Papillon Putih

Kejadian di stesen minyak. Again.

2012-02-16T13:42:00.005+08:00

This morning I went to a petrol station to fill my tank. I did not have much cash so I used my credit card instead.When paying at the counter, the cashier gave me the receipt for me to sign and he looked at the card while I was signing.-Wooo tak boleh la akak. Itu sign takda sama.So I looked at the back of my card and true enough I had forgotten to sign it since it was one that was recently

Reminder for assignment

2012-02-10T12:41:00.003+08:00

Yesterday in class I was discussing with the students about their first assignment. I also reminded them to come and see me at the office and show the progress of their work.-I want you to show me a sample of your brochures by this week. You can show me the soft copy OR print it out in black and white first for me to see. After that you can print it out in colour using glossy paper.Then I decided

Sambil meminum sup tomyam di Noodle Station Alamanda...

2012-02-09T13:16:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I went to Alamanda after work for some grocery shopping. And decided to have an early dinner at the Noodle Station. New menu, new dishes, new prices.As I got my order, a young couple entered the restaurant and sat next to my table. I was sitting on a long banquette so I sort of shared it with two other tables. And we were seated quite close to each other so I could hear everything they

The case of the desperate orange thrower

2012-02-08T13:31:00.006+08:00

During Chap Goh Mei, maidens throw oranges to fetch the apple of their eyes, or so read the title for the Star Online dated Tuesday February 7, 2012. Some of my Chinese friends have urged me to join in the fun. "Alaaa tak jumpa pun tak apa la, suka-suka saja...."But that's the whole problem. In view of the advanced stages of my maidenhood years, I have no time anymore to spare for benda main-main

AJL 26

2012-02-02T12:02:00.004+08:00

Last week-end I met my two school seniors for our annual AJL girl outing at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil. As usual it will start with makan-makan and catching up on one year's worth of life stories and gossiping, then go listen to some songs and probably cheer for our favorite performers (abang AZ mengapa kau tarik diri? Sob sob) and lastly end the outing with supper at the nearest mamak joint.But

Tragedi Kampung Liu

2012-01-26T13:07:00.008+08:00

This morning the three botol kicaps who came to see yesterday paid me another visit. Saya sudah panik. Apa lagi Labu?-Assalamualaikum madam.-Waalaikumsalam.-Kitaorang ingat nak tukar group la. Nak register French 1 dengan group lain.-Oh I see.Muka madame stoic. Kalau dalam citer cina tu macam muka makcik ketua keluarga terkaya di kampung yang berhadapan dengan anak perempuan yang baru ditangkap

Duit gaji aku siapa yang bayar?

2012-01-25T13:39:00.005+08:00

This morning three students came to see me. Seems that they have registered for my course but did not turn up last week. So today they came to check if their names are in my list.I asked them why they were absent. They replied casually that they didn't know where the class was, which was totally ridiculous since they could always check their timetable or call up their friends to ask. So I told

Lost in translation

2012-01-24T23:03:00.005+08:00

Just now I got a call from an unknown number. I answered. The guy asked me if I was Fanny. I said no. He said, ''Itu bukan Fanny Tee ka?''. I replied that I was Vanity. He didn't get the joke. Or maybe I lacked a sense of humor.Which reminded me of another episode of linguistic confusion. A few years back there was this game on the radio that made callers translate into Malay the title of the

What I Want in a Man

2012-01-18T07:45:00.005+08:00

I read this on a paper place mat at a Japanese buffet restaurant and had to share with you guys. It gave me something to ponder on while chewing on my salmon sushis and sashimis. I am now at the Revised List (age 42). :DWhat I Want in a man, Original ListHandsomeCharmingFinancially successfulA caring listenerWittyIn good shapeDresses with styleAppreciates finer thingsFull of thoughtful

Membeli cermin mata di KL Sentral

2012-01-16T18:32:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I finally went to see the optometrist and get a new pair of glasses. The young man who attended to me was very polite and always had the right words to say. Sales pitch kena bagus kan, barulah customer nak duduk dan mencuba semua frame spek mata dan membeli.After trying out what seemed to be the 100th pair of frame, I got what I wanted and proceeded into the small dark room to have my

