My Birthday Wish List

1. Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me

Sophie's picked-up the right month to launch her latest release. Last year, I had Shopaholic and Baby for my birthday and hoping to get this one from any of you too :)

2. The Classic Experience (Violin) . Arranger : Jerry Lanning. Publisher : Cramer Music

I hoped to play Pachelbel Canon for my exam this year but had difficulty in finding this book. Argghhh! I called Chambers Music and Kino but the book is to no avail. Make my dream come true, make me play Pachelbel to you. Buy me this book. (hey it rhymes!)

3. Michael Buble - Call Me Irresponsible

Ezzaini, thank you for purchasing the CD for my 25th birthday. Unfortunately, I lost the CD. Technically, I didnt lost the CD. The CD was the one who lost it's way. It was last to been seen in dad's car and seconds after that, it's gone. I want my Buble back!!! It doesnt matter if someone is kind enough to look for the missing CD (the one from Ezzaini) or a brand new (make sure it's original) as long as I can get my Bubble back.

3. Any cooking or baking books to compensate my new hobby. Preferably by Malaysian publisher

4. Vouchers - ISETAN, G2000, Topshop, Zara, MNG, Primavera and the list goes on

5. Ladies office bag, black in colour so I can dump my outdated and boring ELLE bag.

6. CD Alquran

Sesuai untuk sesiapa yang nak earn pahala lebih :)

7. Denni/Kenji Swavroski Brooch

8. Body Shop EDT Cassis Rose
9. Air tix to Bora Bora

I know this one sounds ridiculous. But just incase someone plan to do charity.. hihi..

Le Meridien Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Can someone please send me to Bora Bora now?

Kek Batik

Yesterday, I made Kek Batik and it turned out really well. Here is the recipe, for you to try :)

Bahan-Bahan
200gm mentega
1 tin susu manis (tin kecil)
200gm milo 300gm biskut Marie (patah-patahkan)

Caranya

Cairkan mentega dalam periuk. Apabila semua mentega telah cair, masukkan susu sedikit demi sedikit sehingga habis satu tin sambil dikacau perlahan tanpa berhenti. Setelah mentega bercampur dengan susu masukkan milo sedikit demi sedikit. Kacau hingga semuanya sebati dan masukkan kacang. Tutup api dapur dan masukkan biskut marie. Gaul hingga rata semua biskut bersalut coklat.Jangan masak bahan tadi lebih dari 10 minit kerana coklat akan keras. Ratakan didalam loyang dan simpan didalam peti sejuk selama 1 1/2 jam sebelum dipotong mengikut suka.

Even Lovers Need A Holiday

Loyalty was never an issue, I thanked God for that. It was more of a you-me thingy. I wish to plant these 2 points as a mental note to myself, so in future, I'd become a better person. Not only to my bf, but to other person too.

• Be sensitive to the other’s feelings. You can still disagree, but don’t discount how your partner feels.
• Remember that once you say things, you can’t take them back.

We are OK now :) And the way forward is re-balancing the relationship.
On a different note,

Do you know that Zal is absofuckingly hopeless when it comes to cooking? I live in a small family of 3. Mum looks after her diet. Dad is someone who doesn't each much. There was no motivation to cook. Nobody would seriously eat the food. But I foresee that as lame excuses for not befriending with the frying pan.

Cooking is just like doing chemistry in the laboratory. In chemistry, you do the math to get exact portion. To master the science of cooking, you will need to learn by doing. To know the right pinch of salt will takes a lot of practices. Baking is easier I suppose. The recipes come with portion. I am too technical am I? Sigh.

I should stop blaming it on the broken oven light bulbs too. When there is will, there is a way.

While on my lovers holiday, I was diverting my focus to something else and you guess it right. Cooking.
I appointed myself as the family cook and will be on operation during the weekend or on any special occasion, subject to availability. Nobody's eating is a solvable issue. Friends are most welcomed to visit me and claim for free lunches or dinner. Last week, I cooked Spagetti for Sha, Sup Ayam and Sambal Udang for Ayah and Bubur Pisang for myself. Bubur Pisang is my favourite.

