Am back in Ipoh...

Back from doha... sampai tgh hari tadi jam 2.30pm... nothing much on the flight, cuma cutlery set dia dah tukar, no more white and grey... now dah colorful and nampak cheap.. hahaha... but nice change lah... cawan dia pun no longer normal transparent plastic, ada plastic hijau n biru etc... aku rasa br je 2 minggu depa tukar set ni. plus, blanket pun baru, tak lah keras mcm dulu, tp mcm kecik skit plak... apart from that, nothing much, accept the flight was very slow, delay sampai 30 minit.

ooh pg semlm hectic giler.. again ada problem bila nak keluar doha, aku punya Resident Permit kat doha ni tamat masa aku cuti ni, so aku kena lah renew sebelum balik. since aku punya passport pun baru siap (as in previous entry) aku terus lah submit passport for renewal of RP. tapi, sampai khamis (semlm) still tak siap, aku jumpa staff in charge at 10am dia kata aku kena buat sendiri... bengong, kalau aku kena buat sendiri bg lah aku buat hari rabu sudah, not this last minute. anyway, meringkaskan cerita, within that 1 1/2 jam tu aku berjaya renewed my RP... barely 15 minutes before the counter closed!!! fuh... lega...

now dah kat ipoh.. seminggu ni nak rehat2 je kat umah... melayan jet lag :-) ada sesapa org ipoh or akan beraya kat ipoh tahun ni.. jemput lah dtg umah :-)

Sacked...

ari ni ada benda menyeramkan berlaku kat office aku... a bunch of ppl kena buang... harap2 setakat ari ni je... uiks... takut plak... hmmm...

NBO : morning trail...

Starting from yesterday, i walk to the office every morning... and mungkin balik pun... depends. lagipun its only 10 minutes dr my apartment... a 10 minute exercise every morning, pun bagus gak. and dpt lah jejak tanah n be like local... since malam2 memang aku tak keluar sbb tak berapa selamat...

so the day starts with breakfast kat Java House... ni coffee shop yg quite glamer kat sini. starbuck tak wujud kat negara ni.For a simple butter toast + home fries + 2 biji telur + house coffee... harga nya 400ksh. thats equivalent to RM20/QR20.

setelah perut kenyang.. (mmg kenyang giler breakfast ni) bermula lah menapak.... jalan ni consider antara jalan yg busy kat kenya... main road ni!!!

pastu seberang jalan... g the other side of the road... jalan another approximately 400 meters... busy traffic pagi dan petang jalan ni...dekat bangunan merah tu ada simpang ke kiri... aku belok ke kiri n jalan 15 meter then belok kanan... pastu masuk jalan kecik ni n walk for another 100 meters. ada gak org lain jalan kat sini... tp ni dah jalan dalam... so tak byk sgt kereta... rasanya nama jalan ni kabayu road...

then... after 100 meters masuk ke kiri...

jalan sampai ujung... office aku kat bangunan atap hijau ni. CVS-plaza. kat sini ada few other offices yg related ngan news. Ada Assoc.-Press, tv negara2 eropah, ada gak satelite provider globe-cast etc... office aku tingkat 4. actually atap bangunan office ni nampak je dr balcony umah aku... tp mcm jauh je... 10 minit je dah sampai...

so gitu lah gaya nya jalan2 kat nairobi ni... baik kat central atau kat suburb... ada satu dua kawasan mcm kat westland dgn lavington je baik skit sbb banyak expat. lain2 mcm tu je... kalau keluar dr bandar... lagi lah teruk...

NBO : Travelling day...

