these boots are made for walking

in preparation for the upcoming winter and my trip to budapest, saya telah membeli sepasang boots.

boots yg ai beli ni, crocs punye boots. so far, crocs has never failed me. it has always been comfortable and memang my favourite even in KL. So, semasa mencari gummy boots (boots ala-ala PuaChuKang, tapi jauh lebih cantik sebab ada pattern2) online sambil berym dgn kawan, my friend pointed out to me this boots yg lebih kurang mcm the one i wanted.

But, i decided to explore the website and found 1 pair that i LOVE. So, semalam, dgn semangatnya, pergi kedai crocs at this one mall, tried it on, and a few other pairs, and i bought it. it was super comfy and warm!!! me likey!!!!! a bit pricey (for me cos im always looking for a bargain), tapi i think worth the investment.

anyway, the one i bought is the berryessa. :)

cannot wait to wear it to class today, nak test power. baru je selesai menspray dia with that water resistant thingy.

:)

p/s: tp dalam hati ni, tetap ada perasaan nak beli the other boots if its el-cheapo!

jalan-jalan

mood malas tiba lagi. u see. i am already in my holiday mood. seperti tidak sedar diri that i have 1 summary due tomorrow (of which the article is in deutsch) and 4 articles to read for next week. Di samping itu, kena start kumpul bahan-bahan for my papers so that i can start doing it soonest supaya dapat lebih bergumbira semasa cuticutiuk nanti.

anyway, dalam pada itu, i have booked a trip to budapest for this weekend. i have actually been there once but i didnt really get to sightsee as it was a balang-kristal-buying-trip (if which, i incidentally didnt buy any sebab mahal gillos!). i will be going for 3 days, 2 nights. got a good bargain for an apartment for 2 people (going with a surgeon who is here doing her subs) for only 46euros!! so thats just 23 euros a piece. sangat murmurs for me. and tickets pergi balik hanyalah 24euros.

kat budapest nanti, i plan to follow the free walking tour. so it shall not be too pricey la kot kan. sekarang ni, cuma dok pikir nak tukar duit. why la depa tak guna euros??

selain itu, dok berfikir pasal makan di sana. honestly, i am not that fussy. kalau tak confirm restaurant tu halal, ai order seafood. tapi masalah problem nya mungkin surgeon itu tidak bersependapat dgn ai. takpe la labu. yg penting, ai konfiden kan? hehehe

cannot wait for my trip this saturday!!!!

p/s: masih tak de mood nak buat kerja. i blame it on the snow. *matila nak point fingers je!!

babies

my favouritest eldest boy sibuk nak tgk his favouritest tv program of all time, GGK. Oleh itu, tak boleh nak online dgn mama dia. Even papa and my favouritest no 2 also have to teman him because as AD said: tak de orang pon nak duduk dgn Dani. so it has now become a friday night thing for the boys.

favouritest no 2 pulak sekarang can ask for milk.

AA: ayong, nak yuyu

along: bukan yuyu. SU SU

AA: YU YU

Along: tak..bunyi dia macam ni: SU SU

AA: YU YU

hahahahha...i found it so funny. and the thing is, bila along stressed the susu pronounciation, AA pon stress jugak his version of susu. wkakakak.

oh, and one time, he kejut along at 3ish am because dani vomitted.

AA: ayong. ani (sambil persuade along suruh follow him)

along thought AA yg vomit. ghupenya AA kejut along sebab nak suruh along take a look at AD yang tak sehat.

another favourite would be, ani..pi! (read: dani, tepi), dap (sedap..which applies to anything related to food, ie when he sees me eating, when he is eating), nosh (nose), cat, dog, book, baju, pampers, mandi, beyak, (s)akit, (ja)tuh, (pu)sat. its amazing kan to see their development.

oh..pastu i hv to share a good news. Izard is now a proud mummy to a baby boy, Adam. both are doing fine. 3.04kg, normal without epidural. :)

Alhamdulillah, penyelia terchenta telah mereply email i yg kedua dan bersetuju jumpa ai pagi esok. *lega*

harap2, dia boleh terus tulis surat ittew dan dengan itu, bolehlah ai terus berdesup pergi ke opis majistrat untuk menghantar surat dan segala mak nenek dokumen yg diperlukan.

