How to Make Tea by Khaleef

remember how addicted mr. khairul and i am to mandy rice?

last weekend mr khairul brought his mak and sis, teh to our favourite makan place; al-tawasol. you guessed it - we want to lure them to the dark side - mr. khairul played the 'pusher' - convincing them to succumb to the power of the mandy rice - and be addicted for eternity.

come...come... (cue evil laughter)

as expected, my mother in law and teh loved it! absolutely loved it. the soft-fleshed chicken, the juicy rice, the fresh salad and the sweet-spicy 'sambal' - it was all A+!

now, after a hefty meal of mandy rice, we can opt to sip some tea - iranian tea, according to mr. khairul. my abah also had them when he came here last time. now to show you how al-tawasol tea is supposed to be served - heeeeeerrrreeeeee's khaleef!

* okay, fine. the title of this posting was very misleading - khaleef did not exactly *make* the tea. ok, are we clear on that? yes? ok, proceed.

1. wait for waiter to serve tea
2. put a couple of tea spoon of sugar (pict 1)
3. pluck out some mint leaves (pict 2)
4. put into tea
5. stir (pict 3)
6. ready to be served

..serve to orang tua-tua first. serve to bapak.


..then to opah. careful not to spill!


and here's teh. this shot really describes how she feels about her eldest brother's kookiness. just perfect. haha.


khaleef was so good at mixing tea + mint leaf that this waiter offered him a job which he declined politely. to show good sport, we took his picture along. maybe next time!


haha. you are one of us now. forever addicted to mandy rice. now just don't go on day-dreaming about mandy once you guys are back in malaysia...

read about our mandy rice experience here -->

Walking 'The Walk' @ Jumeirah Beach Residence

khaleef kagum melihat 'bob the builder' korek tanah

i found this article from the gulf news online about 'The Walk' - a whole stretch of 'walkway' with cafes, restaurants and stores near jumeirah beach residence which is a stone's throw from our apartment. in fact it's right opposite. i have not been to the retail stores. i've only eaten at 'Chowking' - a chinese restaurant next to Chilli's.

it was not particularly a 'pleasant' experience - because it was too cold, and we were not prepared! other than that it was awesome! maybe one day, with a nice cup of hot cocoa with a good book, looking at the sea - heavenly!

Walking The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence

By Fatma Salem, Staff Reporter
Published: January 16, 2009, 23:34

Dubai: The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) is one of the new attractions among the other iconic features of Dubai and this is where taxi and bus drivers bring in tourists.

Yusryaa, a 49-year-old Canadian tourist, heard about The Walk from a bus driver who was showing them around the city. "It is lovely, relaxing and a nice, clean place. This will not be my last visit," she said.


Canadian Sandra Mithani, a housewife, lives in Jumeirah Beach Residence. She was seen walking The Walk with her baby boy and husband, Al Noor.

She said: "The atmosphere is cozy, so we come down here almost every day to enjoy the walk in such a well-organised spot and soak up the surrounding view and fresh air - even as we have have lunch or sip coffee or tea at one of the relaxing cafes."

Rosie Lynch, an Irish resident of Dubai, was seen with her friend, Jill, shopping at one of The Walk's many fancy stores.


'Cosmopolitan city'

Jenifer Jim, a 37-year-old American working in the private sector, enjoys having lunch with her pals at The Walk.

"The Walk is marvellous and almost combines everything that any of us might think of. It is designed to provide for all kinds of requirements. For instance, it has fancy shops from the top global retail brands, banks, hotels, not to mention the varied exquisite chain of well-known international restaurants and cafes," she said, adding: "On top of that, The Walk is so relaxing, especially during this time of the year, when the breezy conditions add an extra charm to it".

Lalita, from Turkmenis-tan, also a Dubai resident, agreed: "The Walk is quite a nice place, getting busy at nights because of the high demand for its restaurants. On the other hand, people always come here to exercise, jog and have fun. The shops are eyecatching as well. However, I mainly come to The Walk for just the walk."


'Amazing place'

Livio, a Romanian, who has worked in Dubai for almost eight years and is currently employed with Zara Home at Jumeirah Beach Residence, said: "The Walk is one of the most attractive and amazing places in Dubai and so far it has succeeded in attracting people to it from different walks of life."

