yes, i know, Nadia is my middle name..
but NO! of coz the title above not referring to me lah!!

last weekend i was in tanah merah, kelantan, to witness the marriage solemnization ceremony of a very dear friend of mine, and the wedding reception the day after.

Dr Nadia (also fondly known as Diana among old frenz) marries Dr Anuar, who hails from Manong, Perak.

i dont want to promise that i'll write more about the wedding since i know i'll bound to break the promise (u know, hectic schedule blah blah blah). so just enjoy the pics ya!

< Aug 15th '08, Friday, 10 PM - The Akad >


(L) - before the akad nikah - (R) - diana with her parents -



(L) - with my mom, her mak angkat - (R) - my turn next -



(L) - in place of pelamin - (R) - warming up -



(L) - its official now - (R) - officially mr & mrs -



(L) - the two sets of parents, bonded by this marriage - (R) - later that night, my mom helping out at what she does best: kerja tangan! -


< Aug 16th '08, Saturday, 12:30 PM- The Reception >


(L) - diana's siblings, yati & shafik, rearranging the hantarans -
(R) - while waiting for the bridegroom n his entourage.. -


(L) - .... the bride n her siblings goofed around first! -
(R) - diana flanked by my parents, who watched her grew up to become what she is now -


(L) - uncle mail & auntie nina -
(R) - waiting for their in-laws -


(L) - here comes the pengantin -
(R) - it still baffles me: why the need to cover their faces at this stage again..?? -


(L) - haaa macam ni lah baru betul! -
(R) - at the dining table -

to the two just married doctors, from the bottom of my heart, i sincerely wish both of u happiness together, till death do u part.

hehehehhehe.. saper agaknyer?

guess again.



hehhehehehehehe...





harap bersabar. tuan tanah sedang sibuk.

cantik tak illuminations ni?

july 25th. we were invited to a dinner cruise hosted by my dad's american friends, don and jo. we never knew there was such a thing at MINES. quite impressive.

the menu was a 4-course italian cuisine, prepared by a restaurant (i forgot which) from palace of the golden horses, the hotel. food was nice, service up to expectation, and the ambience was certainly romantic. i would say it was worth the money spent by don n jo. (a peek at the cruise brochure revealed that price starts from RM200++ per person.. )

well, if u hv the dosh, its well worth to try..

free ad for them: http://www.minescruise.com/

i first heard of the elephant sactuary in kuala gandah, pahang from my tv journalist fren, syura, more than a year ago. i've always been craving for something different to fill in my weekend than the usual movies-sushi-shopping, so after listening to her glowing testimony of the place, i was keen to give the elephants a visit; only time and the absence of like-minded companions prevented me from doing so much earlier. at first, of all the people, odeng was the only one interested to go.

that was until last saturday.

when i announced my intention to go bathe elephants to my family, i was subjected to endless ridicule and became the butt of jokes at home - they laughed at me. my brother retorted: "nak mandikan gajah?? tu gajah kecik kat rumah tu (pointing to Roni, my 3++ year-old very lazy and water-resistant tabby) dah 3 tahun tak mandi.."

but i was not deterred. gelak lah sebanyak mana yg korang mau, i was going to have fun with the elephants!

similarly, when i extended the invitation to my friends, i was faced with similar reactions, except from tirah and mazyah. they were game for it. an article about the elephant sanctuary was featured in a local newspaper the previous week so they were all excited to go too. so off we went driving 150km (less than 2 hours drive away) from KL to bathe wild elephants! hoorrayyy!! there were 4 of us nature-loving gals: me, odeng, tirah n maziah.

word of advice: please call the center ahead (u can google the phone number) to book your yellow pass in advance to avoid disappointment. entrance is free but each visitor will need a pass to enter the elephant sanctuary: people with yellow ones can participate in all activities, yellow pass is very limited in number; visitors with red ones can do all except for elephant-riding and elephant-bathing. there's also green one for official visitors. we managed to secure only 3 yellow passes and 1 red one.


