a father and his little daughter

I saw a very exceptional sight today while in the LRT. A father sits next to me with a little girl in his lap. What makes that looks so astonishing is the absence of the little girl’s mother. His outfit looks like he’s going to work (or to office judging by his attire). My mind start thinking about the possibility. Maybe his wife is in hospital somewhere and he’s taking the toddler to her mother before headed to work. Or maybe he’s taking the girl to her grandmother because he and his wife are working parents. Or maybe he’s a serial child kidnapper pretending by wearing nice outfit. erk...

Whatever the reason is, I’m so amazed by the sight. It is a rare occurrence to see a father with little daughter alone without the presence of the mother. Or maybe I was living in a different world before. Is it? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

utada is the one

I’ve been a fan of Utada Hikaru (affectionately known as Hikki) since ‘First Love’ back in 1999. ‘Utada: This is The One’ is her 3rd English album. It features 10 R&B flavoured tunes, short but sweet, sweet and addictive. The more mature and confident Utada singing songs that point up a different side of her in this album. While some have criticized her overtly-sexy lyrics, Utada is still maintaining her girl-next-door image.

She portrays a cheating lover begging for forgiveness and second chance in Come back to me, which reminds me of Vanessa Hudgens’ of the same title. This is the first single release from this album. She is also a girl falling out of love in Apple and Cinnamon (the opening tunes remind me of Jojo’s ‘get out’). The lyric goes like this… Started out so simple in innocent, chemistry like apple and cinnamon… can someone out there, please tell me is there really chemistry between an apple and cinnamon? In ‘Taking back my money’ she’s a woman breaking up with her player boyfriend after realized he’s just using her.



The biggest downside of this album is the cheap-looking album cover. I thought the Japanese was the most creative people on earth. What happened? Her album cover has always been simple but this one looks too cheap to be simple. Anyway, this one is an apple and cinnamon for my ear, compare to her 1st one ‘Exodus’. Don't judge the book by it's cover. Gambatte Utada-sama!

what's in a name?

We love to call and be called by our loved ones a distinctive name to indicate our ‘blooming love’ to each other. Once, a friend told me he used to call his wife ‘babe’ and mostly ‘honey’. When their daughter was about 2 years old, she started calling her ‘honey’ too. They had to tell her No... That’s Mommy. Haha. So, what do you call your husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend or partner? Let’s take a look at this name-calling.

1. Abang - When I was a kid, we call our brother ‘abang’ which means ‘brother’. But then, every time the TV was switch-on I saw a woman called someone who supposed to be her husband ‘abang’. It makes me wonder why our ‘abang’ is really our brother and not ‘husband’. Then I went study abroad where almost every girl called their boyfriend ‘abang’. So when my friend say ‘My abang are taking me to candle light dinner’, I was like 'wow… your abang is so generous, but isn’t that something a couple usually did? Not a sibling'. And I got slapped in the face. Oh! She means abang… abang special. So what’s the purpose of the ‘Abang’ referring to your male siblings in the first place? What if you got brother and husband which you call abang both at the same time? Say, these 2 men went fishing together with you and his mother call you asking to speak to him (consider he left his phone at home la). You say ‘Abang, Mom’s calling’. Which one you think will respond to you immediately? Does no one else see anything wrong with calling the one you’re supposedly in love with by that name? It never fails to crack me every time I saw someone calling their better half by that name in some silly local dramas. Ewww… TOTAL ROMANCE KILLER!Okay... you don't have to agree with me. Hehe.


2. Papa/Daddy & Mama/Mommy – This one sounds cute. But it supposed to be the name called by your children. Imagine a wife call her husband ‘papa’. It’s somewhat creepy. I’m not married to my father. Haha. Yuck!


3. Woman – I got friend calling his wife ‘woman’ when he’s angry with her. It goes like this ‘hey woman, where’s my coffee?’ I think its okay to call woman rather than you call them animal’s name when you angry. Like ‘monkey’ or the usual one ‘pig’. Ouch!


