Machu-Picchu Mari....

Manuel and his pan flute doing a duet
with Farouk on the angklung set....
more shots will be pubished!

1.
The only thing that I look forward in this round of forum was to shoot some images of Farouk & Manuel. They performed marvelously!!!
They are really cool....performing contemporary to traditional numbers assisted by a minus-one. The only minus apart from the minus-one is the crowd (in this case a big bunch of "leaders" both young and seasoned) is kind of clueless when it comes to appreciating real talents and work of arts. Not all but major mass nonetheless. The lost is theirs anyway....their choice!

2.
Some people have ot massive issue when it comes to following instruction - simple instruction - even though they are supposedly "leaders" which means they may have subordinates and they would surely expect the subordinates to be able to follow their instruction.

3.
Some people have the mindset of expecting everybody to treat him/ her as King/ Queen...they demand the best and expect the best and will bitch if they get something less then they expect. They are like that simply because they belong to a company that have been giving them more that what the others out there would give them. Infact some of them have been getting more than what they are actually deserving to have and still refuse to realize that they are worthless and are just nuisance to the younger and more highly capable people who has been denied access to better position because it is filled by idiots like them!

4.
Whatever it is...it is a fun to observe these bunch of idiots...and keep on reminding ourself not to be like them one day

Helloween weekend

Helloween...
(Future World....hheheheh!)

1.
Last Saturday, we started the day early....especially Alisya. I took her for a bicycle ride (she does the cycling on her bike, I walk!) from the house to her kindergarten...then to the playground.
One lap of the field on foot, then cycle on the court for a couple of rounds then back home.
Yeap...exercise for Alisya....and me also lah! Never too late to start..better now then never!


Then...the other two joined us. We did a big round of our housing area. The kids saw this Morris and they became excited and though that it looks like Mr Bean's car....well, almost....Rowan drives a Mini Minor but this is a Morris Minor....same difference!

Then we went to the playground and the kids sweat it out for almost 90minutes. Aliya is confident with the slides & some other stuff at the playground.
Ohh my...the kids grew up playing in the same playground...I can still recall the days when I took the twins for their morning walk at the same spot..and now Aliya is being taught by the twins to climb the stairs of the slide and all....time is really flying away!

Mama's masterpieces...I can proudly say no other cupcakes can match Mama's - in quality and taste and design.


2.

In the afternoon, we went to Amir's place for Layla's 5th B-day party....Helloween Theme....

Our Butterfly Princess

Our little ballerina.....she won't sit still and was very "user friendly to everyone....

Naufal was supposed to be Batman but I think it was a bit too hot for him to comfortably put on his masks all the time.....nevertheless, they had a great time!
We then went to Uncle Kamar's...been too long sice we last been there......

3.
On Sunday, we had a late start but made the best of what we had for the rest of the day......slightly beore noon we shoot off to Alamanda...
Yep.....indoor playground for the kids....and I got to try out the Canon EOS 300D of Kimster (pinjam form him to make myself familiar with more than just one camera system)
Macam baby koala la pulak Kakak!!

Naufal taking a breather

This lady is really really energetic....

What surprised me was this....Kakak & Aliya & even Naufal can easily make friends with the kids at the playground. Kakak even helped this baby to the slides! Aliya assisted her too!

...and being a cheeky baby, Aliya will always has something in mind to amuse everybody around her....tu kononnya tgh merajuk laa tu....but in the end she stood up laughing and running.

Oh yes...they love each other so much!

4.
During bedtime, I had to do a round of "Sang Kancil" - their "preferred" version - with pelakon tambahan: Monkey, the kids themselves and props that include a fire engine, treehouse....some other stuff and believe it or not - buah durian (don't ask me, they are just too creative!)

The trick is to end the story by making Sang Kancil telling them to sleep.....something like as if they are there with Sang Kancil.....and for Aliya, she will insist on a round of Twinkle2Little Star before she decides whether to doze off or continue bullying me until she's finally sleepy........the next morning they will wake up and go straight to my room looking for me!

Starting last weekend...this little lady has got this idea to call herself Neena
(maybe from her second name - Irdina)

"What is your name baby?"
Instead of the usual "Aaiiya (Aliya)" or "Eeiya" she'd yell out loud "Neena! Neena!"
She won't budge an inch at times when we call her Aliya!
It has to be Neena - then only she'll respond!

