Tiny Car Blog

I have decided to move away STELLAR's entries into a separate blog.

If you are interested, please visit it here.

Missing Her...

Feel so nostalgic today.

Sometimes I feel like going back to Kalamazoo.

I somehow missed those days there.

Those chills and greyish climate color in winter, those fallen leaves in fall, the university life, the friends, the classes, the MSO, the long walks, the Kalamazoo Islamic Center, the trips to Chicago, the town Kalamazoo, Meijer, Crossroads, Norman Camera, North Kendall Ave, the Dearborn Masjid, the Sears Tower at night, the CDs, the interstate flight, the Islamic Society, the bus rides, the train rides, the peaceful sleep, Hale-Bopp comet, the cameras at Norman, Waldo library...

I don't know. Sometimes I'm just like this..

Bukittinggi Trip

Yes, it's different from the Malaysian version, it's a single word.

Words cannot describe how nice the food was there. Scrumptious maybe? One thing for sure, there's an abundant amount of food.

And small plots of rice field are everywhere. And the rice are not seasonal. The farmers independently farmed their rice regardless of the time. So rice is always enough.

Lots of fishpond too. Mostly beside houses, or rice fields.

And most of our entourage feels healthier there. Probably because the food is really organic, so to speak.

The highlights are mostly

• all the Minang style houses
  
• Japan tunnel
• Pasar Atas, Linduang Bulan, Putri Minang (the shopping haven)
  
• the food, yep, most of the eating sessions anyway
  
• the quick-opening goods hawker (more shopping)
• Tracking the old and intermittent Dutch railroad track
• all the waterfalls
• Danau Maninjau and the 44 Corners
• Gunung Merapi and the views
• the abundant rice fields, with all sorts of color
  

A few downsides though, my camera passed yesterday, together with the seat I occupy on the bus. That was followed by a good bout of runny nose later that night. Must be the rain.

But that's okay. I fell in love already.



The boys at LCCT, anticipating the exciting flight to Padang



The famous Nasi Padang, on the first day. Surprisingly delicious, and organic.



One of the first stops, this particular waterfall alongside the Padang-Bukittinggi road.



The uphill rail track from the Dutch era days



Minangkabau Tourist Information Center



The multiple rice field, from all stages of progress.



Lake Maninjau



Japan Tunnel,



Almost everybody at the Jam Gadang (Clock Tower )

Me-Me

Muzaffar is an advanced kid now. Or so I think.

So now, Muzzammil is next.

Actually he can speak, sorta.

Dad: abah
Son: a-bah
Dad: mama
Son: ma-ma
Dad: abang
Son: a-bah
Dad: kakak
Son: ka-kak
Dad: atok
Son: a-tok
Dad: uwan
Son: wa-wa
Dad: adik
Son: a-wa

I think he just refuses to pronounce the word "adik". He used to shriek a longish "adik" everytime I bathe him, but that was like early this year or so. So he must know.

Dad: muzaffar
Son: pa-pa
Dad: muzzammil
Son: me-me

But I love it when I came back home, when he usually will greet me with a loving "abah". And I will be very disappointed when I came home, and he is already asleep.

Caught In The Studio

I guess I won't be doing this next Tuesday with my colleague.

I'll fly to Indonesia instead.

But that's awright, I can still air-drum!

Nervous Brake Down

I feel like a fever is coming.

It's very apparent when I reached the masjid for my Friday prayers.

It's the feeling when you first feel restless, and the body seems warmer than the usual.

Then comes the bits of nausea.

The stomach churns. You think you oughta go to the loo.

Loss of appetite.

Mouth seemingly dry, and it loves it.

Neck feels some tingling.

Does it have anything to do with the office aircond getting broken? It's getting hotter and hotter these few weeks.. Or...

Does it have anything to do with the upcoming PTD exam?

Does it have anything to do with the fact I hyper-anticipate whatever that is coming, when I drive the brake-less STELLAR this morning?

Yes he ain't got no brakes, other than the handbrake. And it takes lots of guts, and a very early morning trip. Yes, the cold wind seeping in the side glass, and the cold water I took bath with. Hmm...

I do admit that I do drive him, whatever his condition is. I just need the extra guts, extra car distance, extra numbers of downshifting gearchanges, and lots of pulling up the handbrake lever, while taking extreme care if it's wet.

Gotta do something about this fever t0-be, and also the brakes of my mate.

Next Flight

I am looking forward to going to Padang, Indonesia on the 18th of August.

Going to a vacation by plane is indeed a new experience. One they will not forget, especially the engine sound, and looking down at the clouds.

I know Muzaffar never forgets the Mar Vista Resort, or what he call his "Rumah Penang" in Batu Ferringhi.

And I know Muzzammil will love the experience too. Although I know, they will remember the playing freedom the most, and then the Penang Ferry.

And the mummy, she may never forget the shopping experience. She may prefer not to remember Mar Vista though, unlike Muzaffar. For one, the resort is a-ok, but not pretty.

