Umbai

I haven't been to Umbai for many years. The first and the last time I went there was sometime in 2003. Even when we have moved to Melaka since January last year, we still did not go. The reasons are; we think is Umbai is quite a distant from our house, we heard that the food price is expensive over there and we have found another good place to eat seafood in Alai which is also nearer to our place. But when we heard that Umbai seafood restaurants now has been upgraded and looks superb, we wanted to go. So when Nazwan and Emma invited us to go with them, it was very welcomed.

It took us only 40 minutes from my house to get to Umbai (it isn't that far, huh?). Umbai looks totally different now (I hardly remember how Umbai looked like before the upgrading works). The whole things are actually a floating complex now, comprising the food courts, souvenirs stores, walkways, toilet and surau. There is a watching tower for those who want to view the sea. Basically, the place looks so prestigious and beautiful.

Sunset view in Umbai

It was time to choose the stall....Nazwan wanted to select the stall that had been recommended in the newspaper. There are more than 10 stalls to choose from and each stall offers the same things so if the newspaper had recommended one stall, it must be very outstanding (and so, we thought....) As we were there quite early (it was 7.30 pm), there were so much of seafood we can choose. So Emma and I had chosen the following menus based on the owner's recommendation : Ikan siakap bakar sambal, ikan jehanak masak tiga rasa, sotong goreng tepung, udang butter, kerang bakar, sup cendawan and otak2.

While waiting for the food to arrive, we took turn to do maghrib prayer. And by the time we finished praying, the foods arrived on our table. I was disappointed to see that the udang butter was not the udang butter I had in mind (the one with eggs+butter shreds and curry leaves on top of fried prawns). Instead, I think this udang butter is actually fried with butter, that's how they call it udang butter. Anyway, it tasted quite good. And we were surprised to see the kerang bakar. We ordered 0.5 kg for that, but we only saw it on a small oval plate. We thought there will be another plate to come but after a while there was nothing. So we called the waitress and asked about the kerang coz the no. of kerang on the plate didn't look 0.5 kg to us (I always buy kerang at the market and I know roughly how 0.5 kg looks like and too bad I didn't take photo of the kerang served to us). The ones on the plate, we could actually count how many were there. But the waitress confirmed that are all 0.5 kg kerang that we ordered. Well, what could we say, if they lie, then there's nothing we could do about it. The rest of the foods were ok, not that so superb. I guess because I always eat in Alai, I think the food in Alai is more delicious.

Emma, Nazwan and their cute daughter Erina

Asking for the bill was another problem. I guess we had asked nearly 5 times, each time they came they said they'll bring the bill shortly but after waiting quite sometime we had to call again. Finally the bill came, the amount was RM140...as much as we paid for 10 adults when we ate in Alai (I posted the entry here). Told you, it's expensive in Umbai.

But I guess coz the place is beautiful, probably that is why it is expensive here. For those who want to enjoy the sea breeze while dining and don't mind paying more, then this is the place. As for me, I've seen enough Umbai, so if I want to eat seafood, Alai is the place.

Cleaning and Cleaning and Cleaning............

We going to have guests sleeping over in our house tomorrow. Dear cik HB's friend, Nazwan and wife, Emma is coming over cause they want to go to Umbai, famous seafood spot in Melaka.

So I must make sure that my house is ready to receive guests. Oh! Don't give me that look....I know I'm such a bad housekeeper, the house probably being swept once a week, dust all over the place but I'm no superwoman. My life is so hectic with my works, handling my family and I have no maid. So I have to give priorities to only certain house chores like cooking, laundry and washing dishes. And of course, cleaning up the mess created by the twins. So tonight I will not cook and must force myself to clean my house.

I think my house is perfect as a candidate 'How Clean is Your House?' reality show.

Movie Review: Gracie's Choice

This movie is based on a true story and always being aired on Hallmark Channel, it doesn't feature any famous actor/actress but I find this movie is very inspiring and touching. So I have watched several times and think to share the movie review here. Happy reading...

