Last night dinner was a delightful coincidence. We had a blackout in the evening so we decided to eat out and Zareef vetoed go to Sunway Pyramid. We agreed and I secretly wanted to eat at Papa Johns. It was due to open soon but i didnt know when.
To our surprise it was open and better still it was its first day. God graciously willed us to eat there. It made my day and I showed it by eating a little to much for my own good. The family especially Zareef enjoyed it too.
Papa Johns has this nostalgia touch on the wifey and me. When we were studying in the States it was our favorite pizza franchise. We have always admired its quality ingredients and additional sauces to the pizza and i can say it applied to most of our student friends. But somehow some of my friends here dont share my enthusiasm and say whats the fuss.
I think maybe its because we used to eat pizza every other day and appreciates the difference in one and another. Its just like nasi lemak, of course we can appreciate a better sambal, crispier anchovies and a more fragrant rice but i am guessing to a non-malaysian that doesnt eat that much nasi lemak its all the same.
While in the car, Zareef was refusing to share his sweets with Zara. Being angry his Mama told him "Kalau makan gula-gula depan Zara, kenalah share /(if you want to eat sweets in front of zara, you have to share)" in the intention of teaching him to share.
A few seconds pass while he was thinking and his response was "ok lah, lain kali Zareef duduk depan and makan gula sorang2 nanti Zara tak nampak / (Ok, next time ill sit in front to eat alone so zara cant see)"
We were amused and dumbfounded how he cheekily turned the conditions/rule to his favor without feeling guilty.
ps.. sometimes the message just doesnt get acrossed
One day i heard Zareef shouting, "Zara dont tulis cincai boncai aaahh, if not i give u to Pitilajen !!!"while being the usual stern/garang self. (An obvious scare tech-tic learned in school)
A few days after that i asked the teachers who is Pitilajen but they didnt know who. Asked zareef who Pitilajen was and he showed me the Big Black Hairy Old Man near the School Van. The teacher looked and while laughing said "Ohhhhh he means Mr. Rajan our van driver"
I recently bought Zareefs class picture. Seeing all the cute kids in their Smart Reader uniforms was really nice and amusing. I wonder how the teacher and photographer got all of them to smile. I cant even get zara and zareef to synchronizingly look into the camera.
So looking at the pictures together with Zareef i asked him all his class mates name. It was hilarious how he pronounces them. Heres a few example.
Gareth had become Carrot
Nagulan had become Ambulance
Raveena had become Ribena
Danny Choo had become Danny Shoe
Szara had become Zara ada S (ironically her brother is Szarif and our daughter is Zara)
A lesson learned, the simpler the name the less likely you'll be called a vegetable, vehicle or footwear
Yesterday our extended family Mr AZ had a new baby boy. Very healthy and beautiful looking baby. His name is Ahmad Izlan. Congratulations to both AZ and Lin. Hope Izlan turns out as cheeky and spirit minded as ever. We are very happy for you.
ps.. Izlan is an acronym of both the parents name 'AZ' and 'LIN'.
A dear friends father just passed away a couple of days back. I would like to wish Amin Ramli and his family our sincere condolences. May Allah bless Arwah and give strength to his family through this troubled times. Insyallah.
We went to have our medical check-up last weekend. Everything went well (apart from our BMI) especially with the kids . It was interesting to see them going through the tests. Zareef was really good with the vision test. He could answer all the way to the bottom line (but he got wrong a Y with a V - if it was me i'll get half of it wrong). Zara as though playing a game with the dr answering wheres her ear, eyes, nose etc. The dr was very friendly and attentive making it all the merrier. She even addressed zareef as 'robot' to play along with zareefs antics.
I found out that i was a little overweight while Maz was underweight according to the BMI. The dr who was a little chunky herself pointed out the BMI was a little biased to us Asians due to our shorter structure. I agreeeeee fully with her. Stating the check-up was very meticulous (they made us take off our shoes and making sure our heads felt the tip of the measuring stick) , i found out that i was 4cm shorter than what i assumed for so long (to my bitter disappointment) . My friends will have a laugh with this one, i get enough short jokes as it is (but most of my friends are tall - escape clause yet again).
When i got back i did a little research about BMI (its the bitter disappointment raging me on). Here is what i found out.