Karibu Kenya!!! (Selamat Datang ke Kenya)

Departed from Doha at 8am. Thanks aizal sbb rajin tolong hantar ke airport awal2 pagi. since aku pemegang silver card Qatar airways, br aku perasan ada lounge utk silver card holder. jimat QR30 duit breakfast. hehehe... it was a smooth 5-hour-flight sampai lah dekat2 ngan nairobi, bila masuk awan. the flight was 3/4 full, me at the last row, 23rd row out of 30 rows. its A320, tv kecik share semua org. :-(
sampai kat airport, keluar je dr kapal terbang dah ada org pegang placard nama aku. aku follow je lah dia... apa ntah nama dia, aku pun tak tahu. dia tolong isi form, bawak lepas kan custom dan immigration. very smooth, not much question asked. and good for Malaysians no visa diperlukan so long as u stay here less than 30 days. (org british pun kena bayar visa :-) )

tp masa nak ambil beg, lambat skit, aku dah mula cuak dah sbb bila semua beg dah keluar beg aku tak keluar2. tp aku perasan ada satu beg exactly sama macam beg aku. aku mmg jangka owner beg tu dah ambil beg aku. setelah 3 kali beg tu pusing carousel tu, aku pun tarik beg tu n hold it, dgn harapan org punya beg tu akan dtg kat aku. aku perasan org tu dr KL. org cina malaysia. less than 15 seconds, minah tu dtg and mengaku tersalah ambil beg. mmg org malaysia, n on the way ke Rwanda. apa cari kat Rwanda, aku tak tahu. tak sempat nak tanya, sbb guide aku dah jalan. but i strongly feel mesti dia keje missionery punya. tak ada gaya tourist.

from airport aku singgah kat office kejap. supposed to be a very quick hi kat org office, but end up jd sejam, sbb org yg bawak beg aku g keluar n bawak sekali beg aku... then, terus g check in kat service apartment. ari ni cuti easter day kat nairobi, so jalan tak sesak. apartment aku lebih kurang 10 - 15 minit jalan kaki dr office. mmg pilih dekat so aku blh je jalan kaki pergi balik.

service apartment ni pun bersambung dgn satu mall. have not fully discovered the mall sbb masa aku nak g dinner around 7pm, most of the shop dah tutup except for one, Java House, a restaurant. had my dinner there. then balik tido... no time difference ngan doha (+3gmt) so tak de lah jet lag ke apa.
still first day, aku ada 26 more days to discover this country. esok, ada member kepada member aku yg keje matrade akan bawak jalan2 waktu malam. will update tomorrow :-)

DOH - NBO...

I'll be flying to Nairobi, Kenya today... kena g sana utk keje... and insyaAllah a month kat sana... will be back on 9 May 09...

when aku citer about going to Nairobi... few common question akan ditanya oleh org-org... and based on my opinion aku jawab seperti dibawah...

1. Selamat ke kat sana???... i do not know... but biggest violence was at the end 2007, sekarang should be ok.

2. Senang tak nak makan nanti??? Ramai muslim???... based on internet ada 10% muslim tp maybe ramai org muslim somalia yg lari ke sana... ada muslim ada lah halal food... surely boleh bedal je

3. How's the weather kat sana???... currently hujan but a bit hot during day time...

4. Apa best kat sana???... i think the safari, but i don't think i have enough time to do one

5. Mcm mana org kat sana???... i don't know...

so... give me 27 days to vouch my answers above... mungkin jawapan aku akan berubah by then... and i can give a better answer...

i really hope, bila balik nanti i will meet all the expectations of bosses kat sini... nervous gak ni... hehehe

New JD...

Finally i've decided not to leave Doha for good... not for now... after several discussion depa decided that aku kena buat keje baru... tukar unit, tukar department, tukar boss, tukar job description....

dah 2 tahun setengah aku kat sini... really look forward keje baru ni... :-) start esok!!! :-) wish me luck!!!

Update...

Being busy lately especially last weekend mainly sbb aku terima 2 guests dari Malaysia dan Dilla pun dah melahirkan baby (which akan di pos gambar nya kat sini later2).

anyway, i've been asked about my previous entry... apa citer pasal leaving doha ni...

mcm ni citer nya...

secara ringkasnya... let say aku kena buat keje a, b, c, d, e dlm job scope aku... tp sbb satu dept ni kurang org... aku kena lah buat keje f yg very administrative yg aku tak suka nak buat. aku accept keje ni pun sbb kalau depa tak buat ia akan effect keje a, b, c, d, e aku... so aku dengan rela hati buat... alih2 boss aku suruh aku tukar unit n buat keje f sepenuh masa... i dont agree and offer my resignation...

my boss didn't agree with my move.. dia tak jadi lah nak suruh aku buat keje f ni... so aku pun retract my offer... so aku akan stay lagi lah kat sini... khallas.... :-)

p/s - tak sabar nya hari khamis!!!

