Dear Mark.....

I think Mark Zuckerberg should find a way on how to determine that a Facebook account owner is still alive. Perhaps there should be another status (besides single, married, divorced etc) to indicate whether the person is still living and breathing or has deceased. 


If he can't find a way to find it through his million lines of codes, then, why not provide a facility for the siblings or parents to apply for the status to be changed from Alive to Deceased? 


One of my Facebook friends, passed away in early 2010, her FB account was set with high security and no one can write on the wall. Until today, the wall is still very much active because there are some of her friends who still tag her in photos and FB notes. 


Yesterday (Saturday) was my late brother's birthday. I saw some of his FB friends wished him Happy Birthday and 'Selamat panjang umur, murah rezeki'. I believe these people knew him through the internet, and it's been awhile since they communicated. Luckily few of my relatives noticed the messages and later they posted on his wall to announce that he has passed away. 


I was not feeling offended, but it's just sad to read people wishing your sibling 'Selamat Panjang Umur' when he has already left this world. As a Social Network user, I think we should also be more sensitive by checking the person's recent activities before wishing them Happy Birthday or even Happy Anniversary. You'll never know, some couple that might have divorced, maybe forgotten to change their Status or Anniversary Date in their profiles. So, sometimes, it's not that bad to keep updated with latest gossips.

Death in the family

It was Labour Day and I was at my mom's house in Bera, Pahang. Although Monday was also a holiday, we decided to go back to KL on Sunday to do laundry and grocery shopping. We planned to start the journey at around 3, in order to catch Liverpool game at 7. But the kids were still playing outside the house, refused to come in and change their clothes. Then my SIL made some fried kway teow for her friends who were coming over. Then when the friends came, my hubby decided to join them for kway teow hi-tea. It was almost 4pm when everybody was finally ready to go back to KL. All our bags were lined up in front of the main door and hubby started carrying some of the wet towels into the car. Then I felt like going to the toilet, so I went.

I was inside the toilet when my SIL received a phone call. She was shouting my name, I thought it was my friend. Then I heard she passed the phone to my brother and I heard him speaking in English. Suddenly, it felt weird. Which of my friend couldn't speak BM? A few minutes later, I emerged from the toilet and my SIL broke the sad news. My eldest brother who lived in Kota Kinabalu had passed on. I didn't know how to react or what to feel at that moment. My mom and I were discussing about him the night before. I was asking my mom whether my eldest brother will be back for my nephew's wedding next month. We were hoping that he'll be able to get flight tickets and join us for the khenduri.

Allahyarham Zulkiflie Sulaiman
9/7/1957-1/5/2011

All of us sat in silence for a few minutes then started discussing on how to make the necessary arrangements. My brothers started calling their friends, tried to find who could be contacted in KK and who else might be able to help. We never faced this kind of situation. We've dealt with deaths of immediate family members before, but both of them (my late father and grandma) were not across the ocean. The next few hours everybody was calling everybody. Decisions must be made fast. We had to wait for my third brother who was in Jerantut when we managed to contact him. It was already quarter past 6 when everyone of us was finally at my mom's house and we got everything finalized. Two of my brothers were flying to KK that night, the rest would stay at home to make preparations just in case the body could be flown back.

My hubby drove us to KLIA. It was raining cats and dogs from Bera to Nilai. Thank god Zarif and Shawqi were sound asleep throughout the nervewrecking 2.5 hours drive. When we reached Nilai, it was a quarter past 9pm. The last MAS flight to KK was at 10.10pm. When we entered MAS ticketing office, it was already 9.40pm. I insisted for two tickets although the check-in counter was closing. Luckily the ticket girl understood our urgency. We got two tickets and almost ran to Departure level.

My brothers were just in time for the flight. We went back, had dinner and I checked my late brother's FB page. Many of his friends wrote their good bye notes. There was an announcement by UMNO Bahagian Sipanggar on the arrangements made for burial on the next day. Alhamdulillah, everything has been taken care of. I'm sure my late brother had many close friends in KK. They've been like his family since he stayed there.

One of the last pictures of my late brother (i downloaded this from his FB)

My late brother in his Temerloh United t-shirt

My late brother's body was brought to Masjid Kg Likas from Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Monday afternoon and he was buried in Tanah Perkuburan Islam Kg Likas. My two brothers stayed for another day in KK to file the death report at JPN. They came back on Tuesday night. When we went to fetch them at the airport, I saw a big luggage and a smaller bag they brought from KK. Those must be my late brother's belongings. We went through some of his documents that night. My 4th brother showed me the death certificate and I think that was the moment when I suddenly felt really sad. We are so used to seeing birth certificates of newborns, and felt so excited about it. But when I saw the death cert, that was when reality really sunk in. My eldest brother was gone from this world and he's not coming back. I saw his clothes in the bag and I wept.

