Credit card for a ride?

This is the first time I saw a credit card machine for a ride. First thought through my mind was how desperate some business are in these trying times. Good luck anyways to you but I don't think I'll be swiping my card any time soon for it.

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.

I bet liberal will win

Its a neck to neck election this year which leads to a hung parliament. Its also scary that the fate of the government lies in about 5 independent politicians. 1 is enough to be untrustworthy let alone 5.
I'm betting the liberal win. Here are some of my amateurish views on why:

1. All mining counters closed higher in the the market leading to believe that mining tax and Gillard will be dropped.
2. If indeed mining men are like the oil men in the US, labour will go out like a bomb. They had enough power to get rid of Rudd.
3. SportsBet put up odds in the favor of liberal and we know they do their research diligently.
4. Both arent trustworthy, but labour proved to be wasteful. Which is a cardinal sin in this financial times. They just messed up the theory of "spending creates a healthy economy". Oz is not hard hit by the recession cause of its way of being conservative - and it works!!

But these views are from somebody who barely understands the politics here so please take it with a lot of salt and Green (just like the party which won the melbourne seat - the only green seat in parliment).

Ramadhan

Its a little late but I would like to wish everybody a blessed ramadhan and would like to apologize for any wrong doings. It is the favorite month in my calender but this time around its a little different.

When back home I can really feel the excitement and peace that comes with the month. The pasar, the gathering during breaking fast and the cleansing feeling when going to terawih and praying. I'm not getting that much here now being abroad. Namely cause everybody else don't fast and doesn't understand why we are doing it after i told my OZ friends of Ramadhan and fasting. Apparently the guy that impressed me with his Ramadhan understanding was my course instructor that had just came back serving in the army from Afghanistan. He even knew when Ramadhan started before I told him.

It was kinda hard to explain about fasting and I had to emphasize that I'm doing it out of will instead of being forced upon. If anybody who is knowledgeable can better explain things please do tell me. Its not my area of expertise. Most people I talked to was thinking it was extreme to fast like we are. I beg to differ. So please help me in explaining.

All seriousness aside, being new to the area I still cant find a place to go terawikh. I know a few but they are so far away. I don't even know who to ask cause all of my muslim friends are not used to this area. I guess I can still terawikh at home but I would rather find a mosque/surau soon.

On a positive side, we break fast at around 540pm. Early right. Sometimes its too early and the food isn't ready yet. We had our share of opening fast with some chips in the car. I realize too that we dont eat that much to overcompensate like what we used to especially after visiting the pasar ramadhan and the buffet's.

Talking about buffet's and pasar... I sure do miss them. Although I can still get the laksa's and nasi lemak's here theres more I would like to get my hands on. Here is my dream list:

1. Roti jala with rendang
   
2. murtabak raja not the murtabak kedekut daging
3. putu piring yg tak kedekut gula murah
   
4. Tau foo fa yg brown bukan white
   
5. popiah basah and goreng smothered in the sweet chili sauce.
6. Apam Balik special - lots of jagung with chocolate toppings
7. Keropok lekor ori nya dari Kuala Terengganu
8. Butter prawn dari hotel Concorde Shah Alam
9. Kuih pelita
10. cucuk udang yg banyak udang and sos cili sedap and not watery.

Could write more but cukuplah.. I don't why I'm writing all this food down. I guess cause I'm waiting the time to break fast so start lah berangan. So you can imagine how annoying I can be when I'm hungry.

Enjoy the rest of Ramadhan everybody. May everybody be in peace. Salam

Shooting at Kedai Tenaga

As reported by TV3 yesterday, two kids were hit by a stray bullet from an accidental discharged rifle. The security guard at a Kedai Tenaga accidentally dropped his rifle on the floor and bullets came flying out. The kids were waiting on the seats accompanying the mother while she was paying her TNB bills. The stupid thing was, the guard seeing what happened took off right after. Talking about running from your mistakes. Truly the bad apples of TNB way. On that note, I have to stress the security guard is not a TNB staff and is from a security contractor. Ohh yaa.. as usual the parents wants to sue TNB.