Below is the formula, graph and table information for BMI
BMI = ( kg/m² )
(weight in kilograms)
————————————
(height in meters)²
Disease Risk* Relative to Normal Weight and Waist Circumference
BMI
(kg/m2)
Obesity Class
Men 102 cm (40 in) or less Women 88 cm (35 in) or less
Men > 102 cm (40 in) Women > 88 cm (35 in)
Underweight
<18.5>
-
-
Normal
18.5 - 24.9
-
-
Overweight
25.0 - 29.9
Increased
High
Obesity
30.0 - 34.9
I
High
Very High
35.0 - 39.9
II
Very High
Very High
Extreme Obesity
40.0 +
III
Extremely High
Extremely High
Waist calculations: It is a good indicator of your abdominal fat which is another predictor of your risk for developing risk factors for heart disease and other diseases. Male have to keep it below 40inch and female 35inch. That is why sometimes you see athletes/ body builders undoubtedly very heavy but have slim waists. Increased waist circumference can also be a marker for increased risk even in persons of normal weight. So you should also take not of the waist together with the weight.
Limitations of BMI:It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build (i would like to think i'm in this category) and it may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass. Most athletes are considered overweight or obese according to their BMI.
International Variations: Different countries have different limits for example Singapore reduced the normal/overweight boundary from 25 to 23 but WHO has set it to 25 which is constantly revised (it was previously 27.5). Their goes the insurance premium.
Age factor: It is an unreliable indicator for people the age of 16 and below and aging old folks.
Body build-up: It does not cater for people not in the norm of medium built. Somebody who is relatively stout or kepeng wont get a fair assessment due to bone mass, muscle density and so forth.
Something to share. Hope its informative. Do stay healthy and not forgetting happy.
During this past raya season as usual we did a lot of socializing. Enough to compensate for the whole year. It ranges from raya visits, open houses, weddings and aqiqah. It was great you can see by the expressions on our faces. I cant elaborate too much cause i cant remember it all. So next time hope you all can join us instead.
ps.. I realized our family and friends geng are getting bigger in numbers especially adding the wife and kids. Hope it continues to do so.
During the first weekend after raya, Along and my family went to Putrajaya Pullman Hotel. It was rather cheap for a really nice hotel RM200++ for a night including breakfast (Family weekend package). We wanted to get away, me + wife from work, kids from the house, Along just wanted to enjoy Malaysia after being so long in Africa and Alongs family from the daily routines.
The hotel was really superb (rooms and layout) but seems deserted and situated near a lake. It has a real isolated feeling. Peace and quiet. You wont even see cars driving once you checked in and you dont see people driving up to the lobby. The hotel consists of 4 blocks with different designs :- Malay, Chinese, Arab and Mediterranean (from my humble observation). Its really nice and the facilities were fantastic and classy :- swimming pool simple and nice with a view of the Putrajaya Convention Center, Gym+ sauna + steam bath, Playroom for kids, Games room with pool + fussball + ping pong (free), Nintendo Wii room, Canoe + bicycle rentals, artificial beach and not forgetting a nice courtyard ideal for lepakking
So here are some pictures of us having a great time.
Disclaimer (as usual) : I'm being very blunt and tactless. True fans of twilight please dont read this.
I read the whole saga... 4 books: twilight, new moon, eclipse, breaking dawn. Funny right for a man. I dont know any other man that reads twilight... in fact not a lot of other man i know read books. Yeah i might get teased for this but i had a sincere motive for doing so.. my wife was realllllyy intttoo it together with most young women that reads it. They go gogo-gaga over Edward Cullen or Jacob. So in trying to be a better lover to the wife i wanted to read and try to emulate a few traits so that she would love me more. Always get into the minds of the people around you... not in a manipulating way but just to know them better. I'm always sincere in my motives...
First of all, it didnt take me long to finish it all.. maybe 3-4 weeks for the 4 books which is relatively fast for me. Maybe you think because its a really good book that i can't put down... but in truth i was skipping most of the lovely dovey mushy gooey chummy stuff. The intention was to learn the lovely dovey mushy gooey chummy stuff but it was just too repetitive and kinda cheesy in reality. I know because i tried to be all that but the wife thought that i was more being sarcastic than authentic. Its just too cheesy to pull it off in real life. Imagine in every single sentence you have to show affections. So thats about half the book already, hence the speed reading. All the plots was too simple in my opinion, i can tell u the whole story in 10 minutes.. especially the first book which might take me only a minute
So lessons i learned (this is really biased and exaggerating but in good humor, stop reading if it offends you, and im always up for arguments):
Always show affection and make the women feelings come first even though there is war, millions of live is at stake, doomsday etc etc. The world always has problems so everything has to wait until she says its ok. Example: Bella asked Edward to stay even though he can help save lives of many and bla bla blaaa..
When the girl likes you, whatever you do they will always interpret into something sweet while if their not into you whatever you do rarely is right. Example: Edward stalking Bella while she sleeps without her permission is crazy romantic, someone else might just get shot instead.
