And I start to run again

One of few new interests I developed since 2011 is participating in running events, though technically I did not run, I just walk, and I walk fast. This year I did not get to participate in any events. I would like to give work and study hecticness as a reason but even I don't buy that. I am a believer, if I want to make it happen I'll make time. If I don't get to do it, it's due to my poor time management and I should spare myself from giving excuses :). Just like how I kept on procrastinating in choosing a healthy lifestyle to loose weight. If there's a t-shirt that says " I start my diet tomorrow", I must have been wearing that t-shirt for 11 years. Talk about taking procrastination to another level. Well, that's another blog entry all together.

So, for 2013, I decided to start participating in running events again. I have been subscribing to this website called Hooha via this link http://www.hooha.asia/ for nearly 2 years which gives me updates on the latest running events organised all over Malaysia. Been ignoring their updates for almost a year, time to pay attention and really read their emails. Another website where I get my update is http://www.themarathonshop.com.my/. Easy reference for all consolidated running events.

I am happy to announce *chewah*, I have registered myself for one running event in March. Well, I know I wanna start immediately, but running events are no joke. You need to train otherwise you will be so prone to injury.  Of course, to build up the stamina so that you get to complete the race. And if you are ambitious and wants to win it, you need to train harder. Like me, I settled for a finisher medal. As much as I am a positive person and I know I can do anything if I put my mind to it, I don't plan to kill myself along the way.

Few running events I really want to be part of for 2013. One of them is KL Marathon yearly organise yearly by Standard Chartered. I registered for it in 2011 but did not get to participate due to work *whatelse*. This year I am determined I will be part of it. 

Another event would the Putrajaya Night Race. It's an open secret how I love Putrajaya. And I love Putrajaya more at night. So running in Putrajaya at night will be an ideal situation. Took part in 2011, ran 5km. So for 2013, I want to do 10km, Insyallah.

"Always aim for the Moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." On that quote, I aimed to take part is Penang Bridge Marathon. Of couse, I will do only the 10km. Not ready for 21km, maybe for 2014 once I survived the 10km. 

So, talk is cheap. I better be prepared for all this. Started my 45 minutes walking session this morning and need to sustain the momentum.

Hendak seribu daya, tak nak seribu dalih kan?

Signing off,

liza365.blospot.com

Liza Got Taste ~ @grills, Bangi

I dread to do this entry. Simply because I am on diet and this time I am determined I'll stick to it until I get to my ideal weight. So, evidently this was an overdue entry and in my attempt to blog consistently, I have compiled all the lists of items which I wanted to blog about so that I don't forget.

Our family love western food. However, the challenge is it's difficult to get a descent one which doesn't cost a bomb. There are few nice places but you can't have it that often as the price can burn a big hole on your pockets. So, when this new place opened in Bandar Baru Bangi, we were quite excited to give it a try.

The place is called @grills located behind Paparich, same row as Mohd Chan Restaurant in Bandar Baru Bangi. Full address No 50, Jalan Medan Pusat 2C, Persiaran Bangi, Bandar Baru Bangi. Not difficult to find, it's very near to PKNS Bangi. Parking for now is not an issue, not many shops with a lot of patrons open at the area.

Deco wise, oklah. Not too bad. I think they are supposed to open the top floor as well. For now, it is still not ready. In fact, you can see kitchen utensils from the display window. Not a good scene I must say. They have both indoor and outdoor seating for obvious reasons, separating smokers and non smokers. As you enter, there's dessert bar with cakes offerings. Not a sweet tooth person so not attracted. Kids and my better half however, love this.

How's the food. Well, we have been here 3 times, so not too bad. The prices are ok as well, not too pricey like other western food outlet. The selections are quite a spread. They even have lobsters for those who have high taste and high budget. What I love the most is their pasta selection. My kids love pasta like lasagna and mac and cheese. Normal steak house don't really have that. I love their lamb chop, very nicely cooked with delicious pumpkin puree and mashed potatoes.

Service was good on our first 2 trips, the last trip was not that ok. The food was served late and we even waited for more than 5 minutes before someone took our order. However, they have improved in terms of payment method. Previously only cash is accepted, now they have started to accept cards.

The last trip we had, we had this selection.

So, for those who want to try, you can refer to their FB fan page for more info.

My take, worth the try. They just need to maintain their good service level like the first time we came. 