.......to be continued. I think the younger generation of our family and his friends deserve to know more about him. Let me compile a few things first and publish a few entries dedicated to my late brother some time next week.  

Ketulusan Hati

Happy Monday y'all!

After 16 years, I'm back into baking last weekend. Baked a choc moist cake on Friday night, followed by Choc Chip Cookies on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Cik Pijah for the recipe and online encouragement. You see, it was Cik Pijah's blog entry that lifted my 16 years old baking block. Yeah, and you think only authors and bloggers have blocks?

The cookies were gemuk-gemuk as described by Cik Pijah.

Now that I have my very own oven and mixer, I'm going to hunt good cake and biscuit recipes. If you have any, please email to me okay? I'm searching specifically for carrot cake, simple brownies, fruit cake, biskut gajus, samprit bunga cina and biskut mazola.

The title 'Ketulusan Hati' has got nothing to do with baking. It's track number 2 of Anuar Zain's latest album. Go and buy now if you haven't got one. I predict it's going to be one of the most played songs in weddings very soon. I'll not write any review on the album, but trust me it's worth every sen. All these while it has always been Kris Dayanti's Mencintaimu. You can listen to this song at my Multiply and I'm sure you will agree that it is THE 'I love you' song. And the lyrics:

Ketulusan Hati- Anuar Zain

Cintaku tak berdusta
tak mengenal ingkar
tak kenal nestapa

Cintaku hanya indah
hanya bahagia
untuk selamanya

Apa yang kurasakan ini
persembahan untuk dirimu

kaudengarkan kasihku

Mencintaimu
tak mengenal waktu
tak mengenal puitis
hanya tulusnya hati

Mencintaimu
tak mengenal ragu
keyakinan hatiku
hanya untuk dirimu
selalu

Cintaku tak berdusta
tak mengenal ingkar
tak kenal nestapa

Tak ada seribu janji
hanya bahagia utk selamanya

apa yang kurasakan ini
persembahan untuk dirimu

kaudengarkan kasihku

* * * * * *

I was AZ's fan during his Kain Pelekat years. However, I was not really impressed with the solo albums before this. Couldn't really stand the overly-macho voice. I gave him another chance after listening to him during our STF dinner rehearsal in 2006. He sang Januari (by Glenn) during the rehearsal that afternoon, and I was hooked up. There is another side of that voice, and some voices are much better when properly controlled. Soon after that, there was Perpisahan and of course, the current hit: Lelaki Ini.

Eh, korang... belilah CD tu .... RM34.50 je.

I penah jadik cover magazine dengan dia tau..... don't play play..... hahahaha:



I perasan boleh tahan, okkkkay!

Undilah adikku yang sorang ni

I hope you're following Nescafe Kickstart on TV3. Hey, I'm such a telly junkie these days... I've been watching re-runs of CSI Miami, I could almost memorise the dialogues... hahahah.

So, this entry is dedicated to Ninie, who happens to be my super junior in STF. Didn't get the chance to meet her in school, otherwise my body dah elastic macam pompuan dalam cerita Mr. Incredible tu dah gamaknya...

If you've never voted for anybody in any of the Reality TV programs, I tell you, you must vote for Ninie. You wanna know why? Because she has improved many people's quality of life and she will continue to do so with her Yoga.




You can vote her

by typing NK NINIE and send to 33511
or dial 13721 and press '2' for NINIE

starting from (Saturday, 7 APRIL 2007) 7.30pm
right after the showing of second last episode of Nescafe Kickstart.

Voting period is one week from 7th April,
until 11.30am on Grand Finale day
which will be showing LIVE Sunday, 15 APRIL 2007.

Don't miss the show people... this show is really about living your dreams. And by now, I'm sure you all know whose dream will help others achieve their dreams, too. Undilah Ninie, yeay!

By the way, I have to confess that I'm so jealous of her because she gets to do the things she loves day in and day out; while I'm stuck here behind this boring cubicle staring at black screen with green fonts most of the times (that's Telnet session, if you'd like to know).

P/s: Akak taknak komisyen dik. Dapat sepasang kasut Adidas yang baru tu pun okaylah, that one ada 28 days trial run, best tuuuuu....

D.S.U.S: DNAS's View

In the midst of juggling career, family, children, blogging and gym, any smart solution for the home, I will accept with wide opened arms. Be it how to make beds in 2 minutes flat; or minimizing shirt ironings; or getting laundry done with less hassle; or ultimate maths games for pre-schoolers, they're some of the petty things (husbands claimed this!) in dire needs of smart solutions.