Gracie Thompson was a teenage girl lived with a junkie mom, Rowena and 4 other siblings, Rose, Johny, Brian and Ryan. Each of her sibling was offspring of different father. Gracie herself had not seen her father since she was 2. Her mom was unemployed and they lived on small amount of welfare money. Not only it was small money, her mom even spent the money to buy drugs. They lived in a messy condition, Gracie always skipped school cause she needed to help taking care her younger siblings and doing house chores. Her mom was too busy doing drugs or spending time with her boyfriends. One time, her mom went missing for 3 days and there was no money or food left for the children. When Rowena came home, she only brought with her dough nuts and a new boyfriend, whom appeared to be nice and caring to Gracie and her siblings but later tried to rape her. Gracie fought back but was beaten by the man. When her mom came to her rescue, the guy claimed that Gracie tried to seduce him. Gracie tried to tell her mom the truth, but her mom quieted her down by asking her to forget what had happened. Rowena said she was still young, and needed a male company so she asked Gracie not to ruin it. (Can u imagine what kind a mother is that?).

Another time, since Rowena had not paid the rental of the flat they lived in, they were chased out and had no where to go. Rowena planned to go back to her mother but it was a long drive. So they stopped at a motel but she had no money to pay for it. What she did, she asked her children to hide in their car, she and Gracie went to see the manager in-charge, pretending that they were in emergency and couldn't pay the money that night, but waiting for her grandma to come next day with the money to help them. The manager trusted her and they stayed at the motel that night. But early in the morning, they fled away.

Rowena's mother is an old, church-going lady, lived by herself. She said she couldn't keep cleaning the mess Rowena kept making, so she gave her some money and asked her to go somewhere else. Rowena did, they found another place to live. But not long after that, their house was raided by the police (because Rowena kept drugs) and Rowena was sent to the prison. Gracie and her siblings were separated and sent to different foster homes. Gracie and Rose were sent to a teenage center but they couldn't adapt staying there. Rose kept fighting with other girls and Gracie helped but she was the one who got punished. Gracie demanded to call her grandmother and her grandmother came to claim them from the centre. Her grandma had made arrangement with the court for all the children to stay with her. But it came with few conditions. That Rowena couldn't come and see the children or stay with them or else the children will be under the guardian of the court. Her grandma is the official guardian and she received certain amount of money from the welfare department to raise the 5 kids.

As her grandma was old and weak, Gracie was the one running around to manage everything, from taking care her siblings, doing house chores, going to school and doing part time job. Until one day, she bumped into her school's counselor and was summoned to her office. This counselor found out about Gracie's background and advised her to concentrate on her study. Gracie told her she couldn't but the counselor told she had to in order to straightened her life. She then left.

A boy in her school was attracted to Gracie when he first saw her running in the sport field. This boy, Tommy was an excellent student in the school and came from a wealthy family. He wanted to give a lift to Gracie in his sporty car but Gracie turned it down. He then joined her took a bus to Gracie's house. Gracie told him about her life and expected Tommy to give up but Tommy didn't. Instead, their relationship grew intimate. Gracie also had established good relationship with her counselors and was doing good academically despite her hectic lifestyle.

However, Gracie faced a dilemma when her sister, Rose was pregnant and wanted to move out to stay with her boyfriend. Gracie worried that Rose, who was only 14 turn out to be like their mother but Rose claimed that she wouldn't. Gracie couldn't do anything about it, she had to let her go.

One night, Gracie invited Tommy to have dinner at her house. In the middle of dinner, Rowena showed up with a stranger whom she introduced as her current boyfriend. Apparently, Rowena had just been released from prison. Everybody surprised but the boys were happy to see their mom again. Sensing that things will not be good, Gracie called her mom for a private talk. She told her not to ruin their life again and she better go away because if the court found out she's there, they all would be taken away. Rowena looked hurt with Gracie's words, but she manipulated her by saying she loved them all, she wouldn't want to ruin their happiness. (yeah, sooo right!).

