It's so crazy....

It has been so crazy at work lately.. with our immediate boss literally being kicked out of the office just because the new big boss is not 'ngam' with her -- left us both in limbo...Macam orang gila sekarang ni like headless chicken..pening aku..Sian kat my boss, she's such a nice boss - so easy to work with, very understanding, very calm and patient, tak kedekut ilmu.. susah la nak dapat boss macam dia lagi..

Hopefully things will get better soon...

Hasilnya....

Last January I was entrusted with this project -- a training project, a collaboration with ADB on issues di Coral Triangle area..This is the first time I am totally handling the project on my own without much assistance from my boss..

And tonite-- hasil from that project, on Buletin Utama - Puspa did a piece about the decreasing number of turtles yang melawat ke Rantau Abang.. I am happy with the report - it was short, simple and has it's impact. Tak sabar nak tunggu hari Isnin ni for the second workshop and discuss about this piece and other pieces yang dibawa oleh yang lain-lain..

Alhamdullillah..

Beijing Trip -- work + fun

Okla.. I didn't get the chance to update at all in Beijing.. Mana taknya, asal ada free time either pegi shopping or was invited for dinner or sembang menyembang dengan K. Hanizah. Actually this trip was organised by K. Hanizah and CCTV. My contribution in this is fairly small --- just a bit of presentation to promote my prizes -- ABU Prizes on Climate Change and HIV/AIDS Reporting to the CCTV producers. Besides that ada buat other meetings for future projects..

It was a succesful trip. Totally satisfied. Biarla semua gambar-gambar yang ada ni bercerita…

Ni gambar amik masa workshop first day – with Asako Kume, a NHK producer and Dr Nawiyah, the moderator from IPTAR.

My first presentation ever -- nasib baik ada translator -- while he's translating what I said, I took the time to calm down..

Ni jakun sikit-- first time tengok real snow - perakgh teruih!! Nasib baik kotor kalau tidak siap dah melompat-lompat kot hehehe. This is actually a frozen lake.. tak nampak macam frozen kan ?? This is near one of the entrance to the Great Wall... Another shot near the entrance -- while waiting for K. Hanizah to finish her business in the washroom.. OOoiii.. air macam ais batu punye sejuk.. Dekat-dekat situ la jugak.. Ni konon-kononnya nak mencari entrance to the cable car -- tapi sempat bergambar dulu.. Both ladies in distress.. cari the counter for cable car entrance, tapi tak dak orang.. really like ghost town.. confius..
Rupanya tempat lain.. akhirnya naik la jugak cable car menuju ke great wall tu (tujuan naik cable car -- tak larat nak panjat naik great wall tu.. lenguh uih..) The view from inside the cable car -- beautiful eh... The sights of the Great Wall from different angle... look at the mountains..ishk.. ishk..ishk.. Ni kononnya trying to be artistic in photography la ni..berangan ^~^ Mula-mula gambar innocent je.. this is with Dr Nawiyah..

Another artistic attempt.. (I think you can see the enlarge version -- just click on the picture)

Mula dah start 'weng' sikit..

Ala-ala Cinderella Asian gitu ..

K. Hanizah pun dah start posing maut..

Another beauty shot..

Against the wall -- the walkway are pretty steep -- senget2 berdiri..

Ni dah habis destress la ni - in front of Ming's Tombs

Pas tu amik la satu gambar bersopan..

Introducing the monument..

By this time, K. Hanizah dah tak kuasa nak posing ayu..experimenting abih la ni..

Met a mother with her two kids -- look la at the cheeks -- ishk geram.. the sister lagi geram tapi very shy, tak dapat nak tangkap gambar dia..

Cantik kan the view ??

This is breathtakingly beautiful -- I think because the weather is too cold, not that many people visited the Ming's tombs tu yg dapat this cool picture..

Amik la gambar to prove that's it's real and we are in it..

