colours of malaysia

i was with kay at memory lane in kinta city yesterday. we were filling up the member's form when i came across one of the questionnaires-- what festivals do you celebrate? answer: hari raya, chinese new year, deepavali, christmas or other (?). i was like... huh?!! wth! we are malaysians and shall celebrate them all. well of course the main one is the one of our religion, but when we are living in this country we are free to celebrate other festivals with our friends too. am i right? i find that malaysia's stands out with its wonderful way, many cultures live together and celebrate together. so guess what? i ticked all the boxes! *glurp*

so what if you were in my shoes?

all alone...

about an hour plus ago, puteri's classmate and mom picked her up for them to do their group assignments together. so that means maybe i shall go out later to fetch puteri at her classmate's place. while megat already out from 8.30am for a taekwondo competition at the clifford secondary school. meanwhile mom and dad went out around 3pm for a merisik (discreet match-making) ceremony for my cousin cicik (ijoe's lil' sis). they shall pick megat on their way back. and now i am all alone at home!

i took this chance to update my herbalife blog especially for the terms and conditions and the way to order the products from me. go here (see sidebar) to find out more about it.

o yes... bah (grandmother) is in kl with auntie yan. they went to send sarah and her family at the airport last night. and according to mama, they visited the new baby this morning ;) maybe my turn will come on my next trip to kl, probably next month :P

on the same day...

last 2 weeks--

i went to kl with puteri. the main reason was to attend a STS on sunday. we reached kl around 4+ pm. so i thought maybe we could check-out bisou since i didn't get the chance to try it with ween last time, more over it was right on time for teatime! wargghhh!!!... i guess it was not our day :( bisou was closed for a private function... blerk!


last week--

my main cpu crashed and now i have to make do with the extra one. one thing i hate with this one is that it can't read any usb connections. yes! i really meant ANY as in no matter of any thumb drives, digicams, usb wires, anything! hangin betul ler! in fact i have pics of homemade kundas that i still owed KNizam. so bear with me if there won't be much posting for the time being.

hello world...

on 23 july 2008, mariam mishael came into our world. congratulations to both charlie & yatt on becoming proud parents! :D

*pics courtesy of charlie

told you a headband can make you look amazing!

i was browsing mr manager's blog just now when i came across this post. what did i see? well i was definitely interested to see sheila majid's latest pic there looking radiantly wonderful as usual although in her casuals outfit, plus she was also wearing headband! chantekkkkk (pretty)!!! see... didn't i tell you people before that headbands can make you look amazing...

-----

meanwhile i did go to 8tv's destinasi badjet episode 2 site as asked by KNizam. i didn't watch the episode on tv last nite cuz by the time he posted about it in my shoutbox, i have just logged off and (surprisingly) went to bed early ;) ermm... no wonder ler... its a travelling-on-a-budget programme. in that episode the guy travelled around tepen (taiping) and trying to make use of the budget of RM300. go here to watch it online.

eh... when i followed my girl guide's trip to maxwell hill before, we walked up there ler... tak main ler naik jeep! lol... anyhow its in the list of one of the places that i really wanna bring my kids to. kewl huh?!!

homemade breakfast is the best way to go

start your day with a good breakfast, made from simple breakfast recipes; it's your most important meal and gives your body fuel to get you started in the morning.

there are a variety of breakfast recipes to accomplish this. meat, eggs, vegetables, cheese, fruit, cereals, potatoes or all of the above can be used to create a scrumptious breakfast dish. a nice glass of juice is a pleasant opening bit, fresh or frozen.

there are a multitude of bars and snack foods that supposedly are all healthy and nutritious and extra convenient (read all the information on the bars). however, i think a good homemade breakfast is a lot more delicious.

the few minutes that it takes to prepare an easy breakfast recipe is well worth the time it takes. some can even be done the night before to make it even easier. even if all you do is place all the items within easy reach.

keep abreast of the current information on nutrition, don't be a piggy and enjoy life. also learn some new breakfast recipes. there are many ways to spice up breakfast by adding:

• fruit to cereals
  
• hot sauce and salsa to egg dishes
  
• different flavors of syrups to waffles and pancakes
  
• different flavors of coffee and teas
  
• various types of toast from apple sauce to zucchini bread

or else try this one or this from my very own kitchen ;)

experiment, try different combinations of foods and condiments, usually if you like the individual ingredients you will like the combination.