So Rowena and her boyfriend discreetly staying with them. And she had been using the money they received from welfare department on drugs and beers. One day, Gracie was invited by Tommy's parents for dinner. Gracie was nervous but Tommy's parents were very nice to Gracie, she liked them very much. She didn't hide the facts about her family and she even asked whether she could bring home the leftover foodfor her family. Tommy's mom was so delighted with her. When Gracie went home, she overheard conversation between her grandma and her mother. Among the things spoken, was her grandma complaining about her mother doing 'exercise' with her boyfriend in front of the boys, about them drinking and smoking in the house. Her grandma said the allowance money will come tomorrow, and asked Rowena to take it and go away. Her mom started accusing her grandma for hating her, that was why she asked her to go away. Her grandma was a soft-hearted person, she apologized to Rowena for making her felt that way without realizing that Rowena was actually manipulating her. Gracie knew her mom so well, she knew that Rowena would stay for the money and worsened their life.

Gracie decided to tell her counselors about her mom and they advised her to get her mom out of the house because if the court finds out, there was no way Gracie and her brothers could stay together. Gracie went home and confronted her mom. They had a big fight, her mom said Gracie had no right to decide things in their house. Even when her grandma tried to stop the fight, she was pushed aside by Rowena.

"You're not the mother, I am", Rowena said screaming to Gracie, pushed her to the floor and bet her.

And Gracie fought back by saying " You are never a good mother, you have us so that you could get money from the welfare. Too bad you had few miscarriages before, or else you'll get more money!"

Those words made Rowena cried and stop beating Gracie. She walked off from the house. The boys who watched the ugly scene, were so frightened. That night they talked about their future and Gracie felt she needed to do something to avoid their mom coming back and ruin things.

With the help of her counselors, Gracie went to the court applying for taking in charge the custody of her brothers from her grandma. She told the court that if their grandma continued being their guardian, she would get the money from the welfare in which she would give it to their mom. It's not that Gracie didn't love her grandma but her grandma had soft spot when it comes to her daughter, Rowena. Even her grandma agreed to release the custody of the children to Gracie.

The presiding judge said this case is very complicated, that he never came across a 16-year-old teenager asking for custody of a child, and this is not only a child, it involved 3 children. But since Gracie received strong recommendations from her counselors and she had good reputation in school, the judge granted her the custody of the children under 3 months probation. With conditions that she has to find a decent place for accommodation, a car and must manage her brothers' welfares. Gracie said she could do it. She found a house to which she decorated the way she wanted and bought a cheap car. And of course, Tommy helped her all the way.

Things went well, the custody period had been extended because the welfare officer found that Gracie managed everything well, she got good grades at school and her counselor and Tommy asked her to apply for college scholarship. Gracie was reluctant at first about going to college because she didn't want to leave her brothers but Tommy convinced her that the boys can stay with her grandma when she goes to college. So Gracie applied.

One day, while working at the cafe (she had been promoted from waitress to manager now), she received a call telling that her grandma was hospitalized. Gracie rushed to the hospital, her grandma was so ill that she thought Gracie was Rowena and started saying weird things. She then passed away.

At the funeral, Gracie and her siblings were wondering whether their mom was coming or not. And Rowena only showed up at the reception after the funeral (again with new boyfriend), didn't show any grief at all upon her mother's death. She said to Gracie and Rose, that if they need any of the grandma's possession, just tell her because she intended to sell the house. She then asked for the boys who were playing at the back garden. When she called them, the boys were reluctant to go to her because they haven't seen her for quite sometime and the last time they saw her, she had brutally attacked Gracie, so of course they were scared. But Rowena kept coaxing the boys and finally they hugged her happily. They too, missed their mom although she wasn't a good mother. Gracie and her pregnant sister, Rose looked from afar, wondering whether she was staying or leaving and take the boys with her.

Rowena left, without taking the boys which brought relief to Gracie and life goes on. One day, Gracie received a letter stating that her college scholarship application had been approved. She went to work after that and was informed that there was a guy wanting to see her. When she approached the guy, the guy said that she must give him a hug, to which she was saying " who the hell are you?" Apparently, the guy was her father whom she barely remembered. Her father asked for a private talk coz he said he needed to discuss something important. When Gracie asked why her father had never contacted her all this while, he looked uncomfortable and gave lame excuses that her mother didn't allow him to see or contact her. And when Gracie questioned him further, he got mad. So Gracie became suspicious and asked why now he came to see her. Apparently he came because he wanted Gracie to sign some legal papers. It appeared that Rowena has gone to the court and applied for back charge child support from him for all her 5 kids. So he wanted Gracie to verify that besides her, the other 4 kids were not belonged to him, that he left the family many years before the other kids were born.

