the secret life of a bohemian princess who writes for nothing

Tangga - Hebat

    bagaikan tetesan hujan di batasnya kemarau
berikan kesejukan yg lama tak kunjung datang
menghapus dahaga jiwaku akan cinta sejati

* betapa sempurna dirimu di mata hatiku
tak pernah kurasakan damai sedamai bersamamu
tak ada yg bisa yg mungkin kan mengganti tempatmu

reff: kau membuat ku merasa hebat
karena ketulusan cintamu
ku merasa teristimewa hanya
hanya karena, karena cinta
kau beri padaku sepenuhnya
buatku selalu merasa berarti

kini ku merasa hebat
karena kau yang membuatku makin kuat

just .. simply, kepenatan.

I need a few days off again, I think.

I've been working like a dog for the past few weeks. I felt so bad for pushing some people to get things done, but i really don't have a choice for now. The public wants their need to be attended. The students need the money.

We have arranged a tea party last friday for the travel agent, as well as the certificate giving ceremony. I was the master of ceremony for the day, dragging my feet here and there from the 6th floor and mezzanine for a few days. The boss wanted to have food testing before the hi tea- which is absolutely ridiculous. die ingat ni wedding ke ape nak buat food testing in the middle of the week for a friday event?

I hated the fact that I fell sick when I'm working. I had migraine when I drove home, and I had to put an extra plastic bag on my lap while I was driving from Putrajaya to Pj. and the traffic jam got me suffer the whole journey. Everytime I reached home, I could only run towards the house to look for the toilet and threw up and asked my brother to park the car inside. Seriously, I dreaded long journey home. I hated the fact I go home, hungry, trembling while cooking because I had the endure the fact that I am so hungry that I cant wait for delivery from Kerabu Biru, regardless of how tasty Thai Food was.

yeah, it unbelievably stressful sometimes. But these days I'm getting good credit from the bosses. At least they made my day.Like yesterday, before I go home, I bumped into my director and he said; Well done, Mahera.

I had done a good job, I guess.

this is... the moment!

i guess the hardwork paid off finally.

its true that this big project of mine drives me up to the wall. I've become extremely persistent in pushing my counterparts to work as fast as me.

I know they could have hate me for now. But I have my target that I must accomplished.

And when the first phase of the scholarship payment went through, I shoot an email to everyone, together with a complete and detailed reports on the figures.

and the deputy director sent me a reply ;

Tahniah di atas kejayaan membuat bayaran terus yang lebih mudah dan segera. Daripada laporan didapati hanya 20 orang daripada 11,699 pelajar (0.17%) yang menghadapi masalah bayaran kerana sebab tertentu.

and he went on to give his feedbacks and constructive suggestions, which I welcome it with open arms.

sweet little victory .. I've decided to just seize the moment and be happy about it.

I'll say cheers to myself ..and maybe make myself a nice cup of black coffee!! ;-)

up for the challenge

TGIF!! Thank god its Friday!

My heart was filled with joy when the clock strucks at five. Yet, I stayed in the office, doing the final check for the unfinished job and preparing for the coming week. I hated the feeling of filling my thoughts about work in the weekend, although it flashes frequently, and even haunted me in my dreams.

Mr.Accountant joke once about our crazy nature of work.At that time most of us work more than 16 hours a day. We spend hours back and forth from Putrajaya office, the airport and home. Nothing more. And  finishing daily reports. Rushing for payments. The ritual.

He told me the weirdest thing about his dream. Wait, a nightmare to be specific.

We sleep and eat with reports. We drowned in mounting files. He dreamed that he was looking into the data like a huge screen in front of his eyes. A giant spreadsheet and waiting for the final figures to be sorted out.

]I

I told him , whoa that was  a real accountant’s nightmare!

I was quite lucky I didn’t have the worst nightmare about my job so far.

Even when my boss could give me such headache and anxiety attack at times.

How do I deal with this? However I managed to get through in two years time.

How time flies..two years?

In two years, I completed my DPA, I gained confirmation.I passed my PTK exam.

