Whites hit Yellows on Greens

I don't know how I got sooo involved in tennis. It's certainly an addiction and this addiction goes all year round! Tennis Grand Slams and tournaments go on and on, one after another. I've always followed the tennis schedule. Try asking me what goes on this week. I'll most definitely answer it correctly, especially now...it's Wimbledon time, people!! ahhh...Wimbledon...the Third Grand Slam of the year. The only time where all players wear white, in contrast with the green grass surface. The only tournament where players have the middle Sunday off. hmmm, what else about Wimbledon, emmm...the fact that players enter and exit the court together regardless of who wins or loses. That's what I know about Wimbledon (and no, I did not plagiarise these infos from Wikipedia. All these came straight from the top of my head, ohkay!).

This time, I'm gonna go all out for Roger Federer in the Men's Singles (Surprise! Surprise!). Good old Rog hasn't won any Grand Slams this year. There was a time when there was no one else in Great Tennis Wonderland, except for Mr FedEx himself. That time, much to your surprise, I was always supporting his opponents. He's a real good player, no doubt. Some said, he is the best player of all time, beating the likes of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Bjorn Borg. But in that period (around 1 to 2 years ago), I got so sick of him winning every majors and minors, that I would purposely support Roger's opponent, no matter who. Even the commentaries have gone cuckoo and biased to the Great Roger Federer. No offense to dear Mr Federer, but I'm a tennis fan and in my opinion, there's nothing better than a long, hard-fought match between two players. Roger, in his land of 'you-can't-beat-me', have always managed to minimize the duration of matches - "Look, I have to go somewhere, let's finish this match in 2 sets (3 sets if it was a Slam). Capish?" Unfortunately, I don't like it. I want them to stretch the match into 4 or 5 sets. That would bring out some quality tennis by both sides. Oh well, that was then...

Now, I want Roger Federer to win Wimbledon 2008, and I don't mind if he thrashes his opponent in only 3 sets! Did you watch his loss to Nadal at the recent French Open 2008 Final?? Oh man, he managed to win ONLY 4 games for the entire finals match! and 0-6 in the last set? I mean, how saaad is that? Deemed to be the worst loss in a finals of a Grand Slam since God knows when, Mr Fed bowed out to let Nadal, the King of Clay, bite his 4th Roland Garros Trophy in 4 consecutive years. Poor Roger. That moment, the World No. 1 Roger Federer was not so Great anymore. I wonder what curse has fall upon Federer by the Frenchies. The French Open is the only Slam he hasn't won. Rumour has it that the unstoppable Nadal machine is getting in Roger's way. Next year maybe, Roger? ;) I'll back you. I promise.

Wait, I haven't revealed the reason I'm backing Roger this time. Want to know why? It is sorely out of pity-ness. Come on! He's getting old (yes, 27 is old for a tennis pro). And he hasn't won any titles this year (that small title doesn't count). I wanna see him back in his mode.

Oh crap..right at this moment, my little sister, Ira is right by my side, and has yelled out something to Mummy. I quote her, "Mummy! Kak Lina ni keje die tennis je!" Never mind. I vow to finish this post, no matter what..

Continuing on the subject of Roger Federer, yep, I wanna see him back in his thrashing-mode. Now that he's been down too long, I seriously hope he can make a comeback and win something this year. Currently, he's still ranked No. 1, but a victory is sweet when you are up against good contenders like Nadal and Djokovic. Plus, he has the game. We only have to wait for the time for him to execute it. I just watched his 1st Round match last night. With a form like that, he'll win his 6th Wimbledon title in a row. Unless....the unstoppable Nadal machine is switched on, or The Djoker strikes again. We'll wait and see...

Oh boy, I've written a long one. I was intending to write about my favourite player, Miss Smiley Ana Ivanovic in this post as well. Maybe I'll just whack up things about her next time...

P/S: My interview with Dell today went ok. I don't wanna say anything better. Just wait for the result, then only, I'm in the position to say "Oh, I went well!!". Also, Maxis's subsidiary company just called to offer me a Telecomm Engineer post. Of course, have to go for an interview first. I really wonder what happened to my other Maxis interview. Hmmm..one thing is for sure, things are coming my way. I must be doing something right!

A Slow, but Steady Weekend

The weekend started slow. The family's point of attraction on weekends - Umar Faruq a.k.a my genius nephew - went off to Jakarta with his mama and papa. Because of that, there were no hoo-haas in the house. No requests for nursery rhymes. No 'nak aizin' (aizin = raisin). No attending to his poo-poo business. And there's certainly no request for his favourite character, Omesh the Tank Engine (in case i fail to translate baby words into significant meaning, Omesh = Thomas). I wonder if our bland weekend is due to the fact that Umar was not there...if so, hahaha..it just shows how that little pakcik makes huge impact on us!

