Lost in Translation

My staff gave me this recipe booklet the other day, apparently from a restaurant of a famous Malaysian chef. I laughed until I cried when I read the recipe instructions, translated in Malay (in italics).

For example, step #2.
Place paper cases in muffin tins.
Kertas tempat kes-kes dalam muffin mengetinkan.

And step #6.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for 25 min or so until well risen and just firm.
Mengaut campuran kepada kes-kes kertas dan membakar untuk 25 min atau supaya sehingga telaga naik dan sungguh tegas.
(well risen = telaga naik? Just firm = sungguh tegas? OMG!!)

Step #2.
Add the prawns, stir fry for 2 minutes and then add in the vegetables. Stir fry till cooked.
Menambah udang itu, goreng selama 2 minit dan kemudian campur semua sayur-sayuran itu. Mesin daftar tunai goreng dimasak.
(I had to rack my brain a bit but I finally figured out "till" = mesin daftar tunai. Sigh.)

And step #4.
Serve immediately garnished with the chives and chili strips.
Berkhidmat lantas dihias dengan kucai dan jalur-jalur cili.

Step #4.
Thread a few chicken pieces into the wooden skewers.
Benang kepingan-kepingan takut beberapa kepada pencucuk kayu itu.
(OMG...chicken = takut? Are you chicken??)

Step #6.
Alternatively, deep fry the satay and drain on absorbent paper.
Secara altenatif, anak ikan dalam sate dan parit pada kertas serap.
(Drain = parit...oh, the humanity!!)

Step #2.
Pound the first 9 ingredients and smear on the fish slices.
Menghentam dahulu 9 bahan-bahan dan mencemarkan pada ikan memotong.
(OK, by the time I was reading this part, I was laughing too hard and just trying to breathe.)

Step #2.
Add in the drained basmati rice and stir fry for 1 minute.
Ditambah masuk beras basmati sangat lemah dan goreng untuk 1 minit.
(Drained basmati rice = beras basmati sangat lemah. Mengapakahhhhhh!!!!)

Step #3.
Transfer to rice cooker, add water, milk, salt and colouring. Stir to combine well. Switch on rice cooker.
Pindah ke periuk nasi, menambah air, susu, garam dan pewarna. Kacau untuk bergabung baik. Memasang periuk nasi.

Ok..ok..I can't type anymore. I feel kind of bad for the chef who's name is associated with this recipe booklet, especially since his face is plastered on each page. This should serve as a lesson to all celebrities; please vet through everything that goes on in your business.

RIP Steve Jobs

Heard the news from Min this morning that Steve Jobs had passed away.

For us who's lives revolve around gadgets and technology, it is indeed a sad moment. An icon of our generation is gone.

RIP Steve Jobs. Thanks for all the iGadgets.

I Could Blame Everything From Work to Studies to Pippa

It's been slow in Along's Blog world. I know, sorry for that. It's not that things have not been happening, it's just that too many things have been happening that I haven't been able to catch a breather to write it all down.

First, there was my mid terms which was kind of ok and kind of not ok. MIS was a mess. Thank god for the MCQ questions which was somewhat like the questions we studied before. I have no idea what crap I wrote for the essay questions. Plus the fact the lecturer came up to and asked my line of work and then frowned when I told him I was in the telecommunications line, like he was thinking "then you should know this already". Law was...hahahaha...like WTH? OK, I would really love it if the papers just got lost or destroyed somehow. Marketing was better, in the sense the hints that the prof gave really helped. Eventhough I forgot some points and just gave random examples in the end, at least I'm 80% sure most of what I wrote made sense.

OK, enough about my exams. After that whole fiesta, I was still away from the office to attend a two-day forum in K.L.C.C. It was really interesting and I'm glad I got to do some networking with big shots from local and regional companies. Too bad I didn't think ahead to print out my resume and pass that around, instead of just my name card...haha. It was amazing to find out that even with the many years I've been doing this product, there's just so much I still don't know and have yet to learn.

Some opportunities at a big change has also come about. Now I'm undergoing some soul searching exercises to figure out if I should take that leap of faith.

