Pity the Foo'

I Should Have Known

Photo source here

Friday the 13^th. Why did I not see it? The day the Foo Fighters in Singapore tickets went on sale was on Friday, 13^th January 2012. I suspect that this may be the bad omen that lead to the cancellation of their Singapore and Japan tour.

I never thought that they’d ever come back to Singapore ever since their last concert there some 10 years ago. Back then Pat Smear was still part of the band and I was still a penniless teen. But I never stopped wishing and hoping and praying and dreaming that they’d return to any part of SEA. 

I almost jumped to the ceiling when I received a text from Sharif telling me that they were coming over. Despite being somewhat broke at the time, I immediately bought the tickets. I’m not going to wait ‘til the second day of ticket sale only to find out that it’s already sold out (like what happened when for Yeah Yeah Yeahs came over). Upon confirmation of my purchase, the countdown to my dream come true begins.

Last Friday, I received a text from Adli who was also going to the concert with his wife Sarah…all the way from Miri. He gave me a link to an article about the Singapore tour cancellation. I was in denial at first, but the story spread like a disease. It all seems legit. My heart fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

Call this a first world problem or a psychotic die-hard-fan obsession gone awry or whatever the hell you want to call it to imply that this situation is not that much of a big deal. It is a big deal to me. I have waited for this moment for years. I even almost flew over to Australia to see them perform. I'm sure everybody has that one artist/band they would love to see live no matter what no? The Foo Fighters is top on top of the list.

Unless I have a TARDIS to travel back in time or be reincarnated as a hippie called Rainbow Salmon Waterfall who lived through the glory days of rock before John Lennon was assassinated or before Jimi Hendrix choked on his own vomit, the Foo Fighters is possibly among the very few living true rock bands of today in existence.

So, just leave me to mourn these coming few days that remain until the day of the concert. I’m still in denial and so very bummed and miserable. I’ll wait until the concert day passes by before I claim my refund. When I do, I’m getting me these and plan to throw a geek party. You're all invited.

Soon.

Photo source here.

of life and death

An apple farm in the States with my brother the Tellytubby

I'm turning 25 next week. 10 years ago, if you asked me where I see my self, I'd say I see myself as a young lawyer in training. I was quite keen in entering the world of law while I was in high school. At this point in life, I have no idea where that dream has gone. On paper I'm a civil engineer, in practise I work in the environmental industry (which still involves the construction industry fyi). Life is strange like that.

Today, I heard more bad news about a friend's parent passing away. Then it struck me; growing older is not just about seeing a stream of wedding invitations and photos on your Facebook feed (and newborn babies too), our parents are also growing older and our time with them is running short. But its a thought that I usually like to ignore because having the visions of it happening running through my head depresses the hell out of me.

I'll be honest though, having these morbid thoughts is not all entirely bad. It makes me want to be a better person so that they are happy with who I have become, it makes me want to achieve more things so that they can speak proudly of me to their friends and above all, it makes me want to spend so much more time with them.

In my younger days I would choose spending time with friends over my family. This has completely changed. I'd do anything to spend time with my parents. I'd drive four hours south (or spend money and fly) at every opportunity I get because at this age, I am scared. Time is moving by so fast...too fast. One day, they were driving me to school, now I'm driving them around town.

I can't help but have these morbid thoughts run through my head every time these kind of bad news come around. It is a reality that we all have to accept one day, but I pray to God that when the time comes, I'm ready.

I swear I have never said this out loud and if I did my parents would probably think I'm high hahaha (we're weird, don't judge! saya bukan manusia yang manja macam kucing). But in all seriousness,

Mama, Bapak...I love you guys.

what's cookin' good lookin'?

It was only recently that I started baking. I was somewhat inspired by my friend Aim who posted a bunch of photos of stuffs she baked, my cousin Izzy who convinced me that baking is easy peasy and my colleague Sathya who introduced me to the bakery supplies store in USJ and gave me quite a handful of useful pointers on baking. Thanks guys! :D

Funnily, I started off with the simplest of baking recipes - the bread and butter pudding, and FAILED miserably. But that didn't stop me. I did bake the damn thing using a toaster oven. LOL. So, i put the toaster oven away and bought myself a proper oven.

