We reached home at around 10pm last night. The house was in a mess. The morning dish was still in the sink. After more than 12 hrs donning the same baju kurung with oily, sticky armpit, I felt rejoice after a long cold shower. No, i didn't use Rejoice Shampoo. I used Pantene.

Wait, was that F shouting at my 3 y.o? Hmmpphh... will you still have appetite to eat the warm nasi lemak after being shout at?

Suddenly .."Assalamualaikum..." It was my neighbour. And it was already 10.40 pm. Must be an emergency!  The lady asked if i could join her at her home for a while.

At this hour?? What could it be? OMG, is she gonna tell me that she KNOWS everything about us? Or that she saw us in our room doing whatever..

You see, the window curtain of my master bedroom is only of one layer. Thick cloth, okay. We're not exhibitionist. The thing is, we usually tie the curtain so that air could breeze in and the sunlight, yes. Oh i fancy french window. 

When I reached her house which is abt 20m away. Another lady was already waiting at the posh. She was clad in tudung, proper baju kurung, not-so-thick make-up and glossy lips. At this hour? She then ushered me in. She made me sit next to her on the 2 seater. She took out a blue folder from her brief case. O-Oh...

She was selling Zhullian products. Purely Multi Level Marketing. Hard core MLM. I despise MLM. Don't get me wrong. Some of the products are good. So good that i can't wait to spend RM2000 on the spot. Duh! Its your approach, woman! Dah malam. Gelak guguk! okay, exagerate a bit.

But I have nasi lemak all over the dining table (oh yes on the floor too), the dishes, dirty laundry.... and it's almost 11.00pm! 

After all the downline, upline, bonus, new cars, success stories.. stuff. I was finally 'released' at 11.30pm, on bail - they made me promise to go over to Kota Damansara next weekend.

"You must meet this Pn Ramlah. Dia sungguh HEBAT "  I'm sure she is.

"This lady was so shy when she first came, now she drives a Honda CRV" Oh wait, tingginya dia.. sama tinggi dengan HONDA CRV. Aaa..super impose yehh?

When i finally reached home, i was in temprimental mood. I screamed at F for not helping out. I put too many minyak yuyi on my son's tummy until he jumped around saying "Ibu, edih" (Ibu, pedih!). I sent the kids to bed and screamed and screamed again. To F.

Last night we slept without F.  

So i'm dedicating this to all MLM members/followers/loyals out there to remind you of the damage you could do. And in my humble opinion, things that you should avoid doing in your normal business.

Dear ....,

What is wrong with you? Do you not know how to approach your potential victim customer? Where is your Customer Focus? What is your Strategy? Ketuk pintu rumah orang malam-malam, is it?

Perhaps i could enlighten you with the following:

1. Let your potential customer decides when he/she is free to talk to you.  Eventhough your  product is good, if this is not complied, he/she will seriau,lari from you.  Jumpa tengah jalan pun mengelak.

2. Pushy, too persistent, overly optimistic is definitely a No-No.

3. Who carries around RM2000 to RM3000 in his/her PJ past 10pm.. at home?

4. Please don't repeat HEBAT over and over again. It's totally annoying.

5. And please don't tell me your infra-red mattress could improve my husband's sexual performance!

So, please. Have a heart. Be kind. Be considerate. An extra income every month is most welcomed but having a peaceful night at home with my family is what i'm aiming for.

Thank you. 

Biggest pig found in Georgia. The confirmed size is 2.44m at 360 kg. Initially, it was reported at 3.66m at 450 kg before it was shot.  The headline goes like this "Babi raksasa wujud di Georgia" Oh, what ever happend to the word 'khinzir'.

The Star's front page reminds me of Mack Zulkifli. 

It's Queen Camilla! a non-practise virgin becomes queen. Do you think she still have her menses?

'Offensive' tv ad sparks debate. One Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad (BN-Kerteh) commented that "The ill-mannered young man is a Malay when we know that Malays are generally polite people". Reeealllly...?

US teen shot nine, including grandparents then killed himself. I bet Mr. Michael Moore will hit another jackpot after this.

