Noodles on a hungry night

| Monday, February 23, 2009

I'll usually make myself a hot bowl of noodles to aid my growling tummy on some hungry nights. 

Geez.. didn't know these breakfast slices would come in handy! I bought mine at Carrefour.
I don't seem to notice these readily packed ones before coz I use to get them from the timbang counter. These are slightly thinner in pieces, but are just as great especially in noodles.

Do it like I did.. yummy!

Take a couple of slices out from the 1/2 frozen pack, cut it into strips. Chop some garlic to go with it. This time around, I have some leftover prawns (which I've marinated earlier) but didn't managed to use them, so I'm gonna chuck them in as well. If you have some kuchai in your fridge, you may also put them in.. easy peasy.


Heat up the frying pan. Put some olive oil (or whatever oil you have in your kitchen).. then in goes the chicken strips and/or prawns (do it separately, of course). Fry till crispy.
Then get ready a small pot, layer it with oil (only slightly). You don't want your noodles too get to oily.. Put it the chopped garlic, fry till fragrant.

Pour in some hot water.. as it boils up into tiny bubbles, put in your packet of noodles. Any types of noodles would do, but I prefer mine Cintan or MiSedap as the noodles are not as soggy as Maggi.. =)

Then of course those msg stuffs that comes together with the packet of noodles. If you're a health freak, you shouldn't even be trying this.. lol

As it's almost done, throw in the tiny prawns & chicken strips. Leave it for 30 secs. Then it's ready to be served.

Ooo.. can't wait to dip in.. oh, and don't forget the chilli padi's for those who likes it hot!



Pet Society: Newbie!

| Sunday, February 22, 2009

I have no idea how to manipulate this game! Am still trying hard.. It's like taking forever to get from 1 place to another even with it's shortcut keys. Or has it got to do with this damn streamyx being slow?


Somethings which I'm stuck with.. how do I change it?
The look of my pet - it's in ugly purple with ears stickin' out! How can I change it?!
And it's name! I wanna change it's name tooo!! dang!

I just got some advise from a dear friend, Karin.. saying that I should be visiting other pets who are dirty & hungry, give them something to eat & a bath to earn some dough. Great! Am just gonna do that!

And Samm, how come you've got so many rooms? o_0

Oh, I've just learn how to bathe & give this lil' fella some happiness =D

See Grumpy.. hmm.. no wonder he looks grumpy! Who wouldn't in such outfit!


Down Memory Lane

| Saturday, February 21, 2009

Tis' old KTM building is still looking good. 
It brings back a lot of memories each time I drive past it....

It started when I was in Primary 3. I used to travel with grandma to Kuala Lumpur, the big city as I recall. Each year end school holiday, I was allowed a trip to KL with her. We always took the train from Ipoh to KL. Know why? Grandma usually packed as if we're going away for a year! We'd carry 1 extra large case (for her) and 1 medium suit case for me together with her medication pouch. The amount of things she brought along is unbelievable! 

I'll always get fifty Ringgit of pocket money (it was a lot those days - 1980's) from mom. She's always afraid that I would get lost on my own, and so I had this little pouch which I carry every where I went, with a Ipoh /KL home address, office & home number. Those days we do not have mobile phones. So she taught me how to use the public phones or anybody's phone to call home, it's still ringing in my ears, 'remember Lian, if you're calling home from your Kooma's place in KL, you must put a 05 in front.. otherwise, you won't be able to get to me'. Then, she'd make me practice in front of her.. 

Then me & grandma would board the train from the railway station in Ipoh, lugging along these extra large cases with their help, stuffed it into the luggage compartment. There was none actually, we've just got to put it near the exit, for it'll be easier to unload them later.. Then I'd always be wondering, how the hell are we gonna get these things off the train if Kooma has not arrive before we did! Well, most of the time we were lucky enough to have young men helping her. She's was a hot chick.. during her younger days! 

Mom & dad would drop us off, made sure that we've both got our seats right, before they'd leave the train station. Each time mom sends us off, I feel a pang of sadness. I knew I'm so gonna miss her and her bed time stories from the cartoon section of the daily papers.. 

The sound of whistle is heard.. The train master waving the tiny white flag, as a signal for the train to roll on. The train starts chugging slowly, the sound of it huffing & puffing and each time followed by a loud sound from it's chimney.. A tear rolled down my face. Waving dearly to mom & dad.. That was the first time I left home without them both.

