Wake up call : DPA itu benar!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Mrs Ismail 1 Comments

After 2 years in public service, after failing to conceive within 2 years of my marriage (i take it as a sign that it's not our time yet. maybe it is meant for me to have a confirm & steady job first), after a few very short compulsory courses & training to prepare me, after all the rumours & speculations from my colleagues about when it's gonna happen & finally after preparing most of the stuff in the list provided, i am still in denial although the Diploma Pengurusan Awam (DPA) that i must attend for my job confirmation is only 2 weeks away.

On 18th April 2013, the official announcement was published in JPA's website. As i was checking my name & which INTAN campus was i assigned to, i still can't fathom the fact that i'll be leaving hubbee for about 6 months (that's how long DPA is). We've been through this before earlier in our marriage but that was only for 1 month when hubbee was still working in Terengganu. But now we have spoiled ourselves with each other's company & we still haven't figure out how we're gonna get through this. However, i'm sure with a determination & prayers hopefully we'll be fine (semoga segala urusan kami dipermudahkan..amin...).

As a 1st step, my application to swap campus with a dear friend had been approved (that's a good sign coz initially i got campus INTURA in Kedah. but then i swap to IKWAS in Kluang, Johor which is nearer if i wanna go back home whenever there's no activity/ program during weekend. kalau urusetia bg blk la). However, there's 1 thing that i've been postponing to do. Something that i should've done earlier this year which is ..... EXERCISE! i don't have any stamina nor am i athletic so i've started in January this year but then i stop until NOW. HOMAIGOD! what am i to do? we were warned during our briefing on 24th April 2013 that "DPA itu benar". but since that i had only walk up a hill with a friend once & swim with my hubbee once & that's it. i really should start jogging to build my stamina like NOW but i'm such a procrastinator.

Although i'm in denial with this whole DPA thing, apart of me was a bit excited to go so that i could get it over with quickly. so that piece of me had been pushing me to settle most of the things needed for DPA. i still have a few more stuff to look for. but the forms thingy were completed. i was relief to get the medical check up from KPJ Tawakal yesterday (like i said i cannot wait to get it over with. so i sacrifice some cash & go to a private hospital coz of the seriously long waiting list in government hospitals). But i was not happy with my blood test result. According to the doctor, my glucose & cholestrol level is a little bit over the borderline (terlebih dalam 0.something je). it may not be serious to some of u but seriously, it had been a wake up call for me. i never had this kind of result before. usually its normal. The doctor is very concern coz i'm still young (27 years old) so this should not be happening yet. i admit that i'm kinda a sweet tooth juz like my father. so she advised me to control my diet & do some exercise (live a healthy lifestyle). So i hope this wake up call is gonna give me the will power to do what's necessary to be a healthier me... insyaAllah...

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Wednesday, May 01, 2013 Mrs Ismail 1 Comments

If i'm not mistaken this cartoon has the longest title ever & its funny too. hee.. But this entry is totally about 'foodgasm' not the cartoon. sorry if anyone feels my entry title is misleading but i love this title coz i think its cute (tambah pulak lately musim hujan kan. so macam ada la tempias gak topik ni.hee..). So what's the big idea here?

Kiyomi Anniversary!

Friday, April 26, 2013 Mrs Ismail 1 Comments

This year is our 2nd year anniversary which is on 23rd April (23.4 mmg cantik la nombor. pd hal mse kawin pilih tarikh tu sbb nk make sure dekat2 dgn public holiday supaya x yah cuti rehat lama2.hee..). Our anniversary is on tuesday this week. Unfortunately, my hubbee was oncall this one whole week (sob..sob..tak jumpa hubbee seminggu..uwaa..). This is not how we wish to spend our time on our anniversary. So i decided to surprise my hubbee without jeopardising his job. Just a simple gesture to light him up in between his busy schedule.

Prior to this week, me & hubbee just came to know about this kiyomi that went viral. So we've been watching a few of kiyomi videos. Some are adorably cute and some are hilariously funny (ok why am i being redundant?). Then my hubbee begged me to do kiyomi too. I've been avoiding it by stalling & saying that i didn't know the steps. But the truth is i don't wanna do it coz kiyomi/ cute song will only look cute when done by very cute people (geddit?hee..). However, being apart from hubbee suddenly motivates me to do a kiyomi video as a gift for him. So the day before our anniversary, i recorded my own version of kiyomi video. Mind u though, i still don't know the steps.

