Yang paling paling paling istimewa

How fast time flies. Sedar tak sedar it's already July the 13th. We have passed the half year mark about 2 weeks now and what do we really have to show for it?

As usual, my postings have been tardy and far in between. I really have no excuse for it. Just been caught up in life I guess. A lot has happened since my last entry. Even then I really wanted to write a lot more on life in general.

We've been pretty light on the feet this year - been quite to a number of places. Some for the first time,some a revisit but with a different experience altogether. In fact my husband would be embarking on his journey to the Holy Land tomorrow morning. Insya Allah. I wish him well on his journey, semoga mendapar Umrah yang mabrur Insya Allah.

Belum rezeki lagi for me to follow this time around. A little tied in the cuti department. I have essentially used / booked up all my entitlement this year. So hopefully tahun depan dapat lah saya jejak Tanah Haram untuk menunaikan ibadah, Insya Allah.

In any case, I've been reading up on "Travelog Haji" by Muhd Kamil Ibrahim. Came highly recommended by my girlfriends. I'm very moved by the doa he has at the end of the book. It's entitled Memohon Keistimewaan.

Ya Allah, kami mohon keampunanmu ya Allah. Kami mohon kerahmatanmu ya Allah. Kami mohon taufik dan hidayahmu, ya Allah. Ya Allah, aku telah dijemput olehmu untuk menunaikan ibadat umrah / haji pada (hujung tahun) ini. Aku bersyukur di atas segala nikmat yang telah Engkau berikan kepada kami sekeluarga.

Ya Allah, terimalah aku sebagai tetamumu Ya Allah. Tetamu yang paling istimewa, ya Allah. Tetamu yang paling paling istimewa. Tetamu yang paling paling paling istimewa, ya Allah. Ya Allah, jangan Kau bezakan aku dengan mereka yang lain. Aku tahu Engkaulah yang berkuasa memberi keistimewaan kepada sesiapa yang Engkau mahu berikan. Ya Allah, ampunilah diriku, ya Allah.

If you want it. Then ask for it. Insya Allah dipermudahkan dan dimakbulkan. Got to sign off now. I'd like to finish up my doa for Azrul to read at he Holy Land.

-dillz blogging out-

Tit for Tat

Stayed up late to teman the hubby watching FIFA World Cup 2010. It was the semi-finals : Germany versus Spain. *also for the adorable Messut Ozil, but don't tell Inche Azrul. Shhhh! * Actually , we slept first and woke up at 2am for the 2.30am game. Damn so many alarm clocks were blaring at my ears.

The game was really menyedihkan for me coz I was rooting for Germany. *think doe-eyed Messut Ozil, yet again* They were slow, macam kena rasuk pun ada jugak. Spain, on the other hand, played a very aggressive game and held possession of the ball almost the entire game. Ozil was sadly, slower than usual. Inche Azrul said it was due to that Mueller guy not playing. Sheesh! Apa nak buat, memang dah ditakdirkan kalah. As predicted by the Oracle, Paul the Octopus. Sigh.

Mamat yang score goal tu celebrating.
picture from : here

I think in a way, Inche Azrul appreciates my company, coz guess what we will be watching at 10pm tonight? *plus also because he enjoys the Twilight series*

picture from: here

Wee-hee! Can't wait!

-dillz blogging out-

#1b1t

First off, what the heck is #1b1t ?

According to Dr. Idlan, it stands for One Book One Twitter. Idlan is my junior back in my high school, Sekolah Tun Fatimah and she happens to be my reference point for anything nerdy and intellectual. hahaha!

I have been intrigued by her tweets recently about the hashtag #1b1t and was enlightened today through her her post . Any chance to do something good and engaging in cyberspace. I am all ears! :) (Plus to proof that I am not too much of a bimbo! hahah!)

In Idlan's words:

In sum, the project is about getting everyone on Twitter to read one book over 2 months and discussing it, using the #1b1t hashtags to identify content. The book that has been chosen for the project is Neil Gaiman’s American Gods; which is not surprising given Gaiman’s (@neilhimself) popularity among tweeple.