I switched three desks in the same unit.

And  I’m getting married too.

There are times when I feel low. There are times , oh god I can’t exactly describe how weird it is.

But sometimes, I took a walk in front of the office. Especially on warm and windy day. I love the feeling of the wind brushes off my face. Sometimes I cried silently. Just to make sure that I did not regret taking up this challenge.

People must have thought I am a mad woman. Wandering alone in the streets in perfect baju kurong and doing my own thing. But I don’t care.

It has been worthwhile. It has been wonderfully challenging.

The kind of challenge that kicks me. My daddy was true.

I was up for it.

do you wanna be a cook?

In the last few days , I took off early from Putrajaya and rushing to go home.

It was because these three major reasons, basically ;

1. I am hungry, and I need to eat
2. I need to finish the book, so I could get on to read Jose Rizal's biography
3. just catch up with malay dramas - oh I am such an drama fan @ home!

I have been trying to cook a simple meal, as that is what  my dad asked, when he's asking the menu for dinner. I said it was simple, but it turns out to be kangkung masak belacan, ikan singgang and ayam masak merah for the first time after I didn't cook for such a long time.

The following night I had the nerve to ask what my dad wants for dinner, and he said anything you could make with the ikan kembung. Apparently, trying to figure out the quickest way to cook in 30 minutes, I managed to prepare, fried kembung, daging bakar with barbeque sauce, mushroom soup and some salted fish. It wasn;t half bad but also deviating from the original idea of something simple.

And when my mum return she said to me; we have a new cook from Pattani. a lady this time, you should take extra day off and follow me and learn some pointers  from her.

My dad was suggesting I  make some homemade cakes and leave it at the restaurant. See how people responding to it, I could as well make a few bucks per day just doing that!

True, cooking is fun. And for a foodie, it will be a double bonus. In the office, I'll be crazy doing the food hunt with my colleagues like Mas and Feefa during lunch hour and at home, just flip through the recipe book and begin the cooking session like it will always be your first time in the kitchen!

so do you wanna be a cook?

yes I do!!

my mother

I skip the cooking session today.My dad had some business in Malacca and the two boys had their dinner prepared by our tukang masak at Kerabu Biru.

As usual, my mum would give the same excuse when I invited her to join the dinner together.

Mak sibuk ni. Tak lalu nak makan.

Pity her though, she was too busy managing her business till she loses her appetite and suffered from lack of sleep.Plus, she's been running here and there, practically everywhere from the market, the wholesaler,the bank and her daily warung kopi time with her regular customer. Its pretty impressive how she could chip in into the conversations of the regular teh tarik and kopi jantan customers.

I never thought her dream would materialize. It doesn't mean I never believe her, because she has always been the most determined, stubborn and friendly person ever. Its just that I love to see her more at home, having her own sweet time doing the gardening, baking and sewing. And preparing the delightful traditional delicacies for tea time.

In some ways, I wish I could inherit her multi skill ability.

Cooking,baking,gardening, sewing, knitting, and that includes home fixing. I could only pass through the skills of a typical maid, which I did it excellently like washing,cleaning, ironing, and some weird cases, wall painting, wood craft.

It takes years and patience to absorb such skills like her.

When I asked her how she could be very good in cooking, she said she learned from a royal chef from Siam when she was young.When I asked her about sewing, she told me she used to take up extra sewing classes in Kg Baru after long hours working in the bank, doing auditing.And she learn gardening because our family used to grow orchards, paddy and own a few plantations so she took it from there.

Phew, so much for doing a basic home maker's job!

my father

My father.

The good guy. The epitome of all great qualities in a man.

He is not all perfect. But he makes a great father, a loving husband and supportive friend.

I was not exactly a daddy's daughter . Nor a mother's daughter. Tipu la if I said, I am manja with them. Nah...impossible.

I'm beginning to understand him more when I joined the civil service.

Back then, our conversations only revolves around why I didn't get an A for this subjects, and why I should not settle for something less. In a way, he had carefully mould me to become extraordinary,in such he never pushes other siblings that way.