Lessons learned:
1) Paying bills is never a good thing and can be disastrous
2) Appreciate Maybank2U - saves time, energy and not a health hazard
3) You think having security would be safer
4) By running away from problems you wont get caught in the media

Hope the kids get a speedy recovery and it wont happen again. Insyallah

Tabik Sazali P. Ramlee

I watched a segment on Buletin Utama TV3 about anak Tan Sri P. Ramlee. His name is Sazali. He works as a public cleaner at Alam Flora. An honest and back breaking job although non glamorous and a messy job. I had always respected and admire people who works this hard to make a halal and honest living feeding their families. I put them high up in my respect list.

The tell you the truth when I was studying in NY, I took a groundskeepers job (about the same work as Sazali) during summer. It wasss a very hard and humbling experience, one that i will remember until I die. The heat (its hotter there than in Malaysia during summer) was unbearable, I was hit with poison ivy, encountered snakes, real nasty sewage and so forth not to mention the blisters and back aches. It taught me a very good life lesson. Making a living is hard work. It couldnt come at a better time (somewhat turning into an adult at 18-19 years old). At that time I realized life is not all flowers and butterflies. Thats why I get extra agitated when I see people being lazy and mengada2(tahu nak jee.. usaha taknak).

So back to Sazali. I felt bad that he said he was really fine with what he is doing but the only bad experience is people bad mouthing him. People saying he ought to do better as he is a son of our legendary seniman. WTF. Thats the problem with people. Very judgmental and ignorant. Always size people up and talk down on the so called lower caste while feeling so full of themselves. Pleaseee lahhhh!!! GOD gives and GOD takes. When you see me doing this, I'll give you a free pass to punch right in the nose.

So to all honest hard working people out there especially Sazali, I pray that God provides for them and reward them for all their sweat and usaha. I just hope I am one of them.

Talent speaks louderlah Adam Lambert

I dont get why people just do stupid stuff considering knowing the heavy consequences and impact. I'm talking about Adam Lambert during his AMA show where viewing audience are normal public people with general interest. His singing was great as it is and his show without the overly narcissist and sexual shenanigans were good enough. Watch the video to understand what im saying. What a shame and a waste of talent. Due to this there were over 1500 complains and a few shows cancelled on him.

Madonna playing with herself was controversial but she did it at her concert and to herself. JT and Janet Jackson wardrobe failure was unintentionally or seems unintended. Akon grinding a minor was supposedly in a over 21 club and even Zidanes infamous headbutt was spur of the moment and provoked (I still think Materazi is a schmuck and deserves it). All this public notorious incident is unfortunate events that was unplanned or for viewers who anticipates this kind of actions.

But in Adams case he planned everything and knows everything. Maybe he wanted to make a statement being gay and all. Being gay is one thing but showing too over zealous sexual showmanship to general public is too much to an extend its disgusting and disturbing. Groping, fingering, crotch grabbing is a biggg noooo never mind the guy to guy kissing.

Always let the talent speak for itself except if your Britney Spears or Paris Hilton.

ps.. I dont think there was an issue of lip-syncing cause he was a part of American Idol and if you watch carefully the video when he fell it there was a moment where the lead voice was absent.

Gomo and Hobins Hooligans

Disclaimer: This entry does not intend to stereotype the majority of football supporters but targeting the bad apples specifically.

Last night I watched the Piala Liga Malaysia Final on TV. Kelantan vs. Negeri Sembilan . "Gomo Kelate against Jang Hobins " as the saying goes. Didn't expect much from the game but I was surprised at how many people showed up and their passion towards the team. Flags, banner, face paint and even scarfs (you never know when the stadium might get cold in a hot and tropical country like Malaysia) were every where. Its great I told myself: more money in the industry, entertainment for everybody, growth and all that.

