Year 2010 is almost here and with it a comes new challenges and experiences to look forward to. But year 2009 is the year that will always be the one that I will always cherish and remember. Let's review what happened to me in 2009.
Getting Engaged (14th December 2008)
Yeah..yeah. I know this did not happen in 2009 but this is my year review, so back off. I got engaged to a beautiful and intelligent young lady by the name of Noor Azhani Bini Shamsudin. We were office mates at Shell Shared Service Centre Kuala Lumpur.
We decided to get engaged after a very short dating period (very very short) and the engagement itself was a small family affair. It was simple but memorable with all the family around us.
Goodbye Shell, Here I Come Tune Talk! (20th April 2009)
I decided to quit working at Shell Shared Service Centre Kuala Lumpur after almost 3 years there. This is where I met my future wife, gained new experiences, made memories and also friends. However, it was time to move on and I think it was also time for me to grow career wise.
Hi Tune Talk (5th May 2009)
After leaving Shell, I am now at Tune Talk. A young and upcoming mobile telecommunications company that will be a major player in the mobile phone network game. I am at the right place and at the right time to be part of a pioneer group of people in bringing up this company.
This is where I think I would be able to grow more in terms of my career and also as a person. Hopefully, all my plans and hopes for Tune Talk will become true.
Getting Married to Noor Azhani Binti Shamsudin (24th July 2009)
I waved goodbye to my bachelor years and opened my heart and life to Noor Azhani Binti Shamsudin, my wife. After 7 months of being engaged, we got married.
It was a very hectic and busy yet beautiful and memorable weekend in my life. It started off with the akad nikah at Azhani's place and adding to the pressure of it all, the akad was done by her dad. It was intense and nerve wrecking. But at the end of it, I got through it. At one go ONLY!!!
The two receptions at Bangi (Azhani's side) and Shah Alam (my side) was tiring but very beautiful to us. We did not feel the strain of it all as we were having the time of our life. Thank you to every one that came and also to my family that worked hard to make it happen.
Azhani is Pregnant (6th September 2009)
It was only 6 weeks after we became husband and wife. We did planned to start having a family off the bat. The news that my wife was pregnant brought excitement that I will become a dad in 2010. Insya'Allah.This is the main reason I can't wait for 2010 to come.
Our First Hari Raya together (23rd September 2009)
Last year, I celebrated Hari Raya as a single man. But this year I have someone to share the day with. I have a new family and although I miss celebrating the 1st day of Hari Raya at Taiping but that is just a small thing to miss after looking at the bigger picture. Celebrating Aidilfitri morning at Bangi then going back to Taiping right after Raya prayers. Nice.
I know I did not mention a lot of what happened in 2009 that affected the whole world like the passing of Michael Jackson but these events were the one that I will cherish most in 2009.
There are a lot of tasty and juicy burgers out there. I'll just put the top 3 burgers. Each one are the marquee or trademark burgers for each seller. Let me know which one do you like or better if you got other choices. If you have a good one, I might go out and find it.
So, here are the contenders:
The Whopper
from Burger King
Big Mac
from
McDonalds
Burger Ramly Ayam Double Special with Cheese
from Ramly Burger
Like me, I'll always take Burger Ramly over the others anytime. Especially if you wrap the burger with eggs and toss in some mayo and cheese. My mouth is watering already. How about you??
Congrats to all in the Tune Talk family for reaching 400,000 subscribers in only 4 months of operation.
For you out there. Haven't got your Tune Talk number yet?? Visit www.tunetalk.com and subscribe to the cheapest mobile prepaid in the country. Now we're talking!
My wife will always say " lelaki mesti nak cari yang lawa and cantik aje" (guys always look for pretty and beautiful girls) or guys will only love their woman when they are slim and pretty. And then I would reply, "dari mata cinta turun ke hati" (eyes will see love then the heart will follow). This would bring a shake of the head from her.
Today, in the car on our way to Kota Damansara for another wedding ( please don't let me see another plate of nasi minyak, dalca, ayam rempah and daging dinding), I told my 5 months pregnant wife that she looks more and more radiant as each day passes by.
Her reply was "mana ada cantik lah sayang. Aza makin besar and banyak bintik-bintik merah kat badan". Well, I know that the red spots are due to the hormonal changes that is happening to her. I just smiled when listening to this.
I asked her "So you want me to love you when you are beautiful and slim, sayang? I can do that if you want me to". I added my comment with a sly grin. Her reaction? Silence and a big smile on her now red face. Priceless.