So i thought that wearing sunglasses will not only make me look cool but it will also cover my eyes that is obviously not looking at the camera (takot kantoi la kunun yg sebenarnya tgh tiru video kiyomi org lain kat ipad.hahaa..). But in the end it just made look like mak datin diva. hahahaa... (dah la pergerakan kiyomi ku slow.hahahaa...).

Then on our anniversary night, i bought kenny rogers (take away/ tapau) & we ate together at his work place. After that, when i showed my kiyomi video my hubbee immediately burst out laughing & having a hard time to stop laughing too. But overall he was overwhelmed & grateful for what i've done & i'm glad he feels that way (padahal video tu biasa je. dah la tergelak dlm video tu sbb tersilap step2 jari jemari tu. hee...  kalau tak percaya cuba tengok video tu kt bawah ni. but i did it just for hubbee & for fun.).

Live Life To The Fullest

Thursday, April 18, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

Salam u ols...

Throwback Thursday: Balimoon 2012

Thursday, March 28, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Monday, March 25, 2013 Mrs Ismail 1 Comments

Nope..i'm not gonna talk about the famous comedy series of all time. Although it was one of my favorite series ever. It still is if only i could get hold of a collection of the whole season (hubbee plz take note.hahaa...).

Well, last Friday me & hubbee had steamboat dinner with some of my closest friends at Seoul Garden, Festival City KL. The occasion is to catch up & celebrate jai's & alia's upcoming baby. If u read alia's blog http://tooloudtoletitout.blogspot.com u'll find that their baby had to be delivered via C-section due to certain circumstances.

Omnomnom...

Anyway, we had been friends for the longest time. atol & alinur are my friends since school & alia is their roomy in Pasum (i'm in another room but i always hang out at their room). not everyone can make it though that night. but some of us managed to push our way through to make this dinner happened. A lot of eating, talking & photo snapping done in such a short night but it was worth it. hee.. But the baby's present will be late coz we ordered it from UK (actually Alinur ordered from her friend there). we rushed this event coz alia will be hospitalized on Sunday & the operation is on the next day which is TODAY!

We were all so happy for jai & alia upon the arrival of their bundle of joy, a baby girl called Alisha Safiya. What a beautiful name. I am glad that our group is expanding with my hubbee, jai & baby alisha. hee.. Cannot wait to add my own baby to the clan (Semoga Allah murahkan rezeki kami dengan mengurniakan zuriat kepada kami...). Soon our group will expand even more when everyone else are married as well. Aminnn...

So, since we work nearby Hospital Putrajaya, me & atol went to visit alia & baby alisha this evening. As i held baby alisha in my arms, gosh.. she looks so cute & i suddenly felt like i want to have a child of my own ASAP so that they can be friends just like me & alia. Awww....

Chop! keluar topik jap.hee...

Later tonight, me & hubbee feel feverish. so we both went to the clinic & got MC for tommorow. This is the 1st time we both got sick together. but my hubbee's fever is worst than mine. so i have to be stronger to take care of both of us. then it hit me. a mother never knows pain. if a mother is sick the children still needs to be taken care of. so am i ready for the motherhood voyage where there's no vacation? insyaAllah...

Movie Madness

Saturday, March 23, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

This past few days we've been falling into the habit of watching movies at home while having dinner or after dinner. Maybe we're just to tired to go out after working hard during the day or maybe coz we just bought some DVDs at Speedy store, Alamanda recently.hee.. I bought 2 old movies ('Forrest Gump' & 'Shutter Island') coz they have promotion from as low as RM9.90 per DVD while my hubbee bought 2 current movies, 'CZ12' (chinese movie featuring Jackie Chan) & 'Husin, Mon & Jin Pakai Toncit' (malay's most anticipated comedy featuring Awie. Unfortunately the storyline & ridiculousness of this movie was a letdown compared to the previous sequel 'Hantu Kak Limah Balik Kampung' & 'Zombie Kampung Pisang').

