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Archive for October, 2002

Incredimail

Posted in Uncategorized on October 28, 2002| Leave a Comment »

I am so mesmerized by this one new email program called IncrediMail. “Email has finally evolved” is the motto. Try it yourself, guys. You can send emails with personalized, beautiful backgrounds, include some cute animated graphic in it and siap boleh record your own voice to be sent within your emails. Neat!


And of course it is free. Just like all other good things in life are. The only thing that makes you wonder sometimes is…how long they are going to remain free. Eh?

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Ayam Den Lapeh

Posted in Uncategorized on October 26, 2002| 1 Comment »

It’s just wild to have found the lyrics of this song, I tell ya. Of course I’ve written the whole story a few days ago on Mainkanlah Bugih Lamo Tu…


Ayam Den Lapeh

Luruihlah jalan payakumbuah
babelok jalan kayu jati
dima ati indak karusuah
ayam den lapeh
ai…ai…ayam den lapeh

Mandaki jalan padangsikek
basimpang jalan ka biaro
dima ati indak kamaupek
awak takicuah
ai…ai…ayam den lapeh

Sikucapang sikucapeh
sa’ikua tabang sa’ikua lapeh
tabanglah juo nan karimbo
oilah malang juo

Pagaruyuang batusangka
tampek bajalan urang baso
duduak tamanuang tiok sabanta
oi takanang juo
ai…ai…ayam den lapeh

Thanks to the owner of

this site.

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Cheapskating

Posted in Uncategorized on October 26, 2002| Leave a Comment »

I was applying some St.Ives Collagen Elastin lotion this morning when this branded issue came to my mind. I must admit, I am branded – as in…any brand can do. Ahak! Anyway, I had a friend masa kat college dulu who was quite well-to-do lah jugak; her dad was a very successful contractor. So, as you can imagine, semua benda has got to be branded. Or else!

Dari sunglasses, kalau tak Gucci, tak class ler! Shampoo, tak main ler Rejoice kawan. She swore by St.Ives products. Never did I blame her, though. Good things always come with a price. Don’t they? But back then, I barely had enough dough to get by every month. Let alone St.Ives dengan jojoba lah, sunflower oil lah. Pogedid!
And of course masa study dulu, to walk by the St.Ives products aisle tu pun dah seram sejuk. Lintas hormat je lah, tabik datuk nenek cucu cicit tumpang lalu. Gitu! But as time goes by, I have found that things are not as ‘black and white’ as they used to be. To my values, that is.
An expat friend once made a remark that I was a ‘cheapskate’ because I was using St.Ives products. Say what? I was ‘criticized’…”bikin duit bergrand-grand, pakai barang St.Ives. Ciss, pelokek! Tak standard langsung!” I got confused. I thought the Suisse Formula was one of the best. Quality-wise and all. Obviously not everyone shares my opinion. Don’t expect them to.
I can’t say I swear by St.Ives’ Collagen Elastin, or Apricot Scrub, or Peach Hydroxy. For now they work well for me skin. And they are surprisingly much cheaper than they are back home (must be the shipping cost to Malaysia, lah!) What more can I say. Thanks to my college friend who introduced

St.Ives to the thin-wallet-thick-hearted me!


I still feel seram sejuk whenever I pass by Cliniqué or Lancôme counters now though. For a different reason. I hate it when I’m stopped by those enthusiastic salesladies. Cheapskate me!

.

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Belaian Jiwa

Posted in Uncategorized on October 24, 2002| Leave a Comment »

Saya berkesempatan menjenguk beberapa websites on Siti Nurhaliza pagi tadi. I even went to NTCT (Anti-Siti) site to visit the other side of the ‘story’. Am I a fan, you’d ask? Oh yes! I am a HUGE fan of songs and music. Yet, to say I am a big fan of any singers or performers in particular…na’ah, never lah kot. I have neither a big collection of Siti’s albums, nor Sudirman’s. Too bad Eva Cassidy never made it to the moon. But hey, she’s fallen among the stars anyway.


I am, nevertheless, always amazed by great talents. Siti is one of many. But more often than not, saya terikat dengan lagu-lagu Siti as tightly as I am to the memories of my past. I mean, have you ever found yourself tiba-tiba profoundly “touched” by a song and semua kenangan come flooding back? How many times, it is a

song that remembers when? Be frank to yourself, it is not the singers that you identify with so much. It is their songs.


It could be the lyrics, per se. Perhaps you were going through a time when you just could not convince your cinta hati that you love her so much. And you dedicated the song Belaian Jiwa to her. She fell for it, and she fell for you. Wouldn’t it be YOUR song then, to cherish forever? And who cares siapa yang menyanyikan Belaian Jiwa tu the time you hear it again on the radio while driving alone after she left you (God forbids!)

Who sings it does not matter. It could be Kumpulan Carefree. It could be Innuendo. You simply can’t stop the sentimentality, the schmaltziness, or the impact the song has on you. Or can you?

