What Is It With Women?

Hey everyone!

I haven't been writing on regular basis lately. Writer's block. Every once in a while my head became blank and I am totally lost, lost in thought, lost in ideas and lost in writing.

Suddenly today, as I was sitting down taking a breather from my busy day, something caught my eye on Diva Channel that triggered me to write. It's about women. Yeah I know, I know, Diva channel is all about women. But does everybody need to be reminded how strong the women are, how great the women are? Didn't anybody notice that in every move we (the women) made, we wanted an acknowledgement of some sort from others especially the men?

When we excelled in our high ranking job, we made it clear that women can be better than men.
When women drove an 18 wheeler truck, we applauded that women were awesome species.
When our children excelled academically, we applauded ourselves and said we are the better parent than our spouse. (of which I agreed whole-heartedly)
I mean, don't get me wrong, I am not men's defender. Mind you, I've met some of the worse type of men throughout my fifty three years of life and they are more than I could chew but I wish that women shouldn't be too extravagant in show-casing themselves as someone superior. It's cloying to be fed with updates about how admirable a woman can be.

What are we trying to prove? That we are the better species than men? Okay, let's say we are great in everything we do and much much better than men, so...what is it that we want? A standing ovation for being awesome? An accolade for being superb?
Shouldn't we be walking hand in hand with them, the men? After all, there are only two species of mankind in this world, men and women.
Maybe I am an old fashion and conservative type of woman, I still need men to be around me and felt protected. By nature, it's  men's world. Period.

It's not like I am against the honouring for women. It's just that, I feel we are overstating it. Too much hype about it makes me empathize for men. They deserve as much recognition if not more than us. I agree men can be hopeless, mean, brutal, insensitive species and loads more unflattering words about them, but that is beside the point.
Men with qualities do and still exist, only thing is they're becoming a rare commodities to acquire.

Deny all we want, men still are the leader whereas we, the women still depend on them in a lot of things. Not happy with my observation? Take a look at a few things below:
* We feel protected having men around
* Men are better in decision making. They're quick, precise and straight-to-the-point
* The presence of men make us feel safe
* Kids listen and obey their daddies better than they did to their mom simply because men are authoritative.
*  Many preferred men as their bosses because they are authoritative, they have that commanding quality, they don't talk much, gossip less and less emotional.

Women were so adamant to portray themselves as being superbly able and better (than men) that they came up with, what men can do, we can too, but what women can do, men can't. And they cited child birth as the thing that men can't do. Like seriously people!! How shallow can that be.

Nobody had to hold me at gunpoint to make me choose between men and women. Without hesitation I am all for women. Most of the men in modern days are hopeless. They are either too pretty or too full of themselves. Gone were the days when men didn't have to frequent gymnasium to achieve the six pack torso or the bulging arms. These days men are equally conscious about their looks and bodies that they became lame to my eyes. They were not as I hoped and wished for anymore. Why, they even squirm at the sight of a spider. They were even not as handy as they used to be. My grandpa could dig a well with his bare hands, build a little shack for grandma to cook. Can you say the same with modern men?

And then there is women. We placed ourselves up on a pedestal thinking that we are holier than thee. We make certain our voices were heard in any issues relating to abusing of women's right. We want men to take notice that we're a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, many a time, it's women themselves that disgraced their own species.
The true nature of a woman is that we were always craving for attention. We dolled up to attract attention, we walked suggestively to attract attention, we worked our ass off in the hope that someone superior would notice us.

Suddenly the realization of the above statement hit home. Is this why the extensive publicity were made? Because women were so wrapped up in the glory of being the center of attention? I hope not, I honestly hope that's not the major reason. Because if that was the reason, then it's as good as saying women were unsure and have a low self confidence in themselves that they need to display their accomplishment for all to admire.

Me? I have nothing to display. I have nothing to admire. I have nothing to show off. I am a nobody yet I am a somebody to the eyes of my loved ones.

There bound to be some women out there who disagreed with me but it's just my thought. Nothing more, nothing less. Smile!

Have a pleasant day wherever you are.

Rose
7th.April '16

Makan-Makan Di Sungai Buloh

Salam kepada semua pembaca,

Dalam dua tiga bulan lepas, saya tak update pun entri makan-makan di blog saya ni sebab kebanyakan tempat yang saya makan rasanya biasa-biasa saja, tak ada yang menarik untuk dikongsikan.

Selepas tu baru saya teringat, ada satu tempat di Sungai Buloh yang jual nasi beriyani yang bagi saya rasanya memang menepati cita rasa dan selera saya. Kedai biasa ja, bukannya restaurant besar pun, cuma dia ambil 3 atau empat pintu sekali.