The first thing you need to do is get your hands on a copy of Gaiman's American Gods. Then, follow @1b1t2010 for updates and to add the #1b1t to your tweets for discussion of contents. To ensure that there is some structure to the whole project, also read the discussion reading schedule. In essence, it is an 8week project, starting from May 5th 2010 and by the week of June 23rd, those who are in the project would have already completed the entire book. It's still not too late, people. Here's the schedule!

Week 1 : May 5-11
Caveat, Warning for Travelers
Epigraph
Discuss Chapters 1, 2, & 3

Week 2 : May 12-18
Discuss Chapters 4, 5, 6

Week 3 : May 19-25
Discuss Chapters 7, & 8

Week 4 : May 26-June 1
Discuss Chapters 9, 10, & 11

Week 5 : June 2-8
Discuss Chapters 12, & 13

Week 6 : June 9-15
Discuss Chapters 14, 15, & 16

Week 7 : June 16-22
Discuss Chapters 17, 18, & 19

Week 8 : June 23-30
Discuss Chapter 20 and Postscript

There's another link that you should be aware of, called the One Book, One Twitter: The Lab Notes. Additional notes and the how tos will be posted here. For example how to go about with the hashtags once the discussion is underway. It's a page so that there are rules for us to follow and that everyone have the same understanding.

This is what I picked up from the Lab Notes:

We have established an official system of hashmarks. It goes like this:

#1b1t: General Discussion

#1b1t_1c: Discussion of Chapter 1 (and prologue material)

#1b1t_2c: Discussion of Chapter 2

... and on until we hit Chapter 19.

For all you tweeple out there, come on, let's join in the bandwagon! Happy reading!!

-dillz blogging out-

Valentine's Day vs Percy Jackson

Spent a good portion of the long, loong weekend at home and my mom's place, vegetating. Thus explaining the lack of updates in the blog. hihihihi.. At other times, I was at the movies, spending some quality time with the other half. Dulu, waktu berchenta pun, going to the movies has always been one of the main agenda. This time, we managed to watch TWO movies. :)

Valentine's Day

picture from here

A star-studded film - Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, McDreamy, McSteamy, Taylor Swift, Taylor Laudner, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx - macam-macam ada.. So it was definitely pleasing on the eye! :)

The story line pun boleh tahan. It's a story of love in its many, many forms. One good lesson to be learnt by all is that you need to accept your other half in totality - the good parts as well as the bad part. To stand by their mistake and to celebrate their succcess. Gitulah lebih kurang. (Eh, movie pun ada moral of the story? Ini sudah bagus..)

I mean, I went in with no expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised at the end. The bad guys ended up alone, the good guys get companions. A real feel good, heart warming movie this one.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians : The Lighting Thief

picture from here

Truthfully, I thought Percy Jackson was the American version of Harry Potter. Only that the boy can't act as well as Daniel Radcliffe. hihihihihi So kayu , he reminds me of Anakin Skywalker in Episode 1.

The story was adventurous enough to my liking and the sidekicks were pretty awesome. The villains are even more awesome - Uma Thurman as Medusa. So stunning. *literally* There's also other hotshots like Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Rosario Dawson and Melina Kanakaredes (The CSI lady - susahnya nak eja nama). I loved Hades in the Mick Jagger persona - hilarious! And that Persephone is so gatal! Rosario nailed her perfectly! hihihihihi :)

Despite the great CGI and story-line, I personally feel that in the duel between the two, I proclaim Valentine's Day as the winner! Woo-hoo!!! I am a sappy romantic underneath after all.. :)

Excuse my ignorance, but I have never heard of this dude Percy Jackson before. But, it did make me google him a little more. So this is what I found.