5.
I have to lead a forum in another hotel from Tuesday until Thursday...and that is a big issue for me and the kids - because there will not be Sang Kancil & the fire engine story for 3 nights nd for Aliya@Neena, there will be no Twinkle2Little Star for her...
I am definitely going to miss the kids......they cannot follow me this time because the twins are having their yearly assessment at the kindy.....will take the Friday off and I look forward to another great weekend with them....
....I'll see you on Thursday my babies....

Twin Rainbows weekend....

Well.....since Mama is already back from Beijing, and Saturday was rainy and dedicated for the Saujana Impian OpenHouse....



1.
So, the first thing that we did on Sunday was to get a good breakfast...off to BangiKopiTiam! One of ouor favorite place for a decent meal - anytime of the day but mainly for breakfast or supper (TT with the photographer dudes normally!)




Shot on a Sony Alpha100 with Minolta 75-300mm...
Waiting for their orders to arrive

Aliya, Mama, Alisya & Naufal waiting for their foods

Probably... no ...definitely the handsomest customer around!

Yeshhhh!! Finally!! Gggruubbbbss!

YUMMY YUMMY!!
ALIYA & her fresh "popok" (keropok)

Aliya is really a cheeky baby...suka menyakat. Here she's clowning around with Mama who's trying to enjoy the delicious Nasi Dagang...owh Aliya loves Nasi Dagang too...

Ohohohoh!!! Lookie lookie! Somebody is sleepy!!

....not this girl though...she can stay awake until the wee hours in the morning, always finding reasons to argue why she is awake..or doing something that "looks important" so that she can stay awake!

2.
After a good breakfast, the kids decided to go to a playground with swings....so off we go!
The same playground they have been visiting since they were couple of months old...and now they have almost overgrown the playground!

When they first came to this playground, we had to lift them up to these swings...

Timelessness....

Naufal trying the crunch.....heheh, obviously he can do it pretty easily.

Aliya & Mama...trying the same ol see-saw

Ok babes! Time to go home!!

3.
The afternoon was spent mostly in the house...becaus it was rainy...only towards the end of the day, the kids had the chance to go out and play with their neighybourhood friends....

I was half asleep at at the sliding door when Baby Aliya slam-dunked my tummy....and then she looked outside started to say "Bubbles! Bubbles!! Yeaaayyy!!"

I looked out and saw something - RAINBOW!!

Ran up to my room to get the D70s and kitlens....and here it is....

Naufal came to me while I was clicking..."Ayah ayah! Ada dua rainbow ayah!"
He was right!!! I did not realize that! I recompose and took whatever I could

For the first time in my life, I saw a double rainbow...and it was the first time in my life to photograph rainbow....what a weekend...

Paper Swans (fly me to Beijing can?)

Paper Swans....art of origami.
Something that I have always wanted to try but just finally
managed to produce my first foldings!
1.
How I wish I can have more time to write....many things happenned....but I have not enough time to post it here.




2.
The reason I finally forced myself to try the art of paper folding (origami) is because my cute wifey is now in Beijing for a trip and I have to find new stuff to amaze my kids (ohh boy the twins are really demanding and they can reason very well in anyu arguments nowadays!!)
...since I have always been wanting to try origami, I thought this is the best time to put my creativity into play (yet again?)....
...so, the swans were the first 3 foldings I did for Aliya, Naufal & Alisya!
More to come kids!!!




3.
We sent Mama to KLIA and let the kids have it a go at the playground in the effort to let their mind astray for a while. This is the first time for Aliya to be in a distance from Mama...so far, so good (for Aliya, dunno about Mama in Beijing lah!!!)



4.
The weekend went well but I wish it could be better. While I wrote this Alisya is sleeping on my bed, with mild fever and cough. She's supposed to be on a field trip comes morning but I'll have to see how her condition is after Subuh today. On the other hand I have to be breifing some BASF gwai-lo in the morning too....hmm..may be I'll take the day off if Alisya is still not feeling well.

5.
Starting tomorrow, I will be shutterbugging again after some time....have to train the eyes & brain for better composition without using the DSLR.....or in my own term "gersang seni"....it works so far, after couple of days of weeks of "gersang seni" the eyes & mind seem to be able to help me to compose better.....2008 is supposed to be "the year"..have to work harder nih!!