n, esok ai ada presentation. the thing is, i have a partner in doing this presentation. tapi ai sukahati decide nak buat my part in english. i feel like producing the report on my own, kerana susahla uols nanti cemana nak combine report stengah english stengah deutsch? yes, saya dgn pandai akan menambah lagi benda atas pinggan, as if pinggan tu belum penuh, boleh?

anyway, presentation esok marks the last presentation this sem. woot woot! lepas ni, just tinggal 1 summary, 4 compulsory reading and summary and CUTI. yeahoooo............

walaubagaimanapon, sy harus tekankan di sini bahawa, saya masih kena berkerja semasa cuti. iye...ai ada 4 paper utk ditulis. *sob sob*.

bila dah 2 orang anak

today, i got a very upsetting news from my sister regarding AD's habit which i really despise. The thing is, it was sort of 'encouraged' by my very own mother and what upsets me most is, she continues to encourage it depite knowing how much i dont like it. siap suruh my sister hush hush lagi. haih.

so, today, i finally had it. i text-ed my mom to stop doing whatever she is doing and called Dr Sunshine to tell him about this matter. So, masa online tadi, Dr Sunshine and I reprimanded AD for his behaviour. Actually, I just told him to be a good boy, and kalau nak jadi good boy kena behave. kalau behave to, maknanya cannot do some things. pastu, Dr Sunshine talked to him in a garang tone. and next thing u know, AD menangis. tapi tak de la menangis meraung tu..jenis. menangis senyap2 sebab sedih. i felt a bit guilty, but what to do.

lepastu, Dr Sunshine cakap, maybe AD upset sbb dia sorang je kena tegur, so we had to tegur AA as well. I tell you, AA's face was so funny. the papa had to held him up near the camera, and then i just told him to behave (pastu papa dia tambah kat belakang: jangan raba perut...tu kan habit dia..wkakakaka...tak salah pon raba pusat sendiri). pastu, si AA juga jadi upset. wakakakak...

so, Dr Sunshine's solution was, bagi susu and ask them to sleep. So, he made a bug fuss about nak buat susu, only to realize, masa dia masak air, dia lupa nak switch on the plug. wakakakaka....Akibatnya, AA menangis kesedihan sebab nak susu sangat sangat. i think he was sleepy. he cried the whole time sementara tunggu air masak. kesian anak mama. hehehe...

kisah renew visa

hmm..the thing about tinggal dan menetap di sini adalah, visa kena renew setiap tahun. adalah agak leceh disitu kerana, tiap2 tahun kena spend beratus euro, di samping menfotostat dokumen2 yg perlu.

so anyway, i actually was pretty confident that i had all my documents in line pagi tadi semasa me-renew visa. tapi, first, let me tell you, yg i dah byk kali menerima layanan kurang baik dari pekerja2 kat opis visa tu. antara lain, mereka pernah

- membaling pasport ke arah saya (nasib ada kubikel kaca maka passport tak kena kat muka saya tetapi terbounce back)

- dimarah kerana tidak fasih berbahasa german

- di caci sebab ada hati nak berurusan dgn depa walaupun bhs german yg kucar kacir sehingga dorang kata lenkali dan dtg sini, sila bawa translator sebab kami tak layan uols yg cakap english (padahal ada sorang mamat american ni ok je dia layan lemah lembut sambil berbahasa Inggeris, wtf?)

jadi, i was actually quite nervous ok masa pergi pagi tadi. i got ready after subuh and was the second kunden to tekan nombor ittew. ofis pon belum bukak tapi mak semangat uols!!!

anyway, tahu tak, dalam byk2 dokumen that i hv meticulously photostated, ada jugak yg tak cukup!! the thing is, yg tak cukup tu wasnt even stated in the list of things i must provide for them. jadi, adalah agak tidak adil disitu.

despite giving them my guarantee letter which states that i am a fully sponsored student, mereka masih tidak puas hati dan mahukan my bank statements for the last 8 weeks.

selain itu, mereka mempersoalkan kenapa ai tak ambik byk kelas semester sebelum ini? adakah salah ai, ai sakit? adakah salah ai, i tak sempat register utk kelas sebab sakit and hence, i decided to start on writing sikit2? and buat a bit of literature search? i ni doktorat studentin wahai puanmejistret.jadinye, dia nak surat dari penyelia tercinta. Alhamdullillah, penyelia dah reply email and cakap ok..dia akan tulis surat cinta buat puanmejistret.