I officiated the oven by trying a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. It wasn't too bad...it could use some improvement, but it was nice fresh out of the oven. :) I came across a recipe that looked pretty scrumptious. The idea of a cinnamony carrot muffin topped with cream cheese and crunchy streusel, I can taste the awesomeness just by reading the recipe...

So I tried it, and I shall continue making them for the rest of my life and put a smile on someone's face. I made them again today and my mom enjoyed it. :D

Here's the recipe courtesy of What's Cooking Chicago? and The Delicious Life:

Note: 
I tweaked the recipe a bit coz I don't like my muffins too sweet. The adjustments are stated in Italic. 

Carrot Muffins:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar (I used 2/3 cup packed brown sugar)
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 8oz of baby carrots)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water or rum for 10 minutes

Grated Carrots

Walnuts. Don't forget to chop them!

All Purpose Flour and Packed Brown Sugar

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened (about half of the 250g pack of Philadelphia cheese. I used 3/4 of the pack)
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar (again packed brown sugar, adjust amount according to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Streusel Topping:

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (I omitted)1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (I used 2 tbs)
pinch table salt
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter

Streusel

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your muffin tins by greasing with cooking spray or using paper liners. (I cant be bothered to buy a muffin tray so I used paper muffin cups and placed them in aluminium foil tart cup thingy)
   
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar; set aside.
   
3. In separate bowl, beat the eggs and oil together until lightened. Stir in the carrots, walnuts and raisins. In another bowl, cream together the cream cheese filling ingredients; set aside.
   
4. Fold the dry muffin ingredients into the wet egg/oil mixture and stir until just combined (don't stir in too much or else you muffins will be dense).
   
5. Fill each muffin cup about ¾ full. Top each filled muffin cup with a generous teaspoon of the cream cheese filling. (Here I filled the muffin cup 1/4 full of muffin batter, then a generous teaspoon of cream cheese, then topped it with some more muffin batter until about 3/4 of the muffin cup)  
   
   
   
   Before topping off with another layer of batter
   
6. Combine all the dry streusel ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle with the warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Before baking, top the filled muffin cups with the streusel topping.
   
   
   
   Streusel on Top
   
7. Bake about 20-25 minutes*, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean.
   *If making standard sized muffins, bake for 17-20 minutes.*If making jumbo sized muffins, bake for 23-25 minutes.

Before the oven:

After the oven:

Try it yourself! Or you can come over to my place and I'll make you some! :P

a moment of grief

"I Go" 

by

Pete Teo

It was a week ago from last Thursday when I visited my friend Apes in Rawang to see his newborn child, Afif Dzarif bin Hafedz (born 11 April 2011). The boy was the splitting image of Apes and his wife Wanie (as they both look alike too) and his cute little nose was a dead giveaway that he is indeed, Apes’ son.

I remember that as I left the house in a rush (my family was on their way to my house in USJ that same night), I had almost forgotten to say my farewell to his father since he was sitting quietly tending to his business in the other part of the living room. I turned towards him, and said my thank you and goodbye.

I received a call from Apes last Thursday. He asked me if I could pick him up at the airport that night and drive him back to Rawang, there had been an emergency. I was puzzled as to why he came back to KL, alone and in a rush. Then he broke the bad news to me. I was in shock and could not process what I have heard. An unexpected tragedy has struck & his father is no longer with us.

I myself may have not known the man well, but I’ve heard many wonderful stories about him from Apes, and he has a beautiful family that I am honoured to call my friends. I believe with all my heart that arwah Uncle Zakaria has been a wonderful husband, a loving father and grandfather as well as a brilliant man to many others.

I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of grief and pain the family is experiencing. Albeit there being many moments of sorrow, I saw a lot of strength in the family.

