There won't be any raya pics here coz, I haven't been bringing my camera around. AH is the family's official cameraman, and he has been lugging around his huge, useful digital SLR camera, taking shots here & there. The photos are like 2MB in size, definitely a tad too big for this blog!

For a start, you can start to imagine how we'd look in photos. That'll beat the real thing :D

I notice I've been sleeping less these days. Previously I'd sleep again after subuh, but now I just get out of bed. I think too much sleep makes the body feel tired and I hate to feel tired.

And breakfast. That's a must these days. I've had a cup of milk just now. I'll have some fried rice later. And somehow, the thought of having a fast food lunch really sounds yummy right now.

I've got the blues not because I don't like the Eid. I've got the blues because, I have to cancel my leave & get back to work to finish up whatever I have to finish up! Datelines, deadlines, whatever! :(

Maybe I deserve it for having slacked during Ramadhan. But hey, I was tired okay? (OK, so was everyone else, I know)

My only consolation is, I get to claim my leave back on another day :D
Now, I think next Saturday sounds like a very good replacement date. Who works on weekends on raya, man? Only people who don't have a choice! (Like me!) But that's going to change soon, coz I'll find a choice to make, somehow.

I'm so excited now, coz we're going to pop by the prata shop, for some good ol' prata! Hehe, finally, some non-raya food.

He's been with the household for only about a year and a half, yet he has mastered an art no youngster (erm, by that I mean anyone younger than Tok; below 80 yrs old) has ever mastered over the past few years!




AH has passed the ketupat-making test! Congrats! For that you can have an extra piece of ketupat pulut tomorrow :)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri semua, Maaf Zahir & Batin.

It's Zuhur already. I'll take a nap soon. Then if I feel well enough, maybe I could bake another type of cookie.

Nyonya baju left me 4 missed calls but I really have no mood to call her back. Actually I have no mood to talk given my cough. Anyway, I hope my bajus are ready. Worry not, people, it's just a cough. I can still walk around on my own :)

OK OK, this may not sound very religious of me, but I am so looking forward to hari raya :D

I suddenly have a craving for hari raya food; u noe, sambal goreng, ayam goreng, all the goreng2 stuff, heeee~

And the free flow of soft drinks. Slurps.

To think I'm not even a fan of soft drinks on other days.

Well, people change & so do I! :D

Another chocolate cookie! It doesn't taste like how it used to taste the previous years; it's much more chocolatey today.

Again, quantity is pretty limited & bad DIL me won't even be giving any to MIL. But I've ordered some cookies & I suppose those will make better gifts than my own home made ones.

I actually took 1/2 day leave today because I was feeling a bit under the weather, with a sore throat along. Maybe literally under the weather, ey? With the haze & stuff.

I'm so glad the weekend's here again. Supposed to work tomorrow but I don't think I can take another 1/2 saturday at work, so I managed to squeeze myself out of that one. Sorry, but I think this is how I'm going to be for the next few months. I can feel it.

I was still feeling rather under the weather after my short nap at noon just now. I told myself to snap out of this and got out of bed immediately. Sometimes the more you follow yr body cues, the more energy is drained out of you.

Mak kindly got the ingredients for me. That very afternoon, Nana & I came jointly came up with about 100 pieces of sarang semut. I think this is a very fun kuih to make; you get to grate & put those cute little stuff into mini papercups. Nana has devoured about 7 pieces already at buka. I've sealed it, so that hopefully there'll be enough to serve come Eid.

My next hope of making kuih might come around next saturday. See how lah. Come to think of it, people don't eat much kuih these days. Nak buat banyak2 pun, in the end, tuan rumah yang end up with all the saturated fats. So I won't succumb to the back-breaking ordeal of making hundreds & hundreds of cookies of the same kind. Just a few of each will do this time round.

I don't have to be at work today, so of course Monday has been good so far.

I plan to start baking, but the problem is, I've yet to buy the ingredients, so obviously the plan won't inch much forward.

If I have some extra energy today, I'll walk around geylang. No other opportunities to do so on a weekday if I don't do it today!

Times like this, I wished we had aircon in our room.

So we won't have to sleep amidst haze /smoke coming through the windows and wake up wondering why our view has become slightly blurred.

But then again, an aircon unit is not environmental friendly at all & I suppose having one that won't really help the ozone layer. I realised this because, I went near to the aircon unit installed out of the room & found it super super hot! There you may be enjoying the cool feeling, when outside, it's generating heat! Something like that has gotta be not so good, right?

But being humans, we don't really consider all that, do we? We slash & burn, drive when we can walk, instal aircon, & the worst I've read in the papers a few yrs ago; this person used an electric blanket as his aircon was too cold! I mean, WHAT THE?!

Apart from being environmentalists (for now :D), looking at our poor little budget means aircon is out of reach right now. Pakai aje lah fan yang berputar kat atas katil tu. The best we can do is, we'll clean it tomorrow. Say yes to cleaner & more direct breeze soon!

I sat through 3 local comedies just now. And actually laughed, exceeding my expectations! I thought Living With Lydia was the funniest! Actually Lydia isn't S'porean right? Maybe that's why she's funny :p

I think trying to make people laugh, is the hardest thing, ever. We've all seen comediens & bad script that make us cringe & channel surf. The poor comedians doing their thang, trying their best to get people to at least let out a little laugh, but eventually, only canned laughter can save the day.

One of my bosses told me that I should be a standup comedian...twice already till date. I didn't laugh at that comment though I felt a little flattered. I'm Funny?! Really? But all I did was frown & brush her off.

Me? A comedian?! A stand up one at that? I'll look like a fool! But she insisted that I say the funniest things with a straight face & also said that I provided comic relief. Another ex-boss of mine also told me that I was funny, albeit in a strange way - she called it self-depricating humour. Seriously? I think almost every sane person who has worked in that cube, would typically develop that symptom for survival purposes.

OK OK I do admit that I can say the darndest & most ridiculous things, but to be a standup comedian? Naaah... I know I don't have the natural talent alright?

Because...

I think to be funny, first of all you have to look funny (and I don't!). Either round (being politically correct here) or overly skinny (ok, abigail is a bit too skinny but she's funny anyway). You also have to sound funny, have a cute hairdo, spot naturally funny expressions, and make normal lines sound hilarious. People like Sudin, or Ajis, or Allahyarham P Ramlee, or Lydia Sum, or Alias Kadir, or Allahyarham Ahmad Nisbu, they do it well! My favourite comedians, they are the most natural ones I've ever seen on TV! I think if you look even half like Alias Kadir, I think even the unfunniest things can tickle viewers' funny bone to the core!

One of these days maybe I should watch a feel good comedy. Not one with jenniferaniston please. I still can't fathom why she's starring in so many romantic comedies. Maybe something black & white. Those are the best. Meanwhile I shall give Must-See-Tuesdays another chance. Who knows, I might even surprise myself! Again!

Though I may not fit all the criteria stated on DSM-IV, I am inclined to believe that I'm on the brink of becoming depressed. Actually I feel that I am already depressed.

For a start, work doesn't entice me anymore. In fact, I HATE WORK! Going to work has become a real drag these days. I don't look forward to seeing people I'm supposed to see anymore. Writing has become really mundane. I've turned into a skeptic and I say as minimum as possible when I step into office. I get sleepy way before lunchtime. I hate talking on the telephone. I hate the coldness in this office. I can't take it anymore. I'm sad.