Month: October 2005

Thank you so much for all your kind advices in my last entry, in the wake of the irresponsible sms-es sent by a cowardly listener. No point in me brooding over some stupid remarks which only backfired on the person who gave those spiteful comments. Just goes to show how intelligent and matured some people are, doing things without thinking in perspective and whether it has any adverse effects on him or her or the group he or she represents, if any. Scums like these do not belong in society and certainly have no sense of respect for Ramadhan nor have compassion for innocent people who have no bearings in their lives. With such attitude and mindset, it’s no wonder our community is still lagging in mentality and progress. I thank you guys again for all the astute advices, I really, really do appreciate them all during that period of time when I was seething and felt as though I wanna whack somebody so badly…

Speaking of such mindset and mentality, it’s no wonder I received an sms from sis Mahd, asking me why were the listeners so against my comments when she was listening to the morning show today??? Well for your info sis, I have no power over what these people wanna send, for or against me, so I have no idea how some people interpret general, off-the-cuff remarks. Some are open-minded while most are too sensitive. I must be hitting a lot of raw nerves everytime I send a general remark. Or the name “Pujangga Malam” just irks them so much till whatever I send do not go down well with any of them. Some people can’t differentiate between general remarks to personal attacks. So of course I do not blame her when she said these kind of negative and sensitive mindset by listeners are one of the reasons why she switched to listening to an English station. Believe me, she’s not the only one. You don’t get listeners of English stations bickering with one another and calling them names when they disagree on something. I wonder when the Malay listeners would adopt such attitude and move on.

Enough of them, period. So did you guys manage to catch Siti Nurhaliza reciting the Holy Qur’an on television??? What do you think??? Personally I feel that through practice, she could be good at it. Yeah she did come across as quite fearful during her recital but I think she did a credible job, even if it’s not as spectacular as we would have expected, with regards to her tajwid (science of correct pronunciation), idgham (assimilation) and makhraj (consonantial pronunciation). And please do not compare her to Mawi, the winner of Akademi Fantasia 3. He has his roots firmly stuck to the ground due to his strong religious background and he was also a tilawah champion from what I’ve heard. So for sure, he recites way better. I just feel at ease watching Siti in hijab and reciting the Holy Qur’an. Even my colleague commented that if his mum were to see her like that, she would surely agree to send representatives and ask for Siti‘s hand in marriage… Hahahah…

Last Friday, I had a great time having dinner with my “brothers” and “sisters”. It’s not exactly an Iftar session as we broke our fast at home before meeting up at Sakura Compass Point. It was nice meeting up with everyone again since we only meet like once every 3-6 months. Even if we do not meet up as often as we would have liked to, I’m sure the friendship bond amongst us is still as tight as ever. I just wish such meet-ups are done on a regular basis, but all of us have our own priorities that take up important precedence, which I perfectly understand. I’m just thankful that we are all doing well in life even if we have our own problems to face. Many thanks to sis Iannie, hubby bro Nizam and bro Ahmad for coming up with the idea of the meet-up session.

I was down with flu the following day. But that did not stop me from going to IMM to check out my new bedroom furniture for the new house, at Picket & Rail. Nope, there won’t be any queen size bed for the soon-to-be-wedded couple. We’re gonna sleep on a super-single-sized bed. Aida is petite and since yours truly is on the road to losing his weight, I reckon it would be just nice. Enough room to snuggle and cuddle when the time comes. Well we can always upgrade to a queen-sized bed if things get too uncomfortable and we need more room. Actually I’m amazed that I have not stepped foot at IMM for a year and within that time span, there are a few new shops available. It’s a one-stop shopping centre that just lacks a cinema to top it off…

From Jurong, we headed to Peninsular Plaza to collect our traditional clothes for Hari Raya and also as part of our wedding gift at Surip’s Exclusive. I especially love my Hari Raya clothes. One look at it and I imagined myself getting ready to undergo the akad nikah ceremony. My guess became a reality when I donned the garb and saw myself in front of the mirror. With Aida buying something similar, I guess we’ll look great together in them. A pity I did not take any photographs for your viewing pleasure. It’s ok, I’ll take them during Hari Raya.