There's a whole series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians - in writing by Rick Riordan. The series include:

• The Lightning Thief
• The Sea of Monsters
• The Titan's Curse
• the Battle of Labyrinth
• The Last of the Olympian

I have only this to say, "That Percy Jackson Hardcover Boxed Set sure looks yummy." hihihihi

Picture from here

-dillz blogging out-

Buku Lagi

Had had had to get Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert after finding out from msmengantuk that Julia Roberts is gonna star in the movie version of it. I actually knew of the book from one of those Oprah shows yonks ago (Call me lame but yes, saya suka perempuan Oprah itu) - it basically tells the story of a woman eating passionately in Italy, praying in India and finding love in Indonesia.

Picture form here

Yes, I do have like a gazillion more books to read (refer 2010 Bookbar on the side) of which I have not managed to finish even one! Only managed to read halfway through The Book Thief at the moment. But, no matter, it didn't stop me from getting Eat Pray Love from Borders, The Gardens last night. hihihihihihihi

Oh, since I was there, I managed to sneak "Daughters of Shame" by Jasvinder Sanghera into the cart too. :)

Picture from here

hihihihi

What??? Can claim tax relief what....

-dillz blogging out-

Buku Baru

Salam Maal Hijrah untuk semua.

I ended the year with the "Doa Akhir Tahun" recited by the resident TM ustaz. Just to be sure, I read it once more after my Asar prayers.

Segala puji hanya bagi Allah, tuhan yang memelihara dan mentadbir sekalian
alam. Selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan kami Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. serta
ahli keluarga baginda dan para sahabatnya.

Ya Allah, sesungguhnya pada tahun ini aku telah melakukan laranganMu tetapi
aku masih belum bertaubat sedangkan Engkau tidak reda dan melupai perkara
itu. Engkau telah menangguhkan azabMu yang telah ditetapkan kepadaku.
Engkau telah memerintahkan supaya aku bertaubat dari keslahan itu.

Sesungguhnya pada hari ini aku memohon keampunan dariMu, ampunilah aku
dan apa yang telah aku lakukan pada tahun ini yang Engkau redai dan Engkau
janjikan pahala maka aku memohonnya daripada Engkau. Ya Allah, ya Karim,
ya Zaljalali wal ikram.

Selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan kami Nabi Muhammad S.A.W serta ahli
keluarga baginda dan para sahabatnya.. Segala puji hanya bagi Allah, tuhan
yang memelihara dan mentadbir sekalian alam...

Amin... Amin... Amin...

Then, after Maghrib, I started the year with the "Doa Awal Tahun"

Segala puji hanya bagi Allah, tuhan yang memelihara dan mentadbir sekalian alam.
Selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan kami Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. serta ahli keluarga
baginda dan para sahabatnya.

Ya Alllah, Engkaulah yang kekal abadi untuk selama-lamanya. Demi kelebihanMu yang
Maha Agung dan kemurahanMu yang melimpah, sesungguhnya pada tahun ini aku
memohon kepadaMu perlindungan daripada syaitan yang direjam, dari sekalian
kuncunya, tenteranya dan penolongnya. Aku juga memohon perlindungandari nafsu
amarah yang sentiasa mendorong ke arah kejahatan dan melalaikan dengan perkara
yang tidak berfaedah daripada mendekatkan diriku kepadaMu.

Selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan kami Nabi Muhammad. Segala puji hanya bagi
Allah, tuhan yang memelihara dan mentadbir sekalian alam...

Amin... Amin... Amin...

Amin, Ya Rabbal Alamin..
Here's to keeping to my resolutions this new year and a squeky clean new book. :)

Speaking about new books, here's a new stack waiting for me in the new year. :)


That'll keep me busy, me thinks. :D

-dillz blogging out-

Reading Regime for Khaleeq

Remember the stack of books I loaned from the school to aid in Khaleeq's reading? Thank God that we loaned them as we were told that a complete set would burn RM300 plus in our pocket. *Phew*

Picture from: here

Well, there are 18 books in three difficulty levels. Jenuhla weh... A quick run through of the GINN Reading 360 System.