Aunty Leila, Apes, Kak Yanie, Abg Ben, Eizat & Faris; do accept my deepest condolences and I share this grief and sorrow with you. There’s not much that I can do or say to help ease the pain that you are all going through but I pray that Allah S.W.T grants you with the strength and courage to bear this great loss. My thoughts are always with you all.

Allahyarham Kolonel (B) Zakaria Salleh arrived safely in Rawang and was buried last Friday after Isya’. May Allah S.W.T. bless his soul and bestow him the highest levels of Jannah. Ameen.

Al-Fatihah...

News report from Bernama

News report from Metro

A Quote from Bob Marley

redemption

I feel like I needed some inspiration and I stumbled upon this beautiful quote by one of the best song writers of our time...

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself.

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.

There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever.

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face.

In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby.

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you.

You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you.

You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."

Bob Marley

The Justin Bieber Experience

Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Freddie Mercury 

and Jim Morrison must be rolling in their graves.

Photo courtesy of Farhana

How it Began

So about a week after my April Fool's prank (refer previous entry), I tagged along with my friends Farhana and Marlina to Rumah Nur Salam, Chow Kit where we wanted to do some volunteer work for the centre. In brief, RNS is a shelter and activity centre for underprivileged kids within the KL area. (I tried looking for their webpage that used to be existent, but now it seems to be missing).

For more information, you can visit the centre at:

Rumah Nur Salam

No 24A-B, Jalan Chow Kit

Kuala Lumpur

Or call them at 03-4045 4031

At the centre, we met with a very chirpy fella named Jamil. He has been with RNS for a while now and told us that RNS need volunteers to help out with many programmes held by the centre; mostly to chaperone the kids when they go for outings. On weekdays, the centre would usually need full time volunteers to educate the children in various subjects such as IT, math, english, Quran classes etc. Since me, Farhana and Marlina were unable to assist during the weekdays, we asked if there was anything coming up soon for us to join in on. 

He sat there on the sofa thinking for a while and his face brightened up;
"21hb ni ada concert Justin Bieber. Nak tolong handle budak2 pergi concert tu tak? Theres a lot who will be participating" 

The girls were overjoyed by the opportunity (although the weren't really fans of the Biebz) and I was thinking to myself merde as visions of my April Fool's joke on Facebook ran through my head like a bad dream. The IRONY. At that moment I admit honestly, I was a little reluctant but I said yes anyway. Everytime I do these kind of volunteer work I remind myself that it's not about me, but it's for the KIDS.

Biarlah badan penat, or duit habis. But at the end of the day, it's always a rewarding experience when you are around these kids. I really wanted to meet the kids and put a bunch of smiles on their faces. (yes, yes i know some of you at this moment are saying that i'm a closeted belieber in denial and using this as an excuse pfft).

The Somali Centre

Prior to concert day, we were informed that we were assigned to chaperone kids from the Somali Centre along with a few other volunteers. Did you know that there is a Somali Centre in KL? I bet most if not all of you, don't. The centre is established to shelter refugees from Somalia. If you were not aware, the country has been at war for 20 years now (click here for the wiki article). The centre is located in an apartment in Gombak, and coordinated by Mr. Shofie.


I had no idea what to expect from this assignment, but I was keen to learn something new. Upon arrival at the centre we were greeted by Shofie, he invited us into their 'classroom' where the kids were having Arabic lessons. I learnt from our head volunteer that they are renting quite a number of units to home the refugees and some units were used as centres for the children to be schooled. Fyi, with their refugee statuses the adults were not allowed to work and the children were not allowed to be public schooled. International schools were never an option due to financial constraints.


My first impression was that the kids are tall. Some of the girls were taller than me! At first I thought that they were 16-17 year olds, but I soon found out that they were mostly under 12! There were curious faces everywhere when we arrived and I can see that they were excited. The first challenge was getting the kids to listen to us. Luckily for us, they behaved well and understood the instructions we gave them. They were funny too! Girls and their drama, boys and their toys...that day I saw that no matter what colour we are or what language we speak; we are all the same.

