The world forgetting by the world forgot.

Self note:

Masyaa Allaah, I have found a term in the Quran that also gives an idea of this line "The world forgetting by the world forgot" presented in 2 words "nasyan mansiyan"  (نسيًا منسيًا)

It is in surah Maryam (Mary) 19:21, while she was in the pangs of birth.  In translation, it just says "completely forgotten"  But the meaning of each word is much deeper than that

Nasiyan is to be in a state where one forgets.
Mansiyan is to be one who is forgotten.

- and I feel that the phrase is nicely described by that line mentioned above.

Cleanliness/Courtesy starts with me

You know how we sometimes think that it seems impossible how we, as a single person, can have an effect on the place/country/people?, To make a difference in doing something right?

I believe a person's action/behaviours is quite contagious - as long as it creates an impression on another person. That action/behaviour may be a good or bad one. Both works the same way.

You've heard of 'monkey see, monkey do'? It applies to human too, in general. People see, people do. A very obvious example is the youngsters imitating the famous/notorious ones.

Another example, would be on the roads. When one driver cuts queue in a filtering lane, you are bound to see some other drivers following them, ignoring everything about road ethics ("ha? what road ethics?" they say..).

Or when a car is signalling to come onto the driver's lane, most infantile drivers speed up, so that the signalling car cannot go before them ("Yeay! I get to go first!" they say, in their head). Imagine, always getting that when you're driving - most people would end up doing the same thing. And so, it becomes a norm.

Now imagine, one day, you're signalling, and suddenly, a nice driver actually keeps his speed, or slows down a bit, to let you get into the lane. You'd feel appreciative. And when another car signals to come into your lane, you would feel inclined to let that car come in, just like how the other car let you. And so the driver of the other car, feels the same way as you did, and he'd give way to other signalling cars too.. and so on and so forth. And that is how it can get contagious.

Granted, this may not have impact on everyone - because some people are truly bad trend setters. But I believe it does have impact on most, because most people are neutral, they usually go with the flow.

Imagine also, seeing another person, walking a distance just to throw a small rubbish he was holding in his hand, into a rubbish bin. I'm sure you'd feel a tinge of guilt, if you had some rubbish you were going to throw on the ground. You'd be inclined to also throw it at the rubbish bin, if not there, elsewhere. Unless, of course - you're one of those stubborn ones also.

So you see, the good thing that we do, CAN have an impact on others in subtle but sure ways.

I truly believe in the phrase "Cleanliness or Courtesy starts with ME".
So insyaAllah, I strive to do the right thing and hope to make a difference. InsyaAllah.

"Let there arise out of you a band of people, inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain felicity. "

Al Quran, Ali Imran 3:104

how to make couples have or have more children

The last time, an increase to 3 mths maternity leave and 2 days annual child care leave, didn't seem to do the trick. So let's see if FOUR months maternity and SIX days child care leave will help.

What do you think?

The day after the speech, we spoke about it a bit, at the office. None of them whom I spoke to, were inclined to have more. Two is enough. Sounds very familiar.



These are the posters from 1970s to 80s. I like that alien family logo, at the bottom left corner of the red poster. :)

Ok, ok now, that is past. Now we need MORE.
But why are they not responding?

Apparently, it's not only about having longer maternity leave or more child care leaves. It's time and money. Everyone is busy everyday and 6 days child care leave is not the answer to taking care of more children. The children are there, 365 days a year.

And everything is expensive now. Considering some school fees, transport, kumon, piano lessons, ballet class, nintendo, psp, crocs, billabong.. I'd say - it IS expensive.


I'm sure it's more of a mentality or mindset issue. Having a clear set of priorities in life. Learning that happiness comes from contentment. Contentment cannot come from more wealth or higher status. There are more chances of contentment from having a big, CLOSE-KNITTED family.

But sadly, right now, Singapore is not 'built' that way. Generally, bosses, especially local ones, do not have so much empathy for.. not just family life - sometimes even personal life. Singaporeans have been shaped over the last 30-40 yrs or so, to live and survive in this kind of environment. It's only business, nothing personal. But having a big family is very personal.

