Sadiq's Story

A heartbreaking story of an Afghan immigrant in the UK. I solute this young man for his bravery and strength, as well as thousands of other immigrants who risk their lives in providing a better life for their beloved family back home.

p/s: would love to give a BIG smack to the lady at Sainsbury's. Funny how people can easily pass judgment without knowing a single thing about another person, and even feel good about it afterwards!

p/p/s: Kite pening pk bile nk cukup duit nk tukar kete baru, nk beli umah, beli handbag baru, kasut baru, nk travel, yet these people risk their lives only to have enough food on the table. Sedihnye!!! Sy mmg manusia yg tak reti bersyukur :(

Kek keju saya

2 minggu lepas mashimaro post gambar cheese cake yg dia buat ngn resipinye skali. Semenjak dua menjak dok negara omputih nie semangat masak sy berkobar2. Almaklum ler kalu malas masak asyik makan daun ngn telor jek la. Wahhh kalau la mak sy tau mesti dia bangga. Tp sy tak bagitau pon sbb sure mak sy tak caya. Penah skali kawan sy kt sini cakap sy masak sedap, mak sy respond "Maybe coz u don't know how Malay food is supposed to taste". Buek malu den jek!

Mulanye masuk dapur nie taktik jek bile malas wat research. Asal dtg jek penyakit tuh, mula la wat2 alasan nk masak itu la, ini la. Lama2 cam best la plak, cam release tension gitu. Bile sy ckp kt kawan jerman sy yg sy sronok masak, punye la dia terkejut. Maklumla telur goreng pon dia beli kt supermarket. Tp kalu kite masak wah2 kemain lg dia dok mengendeng. Disebabkn sy dah terbiasa ngn org2 yg tak reti berbudi dan suka amik kesempatan, sy slalu wat bodoh jek dan makan jek dpn dia walau pon dia dok menjeling2 dan kasik2 hint. Kejam tak sy?

So bile sy tgk gamba cheese cake tuh terketarq2 sy nk wat. Hari nie pi Carrefour tetibe teringat, ape lg sy pon borong la ingredients dia. Nk carik cream cheese, at least dah tau diorg panggil crema queso. Pastu carik double cream, kalu translate literally sure diorg panggil crema doble, tp carik punye carik takdek la plak. Nampak satu kotak nie mcm cream, tp nama dia nato de mortar, blasah je la. Patut kene beli gak condense milk, tp mane la nk carik kt sini, sy pon pk takpe la ganti ngn gula jek.

Sampai jek umah berkobar2 sy nk wat. Sy pon bukak la blk resipi mashimaro, pastuh sy search gak resipi lain kt internet, saje la mane tau nk tambah sana sini. Tgk resipi internet ni byk yg letak teloq, sy pon ngade2 nk letak gak. Ok la, dah blend seme siap baru tingat. Awat aku cerdik sgt letak telur dah x psl2 kene bake, padahal resipi mashimaro masuk fridge jek. Disbbkn oven rumah sy nie slalu menyebabkn blackout, sy pon pk 10x. Tp takkan nk mkn teloq mentah kot. Sy pon pk xpe la no choice, cek blk resipi kt internet nk tgk temperature bape. Diorg kate 350 degrees, tp oven sy sampai 250 jek, camana nie? Sy pk takpe la sy letak maksimum, tp sy double kn time masak tuh. Sy pon masuk oven n dok la kt dpn tunggu kek masak sambil wat keje. Lps 20 minit bau punye la harum satu umah. So sy dgn senyum kambing syok sendiri masuk la dapur nk intai. Mak aiiii terkejut nyah!!

Kek keju sy yg hampir rentung (Sebenarnye keadaan dia lg teruk. Tu saya dah buang byk yg hangus hahah)

Eii geramnye nape jd camnie!!! pastuh sy pk sorg2...ishk2 nape sampai cengini jdnye. Pastuh baru la sy teringat. Agaknye resipi tuh 350 Fahrenheit, bukan 350 Celcius! Sy bakar ayam pon 180 C jek...ape ke bedol ni weihhh!!!!

Verdict: wp hampir rentung, kek keju sy masih sedap! Tp manis sgt (mashimaro, sy dah letak 2/3 jek gula cam awk ckp tp still manis, pasnie nk try 1/3 jek).

