A Reminder To What's Coming For Us

Selamat Hari Guru

This year I write a proper sajak for all the teachers out there. I have posted it in my facebook. I thought I just want to share it with a wider audience.

Here, it is simply titled Sajak Untuk Cikgu

I have a new blog

I have created a new blog.

I found that I need to write something that is closer to my heart than just rambling and grousing about.

Since I am now a translator, freelance and most importantly professional at that, I am going to spill what's right and what's not in translation. I translate English to Bahasa Melayu, my mother tongue.

It's about sharing, and I share the entries form information I received from peers, friends in the form of Bahasa Melayu teachers and the good old Kamus Dewan, not to mention the web world.

Here's the link:

www.terjemahanmelayu.blogspot.com

Do visit my new blog, have a look inside, and I do hope you like it.
Thank you.

The mood is changed

It's been a while.

Someone killed my appetite. I have none for nearly six months.

But I have regained another.

Just wait.

Chicken Soup D.I.M. - The Recipe!

The chicken soup I made the other day was sooo delicious that I decided to share the recipe with you all.  Like my blog says, what I like you can too, so get your pot and ladle and get your butt moving.

Get these ready before cooking :

1. Your pot should be large enough to hold 3 liters of water (That’s 2 bottles of mineral water, use it, it’s more trustable than what comes out of your tap)
2. One whole chicken, cut into small pieces because big pieces look ugly, take more time to cook and do not absorb the spices well. Let’s say the size of cigarette boxes. When cooked, they are going to be smaller in size
3. Potatoes, 3 pieces of them. Peeled and cut into 4 pieces. If possible, use Russet Potatoes (pix below). When cooked, it’s body is more tender and easily breaks to mix with the broth making it thicker and more delicious. 
4. Celery Sticks, 3 stalks. You don’t want to eat this. I used this for its aroma. They need to be bruised and just thrown into the broth. When about to serve, take them out and discard.
5. 3 carrots, sliced accross.
6. 1 small tub of plain yoghurt (a must, otherwise your soup tastes like the one at kenduris), 2 sacks of ‘Sup bunjut Adabi’, 4 chicken stock cubes.

Now for the broth :

A.      The Paste :

2 inches length of mature ginger, the kind with that hard look and feel to it.

5 cloves of garlic.

5 thai shallots. Other kinds of onions or shallots just wouldn’t do. They lack aroma.

Pound these using mortar and pestle, for that special texture. Or a blender can do almost. When turned into paste, mix with 2 spoons of ground blackpepper.

B.      The Spices:

2 whole star aniseed (bunga lawang)

8 pieces of cloves (bunga cengkih)

5 pieces of cardamom (buah pelaga)

2 cinnamon sticks (kulit kayu manis)

Prepare this while cooking :

Shredded spring onion and shredded, crispy fried thai shallots. Not only for garnishing, it enhances the taste.

Now, let’s begin :

1. Heat 3 spoons of oil in the pot. Saute The Spices until they pop, immediately add The Paste. Suitably, after the aroma exudes, add a bottle of mineral water (1.5 liter). Wait till boil.
2. When boils, add ‘Sup Bunjut Adabi’ sacks and chicken stock cubes.
3. Add chicken pieces and celery sticks together. Wait till boil again.
4. Add yoghurt. Add water accordingly to your desired thickness of the broth. Not more than 3 liters of water should be used. Wait till boil again.
5. Lastly, add potato pieces and sliced carrots. 5 extra minutes will do for the potato to cook.

Stir the broth frequently while cooking. Don’t forget, salt to taste. A spoon of caramel (kicap pekat) is optional. The whole process takes approximately 45 minutes. The broth should turn into thicker soup by this time. That’s the way I like it. When finished, take the celery sticks out and discard.

Serve with sprinkles of shredded spring onion and shredded crispy fried thai shallots. This should feed 4 mouths satisfactorily. Eat with bread dipped in it, if you like.

Here are some tips : If you like your soup to be hot, you may add bruised ‘chilli padi’ into individual bowls. Those who don’t, just don’t. If you want thicker soup, add more yoghurt.

I hope you feel the urge to try this because I do feel it myself now!

p/s : I add Malay names for the spices, for I got confused sometimes.