The match was emm... not entertaining but their effort was commendable. Loved the pressure and tracking back the defending teams put in (better than even Real Madrid) but not enough flowing football to comment about anything else (kurang intelligent lah kita main). The most surprising thing I realized (as somebody who watches a lotttt of football) is the number of tackles coming in, I reckoned more than half was obviously seriously missed time and malicious but the irony was that most of them was ignored. Maybe its just the Malaysian way. Gomo lah katakan. Ohh i forgot..the Indra Putra free kick goal was superb! (giving credit when its due)

I was brought back to earth why I hate Malaysian football (main takde ah terror sangat, kecoh je lebih) starting when I saw the supporters throwing objects to the player that was taking the corner. Thats just too much. It even physically effected him taking it (bola tak cun as before) something unacceptable in football. Tak sportsman like, fair and all that. The linesman was not even protecting him but keep rushing him to take it plus there was an FRU guy about 2 meters away that could have done something about it. Malaysian way lagi. Not to mention the mercun, fires started and the breaking in gates. Ingat barang2 murah nak repair. I dont get why they just cant think. Most other cases its mainly due to the influence of alcohol. I dont think its the case here. I think its the influence of stupidity and low mentality.

I hope they catch the buggers and make them pay to set an example to others.

ps.. Negeri Sembilan won 3-1 not that it really mattered to me.

Zara's potty training

Zara is nearly two and can relatively communicate. So we decided to potty train her (more like the wife actually, i didnt mind another year delay). Personally, I dont like this part of the kids development. Yeah yeah.. i know i know parent duty and all that, I'll suck it up.

Its just that you wouldn't imagine how much poop and shee shee this small creatures have. Zara can definitely overcome even my 130kg brother - totaling more than 10 times a day. And the timing (in the middle of prayerslah, eatinglah, nappinglah) not to mention the location. Somehow Zara likes to target my favorite napping sofa and arrghhhh ...the clean-up. How come its always me (exaggerating for dramatic effect) that has to clean-up while the wife and bibik rather tend to Zara's washing leaving me feeling like the loser all the time.

I remembered one time during Zareef reign of toilet terror. He accidently pooped, scooped it from his pants and handed it over to me while smiling.... saying "Nah ayah/Here you go Daddy".

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ps.. sorry for the grossness, but that is how beautiful kids are. I wanted to post pics but let met get a really grossy caught in the act picture to freak you guys out first.

Book critics

We love to be entertained and enjoy a good story. Story telling has been a part of human life dating back to cave drawings. In this modern age the mass enjoy story telling through movies and TV. Somehow recently I am disappointed with unoriginal lame movies/TV shows. You really know when they ran out of ideas when the best movie (in my opinion) is a newer version of a stories being told decades ago e.g Transformers, Batman, Harry Porter, Xmen, Star Trek etc.

Due to my big appetite on unique stories, I turned to books a couple of months back. I have always enjoyed reading but was kinda slow on it for the past few years due to the young kids (you can always blame it on the kids). The only bad thing I hate about reading is after spending a lot of time on it, I get really frustrated if the story isn't just good enough. So here is my take on the books I read (personal opinion saje) so that you will know what to expect cause you cant really trust a professional critic (their limited to ethics and all that):

1. Twilight Saga (4 books) - If your into romance, its great but a little repetitive. Forbidden love, unconditional sacrifice and all that. Suck you into an imaginary vampire + werewolf world but just not enough depth to keep me entertained.Could do more with the legendary creature stories and conflicts and less corny stuff.
2. Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett - Amazingly great books. Its very long but keeps you entertained throughout. You will feel like you were there cause its very detailed and tells the story from various version of the characters (the bad guy sometimes doesn't seem all that bad when the author tells it in his point of view). A lot of politic manipulation, scheming, power abuse and stuff like that. Gives hope and disappointments in life. Another great thing, it doesn't have any loose ends.
   