- 2 km gandah kuala -

we arrived kuala gandah at about 11 am and got ourselves registered in. since the elephants would only be brought in at 2pm, and the video show started at 12pm (with 30 mins interval until 2pm), we decided to visit the privately-owned Deerland nearby.


- with mounting excitement @ the entrance to the elephant sanctuary -


- registered ourselves first; odeng showing off the yellow pass -


- actually ni belakang toilet.. hehehehe -

the weather was just nice as we reached the Deerland; not too hot and not too cloudy. we paid RM5 each for the entrance and were given a guided tour in the park. First in the itinerary was feeding an 8-year-old male sun bear called Hitam (the accuracy of this info is subject to the correctness of my 2-day-old memory. hehehehe.. ).
* corrected by odeng: the bear's name is Muda, not Hitam. hehehhhehe..


- with Hitam (betul ker nama dia ni? *salah. nama sebenar dia Muda) the sun bear @ the Deerland -


- i had to be on my tiptoe to make myself appear taller than the bear! so beruang yg tinggi ker, auntie elle yg pendek ek..? -

then feeding tame deers who were all hungry 24x7 judging by their looks and behaviours! other attractions were the flying squirrels, the ostriches and the parrots, among others.


- deer feeding @ Deerland. plz pay special attention to mazyah -


- lapoo sgt ker cik rusa ni, nak attack tirah lak.. x padan dgn kecik.. gatal rupanya.. huhuhuh.. -


- me handling an equally gatal male flying squirrel yg x reti nak dok diam biler ngn pompuan -


- with the owner of Deerland, uncle abdullah. ada parrots on his shoulder tau! -


- @ Deerland main entrance -


- sempat lagi tu posing depan keter tirah, our ride for the day -

as much as we wanted to linger around at the park longer, we had to bid adieu to the park and its inhabitants (as well as its owner) since we were hard-pressed to rush back to the elephant sanctuary. we missed the 1:30pm video show so had a quick lunch instead at the local cafe. one nasi goreng ayam and 1 can of kickapoo cost me around RM7++, so i already made a mental note to bring lunch next time i come visiting. there's a nice spot by the river for picnic in the center. and oh yeah.. i will definitely come again to this place!


- odeng menzahirkan rasa sayang nyer terhadap tengkorak gajah -

when we reached the elephant activity area, the elephants keepers had already brought the mammals into the river for some splashing ele-fun, sort of a warming up session before they got up close and personal with the human visitors. i was very eager to jump into the milk-tea-colored water as well but my excitement was doused (much to the disapointment of odeng! tirah n mazyah had already announced earlier that there was no way they would go into the water) when i saw the water+mud substance that was sprayed off the elephants' bodies using tap water by the staff. heck, i might need a more powerful scrub than the strawberry one i have at home (which i didn't have the foresight to bring along) to scrub that off my body were i to join my new friends in the river. so this time, the city gal in me won. perhaps next time, when i am more mentally and physically prepared! hehehehehe..


- baby baru lepas mandi. this one received special attention from her keeper as she has a limp leg from a (maybe) poacher's trap.. cian kann.. -

next, elephant feeding time. the one i fed was a very picky eater - she rejected watermelons and sweet potatoes, only accepting papayas! - whereas the one standing next to her had a healthier appetite - he devoured everything being offered to him! macam manusia gak ek gajah2 ni..


- these elephants mostly understand burmese; seems like the language is simpler for them to comprehend, or so the staff told me -


- feeding a baby, comel lah muka gajah ni! -

after that, visitors with yellow passes were invited to ride the elephants from a platform built about 10 ft off the ground. since maziah had no yellow sticker (kitorang x buli dia aa.. she volunteered to take the red one!), she became our official elephant ride photographer while me, odeng and tirah queued up for our turn. we couldnt share our pass with her since the staff tore the sticker to half to indicate that the bearer of the pass had ridden the elephants so no recycle aa.. we were told that they had to limit the issuance of the yellow pass in order not to tire out the animals.