Mixed gender prayer slammed. I personally condemn this act. 'Equality' konon. You want to be a leader? Do you not aware of the responsibilities? What does it take for a man (a leader) to go to Syurga? What does it take for a woman to go to Syurga? I won't trade that for anything, babe. Not even for a red carpet to main entrance of any mosque.

I like this statement by an assistant imam of New York Islamic Centre : "We don’t want to provoke them and would rather engage in a dialogue. If we took a confrontational stance then they would say that they were right and we are indeed treating women as inferior,”. Now, this person knows how to deal with a woman.

I went through a helluva time filling up the income tax forms last year. It was my first time since I started working in 1996. That’s 8 freaking years statement to fill! Mana resit? mana EA? Shouldn’t I be penalized for not declaring my income? I think I should but when the series of Form J arrived in my mailbox, there was no penalty whatsoever. *phew*. Maybe they pity me. Dah la gaji sikit kene bayar tax pulak tu.

Why the sudden urge to pay tax, you say, after good solid 7 tax-free years?

PATI . Indon. Foreign Worker. Domestic Helper. Maid. Bibik.

You can’t apply for a maid unless you produce your Form J to Immigration Office. (Okayla, you can with an extra RM1,200 to the Agent). So it’s a government requirement that must be met.

Anyway, while browsing (belum isi lagi) the BE Form, under rebate item E6 was 'Zakat atau Fitrah'.  Last year I paid my zakat* through salary deduction. This year with new employer, lupa ler.

*Zakat (almsgiving) is the 4^th tenet of Islam. Zakat means purification, and the payment of Zakat is regarded primarily as an act of worship of God. The paying of Zakat, enhances amity and caring within society and strengthens the relationship between the wealthy and the indigent. It reflects fulfillment of an early concept of social justice, as it is taken from each person according to his/her capacity.

Hmm...let's see: Government’s requirement vs Tenets (Wajib).

So yesterday, I used the zakat calculator and vollaahhh unlike last year, this time the zakat payable monthly is exactly the PCB amount. Hah! Bye-bye LHDN! You may  suck collect the hefty sum from those non-zakat payee, but not from me!

On the way from Pagoh yesterday, my colleagues and I had dinner at Medan Ikan Bakar Umbai. One of my colleagues, a Johorean was routing for Serkam. He claims that Serkam serves the finest dish at cheapest price. Since I am very familiar, okayla related to the Pernu-Umbai community, of course I had to contest.

Umbai has the best nasi lemak and the cicah is simply out of the world.  

The Johorean who was also the driver, took us to Serkam Pantai only to find that the Food Court was not the same as the one he went the last time. After a few dead-ends, he finally gave up and agreed to take us to Umbai. heh heh heh

Umbai now has two parts. The old long row of restaurants and a new canggih building. We went to the old one simply because, the crowd was more. Big and not so small vehicles bearing registration no. from Singapore, Johor, KL and Siam (?) and yet it was weekday. Business must be good.  I learned later that the price and charges at the new building is comparatively higher due to some state government intervention(?).

Anyway, we had ikan Jenahak Bakau, Sotong Tepung Goreng, Kepah and Kerang. No prawn. No crab at Restaurant No.1. Our tummy is too small to stuff all those. As always, the nasi lemak compliments the dish well. It was hot and steamy and yes, it was wrapped in banana leaf hence the killer aroma. The fish was soft and juicy, sotong tepung was cruncy and the cicah... OMG the cicah was splendid! woooo just thinking of it makes me drool. Same old soy sauce with finely chopped bird chillis, lots of onion and a half-cut lime (was it lime?).

Bila tergigit cili tu yang best tuh! bersiut-siut. Terbakar bibir. But nooo can't stop. A sip of sugar cane juice helped ease the sensation. Cicah lagi, few drops of soy sauce on the table cloth and ops on tudung too. Cicah lagi!

We paid a total of RM56 for dinner, 4 of us. Okay what, RM14 each.

hmm...got to plan next trip to Umbai soon!

Other comments, photos on Medan Ikan Bakar Umbai.

(and I hate this joke 'Ulau melingkau atas pagau..'). We don't say it that way, lahabau!