DC : the first week note...

It was a relaxing weekend indeed. Nothing much yg aku buat kat sini last weekend. DC ni sbb kan Bandar pentadbiran, weekend selalunya dipenuhi ngan pelancong asing lah kot. Its my first weekend.. tak sempat buat apa pun except pusing2 mall J

Sebelum aku banyak citer pasal apa aku buat, aku citer dulu pasal DC. Sbb setiap kali aku chat ngan org… definitely akan tanya ‘so how’s DC?’ anyway, apa aku citer ni korang blh cari kat Wikipedia n other websites lah… definitely.

DC ni bandar pentadbiran, mcm putrajaya. The main building here is the Capitol (ke capitol hill) tu lah pusat pentadbiran (betul ke?) and pusat pemetaan bandar ni. Selain drpd tu, kat sini ada gak white house yg mmg famous tu. Dan kementerian-kementerian lain.

based on what I’ve read n peta yg aku tgk tiap2 hari, tempat lawatan kat sini mostly (and definitely) monuments and museum… semua monument peringatan perang ada, WWII, Vietnam war etc etc… memorial utk Iraq war n Afghan war belum lah ada lagi. And museums, giler2 banyak… ada yg based from Smithsonian Institute dan ada mcm2 lagi… like National Air n Space museum, International Spy Museum etc…

Basic orientation on the city… i.e. pasal jalan dan arah… nama jalan yg bernombor like 14th street, 22nd Street, 7th Street run north – south. Manakala jalan2 ikut huruf… dari east to west… and bila dah sampai W (takde jalan J, X, Y Z) jalan2 tu jadi nama, first batch ngan nama with 2 suku kata like (A)dam, (B)ellmont.. kalau habis gak jadi nama ngan 3 suku kata like (A)llison, (B)uchannan. Kalau kat Malaysia nama nya jadi (A)hmad, (B)edah then jadi (A)bdullah, (B)adriah…

So to answer how’s DC.. based on my first week here… agak bosan… aku tahu ada satu shopping mall je yg blh access through metro… yg mall lagi besar kena ambil bas utk sampai… nak g outlet mall… kena ambil teksi…yg most probably will cost me 30 – 40 dollars lah kot.

And since aku duduk dekat ngan office. Jalan 10 minit je ke office aku, area hotel aku ni gelap (bukan tak de matahari) kiranya takde org lepas jam 8 malam. Ada lah org jalan sana sini, but very minimal… semua jalan pun menuju hotel masing2 kot… kalau nak jumpa nite life kena lah keluar dr bandar… oh.. the near u to town i.e. jalan A dan 1… kiranya dekat ngan pusat pentadbiran… the further u out of town… 1 dah ke atas… 20, 21, 22…..M, N, O…. br lah ada ramai org… office aku plak kat K n 16 street… still in town. So setiap hari jam 8-9 aku dah plan balik ke hotel...

Sbb bandar ni boring.. aku tak banyak ambil banyak gambar… anyway, since this weekend aku akan di DC sepenuhnya… I’ll go around n try to snap more pictures… J (ye lah… nak g NY tak dapat!!! Rugi betul…)

DC : the travelling day...

Ok… aku memang terlebih excited for my travelling ke US. Yup, I’ve never been there… and aku jakun lah sbb dapat g… :-) and plus… dapat travel kan… hehehe… tp sebabkan all the whole planning n peluang ni berlaku within 2 weeks… I don’t really plan anything… aku tak sempat pun study map DC and book hotel pun to the last minute… and mcm mana nak g hotel dr airport and mana tempat nak shopping.. semua aku tak tahu… tak pernah aku travel without all these preparation. siap bag pun dlm 45 minit je.