6.
..but now...sleep!!

Waterfront revisited

The penambang boat used to be more colorful with Sarawak flag being part of the decoration.

1.
After 3rd day of Eid, as always - the boredom starts to creep in. For myself at least. I just need 2 days to visit the relatives and have a feast on rendang & ketupat etc etc. Comes 3rd day, I will get bored rather easily. Especially when scores of visitors flood the house and majority of them knows me not. The worst would be the late night visits. I just cannot accept visitors during twilight hours, for the sake of Maghrib prayers & definitely I don't want to have any visitors after 930pm....and that is what I totally dislike about the male school friends who year in year out seems to have this preference of visiting wifey in the late evening. This year is the same. Since I don't really want to voice my concern for others to respect my position as the husband and furthermore this only happens once a year (I seriously hope so) so I made the choice to do something more meaningful and beneficial for myself & my babies like taking them out for a spin and snack at the city center until I think the time is about right to "reclaim" the house - when it is more peaceful & quiet to be called home.

When the time is right I will buy a decent house, in Kuching and I will decide who will be our visitors and at what time. I am all for family privacy, always. Nothing matters more than having quality hours to spend with my babies.

2.
Sometimes the Eid celebration is really being taken out of proportion - instead of treating it as a Muslim festive to be celebrated in the path of Islam, many take it as a traditional celebration - side-lining the rules & teachings of Islam. I am not saying I am a totally good Muslim but whatever I do I try my best to do is "as Muslim as possible".

Look around us. Are we really celebrating Eid as what Muslims should?

3.
When everything else fails, I will just go out and shoot!

Eidul Fitri 2007 Oct 13th.

This year we celebrate in Kuching first....and for formallity let me start off with the round of wishes to the family & friends....

To our family in Johor:
Mak, Abah who'd already be on the flight back from Makkah after more than a month staying there,
Angah, Tini, Danial, Durra, Danish
Lala, Wan, Raiyan, Raiq

Mak Ngah, Ayah, Abg Ad & family, Ngah Aziz, Abg Mat & family, Abg Usop & family, Abg Yar & family
Mak Long, Kak Ilah & Abg Meng & family, Abg Zahar & family, Abg Cak & family
Mak Long, Abg Atan & family, Abg Long & family, Ngah Zam & family,Kak Aton & family, Abg Mursyid & family, Abg Halim & family
Cik Tamyes & family, Mak Ngah & family, Cik Amin & family, Cik Mek & family, Cik Abu & family, Cik Yah & family

Family in Kuching - Bapak, Mak, Kak Yati & Tun, Kak Mona & family, Abg Rie & family, Abg Meor & family, Abg Niman & family, Abg Haq & family, Zaini & family, Anie & all our relatives....

My colleagues and friends - Rosli, Kimster, Che Lie, Rinz, Sham, Nahar, Sha'arin, Nadzri, Ifthi, Anis, Kimi, Nah, Kem, Kudeen, Emil, Haikal, Sham-shull, Saiful, and all FIV new drivers & seasoned drivers....and to all many others!

My professional & "almost there" photographer friends - Ted Adnan, Bazuki, Shamshahrin, Amal Aziz, Rahman Roslan, Saiful Nang, Adi Nang, Pak Mat, Zzoux, Bubba, Grom, Crawlipaz, Norm, Namerumonka, Kamachan, Albar, Zayd, Urie, ShamAbd, Balulalok, Nadio, Ian, Wanoridz, RoyalJelly, Azrul of BH, Napie, iLynn, Appen, Syai, se7en, Freal0s, MHasni, ...and to all many others!!

Maaf Zahir Batin!

IN KUCHING....

Visiting and reciting doa for Nenek & relatives at the Tanah Perkuburan of Kg Pasir Pandak...on top of a hill with a view of Gunung Santubong in a distance.

An elderly citizen moving out from the Masjid from the exit facing the old Limbungan Brooke.

Part of the Perkuburan Islam next to Limbungan Brooke, within the compound of the masjid.

Three diasbled friends after Friday prayer on the last day of Ramadhan Oct 2007.

Fishermen's boat at Kg Pasir Pandak, on a low tide.

A local in Kg Pasir Pandak checking out the area during low tide.

A group of photographers from Kuching that I met on the afternoon of Eid while I did some shots of Kg Pasir Pandak (in my baju raya!)