Of course, it was Mummy's birthday on Saturday. I gave her a huge hug that morning and wished her Happy Birthday. The card came along much later (the day after, actually. It took one day to pass the card between me and my sisters. We shared the card, by the way. And no, we are not stingy! Sharing a card brings more love than 3 individual cards, amIright??). Mummy wants Cherie Blair's autobiography, 'Speaking for Myself' for her birthday present. Turns out that book is a sell-out. Last Friday, I went to MPH and Borders. Both gave me the same answer - Sorry, out of stock. Will try to look at Kinokuniya this week. Unfortunately, Mummy will have to wait before she can get her hands on that book :) It's ok, Kakak is still on the search for the Electric Oven present for Mummy. So, I'm not the only one lah. Oh ya, while I'm at it, I'm starting to wonder if giving books as presents on birthdays, Father's Day, and Mother's Day is a lame thing (Baba also got a book from me for Father's Day - Obama's 'The Audacity of Hope'. But that doesn't count because I know he's enjoying it). Come to think of it, my parents enjoy reading. It's the others I'm concern about. One thing for sure, I love it if people showered me with presents of the form of books. However, I'm not sure if others feel the same. I guess it depends on people. But how would I know? Sometimes when I ask what do they want, they say "Ape-ape lah". Ape-ape from me equals to a book. So if you guys don't want books, better warn me, okay? Be definite!

That shortness of breath came again on Friday night (felt it on Thurs night as well). That's the reason I wasn't able to get a good sleep, and hence a groggy Saturday morning. All I wanted to do was sleep, sleep, sleep. Came noon, I was still on my bed. I woke up at 2 pm and decided to fight it. A hot shower did the trick. Felt much better after that. I really wonder if the doc's diagnose is true - another 2% and i'm considered asthmatic. Back in Adelaide, I did some tests. Something to do with the capacity of my lungs. At the end of it, the Doc said, I'm not in that group. Another 2% less capacity, I would be, though. The thing is, I have Eczema and I sneeze...a lot! which also means I have sinus problem. It was like 2 months ago that I discovered that Eczema, Sinus and Asthma..they work hand-in-hand. If anyone in the family has any of that condition, then most likely you could have it too. I also recently found out that an auntie and a cousin suffers from asthma. Sometimes, doctors ask me if anyone in the family have asthma, I always went plain "No." You see, I haven't been asking around. Duh to me. However, I'm actually grateful that it's nowhere near the chronic stage. Of all three, I suffer from Eczema most. But it could be dealt with. A wee bit of Steroid on the affected skin will do the job. Gosh, I'm declaring my rather unattractive health state. Err..male population, please don't run away.

I am actually looking forward to next weekend already. Abg Hafeez will be home, and we are going to have this huge celebration dinner : the 3 girls' and Mummy's birthday. It used to be a dinner for each birthday. But Baba has tone it down. I can understand. That hundreds of RMs spent on each dinner could be channelled to other needs. In these days of increased petrol, staple food, and everything else under the sun, it's best we don't spend on unnecessary stuff. A change of lifestyle - That's the phrase the PM pressed on. Indeed, we should practise it.

Oh, another agenda for next weekend. Continuing Atonement with Kakak. Last night, we were too uncomfortable to watch it with our parents and 11-year-old Ira. We had to pause it. Never thought that that movie reveals too much! In the end, we were glued to the TV watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians marathon, while eating durians. ;) Baba had Obama's book in hand, but too many times in a while, he watched the craziness of Kim's family. Hahaha..

Being Indispensable

"Select Consulting, Good Morning, Lina speaking"

I am currently needed in the office, as in really needed. These few days, I'll be answering calls for the kakaks, consultants, and Aunty Zah. They are all away on a company trip to Chiang Mai. I was invited, but of course, have to pay for my own expenses. I'm not complaining because as a matter of fact, I am new here, and just a temporary staff. who am i to get a fully paid holiday, kan? I was actually going to accept their invitation, knowing that it's not easy to go on a holiday all planned for. You just throw in the money and the next thing you do is be there at the airport! I could fork out that RM 2200 for that 4-day trip. BUT, sensibility got the better of me. To spend that much while I'm still looking for a permanent job is just crazy. Even the pay i received for the past 3 months I'm working here, barely reach that 2.2 k. haha! sad, i know. But at least there's some income. Aunty Zah also said that I can put this job in my CV. Just to show the employers that i'm not idle all these while. there's also another reason. Mummy's birthday is this Saturday, 21 June. Definitely don't want to miss it. 4 years i've been away from her on her birthday. This is one of the reasons i came back (and not look for a job in Australia)...to celebrate their special days by their side. They are getting old, if anybody hasn't noticed. So i just want to make the most of this time i have with them.