"variety is the spice of life"

kuE's note:
pic taken this morning during breakfast. can you all see of how fast my kids have grown up?

can't sleep so i thought i'd blog...

and layannnnn... this great song by zaf and lah VE titled aku bukan untukmu (i am not for you)! i understand that its the official music video for the soundtrack of film sepi--



this song is for sure gonna be in my favourite songs list. how about you people?

introducing... uncle goh the fruit seller

we were at uncle goh's (kok seng) fruit stall when i suddenly remember that i wanna take his pics for my 'people of kuale' project hehee... he was surprised though because as long as he could think of +/- 40 years in the business, no one would approach him to take pics! we also have been one of his regular customers ever since then.

the stall is located right infront of bank pertanian, near the bus station. that actually has been his 4th location. the first one was in the local market. then the town council moved the fruit stalls to the middle of the town. they have been moved again then to a spots seems specially for fruit seller near the perak river. lastly now at the current location. let's just hope that they won't be moved anywhere else after this. i am sooo sick seeing what's the town council people were up to right, so easily instructing people to move here and there. make up your mind dude!

the pic showed uncle goh's stall (right) and another one is of him with his son (left).

sepi that makes me feel good

i never believe in second chance but after i watched sepi, it changed my perception. it gave me strength to let go the past and hoping for a new beginning. honestly, i'm in love with someone but loving someone made me weaker than ever.

i thoroughly enjoyed the company of my movie date with puteri few weeks ago. i just dunno of why i didn't have the guts to write the review on that very same day itself. initially we were so sceptical yeah... i wonder why we put ourselves in such situation in the first place... perhaps because we really wanted it to be another surprise movie like cinta.

i'm glad we chose sepi instead of made of honour (my earlier choice). admittedly we would have enjoyed a much better script, acting and cinematography in MoH than sepi. yet...the former wouldn't have made us cry silently. and cry, we did. just as we did two years ago when we watched cinta.

remarkably in sepi, afdlin shauki surprised me with a degree of maturity in his acting. almost no 'heeheeheee...' fillers. although vanida imran and him acted pretty well, i prefer the storyboards of the other two couples. sayu (translation: sad, just like the background music which i really lurveee)...

sepi was worth every ringgit i spent that evening, and more.

morals of the story:

1. don't over generalise the quality of local malay movies. they have improved greatly since the yusuf haslam's era.
   
   
2. not everything 'orang putih' is necessary good. we have to have a more open-minded approach to our local products and productions. so this makes me wanna proudly remind you people again to watch estet in february 2009.

have a great weekend, everyone!

calling nuffnangers with great gift ideas!!!

there's a nuffnang gift ideas contest going on right now till 6 august 2008. so to all you nuffnangers who think that you are very good in this, why not you try to submit your entry. all you have to do is just blog about what you would give a fellow nuffnanger in the most creative way and tell them why hmm... i guess i'll think of some ideas in this few days ;) at the meantime you can go here for further info about the contest.

viel erfolg! i wish you success...

kuE' 666th post

satan smiles upon kueee.blogspot.com

DIY and save a bomb!

every morning, my N76' alarm clock and i fight. it plays its obnoxious great song (thats what Mr Z said) starting at 5:38 am and continues between every five-minute snooze break until i bring myself to get out of bed. sometimes i lie in bed and think of reasons not to get up. but my brain has learned that i have to be awake on time no matter what for the sake of my children. if not this daily struggle to crawl out from underneath the warmth of my covers will definitely causes me to be in a perpetual state of running-late.