Again, a horrible road accident as a result of human carelessness occurred. The Sani Express bus that crashed at Km 272.8 on the North-South Expressway resulting in 10 people dead was due to the driver falling asleep at the wheel. The admission was from the bus driver himself. Breathalyzer and blood test done on the driver came out negative.
The two tier bus was heading north before it skidded and hit the road divider around 1 a.m. The victims were seated on the lower deck. The two drivers and 36 other passengers were only slightly injured. The crash did created a temporary slowed down the traffic flow at that stretch and it only eased up around 8 a.m.
Police have remanded the driver until Wednesday to facilitate them in their investigations.
Not all bus drivers are bad. But some are really reckless and can be called rogues on the roads. I really hope the authorities come down hard on the driver and be made an example to other bus drivers.
Last week, muslims all around the world greeted the new Islamic year or Hijrah. My parents decided to have a doa selamat/kenduri arwah to welcome the new year and also to remember and sedekah some prayers to family members and friends that have left us.
The family having some grub and catching up outside.
It was a family affair and close neighbors that we considered as our extended family were also invited. My grandmother, Tok Esah also came from Taiping together with my Aunty Anom with whom she lives with. The other usual suspects were also there.
Amanina is very fond of Ayah
My in-laws (Azhani's family) also came all the way from Bangi. I do miss them especially Eiman and Eisha with whom I've grown quite attached to. Thanks for coming mak, ayah, kak Ayu, abg Man and those little two kiddos.
It is always great to get the family together. Catching up, jokes, laughter and stories were all in abundance. It's really not that hard to get them all together at one place but each other schedules is the only thing that prevents it from being it a frequent event.
Amanina munching on an orange slice and making it looking cute with ease
Great food, family was rocking as usual, weather was nice and cool, so what more can you ask for. It won't be long before another gathering will be on the cards.
Pak Lang getting laughs out from the ladies
Little Amanina being her cute self
It's tiring being a cutie pie as Amanina sleeps without a care in the world
Hi everybody, My name is Bo, I would like to tell my story. It all started one week ago. A few friends of mine that I knew all my life which I would never suspect them to be addicts were doing it last week and got me hooked on it. Without me knowing, they have been doing this for a couple of months now. They say they cannot go a week without it. At least they would do it once a day if possible.
I met them last week for a regular teh tarik session without knowing I would be an addict to the worse kind of addiction. We had our usual talk, silly stuff, nothing really specific then one of the pulled out the box of the addiction. I said I did not want to have anything to do with it but they kept pushing me to try it and I would like it once I tried it.
I caved in to the pressure and tried it. I got hooked. Then I wanted more. And more. I started buying it myself. Selling at RM19.90 a box, its cheap. I got others hooked onto it. My brothers, my wife and other friends. I am sorry to them for dragging them into this.
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Here is my poison.......the Monopoly Deal Card Game.
The Monopoly Deal Card Game is a shortened version of the popular board game. The game is addictive that once you've played it, you want to play it more and more. We had our hits anytime and anywhere. Mamak, McD, in the car, hotel lobbies..you name it. It can be easily bought at any Toys R' Us stores or MPH or any reputable toy store. They shouldn't be selling these addictions in such places.
when we were having our fix
I was on the straight and narrow road before you arrived but now I am on a spiral downwards to destruction. Damn you Monopoly Deal Card Game!!!!
Yesterday, I went to war....on a Tuesday! The whole of Tune Talk (www.tunetalk.com) came together at Canyon Paintball, located at Kota Damansara (inside The Club) for a war amongst ourselves. Yes...against each other. The whole event was set up as a team building exercise. Great! I can finally break my paintball virginity.
Canyon Paintball battlefield
We were split into two teams, Team A & Team B, my team. Wish we had thought of more gempak or more creative names for our teams but pretty names don't win you the war. Tune Groundshakers would had Team A quacking in their boots.
The weaklings........ Team A
The strong and mighty..... Team B (me on the left with war face on)
We were briefed by David from Canyon Paintball on the rules of paintball. "Sock off !, mask on!" and "Sock on!, mask off!" were ringing in my ears throughout. The other most important rule was NEVER take of your head gear. A stray pallet would make you lose your eyesight. Although it is miles different then the real thing, the marshalls want you to think it is a real war. I think it's a good thing cos in a real battle, you lose your life.
David giving us the briefing
After the briefing, we were brought to the battlefield. We went through 3 scenarios:
1st Scenario: Free for all
The team that has the most team members still alived after the buzzer, was the victor. My team, Team B won. I didn't get shot and managed to hit 3 members of Team A. Team A zero ; Team B 1. Nice start.