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Mainkanlah Bugih Lamo Tu…

Posted in Uncategorized on October 21, 2002| 3 Comments »

It was an eventful weekend, indeed. Sort of a back-to-basic weekend. Unplanned. But couldn’t be any better. I had a lunch date with Be on Friday – we usually lunch-date on the day when we have to see our obs. But last week we made it a point to start dating each other again. Shouldn’t stop just because I have to carry an extra weight on my tummy. Certainly shouldn’t when the pipi is here.

We were going to head to Dante when Be realized that it was going to be a bit of a walk for me. So he suggested the Indonesian Restaurant on 12th Ave. No prob! We had been there twice before and were pretty impressed with the food. There, the owner, who was as excited as everybody else about the pipi, informed us that there was going to be a “Pasar Malam” on Saturday.
Pasar Malam? Here in Calgary? In fall? What? Where? Who? When? Why? As jakun as we could be, we were all excited. The event was called ‘Pasar Malam’ but it wasn’t our kind of Malaysian pasar malam. No no no no. It was simply an annual event put together by the Canadian Indonesian Social Club

(CISC) at the Portuguese Community Center down in South-East Calgary.

Ohhhh! Kesahnyer!
We bought two tickets masuk anyway, out of curiosity. This is their 19th year of organizing such an event successfully and it was promising a night of Indonesian authentic food, music and dance. Hmmmm! We thought. Menarik nih. Blah blah blah, the night after…we pun pegi lah.
I thought it was going to be outdoor. Well, obviously I was in the Malaysian mind-set. Pasar malam indoor? Tak pernah dibuat orang. So it was actually some sort of a pesta featuring some Indonesian food stalls, souvenir stalls, some stage performances: dances and such. All in a community hall. We grabbed the Nasi Padang as soon as we got there. Music can wait!
The Nasi Padang was muahhhh! Enak sekali dong! Asli, gitu! And the rest of the evening was great! The Tari Piring, Tari Indang and Jaipongan were fantastic. The Silat demo was impressive. But the best part came from inside me, really. The realization that my soul does know its roots, that it does long for something close to my childhood, if I may say so.
I was so happy, I became so homesick. And I was so homesick that I found my happiness! How so, you asked? The moment I heard the background music of the Tari Piring which was ‘Bugih Lamo’ and another Minang song that goes…
Indak dapek
hai musim manyiang
ai tuan ai
musim manuai
hai den nanti juo
Indak dapek
hai tarano bujang
ai tuan ai
baranak ampek
hai den nanti juo
den nanti juo…
I realized there and then that I miss singing very much. I used to sing ‘Ubekkan Denai’ with my band for many years, and once it was at the request of His Majesty Yamtuan Negeri Sembilan (who was the Agung at that time). Hmmmm gone were the days, eh? But I am still me, trapped in my passion for Muzik Melayu Asli. I actually fell in love with Minang songs, in particular, because of my Chinese mom! Do you believe that?
Gini…At one point of time when I was growing up, Mom was just crazy about Minang songs. She bought tons and tons of cassettes from (ehem…sorry to say) pasar malam. The language was foreign to her, but she just loved the beat and the strange sound of the lexis. We, sisters used to ‘mock’ those songs. They sounded funny! But funny enough, the songs just grew on us. We never forget the lyrics. There!
When I first joined the Muzik Asli band (of the uni I studied at), I knew squat about lagu asli. Yeah, I knew a few because Aishah just released an album with Patah Hati, Bahtera Merdeka and Fatwa Pujangga that year if I am not mistaken. But other than those songs…niente! Purrdee limited, I tell ya. But like anything else, you live you learn. Ye tak? Lo and behold, I just learned.
The back-to-basic weekend was really about me re-finding my own love in life, I guess. Re-collecting it. Well…other than Be, pipi, my family, Cik Mas, Cik Reen, Cik Nan, Cik Lindt, Cik Rome, Cik Ja, Cik Dee, Philo, Esther, Mulan, Pooh, sunflowers, butterflies, angels, and my new Inukshuk thingies…I am falling in love all over again with Muzik Melayu Asli.
Tarubek lah denai ko?

.

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Should I Hate Snowy Mornings?

Posted in Uncategorized on October 15, 2002| Leave a Comment »

Opocot!Two entries pulak today. Rajin? No lah. Just teringat what happened on Friday last week. The day ma Be put his Winter Boots On. I usually lock the door after he leaves and cangkuk the chain. But on that very Friday I didn’t cangkuk the chain – didn’t wanna be sprinting to the door when The Merry Maids came kononnya.


So off…me headed to the shower. While I was so asyik enjoying me own endorphins seraya mendendangkan lagu Patah Hati (Aisyah’s version lagi, jangan jeless!), I heard a familiar voice go “Hellowwwwwwwwww!” I would’ve gone like a mermaid swimming in the sand if it wasn’t Be’s voice! Pehhhh! My heart went boom-boom, though.

Be came home only two hours after he left! It took him those two hours to drive not even quarter way to work. The traffic came to a stand-still that morning because of snow. 121 auto accidents were reported on October 11, 2002 in Calgary alone – 19 involved injuries. Imagine that, tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekelian.