I Heard A Murder Is About To Be Committed

Is that true? If it is then what a shame.

This entry is dedicated to the efforts put forth in Save Kinta Nature Park fb page. Visit them here.http://www.facebook.com/KintaNP?sk=notes

I would like to apologize for not being able to do more, although I find environmental issues close to my heart. I once even scolded my mother for burning rubbish next to my shop. So I am 'anak derhaka'. Tell me, are mothers not allowed to listen to their children? So when this happens, i'd like to contribute in any way I could no matter how small my contribution it may seem.

And when I decide to write a Sajak, it is normally for something that touches the inner-Me.

And so I write....

Dua Warna Itu Gaduh-Gaduhan Lagi

Sanghitam ketawa besar-besar

Sihijau nangis lagi.

tak cukupkah kawan-kawanku di Lembah Kelang

yang diusir

yang dibunuh

yang dileperkan

labuci-labuci dibajuku

dulu gemerlap menyinar langit

dondonan sanggulku

dulu jalinan denai kutu-kutu pencinta rimba

apa lagi yang tinggal yang mahu kau ragut dariku

aku sudah lihat sudahnya

kawan-kawanku ditelanjangi

kau humbankan batu-batu jelek rata-rata

buat semut-semut datang

biar gulanya kurang manis

katamu mau untung

wahai cucu-cucuku,

ampunkan aku kalau hidupmu

bagai semut menghurung batu-batu

gulanya udah lama habis

apa yang mahu kamu tinggalkan

buat cucu-cucumu pula?

Sonessadii

Teluk Intan, Perak.

*Drive an NGV-fueled vehicle. You contribute a little too.

*It's in Malay only. Sorry but English translation would sound so de la Krapp.

Sonessadii's Top 5 (Volume 1) The Most Overused Prefix To A Thing's Name

Here are the most overused prefixes my research team (which includes me, myself and I), managed to compile after scouring the whole country from one place i.e. my laptop. You would stumble into them many times in a day, even when you come to a new place for the first time.

We countdown instead of up. The last one gathers the most points in terms of customers awareness, not necessarily the number of times you see them.

Here they are :

5. Seri (sometimes Sri)

Find it in 90% of school names. 50% of housing estates. 33% in road names. 13 journalists in nationally circulated prints. For example, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Bla Bla Bla, Taman Seri Bla Bla Bla, Jalan Seri Bla Bla Bla, and pengarang : Sri Itu, Sri Ini.

4. De / D’ / Di

This started in the 90’s, as far as I can remember. It hasn’t stopped since. Used in company names, it means ‘I tried very hard to be creative in naming my company so that it sounds like you’re attached to it’, for example, de’Wajah means what they sell will stick onto your face, D’Mayang means you will be julienned (dimayang) just as the julienned ginger in their cooking, D’Atas means you will be unmoved from your seat the moment you put your ass on their chair, D’Bawah means (figure it out yourself please..)

They’re all pronounced the same and they all mean the same : BORING

3. My

Over-patriotism over the internet domain abbreviation for Malaysia. After the internet, everybody starts using it like they own the patent to it. But then again it’s domain of Malaysia. I mean the “using” behaviour. My.. my...

2. Putra

No offense to the person. But can we please move on and start to be more creative in naming things with other things. All these ‘sempena itu, sempena ini’ things are limiting our creativity. Can buildings, monuments, train stations, children and what have ya be named but with others? Don't you get easily confused with all the edifices are named similarly? I know you’re the CEOs but can you let your creative consultant do their job without listening to your finger? FYI your fingers doesn’t have brains. But men can do a lot of other things with them. So? Do lah that.

1.         1

Yesss! The number one is the number One. One this and One that. It’s the one that you want. One that shows you’re number one in one thing. SomeOne started this. SomeOne who thinks he’s number One. But then, there are over 28 millions number Ones in Malaysia. That includes me, you, vee, double-u, ex, why zed. This One is the epitome of ‘Mengipas Bontot The One’ Culture. You think I want? No, I dowan.

They just drive me up the wall sometimes.

So there you go. If you want me to compile some other top 5s let me know by posting a comment below.