2nd Scenario: Capture the Flag
The first team to capture the flag wins. Don't you know it. Team B won again. The ever gung ho, Jason Lo captured the flag and again we were victorious. Team A NIL; Team B 2. Bring it!!!
3rd Scenario: Command and Conquer
The first team to touch or get over the other's team's wall is the winner. They had a time limit of 15 minutes for 2 games each for this scenario. I became a bit Rambo in this scenario. I ran down the middle with the gun blazing but got shot before I got to their wall. But I managed to shoot 3 people on my way. I was out in a blaze of glory.Nice!
Both teams shared the spoils for the 3rd scenario. It was a good fight. I liked the last scenario. Maybe due to my Rambo-ness.
Then, we all went back to base camp to see what the damage was. My final score was 6 killed at my hands and I got 5 "souvenirs". I realised that the pallets that did not burst hurt more than those that did burst. Arrggghh!!!
Then, we had a little Xmas exchange gift among ourselves. Jason gave out the gifts ala Santa. The whole thing was a "Secret Santa" type of thing. So, now one knew who gave what to whom.
I got a box of Fererro Rocher. Thank you to the secret santa. But I was kinda sad getting them cos I know I wont get to have one once my wife sets her sight on them. Bummer!
Life is like a box of chocolates...
Jason getting his Xmas present
Us with our "One Lick" coupons...hahaha..
All in all, it was a great team building success. Everyone had a blast and some got blasted.....by me. Will do it again if given the chance.
Hari ini merupakan di antara hari yang meletihkan dalam hidup aku di atas muka bumi ini. Aku telah membawa isteriku yang sedang mengandung 5 bulan berjalan-jalan di One Utama dan aku ingat dia yang akan letih cepat, sangkaan aku gila meleset. Dia pulak yang steady and aku pulak yang tercungap-cungap.
Sebelum ni, morning sickness dia agak teruk sampai kena sediakan plastik bag in case of emergency di tengah jalan. So, untuk lebih kurang 3 bulan sebelum ini dia tak dapatlah nak berjalan sangat. Kalau berjalan lebih sikit aje, mesti loya dan terkeluarlah isi perut. Tapi kali ini timing dia memang mengena.
Ada pulak YES (Year End Sale) sekarang, so makin ligatlah dia menerjah kedai-kedai di OU tadi. Parksons, Jusco, Padini, Esarli, kedai 5 ringgit dan macam-macam lagi kedai. Nasib baik isteriku ini bukan jenis shopping tapi lebih kepada window shopping. Tapi mungkin sangkaan aku ini meleset juga sekali lagi. Mungkin dia tgh melakukan kerja-kerja meninjau barang-barang dan merancang utk second attack nanti. Akan ku hadapi dengan tabah.
Wahai isteriku yang amat glowing sekarang, harapanku awak bawalah bertenang ya bila nak berjalan-jalan tu. Anak pertama kita amat di nanti. Tidaklah mahu apa-apa yang tidak diingini berlaku kepada si kecil comel dan ibunya.
The UEFA Champions League draw for the knockout stages will be done today. European giants such as Internazionale, AC Milan and Bayern Munich could be drawn against English team as they had finish second ion their groups. The English teams however will will avoid meeting Real Madrid.
The draw will be divided into 2 pots:
Pot 1 (Group Winners): Bordeaux, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Barcelona, Sevilla, Arsenal.
Pot 2 (Runners Up): Bayern Munich, CSKA Sofia, AC Milan, Porto, Lyon, Inter Milan, Stuttgart, Olympiakos.
The draw will be shown on ASTRO Channel 812 ESPN at 7 PM today.
A family friend of ours has a shop near to our home. It's a relatively small sundry shop, but it does OK, I guess. The one who usually takes care of the shop - we'll just call him Ali from hereon - is quite the joker. He jokes a lot with a lot of people too.
One day, Ali was about to close shop when this guy who looks serabut, to say the least, enters the shop.
"Cari apa bang?" Ali asked.
"Saja tengok2.." the guy answered.
A few minutes later, the guy approached the counter and whipped out a parang!
A stone-faced Ali asked, "Apa ko nak?", as if a parang to his face is nothing new.
"Aku nak duit!" the guy shouted. Stupid as well, with no mask on.
"Nah." Ali said as selamba as sleep.
"Argh, aku serabut, aku serabut!" the robber said.
"Apa lagi ko nak?" a still stone-faced Ali asked.
"Rokok, aku nak rokok!"
"Rokok apa? Winston? Kaler apa?" Ali asked.