So pepagi 24/10 kimi hantar aku ke airport. Flight aku ikut kan 14 jam 20 minit… long flight, and aku duduk kat economy je… so aku assume, sakit2 badan lah jawab nya bila aku sampai DC nanti… and aku really look forward nak tgk movie kat dlm flight :-) hehehe…

Orang kata nak travel ke US antara problem nya ialah imigresen n kastam… and aku mmg expect the worst. Dr airport doha lagi mmg dah slow dah, nak check in flight beratur panjang… and siap kena cek visa semua dah… n counter asing dr cek in flight2 QR lain. It took abt an hour to check in, otherwise selalunya 15-30 minit dah boleh check in.

Ok bukan kat check in je panjang… nak boarding pun sama… macam kat UK, kena keluarkan laptop, buka tali pinggang, buka kasut… baru lah boleh boarding… hmm… then br lah blh naik flight…

Flight Boeing 777-300 (betul ke ni hehehehe). Tak penuh, oooh masa check in, aku ada gak minta upgrade, tp tak dapat hehehe… aku minta isle, and tgk akan ada org duduk sebelah aku… dah plan dah nak cari seat lain yg ada kosong… but yg best nya… 2 org yg duduk near the window decided utk g duduk tempat lain… so I got all the 3 seats for myself… hahaha.. aku siap tido baring melunjur guna all the 3 seats :-)

Actually bukan lah 14 jam flight, we reached early… 45 minit lagi awal then schedule… apa aku buat kat dlm flight… hehehe… 5 movies in a row… 2 kali 1-hour nap… makan 2 heavy meal (2 je depa bg… tp ada snack in between upon request)… and pada aku tak lah penat sgt n tak berapa terasa… either I was really excited or mmg movies tu best… and since aku duduk 3 seats tak terasa lah penat… citer apa aku tengok… hehehe… 1. sex and the city (hahaha, br tgk, itupun sbb ada dlm senarai), 2. hancock (will smith as superhero… menarik citer ni tak mcm citer superhero biasa) 3. the happening (m night shyamalan show… as usual… apa ntah citer dia ni) 4. the confession of dangerous mind (ni citer last year) 5. get smart (comedy yg tak best mana). Jam 4.05pm (waktu DC – 12 difference compared to KL, 7 jam ngan Doha).

Citer nak lepas imigresen lagi panjang… sbb mmg lama… it took 2 hours dr arrival (keluar kapal terbang) sampai keluar airport n beratur ambil teksi. Lebih 30 minit kita org duduk kat dlm shuttle bus, sbb tmpt imigresen tu penuh ngan org and ada 2 bus lagi yg nak ke loaded utk kastam n imigresen process… dpt masuk… panjang giler barisan… tp pengurusan queue mmg bagus… cepat je movement barisan ni… but still took another 40 minutes ++… then bila tiba giliran aku… as usual tanya dtg buat apa… stay mana… keje apa kat sini… berapa lama stay… tp lama gak lah dia enter data… n pastu aku kena go through 2nd check kat custom… ok… aku follow je… suppose 2nd check tu akan kena buka beg… tp ntah, officer tu kata ok je… cop passport and am free to go… :-) and beg pun dah lama sampai and aku straight cari mana tempat ambil teksi. Masa beratur ada gak org2 lain tanya whether nak tak teksi ke DC… tp aku assume org ni mcm KLIA yg tak berlesen or something like that… I prefer ambil yg official :-)

no pic masa kat visa/kastam/imigresen... sbb tak nak kena soal siasat plak nanti. hik hik hik...

Sejam perjalanan dr airport ke hotel… it is a very good hotel… which aku akan citer semula… jam 7.30pm aku sampai hotel…and aku tak larat nak keluar dah tgk around DC and enjoy the hotel… it was 12 degree kat luar… tp aku tak rasa pun… sbb duduk kat hotel je… (which aku rasa the next day aku kena tukar…)

Next… on hotel…

US visa...

Panjang citer ni... tapi takde gambar.... heheeheh....

The past 2-3 weeks sejak raya… mcm tak byk update kat blog ni… maybe sebab masih mood balik kampong… so mcm semua benda buat kat Doha tak de lah menarik… tak se best bila duduk kat Malaysia :-)

Anyway, itu bukan lah punca utama… tp sebenarnya my mind was distracted sbb ada mission yg tak accomplished masa tu…

As per my previous blog entry, aku demam panas on the 2nd day hari raya… so mmg tak keluar dah, first day je lah yg excited beraya… hari raya ke 2 sampai ke 4 aku demam… in fact… sebabkan demam tu, aku kena ulcer mulut yg remain sampai lah aku balik doha.