To which Gracie snapped to him " They are not yours! They are mine!", quickly signed the papers, shoved it off to her father and walked off by sarcastically saying "Good luck, dad".

Then, it was Gracie's high school graduation's day. Gracie graduated as one of the top students. After the graduation, with Tommy by her side, her counselor came to greet her and popped the news about her scholarship in which Tommy knew nothing about it. Tommy's expression changed and he questioned Gracie about it during their special dinner celebrating their graduation. Gracie said she kept it as a secret because she was not sure about going to the college because now her grandma had gone, she had nobody to leave the boys with. Tommy said she could just leave the boys to foster home, or just let somebody adopt them. It made Gracie upset, she said, if they were to be adopted, she'll be the one who adopt them. She wanted Tommy to adopt them together with her but Tommy refused, saying that he was only 19, he didn't want to be burdened with caring for kids and he wanted kids of his own, not them. Which made Gracie surprised because she thought Tommy loved her brothers all this while. They broke up that night and before Tommy left, he told Gracie that her family was ruining her life, and she didn't even know it. Gracie cried.

After that night, it made Gracie thought about adopting her brothers to ensure their future's custody. Her mom's erratic behaviors and Tommy's dishonesty about loving her brothers, made Gracie realized that her brothers needed her. She tried to find any lawyer who was willing to bring her case to the court because since she's under age, applying for adoption was not easy. Not many agreed to help her but she managed to get one. If her adoption approved, the kids' parents (which were her mom and unknown fathers) had no right to the children anymore and Gracie would not have to worry about them being taken away from her.

Finally her case brought to the court for hearing. That day she brought all her 3 brothers to the court. While waiting to be called, she went to toilet. She was actually nervous about doing this. When she came out from the toilet, her mom was already there, talking to the boys lovingly. She wore decent dress and she looked decent too (she always wore hippies style). "Isn't mom look beautiful?" Ryan said to Gracie. Apparently Rowena had been telling the boys that she now lived in a ranch in Wyoming and will taking them to live with them. She said they could ride on her white horse. Gracie didn't know whether her mom was telling the truth or what, but she knew her mom was trying to buy the boys because of this adoption things.

Gracie and Rowena were the first called into the court. They debated why Gracie should be granted the adoption. Rowena said Gracie shouldn't because she was too young and since she had sex with her boyfriend, Tommy in the house, she didn't show good examples to the kids (yeah, speak for yourself, Rowena). After the long argument, the judge decided it's the best to call the boys and let them decide with whom they wanted to stay with.

Johny was the first one being asked with whom he wanted to live with. Johny looked at her mom and said "I love you, mom, but I want to live with Gracie".

Rowena became panicked. She accused that Gracie had poisoned the boys' mind to go against her. The judge asked her to be quiet and turned to Robbie for his answer.

Robbie looked sad and said "Gracie is the one who feeds us, changed our diapers when we were babies, she reads to us and teach us, aren't those things done by a mother? With this, Johny looked at her mom and interrupted " Mom, you know that's true!"'

And Rowena started crying.

Robbie then looked up at the judge and said confidently " I want to stay with Gracie"

It was Ryan's turn now and Robbie was the one asking him "Ryan, be focus. Who you want to live with?"

Ryan said " I want to go to Wyoming, I want to ride the white horse mom told me about" Rowena had started smiling when she listened this and said "yes baby, yes".

But Ryan continued with "But I want to go home and sleep with Gracie at night". With that, the judge concluded that Ryan also wanted to live with Gracie.

The judge then came out with this statement " I think these children have found stability in their life and I don't want to disturb that. Miss Lawson (Rowena), I know you love your children but it is too late now. I declare that the rights of the parents are terminated."