By then it was already 3pm and we were still due to collect our wedding cards at Cardlinks situated at Joo Chiat Road, a few doors away from Hajah Maimunah Restaurant and to buy food for Iftar. We had also planned to drop by sis Diana‘s stall. My flu became worse and I told Aida to take a bus instead to Geylang Serai so that I can sleep in the bus and temporarily make the flu go away. So we boarded bus service number 2 from Hill Street down to Geylang Serai.

Lo! Along came two responses that rebutted my sms: “SYAH BETUL KATA PM,BNYK YNG TAK SEMBAHYANG MAGHRIB KERANA NAK PERGI MAJLIS IFTAR TERMASUK TUNANG & FAMILY DIA YNG MAKAN DIRESTAURANT KELMARIN :ROAD RUNNER” (Syah, PM is right! Many people do not observe their Maghrib prayers due to Iftar sessions, including his fiancee who ate at the restaurant the other day : RoadRunner) and “PM SIBUK DGN ORG TAK SEMBAHYANG ? DIA HANTAR SPY SATU FAMILY MENGINTIP ORG MAKAN BERBUKA SAMA JUGALAH 10 KALI 5 TAK SEMBAHYANG NAK CAKAP ORG :ZIANA” (PM is concerned about people who do not pray? He sent one whole family to spy on people who broke their fast, which is the same as not praying, look who’s talking? : Ziana)

I cut and pasted the original sms-es in its original glory. See the similarities??? It’s from the same person, who just changed nicks out of convenience. Well in case you guys are wondering what that person was getting at, well last Saturday, Aida went to Geylang Serai with her family to do a spot of shopping for Hari Raya. Since they could not reach home on time, they decided to break their fast at Jeewa Restaurant. It so happened that a particular group of listeners were also there having their Iftar session with members of their website community.

These 2 messages were from the same person who changed nicks. And since this person knew abt my wife-to-be and her family’s presence the other day, it could only have come from someone who was sitting in that group. This person’s response to my earlier sms (which was meant for the general masses and not aimed at any groups or individuals in particular) is totally uncalled for and smacks of irresponsibility and lies. Did my earlier words hit this person’s raw nerves for him or her to shoot back as such??? Did I hit the bullseye till this person felt aggrieved and tried to deflect back to an innocent party???

Cos really, I can’t be bothered to send a spy to investigate things that do not concern my life. As such I am extremely angry with everyone in that group, unless someone has the guts to own up and admit who was responsible for those two sms-es. As it is, some of the members in the group are notoriously known for the old adage “Lempar batu sembunyi tangan” (not owning up to one’s mistake), so I am not expecting anyone to own up…

Speaking of body system, I read with interest some of your comments about my weight in the last entry. I reckon that some of you thought I lost 5kg during the first week of Ramadhan, judging by the way you typed. Let me go on record once again to say that the 5kg lost was within a 5-weeks time frame, about a month before Ramadhan when I first started my fitness regime. What sped up the process of losing the weight was Ramadhan, which I am extremely thankful for. So if you were to look at it, I only lost about 2.5-3kg during that first week of Ramadhan. I think I speak based on the last entry but as of now, I am happy to add I’ve lost another kilo so that makes it a grand total of 6kg in 5 and a half weeks time frame. So hope my explaination dispels the notion that I lost 5kg in one week. That is extremely unhealthy in fitness standards and could be detrimental to the body system.

Since we’re at the subject of losing weight, I think I did not add the fact that I am actually being aided by the Herbal Diet pill that is being promoted extensively on radio. Though the promotion says we can eat as per normal with it, in reality, we have to back it up with our own methods to lose weight like eating in lesser proportions and exercising. There is no short cut to losing weight. I am fortunate I have a goal to meet, which is driving me on. Thanks to the progress I’ve made, I will be interviewed on radio sometime next week I think, to speak about how the pill had helped me in losing weight. Basically what I will say is what I’ve said in this paragraph, that there is no easy way out unless one is prepared to spend thousands and go for liposuction.

