Tuesday, December 16, 2008
aching bowling body
Monday, December 15, 2008
spot the cow!
my birth home (aka my mom's deceased parents' house) & my primary school
i remember. sometimes, my mom would be staying there. nearer to my kindergarten. nearer to my primary school. that was a long time ago. a very long long time ago. i don't feel like crying. don't make me. thanks to monsoon cup. (only) for making me going and making me pass by all those relics of the past. well, the house is indeed the relic. unchanged by men but time. the school though has gone through so many face-lifts. only the memory of it is the relic. the present structure is not. whatever...even if you're interested to know...
dinosaur & related topics
believe it or not! i've been married for almost 10 years! in jan next year. insyaAllah.
mini dinosaur (medium-to-big-sized lizard) <- to be clicked
the winner of monsoon cup 2008 (the name on the right) ->
Friday, December 05, 2008
a day of charity
scenario#2: i went to that Islamic bank to pay for my credit card balance. a man at the cash deposit machine beside me asked me how to pay for his car loan. show him i did. including canceling my own not-yet-in-progress transaction just to go to the main menu to see what's on it.
scenario#3: i went to that allegedly widest-nationwide-coverage mobile telecommunication company to pay another half of my bill amount which i mistakenly paid only the first half about 2 weeks ago. a lady asked for my help for her to pay her or his man's bill using his personal cheque/check because she and her man didn't know how to do it. help her i did. however, she had to first write the name, mobile phone no., contact no. and payment amount on the back of the check. she went back to her car to get the required info from her man. and she informed me that she still required my help. so, i had to wait for 5 to 10 minutes and once everything was ready, i helped her how to do it.
there goes my day of charity...all happening within 1 hour or so...
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
mc hammer: extinct!
for the 1st time in my life since i was born light years ago, i became a Master of Ceremonies!!! with a colleague though. what a combination! a "javanese" & a terengganuvian. i was as monotonous as ever. no intonation. a shy mc (speaker). those were the comments (during the rehearsal the night before). well, who wants to be the mc anyway in the first place?
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
royal guest house, kota bharu
my wife also told me that the area where her brother parked his car is a black area. many or several cars have been stolen there. royal guest house should have given ample warning or reminder to their guests. although it's not their legal obligation to do so, it is indeed their social obligation in order to serve their customers better.
my wife's brother was staying there to attend a course and today was his last day there. he had reported the theft to the police. i can't imagine if it happened to me. i hope it wouldn't...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
training? (it's not it). more?
back in my hometown (again) which happens to be the states's capital. my baby girl is getting heavier & chubbier. time for diet?
my wife is about to be out of confinement in a few days. time to be out of diet?
while in the country's capital, paid a visit to my sister's house to see her newborn baby girl born about a week ago. my mother was there as well with another sister's daughter. congrats to my sister (the former). was i supposed to take the commuter train in the 1st place?
congrats to the newly elected mr president obama of the usa. will he be a blessing to the world since his name barack supposedly means "barakah" or "keberkatan" or blessing?
while in the country's capital, my pda phone's charger became defective. midvalley megamall came to the rescue. bought a new compatible charger for rm35. it's the 3rd one already including the 1st original charger that came with the original packaging box. how long will the 3rd one last now?
back to the state's capital & to the future, tomorrow, my sister's "boyfriend" will be coming too see my mother at her house in the "fantasy" island (island of mermaid). will it end in marriage this time?
"god knows. god knows i want to break free". only god knows the answers to the questions above. there's no question about it. dare to question???
Sunday, November 02, 2008
ranking
my daughter and her group at school were the champ in "action song" category. her position in class after the recent final exam deteriorated to #6. mostly due to careless & silly mistakes in answering her exam papers.
... my position in life has ______. please fill in the blank.
i'll be going to kl this wed & thu, attending a training. so many tasks to do in the office. that's expected. if u think otherwise, "lu ingat gua mkn gaji buta ka???" at least i'm living my life in peace now off office hours. my position at work has ________. please fill in the blank.
my position in the hereafter has or will be ________. u don't have to fill in the blank.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
find the difference(s)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
it's raya time again!!!
Monday, October 27, 2008
out of this blog
Izzah's Aqiqah from http://picasaweb.google.com/zmawaf
Do you snore while sleeping?