Level 2

These books have big fonts with around 1-7 words to a sentence. Very easy-going for the eyes and great start for beginner-readers. The plan is to get Khaleeq to finish all 6 books by next weekend, 29th November 2009. It should not be too difficult as he has already read 2 of them before. It's more of a challenge to me to dedicate enough time to coax and teach him. (Oh, my temper! Yes, it gets REALLY challenging) But, I have decided to dedicate at least an hour a day for him for this cause. I have also promised him that he will be able to buy a new Tom and Jerry Series VCD if he accomplish this task. (Cheap prezzie, I know. hihihihi) We'll see how well this goes and the milestone has been set. The titles for this level are:

1. Liz and Digger
2. Can we help?
3. I can hide
4. Can you?
5. Come for a ride
6 Ben and the duck

Level 3

The going gets tougher here. There are multiple sentences in a page and the font has become somewhat smaller. But, the characters are still familiar - Digger the dog, Liz and Ben, Mom and Dad. :) So, it helps the kid a lot. they also introduce a lot of new words (and animals) here. By now his vocabulary (more like familiar words) would have grown somewhat and by the end of it he would be able to intelligently guess unfamiliar words. I hope. *fingers crossed* Taking into account that we only have till end of December to complete ALL levels, I have decided to attempt level 3 in the first 2 weeks of December. 14 days for 6 books. The end date falls nicely before we go off to a family vacation in *an undisclosed location* hihihihihi.. Lepas penat kerja, perlu ada habuannya, kan? I hope he keeps his motivation and drive up till this point. :) The titles in this level are:

1. Don't run away!
2. Digger at school
3. A duck is a duck
4. Horses
5. Picnic for Tortoise
6. Lost and found

Level 4

Aahh.. Here's where it really tests whether he has been memorizing or he his really able to read by himself. The words are even smaller now. With about two paragraphs in a page and we have about 3 weeks to tackle it. My take to this level is more like we'll see how far we can go,lah. If by then he is really able to read, it would not be a problem to Khaleeq already. He'd breeze though it. I'll just keep the expectations realistic though. Kesian kat dia. In any case, the bounty is menarik! We promised him the Megatron Animated figure yang besar tu. Kasi chan la sama itu budak.. :)
Oh btw, the titles in this level are:

1. At the zoo
2. Helicopters
3. Animal tales
4. What a surprise!
5. Animal friends
6. Once upon a time

Which reminds me , need to get a nice stack of readables to perkasakan Khadra's Bahasa Melayu too. Hmmm.. Where to get, ah?

-dillz blogging out-

For starters, you can stop calling me 'sir'

I was just reading a little from The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown when I came across something that left me in stitches. Thing is, I could totally relate to it.

Let me just extract this portion from pg 66 and you can have a read:

Langdon clutched the police chief's phone and felt a rising frustration as the OS director pressed him. "I'm sorry, sir," Langdon said tersely, "but I can't read your mind. What do you want from me?"
"What do I want from you?" The OS director's grating voice crackled through langdon's phone, scraping and hollow, like that of a dying man with strep throat.
As the man spoke, Langdon felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and his eyes were drawn down... directly into the face of a tiny japanese woman. She had a fierce expression, a mottled complexion, thinning hair, tobacco-stained teeth, and an unsettling white scar that sliced horizontally across her neck. The woman's gnarled hand held a cell phone to her ear, and when her lips moved, Langdon heard the familiar raspy voice through his cell phone.
"What do I want from you, Professor?" She calmly closed her phone and glared at him. "For starters, you can stop calling me 'sir'"

Now what has this got to do with me, you might wonder?

I just recently sent a work related e-mail to this certain someone. Knowing that in the corporate mail, our full name would come out as the Sender. So, keluarlah; "From: Azlul Adilah Zaghlol" di dalam e-mail tersebut.

Just to be safe, though, I would normally sign-off all my e-mails in this manner:
Salam,
Dilla
Sweet, kan?