Perfect timing

2012-01-10T10:21:00.003+08:00

This is an example of perfect timing:A few days ago I went to Alamanda to meet up with a friend. As I was walking towards the meeting place, another friend called me up so we chatted as I walked. I was on the first floor, and as I passed the Chicken Rice Shop (chicken rice and more paa pa pa pa!), which was situated on the ground floor, I could smell delicious food and I made this remark to my

Datin Ghairah

2012-01-09T14:21:00.003+08:00

Last week I watched Datin Ghairah at a friend's house on Astro First. Mental torture and abuse.If we just take all the cliches at face value without thinking rationally about the real lives of everyday people this is what we can say about the rich as they are portrayed in the movie:1) Orang kaya semua cakap slo-mo:If you watch Datin Ghairah you will notice that Maria Faridah speaks super slow. As

Animal Planet CD

2012-01-08T12:46:00.003+08:00

My niece is playing with the Animal Planet CD yang dapat free dalam kotak Koko Krunch on my laptop. And talking to herself.-Wow! I got the answers right Mak Long. I'm a super genius. I can be a psychopedia.-Bukan psychopedia Aina. Encyclopedia.-Oh yes yes yes. Cocopedia.Mungkin sebab makan Koko Krunch? Pandai macam cocopedia?NB: By the way the Animal Planet CD is super fun and very educative.

Grocery shopping

2012-01-06T16:12:00.002+08:00

A couple of days ago I went to a hypermarket for some grocery shopping. I had two lists: one from my mom and another one that is reimbursable so I needed two separate bills. So at the checkout counter I put the things that I could claim for payment first since ada 3-4 barang jer. And I told the cashier that I wanted to pay twice."Adik akak bayar barang-barang ni asing. Yang sikit dulu lepas tu

Girls' day out

2012-01-03T12:44:00.001+08:00

Today is girls' day out with my niece. So we went to One Utama for some arts and craft. Even at 11.30am, the basement parking was already quite full. As I was driving around looking for a parking space, I made a remark about this. She replied: "In Aina's world Mak Long there's no problem about parking. All the cars can fly. You should live in my world." Hmm. Maybe I should ask her about the

Ouch.

2011-12-22T00:26:00.002+08:00

Just now I went grocery shopping with my niece. In the hypermarket, she was busy helping me find everything I had in my list.At one time, she wanted to hold my arm to get my attention. But immediately pulled her hand back.-Ouch! That hurts! Ada rasa macam cucuk-cucuk.-Owhh. Itu elektrik statik Aina. Kalau Aina pegang troli ni pun Aina boleh rasa cucuk-cucuk tu.-Eeeee tak nak peganglah! Nanti

The world is round

2011-12-13T13:34:00.003+08:00

-Mak Long, what do you think we can find on the other side of the world?-Another country.-Are you sure? Because it sure seems so far. How can we know?-Maybe we should ask someone then.-Yes. We should ask a scientist. An earth scientist. Mana nak cari earth scientist Mak Long?-At the Pusat Sains Negara?-Oh goody. We can call them up!-Aina why don't we just buy a globe and see what they have on the

Advice from the young at heart

2011-11-30T15:49:00.003+08:00

The other day I was chatting with my niece in the car on the way to Pusat Sains Negara (during one of our girl-bonding trips). We talked about everyday life and TV and movies and boys.She asked me:-Mak Long do you have a boyfriend?I answered with another question:-Why do you ask?She replied:-Oh, just asking. Tapi kan Mak Long, kita kena berhati-hati. Kadang-kadang orang lelaki ni nak berkawan

Detox

2011-11-30T11:42:00.000+08:00

For the past three weeks I have been experiencing major acne break-outs and this has led to enduring tasteless jokes like "Ini jerawat gatal nak kawin ni" or "Meh aku tolong ubatkan" which in turn has stressed me up even more, resulting in more acne.Then it dawned upon me that well, maybe a two-week detox programme might not be a bad idea after all since some skin problems are sometimes