And it was supposed to be a donut morning for Be at work! Awwww! Now, did you think he missed it? No! Nobody made it to the office until an hour before noon that day. Huah huah! But more than anyone, ME got the best deal! Be came home and made me a waffle breaky! Hoyehhhh!

So, why should I hate snowy mornings? Ha!

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Gentle Strength

Posted in Uncategorized on October 15, 2002| Leave a Comment »

As of today, dah masuk dua bulan ngam-ngam we have been calling this Arbour Lake apartment our home (away from home). Do I miss our house in Muscat? Hmmm, kinda. It’s the comfort of being surrounded by your own things, more than anything. Your belongings. Quello è tutto.


This week started today, Tuesday. T’was a long weekend – Thanksgiving. I sure gave many thanx to Be for his effort to stay away from his office. We went for a drive yesterday…to

Frank, Blairmore, Coleman, Crowsnest Pass, passing Black Diamond, and even to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump!



It was fun. I truly felt ‘enriched’ in so many ways, to have the opportunity to tengok dunia. The Prairie, the foothills and the mountains. Needless to mention the farmlands and pinelands and the snow lah kan! Every time I see new things…God’s work, I keep thinking of how much I am going to miss it all when I am gone.


Grateful I am, for what life has given me. For where life has taken me. I used to look back at those painful years, still feeling that I was the manusia paling malang dalam dunia. I wept for the woman I once was, embraced her and pujuk her hati yang lara. Ewah!

And because I did that, I am a stronger person today. Like I told you, I can even fly now! (Don’t believe everything you read…silly!) I still cry when I need to. No qualm about crying. And no pride to say sorry when I know I am wrong. My strength lies in the recognition that I am human and God has a bigger plan for me.

See what those gorgeous mountain views and fresh air have done to my brain? Eeeek! Philosophical pulak!

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Winter Boots On

Posted in Uncategorized on October 11, 2002| Leave a Comment »

Hoy! It is still snowing out there today, and the temperature dropped to minus 7 last night. If you did take a peek at the pictures I took yesterday from our Arbour Lake apartment window…imagine lah today, it is tripple or even perhaps quadruple as bad!


Be went to work in his winter boots today. Huah huah huah! Ya know what he said after the mooch-mooch-I-love-views before he left for work this morning? “I hate Canada!” Awwww! Here, snow is known to fall not only in winter, but any season…with no reason.

I might be homesick like anything, but hmmm…I can’t say I hate this place. O Canada!

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A Day Like Today

Posted in Uncategorized on October 10, 2002| Leave a Comment »

Brrrrr! It’s snowing again in the middle of Autumn. It is prettyful, don’t get me wrong. And I am not complaining. But I am hoping that the weather would cheer up a bit and gimme a chance to go for my road test. Urghh!


It does get kinda bright and serene around our apartment on a snowy day like today. And cosi-cosi…I should just sit back and enjoy my tummy while sipping on MILO

… in front of the fireplace, kan?



Silly me!

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MY-CA Visa

Posted in Uncategorized on October 6, 2002| 3 Comments »


OTTAWA, September 23, 2002 — The Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, announced today that citizens of Malaysia will require a Canadian temporary resident visa to travel to Canada as of 00:01 EDT, September 24, 2002.

As a rule, all visitors to Canada require a visa, except citizens of countries where an exemption has been granted. Visa requirements and exemptions are reviewed on an active and ongoing basis.

“Many factors are considered in making decisions to lift visa exemptions,” said Minister Coderre. “It is essential to maintain the integrity of Canada’s immigration program, while continuing to facilitate the entry of legitimate travellers.”

The decision to lift the visa exemption was made because the Malaysian passport and passport issuing system are vulnerable to abuse.

Citizens of Malaysia can apply for a temporary resident visa at any Canadian visa office abroad. To meet the demand for temporary resident visas, a visa section will be open at the Canadian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on September 24, 2002. A grace period ending at 23:59 EDT, September 25, 2002, will be given to travellers who are in transit.

“We remain committed to providing quality service to facilitate the entry of business representatives, students, tourists and other legitimate travellers from Malaysia and all other countries,” said Minister Coderre.

People who travel to Canada regularly, such as business people, may choose to apply for long-term, multiple-entry visas. As of September 24, 2002, citizens of Malaysia who wish to study temporarily in Canada will be able to apply for student permits at the Canadian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, a service previously offered in Singapore. Citizens of Malaysia who wish to work temporarily in Canada will be able to apply for a work permit at the Canadian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in early 2003. Until then, this service will continue to be offered at the Canadian High Commission in Singapore. Services for processing applications for permanent resident status will remain in Singapore.

Since December 2001, the results of ongoing reviews have led to lifting visa exemptions for Dominica, Grenada, Hungary, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The gobloque dialogue should read:
“Oooh! Takutnyer kat Malaysians semua, because they are known for ‘harboring’ Al-Qaeda and terrorists! Oooh! Kita kasik jer ler alasan that ‘…Malaysian passport and passport issuing system are vulnerable to abuse.’ Abis citer.”

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