Piggy Banks of RapidKL

| Thursday, February 19, 2009

How efficient are these 'Piggy Banks'?!

Can someone tell me if this a good implementation by RapidKL buses?


On it was stated:

"Sediakan wang tambang tepat.
Pamerkan jumlah tambang kepada pemandu.
Masukkan tambang ke dalam tabung.
Sila ambil tiket dan simpan untuk pemeriksaan."

Terima kasih.

Was there even a chance for passengers to read what was written here? How about the foreigners.. they must be wondering what was stated there..

As long as I was on the bus, I managed to see 1 lady slotting some money into it. It was all rolled up.. you wouldn't even know how much is being slotted in. In fact, how would you as a passenger to prove that you've put in the correct amount into the 'piggy bank'. How infact, if the drivers would rectify if the money was good (not vandalized or torn in halves) or if you were putting coins, how would the drivers know if that was the exact amount?

I would see that the old fashion coin box was a more logical implementation where there's a see thru' glass, where drivers & the passengers can see the amount being slotted in. At least the drivers of RapidKL can detect bad money as & when it was slotted in... probably.... 

Is this 'piggy bank' the best idea that they could come out with, when they were at one time accusing drivers of 'makan duit'?
Beats me...

Moreover, I've seen 'smart businessman' who picks up used tickets at bus terminals and resell them for a Ringgit. 

At NO cost, just 100% profit!

Rapid KL - Bad Attitude Driver

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We had wanted to go to Jalan 222 yesterday. We opt to take the Rapid KL buses and so we hopped on to U41 from Jalan Chan Sow Lin that would take us to Klang bus stand. And I thought to myself, 'this journey isn't that bad' as some complains...


We reached Klang bus stand at 3.15 p.m. There wasn't much jam, so it took us only 15 minutes to arrive. Cool, it was better that driving there ourselves. Now we will just have take the U84 which heads to Kelana Jaya. No, that's not our destination - but it passes Jalan 222, and so we would stop there.

We waited thinking that it would take us not more that 20 minutes max.. as promised by Rapid KL that they would supply buses to each routes with a gap of 15 minutes each. 

It's way past 15 minutes and not a U84 in sight. As we waited, there was about 6 or 7 units of U74 which came in, pick up passengers and left. And not one unit of U84 by Rapid KL !? And mind you, not all of the U74 was jam packed but still they jalan!

At last, at a little past 3.45 p.m... the U84 arrived.. moved in slowly to park by the side.. and I could see everyone moving fast towards it. Most of us stood in a line, (wah! Malaysians finally learned to queue!!).. waited for the last passenger to leave before we went up.


Bam! The driver slammed the door in our faces!! What the hell was that for?! The first in the queue was an elderly man, was rather taken aback.

So PJ went over to the driver and asked him politely - 'when is this bus schedule to leave?'
'I have to report to the master', the driver answered while gulping his bottle of water.
Without answering to his initial question, he stepped down and walked off, to God knows where.

So everyone of us waited at the same spot... And at the same time, hoping that there would be another U84 coming in. Unfortunately, there was NONE!!

30 minutes! 30 blarrrdy minutes was how long he took to report to the master!
And in fact, he was puffing away with some friends or drivers below the LRT station.. Oh yes, we saw him standing there trying to camouflage himself among the other drivers.
As I remember, there were articles on the frequency which I quote

"trunk line service with a 10-minute frequency as compared to the old system"

and I can't seemed to find any press statements stating that they will be serving buses in an hours frequency...!!!! 

Why can't he just tell these passengers that he needed a break, tak kisah lah toilet break ke, rokok break ke, makan break ke, lunjur kaki break ke.. whatever.. all he had to do was to explain. It isn't that hard, right? I see some drivers do that. And none would actually complain, for we do understand - coz we too drive. We too need breaks, for the legs needs some rest sometimes. Fine!

At last he decided that he should continue his journey at 4,15 p.m..
And so he went up the bus, sat there for a good 2 minutes before he decided to open the door.
Still we tried to calm ourselves down. Just maybe, he had a bad day..

Then PJ tried talking to him again. This time it was to ask if he could help stop us anywhere near the Maybank at triple 2.. Not that we don't know where Maybank was, but we just weren't sure where the nearest bus stop was.