A few years ago, Srikandi started a campaign to collect recipes from everybody within the STFOGA e-groups as well as others who have no access to emails. Delicious and practical recipes of various sorts started pouring into the group mails. Being a curious woman, I did experiment with some of them.

It was quite a wonder to discover that there are actually easier ways to prepare some dishes, that looked complicated enough for some people that they just give up cooking it upon looking at the list of spices required. I agree, it’s true that some spices’ names are as alien and confusing as algebraic equation to a Standard One students. There was a myth that grew in me that in order to be able to cook an excellent dish, one has to attend the advanced cooking classes, become a qualified Chef or having spent 5 years slaving in front of the hot stove. Only now I accept that it was truly a myth.

Not too long ago, I thought Nasi Beriyani Hujan Panas was only for the expert makcik and Oreo Cheesecake might take ages to prepare. My perceptions were entirely changed when I first tried the Tomato Shrimp. I once saw the same dish being prepared by a relative and I thought, 'Oh I'd never be as good as her'. When I saw the recipe posted by a Srikandi, I wrote it down and tried it at home. It was surprisingly easy and knowing exactly when to use 'garam jantan' and 'garam betina' actually helped a lot in improving the taste. Well, that hint was shared by someone from ‘Down Under’, mind you.

So, all the recipes contributed by fellow Srikandis were then compiled and presented in a Recipe Book entitled D.S.U.S – Dari Srikandi Untuk Srikandi. I remember they were a few names being proposed when we were trying to find a suitable title: among them were Dari Dapur Srikandi, Srikandi’s Wok, Selera Srikandi and a few others. D.S.U.S was chosen and I have to admit that the name itself is as intimate as the book content itself. The special hints, notes and anecdotes are among the things you’ll find in D.S.U.S and not in any other recipe books available off the shelves. When I first flipped through the pages, it felt like the person herself was teaching me on how to prepare the dishes. Some even shared how they got the recipes, the origin, the story behind it and how their family and friends loved it.

The D.S.U.S pages might not appear as glamorous as those priced a lot higher, but what matters to me most is the result; and thinking of the sweat, tears and laughter of the Srikandis who produced D.S.U.S, I know it’s going to be another prized heritage. Hey, this also happened to be one of the smartest solutions I’ve found so far.

Bangga... jangan tak bangga....

Minggu ni good mood abis sebab awal-awal minggu lagi dah dapat this big news. Ni yang tambah berkobar-kobar nak pegi gym 4 kali seminggu ni. Tengok gambar adik-adik ni kat court, teringat zaman-zaman akak semasa ringan (jauh lebih ringan dari sekarang) dulu. Sekarang ni, nak buat jumping front kick pun dah rasa macam nak tercabut sendi. Kepala lutut pun longgar manjang, kena invest beli macam-macam guard la pulak.

Credit: Thank you Leymah, akak ambik gambar-gambar ni from your photopages.
More details: Coach Spena Punya Blog
D.N.A.S's note: To all Srikandi STF, gumbira! gumbira! STF jadi Basketball Champion PPM Zon Selatan 2007.
To all TKCian and TKCoga, cuba lagi tahun hadapan.


The team yang bergaya sakan. Walaupun saya tak pegi tengok tapi saya baca email orang lain, diorang cakap memang awal-awal lagi dah menang gaya.


The team with teachers and seniors. Walaupun saya tak pernah dapat peluang nak pegi tengok, tapi saya sentiasa support the R2V efforts nih... cheeeewah...! (Spena, takde plan nak invest beli Nike shoes ke untuk diorang ni? Heheheheh...)


Gile happy...! Memang best bila jadik champion, kan? You girls deserved it!
Keep up the spirit, stamina and good team work for National PPM. Go Dynamite!

More pictures at Leymah's fotopages.

I am officially a Solution Specialist

Well, here's another selingan before I can proceed with the third episode of He'sStory. I just have got to write on this now because it's such a big news.

Remember all those postings where I ranted and whined about my job scope? Well, with this year's structural re-alignment and transformation my career will probably be like 'A story re-written'.

Firstly, I know my managers were having a hard time planning and evaluating me. This is not the case of 'masuk lift tekan butang sendiri', but having been in their positions (previously, in another company) I can understand why they are uncertain on what to put on my plate. To simplify the problem statement, they don't quite know what to do to a resource that's having Consulting Capability in the position of a project engineer.

There have been discussions and plannings and even re-defining my roles. My ex-manager is now having a problem to complete my appraisal due to so many reasons. He even admitted to me that mine is the most difficult appraisal he ever had to do, whatever that means. I was about to offer some help, but then it occured to me that it wouldn't be fair, right? (To help him do my own appraisal, then help him decide how much I should get ... hahahah).

