When we’re tired of ketupats and rendangs, there’s gulai ikan mayong…. oooohhh sedapnye!

p/s: I want KFC.

The translation page.

I’ve been doing it for a while now, and it’s kinda fun(ny) translating English to Malay. I only armed myself with wiki and kamus dewan (go go online dictionary!). One can only wonders how to translate “Headers and Footers” or “Plug and Play” (thanks Eric for the idea haha!). Sometimes I just settle with sentences that can make sense, it doesn’t have to be translated literally, or word by word. So far I haven’t faced any major difficulties yet, only minor setbacks, like I couldn’t find the translation for some very techie word in malay but that’s ok. I’ll leave it to the reviewers muahahaha!

No seriously, the hardest part would be the ones that involves the shorcuts. That’s tough. Apart from it has to be consistent, it also has to make sense too. I think the best way to do it to list down all available shortcuts in one app, assign all those letters and then translate it. But someone has to be in charge of this.

I noticed that I can download the .POT file. It’s so much easier to translate using say, Poedit, then using the web based. We’re using Poedit for MyMeeting translation by the way – i’s kicking ass as of now. But I couldn’t find a way to upload back the translation file to Launchpad. Maybe the settings? I didn’t have time to investigate further. Web based is fine for me for now.

One thing that I like about Launchpad is it’s displaying the context of the strings to be translated. Example, if you were to be given “Page”, how would you determine whether it’s “Laman” as in the website page or “Muka Surat” as in pages from a book? Come to think of it, we can use laman for both but you get the general idea right?

Ok have to break fast for the last day of Ramadhan now. We’re having the usual rendang and ketupat for tomorrow’s eid! There’s also ketupat palas, which anyone of you doesn’t know of, I’ll post a pic or two later. I’m in Penang now, and I expect to have lots of laksa. Yum!

P/S: Btw, Header = Pengepala, Footer = Pengaki. I had my laughs, now it’s your turn.

For some reason I like this pic. Maybe it’s because it’s the only one that have all the boys smiling. Suka ati la tu perut kenyanggggggg…..

Selamat Raya everyone!!

UPDATE: aaaa kena buli kat opis!!!! nak balik awal ari kamis, tak kira!

You know when you spend more time typing than writing, when you get the chance to write it strikes you funny. You’ll try to find the perfect position for your hand to sit on the table while holding the pen. I write on blank paper. Even though I’m used to it and can write in beautiful straight lines, I was struggling to get it right. I’m looking out for new penpals this time. The thing about penpals you have to accept is that 80% of them won’t last. But something you lost, you’ll gain back in the future. You just going to have to keep at it. In the long run, if you’re persistent enough you’ll be surprised at how long you’ve been corresponding with each other.

I must admit penpaling is not for everyone. What with emails and technology, some people find it unproductive to still write and go to the post office when you can write and get a reply within a few hours. I’m just saying I still feel it is well worth it.

And now what do we have here?

Ahhh… stacks of kad raya! Every year I send out the same amount. I send them to close friends, former close friends, future close friends, special close friends and recently made friends….. hehehehe….. Notice, no family. Hahaha! I see them everyday so what’s the point. Except for Ammar since he’s abroad. Wait till he’s all settled and figured out what he’s address is.

My inai on my fingers dah nak abis. So have to apply new. I tried the one in tube mak bought me. The color is yellowish orange. It’s supposed to be reddish orange! Last time I tried another tube and the color wowed me but it faded so quickly I was so frustrated. This thing in tubes is perfect if you want to decorate your hands with all sorts of flowers and plants which I personaly dislike. Honestly, I don’t like henna in a tube. I prefer grinding the henna leaves and make the paste myself. It’s not that hard. You don’t have to add some nasi or anything else. I wonder where the rubbish comes from. Just leave it to the leaves. They work magic.

I’m thinking of letting my hair grow long. I don’t know. Maybe I keep it short as always. Maybe this time long?

Ok so Adda and I went to the office for some briefing from Ganee n Syuk today. Before that, thousand apologies to Adda sebab kena tunggu sejam lebih. Sesungguhnya aku tak sengaja. Kalau bukan bulan posa aku dah belanja ko makan sushi ok bebeh walaupon aku tak makan lelehan daging-daging mentah itu sume… heheheh…

After what could have seemed like hours, we finally got out and headed for Sogo. The goal was to look out (or maybe purchase *ahem*) for a backpack for the notebook. I have the carry case but I like my hands to be free picking and vandalizing other things while walking so…

Well I got one in the end (no surprise there). Okay pick I guess. Because of the price tag only I’ve planned to use it for another 10 years or so. Heh! Good investment should pay you back right. No, make that a hefty investment. So I’m hoping it will pay me back. I demand it.

Oh I forgot. I was told today that a letter of confirmation will come my way soon. That’s a good news. About time too since they send me to Brunei while I’m still on probation. Also I’ll get a raise of RM200. A very good news.