Just look at how employers are reacting to this, and mind you, this is coming from a lady : "Is this fair to her employer and colleagues who are covering for her? This might sound selfish, but when you have to deal with higher costs and increased workloads, there might be little room for sympathy."

So with such kind of reactions from employers - I don't see how, the new benefits will help much.

IMHO, the government will just have to do more towards changing the nation's mindset on work and life, both couples and employers. And having flexible working hours, and an understanding employer would probably prove more effective in encouraging couples to have children or more children.


NO.
I'm done with four, thank you.

Illa masyaAllah.

p.s. this is kind of unplugged. I'm tired.
goodnight.

i wonder..

I wonder what comes after a 'gentle' reminder..

The other time someone said, ".. that is, if there is no 'violent' objection from you lah". I wonder how much violence it takes to make a 'violent' objection or is it enough to say, "I object violently", calmly?

I wonder..

This morning's sky was beautiful.. and so are many others from among Allah's creations. I'm always impressed by the sky.. it's like Allah's big canvas, and everyday is a different artwork - different colours, different strokes. different textures..

live to consume or consume to live?

"We are all consumers, mere units who go out and buy stuff", says a Newsweek reader, in response to an article about the looming recession.

Is that really, what we all have become? Do we go out and toil our hours away at work, just to get more money to consume more unnecessary things and make the rich, richer?

I was out with Rus the other day, at the supermarket. We were at the frozen food aisle. "Yang ini, isi ayam dicampur dengan cheese (this one's got chicken meat mixed with cheese)", Rus said. Next to it, I saw chicken nuggets, chicken wrapped in seaweed, chicken balls and more variety of chickens. I stopped myself.. and I told Rus, "beli ayam aje lah. Tak payah belikan budak2 tu semua. (let's just get the chicken. No need to get the children those other stuff)." Chicken is what we need (want?). I want the kids be used to eating simply.

It got me thinking how ridiculous we have become. We find endless means to make our life more... interesting? fanciful? Eating - food, has become a VERY BIG thing. We eat to live. That's the most basic reason for eating. But human endlessly find more interesting ways to present the food, that we'll gobble up in the next few minutes - the main reason why i don't like to make sushis anymore. I'd take 1-2 hours to prepare the sushis and it takes 15 minutes to finish them all.

I read before, a lady who lived beyond a hundred. What did she eat daily? Plain porridge and water - day in, day out. And what do WE eat? Oh, just..rice with chicken curry and vegetable cooked with soy sauce, omelette with onion, rose syrup drink and perhaps ice cream with fudge later. That's for lunch.

During recession, are we really in dire need, if we can't afford the seaweed chicken or the soy sauce?

So, that's just the food part. Of course there are also other products to make other parts of our life more interesting too - like the different facewashes, soaps, lotions, shampoos, conditioners - to clean ourselves. And the many many different types and colours of blouses, shirts, pants and skirts - to dress ourselves.

So I think, insyaAllah, we will not necessarily suffer from recession. All we need to learn to do, is to consume lesser and more simply. Learn to live moderately, and if there's some balance - give to charity.

Let the recession, not affect us that much, but only affect the already rich people/companies - they just don't get more and MORE, but insyaAllah they still have lots more, to live on, simply.

happiness and excitement?

Happiness and excitement, is in the wanting, and the journey towards achieving it - but not so much in actually having it.

After having it, happiness may only come from sharing it, and being contented and thankful to God for letting us have it - for a while.


AND [remember that] whatever you are given [now] is but for the [passing] enjoyment of life in this world - whereas that which is with God is far better and more enduring. [It shall be given] to all who attain to faith and in their Sustainer place their trust;

Al Quran, Ash-Shura 42:36

Business terms that amuses me

I am taking a mental break from this BIG, loooong, tedious system tests that I have to do. And I find myself thinking about WBS.. and BPR. Let me share my thoughts..

BPR
..stands for Business Process Reengineering. It sounds scary - but it's really just about looking into your daily tasks and seeing how you can improve it by working smarter and faster. I think smart workers do their own BPR every now and then. Other than that, they tell you which part of it, can be done by a computer system.

Big companies employ big consultancy firms to do this for them and the charged fee is like tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand. And the thing is, these consultants don't actually IMPROVE your tasks per se. They fly in from all around the world, come into your office and help you ask YOURSELF, how you can improve your own tasks. Oh, they also help you question your bosses, why you do what you do.