Know what he said, 'Kamu tak tau nak pegi mana?' and continued mumbling under his breath.. Lagi orang sabar, lagi dia kasi naik angin.. Maybe, he just didn't understand our question.. Fine.. We didn't want to argue with him coz we didn't want to spoil the whole day, half spoil was enough....

We even managed to witness how he left some passengers at KL Sentral as they were approaching the bus. We saw one of them signaling for the bus and the driver sort off slowed down at a distance from where the crowd was... seems like it was done on purpose (I think), and left them there as they were walking towards the bus.... (I guess "ah, lembab lah these people" was playing in the drivers mind)... Some experience!

Now,we are at the 222 junction, exit from the highway.. 
A lady pressed the buzzer for the next stop. I thought, 'Oh maybe, just maybe she's warning the driver that she will disembark at the next bus stop (in front of BHP)'.. Suddenly, this driver opens the back door to let her down.. where there wasn't a bus stop in sight!! What happens if some motorists slams into her??? 

Such an irresponsible person! I've seen passengers that had wanted to go down in the middle of traffic jams or traffic lights.. but most drivers would be smart enough to know that they are only allowed to drop off passengers at its rightful bus stops, for if anything happens to the passenger - part of the blame would go to them. 

We arrive at the bus stop closest to the Maybank... and instead of telling us, he just "pointed out the bus stop with HIS NOSE"....

Soon I realized, he doesn't look like someone who has encountered a bad day. 
He looked like some one with a bad attitude problem!

Kemensah Chalet - Birthday Party

| Monday, February 16, 2009

Birthday parties are great fun! 
We had such great time at one of the Kemensah waterfall last Sunday. It was held at the 'Kemensah Chalet'. I heard there is quite a few waterfalls there.
The party was for a little boy whom we all adore!  His mommy & abah threw a birthday bash for him. Lucky kid!
Wet suits & bikinis are just about the hippiest items to bring along.. It is now the time for get-together's!!

It was a downright cheerful sight to see them kids so colorful in tiny bikini tops & wet suits.

They went bonkers & started jumping into the water once they arrived. Some even brought along their floats and other water toys. Wah, even the maids threw themselves in, even though it was not as clear as it was supposed to be, as some buggers from the higher grounds were digging and building a swimming pool or something.

But, what the heck! There's some pretty decent toilet/bathrooms made available nearby, can go shower later. No hal lah!

It was also a short break for the maids, other than the usual household chores & feeding the kids.. this is the time to relax a little bit lah. The mams' & tuans' were all very understanding - & allow them to have their bits of fun with the kids! The mommies & daddies did a great job in creating some happening games for the kids too! I've so many other pictures of daddies doing the shuffle & blowing ping pong balls! - but couldn't put it up here! They'll kill me for that.. wakakaka.. 


We were late, but we weren't the last to arrive. There's some who was even later than us.. =P

The Hulk Family

The zoo entrance was all jammed pack with vehicles queuing to get into their parking.. It was a Sunday, whadya' expect - everybody going to the zoo to see the seals do thier tricks!!

That was about the only road that could lead us up there. Wah, the road is very winding, damn scary. And here we thought the old road leading to Cameron Highland is teruk. Slip of the wheel - can terus slide into the sungai man!

We had to drive past the Kampung Kemensah, another jam coz' got some folks wedding going on! We had wanted to stop by to check it out... coz' some fellas' urshered us to park our car.. maybe they thought we were friends of the bride.. lol

We drove on quite a bit more - seems like never ending.. we kept looking out for the signboard that says 'Kemensah Chalet' but instead we saw 'Joran...... something something' (can't really recall).. some fishing place.. I guess.

The roads were eventually getting narrower, dang! Still tak sampai lagi..
After another 10 minutes of driving which felt like forever, we saw the sign!!

"Kemensah Chalet".. yay!

Now, we were faced with another problem.. Looking out for them. We saw some familiar looking cars.. but couldn't see any familiar faces.. There were quite a number of families at those tiny little huts which has it's own bbq pits nearby.. all bbqing in the hot hot sun! omg!

I started to check my phones.. shit! Maxis got no line! Celcom only one bar! I tried calling.. alamak no one picking up their phones!! Sei loh! How lah to find them!?

Some fellas' greeted us, but we (err.. not we, I) made like terrer.. told them we were looking out for our friends who's throwing a party.. We took to the left.. started searching.. aik.. don't tell me they all went deep into the hutan!? (At 1st we weren't told about the waterfall). My good friend initially told me earlier that the kids had wanted to camp! We didn't see any campers.. and there was only one other path.... & that leads us into the hutan.. I told myself, oh maybe they went in there..