Barred from exam

2011-11-06T16:50:00.003+08:00

A few minutes ago I got an sms from an unknown number so I straight away assumed that it was sent by one of my students. It read: ''Good evening madam. Betul ke saya kena bar dari exam? Tolong la madam saya tak boleh fail lagi. Saya ada masalah keluarga. Sem ni saya kena tumpang moto member. Tu yang selalu tak datang. Tolong la madam. Boleh tak unbar saya?''So I replied by asking this person

Multitasking

2011-11-02T17:26:00.003+08:00

Just now I sms-ed a person, Mr N, to tell him about an advertisement for a house that he put up for rent here in Bangi that I was interested in. He replied saying that he wants to set an appointment for me and his wife to see the house tomorrow afternoon. I agreed. Then I typed out another sms to another friend asking about where she stayed during her trip to Paris, as another friend of mine was

Cerita orang jahat

2011-11-01T11:25:00.005+08:00

A few days ago I was watching a crime show with my niece on the telly. Ini jenis cerita yang ada bunuh-bunuh dan kejar-mengejar naik kereta. Not a good show to watch with a kid actually but we were zapping when we saw this scene in which the murderer tried to kill the victim in his cab. My niece was so engrossed watching the babak separa seram.-Eeeee Mak Long takutnya! Orang jahat tu pemandu

Cashier

2011-10-27T10:54:00.004+08:00

Yesterday I went to do the groceries at a hypermarket in Kota Damansara. While at the cashier waiting to pay, I saw the boy two lanes away trying to call the cashier at mine. But the young girl was too busy scanning and packing the things to notice.-Kak Zu! Kak Zu!, he called out.So I said to her, "Cik Zu, cashier tu panggil awak."She looked at me with big round eyes, stopped working for a while

Backhanded compliments

2011-10-17T13:26:00.005+08:00

A backhanded compliment, also known as a left handed compliment is an insult that is disguised as a compliment. It takes a fairly good amount of wit, sarcasm and disdain to give a really good one.It is what might at first sound like a compliment but could or should really be taken as an insult when considered in its entirety. Sometimes a backhanded compliment may be completely inadvertent,

The big Q

2011-10-14T13:19:00.003+08:00

Just now at the canteen I greeted some fellow colleagues who were having their meal. We chatted amicably and somehow the topic of marriage cropped up. And one of them looked at me and asked me the Q: "Tie bila ko nak kawin Tie? Umur dah semakin meningkat."And I braced myself for the onslaught of cheap jokes to come."Alaa Tie, kalo ko tak kisah, aku pun ada...""Ko jangan memilih sangat...ko kena

Apologies

2011-10-12T13:14:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday I had the opportunity of attending a majlis ilmu in which one of the panel members was a young ustaz from KUIS and who is also a penceramah on TV Al-Hijrah. He spoke eloquently, with great knowledge on the subject matter, reciting verses from the Holy Quran effortlessly (being a Hafiz) and uses current and up-to-date analogies that are relevant and that the young people can relate

Dr Aina

2011-10-11T13:32:00.004+08:00

Last Sunday, my niece and I, we chilled together in the bedroom. Well actually I was just lying around doing absolutely nothing while she played "the one and most important doctor in the hospital who had to do everything from checking in the patient to analyzing blood test results to wheeling the patient into the operating theatre because the nurse aka Mak Long was busy playing games on her

Just a little annoyed today

2011-10-05T13:44:00.002+08:00

Today I am feeling more than a little annoyed actually (contrary to what the title of this blog posting indicates) with this person I know. But I guess I will just have to be patient and let this anger thingy pass me by because hey, this person doesn't give a crap anyway. Do you people realize how men can simply ignore you when you are in merajuk mode and just hope that it will just subside and

Perkataan baru

2011-10-04T07:45:00.004+08:00

Last week I spent five days gallivanting around the streets of Jakarta Barat, known as the Mangga Besar area. No shopping whatsoever. Just visiting musuems and taking pictures of the Dutch colonial buildings in Kota Tua. Believe it or not. Tidak berbelanja di mana-mana supermall yang tumbuh melata di seluruh kotaraya tersebut. It's like saying "I went to KFC but only had some Mirinda oren."And