after all my one true lifesaver has been my discovery of headbands.

i've unsuccessfully attempted headbands my entire life. i've gone through phases but they've never really been my thing until recently. a few months ago, i bought a quilted black headband at forever 21 in queensbay mall for like RM15+ (?) because it was rather cheap, looks comfortable and can matched with anything i wear. ever since then, it has been love. i can wash my hair the night before, get up the next morning, straighten it, and throw on a headband in less than 15 minutes and i look stinkin' amazing!

i have also noticed tons of celebrities wearing them on and off the red carpet. they are a great way to glamorize up-do's without the drama of a tiara. headbands are a god-send to us snooze-hitters too because they keep hair out of our eyes and oily roots under cover. plus, they are way cuter than baseball caps!

i don't know about you but i value every opportunity to sleep just a few minutes later and seize every chance i get to look fabulous. so, try a headband (if it matches your purse, even better!). you may find them as a great reason to hit snooze and just another way to be GORGEOUS!

unfortunately this morning i found that it has been ruined when i forgot to bring it down from the car. part of the insert lace layer was torn off maybe because of the direct sunlight. so instead of throwing it away and buy another, i fixed it myself and save a bomb! i went in, took-out my glue gun and waited for few minutes. once its hot, i slowly placed the glue at the lace layer that already came out. i have to hold the lace and headband between my fingers for a while to ensure that it sticked in firmly. then tadaaa...


i can wear this favourite headband of mine with the gorgeous look (ehemm...) again without any single sen! hehee...

zenni for eye care

I am sure some of you people would feel bored because I keep writing about zennioptical.com (latest one was yesterday rite *glurp*). I don't care! If you are searching for an online shopping on the net for prescription eyeglasses then Zenni Optical is a must-see site for you. This place is jam-packed with stylish durable quality eyeglasses at very reasonable prices.

Their eyeglass models that start with the $ 8 Zenni Optical Rx Eyeglasses consist of high quality stylish frame with thin and light 1.57 index lens. These features are great for those out of style and thick lens users not only for a new good look but for the comfort it will give you. Aside from that, your prescription eyeglasses come with an anti scratch coating, full UV protection plus lens edge polishing and beveling. The scratch issue can now be taken for granted with their quality coating and enjoy the smoothed, polished and beveled lens of yours. Also, their full UV protection offer is very important to consider for protection of eyes against damage or certain eye disease. The frames are available in monel steel alloy, stainless steel, memory titanium, plastic and memory plastic. Your order comes with quality hard eyeglass case, microfiber lens cleaning cloth and a full warranty. You can order online with a flat $4.95 shipping and handling charge per order regardless of number of glasses.

Globally, there are millions of eyeglass users whether for vision correction or as a fashion accessory. Check out all the best things found at Zenni Optical.

kuE's note:
this is a sponsored post.

megat's haircut

we visited the barber yesterday--



and witnessed the transformation of the new megat!!! ;)

we were at yut loy earlier soon after picked up megat from his scouts activity. i was kinda surprised though when megat agreed to my suggestion to cut his hair at number 2 (the barber usually used razor blade number 2 for a 'crook cut' type hair)! i guess the last time megat had that type of hair when he was in the kindergarten.

our visit to the barber this time saw uncle rajendran alone without his older brother (pic here) who died because of high attack on 9 may 2008. they run the business together since 1975. go here and here to know more about them. anyhow uncle rajendran is lucky that an indian friend from penang came to give a helping hand.

kuE's note:
this blog post is a part of 'people of kuale' series :P

photo editing is an art

in earlier times, i took my snapshots with my trusty old yashica, given to me by my dad for my 11th birthday; removed the film cartridge and dropped it off at the drug store for developing. after about a week, i picked up my prints. what i got was exactly what the film was exposed to. no cropping, no sharpening, brightness or contrast adjustments were available unless i had my own film processing and print studio.

