Something called LOVE.....

A wedding ring which doesn't fit anymore because it is too small for the owner after 15 years of marriage...

 

Being a dad...

Seeing your son smiles...

Happiness in your daughter's eyes...

Watching them catching waves...

A bond that can't be broken....

Providing your loved ones with good food....

Surrounded by the people you love...

Wake up with his drools and morning breath...

A visit from the young ones asking how are you doing...

A wrinkle on your mother's face depicting years of hardship raising her kids...

Adab Memuliakan Tetamu...mana perginya?

Seingat saya, ada beberapa hadith shahih tentang memuliakan tetamu yang saya pelajari semasa di sekolah dulu (SHAMS). Antara isi-isinya adalah memberi salam kepada tetamu, menyambut di depan pintu, memberi hidangan terbaik seadanya, mendekatkan hidangan dengan tetamu sehinggalah menghantar tetamu ke muka pintu apabila tetamu ingin pulang. Amalan memuliakan tetamu serta adab-adab menerima tetamu terutamanya orang asing atau orang yang lebih tua dari kita telah lama kami sebagai satu keluarga mempraktikkannya sejak dari arwah ibu bapa kami masih hidup lagi. Malahan ianya sudah menjadi satu 'norm' atau kebiasaan bagi kami apabila kami mempunyai keluarga masing-masing. Kebiasaan itu jugalah yang kami cuba terapkan kepada anak-anak kami. Kami juga percaya ianya adalah kebiasaan di tempat-tempat lain yang majoriti penduduknya beragama Islam dan khususnya masyarakat Melayu.

Walaubagaimanapun, baru-baru ini kawan saya mengalami satu peristiwa yang membuatkan saya agak terkejut kerana ianya sesuatu yang agak luarbiasa dan saya rasa saya perlu menyuarakannya di sini. This is my blog anyway and sharing is caring, right?

Ketiadaan tuan rumah atau wakil tuan rumah menyambut keluarga kawan saya di depan pintu membuatkan mereka  termangu-mangu dan tidak tahu ke mana arah mereka perlu pergi, di mana harus mereka duduk dan mereka juga tertanya-tanya apakah agenda untuk mereka. Di bawah cuaca yang panas terik, anak-anak kepanasan, mereka pun berlindung di bawah pokok-pokok yang ada. Sebahagian dari keluarga mereka pula berdiri di dalam khemah, mengikut adab sebagai tetamu kita tidak akan duduk sekiranya tidak dipelawa. Setelah hampir setengah jam, tiada juga wakil dari tuan rumah menjemput mereka.....if I were her, I was contemplating to just took off and go home but of course I couldn't do something that will hurt my family's feelings.

Ke mana hilangnya adab memuliakan tetamu sekarang ini...ini satu pengajaran buat saya sendiri supaya mendidik anak-anak, anak-anak saudara, cucu-cucu saudara dan generasi pelapis tentang adab memuliakan tetamu. I will definitely post the hadith once I've confirmed it.

Just my 2 cents...no heart  feelings!

Mortgage Loan

source: Google

 

The housing developer where I booked a new property recently has 4 bank panels where we can apply for a mortgage loan i.e. The Native, The Bow, The Stripe and The Chain. After seeking some information from the experts in banking field (mostly my MBA classmates) and doing investigation (Mr Goog P.I) on my own, I applied for Islamic Mortgage Loan with Native, Stripe and Chain. Filling up forms for the 3 banks are quite easy...emailing supporting documents are also easy, you know things like your IC, bank statement, EPF etc. Seems quite okay. A few days later, my lawyer WhatsApp-ed me asking whether the officer of Native have mentioned that they can't process Islamic Loan for property under development. And I was like?? What?? No!!! So I'm kinda turned off already with the Native. And a couple of days later, the officer called me and explained...well, ok... and I said I won't proceed with the Native.

In another case with The Chain, officer Miss A was quite nice, she actually came down and see me in my office and explained on the process. So I'm quite happy with her service,  considering the BLR are all the same between the 3 banks so now it all came down to service. After she handing over the loan application to her credit department, a few calls were made to me asking some things like my hire purchase and ASB loans...so I obliged and provided the bank with the requested supporting documentation. She also asked me for an HR personnel contact for verification, which I also complied. The other day, I bumped into my HR personnel and she told me that the credit officer from The Chain called and asked her what does it mean by P.C.B in our salary slip. Is our huge GLC company with 28k staff the only one using that abbreviation in our payslip? Or is it a formality? I didn't get it....

The Stripe approved my loan without much hassles after 2 weeks. 

I called The Chain and ask them when are they going to approve the loan. The officer said, all application will have to go to their HQ and she wasn't sure how long the HQ will take to approve. Hmmmmm....