Then from the numbers they ask the company to gather, they do some superficial calculations of 'savings' in time, manpower, money - WHICH in most cases, do not reflect the real situation (just like how GDP does not reflect the real state of a country).

Reminds me of..(if you'd let me side-track a bit. No, you have no choice), my lecturer who does not like the word 'average'. He says average is not real. If I have one feet in scalding hot water like 100 deg Cel, and the other leg in an ice cold water - 0 deg Cel - it would have looked OK on the 'average'. But it's NOT.

I'm drifting away from my main topic.

My thoughts are.. if the BIG BOSS is sincere, smart and determined about improving, there CAN be improvement without having to pay thousands of dollars, just to find out how. Else, even at the end of the whole exercise.. nothing much will change. End of BPR.

WBS
I just learned this acronym/term, about last week. I was asked to manage this one project and then asked to prepare the 'WBS'.

"Sorry." I said, "What's WBS?"
"Oh.. that stands for Work Breakdown Structure"
"Wow. Ermm. Is that like our tasks list?"

And so apparently, it is. So that's another important sounding term for it.



I have nothing more for now - not any that I can recall easily.
It's not important. So, I won't bother.

Milo Dinosaur

I have a... according to the doctor, 'very big', ulcer in my mouth, around the wisdom tooth area.   I initially thought, the pain was caused by a growing wisdom tooth or something.  It must be the milo powder that I ate that day.  Teringin pulak.   After I ate the delicious and fun milo powder, my nose bled the next day, and now I have mouth ulcer.   I shall not eat milo powder just like that again, as long as I remember this, insyaAllah.  

Unless, it's my children's milo dinosaur..  which by the way is not known as milo dinosaur in Malaysia.  I asked for that (for Nadhrah, not for me), at one of the R&R, on the msian north south highway..  The guy I ordered from, asked me..
"apa tu milo dinosaur? macam mana tu dia?"  
"dia air milo ais biasa.. tapi lepas tu.. ada tabur serbuk milo kat atas.."
"OOOoooh.. Milo tabur' la tu."
Plain and simple.

I think i first saw the word 'Milo Dinosaur' at Al Ameen.. wonder if it originated from there.  Now, Al Ameen and Al Azhar, have many other fancy named drinks.. which includes '<something> Godzilla' but I don't remember what that's about.  

keeping in check

"I think, you must go, 'mandi air bunga' ah.." my good neighbour, Sam said. We were in the lift, and talking about the cash card theft. "..that day, M'sia accident, then now this.. i think maybe sometimes.. you got to believe in these things la ah.. " Hubby and I, just laughed at that.

I'm not going to 'mandi air bunga' - unless it's only to make me smell nice.

I've been thinking about the events happening over the past few weeks/months.

When we got the keys to the new house, we were elated. Then, we managed to sell our current house at our intended price... very happy. We planned and prepared for the new house. I got a new camera. We both have jobs, we can afford reasonable things we want. We were excited, buying things for the new house.. So many things to thank Allah for. All seemed well.

"Then, when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, We opened unto them the gates of all things till, even as they were rejoicing in that which they were given, We seized them unawares, and lo! they were dumbfounded."
Al Quran, Al - An'am 6: 44

Na'udzubillah. I don't want that to happen to us. As such, I'm strangely kind of glad, or relieved, these things happened - and within what I can, with Allah's help, handle. Now, I know God is keeping me in check. Alhamdulillah. I should be more worried if there were totally no trials for us.

BUT STILL, we pray...

"Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or fall into error. Our Lord! Lay not upon us such a burden as You did lay upon those before us. Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear, grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us. You are our Protector. Help us against those who deny the truth."
Al Quran, Al Baqarah 2:286

Ameen, ya rabbal a'lamin.

being green

The company has sent out an email to all staff, about the Green Transport Day campaign, which is to take place this Thursday. We have been asked to confirm our participation by clicking on one of the two buttons provided. For staff who usually come by car - "Yes, I will take Green transport!", and for those who normally commute by public transport - "Yes! I'm a Green commuter!"