I've been so busy that I haven't even had time to read the news. Now I find out about Arnie Governator separating, Pippa Middleton's indecent photos and that really bad local case of bullying that got uploaded on Utube. Urghh...maybe I should continue to be ignorant of the news, life seems so much simpler. 

Sidenote: talking about Pippa Middleton, did you guys catch the royal wedding 2 weeks back? I know, I know, old news now...but I just have to state how much I LOVE Catherine's wedding gown and how the whole shenanigan was classy, simple (in royal terms) and just marvelous. William looks handsome despite the bald spot (heh!) and both Best Man and Maid of Honor looked divine. Even the Queen looked chippy!!

I Wanna Go!!!

Tadi pi makan Subway ngan En Rashid. Lalu depan kedai muzik, terpampang poster BESARRRRR mamat ni. Terus aku terasa orgasmic!

Oh Em Jiiii!!! Aku memang suka sangat mamat ni. X-bf aku kat sekolah dulu ada belikan aku kaset dia yang Breathless tu. Sampai putus tape tu aku dok dengar lagu2 dia again and again.

Aku cakap kat En Rashid...bawak la aku pi concert mamat ni. Patutkah dia tergelak besar di situ? Apakah tak munasabah permintaan aku ni? Dah la mai bulan May...birthday aku tu. Tak pernah (ye keee??) aku minta hadiah birthday...ni je la request aku. Uhuk...

Tapi aku tau, kalau aku terus desak En Rashid, mesti dia cakap "Tilawah Al Quran yg masuk free takmo pi, ni concert yang beratus hinggit nak pi."

Isy...mau terkedu terus di situ!

Best Couple for 2011

Yesserrrr!!!!

*Nampak sangat aku fail bab photoshop ni tapi ada aku kisah? Muahahaa...sori, tengah bengong baru habis assignment kul 3am.

Which One To Choose?

Ryan Reynolds?


Or Zac Efron?



Coz both of them are super yummy....and now single!! Hehehe..

*couger mode*

ps: Menyesal x Noresh ko menanya...hehehe..sori, ter"up"kan post sebelum sempat masukkan gambar.

WHAT????!!!!!

Speechless.

Read it for yourself.

Say What?!!

Ricky Martin announced he's gay.

Shake your bonbon...shake your bonbon!!

What else is new? Next thing you know, politicians and sportsmen will be announcing they've been having extramarital sex.

Oh wait...nevermind.

Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart

This is my favorite song of the month. I've been listening to it again and again. The video clip is awesome too; AK looks hot!! And the storyline is so tragic. I think my favorite color is purple now.
********************************************


Even if you were a million miles away
I could still feel you in my bed
Near me, touch me, feel me
And even in the bottom of the sea
I can still hear inside my head
Telling me, touch me, feel me
And all the time you were telling me lies

So tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you
Tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you
I’m gonna hold onto the times that we had
Tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you

Have you ever tried sleeping with a broken heart
Well you can try sleeping in my bed
Lonely, only, nobody ever shut it down like you
You wore the crown, you make my body feel heaven-bound
Why don’t you hold me, need me,
I thought you told me You’d never leave me

Looking in the sky I can see your face
And I knew right where I’d fit in
Take me, make me
You know that I’ll always be in love with you
Right til the end

So tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you
Tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you
I’m gonna hold onto the times that we had
Tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you

Anybody could have told you right from the start
It’s bout fall apart
So rather than hold onto a broken dream
Or just hold onto love
And I could find a way to make it
Don’t hold on too tight
I’ll make it without you tonight

So tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you
Tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you
I’m gonna hold onto the times that we had
Tonight I’m gonna find a way to make it without you

Books and Upin & Ipin

So yesterday we all went back to my mom's house. I had told hubby about the M.P.H book sale and by the way my mouth was salivating over the thought of being in proximity with thousands and thousands of books for sale, hubby knew it would be in his best interest to indulge me. Hehe.