I have been a customer of the Stripe since I was fifteen years old and I'm very much satisfied with the services. Well,  as much as I want to try using other banks for this, I guessed I'm going to end up with The Stripe at last.

I haven't decided anything yet...

Yesterday afternoon, I received a text from the Native saying my land facility loan application has been approved! I'm stunned :) and confused. I think it is quite funny as well.

Inside kitchentinker's drawers

A must have list in kitchentinker's kitchen...

• Silicone scraper spatulas -  small, big, curvy, flat ...all kinds, multicolor
• Wooden spatulas
• Metal frosting spatulas (or palette knife)- small n big
• A silicone baloon whisk
• A stainless steel baloon whisk

• A wooden rolling pin
• Measuring cups - 2 sets
• Measuring spoons
• Microwaveable mixing bowls, beside the KA's stainless steel bowl
• A medium sized sifter
• One big silicone rolling mat
• 2 medium silicone baking mats

Love a kitchen full of colorful utensils...enticing, isn't it?

Have A Great Friday Morning!!!

Goodbye 2012 Welcome 2013!

Tiffany - what is the authentic one looks like

This is something that I want to share with friends that probably have the same interest with me...TIFFANY! This posting is not to show off my jewelry but to share some important tips if you want to buy them online. 

Most of the tips are extracted from ebay, ehow and many reviews from the www. All the information is validated with my own photos of my own jewelry below.

First and foremost, Tiffany does not have SALES!

Second, Tiffany does not have OUTLETS!

Okay, below are the main characters of the authentic Tiffany products. I can only tell you based on the bracelets that I own because I only like the bracelets and probably will purchase the charms next.

The box the item comes in should be a robin's egg/baby blue. It should feature the Tiffany's logo indelibly stamped on with a glossy finish.The purchase may also be tied with a white satin ribbon.

The purchase should be accompanied by or come inside a bag of the same color. The bag acts as a polishing cloth and is made of a suede-like material. It also has a thin drawstring closure.
The fabric on the inside of the AUTHENTIC pouch is EXACTLY the same as the outside of the pouch. The inside of the AUTHENTIC pouch will have a pocket made of the same suede cloth

 The item should be heavy in hand, and not feel hollow or plastic.

All items will be stamped and / or signed and marked with the appropriate metal signature (i.e. 925 for sterling silver).

925, the mark of sterling silver for the 'Please Return to Tiffany' as shown above & below, should be engraved on the half-loop above the heart.  It should NOT engraved on the actual heart.

The back of the heart should have Tiffany & Co 925 smoothly engraved at the very top of the heart. This engraving should be as close to the center indentation of the heart as possible.

This one is very small heart, with the Tiffany's signature baby blue color.

The lobster clasp on a Tiffany bracelet or necklace will show EXCELLENT workmanship. In fact, the entire piece should be heavy and feel SOLID in your hand. Also, here's a little secret, the lobster clasp will ALSO be stamped 925, at the base of the clasp.

The links on any tiffany tag bracelet or tag necklace are NOT pinched together, they are soldered together and very smooth. You almost can't tell where the link begins or ends.

Hope it helps...more help can be found on ebay website.

Tahpenamoeh

Haghi ni osah maleh eh, maklumlah esok sampai minggu dopan dah nak cuti. Tadi nyambil-nyambil kojo kan, adola berbughak ngan kengkawan den kek opis ni ha , ceghito maso dio kek uni dulu. Dio ceghito maso dio kek uni maghin pandai caghi duit senighi. Opismate den ni lelaki jadi dio citor dio maghin jual ghokok...hehehe. Haiyo..osah pandai eh kau yo. Kok nak tau an kan, maghin ghokok sekotak yang 20 tu ghogo eh duo inggit setongah yo. Lopeh tu dio jual singgit sebatang...umangaiii lobih 100% untung eh. Apola bebudak laki tak koba an kek den maghin yo, kotak mesti den pun bulih jual ghokok..hehe..macam la den beghani.

Den pun ado pengalaman gak bisnes kek hostel uni maghin. Haaa...ado soghang room mate den ni ado sandwich maker, so kito oghang bertigo kumpul duit buek modal boli ghuti, boli sadin, boli bawang...kito buek sandwich sardin. Tapi den tak ingat beghapo inggit den jual maghin....tapi banyak yo la untung eh. Lopeh tu kitoghang poi enjoy kek pasar malam. Bukan posal duit tu yang seghonok eh doh tapi pengalaman yang kito dapek tu. Tu la sobab eh den sughuh anak den jual biskut kek sekolah, tapi den kuarkan modal, duit jualan tu dio joli katak la. Sajo sughuh dio experience sekali sekalo. 