Since I am driving, that leaves me with only one choice - "Yes, I will take Green transport!"........... Believe me, I have been hovering my mouse over that button for the longest time, but I have not been able to click it just yet. I have been trying to convince myself to participate. BUT what if I'm late that day?? ..and I usually am . And what a drag, to think of rushing to board the company bus, alighting at the crowded train station, squeezing into the train, spending 1.5 hours just to reach home, when I can reach home in approximately 20 mins, by car.

I know I sound selfish. :( But shoots.. what's the point of taking 'green' transport for one day and driving for the rest of the 364 days??

I'll be green in other ways. I think I AM being green in other ways :
- I do not waste paper - I think 10 times before printing anything. In fact i hardly ever print anything - I prefer softcopies.
- I re-use envelopes - especially those new ones sent by tree-killer banks who send LOADS of waste paper asking people to get into debt or more debt.
- Whenever I remember, or when it's not too late, I refuse plastic bags from shops.
- I have been conscious about energy usage at home. I didn't turn on the lampu lap lip last Raya in a bid to save energy. When equipments are not in use I switch off the main points, rather than have it on standby. I switch off lights in empty rooms.
- and...come to think it, other than the trip to work and from work - I DO try to cut down on using my own transport. I try to avoid having to travel long distances to meet friends (especially when petrol prices are increasing). AND I use unleaded petrol.


About Thursday, I am still trying to convince myself. Though on the other hand, I am also justifying the point of my actually doing it, IF I do it. Just like, what is the point of having a 'dinner with your family campaign - ONE day out of 365 days?? So, I still cannot click on that button just yet, or else I'll have to paint my car green, in order not to be lying.

BUT insyaAllah, I pledge to be green in most other ways, 365 days, consistently.

:-S

.

comfort & material progress : the real deity?

I am currently reading 'The Road to Mecca' by Muhammad Asad, which I may write more on, after I'm done devouring it. I love it, and I'm only one fifth through.

I just feel the need to highlight this part (although the other parts are just as interesting and/or thought-provoking) because I see too, that this is how most of us are, in the world today. He was describing the state of the European youths, of which he was one, in the 1920s..

It's real deity, I saw, was no longer of a spiritual kind : it was Comfort..... the manual worker or the intellectual seem to know only one positive faith : the worship of material progress, the belief that there could be no other goal in life than to make that very life continually easier.... The temples of that faith is the gigantic factories, cinemas, chemical laboratories, dance-halls, hydroelectric works; and it's priests were the bankers, engineers, politicians, film stars, statisticians....

....I saw how confused and unhappy our life had become...

And in today's world, the pull towards those false deities, is even greater than ever. We MUST keep ourselves in check.

Questions we need to ask ourselves every time:

1. Are we truly happy, contented, sure of ourselves, our needs and wants?
(2-3 hours of sheer happiness or blissfulness with friends without any care for the world, against a whole week of emptiness, loneliness and confusion when you're alone, does not count as 'true happiness', For those are really only ILLUSIONS of happiness and they are so short-lived.)

2. Where are we heading to?

3. Who (or what) do we sacrifice most of our time and effort for? Who do we serve? Who is our real deity?

May Allah makes us and always keep us among the guided. Ameeeeen.

the orange moon

LOOK!



someone called and asked me to go look at the moon.

It was BIG. AND ORANGE!

Have you ever noticed an orange moon before? Subhanallah, it's beautiful. But it scares me a bit too - thinking of kiamat.

Apparently what causes the moon to appear orange, or sometimes yellowish or even red, is that the atmosphere close to the ground is, basically polluted. There are too many dust particles, so some of the moon's light, (red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple - which together appears white), get refracted away. And the colour that reaches us, are usually the red, orange or yellow.

So be happy if u see a white moon near the horizon, it shows that the atmosphere is clear :P

Allahu'alam.

Blessed be He Who hath placed in the heaven mansions of the stars, and hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon giving light! - Al Quran, Al Furqan 25:61

looking forward

"This year, has been bad for me, you know. Since late last year.. it's been problems. one after another. I'm just so stressed up," he said. Looking seriously stressed. You can almost feel it yourself.

Then I remembered what Aa Gym (again) said. So I told him, "You know we Muslims... we fast?"