"Merah dengan putih!" the demanding robber asked. Siap demand lagi...
"Berapa?" Ali asked again, starting to show off his true colours as a real-life joker.
The robber was starting to get pissed off, "Banyak pulak tanya ko! Bagi je la!"
Cigarettes and money in hand, the robber made a run for it, but not before Ali got hold of the car's license plate number and make.
And then, he shouted to his mum upstairs, "Mak, kita kene rompak!!"
And his mum reply was a solid...
"Ko jangan cakap mcm2 la Ali!!"
No doubt, his mum thought he was joking.
And more customers started to come in and asked for kelapa and rokok...
Ali just said to them, "Ohhh, masa perompak datang kedai, ko tak nak pulak datang sini kan??"
Well, I just like to say sorry for what happened.. but that story was just waiting to be told!
Sejak pagi lagi, topic hot yang menjadi bualan rakyat Malaysia (bukan topic Zizie Izette nak kahwin dengan menteri) ialah final Sukan SEA antara Malaysia dan Vietnam. Masuk kereta, pasang radio aje, terus radio topic atau persoalan yang di bincangkan, "bolehkah Malaysia tamatkan darurat 20 tahun?"
Seronok juga dengar komen-komen pemanggil ttg final ni. Sambutan ini menunjukkan rakyat Malaysia mmg sentiasa menyokong sukan bolasepak Malaysia. Tetapi selalu di kecewakan. Tapi tidak lagi.
Tadi setelah boss di office bagi chance balik awal, dengan cepatnya aku pick-up isteri yang sarat mengandung tu dan merentas traffic jam Federal Highway yang mmg takkan surut. Dalam kereta perbualan ini berlaku:
Aku: Ish..derang nih tak nak tgk Malaysia main final ke?
Isteri: Alaa...takyah tgklah awak. Kalau ramai-ramai tengok mesti Malaysia kalah.
Aku: Mana ada camtu..ishh..apsal mamat depan nih slow sangat?
Isteri: Bola tu tetap bulat lah awak..tak payah lah rushing...
Aku: Ye sayang....!@##$@$ (dalam nada perlahan di tujukan pada pemandu-pemandu lain yang slow)
Sampai rumah..on tv....baru half time. Score 0 - 0. Fuhh. Still ok nih. Ada chance nih. Sempat buat air and amik kerepek dari tin Milo besar kat dapur tu.
2nd half start. Malaysia buat serangan pertama. Sikit lagi. Sayang, seribu kali sayang (bak kata Hj Hasbullah Awang). Akupun terus tgk dgn asyik dan akhirnya saat yang diidamkan muncul. GOAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!
Jaringan dari Safiq Rahim pada minit ke 85. Malaysia 1 - Vietnam 0.
5 minit je lagi. Bertahan!! Vietnam humban semua ke arah gol Malaysia. Minit 90. 4th official angkat time board.....6 minit masa tambahan???!!!! WTF!!?!? Apa kau ingat ni macam Man Utd lwn Man City ke??
Tapi aku amik ini sebagai tanda baik sebab Man Utd menang selepas 6 minit tu..Glory Glory!! (sempat lagi tu). Pemain-pemain Malaysia pulak cuba bersungguh2 utk membuat semua rakyat Malaysia sakit jantung dgn membuang bola. Peganglah bola tu. Bukan dengan tangan tapi jgnlah sepak merata-rata.
Priit priiit prriiiiiiitttt!!! Tiupan wisel pengadil yang akhirnya menandakan berakhirnya penantian Malaysia dan seluruh rakyat Malaysia selama 20 tahun. 20 tahun yang penuh dgn kekecewaan dan harapan-harapan palsu. Malaysia kini juara!!!
Tahniah kepada K.Rajagopal, jurulatih yang amat down to earth (tak spt coach Malaysia yang terakhir tu yang sekarang jadi jurulatih Kelantan) & juga terutama sekali pemain-pemain Malaysia yang bermain dgn corak permainan yang boleh di banggakan.
Diharapkan kemenangan ini boleh dibina untuk lebih banyak kejayaan.
Tuan Haji Ramly Moknin was conferred the title Dato' by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in conjunction with the Sultan's 64th Birthday celebration last week.
I think it is about time that this Malaysian institution is given the recognition that it deserves. All Malaysians know the awesome taste of a juicy Ramly Burger Special. A little bit background story on the Ramly Burger. It started off as a small family business operating from a cart at Lorong Haji Hussain in Kuala Lumpur. Seeing that their family recipe was a big hit with the masses, Haji Ramly Moknin and his wife Puan Hajjah Shalah Siah Abdul Manap setup a meat processing factory and called it Ramly Food Processing. From there on, a legend was born.
