Day 7, 31 October 2011 : Six words...

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!!!

There..six words...

Updates on R.I.P. Sonia, 29 October 2011

Just got back from my neighbour's. I got to know from my bibik she came over early to pick up Sonia. Kak J* was truly shocked when she read the text messages I had sent her early in the morning regarding Sonia. Basically, got the shock of her life when she woke up. She was extremely upset for her independent, genteel and sweet Sonia. She asked for me to come over as she keeps crying over Sonia. Poor Kak J* too.

p.s. While digging for a burial spot for Sonia, Kak J* was kind enough to spare me some of her tanah for me to samak with. Now, I feel clean again.

Rest well Sonia...R.I.P. 29 October 2011

At 2.30 a.m this morning, my father and I were awaken by the horrible growls of stray dogs attacking a cat. I was worried for my Hiro as he roams around the neighbourhood as well as for the safety of my neighbour's cats as one of them was attacked before. Armed with a golf stick, my dad in his kain belikat rushed out to fend off the stray dogs. Me in my PJs, braless!!! also rushed out. There in the backlane of the house we saw one cat seriously injured just laying there while my dad continued to chase off the stray dogs.

It was dark so I was not sure who it was. Upon closer inspection, I realised it was one of my neighbour's cats, Sonia. Covered in dogs' saliva and hanging on for dear life, it didn't look good for her. Despite that, I took one of my carriers and brought her to the 24 Hour Animal Hospital in Pekeliling. Throughout the drive, from the stench, it truly dawned on me that she will most likely not make it.

At 3.05 a.m, Sonia was declared dead upon arrival. Poor thing. According to the nurse (I'm not sure what you call them...animal assistant?), most likely it succumbed to internal injuries from all those bites. So, Sonia is currently still in one of may carriers outside the house right now, waiting for a proper claim from my neighbour. It will be up to the owner in burying it. I've done all I can.

Sonia was a genteel greywhite cat of which I mistook as a male and a stray at first until I spoke to my neighbour two weeks ago about her other cat, Shaun. The last time I saw Sonia was when I got back from work today. She was near the spilled bowl of kitty food I routinely leave outside the house, grooming herself. I figured that she was probably playing with the other cats and accidentally knocked the bowl. I was too tired and since the area was protected from the rain, I left things how it was. I kinda regret not putting the kitty food properly back in the bowl.

Shaun, it looks like you'll be alone now. I hope you will take care of yourself when I move.

Sonia, rest well. I hope you're in a better place now knowing that you were loved.

So, my message is this... to all pet owners:

1. Owners, please take extra care especially for those whose cats like to roam around. Call out their name every morning and every evening so that they at least come back home to show their face and let you know they are alright. Leave their fave food outside the house. 
2. Be aware of your surroundings. My area rarely have stray dogs coming in. But if you do hear some commotion, rush out and quickly check. Not alone of course. Take care of yourself too...
3. To have a pet is a great responsibility. It is definitely not a short term commitment. The average life span for cats is nine years. You're lucky if it lives up to 15 human years. So, please, think REALLY REALLY hard when you make the decision. They will be part of your family. Not some simple item you can dispose off if things don't work out. Not only you have to spare the funds for food and medical expenses, there is also the emotional attachment you may have to bear it it gets hurt and what not.
   
   (Getting a bit side-tracked here)
   I love all my eight cats so much I can't bear if anything untoward happens to them. Don't get me wrong, I am not OBSESSED of cats like some people would label me. I remember when I was in school, my Ustazah was tellling me of how Allah had elected human beings to be khalifah for all things in this world such as to care for the environment and animals. Though I definitely don't have the power to save the world, I feel I am doing my little part here to help out the kitties. I think people lately have forgotten their duties as Khalifah or maybe the act of compassion is just too difficult to be bestowed.  To show compassion, one would be labelled as obsessed and what not. I just wish Malaysians would insist for stronger animal rights in Malaysia and avoid abuse such as the PETKNODE  (where pets were severely neglected) and HERO (whose limbs were cut off because he stole food from the food stall) cases.

p.s. Since it's way too odd to go and gali the front garden for some tanah to samak in the wee hours of the morning, I will only do it tomorrow. In the meantime, I have washed my hands 7 times with some anti-bacterial soap. Goodness, despite that, I still feel my hands are dirty. There truly exists the hikmah on why Allah orders us to samak.