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza On The Map ~ Legoland Yo!

One of my kids favourite thing is going to theme parks. So far, they have been to many theme parks in Malaysia, both indoor and outdoor, Universal Studios, theme parks in Gold Coast and the latest addition to this theme park craze is none other than Legoland. They have been wanting to go to Legoland since the day it opened in September. They were quite frustrated when they did not get to go for my company's excursion to Legoland as I have classes that weekend.

So, embracing the concept Janji Ditepati long before it became our Merdeka Day slogan, we took them them in November. Knowing this will not be the only time we will visit this place, we decided to take the Annual Pass, much more worth it. Collecting Annual Pass was already a challenge. The queue was long, under the hot sun despite arriving before 10am. After nearly an hour, we managed to get our Annual Pass ready and proceed to enter the park. 

Kids went straight ahead to rides they want to enjoy. While waiting for our turn to do the Annual Pass, they already identified which rides they want to explore first from the Legoland map. Me? I am just a happy bystander, not wanting to be in any rides, no matter how boring or exciting the rides maybe. I am happy to observe and snap photos.

Alhamdulilah, kids managed to enjoy almost all the rides that day. The weather was not too bad, it was not as hot as how many people who have been here told us. We were very lucky actually. It rained for a while, thank God we did not get the overpriced poncho. Imagine RM15 for one poncho which was nothing but a plastic bag, and for 5 of us, that will costs us RM75. It rained for less than 30 minutes, so, we're good.

I love the whole flow of Legoland. The surau was spacious for a theme park, there are toilets everywhere and the makan places were evenly spread. The food price is not too bad, much much cheaper than many many other theme parks we have been to. We had our late lunch at Pizza Mania. That's one of the trick going to theme parks. Don't have your lunch exactly during lunch hour. The makan places will be packed. And this is the best time for you to go for rides while others go for their makan :)

By 3pm, both my better half and I were already exhausted so we lepak at this cafe by the entrance and told the kids to go wherever they want to and meet us at the cafe at 5pm. And they are not allowed to be separated, must go together. They managed to enjoy second and third rounds of the rides they have tried earlier. 

All in all, we had so much fun! Legoland is defnitely a must go place. Go to www.legoland.com.my/ if you want more info on the prices and the rides available. But, if I may offer my opinion, the Annual Pass is definitely an awesome deal not to be missed!

So, which theme park kids will get to enjoy? Did I hear Paris Disneyland?? Watch this space for more update!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza Goes To Movies ~ The Hobbit

Nota tapak kaki atas entry ~ This review is mainly based on my kids input since this movie is not my cup of tea.

I must confess, I am not into science fiction or ala Harry Potter kind of movie. Star Wars or Star Trek don't excite me either. Everytime my kids asked me to take them to this kind of movies, I will try my very best to dodge it. But, most of the time (or make it all the time), they will win and I will be in the loosing end. I will normally end up watching this kind of movies and most of the times feeling bored to death. However, I did enjoy the last Harry Potter edition Deathly Hollows I think. I was engaged and watched until the end of the movie without checking my blackberry.

So, when they insist I take them to watch The Hobbit, my first reaction was "The what?" and they were trying very hard to explain how it's related to Lord Of The Ring but I lost them at Mama, it's an edition of Lord of The bla bla bla. I can see lips moving but can't make out the words that came out of it. I gave in but put a condition that we will watch this at The Mines so that I can go to the Big Bad Wolf Sale after that. They agreed cause I know they wanna go to the same sale as well. 

Some what getting there was a big challenge, of course thanks to the BBW sale. And locating the cinema was another obstacle. I bought the tickets online so okaylah skit. Kids entered the cinema first while I queued for popcorn and waited for my better half to come in after looking for parking space. By the time we went in, the movie has started for less than 10 minutes. Kids did say we did not miss much.

My take ; oklah though I get to update my FB status and checked for other things online which shows that I was not highly engaged. But the kids love it. They love it! Why? They love the adventure, the sound effect and continuous excitement in the movie. 

Part they love the most:

Mira ~ The Gollum with split personality and was furious when he(or at times she) lost the ring. Mira kept on imitating the line "Precious".

Ilham ~ He loves the part where the stone giant fought each other. That was so exciting according to him. And another part he loves when the dwarves killed the large group of Orc clans as well as the hideous looking leader. 

