The hunt for kurungs..

Bersempena nak masuk tempat kerja baru.. I went for a shopping spree of baju kurungs (without the other half tagging along :) ). Tapi, tapi, tapi.. I think only 2 are suitable for office wear, while the other 2 may only be suitable for Raya and Kenduris. Okayla tu, Raya nanti pun tak ke mana sangat. Balik kampung pun tak keluar sangat. Eventhough tak keluar, still after tengahari kena tukar baju lain sebab confirm berpeluh2 basah satu baju. Kuala Pilah kan panas.. tak tahan if tak tukar.


Anyhoo..I might still need to buy some more office clothes. And probably masuk office dulu to see what is the norm..nanti beriya-iya beli skirt if tak ramai yang pakai nanti I will stick out like a sore thumb.  So I'd better observe first. :)


And perhaps I will go hunting for more kurungs today.. senang when the other half tak ikut. Boleh try baju lama-lama :).

Breakfast..the most important meal of the day?

What do you guys normally have for breakfast? Yang paling senang and need so little thinking would be just ordering a nasi lemak..and for me, sometimes I order nasi lemak to go so that I can eat it in the office while reading the newspaper or just to have the morning chats with my fellow colleagues. Kalau makan kat restaurant ke mamak ke.. confirm paling senang nasi lemak, takpun roti canai. I don't even want to talk about calories.. that's not what's on my mind when I order my daily breakfast. Nak buat sendiri nasi lemak tu tak dapatla kan.. saya tak teror memasak. Baking still OK!


Sometimes I make breakfast for the both of us, my hubby and I. Toasted sardine sandwich ke..french toast ke, toast and jam paling senang, toast and scrambled eggs. Nasi goreng and other types of nasi belum buat lagi. And I don't know if I ever will. :)


Tak makan brekkie nanti cepat lapar.. masuk meeting nanti perut growling like nobody's business..macam ada tiger in the tummy waiting to be fed. Grrrr... I always have to have breakfast and a cup of coffee..kadang-kadang nescafe. Takde coffee.. i cannot function. Masa puasa? Haha.. minum on weekends masa sahur or after buka je.


Anyway, why am I yacking away.. saja sebab tiba-tiba terfikir that Mcd's breakfast is so expensive now that I don't think it is worth my money to even have my brekkie there (with exception on the weekdays brekkie Rm4 offers).  Selain dari tu, big breakfast ke ape ke nak dekat RM10 and the content is so ciput!..It is not value for money anymore. Well maybe not for me.


Whatever your favourite breakfast picks are..have a great start everyday! (walaupun kadang-kadang still mengantuk macam tak jalan je coffee tu..)

Toasted sardine sandwich, plain toasts with jam and nescafecino (nescafe with foam handmade :) )

IBS Kordial akan sampai ke Kampung Parit Kuala Pilah..Yeay!

At the beginning..saja-saja nak tolong FIL jual kordial ni.  Don't really have a target set on how many I should be selling by when.  At the moment baru je dapat jual sikit-sikit, and that is to my friends and family.  And then my dearest cousin wants to sell the cordials kat kampung. Okayla kan..start small. At the same time dia pun nak jalankan her small business selling facial stuff..memang start small la. Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit! :)  At least it is a start to hopefully bigger and better things.


Excited jugak to see sambutan orang kampung. Lagi-lagi ni nak dekat puasa. Mesti ramai mem'bantai' the weekend before puasa tu. Siapa tak biasa term bantai mesti rasa pelik. I pun taktau nak explain how this term came about.  Mum selalu cerita dulu, wan pun selalu cerita..tapi tak ingat.  Nak dekat-dekat puasa ni, mesti ramai orang balik Kuala Pilah..busy busy la jalan depan rumah kampung tu nanti.

Botol 2 liter. Tapi lagi worth it kalau beli botol 4 liter punya terus :)

Can't wait for next weekend. Nak tengok ape hasilnya.Jadi orang Kampung Parit bolehla beramai-ramai datang kampung we all.  Nombor rumah pun tak ingat.. adoi.. kena copy paste dari cousin's Fb kejap.


No 22 Batu 23 1/2 Kampung Parit Jalan Seremban Lama 70200 Kuala Pilah, N9
boleh try test rasa air kordial, hasil air tangan Haji Rahim and company.. Haji Rahim a.k.a dad-in-law.  Woo woo!  

Kalau rasa-rasa nak order for Raya ke kenduri ke - jangan segan silu untuk contact Haji Rahim di 017-6373387 :). ada macam-macam perisa tapi paling best for me is strawberry, rootbeer, apple.. beli botol 4 liter je terus barula berbaloi-baloi :) hehehehe

Time to spread my wings...

...and fly!

I've said my goodbyes to my team.  Have worked with them..with the company for a good 5+1 years. Started my stint there as a management trainee, for a whole year.  Once done, I went into the Corporate Communications department. Up to point of leaving, I have had 3 bosses.. all cool ladies and great bosses.