hmph...i tell you, semasa melalui semua ni, mmg rasa takut..takut tak dapat visa. uols..kat sini birokrasinya melampau ye. dia akan check results uols. if non ado yg passnye, alamat susah la nak continue visa ittew.

anyway kan, i hv a theory. i think, puanmejistrat thinks that i am working instead of studying. tu yg nak tgk bank statement bagai (in case ada gaji masuk kan) and juga surat dari SV (sbb nak tgk betul tak ai work on my thesis). ai honest ok uols!!

neway uols. doakanla yg i will get my visa. insyaAllah.

p/s: pasal bendalah visa ni, terus takde mood nak prepare for presentation. padahal presentation hari kamis ni. *matila.....

- nak dijadikan cerita, i was pickpocket-ed for the second time. not my rezeki, i guess. i lost my atm card and 100euros. dah bukan rezeki ai kot. *sedih*

- had some makan2 in my flat today. i made kuah kacang!!!! sedap pulak tu. hih hih. i also made raspberry jelly and murtabak maggi. there was laksa, nasi impit, lemang and serunding as well. okla kan for sambutan bujangs kat sini.

- i bought a tefal wok and also the pan to buat crepes cos it was on sale. tak sabar nak tunggu wok with cover to be on sale plaks.

- i still have to prepare for my presentation (this thursday), summary (due on tuesday) and documents for my residence permit.

- kena collect some documents from the post office.

- nak kena apply for residence permit. haih...sangatla malas tapi ini perkara yang langsung tidak boleh dielakkan. would do it on tuesday, the day my permit expires.

- esok nak apply for another debit card so that i can beli tiket balik kl. yer, saya ingat nak mensurprisekan husband saya untuk our 5th wedding anny. sweet tak? *matila angkat bakul sendiri

- i feel overwhelmed with my workload. tapi i can do it, kan?? tapi harini no mood. how? should i watch something on the net instead??? i mean i sort of have an idea of what i want to present on thursday, cuma nak kena prepare powerpoint la.

- oh...sifat malas, sila nyah dari sini. i want to feel energetic.

- going to salzburg this december. woot woot!

- i might have some thing to reveal soon. tapi kena tungguuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

i was told to keep myself busy and i have it easy here because i just have to study and have no other commitments. katanya, orang lain ada other things to think of and take care of.

oh. macam tu.

i think its only natural to think of your family when you are alone, kan? but i guess it may be too much to want them to reciprocate cos they have their own thing to do.

What did i get myself into??

*geek mode*

Tahu tak. semalam, ai pergi jumpa lecturer di petang hari raya haji yang mulia untuk membincangkan tentang a possibility of me doing an assignment rather than buat a take home test.

at first, she said the take home test would be relatively easier than doing a 15pg paper. The questions, she said would be based on the readings she gave. tapinya, 70% of the readings are in Deutsch so i am not so confident, u know. sonyer, i told her that maybe, if i write a paper i can use it for my phd thesis as well. kes kill two birds with 1 stone lah ni. so, after further discussions, she told me to pick a theme from her lecture, and try to work on a topic related to both the topic and what i planto write for my phd.

honestly, i think its great because once i come up with the idea of what to write on, she would help suggest further readings and etc. i think thats great. plus, i like her class because she actually teaches about active audience, which is what i plan to write on pon. so, technically, i think this paper can be used as part of my literature review chapter, kan?

the problem for me sekarang is to come up with a 2 page proposal of what i plan to write on. haih. i thought of selecting that John Fiske's article on moments of TV and try to relate it with halls encoding/decoding theory. and, i was also thinking of maybe using the comparison of audience reception between rural malay and urban malay youngsters.

and you know, by committing myself to this paper, that means i have 4 papers due in January. there goes my holiday kan? tsk.