Livio added: "What I personally like the most is that everything that you need is gathered at one place and surrounded by a magnificent scenery."

"The surprise of the year is that the Dubai Shopping Festival is going to have The Walk as one of its many venues for entertainment and sales promotions. So, The Walk is going to witness musical performances, outdoor cinemas, fashion shows and live entertainment and plenty of other activities".


Haiyan Mujarkech, CEO of Dubai Retail, told Gulf News: "As a subsidiary of Dubai Properties Group, Dubai Retail aims to redraft the definition of 'community and convenience shopping'."

At a glance: Key aspects

The Walk is a first of its kind shopping experience in Dubai. It has the first outdoor seaside retail avenue.

• Opened in August 2008.
• Divided in two levels.
• Spread across 800,000 square feet.
• Over 1.7km of promenade.
• More than 166 stores, 70 cafes and restaurants.
• Outlets open from 10am-10pm, Fridays 3.30-10pm
• Food and beverage outlets open from10am to 1am (7 days a week). Some of them are open 24 hours.
• The area is accessible at all times, day and night.

*excerpt and pictures from www.gulfnews.com

Migiys Won the War

wrote this piece when i was in form 4 - the honeymoon year - too much time, too much fun, too much imagination! i revamped the story and handed it in as one of the weekly assignments in prose 101 during my matriculation year.

the clouds of methane began to spread beyond the open space to reveal the planets' bright green moons, oonka and boonka. worms with eight wings and udders flew gracefully over, casting a shadow on the gasoline lake. mountains stood high above others, spitting fireballs, which explodes into fireworks when they hit the lake. down under, the ground shakes. the pale purple sky hangs dimly above the assembling grounds of planet Migiys.


truly a wondrous sight!

a deafening silence seemed to be pressing on each of the Migiys when Lord of the Migiys stepped into the open space to join the pack. even the RTM crew (Radio Television Migiys) was there to do a coverage on this historic event. the Migiys had been assembling since the announcement of a new mission : to conquer the universe. only one question was in their antennaes - who would be assigned on this most dangerous journey for their civilization?


a few years before, the Migiys sent the maiden mission to conquer the universe but they never returned. another mission was launched soon after and this time they returned, only to be zapped by a laser beam and annihilated forever as a result of their sheer stupidity - for they had conquered No-Ta-Thing, a planet which has completely - nothing.

these failed missions never reached the antennas of the public. it remained for many a years a myth or camp-site stories told by elders to amuse the young. it is Migiys' government policy to deny everything. if word gets out of the failed missions, it would mean a universal embarassment to Lord of the Migiys in particular which in turn would mean abdication of the throne and having to sell apam balik for the rest of his life.

a commotion rose among the Migiys, which died down when 12 selected Migiys in their spacesuits joined the Lord of the Migiys. the young astronouts would head towards the third rock from the sun.


"our biologists have discovered that earthlings are esily prone to our freako-wacko techy weapons according to the molecular structure of their body. with this assurance, i believe we would be accomplishing something valuable from the green planet. my fellow subjects, behold! the universe will be ours!"

cheers soared. hands, gills and tentacles clapped thunderously with approval. tales of failed missions or secret government conspiracies were far from their minds. the astronouts catwalked to the spaceship and waved goodbye.

five...four...three...two...

blast-off!

ninety billion light years later, on planet Earth, Asia, Malaysia, Perak, Ipoh. the camera spans towards a certain playground.

a little girl was running to a swing, laughing. then she stopped. she felt a tingling sensation inside her nostrils.
she sneezed.
and sneezed again. and again. she did not feel too good.


the virus has entered. the Migiys won the war.
mission accomplished.

* * *

What Khaleef and Kahfi Did

What Khaleef Did

• sleeps late
  
• watch disney channel - mickey mouse clubhouse, little einstein and tigger and pooh
• breakfast - bread & jam or bread & butter
• bathtime - "khaleef! don't throw the water!" he still floods the bathroom floor
• playtime - football, hockey, baseball or main tembak-tembak. target includes little brother kahfi
• dvd time - jack sparrow or in his own words, "jack perot"
• lunchtime - auntie teh was patient enough to kejar-kejar khaleef while tirelessly feeding him rice
• then a choice between an afternoon siesta, main bola lagi or disney channel
• occasionally creeps up into my room to check up on kahfi -
• if kahfi is awake, a kiss accompanied by "..muuuuaah!"
  