With that, Rowena became hysterical. She started screaming and crying "Is that all? I don't get to see my children anymore?" A security guard came to take her away because she was making havoc in the courtroom but she pushed him aside and walked out. Before she left, she said to the kids "I will always love you all. I will find you no matter where you go".

After she left, Gracie and her brothers hugged together happily. The judge told them before she could declare that they are now a new family, they needed to give her their new surname.

They went out from the courtroom and discussed. Ryan wanted their cat's name but every body rejected. Johny saw a name on the wall, and suggested 'Weatherly" because their life was constantly storming before. Everyone agreed and told the judge. So the new family was now declared as "The Weatherly"

In the end of the movie, a conclusion came out on the tv screen, stating that after that, Gracie had been working and studying at the same time, graduating with CGPA of 3.9. Her brothers were excellent at school and Ryan wanted to be a judge someday.

Very long review, huh? Sorry, I got carried away in writing this cause I have watched the movie many times, I could even memorized the script :))

Long Way to Go

Alhamdullilah, dear cik HB has received offer letter to further his study in TU Darmstadt, Germany this coming September. But he still wants to wait offer from the other university (RWTH Aachen, Germany) that he put as first priority in his application. The thing is, he doesn't know whether he's going to get a place or not in that Uni, and even if he does, we don't know when he's a going to receive official letter from that Uni. Without official letter means late submission to KPT and subsequently late visa application because the KPT meeting will be on this Friday and if he misses this one, he has to wait for next month.

As for me, it doesn't matter where he wants to go and when is it going to be but it matters when I need to resign and do preparation for us to go. Honestly, I can't wait to resign cause my work now is so stressful plus my shitty boss has extended his service for another month. And months after that, could be.....damn it!

We also heard that visa application to Germany for residence permit is quite tough, it'll take at least 2 months before we could go (for me and the kids, student's visa only takes a month), so I'm afraid that cik HB has to go first without us. And to my horror, cik HB's friend who is also going there, informed us that he has heard that the spouse of the student needs to take German language class first before we can go. I don't know whether this is true or not, we still need to gather information about those things. I do have intention to learn German language but do we really have to pass the exam (if exam involves) then only we can go? What if I failed?

I just don't want to think about all these yet. Not just yet....let cik HB get all procedures done and let me handle my works before I resign. I'm planning to tender my resignation sometime in mid-May on early June, depending the date cik HB has to go cause I have 2-month notice after tendering. Hope I have enough time to do all necessary things.

I know September is very long way to go but being me, I will not be so organized without a plan. To my blogger friends who have moved abroad, any tips to share? Or any things-to-do list to pass to me?

My RealAge Test

I'm now so addicted to 'Dr. Oz' in Oprah's talk show. In line with my effort to live healthily, I found this show is very interesting and informative. And they have this test called 'RealAge Test' to evaluate what is your aging rate, whether you're aging well or bad. So I visited Oprah's official website looking for this test, found it and did it.

Guess what? My RealAge shows that I'm aged at 31.5 despite my calendar age 29.9! Oh, no!!!! This evaluation may not be that accurate cause I don't provide lots of information on my cholesterol level, my heart rate ( well, I don't know how to read pulse on my wrist) but it's enough for me to know that I don't age well. Good thing about doing this test, it's not only the result you'll get but also recommendations on how you could improve your condition. They provide you plan that covers from food intake, exercise and other factors.

I have my plan now, thanks to MyRealAge but I'm such a lazy bum, I haven't started anything yet. But if anyone wishes to know what is your aging rate, try this test. It could be an eye opener to start a healthy way of your life.

Genting Get-Away 2008

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my family and I went for a short vacation in Genting Highlands recently. We arrived there on Tuesday morning, the weather was good and breezy. Upon arrival, we went to the hotel first (I booked online a double deluxe room in Theme park Hotel), to see whether it is possible for us to check-in first although it was still early (it was 11.00 am). And yes, we could check-in coz there was an empty room for us. See, when you take a best deal promotion package, they give you many conditions to comply. In my case, they said I need to check-in before 6pm, or else I will have to pay the normal rate. So if we didn't check-in early, we would have to come out from the theme park early to do check-in. And with this promotion, I paid RM78.80 for the hotel room complete with breakfast when the normal rate is RM130. Isn't that worthy?I was very satisfied with the room condition. Though it was not very spacious but the room was comfy enough for the four of us.