3. The Alchemist - People say its a great book. I just don't see it. I feel like I wasted my time and energy on it. They story doesn't have substance. They say double meaning and spiritual effect and all that. I think its bullsh!t and full of pretense. Well you can say anything that. Example "1 Malaysia" - Najib says the meaning is this and that but go askLim Kit Siang or Karpal Singh. I bet they have another take on it.
4. Lost Symbol by Dan Brown - What a letdown. Failed to live up to 'Angel and Demons' and 'Da Vinci Code'. It was even worse than 'Digital Fortress'. Ending sucked big time and stupid. It had 133 chapters and maybe one third of it is unnecessary . The only good thing was it had really interesting facts a puzzle. He just failed to make a story around it.I emphasize the ending is stupid.
5. The Kite Runner - Absolutely lovedd ittt. I am writing this entry duly cause of it. Had to tell about how it intrigues me. Its all about honor, comradeship, family responsibility, enduring hardship, redemption and all honorably manly stuff which i think why I liked it a lot.. (yes I try my very best to be an honorable man (God willing) and its very important for me). It hits the bulls eye with a saying "All men wants to be admired by his children and all children wants their father to admire to".

So I hope others will also give inputs and suggestions on other good books. I for one suggest Kite Runner and Pillars of the Earth. I end this entry by quoting my teachers "Jadikanlah membaca itu amalan kita/Make reading a culture"

ps.. Thank you K and Amy for lending us books. I think books are just too expensive here but thats another chapter

Papa John's at Sunway Pyramid

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.

Check up + Body mass index (BMI)

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.

My take on the Twilight frenzy

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):

1. 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..
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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.
4. 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.
   
5. 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.
   
6. 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.

Muslims kids cant eat at Mcdonalds during Ramadan

Went to Mc'ds the other day (during Ramadan) cause the kids wanted to have their lunch while playing on the playground. During my order i told them i wanted the food for 'here' instead of 'to go'. They didnt let me (understandable sebab they will get in trouble letting me eat there) but i told them it was for my 2 and 4 year old kids and it was obvious cause i ordered 2 happy meals. They still didnt let me. I flipped but not all out sebab puasa mode. They said "kita ni melayu... nanti org cakap apa". I told them whats that got to do with me feeding my kids and insisting the kids wanted to eat here. Even had to guarantee if they got into trouble for it they can blame me and in addition to it a malay guy behind me was also pleading on my behalf. Seeing me all riled up, they reluctantly folded but with the tak puas hati look.

I dont know if i was being overboard and feeling too righteous but i just cant stand shallow people more sow shallow people that inconveniences my life. You expect me to feed my child sorok2 during puasa. I guess i could have avoided it all just by ordering 'to go' but having it there anyways but that way the shallow people wont see my point of view will they.

Berat puasa

Its been a while since we posted anything. To make it up i want to post about my weight, a very heavy issue. Actually I cant wait to boast about it (i know its going to bite me back after raya).

Wohhooooo!!!! Officially I have lost around 5 Kg during this Raya month. I achieved my goal of 68kg (halal lah .2kg) from 73kg (sebelum ni rahsia/sulit/top secret/PNC/OSA). Dont have to congratule me cause that weight scale kembangkan diri ini secukupnya. Dont want to bangga diri terlebih sebab i dont think i can maintain it. Just wanted to gloat while i still can.

ps.. Kawan2 yg still struggling tu.. jgn jelessss!! and the pic above is authentic as it gets.

To buffet or not to buffet?

Some call it Bo-fey and some Buff-fat. Either way it represents abundance of food (Warren Buffet is another story). During this fasting month, every restaurant has its own version of sorts. After scanning through a few ads, i found it really2 pricey (low value for money in my opinion). Some are just ridiculously expensive. No doubt the business owners formulate the prices to create profit considering the variety, delicacy and all. Which is all fair in our capitalist system. Nobody forces (but only persuades/influence) you to choose their buffet.

I am just worried about the waste and gluttony it creates which i hope is not that case. But experiences dining during Ramadan tells me different. People tend to take more than they can handle and in such a kiasu manner that perturbs me and definitely not in the holy month spirit. Maybe its because they want to get their moneys worth, setting an all-you-can-eat record or just plain starving. But it just seems wrong wasting.

Dont get me wrong, its wonderful breaking fast together and celebrating it but I would like to remind myself and others to eat/live in moderate and do not waste as God intend us to. Insyallah.

"Eat and drink freely: but waste not by excess, for He does not like the wasters." (Surah Al-Araf, 7:31)