Actually balik2 je aku ke Malaysia, aku dpt email dr boss aku yg nominate utk aku g ke Washington DC utk help out coverage US election. Aku dah jadi excited dah sepanjang raya sbb aku ada peluang pergi ni, but masa tu aku malas lah nak cite panjang2 lagi masa tu sbb peluang2 macam ni mmg selalu dpt… tp sebab dah belajar dr pengalaman sudah, tak nak heboh and terlebih expect sampai betul2 jadi sbb nanti sakit hati je. So seminggu lepas raya tu aku pun g ke US embassy kat kl utk dapat kan visa.

Procedure nak dapat visa ni tak lah susah mana, and the information is very clear kat website embassy tu. Follow je, settle… basically what u need to do.
1. bayar kat Alliance Bank USD131 ++ = RM490 utk visa n processing fee. Kena bayar dulu, and the next day br code bayaran ni activate.
2. then, kena book interview date kat website, once dapat interview date. Pergilah embassy dgn bawak semua doc.
3. what do u need to bring, surat dr company (this is easy), and then other supporting documents. Utk aku, depa nak surat je. Basically semua supporting document tu perlu utk tunjuk u ada keje sini, ada org sponsor or mampu travel ke sana, byk obligation kat Malaysia which means u have to come back. Kiranya mcm depa tak nak lah kita g sana n cari keje sana. As simple as that.
4. gambar pun kena ikut size dia n background putih.

Aku dpt interview date hari khamis (9/10), 2 hari sebelum aku balik doha. Urusan dpt visa ni sepatutnya kejap je. Kalau masa interview dia approve, the next day aku dah blh collect the visa. Tp nak jadi cerita, visa aku approve… tp dia kata aku tak dapat visa on the next day sbb kena go through administrative check. The check akan mengambil masa 60 – 90 days, and ada kemungkinan akan dpt visa even lepas election… hahaha… aku rasa bengong je kalau dpt after election. There u go, aku dah agak dah… tak perlu nak excited… L

Aku bg tahu office, and org KL office aku berusaha nak push utk dpt visa seawal boleh… but still they received the same answer… but ada lah skit some light, kononnya by the next Wednesday, aku blh dpt visa tu… sbb tak dapat visa, aku pun balik doha (12/10) ngan mood yg tak best (tu lah jadi entry bored tu, hehehe)… and dah agree ngan embassy n my KL office, kalau dapat visa aku courier je passport aku, and I take the risk kalau jadi apa2 kat my passport.

Setiap hari setelah aku balik doha aku mengharap kan call dr embassy, and my boss pulak tiap2 hari tanya update…:-( sampai hari rabu (15/10) pun tak de apa citer… and aku pun dah tak berharap dah and divert my attention utk buat road trip (ooopsss.. ni entry lain plak).

In my mind, and org pun kata, since aku muslim and single and age bawah 40… mmg akan kena random check ni, so aku tak dpt rasa lah blh dpt visa awal… and hari jumaat minggu lepas (17/10)… aku siap chat with my fren and kutuk polisi ni… hehehe… but to my surprise… masa chat tu (pepagi jumaat kat doha) aku terima call dr US embassy and katanya aku dah dapat visa clearance… Wow!!! Aku happy giler!!! :-D… hahaha… telahan aku tak betul… and aku jadi excited semula…
Aku dpt tahu yg ada colleague yg akan g kl, so I pass my passport to him utk bg ke KL office. And hari isnin (20/10) my office hantar my passport ke embassy and the next day they received the passport with the visa. 10 tahun multiple entry visa!!! :-) it took 2 days for DHL hantar passport tu kat aku… hari khamis (23/10) aku dapat visa… and there u go… hari jumaat (24/10) aku ambil flight ke DC. And now… aku dah kat Washington DC.