Came back home later today stuck in the traffic. You know how it is around 5-6pm here during Ramadhan riiiiiiight. Frustrating. That and one in a lifetime experiece that took place today, only that it’s more silly and memorable other than frustrating. Too bad Siti wasn’t around to share it with. HAHAHAHA (boley tak aku gelak dulu???)

I mean you CAN get carried away with meaningful conversations aka gossips even with your stomach growling, begging for food and still miss your stop.

[1] Been dining out for sungkai aka buffet aka perut kenyang tanpa keluar sesen pon aka tenkiu Cip!

[2] Oh yeah, mercun boleh didapati di tepi2 jalan di mana2 sahaja di sekitar Brunei. Walaupon aku tak besa main time kecik2 dulu, dah tua gini pon syok gak tengok Adda berlari2an membakar duit secara subtle/halus.

[3] Sini opis hour during puasa is up until 2, then we’re free chickens.

[4] I’m amazed at my own ability to close one eye on whatever it is hajah is doing/talking about. Sure there’ll be immediate rants and aku akan hangin satu badan, but moments afterwards I’ll cool down. Hmmm… what an achievement don’t you think… hahahah suka nya ati aku…

*sigh*

It’s one of those adab with tuan rumah la kan. Always bring something especially the house we’re going ada orang tua. Those people can tell and to be honest they’re the ones you have to impress first right? Not that I’m making a big fuss out of this. Only that what mak said to us adik-beradik once still rings true: “Orang melayu ni kan kaya dengan adat2 resam. Ada cara kita. Walaupun dia kata takpe, buat susah2 je buat air – itu bunga2 bahasa orang2 tua. Kalau orang datang rumah, kena la buat air. Rai tetamu.” And Islam teaches the same thing, so.

I know that doesn’t fit exactly on my scenario here but you get the idea lah. You have to always know your manners regardless of what people tell you. People come to your house, kena la hidang air. You come to their house, especially to a private party, bring something la to the table.

When we were salam2 I mentioned something like “Mintak maaf la tak bawa ape2 tadi” to the host and she said it’s okay. I felt so helpless because there was nothing we could do except to smile sheepishly looking at all the food she prepares herself while walking out of the house. I mean they took the trouble to cook and were kind enough to invite us to join the family, the least we could do is show up appreciative. Showing up with nothing is like “Kami mai nak makan ni. Mana nasi. Kami tak bawa apa2 sebab akak yang yang jemput makan so kami expect makanan dah ada. Takde la susah2 bawak lagi.” or anything to that extend lah you get the idea.

Hmmmm….

Why do I get the feeling like I’m making a big fuss out of this??

…heheheheh…. just so you know, I was writing that piece up there smiling with occasional chuckles….

But anyway it was fun. The family was great last night. I didn’t talk that much as I always don’t when I’m in a large group of people. But it was so meriah and noisy as you know how a sesi makan2 will go in any kampung. And yea they were concerned that we were not accustomed to cara kampung – duduk bersila on lantai and so on… heheh… Funny how being young and dressed up from workplace get people thinking that way.

Ade ke patut diorang tutup stesen minyak kul 5.30. Pastu lepas bukak pose baru diorang bukak balik… The intention is well known lah but what an inconvenience it is! Seriously.

It’s not easy to find a place to dine who’s open 24 hours. There are a few but not much to choose from. But food is not a problem really. Only that it cost me twice as much. Erk!

I saw my first taxi sight here recently. It’s in blue color. If you got here and have no friends/relatives at all then I’d feel so sorry for you since you have to either rent a car or find a bus. Taxis are such a rarity you’d be surprised to learn how many of them even bother to exist here…. heheh…

Kaum lelaki kat sini sangat le bahagianyer since they got paid $15 for attending the tarawikh parayer at the istana. Probably duit raya in advance kot from beloved sultan. And every family here get a bunch of dates from dearest sultan also. We haven’t received any. Alaa last year nyer kurma melambak lagi dok ada dalam fridge ok. Please let them be kurma yang liat tu ye or else I won’t indulge so much. Ceehhhhh orang nak bagi lagi nak demand le plak….

Okla have a happy week everyone. And a blessed one.

In exchange of that amount of money, I got 1 sweat pants, 2 camisoles, 2 long sleeve tees and 1 (veeeeeery niiiiiiiice) white blouse. We went to the place initially for the pants but being girls and all that, one thing lead to the other and voila each of us had something in the end. I don’t know about them but I’m blaming my lady-ish nature….. lalalala…

Anyway, it’s not that I haven’t got anything for my family. I got mak a beautiful big ceramic bowl that’ll be so perfect for her. Adik-adikku, will that lame keychains do? … hehehe… don’t know what else to get. Until I figure out something/find something else better and within my budget then definitely they’ll get something else. Abah, not sure yet. Contemplating between this and that. Piece of cloth definitely but still deciding. Aaaaa pening kepala aku pikir.

Over $100 on my clothes…. sheesh! How did that happen???!

* SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADHAN BULAN KEBERKATAN *