Kito Gen-X ni kan, banyak pengalaman maso kekocik maghin yang Gen-Y ni takdo meghaso sekaghang ni. Aiskrem buek seniri, aiskrem malaysia namo eh..kaler eh meghah yo..tak pun aiskrem milo. Kalau omak masak bubur kacang, tak abih bolih buek aiskrem yo. Main congkak tak yah boli papan congkak doh...koghek lubang bawah ghumah lopeh tu caghi buah gotah buek main. Mano ado oghang main congkak pakai guli....tak cool la!

Dulu-dulu sungai kek kampung den tu osah jeghonih eh...den mo omak den poi ngutip siput sodut kek sungai tu maghin. Bulan lopeh den balik kampung lalu kek sungai tu, olahai koghuh dan somak makamek sungai tu. Siput sodut kek sungai ghaso eh lain makamek dengan yang selalu jual kek pasar tu, dahlah berlumpur. Siput sodut sungai takdo belumpur camtu doh.

Apolah den meghepek memalam buto ni yo..tetibo la teringat joman kekocik maghin. Anak2 den mesti tak paham penamey eh den tulih ni..tu la sobab eh blog ni namo eh tahpenamoeh...

It's the time of the year...

Many happy people today and tomorrow...why??? This is why...

Some of us could not focus on our work today....what are on their minds?

One might have this one...

or...probably this color much nicer...

Some are thinking about this....

Some drooling for this...

Some can't wait for this...

Whatever it is...it's your money baby! Spend it because you deserve it!

Income Tax Month

30th April is the last day of the employee 'makan gaji' like us to submit our YA2011 Income Tax Form, be it via post, by hand or through e-hasil website. Mine was submitted 30 March, online and I have also received the refund on the overpaid tax. Thanks LHDN!

Filling up and submitting the tax form is a lot easier nowadays with the online system. I still remember when I first filled up my tax form somewhere in the 90s... The tax form was posted to our mailing address and once I got the form, I will fill it up using pencil first. After note comparison with other young and lost people like me, I will fill it up using pen..... again..at the same time, still asking those senior staff whether it was correct or not and keep checking the EA form from time to time.

Now, the EA form was directly provided by the company to LHDN, so after we logged in into the system, we can see that all the salaries and other benefits have already been keyed in into the system. What is left now is to fill up the deduction that we are entitled to. Once completed, just submit and print the acknowledgment receipt. Settled!

TM's Unifi has just turned 2 last month...

I have been reading some of my FB friends status who just had their home installed with Unifi. Being one of the earliest batch of unifi users back in mid 2010 and unsubscribe Astro a couple of months after that, I am so very happy as well with my friends' new found happiness...hehe...and some of them are thinking to unsubscribe Astro as well.

The transition from watching Astro to HyppTv was quite an easy one for my family...I am not a TV person but yes, I am a TV series person. I have been copying TV series and movies for quite sometime before having Unifi. It was just because I do not have much time..or probably didn't make time to watch TV so I rather copying the tv series like csi, ncis, criminal minds and stuff and watch them when I'm free. And now, I am downloading them myself..so I'm good.

As for the kids, Naim likes TopGear and all the Food Sciene stuff like Heston's Feast or Marcel Ultimate Kitchen and other science experiments  from BBC Knowledge and NatGeo..so he's also ok. The girls...well, just one or two cartoon channels are enough for them. Well, the thing is that they can also watch them online on Naim's Imac or Sarah's lappy...so the kids are also ok with it.

Those days people keep on telling me that HyppTv does not provide as many channels as Astro and they were asking how does the Unifi provider could ever compete with Astro...well my answer was simple, Unifi is not in competition with Astro, it is like apple and orange. Astro is a Broadcaster whilst Unifi is in the Telecommunication services where it provides high speed broadband and HyppTV is just a value added services given to the subscribers.  Anybody can choose which one they wanted or they can also have both...who cares, it is good for the economy, I guessed and it is also contributing to ICT literacy  growth among the Malaysian.

For the record, the reason why we unsubscribed from Astro was...WE CAN...that's all.

One-not-so-fine-day...

Today, my mind was wandering...can't focus. My soft choc chip cookies that I made a thousand times ended up like a cake. To the dustbin it goes...sayonara!

How can a man who had spent like 20 odd years together with his wife and has almost half a football team offspring...fallen for another woman...divorced the first one...marry his new found love...and what I heard today was the ex-wife has been asking for financial aid from her friends and family since she can't support her children. The neighbours also sent some food for the children too to ease the burden.  Was the ex husband didn't provide nafkah for the children? She was once the woman he loved for 20 years and a mother of his X children for godsake!... I can't imagine....can U?