Jika dikira dengan yang terbaru saya pergi ni, dah empat kali saya makan disitu. Nasi beriyani dia tak pernah berubah rasa. Maintain ja rasa nasi tu. Saya makan kosong tak perlu berkuah pun sebab saya nak nikmati rasa nasinya yang memang secukup rasa.

Maaf, kalau dilihat pada gambar nampak macam tak berselera ja kan? Saya terpaksa kecah-kecahkan nasi sebab nak tunjuk lauk yang dibenam dibawah nasi tu.

Sampingan dengan nasi beriyani ini ialah papadom dan acar buah. Acar buah ni pun saya suka. Tak sempat ambik gambar sebab dia orang terlewat hantar.
Nasi beriyani ayam, depa kira RM 9.50 satu pinggan. Kalau daging atau kambing RM13.50 sepinggan.

Ini adalah suasana didalam kedai. Nampak simple dan kosong kan? Tapi percayalah, kalau anda sampai time makan tengahari, memang sesak dengan manusia. Yang makan kat situ, yang minta bungkus berpaket-paket.

Tu dia, nama kedai beriyani yang saya katakan tu..terpampang terang-terang kat depan kedai dia. Kat mana kedai ni? Agak tersembunyi dibelakang bangunan rumah kedai di sini. Senang cerita cari The Store Sungai Buloh. Dalam gambar ni pun boleh nampak bangunan kat belakang yang berwarna coklat muda.

Disini juga ada dijual, mee rebus, mee goreng, rojak pasembur, ayam goreng, semua jenis air dan roti canai pun ada. Ada banyak pilihan yang boleh dibuat.

Selamat menjamu selera dan kalau rajin, hantar komen kepada saya, saya nak tahu apa pendapat anda mengenai tempat ini supaya orang lain juga boleh mencuba.

Salam dari saya,

Rose
31st.Mac '16

Tips Perjalanan Bagi Mereka Yang Baru Mula Mengembara/ Travelling Tips For Occasional Travellers

                      UTK BAHASA MELAYU SILA SCROLL KE BAWAH



Hello again people!

It's 2.20pm Malaysian time and it's about 34 degree Celsius right now. Yeap, it's hot and sticky. I just got back from grocery shopping and I needed some time to cool off my body.

Somewhere out there in the world, it's freezing and here we are over in Malaysia, hoping for some cool air and colder weather.
Sophie is leaving for U.S again by end of this month and she's going through her wardrobe thinking out loud what kind of clothing suitable for her to bring over there. Like I state earlier, Malaysia is a very hot country and we only have two seasons to boast, wet and dry. Now is the dry season and it could be terribly hot when it's hot whereas wet season, well wet means wet, lots of rain and flood but never snow. So, we never had to worry about getting new winter clothings every time winter sets in.

Every time before she leaves for any destination (most of the time on her working trip), she'd seek my help to remind her of what needed to be taken on her trip. We'd go through together until she was satisfied that every thing was in order and in it's place.

That gives me the idea of writing about travelling tips especially for occasional travelers like me. I seldom go travel especially abroad but when I do, I am the person you'd want to be with since I cross checked everything religiously.

Let's see what do we need to know/do prior to travelling:

1) Pick the destination that has always been your ultimate dream especially if the money that you have right now was the money that had been saved for over a year. Make it worth your while.

2) Open a few websites and airline companies to compare prices for air fare tickets. Once you've made up your mind, you can book your tickets online. Be extra careful while filling in the form. There would be some extra charges that you may not want to include in your air fare such as the insurance coverage for travelling, on board food or pre-booked seat. All these could very well raise up the airfare that you saw earlier.

3) Next, please remember to take out whatever sharp items you have been carrying in your handbags all these while such as scissors, razors or items deemed dangerous while travelling on air.

4) Make sure to change some currency prior to departing to any destination. You may need to use it for taxi fare or tippings or something that might arise when you least expect it.

5) If you're worry that you might get air sick while on board, get a prescription from your local pharmacist or doctor before starting on any long haul trip.

6) Do not pack too much clothings for a week trip. This could cause you more money to pay for excessive baggage fees. Always travel light.
Avoid carrying heavy items such as rice cooker, pestle and mortar etc...etc. Believe me, people do this all the time.

7) Do not carry anything liquid or fluid more than what was specified by the airline. You'd end up mad at the custom officials for confiscating your items before you even board the plane.

8) It's better for you to make arrangement with the hotel that you'll be staying to arrange for an airport transfer.It'd be a better idea if you place the booking with airport pick up transportation company because they're offering a much better deal than the hotel.

9) Keep all your travelling documents such as passport, flight tickets, hotel vouchers and others in one place and within easy reach.

10) For Muslim travellers, don't forget to pack your prayer mat and prayer garment as well. Compass would be practical too for those who doesn't own a smart phone toshow you the direction of Mecca.


11) Don't forget to check the expiry date of your passport and visa.