But...

Luckily PJ still has some logic left.. he turned back, walked towards the fellas' at the little hut that acts as their registration counter and asked if they could direct us to where the party was.
Kan dah malu.. I pandai pandai told him I should be able to find them.. ahaks..

Aiyooo.. the party was at the other side lah.. The path to the right. They closed this section.. only for invited guests.. That's why, next time when people offer to help... don't pandai-pandai walk off.. !! Silly me!


The Officials

MacBook Problem

| Friday, February 13, 2009

We were told that this MacBook has some problems.. that it couldn't start up.


After much diagnostics.. we had no choice but to send it to the operation theater.
As we opened it up.. this is what we saw.



See these 2 pieces of RAM ?


There were strokes of white stains on both pieces of the RAM and also 
at the edge of the RAM slots.

Curious as we were, we took some pictures of it before repairing it. Then as the client came over, we showed him what actually happened to his notebook. He turned around, looked at his little girl.. she shied away. Fear in her eyes. She eventually owned up saying that it happened while she watching some dvd, but didn't tell us what actually was spilled on it! We managed to clean it up for him and walla' the machine started up without any problem.. 

Moral of the story: Do not leave your notebook unattended with a child, for they may get over excited while watching Little Nemo & tries to swim with a cup of milk it their hands...

Haywire!

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This is what will happen when the hands, gatal-gatal go change this, change that.. now the blarrrrdy templates & settings has all gone very very wrong!!!!!!


aaarrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

Tower Regency Hotel: Ipoh

| Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wah! The tallest building in Ipoh is ready for business, Tower Regency Hotel & Apartments. I also heard that the Sultan of Perak will be celebrating Valentine's Day here!! .. his 25th Anniversary falls on the same day mah.. 
What a nice coincidence kan?!



This place has 200 over rooms and the view is rather nice too. We went up to see from the top.. wah! really the tallest leh in Ipoh. Can see everything one shot!


We were invited to check out the rooms over there on CNY... They've already started operating the hotel but there was still some renovations taking place on the higher floors. I guess they were rushing for the grand occasion..



Business folks should  check out their hotel. Nice, comfy and easy access to anywhere in town. Also, if there's a need to entertain your clients, there's a new pub just opposite the hotel. And if you're coming along with your family or intend to stay longer, then you may opt for their service apartments.


The Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (MBI) is just a couple of minutes walk from here.

We finished off the tour with a round of green tea served at their lounge. 
It's very nice & spacy with cool furnishings.



Tasik Kenyir Express

| Wednesday, February 11, 2009

It was the morning of 27 December 2008. We got a call & we were kinda excited.. We were told that a new fleet of buses by Tasik Kenyir Express would be launched at the Dataran Putrajaya.

We arrived at 10a.m. It hasn't started.. There was a slight delay. The ribbons weren't fixed yet!

Soon the VIP's arrived. It was officiated by Y.B. Encik Wan Abdul Hakim, Timbalan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Perlancongan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan, Negeri Terengganu (much too long to translate).

There were 3 buses parked under the grand aluminium arch. The amount of people that attended..hmm.. kinda saddening. Either the Dataran Putrajaya is too huge that it looked empty or they must have not invited enough participants and guests to this event. There was also a Treasure Hunt in conjunction to the launch. Interesting.. 

We managed to kepoh with the operator & they said that their buses were assembled by SCOMI using the Nissan UD JA452S.... and it's a 38 seater !!

For those who wish to travel to Tasik Kenyir from Kuala Lumpur (Hentian Putra), Kuala Perlis and Alor Setar get on their buses now!

I picked up some info from here:

Transportation ( Bus )
A direct bus service, The Tasik Kenyir Express departs daily at 8.00 p.m from Hentian Putra in Kuala Lumpur to Tasik Kenyir via Al Muktafi Billah Shah Town and Kuala Berang. Fares for all destinations are as below :

Destination Fare:
Kuala Lumpur - Tasik Kenyir RM28.70
Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Berang RM26.45
Kuala Lumpur - Al Muktafi Billah Shah RM22.50


We waited for the last of Treasure Hunt participants to take off, before we left the event.
Then off we went to WT's house to see his newborn baby!


That's them on the Kenyir Express.. CM, WT & PJ.. happily posing!