Snoring from http://www.youtube.com/zmawaf
etc, etc, me & my baby
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
out of it to q
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
happy belated birthday (21st sept)
happy belated birthday 9 days ago, on 21st sept 2008. sorry for not having an entry for that sooner. it's been a while since i last updated this blog. sorry for the absence of cake, card and whatever items associated with birthday. sorry that we could not be together on your birthday. you had already taken your mc for 1 week before this week (week of raya holiday) in kt. and i had to go to work 110++km away from there last week. our daughter also had to go to school 110km away from there last week. maybe next year all 4 of us (now) can have it better & proper...
happy belated nth birthday. may your age be prolonged to deservedly serve Allah & His Messenger Muhammad s.a.w.. may your halal fortune be dwindled by Allah. may blessings be showered upon you by Allah in this world and the hereafter. may great health be rewarded to you by Allah.
regards,
your humble hubby.
Monday, September 29, 2008
�welcome to the wild world part ii
|
here i come, papa & mama!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
this really strikes me hard to the heart (as well as to the brain)!
it's so damn difficult to unlearn what you have learned (& pronounced) for years...
Click here from thestar.com.my or read it here below.
Wednesday September 3, 2008
Don’t pronounce everything!
By LUKE TEOH
It is very common not to hear some of the vowels when we pronounce some words. These are called unstressed vowels.
A MALAYSIAN man who was on holiday at his sister’s in Toronto asked for an envelope from his niece but she could not comprehend what he wanted.
He repeated the word “envelope” a few times, yet his niece did not know what he wanted so he enunciated, “En-ve-luhp.”
But the Canadian-born girl was still puzzled so she went to ask her Malaysian-born mother what her uncle wanted.
The lady said, “He’d like an onv-luhp.”
What had confused the niece was that her uncle was unaware of the unstressed vowel in the word envelope and had pronounced it giving the word three syllables instead of the usual two.
What are unstressed vowels?
It is very common not to hear some of the vowels when we pronounce some words. These are called unstressed vowels. Such a vowel is shown in dictionaries as an italicised schwa or a bracketed schwa which tells you that the vowel is not usually pronounced in the word.
Here are examples of some words with the unstressed vowel missing in each word.
1. bre_kfast
2. veg_table
3. bus_ness
4. diff_rent
5. int_rest
6. myst_ry
7. sep_rate
8. choc_late
9. di_mond
10. ev_ry
11. hist_ry
Here are the pronunciations of some words with an unstressed vowel missed out in each word. Did you know the words? Check in a dictionary for the italicised or bracketed schwa.
1. temprature
2. mathmatics
3. camra
4. factry
5. poisnous
6. cemetry
7. Wensday
Here are some common phrases with an unstressed vowel in each phrase:
1. sister-in-law – sistrin law
2. mother-in-law – mothrin law (_thrin assimilated and pronounced as _drin)
3. father-in-law – fathrin law
4. brother-in-law – brothrin law
5. daughter-in-law – daughtrin law
6. Mr & Mrs – mistruhn misiz
Silent letters
Some letters in certain words are not pronounced, i.e. they are silent. Here are some common silent letters, showing where they occur:
1. b
o plumber, plumbing
o bomber, bombing
o climber, climbing
o debt, debtor
o subtle
o doubt, doubting
2. c
o scent
o science
o scythe
o rescind
o sceptre
o descend
3. k
o knob
o knack
o knight
o knuckle
o knell
o knead
4. g
o gnat
o gnash
o sign, design
o align, alignment
o gnaw
o gnarled
5. h
o exhibit
o exhaust
o heir
o honour, honourable
o honest, honesty
o vehicle
6 . l
o salmon
o almond
o yolk
o walk
o alms
o palm
7. w
o wrath
o writhe
o wreck
o wracking
o wriggle
o answer
8. p
o raspberry
o pneumatic
o psychology, psychiatry
o pneumonia
o pseudonym
o psalm
9. s
o isle
o aisle
o viscount
o debris
o island
10. t
o fasten
o listen, listener, listening
o often
o glisten
o christen
o jostling
11. u
o guitar
o circuit
o guillotine
o guilt, guilty, guiltless
o biscuit
o guard
Elisions
Elision – the ‘missing out’ of a consonant or vowel or both is also very common in informal speech.
1. elision of a vowel
o go away (go way )
o try again (try gain)
o run along (run long)
o may as well (may-s well )
o get another (get nother)
2 . elision of a consonant
t
o must be
o left turn
o next day
o post office
o went up
d
o stand still
o a thousand ringgit
o could be
o bold face
o found out
o loved traveling
This is just a very simple and rather superficial explanation on the eliding of sounds in pronunciation as I am unable to use the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) on the computer.