Not long after, I received the reply:
Dear Encik Azlul,
....

Saya faham, nama Azlul itu adalah agak berbaur unisex. My brother and ALL my 5 sisters have Azlul in front of their names. Lainlah kalau Azrul. Azrul itu, nama seorang lelaki. Suami saya pun bernama Azrul.

So, Encik Azlul? ENCIK Azlul, did you say???

Tolonglah. Do me a favour and check my second name. Adilah tu nama lelaki ke perempuan? Takde guna lah saya meng-sign off dengan nama manjaku itewww!

Awak, saya penatlah nak bagitau orang saya ni seorang perempuan!!!!

-dillz blogging out-

Go watch The Time Traveler's Wife!

Though I was 50 pages shy from completing the novel when I watched the movie, let me go
ahead and give you the review aaaannnyways.. ;)

(Picture from: here)

Was it choppy? Definitely not.
Was the screenplay how it was written in the book? Similar, but not exactly identical. I believe the differences were necessities in order to keep the movie length viewable.
Did I cry? Yes, I did. Not buckets though. Just wimpy tears.
Was it good? NO. It was GREAT!

I was really anticipating this movie 'coz I have heard raving reviews about the book. So, I decided to buy the book and read it for myself. At first it was kinda confusing. Once I figured out how to read it (Waa.. Da Vincci Code, kah?) it was kinda hard to put down. Anyhoots, on the day we were due to watch the movie, I had about 200plus more pages to finish. I tried and tried to, but I didn't manage it by viewing time. So, how Henry actually died was still a surprise when I entered the cinema.

Having Eric Bana as Henry was also a pull factor for me. (Kindly recall his hot bod in 300 Troy) So comel to see the old him saying 'I do' at the altar and the dashing young him again dancing with Clare at the wedding reception. :) I was giving hints to Azrul as the movie progressed but in actual truth it was not really necessary 'coz as soon as your mind starts to question or wonder about something, the answer will come right up in the next scene. :) That Rachel McAdams is also so gorgeous as Clare, kan? I also liked the fact that they tried to keep the plot simple. I mean it is really confusing enough to be travelling back and forth through time without having to showcase every single character in the book. Imagine how complicated it would be if the complexity of Clare's family, Henry's estranged dad and his friendly neighbour/caregiver Kimmy, the fondness that Gomez has for Clare were entwined into the plot. Adalah sangat confuse, okay..

Sudahlah merepeknya... In conclusion, I would rate the movie as a definite must see. Go catch it while it's still showing at the cinemas.

Now, on the silver screen front:
1. I just need to make my way to This Is It. Bila habis showing, ek?
2. I really hope I win the movie preview from nuffnang for New Moon! AAAAminnn..

-dillz blogging out-

Nice to meet you, Time Traveler's Wife

Meet my pile of yet-to-be read books (Abaikan moleskins itu, ye.. Itu project terbengkalai Queen of HHTA) :

Despite the fact that I have yet to khatam the rest, I have added yet another one to it, courtesy of Azrul. (Eh, tetiba*ke sengaja?* lak tak bawak purse hari tu..) Yeay!! Actually , I wanted to add two to the collection, tapi takde stock. But, still.. yeay! nonetheless..

Here it is..

I have heard mixed reviews about it. Those who loved it, loved it dearly and those who hated it, really despised it. So, let's just say that I am intrigued!

Tapinya, entah bilalah nak baca, I don't really know with the bibik-less situation and workpile that has reached my nose. But, let's just be positive about it and Insya Allah, I'll get round to reading it. :)

BTW, anybody knows when this is gonna show on the Malaysian shores?

-dillz blogging out-

Reading Habits Survey

Got tagged on facebook by the sweet Kay. Sorry babe, replying here coz I am so not a Notes person. ;)

BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

It's basically trying to prove whether BBC was right or wrong. Let's see how I'd fare. I'd bold the books that I've read or am reading. Here goes..