We arrive at Bj around 11am, then after dropping of Daria and Bibik, we headed to Stadium Malawati. Since it was a Sunday, the outdoor market was also taking place so parking was kind of a nightmare. Hubby dropped me and the girls first before trying to find a shady place to park.

I had told the girls about the coloring contest but alas, in our haste to get to the stadium, we had forgotten to bring any coloring pencils. Fortunately the girls were ok and soon they were going through the heaps of books laid out, searching for something to buy.

The book sale was ok, most of the books were 20% off. I would say 70% of the books catered for kids, so I bought a few for Daria (since she only has that one "touch and feel" book) and a few for the Dania and Dina. The Magical Tales and Fairy Tales books were quite cheap, considering they were hard cover and each had like 15 stories in the. Tinkerbell was a compromise between Dania and myself; she wanted to buy this bracelet and bead making set. I told her she could only buy books so she choose this. Flipping through it, I saw that it was exactly the same as the Tinkerbell movie that had been playing on TV (for 10 times already) but it was going cheap so it didn't matter.

There were lots of books catered for babies and toddlers but I pick these two because Dania and Dina could read them to Daria, if they wanted to. Both were hard cover and very colorful. Daria was somewhat interested in the books when I presented them to her. She was more interested in putting them in her mouth, if anything else! Hahaha..

Of course, after buying books for the girls, I had to find some for myself. I was searching for more of The Keeper books by Terry Goodkind, alas none where to be found. So I settled for an old friend instead; John Grisham. I already have most of his books, so it was a task finding ones that I didn't. Being a book sale, most of the books were all over the place, despite numerous M.P.H personnel trying to rearrange the books according to author. I think these books are going to last me a week. I'm already 3 pages through the 1st one.

After paying for the books, we headed to the stage to await the main event; Upin and Ipin appearances. The girls are fans of the cartoon and were very excited.

The girls, while waiting for the mascots to appear.

After 20 minutes waiting, they announced the arrival of Upin and Ipin. As expected, all the kids went crazy and started to rush the stage. Fortunately, crowd control was pretty efficient, if not, matila maskot tu kena serbu. They had a short quiz session and then gave out prizes for the coloring contest. Then it was photo time. I asked the girls to go nearer to the stage so I could take a picture of them with U&I. However, due to the rush from the other kids, posing and taking pictures was just out of the question. So the girls took pictures with Kak Ros instead. Jadi laaaa.....:D.

AJL - Results

Sib baik aku sempat tengok ending/penyampaian hadiah AJL semalam. Sejak dua menjak ni, Daria asyik nangis je memalam. Nangis macam nampak hantu lak tu. Aku pun seriau je dengar dia nangis. Ntah ngigau ke, memang haus ke...dah macam2 cara nak cuba pujuk dia. Maybe sebab selsema ngan batuk dia belum betul2 baik kot, dia macam ni. Mintak2 la lepas ni, dia start ok balik. Aku dah tak larat dah tido dukung dia kat bahu...badan minah tu semangat wei..bleh tercabut bahu aku dibuatnya!!

Oya, balik pada AJL. OK la...aku ok je mamat Aizat tu menang. Tapiiiiiii aku tak puas hati minah Y.u.n.a. tu menang 2nd place. Sebab pada aku, dia tu one hit wonder. And lagu tu pun x sedap sebenarnya. Pada pendapat aku la. Aku rasa actually ramai yang suka maut ngan minah ni ngan lagu dia....sebab tu dia menang.
Faizal Tahir...as usual, persembahan over..tapi best!! Sayang takde Noraniza Idris tahun ni, kalau tak, mesti depa berdua lawan tengok sapa punya bunga api mancut lagi tinggi..hahaha. Lain bunyik je ayat tu. Tapi kira ok la, lagu dia menang 3rd place. Sian, bertongkat mamat tu nak naik pentas ambik hadiah. Tu la..takmo ajak aku pi sekali, bleh aku jadi tukang pimpim naik tangga tu. Tukang pimpim je la..takkan nak jadi tukang dukung lak.
Last2 Aizat ngan kawan2 sekolah dia yang menang best performance. Ok la..maybe sebab lain dari lain...bebudak tu ada yang dari sekolah lama aku...CBN!! Wuhhoo...bebudak CBN memang suka glamor. Kecuali aku, sebab aku kan ala wanita melayu terakhir.

