Yesterday afternoon, when I was busy trying to finish a presentation drawing for an interior renovation of a banking hall in London my home computer suddenly went kaput, duhhh! Its hard drive drive has been making some funny sounds lately. Now, I can't even get it to boot.... arghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! It simply says:
A Disk Read Error Occured. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart
Pressing those 3 famous David Bradley keys doesn't do any trick either.... the line above keeps coming.
Maybe it's time to convert: for many years, we've been thinking and admiring that sexy and sleek fruit brand which comes with its G codes.
Anyway, the 2m euros private house I've been working on for the past weeks has its twist today. We received the news that it has been sold, lock stock and barrel.... the land with its planning-approved house design for more than 2.7m euros. Luckily, the new owner does want to work with us. But, as we all know... more changes are coming, arghhhh.
----------------------------------- Googled and found a few solutions to my computer problems and had it a go. Got my XP installation cd and run the Recovery Console. Typed chkdsk /r and left it to do what it needed to..... rather very slowly. I was checking the percentage on the screen and it went up a percent in a koala time.
Then... yihaaaaa.... it all came back alive !!!! Fuhhhhh........... all my files, photos, works, contacts, emails etc etc etc are still there. But hey, where is my photoshop presentation file??? Arghhhh... I was colouring it when it all went kaput...
Well, it took me up to 2am to recoloured the thing... and emailed it to the client.
I took this photo of Kakak at Court of Myrtles, Alhambra Palace, Granada during our last visit; I simply like the rustic colours of the wall tiles.
During its heydays, the highly decorated palace wall was full of colours. Now, most of them are in pale stoney colours, with a tint of the past glory.
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Sacrifying their Saturdays and Sundays since summer practising and perfecting, Kakak and her friends from the dance school are staging their Nutcracker 2005 production this 27th, 28th and 29th October at Bearwood Theatre, Wokingham, Berkshire. Shows start at 7:30pm. This is in conjuction with the school's 20th anniversary.
Adik turned 2 yesterday and we had a simple occassion at iftar. Mummy made a succulent roast chicken, Daddy cooked a bowl of chicken soup and Kakak baked some sardine rolls. N family brought a tray of yummy home-baked lasagna. We had great time....
Last weekend, these were the colours in my back garden...
There were some late blooms. I thought those sunflower won't come out since I sowed them quite late...in July. But, all of them are out now... a late treat for the bees.
And the real work soon will be to clear all those fallen leaves....
It was at about 3:30am this morning when my brother sent a txt: Endon Pak Lah dah meninggal pagi ni. Al-fatihah
I only read it when my mobile alarm made its annoying sound at 4:15am for my sahur. Innalillahiwainnailahirajiun....
More than three decades ago, my grandmother endured the same predicament. She refused to get any modern medical treatment. After much sufferings, one fine day she finally had her last breath on Papa's lap; Mama lost her beloved mum and I wasn't born yet then...
May God give all His rahmat to the late Datin Seri.
As planned, last Sunday 16th Oct, my brother has successfully commenced his food venture by taking up Stall No. 10 at Subang Jaya Carrefour Food Court.
Alhamdulillah, 'Rasa Kelantan' opened with a promising start with all three main dishes - Nasik Dagae, Nasik Khabu and Nasik Tomato - sold out during berbuka that afternoon. Laksae and many other Tanah Serendah Sekebun Bunga dishes including Khepok Gotae are also on the menu.
All the very best Ayaq ! Our parents who are in Mekkah since the last 2 weeks for Ramadhan and umrah also made doas for his success. There'll be no Mama's Nasik Dagae this year as they'll only come back after Raya.
After such trouble nak gi makan ketam last week, semalam kami decided to break our fast at a local wagamama je lah; mummy ada voucher 2 for 1. We had ebi kare lomen, wagamama ramen, cha han and apa ntah satu lagi, lupa dah. Kecoh-kecoh makan coz Kakak ada her weekly swimming lesson at 7pm nearby... and Adik like always, bukannya nak duduk diam dalam her high chair....