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (all three of them - can I count as three?)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (all seven! :))
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible /Al-Quran
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Berapa tu? 18 hahahahahaha.. Just double the average number? What an abysmal performance. makcik malu.. Itupun nasib baik dah baca The Little Prince and am reading Catcher in The Rye , thanks to Adeeb's recommendation. Plus, some of them classics were a must read when I was in high school. Kalau tak sure, lagi parah.. hihihihi

Oooo Kalau buku-buku chic lit (and more recently chap lit - Ya, meet Mr Tony Parsons) tu.. Cepat je habis baca, ye?
Which reminds me, Istill have 4 Cecilia Aherns waiting for me in my office drawer. hihihi

How well did you do?

-dillz blogging out-

Need A Little Dose of The Secret

I have actually read this book a few times over. In fact, I own two (2) copies of it. One is a paper back, all lembik and dog-eared from all the reading. At one point, it was missing thus requiring me to buy the second hard-covered version. *excuses, excuses* Have also watched the film here.

The Secret is a collection of philosophy / ideas championed by many teachers from yesteryears all compiled into one book. It's not rocket science. Chances are; most things highlighted in the book you already know. In essence, it tells you how to get the things you want in life. (Go read it if you haven't already!)

Anyways, I have not been in my most productive state of late. Am in need of a little uplifting, morale booster, if you would. So, for me and also for you, dear readers; let me remind us on a few teachings of The Secret.

Taken from the Secret Summaries of Powerful Processes:

• Expectation is a powerful attractive force. Expect the things you want, and don't expect the things you don't want.
• Gratitude is powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have, and you will attract more good things.
• Giving thanks for what you want in advance turbo-charges your desires and sends a more powerful signal out to the Universe.

Taken from the Secret Summaries of The Secret to Life:

• You get to fill the blackboard of your life with whatever you want.
• The only thing you need to do is feel good now.
• Do what you love. If you don't know what brings you joy, ask, "What is my joy?" As you commit to your joy, you will attract an avalanche of joyful things because you are radiating joy.

Time is running out. Have a deadline to adhere to. Looks like it's time to double up the speed.. *Attracting good vibes. Mari, mari, mari...*

-dillz blogging out-

Jumping on the bandwagon

I was intrigued by the hoo-haa surrounding the movie Twilight when I decided to borrow Kira's book. Just to get a little sneak preview before me hubby and I watched it at the movies, you know.. Not so typical high school vampire romance , which actually came in second and third and fourth helpings, if I may add so myself. It was kind of an easy read and one that I could see myself reading before going to bed, in the loo, while waiting for someone or over a cup of caramel macchiato. I was embarassed to say, but I actually wanted to get the whole collection for myself. Hihihi.. Yela, cerita vampire romance kat high school, awak tu mak orang. Lu pikir la sendiri, bak kata Nabil...

Anyways, after the movie screening, I decided that movie was alright and I kinda liked the whole thing. (plus that Edward is hot!) On top of that, Boarders had this bundling promotion; Book 1 AND 2 of the Twilight series for RM50. (I think it was slightly less, makcik dah round up the figure) So, I got them both and put my name down for Books 3 and 4.

So, that's my plan for the next few days... (among others) Excuse me while I get back to Bella and the Cullens..

-dillz blogging out-

Harry's here!

I have had the pre-order receipt for the 7th installment of Harry Porter since 17th February 2007. It's been five long months of wait and he is finally here.. Picked him up with hubby in the morning from MPH MidValley.. Found out that MPH, Popular and Times will not be selling HP7 in their stores from today onwards, only pre-orders will be honoured and all activities pertaining to HP7 will be cancelled at these stores... What's that all about? You could still get a copy if you haven't already (shame on you..) at Kinokuniya, Boarders, and strangely even at Tesco and Carrefour too.. I think they are even going at a lower price at these stores too.. Didn't get a single discount from MPH despite pre-ordering since February. Tipah tertipu! (there is the free mug though)

Whatever.. Harry's here..