with the onset of digital photography, it has become possible for everyone to learn and perform successful photo editing. there exists a plethora of digital photography software that allow differing levels of image manipulation. with a decent digital camera, a computer with a quality printer, and one of the many versions of photo editing software, you can produce stunning photographs. you can crop for closer views of your intended subject, darken or lighten the exposure, adjust the contrast, sharpen the image, change it to black and white, sepia, or grayscale.

add a good scanner and you have the ability to edit your old standard photographs. that old faded photo of you as a child can be brought back to life with a few clicks of your mouse. with the right software, you can place objects from one photograph into another. create a montage of any person containing their pictures from birth to present. that beautiful old ford you took a picture of at the cruise-in brings back fond memories?

just insert yourself into the photo standing proudly beside the car of your dreams. photo editing not only provides you with beautiful keepsakes of the people and places in your life; it can provide you with hours of fun and entertainment. children giggle and squeal with delight to find themselves placed into unknown and exciting places.

which ever direction you take in choosing a photo editing program, be prepared to become totally hooked on working with digital photography. as you discover the many tricks and tweaks possible with photo editing, don’t be surprised to find yourself immersed for hours at a time tweaking and manipulating your photographs... just like ME! :P

kuE's note:
sample some of my recent trial works here (try to compare it with the original one by ween and see whether you can spot the difference, other than the background hehe...), here, here (my right hand holding the mouse was kinda shivered when i was first doing this lol...) and the most recent one is the pic above where only myself stands out, while the rest of them were blurred ;) so what do you think people?

need to buy glasses?

today i visited ZenniOptical.com again (revisit my january 2008 archive to read another). it's a site specializing in the sale of prescription glasses. it looks like they've got a huge selection. one of their products i'd never seen before. it's a set of glasses that has corrective lenses behind darkened outer lenses, the kind you'd find in a pair of sunglasses. So if you needed reading glasses, and liked reading outside, you'd slap on a pair of these and be good to go!

let's see, i didn't know there were so many types of lenses to choose from! ZenniOptical has photochromic or "sun sensor" lenses (the ones that darken in sunlight), plus tinted, bifocal, progressive, and single vision lenses too. and tons of frames. plenty to choose from.


with this site you will be able to get prescription meds starting from $4. it offers prescription glasses at low, low prices. their slogan is something like Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case!

how can they justify such prices? it's easy. yhey make the frames themselves, and don't involve middlemen. so when you buy from them, you're buying direct. that way, there's no store owner raising prices to justify carrying the merchandise. what's more, ZenniOptical apparently has a super-slim ad budget. so they don't have to make up for a million-dollar super bowl ad by charging you $800 for a pair of shades!

this is a sponsored post.

when cupcake makers meet

what do you think cupcake makers would do/talk about when they meet each other?

would we...

1. talk about cupcakes/bakery stuff bla bla bla
   
2. bake together
   
3. eat cupcakes
   
4. exchange our cupcakes

we are just an ordinary people. we don't just think, eat or dream about cupcakes. we also have our own life to think about heh!...

so eventually i managed to squeeze in some time to meet my fellow cupcake makers ween for breakfast on last sunday. well at first our plan was to go with the number 3 answer above, but since we saw that bisou didn't open, we headed to sheraton instead, which is located just across the street huhuu... probably next time ya ween. when i checked their site just now, finally i saw that they have stated the correct business hours blerk! they open till really late--2am on fridays and saturdays. i guess that's to cater to the clubbing crowd at asian heritage row where bisou is located, and also to the late-night dessert-craving crowd like ME :~)

it was so nice to meet ween for the very first time. she's tall and slim compared to me whose much shorter than anyone else i know hehee... fyi i am just stands at about 5'2" tall anyway ;) we knew each other via blogging followed by talking on the phone, text-ing each other hmm... what else? yes like ween said we just 'clicked'. too bad that i was rushing for my cousin's wedding, if not i am sure that we would still be talking like there's no tomorrow lol... its alright lor, i am sure there will be a next time that we could have much more time to spend maybe at bisou (?).