The Man Behind the Scenes

We had an opportunity to chat with Shofie (pronounced Shafie'e) on the bus. He is currently a masters student in UIA and plans to do his Ph.D in Human Resources. Shofie and his family are also refugees. He is a man with a vision of peace and development for his people. He mentioned that initially the centre only homed the Somalis but he felt that it was wrong for the children to sit around and do nothing as they were not allowed to be schooled. So he established the centre to provide an opportunity for the children to be educated.


I must say, the kids' English was pretty darn good compared to most of our people who had the opportunity to go to proper schools. Shofie believes that it is of the utmost importance that his people are able to communicate in the English language. As a child in Somalia he had to work to earn US$1 to be able to go to English classes (Classes are US$1/month). He only managed to save up US$1.50 and went to the class for a month and a half; and did well.


Shofie envisioned that one day he would like to open up a university in Somalia where the courses are focused on Agriculture and Marine. He told us that Somalia has fertile land to grow crops and sufficient water bodies to sustain marine life, and yet many of his people are dying of starvation. There was a time when the Somalis had to chop up mango trees and turn them into coal to make some money. He believes that education in this line is highly necessary along side the already existing education in science and technology.


Shofie is truly a passionate man who wants the best for his people and country. I can't imagine all the hardships he went through during his time in Somalia. Yet, he manages to achieve academically and run a centre for his people here. I wish Shofie all the best in his quest for a better Somalia. My prayers are indeed with him.


I wish I had a picture of him, but I think we'll definitely cross paths again. Maybe next time.

The Concert

With the girls from the Somali Centre

Photo courtesy of Farhana

When we reached Stadium Merdeka (an extremely crap choice for a concert imo) it was raining hats and clogs. Most people sitting on our section donned the red tshirt the sponsors gave us. There were a bunch of Afghan kids (yes, there is also an Afghan Centre in Ampang) sitting behind us and by jove, were they good looking! :P

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

The stadium slowly filled up with a bunch of screaming teenagers and weirdly enough, BOYS (who did not come with their girlfriends). The concert was opened by Mizz Nina who sounded pretty good live. Couldnt see much from where we were sitting though coz the screens weren't on when she was performing. Then came the countdown for the Biebz to reveal himself on stage and the girls were screaming. then there were more screaming, and more screaming... and some more screaming.

Those who paid a lot to see him up close

Some songs were ok, some were meh that i spent most of the time on my phone facebooking (or at least attempted to as there was no coverage at the stadium). the Biebz sounded nasal. seriously...it was either that or the sound system was utter crap. i also felt that there could be more interaction between him and the audience rather than showing video snippets of his "world". Communicate boy! But then again I wouldn't know how things should go, this is after all my first POP concert.


The kids were having fun though. They were singing and dancing to the Biebz non-stop. They were so happy. But sadly, we had to take them out at 10pm. I guess to avoid the hustle bustle of crowd getting out of the stadium when the concert ended. If i'm not mistaken, Good Charlotte came out and performed when we were on our way out. I cant be too sure though. When we reached out and getting the kids in line, the Biebz hit song Baby came on. Some of the girls in our group wept because she couldn't see him perform the song. I felt really bad.


And guess what people, I'm gonna put my pride and dignity aside and tell you this...I SANG ALONG and made them sing along with me!! *falls into a black hole for eternity* BUT the kids were smiling again and enjoyed the song outside the stadium; singing and dancing to it. It was worth it. :)


And we made our way to the bus...

Goodbyes

When we arrived Gombak, we said our goodbyes to the Somalis. The kids told us how happy they were and never thought that they'd ever have this kind of opportunity. They just can't believe that they just saw Justin Bieber in person on stage. Shofie thanked us and told us that this is the first time they've been out doing something fun in a long while as they are not sponsored by any agencies.


And the day was over.


Despite having had to sit through a Justin Bieber concert, 21st April 2011 has been an awesome day for me. It wasn't about the concert at all. But it was about opening up our eyes, mind and soul to a whole different world you never thought existed, or simply choose to ignore. This has been experience I'll never forget.

Thanks Marlina and Farhana 

for going on this adventure with me.

