Monday, June 30, 2008

Beauty and the Beast at KL Convention Centre


Went to watch "Beauty and the Beast - The Broadway Musical" at KL Convention Centre (the other KLCC) on Saturday with Hubby, the kids (minus Jon... again), my BIL and his wife. Some celebs (Chef Wan, Fazley, Harith Iskander) and some socialites were spotted. The concourse area was a hub of activities. Snacks as well as souvenirs were on sale - both cost a bomb. I bought the cheapest memorabilia - the RM 30 programme book.
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Unlike hubby, I have never watched a foreign musical before. So, naturally, I was excited. I was not prepared for what happened next. The play was delayed for an hour! The organisers only apologized 40 minutes later citing technical problems (hubby whispered that in a play, technical problem was considered major). By then several disgruntled people had begun to clap their hands as a sign of protest. How weird! Shouldn't they be thumping their seats or something? The women behind me complained loudly that everybody should be united in showing their dissatisfaction (by clapping? Come on...) Hello lady...you have the right to show your anger but don't force other people to support your cause. I could hear her snide remark that "some people do not mind waiting at all". Yeah... yeah...vent your anger on fellow audience. Checked the tickets to see if we could exchange the time or get a refund if we decided not to hang around but (horrors!) ...

My SIL, Nani remarked that the shows at KL Convention Centre never start on time, unlike those in Istana Budaya. If this is true, it's a shame. Itu belum lagi audience yang datang lambat. Typical Malaysian. Show's supposed to be at 3.00 p.m. but some people lenggang-kangkung came much later. Macam tau-tau saja show lambat start. Nasib baik bukan kat Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. I remembered at an MPO show, the ushers closed the hall door just before the concert started. Late-comers were only able to come in after intermission. But then, that was several years ago. Don't know what's the practice now...hmm...
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The show was superb. Worth every single ringgit. I was awed by the well-executed special effects and impressive props. Hubby however commented that these couldn't match the ones in "The Phantom of the Opera". The actors: Lumiere the candelabra (Ben Stock) and Mrs. Potts the teapot (Tania Newton), especially, won me over with their humour and song. My concentration was however distracted a couple of times due to the wails of some babies or toddlers in the auditorium. I guess some overzealous parents wanted to expose their little ones to the Arts. Hey, I'm also a mom but I would never bring my children to any show or movie unless I know that they will behave (that's why I left my five-year-old at home...). As for babies...they are better off at the comforts of home (tak kiralah rumah babysitter ke). I mean...come on...do consider other people like me who forked out close to 1 K (o.k... not me, hubby. He! He!) for those tickets. Besides the noise, my view was also partly obstructed by somebody's head in front of me, so I had to "manouvre" my neck for most part of the show. Who's to blame? The lady in front of me or the designer who had configured the seating positions in the auditorium?

Friday, June 27, 2008

East Coast Retreat 2008

23 June 2008
Finally! Managed to have this east-coast retreat that hubby was looking forward to. Our plan was to jalan-jalan sampai Kota Bharu (KB). The kids were excited, too. But then again, the kids would have been just as excited had we gone to Holiday Villa in Subang Jaya (done this! Ha! Ha!). Janji ada hotel and swimming pool. Konon nak bertolak after Subuh prayers, but ended up starting out at 10.00 a.m. (you were right, Koob!).


The kids monkeying-around in the backseat.


Stayed for the night at The Legend, Cherating. Why Legend? It has the biggest (and probably the most) swimming pool/s in Cherating. Cherating's long stretch of white sandy beach was not suitable for bathing due to the huge waves but the kids had fun collecting sea shells and playing sand. The idea was to tire the kids so that the following day's trip to Terengganu would be "peaceful"...

3 of the 5 swimming pools.

24 June 2008
Continued our way to Terengganu. At Kemaman, stopped for lunch and bought Satar (my favourite!). Basically it's like otak-otak (made of fish), stuffed with cili padi. Here's how it looked like.

Our destination, Merang, was quite far (Marang was nearer). We reached Sutra Beach Resort around 5.00 p.m. The place was breath-taking. I remembered K. Rosiah used to rave about this place 10 years ago. 10 years on ... now I know why. Check out these pictures.


25 June 2008
Supposed to head to KB but just couldn't get enough of Sutra. So decided to stay for another day (Nasib baik I govt. servant - dapatlah discount 20% off for the rooms! He! He!) Anyway, according to hubby's friend, it would take us three gruelling hours to go to KB via Merang. To go to Kelantan, we should have taken the Tanah Merah - Gua Musang route which was shorter. So, KB next hols lah (Sorry Ustaz Kama, tak dapat gi Rantau Panjang ...). Jalan-jalan around Merang and Kuala Terengganu to pass our time. Makan, bought a few souvenirs and batik at Pasar Payang, snapped some pictures ...