For a more detailed explanation, one can refer to books on spoken English or pronunciation.
I have referred to Modern Spoken English by Thomas Lee Crowell, Jr (Late Professor of English,
A dictionary is one of the most frequently used books for getting information and I have found the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English quite adequate for everyday use. Should you have any questions on the pronunciation of English or phonetics, do contact me – luketeoh2@yahoo.com
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
search's mungkinkah tertawa guitar chord (kod gitar)
C Bm F G
C Bm F G
F
C Am F G
Haruskah ku padamkan...
C Am F G
Dengan titis air mata...
G-G#-Am
Am G# G F#m F G C
Atau ku biar dalam...
C Am F G
Haruskah diriku...
C Am F G
Di depan dirimu...
G-G#-Am
Am G# G F#m F G C
Mungkinkah tertawa...
Bm-Em
F Em Am G
Aku bertanya pada
F G C
Diri oh mengapa
Bm-Em
F Em Am G
Mengapa bisa terjadi
F G
Begini rupa
F G
Aku terseksa
C Dm F G
Sejambak kasih...
Terhapus di pertengahan...
Gugur bagaikan...
Tercemar kehormatan...
G-G#-Am
Am G# G F#m F G C
Apa salahku hingga...
Bm-Em
F Em Am G
F G C
Bm-Em
F Em Am G
F G
F G C
Bm-Em
F Em Am G
Aku bertanya pada
F G C
Diri oh mengapa
Bm-Em
F Em Am G
Mengapa bisa terjadi
F G
Begini rupa
F G
Aku terseksa
C Dm F G
Sejambak kasih...
Terhapus di pertengahan...
Gugur bagaikan...
Tercemar kehormatan...
[repeat last verse until you get exhausted]
full lyrics can be found here.
the song is at the top. gonna be there for a while...
1st day of fasting...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
leftover session of 1-sentence topic each
1-sentence topic each
Sunday, August 24, 2008
cause&effect
Thursday, August 21, 2008
a week in news
done last sunday. so that 1 particular tooth o' mine is now officially
dead, endorsed by the dentist. the swollen gum is still there. the
dentist told me that the swell will go away after 2-3 weeks, failing
which i would have to make another trip to the clinic. no mc this time
for the rct. i went to work as usual in the morning and took some time
off for about 2 hours for the treatment. got a timeslip & tried to pass
it to hr but they said it's not necessary. so the timeslip went down the
trashbin.
now, i'm in the country's capital. yesterday's morning, i attended the so-
called court convened meeting with the house developer in order to
achieve amicable settlement between them and the purchasers (me included)
via a newly proposed scheme under section 176 of an act which name i
forgot. the gist of the meeting was that the buyers have no choice but
to accept the proposed scheme, or else there's a risk that the project
might be totally abandoned. well, what to do? oh, the letter from the
developer was actually sent to my previous rented house. luckily, the
current tenant still kept my letter even after almost 1 month. there are
still good people left in this world.
my ex-secondary schoolmate came down to kerteh from kl. so, my other ex
-schoolmates & i took the opportunity to hold a mini gathering. 5 of us
having dinner. on him. thanks a lot friend. you're welcome to come
down to kerteh as often as u like. snapped a few photos to cherish the
occasion & the memory. i was planning to go back home 1st, take a bath &
change my dress but my office colleague's car would not start. being a
good friend and gentleman, i and several others stayed & became a
mechanic wannabe until her husband arrived with a new battery. well,
that wouldn't help neither. in the end, they went back with the
husband's friend's car with which the husband came together initially. i
don't know what happened and forgot to ask but the car was not there
early in the morning on the next day. maybe it had been arranged to be towed away for repair
to a workshop. due to that unexpected incident, i had to go for dinner
in my work uniform.
another ex-secondary schoolmate who's been in ireland all this while,
being a doctor/medical specialist there, flew down to malaysia. a few of
my friends & i planned to meet him during dinner (or lunch) at a hotel in
kl. he'd be treating all of us. it's all been agreed upon via email.
while i'm in kl, i tried to contact him on his roaming irish mobile.
there was a dialing tone but he didn't pick up the call. i left a
voicemail and sent a sms but got no response as well. well, maybe we were not
meant to meet yet this time.
i've ordered 2 new "replacement" radiohead t-shirts. this time bigger in
size. based on waste's (as well as postal companies & customs & excise
departments's) previous performance, i should receive those shirts by the
end of this month. patience is a virtue.
