IT'S A PANDAN LIFE ...!

It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back. ~Mick Jagger #01 – Describe 10 things about the person who tagged you (Iman) 01 Iman is my cousin’s daughter. Her mom, Kak Yati, is Mak Chom’s daughter. Mak Chom was my dad’s half sister. Mak Chom and my dad shared the same father. 02 I’ve known Iman since she was a baby, back when her parents used to stay at Taman Permata. 03 I really like her name. Iman Hayat. It sounds so glorious and majestic. 04 I was told that Iman was named after her father’s friend (I think his friend is a female, of Arabic or African descent, I’m not sure), back when he used to study in the States. 05 I have never thought that she would do engineering. English or Humanities, was more like it. 06 Iman used to be my best friend back when I stayed with her family in Skudai. She was probably nine or ten years old at that time. It was my first teaching post, and I had no place to stay. We shared the same room for about two months and w...

Love and eggs are best when they are fresh. ~ Russian proverb. Telur pindang is simply delightful. I can’t get enough of them! I don’t remember when I actually acquired the taste but every time these eggs are available at home (normally in small quantities), my sisters and I would be fighting to get the eggs all to ourselves. When my sis got married last July, she insisted that every guest is given a telur pindang . I concurred, thinking of the number of telur pindang that I would be able to savour. When I got home for the wedding, my sis, mom, aunt and uncle were busy at the back of my grandma’s house, taking out the already boiled telur pindang from the large pots. The fragrant aroma of spices wafted through the air and I had half the mind to soak my self in the pots for a spice bath (is there such thing?). Because the smell was so nice, (like the taste , it is a smell that you have to acquire ), I quickly volunteered to fill the bakul telur with the eggs (so I can avail myself ...

If you have made another person on this earth smile, your life has been worthwhile.~ Sr. Mary Christelle Macaluso I wake up with a zest ‘Cause you make me smile I eat with pleasure ‘Cause you make me smile I work and I hum ‘Cause you make me smile I go home and don’t dread it ‘Cause you make me smile Now I’m trying to sleep And you still make me smile. 14.12.08 11.25 pm.

* KPI = key performance indicator = a business metric to evaluate factors that are crucial to the success of an organization After weeks of long tedious meetings discussing the KPI of the department, I was suicidal. Truly, I was. During the last meeting we had two days ago, I simply tuned off. I also prayed to God that my boss would disappear and never come back. Within minutes, my mind started to wonder about the many things that I would like to do once the meeting is over, and I started scribbling… A colleague sitting a few seats next to me, passed a note: Z, you look so engrossed. You’re not taking the minutes, are you? I replied: Nope. Unsatisfied (for I don't know what reason), she passed me another note: Huh? Then why are you scribbling so profusely? What are you up to? I handed her the paper I used to scribble, which goes like this: Jif Softlan Plastik sampah Scouring brush Kitchen towel Tissue Toothbrush Toilet Duck Mineral water HL Milk Calamansi Bread Milo Nescafe She th...

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? ~ Fanny Brice The term cam-whoring has been coined as early as 2001 but I only learned of its existence last week, by accident. I was perplexed for a while but after putting two and two together, I figured cam-whoring means doing something sexually explicit in front of the camera for others to view and I wasn’t far from wrong. A quick google the next day confirmed this. And to my surprise, cam-whoring can actually carry different meanings: 1. The act of exposing oneself on the Net in exchange for goods. 2. The act of posting pictures or videos of oneself on the Internet to gain attention. 3. The act of taking pictures of oneself and/or with one’s friends excessively. Well, I guess the meaning of cam-whoring has evolved over time. I can relate to meaning No. 1. I mean, it goes well with the meaning of whore, although a whore doe...

Four thousand volumes of metaphysics will not teach us what the soul is. ~ Voltaire 37 things you should know about me: 1. I'm no longer a clothes horse (My wardrobe can't take it anymore). 2. I still love dressing up for the occassion. 3. I'm still a coffee drinker. 4. I'm still a loyal friend. 5. I still believe in love (I still haven't been lucky). 6. I try to go to the gym three times a week (Killer body, what killer body??) 7. I'm still afraid of the dark. 8. I still can't say no to people I care about. 9. I believe aestheticism is very subjective (After reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, that is). 10. I still love kids. 11. I still have very few friends, maybe added one or two in the past year, but my friends won't be my friends if they aren't reliable. 12. I still try not to judge people. 13. I'm still open minded. 14. I still love CSI Vegas (But Grissom, do you have to go?). 15. I still love traveling. 16. I still love Europe. 17. I...

Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one's chosen form. ~ Stephen Nachmanovitch I am me Round, jagged and pink You are you Square, jagged and black Do we meet halfway? Or do we just holler from where we are and let our voices fade in time? * Suraya and I played this creative game during a long and tedious department meeting and this is the outcome. My words are italicized, Suraya's non-italicized.