Anyway, the 1st time i watched Forrest Gump i was way too young to remember it & let alone understand it. But watching it again a few days ago reminded me that in those days most movies are motivational & full with moral values & inspirations. sometimes even the simplest plot can win viewer's heart & landed the movie with numerous awards. whereas nowadays successful movies are determined with the amazing technology & action packed thrillers (sampai bole kena heart attack dlm wayang.hee..).

So u young fellas never even heard of this movie eh? ok, u just make me feel old. i mean come on.. Tom Hanks won an oscar for his character as Forrest Gump in this movie. u should at least give this movie some credit by trying to at least watch it. It is gonna be aired on TV2 i think. i thought i saw the ads on tv last night. so if u've got the chance to watch it, don't forget to tell me what u think ait. It is said that this movie is a 1994 American epic romantic comedy-drama film based on the 1986 (me & hubbee's birth year.hee..) novel of the same name by Winston Groom. To me it's not just any typical kind of romantic comedy but what makes it funny is the spontaneity of a naive & slow-witted yet athletic Forrest Gump who witnesses or experiences & in some cases influences (in 1996, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company opened a themed restaurant based on this movie ok..betapa powernya movie ni.hee..) some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States. even the scene where he joins the vietnam war seems funny.hahaa..no worries. i'm not gonna spoil it all for u by telling u about the whole movie plot. u're gonna have to watch it urself then u'll get what i mean. just gonna show the picture of the movie poster to excite u ols.hee..

hope u enjoy this movie too ;)

Fav quote: "life's a box of chocolates.u'll never know what u're gonna get"

Quote i don't understand: "stupid is what stupid does" (what the fish?)

Fav scene: Everytime Forrest Gump makes a conversation & everytime his army friend Bubba talks about shrimps.hahaa...

Nice surprise: a very young Haley Joel Osment in this movie.so cute but no one knew in 1994, that he would be famous in The Sixth Sense one day.

Artsy but insignificant: The floating feather at the beginning & the end of the movie.

Earth Hours Strike (Black Monday! Again?)

Tuesday, March 05, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

Yesterday, was another black monday for us (what? again?). but this time it really is the wiring problem (or was it the pipe?). I suspect the pipes coz the walls near a few switches were wet & there's shot circuit (according to my hubbee la coz the lights were turned on automatically & making buzzing sound eventhough the switch were turned off). This past few days, earth hours seems to strike naturally on us. hahaa... but fortunately hubbee is not under oncall duty & with info from my friend & our neighborhood FB group, my hubbee got to contact the maintenance. The electricians came last night & work hard to repair the fuse box. After a few hours, everything went back to normal except a few switches & the light in the kitchen (there's water dripping from the kitchen light so they took it off). Since they ran out of stuff, the rest of the repair job will be continued in another day by Mr. Wong who must be the oldest electrician working here (i'm not kidding.he looks very old). hee..

This series of unfortunate events had become our motivation to work harder so that we can purchase our own house in the near future. Its not that i'm not thankful. Living in a government quarters has its pros & cons. What happened yesterday was one of the disadvantages of a low cost building (maintenance of coz blames our neighbours from the above floor for washing their floor instead of mopping.but the truth is i really think there's something wrong with the building. kantoi sebab bila maintenance cek takde org pn tinggal kat tingkat atas rumah kitorang). Alhamdulillah with cheap rental rate per month, we can live in a huge & almost complete high rise. But we do not own this government property. In addition to that there's limitation when designing the interior. Besides, its every parents' dreams to raise their kids in a landed property if possible or at least their own property. So lets work hard & pray together (semoga kita dimurahkan rezeki.amin...) coz property's price is rapidly increasing. Its better to purchase a property ASAP. insyaAllah..

Black Monday???

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

TQ Tun M for the free book

Juz as i thought that the day could not get any worst. i return to my house in Putrajaya to find out that there's no electricity. now this is what i called 'Black Monday'. i checked the fuse box & everything seems normal. so i called hubbee & he said he already paid the previous bill. so i thougt maybe there's wiring problem (sbb pernah jadi sebelum ni tp yang effect plug je.lampu & kipas ok je.this time gelap gulita.so i mcm pelik). when hubbee comes back we went to laundry shop to iron work attire for tomorrow (moral of the story: gosok baju keje untuk seminggu terus) & went for dinner (tak masak mlm ni sbb gelap.yahoo...hee..). then on the way back home i've made some phone calls to check if TNB received previous bill's payment.turn out no payment made (hahaa..confident je hubbee ni.rupanya yang dia bayar sebelum sebelum punya bil. tak pasal2 jadi earth hoursss... ;p). so i immediately paid via maybank2u, send the proof of payment via email to tnbcareline & bear with the darkness for the night. we survived earth hours that night. huhuu... the next day i made some calls to TNB to make sure they submit my payment proof to TNB Putrajaya (untuk cancel pemotongan elektrik.sbb kalau payment via bank amek mse 3 hari utk sampai kpd TNB.so nak cepat org tnbcareline tu suggests buat camni). The next day everything went back to normal fortunately coz if not i have to call it "Black Tuesday' or 'Bleak Week' instead.hahahaa..