For now, off to bed.

In Memory of Sonia, the greywhite cat...

Day 6: Uh-oh

Good work out...nice pace...after-glow you'd get from exercising beats any brand of blushers out there

Told my gym about my challenge. They offered to push me harder...uh-oh...we'll see how my next class is...kinda scared, kinda excited too...

Thank you boyfieeee!!!

Dear Boyfie,

Thank you sooo much for sticking through with my plans today. I know you could have better spent it resting at home today. Honestly, I did not expect the jam in Pavi to be so massive. Would have suggested another day to go there instead...

On the plus side, I got my Parkson Elite card reissued. Thank God I did it today cos' it will take them a month to transfer all the points I had from my old lost card. So, by the final week of December, I can use all the rebate to shop for my shoes...woot woot!!!My sister, B* better come down to KL soon for our annual end-of-the-year shoe shopping extravaganza!!! Hahah. By the way, B*, I saw some awesome ones tadi....can't wait!!! They also informed me to make sure that next July, to spend at least RM100 in a single receipt and bring it to the customer service counter to redeem 5000 birthday points. WHAAATTT??? I didn't even know about that and I've been a Parkson Elite member for agessss...

Oh, and I also got some vouchers from my Bonuslink points. Arghhh, I remember I skipped the timeline to redeem it the last time. So sayaaaaanggg!!! The nice guy at the customer service counter reminded me to make sure I come at least every three years to redeem at least for cash vouchers from my Bonuslink points...if not, the points will automatically burnnn... :(

On another note, to all my Hindu friends out there, may you and your family have a wonderful and happy Deepavali!!!

Putting up a photo of me taken this year in my red saree in conjuction with the Diwali celebrations :). Hope I did justice to my beautiful red saree...

Day 5, 25 October 2011 - chocolate ending

The session today was good...that exercise after-glow was more prominent than usual....

My guilt lies to what happened when I got home...skipped rice, had plenty of the veges, a bit of beef...all in small portions...proud of myself...then came the craving for sumin sweet...no fruits? had the mini kit kat chunk instead....ARGGHHHHHH!!! Spoil market ajer!!!

Helllpppp...!!!

Day 4, 24 Oct 2011 - Arghhhh

Completed my laps despite having gastric half way through...learnt the stretching exercises properly...feel the burrrnnnnnn

Oh noooooeeesssss...

Last Thursday, I had to drop everything and anything I was doing and rush home, through the peak hour evening jam. LV was seriously sick. At 630'ish, my usual vet had closed shop. Due to the urgent condition, I had to bring him to the one closest to home. Poor LV, I could see he was in pain. I was crying the whole way to the vet. At four months old, I couldn't bear if anything untoward happens...

At the vet, the doctor tried to take his blood three times but failed. Poor LV, had to have his fur on his legs shaven off for nothing...Doc suspected something neurological, maybe due to some sort of trauma or being poisoned in some way. At this stage, I called home and my dad suspected he may have been bitten by a centipede.

The next day, I took some time-off from work in the morning to bring LV to my usual vet. After a sleepless night, Dr Dilip was my saviour! He's amazing I tell you...anyways, yeah, LV's urinary tract was blocked. So LV is definitely in pain. I went home with instructions to monitor his litter habits within 24 hours and his energy level for the next three days.

As of 23 Oct 2011: He's much better, thank you! LV, mummy loves you so no more scares okies? Dr Dilip, thank you soooo much!!!

One of LV's early pics..he was so cute sleeping against his food bowl

Welcome to KL Bestieeee!!!

Maryam, my best friend from university, came over to KL for a conference for two days. Though her time here in KL was short, we made the effort to meet up. Since both of us were occupied during the day, we met for dinner and after work instead. Come over soon hun!!! Mwaaaksss...missing you already...

Day 3, 17 Oct 2011: O.M.G!

