Merry Christmas!

 

 

Merry Christmas to all friends and family members around the world..

 

Happy New Year 2016!

Salam Maulidur Rasul

 

 

Salam Maulidur Rasul to all Muslims around the world.

 

May there be peace amongst all...

I saw that...

Do I see cobwebs in here? O_o

Hopefully not.. Yes, I know.. It had been days since I last blogged anything here....

 

Go away, you little pest! Ngeh.. ngeh..

 

Work has been a little hectic..with many new projects coming up that needed to be implemented by next year... Here I am, wondering where will I be in the coming year..

Why? There is a transformation program going on, and we might be transferred elsewhere.. it may be near home, or far.. And here with 2015 almost coming to an end, I know I have a great deal of stuff to be achieved personally, but I am proud to say I loved being with my family and friends; I am thankful for the current job I have (even though it is tiring)..

*****

So.... Here's a question..

What do you do when the past returns "to haunt" your present?

Do you pick up where you left behind?

I felt that they should not be a part in your present or future at all, after what they have done to hurt your feelings... made you cry and all..
Already you have built some solid relationship now...
would you just sacrifice that all to be with your ex?

If you wanted that person so bad, why didn't you continue the relationship?
Why leave the person you loved just because of some other commitments?
What was it that they say? Love conquers everything... All's fair in love and war...

My 2-cents worth of thoughts today..
Because I am in need of a holiday. BAD.

Yes, KARMA's a bitch!

 

Happy Birthday Mommy !!

It is mommy's birthday today...

Yet I am not there to celebrate with her as it is a working day... She will be 66 today. What an age to become of.. (I wonder will I ever reach that age or even more?)

Mommy, a near perfectionist she may be... But she has the ability to do something if she puts her heart into it. For example, baking cookies, moon cakes, cooking, gardening, etc.. Not that she is not into baking cakes, but according to her, we are not fond of cakes when we were young. She loves playing badminton too. Not that she is a national player whatsoever... But she did take up some formal lessons to be an umpire and a referee at national level badminton championships. Now, she has to quit playing badminton due to bad knee injuries about 4-5 years back (both knees, mind you)..

Mommy came from a big but poor family. My maternal grandparents were from China, so they had to work real hard to build a family here. She is the 7th child (the 5th girl) in a family of 10 brothers and sisters.. She had to stop schooling at Secondary 1 due to financial restraints. Yet, she somehow manage to find her way around i.e. work and so forth.

Mom (far right) with her elder sisters, missing the youngest [circa 1984]

She used to cycle to work and I would sometimes followed her during my school breaks. She finally managed to get her driving license when I was about Primary 4 or so. So, imagine the struggle she had to go through to keep the family together. I am not sure I will be that strong as she is given those rough periods.

Even though she looked strong on the outside, but yet she is getting weaker on the inside. She has what you called, a pre-leukemia symptom - Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Why, you might asked. She has very low blood platelet counts, worse than any dengue patients known.. Sometimes it would go down to 29,000. There can be no signs of sudden bleeding or bruises out of nowhere. That will be dangerous.. Which is why I always remind her to be very careful when she is in or out of the house. But thank God, it went up to 39,000 the last check up, although it is not the optimal count for a normal person.

Am sorry that we could not be back for your birthday, but  here's hoping and praying to mommy that you will live another 30-40 years more to come; that you will soon get back to the best of health doing whatever you wish... May everyday brings you happiness and joy for today and always.. We love you very much, mommy and thank you for everything that you have done in our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Our family [circa 2010]

Beef Rendang

Beef rendang once almost done

Since exams are over for now, I thought I tried one recipe that I have been dying to do ever since I saw my MIL did it.. She would cooked this dish every year during Eid's festivals.. So, since I have time on hand, so why not?

Beef rendang.... sounds yummy right? He.. he.. he.. (My husband gave me a 7/10, but my MIL said this dish is identical to one she always cooked.) Oooo.... I am so proud of myself. Alhamdulillah....

Beef Rendang
Best eaten with nasi impit (rice cubes)

2 kg beef (cut into about 1cm-1.5cm cube)
Coconut milk (approx. 3 coconuts)

To be blended:
5 big red onions
15 small red shallots
6 garlics
2 inch galangal
2 inch turmeric
2 inch ginger
5 sticks lemon grass (take the white part & julienne it)
Dry chillies (soaked in hot water & blend, take only about 2-3 scoops - depend on how spicy you want)

2 pcs dried tamarind (asam keping)
100g (small pack) kerisik (desiccated coconut toasted & grounded to a paste-like)
1 turmeric leaf (daun kunyit; remove its middle stem & julienne finely)
Few kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut; remove its middle stem)
Salt to taste

Put in all the spice paste, coconut milk and beef into the pot or wok (non-stick). Let it cook/simmer until about 50% of its liquid dissolve. Then put in the asam keping (just to give it a bit taste of sourness). Simmer for another 15 minutes when its liquid has dissolve another 10%-15%, put in both the leaves. When the rendang almost dry up (depends whether you prefer more  gravy or not), take out the asam keping (the rendang will be sour if kept longer). Add salt last to your liking.

I actually seldom share any recipes online. But why not? I can't bring them to my grave anyhow.

Good luck trying!

P/S: What shall I do next? *pondering, wondering....*

When can I have my holiday?!

Finally, exams are finally OVER!

Why did it have to be so tough? What's a normal person's brain capacity anyway?

Well, Computer Application was easy.. Not that I hope to score distinction in it... Economics and Ethnics - they were tough! Totally out of what we all expected... Maybe we concentrated too much on Economics, that we didn't have the time to see to Ethics...

Anyway, no point on wasting tears over split milk.... Comes 2016, it will a whole new semester; a whole new chapter once again..

It would be so scary to actually wait for the results to come out too...

Next 2 weeks would be busy travelling lots..... JB-KL-JB-MUAR-JB-MEL-KL-MEL-JB... Phew!

What to do.... all for the sake of work and mom <3...

Extracted from Mr Google

Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah swt)

Alhamdulillah...

That's the one thing that I can think of when I read the contents of this letter ...

Yearly appraisal or performance appraisal is something that we as employees, do not look forward to, every year. But I am sure that there are others who look forward to this.. (No?)

There are few reasons why we do not look forward to yearly appraisals... For example when the end results of any Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) targeted did not provide the results that we wanted.. Another reason I can think of, we don't like facing those strict employers.. ha.. ha.. ha..

But....

After each yearly appraisal (whether I achieved good results or not-so-good ones), I would always sujud (prostration) to thank Allah for everything that He given me so far. Be it more, be it less, I am truly thankful.

Praise be to God for this result

Happy Diwali

Here's wishing a wonderful Diwali to all friends, near or far....

May this festival brings you joy, happiness and love to your lives...

Extracted from Mr Google