4. Hubby – OK, what about this one? It’s rather obvious calling your significant someone ‘hubby’. I mean, it’s okay if you’re married. NO problem with that. But if you’re not even engaged, oh my, what a reeks of wishful thinking. There’s hinting and for God sake that’s a blatant desperation.


5. Sayang – This one is the usual one. Honey, Sweetheart, Darling. It’s sweet, romantic, affectionate and loving. But imagine if the guy has two-timing and calling both of them ‘sayang’. Wow. He never has to worry about calling the wrong girl by the wrong name. Hehe.


6. Baby – The funniest I ever heard. I mean because the one calling is the girl to her boyfriend. Wow… what a big ‘baby’ is that. But then I came to my senses, men can be a ‘baby’ sometimes. NO. Most of the time actually.






7. Boo – Oh my, it sounds like a puppy’s name. The song by Alicia Keys and Usher’s ‘My Boo’ came to mind when I heard this one. But it sounds a bit ridiculous in this part of the world.


8. Lambchop – Haha. Obviously it’s the name of a food. Hmmm… why would anyone wanted to be named after a piece of mouth-watering dead animal? I can accept ‘sugar’ or ‘sweetie’. Oh… and what about Puffin for guy and Muffin for Girl? Your spouse is as delicious as a muffin. Apu (The Simpson) called his wife ‘My Little curry face’. Now, that’s as romantic as ‘lambchop’.






9. Dear – I can say this one is rather common. I mean in a sense that nowadays it is widely used (and I can imagine) by grandmothers. If you’re going to call your boyfriend ‘dear’, make sure you put that wig of tight curls to add some ‘sexy-ness’.


10. Pet name – this is common in western so be careful and remember not to use it if you and your foreigner boyfriend decided to meet your family here in Malaysia. Imagine he calls you ‘Pookie’. Oh my, you’ll become the joke among friends and family.
    

What a warm and fuzzy feeling when your loved one calls you by a different name from everyone else, it seems to fortify the fact that you’re both deeply in love and totally into each other. Anyway, be careful because once a name sticks, it’s difficult to change it. Now, where’s my hubby? Teehee.

days go by slowly

It's been a hectic week.
My body feels drained.
My mind exhausted.
I've used all my energy.
Emosi... kudrat...
I'm worn-out.
I need a spa, facial or even better I need a beach.
I need my kampung.
Coz' my kampung got these :

In front of the house

Behind the house








I think, I really should go back.

how long is eternity?

Michael Learns to Rock is still learning how to rock and I think they will do so for Eternity. Michael will never become a skilled rocker. Haha. I remember listening to MLTR when I was 12. My sisters were all crazy about them. (ahh.. the good ol’ days) Their hits include 25 Minutes, The Actor, Sleeping Child, Paint my Love etc. Their easy-to-memorize and sing-along lyrics are painless (to my ear at least). They call their new album ‘ETERNITY’.

Their new album's cover

MLTR is a Danish soft rock band formed by singer-keyboardist Jascha Richter, drummer Kåre Wanscher, guitarist Mikkel Lentz and Søren Madsen, playing bass. Søren Madsen decided to leave the group to embark on a solo career, in 2000.

As I would like to share it with you, here’s the download link.

http://www.4shared.com/file/106052983/9ca626af/Michael_Learns_to_Rock_-_Eternity__2008_.html

Have a blast weekend!

promises to my dog

I spend weekend at home. Tidying up and doing all the chores I haven’t had time to do. I even watched DVD, something I hadn’t done in a long time since my DVD player broken last year. (I thought I just bought it last 2 years, betul-betul cap ayam). I bought new one anyway. I hope something as recognizable as Sony won’t disappoint me.

I watched the ’10 Promises to My Dog’. What a breathtaking story. Simple, momentous yet memorable. It’s a story about a girl who found a puppy lost in the backyard of her house when her father was busy working as doctor and her mother dying of fatal disease in the same hospital. She decide to kept the puppy and made a promise to it in the presence of her dying mother which later revealed that it’s her mother asking for the dog’s original owner to give one of his newborn puppy to her daughter. The puppy was named ‘socks’ after the paws which looked like they had white socks on. When the girls grow up and became a veterinary, her feelings and interest moves away from socks. Their distance grows when she moves to a far off city leaving Socks behind with her Dad.

