Bandung Visit: 2006 Part I

Nie gambar masa trip Bandung kali kedua. Kali pertama pergi masa tahun 2005. Sebab seronok sangat sebab tu pegi kali kedua. Kat sini cuaca dia tak panas tapi dingin, tu yang best tu. Memang ramai orang Bandung pakai jaket sebab cuaca dingin dia.

Kali pertama pegi duduk hotel Holiday Inn kat Jalan Ir Haji Juanda, area Dago. Kali nie pegi duduk kat Hotel Karmila kat jalan yang sama, seberang jalan dari hotel Holiday Inn selang beberapa rumah je. Murah skit dan ada lebih le duit nak gi shopping. he he he

Depan hotel Holiday Inn. Nie Hotel Karmila...

Suasana depan Hotel Karmila...

Lapar... Pegi makan KFC, ada menu 'Goceng' dapat le seketul kepak ayam, nasi, sup kosong dan air. Harga dalam Rp. 5000 je. Ala dalam RM2 lebih kurang.
dah lepas makan...

Bila malam hari pertama sampai mesti pegi outlet Paris Van Java. Tahun lepas pun camtu gak. Lokasi kedainya kat Jalan Cihampelas. Kat Jalan Cihampelas ni terkenal dengan jeans. Memang banyak kedai dan macam-macam cara diaorang menarik minat pembeli. Kedai lain aku tak pegi sangat, aku terus pegi Paris Van Java.

Yang van hijau tu le kenderaan awam 'Angkutan Kota'. Murah je Rp. 1000 seorang.

Ni le kedai Paris Van Java.

Bila malam nak makan, kitaorang pegi makan kat dalam outlet Happening. Ada restoran yg eksklusif macam style Coffe House kat hotel le. Harga Nasi goreng dan Chocolate Shake dalam Rp. 10000 lebih kurang RM4. Ok le tuh kan. Tak mahal dan tak murah.

Satu lagi tempat shopping ialah Rumah Mode. Tak le jauh sangat dalam 25 minit perjalanan dari hotel. Sebenarnya kitaorang memang pilih hotel yang dekat dengan hampir SEMUA tempat shopping. Tak le penat nanti ulang alik bawak barang shopping. Dah beli bebanyak sampai tak larat angkat, pastu hantar kat hotel. Pastu keluar lagi.

Kat Rumah Mode nie dijual pakaian pelbagai brand ternama. Pergh! hilang akal sekejap tak tau mana nak pilih. Aku jumpa seluar slack ala ape ke namanya..(style macam Armani) mahal le kalu kt KL. Tapi tak de size le plak. Aku habis dekat 2 juta...Rupiah je, dalam RM800 lebih kurang. Tapi dapat banyak gile barang, kiri kanan tangan penuh pegang bag. Keliling Rumah Mode ni ada hiasan taman cantik memang menyegarkan.

Kat hujung Jalan Ir Hj Juanda area Dago gak, ada banyak lagi outlet. Ada Blossom, Raffles City, Donatello, Grande, Victoria, Glamour dan ... Lepas satu kedai satu kedai kitaorang masuk. Masuk satu kedai, beli kalau nak, keluar, pastu masuk kedai sebelah plak. Memang macam orang kaya sungguh. Apa taknya dalam poket bawak juta-juta. Jutawan Rupiah le katakan.

Wife aku tgh dukung girl dan brother dia tgh jalan. Uitt.. sapa plak lelaki tu? Bukan sedara tuh. Aku belasah kang, berani jalan sebelah wife aku masa aku tgh amik gambar.

Nie plak Jalan Cibaduyut. Kat sini terkenal dengan kraftangan especially barangan kulit. Kasut jenama pun ada kat sini tapi imitation punya le.

Internal Audit

For two days the Audit team and myself (I am one of the auditors) are going to conduct an audit process at my own faculty. Some people might say that is unfair because I may not reveal any dirty linen from one's own backyard to the public. However we auditors have our pledge after all I am also the university's auditor and answerable to the management.