12) Keep some of your night dress or undergarment inside your hand luggage. That way if your luggage end up in Siberia instead of where you were going, at the very least, you can still walk around with your bras and panties strapped safely on your body. Better than nothing, don't you think?

13) Never forget to bring along your hair brush, tooth brush, moisturizer,toiletries, medication that you're currently taking, and a pair or two of  your most comfortable shoes or snickers. You are going on a holiday after all, so you surely need something comfy and familiar!

14) Do not keep all your money inside one place, e.g all in your purse. Take some of it and stashed inside your jeans pocket or inside your hand luggage. In case you get mugged, you still have some money left.

15) Shopping: This is Malaysians favourite pastime. They can be anywhere in the world, they can claim that they're so flat broke,yet shopping is a habit that never dies in any Malaysian.
Before doing any shopping, or better still, before leaving the country, check or Google the best place for shopping. Try to avoid the commercialized centre since the price has been hiked up to the max.

16) One of the best persons for you to get information about the hotel/place you're staying in is, the hotel concierge. You can also try your luck with the housekeeping ladies. Believe me, their info will lead you to a place that wasn't swarmed with tourists.

17) Take some initiative to find the telephone number and  address of your country's embassy. In case you landed in some kind of trouble, you know what to do then.

18) Don't show that you are nervous or uneasy in that new place especially when you're in the midst of price haggling. Self confidence will come in handy when dealing with street vendors.

19) Do not entertain any phone calls in your hotel room from any strangers. This could only lead to trouble.

20) Remember to keep the hotel's telephone number and address in your phone directory.

21) Make sure you have some extra cash inside your bank account should you get hold up at the immigration or custom check point.

Those are some tips for you guys before starting on your trip on your upcoming vacation. Remember we are travelling to an unfamiliar country. There are many things that maybe totally alien to us that could leave us in bewilderment. Thus, like I said earlier, it's best to do a little homework by Googling
for information from any search engine. This should put your mind at ease more than you know.

I hope my little tips could assist you in your future holiday planning.

Have fun and take care people!

Love always,
Rose
29th.Feb '16

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Salam semua,

Sekarang dah mula masuk musim kering. Hujan dah kurang, rumput dah kering dan kita pun dah tak tentu arah nak duduk kat mana sebab semua tempat dalam rumah terasa bahangnya.

Di sebelah sana dunia, keadaan sejuk melepasi suhu 0 darjah.Sesetengah tempat dah hampir ke paras beku. Masyaallah.. Hebat ciptaanNya.
Untung kita disini tak perlu nak cari baju2 tebal atau nak pasang heater dalam rumah atau dalam kenderaan sebab kita di sini cuma satu musim.

Sophie memanggil saya dari dalam bilik minta tolong ingatkan dia apa lagi barang-barang yang perlu dibawanya untuk perjalanannya ke U.S petang nanti atas urusan kerja. Saya cakap paling penting bawa baju sejuk dan baju pemanas badan yang mencukupi sebab kita tak biasa dengan keadaan sejuk yang melampau.

Ini memberi idea bagi saya untuk memberi sedikit tips sebelum anda membuat sebarang perjalanan ke luar negara. Bila saya menulis tentang tips perjalanan ini, bukan bermaksud yang saya sangat hebat dan selalu ke luar negara, sebaliknya saya jarang keluar negara tetapi tips yang akan saya beri dibawah ini lebih berasaskan kepada perkara asas yang kerap kita terlupa atau lalai sebelum melakukan sebarang perjalanan.

Tips-tips yang anda boleh guna pakai sebelum sesuatu perjalanan :

1) Pertama sekali, pilih destinasi yang anda idamkan sepanjang hayat anda untuk kesana, apatah lagi sekiranya duit yang anda kumpul selama ini adalah dari hasil titik peluh selama bertahun.

2) Buka laptop anda dan cari harga tiket penerbangan dari beberapa syarikat penerbangan. Dari situ, anda boleh membuat perbandingan harga.
Bila anda dah puas hati dengan pilihan harga tiket, anda boleh terus membuat tempahan online. Hati-hati  semasa mengisi borang tempahan sebab selalunya ada sikit tricky situation dimana pihak pernerbangan akan memasukkan sekali caj tambahan seperti insurans perjalanan dan berat bagasi. Jadi baca betul-betul sebelum tekan enter sesuatu borang itu.

3) Harus di ingat, barang-barang tajam seperti pisau lipat, gunting atau seumpamanya, tidak dibenarkan didalam sesuatu penerbangan. Kalau kita masih membawanya juga, jabatan kastam akan merampas dari kita. Kan rugi?

4) Sebelum berlepas ke suatu destinasi, tukar wang kita ke matawang negara yang ingin anda lawati. Kalaupun tak nak tukar banyak, tukar sedikit dahulu supaya senang untuk kita membayar tambang teksi atau lain-lain kegunaan kecil.                                                              

5) Dapatkan preskripsi dari doktor atau farmasist sekiranya anda senang mabuk udara.