• if kahfi is sleeping, he would make shhoshing gesture "shhh...baby sleep.." and leaves the room tip-toeing
• if kahfi is screaming his lungs out, he would pat his tummy or arm and say "baby...takmo nangis.." or "shh...up to ten.." referring to the fact that if kahfi continues crying, it means noise, and when it's noisy he can't hear his uptoten songs!

What Kahfi Did

• sleep
• drink milk
• sleep
• drink milk
• termenung

no, really

• sleeps late and wakes up early
• sleeps longer hours during the night which means woohoo! to me
• has occasional 'dreams' where he smiles and jebik for no reason while sleeping
• demands milk constantly during the day
• has mastered the art of making noise when placed down on his crib, and silently lookin like an angel while being carried
• i am already under this charming spell, but mr. khairul still refuses to be sucked into this cunning ploy

join us same time, same website, next month. watch this space!

Who Am I?

yeah, who are you, man?

you heard this question even during job interviews; "tell us about yourself.." err, do you start with the day you were born or the day you enrolled into college, or how you prefer honeystar over koko crunch or how you enjoy popping bubble wrapper when you're angry?

if words don't seem enough - pictures, as they say, speak a thousand words. did this after seeing how simple it is to introduce yourself with pictures in anneeza's blog. syida and azi buat skali tau! kak arin pun join la!

"Tell people who are you. The rules are simple. Use Google Image to search the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results, and post it as your answer."

i am

i really want to go to

my favourite place

my favourite thing

my favourite drink

my favourite food

my favourite color

my favourite book

my favourite car

my favourite singer

my favourite movie

my favourite tv show

i live in

i was born in

my hobby

i wish

i added a few categories, because hey, there's nothing too much when it comes to getting to know me - besides, being under confinement and not hoo-ha-ing out there gives me a lot of time to surf the net - awesome, dude!

my complaint is just this - it can be hard to pick and choose only ONE out of the number of books that i can read over and over again - same goes for food, drinks and hobbies. but i figured a lotta people know i like stephen king and terry pratchett - so might as well put in the next best thing, an 'underdog' in syigim's bookshelf. same goes to food - everybody whose anybody knows i LOVE mcd - but i think those same people can figure out why i'm letting it go this time...

other than that, this activity really was a fun time-filler!

Ibn Hazm's 'Falling In Love'

in a week's time mr. khairul and i will welcome the 5th anniversary of our first meeting in a quaint deli, where we fell in love at first sight. 25 days later, he popped the question. (syida, stop squirmin in your seat!)

pink is the color of passion!

to start the countdown, here is an excerpt taken from one of the greatest scholar in spanish islam - ibn hazm's most popular literary work; 'Tawq al-Hamamah' or The Dove's Necklace' - one of its chapter called, 'Falling in Love', dedicated to all who love and are loved in return..

THE SIGNS OF LOVE
LOVE has certain signs, which the intelligent man quickly detects, and the shrewd man readily recognizes.

The first is the brooding gaze

the eye is the wide gateway of the soul, the scrutinizer of its secrets, conveying its most private thoughts, and giving expression to its deepest-hid feelings. you will see the lover gazing at the beloved unblinkingly; his eyes follow the loved one's every movement.

The lover will direct his conversation to the beloved

when the loved one speaks, the lover listens with rapt attention to his every word; he marvels at everything the beloved says, however extraordinary and absurd his observations may be.

The lover would want to stay close at all time

the lover hurries to the spot where the beloved is at the moment, endeavors to sit as near him as possible sidles up close to him.

Sudden confusion and excitement

a feeling when he unexpectedly sees the one he loves coming upon him unawares, that agitation which overmasters him on beholding someone who resembles his beloved or, on hearing his name suddenly pronounced.

A man in love will change his character

how often has the miser opened his purse strings, the scowler relaxed his frown, the coward leapt heroically into the fray, the clod suddenly become sharp-witted, the boor turned into the perfect gentleman, the stinker transformed himself into the elegant dandy, the sloucher smartened up, the godly gone wild - and all because of love!