kuE's note:
pic courtesy of ween and edited by me ;)

the red wedding at tupai tupai

as you could see from the above pic, we were in kl again during the weekend. this time was for a wedding also--cousin niki's wedding reception for the groom's side at tupai tupai restaurant. i specially chose those to be published here because like i mentioned before, "i like/try to take photos naturally, as i believe people are at their best when they are not aware they are being photographed". take note that all the pics has been taken by me except for bottom right by my cousin muzmania. nice one dude! i likeee... go and view more pics here.

actually i feel so great to be there. that was only the time we had the chance to meet with relatives whom we seldom meet. the usual tradition nowadays, relatives would only meet during weddings or deaths. reached home almost midnite, too tired to do anything but get into bed.

kuE's note:
wanna know who i met over the weekend? stay tune to find out more about it ;)

* * * * *

tupai is the malay word for squirrel. the double usage of some malay words meant many, so tupai-tupai means more than one squirrel ;)

tupai-tupai actually means a tool/connector that connects the pillars and rooftop frame for traditional malay houses :D they don't have screws back in hang tuah's days.

the place is amazing. basically look like a rustic kampung with the attap roof. took a seat and soak in the ambience. the floors are completely built on silts and its entirely made out of wooden planks. can hear creaking sounds each time people walked pass by. true to their tagline "suasana di rimba kuala lumpur" (forest in kuala lumpur), the place looked as if its situated in the middle of a forest. it's amazing to find this place hidden right in the middle of the city.

they've got a few elevated wakaf (pavilion?) and it has low table. one need to sit bersila (cross legged in malay) style. cushions are provided.

all-in-all the ambience is great, but unfortunately, the food is only so-so... and don't even talk about the service :p

the restaurant is located behind dewan bahasa dan pustaka (DBP) and opposite MAA building. you can dine as long as you want as the parking there is free! tqsm sis (you know who you are) for the direction... anyhow i missed a turn ler... then have to turn back one wayyyyy round blerk!

tupai tupai
no. 551A, jalan bukit petaling,
50400 kuala lumpur.
tel: 03-2143 2525
opening hours: 11.00am-2.00am, daily

the day kuE' into red

i am all ready to paint the city REDDDDD!!! how about you people. i hope that you will have a blast weekend with your loved ones. i know i will... :P

all the way from the lion city...

i was chatting with ween on fb yesterday morning, when suddenly a package for me arrived via pos laju. its from rose! but the gifts (i.e. an esprit life perfume with a cute purple toiletry bag and an elle singapore' july issue magazine) are from CK. tqsm my dear mwahh... you know you don't really have to. anyhow i lurve them all. tqsm again from the bottom of my heart.

i would like to thank rose too, for all the troubleness. rose went there last week and brought along my cupcakes for CK.

i finally got a handbag hanger! this one came free with the elle magazine ;)

the day kuE' being viewed

my oh my... i posted quite a number of blog post' on mamat khalid recently without realizing it that they gonna make it to the top list of blog catalog's search results on the same topic--

how did i find out about this? well its all thanks to sitemeter of course! its comprehensive real time website tracking and counter tools give us instant access to vital information and data about our sites audience. with their detailed reporting we'll have a clear picture of who is visiting our site, how they found us, where they came from, what interests them and much more. i just hope that this gonna be the starting point of a very good beginning...

lagi lagi 'estet'

kuE with farid kamil and jasmine michael

we came back around 1.30am. although it was late but we had fun with the cast and crew of 'estet' (malay word for estate). its not just an ordinary invitation o-k-? but one of the crew came to the house earlier of the day to menyampaikan utusan from tuan pengarah (deliver a message from the director) hah! to invite us to join them for their farewell bbq dinner at resort safari sungai perak. owh... i know that life is definitely not fair for some. anyhow we felt honor in some ways.