"oh yes.. during Ramadan?"

"Yes Ramadan. Totally no drink, no food, during the day. Even kids can fast. "

"For one month right?"

"Yes, one month. You know one of the reasons why we can endure it? It's because we know, 7pm, will come. (InsyaAllah, provided the world don't end and/or we don't die - but I didn't mention this, didn't want to scare him or give him other ideas) So we bear with it, because we know it will end - we know there is something to look forward to. THAT is the daily goal, then whole month goal - is the festivities at the end of the fasting month. That's when we feel we have triumphed."

"Oh yeah.. that makes a lot of sense."

"Yes, so you should look at the end of it all. These current stressful stuff and troubles - it will end right?"

"Yes, hopefully around June"

"Good. So look forward to that, while you're tackling it."

"hmm... yeah... I should start planning for a break, a holiday."

"Yes, do that! Go pick a destination - print a picture and place it at your desk."

"Haha.. hmm.. yeah.. I may do that :D"

He actually looked more relieved, like a burden is slightly lifted.
I sure hope he feels better.

like a chameleon

did i tell you? I think sunrise is beautiful, even when u don't actually see the sun.




this was about 715am in the morning, taken from my balcony.

that's how one thing affects another.. the sun makes the sky beautiful. Subhanallah.

and i believe in the same way, one person can affect the other. That's why it's so important to have someone who can affect you in a good way. I know it's important to me, because i believe I am adaptable, sometimes subconciously. I can almost be like the person I'm close with.

Spend time with a poet, and I believe you'll soon be writing poems. Spend time with a person who hafal the Quran - you'll hafal some new verses too. Spend some time with a person who cares about the world, you'll grow to care too.

But, spend some time with a smoker..... naaah.. I'd still hate the smoke and not to mention, but will mention anyway, the breath and the smell that's stuck to the clothes too. I'm totally over that. insyaAllah.

ok i'm ranting.

who likes Aa gym?
who likes irsyadee?
who likes taufik batisah?
they were all GOOD at Irsyad's high tea event.

there's no need to complicate

I have been busy, either physically and/or mentally. I feel like I have been, sometimes, distant from family and friends. Maybe I was also quite distant from myself.

Anyhow, I was thinking about so many things. Most of them, I cannot do anything about, yet.

Then I teringat what the ulama' Aa-Gym said. (ok wait..I know i said before, I don't quite favour him..but I guess he is alright - he is human after all. And I do not know him well enough to judge him. In fact, nobody knows anybody good enough to pass a judgement - Allah knows best - teringat criter Nabi Khidir. No, it has nothing to do with Aa-Gym's polygamy issue. I'm fine with that).

Let me see if I can recall his 5 points to a....err..i forgot the title of the ceramah, maybe it was.'5 points to a happier life?' Anyway, that's not important. What's important is the 5 points, which to me, applies to our God-conscious life in general. I'm going to summarise like crazy here.. his talk was about 45 mins long. Here goes.


1. Siap (Ready) - ready to face whatever comes.. how?.. as follows..

2. Redha (acceptance) - things happen by Allah's will, and is a test for us.. so redha and get on with it.

3. Jangan mempersulitkan diri (Don't complicate), Eh, macam dalam lagu jason mraz.:p So anyway.. yah.. most of the time, the problem is bearable, but it is made bigger, by the person himself - the complains, the exaggerated heart ache etc.

4. Evaluasi diri (Evaluate yourself) - find within yourself, the reason for the thing that happened and how you can change that.

5. Hmm.. frankly, I don't REALLY remember point 5, but I'm quite sure it's Berdoa and 'Tawakkal', berserah pada Allah SWT. - it's only logical and natural. We go back to God for help.


I'll have to take his advice. I've already set my plans for if/when something happens. I cannot do anything about it NOW, except doa. So yup, I am ready, I accept, I won't complicate, I'll review, i'll doa and tawakkal.. and relax.



p.s. I have some pictures of the beautiful sky and clouds at sunrise, and the Irsyad High Tea event last Saturday (which is in no way related to the sunrise). Irsyadee and Taufik Batisah performed, not at sunrise, at the high tea of course. I want to try to post those later from home.. if I'm not mentally and/or physically busy. :p

the alchemist & Islam at the Crossroads

I have to admit, I was first excited about the book, more because of the hype. It is said to be THE book and was read by a lot of famous and/or good people - people like Bill Clinton, Julia Roberts, Afdlin Shauki, good Muslim brothers and sisters I know.