Baby ~ Baby loves all the parts, siap cakap kalau suka skit2 rugi beli tiket. Iyerlah Baby...

As for me, I love the part where the movie ends and I can finally leave the cinema...LOL! And of course, I love the TGV Popcorn :) But, in the movie I love Galadriel dress. Cantik!!!!

So, how the kids rate the movie. 

7 out of 10 from Mira. 

8 out of 10 from Ilham

And Baby said, "I wanted to give it 10 out of 10 if not because I feel it's a scam for a movie to have no concrete ending just so that we watch the sequel. And because of that, they get 9 only"

Next, they want to watch Life of Pi!! Oh God, why I can't I just watch a bimbo movie where the ending is "And they live happily ever after"

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza On The Map - How Do You Plan For A Holiday

2012 is definitely a major milestone in my life. I have been wanting to go on Europe ala backpacking tour with my better half and I finally got to do it this year. But, to be honest, the planning started 2 years ahead. And one thing about holiday that I love is when I am planning for it.

When I came back from the tour, many asked me how do I plan for this in between other things I do in life. Actually, it's not that hard but you really need to enjoy doing it.

How To Get There?

First thing first, find the best way to arrive at your destination. Is it by flight, train, bus or driving on your own. If you are traveling with just adults, the choices are much more simpler and flexible. When it involves kids, that's when you need to choose the best way to travel. For the Europe tour, I start to hunt for cheap flight tickets as early as September 2011. I wanted to do it sooner but with flights, you can't plan too early. We ended up booking tickets in March during MATTA Fair. We scouted almost all airlines, MAS, Qatar, Emirates, Etijad and others. Since it's long haul flight, we were quite fussy in terms of halal food served on flight. Our experience with Singapore Airlines was not that pleasant when we were on our way to Sydney, they forgot our halal food. Kesian the kids....

We finally settled with Qatar, the cheapest rate of all. Another way to see cheapest flight rates is via http://www.cheapflights.com/. We used this website to get our connecting flights from London to Dublin, Dublin to Rome and Rome to Barcelona. It gives the best rates for all available airlines to your desired destination. As for ground travel, I surveyed based on recommendations from those who have been there, either among my circle of friends or via the net. We used various methods ; train, buses or cabs to travel. Our priority are safety and cost. All this bookings were done while we are still in Malaysia. It is much cheaper that way.

Where To Stay?

This is the part I love the most! Choosing where to stay. As much as we wanted to be adventurous and stay in hostels, we decided not to since it's difficult to pray. Hostels usually have very limited space and you have to share toilets with the rest. We ended up either staying in B&B or 3 star hotels. I went to various websites ; booking.com, Agoda, Expedia, Ratestogo, HotWire.Com and many more. This is how I made comparison. I also counterchecked against review in TripAdvisor to see comments from those who have stayed there. There will be time we arrived late at the city of destination due to choosing the cheapest flight, so we slept either at the airport or bus/trainstation. This is when I checked against TripAdvisor and http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ to see the conduciveness of sleeping at such places. Yes, I took the trouble to do all that and I enjoyed it! Apart from that, the accommodation we chose must be walking distance to places we plan to visit as well as accessibility to halal food. That way, we don't have to pay extra to get to where we wanna go.

Eat.Pray.Shop

Another aspect I paid much attention to is where to eat. This is made easy by doing research at zabiha.com. And I also downloaded this apps on my Android device in case I need to get direction to go to the makan place. We also stocked some instant noodles and 3-1 drinks if we are too tired to go out and hunt for food. Normally, before we go back to where we are spending the night, we will buy food for dinner. 

I also downloaded apps for prayers time as well as qiblat direction. Easy peasy lah. And in case if the location is a shopping heaven for certain stuff, this will also be included in the planning

I prepared a master spreadsheet to reflect all of the above 3 items. Planning is very important. When you plan, you can cut costs in many many items. Also, it will make your trip more effective. No need to worry about things since it has been pre-planned. You just need to enjoy the trip, with very minimal worry.

So, using the same method, I am now planning our 2013 holiday plans. Where to? Medan, UK, Paris, Lucerne, Korea, Bali and Hong Kong. And planning will still be one of the best part of the vacation!