6) Jangan pack terlalu banyak pakaian atau barang untuk perjalanan seminggu. Kita bukan nak buat fesyen show disana. Kemas apa yang perlu sahaja. Ulang pakai apa yang ada. Kalau tak, alamat bertambahlah kos bagasi anda.

7) Jangan bawa bahan-bahan cair seperti air botol, pencuci muka atau bahan-bahan cair melebihi had yang ditetapkan. Semua bahan ini akan dirampas sebelum anda dapat menaiki sesuatu penerbangan.

8) Adalah lebih elok sekiranya anda membuat tempahan awal untuk airport transfer dengan pihak hotel supaya anda tidak tercari-cari kenderaan yang akan membawa anda ke hotel penginapan. Kalau dapat cari agensi pelancungan lebih elok sebab mereka menawarkan harga yang lebih rendah berbanding hotel.

9) Simpan semua dokumen perjalanan seperti passport, tiket penerbangan untuk kesemua destinasi, voucher hotel dan lain-lain didalam satu beg kecil yang senang dicapai bila diperlukan.

10) Untuk kaum Muslimin, eloklah dibawa kain telekung dan sejadah sekali sebab sekiranya negara yang kita lawati bukan negara Islam, agak susah bagi kita untuk mengerjakan solat kita, ya tak? Kalau boleh bawa kompas sekali untuk menentukan arah Kiblat kecuali smart phone anda ada apps untuk kompas.

11) Jangan lupa check balik tarikh luput pasport dan visa anda. Takut nanti bila dah sampai di airport, tengok-tengok visa dah mati. Kan sakit hati.

12) Simpan setengah drp baju baju anda didalam beg bimbit. Mana tahu beg besar yang dicheck in mungkin hilang sampai ke Siberia. Anda sampai di hotel tapi beg baju tak ada. Nak tunggu sampai beg tu, tak tahu berapa hari baru sampai. Tak kan tak pakai baju kot? Jadi sebagai langkah berhati-hati, bawa barang yang paling diperlukan didalam beg bimbit anda. (beg yang tak di check in, yang kita carry sendiri)

13) Bawa sekali, sikat rambut, berus gigi, moisturizer, ubat -ubatan yang sedang anda ambil dan juga kasut yang paling selesa untuk kegunaan semasa anda disana.

14) Jangan simpan wang tunai anda didalam satu tempat, contohnya semua duit didalam beg duit anda. Cuba pecahkan dan letakkan separuh didalam poket seluar jeans atau didalam beg sandang anda. Jadi sekiranya anda dirompak atau hilang duit itu, sekurang-kurangnya masih ada lagi yang tersimpan bersama anda.

15) Shopping : Haa..yang ni orang Malaysia punya kegemaran. Kat mana pun depa sampai, shopping dah termasuk dalam list mereka. Kalau nak shopping kat gerai-gerai kecil kat tepi jalan, jangan tunjuk sangat kita orang luar, cuba buat macam biasa. Baru senang nak tawar menawar.

16) Kalau nak dapat informasi mengenai tempat yang anda kunjungi, cuba tanya bahagian concierge dihotel penginapan anda. Anda juga boleh cuba bertanya kepada wanita yang bekerja di bahagian house keeping sebab mereka ni boleh bagi panduan kat mana tempat yang boleh kita kunjungi yang jarang pelancung lain lawati.

17) Cari dan simpan nombor kedutaan kita, mana tahu sekiranya kita terbabit didalam sesuatu yang tak diingini, merekalah orang yang harus kita vcari dulu.

18) Jangan jawab panggilan telefon dari orang yang tak dikenali semasa berada di dalam bilik penginapan anda. Jika perlu, hubungi bahagian front office dan minta penjelasan dari mereka.

19) Simpan juga nombor telepon dan alamat hotel penginapan anda, untuk tujuan keselamatan.

20) Pastikan anda mempunyai sedikit wang tunai didalam akaun bank anda untuk tujuan kecemasan.

Itu lah serba sedikit tips perjalanan yang dapat saya kongsi untuk kemudahan anda sebelum melakukan sesuatu perjalanan.
Ingat kita berada di satu negara yang didalam banyak keadaan, suasananya sangat berlainan dari negara kita. Jadi untuk mengelak dari sebarang kesulitan, adalah lebih baik anda lakukan sedikit homework dengan mencari maklumat melalui beberapa search engine di dalam computer anda.

Salam hormat dari saya dan semoga semua diberikan kesihatan yang elok.

