The Food at Mr Cook

Yesterday Mama brought the children for an early dinner. Heck, Mama doesn't cook, okay. Anyway, bringing them out for meals make them happy. Yeah, very happy. And Mama was happy too tucking in her Chicken Chop.

The 14th Yang Di Pertuan Agong

From WIKIPEDIA:

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gained independence.
The English translations of the title are "King", "Supreme Ruler", "Paramount Ruler", or "Supreme Head of State". Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected monarch as head of state. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is one of the few elected monarchs in the world.

In Malaysia's constitutional monarchy, the role of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is largely ceremonial. The constitution specifies that the executive power of the Federal government is vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and is exercised by him on the advice of the federal Council of Ministers. The latter is headed by the Prime Minister, appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from among the elected members of Parliament.

The 14th and current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah. His reign began on 13 December 2011 after his election by the Conference of Rulers. He previously served as the fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1970-1975. He is the first ruler to hold the position twice, as well as the oldest elected to the office at 83 years old.The installation of the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong was held yesterday, 11th April 2012.

Formal address to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is taken seriously in Malaysia. There are two ways of addressing the Yang di-Pertuan Agong:
Malay : Tuanku
English : Your Majesty



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Wordless Wednesday 15

Kelantan Book Fair

We all know the advantages of being a Bookworm -the imaginative experience, the broadening of horizons, the constant friends(a book) and vast built-up of general knowledge.
Mama loves to read and have loved reading since Mama was a little child. Mama loves epic stories, Mama loves series (especially the Enid Blyton ones) and recurring characters. Mama likes fantasy and romance (Mills & Boons, Silhouette series) most but can read just about anything if the book is decent and interesting.

Put Mama in a book store / book fair and rest assured that Mama will always find something to bring home. When Mama was a student in Penang, Mama'd scourge the second hand book shops (usually at Lebuh Macalister or the Chowrasta) for a good bargain. Imagine buying about 20 books for less than RM100 (then). Then when Mama became a teacher, Mama bought more and more books and magazines (brand new and second hand) and this time Mama shared my love for reading with Mama's students.

Last Monday Mama went to the book fair. As expected, there were many people there (mostly students) looking, choosing and buying the books and magazines. To Mama's surprise, a few of Mama's ex students were working as temporary staff there. It was very difficult to find suitable books for Bro H and Sis A but luckily the staff manning the place were very helpful. Mama was very impressed and touched. Mama spent more on the children's books. Mama was given about 10 lucky draw coupons for spending nearly RM100 but Mama guess Mama wasn't that lucky. What a pity because one of the prizes was IPad2...

Four Six

The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty.

The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits. (Hervey Allen)


Happy Birthday To You..
Happy Birthday To You..

Happy Birthday To Mama..
Happy Birthday To You..


Today Mama is 46. Mama is contented, surrounded by family and friends. Most importantly, Mama has two precious jewels by Mama's side. Enough said.

Agri Carnival

When the Ministry of Agriculture held a three day two night fair at Atok and Nenek's housing area, Mama and the children took this opportunity to enjoy ourselves there. Bro H joined a colouring competition but he didn't win, of course. (He finished first and jumped down from the stage to join Mama and Sis A, leaving his painting behind. And Mama was busy running after this boy to bother with his 'masterpiece')
There were also some matches (sort of ) like 'tug of war', 'musical chair' and also cooking classes. Mama was more interested in the food that was offered at some stalls and also the novel way of decorating the stage. They used vegetables instead of flowers!!
But more importantly, for two nights in a row Mama managed to spend some time alone with Bro H. (Sis A was already asleep by 8.30pm on both nights). He seemed to enjoy himself spending time with Mama too. Usually Sis A would monopolise Mama's attention. So on both nights, we leisurely spent the time looking at the exhibitions, enjoying our candy floss and guava juice while watching the 'Dikir Barat' troupe performing on the stage. What is Dikir Barat?
From Wikipedia:

Dikir barat is typically performed by groups of ten to fifteen members,though there is no actual set size,even in competitive environments. A group usually sits cross-legged on a platform, sometimes surrounded by the audience. Where the dikir barat is performed competitively, the two competing groups will both be on the stage at the same time.
Originally, dikir barat was limited to competition between neighboring villages, [4] but in the 20th century, as its popularity began to spread (aided by the ability to record performances), it became a national phenomenon. Today, dikir barat competitions have become wildly popular across Malaysia, and each year there are national champions crowned, not only for the dikir barat groups as a whole, but there also are national champion in the categories of tukang karuts and tok juara. Top tukang karuts are famous and popular, much like rock stars in the West.

On both nights Bro H ate a lot. He was usually a picky eater, eating only fried noodles. Then when we went to the food stalls, Mama allowed him to choose his own food and drinks. Then Mama realised that the children should eat out more often, so that they will have more choices to choose from and not to eat the same boring food again and again. Note to self : Trying out new places will be a monthly agenda from now on.

Wordless Wednesday 14

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