Yerrrr la tuuuuu....

Black....vocal terbaik? Menjerit je aku dengar. Maybe sebab dia bleh menjerit tu, dia menang kot. Ni lagi satu bakal one hit wonder. Kluar la lagu lain, jenuh dah aku dok dengar lagu tu manjang kat radio.

All in all, aku enjoy la AJL semalam. Hosts dia pun best...aku suka kombo Ally, Cheryl ngan Faisal. Kelakar, spontan dan menghiburkan.

Juara Lagu...Layan

Tengah tengok Juara Lagu. Sib baik bibik ingatkan.

Aku tak paham persembahan Bunkface. Maybe sebab aku bukan golongan yang minat indie kot. Hindi ke Indie, sila jawab Faisal Ismail?

Tadi tengok Stacy menyanyi, aku komen "Dasat la minah ni, menyanyi dah la menjerit, joget lagi. Stamina kuat."

Ada lak En Rashid menjawab..."Orang Iban."

Huh? Apa kena mengena?

"Ye ah...orang asli. Memang stamina kuat."

Oi, cik abang sayang. Stacy ni dari Sabah. Orang Iban tu dari Sarawak.

Sah la, sejarah mesti fail time sekolah.

Aizat ni dulu gemuk yer? Sori la, aku tak tengok AF. Kejap aku google kejap....
............
............
..........
...........
Ha'ah la. Camne da kurus sekarang? Dasat. Tabik spring kat dia.

Loser, Winner

LOSER
This guy is messed up. Who the hell does he think he is? He’s rude and a freaking idiot. Sure, it’s the VMA and it’s MTV and it makes for great television. Then one look at Taylor Swift’s crestfallen face and it’s not so funny anymore. The poor girl looked like she was going to burst into tears.
I heard he got escorted out from the building after his stupid rant. I just hope the security shoved their foot up his ass before tossing him out on the pavement.

WINNER
Leave it to Bootylicious to save the day. After winning Video of the Year, she graciously gave the stage to Taylor to “have her moment”. Now that’s the true spirit of entertainment. It doesn’t have to be shocking or ridiculous. Heart warming moments are what this world needs more of.


LOSER
I understand that when you’re tired and under the pressure of defending your title, getting called for a foot fault may be frustrating. However, it’s no reason to rant for minutes at the linesman. And threatening to shove your racket down her throat.The dudette was only doing her job. I hardly think she was out to get Serena for any personal reason. Bad form by Serena, I think, especially since it cost her the match.

WINNER
I teared up when I first watched this clip. So touching.

Steve Monforto leaned over the railing and made a beautiful 2-handed catch. He celebrates with other fans, high-fives his 3-year-old daughter, Emily, and hands his prize over to his little daughter to keep.

BIG MISTAKE!!

Instead of hanging on to it, Emily does what little kids do: She throws the ball back!

Her dad was shocked, he definitely wasn't expecting that. But instead of getting mad he wraps his arms around his daughter and hugs her, a sweet and priceless moment.Apparently the girl was a little upset after the toss. "I gave her a big hug and she buried her head in my chest and I said 'It's all right, don't worry about it," "I give [her] a ball at home, and she throws it and I throw it back," Steve continued. "So, I gave her a ball and she threw it!"

Bear hugs are the best! Definitely “Father of the Year” material!!

Time to Dig Up My Old VHS Tapes

I didn’t flinch when MJ died. It hardly hit me when Farrah went too. But this guy…this guy gets me. I feel it everytime I hear that song. I feel it everytime I see clay pottery. I feel it everytime I sit in a corner.
I [heart] Partick Swayze. RIP.