It's a folklore. With interesting philosophical statements about life. The story itself is more or less simple and somewhat mystical.
Interesting and thought provoking - is how I would describe it. And I like the idea of being a shepherd. Our prophet was once a shepherd.

3 interesting phrases/word, from the book, that I still remember.

1. Maktub
It's arabic - it means 'written' or in this context, fated.
Being a Muslim - of course I agree with this. Memang everything da tertulis.
This word was being repeated by a Muslim character in the book.

2. Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself
I agree with this also. So often, it is true. And as long as you don't try - you'll never know.
Anyhow, insyaAllah, we will be able to withstand it, because Allah will never burden a soul, more than it can handle.


3. When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it
Ok.. this one... I appreciate the motivation, but even when I first read it, i felt like it doesn't sound quite right.
Then I read Mohammad Asad's : Islam at the Crossroad. I found something similar, but more accurate. It says:
The religious human being knows that whatever happens to him and within him, can never be the result of a blind play, of forces without consciousness and purpose. He believes it to be the outcome of God conscious will alone, and therefore, organically integrated within a universal plan.

When i first read that, i let out a sigh of contentment - i couldn't agree more - and it is so beautifully written.

how to start a fire

I feel macam malap aje..
I need to start a fire - in me.

Car battery went dead on me last week.
But the uncle who came to fix it was nice and sweet, leen almost asked him for his number.

We had company dinner last thursday. it was mostly rude, obscene, pointless. Except for the 3 LCD TVs they gave away, of which, I didn't get any.

But I HAD more fun last weekend, at a bungalow in Changi. Alhamdulillah.
It was a waste though, that the camera battery went dead on the FIRST day at the bungalow, and I forgot to bring the charger. No actually i brought the wrong charger. It was just not meant to be, masyaAllah.

The cake below, is by.... who? Yes.. Cik Alin. :D
I think I can have a standard note to reader already : All cakes featured on this site is by Cik Alin, unless otherwise stated. Hee.

the escapee

As some of you may know, the ex leader of a terrorist group in Singapore named Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has escaped. His name is Mas Selamat.

It has affected us, Singaporeans a bit.

Most Singaporeans received MMS from the telco companies sending us pictures of him, to keep alongside with pictures of our family and friends on our handphone.

And leaving Singapore is quite trying. I was stuck in a jam at the Tuas Checkpoint for 2 whole hours! last Sunday, because of police checks. They require the thumbprint of every single adult going out of Singapore. Perhaps, inspired by western movies like Face Off, they are afraid that Mas Selamat may disguise himself as someone else. Nevermind if you are an old, hunched chinese lady with small eyes - you still have to get your thumbprint taken. Hey.. who knows..

The choice of colours for clothes worn by Singaporeans are also affected. I don't think anyone in Singapore will put on any yellowish top and brown pants, so as not to be mistaken for the escapee (he escaped in those).

And if you have just injured your leg during a soccer game or something, it's not a good idea to go out and be seen walking with a limp. A Bangladeshi guy who is here to have his bad leg treated, had the police on high alert and on a search mission around the place where he is staying, because someone saw him walking with a limp and alerted the police.

In the meantime, some Singaporeans have started a whole string of jokes via sms and via email. This normally happens when there is a big issue in the country. I guess it's their way of overcoming their fears or frustrations or... Examples below.

SMS example:

"He is believed to have escaped to Malaysia or Indonesia, because the governments in these countries have signs up "Selamat Datang!"

And this one by email :



Harmless jokes aside, I thought about how his family is doing, with the news of his escape. They must be worried sick. They would be more relieved if he was in prison, not because they would like him to be there, but just because it is more dangerous for him to be out there. I can't imagine how he'll find food and clothes and where he sleeps.

May Allah save us from unwanted bombing incidents like those happening in Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries. Ameen.