My dad and I works in the same office. I am at the 6th, and he at the highest peak, where great bosses resides and chair their major involving nations meetings. He has been to great places in the world, and used to be in the same tough and challenging days like mine and my beloved PTD colleagues.

I remember, he was really discreet about his family. He never mentioned his daughter works at the same building. And people discover it from the word of mouth, not because I gladly pronounced my special affiliations.

In the office, he is the towering personality. People talks about him. And how soft spoken he is. How beautiful he wrote. How laidback and easy to deal with attitude.

At home, its remarkably impressive how he could put up with my mum. I mean, of course my mum is a great lady herself, but she complains too much. He must have a lot of gut to marry this woman, for better and for worse. And for being the best provider she could ever imagine, even if she could easily say there's something wrong about this and that. He would silently try to accomodate her, and I dare say I was not treated way that good like her. He loves her a lot. Although they didn't look like a romantic couple to me.Heheh.

My father is a great person.

When I told him my decision to end my single life status, marry Mr Swank and live on my own, he shared his fear.

He was afraid that I was not able to cope with it. Although he gladly let me explore my freedom to great limits, he wasn't sure if I could be committed enough in a relationship.
To accept the person for who he is, love him and nurture him. be as strong as my mum in raising the kids. It was a great responsibility.

I told him I did not marry because only love. We did it because we have found each other who might be able to support each other. A good friend for lifetime.

Love is not only a chemical reaction. An attraction. Or else it would simply because you're attracted to something you  don't have.

Yes, true. I admit that I am too much in love with him, that I could gladly leave every black memories behind and turn the new leaf.

And my dad, would always be the good friend, the good guy...that supports his friend.

and in the case of me, he wants me to be happy.

inspiring life

I think too much sometimes. I worry a lot too. I always think of the best way to do things my way. It wasn't that good either.

In my office, I prefer to work independently. That's how it is suppose to be currently. If you know how to solve problems yourself, you are safe. Occasionally, Mr Accountant will always keep his helping hands and extra office gossips and our secret whining in the late evenings.

These days the boys have table tennis to fill in those happy hours. Me? Stuck in front of the pc lost in my world. I think I better make a constant trip for massage session near the gym. actually, I was more tempted to swim, but can't find good company and good  location near Putrajaya just yet.

As I ran through the food supply list yesterday, I've discovered an old hobby that I left behind. Cooking! I feel the freedom to cook again when I saw this large kitchen in my home. Great, now its time to do a little bit of experiment over different recipes before I actually purchase my house and own a kitchen!

And cooking is the great reason why I should leave the office early, be drawn to finish the work fast and back home ....berperang with herbs and spices , just campak everything into kuali and voila!! One decent meal for dinner. Felt sorry for the boys at home if I failed to maintain the best quality like my mom's.well, who can beat mum's cooking anyway.

And before I go to bed, scribble something on this little piece blog of mine.

Probably find another book and read..

All in a day is full.

Penat tapi puas hati. :-)

disturbed

so much happen today.

I think I am facing the chaotic life syndrome. There's so many thing left unattended at the back of my mind right now.

For the first time ever, I was really, really disturbed. I was disturbed because of myself.
I got so many questions circling on my head, and I could not find any answer to it.

The question of why and how hit me.

And of course, to those questions, any answer without an explanation would not suffice.

Things happen for a reason.

It was for me to find out.

Sit back and think. But not too hard. Don't let it eat you up.

And reading Confessions of an Old Boy doesn't help that much.

I think I fed myself too much with western philosophy.

Its time to embrace the roots and the right path.

Really disturbed , am I?

bon jour Paris

Paris

is a lovely city.

You can fall in love with

Paris

, even when you’re not in love.