Again, I would like to congratulate Dato' Haji Ramly Moknin on this proud moment for him and his family.
Bidadari Exotic Beadworks are beautiful crafted handmade woman's jewelery and accessories created and designed by Reena. Reena is a friend of mine and is married to Nasron, a collegue at Tune Talk..che che cheng (Tune Talk's tag sound). They have a son together name Wildaan.
A couple of items that are the creation of Reena:
You can find more of Reena's creations by visiting
Orang tua kata kalau kita gelak selalu, nanti hati keras atau gelap. Tapi sekali sekala, gelak ni boleh tolong hilangkan stress dalam hidup harian kita. Ada bukti mengatakan ia baik untuk kesihatan.
Terjumpa video nih dan terus tak boleh stop gelak. Bila tengok bayi ni gelak sebab sehelai kertas yang koyak, kita rasa hidup kita sebenarnya simple sahaja. Cuma perlu tahu di mana perlu kita berhenti, tarik nafas atau gelak atau pun senyum.
We beat the host team 3 - 1 in the final. K.Rajagopal's boys played a hard fought match against a solid Laotian team who were backed by almost a full capacity stadium.
The last time Malaysia played in the final was in 2001 when the games were held in Kuala Lumpur and last won the football gold in 1989 also in Kuala Lumpur when the national team was under the guidance of Trevor Hartley.
Malaysia's goals were scored by Baddrol Bakhtiar who scored twice in the 14th and 79th minute. Safiq Rahim scored the final goal in the 85th minute.
Our boys will meet the Vietnam team that had beaten Malaysia in the group stages.
Come on boys! Bring back the goal. Malaysia Boleh!!!!
That is most of us at the end of the month, that is even IF we manage to get there. Some of us are even THERE within 5 days after we get our salary. Where did our hard earned money gone??? I just got it, but now its....GONE!!!
Most of us have gone through this almost every month and it really sucks. No money = sucks. It's as simple as that. From what I can see, these penniless times can be avoided with a little bit of education and also a little bit of common sense. I'll try to share my wisdom and my two cents (well..i'll give you a penny, i'll keep the other penny if that's okay with you) on budgeting and savings based on my own practice and experiences.
1st Step: Write Down Your Expense
You need to know where your financial standing is on a monthly basis. Yup. Its a one step thing, man. So, keep your cool. Rome was not built in a day. Okay now, write down your monthly expenses based on these classes of expenses
Fixed Monthly Expenses
average monthly petrol, toll and parking paid,
average utility (water,electricity,phone),
credit card bills,
loan payments (house, car, study etc),
average monthly total spent for food at work
money given to parents,
average monthly groceries purchases,
ASTRO (IF you own one) and internet (again, IF you have it).
Entertainment & Luxury Items
movies
sports (futsal, bowling etc)
dining out (teh tarik sessions, family outing)
Savings
the amount depends after you calculate both the expenses above.
the rule is, should be 10% of your income. the more, the better!!
2nd Step: How Much You Earn Monthly? Be honest, don't cheat!
If you have a fixed income, then that's fine. But if you have an up and down income, take the average. Take into account each sen. Even part time jobs count!
3rd Step: Add up and Subtract
Add up your expenses & savings, then deduct it from your income. Now you will have a real picture of your expenses.
Here is where you can decide where you can cut down on or even take out all together. For example, rather than going to McD every week, make it once every 2 weeks. I myself go there ONCE a month (usually after month end accounts closing) but sometimes I don't even go there. Its true!
4th Step: Stick to the Game Plan & Stop Impulse (Mengikut kata hati) Buying
After the 3rd step above, you know where you can cut down or take out. Now, you must stick to the plan,
stop buying on impulse. Even buying a pack of Wrigleys chewing gum at the check out counter will throw you off your budget.
5th Step: Now you Have Your Budget
Now you have a plan, a budget..so stick with it! Write down for a whole month your ACTUAL expenditure. See whether your budget is on the dot or adjustments need to be made. Then after a month, revised your budget to make it better for your savings side, NOT your spending side.
Ok. Now, I have shared the 1st step on how I manage my money. I will share with you later on how I make money through saving money. So far, I have managed to buy myself a car, paid for my wedding & honeymoon and bought a condo in Mutiara Damansara from this. See you later and keep on budgeting. Bye!
My Myvi
P/S: Let me know whether my ways work for you or if you have other ideas /suggestions on how you do your budgeting and savings. I am always eager to learn and apply.