I went to Amsterdam while working in ING.  I was among the 3 Malaysians chosen to go for the 3-week debut of the ING International Graduate Programme. Met so many people from ING all over the world.  Was such an awesome experience.


This was followed by a yearly meet up. I went for the 2nd and 3rd meet ups that were held in Hong Kong.  And yes, they also gave me the opportunity to work in Hong Kong.. gained a lot of experience there and made a few good friends. We still contact each other via FB or emails. :)


I have had a good time at ING. Though the new place may not be the same, it is something that I have to undertake now.  I've grown too comfortable with the ING environment. I will always remember my good friends, my sistas whom I met while working at ING :) Till we meet again.

TFTZA has left the ING building!

 Last picture for the road

 My tai ka ches ( okay maybe wrong spelling..)

 Left to right: Sham who has left ING to migrate to Australia, Ping and Kengka

Last but not least..my two counsellors and good buddies and tai ka che too!

And surely i will also miss this crazy girl. She will only be back in August so I didn't get to see her before I left. Will miss u babes!

Kordial IBS hasil air tangan dad-in-law :)

My father in law (FIL) operates a small factory with his other business partners. He makes cordials.. yang kalau nak minum, you just need to add water. The famous ones in the market would be those by F&N, 7 rings etc.. Tapi my FIL's business is a small one, so definitely not a contender to those gigantic cordial producers.

Siapa suka strawberry of lychee, raise your hand!

With this small business, he managed to raise his 4 children.. one of them of course is my hubby.  It's really hard work.  I think he is probably 64 years old or somewhere thereabouts.  But as the main breadwinner of the family (which is actually just my FIL and MIL as the rest are already working or have family of their own), he still manages the factory and oversees the production and operations of the factory. Then again, for a businessman like him.. if he stays home and retire, for sure akan boring. For sure he wants to stay active and work :) 

The cordial tastes good..I especially like the strawberry flavoured cordial. Yumm! Orange, lychee, mango, syrup rose, pineapple, blackcurrant, sarsi, rootbeer.. banyak flavour lain.  Okay correction, I have two faves..strawberry and syrup rose.

So if anybody's thirsty, you can give this cordial a try :) 

Update - And if you want to buy the cordials bagi persiapan hari raya or katering ke ape ke, jangan malu-malu untuk contact Haji Rahim di 017-6373387. Botol besar 4 liter pun ada. Beli yang besar terus lagi value for money sebab memang sedap :)

Buying a house.. not as easy as ABC

Buying a house is not an easy-peasy thing.. think again.  Phew! We went through a lot of things to finally have everthing finalized.  It’s not just about the money. But it is also about making sure that we chase after the completion of documents by all parties.. in our case, Sime Darby, Bank and Sime Darby lawyers and Bank Lawyers.

2008

For us we missed out on the promotion period so we knew we had to pay the MOT (memorandum of transfer) which was about RM14000 if I am not mistaken.  First after seeing the house, I secured the booking with a fee of RM5000.  This ladies and gentlemen, came out from my duit hantaran which I got in February 2008.  Ada baiknya dapat wife yang menyimpan like me :). Masuk bakul angkat sendiri.. yeah!

Then we had to settle the bank loan application process.  We requested for 100% loan from the bank. Walaupun it is 100% loan, the peminjam is my hubby and myself and we still had to fork out some cash of our own (hence terpaksa keluarkan duit EPF from mine and his account).    Since it is a big sum so both of us have to share the debts, barula aci.  And in order to get the loan, we had to buy the MRTA from BSN Prudential. MRTA ni kalau in the event of death of payor, then the insurance will pay off all hutang to the bank and rumah tu takla diambilalih by the bank.  This MRTA cost us about RM14000, must be paid in lump sum.  We settled this with the help of sis-in-law..kalau tak berpeluh jugak nak cari duit banyak tu within short period of time. Oopss, tapi hunny pulangkan balik duit (walaupun SIL baik hati nak bagi) but he returned back the money.

Then yang paling penting, make sure the bank do not sit on the application. Lagi lambat dia process the disbursement to Sime Darby, lagi banyak interest kita kena bayar. Disbursement dibahagi to a few times according to phase.  As soon as we get the letter from Sime, kena cepat2 call bank to check whether they have disbursed the particular portion. Walaupun technically it is the bank’s fault sebab lambat, but we as owner, have to also make sure we chase them to disburse payment sebab property developer won’t take the blame either..part ni pening-pening sikit.  Part sign-sign and more signing tu toksah cakapla.. dah jadi macam big boss pulak asyik sign je documents semua. Last-last kena jugak tolak interest about a few thousands, maybe RM2000 taken out from my deposit RM5000 tu if tak silap.. what to do. Malas nak fight.