26 June 2008

Checked-out from Sutra. Headed south to Kerteh (my sister's place). Stopped at Pantai Kelulut to buy the famous keropok lekor. Mind you, keropok lekor pun ada grade. The one at Kelulut was 008. Down Marang, saw many 006, 007, 088 keropok lekor stalls and many "moons" (teringat Mr. Faiz's jokes!)

Spent the night at Kerteh. My parents were also at my sister's place. So, quite meriah (merry).


27 June 2008
Headed back to KL (Sob!). Wish we could have stayed longer to explore Terengganu (wishful thinking of course...who's going to pay the bills?). Anyway, siapa yang nak pegi vacation, Terengganu is the place to go - scenic beaches (and islands), exotic resorts (think Tanjung Jara and Aryani), good food (if you like fish products like me!), nice batik prints (suitable for govt. servants to wear on Thursdays ... Ha! Ha!). On top of that, 2008 is Visit Terengganu Year (not much publicity though ... 'Ganuans! Promotelah sket!). As for me and my brood ...we'll be back!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Bidding Farewell

Last Friday, attended a farewell tea at Secret Recipe Bukit Jelutong. It was organized by the department for some staff who were leaving PSA (tempat I kerja la ...). Their reasons? Macam-macam. Ada yang balik ke negeri sendiri, ada yang buat postgraduate degree ("cuti" 2 tahun oi! Tak ke seronok? Been there ... he! he!) and the rest, posted to schools since they did not opt for the DH scheme (a scheme which is supposed to be better than the DG ... ye ke? Entahlah ... ).
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Basically, it was makan (again ... ), chatting, presenting gifts and taking pictures. The food, or should I say the Singapore Laksa, was lousy (Praba and Saras would agree to this). The carrot slice was a tad too hard, too. As for the gift, I got one too - for having one of the neatest work area (No way! They should have seen my place before the gotong-royong ... He! He!). The occasion was also a good time to try out my new Coolpix (Yes!! I upgraded!). It has more sophisticated features than my Caplio but I still love my old compact digital.
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Check out these "cool pix":
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Having fun. clockwise: Me, Hani a.k.a Cikgu, Saras, Elane and Praba
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Bye Huda ... see you in 2 years time (tak boleh lari ... ). In the meantime, enjoy your study leave. Ayu ... er ... stay put. You are not going anywhere ... He! He!
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Pah, Selamat Berangkat ke Seghawak.

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Norsiah, Zu, Ta, Pah and Elane ... all the best. Hope all of you will find happiness at your new work places.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Father's Day

Amani's card
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Father's day in my humble abode was a quiet affair. In the spirit of berjimat-cermat, we just stayed at home and enjoyed the weekend. Hubby got his favourite ubi kayu cicah sambal and kopi cap Hang Tuah for breakfast. For lunch, it was fish curry and for dinner, ayam kampung goreng. Later, the kids presented their dad with their cards.
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Amirul's DIY card

Saturday, June 14, 2008

June 2008 at a glance

5 June 2008
Harga minyak naik (actually people were already talking about the possibility of a fuel price increase in May). On Monday, June 2, Datuk Shahrir Samad, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister said that a new fuel subsidy scheme would be implemented in August. Tup-tup, on Wednesday, June 4, learnt that the fuel price would increase the next day. The price of petrol surged to RM 2.70 a litre from the previous RM 1.92. The people's reaction? No need to elaborate here. Just go to my fellow blogger (Amboi!)
Tun Mahathir's blog to read the rakyat's grouses.
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9 - 13 June 2008

Was in Kajang to attend a meeting with 20 other "ESP practitioners". Hours of tiring discussions, heated arguments and hotel food! (pagi, petang, siang, malam, meeting and eating!). Met interesting people too, among others; Marsha AF3 in the lift, a "special" hotel guest who "entertain" us with her melodious voice during breakfast (K. Safiyah thought that it was in-house music!) and David Arumugam's sister (just kidding, Gouri!) whose 'karmic' encounters and BM expressions had us in stitches (it has been ages since I last heard someone saying "tamak haloba"!). I also burnt my Baju Kedah (which was my first Bead-It-Myself baju!) while using the hotel's iron. Told you ironing is not my forte...

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10 June 2008
PM announced the austerity drive. Government servants ... don't expect luxuries like out-station courses (no more hotel stays), overseas scholarships, and even new staff (Hu! Hu!). On Thursday, June 12, read in the paper that our salaries would be paid in two installments every month come August. I wonder what's next ...

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10 June 2008
Had end-of-the-semester dinner with my colleagues at Marche (hubby's favourite restaurant). Makan-makan (lagi...) and exchanged gifts. (Thanks Chris, for the MPH vouchers - see ... you don't have to crack your head like the others to think of what to give me! He! He!)

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13 June 2008
My new maid arrived from Indonesia. Sent her to my mum's place for a two-week "Kursus Induksi" to learn the how-tos.

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14 June 2008
Took the kiddos (except Jon) to watch Kung Fu Panda at Sunway Pyramid. Enjoyed our one-and-a-half hour watching the hillarious movie (must see!).

from Amirul's Bossini Kung Fu Panda Tee