- gayat sehh.. -


- bareback riding!! -

but what a lucky girl maziah was! she charmed the staff into providing her with a special kind of pass- the green one reserved for official visitors - so she didn't miss the fun of riding the elephants bareback too. and she got to ride it alone (of coz la, with the guide) without having to squeeze in her butts like we did! aaahh...


- depan gajah -

one tip we received from one of the staff when odeng called the center to book passes: wear long and somewhat thicker trousers. the elephants skin's surface is very rough, and the fur (fur ker ek? or hair? i am referring to the bulu lah ) is very hard and wiry. tajam dan mencucuk2 woo..!!

then we watched (the mostly foreign) visitors having fun in the water with one of the elephants. i didn't go in for reasons mentioned above, i was very much content to watch it from afar. hihihihi..


- kat tepi sungai tempat orang mandikan gajah -


- babies.. aren't they cute n adorable...? -


- pusat pemuliharaan gajah - the plaque -

the activities with the elephants ended at about 4pm. there were 2 souvenir stalls that u can check out. before we headed for home, we took our own leisurely time taking a shower at the very clean (very clean even to the malaysian standard that we were very surprised indeed. the toilets were clean too! kudos to the people who keep it that way) changing room. dah alang2 bawak baju sepersalinan kan.. ehehhehe..

oh one more thing before i end my note here: if u visit the elephant sanctuary, dont forget to donate some cash to the center - its for a good cause, trust me!


- for enquiries.. -


- dah dah balik jom balik! -

p/s: the title of this entry is quite misleading since we didnt actually mandikan gajah. hehehehe..

yeee haaaa.. the PFF did it again!! yeayyy!!

remember last year, we won the futsal tournament for mix category..?

well, guess what, last year we played for fun (thus, group name PFF), this year, as the defending champion, we played for fun again but with the pressure to win, and we did! win, i mean..

we are the champions, my frennnzzz...

- guys: nik, azri, bob, siva, sarip, kuma; gals: kev, ash, mas, odeng, me n gurin -

even had a t-shirt designed for the team, hehehehe.. and we noticed how everyone was looking at our t-shirt with envy! won the best-dressed prize too - a hamper with goodies that i picked up myself, since i was the committee member and i knew that we were going to win the prize. hehhehe.. guys, order for PFF fan club t-shirts is now open!


- showing off our tshirt, designed by odeng -

the game was held last saturday, same place @ cyberjaya lake community club. but the number of teams for the mix group was considerably less than last year, making us played less number of matches compared to last year's. so kurang penat sket la.. ehehehhe.. berlagak nyerr!


- at the bench, before the game -


- court 1, ada ref pro tau! -


- warming up. kev said we were over warmed up. hahahha.. -


- azri the team captain doing what aa? with kuma, last year's manager -


- pompuan mmg suka amik gamba eh? -


- worthy opponents: with the first runner up, the Jakoma before our final match -

this year's team members:
1- azri
2- naveen @ bob
3- nik
4- noorul @ odeng
5- alia
6- ashwin
7- kev
8- mas

manager: gurin
supporters: siva, kuma, sarip, sooria


- post-game trauma perhaps..? -


- yeayyyy dah menang jom balik balik jom -

after the game, gurin madam manager gave us a treat at the secret recipe. yeayy!! thank u, gurin!

more pics coming up next (if i remember to upload la! hahahah)!!

reception at bangi on 21st june.

most pics taken by my cuz, encik pijol the wedding photographer (all unedited).
visit http://chinta.fotopages.com/ for more wedding pics.

more pics coming up soon!