*Update (2 hrs later)*
No, no..he has not been caught.
But I just read the papers just now and I feel guilty. I was complaining about how i was stuck for 2 whole hours!. Apparently the truck drivers mostly from Malaysia, have been stucked in the jam on both exit points for a lot more longer than I have. Some were stuck since Tuesday, and they are not even near the customs checkpoint yet. It's quite an eye opener actually - how difficult some people's job is. Their pay is affected, they are being scolded by the bosses who don't believe that anyone could be stuck in a jam for that long. I wonder how long more we will be faced with these things.

Maybe Singapore should just announce to stop all exports by road.
Even now it's crawling out. Then, the drivers need not have to wait there for days.
Yes, that one man's disappearance, it seems, can affect the country's economy.

starbugged

I finished reading starbucked by Taylor Clark. and I'm a bit starbugged.

Bugged by just the idea of monstrous, ruthless corporate american starbucks.

Remember when I exclaimed how many starbucks can be found around the vicinity of Times Square KL? Apparently having 2-3 starbucks close to each other IS part of their business plan, in most places that they 'raid'.

I agree with the author (whom by the way is an american), as with McD and many many other american products - they have saturated the world into one big america. It's difficult to find diversities in different countries' towns - except, when you look at the local's faces. Most shops and eateries in town areas are mostly american, everywhere.

Even in america they complain of saturation, what more with places like singapore and malaysia and many other countries flooded with american products and services?

Again, you hear me complain about this - and yet the irony is, every once in a while, I'll still be visiting them, just because they are providing something that local shops have not been able to provide YET. Comfort zone. I am quite sure, insyaAllah, that if there is a local store providing something similar - I'd patronise the local store.

I'm definitely not a starbucks/coffee bean fan, nor a regular customer. But, if I'm stuck looking for a place to be alone or to chat with a friend for 1-2 hours, over a single drink - chances are I'll find those coffee places to be the most comfortable around the area.

I hope that local stores can grow up to the standards, that the americans have set.

On that subject, the other day , in our bid to support local business, we finally went to Ah Mei (even though there was no internet connection, air-con or comfy chairs). I regret to report that it turned out to be a disappointment.

We ordered roti john and a fried chicken. They provided a generous amount of chilli sauce on the roti john plate. I asked for a bit of chilli sauce on the chicken plate also. The china girl at the counter REFUSED to provide. I told her to give a bit only lah.. Then she said, "Cannot.. you want curry?"
"No, we don't want curry. We just want chilli sauce."
"Cannot give chilli sauce. Curry can?"
"But we don't want to eat the fried chicken with curry, can we have a little bit of chilli sauce?"
"We cannot give you, curry, can. BUT, if you want more chilli sauce for the roti john, you can come back for more."

?? How dah dey? It's frustrating - i feel like running the shop myself.

:/

What makes me go to Starbucks or Coffee Bean

My fingers are itching to write/type something, although I have no idea what to write about.
It's not like my mind is empty - it's filled with so many things, but mostly mundane.

(a few minutes later...)

Oh yes.. I am currently reading this book called 'Starbucked' by Taylor Clark.

Although I KNOW why I patronise Starbucks and the likes (may as well mention la eh.. Coffee Bean..) - I'd still like to find out why OTHER people do it, or at least, what the owners or author think, people are looking for.

I wouldn't say I'm crazy about Starbucks or Coffee Bean, in fact, I'm not even a big fan of coffee! But why DO I go there?

Well, I go there because there are nice comfy seats, to sit on for hours, the place is cosy and air-conditioned, and there are free internet connection, and the place is not as crowded as McD. The signature drinks and the cheesecakes, I CAN live without them lah.

So, if you give me another place with such settings, especially if it's locally or asian-owned, and the drinks and snacks are nice and appropriate, I'd prefer that place over Starbucks (or Coffee Bean) - just because the latter is US-owned.

Today, I have an appointment with Leen, and we're going to go this place where there is Coffee Bean, and there is also Ah Mei Kaya Toast within the vicinity. If we can get internet connect at Ah Mei Kaya Toast - I think we'll be Ah Mei's. Else.. sigh.

Sometimes I feel like a traitor.. but today we NEED internet connection.
And at other times, we NEED nice, comfy seats or an air-conditioned place.
Ceh..

:\

.