It was wonderful to take a stroll in the city and at night, you can see the whole city bursting with lights and the people filling up the sidewalk cafes for coffee and good chat. The French are a lot more laidback from the British. They would leave the office as early as 5pm and spend the rest of evenings at home or maybe at the café’s.

strolling in the city upon arrival after checkin in at the hotel

 

It is a city, which has a lot of artistic charms in it. Go there if you love the true the representation of ancient civilization, where you appreciate the beauty of literature, arts by visiting The Louvre’ (The Great Museum in Paris), you can see the Mona Lisa in Paris if you happen to love art and paintings, the great Notre Dame and the French theatre.

book lover I am!

  the eiffle tower....with mum and dad

I say French are more boastful than the British, because you have to learn to speak French when you stayed in

France

. You have to at least great them Bon Jour and not Hello when you meet them even though you just want to order a piece of bread or baguette (the famous long bread French used to eat during breakfast!

Metro, the subway train connects the city from one way to another, and you can go anyway with €1.40. For those who love shopping, you would love Gallerie De La Fayette, and it was interesting to know that the shopping gallery was divided in two separate buildings, one for the ladies and one for the gentlemen.

in metro subway...

at notre dame

Take a walk along Champss Ellysse, also a great shopping district where it may lead you to Arche De Triomphe the biggest arch I’ve ever witnessed and it was built in the middle of a roundabout that connects you to 12 different lanes.

Finally, the most talked about

Eiffle

Tower

, standing strong for more than two decades and was once the tallest building in the world. I stood in awe thinking that such great technology was already ready back then and you can enjoy the beautiful view of

Paris

from the top.

And the whole week, I find myself missing him the most, in Paris.

read what?

I recently bought this book without any particular reason ;

The one thing that I fear every time I step into a book store is, the sudden needto spend the cash on books. There are some books worth buying, and there are somein particular instance such as this, practically because I have a knack for reading crappy stuff sometimes.

I am planning for my wedding end of this year, and yet I bought a book about a divorcee?

Come on... there must be a better piece right?

Plum Sykes is not exactly my favorite writer. I don't fancy chic lit that much anyway. I guess when your mind filled with too many heavy matters to think about, this is the best and the closest getaway you can get. I enter into the world of glamour, bimbo and manhattan city life when I read this piece. Nothing sensational about the beauty of how the story was written, the plot and how the characters were created. It was plain stupidity. But Plum Sykes manages to make this piece as if written by someone so shallow who's trying to be witty. Funny. The more stupid it looks, the more enjoyable it gets.

And it reminds me of how some people pursue beauty and glamour to the fullest, when all it matters is just who you are.

I finish the book in two nights after subsequent read after dinner on the large bunk bed.Hihi.

Yesterday I went to Bangsar Village and check out the latest two storey MPH. Couldn't resist the temptation to get this one ;

The Confessions of an Old Boy, written by Kam Raslan. I used to have a crush on the elder brother,who's a lawyer and a columnist. Haha. He wrote a few books as well. But this is the Kam Raslan's second piece that I managed to read, a part from his short story that we practically discussed in Dina Zaman's class back then.

My verdict? I just started a few chapters. Patrick Teoh said it was laughable.

I haven't come to that point yet.

But I think it is a must-read for the new boys. Those who just joined the civil servant.

This story was written about the journey of Dato' Hamid, a former civil servant in the 50's.It was good to have an idea of how Malayans were back then. A good read to celebrate 50 years of Independence.

I'll spare the review once I'm done soon.

mid year check

Year 2007 is the best year for me.

It is the best year for everything, the whole kiss and make up thing, the engagement, the PTK exam and lulus (wink!!) , the upcoming wedding,
the salary raise, the promotion ( if I got lucky..)

They said some people were born lucky. Some people has to go through rough times.

Sometimes, I used to think that I might not get the best job in the world, or to be in the best position like other people.

But then again, it was this place, this post that taught me a lot of things.

I learned, I cried, I fought, I was constantly pushed to do better.

I would not be here if I don't have my friends. My family. My dad.

and Ezri.

and the public. The real reason why I go home late every night.

Those kids. I don't want them to suffer because of the delay of funds allocation.

but on contrary to that, at time I felt nauseated. too much work perhaps.

there is always a good side of everything.

In the end, there is a family, the best girlfriends and the good health.

and the best brain!!

The city of Rome

Most people choose Paris as the best destination for holiday, but for me, I rather choose Rome.