anyway, nak gak cerita pasal my paper visual culture. i sort of feel that i am an essentialist because i have the tendency to specifically define melayus. bukan specifically define per se, tapinya, because the paper i plan to write on for visual culture tu, ingatkan nakla guna the 'self' and 'others' approach by analysing tv text. so, i was thinking of looking at how malays are portrayed and how youngsters actually view themselves as malays, as being portrayed on tv. and, how they see the others as well. tapi tula...prof saya cakap, how can u say, melayu macam ni macam ni. dia kata, u are malay, tapi u pakai jeans and adidas and i am sure thats not part of your culture. haiyaahhhh................ terus mak jadik stress! tulanye kan masalahnye bila media studies student pergi ambik paper anthropology. haiyahhh....so, i must think about this as well.

apa pon, i plan to use the paper i write for his class utk satu conference. hihihi. and maybe i can use part of it for my thesis, insyaAllah.

ok...back to mencari idea for fiske.

popia sardin sempoi

Sempena hari raya haji ni, ai bersemangat nak buat popia sardin. :)

Bahan-bahan

cili kering 4 batang (blend dgn bawang to make cili paste)

sardin 1 tin kecik

popia sheets

half labu bawang besar, chopped

Cara-cara

tumis cili paste sampai pecah minyak n masukkan bawang.

masukkan sardin, garam and a bit of oyster sauce.

let it simmer sampai kering.

spread popia sheet, letak inti sardin tadi, gulung2, lekatkan with mixture of tepung and air, and SIAP!!!

senang kan?

i got about 8 pieces. but maybe thats because i like my popia sarat dgn isi. hehe.

its now in my freezer. esok, ingat nak goreng. YUMMY!!

bila terasa gemuk

bila dah terasa seperti di atas, maka empunye diri kena mula insaf dan sedar diri. langkah pertama, STOP blaming the weather. ye, empunya diri mempersalahkan cuaca yang sejuk ketar lutut ini kerana nafsu makan yang semakin membuak-buak.

langkah kedua ialah untuk lebih bergiat aktif dan kurangkan aktiviti baring-baring bawah duvet (walaupun konon-konon bertemankan bahan bacaan). so, untuk misi ini, empunya diri ingat nak mula aktiviti morning walk di sekitar palace yang betul2 ada kat sebelah rumah jer. 2 round pon cukup la kot kan? takpe, kita start slow-slow. mula-mula, kita brisk walk. lagi 2 or tiga minggu, kira larilah lite lite kan? apa?? ingat empunya diri tak mampu buat? ai pernah lari 10km okeh. (maaf kerana tiba-tiba emo tak bertempat)

langkah ketiga, amalkan permakanan berkhasiat. just because minum jus dalam kotak yang katanya no sugar added, doesn't mean its healthy ok? sila perah juice sendiri. kalau malas, minum jer air kosong tu. sila sedar diri wahai empunya diri!

how did i ever let things get this far? is it the skinny premium hot choc that i frequently have? tapi kan ker dah skinny, so it shouldnt be fattening right?

whatever it is, and no matter how much you love ovomaltine chocolates wahai empunye diri, sila berhenti dari membeli one more bar. no...alasan bahawa this will be the last bar has got to stop! ok.ok. habiskan the current bar, and thats it!

i think i should buy cashew nuts and kismis kan. munching on those would definitely be muuuccchhhh healthier than eating sour cream and onion crisp kan?

haih..harap-harap misi berjaya.

something wrong somewhere

semenjak dua menjak ni, suka plak memasak. and no,not telur goreng ok. hari ni, for dinner, i thought of making kari ayam. tapi entah macam mana, termasak ayam masak merah with french beans pulak. haha.

then, dah surf2 internet, jumpa resepi orang cake, and i feel like making that tomorrow.

but, i also feel like making sagu gula melaka. dua dua pon, i tak de bahan but all can be bought kan?

pastu kan, saya juga suka makanan pedas. usually, if masak kari, memang tak penah nak letak cili. but, off late, ai suka pulak letak cili.

oh...and tomatoes kan, yg kecik2 tu, sedap dimakan begitu sahaja.

i also lovelovelovelovelove ovomaltine chocolate. oh...and sour cream and onion punye chips.

hmm...mungkin sebab itulah, dah hari hari naik tangga 4 tingkat pon, bentuk badan masih tidak berubah. haih. i blame the weather!

tacos sempoi

My tacos are really so sempoi because i just threw in whatever i could find in my fridge. kalau ada mushroom sure lagi sedap, i think. neway, the ingredients that i used were:

stengah labu bawang besar, chopped

sayur kacang buncis, chopped

tomatoes, sliced

cheese

taco sheeets

minced meat

taco mix

1. saute bawang, masukkan minced meat sampai brown.