Rose
29th.Feb '16

Dari Sungai Buloh Ke Batu Gajah

Assalamualaikum semua,

Cuti Raya Cina (8hb. & 9hb.Feb) baru-baru ni, kami sekeluarga ke Batu Gajah, Perak.
Anda mungkin bertanya, Kenapa dan buat apa? Sebab semua cuti dan sebab perjalanan ni tak menelan belanja yang banyak.

Anda mungkin bertanya lagi, kenapa Batu Gajah? Sebab hanya di Batu Gajah terdapat Kellie's Castle.
Saya sebenarnya bukan peminat tegar sejarah, saya lebih kepada Geografi. Tapi daripada tak buat apa, ada baiknya keluar tengok dunia sat.

Dari tempat saya ke Kellie's Castle mengambil masa selama lebih kurang 2jam 40 minit. Kami guna trunk road atau jalan biasa iaitu melewati Rawang, Serendah, Kuala Kubu Baru, Tg Malim sehinggalah sampai ketempat yang di hajati.

10 minit sebelum sampai ke Kellie's Castle iaitu pada jam 1.15pm, kami berhenti makan tengahari di Pekan Gopeng. Since saya juga menulis blog Makan-Makan Time, di sini saya nak ambil kesempatan share restoran makan sewaktu disana. Nama restoran tu ialah Restoran Sinar Iman  dan ia terletak betul-betul dalam pekan Gopeng. Walaupun restoran ini sangat besar dan luas,mereka mengambil 2 lot. Satu dimana kami berhenti makan, manakala yang satu lagi diseberang jalan.     .

Yang bagusnya tentang restoran ini ialah, mereka bukan sekadar menjual nasi campur semata-mata pada waktu puncak, mereka malah menerima order sekiranya kita nak minta makanan segera yang bergoreng seperti nasi goreng dan lain-lain. Disini juga ada nasi ayam dan Western Food. What else can one ask for? Cewah! Tetiba pulak termasuk ayat-ayat London.

Pada hari tu, suami saya dan Soffian makan nasi campur, dua2 orang ambik ikan keli goreng dan lauk lain. Sara minta nasi ayam, manakala saya dan Sophie masing-masing minta nasi goreng. Air sorang segelas. Agak-agak berapa harga untuk semua yang kami makan. RM28.00, macam tak percaya pulak, betul ke harga yang dia orang kira ni sebab bagi saya, agak murah berbanding dengan ditempat lain.
Suami saya kata lauk pauk mereka juga sedap sedap, bak kata suami, ada rasa.

Jadi bagi sesapa yang nak ke Kellie's Castle lain kali, boleh buat pit stop kat sini dulu sebab dekat Kellie's Castle tak ada kedai makan. Depa cuma ada cafe macam tu ja.

Okay, perut dah kenyang dan mata semua dah cerah balik. Syok memandu di sini seolah-olah sedang memandu di Langkawi. Jalan raya tenang tak banyak kereta. Sampai di Kellie's castle, kami tengok banyak kereta di tempat parking. Aduh! Saya fikirkan tak ada orang yang nak mai ke sini, meleset jangkaan saya.

Suami ke kaunter bayaran tiket untuk membayar buat kami semua. Harga tiket RM5.00 setiap sorang.
Walaupun banyak cerita seram yang diperkatakan tentang tempat ini, bagi saya tidak ada perasaan seumpama itu. Mungkin sebab ditengah rembang matahari ataupun juga sebab istana ini telah banyak dibaik pulih, jadi keaslian dalaman istana tersebut dah tak ada lagi.

Tak ada yang menarik perhatian saya. Rasanya tak perlu saya menulis tentang sejarah tempat ini sebab dah banyak blog dan artikel pernah menulis tentang tempat ini.

Saya dan suami cari bangku di tepi bangunan dan duduk melepaskan mengah. Kami biarkan Pian, Sophie dan Sara meneroka tempat itu. Soffian memang minat benda-benda yang berunsurkan mistik ni. Sayang! Anak sulung saya, Ariff tak ada bersama, kalau tak, dah cukup korum kami.

Selepas hampir sejam menghabiskan masa disana, kami bertolak keluar dari kawasan itu. Cadangnya nak meneroka Gua Tempurung pula. We're not in a hurry jadi drive pun santai-santai saja. Kami sampai ke Gua Tempurung lebih kurang jam tiga. Anak-anak dah exited nak buat aktiviti yang ada.
Tengok-tengok tutup pulak tempat ni. Ramai manusia yang datang nak meneroka gua ni,alih-alih tutup pulak sebab cuti raya Cina.
Bagi saya, time cuti macam ni lah yang sepatutnya dibuka. Aihh..hampa juga rasa dihati.

