The Princess and The Froggie

Just my luck ... of all the days, Froggie chosed this day to "manja-manja" with me. And of all places, he chosed Shell station Datuk Keramat Road for our "romantic" rendezvous. Well to be honest, the guy who was pumping gas next door was kinda cute, but when I couldn't start my car ... dia buat tak tahu jer ... sialan! Menonong jer dia tinggalkan the damsel in distress.

Luckily abang Bangla was thoughtful enough asking Esso station owner next door if she sell any car batteries. The auntie even help to call Mr Ee, the 24 hours mechanic to the rescue (though I had to wait nearly an hour due to heavy rain).

Soon enough, Daddy also came to the petrol station just to see if everything was OK. Thank God he came.... else I terpaksa cari jalan yang "halal" untuk bayar service Mr Ee (tak dapek den nak bayangkan). I was short of RM 50.00 ... terpaksa borrow duit His Royal Highness The Emperor.

See, my Valentine's gift to Froggie. So romantic! With the date inscribed!

Mr Ee even paste his namecard on my windscreen in case of emergency. Here I share his contact information in case anyone got car problem in Penang. Sharing is caring! True Valentine spirit ...

Froggie and Anak Dedi Pi Penang

I admit I love travelling North lately ... but the truth is I will only drive Froggie to Kulim, lepak with Emel, then later we will travel to Penang with Goldie. Leaving Froggie behind jaga rumah hehehe ...

The reason why I did that was my dad is a bit possessive of me. Everytime I spent weekends in Penang, we will ride on his old kapcai having breakfast together at Picadilly Street (senang jer belakang Chowrasta) then lepak at his gym until lunch, then went to Ayer Itam to visit grandma (before she passed away) and the Golden Girls (my aunties) ... itupun we stayed for 30 minutes ... then we went downtown to have dinner before my dad left me at home and he continued his work at the gym. He often insisted that I am "chaffeured" by him in his kapcai ... By the way, there was one time I had a meeting at SUK Penang. Hehehe, imagine my dad sent me there in his kapcai and I was wearing a skirt! Terus hilang I punya glamour hari tu!

When I said my dad still look at me like I am 10, I tak tipu. Even if I say I am still 17 to him ... it is also right. It's hard for me to have a night life here in Penang. Dahlah in KL my night life memang non-existence, in Penang ada curfew pulak hehehe ... So I always pity Thomas ... my childhood friend who always wanted to bring me jalan2 whenever I am in Penang but selalu kena "marah" my dad. Between us after kena marah, Thomas will said "haiya, sifu always forget that his daughter can legally drink and drive". Yea, as if I feel protected around you Tom. You even had to wake your dog to teman u to the toilet hahaha ...

Then I got reunited with Emel, a very good friend during my Collegian days, who is currently working in Kulim. Imagine I had been travelling KL-Penang for the last 6 years and not even once jejak kaki at Queensbay Mall. My mum and sisters also complained to me that they cannot do much shopping in Penang coz daddy couldn't take them there and they didn't know how to go there .. hmmm...

Yea, now that Mie and Froggie aways "Fast and Furious" on the roads of KL, why not getting to know the roads of Penang pulak. So I made a plan with Emel to travel to Kulim and from there we will travel to Penang. BTW I never told my dad. I felt bad but that was the only way I could gain my "freedom" to explore Penang ... and later we included Tom in our "Fellowship". Anyway, at this "age" it is no longer "shiok" to go clubbing, get ourselves drunk and suffered hangover the next morning. BTW, I am not a drinker ... Emel had to hide her face when I ordered Coke at Slippery Senorita last few months hahaha I just love listening to live band. There is something about listening to loud, catchy music, and live performances to my soul.