The movie poster

Watching this makes my mind pondering to my childhood years. I grew up with dogs too (and cats too). And lots of them have been with me through my younger, bitter yet memorable years. (Warning: don’t preach me how haram the dog is. Wrong place and wrong person for your oh-so-gullible knowledge of religious matter. Tehee)

The first dog came to my knowledge is a childhood friends named Kobi and Chiki. A loyal servant to their masters Kobi likes to chase after the rooster and Chiki loves to bath by itself. Kobi has golden fur and Chiki has brown fur. When both grew old and can no longer bark strangers on the street, my father tried to get rid of them. Kobi has been left on the street where no one lives. Maybe a hundred kilometers away from home. Kobi make it home after 3 days. Both died of natural death.

Another dog named well… Dog. Like Madonna’s song with the title well… music. It’s like making a film with the title well… movie. Dog has orange color fur. This dog has live its life through 3 generations of my family. I remember of its fur turn grey and eventually white because of its age. Most dogs have life-span of 10 to 15 years, but Dog has lived miraculously for 20 years. It died of natural death.

Many of these furry friends of mine have their own character. I remembered one of them named Putih (because of its white fur) loves to plant the seeds of palm tree. It’s intriguing to see him korek tanah with its legs, place the seed from its mouth and cover the seed with soil with its nose. One day, we realize he’s missing and after a few days just when we thought it had died, he came home and that moment when we knew it had been on a long journey to my grandparents’ house (10 kilometers away) to see his true love. Her named is Karagalu. What an exotic name it has. Putih will be home by weekend and he loves to played hero by climbing up himself every time my father started the engine of his lorry. Putih died peacefully after weeks suffering from his eyes bitten by a snake from one of his journey. His brood continues their father’s legacy. That was before digital camera came to my knowledge.

The recent furry friends at home are female dogs (I never care to know what type of dogs they are. They're friends with lots of fur). These two female dogs (one of them is now deceased) have flirting away uncontrollably, and thus expanding their offspring. The broods however never make it to adult dog. Most of it died of illnesses and accidents.

Front : Karagalu (named after its grandmother. Karagalu is now deceased) Behind : Narutulu (which mean ’a long head’ in my native language)

Narutulu loves the cats. An example of the proverb ‘Bagaikan anjing dengan kucing’ Dah tak boleh di guna pakai dah. The cats was named: Silow (mean ‘yellowish’ in my native language, because of its fur)

Friends where you can say whatever you want and they will listen without complain is one of the significant ingredient that makes up for a beautiful life.

P/S: Any story involved pets (especially dog) and a relationship revolved around son-father or daughter-father, grandfather and grandmother to their grandchild will bring my tears down. Romantic movies even with sad ending always fail to do so. I wonder if there's something wrong with me?

down memory lane

Pernahkah anda mendengar lagu yang instantly reminds you of some place or certain time of your life? I have never written a diary throughout my youth (I wasn’t allowed to have one, beside if I wrote any, somehow some culprit manage to find and read it). Oleh itu, setiap kali mendengar lagu yang tertentu, it reminds me of that time and place of my life. Take a look at my memories.

1. Sentuhan kecundang by Ekamatra – The first song I can sing-along. I was 4. My sisters used to say ‘Ya’ know, we never knew any song when we were your age, you’re lucky you got us’. The backdrop - Pemandangan selepas hujan, and the sun shine through the rubber trees and there’s a rainbow.

2. Untukmu sayang by Febian – I was 5 and I went to school with my sisters and sit at standard 1 classroom just because there’s no one at home to babysit me. I thought the title of this song is ‘Keindahan Pelangi’ back then. The backdrop – Perjalanan pergi dan balik from school. Ada sejenis tumbuhan yang tumbuh meliar di tepi jalan ketika itu. Namanya ‘Rumput Malaysia’ (origin is unknown) dan angin bertiup sepoi-sepoi bahasa membuatkan tumbuhan tersebut turut bergoyang-goyang. Jalan raya tidak ber-aspal. (sampai sekarang pun takde, nak buat macam mana, wakil rakyat makan rasuah)

3. Bila kasih menyepi by Kejora – I was 7 years old, standard 3. Kejora is a rather famous group in 80’s. They became a well-known rock kapak group after joining the Gagasan War Rock in 1986. The backdrop – My other house. Di belakang rumah ada hutan which me and my mom used to find wild orchids and me and my sister used to find jambu batu yang tumbuh meliar and every other possibly edible wild fruits. Aku suka sangat lirik lagu ni dulu. Pernah datang ke pusat sumber sekolah semata-mata nak cari maksud perkataan ‘perawan setia’ dalam kamus.