So, bye-bye Chiang Mai. see u sometime soon! anyway, Mummy said we've been there when i was like 9 or 10. but i cant recall a thing! My memories of Thailand are only of that trip to Bangkok when I was 8 years old. Still remember going on my first elephant ride(not to mention how stinky it was!) and also that photo of me on the boat, grinning ecstatically, with one tooth missing. erghh..if u dig into my past, you'll find that i was inhumanely called 'Rongak' by my School bus driver for a period of time during the days of primary school. me being all shy and timid, i kept quiet and let him be...until i was so fed-up of it. i mean, how dare he called me a name of such atrociousness? the fact that the whole bus hears it doesn't make things better. so i decided to tell Mummy all about it. and Mummy was all defensive of her precious darling (Ira wasn't born yet lah at that time) and she told him off the next day! padan muka Abg Rashid! it was the usual 'Lina' (with added pleasant-ness) from that day onwards. hahaha..

Oh ya, Aunty Zah said that my title for this job in Select Consulting is not just limited to Database Entry Officer. I was officially upgraded by Aunty Zah to Assistant Consultant. i must admit that the title does sound better. it's true what!! i'm not just blindly entering stuff into their 'efficient' database, i'm actually extracting and translating important data into a form that the consultants could deal with. plus, I'm answering calls and doing document walk-throughs of the reports the consultants made. in many ways, i deserve that title! Also, just recently, i decided to come into the office only 3 days per week. the other 2 days are spent at home, aggressively apply for jobs online. This means less pay since my salary is based on attendance, but it's okay. Kakak pointed out that looking for a permanent job is my first priority. of course, i think so too. Let's see if my aggressiveness pays out. i must say that i've been sort of laid-back when it comes to job-hunting. Not that i haven't been looking at all. the truth is, i have! every week i applied for a few jobs. sometimes they call for interviews. it's just that no rezeki or luck have crossed my path. it's now June and i've never felt this desperate to end my leisure holidays ASAP. good thing there is at least an ounce of sanity in me!

P/S: This morning, I spent a good RM 15 on Starbucks' Mocha Frapuccino. Although that amounts to 30% of my pay for the day, i don't feel guilty at all. weird...

Hi world

If someone asks me, “What would be my ultimate dream?” I would say, “To be a writer and write a best-selling book.” To be precise, “To be a writer and write a best-selling autobiography.” Okay, let’s be honest. I have to say that I would blurt this out not just to anyone. Only to those that I think can take it all in, well… in a positive way. Truth be told, my parents would not find this kind of response from me. Why? This is simply because I was not moulded to be a writer. I was not officially thought to release high level writing skills. And as an undergraduate, I was not enrolled in Journalism nor English Literature. Instead, what was written in front of countless examination booklets that I had gone through was “Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering.” So I have an Honours degree (a so-so Honours degree, I should add) in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Adelaide, Australia. But to enjoy what you love most, you got to have passion for it. And my passion is writing. I have always had flair in writing. Not that I am bragging, but this is really true. When I write, I enjoy bringing out the best of my writing skill and hence, a brilliant piece of writing. It’s also the way I feel when I put my thoughts and feelings into words. It’s like the release of a bird from its cage, flying free and high in the sky. No matter how cliché or cheesy that sounds, that is the way I would describe it. And man, I love to make the reader feel that my piece was worth the reading.

On reviewing an Essay test in Sunway College Australian Matriculation, my English as a Second Language (ESL) lecturer, Jay Menon, once announced to the whole class, “Her work could easily come out as a magazine article.” I took that as a compliment, and somewhere in my thoughts, there was a hinge of intension to make that happen. But where do I start? Where do I find the right exposure? I used to keep asking myself these questions. Well, I finally found the answer. I have to start somewhere. No matter how, I have to start somewhere. Be it free articles by Haslina Kamaruzzaman, I have to start somewhere…

And so, this blog is the answer. The irony of it is, hmmm…I was not inured to the idea of exposing myself. What I mean is, blogging will not make my life privy anymore. But to heck with it lah! I realize that, as a writer/blogger, you write what you know, what you feel, what you experience. Somewhere along that, people eventually know who you really are and your every move. Oh well. It’s a risk I’m willing to take (after much thinking!). As long as they don’t touch the $$$ in my bank account, I’m happy enough! Besides, my blog getting rocketing hits?? AS IF!

With that, I declare that I am finally a blogger. Yay to me. "Yay!" or the Malay way, "Yeyay!"