On one of my previous entries, I noted how sad I was to see different sets of friends at odds with one another. I’m pleased to say that one set has reconciled through a chance meeting. Though it might take some time to regain trust on the other party after what had happened, taking steps to building the bridge again is an extremely noble thing to do, in the spirit of brotherhood and friendship. For that, I thank God for instilling compassion and forgiveness in us, to accept mistakes made and to work on the relationship and return to what we used to be…

10 days have passed, onto the 11th day and I still have not set foot at Geylang Serai. This is a record of sorts, one which I’ve never set before in past years. At the rate I’m going I think I will only set foot much, much later. If earlier, then perhaps it would be to run errands for my mum. Going there is an eyesore really seeing teenagers and those in the 20-35 age group in tight clothings, tattoos etc. I feel sad for the community really cos it does not seem to be progressing for the better. *sigh*

However, I feel like going over to Woodlands later today to savour the things in store at the Northern Bazaar. That’s just a plan though, cos I might have last minute things that might crop up later. Last week on my way to Jurong via the North-South MRT line, I saw the big tentage next to Causeway Point and I thought it looked bigger than previous years’ in terms of space. My ultimate vice would be the kebabs of course…

Right, not much to say really as nothing eventful has happened over the past week. Have a great weekend!!!

For me, I’ve been diligently visiting the gym on weekdays everyday without fail, about two hours before Iftar. Alhamdulillah I am pleased to say that I’ve lost about 5kg ever since I started my regime about a month ago. The fasting certainly helps to speed up the process as I eat less and drink bottles of plain water to kill the hunger pangs. The only thing I hate is the feeling of being bloated with water especially after Sahur. I have to stock up since I’m using it to aid me throughout the day, especially on weekdays when I visit the gym. The tummy is still quite tubby (perhaps due to water retention) but my cheeks have since gone down quite a bit and I’m able to see the contours of my cheekbones. Can’t rest on my laurels yet, it is still all systems go right up to my wedding day…

Ok I know this is stale news but I just wanna talk about last Thursday’s Anugerah 2005 Finals. I know a lot of you felt aggrieved that Syed Azmir did not win. The fact was, the best “man” won. Yah I put the word “man” in inverted commas for obvious reasons. Personally I felt it was a toss-up between the 2 Khai-s and Syed Azmir. Though Fauzie is a personal friend of mine, I thought he was too simple and ordinary, vocals and performance-wise. Watching them sing Maroon 5‘s “She Will Be Loved” made me cringed as there was no harmony whatsoever. And hearing Syed Azmir and Khairil sang in their Malay accent and atrocious diction, I had half the mind to throw eggs or tomatoes at them if I had been part of the audience.

The finals was all about taking chances and Khairul certainly took his with both hands. He wanted to win badly and it showed in all his performances. He also sang in clear English diction along with Fauzie. Could they have sung better in English compared to Syed Azmir and Khairil just because they are educationally better off??? Maybe, maybe not. It’s not fair though, to stereotype those who are less educationally-inclined as unable to converse English well. Cos I’ve known of many people who speak in excellent English without the need to hold a diploma or degree.

My other peeve was judge Eddy Ali‘s “blind” (or is it “deaf”???) loyalty towards Syed Azmir even after he bungled during the English segment. He still maintained Syed Azmir was excellent. To me, Syed Azmir was too relaxed and depended solely on his fans to up his sms support. My best judge of the night was Edry, and not because he is also a personal friend of mine. He was quite direct with his analysis and comments and I know if he had his way and not be so diplomatic, he would have been the “Simon Cowell” of the night. I thought of meeting him after the show but since he said he only arrived in the evening and was leaving first thing the next morning, I shelved those plans and let him rest for the night. I told him I knew he was holding back his laser thoughts and he agreed that he was trying hard to be nice. He told me he would be back soon on a social visit so perhaps we could meet up then. Good thing too cos the last time I met him in person was when he invited me to hang out at his studio when I went to KL to visit my Australian cousin who was posted there for 3 months, about 2 years ago.