4. Sejati by Wings – I was almost 9 years old and my elder sister babysits me and my one year older than me sister and 2 younger sisters. We used to go to school together. She was in form 5. The backdrop – Tidur berhimpit-himpit with my sisters. Tidur guna kelambu dan aku suka tidur kat tepi sebab takut terpijak sesiapa bila nak pergi ke tandas di tengah malam. My brother from the other room bagi teka-teki yang menyakitkan hati jawapannya. (Yes, you can hear someone yelling at you from the other room, ya’ know, that type of room)

5. Right here waiting by Richard Mark (along with his song Now in Forever) – My first English song. Courtesy of my brother. I was 6. The backdrop – Every scenery I can remember at that time. This song is timeless.

6. Paintings in My Mind by Tommy Page – I was 7 and my brother has his poster all over the wall of his room. I used to think Tommy is the most handsome guy on earth. The backdrop – Sungai di tengah hutan. Mandi sungai adalah perkara yang digemari. Perjalanan ke sungai akan melalui dusun buah-buahan jiran sekampung. Ada pokok langsat (ya, aku suka makan langsat) dan limau serta pokok mangga. Jadi, akan singgah untuk mengambilnya tanpa kebenaran. The fact that it was ‘stolen’ made the fruits even mouth-watering.

7. Cinta Azali by Nurul – Didn’t quite remember my age. Maybe it’s around 10 – 11 years old. The only thing I clearly remember is my sister’s statement ‘berani betul jamin akan bertemu semula di syurga’. Well, Nurul’s syurga with her husband ended after 10 years of marriage. The backdrop – The absence of my father and it makes everyone in a good mood and we’re sleeping in front of the TV (although there’s no TV or sofa). We’re having dinner earlier than usual and mula berkerumun di depan radio (the only entertainment equipment available in the house at that time).

8. I Swear by All-4-One – I was 12 and in Form 1. The backdrop - This song reminds me of the classroom. My sisters is my teachers, it makes me sick. I have a crush on someone but it lasted for 3 months after his sister (in form 3 at that time) threat me with ‘My lil’ bro has the highest score in Math in this school, don’t you dare disturb him studying’ I was like… Wow! I haven’t declared anything and yet the sister has noticed. Must be my unspoken persona. (ahem)

9. Wannabe by Spice Girls (as well as their song ‘Two Become One’) - I was 13. Form 2. I was the school’s prefect and even the school’s favorite sprinter. (Well, I mean… among). I have a crush on another guy, but the new teacher has a crush on him too. She’s 20 and the guy is 14. Omigawd. Cinta tak mengenal usia. The crush lasted until my last day at the school. What a favorite years. The backdrop – Hari sukan sekolah. My mother came not only to support me but to berniaga as well. My other sister who came to help her shouted my name and I caught the sight of her while still running. It makes me giggle. I can’t jump over the second hurdle and run through it. Anyway, the second song is a bit ‘dirty’ but the tune is so beautiful to me.

10. Barbie Girl by Aqua – No, really. I was 14. My first time living in hostel. I was the DJ when the school organizes an event sempena valentine’s day. This is the first song requested by a guy without name. Dedicated to all the girls in the school with a message ‘why can’t any of you date me?’ Aku gelak tak ingat dunia through the microphone. The whole school can hear it. I became famous for that nonetheless. Yay... what a year. The backdrop – The whole school. I can remember it clearly.

The group - Aqua

There go my 10 ‘reminder’ songs. What can I say, aku suka rock kapak. I have too many sisters I’m sick of them. Haha.