And maybe Milan or Florence for the next itinerary, and I shall make it the most romantic trip ever!

I took a flight from Amsterdam and in less than four hours, I arrived at Leonardo Da Vinci's airport in Rome.It was a lovely windy afternoon. It wasn't as chilly as Amsterdam, in fact, I love the fact that I could just wear the wool sweater without the long jacket on top.I could as well forget my snowcap, and let my hair down.

and in Rome, its true that the men are good looking. They're chatty,intriguing and warm. The ladies are undeniably friendly, that I feel bad if I left the store without buying anything.

You'll be surprised to get this laidback feel in this lovely city. Rome is an ancient city, and there are so many great buildings went through series of restoration.Cafe's were everywhere. I was really drawn towards trying Machiatto with some pastries but never really had a chance to do so because i was there for only two days.

But I fall in love with the city and the great buildings. The flea market sells a lot of fashion jewellery, you could spend hours to shop for long beaded necklaces and dangling earrings. and the Gipsies sell their long flowing skirts and I bought one for Mas and she liked it very much because it looks so vintage!

                           

                                 

                         at the flea market...

              looks like my bro's yawning!

warung saga, JB

with mas, my makan-makan buddy. We had a nice lontong for breakfast , to compliment the sunday breeze breakfast feel before we begin the shopping adventure in Singapore. Mas got it all recorded in her videocam, in which I'm trying to get a copy soon.

This is Warung Saga. Her boyfriend introduced us this cool place. It was a very historical warung. The walls were filled with numerous photos dated from 17th century onwards.The food; typical Malay with Southern touch. after all it was located in Johore.

Check out those walls. If you look closely, you can see Malaysian Prime Ministers photos on the wall.Here you can also learn the history of Kesultanan Johore itself.Most people don't bother when they eat here, but I went crazy scanning the details. I also found out that the late Sultan Abu Bakar married a white lady. And in those days, as Mas's bf told me, the sultan himself addressed himself as the Maharaja. Unlike any other Malay sultans. See? How much I learn from just a breakfast at warung?

Warung Saga have the special menu of the day served everyday. It was a nice place for weekend makan-makan. Somehow it reminds me of Gerai Tanjung Puteri in Sri Hartamas.That gerai had some sort of romantic 50's charm in it. Uh, I don't know. Maybe because I remember Mr.Swank always bring me there. Dear, maybe we'll go here one day, and see if we could enjoy the old school romance here... ;-)

 

the writer, striking a pose next to the most dramatic picture in Malay classic movies....

my culinary quests

the coffee!!!

the cofffee shop at a glance

hai peng, Kemaman, Terengganu

the drinks for the three girls; me ,nisha and klin

Little Penang Cafe, The Curve

Starbucks Ice Caramel and Vanilla Latte, bought at Bugis Street, Singapore

Zam Zam Restaurant ( the famous Briyani) near Arab Street, Singapore

Starbucks at Atria, Orchard Road, S.pore

Murtabak Kg Melayu Majidee, Johore Bahru, with Mas

the trip to delifrance @ sogo. my favorite Pomegranade Fruit Punch

the 'BAG'

I may have wrote about the list of my favorite designer for handbags years ago. and anya is one of them.

Currently, there was this frenzy about getting the latest Anya's I am Not A Plastic Bag in Malaysia. It was like a plague. The same strange incident happens worldwide and yeah ( I am not making this up).

Initially there is a plan of making this bag ;

The Friendship Bag. I've been texting Radin, Hariah, Nad, Lily doing the pre- look around for it.

But, it was impossible. Even some camped outside KLCC the night before its official opening. I figure I would be among the last ones to survive the long hours of queue.And I hate queues by the way.

Originally, Anya designed this bag for the purpose of charity. A non profit project to raise awareness over the danger of using plastic bags as it threatens the environment. Here's the reason why it was such a craze; selling at the retail price of rm55. and around 8pounds in UK. Anya's bag costs thousands each; check out the ones in KLCC or Parkson OU if you dare. If would be any girls dream to own a designer bag. Even if its just merely the "I am Not a Plastic Bag" from Anya. Haha.