Disebabkan banyak masa lagi, kami plan singgah di air terjun Lata Kinjang.
On the way nak ke Lata Kinjang, kami passed by RTC Gopeng. Kalau dibandar kita guna UTC, ini dikampung jadi RTC (Rural Transformation Center).
Saya teruja nak singgah sebab ingat nak beli bahan-bahan segar seperti buah dan sayuran dari sini. Lagi sekali kami hampa, banyak kedai dan gerai tutup. Kalau hari lain, dah tentu-tentu saya borong semua benda yang saya nampak. Kedai makan dan restoran pun banyak tapi banyak yang tutup, gerai jual ikan pun tak ada satu yang buka (mungkinkah ikan dijual disebelah pagi saja?)
Luas betui kawasan ni, sayang sungguh kami langkah kiri hari tu.

Dari situ kami keluar dan meneruskan perjalanan ke Lata Kinjang. Ikut GPS. Dibawanya masuk ke jalan yang penduduknya rata-rata orang asli. Jalan sempit dan berliku-liku tapi kami semua teruja.
Akhirnya sampai juga kami ke Lata Kinjang. Disini juga ramai orang berkunjung. Nak park kereta pun jenuh nak cari space kosong.

Sebetulnya saya dah letih, maklum sajalah usia sebegini memang cepat letih. Tapi budak-budak ajak juga temankan dia orang, saya ikut jugak. Cantik tempat ni tapi saya lebih sukakan Sungai Chilling di Kuala Kubu Baru. Boleh baca mengenainya di entri saya Tempat Mandi Paling Cool Sungai Chilling
Lata Kinjang berada didalam kawasan Tapah. Sekarang ni hujan agak kerap jadi air pun banyak melimpah dan laju jeramnya. Hati-hati bila bergerak diatas batu batu disini kerana batu-batunya agak licin berbandin tempat lain.

Habis mandi-manda, baru kami bertolak pulang.
Apa yang ingin saya sampaikan ialah, kalau plan kita tak seperti yang direncanakan, kita tukar atau improvise. Cara itu, kita ada banyak option dan kurang rasa terkilan.
Sebenarnya banyak lagi tempat menarik di Malaysia umumnya dan di Perak khasnya. Kita boleh cari sendiri tempat-tempat yang ingin dilewati tanpa perlu bergantung kepada sesiapa. Start enjin kereta, buka GPS dan pergi kemana saja yang ingin kita pergi.

Kalau tak mampu berbelanja lebih, buat macam saya. Overall, kami hanya berbelanja lebih kurang 150 ringgit sahaja termasuk tol dan minyak kereta.

Salam dari saya,
Rose
17th.Feb '16

Sambal Hitam Pahang

Salam semua,

Apa khabar semua pembaca saya? Rasa macam dah lama sangat saya tak upload apa-apa entry di blog saya ini. Bukan malas tapi saya agak sibuk kebelakangan ni.

Hari ni saya nak muatkan resipi sambal hitam Pahang atau sambal belimbing buluh yang terkenal di Pahang.
Bagi saya yang berasal dari Utara, saya memang tak berapa tahu menahu tentang sambal ni sehinggalah saya berpindah ke Sungai Buluh, Selangor. Di sini, kerap saya dengar komen dari jiran-jiran dan teman whatsapp yang mengatakan sambal hitam ini sangat sedap dan menyelerakan.

Jadi, saya pun Google tengok cara nak buat sambal hitam ini. Orang Pahang jangan marah sekiranya cara saya menyediakannya tidak sama seperti yang sepatutnya. Niat hanya ingin berkongsi dengan semua pembaca terutamanya dari Utara yang mungkin tidak pernah mencubanya sendiri dirumah.

P/S : Harga sambal hitam di kawasan sekitar perumahan saya ialah RM 10.00 satu bekas plastic kecil. Mahal kan?

Ini lah bahan-bahan yang diperlukan :

15 biji belimbing buluh
3/4 mangkuk ikan bilis (mangkuk sederhana)- dicuci dan di toskan
10 cili padi
7~8 ulas bawang merah
Sedikit bwg putih
Kicap manis
Gula
Garam

Cara penyediaannya :

1) Belimbing buluh dicuci dan dimasak diatas api sederhana perlahan tanpa air atau minyak.
Ini akan mengambil masa yang lama.
Masak sehingga hitam dan kering air sepenuhnya.
(Kalau ada kuali buruk, lebih baik sebab memasak asam belimbing ini akan meninggalkan bekas yang susah di cuci.)
Lagi elok, kalau dapat di jemur dibawah matahari untuk mengeringkannya secara total.

2) Tumbuk cili padi beserta dengan bawang tadi.
Kemudian masukkan pula asam belimbing, tumbuk lagi hingga hancur dan sekata.

3) Terakhir, masukkan pula ikan bilis dan tumbuk. Jangan terlalu halus, biarkan sedikit kasar.

4) Now, macam biasa, panaskan kuali dengan sedikit minyak.