Frankly, seumur hidup aku… tak pernah aku terfikir akan jejak bumi Amerika ni… dalam perancangan aku nak travel pun, tak pernah langsung aku masuk kan US as one of my dream place. Ntah kenapa… takde lah bercita-cita sgt ke sini. Tapi Alhamdulillah… ada rezeki plak aku ke sini….

Stay tune… aku akan update ngan citer perjalanan aku ke US and other stories…

Am waiting...

Lambat plak nak tunggu document ni tiba... Harap2 selamat tiba esok... :-)

Olimpik...

semlm last day olimpik, dan malaysia dapat 1 pingat perak. aku hairan jugak kenapa lah sukan kat malaysia tak power pun, mcm susah je nak menang.


dulu katanya sebab badan kecik, tp sukan yg perlu badan kecik mcm gimnastik pun tak blh jadi taraf olimpik. in fact, org yg sama saiz, thailand siap boleh menang emas angkat berat wanita tu. nak kata sebab kemudahan peralatan dan kewangan tak cukup, mungkin lah kot kemudahan dan bantuan kat Jamaica lebih baiklah kot, tu lah sampai 6 pingat emas dan 3 rekod dunia. nasib baik lah ada nicol ann david yg world class, tp tak lah plak ada squash kat olimpik. kalau tak ada lah harapan pingat emas yg lebih cerah.


anyway, kat office aku pun ada gak demam olimpik... depa pakat letak bendera negara masing-masing... :-)


so kat office aku sebenarnya memang pelbagai bangsa, from the flags blh tgk dari mana datang org-org office mate aku... ramai dari UK, ada gak Kanada, Itali, Mesir, Romania, Palestin, Qatar, Saudi, Eritrea, Lebanon, Tanzania, China, Sweden, Venezuela, Greece, Singapore, etc... and definitely sorang Malaysia :-)



on different news but still berkaitan sukan, Real Madrid won Spanish supercup mlm tadi... hmm... semlm aku tgk La Liga features season 2008/09 ada game Real Madrid vs Barca 3 May 2009... ada tak sesapa nak join aku g ke Madrid masa tu??? sesapa tahu mana reliable internet page utk aku beli tiket???

Kerja Kosong!!!

I have received the following email from Finance Department:

Dear all,

As you know, Finance Department needs to fill-in the vacant positions across the different Sections of the Department in order to allow for a better work quality with lesser workload...

Accordingly, you are kindly requested to submit CVs of candidates whom you think are qualified, hard-working and have a pleasant character to me and I shall pass them on to our Department Manager.

So you guys out there... yang keje Finance lah... please do submit your CV... tak kisah lah ada experience ke tak... i think ada je keje kat sini yang sesuai... :-)

Resigned....

You may have read...

Senior al-Jazeera staff quit English service
Al-Jazeera English, the global news channel launched as a sibling to the Arab-language service, has suffered its most high-profile defections yet amid growing unease among staff about its future.

Insiders say more than 15 staff have quit or resigned in recent months amid complaints of a lack of clarity over its direction, contractual disputes and speculation over a relaunch later this year.

Clark was a key figure in the long delayed launch of al-Jazeera English in November 2006, with an ambitious mission to challenge the dominance of CNN and the BBC with an "alternative worldview".

Insiders say Clark's departure was expected after his wife, Jo Burgin, the former head of planning at al-Jazeera English, launched a claim for sex, race and religious discrimination. It is expected to be heard in the next two to three months.

But they said it was a further example of the disharmony that has gripped the broadcaster, particularly in Doha, since its launch. Even before it launched, there was a split between the management of the original channels, launched in 1996 and funded by the emir of Qatar, and the new international version

you can read more here...

and you might have read this previously.... now it becomes this.... Dave Marash quits Al-Jazeera English

Former "Nightline" reporter Dave Marash has quit Al-Jazeera English, saying Thursday his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at a network that is little seen in this country.

Marash said he felt that attitude more from British administrators than Arabs at the Qatar-based network.

Marash was the highest-profile American TV personality hired when the English language affiliate to Al-Jazeera was started two years ago in an attempt to compete with CNN and the BBC. He said there was a "reflexive adversarial editorial stance" against Americans at Al-Jazeera English.