- dlm rumah.. adik with my uncles -


- this is where the reception was held -


- kak ijan, afi, dali, riza, me, nat -



- ladies in blue.. my cousins -


- greeting old neighbours.. auntie fauziah & kak mas -


- adik the quarter master -


- me and the bunga rampai girls: dewi, odeng, mimi & nana -


- melangkah bergaya adik gue.. -


- abo the orang kuat -


- the bridal procession -


- di bawah naungan pedang puri.... pedang puri tu term zaman dolu dolu for sword bearers -


- king and queen of the day, receiving tribute from the loyal subjects.. cewahh!! -


- aik main2 lak budak2 bunga ni... -


- instead of kompang, we have bagpipers!! -


- flower girls penyeri penganten.. -


- my parents: sama cantek sama padan.. kekekekek.. -


- the sword bearers -


- Lt. Azmi & Dr Mayang -


- me and riza, orang kuat mama! -


- family pic: mama dah tukar baju.. dan kami sudah berTUJUH!! -


- us goofing around -


- amboi amboi seronok nyerr mereka!! mata ajim mcm mata hantu -

p/s: yappari, buat kat umah lagi meriah!! maji maji.. seronok!

p/s2: to joseiJAD - sorry gals, xder gamba odeng jalan bawah pedang.. navy to, navy to kekkon suru hito ni shika dekinai rashii neee... kekkekeke...

p/s3: why the title? 32 years ago, my parents' wedding was the talk of the kampung - what with sword bearers (with more numbers than my brothers') and the navy brass brand marching at the local school padang and all! huhuhuhuhu..

my brother, ajim, got married last sunday in gemencheh. here are some of the pics during that day.. will try to write about it when time permits.. meanwhile.. enjoy the pics ya!

to my new sister in law, mayang.. welcome to the family.. we are not big, we are not rich, but we are close-knit, and we sure are a happy lot (and loud )!!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


- emotional moment after the akad nikah.. -


- the new happy family -


- our cousins in front of the mosque.. ramai giler pompuan kan? i sooo luv this pic!!-


- he ain't heavy.. he's my braderrrr.. huhuhu.. jgn terpedaya.. he's not that thin!! -


- wak juni ketua rombongan -


- my brother, his brother, and his sister-in-law -


- hantaran from our side.. all done by my mom! -


- pengantin di atas pelamin -


- anak2 minangkabau -



- me & odeng showing off our baju songket kat depan rumah -

lengthy title. just so, to think of how far we've gone since we first step in the complex of our maktab as budak hingusan so many years ago.

to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of us graduating from mrsm terendak (thats for those who left after SPM; for some of us who left after PMR, its the 12th year), with the initiatives of the dedicated duo, faskah & madhi, about 30 something of us turned up at everly resort melaka last saturday and spent the weekend bonding with old & new friends.


- kad ni salehah yg buat -

the first in the agenda was a visit to maktab and futsal/volleyball matches with the teachers.

my oh my.. so many changes! for example, the old smelly tasik is no longer there, instead, they dried it and put a small longkang. so from brownish pool to lush greeneries, not bad for a change eh?


- suhaiza, riza, me, effie & nadia kat depan tasik -

due to some reasons, the teachers were unable to play so we played against the students instead. the guys futsal (yeahh... maju ker x maju nyer maktab, they have their very own indoor futsal court!) and the gals netball.

its been like ages since most of us played netball, what more, we 20-something adults had to play against teenagers who said stuff like:"grad tahun 98? masa tu saya baru darjah 1". huhuhuhuh.. but we managed to score a few goals and not lose face to the adik2.. (ker adik2 yg kasik can sbb kesian kat kakak2 yg baru main 2-3 minit dah mengah2..??)


- post-netball game: suci nyer muka kanak2 itu... huhuhu -

after that, we went to the futsal court to see the guys play. i dont know what their score was, but they claimed that they won the game. hahahaha.. x kisah la, labu.. janji sumer orang seronok main...


- in front of the futsal court (gamba ni diamik oleh seorang cikgu lelaki yg berusia 24 tahun.. huhuh) -

back to the hotel for the bbq party themed "bercanda di tepian pantai" which was supposed to be held outdoor but was held indoor instead due to the unpredictable weather. nevertheless, we still had fun with games like lucky/unlucky draw and gift swapping. hasanul even made a surprise announcement by sponsoring 2 gifts for lucky draw - a 29 inch TV (won by nadia) and an mp3 player (won by bard).