As like other previous auditing days, I have to wait for my auditees to come. The cooperation is nothing to shout about. It seems everybody is afraid of being audited. I do not see any reason why they should shun the practice (audit) because auditing is all about doing the things accordingly to the procedure that you claimed you do and documented. Thats it! What are these people afraid of? The Audit's objective is to have improvement neither condem nor reprimand.

Unless they have been performing differently from what they documented. Well if that is the reason, and if it is justifiable, go ahead and change the procedures in the document to coincide with what you are currently practicing. That is permissible.

Unless they have NOT been performing at all. Though the procedures are the same with the practice, these people are scared because they have not properly follow the procedures. Basically they have not done their job.

The first day drags until half past five whereby the audit should be over at 5pm sharp. The reason being the delays caused by all the auditees and their unpreparedness. Some of the auditees are missing even though told to come, some dare not pick up the phone afraid of being called in, some called in sick, some say they are coming but do not show up and many other examples. They are basically not prepared and not ready. We know that most of the time the auditors are not welcomed. Who says you have to like us or like what we do but please cooperate in the process for the betterment of the faculty.

The second day is almost similar like the first day. I even get a snide remark plus a scolding from an auditee just because she had to wait for her turn to be interviewed by me. It was not deliberately done as I had call for auditees to come in at certain time. They fail to follow this and the time slot drags and overlap with the others. I did tell the auditee to come back after half an hour because of this but she did not turn up at all. Others understand my predicament but she is the only one with an attitude. If she cannot even control herself how can she expects to control her students! Luckily all the other auditors are behind me supporting all the way. The other thing that pleases me is that I had done a large portion of the report in the first day itself so just a little more typing to do and I am done.

Finally the auditing process is nearly over. The next one in August is conducted by a new team of auditors, if the word of the Head of the Audit System holds true. Hopefully it does so I can truly focus on my next agenda, my Phd.

English Proficiency Test

Yesterday I with so many other lecturers had to sit for an English Proficiency Test for University Academicians. It was a test cum survey conducted by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia with the cooperation of local Institutions of Higher Learning. It is a two day event for some and one of the many objectives is to gauge on the proficiency level of academicians in English in terms of communicating with students as well as in the classrooms. Before it started we were informed of the objectives and the likes. The announcer told us how lucky we were to be in the "disproportionate" (read disfortunate he he) random sampling group and took part in the survey at the national level. I have no qualms in this as I enjoyed it.

Today, it was infact this morning, I attended the second part of the survey which was the interview. I was the first to arrived, even before the interviewer not because I am all excited about this but rather because everybody else was late than scheduled. Went into the room and met one Associate Prof. Dr. Cyn. D. for 15 minutes. We talked about the challenges of lecturing, my research projects and the usual stuff in English of course. I don't have any problem with the language as far as I am concerned ...he...he... but the nervousness was there. It was because of the environment or the situation I was in. Anyway that was done and now I need to focus on the next item on the agenda which is the Auditing.

Some lessons in logic... real good!

If your father is a poor man, it is your fate; but if your father-in-law is a poor man, it's your stupidity.

I was born intelligent - education ruined me.

Practice makes perfect... but nobody's perfect... so why practice?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Since light travels faster than sound, people appear bright until you hear them speak.

How come "abbreviated" is such a long word?

Money is not everything. There's MasterCard & Visa.

Behind every successful man, there is a woman; and behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.

Every man should marry. After all, happiness is not the only thing in life.

The wise never marry; and when they marry they become otherwise.

Success is a relative term. It brings so many relatives.

Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today.

"Your future depends on your dreams". So go to sleep.

There should be a better way to start a day than waking up every morning.

"Hard work never killed anybody" but why take the risk?

"Work fascinates me" - I can look at it for hours!

God made relatives; thank God we can choose our friends.

The more you learn, the more you know; the more you know, the more you forget; the more you forget, the less you know; so.. why learn.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station... do I need say more?

Jangan Jangan Jangan

Jangan sengaja lewatkan solat. Perbuatan ini Allah tidak suka. Kalau tertidur lain cerita.

Jangan masuk ke bilik air tanpa memakai alas kaki (selipar).
Takut kalau-kalau terbawa keluar najis, mengotori seluruh rumah kita.