Kot Dah Gatal, Ngaku Je La

Ala, meluatnya aku baca kes artis2 ni semua. Nak2 kes artis pompuan sorang ni. Dah le tak glamer, famos sebab kena tangkap basah ngan laki orang. Apa lah. Ake memang takleh accept orang2 macam ni. Dah tu, minah ni bleh masuk TV konon nak mengexplainkan diri. Hoi, hang tu dah buat salah!! Dok je la kat rumah diam2, dok tayang muka lagi apehal. Lepas tu dok masuk TV, cakap x-bini boyfriend hang takmo maafkan hang. What do you expect? Peluk cium tanda terima kasih? X-wife boyfriend hang tu dah le baru je bersalin anak ke3…baru 5 bulan beb. Yang hang dok agung-agungkan boyfriend hang tu konon prihatin la, ambik berat la, gentleman la...wei, FYI, sekarang ni mamat tu blum dapat rasa hasil celah kangkang hang tu, memang la dia layan baik punya. Dah dapat nanti...hah, macam x-wife dia la ni dia buat nanti. Hang tengok la nanti...the world is round, what goes up must come down. Ko tengok je la minah artis yang lagi sorang tu…dulu dia pun ambik laki orang, sekarang ni dok nangis bengkak mata sebab rumahtangga dia pun dah celaru. Dok cakap la orang dok fitnah la, depa happy la…tapi aku rasa la, kalau takde angina, masakan pokok bergoyang, ye tak?

....And I'm Not Saying He's Gay....

I'm in the office, first one here coz it's 7.40am and no one in their right mind comes to work this early. I have an afternoon meeting somewhere else which I should have got straight to but instead had to come to the office first to pick up some presentation slides. For the afternoon meeting. Which I have a dreaded feeling may last up to midnight. God help me!! And forgive me for the incoherence in my sentences, it's just waaayyyy to early in the morning to be sober.

I knew this was coming, I knew I had to wake up early this morning and be freaking early to work but still I slept late last night. All thanks to Youtube and delightful video clips of the wonderful comedian, Kathy Griffin.

I just love her!! I give you one of my favorite clips where she disses Ryan Seacrest.

My Top Actors

I've just come out from a business case meeting and as usual, my head is spinning from all the numbers and calculations and justifications for the numbers, blah, blah, blah....

So in order to detox, I present you my list of "Must See" actors who I have major crushes on.

1. Edward Norton

Must I say more? What is there not to love about this guy? Not only is he yummilicious, he's also actually very talented. Just watch his st-st-st-stuttering breakthrough performance in Primal Fear. Than go watch The People vs Larry Flint. Then go watch American History X. And then come back to me and tell me how many actors can be that dynamic. .
This guy has been nominated for 2 Oscars and won various other awards, so obviously he's not just a pretty face. Plus I've always had a soft spot for guys who are slightly geeky but still easy on the eyes. I've watched nearly all of his movies (even the really bad Death to Smoochy & Keeping the Faith) and he has yet to fail in making me swoon. I [Heart] Edward Norton.

2. Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd is one of those guys where you see him everywhere but just can't place from where. I love him because he's funny but not in an obnoxious in-your-face kind of way (hint: Robbie Williams).
Although he's been stereotyped into the typical romantic comedy kind of movies, he manages to make each character unique. Just watch Clueless, The Object of My Affection (that's when I really noticed him), Knocked Up and Over Her Dead Body. He's one of those actors that you check out when the rest of the acting is bad. He makes bad movies bearable because of his cheekiness, good looks and genuinely good acting. I [Heart] Paul Rudd (but not as much as Edward Norton).

3. James McAvoy
This came as a surprise because I don't normally go for the pretty boy type. I've never had a crush on Tom Cruise and Brat Pitt has never tickled my fancy.
But there's something about James that I find very intriguing. Maybe because he's Scottish and I find Scottish men and their accent very sexy (go see: Sean Connery). I hardly recognized him in the first Narnia movie and thought his character had a rather creepy feel to it. Then I caught a few snippets of The Last King of Scotland and was blown away. When I saw the trailer for Penelope, I fell in love. I have yet to watch Atonement but plan to soon. Must remember to have lots of tissues. Oya, I'll be getting free tickets to see Wanted so YEAH!!