Anyway, this week at work still dok sibuk with that house in Dublin for an Irish millionaire. On Tuesday we had a visit from a timber flooring company, to discuss about their product range. This 2 million euros 650sq m house interior will be mainly finished with solid hardwood with underfloor heating (+ ceiling panel heating) and stone insert (& skirting) at perimeter along the wall.
As a practice accredited with ISO and together with our Environmental Policy, The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate issue comes into play when specifying timber products in our projects. We were looking at various Oak timbers when the senior architect saw Merbau and asked, "I've used this one before and kind of like it... where does it come from?". She used it in South Africa (where she came from). "Merbau is from Malaysia", replied the rep... and at that point she looked at me and smiled. "It's the only product that we have always been questioned about when it comes to FSC issues.... ", he said.. and then went on to explain how impossible it is to be 100% sure on any product of its 'greeness' bla bla bla. He went on about another product, Jetuba, which comes from South America where only 2% of all trees fell ended up as commercial timber products, the rest are simply burned by the farmers.
Mmm... actually, I'm a bit in a limbo here.... between promoting my homeland product, and conserving our fragile and extremely valuable tropical forest. I know there are certs from FSC and MTCC (The Malaysian Timber Certification Council) on our timber products.... but then, we all know lah kan, behind it all.... everything is M'sia Boleh style. Last year there was a hu-ha on BBC about Indonesian Ramin timber smuggled out via M'sian ports. [it's illegal to trade Ramin; the lowlands forest of Msia & Indon where Ramin grows provide the last rainforest habitats for Orang Utans and Sumatran Tigers]. Anyway, the wealthy client will have the final say. Most probably, it would be black oak.
Putting that aside, last week, for the 4th time, Kakak was again called into GMTV Studio in London for Toonattik recording. This time together with a boy, they co-presented the programme with the usual crazy Jamie and Anna.
It was a bit of panic initially organising the trip. Kakak and Mummy would be picked up (they send an mpv to and fro) at 7:30am from home for the 9:30am start. The recording would be finished by 1pm, but Mummy had a client meeting nearby at 11pm for an hour. Unfortunately, Kakak couldn't be left there without a chaperone. Problem....
So, the day before, Mummy had to call around asking for help. Sorang tak boleh, another one pun tak boleh... ayoyo. Finally, our friend in London kindly came to the rescue... and gmtv were kindly enough to chauffeur her to and fro as well, wonderful.
The gmtv-sent black mpv arrived early at 7am lagi kat depan rumah, Mummy belum habis bersiap. So, I went out to greet the driver... with a cup of hot coffee in his hand, he said, "don't worry, i'm a little early".
At the end, Mummy's meeting was cancelled... so, our friend tu tak payah la 'bertugas', dapat free trip and treat... bila lagi kan.
Today is an Open Day at Kakak's school and yesterday she was chosen to be one of the tour guides to the visitors, prospective students and their parents. Guides were coached on what to say, basically... they've to booast about their school la kan. Oh ya, a couple of weeks ago, Kakak won an election to become one of the Student Councillors.
Have a good weekend to all.....
ps: that Toonattik recording will be aired next Sunday morning 23rd. ITV. previous recordings (Toonattik adverts) have hit cinemas nationwide; screened before the Wallace & Gromit movie.
Tadi time lunch break, atok checked this blog... baca comments on previous posting. Kak Teh ajak date at Holiday Villa and asked me to check with Tuan Hj Chef, bila dia masak ketam. Atok pun terus tepon the kitchen.
"Assalamualaikum sheikh, amacam... sibuk?" "WaalaikumSalam.... sibuk ni", kata Tuan Hj Chef "Okay, quick one... bila kau masak ketam?" "Hari ni lah... ketam masak cili", beritahu Chef "Okay...selamat" "Okay boss"
Then, terus tepon Kak Teh... bagitahu the menu. Kak Teh kata, jom. Atok kata... mmm, nanti, kena check with madam and the crew. Emailed madam. Madam replied: "Kalau ketam, anytime".