I knew my dad was quite suprise when I told him I am driving to Penang that weekend. After picking him up at Majlis Sukan Negara Bukit Jalil, we started our journey to Penang at 2.30 pm. Waaa ... if I am travelling alone, dah tekan minyak dah but since ada "tester" duduk sebelah kena maintain at 100km/hr. Ada lah time tertekan juga minyak but after bila teringat balik back to 100km/hr. We discussed about so many things ... mostly about Jason's wedding next year. Then my dad mentioned about Joan's birthday and asked how old is she this year.

"She is 30, dad" I said with a straight face.

Then he looked at me. Hehehehe ... don't have to look at me like that lah daddy ... I tau I nampak muda :P

We stopped at Sg Buloh R&R to have lunch and then Tapah R&R for tea. Then my dad offered to drive Froggie. Waa... tiba2 I pulak possessive dgn Froggie. "It's OK dad.. let me drive her to Penang".

After I broke up with "Al-Bedebah" in 2006, only few people jer I bagi sentuh Froggie. Uncle Sam, Uncle Alex, Uncle Suhaimi, Uncle Ariff, Uncle Sazali and Auntie Niejah. Lepas tu bile dah terer bawak kete, I jer boleh sentuh. Even Auntie Emel never drive Froggie sedangkan Goldie dah aku bawak sampe Bandar Sunway. Hehehe

We passed Exit Bandar Baharu at 6.15 pm ... I smiled to myself hehehe. Teringat my journey with Niejah to Ipoh for Menjy's wedding. When I started driving Froggie, furthest to the North was Bukit Beruntung. So when we passed that Bukit Beruntung exit ... niejah and myself bersorak mcm kena loteri hehehe

So as of 20 June 2009, furthest to the North was Kulim via Exit Bandar Baharu ... so rasa nak menjerit jer when I passed that Exit. But becoz my dad sat right beside me ... I terpaksalah control ayu! Huhuhu ... BTW, thanks Tom for your Froggie gift! Both Froggie and me deserve an award bringing sifu home in one piece.

We reached Penang bridge at 6.54 pm ... tiba2 my dad call my mum .. proudly announcing that Froggie has reached Penang Bridge ... Haaa!!!! Froggie stole the limelight from me. It was quite a long jam at the bridge so I took the chance to look at the sea. Waaa... it is hazy everywhere lah ... Fuhh... some Penang drivers, noticing Froggie KL plate numbers semua taknak bagi chance untuk I menyelit2, eventhough I dgn berhemahnya bagi signal. I takut want to drive at the left most or right most lane, fearing some irresponsible people purposely throwing nails to puncture the tyres ... was on NST or Metro the other day.

My dad showed the way home using the coastal highway ... waaa... I felt like a Penang driver oredi ... except that I belum start cursing in Hokkien hehehe.

We reached home at 7.54 pm and got ready for Father's Day dinner. Emel joined us that night ... jadi anak yeoh for a day hehehe but sorry no pics coz we were too hungry ... sambil menghirup udara nyaman at Northam Beach Cafe ... nyum nyum nyum.

Anyway, Joan ... forgot to wish you Happy Birthday ... So Happy Belated 21st Birthday dear! Kesian her on her birthday have to deliver that H1F1 virus sample to KL Hospital.

p/s: My dad woke me up this morning offering to wash my car at his gym... Hehehe ... I knew he really want to drive Froggie. Takpe lah he can have Froggie to himself today.

Mie & Froggie Trip To Kulim (The Story of Why and How It Happened)

I took leave from Friday to Monday to observe Good Friday to mark the end of the fasting month of Lent and then Easter celebration. In Christianity, this is actually the most important occasion, not Christmas. But maybe due to its more religious significance, it is normally celebrated in simplicity compared to Christmas.

Initially I wanted to join my mum, Joan, Jason and Jayne in Sibu for the occasion but after being kept busy by the Task Force working group, compiling reports on unlicensed development and an email from JPA on my application for Masters interview on the 20th ( for which I haven't done anything yet) so I decided to spent the holiday reorganising my thoughts and have a good rest. Furthermore next week my boss will be leaving for his PTK course so I have to take over some of his works...