This is Dr Nawiyah's passion -- she is so in love with pokok 'botak' -- abih semua orang disuruhnya tangkap gambaq kat pokok2 botak ni..

This is another shot of the beautiful garden -- kali ni of course with all the creatures behind..

Tangkap la satu gambar kat gajah ni.. the end of the jalan2 episod..
This was taken after dinner on the last night we were in Beijing.. Besides us 3, the tall lady is Ivy who was the host for that dinner. The lady at the right end, next to Dr Nawiyah is Wang Yan -- the nicest person I've ever met, took us around to the shops, belanja us dinner, make sure we have our own driver that can drive us around to the Great Wall and the Ming's Tombs and bought fruits for us to bawak balik.. totally one generous lady..

Red Ribbon Gala, ala2 open house and being on camera..

This was supposed to be uploaded last week.. tapi dah ter'miss' plak. Anyway here it goes (posted on 3rd November).. the recent long Deepavali weekend holiday was such an eventful cuti for me, got 2 open houses, a dinner (for work) and people came over to the house for raya -- so kumpulkan semua datang satu hari, jadila ala2 open house.. Didn't get to go the open houses though - tak sempat..

The dinner that I attended for work was called the Red Ribbon Gala -- a media awards given for programmes on HIV/AIDS -- in print, broadcast and also theatre etc.. Actually Lisa was the one who got the invitation as she was one of the judges. But because Lisa is soon leaving the job and country, she wants me to continue with the networking. Of course -- I forgot to mention that the event was organised by the Malaysia AIDS Council and Malaysia AIDS Foundation.

The guess of honour was the Agong himself (but he didn't make it), only the Permaisuri attended. Tun Mahathir, wife and daughter (Marina) was also there. Najib was supposed to come as well but the menteri Kesihatan was sent on behalf. Sarimah Ibrahim and a chinese guy by the name of Hansen were the emcees for the night. The food was gourmet food, as suspected -- since I haven't acquired the taste for gourmet food, didn't enjoy it that much.

Overall it was a very good event, everything went well but I as usual feel 'kind of out of place'. This type of thingy is really not my forte..But it was good to experience a charity auction and a real fashion show and of course some networking. By 11.00pm I was so ready to leave..

That was on Saturday.. Sunday was spent on cleaning up the house and preparing the food. Early Monday morning at around 1.00am got up to cook 'rendang ayam' for all the guests yang nak datang tengahari tu -- cooked until 4.30am. Tidur jap, bangun solat subuh sambung masak mee kari sampai siap. By 1.00 everything was ready.. semua orang enjoy the food -- alhamdullillah, berbaloi la jugak kerja keras ku.. by 5.30pm semua orang dah balik..

My hubby however had promised his Indian childhood friend that we will be coming to celebrate Deepavali with them, so dengan keadaan yang penat tu, pegi la jugak to their house lepas Maghrib. Malam tu, terus hit the sack dengan nyenyaknya..

Here are some pictures..

I was sitting near the emcees -- tapi it was too dark, tak nampak clear..

The dessert -- not bad and the only food I really enjoyed..

Tun Dr Siti Hasmah giving out the Dr Siti Hasmah Award to the PT Foundation

Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah was ready to give out the media awards to the winners.. All the winners with the Permaisuri Agong and others on the stage/runaway..

This expensive brooch worth RM150,000 was auctioned at RM72,000.00

A pic during the makan2 session.. Only managed to take one -- for more pix and story, please go here --

And during lunch time on Thursday 30th Nov -- went to Jalan T*R to get some stuff from S*F before my vouchers expires. Went with a colleague, while walking lenggang mak limah, tiba2 dengar pompuan menjerit macam orang gila sambil berlari lintang pukang (with hands flying all over the place).. First I thought it was orang giler-- tengok2 si Sharifah Amani tengah berlakon -- alamak tak perasan plak the camera in front of us.. This was of course taken masa dah 'cut'..

Birthday and PTD

Birthday cake for the birthday girl..