Petang, at about 4:30pm gitu, after an internal meeting pasal project refurbishment and extension of a leisure centre nearby (baru awarded the job to a contractor, soon nak start on site), tepon Kak Teh... dia baru je keluar studio.
"Dah ada plan berbuka?" "Belum. Nak datang ke?" "Boleh lah, tapi lambat sikit, probably around 7pm gitu" (Berbuka at around 6:30pm)" "Okaylah, jumpa di sana"
Lima minit sebelum pukul 5pm, atok dah cabut.... cakap kat team leader, sorry, kena rush home. Tiba rumah at around 5:45pm...terus tukar kereta and pecut to London. Then, tetiba... traffic announcement on the radio: ada accident near Junction 5 M4; lima kereta. Aiseyman... berzaman on the motorway, tambah lagi Friday night... memang congested.
Finally, dah kul 7:40pm baru selamat tiba. Lagenda was full (ramainya orang2 embassy), and ketam pun dah habis. Nasib baiklah Kak Teh sorok sikit, fuhhhh, kalau tak sesia je. Kesian Kak Teh, dok makan sesorang for the last hour at the reserved table. Maka kami pun tibai makanlah sampai nak meletup. Sup ekor was really kow-kow punya. Kul 10 lebih, barulah beransur keluar. Tuan Manager Jeffri bagi buah tangan, sekotak kurma (dalam kotak anyaman diimport khas dari Bali). Hantar Kak Teh balik... and tiba at home at midnight; singgah Asda kejap... beli a few stuff.
Sunday ni ke London again.... makan lagi.
Many thanks KT.
note: this year, Holiday Villa ada buat solat tarawih (macam dulu) kat conference hall di basement, sebelah Bali spa tu. so, ada choice... either Msia Hall or H Villa. A friend kata, makan at Msia Hall after tarawih pun sedap gak. :)
Semalam (juga Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year 5766), okaylah... first day. Bangun sahur, makan sakan. Tapi, pasal malam sebelumnya tu tidur lambat (balik terawikh dah kul berapa, biasalah... bila melayu berkumpul; makan-makan sembang-sembang). Then, kul 4:30 am dah bangun untuk bersahur. Jadinya, bila dah petang tu, mulalah mengantuk. Time memandu balik (about 35 miles), dah mengantuk sakan... terpaksa half-way tu stop at layby and rehat sekejap.
Hari ni, pagi tadi dah jaga (alarm mobile phone bunyi) at 4:30am... dahtu kata, tunggu la kejap. Tup tup, bila jaga next, dah 5:30am... aiseyman, terlepas nak sahur. Ni, rakan-rakan disekeliling dok melahap makan sandwich and crisps for breakfast (pepagi at around 9am ada org datang jual sandwich, cake, biscuits, etc kat office). Tapi rakan-rakan pun cuba makan and berselindung di sebalik computer screen... hormat atok posa.
kepada semua. di sini hari ni (selasa) dah mula puasa. tadi a few of us berhimpun di rumah seorang sahabat untuk bertarawikh. in a few hours... insyaallah atok akan bangun sahur; alarm dah set, nasi + lauk dah masak.
seperti semua org di sini sedia maklum.... lain masjid, lain waktu (beza a few minutes), walaupun di kawasan yang sama; masjid paki tak sama ngan masjid bangla tak sama ngan masjid india tak sama ngan masjid arab tak sama ngan masjid somali tak sama ngan masjid turki tak sama ngan islamic finder etc etc etc...
Hari ini Tanah Serendah Sekebun Bunga telah selamat diistiharkan sebagai sebuah bandaraya.
Juga, tahniah kepada pihak penganjur Konsert Tautan Kasih yang akhirnya berjaya mempamirkan kepada semua bahawa ianya boleh dilaksanakan dalam batas yang mereka kehendaki, walaupun dengan berbagai political spins yang bertiup kencang dan tak putus-putus sejak dari saat Tuan Guru mula menuturkan agenda ini.