2. masukkan kacang buncis and tomatoes

3. masukkan taco mix secukup rasa. siap!

then,

4. heat oven

5. spread taco sheet. letak cheese and the minced meat yg dah goreng tadi. (i put a lot of cheese because i LOVE cheese. plus its a good source of calcium, kan??)

6. letak dalam oven for about 10-15minutes.

SIAP!!!

senang gila kan?? and you know, sementara nak tunggu masak tu, sempat la tgk youtube or something yg durationnya 10minutes. heh heh.

oh, nak makan tu, i letak tomato sauce. some ppl would prolly love to put mayonaise as well, but since this is taco sempoi and i was out of mayo, so no mayo for me.

p/s: actually, i went to the grocery store today to get a bag of sour cream and onion chips and chocolate chip cookies (tapi tak ingat plak beli biskut!). tengah round-round the aisles, i found taco mix and also taco sheets. jadi, terus bersemangat nak makan tacos for dinner!

random

- made koay teow goreng tom yam for dinner and nasi goreng tom yam for lunch. yumss!!!

- feel like eating ayam masak merah esok.

- have to watch the great dictator tomorrow. how exciting. NOT!

- Dani absolutely loved his birthday cupcakes yang bertemakan handy manny. he also absolutely loves the present i got him. *bliss*

- have to write an abstract and also prepare a short presentation tapi mood belum mari. how?

- hands are freezing while typing this because i switched on the fan and directed it towards my lappie. cik lappie dah buat perangai balik. suddenly switched off by itself! i think its too hot. hence the percubaan.

- cannot wait to shop in the UK. But before going, I am planning to buat a visadebitcard here so that i can spend my euros instead of my rms bila guna msian crdtcrd.

- only 2 presentations, 1 abstract, and 3 summaries left before i can enjoy my long awaited break.

- i miss my boys.

- accidents may happen to some ppl, but some just asked for it.

- dr sunshine finnaly got my card which i sent like eons ago!! he loved it. heh. esok nak beli kad lagi.

- cannot wait for december.

- bencinya bila tiba2 tengah-tengah malam perut berkeroncong sebab lapar. haih. i actually woke up to eat at 1am last night ago because i was SO hungry. tu la..lain kali makan proper dinner kan? tapi ai tetap nak blame the weather.

- cuaca juga menyebabkan ai selalu pergi toilet. and, sebab udara kering, selalu haus. sejuk+byk minum= frequent toilet trips.

- entah kenapa, i semakin rajin masak. hrm. esok i feel like eating ayam pedas. yum yum.

4 already?

My baby boy will be four at exactly 11.08pm on 8 nov. i tell you, he has grown but as a mama, no matter how old he is, and how may adiks he has or will have, he will still always always be my baby.

AD is a very bright, intelligent boy. I am very thankful that hati dia terang and i hope it will remain that way. At four, his most favourite thing in the world adalah police stuff. handcuffs, police badges, guns, anything related to the police. Obviously, his favourite show would be gerakkhas, rodaroda and polisgerakmarin. kalau 3 show ni shown on tv, tak payah keluar pon tak apa. he can speak very well. cara dia nak mintak something pon ber'aluh'. InsyaAllah, Allah akan terangkan hati dia. :)

AD my huggeroonimooni,

Mama can so remember the day i gave birth to you. You are very special to me sayang. Mama harap, adik-adik AD nanti (insyaAllah) akan ikut perangai awak. I hope they would love to perform the solat, like you. Love to read, like you. Love listening to ayat-ayat suci, like you. For me sayang, you are a very good example. Thank you for being a very easy baby to take care of. You know, baru-baru ni mama terfikir. When you were just 2 years old, you were strong for mama.You knew mama tak larat dukung bila kita jalan jauh masa kat Vienna and so you walked with all your might. I feel so guilty sayang for putting you through all this but you are one VERY strong boy.