Hariah, congrats over getting it three months in advance. I should have call you months ago and pre order!

Radin,Lily and Nad.... if there's a will there's always a way...

erm..by the way, I think in no time someone shall produce the fake version of it...

Knowing Asians.. (wink wink)

terlintas

bahasa ibundaku adalah bahasa melayu.

Bahasa yang jarang aku gunakan apabila mahu menitip kata.

Mengapa? Barangkali aku sendiri kekok apabila melihat tulisan yang kukarang tidak seindah mana.Tetapi Bahasa Melayu itu indah. Penuh dengan lenggok bahasa dan tersusun kesantunannya.

Aku terpanggil untuk menulis pada hari ini. Barangkali setelah belajar dan bertukar fikiran dengan Dr Awang Sariyan baru-baru ini. Sebelum ini aku mampu mengarang syair dan juga pantun ketika di bangku sekolah. Di kala kusut hati dan perasaan, sajak juga bisa aku hasilkan.Semuanya sebagai satu runtunan jiwa. Ia pengungkai kata pengubat rasa.

Memang benar aku sangat meminati bahasa Inggeris sejak kecil lagi. Malahan bahasa Inggeris telah diajar oleh ibubapaku sejak aku lahir, barangkali kerana terbiasa tinggal di negara orang pada waktu itu. Tidak hairanlah jika aku menyambung pengajianku dalam bidang sastera Inggeris, kerana ia sudah menjadi suatu yang hampir sebati dengan minatku.Tapi bagaimana pula dengan bahasa melayu?

Dr Awang ada menyatakan, ketika kami berbual mengenai penulisan teks ucapan baru-baru ini ; tidak ramai yang berbangga atau berminat untuk mengkaji bahasa Melayu itu sendiri. Barangkali kita juga lebih biasa menggunakan slanga dan loghat apabila berbual dengan rakan sekampung, sepejabat dan sebagainya.

Niatku bukanlah untuk menjadi pejuang bahasa.Sekadar melihat sendiri potensi diri setelah lama tidak menulis dalam bahasa sendiri. Barangkali ini masa yang tepat untuk berkarya.Menilai kemampuan diri sendiri.

Kufikir ini juga merupakan masa yang sesuai. Di saat sedang meniti hari untuk menjadi ratu sehari, berkarya dalam bahasa sendiri. Menulis puisi atau pantun mengenai hari bahagia. Atau tentang manisnya cinta itu.

Atau tentang dia.

my home

I moved out again.

This time around, I'm staying with my parents.

Yeah, moved out from that little  apartment and back into the old huge home sweet home.

I think I have stayed so much apart from my family, and I could sense the  awkwardness of it when I reached home.

The truth is, I could not survive the loneliness.

Back at home, the one thing that I enjoy is playing maid.

Thank god house cleaning is therapeutic. But too much of it makes me sick and restless.

and restlessness is scary. There are times when I I woke up late at night and saw strangers walking around the compound/ Yeah, I'm not making this up. I'm just not too quick too shout for help. Sometimes I'm trying to get used to it, although I still can't.

Home sweet home as they say.

Yeah, this house reminded me of my non-tadika life, playing mud during the rainy days, waiting patiently for my family to come home when I was left alone, and how much the sense of loneliness have somehow helped me to discover the beauty of being artistic, naive and independent.

Nothing much had changed over the course of 20 years we lived here.

But I wish to say  goodbye to the lonely life. and allow myself to enjoy the stay.

when Iqbal got married

This is about a guy I knew from high school.

I always thought he never got married. I used to tease him about his picky behaviour when it comes to girlfriends. This guy is a casanova, I'm telling you. But he is really a good friend of mine. Last time he told me , he will settle down when I told him to. Or if he ever finds me to be very available and single, he will sent the second proposal and marry me.

Haha.

I always thought him to be too perfect for me. and we could only be friends.