Sacrifices is romantic. Example: Edward offers Jacob to impregnate Bella because he cant - A big NO for most people but it shows sacrificing. No pain no gain in love irrelevant of morals.
Women love gifts especially surprised gifts. They normally say they dont want any but thats a lie. The more unique the gifts the better. Example: Too many gifts for bella, but i cant recall she giving anything to anybody that is of significance.
When the women wants something.. they are very determined. Can or cannot is a different issue. The massive impact is also irrelevant. The important thing is they want what they want. Example: Bella wants to be a vampire, everybody is against it and just plain bad decision but whatever as long as she gets it.
Listen to whatever she has to say and do all her bidding. Yes its impossible with all the whining and illogical requests but what to do. When in love, your a slave to your lover (sometimes its lopsided). Example: Edward does everything what Bella wants, what a pushover but girls find it romantic. Sometimes i think they just want us to be their machai for free as gesture of true love.. .yeah right.
I thought i had a few other points but i forgot cause this entry was initially written a few weeks ago. i delayed it because the wife was against it because me doing so somehow spoils it all for her. A good friend of mine taught me its easier to seek forgiveness rather than consent.
ps.. i'm sorry dear. hahahahah i love u nonetheless.
Recently I have been following the best team in the world Real Madrid. Its been an impressive run. 7 wins from 7 games . 100% record (gloat while you still can). The only team that has the same record is Barcelona (correct me if i'm wrong) but lets not waste our time talking about other teams that are less superior (bakar sikit). The only problem i have with the limelight is that the media seems to highlight more on Ronaldo than the whole team. I dont blame Ronaldo and just have to accept the media way of reporting (always trying to find the hero and villains)
As a Real Madrid fan, I cant ignore Ronaldo's contributions in all this. CR9 has undoubtedly been doing his job and proving his worth. Yes all GBP80Milllions of it. I have never been a big fan of his mainly due to him being full of himself but i do admire his abilities. But somehow he is winning me over maybe because he has cooled down on the antics (mengada2 giler dulu masa pakai baju merah) and he has matured in his game especially while wearing white. The real turnkey for me was on one of his goal celebration, he ran straight all the way to the bench and hugged Raul. Raul hugged him back in a true comradeship manner. That was enough for me to forget all his 'poyo'ness before. For you guys who dont seem to understand why please bare in mind "Raul is Real Madrid and Real Madrid is Raul". A quote not just coming from me or the fans, ppl like Real Madrid Presidents, Legendary players like DiStefano and Hierro and RealMadrid.com says it. If Abang Long Raul respects/likes you, that goes a long way for fans like me.
Just by stating CR9 is a great player might get critism. He is probably the most booed person in the sport (theres a saying, fans dont boo bad players on the contrary they boo good ones). The thing i dont get is that what the hell a team/fans that has no history, no bad air gets all riled up to boo him (example Toronto and Washington FC). If he was acting out or being poyo its expected. Maybe its the way he dribbles which I agree is overly done and some people take it as a way to show off and pisses off the defender like hell. The defenders are resorting to harsh tackles and dirty tricks which i think CR9 has to live with, a price to pay for being good (Pele went through it during one of the world cups - limped out the tournament with a broken leg). Somehow too nowadays Ronaldos free kick and penalty claims seems more convincing than before (maybe im biased but i just dont see it as diving anymore).
Since hes doing really well, i have decided to show you the stats below to prove it. No doubt for a midfielder to bypass a striker in goal tally is remarkable. It is more spectacular to get an average of a goal per game. Its GBP80 Millions awesome to have an average of 1.28 goals per game in top flight competitive games. So if this gets going on he might get 60+ goals this season (i wish). I believe he can but he has to be smart and more manly about things. Stop PMS-ing and poyo-ing. Holding back on the hair cream may help too. Hala Madrid!! .......... oklahhh Hala CR9 (on a quieter note)
European Top-scorers
League
Champions League
Total
Player
Goals
Games
Goals
Games
Goals
Games
Average
C. Ronaldo
5
5
4
2
9
7
1.28
Messi
4
5
1
2
6
6
1
Torres
8
7
0
2
8
9
0.88
Drogba
6
7
0
0
6
7
0.84
Ibrahimovic
5
5
0
2
5
7
0.71
D.Milito
5
6
0
1
5
7
0.71
L. Fabiano
2
4
2
2
4
6
0.66
Rooney
6
7
0
2
6
9
0.64
Jovetic
3
6
2
2
5
8
0.62
note: I havent been active in blogs for a while due to bibik cuti and just plain tired after work. But dont worry i'll write more to compensate for your amusement