Watch this space to see how Liza put her footprint on other countries on the map!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

What is the real definition of fast food ~ Mcdonald's Senawang experience

At times, for the sake of convenience we opt to have fast food as our meals. Or at times, kids wish to have them. I am not saying it's a healthy choice, but I believe for things to be in moderation.

Let's examine the definition of fast food. According to wikipedia, fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. Noticed I enlarge the word prepared and served very quickly. Yes, dah nama fast food. It could not be more literal meaning than that.

Why am I dwelling into that definition so much. Cause today, fast food is not even close to the word fast. In fact, it's like watching paint dry.

We had a busy schedule today. Left Batu Pahat around 10am making our way sending my daughter back to boarding school in Negeri Sembilan. Traffic was slow, but still moving. I always ask my daughter what she wants to eat everytime we send her back. So today, she opted for Mcdonald's. We decided to stop by Mcdonald's along the way. And Senawang is the best choice. It's the one next to Giant Senawang.

We arrived sharp 2pm. The restaurant is very crowded but knowing Mcd, no matter how pack they can be, we know we will be served not longer than 15 minutes. But today is extra "special".

Kids went to book table and I queued with my better half. Our queue was the shortest among 3 queues in the restaurant. But, it was moving the slowest. Trickling, at times, barely moving. I was tired, so I sat down while my better half continued queueing. Mentally I was timing the service level. One customer took about 15 minutes to be served, this is gonna take ages.

The queue next to us was moving so fast. On average, 3 person served at that counter, only one at our counter. I was getting restless, not only me, also the people in my line. The girl manning our counter not only slow, she was taking her own sweet time taking our order and preparing our food. What makes matter worse, this couple, despite being in the queue for 30 minutes, when their turn arrived, they are still deciding what to eat. If it's up to me, I would have left. But, because Mira wants Mcd before she goes back to her boarding, I still stood strong waiting patiently.

But, I lost it. While she was preparing our order despite knowing how long we have waited, instead of speeding things up, she was seen frying the fries and preparing fries for her other colleagues. That is when I told her off "Dik, boleh tak prepare makanan akak. Dah lebih sejam nie, anak nak balik asrama."

Total waiting time before we finally got everything we ordered was 1 hour 15 minutes. Longest I have waited for any food. Even Nasi Kandar Beratur in Penang took us one hour. I was tired and could not even finished my burger. And kesian the kids....

So people, if you happen to be in Mcdonalds Senawang, make a turn and go to another branch . Especially if the counter is manned by a person name Farah. I seriously think she needs training, or else perhaps to consider other career cause this business is not her forte obviously.

Do I believe in fast food definition? My answer, depends on which branch.

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza Goes To Movie ~ Untuk 3 Hari

Love stories, chic flic or romantic comedy are my kind of movies. Regardless what the language is, this kind of movies will always be my choice. Not horror or action pack where everyone dies at the end but the hero will rise to the occassion. Of course in most of this kind of movies women are deemed as victims or just waiting to be saved. Cliche!

 

I don't read love novels though. I know who Ahadiat Akasha is but the only novel of his I read was Legenda Budak Setan simply because everyone was reading them back when I was in school. I just wanted to know what the novel was all about. Needless to say, I love both the book and the movies. Just awesome.

 

So, when the big hype about Untuk 3 Hari, yet another Ahadiat's novel was all over the news, I was motivated to watch it. Can't find time to go to cinema so booked it via Astro First instead.

 

Storyline was kind of not logic, but it's a movie, it don't have to be logic. It's about high school sweet hearts forced to marry other people by their families. Much to their dismay, they still went ahead with promise they will get divorce from their partners after 3 days. Crazy right? But that's the story line.

 

I will not want to spoil it for those who have not watch it. However, it's not a typical movie ending.

 

As for the controversy surrounding Rashidi Ishak and Vanida Imran's marriage, no such talak phrase between both of them every uttered. I paid attention to every second of the movie, not because it's interesting. More to listen to the scripts.

 

How I rate this. 2.5 over 5. And will I watch it again. I don't think so.

 

Next movie to look out for, Aku Terima Nikahnya.

 

Signing off,

 

liza365.blogspot.com

Baby Shower, the day has come....

Subsequent from this entry...

I woke up that Friday feeling nervous. With such short planning, I pray things will turn out right. I applied for half day leave, however, was caught up at work. Full morning in Putrajaya ended up screwing up my time management. But no biggie. Challenges here and there, that what makes it exciting.