Pelajaran hari nie: Kalu tak reti masak tuh buat2 ler ikot resipi jgn nk blagak pandai.

She's Heading Home...

The so-called-friend is flying back to Germany for good this weekend. She broke the news 30 minutes ago and surprisingly I felt saddened by it.

Shouldn't I be jumping with joy?

I guess saying goodbye is always hard for me regardless of how good or bad the relationship is.

Everyone you meet will leave a footprint in your heart and teaches you some values in life.

Oh well, this is just the beginning of it. Wonder how it would be for the final goodbye in April :(

A Recipe For Those Lazy Days

Ingredients:
200g pasta
1 large tomato, chopped
1/3 cup basil, chopped
1 cup shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 teaspoon coarsely grinded black pepper
1/3 cup grinded cheese (mucho gusto muah2x! the more the better! hehe)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:
1. Boil pasta till soft
2. Boil shrimps till cooked
3. Drain No.1 and 2, pour all of the ingredients in a big bowl and mix well


**Off-side note: Adding a cup of chopped parsley can do wonders to your bolognese sauce ;)**

A Chic Lit for Everyone

DCM came back from the UK with a box of Krispy Creme and a chic-lit entitled P.S I Love You. I grinned from ear to ear. What could be better than lying on your bed with a good book and a dozen of donuts? ;D

Packed in a suitcase look-alike, straight from the vending machine in Gatwick. How cute!

Been searching for this book for ages around the city. Obviously you can find it rather easily in any major bookstores here, only that you have to read them in Spanish hehe. I guess the best part about being the 2nd most spoken language in the world is that all good resources are within your fingertip. Think of any good book in the market, I can pretty much assure you that they'll have one in their language. (Wonder whether our people would take up the opportunity if we have the same privilege. Reminded of how my brother used to joke about finding Malays in Kinokuniya - just go to the mag section, you'll find plenty of them muehehe)

Funny that I tried so many means of getting the book, only to end up with tons of unread chic lit piling up my desk. You see I am not a big fan of this type of genre, but I was dying to get my hand on this one due to the many good reviews I heard from friends. So after the huge disappointment with the local bookstores, I started hitting the online stores. eBay and Amazon do have plenty, only that it comes with a shipping fee that I was not too happy about (once a cheapskate, always a cheapskate hehe). While browsing I came across a collection of chic lit - 6 books for 10 quid inclusive of shipping... wallaaaaaa!! Being the ultimate skinflint, I purchased them straight away (Note: none of them has been read up till now. A lesson learnt - never buy something simply coz it’s cheap haha). Then there was also the trip to Oslo where I actually did found an original copy but decided not to buy it since everything was so expensive there. At the airport though, I suddenly felt a strong urge for some reading material to accompany the 3 ½ hr journey back to Madrid. Went looking for the book again, found none in sight, so I got myself a Marian Keyes instead.

People, people what can I say! Marian Keyes changed my perception of chic lit like you wouldn’t believe! It was both heartbreaking and comical – never had I shed so much tears and laughed so hard in a single book. To all those people who think chic lits are too shallow (errrr including myself), try this one and I guarantee you will change your mind!

As for P.S I Love You, I would say I was a little bit disappointed with Ahern's flair of writing after reading past a couple of pages. But I’ll do justice by sparing my full review till I am done with it.

Nevertheless, muchos gracias DCM for this lovely pressie. You're an absolute darl!

Turning Over a New Leaf

D said I should blog more about positive stuff.

Looking back at past entries, I've come to realize that most of the stuff that I blogged about were total downers. Thing is, I consider this blog as my personal space in the cyber world where I am able to express myself and vent out all my angers and frustrations.

But maybe he's right. Maybe years from now I would be happier reading all the happy stories instead of all the yakking 'bout stuff that has not gone right. But for every long entry, there is a always a point that I wanted to get across. It is my personal perception of the environment and the people around me, and a reminder to myself about the kind of person that I should or shouldn't be. I guess it's easier to write about the stuff that bothers you instead of the things that make you happy as you tend to take those happy moments for granted yet dwell and sweat about your worries too much. Not so wise huh.

So here we go...from today onwards I am turning over a new leaf.

Grrrrrr....

I hate Linux, I hate Asterisk, I hate all that has got to do with open source.
Period.