Luggage claim

Took these pictures after taking the train to work yesterday. It was smack in the middle of Southern Cross Station. Looked huge from far but once you get closed you realize its a site office decorated with heaps and heaps of bags. I reckon its a good way to use unclaimed luggage.

Mamak Melbourne

The other day we went to a Mamak for lunch. Its about 5 minute tram ride and 10 minute walk from the office. Its called Rich Maha. The guys call it Richy (everything in ozzy slang ends with a 'y'). Owned by a Malaysian from Selangor (repressentttingg!!!). The food is just fantastic although I thought the staff were all from Mesia. Embarrassingly got it wrong when I talked in Malay but got the "whad a u talking about' shake of the head. We had tossai and mee goreng mamak.. with teh tarik to wash it all down. Loveddd ittt!!! very authentic. Will definitely make a point to go there more.

Kayuu??? syed??? pelita?? khalifah??..... lupa dah semua.. I only know Richies!! :p poyo sikit..

ps.. saja je sebab nak kurang rasa jeles at the food back in Mesia.

Geng Botak

A month ago.....

Zareef: Ayaahhh.. bila nak potong rambut ni!!!!

We have been holding out on the haircuts. Somehow I still think its expensive to get a haircut (around $15 for kids and around $20 for myself). So we decided to get a hair trimmer machine instead costing about the same as haircuts for Zareef and me.

We have this tradition since Zareef was born: if either one of us goes botak, the other will go along with it. Hence our new look. It wasnt easy with Zareef moving every second saying it was ticklish. Cutting my own hair wasn't a walk in the park as well especially without a mirror . After a half hour in the shower I realized theres still a big patch on top that didnt get trimmed. Argghh I had to start the process all over again. Bottom line cleaning hair is not fun.

At the end of the day, I reconsidered if all the trouble was worth the money I saved but then I look back at the pics we took.... yeah it was worth it.... we just looked too bloody good!!!!

lol.. heres our pics for ur amusement.....

New love called Taylor

I rarely spend money on myself particularly on non-essential items. But this time just because and from hasil cucuk "Gel the guitar collector" I bought myself an acoustic guitar. Its a BT1 baby Taylor (I had always dreamed of owning one). Its very small (3/4) and cute. Sounds great and really mobile. I love it especially when I can play it lying down or slouching on the sofe and for it being so well made. Sitka spruce top and dreadnought shaped - very Taylor indeed. Looking forward to learn and playing for hours on it. Thinking of getting the kids into music too. Lets see how it goes.

4 Seasons in a Day

I knew that the weather is as predictable as Paklah's decisions - changes at every corner. But today is the first day we really experienced the freakishness of it. We had hail, snow (1 hour drive away), hot staring glare sun, real winds (not the gassy old man type) and downpour storms. Unfortunately its one of those day I had to take the train. And the funny thing is ppl in the train was dressed so differently. Some prepared for hot weather while some went totally the opposite and went with the layers. It just gets confusing

My new version of 'Pelita'

"Pelita malam ni kul 9.42pm jom!!!"

I used to love getting this sms. It means a good night out with friends to discuss whatever mundane things in our lives. We used to have this 'board meeting' at Pelita seksyen 9 Shah Alam with the same culprits. Typically once a week. I liked it a lot cause it can be therapeutic and we share thoughts and insights on what we are going through. More heads are better than one kinda thing.

The other day the same mates gave me an SMS and FB message kinda inviting me to the usual 'pelita' session. Made me jeles in a way. So instead I went to Brunetti's. Its a pretty famous cafe in Lygon St. Lots and lots of cakes and fantastic drinks. Heres a few pics. Check it out.So now instead of "Jom pelita" I will go "Jom Brunetti's". LAYANNN!!

Things are looking brighter

The title explains what we are going through literally and figuratively. For once its getting sunnier and warmer. Spring is here. The flowers are blooming, birds are singing & I dont dread shivering taking my shower in the morning....... and yes i do take shower in the morning. The thing that surprised us was how fast the warm weather came. One day it was cold and gloomy then the next its like summer. The sun really bares down here. I was told the ozone was somehow thinner in and around this Southern region of the world due to pollution. So they believe and tell me. Thats why the green movement is big here. There is also a political party (the 3rd or so biggest) called green and yep ..... Melbourne's MP is a Green.

Sunburn is also a big issue. All kids got to have a hat while playing in school/kindy. You can see ppl with sunburn in every corner. Still jakun berjemur lagi and so forth. Ada sekali tu, we saw a lady tgh2 jalan jemur kat atas concrete parkway in front of a busy road. The taman was like across the street tapi nak jugak baring tunjuk body yg sangat voluptuous tu. Confident giler makcik gemuk tu ngan badan half naked dia. Always admired the self esteem of a fat lady.

Yeah on a figurative level, everything seems to be turning out ok. Alhamdulillah. There are hiccups and stuff but overall its all good. Work is great.. especially I still dont have that much responsibility yet. Enjoying it while I still can. Family are happy. Kids are cheery and playful not to mention healthy. Turning out very well especially the kids ngan slang diorang. They dont talk as much malay as they used to. Somehow I realize they tend to revert back to malay only during weekends after the break from other kids. The wife is also happy. Shes making good friends with her office mate. The have a lunch group already. I join them once in a while. Cant do it too often cause my lunch break is only 30 minutes. I dont complain cause I leave the ofis at 430pm.

So we started to do stuff again on weekends. Took a break during puasa/raya season. So heres a few pics of us enjoying the weather and exploring what Melbourne has to offer.

ps.. All my happiness is from the Almighty who I will always be eternally grateful. Insyallah.

Sparkies @ Safeway

Raya is nearly over and yes we are kinda sad not 'raya'ing away. One thing that is associated with Raya is definately the bunga api. So when I saw this at the local Safeway it just shoots back the raya feeling.

Just wanted to share how funny it is when I had a hard time to find a place to buy bunga api when I was back in Mesia but now I can just get some down the road at a supermarket.