Last Monday was Francyne's birthday (21st July). But she was smart - she took leave that day and told us that she won't be in the office on Friday (18th) afternoon. She had a feeling that we were going to do something. We were smarter -- we did a suprise do for her on the 17th afternoon.. here are some pix.. Happy Birthday Francyne..

'I know you guys are up to something'...



The ladies in the new wing with the birthday girl..

Also, last week Meor received a good news, he got accepted as PTD and now has to go for a 2 weeks course in INTAN, Kluang Johor. He stopped by our house yesterday before continuing his journey to Kluang this morning. Congratulations Meor!! You deserve it..

Vientiane, Laos

Actually dah lama I wanted to do this entry, tapi memanjang tak sempat.. so dari hari ke sehari almost dah half a month since I last started this entry.. sorila ye.. the entry is backdated.. Tapi memandangkan hari ni 9th May -- I wish Meor Hamzah Happy 29th Birthday

Here's my entry on Laos --

Setelah sekian lama tak travel, last November I was assigned to go to Vientiane, Laos for a project funded by Asian Development Bank on issues of development in Greater Mekong Subregion -- topic was really boring, tapi disebabkan hotel yang we all lepak for the meeting (courtesy of my boss -- 'courtesy' as in chosen) was really nice, ok la gak...

Vientiane on it's own, tak adela apa sangat, ala2 macam Ipoh town 20/30 years ago.. pukul 5 -5.30 ptg, kedai dah tutup.. malam takde mende and tempat nak pegi takde sangat so kebanyakannya lepak je la..

Anyway, the first night we arrived (I was traveling with Francyne), we were picked up by the hotel transportation free of charge..how cool was that..Hospitality was really great..I recommend kalau sesapa nak pegi Vientienne, boleh la duduk kat The Green Park hotel...The next day after dah check everything was fine for the meeting, Francyne and I went to town to shop - Francyne cakap takut nanti tak cukup time nak shopping later... So we went to this market called the Morning Market -- kononnya Morning tapi sampai ke petang bukaknya.. but as I sayla pukul 5 - 5.30 dah tutup..

Food wise as usual, susah -- but adala a couple of Indian/Pakistan restoran yang halal -- so dapatla cover for one night -- other times -- I am totally vegetarian.. Lagipun stock bawak banyak..

The participants to the project was ok-ok je la.. sebab yg ada pun only 4 of them.. including one from Lao PDR itself.. Ms Malayvieng -- or as we call her Malay..

The hotel.. nice and serene right??

The hotel's restaurant.. Francyne and I will always have our breakfast here.. eventhough matahari dah naik and sometimes terik... still serene and quiet for breakfast..

This is during the first night out. The ADB guys mula2 reluctant to have Indian food (rupanya sebab Indian food kat Philippines teramat la mahalnya) -- but lepas dah try the first night, the next night dah sibuk nak pegi lagi....Anyway, thanks to Francyne yg peka with my requirement -- she yg suggested for us to eat at this halal restaurant.

The next night, Francyne bawak all of us for welcome dinner in town -- kalau tak salah the restaurant name is "Kop Chai De" -- maksudnya welcome ke terima kasih.. i pun dah tak ingat. Ni Jason(ADB) ready to makan the 'cengkerik' goreng during this dinner - at least I think it was cengkerik goreng.. tak tau la plak kalau serangga lain..

After dinner, we went to this bar across the street -- it was Malay's Jazz Bar. This is Malay and Jason sitting and talking in the bar... that was my first time ever in a bar -- luckily it wasn't 'happening' yet as it's still early. But me and Francyne, we were the first ones to leave.. penat la..

Me listening to Tito's experience when he attended one of the Halal conference in Southern Thailand(some years back).. he gave some pretty interesting facts -- although I don't quite look interested in the picture hahaha...mengantuk macamana nak look interested..