Baked seafood

2011-09-23T11:37:00.003+08:00

Last night my niece came up to me and offered a plate of baked seafood. She had arranged some fridge magnets on a small square board and pretended that they were real seafood. There was a starfish, a fish, a duck, a whale and a few others.-Here. Come on Mak Long. Have one. Nobody in my land wants to eat my baked seafood.-Oh dear. Really? What's your land called?-Aina Land.-And who are in your

Perangkap

2011-09-22T17:40:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I had a chat with one of my students. He told me a joke he heard from a friend. He liked it so much that he told almost everybody in class, me included.-Madame when he story me I so funny. My eye water drop cannot stop.-Owh. Eye water tu apa?-Laaa madame. Ayaq mata la.-Owh. Jadi kalau mata air nak panggil apa dalam bahasa Inggeris?-Heheheh. Panggil marka. Ok bye madame!As he was leaving

Anatomy 101 (pre-school edition)

2011-09-19T13:22:00.006+08:00

Just now I made a short visit to the bank and bumped into a friend and her chatty son .One thing that I have come to realize is that this boy has somehow developped his linguistic skills far beyond his tender age. "Motormouth" doesn't even begin to describe him. My chatterbox niece pales in comparison.And when you're in a bank waiting for your turn, the last thing you want is to have a kid

My mud quota for this year

2011-09-14T12:40:00.004+08:00

This was how I looked like when I came out of Gua Kelawar last Sunday. Covered from head to toe with mud.Mud, mud and more mud.When we were inside, we made a few rest breaks, during which we could have our light lunch if we wanted to. I did. But how? The whole body was covered in mud.So, I took off my gloves, reached into my dry pack for a bun and bottled water. Then washed my grimy hands a bit.

Flag flash cards

2011-08-24T16:09:00.004+08:00

The other day I played a flag flash card game with my students. I'd show them a card with a flag and they'd give me the name of the country in English. Then I'd write the name in French on the board. The students were really focusing hard because I told them the record for least mistakes was held by a 12 year old boy I have tuition class with. Only one mistake out of the 54 cards. So everybody

Vitamin F

2011-08-23T07:33:00.002+08:00

A Friend shared this article with me and I want to share it with you. Why do I have a variety of friends who are all different in character ? Some of them can be considered marginal even ? How do I get on with them all ? I think that each one helps to bring out a "different" part of me... With one of them I am a polite, good girl. I joke with another friend. I sit down and talk about serious

Momoi saya sakit

2011-08-22T15:46:00.003+08:00

That is my cat Momoi sitting on some music sheets as he knows that will be a sure way of getting my attention. Last Saturday he fell ill. He just slept all day and refused to eat. My mom took him to the vet's and he was diagnosed with suffering from jaundice. For quite some time, it seems, since the symptoms appear much later. Kesian Momoi. Gusi dan matanya kuning. Dia muntah-muntah dan tidak

I say A but actually I mean A.1.1

2011-08-19T11:39:00.004+08:00

When I was a kid my mom said I was a very shy girl. It was hard for me to tell directly to my parents what I wanted. For example, I'd ask my dad, "Papa, hari Ahad zoo bukak tak?" to hint that I wanted to visit Zoo Negara. Or rub my tummy and say "Yati lapar la." whenever we passed by A&W Taman Jaya. Zaman tu that was the only fast food restaurant around. Kalau bapak saya ajak makan di sana saya

Iftar with the Rukaiyah kids

2011-08-18T16:47:00.006+08:00

These two mischievous looking boys are part of the Rukaiyah Orphanage I had the pleasure of spending some time with during iftar last weekend. And while I was taking this photo, I could almost hear them thinking out loud. And true enough, when I told them that everyone in my family was tall, they cried out, "Alaaa Achik macamana Achik tau kitaorang nak tanya soalan tu?" They told me they were

What language do you speak?