Jangan makan dan minum dalam bekas yang pecah atau sumbing.
Makruh kerana ia membahayakan.

Jangan biarkan pinggan mangkuk yang telah digunakan tidak berbasuh.
Makruh dan mewarisi kepapaan.

Jangan tidur selepas solat Subuh, nanti rezeki mahal (kerana berpagi-pagi itu membuka pintu
berkat).

Jangan makan tanpa membaca BISMILLAH dan doa makan.
Nanti rezeki kita dikongsi syaitan.

Jangan keluar rumah tanpa niat untuk membuat kebaikan.
Takut-takut kita mati dalam perjalanan.

Jangan pakai sepatu atau selipar yang berlainan pasangan.
Makruh dan mewarisi kepapaan.

Jangan biarkan mata liar di perjalanan.
Nanti hati kita gelap diselaputi dosa.

Jangan menangguh taubat bila berbuat dosa kerana mati boleh datang bila-bila masa.

Jangan ego untuk meminta maaf pada ibu bapa dan sesama manusia kalau memang kita bersalah.

Jangan mengumpat sesama rakan taulan. Nanti rosak persahabatan kita hilang bahagia.

Jangan lupa bergantung kepada ALLAH dalam setiap kerja kita. Nanti kita sombong apabila berjaya.
Kalau gagal kecewa pula.

Jangan bakhil untuk bersedekah. Sedekah itu memanjangkan umur dan memurahkan rezeki kita.

Jangan banyak ketawa. Nanti mati jiwa.

Jangan biasakan berbohong, kerana ia adalah ciri-ciri munafik dan menghilangkan kasih orang kepada kita.

Jangan suka menganiaya manusia atau haiwan. Doa makhluk yang teraniaya cepat dimakbulkan ALLAH.

Jangan terlalu susah hati dengan urusan dunia.
Akhirat itu lebih utama dan hidup di sana lebih lama dan kekal selamanya.

Jangan mempertikaikan kenapa ISLAM itu berkata JANGAN.
Sebab semuanya untuk keselamatan kita.

ALLAH lebih tahu apa yang terbaik untuk hamba ciptaanNya.

"Sebarkanlah ajaranku walau satu ayat pun"
(Sabda Rasulullah SAW)

The Collection...

Keys:
Bold - read,
Italicize - want to read or watch
Asterisk (*)- on the book shelf
Cross (+) - watched.

* As I was Passing I (Adibah Amin)
* As I was Passing II (Adibah Amin)
* A Malaysian Journey (Rehman Rashid)
* Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom)

* Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
* Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
* + The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
* Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
* Deception Point (Dan Brown)
* Digital Fortress (Dan Brown)
* To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
* Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
* Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
* The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
* A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
* + Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
* The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
* + Catch–22 (Joseph Heller)
* + Lord of the Flies (Golding)
* + The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
* + The Bourne Supremacy (Robert Ludlum)
* The Bourne Ultimatum (Robert Ludlum)
* The Bourne Legacy (Eric V Lustbader)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
1984 (Orwell)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
War and Peace (Tolstoy)
Les Miserables (Hugo)
Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

+ The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
+ The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
+ The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
+ Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
+ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
+ East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
+ Dune (Frank Herbert)
+ The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
+ The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
+ Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
+ The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
+ Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
+ Shogun (James Clavell)
+ The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
+ The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
+ Ulysses (James Joyce)

There are still not a boastful number of books on my shelves still not recorded. And there are still many more books I want to read, in this so little time. It’s high time to make time for reading...

Colmar Tropicale: Japanese Garden 2004

These are some of the pictures taken during a visit to Colmar Tropicale at Bukit Tinggi back in 2004, back when my daughter was still a few months old. I like mostly anything Japanese maybe because it is in my blood.

Husband Store

A store that sells husbands has just opened in a top-secret location where women may go to choose a husband from among many men. The store comprises 6 floors, and the men increase in positive attributes as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch. As you open the door to any floor you may choose a man from that floor, but if you go up a floor, you cannot go back down except to exit the building.

So a woman goes to the shopping center to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men have jobs. The woman reads the sign and says to herself, "Well, that's better than my last boyfriend, but I wonder what's further up?" So up she goes.