How on earth did the topic of 'Halal' came about ? Well, while they were drinking wines, they serve this snack macam beef strips which at that point I ingat pork.. Malay beria-ia suruh I makan, she said "it's beef, don't worry!!" I told her, even if it's beef, it's still not halal because it's not slaughtered the Muslim way.. so that's how the topic started between me and Tito..

Both of us looking very mengantuk--really want to go back to the hotel room and bedebush..However, sebab kat Vientiane takde teksi, we have to naik some sort of a tuk-tuk.. of course who would dare to naik tuk-tuk sorang2 so I had to wait for someone to leave so that I can tumpang..

This was taken during a field trip (on the last day of meeting ) to a "school for teachers" -- ala2 maktab perguruan la yang di'funded' by ADB. The bebudak yang nampak macam students to sebenarnya are going through training to become teachers. Ada sorang tu datang dari jauh di kawasan pendalaman -- 2 tahun belajar baru sekali balik kampung.. kos tinggi and jauh sangat katanya..

Kat atas yours truly with the camera crew from Laos National Television -- I wasn't involved with any of the production part - just coincidentally berdiri kat sebelah diaorang..sibuk gak nak tengok macamana they all operate..

This is the student (sebelah kanan, berbaju putih dan ber'tie') yang I kata duduk jauh di pendalaman.. kesian jugak tengok they all.. But you can see their determination to be good teachers so that they can teach their younger generation and prosper.. He is going to teach English.. He speaks quite well for a Laotian..

Yang dasyatnya lagi.. they all bercucuk tanam and ternak ikan/binatang untuk dapat sumber makanan sendiri.. ye la semua nak beli mana ada duit..

Since we all datang buat field trip ni hari ahad.. you can see la all the students tengah study lepas basuh2 kain and mengemas -- kat belakang tu I am not too sure whether it's the classes ke they all punya dorm.. tak ingat..Tapi rupa dorm they all very macam zaman sekolah kita la kat sini -- katil bertingkat, satu dorm panjang share 20-30 orang.. baju2 sidai merata..

Another angle of the school.. the guy in yellow shirt is Roger from CCTV.

After the school trip, we went for lunch by the Mekong River.. the restaurant is actually floating on the water -- siap ada floating sampan as restaurants lagi..Tapi food wise alamak.. gelinya(paham-pahamlakan).. but untuk mengelakkan daripada host (orang kementerian jugak rasanya) rasa kecik hati.. aku makanla nasi kosong je.. pastu dalam van belasah makan biskut yg dibawak untuk time2 emergency mcm ni..

Kat atas tu, gambar lepas semua orang dah makan by the river..

Lepas lunch, we went to another place some 'irrigation' place that ADB also help funded to ensure farmers has sufficient water to plant their crops..Another big welcome.. siap dapat kalungan bunga lagi -- tengok la kat atas tu..

Next we went out to the fields to meet and try to interview the farmers that actually benefit from this programme.. Malay had to do a report for her news programme malam tu..

Anyway, the reason why I include this photo is talk about the way Lao women dress -- officially every Lao women has to wear the Lao skirt -- ala2 macam batik jugak la.. top tak kisah nak pakai apa pun.. tapi seluar tak boleh pakai.. semua kena pakai skirt..the skirt plak akan diikat dengan tali pinggang besi yg ada kerawang2 tu -- macam my Opah used to wear.. to know the status of the women (whether orang berada ke orang biasa) you can judge from the belt.. kalau besar, colour gold -- ha tu orang kaya la tu.. kalau kecik halus je.. biasa je la..Unfortunately, I tak de plak the proper picture of a full dress Laotian woman.. terlupa nak amik..so this is the best I can show u all la..

The LNTV camera crew did not come properly equipped.. macamana datang buat interview kat outdoor tak ade 'boom' mic?? Nasib baik la participant dari Vietnam si Huy ni creative.. terus create a mic boom out of ranting kayu..

And the interview went well.. I think la..Mana nak paham apa diaorang cakap..