Last Saturday, Aida and I went to the Malay Heritage Centre at the old Istana Kampung Glam. There was a bridal exhibition cum ideal wedding couples’ competition organised by Manja Magazine. We went there on the invitation of SJ Decors, who are the wedding decor specialists at Aida’s side. We began the day early, first stop was Orchard Cineleisure to watch “The Dukes of Hazzard” (Jessica Simpson‘s simply hot!!!). We arrived at the Malay Heritage Centre at about 2pm shortly after saying our Zuhur at the neighbouring Sultan Mosque. There were a few programmes lined up like cultural shows by renowned group Sri Warisan, a bridal fashion show, a teh-tarik competition as well as performances by Hetty Sarlene and Dayang Nurfaizah. The host was none other than Hafeez Glamour, one of the head writers of Manja.

We were both joined by my cousin Jatt and his fiancee Julie. Julie is also taking up SJ Decor‘s services for her side of the wedding. We managed to catch the bridal fashion show (the models were mostly Caucasians and were very beautiful and handsome, like dolls!!! There was even a guest appearance on the catwalk by Hetty Sarlene, Nurul Aini Ariffin and Rima Melati Sheila Adams…) and a dance performance by Sri Warisan. There was also a guest appearance by Aaron Aziz, who promoted Yew Home Design, his home contractors. And trust Hafeez to announce that Pujangga Malam was in the house when he was doing his random interviewing of the audience to kill time. Luckily I was standing from a distance so no one knew who I was, but people were looking left and right to see who was this eccentric character they hear on radio with his daily dose of laser comments. At 4pm, we watched the “Pasangan Ideal Manja” (Manja Ideal Couple) event albeit only up to the question-and-answer segment. I think this was a competition for recently-married couples to take part. We had quite a few good-looking couples but sadly they did not give smart answers, a bit bimbotic and “himbotic” (is there such a word???) at times. Some of them even tried to take the easy way out by saying they agreed with their husbands’ views.

By 4:30pm, we were off to Sultan Mosque, said our Asar and made our way to Prince / Jade Cinema about two bus stops away to catch “4 Brothers” at 5:15pm. That Andre Benjamin (of Outkast fame) can sure act. Compared to his funnyman role in “Be Cool“, this was his most serious yet and I was kinda surprised by the twists in the movie. You gotta watch it to catch my drift. Show over and we returned to Sultan Mosque yet again for Maghrib. We then went back to the Malay Heritage Centre to catch Dayang Nurfaizah in action.

She sang her English number “Need A Break” and her hits “Erti Hidup” and “Dayang Sayang Kamu“. Before the last song, she made the audience request for songs that she could sing like her old hits “Coretan Cinta“, “Seandainya Masih Ada Cinta” and “Kau Pergi Jua” amongst others. She also sang Beyonce Knowles‘ “Dangerously In Love” in a manner that even Beyonce would have been proud of if she had heard it. Yours truly cheekily requested for Anuar Zain‘s “Rindu Belaian” just to see her reactions, since both of them are rumoured to be romantically-linked. She declined and said that the original singer should be the one singing, which made me wonder why the hell did she sing “Dangerously In Love” when it is not her song in the first place???

7. I despise camping sessions by the beach that my paternal side love to organise. They are so fond of camping that we could have about 12 tents at one go, all in different shapes and sizes. They go as far as Australia just to buy the gazebos and tentages. Whenever we have these camping sessions, we’ll have generators and all, complete with television and spotlights. Passers-by will always stop and admire them. Ok actually I love the camping sessions as they are meant to forge closer ties with my relatives and cousins (my dad has 18 siblings and god-knows how many cousins, nephews and nieces I have), but what I despise is the before and after stage. You see, the intention of organising is to rest and relax but we are only tiring ourselves by setting up the tents and cleaning up afterwards. So it defeats the purpose of “Rest & Relax“.

Se7en Things I Plan To Do Before I Die