Seriously, my arms are weak!!! Couldn't lift my right one on one of the machines. In fact, I had strained my neck and arms at the end of the session. Also, I definitely need some help to properly master the stretching exercises.

Oh, and the gym still owes me my diet plan as well as my mammogram coupon. Get a move on ladies!!!

A shopping guide in KB_ Pasar Siti Khadijah vs Wakaf Che Yeh vs Bazar Buluh Kubu

Us girls really went wild for batiks and kaftans while in KB. Definitely I would recommend for tourists to visit all the three famous places mentioned. However, my personal take, and my friends agree on this as well, is that if you're looking for a nice collection of batiks and kaftans and that you are really REALLY super short of time such as only in KB for a day or even half a day only, then Wakaf Che Yeh or Bazar Buluh should be your place to shop.

Pasar Siti Khadijah

In Pasar Siti Khadijah, you'd find all the raw fresh produce, other locally-produced delicacies such as budu, serunding and a variety of keropoks, as well as your batiks and kaftans ( the ones sold here in Pasar Khadijah are mainly those kaftans you wear to bed). Here, I find that Pasar Siti Khadijah is a good place to start for Kelantan first-timers which offers you an idea on what is the average pricing range for batiks and kaftans out here in KB. 

The serunding daging kampung is a definite must try

The famous Pasar Siti Khadijah shot

Wakaf Che Yeh

Its basically a night market and a not-to-be missed shopping spot. A variety of beautiful batiks and kaftans can be found here. Pricing range wise, it's similar to those in Pasar Siti Khadjah, except that things that you might find expensive in Pasar Siti Khadijah, you can find it cheaper here. The same principle applies vice-versa.

Till today, I regret not splurging on the batik I wanted... :( [the black one, bottom row, third from the left...isn't it divine?]

Bazar Buluh Kubu

Here is the place you'd find more batiks, jubahs and kaftans (those you wear to bed and those you'd wear to functions). They're all gorgeous. I found three kaftans that I liked but all were senteng i.e. too short for me...uwaaaaa!!!

Hasil hari kedua...yeah, BORONG BORONG!!!

My four main tips in shopping in KB:

1. Know and identify what you want to buy...if you're on a budget, this would definitely help in limiting your urge to splurge;
2. If you enter a shop whereby pictures of the owners with celebrities are displayed, you can expect the price for the batiks, jubahs and kaftans to be sold there be increased much MUCH higher. For instance, I once entered such shop where the kaftans were sold double the price compared to the ones you can get from any usual shop. Unless it's really super pretty and you know you can't live without it, move on. Other shops can offer better deals. Believe me...;
3. When looking for kaftans i.e. the ones you wear to sleep and those you want to wear to weddings or functions, measure them against your height. Don't simply buy them. I find many of them could not cater to my height despite the very nice designs and no issues with size. :(;
4. Finally, bring cash. Plenty of it! In Bazar Buluh, they do have debit card services but they much prefer dealing with cash.

Foodie venture_ KB 2011

Before Aimi and I made our way to KB, we made a pact that any food orders we make in KB, we will share it by quarters or half...Let's just say that the pact flew out the window the moment the dishes were presented at the dining tables...Attempts to control our appetites were completely thwarted by the delicious aroma of what Kelantan is famous for...

Warung Cikgu
Famous for its nasi ulam. It's basically your white rice served with good homely malay dishes and plenty of ulams (raw veges) to eat. We didn't try the ikan keli despite anak Cikgu telling us to do so many times...the reason being we already have so much on our table, and we didn't want to waste food...besides, have to have some room for later too...

Murtabak Di Raja
A definite visit and must buy when you're in KB. They also sell a variety of home-made Kelantan delicacies.

Pantai Cahaya Bulan (formerly known as Pantai Cinta Berahi) [PCB]
On the way to PCB, there are stalls selling snacks such as pisang goreng, kacang rebus and jagung kukus/bakar/rebus. Don't miss the opportunity to stop by the stalls if you're feeling peckish on the way to PCB.

Enjoying my jagung while AF* looks on

Yati Ayam Percik
Be sure not to miss the ayam percik from this foodie spot. Eat it with nasi kerabu and other local dishes...nyummmmsss