After we have seen the room, we went straight to the outdoor theme park which is situated just next to the Theme Park Hotel. Now the entrance fee for an adult is RM36 for outdoor theme park when I remember the last time I came here in 2003 was at somewhere around Rm 25-27. What to say, 2003 is 5 years ago, huh? We thought we didn't have to pay for the twins, but the entry fee is based on the height. Any child above 90 cm at height is required to pay and when we measured them, Nabihah stood at 97 cm. Luckily Nabilah is still below 90cm so she could go F.O.C.

The first thing we rode was the double decker carousel. I would not have imagine to ride on this when I was single. Then we went around riding all games meant for family. Somehow, dear cik HB felt like riding on the Space Shot and he did. He still felt thrilled and asked whether I want to try or not. I said no, I didn't feel like to. We off to Dinosourland where we will ride a boat and there will be a simulation show of dinosaurs. While waiting for our turn (it was quite a long queue despite it was weekday), the weather has somewhat became so cloudy and foggy. When the next boat came, it was drizzling but we were still allowed to ride in the boat. But it was then raining so heavily, we just couldn't sit on the boat benches. And luckily shortly after that we entered the cave where they had the simulation show. By the time the show finished and we were sent back to the starting point, the rain has became heavier and we were stranded there. It was around 1.30 pm, we were so hungry and cold. Luckily I brought sandwiches, cheese and cookies, so we could feed the twins.



When the rain has stopped, we quickly ran to the nearest fast food restaurant, and had our lunch there. Since the Spinner located in front of the Mary Brown where we had lunch, I thought of riding it. It was so excited to see people riding on it screaming. But it was a bad choice coz I rode it with full stomach, by the time I got down, I felt sick and spinning. It's a Spinner, indeed! We spent the afternoon riding all the games that we could with the twins. HB thought of trying the Flying Coaster before we came here but after doing the Space Shot, he concluded that he's over those thrilling stuff already. Yeah, we both have become boring, dull persons now when we used to be very brave to try those thrilling rides.There were games which only children are allowed to ride. Nabilah refused to anything that she had to ride without us. Nabihah tried half way, but chickened out when Nabilah started crying asking for her to get down. Luckily, she was the only one who rode the game, so the staff could stop the game immediately and took Nabihah down.

We finally came out from the outdoor theme park at 5 pm. It was a good thing that we had the hotel room to rest because if it was a one-day trip, I'm sure it will be very exhausting to drive back to Melaka. We got up to our room, took bath, rested and went out again at 8 pm to venture the other places of Genting. We headed to First World Plaza where you can find various of food outlets and bazaars and also the indoor theme park. But do take note on the price, ok. Things are bit expensive here compare to the price downlands.

We thought of eating something Malaysian (nasi la of course!) for dinner since we had the fast food for lunch. But the local cuisines are operated by non-muslims with no halal logo appear anywhere. So we decided to have our dinner at Pizza Hut. Then we just went around surveying the plaza. There's Ripley's Believe It or Not exhibition but the entry fee is RM25 which for me is expensive. We surveyed the indoor theme park games and thought that we'll come again on another vacation to try out these games (If you come to Genting with family of small kids, I suggest not to take the 'all parks' ticket coz you wouldn't have enough time to try all games at all parks in one day, especially on peak seasons).

We came back to hotel room at 10 pm feeling so tired. On our way back to hotel (Theme Park Hotel located about 15 minutes walking distant from First World Plaza - my rate, ok!) the girls refused to walk so we had to carry them. Though they were tired, they didn't sleep immediately after we reached our room. They still had the energy to jump on the bed and really tested my patience.