Sudah dibaca akan hu-ha hu-ha di media akan liputan konsert ini; yang dikatakan sebagai satu-satunya konsert umum yang dimulakan dengan solat berjemaah dan tazkirah agama; yang belum pernah terjadi di mana-mana tempat sebelum ini. Apa pun, syabas kepada penganjur (yang termasuklah rakan sekolah dan ahli keluarga; penggiat parti); disamping menyediakan hiburan kepada masyarakat yang telah lama dahagakannya, nampaknya ia telah menjadi satu PR event yang amat berjaya... dan mendapat liputan luas pihak media ["there is no such thing as bad publicity"].
At least, tak ada mat-mat rempit yang mabuk yang berlaku ganas dan petugas kebersihan juga tak perlulah mengutip puluhan, malah ratusan kondom terpakai di pagi esoknya (sesuatu yang lumrah di kebanyakan konsert di tanahair).
nota kaki: masa kecik-kecik dulu pun, bila ke Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV untuk tengok bola... kelihatan ramai kaki bola yang datang dari jauh menunaikan solat maghrib di tempat letak kereta, malah ada juga yang terus masuk awal... bersolat di 'tangga' tempat duduk di dalam stadium.
Kakak's 2009 Diary:
>The King & I @ Royal Albert Hall
>The King & I Presscall
>The King & I recall audition II
>BBC Bo The Spirit World audition II
>The King & I recall audition I
>BBC Bo The Spirit World audition
>The King & I audition
>LCB Masterclass Kakak's 2008 Diary:
>LCB Final Audition
>LCB audition
>Lion King Cub School audition
>Scientific Toys photoshoot
>Bicester Village advert casting
>BBC All About Animals photoshoot
>Stagecoach end-of-term show
>Ballet Medal Test '08
>BBC All About Animals casting
>Knorr advert casting
>Zoey 101 magazine photoshoot
>IKEA Commercial casting
>Key Stage 2 SAT Exam
>Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Grade 4 Exam
>Street Dancing 2008
>Nintendo DS casting
>Clarks International photoshoot Kakak's 2007 Diary:
>BBC Girl Talk photoshoots
>Mawi's London Debut
>Hippie-hippie Shake filming
>OMEC Merdeka Ball
>Merdeka Carnival
>LAMDA Exam
>High School Musical Summer Workshop
>'Walking Bus' Campaign photoshoot
>The Golden Compass re-shoot
>Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Grade 3 Exam
>BBC's Girls Talk audition
>Honda F1 car launching
>Northern Lights/Golden Compass filming Kakak's 2006 Diary:
>Northern Lights/Golden Compass filming
>Run, Fat Boy, Run filming
>Young Performers 2006
>Philips: The Simplicity Event 2006
>British Airways advert casting
>Ballet Medal Test/Award 2006
>Aladdin pantomine audition
>Zena Holloway underwater photo shoot
>Royal Ballet audition
>CFC-free inhaler promo photo shoot
>Clarks Shoes International photo shoot
>David Beckham Football Academy casting
>Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Exam Kakak's 2005 Diary:
>The King & I UK Tour
>Fashion Photo Shoot - Covent Garden
>Ballet Medal Test/Award 2005
>Cinderella audition
>GMTV recordings
>Nutcracker 2005
>Cinderalla 2005
Previously employed by
Ridge & Partners LLP, Oxfordshire
Syarikat Pembinaan Anggerik, London site office [contract] for the New MSD/Msia Hall project
I took this photo of Kakak at Court of Myrtles, Alhambra Palace, Granada during our 
There were some late blooms. I thought those sunflower won't come out since I sowed them quite late...in July. But, all of them are out now... a late treat for the bees.
It was a bit of panic initially organising the trip. Kakak and Mummy would be picked up (they send an mpv to and fro) at 7:30am from home for the 9:30am start. The recording would be finished by 1pm, but Mummy had a client meeting nearby at 11pm for an hour. Unfortunately, Kakak couldn't be left there without a chaperone. Problem....
