World Cup 2014 Fever

As the world cup fever rises, so does the temperature in football lovers’ living room and mamak stalls. Fuelled by the “makan bola, tido bola” commercials, even an average joe would get suck in the spirit.

 As a partner (living partner, crime partner, sleeping partner..you name it!) to a football fanatic, I was obligated to participate in the McDonald FIFA Fantasy Football and compete in the family league, HIS family league (my family is more artistic in nature). Although it wasn’t my first time playing it, I was still considered new to it.

For those who doesn’t know what fantasy football is, well let me try my best to impart the wisdom onto you. (let’s use world cup as the example here).

Basically, you start off with 100 points and with that point you will need to buy 23 players to start a team.  Each player you buy will need to fulfil the positions according to the formation.

In association football, the formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the pitch. Different formations can be used depending on whether a team wishes to play more attacking or defensive football.

Formations are used in both professional and amateur football matches. In amateur matches, however, these tactics are sometimes adhered to less strictly due to the lesser significance of the occasion. Skill and discipline on behalf of the players is also needed to effectively carry out a given formation in professional football. Formations need to be chosen bearing in mind which players are available. 

You are pretty much playing the manager role.

I did pretty well in the 3rd round, which only attract more trash talk and so call friendly banter

It was all fun and game, until it became a fierce competition in the family. How big of a competition it is, you might’ve asked.. well sweetie, you have no idea.

Before I married my husband, I was very introvert and just loves spending time by myself either reading, watching series or just pampering myself with homemade spa stuff.

I know my husband was and still is an athlete and loves to compete but I never thought I will turn into him. In order to survive in a family who loves to compete, I had to be one of them. (.. it is pretty ugly)

Fantasy football is just one of the things we compete to get that “bragging” right until the next world cup or Europe cup.

They say a family who eats together, stays together. But what about a family who competes against one another?

Penang, the land of original nasi kandar and other fattening and high cholesterol food.

I am a huge fan of Penang and all it stands for. I was born there in a small clinic called Aman Clinic. When I was growing up in Alor Star (another state that holds a very dear place in my heart) my dad would usually take me to Penang on my birthdays. We would go to a bird’s park or butterfly park or just a normal park and just hang there. The must have item in our itinerary would be pizza hut and dessert at gurney drive. My mom lovessss her pizza, perhaps as much as African-american loves their fried chicken (no racist intention here).

Throughout the years, I have made several trips to Penang either with family or friends. But despite all these trips, Penang never cease to amaze me as it changes every so often and each time I’m there I get to discover a few new gems. My previous visit to Penang led me to war museum on the 16^th of Sept 2011 (how patriotic am I!) and hiking through the national park.

However, this time my trip to Penang is a little more special than before as the purpose of this visit was to explore the possibilities of new friendship.  No I’m not talking about pen pal (who does it anymore?!)

My good friend cum uncle recently got married to the love of his life. She’s a lovely girl with a crazy obsession with shoes. To cut it short, her friends and our friends met through the wedding and most of us hit it off. Even though the wedding is over, we are still in constant contact with them (blessed whatsapp) and one of them happens to work in Penang. Through our silly whatsapp messages, we somehow ended up with a plan to go Penang together during the CNY 2014 holiday.

Road Trip!

On the 31^st Jan we started our journey at the wee hour of the morning. The traffic was not as bad as we expected so we manage to reach there around 11.30 am and met up with our new friends. The first item on the agenda is coconut drink. They took us to shop with some small chairs and table scatter around. According to our "tour guide" this place is usually pack and there would be a long queue but luckily for us they didn’t have a lot of customer during CNY.

For lunch we had nasi beriani at Ramzan. It’s a small mamak shop located along Jln Kapitan in Little India. The nasi wasn’t so bad but their roti canai was really good. Crispy and a little burn but still pretty fluffy.

The best part of our little “jalan-jalan cari makan” episode is definitely the Puncak Mutiara Restaurant situated in Seberang Perai. It specialises in grill food and when I say food I mean a lot of exotic meat. They have normal ones like chicken, beef, lamb and for the adventurous eater, they also serves ostrich, deer, rabbits, etc. If you go during the day you get to see the farm where they produce their product. What’s amazing about this place is that the compound is so huge and pretty grand but it is located in a middle of nowhere! Truth be told I was a bit sceptical about it on the way there. The road was a bit scary as we had to drive through what seems like a jungle! But in all honestly it is a spectacular place and the price is reasonable.

Seriously need to try out this place

After the success Georgetown Festival brought to Penang, this town is now known as an art hub. During my trip here I managed to see a few famous murals by cycling around town. Yup cycling. Another highlight of this trip. I have been going to Penang at least once in two years, but I have never been able to explore a city while riding a bike. It was totally wicked. Usually on Sundays the road is close off so that cyclist get to use the road without fear for their safety. This gave us a chance to appreciate the beauty of the mural and recognise the talents in the industry.

Another awesome discovery is the 3D art museum. It was just launched in November 2013 and all the arts in the museum were done by locals. We had a really nice time trying to figure out the angle and the pose to bring out the background.

For three days and two nights we had the chance to stay in The 80’s Guesthouse. It is charming place and newly renovated. The host is really friendly and helpful and remember us by name. She made us feel so welcome. She even remembered our who our friends were. Tip top service. And its near to Camera Museum and Purrfect Cat Café. 

The 80's Guesthouse. Highly recommended.

Comfortable clean room. Perfect for a couple. The reason we had to split from our friends is bcoz my hubby doesnt wanna share a hostel room with our friends. He wants some privacy.

Ryokan Guest House. Our friends stay here. Just a few minutes away form our guest house

The camera museum 

The BIG 50!

For some people in a few part of the world, to reach this remarkable milestone is considered to be a great achievement, for those who are fortunate enough to live in a peaceful time and place, they could either embrace it with an open arm or shy away from it.

For men, the big 5 0 would be a time to marvel at their achievement in their career, the wisdom and strength they have imparted on to their children and the harmony that they have achieved with their spouse. It could also mark a new beginning for them- the retirement life.

For women however, celebrating their 50th birthday would represent all that and much more! Some may think that it is time to pack away all their dancing shoes and with a heavy heart, settle on a comfortable pair of ballerina flats. Some would have a panic attack and start going through pamphlets that advertises cosmetic enhancement products or services. Others would welcome the new changes as it would give them a chance to slow down and spend more quality time by themselves and with their loved ones.

No matter what your take on the BIG 5 0, I think everyone would agree that it must be celebrated with a BANG!

So last weekend, 8/6/2014, my husband and his family threw a surprise birthday party for their darling mom. It took months of planning but in the end the look of shock plus some tears of joy (erm actualy it was more like bawling) on her face, made it all worth it.

She was so stunned at first and broke down in tears

The party was held at Kelantan Delights in Subang Jaya. They only cater for private events.

Sons, daughter & hubby singing "I don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith.

My mother-in-law's youngest sister. 

Hiding behind a door, waiting to yell "SURPRISE". (It didnt really work because she came in through another door)

Welcoming speech by Fahim

Performances by Zharif and his friend, Khalil

Awesome friends. Some came all the way from Penang and other states.

Final check