I rushed to The Curve to pick up the crowns for the 2 mothers, then to Subang Jaya to pick up my better half. Alhamdulilah, traffic was kind to us. We arrived The Full House, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng at 6pm. Immediately unpack and the started working on the party favours. Bought the items individually, so need to pack and place it on the guests tables.

Thanks to Jules for coming early. She helped to do the party favours. We also got help from the girl who prepared the candy buffet. Sorry, totally forgot her name. Of course, staff in Full House were really helpful. It makes it much easier.

The head planner K Red arrived shortly after that. She worked really hard for this. She was here earlier during lunch time, making sure things are in order.

Guests started to come one by one. While we were waiting for the guests of honour, K Red played her drama, that she is in JB siap commit to get Burberry baby's clothing for the mothers. At the same time, she was giving instructions to the other half of the 2 mothers. Rose's hubby was out of idea since Rose was not too happy to be driven around. So, they stopped at Pelita.

When the first mother arrived, Yan, things start to get a bit chaotic. Why? Cause her car was parked right next to the place we are throwing this baby shower party. We switched off the light and fortunately she was engaged with her berry and was not looking around. When she entered the door, the look on her face was priceless. She started bursting with tears, tears of joy I hope.

Next, 2nd mother was making her way in. Again the shocking moment. However, this was less dramatic than the first one. Not less shocking though.

The rest of the night was just magic. And came another unexpected moment. Astro Awani was covering this event for a segment Busines Alternatif. The highlight was of course K Red. And I got my shocking moment as well. I got interviewed. Totally not prepared, but belasah jer lah.

Thanks to those who made it for the event ; Sid, Maya to name a few. Thanks for the other half's of the 2 VVIPs of the night. Thanks to Astro Awani for giving us few seconds of fame. Thanks to Full House for the excellent service. And most of all, thanks to my better half for helping out. I am just blessed to have a man like you in my life.

And thanks to K Red for remaining calm despite the last minute preparation. I helped her cause she s a good friend of mine, no other reason. If I am in similar situation, I know she would do the same for me, cause she has done that before.

So, who's Baby Shower should we plan next? Hmmmm...

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza Got Taste ~ Wati's Corner, Nilai

I am a fan of kampung style cooking. Hotels or fancy restaurants food are not my usual choices. I would prefer gerai type of food and the dishes have to spicy.

 

So, when I saw in FB a friend recommended this place in Nilai which have Negeri Sembilan cooking, I just couldn't resist. First time we went there, it was closed. Apparently, they don't open on Sunday. I was kind of disappointed, not only because I really wanted to taste the cooking, also the fact that we came right from airport after 5 days in Singapore where the food was not really to our liking.

 

We gave it our second shot, this time on Saturday after my better half got back from work. The place is about 15 minutes from where we live. It's in Nilai towards Labu. No actual landmark but right in front of a Muslim cemetary.

 

 

We arrived close to 2pm and there were not too many people there. Only 3 tables were occupied. We were starving, we ordered straight away. Our choices ; masak lemak daging salai, ikan patin masak tempoyak (I don't eat tempoyak, this is for my better half), sambal tumis udang, ayam kampung goreng with ulam, ikan kering and sambal belacan.

 

 

When the food arrived, I was quite disappointed with the portion. It was really small portion especially the masak lemak daging salai and ayam kampung goreng. However, the sambala belacan was a killer, it's exactly how my mom's made it. Tastes wise, oklah. Not bad, but nothing to should about.

 

And the most shocking thing was the price. For all that we ordered, it costs us RM40! Are you freaking kidding me! I can see the table next to me was also shocked, their bill was RM124 and there's only 7 of them. What they ordered was nothing extra ordinary.

 

All in all, okaylah. But, will I come here again. No, I don't think so. If I crave for my mom's sambal belacan, I will just go back and ask my mom to make it.

 

Signing off,

 

liza365.blogspot.com

The Baby Shower ~ The 7 Days Chronicle

When I was expecting my 3 kids, there were no such thing as baby shower. I got pregnant, I deliver my baby and go thru confinement. Baby shower takde, lenggang perut adalah. What I was told from my mom in law, lenggang perut was more for anak sulung. A tradition which practised from one generation to another.

Nowadays, baby shower is the in thing. I have read many blogs about people organising them. Never been to one, nearly went to one. But somehow, that did not happen.