Remember when we walked from our house to get KFC and i made you promise to walk the whole way if you wanted to follow? You did. But on the way back, I could sense that you were tired. And i asked you, "nak mama dukung tak?". And you said, "tapi Dani kan dah promise mama?". Terus mama dukung awak. Dani memang tak pernah ask for anything. You have always not been the type to mintak this and that when we are grocery shopping or at the mall. I remember going to toysrus and saw you so excited. So u asked papa and me if you could 'pinjam' toys tu. We let you, and when we wanted to leave, you put it back.

Dani,

Thank you for being a good brother to AA. I can see how you love him by the way you play with him. Thank you for giving in. I tell you, you may be only 4, but sometimes i feel that you are matured beyond your age. Everytime lepas mama sembahyang, mama will doa supaya Dani jadi anak yg baik, diterangkan hati, sihat, mendengar kata, insyaAllah.

Dani behave ye sayang, and be a good boy. Mama is so proud of who you are and who you will become one day.

From the bottom of my heart, Happy 4th birthday.

love,

Mama

susu soya

i went to buy some things from the asian store tadi and saw this instant soya drink that i felt i MUST buy. tak sabar nak try minum malam nanti!

i also bought kangkung, sebab fenfeeling nak makan kangkung goreng belacan with ayam goreng n kuah kari (lebih dari kari sardin) untuk lunch esok. tapi, nak kena cari mana belacan i. hmmm...

pastu, ai beli asam, sebab nampak macam menarik!

anyway, the reason i could go out was because i finished my take home test! wohoo!!! *lompat lompat*. walaubagaimanapon, i plan to reread whatever i have written tomorrow and edit mana yang patut cos technically i have till monday night to submit it. :) malam ni, ai nak tengok movie. ermm...what should i watch ek?

esok, ingat nak breakfast kat starbucks sambil2 baca so Fiske tuh because i have another summary due on tuesday. sesambil itu, nak kena pikir apa nak buat for my eksperimen untuk foprak.

p/s: siapa tahu mana kita boleh download cerita anne frank???

kari sardin sempoi

what do you cook when you don't have a lot of things in the pantry???

entah kenapa, today, i wanted to eat curry. and since there's no chicken or meat in the freezer, i decided to make kari sardin!

so uols, here is the recipe for kari sardin sempoi. memang sempoi cos it only takes less than half an hour to siap!

1 labu bawang besar

5 cili kering

2 sudu besar serbuk kari

1 tin kecik sardin in tomato sauce

garam secukup rasa

tomato sauce secukup rasa (sayang nak bukak my asam jawa)

1. blend cili kering and bawang besar. (cili kering tu kena rendam dalam air panas dulu sampai kembang)

2. tumis bawang and cili kering yg dah blend

3. bila nampak cili tu dah masak, masukkan serbuk kari. (i actually mixed the serbuk kari with water to make a paste)

4. pastu tunggu pecah minyak and masukkan the sardin without the sauce

5. letak garam

6. put tomato sauce until mencapai rasa masam yg dikehendaki. actually letak fresh tomatoes lagi best but i didnt have any.

7. let it simmer for a while, and walaahh... siap!!!

oleh sebab namanya kari sardin sempoi, tuan punye tak kuasa nak hidang atas pinggan and hias bagai. i am just keeping it real, ok!

*matila nak jugak justify kan*

senang kan??

you can have it with rice or, like me, have it with mee so instantly jadi mee kari!!!

tapi rasanya malam nanti, i will fry some papadom and makan dengan nasi. if i only i hade eggplants, i would definitely masak sambal terung. yums!!!

oh..if uols ada telur (and by that i mean telur ayam), u can make half boiled egg for breakfast, and letak kari sardin ni and kicap sikit and eat it with toasts and butter. yumss!!!

i plan kalau ada leftover esok pagi, nak makan dengan roti prata. :)

have you ever?

have you ever felt that your brains are sooooooooooooooooo super tired that all you want to do is golek-golek atas katil sambil tengok mindless tv shows?

have you ever felt like you have worked so hard for something, and deserve a good break but you cannot because you have a lot of other things waiting for you?

i tell you, November is not a good month for me. Its one deadline after another and I am suffocating. I am so tired of looking up for journal articles on the internet, cari buku kat library, do a whole lot of reading and then tulis. haih.

lepastu, i actually really want to continue writing my thesis, but tak sempat-sempat lagi because of all this other work. i really cannot wait for November to be over!!!!

ok,now back to Victor Turner's article.