Never Say Never...No, seriously

On 1st April 2011, I did the unthinkable...

Observe

Image courtesy of I haz Power Point skillz!

Little did I know that this would be a nightmare that will haunt me in the near future...please proceed to next entry for more dirt!

Play on Words

pada pa pa paaa!

i'm NOT lovin' it!!!

and the story goes like this...

i asked my brother to take me to one of the country's low fare air terminal and since we got here early he asked if we could eat at this fast food joint located within the terminal. since i'm hungry myself i said yeah sure why not. and feeling a bit generous (despite being a bit broke) i wanted to buy him dinner.

here's the sucky part. i'm a bit drained today due to my current state of that-time-of-the-month. i also had to travel to pahang and back since early this morning and upon arriving my apartment, i finished up my packing and my brother came not long after to take me to the airport.

fast forwarding to the situation at the fast food joint...

observe the text in the above image. here's what it says...

MAKE IT A MEAL

Just add french fries and soft drink to these ala carte choices

5.55 (M) 6.75 (L)

in the absolute semak-samun-ness of this fast food joint, plus my gelabah-ness when rushing to give my orders coz there were people everywhere around me i felt so claustrophobic and my brother talking while i order my head computed the following:

RM6.75 = LARGE Value Meal = CHEAP $$$ding!ding!ding$$$  

so, dengan murah hatinya i said, "ijam, go ahead and order the large meal (you best brother in the world you)" 

Total amount for 2 value meals = RM30.

apparently they add up the ala carte price with the MEAL ADD-ON of RM6.75.

i only realised this when i saw the smaller add-on ad by the cashier which said:

MAKE IT A MEAL

Just add french fries and soft drink to these ala carte choices

FOR (i repeat, bleeding bleeping FOR)

5.55 (M) 6.75 (L)

now, doesnt ONE bleeding three lettered word make a MAJOR bleeding difference?

i paid. malas nak pikir. biarlah adik aku yg kelaparan makan dgn kenyangnya. but now i'm a bit broke-er lah ahaha. i cant wait for monday. :D

i bet that stupid mafia clown with the red hair who owns the restaurant said: YOU GOT SERVED!! (coz that's what my brother said -____-")

jinkies!

scooby dooby doo, where are you?

it is absolutely without a doubt that i am a geek. i came to realise this back in my uni days when a friend of mine would often shout out GEEK in my face whenever i ramble on about the latest gadgets in store, obsess about star wars or describe how deep a song by the mars volta is. 

i guess back in the 90s one would feel insulted by this. the geek stereotype is often portrayed as the steve urkel kinda guy, the comic book guy in the simpsons or velma from scooby doo. but personally i took it as a compliment. it meant that despite my non-dean's list GPA, i was actually somewhat smarter than the average chick in the bleeding uni (most chicks in my uni were geniuses).

we can blame my geekiness on my dad i guess. he is a gadget man. ever since i was a kid, i was spoilt with video games. there was the cartridge video game console where i'd play donkey kong, super mario, galaga, pacman, digdug and tetris. since then, my video game consoles have evolved to the sega saturn, playstation, PS2 and so on.

back in uni i was the chick who always had a novel (bukan novel melayu lelehleleh air liur meleleh ye), the ipod, a nintendo DS and a PSP and in my bag so i could play command and conquer and star wars: force unleashed (i couldnt finish this game coz i felt bad about letting vader kill wookies) way before they were cheap toys for everyone great and small. so far, i think i'm the only chick among my friends who has a PS3 and played MGS4 and know what the function of a HDMI and an optical cable is. self appraisal aside, notice that geek is the new chic?

kids these days all want to wear buttoned up plaid shirts, coke bottle frame glasses, casio watches with calculators, have scruffy hair and make music out of their vintage gameboys. it IS cool to be a gadget freak and a computer genius these days. mark zuckerberg may look as unstylish as our local uni kids walking around in his ASADI sandals but dude, he's the youngest self-made billionaire there is. face it guys who used to bully and make fun of geeks, WE OWN YOU.