Come that Good Friday morning, Sukumaran, the project manager for a nearly abandoned project which the Ministry and his company are currently co-rehabilitating, called me reminding me of my final visit before CFO application to DBKL. Gosh, I almost forgotten about that. Then Emel also called me about my plan to Kulim and our Akademi Fantasia Concert plan next week. Another gosh! Forgot about that too. Then Jagdish from Maybank called, confirming our talk plan on Monday. Gosh! Gosh! Gosh!

If you ask me ... I don't like this Task Force things coz though it's other departments works but these other departments officers with start interrupting me for inputs or opinions or favours or involvements. Then after last meeting with Tan Sri KSN now I have to urusetia pulak one of the working groups (extra works ma!). Earlier, I issued a total of 90 compounds to developers and from morning till petang I always received a visit from unwanted visitors though I already told them just write an appeal letter. Plus two of my co-rehab nearly abandoned projects also nearly completed which I need to visit before conducting meeting with all the authorities for fast-track CFO approval. Eeeeeeeeeeeee ........ I really want to cry in frustration now.

Since Sukumaran is also a Christian, and he also had to sacrifice his Good Friday for this project I decided to meet him at the site with Wani (my accountant) and Anisha (my QS). Yalah ... maybe this sacrifice was peanut compared to Jesus Christ death on the cross (ni lah sebab kitaorang sambut Good Friday). Unlike Suku who turn vegetarian on that day, I decided to fast. BTW Wani and Anisha (both have private practice before) awal2 I grabbed to work with me sebelum minda mereka corrupted by certain government mentality. Touchwood mudah-mudahan if everything OK we will hand over the houses to purchasers 2 weeks earlier than scheduled.

Reaching home after the site visit, I started to settle other works like making calls to En Nik, En Mad and giving instructions to my stuff for Monday Talk with Maybank and final arrangement for working group 2 and 3 meeting on Thursday.Which left my Masters proposal writing and AF Concert ticket reservation. Tiba2 I felt I wanted to get out from KL. Plus I promised Emel last week to visit her today ...

That's how I ended packing up my bags,reloaded my Touch and Go card and filled Froggie with fuel and checked her tyre pressures. Our destination ... Kulim. Lagipun, Froggie pun dah jadi malas macam her "mummy". Asyik2 Klang Valley jer... To be honest, I didn't know how to get to Kulim but I think that was the thrill. The weather was fine from KL to Tanjung Malim but after that, it was raining heavily in certain areas. I only called Emel once I reached Ipoh and asked for direction from Juru.

Then Emel asked "Why do you want to go to Kulim from Juru? Jalan jauh ya .. kena pusing balit" So I said, "Isn't Kulim after Butterworth ke?" Emel's response "No lah! Ko ikut exit Bandar Baharu lekak exit Bukit Merah. After Butterworth is jalan to Sungai Petani or Alor Star lah". Hahaha ... nampak sangat fail subjek Geografi.

Reaching Kulim, the first thing Emel said was ... " Sampe juak Froggie di Kulim". Hehehe ... most of my friends are fond of Froggie walaupun taklah sehebat Emel's Goldie Vios or Sara's Red Devil Gen-2 atau Olpic's Sparkiling Diamond. So that evening, to celebrate my kejayaan sampai di Kulim ... we eat our heart out at Pantai Bersih makan udang lipan .... yummmm ....

My Life With Froggie

Yesterday, I sent my little Froggie for her 60,000 km service. So later that day when I picked her from the Perodua service centre, makkk aaiiii, the technicians told me so many things that need to be replaced. Some of it sounded jargon to me hehehe... too obvious I knew pittance about cars... Yelah... my knowledge limited to stering, tayar, lampu depan, lampu belakang, bateri kereta, tapi bila dia start kata ... "something" gasket, and then started to show me something that look like mcm penutup yang dah worn out ... wa surrender...