2011-08-16T15:53:00.002+08:00

This morning I had a class on countries and nationalities. And the languages that people speak. So after doing a dialog with the students it was time to do some oral with them. I asked them if they spoke a certain language and they would have to answer affirmatively or otherwise. So I started with a student who volunteered. I asked him: -Vous parlez français? (Do you speak French?) He answered:

Di kedai alatulis

2011-08-09T15:47:00.002+08:00

Semalam saya ke kedai alatulis untuk membeli sedikit, er, peralatan untuk menulis dan mengajar. Saya terus ke rak menjual kertas dan di tempat mesin fotokopi saya lihat ada dua pakcik sedang berborak sementara menunggu dokumen mereka difotokopi. Salah seorang daripada mereka merasa gembira dan bangga dengan anaknya yang akan meneruskan pelajarannya di luar negara, didalam bidang IT. -Anak aku ni

Nose

2011-08-06T15:18:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I went to the pet food shop to buy the cat biscuits that my cats so can't live without. While I was choosing and debating with myself about the choice of flavour, an old lady came into the shop and came to where I was and we ended up talking which brand suits our cats best. At some point she looked at me and remarked about my height.Then she told me that I have a nose that would bring '

Introducing a friend in French

2011-08-02T12:39:00.003+08:00

This morning I had class with a group of students who were learning French for the first time. So as an ice-breaking session, I had them prepare a few sentences to introduce another friend to everyone.I gave an example:-Il s'appelle Roy. Il aime le football.Some of them asked:-What is the meaning of aime Madame?I answered:-Aime means "love". So my example means "His name is Roy. He loves football

TnG card

2011-08-01T14:10:00.003+08:00

This morning I stopped by a petrol station to buy a new TnG card and top up some amount as well. At the cashier, I took out my purse to pay the boy at the counter. He gave me my card and my receipt.As I went out the door, I took out my car keys. So I had my keys, my purse, my TnG card and my receipt in my hands.While walking towards my car I passed by a thrash can. I wanted to throw away the

Grocery shopping

2011-07-22T13:55:00.004+08:00

Yesterday I did my groceries and after all the shopping I pushed my cart straight to the carpark and not look left and right to avoid the temptation of buying things that would be of no use whatsoever. Especially if there's a RM5 shop lurking around somewhere.I reached my car and pressed the remote alarm button. Nothing. I tried again. Nada. Saya ketuk-ketuk lagi. Namun masih tidak berjaya. Saya

Groups

2011-07-19T13:01:00.003+08:00

A group of frogs is called an army.A group of rhinos is called a crash. A group of kangaroos is called a mob.A group of whales is called a pod.A group of geese is called a gaggle.A group of ravens is called a murder.A group of officers is called a mess.A group of larks is called an exaltation.A group of owls is called a parliament.A group of doves is called a salvation.

Sambil isi minyak kereta lap cermin sekali

2011-07-15T14:33:00.005+08:00

Last night on the way home after dinner I stopped at the petrol station to fill up. Dan sementara menunggu minyak dituang penuh, saya mengambil kesempatan untuk mencuci cermin kereta saya yang penuh berhabuk itu. I used the windscreen cleaner blade thingy, busy sliding that thing horizontally across the windshield when I heard the young man whose car was at the petrol pump beside mine call out to

Short semester exam

2011-07-13T14:25:00.002+08:00

A couple of days ago I invigilated an exam session and while going around the hall checking their attendance, I noticed that one of the students had not one but two calculators on the table. So out of curiosity I asked him why.-Kalau satu kalkulator habis bateri saya ada yang lagi satu ni Madame.-Oh. Tapi kalau dua-dua pun habis bateri?-Ohhh jangan takut Madame. Saya dah pikir dah.And he took out

Melepas

2011-07-12T12:53:00.004+08:00

I just got to know that my training at the Naval Base in Lumut got cancelled. Kaciwa! My fantasy of seeing a class full of men in white uniform habis punah. Down the drain. Yes we chicks dig men in uniform. I'm sure all of us do. Cuma ada yang tak nak cakap je. Setakat senyum sorang-sorang bila tengok NCIS atau JAG.Another reason why I think the Malaysian Navy is uber cool:Their elite Paskal

Tagline

2011-07-04T16:03:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I was hanging out with my niece in my parents' bedroom when she said that she had a little show for me. So she took the bolster and put it in the middle of the bed. And then took the radio remote control, pretended it was a giant match, struck it against her thigh, and then looked at me.-Mak Long cover your ears. I'm going to light this cannon. There's going to be a loud explosion!So we

Kejadian di Santai Suri

2011-07-01T12:51:00.001+08:00