Love wants a touch of affection

leaning sideways and supporting oneself against the object of one's affection; endeavoring to touch his hand, and whatever other part of his body one can reach, while engaged in conversation.

Lovers are very quickly reconciled after their disputes

you will see a pair of lovers seeming to have reached the extreme limit of contrariety, to the point that you would reckon not to be mended, yet in next to no time you will observe them to have become the best of friends once more; silenced are those mutual reproaches, vanished that disharmony; forthwith they are laughing again and playfully sporting together.

Say my name

another sign is when you find the lover almost entreating to hear the loved one's name pronounced, taking an extreme delight in speaking about him, so that the subject is a positive obsession with him; nothing so much rejoices him.

Tido tak kenyang, makan tak lena

it can happen that a man sincerely affected by love will start to eat his meal with an excellent appetite; yet the instant the recollection of his loved one is excited, the food sticks in his throat and chokes his gullet. it is the same if he is drinking, or talking he begins to converse with you gaily enough, and then all at once he is invaded by a chance thought of his dear one.

..and honey, i am still mad about you!

Roaches Cockroaches

speaking of budding writers - i started young myself. i write short stories AND poems. (yeah, surprise! she writes, draw potraits AND create poems!) but none of those mushy poems with deep metaphorical meanings ok - just downright silly and fun like about bugs. or sometimes about scary folks like aliens and vampires. or just normal things that i enjoy like rainy days and books.

i would like to share with you a piece that i wrote when i was in form 1. it was published in the new straits times' teen pull-out, The Youthquake september issue.

"hello, sayalah leman the lipas tapi saya bukan pet society azi, ok"

Those Darn Roaches
by syigim

roaches, cockroaches
you creepy crawlers
you invade my toilets, my walls and my drawers
when will you stop?
ain't you gonna flop?
or do i have to squash you with a mop?

roaches, cockroaches
aarghh! stay away!
my money ran out to buy tons of bug spray
i'll pray and i'll spray
to keep your civilization away
but you plan to stay and bug me each day

oh roaches, cockroaches
have you no feelings?
i want to eat my pudding
but you've crawled all over it this morning
each time you apppear
i'll scream out in fear
you even scared my cat Gemuk, whom i love so dear

roaches, cockroaches
can't stand it anymore
ok you win, fighting you has become a bore
i'll move out tomorrow
don't you dare follow
what's that up my leg? roaches in a row!!!

got roaches?
do you have roaches scurrying about in your kitchen once the light is switched off? do you hear yucky rustle of cockroaches once you switched on the light?

here's some preventive measures i found from discovery kids website. very amusing and useful tips.

"ooh la la, my favourite garbage sandwich with maggot infested salad.."

cut down on their food supply
you will leave less food for the roaches if you:

• vacuum or sweep the floor after every meal.
  
• wash dishes in soapy, hot water to eliminate all traces of grease.
• keep trash in a tightly closed container.
• store unused portions of chips, cereal, cookies, flour, sugar, rice, etc. in tightly sealed plastic containers or large glass jars with screw-on lids. man, i just tie 'em up with a rubber band.
  
• after a pet has eaten, remove their food bowl and sweep the floor.
• don't walk around the house while eating. try to keep all your crumbs in one room (less cleaning for you). oh oh, i do this!
  
• don't forget to clean crumbs from under appliances daily.

make it hard for them to hide
if they can't hide, you can get them. so:

• take your recycling out promptly; avoid letting old food cans, stacks of newspapers or magazines pile up.
• there are a wide variety of products available to help get rid of roaches.

dry up their water supply
like humans, roaches can go much longer without food than without water. to keep roaches away, keep them thirsty.

• fix dripping faucets.
• pour some Lysol into toilets at night to make the water undrinkable.
• don't over water house plants. soggy soil is a delicious cockroach cocktail.

keep them out!
to prevent roaches from migrating from your neighbor's place to yours, seal up common roach entryways.

• fill holes where pipes disappear into walls with steel wool.
• pour a little Lysol down your drains nightly to discourage roaches from crawling up into your sinks.
• keep sink plugs over drains.

hope it helps get rid of those darn roaches!