photo credit here

click photo for larger image

according to the flowchart above, i would say i am in the following geek evolution categories:

1. Internet Geek: 1337 FTW. i can understand minor coding but i'm not that hardcore in this department.
2. Academic Geek: although i'm not an academician, but i find research papers and conducting research itself as somewhat rewarding.
3. Book Geek: i'm not a harry potter, narnia or a twilight fangirl (i absolutely DETEST twilight) but i read. ALOT. i love books. when i own my own house one day, i shall like to have my own mini library in the house. 
4. Tech Geek: read paragraph 4.
5. Music Geek: i bow down to my friend Joey in this category but we do share the a common interest in music people have never heard of before like icelandic bands.
6. Video Game Geek: tot hardcore, but has played enough to qualify.
7. Star Wars Geek: do i need to elaborate on this?
8. Theatre Geek: theatre gooooood. the efforts on performing perfectly LIVE amazes me. beats going to the movies anytime.
9. Glee Geek: liking glee makes you a geek?? I just enjoy the song remakes and the oh so many eye candy in the series. i.e.; Finn Hudson and Jesse St. James. ^_^
10. Camera Geek: this one i'd like to add into the list. it is cool to have a dslr around your neck these days (which has somehow reached the point of pretentious douchebaggery). i dont do it for "cool" like most children these days. cameras have evolved so much throughout the years and it's a splendid way for me to capture moments as i love walkabouts. plus, i'm a sketcher. i used to draw people a lot and now i enjoy capturing people through the lens. i not only have a dslr, but i am also going back to basics and exploring analogue cameras.   

So, what kind of geek are you?

the nega ninja housemate

negascott
death to all hipsters


tonight i'm going to bitch.

it's going to be a long one because Dilod told me to describe in detail hahah!

a month plus ago i relocated to usj from damansara due to my new job. damansara is awesome (because i lived 5mins from the curve and one utama and it's closer to KL) but it's just too far away from usj. finding new a place wasnt easy, most rooms were either pricey and the cheaper ones were located quite a distance from the new office. eventually i found a nice, clean, pleasant looking apartment very close to the new office.

the perks of the apartment include sufficient parking space (and free too because i'm the only person in the house with a car), i get my own toilet with shower, rent is cheap, it has it has a nice peaceful surrounding environment, there's a guy who sells yummy samosas and guavas nearby, it's walking distance to the office and is located close to the elite expressway which makes it easier for me to drive or fly back to jb (no need to worry about avoiding rush hours anymore).

my friend suggested the place to me but when we went to ask if there were rooms for rent at the guard house they told us there weren't any. a week later i tried my luck in asking the guard again and they gave me my soon-to-be housemate's number.

i sometimes have this bad habit of stereotyping people. when i met the housemate and learnt a little bit more about her, a rush of stereotypes swarmed my thoughts and views on her. but since i liked the room and knowing that i might be spending a few years in the same house as her, i decided to be positive. boy was i wrong to hope for stars and glitters.

i dont know if i have the "housemate concept" wrong or something, but with my previous one we kept to our own business. we do enjoy the occasional chat while watching tv or having dinner, but i wouldn't say we were obliged to do things for each other and respected each other's personal space. there were no strings attached. and she was very neat and clean too.

but the new housemate, even before i moved in, has texted me and asked me if i could take her to the supermarket on the day i move in (she does not have transport btw). my stereotype of her was already proving itself to be spot on. and that was only the beginning of worse things to come.

TEIL EINS

the first two weeks i moved in i got a text from her asking me for favours to drive her here and there. and if not to drive her around she would ask me to buy her stuff whenever i go out (which she still does occasionally). most of the time she doesn't ask, but she tells me to take her places. which just pisses me off.

"iman, take me to the phone centre i need to pay my bills" (first day at the apartment. and yes, she did not say please - in the BM context that is)

"iman you have to bring me to the bank because i want to bank in rent money. pick me up from my workplace" (wtf moment because like her, i walk to work and back, what gives her the authority to tell me to walk home, pick up my car and pick her up from the office? lain lah kalau mak aku.)