- indoor bbq dinner: lepas makan amik gamba -

after dinner, 2jikai (cam jepon lak ). i brought those who still have the energy to try a special roti john at klebang. we chatted there until the wee hours, while waiting for the super-sedap-tapi-super-lambat roti john. sorry la guys, it wasnt supposed to be that long.. huhuhuhuhu...

sunday morning, breakfast on the beach. and then SUKANEKA!!

first, tarik tali laki bujang vs laki orang. hehheehe.. actually i was the one who insisted this to faskah when we were at the planning stage. huhuhu an experiment, to see which one is lagi power - bachelors or married men?


- eligible + not so eligible bachelors getting ready to tarik tali -

4 bachelors against 5 married guys.. the bachelors lost. okay, so they were outnumbered, so mebbe this one doesnt count lah. cannot prove anything.

then, we had the team bachelorettes lawan tarik tali against team people's wives. the mrs' won. okay, so this means married ladies are more powerful then single gals. hehehehe.. to quote ruhairi: " power gak bini2 kita ni ek!"

third game was beach bowling. aluminium cans for pins and coconuts for balls. again, we had team laki bujang vs team laki orang, and team cik vs team puan. this time, the unmarried ones won for both games. hehehhhehe.. apakah maksudnya itu..??


- the guys trying out their hands at beach bowling -

final game was: pertandingan menjadikan lelaki menjadi pompuan dgn menggunakan pasir. (aiyoo panjang nyer nama.. it was an impromptu one lah, i couldnt think of any other more creative title). we were again divided between team married people and team single people. the married people turned zaki into a mermaid, while the single people turned sulaiman into a sexy girl (yg ada janggut) in a short skirt holding an umbrella. hehehehe..


- team bujang nyer masterpiece: sexy tak sulaiman? hehhhe -

sad though it was, it was time to bid adieu. 2 days 1 night seemed so short. we all signed autographs and exchanged numbers and made everyone promise to keep in touch.


- kelas 3A1: alia, nadia, effie, adziim, zaki, shitah, riza-


- depan banner (yg byk typo.. huhuhuhu) -

to my long time comrades (cam komunis lak ) :- riza, nadia, shitah, marliana, hezlin, effie, suhaiza, azilah & wandu, norsyie (& hubby), suziana (& hubby), zaki (& wife), shidan (& wife), ruhairi (& wife), hasanul, izwan aka penyu, sulaiman, adziim, bard, herizal, faskah, madhi..

and to my new found friends: - salehah, azie, ella, shima, ida, masuzi, hafiz aka pkor, norlina (& hubby), suffian (& wife), moen (& wife)...

thank you all for making last weekend a very fun and memorable one.
how i wish it didnt have to end..

kudos to the committee who worked tirelessly to ensure this event was enjoyed by everyone.

p/s: i purposely letak gambo beso2 so that everybody can see everyone's face clearly.. hehehe

p/s2: more pics at herizal's: http://picasaweb.google.com/herizal/REuNioNTDK <-- mattut, u dun mind i put ur link here, kan?

me, odeng, tirah, peroz desperately needed a break after campaigning very hard during the last general election (hahahahaha ), that we decided to go kacau kak mazrah in penang last weekend, plus for R&R as well. Main activity: makan, makan dan makan lagi!

will try to write about the trip later when i have the spare energy to do so. meanwhile, enjoy the pics. more at odeng's!

kak mazrah, thanks for being such a wonderful host to us. osewa ni narimashita!

we celebrated our mom's 56th birthday yesterday, feb 10th, at home.
(absent: ajim)


- the lady who turned 56 -

to mama:-

may your smiles never left your face, especially now that you have retired so no more work-related worries;
may your line & wrinkles don't show too much, else you have to spend more on beauty products;
may happiness be with you always, and allah's love and blessings;
may you not get tired with us and our 12 cats, now that you have all the time in the world to be with us -
just sit back, relax and enjoy every moment that we spend together.

you are constantly in our thoughts, our prayers for you for every second that tick away..

happy birthday, mama!