The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men have jobs and love, kids. The woman remarks to herself, "That's great, but I wonder what's further up?" And up she goes again. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love kids and are extremely good looking. "Hmmm, better." she says. "But I wonder what's upstairs?"

The fourth floor sign reads: Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking and help with the housework. "Wow!" exclaims the woman, "very tempting. BUT, there must be more further up!" And again she heads up another flight.

The fifth floor sign reads: Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, help with the housework and have a strong romantic streak. "Oh, mercy me! But just think... what must be awaiting me further on?"

So up to the sixth floor she goes. The sixth floor sign reads: Floor 6 - You are visitor 3,456,789,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping Husband Mart.

Garage Sale!

Aku nak buat garage sale kat umah aku nanti. Sesapa berminat beli datang le ye. Dah sesak dan semak sangat kat depan rumah aku ngan mende nie, susah aku nak bergerak. So aku cadang nak jual je murah-murah. Pilih le yang mana nak.

The Boy and The Apple Tree

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow...he loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by...the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. "Come and play with me" the tree asked the boy. "I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more" the boy replied.

"I want toys. I need money to buy them." "Sorry, but I do not have money... but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money." The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited "Come and play with me" the tree said. "I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?" " Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house." So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said. "I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" said the man. "Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy." So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time. Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you ..." the tree said. "No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite" the man replied.

"No more trunk for you to climb on" "I am too old for that now" the man said. "I really cannot give you anything... theonly thing left is my dying roots" the tree said with tears. "I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years" the man replied. "Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, Come, come sit down with me and rest." The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears...

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad...When we grow up, we leave them...only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy.

You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them 4 granted we don't appreciate all they do 4 us, UNTIL it's 2 late. Wallahi May Allah 4 give us of our shortcommings and may He Guide us, Insha'allah w Ameen Ya rub.

Please enlighten all your friends and your families by telling them this story,

Love your Parents and lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: "My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small."

Be Good To Your ParentsSay (O Muhammad SAW): "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you from: Join not anything in worship with Him; be good and dutiful to your parents; kill not your children because of poverty - We provide sustenance for you and for them; come not near to Al-Fawâhish (shameful sins, illegal sexual intercourse, etc.) whether committed openly or secretly, and kill not anyone whom Allâh has forbidden, except for a just cause (according to Islâmic law). This He has commanded you that you may understand. (6:151)

And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. (17:22)

And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: "My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small." (17:23)

"Allah is pleased with the pleasing of the parents, and Allah is angry with he who angers his parents." [Saheeh al-Jamee (3500) ] So, take advantage of the opportunity to serve your parents before it is too late when you look at the chair that your mother or father used to recline in, or the bed they used to sleep on, but do not see them nor hear their affectionate voices.

THE END

Singapore Visit: 2003

These are the some of the pictures taken during the Singapore trip back in 2003.
Amir at the KLIA International Airport.

Arrived, in the morning around 10 am at the Changi International Airport and took a taxi straight to the Royal Plaza on Scotts (the Scotts Road). The hotel is located very close to the bustling and lively shopping area of Orchard Road.


Within a walking distance away is the Takashimaya Shopping Mall. You can get here either through the underground path or out on the street. Both pathways provide you with views of shops adorned with myriad colors of items on sale.

The Tang Plaza is located nearby the hotel where we are staying and only a stone throw away across the street. We can actually see the plaza from the lobby of the hotel. You can use the underground path at the Isetan shopping mall two buildings from the hotel or the bridge in front of the hotel. Wow! Shopping is really easy.

We had the chance to hit the Hard Rock Cafe both in the morning and at night, though not on the same day. The night was an outing for a last day shopping dash at Hard Rock. (Left pic: Myself in the foreground.)

The Wisma Atria where the Levi's boutique is located.

The John Little shopping centre where I bought a few shirts.

The shops around the famous shopping street of Orchard Road and its nearby streets.

This is the garden at the centre of the Changi Airport. There is even a koi pond running through the garden.

Finally the day to go back home however sad it is. It is not the regret of going back home that saddens us but rather the excitement and enjoyment of holidays/vacation are something difficult to part with. We will surely come back to have another round of great times.