"iman r u going out? i need to pickup my laptop, lets go to taipan" (another wtf moment)

"iman what time are you coming back? can you buy me food for dinner?" (whoops i'm coming back after midnight)

"iman i saw u go out, can u buy me bread?" (this was the ninja moment coz i swear the house was empty when i went out. i have no idea how/where/when she saw me)

i know i sound a little selfish for not wanting to do these deeds, but she just met me for 2 days and suddenly i'm her best friend? call me busuk hati, kerang busuk, jantung pisang, panda tak mandi, etc. but i think i have a right to say NO. for my friends, i'll do anything. but for her, i try to find a million excuses to let her down gently (because i have to live with her). but sometimes she really tests my patience.

at one point we were having a conversation about how her brother wants to buy a satria neo (while i reluctantly drove her to the bank because i want my money back) and i said "oh, like the gen2 the neo consumes fuel on a vampiric level. hence why i don't like to drive around in my car much unless necessary". she stopped asking me to drive her around since then. BUT developed the sly art of asking me to buy stuff for her whenever i go out. a nega ninja she is. :O

TEIL ZWEI

she's kiasu. takpe, i don't mind buying stuff for the house. i bought a washing machine, my cousin izzy gave me a fridge, i changed the doorknob, changed the broken light, planning to find a small dining table, a 3 seater sofa and metal racks for the kitchen. one has to build their life slowly. and my family likes to feel comfy when they come to visit.

but can't you spend rm10 for a nice floor mat in the kitchen? i really don't like stepping on that old raggedy towel and kain batik on the floor. rumah arwah atok & nenek aku kat klang yang rumah papan dan bertikar getah tu pun tak guna kain batik buat alas lantai. diorg beli je alas lantai ropol2 kat pekan. le sigh~

TEIL DREI

she is dirty. there's a distinct difference between being messy and being dirty. i can be messy. but not to the point where i make the whole house smell. the day i went to look at the house she told me that she's been busy at work lately hence why it has not been cleaned prior to my visiting it. i completely understand. sometimes we working people have our moments when there is just no time to clean the house. but since moving in, i have not seen any improvements.

the kitchen is still filthy. it is so filthy that i cant stand to be in there. i confine myself to my room. she promised to clean the laundry area but she didn't. the living room is ugly due to clutter and her occasional hanging clothes to dry on the window grills. seriously, we're not in uni any more. we live in a house, not a hostel. can we not make the house look like immigrants live in it? and since i moved in there is a date seed on the sink and it is still there. and a bowl of USED cooking oil next to the abandoned stove. hell no, i ain't touching it.

the architecture of the house itself is pretty daft. there's no proper ventilation in the kitchen area (the kitchen has no window gasp!) and the only place air gets out is in the laundry area. she has a habit of rendam-ing her laundry for days and when she hangs it to dry it stinks like sotong kering and spreads through the whole house. the problem subsided a little since i gave her the green light to use my washing machine. she also likes to rendam her dishes in the sink for a while before washing it. come on la...you use one cawan and one sudu you cannot wash it immediately ah? must rendam for 2 days in the sink before you wash ah?

since moving away from JB i discovered that i enjoy cooking. but at this house i don't really feel like it because of the kitchen condition. in order to make the kitchen fit for cooking, i must strip the kitchen bare, get rid of all the rotten wooden racks and replace them with metal ones and scrub the tiles with dettol that kills 99.9% bacteria with floral scent.

i just bought a metal stove rack thingy today, and i found another roach lurking about while putting the stove rack thingy together. hence my bitching on my blog here today. because i hate roaches. and she told me that she's going back to her kampung until early december and i saw her mangkuk in the sink. so um, does she expect the lipas to lick it clean?

TEIL VIER

the other housemate. such a mystery...never says hi when she sees me, confines herself in her room while listening to rock kapak, i dont even know what she looks like but she exists. she's moving out end of the month though and nega ninja found a new person to move in. i hope the new person is normal. i dont think i can stand another nega ninja.