press has at last been released officially in e format. in portable
document format. i mentioned in that email that comments & feedback are
welcome & should be directed to the editor. however, 1 of the 2nd
highest order of the execs in the company wanted us to correct 1 of the
fact errors in it immediately. so, i replied his email and cc'd to
relevant people that it's not appropriate to do so, providing him with
concrete reasons. corrections will be mentioned in the next release. if
not, the designer would have to sacrifice another weekend for press and
press release date would have to be postponed again. a never ending
story.
the by-election of the decade will be held this tuesday. it's a very
interesting development. for the better or worse? i believe everybody's hoping that it's for the better... well, maybe some are hoping for the worse but for them it's the better. i'd better stop now.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
house of whatever
"uncivilized" laws are for uncivilized acts
the saying was quoted from a kuliah held in the name of the company a few weeks ago. in reference to islamic hudud laws.
still pressed about press. changes came from all directions. some articles got edited or completely overhauled + the inclusion of july's newborns & new recruits. i'm thinking of putting my future baby which is currently still a fetus (due in late sept) in the announcement section as well...
radiohead t-shirts, which i bought & had arrived a few days ago, m in size, are unexpectedly smaller than I had imagined. i thought caucasian size should be bigger than asian one. curse the worldwide trend nowadays of wearing smaller shirts; they must be clamping & squeezing your body, exposing its beautiful shape, if it is. luckily, a friend of mine is willing to buy those from me, albeit with a slight discount. but still thanks a lot to him. i'm thinking of buying replacement t-shirts, this time bigger in size...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
anjing bajingan
press & rct
today, i went for the first session of the reputably fearsome root canal therapy (that's what rct stands for officially) with the private dentist in my vicinity. not that bad an experience. no pain at all. though i could occasionally feel the tingling sensation during and quite a while after the procedure was finished. the dentist applied some "tampal" (filling?) to the drilled part/hole (at the back) of the affected tooth. i have to visit the clinic again 1 week from today for the 2nd session. back at home, did some readings on the net to know more about rct. i think today the dentist just did the cleaning part of it. for the 2nd session, i think she's gonna fill up the root canal (void) with a special material. i hope the 2nd one will be the last. do u wanna know more about rct? do the research yourself. at the end of the day, the most important thing is i've got my 2nd mc during my working lifetime with the company so far. no more scanned image this time.
Friday, August 08, 2008
akad nikah (marriage bind)
at last, i've finished reformatting my wife's damn-slow notebook. she can use it already for her daily routine tasks. just got some minor things to be set up. some minor apps. mostly complementing software.
so, tomorrow i'll be devoting my body, mind, soul & life for press. for the whole day. no futsal for me. i'm pressed...
The Love Verses
am i suited for the corporate world? i don't know anymore. i'm not really an overtly ambitious kind of guy. i can do my work. work which i'm supposed or assigned to do. but that's just about it. sometimes, i think i should've been in art/literature stream during my school days instead of science stream. based on my current interests, that's what i should be. but that change of direction might trigger a change of heart. who knows...
Thursday, August 07, 2008
the f letter word for today is
i had to cancel being the, to quote from someone, "guitar strumming (& singing) virtuoso" for the company & its customers' golfers as well. mainly due to my wife's current conditions. partly due to the lack of time for practice. i could also add that it's also due to press. well, maybe & until next time...
(now, i'm reformatting my wife's notebook bcoz it is so damn slow!!!)
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
terengganuvian
as a terengganuvian who's proud of his heritage, i'm lucky to have found these 2 terengganu-related pages. see GUiT (growing up in trengganu) & kecek-kecek on the link (out of this) section on the left. though i'm proud to be part of a developing (kuala) terengganu, deep inside my heart, i wish it does not (develop too much). in the name of modernization at the expense of the commoners who don't benefit much economically. i do miss kt of yore...
i've bought GUiT blook & haven't finished reading it yet. but i surely can imagine (though not relate to) how my parents & grandparents lived during that "lesser" time. lesser by today's standard. i can't wait to boast about my newly acquired old knowledge to them. being the kind of folks who don't talk that much, maybe they will reveal more of their past once the fire has been ignited...and "break on through to the other side"...