4. Robert Downey Jr
Even before Ironman and his facial hair, I've loved RD Jr for his acting. I think the first movie I saw him in was Only You, the one with Marisa Tomei.
I remember watching that tape until the reels almost fell apart; I kept rewinding to the part where he's on his knees and looking up to Marisa with his big blue eyes. Then I saw him in Natural Born Killer and his natural giddiness as an over enthusiastic journalist really had me. By being in US Marshall, Gothika and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, he made me watch movies I would normally avoid. He even made me watch Ally McBeal again, when I had gotten sick of the over-drama and forever whiningness of the series. And I love him for that.

5. River Phoenix [RIP]
Eventhough he's long gone, I still hold a place in my heart for River Phoenix. It's not easy getting over your first crush, especially when they go away so suddenly.
I remember exactly how I got to know about his death; my dorm mates, bless their hearts, pull me into the dorm and told me quietly and with much respect of his death. Apparently they had known for days and had deliberated on ways to tell me so I wouldn't freak out. I cried for days after that. I still have a newspaper cutting announcing his death in one of my old diaries. Out of all of his movies, I especially love his character from Stand By Me.

Everybody Dance Now

I really love watching Britain's Got Talent. Too bad they don't show it here in Malaysia and I have to watch most of the performances on Youtube.

Remember when I blogged about this guy, Paul Potts. He was the winner for 2007.

This is the winner for 2008. And what a fabulous boy he is. That face and cheeky smile. Geram!! And his dedication in winning the competition for his family...I pray if I ever have a son, he'll turn out as charming and as humble as this boy does.

Ladies and Gentleman, George Sampson!!


His Semi-final's performance was even better...makes me want to go singing in the rain.

Worst Album Covers Ever

I'm still waiting for my brother to finish editing the pictures from Dania's birthday party so until then I bring you...

THE WORST ALBUM COVERS OF ALL TIME!!!

The Brothers Johnson: Look Out For #1.

Good god, I get it..you love guitars. In fact you love them so much, they give you massive orgasms!! Shheeeeshh...

The Rolling Stones in Concert: Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!

I dunno what a Ya-Ya is but if it's gonna make me run up and down the road like a crazed king wannabe with a guitar and a drum-wearing donkey by my side, I think I'll pass. But then again, every concert should have a donkey...hehehe.

Tim Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air.

Apparently Tim came up with the "using your forehead as an advertising site" idea first.

Rob & Fab: self-titled

What happened to these guys? Apart from getting caught ermmm...not singing...and having to give back their Grammies. Plus I think one of them died from a drug overdose. Hmmm, I used to like these guys, I mean..come on, look at those bods!! Hehehe..but what's with the pose in this picture? It's like the photo sessions lasted for 10 hours and they couldn't even get one toilet break to ease themselves. Heh..

Jim Post: I Like My Life.

Really, Jim? Really? Coz the expression on your face tells me differently. Or maybe it's because you have ice cold water splashed all over your shoulder and that Tom Selleck moustache of yours can't cover enough of you to feel warm and fuzzy.

Heino: Liebe Mutter

The dyed hair, the thick-rimmed glasses, the black "funeral" suit, the roses, the lazy eye. What exactly is the message here? A part of me is afraid to find out.

Freddie Gage: All My Friends Are Dead

I cannot find any occasion where this album would be appropriate. A funeral for really, really old people? Maybe. This wins the award for Most Depressing Album ever.

ABBA: Gracias Por La Musica

Ahh...Thank You For The Music. And also thank you for the laughs. Look...they're even laughing at themselves. Pastels have never looked so bad.

Orleans: Waking and Dreaming

Thank god none of them had any major chest hairs. But still...why?!! Somehow 5 guys naked and embracing is not my idea of a dream...it's a nightmare!!

My Husband in a Parallel Life

I can't wait for The Incredible Hulk to come to theatres because I am just positively, incredibly in love with Edward Norton.

I don't know what it is about him that makes me swoon. He's one of the best, most versatile actor I know. He looks good thin, he looks good buffed up.

Everything he does just makes me want to take off my panties!!

Check out the trailer for TIH. Looks really fine!!