5) Masukkan bahan yang ditumbuk tadi. Masak goreng macam biasa. Bila dah agak kering, bolehlah dimasukkan sedikit gula dan kicap manis.
Garam mungkin tidak diperlukan sebab kita dah gunakan banyak ikan bilis tadi. Cuba rasa dulu.

6) Masak lagi sehingga kering. Masa yang saya ambil untuk betul-betul mendapatkan sambal yang kering, lebih kurang satu jam.

7) Sambal akan masak apabila tidak lagi melekat dikuali.

8) Inilah hasilnya.

Apa pendapat saya tentang sambal ni? Sedap, betul sedap. Lain dari sambal yang kita selalu makan, cuma lain kali kalau saya ingin membuatnya lagi, saya akan kurangkan asam belimbing dan cili kerana perut saya mempunyai masalah dengan benda-benda masam dan pedas. Other than that, it's marvellous.

Jadi, anda boleh cubanya dirumah, murah dan menyelerakan.

Anggaran kos :

Belimbing        : RM 2.40
Ikan bilis          : RM 2.00
Cili api             : RM 0.50
Lain-lain bahan : RM 2.00

Jumlah               RM 6.90

Salam dari saya,
Rose
11th.Feb '16

The Street Smart & The Book Smart

Happy New Year Everybody!

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It's not too late for me to wish all you guys a very Happy New Year!

What's my resolution this year? Nothing.. I am not interested to come up with yet another resolution but never seemed to achieve it. It's better for me to stay as I am now and take it day by day. In any case, I am going to be fifty three this year, so what's the big deal?

My four children? I don't know if they have one. Whatever they may desire, the best I can do is to pray for their success.

Many a time, I sat down watching them (unknowingly to them) if they have what it takes to be a successful, intelligent yet tough, as in street smart tough.

Sophie once asked me, "Ma, who do you think is better? A book smart person or a street smart?" I think for a while and said both because we need to have these two elements to live in today's sadistic and cruel world.

I Google-d to find the meaning of street smart. I quote some of the phrases I found. It says, " A person who has a lot of common sense and knows what's going on in the world. A person who has the experience and knowledge necessary to deal with potential difficulties and dangers in life in an urban environment."

What about book smart people? It says, "The stereo-type of a book smart person is someone who is upper class and well educated but less knowledgeable when it comes to handling important situation in a bad neighbourhood.

'The more extreme and negative stereotypes are that book smart people are naive, easily manipulated and have bad judgement in bad situations while the street smart people are unintelligent and incapable or achieving a higher education.'

Both stereotypes aren't always true. Period.

I am sure many of you had gone  through some unpleasant incident at one point that was way out of your skills and means. Somehow you managed to pull it through and solved the matter on your own.


Scene 1) You're trapped in an old underground railway tunnel. What do you do? The book smart in you would automatically advice everyone there to stay calm and not to panic. It will only weaken the body system and losing oxygen unnecessarily.
The street smart in you would scour around the area looking for a tool to find the way out.
Thank God if we were to get stuck with these type of people, we still had the chance to live and recount the traumatic experience to those who cared to listen. Imagine if we're stuck with none of these people.

Scene 2) You were in a shopping mall clearing their year-end stock. One handbag item displayed $250.00 less 30% discount.
The book smart would probably calculate it 250 x 30/100.
The street smart would most likely calculate it this way: 10% out of 250 is $25, so 30% will be $75.00.
Both got it right. Amount to pay was $175.00.
Sara is genius when it comes to maths but when it comes to this type of calculation, I got the answer before she does!  I am the  latter, Sara is the former. Now you know that I am the street smart gal. And for once I beat her in maths! But only in this case.

Scene 3) Your car broke down in the middle of a busy street. The book smart may come up with, we don't know what's wrong with the car, let's call for help.
The street smart said, use your charm to get some help from the passers by. (You think the passersby won't stop when they saw a damsel in distress was sweating it out during midday?)

Those were some instances that may occur to you once in your life time. What we never realized was that each and every one of us got this animal instinct, that we automatically have, the sense of gut feeling telling us what to do.

Last month when I was sending Sophie to the airport, we stopped by at one of food stall for our lunch. It was pouring heavily when we arrived. Finished lunch, we paid and ran towards where our car was parked. It was still raining but not as heavy as just now. As soon as I started the engine, nothing happened. There was no sound whatsoever. Damn! Not now, I thought. The three of us looked at one another. I tried again but still nothing happened. I was quite sure it's the battery since there wasn't any sound when I ignite the engine.
I told the girls (Sophie & Sara) to get down and push the car while I tried again. At first it didn't work. They pushed again the second time whilst I turn on the engine again. Miraculously, it worked. My engine revved up and we made our way to the airport safely.