Muzaffar: "Nak balik Rumah Penang"
Dad: "Rumah Penang jauh, Japa.."

Rapid Predicaments

One thing about using Touch n Go around the RapidKL line of transport is, sometimes you are not guaranteed of really logging in the system.

The "Kad Tak Sah" (Card Is Invalid) sometimes appear.

And most of the time, it happens at Pasar Seni, my favorite transit for E1 bus.

Sometimes, the readers of all three turnstiles at the Pasar Seni exit breaks down. So, there's no logging out of the Putra system.

And then, it will happen again on the bus. So I have to fork out another 3rm.

Some readers in buses, like the 301 in Wangsa Maju, are not even maintained. And yet they insist that I pay the RM1.

Sometimes I feel like shouting at this particular old man who drove the bus, to repair and familiarize himself to use the so-called unfamiliar system. "Change your ways old man!"

And then, it's the re-queueing problem. The E1 bus will stop over at KL Central too, but if I board the bus there, sometimes, I have to step down at Pasar Seni, and re-queue. So might as well I wait for the bus at Pasar Seni.

And then, there's this "time-steal" problem of the E1 bus. The supposed half-hourly duration is marred by, at times, a 45 minute duration instead.

They should have re-increased the duration. More people are using these buses now.

NGV No More

Lucky I did not install the NGV tank, especially inside the passenger compartment at the rear seat.

Coz if I do, it would be an illegal installation.

The people at Nice Network in Gombak never told me about this small fact. Only thing is, they encouraged the installation to be in the boot.

But then again, it's the people at Malaysia NGV in Balakong that informed me instead.

I know I don't need to go to Puspakom, but I 'fraid that should STELLAR went through a roadblock, the questions will be raised. So there...

So now, a Hydrofuel installation is the next alternative.

Or maybe the very expensive "Hi-Pa Electric Motor In Wheels" like the one by PML. Which should set me back at least one or two hundred thousand in Sterling Pound.

Or I should take a bus.

Or I should work nearer.

Dizzying I know...

Exam Pressure

I don't like exams. It's very stressing to me.

The stress might result in me getting multiple canker sores from the pressure.

So when I received the letter, I got stomach-sickness straight away.

It's the letter from SPA.

I was invited to attend the PTD exam on the 23rd of August.

But suffice to say, I will endure it. It's just seven hours of torture.

Might get some books from my school days, or study the Wikipedia pages about Malaysia, for the more current facts.

6 A M

Hearing stories from a bus mate on Friday, I decided to try out the 6am bus this morning.

For one, the bus is relatively late. I expect it to arrive the latest 6.10, but it turned out at 6.15. But small matter, I am too early anyway.

The bus arrived at KL Central at 6.50, which is fine.

I managed to board the LRT that arrives straight away. The crowd is similar to the one at night, but all seat's taken anyway.

I arrived to Wangsa Maju at 7.15. Managed to board the 301 bus without any rushing. It departs at 7.30 anyway.

Phew, I am early at 7.40am.

Wishing to do more of this, hoping I would not be so exhausted of the crowding I usually endure by traveling late.

And I shall sleep at inopportune times at the office no more.

Carpet The Culprit?

We've been to and fro the government clinic several times already.

Both Muzaffar and Muzzammil are not well.

I am worried about Muzaffar's fever, but I am more worried about the cough both of them got.

It's stressing to know that whatever you tried is to no avail.

The coughing is worse at night.

And I thought the lung spray puffer is going to work, but the cough persists anyway.

The doctor today mentioned something about getting rid of the carpets. I for one, would love to do that first.

Not to get rid of it altogether, just maybe move it away from the living room will suffice.

Offline Netting

I don't have internet at home.

But I don't mind. I can go around this small predicament anytime.

My mind is usually busy with things to find out about. So I do all that searching-for-stuff thing at the office.

But I do not necessarily spend a worthwhile time on it. If it's an extended read, I usually saved those instead for me to read at home.

The files are saved as a whole. The pictures, the diagrams that comes with the page are usually saved as well. And when I am not in the lazy mood, I type the filenames myself instead of relying on the default names, for easy search and retrieval.

At the office, most of my internet use are for reading emails instead. And on the background, downloading some movies that I have thought about.

The things I usually browse are those things that I have no information of, back in the days before internet was available, like, 70s and 80s scene or movies. And yes, part of the 90s too.

I always regard myself as born to the internet world in 1995, when I first started using it.

While all that, there is this particular song though, I have not an idea of. This particular English song title is unknown, the female singer is unknown, and I only remembered a part of the ending chorus. I think I heard it when I was 3 or 4, though I really think I heard it only much later, like when I was 6. So I am still matching up words that I remembered, and also research some of the possible artists. More on this later.

And I usually blog offline too. I just opened Notepad, and write away, and put the time-stamp together, so I can put the actual time I wrote it, rather than the time I published the blog.