Ampun tuanku beribu ampun.. Excuse me while I hibernate and finish my read! (Nasib baik lakiku akan ke Bangla for three days.. The timing couldn't be more perfect! heh heh heh)

-dillz blogging out-

Muslims All Around

I managed to finish up Dina Zaman's I Am Muslim whilst I was up near the peaks of Genting Highlands. (actually, nearer to the base of Genting Sempah daa..) People I know around me (virtual or otherwise) were writing reviews on it, attending it's launch, etc.. I bought it at Silverfish in Bangsar, (next to Devi's) 'coz I wanted to see for myself what the fuss and the controversy was all about. And, I was pleasantly surprised.

The book is a collection of Dina's articles about how life is lived by Muslims; from her experience with the bomohs, the ustazs to the everyday Sitis and Ahmads. Very rich, very insightful. I was also pleasantly surprised to see some fimiliar names quoted in the book -- Eeh.. macam kenal, aje?

Overall, it was a very good read. Just have an open mind and see for yourself, please... BTW, if you wanna catch her live: she'll be in MPH, Bangsar Village II from 11.00am to 12.30pm on Saturday; 28th April 2007.

-dillz blogging out-

My Absence..

So, we were at Awana, Genting Highlands for a 5-day Managing Across Cultures course. It was meant to prepare managers who would be going on international postings / assignments. The day would start at 8.30am and end at 11.00pm daily. There were lectures, lectures, lectures, case study presentation in the form of a sketch (I loike acting!) and we had to come out with an action plan to resolve the 'real' issues when we get back to the office. So, it really was 5-days (and more!) of hard work..

The course is simply an eye-opener for me. We were very lucky to get prominent speakers in the field to come talk to us. We had Dr. Paddy Bowie, an 83-year old Oxon who has been in Malaysia for 53 years. Gosh, she's been here even longer than Malaysia's independence. (She's also the one who gave the Oxford toast at the Boatrace Gala Dinner) We had our personality trait profiled by Peter Shephard, and I am a high RED. This cluster represents sociability and expressiveness. According to the CREDO Personality Profile, people with high RED scores are:

More extroverted, warm and friendly. Good at greeting people, uninhabited. Expressive with eye contact and gestures. Initiates and responds. More spontaneous, optimistic and cheerful. Likes excitement. Moves at a more vigorous speed. - I guess that kinda summarizes me. ;)

There was also Dr. Asma Abdullah, the cultural guru who happens to be an old-TKCian and Peter's wife - so when she talks about across cultures, she really knows what she's talking about. Then, there was Sverre Stoje, a Swedish who gave a very entertaining and expressive talk on Change. We also had the priviledge of having a Life Coach onboard in the form of Ms Su-Chzeng. Last but not least, we had a very special main instructor, Mr Mano Maniam, who is more well known as an actor than a culture expert! So, that was the icing to the cake!

In between, we also managed to slot in a 2-hour karaoke session. I didn't know that I was surounded by such karaoke junkies. But of course, I find that the microphone is in my hand, most of the time. (I am a self-confessed karaoke-biatch!) It was really kinda hectic for us but I managed to find some more 'me' time and finally finished I Am Muslim by Dina Zaman. ;) (Not gonna go into that until later, ok? )

I just needed to emphasize that we worked really hard that week... We honestly did. Honest!

-dillz blogging out-

HP 7

The pre-order is opened for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At least at mph, it is. The 7th and the final installment of the scarred orphan wizard and his friends' adventures is due to be released in your favourite bookstore on the 21st of July 2007.

I have all 6, from the very first HP & the Philosopher's Stone, all the way to HP & the Half-Blood Prince. Read each one of them from cover to cover. I wept and I laughed. I spent some sleepless nights trying to finish them coz I couldn't bear to let it down. I even told the story to my sisters coz they are just too lazy to read them before going to the movies.

It's the last book, someone IMPORTANT is gonna die...

Go! Go to the nearest bookstore and pre-order them today! I have..