It's the same when I am in the kitchen. If the menu that I was about to prepare didn't work out the way I wanted it to be, I improvised. Let's take the simplest situation. Rice. Sometimes my rice got under cooked. You know it's under cooked when the rice slightly grainy.
What I did, I switched off the switch and let the rice cooled for about 10 minutes. Then I switch it on again, pour in some water and press cook. Your rice would turn fluffy and soft.

There was one time when I was driving, a guy on a motorbike was riding in a reckless way. He tried to overtake a moving lorry when he came directly head on towards me. He lowered his motorbike to avoid the accident but somehow  his action dented my car. I came out of the car in horror to see if he's alright. He got up unscathed and pushed his motorbike aside. He then walked towards me and started rambling about how the lorry blocked his view.
Then came the excuses. I knew all these tricks given by these people. They would claim to be poor, got family to support and so on. I was about to fall for the tricks when his next sentence angered me. He said I shouldn't be driving the way I did. I mean, what's wrong with the way I drive? The minute I heard he was trying to put the blame on me, I hardened.
I said to him, "I want you to bear the cost of my front bumper and the scratches."
He said it's too much for him.
I replied, Ok, in that case we file a police report. That way I can claim the insurance.
Again he declined. This time citing the damage was not much.
After a while he gave in. He said he'll pay me up not today but tomorrow.

This is when my street smart skill came in handy. I said to him "fine if you're to pay me tomorrow. Now the time is 12;45pm (approx), I will wait for your call tomorrow until 11:00am. If I don't receive any call from you by then. I will proceed with the police report."
That way he can't run away, either way he had to face me. I jotted down his plate number and ID number.
If he decided not to show up, I'll lodge a police report and I am entitled to claim the insurance. ( I don't know about other countries but in Malaysia, we are to make a police report about vehicle accidents within 24 hours. That will allow us to claim insurance from the other party.)

Since he didn't want his name to be listed in the police list and had to pay penalties, he showed up the next day and paid me much much lesser than the actual amount I had to pay to repair the damage to my car. I guess had strained my energy arguing with him the day before, so I accepted it in goodwill.

You see, it doesn't necessarily mean that if you are a woman, you don't have that street smart skills. It's all inside us. We just need to be more informative, a bit of courageousness and be alert with everything around us.
I claimed myself as a street smart person but I would also like to claim myself a book smart woman. Too greedy you think? Hear me out. I may have never set foot in any colleges or universities but I am good in general knowledge. I am good in word puzzles and I am super good in Scrabbles.
So, what does that make me?

As we talked about the street smart people with a lot of pride put in, never forget the book smart buddy.
They, that is the book smart people, will definitely achieve his goal one way or the other. He or she would almost certainly fared well in his or her lives later on. They worked hard to achieve their dreams, they painstakingly worked their way up through sheer hard work. All they need to do is to blend in a little with their surroundings.

As for me, I strive to be the best in both categories.

Until then people, have a great evening wherever you are!

Rose
15th.Jan '16

Kambing Badam Masala

Salam semua,

Dah lama tak makan nasi beriani. Di rumah pulak ada daging kambing yang saya beli hari tu. Since semua ada di rumah kecuali Sophie, saya buat nasi beriani beserta Daging Kambing Masala.

Banyak bahan yang diperlukan untuk masakan ni tapi berbaloi memasaknya.

Bahan-bahan yang diperlukan

1 kg kambing dipotong kecil
2 labu bwg merah /  2 inci halia ( dikisar bersama)
1/2 cawan tairu atau yogurt
2 sudu teh serbuk cili
1 sudu teh serbuk kunyit
sedikit serbuk ketumbar dan serbuk jintan putih
bawang goreng (diramas hancur)
( semua bahan ini digaul sekali dengan daging kambing) - ketepikan

Bahan tumis :

Kulit Kayu Manis, Buah Pelaga, bunga lawang dan daun bay (serba sedikit)
4 labu bawang besar dihiris nipis

Bahan tambahan :
2 gelas air
Minyak ghee 2 sudu makan & 2 sudu makan minyak masak
1/2 cawan badam yang digoreng tanpa minyak dan dikisar halus
1/4 cawan susu cair
2 sudu makan garam masala
Gula dan garam untuk perisa

Cara memasak :

Tumis bahan tumis dulu diikuti dengan bawang besar yg dimayang.

Bila bawang dah agak kekuningan, masukkan daging kambing dan tutup.

Kuatkan api selama lebih kurang 5 minit. Kambing akan bertukar keperangan.

Tambah masuk air 2 gelas dan tutup periuk.

Biarkan sehingga empuk sekurang-kurangnya 45 minit.

(Tambah air lagi sekiranya kuah kekeringan)

Bila dah hampir empuk, masukkan serbuk badam, susu cair dan garam masala.

Biarkan sehingga mendidih dan kuah menjadi agak pekat.

Terakhir, jangan lupa tambah garam dan gula mengikut selera anda.

Salam dari saya,
Rose
3rd.Jan '16