So, yesterday I received my new name cards and I was so surprised to see my Job Title there. I was expecting to see 'System Engineer' written right there underneath my name, but it was 'Solution Specialist' being printed. When I emailed my new manager and the secretaries, they confirmed that that's my new Job Title.

Well, having that 'Specialist' word appended to any Job Title is a big news, as I already knew what will take place next. Yeah, and I really hate it when I was so right. My new manager called me for a lengthy discussion on 'adding' some minor roles into my job scope. Hehehehe... wouldn't it be good if I get to enjoy the glamour of that new title for a few days before he relayed me that news. :)

Anyway, the new roles and responsibilities are not that complicated as I've done them all some time ago. Now I really feel like some chapters of my career life are about to be re-written, with almost the same plot, backdrop but probably with different twists and climaxes.

First thing I should do next is to complete He'sStory Chapter Three, and then change this blog name. Well, I know none of them is work related... hahahahah, but I can still put those tasks in my monthly timesheet, right? Need to make sure my billable hours meet the required percentage.

Have a peaceful but happening Thaipusam and Hari Wilayah holiday, folks! If you're feeling down, buy a potted plants and put it on your work station.

Updated on 6th February, 2007:
Appraisal dah siap and as expected memang cukup makan je sebab billable time tak cukup. Pastu time management very bad. Susah jugak nak explain sebab memang billable hours tak banyak sebab keje cepat siap. Dah cakap aku ni terlebih efficient, semua orang taknak percaya... heheheh. Whatever lah, janji tiap-tiap bulan ada duit nak bayar hutang.

Books for the week

They're none other than our very own Lydia's Honk! and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.

It was one of my year 2006's resolution to read as many books as possible in order to help change the statistic of Malaysian reading at an average of 2 books a year. So, last year I managed to complete 12 books (fiction) and 2 IT related books. That doesn't include the online books that I downloaded to my laptop and those I read for free at Amazon (yeah, they let you read a few pages and when things get exciting enough you'd realise that you can't click on the next button anymore... heheheheh... marketing strategy maaaa).

I planned to read these 2 books during the next 1 week or so. Honk! will be in my car, so that I can always finish one essay while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Oh yes, I'm a speed reader and I'm as good as how I speed drive my car... hahahah... Thank god we don't get traffic summons for reading at 100 words/minute.

The God Of Small Things will be for bedtime reading. Well, that is supposed to be for winding down ..... let's see if it could keep me awake. I heard the story is rather intense. So, good luck to me. If you see me having sleep deprivation problem next week, you'll know why.

So, back to Lydia's Honk!, the best part of the book is actually a testimonial at the back cover by none other than Phua Chu Kang (Gurmit Singh) himself. I was reading it at MPH bookstore counter (yes, they displayed the book at the counter, you don't have to search for it at the fiction aisle), and I thought the guys behind the till machine as well as the rest of the customers were giving me a queer look when I laughed until my eyes were teary.

So far I have read about 8 essays and they left me either chuckling or laughing hard rolling on the floor, but later on made me think again about them. Not many anecdotal humours made me think. Some just left me feeling disgusted and then had to fight the urge of throwing the book away (or maybe donate the book to homeless people in cold countries, so that they have more things to get the fire going by the dirty alleys they live in).

Mrs. Lydia Teh's writing made me think hard and suddenly I found myself trying to find a formula or ways to help correct some of the social illnesses in the society or even how I could help to ease some of the Malaysian's burden. Waaa.... don't pray pray.... the book can even help inspire some of the readers to become a politician someday... heheheheh.

Well, if you haven't bought Honk!, please go to the nearest MPH bookstore and get yourself a copy. You cannot borrow mine because I haven't finished reading it... hahahahah.
By the way, the foreword by my favorite-of-all-time-Cikgu-Bedah: Adibah Amin is just marvellous. I'm getting her new novel some time next month :).

Demoralized by this BETA release.

They claimed it's no more BETA, yet I'm still facing a few annoying issues managing this blog.
So, I decided to put my pictures at my Friendster Account.
The URL is:

http://dayangzone.blogs.friendster.com/my_danger_zone/

You can view all my photo albums, I list them on the right hand side column.

I also rant about my ceaseless dream to become a house-wife-writer in my Friendster blog. So, if you're not interested in knowing about the progress of my 'angan-angan tinggi melangit' tu, you can just ignore the entries lah... hahahahah. But if you love and care for me, and would like to see me become a successful author in the future, you support is very much appreciated (be it in the form of monetory or moral).