is terengganuvian a valid word? i'm surprised that a google search on that word did produce a few, limited results. at least, they are sharing the same view as me. here's my take on it a few years ago (kindly edited by the editor):
if u've too much free time, look for "jejak awang goneng" on youtube.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
pirus IS a color indeed
the highest order of the execs in the company asked me if i'd like to rekindle my performance at the upcoming golf tournament. the extended version of it. time-wise. so many factors to consider. my pregnant wife whose due date is around the corner. her limitation & strain in traveling. esp on a long journey. the limited time (to practice). selection of (appropriate) songs. all those big guns. i play guitar & sing to please myself & not others. i listen to songs which would please me & me alone. i don't care if people don't like those songs. would i succumb to such a pressure to become so-called mainstream? popular? poppy? but, performing wild world reflected the attempt to become one. no surprises not to become one. wah! i talk like i a lock star oledi!
to practice or to practise. which one is a noun? which one is a verb? which is american? which is british? all that i've learned have been unlearned by all these confusions. maybe i should just write it as praktis. (actually, my real intention is to ask whether i should praktis or not for the futsal tournament this sat. i despise the organizer bcoz i've to buy my own futsal shoes. i've told them that i'm wearing my old tennis shoes. in the worst case scenario, i'll be disqualified & that's fine with me. it will be better & well-spent if i donate the rm to masjid pas ustaz awang in batu 6. i'm not even sure if i'm fit to play with me having a swollen gum even though it's getting a little bit better/smaller now. if someone accidentally or intentionally hits me at that weakest spot, it will surely grow bigger & that would dash my hope of getting an rct asap). to q or not to q. at school or at a bus stop or while waiting for a taxi, you must q. i'll just let nature take its course. nature of course being all revolving things around me, past, present & future, which have been decided upon by the divine power.
Monday, August 04, 2008
McTooth
Sunday, August 03, 2008
record-breaking post
at last, i managed to finish up press at about 2.30 am ++ today/this very early morning...what a daunting task...at least, my mc is helping me to get a well-deserved rest at home...an Allah-given miracle...
Saturday, August 02, 2008
time-consuming & swollen gum
my gum has been swollen since the last few days. my chin got knocked by my acoustic guitar. that led to my gum to get swollen until today. the story goes a long way before that. about 10 years ago in 1998. i had an accident. i was riding my bike & my then pregnant wife was the pillion rider. i was sending her to her school: she was a teacher there. it's near hukm and sekolah alam shah (old location) in cheras. from the distance, i could see the pedestrian traffic light was red & the cars were queuing & waiting for the traffic light to turn green again. so, i took the chance to speed up a little bit. normally, i always glanced at the left junction for any vehicle coming into the main road but somehow, i did not do so at that time. a van came out from the junction & i hit it right at the driver's door side. i fell down & my face hit the road surface. luckily, the impact had been cushioned by the visor. the visor got detached anyway & my chin hit the road anyway. my wife fell down on her buttock. thank you Allah. her buttock had been cushioned by her own bag. mind you, she was 4-5 mth pregnant at that time, carrying our current daughter inside her uterus. the van driver sent us to hukm. the mother & baby were ok. i had to have my injury/wound treated with, if i'm not mistaken, 14 stitches on my chin at hukm. feeling & thinking that we were guilty, we paid the van driver for the damage to his van. we had to repair our bike as well. although lately my wife argued that actually the van driver was at fault for not looking properly at the traffic before venturing out from the junction, what is past is past & we should just consider the payment as charity.
and my front upper right incisor tooth had been traumatized as well. the dentist that i visited advised me to perform root canal but i did not do so until today. once in a while, especially after heavy iced drinking, the gum holding that tooth would ache. however, last year, after so many years, it swelled so bad that it started to accumulate pus in it & i had to have the pus removed. i was even advised to do x-ray & based on the result, i was told that that tooth of mine had already died and it's better for me to do root canal. i still refused to do so. my argument was that 10 years ago, i was told that a dead tooth's color will fade to blackish in color after about 5 years. similar to the bones of a dead animal left to rot on the surface of the earth. however, that tooth of mine still looks ok even after the 5-year "deadline" has passed. and it's still as solid as a rock, so to speak. (forget about the occasional gum ache).
back to the present. my gum has been swollen since the last few days. my chin got knocked by my acoustic guitar. that led to my gum to get swollen until today. this morning, i went to see a local dentist in my vicinity. at last, i requested for a root canal but he said he couldn't do it. the owner doctor can but not today but tomorrow morning. i think he's just a locum. that's why he couldn't do it. since i couldn't bear the pain anymore, i couldn't even smile properly but sheepishly only, i agreed to have a root canal treatment (rct) tomorrow morning. i guess i have to break my record of not having any mc for the last 4 years in the company.
damn!!! i had spent too much time writing this. gotta continue designing press for the company...