Flashback Friday : Singapore Family Trip

Friday, February 15, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

The day before our Singapore family trip which is on the 25th Jan 2013 (Friday), my in laws (FIL, MIL, SIL & BIL) were supposed to crash the night at our place. However, my hubbee's grandfather (his father's side) suddenly underwent a minor surgery on that day at IJN to insert a pacemaker due to weak heartbeat. So they stayed the night in KL instead. We almost decided to cancel our trip because my parents in law were reluctant to go under the circumstances. Fortunately, the surgery went well & atok (hubbee's grandfather) was discharged the next day. Since luck was on our side, we decided to proceed to Johor Baru (JB) eventhough we left later than we planned. In the meantime atok will be staying with hubbee's makngah (FIL's elder sister) & when we return from Singapore, atok will be staying with my parents in law.

Now back to our trip. This is my 1st family vacation with my in laws (excluding my hubbee's sister who is in confinement at that time, her husband & children). Our ride to Singapore was my FIL's innova which was driven by my hubbee. I eagerly hand out the travel itenary & brief everyone in the MPV aaaaand.... quickly i became the laughing stock because it seems as if me & my hubbee were acting like a tourist guide (mana taknya. itenary ngalah travel agent. siap ada waktu solat bagai. hee...). I'm glad that we stick to most of the itenary although we did have trouble managing our time according to the schedule.

more itenary & costing

The itenary

Parents in law at JPO

We spent the Saturday 26th in JB. Nothing much just shopping at JPO, had dinner at Stulang Laut & sleep at the Grand Hallmark Hotel (GH) JB. Initially me & hubbee wanna stay at The Zon Regency Hotel (ZR) JB but we made a last minute decision to stay at GH on the 1st night only coz there was an offer on group which entitled u to get entrance ticket into Sea Aquarium Singapore. We regret this now. It seems GH does not look exactly like in the website where the hotel building stands alone. We knew that GH is a small budget hotel but what made us taken aback is beside GH there's a night club & u can here the music from your room. In addition to that, we have to redeem Sea Aquarium tickets at Sentosa Island where the booth of the travel agency was very hard to find & was closed when we arrived (padahal operating hours belum abis lagi). Luckily, the lady from another booth (tp travel agency lain la) are willing to help us. She made some calls & she got the permission to give her tickets but i have to sign that i collect the ticket from her. However, we don't feel like the Singapore's Sea Aquarium is the largest oceanarium thus it was a let down (nasib tiket free.hee..).


Dinner at Stulang Laut (just behind ZR)
















They're siblings not twins.hee..

The next day on Sunday 27th we made a mistake of going into Singapore town thinking that they were not many Indians there celebrating Thaipusam. But we were wrong. Like in Malaysia, Singaporian Indians also do kavadi, a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of (Dewa) Murugan. Upon entering Singapore u need to purchase autopass at the Woodland checkpoint but u can only pay SGD10. so u must ensure to top up ur autopass before u travel further into Singapore because most parking place & 7Eleven haven't update their system yet since the new autopass was introduced recently. Fret not coz there's one top up place near Woodland Garden not far from the checkpoint. If u've already had autopass from previous visit before they enforced the new one, u can just top up at any 7Eleven in Singapore. But if u're just like us, who use the new autopass its' better to buy cashcard at any 7Eleven in Singapore as backup to pay the parking (just in case ur autopass cannot be read. we encounter this problems at Singapore Flyer's parking).