So, when I got invitation to this baby shower event, I was so excited to experience baby shower event. The date 5th October was blocked a month earlier and I made sure I am in town. I don't want to miss this one. I asked where the location will be, so that I can schedule my meeting within the area. You know how Friday traffic is. I don't to be late.

However, a week before the event, I still did not hear any new on the event venue. So, I did the next best thing I know

BBM Message

Liza : Babe, jadik ke baby shower nie

RM : Tulah, senyap jer.

Liza : Ada apa2 ke nak aku tolong?

And with that the planning start.

First things first, it's all about location, location, location.

I was searching for few venues which is not too expensive. Called few venues, almost all were fully booked while one was so sombong giler. So, cancel! Then I wanted to explore Full House in Sunway Pyramid. Checked with RM and told her they have branch in Jln Yap Kwan Seng. RM then decided, let's have it here.

So, RM being RM, used her influence and made that call. Venue secured!

Next, theme colour. Since the gender of the babies (yes, it's for 2 mothers, i.e. 2 babies) are not known yet, so RM said go for red. Saya ikut jer since time is short. Just go with the flow.

Next, party favours. I went on shopping spree at Sunway Pyramid after I came back from class. I love doing party favours. I love this part. I went from one shop to another buying cool stuff with red theme. If only not because I was wearing high heel shoes, the spree would have been longer. But, I managed to get all that I need. And satisfied with my purchase.

RM took care of the diaper cake while making the necessary arrangements with the venue manager. Also booked was the candy buffet. When time is short, we have not much time to spare, the most sensible thing to do is outsource. We are both working, so can't really get into the nitty gritty stuff. Buat mana yang termampu, yang penting hati kena ikhlas.

One final thing I need to do before the big day is to get crowns for the mothers. I was checking with friends also online to see the nicer ones. Finally got a friend to make for me. From fresh flowers to reflect the freshness being a mom and it blends with the venue of the event. Green and white :). Love the end product

We did what we could...and now just waiting for the big day...

Let's say how it turn out ya!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza got taste ~ Oh my Innuendo!

I strongly believe the current generation are deprived from good quality music. While I was growing up, there were a lot of good singers, bands, awesome songs with meaningful lyrics. Green Day, Nirvana, Cranberries to name a few. In the local scene, one group that has always been my favourite for the longest time. And that is none other than Innuendo. Those who have not heard of this group, google it and listen to their songs and you know what I mean.

I was 20 when I first listened to this group. Their acappella tone just so soothing and my heart melt everytime I hear their songs. I don't think there's even one song that I don't like.

Belaian Jiwa, remake from Carefree greatest hit was and is still a killer. How the melody blend with the vocal and the music arrangement is so different. It gives a breath of fresh air to the local music scene. Different from the typical song kecewa merana perempuan jahat. Yes, you know what kind of songs this were.

Off all the awesome numbers Innuendo have, some are always stuck in my heart. Beautiful lyrics, I must say....

Like

Until The End of Time

I never knew that you'll be so beautiful

I never thought in a million years you'll be mine...

For all my life been waiting for to see a dream comes true

I never once believe there's someone there like you

So there i was, try to make it all my own

Alone and soon I thought I couldn't change the whole world

For all my life been searching always try to find

Someone like to love me until the end of time

And i give my heart and soul

I give it all to you...to you

All my hopes and dreams someday

This wedding ring

I love you, until the end of time

And one more favourite

Selamanya

Dikau takhta di hatiku

Bersama kita bina istana cinta

Ku rela bersamamu

Di angkasa bergema mekar dan rela

Hingga akhir hayatku

Pastinya bersama

Kasihmu yang kurindui

Selamanya

And I must share the cutest video clip ever! Song entitled Nanti featuring Ruffedge and VE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fCApX5thv0&feature=relmfu

So, the latest compilation album The Best of Innuendo is of course a must have. I have been listening to this for the last 3 days, non stop! Out of 5 star, Innuendo deserved 10 stars! No doubt about that!

And this is how I know Ahmad Izham Omar and the reason why I labeled him a genius. This is the kind of music we should have in our market!

#nowplaying Akhirnya Innuendo featuring Camelia

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Baby Shower 5 Oct 2012 ~ The Preview

Before I do an entry on this event, enjoy the video first. Though it was quite stressful planning this with K Red, but I had fun. Trying to do this on top of work and family commitment was not easy. And let alone given only 7 DAYS to make sure things are in order.