Here goes my short term goal # 1 :
Bake a chocolate layer cake covered with chocolate icing and chocolate rice toppings for my birthday. Wish me luck!
But first and foremost: Must get the oven light bulbs fixed!

When It Is Wrong To Make The Right Decision

I never imagined I would be facing bananas go bananas as I picked up the phone and dialed her number. As I spelled out my intention to forgo the offer, I was bombarded of why, of what, of even who do you think you are?

"You cant simply say you cant go because your boss assigned you to xx project. Bosses aren't even supposed to assign anything to staff leaving for this SGDP. Are you sure that it's not your personal decision?"
Other that I-love-what-I'm-doing-now, I-love-KL, I-hate-being-away-from-my cat; it was sort of a personal decision. Madam, we plan to get married this year. HOHO. This is a no-no answer. So, I answered to her, diplomatically, that it is strongly driven by my career aspiration, nothing personal (which is 60% true)

"Zalina, do you have any idea the flow of processes we went through before coming out with the approval and offer? It took us a year!
Yeah I know Madam. I am aware on the series of processes, the level of authority you have to go through, that is why it's time consuming.

"The SGM.. the Company entrusted you and offered you an opportunity and you simply put down the offer. Now you need to write to all the bosses and explain WHY you choose to decline"

I am fully responsible for my decision. I will write the email.

It had sufficiently caused me mental impairment. But as a xx manager, she gotta do what she gotta do. After a few sec, I am fully recovered and starts smiling again. Hurrah! My To-do in 2008 can proceed as scheduled :)

I have made my call. No more of guilt and confusion of making the right decision. I am wiser now. I know what I want in life. After that much of thoughts, I decided not to pursue my Masters. Correction. Not my Masters. Never even mine in the first place.

Discover Aqua Physics

Freebies suckers!

SK-II has recently launched the latest hydration series made suitable for the young. It helps to maintain constant level of hydration and assure you survived a hectic day in an air-conditioned office. Suits me very well. The sample is already in my possession and let's see how glittering will it be later on. For your own free samples, log in and register at Aqua Physics now!

I Love Goofing Around

Happy Birthday January babies - Nadia and Izmel. My sincere apology goes to both of you, and the rest of the YSLs, for my nonattendance to the birthday party last Saturday. Even though I was away, I had you all presence in my mind.
I was at Guoman, Port Dickson for an away day of a community outreach program I subscribed to.
My usual weekend errands and to-dos of tennis, reading, laundry, bingeing and what not were put on hold. Even though it was an away day to a community outreach program, what we did during the weekend was something unimaginable.
1. Met new friends and most of them are young professionals from Miri, Kerteh, Penang and Sabah. No bosses at ALL!
2. Saturday evening hangout at the hotel's bar for a bit of a dancing under the moonlight and star
3. Karaoke competition with songs revealed only on the spot. You are not talking about songs from Siti/Anuar or any famous mainstream artist in here. They ranges from Ibanese rock song to pure Persian/Arabian and even some Chinese songs from which century I seriously have no idea. Can you imagine the madness? My team aimed for some dance/pop song but when a rock song came out, we became numb. Thank God there was this one hairless boy came out with a head banging, a fake one, I suppose and guitar smashing HAHA. Just like Americon Idols, we were judged. We had the "You guys were horrible" remark and won the 2nd last place. HAHA.
4. Kooky outdoor activity. We need to hunt for 3 black ants, 3 red ants, 3 mosquitoes, 5 live earthworms, 1 live crab, 1 live spider, 2 live grasshopper,1 female hotel guests, make a hat from a nature just to name a few.
5. Transformation/Make Over Game. Male to Female. I'll share the youtube video if the boys had the guts to publish it.
I love this. Even though it was sort of a nonsense and does not seems to serve a purpose at all. Once in a while event, why not kan? There is a need to purge out the work acid reflux up there. A calibration to the mind. An outlet to channel my insanity.