"Given the global feelings about the Bush administration, it's not surprising," Marash said. But he found it "became so stereotypical, so reflexive" that he got angry.

Al-Jazeera English has been largely unsuccessful in getting U.S. cable or satellite systems to pick it up, except for the municipal cable system in Burlington, Vt., and a small system visible in Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio. But its programming is available on the network's YouTube site.

Marash said there are other reasons for his exit. He said the network has quickened the pace of its broadcast instead of having the slower, more reflective tone than he had expected. But he praised the network for its coverage of issues south of the equator.
read more here...

so... this morning ada lah keluar rumours... katanya the Director of the Channel has tendered his resignation as well... gosh... i've decided to resign as well....













but luckily... it's just another APRIL FOOL joke.... hehehehe... so i will stay... :-)

Road accident...

3 of my collegues were in the above car... depa dalam perjalanan dari Mesaaid ke Doha Jumaat sudah. Dalam perjalanan balik, dirt bike/buggy yg ditarik oleh kereta depan mereka telah terpelanting dan merempuh kereta mereka...

pemandu telah meninggal dunia di tempat kejadian... Alhamdulillah, 2 lagi penumpang, 1 girl who sits in front of me and the other is org yg menjemput aku kat airport masa first time aku jejak doha ni, terselamat. But both are shocked and still dlm trauma. dengar cite nya tak injured pun.

Alfatihah kepada driver yang telah meninggal dunia... kadang2 kalau kita memandu berhati-hati pun, tak semestinya kita terselamat... tp.. ye lah.. ajal n maut di tangan Allah...

Peluang musnah...

One might be wondering kenapa lah tetiba aku tanya pasal hawkers stall kat penang... it's a sad story... aku terlepas peluang pertama aku untuk pergi buat fieldwork shooting... :-(

cerita nya mcm ni, minggu sudah ada producer kat operation dept bercadang buat program kat Penang berkaitan street food and nak cuba dapatkan chef dr malaysia... dia tanya aku sapa paling popular, aku bg tahu lah chef no 1 kat malaysia. dia pun buat research pasal chef tu and agree utk ambil chef wan as a guest... aku pun volunteer lah nak carikan contact utk chef ni... and dapat no hp dia... :-)

last sunday, dia masuk office cakap, akhirnya dia dpt cakap ngan chef and chef agreed to appear kat dalam show. and aku tumpang gembira je lah... but petang tu dia kata, why not aku join sekali shooting tu... and the director pun agree and cost aku masuk dalam bajet...

since aku bukan dalam operation department, director tu hantar email minta permission dr boss arab dept aku.. aku patiently tunggu sbb the director wanted to deal directly with my boss... tp tanpa membuang masa cuba lah buat research skit2 termasuk lah minta idea kat blog ni... setelah 2 hari tak de reply dr boss aku, director operation suruh aku rush boss... (rupanya aku dapat tahu, my dept head ni blh tanya org bawahan dia whether ok ke tak aku pergi???)

pagi tadi, aku jumpa lah boss aku n tanya apa citer? dia kata should be ok... nanti dia confirm kan thru email. tp sampai tengahari, no email and bajet perlu diapprove dah and the director operation terpaksa decide aku tak dapat pergi :-( sejam lepas tu br lah my boss hantar email cakap yg dia ok if i go tp kena dapat permission from my boss's boss (director of the dept) yg tak masuk office sampai ahad. too late...

bajet dah approve without my name in it :-( and aku terpaksa melupakan angan2 aku untuk pergi turun padang buat shooting... memahami secara langsung apa itu production... hilang peluang aku balik malaysia... dan hilang peluang aku try makan2 kat penang... semua nya sbb birokrasi orang lain... kelembapan orang lain... am so sad...

best sungguh aku berangan dah... this is the second time peluang aku utk buat keje luar terbantut... aku tak paham kenapa susah sangat utk arab2 ni nak approve aku keluar... mungkin sbb depa takde peluang kot... ntah lah.. harap2 ada peluang lain satu masa nanti...

rain... rain... rain..