K Red was evidently the experienced ones. Saya tolong2 mana2 yang patut jer :)

Hope Yan and Rose enjoyed it. More stories on this event? Look out for future entries.

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

My Abah's Structured Retirement Plan

Why I am such a structured person mainly due to my Abah's ways bringing me up. There are processes and procedures to do things. Mentally there will always be some sort like a process flow with square and diamond decision box indicating the yesses and the nos. I used to hate it when I was small but now I understand it brings structure to my life.

 

Like the retirement plan my Abah has. He planned it 5 years before he reached 55. He started with planning (yes peeps, before we do anything, we must spend time planning!)  and put his thoughts on paper. I remembered seeing his sketches on the dream house Abah planned to build on this piece of land near Kuala Selangor. I know he will not stay long in Kelana Jaya. The house he dreamed of even has fountain in front of it. Like the one in the soap operas like Dynasty and Dallas.

 

Abah knows what he wants. He wanted to plant palm oil, having his own orchard and have his own live stocks like chicken, goats and cows. He started working on it 3 years before retirement. He knows planting palm oil will take some time and the first harvest can't be sold. So, he worked back wards to ensure everything can be implemented the day he retires.

 

My mom retired 4 years after Abah. Once Mom retired, Abah's plan is in full speed. They sold the house in Kelana Jaya and built a bigger house like how he planned. But, no fountain though. The rest was exactly like what he visioned ; cows, goats, chickens even ducks and geese. My dad planted durian, rambutan and mango trees, and also dragon fruits. Latest addition was lemon grass. Coconuts are harvested all year round, and very lucrative I must say.

 

 

I salute my Abah. He knows exactly what he wants and willing to work hard to achieve it. Results show and he did very well indeed.

 

So when he asked me, what's my retirement plan, I spontaneously responded ;

 

"Akak take over semua yang Abah buat ni lah. Sape lagik lah yang Abah nak harap kan"

 

Abah can just smiled to that :)

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza on the map ~ Trip to Singapore, a holiday it is not

One of the beauty of my MBA class is we got to travel. We get to visit other campuses all over the world based on the subjects we choose. So, for the accounting module, I have to travel to Singapore.

I decided to drag my kids and my better half for this trip. I can focus better when all of them are in front of me. I can sleep better at night having the knowledge they have eaten and provided for. That's very important for me to focus for this difficult module. I haven't been doing accounting for the longest time.

We travelled to Singapore via Jetstar. It was the cheapest way to go there. Much cheaper than other airlines, even buses or cars for that matter. I have made thorough comparison before I proceed with the bookings. We also decided to park our car in KLIA, under long term parking. I have calculated, 5 days will costs us RM140, cheaper than taking a cab to and fro.

Jetstar is a low cost carrier so don't expect even 3 star service. But with the price I am paying and the short duration of journey, it's worth the price. Ilham said he can only listen to 5 songs on his iPod touch, then there's landing announcement.

We stayed in Novotel in Clark Quay. This was where my lecture will be held. The hotel was not too bad. It's near the Singapore River and comes alive at night. Next door, adjacent to the hotel is a shopping mall, so access to food (read Mcdonalds) is convenient. Halal food maybe a distance away. But 5 days only, so can do lah.

I am not gonna share what the kids and my better half did since I was not with them. Sadlah, I am in class and they were out there enjoying themselves. Sacrifices I need to make for this MBA. Sigh...

I only get to enjoy Singapore for one night, and just so happened it's the F1 night in Singapore. There were street festival at Clark Quay showcasing lots of local delicacies. But, I was not aware Ramly Burger is one of them ;).

One thing I was so happy about, I managed to get some Zam Zam Murtabak. Okaylah, I don't get to go to Universal Studios or Orchard Road, or even Mustafa Center, Zam Zam Murtabak will do. We walked from our hotel right to Arab Street, it was about 25 minutes walk. And it's worth every sweat (and nearly tears, rasa macam jauh sangat)

I always enjoy Singapore. Just that this time around, it's not a real holiday, more like Touch n Go series. Lesson learned, when I go for lectures in other locations, be sure I will extend my leave to enjoy the cities *Fyi, Boss, please approve leave saya*

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com