The next day, the girls woke up quite early so I bathed them and we went to the buffet breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. I felt like being in Taiwan, and HB felt like he's in Thailand coz we were the only Malays, surrounded by mostly Chinese, Indians (from India, mind you!), and foreigners. We checked-out from the hotel at 10 am and were thinking to ride on the cable car. We made of mistake by parking our car in First World Hotel when the Genting SkyWay is located near the Genting Hotel. Luckily while walking thru First World Plaza we found Genting map and realized that we shouldn't park our car there. We drove to Genting Hotel and managed to find the Genting Skyway. Now the fee of the cable car is RM5. It used to be RM3 something back in 2003. Everything is increased now, it seems.

So here the video clip when we rode in the Genting Skyway

The twins enjoyed the cable car ride. We straight went back to Melaka after that two-way cable car ride. I'm glad we went for this get-away. At least it made me feel better though it was very exhausting. And no doubt, coming home I will have to face the dirty clothes and a messy house.

So, if you are looking for a low-budget vacation in Genting Highlands, here are some tips I would like to share:

1. Before you go, visit the official Genting website (http://www.genting.com.my/) . Get info on the hotel rates and any promotions. And do your reservation online. Trust me, buying thru online is much cheaper than the other ways and make sure you check the date you wish to book. Rates are cheaper on low season. And check for best deals which they offer room and breakfast. If you are not into the 5-stars hotels (hey, I told you for low budget only), you could choose either Theme Park Hotel or the First World Hotel. I found Theme Park Hotel is quite a satisfaction but I don't know about First World.

Theme park ticket is also cheaper by RM2 if you buy online.

2. Things are expensive up there. So bring enough necessities like your tooth brush or tooth paste. And bring enough snacks and drinking water. A 1.5 litre mineral water will cost you RM4! So plan wisely.

3. If you are going there on the peak season or you have small kids with you, I suggest not to buy the 'all-park' ticket. It may looks like it is much cheaper if you buy for all three parks (outdoor, indoor and water) for one day pass but trust me, you wouldn't have enough time to enjoy all the rides. On peak season the queues are very long and if you have kids, well...you know stuff with kids, right?

4. For those with kids, make sure you always have their sweater in your bag. Cause the weather is very unpredictable, it could be so hot at one time, but cold next.

Don't DRIFT and drive

I suppose when you come back from a vacation, your mind is refreshed and more focus right? (I've just got back from my two-days vacation in Genting, will write details about it in my next entry). Wrong!!!

My mind was so drifting this morning when I entered toll to get into highway, that I didn't realize, instead of taking JB route to get to Yong Peng (my work place), I took KL route!!! And I was like, NO!!!!! but it was too late to make a turn and I had no choice but to go all the way to the next exit which is Alor Gajah. And it was an additional of 40 km to-and-fro from Ayer Keroh. It was a waste of money and fuel and time. And spoiled my day, ok!

The good news is when I reached office, the clerk told me that my boss is on leave today, hooray!!!!!

A Wonderful Doctor

I was feeling unwell on last Friday and decided to take medical leave. It wasn't like I couldn't get up , but I was feeling dizzy and miserable. So I wouldn't take risk by driving on long distant. I went to the doctor that I did my pap smear with. If I'm looking for the unpaid medical service, I could go to any cik HB's panel clinics but I had enough with these ridiculous clinics, so I'd rather paying myself for the clinic that I prefer. Anyway, I can claim for the bill with my company later.

I told doctor my problem and also informed her about my cranky menstrual cycle since couple of months ago. My colleague told me, irregular menstrual cycle could also be a sign of being pregnant. The doctor said that was probably right so she performed a scan to see whether I've conceived or what (though being pregnant is the last thing in my mind!). She showed me the screen and informed that I'm not pregnant and nothing is abnormal inside my womb (phew! lega...). Then she took my bp level and it read 132/79. Yeay! My bp level has gone down and almost normal (range of normal 110-120/70-80). So my effort in eating oatmeal for breakfast has shown some good progress. Another yeay!!!!