2009-2010

We got the keys to the house somewhere in August 2009.  At this time I was in HK. Dapat kunci terus pasang the grill, buat additional tiles at the back and plaster ceiling for living and dining hall, pasang lampu downlights for living & dining hall, pasang bumbung kat belakang.  All cost around RM6700.  Luckily at this time I was earning good money. So masa ni senang sikit nak bayar contractor. Alhamdulillah.

2010

I came back from HK.  I saved up around RM11000 for the electrical items and other stuff for the house.  I did the budget and made sure we stuck to it. The main things we bought were a fridge, TV table, coffee table, curtains, curtain rods, table for the kitchen, kitchen cabinet + sink (minimal only), air-cond, washing machine, sofa.  Paid by cash. LEGA! I don’t like using the credit card coz I worry so much over hutang :).  We all pun tak hias rumah ala-ala deko bersama Eric tu.. lagi tak banyak barang lagi senang nak kemas. :)

Tapi of course tak dapat nak beli sofa dari Lorenzo ke, Fella design yang dekat gila with my house tu..sebabnya budget tak membenarkan :) Bak kata orang tua-tua, ukur baju di badan sendiri.  Then again, I am happy that at least we managed to have the basic necessities for the house :).  Walaupun sofa ikea tu nampak cun, still I didn’t buy because they were over my budget.
So we bought this sofa for RM1600. Very basic sofa set.Okayla, tapi quality wise it is not top notch. Nampak macam if duduk more than 3 orang serentak boleh patah kot. Tapi mintak-mintak tahan 3 tahun raya. Eh 3 tahun raya je ke, pastu nak tukar baru?kekeke..
Phew.. am so happy all the hassle is over. Sekarang concentrate nak add on barang-barang for the house if ada extra cash.   

So good luck and all the best to those who are going to or in the process of getting a home.  Eventhough it feels very tiring at certain times, but it certainly most rewarding. HAVE FUN and BEST OF LUCK!

editted version : upah buat grille, plaster ceiling, pasang downlights, pasang awning, add tiles was RM6700, tak termasuk the purchase of the lights themselves. Lampu-lampu beli sendiri nak dekat RM3000. tupun ada bilik tak pasang lampu lagi. Ada pakai lampu tak berapa mahal, ada pakai yang mahal sikit. But all within budget.. :)

Plain White Tee(shirt)

Yeay..Sis in law brought something from her trip to Bandung the other day. Nasib muat..phew! I've never had a white t-shirt before. She bought somewhat a matching coloured t-shirt for hunny. Muahaha.. boleh jadi kembar jalan-jalan masa dating nanti..

Okay, most probably I have to wear a bib to cover the t-shirt when I eat or drink. Knowing me.. I am super clumsy for sure boleh tumpah-tumpah atas baju putih ni.. uwaa.. nasib masa kawin makan secara berhemah and did not have any stains on the wedding gown :) Clap clap clap!

Anyhoo..here's the t-shirt. Alhamdulillah rezeki :)

Thanks Kak Liza.. next time boleh bagi lagi...ekekkee...

um-umm.. so GdoubleOD-Good!

one for dad-in-law

One for me :)

I have moved on from the perfumes sold at cosmetics department. To slightly cheaper ones but they smell o-so-good! Another reason is because the bottle can fit nicely into my make up pouch.

Harga quite okay.. for the small ones you can get for below RM100. I didn't quite like the perfumes sold at the Bodyshop dulu-dulu like what 6 years back? Dewberryla apela dalam botol dulu.. but now they have repackaged and changed to nicer smelling perfumes.

Bought a pressie for Ayah (father-in-law) because he liked the smell of the perfume that hunny wore the other day. While for myself.. i got another one..comel je botol dia. And i love the smell..yummy freshness :)

I'm trying to convince my sisters to switch to Bodyshop.. so probably you guys can give it a try :)

Replica handbags?

Replica.Tiruan.Tak ori.Fake goods.

I do not like to be tagged by people who sell fake goods on Facebook. I don’t condone purchasing of replica bags no matter what grade they are.. AA double A or A+ whatever. I believe that if I can’t afford to buy expensive handbags, means I won’t be able to have one. With no disrespect to others who actually do buy replicas.

It is just that I feel that there are so many nice things out there costing a few hundred ringgit. Tak kisahla if Elle ke, Guess ke, Charles & Keith ke, Vincci ke..I mean, you can buy this original handbags at the same price of a fake higher notch branded bags like Gucci, Prada,LV..yadda yadda yadaa.. Why do I say no to fake handbags?

1.Because from what I have read, those in the business of creating this fake goods – are in the same line as child trafficking (for prostitution). So in a way, when we buy the fake goods, the income is used to fund their other illegal business.

2. I just don’t use replica bags, purses, sunnies..etc. Kalau ada duit, beli original, takde duit cukup to buy ori, then no need to buy that brand at all. That’s my opinion.

3. Dari spend RM80-150 (thereabouts) for the replicas, you can get an original elle bag at RM120 especially during sales.

4. Fake bags are just not cool :p

Is it worth our hard-earned money to be owning but just a replica bag?