasons being... 1) to avoid long queue and 2) to avoid some sort of embarassment, not really embarassment lah it's just reality that strikes me.

Usually in Ramadhan, there are two points or moments when reality really stikes myself. The first moment is when buying foods in pasar Ramadhan. The food sellers will ask me how much I'd like to have this and this or sometimes they just ask, "(untuk) berapa orang makan?" Duhh.. I feel like there's stone in my mouth to say, "Sorang je (makan)". That's one reason I don't fancy pasar Ramadhan and home-cooked sardine tastes much much better with hot rice than the ayam percik, martabak, roti jala, or whatsoever sold in pasar ramadhan.

Secondly, when paying zakat fitrah. The 'amil' or the zakat collector will ask me "(zakat untuk) berapa orang?" as if he can't see the exact amount of money I put on the table before I take the seat. Reluctantly, I answer (again) "Sorang je..." and followed by a look at my face by the amil and instruction to read the top lafaz (in the leaflet) for individual zakat payer. That's why I choose to pay zakat early in the month so there'll be no one queuing behind me who could hear my short, painful conversation with the 'amil'.

Well, I still believe that (unlike other months) when reality strikes you in Ramadhan, you ought to do something about it... which I'm doing it now (take shower, jalan-jalan and break fast in TGI Fridays - at least I don't buy foods from pasar Ramadhan)

Be safe during Aidilfitri

Ops Sikap XIII was launched two days ago, targeting more towards express buses and taxis where some 200 plain clothes policemen and JPJ officers will disguise themselves as normal passengers in randomly and unluckily selected express buses and taxis.

Just wonder if they already bought bus tickets as most tickets have been sold out even before Ramadhan started. And I just don't have any clue that until when we have to rely on Ops Sikap during festive season to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities.

I don't have the RM figure on how much they spent for every Ops Sikap but a simple laymen guessing on the overtime they've to pay police personnels who work on public holidays would give you some rough ideas how much were incurred. Don't forget that salaries for policemen have increased recently, highest among all government servants. And for this Ops Sikap XIII, they've introduced an icon which they've printed cardboard cutouts of the icon to put in, I don't know, by the roadside I guess?

But looking at the number of accidents and fatalities, there were not much of an improvement when Ops Sikap X recorded 13,153 accidents and 205 fatalities, then gone up to 15,716/228 in Ops Sikap XI, which then saw numbers in Ops Sikap XII went down but still higher than the xth version at 14,930/207.

I think it's just some other things they need to focus on as the number of accidents and fatalities didn't show much success. Whatever the things are, let's the extra patience we develop in this Ramadhan month be applied while driving during this festive season.

And to be safer... rear passengers, please fasten your seat belts, too.

Be safe, think of the loved ones who're waiting for you.

(Costly) wedding talk

I didn't notice when this weeding took place September last year. The most expensive wedding in the country (literally) ended after one year with the 25-year old wife filed for a divorce from her 50-year old husband.

It was reported that last year, the bride received RM444,444.44 cash as part of the wedding gifts (hantaran) besides the other 22 wedding gifts from the groom that includes an RM250,000 BMW 320i , RM150,000-woth of jewellery, RM20,000 ring, designer handbag, shoes, perfume and cosmetics. Oh ya, the dowry paid to the bride was RM22,222.22.

Considering the cash gift alone, she was paid more than RM37,000 per month or more than RM1,200 per day.

And now, I swear to stop dreaming of marrying a celebrity, novalty or someone of royal blood if this is the amount I need to fork out for an only-God-knows-how-long-it-will-last marriage. And I wonder how much it will cost me in 2010? ooppsss did I just drop a clue?

Whatever!

I'm in no mood to blog...
I'm already in raya mood...
It's my blog, who cares what people say...
I just don't feel like blogging...
What? What did you just say?!
Ohh...