So if there is nothing wrong with me why do I feel so unhealthy and what is that with regular dizziness, headache and cranky menstrual cycle? So I had a long chat with this doctor on this matter. She told me one thing " if u do not want a thief to enter your house, go get good security system for protection". So same thing goes with your body. If you do not want to have health problems, get nutritious, functional food, enough exercise and lead a happy life. Yeah, I guess everybody knows this but how many really cares to follow the health regime? The doctor told me that she herself though a doctor started taking care of herself at the age 35. And I was surprised, I thought she was in her 30's. So I asked her age, and she told me she's reaching 45. Wow! She doesn't look like one, she has slim figure and younger look. I was absolutely jealous with her.

She said it wasn't easy and she got to change because she had various health problems (see, even a doctor can fall sick). She had insomnia, once she had not slept for a week and she was feeling weak. At the same time, her mother was getting diabetes. So she started living healthily and it involves taking good food, drinking well treated water (do you know that our tap water is not that safe?). She's taking these Zhulian packed food (like protein drink, powder or something) coz she doesn't have time to prepare nutritious food on her own due to her tight schedule. Her mother also takes some of these food to control her diabetes. And after few months taking it, she said her mother's sugar level had dropped to normal and it keeps that way until today. She herself feels more energetic and healthier. She still taking those foods but the cost is very expensive. For her alone, it costs her Rm700++. Wow, I surely couldn't afford that.

But she said, I'm not to worry, as long as I watch over what eat (look out for functional food, select brilliant food with anti-oxide elements) , eat in controlled portion (hah! this is my main problem!), try do regular exercise and minimize stress, and I'm on the right track. I'm glad that had this chat, cause even though I could get these infos from the Net, the awareness is different from listening to a doctor who has proved herself correct. I'm planning to do a full medical check up to see how is my cholesterol level, sugar level and so forth with this doctor later.

And can you imagine how much I had to pay with the scan, long consultation and some medicine prescription? It was only RM16!!!.

Personality Tests

I've been doing these personality test on Facebook and here are the results:

Dr. Phil's personality test

Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who will always cheer them up and help them out.

My view: Don't really agree on the 'center of attention' but can always agree with the last sentence...hehehe

Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Spirit. Which are you?

I am Water!

I like to go with the flow. I have some very deep feelings. I like to empathise with people and can connect with my friends on a very personal level. I like life to be straight forward and simple. I can get on with anyone no matter who. I like peace.

My view: Not bad.

What Musical Instrument Are You?

My result is: Cello

You are quite and calm. You think life is about patience, and you know exactly what you want. You are driven, smart, and very beautiful. Your friends think of you as 'most likely to succeed'. You generally have a positive outlook on things and don't let people's words get you down. You have a very opinianated personality but know how to do it in a sophisticated matter. You enjoy partying but you also enjoy sitting at home and reading a book. You love being seen as the smartest one at the table, but you are suave and don't come off as pompus. You can be misunderstood at times, and be seen as somewhat creepy with your very devilish composure. be careful, make sure to get whatever is bothering you off your chest, if let the tension build up too much you might snap a string.

My view: I don't really believe these are my characters cause they sound too good to be true. Patience is something I'm trying to adapt especially after being married and have kids. And how do I evaluate ''most likely to succeed'? I don't even have an ambition now other than expecting salary increment and be a good wife and mother. Not really enjoying a party (if is kids birthday party, yes I love them) but quite true about sitting at home and read a book. And about not bottling up inside, now I have this blog to release my tension.

Boycott Holland's Products

Due to the havoc cause by the production of FITNA movie by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, which is an insult to our Prophet, Nabi Muhammad S.A.W and Islam, Malaysia Muslim Consumer Association has called us to boycott Holland's product in a way to show how much we condemn and protest the film. More info here. The list of Holland's product is available here.

As for me, I've changed the girls' milk from Ductch Lady 123 to Dumex but when I checked again it appears that Dumex also one of the items. So it looks like I have to change to another brand. As for the petrol, I'm always the loyal customer of Petronas, so it doesn't really matter to me. But dear cik HB loves Shell, coz he wants to optimize the use of Bonus Link card. But with this boycott things, I guess he would comply.

What about you, my Muslim fellows? Are you taking part?