-dillz blogging out-

Reading My Heart Out

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

I just figured out how to do a TypeList and display the kewl books I am currently reading in my blog. (hey, did you know that if you entered the ISBN number, ‘they’ will make a search at amazon.com and display the cover page of the book as thumbnail and of course link you to the amazon page as well.. )

I have a few books that I read in any long periods of time. Not that I read four books all at the same time. I read one book, put it down… After some time, I read another book, then put it down.. Go to the loo, reach for another book.. You know what I mean? It serves different purposes, though.

An obvious example is that I always have a book for my reading pleasure in the loo. (We have magazines and such stocked up too) So, the criteria for a book to be eligible for contending in the Loo Category are: short stories/chapters, independent of each other, needs little or no analysis or thinking. Reader’s Digest, FHM mag, Stuff mag, Cartoon strips are ideal. I also have a book handy to read during commuting or idly waiting. Those lonely minutes waiting for someone to arrive can be very testy if you don’t have anything to distract you. ( I HATE WAITING!!) - I shall name this the Idle Category. The read must not require much thinking (again?) , small enough to stuff in my bag (you can have a big one if you have a big bag) and convenient to carry around. Ideal candidates include self-help books, fiction and Reader’s Digest. The next category, I have decided to name Just So Category coz I just so happen to like doing it at that time. These are my reference books for the activities I love; such as scrapbooking, cooking, face-painting, hair wrapping — in short, whatever that catches my fancy at the particular period. I do have a series of ‘IN’ activity that I participate in.. Sometimes the passion lasts long, sometimes it just whizzes me by. But most of the time, I would buy reference books to educate myself in the particular field. (Chewah! Just a reason, lah… Actually, I am a real sucker for books..) It helps too ‘coz it gives you a new perspective on your ‘passion’ and you are well-informed about the materials/choices that are available in the market. I wish I had another category called Bedtime Category , but I don’t. Simply because I have no time to read before bed - got 2 active kids to tuck in and other frolicking activities throughout the night. (heh heh heh)

So there you have it. Now, presenting my ‘Currently Reading’ list of the moment:

1. Idle Category: Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov - This was actually a gift from hubby for our 9th-year bf-gf Anniversary. (28.04.1997) It was kind of a way of telling me why he loved me. So sweet… Still not done reading it. I am up to Tips No 65, I think. Still quite a lot more to go..

2. Loo Category: Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel by Scott Adams - We are all weasels — Ha ha ha. 2nd round of reading this. I just love Dilbert and the gang. Easy reading and reminds me not to take the office politics too seriously.

3. Just So Category: Total Scrapbooking by Sarah Mason & Karen McIvor - I started reading the book to educate myself about scrapbooking. It gives a detailed description on the materials and techniques needed to successfully scrapbook. There are lots of sample projects for ideas too. The presentation is also good as it comes in a ring bind. makes it easy to refer to the pages while you are working on any particular project.

4. Just So Category: Jamie’s Dinner by world renowned cook, Jamie Oliver - This is my 4th-year Wedding Anniversary present to myself. I was actually taken by the wordings in the front flap " Jamie’s Dinners is the people’s cookbook. Everything you’ll ever need to know to feed yourself and your family properly for life. What could be more important than that?" See what I mean?

The contents are cleverly sorted by kewl categories such as The Top Ten- Jamie’s all-time favourite dishes, Family Tree - learn to do the basic stuff and other kewl dishes can be derived from it , Five Minute Wonder - for the woman-on-the-go, Sarnies - Sandwiches glorious sandwiches, Desserts - My faves, Meat - you know; moos and baas (they have oinks too) , etc

The plan is that I would like to cook a special dinner for our anniversary - so, I asked hubby to get us a new oven for our Anniversary. (My stand-alone Zanussi 535 will be delivered today. Yeay! )We’ll be eating like healthy kings in no time at all…

Enough already, this talk about food makes me wanna check out the recipe and make my shopping list.

-dillz blogging out-