Well it is to be expected lah... my baby is oredi 3 years old. Even the tyres need to be changed. Waaa... dah lah sekarang tgh miskin tegar ... huhuhu.. Baru jer hari tu tukar bateri. Nasib baik time tu keta takleh start masa berenti kat Shell Station tapi malam 10 pm ... And there was this one Bangla purposedly came to rescue ... "adik ...apa masalah... kasi tau sama abang" On noooooooooo... Called Sam to be my knight in shining amour ... hampeh pakcik tu tido mati ... Nasib la Jeff and Wan became the heroes of the day...

Anyway, despite an F in cars ... at least I know how to refill battery water, check the tyres pressure, or sekarang tau lah sikit2 nak tukar flat tyres. Teringat I kisah one Leftenan Kolonel yang masuk angin keter dia berdasarkan prinsip ikut sesedap rasa for more than 20 years. Then kisah my good friend yang terus beli tayar baru bila tayar kete kena masuk paku ... (keter baru tuh). Then kisah Nijah yang heran kenapa stereng dia berat and blame Proton for it ( hehehe... turn out she doesn't know mcm mana nak isi angin).

Kutuk orang pulak... myself pun ada kisah lucu. Yalah the only person whom I will refer to about cars is Nijah and to me her knowledge about car nie kira advance 10% lah dari I. So she advised me that when my milleage reached 50,000km or 55,000 km kena tukar lah timing belt. Tak tukar nanti boleh rosak kete..

I kan ker orang yang ikut nasihat.... hehehe... so bila milleage dekat2 50,000 km berdebar2 dah .. If I am not mistaken, masa tuh nak bawak my mum and bro bercuti to Bukit Merah Laketown. So I dgn penuh innocent hantarlah kete for service.. With confident, I told the technician to change the timing belt. Biar dia tau girls like me also know something about car... sekali he said ... "amoi... you punya kereta takde pakai timing belt lah... myVi sumer pakai chain belt la..." .. haiya itu macam kah...

Kalau tak kerana tayar flat 2 kali last month, tak tahu pun tayar sekarang nie tubeless... and the spare tyre pun nak kena isi angin... hehehe. If not becoz of Suna pun I tak tahu mcm mana nak isi air "wiper" (as that was the only thing she knew and did religiously then). And it was from Ida I learned about alignment and balancing sebab keter dia tak pernah balance hahaha. Sorry lah Froggie, malangnya ko dapat mummy mcm I nie.

One thing we have to endure as KL drivers la... tak payahlah nak jaga keter sangat. Defensive driving means committing suicide. Redhalah dengan semua scratches, dent, or bend which is not our doings. I remember one time masa I hantar Froggie for service, on my way to the the waiting area, I saw this one green myvi that look like Froggie and feel truly sorry for the owner over a huge scratch on the left skirting. Then the funny thing was I heran how much it resembled Froggie. Then I look at the plate number... God! It was Froggie... I quickly confronted the technicians and of course he denied lah. Don't want to make a big issue out of it I back off. I leave it to the Divine Powers to punish whosoever that did that to my Froggie...

Terkenang, when I drove Froggie to office for the first time. Sanggup keluar rumah at 6.30 am sebab takut banyak keter. Yelaa that time I had not been driving for 4 years.. scary. To my suprise, somebody was also doing the same thing that time huhuhu.... guess who...

Froggie Flat Tyre

Last week, I so "kesian" my little Froggie. Few months back, she got her left-side front tyre pricked by a small nail but I managed to get her to the tyre shop and got her left tyre fixed. But I never thought her left tyre got pricked again until it almost flat. And I only realised it when I reached my office parking. Earlier I was puzzled why my Froggie lost its balance and why so many cars honked me. Gosh! We cute women are born to drive cute (and expensive ;P) cars not changed their flat tyres. But of course in moments like this I had no time to show off my macho self so why not pretend for a while to be the damsel in distress... hehehe.

Kesian Alex and Riduan. Had to be my "balachis" to put on the spare tyre. Never mind lah Lex... consider this as your physical training for DPA.