Traffic at the checkpoint & in Singapore city sucks during our visit. The police traffic in Singapore was obviously lacking experience in handling this situation probably coz Singapore rarely had traffic jam. I feel like kamikaze when we braced our way to Little India during Thaipusam. But on the bright side, we get to see kavadi up close & personal from our MPV & I got 2 bottles of Elizabeth Arden Red Door perfume for SGD32 & my ipanema slippers.wuhuu! 

Singapore Flyer

Marina Bay & Mr. Merlion (or is it Ms.?)

Wikipedia/ Wiktionary Wednesday : Spoil

Wednesday, February 06, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

The word : Pamper

Throwback Thursday : The Ultimate Throwback Photos!

Thursday, January 24, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

Maharaja Lawak Mega 2012

Monday, January 21, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

Maharaja Lawak Mega 2012 began late last year but the final was held by Astro in Johor Baru on 18th January 2013. never in a million years i imagine myself enjoying this show as much as i did with "whose line is it anyway" (bajet omputih celup tgk komedi mat saleh je). but i 'terjebak' with raja/maharaja lawak because of my hubbee. it  was one of his favourite show. i even had my favourite group like jozan & sepah since he showed me the last maharaja lawak show. that's why i'm happy for jozan when they were crowned as the winner of Maharaja Lawak Mega 2012. nonetheless, all finalist are talented & naturally funny people (kalau punchline kurang pun masih bole buat org bese ketawa). the voting results of the final are as follow:

*  Pic from Astro website.
1. JOZAN - 22.9%
2. JAMBU - 21%
3. SHIRO - 19.1%
4. BOBOI - 18.8%
5. SAYWHO - 18.3%

Saywho has always been consistent but their strength is in the smallest member of their group. finally boboi were in their element again. they did well when they were being sarcastic. but it was too little too late to win more votes. besides boboi's performance takes longer than the time allocated to them. i agreed with najip ali about shiro being the most improved group. i personally think they were consistent throughout the competition eventhough their new (layak dpt 2nd runner up ni). i don't really fancy jambu's show on the final but they were still entertaining as usual. as for jozan i'm just glad that johan can make it to perform with zizan. they've been together for so long that their chemistry is inevitable. i am happy for them but i'm a bit frustrated because i know they can do better. i missed their extra something in previous maharaja lawak competition such as the blackout patient & doctor show or the interogation for stealing from 'tabung masjid' show. that was unique & creative. unfortunately they didn't win previously (2nd runner up je). so when they won this time i'm happy for them. congratz jozan!

MIA

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Mrs Ismail 0 Comments

After having thorough discussion with my hubbee (yup, we're married for almost 2 years now), we have come up with an idea to share this blog. well its not really a discussion. here's how it happen :

1. i kinda 'terjebak' in reading people's blogs. it began when my colleague suggests that i do some research from blogs before travelling to certain place.

2. i suddenly remember that when we were a couple back then, my hubbee started this blog to promote his mum's homemade sarawak's layer cake. uh..uh..my MIL still bakes them if u anyone interested to order (sempat lg promo tu).

3. i immediately search for this blog thinking that i've missed years of his rambling. unfortunately his last update was in 2009. so i ask my hubbee why hasn't he keeping this blog up to date. he said he totally forgot about this blog when he started working at KIST (Kuala Berang) & he create another blog http://sukusukasuki.blogspot.com/. however that blog was actively updated in 2010 only. so i imported his rambling from that blog to this one (if anyone cares la.hee...).

4. so being a primadona girl at heart but not in a diva kind of way. i mean when i was young & still at school, i had always imagine myself as the girl who writes her journal (bajet macam character dlm citer omputih yg suka tulis diari pastu nnt dh tua bole citer kt anak cucu). but it never happen. when i was about to start writing journal i will always end up not writing & the book will be lost eventually. so i jump to this opportunity to write in this blog with my hubbee (plus blog ni takkan hilang mcm buku).

i know that for a career wife, writing an entry will be time consuming. but hopefully by sharing this blog with my hubbee we will be able to become a more committed blogger & share our stories. hopefully most of our stories will be useful or inspiring (ingat tokoh negara ke?) to those who are willing to read our blog. but if anyone could relate to our stories that's good enough for us.

i know we've been  Missing In Action (MIA) from this blog for 2 years. so we owe u ols 2 years worth of blogging. so to make it up to u, we will try our best to recap the series of events in those years in our "Throwback Thursday" entry.