sebelum aku citer skit pasal cuaca... aku nak citer last 2 weeks lepas aku cabut gigi, for the first time department aku buat course/training. Kalau kat m'sia, aku g 3-4 courses (updates on technical knowledge) a year... kat sini br sekali. tp punyalah tak betul2 plan... a topic which kat normal courses kat malaysia ambil masa 1 hari utk dibincangkan dan dibentangkan, cuma ambil 15 minit je masa course ni... it's an accounting training, but tak de pun kira-kira/nombor tunjuk in any of the slides.... total theory... useless punya course... tapi takpe lah 3 hari makan breakfast n lunch free :-) dan punya lah beriya pak2 arab ni, siap panggil MD nak bg sijil habis 3 hari course...
ok.. now about weather...

i think most of people dah tahu yang for the past few days betapa sejuk nya area tanah arab ni, mcm berita hari ni kat berita harian, sampai ada orang mati sebab cuaca sejuk. Perubahan cuaca ni agak ketara seminggu dua sudah... like last week it was raining for 3-4 days in a row. the week before it, ada ribut pasir...

cuaca sejuk ni seingat aku bermula dengan ribut pasir hari tu... tp masa tu suhu takat 15-20 degree je... then hujan plak berturut-turut. now suhu dah around 10-15 degree dan ada masa nya sampai kurang dari 10 degree... malam tadi br 10-12 degree tp masa mengopi siap keluar 'asap' dari mulut bila bercakap...

ni gambar tempat yang almost sama... masa ribut pasir sebelah kiri, hujan belah kanan...
about cuaca sejuk ni, tahun ni aku rasa mcm satu fenomena yang berbeza dari tahun sebelum nya. kat Kuwait pun dah cecah 0 degree, kat saudi pun boleh -ve, kat iraq dan pakistan boleh ada salji... mmg sejuk lah....

tp yang aku tak berapa minat masa hujan2 dan sejuk ni... kereta punya lah kotor sebab terpaksa tempuh lumpur dan takungan air... kat sini sistem parit tak elok... merata-rata air bertakung... and nak basuh kereta pun tak berbaloi... sejuk punya pasal, nak breakfast kat corniche pun sejuk sangat... tp kalau sejuk ni remain sampai march pun ok je...

Makan-makan Eritrea style...

my collegue an Eritrean, Fatma, datang ke umah aku masa Eid hari tu... so sebagai balasan, dia jemput makan-makan kat umah dia... she'll cook Eritrean food and serve special Eritrean coffee after dinner.

for those yang tak tahu mana tu Eritrea... ni dia map...

Fatma jemput kengkawan office yang lain.. mostly arabs lah... and aku still sakit gusi, tp mcm mana ntah ada rezeki ok plak aku makan malam tu.. ada satu dish yg attract me the most was satu jenis roti ni namanya injera... color kelabu, buruk... aku nampak macam tuala buruk, ada org kata kulit, but second thought mcm perut lembu je... makan roti tu ngan masak daging berkuah yang pedas dan yogurt masam... delicious!!! and aku tapau balik umah...

oh... ni bukannya new year party... saja jer nampak meriah ngan confetti tu...

anyway, pas ni fatma plan nak buat pot luck, where every one kena represent country masing-masing and cook one dish.... :-)

Another Birthday...

Hari ni.... genap setahun AJE dilancarkan :-)

Happy Birthday AJE

ini bermakna dah lebih setahun aku kat Doha... :-)

another 10 months to go... :-)

Iftar @ Nashwa's...

Ada sorang kawan office, perempuan egyptian, initiate utk iftar utk Ramadhan pertama ramai2 among the loners n singles kat office ni... :-) n aku dijemput... hehehe.... ada lebih kurang 10 - 15 orang datang... since we are singles in Doha (sbb ada yg dah kawin tp tak bawak family) so berbuka ramai2 ni at least tak der lah rasa sorang2 kat negara orang...

mostly egyptian... tp ada gak somalian, brits, s'porean dan negara2 arab lain...

the food served... arabic style... with beriani ayam, hummous, ayam grill etc...

start ngan juice dan kurma...

then the main course... lepas solat maghrib...

tapi aku tak tunggu lama... sebab nak g terawikh.. pastu plak ada plan lain malam tu.. :-)