Back in high school I always try to hook him with Tasha. But Tasha settle down too early after we finishes high school. He kept on failing from one relationships to another. And he drinks too much, until his mum personally asked me to advise him to change his ways.

Pity this guy. but one day we met after so long of unspoken silence and because everybody was busy with their work and new found freedom.

I asked him if he's seeing anyone. He didn't answer.

I told him, one day if you ever find someone, who you happen to like , but maybe not genuinely fall in love with,  marry her.

I guess he took my advise. He married a girl, whom he barely knew for a month.

I met him when he came back from his honeymoon. I met his wife too.

She hugged me the first time she saw me.

And she said, you know Iqbal was such an angel? I never regretted marrying him.He told me about you, and he said he learn so much from you.

I just winked and looked at him.

He was all cheerful and stand closely to his wife and said;

thank you, Era. I was never this happy.

And marrying her, is the right thing to do. Because my life has totally changed. It was great and wonderful. And good luck to you too. I believe he is the luckiest guy in the whole universe to have you.

Maybe it is true...

the worse inner city encounter

I had to attend a two-day professional writing course in KL today.

Of all places, the organizer chose the worst hotel ; Cititel Express near Chow Kit area.

I always avoided driving to KL, especially during weekdays and working hours. Trying to take easy alternative, I chose to ride the train and enjoy the walk.

The easy alternative was not always the best one. I remember those early post graduation days, lrt and buses used to be the staple mode of transportation for me. I love the mobility, the ride and the different types of people I used to observe.

Today, after for about two years, I have mixed feeling when I ride Putra LRT. It got worse when I took the Monorel. It wasn't like MRT in Singapore, or Metro in Paris ,or the Underground Tunnel in London, or the cute little tram in Amsterdam. It is true our facilities are better than some developed cities in Europe. For example, Putra LRT is cleaner than Metro Train in Paris. I could smell urine in the subways. Yucks! And during winter, the smell just get even worse. Paris was not the best city after all.

But coming back to Malaysia, which I still adore and love to be no matter what, I felt a slight pang of guilt when riding the public transportation. This morning, as I about to step into the train, there was this guy who purposedly hit a woman because the lady push herself into the train, without considering those who waited patiently to get  to their destination. Imagine crazy situations like these everyday.It was the least expected event to happen in the morning, and certainly not my cup of tea.

And then, there was this crazy bunch of freaks 'lepaking' near the pavement. This morning as I walked briskly to the  hotel, these guys stopped me and said hello. And salam. I ignored them totally. They raised their voices to me and said;

Orang bagi salam  berdosa tak jawab.

I mean, what the ....? And now you're using Islam as your pick up lines?
Come on, don't be ridiculous.

I freaked out when I had to walk the same street to go home.

This evening it got worse, there were endless guys staring at me and saying hellos.
And the typical phewitt or whatsoever. Imagine you had to walk alone for 100 metres and guys go after you. This is weird. I mean, yeah, I did face that awkward situation before, but I thought they would give up after a while.

Chow kit towards Jalan TAR, you can imagine how many scantily dressed ladies passed by. Even slender chinese ladies in pencil skirts showing their fair perfectly waxed legs. What do I have to offer as opposed to them? Black long skirt with tailored coat?Nothing sensational about that .I was all covered,mind you. It was weird, and oh my God, I was in silent prayers all the way to LRT. Praying those freaks would leave me alone.

After lunch I sit beside the window in the Mezzanine Floor. I witness the good ol' KL with such awe and wonder. Old wretched buildings and dumps everywhere. People still lived here, and the alley look so filthy. There was this guy I saw, dressed in nothing else but his shorts, gather a huge pile of newspapers and place it into the huge garbage bin. He pour some water in it.and began wetting the papers.Occasionally he drinks for the water pipe..eww..geli betul.

I told my dad about it. My dad said, maybe some day you would have to carefully observe this people and bring back the good name of KL.It was our responsibility as the administrators to make sure situations  like this don't happen anymore. Imagine yourself as the Mayor.Think, it wasn't easy to bring changes and to settle for something better.

Yeah, maybe one day, KL will change.