it was their last night in kuale. finally they completed the film shooting after staying here for about 32+ days. according to them, they will be coming back during the ramadhan insya allah for another film called zombi kilang biskut (biscuit factory' zombie) ;) i can't tell you people what's this about, cuz i didn't watch the previous one myself *glurp* :/

back to last night, i was kinda excited liao to be in the circle of film people. i guess not like my lil' bro as he's already used to it. they are all very kind. i could see that they are very committed with their work-- even though we were having the dinner, part of the crew were still finishing the last part of their work at the location set i.e. for the film montage. and when they are at play, they really had fun with each other.

well i think that's it for now... enough of 'estet' for the the time being... let's just wait for the movie to be screened maybe in february next year.

o yes... farid kamil is rather sooooo damn tall i tell you... that i have to look up when i spoke to him! but he adjusted his posture when we took a pic together (ref above) so that he won't look so tall lol... clever huh?!!! go here to view more pics ;) too bad rosyam nor and david arumugam already went back cuz they got some other errands to do.

kuE's note:
if you are interested in this post, you may wanna read more about 'estet' here and here.

more on 'estet'

regards to this blog post, here i explain to you people a bit of why i was sooooo kecoh about the upcoming film estet cinta manis by mamat khalid.

first let me show you people my fellow readers these pics, courtesy of this post from mamat khalid's blog--


isn't these venue familiar to you? it can be found here too!













while this one' ...














and this one' here (and also here).














to some people, our home is already well known and famous to local film makers *glurp* . whole day shooting was done on the very same day that i went to kl for nuffnang's wild "live" blogging.

so i dunno much of what exactly happening on that day. from what i know, part of our house has became like an indian estate manager's bungalow lol... anyhow i have also been told that many funny thingy did happen around the house/behind the scene. besides they were shooting a funny/comedy film anyway. it seems mamat khalid played the piano and singing at the same time too!

mother served the extra cupcakes from this order to mamat khalid and his family, who were here also. according to mother, they love my cupcakes so much that mamat quickly spooned some of his wife', after he finished his-- " hmm... selalunya i tak makan cream-cream ni semua, tapi yang ni best lagi dari alice* (ipoh) [translation: normally i don't eat frosting, but this one is better than alice* (ipoh) ]". his wife already asked mother whether i accept orders for raya... duh! ;)

*not real name

now you know of why i was so kecoh about 'estet' ya? alright lor people... mother and i are going out for a dinner invitation here in kuale shortly. i'll take great pics if i can hehee... and blog about it here of course :P

ciao!

birthday shout-out to my lil' bro...

"strong, silent & 100% dependable, boon's one of our most experienced audio engineers, with 10 years and over a thousand tv, radio & cinema ads to his credit.

boon handled location sound for oscar-winning director oliver stone's motorola "wireless" tv commercial, and was music engineer for award-winning malaysian feature film "puteri gunung ledang". more recently, he sound-designed a 12th century naval battle for the trailer "saladin" (go here for the official website), a 3d animation tv showcase project by the malaysian government. boon is already cracking his knuckles in preparation working on the upcoming tv series.

he's a sound guy, in every sense of the word. from the futsal cage to the mixing table, boon's the man we want on our side!"

both the pic and statement about him above have been extracted from the company's website. you really make us proud bro. and now that you are 32--

my brother and me...
doing our own thing, but respecting each other all the way...
giving each other space, but being there when it counts...
not always together, but always connected...

that's us.
thinking of you on your birthday

kuE's note:
i like the pic sooo much. from what i know, his boss snapped the pic with his (boss) own camera fon. can you imagine people... that lil' bro used to have very long hair, longer than mine *glurp* when he first started his career in the music industry.