It is so freaking stressful

Pt I

As I am nearing the much-awaited-for holiday, there's endless amount of work dumped onto my laps. That is so super-typical I guess. Everytime I received emails in the Inbox, I immediately prayed that it would not be about work. Lo and behold, they were all about work.

I consider myself lucky having another colleague on this project, who is as relaxed as I am - Mike. That's the same Mike, whom I spent some time with at his place, cooking for him and his wife, Susan. Today, Mike asked me to get some Gula Melaka from Malaysia. I will definitely do that - he wants to make Kuih Ketayap himself. It looks like I will make a trip back to Leixlip to teach him how to make it.

I was so stressed out in the office today. The Consulting Practice that I belong to will undergo its own maturity certification very very soon. I championed a project last year and I need to get all the documents done and dusted - at least to locate where they are. That is the requirement to pass it. So that is pressure. Oh, that is so time consuming. But I have no choice but to do it. Hopefuly I will be able to get it all wrapped up before my flight on Friday, I hate to bring it along with me :(

+ Uh, when will I get to stuff all these into my luggage... It seems like a farfetched mission at the rate how things are going now

Amidst the headache and endless pondering, on the way back to Dun Laoghaire, I detoured via N11 to Dunnes Store to look for some gifts. I am so crap at this - finally I got a dress/gown for my niece (polka dot, which I think rather cute Hehe) and a rugby shirt for my nephew. I still have a few on the list - like something that my mom wants. When do I get to start packing up? Erghhhh... I am so stressed out now, so much so... I am not panicking at all. Bless.

Pt II

At 6:30 PM, I stood befor the nurse at Tropical Medical Bureau to get my last Hep-B jab. That's one of the stuff I need to do before I take off. And right after that, I went off to Shakira, the Indian restaurant to break my fast with a plate of briyani. It was awesome and I am full. But, I can't be lazing on the couch, since I need to make the trip back to office to finish off my work. It is already 9:05 PM :( What a life!

+ The briyani at Shakira. You can well tell that I have stopped cooking now

Trip to airport and Maynooth

Today - I sent Mel to the airport. Like others in Malaysia, as the Raya is fast approaching all of us is trying to make it back to kampong halaman to celebrate Raya with family and friends. Today is Mel's turn. I checked my schedule when I got up and the emails of course - so I was kind of free to shoot off to airport for a bit to send her off.

That was done in 30 mins. I drove super fast I guess. I hope there are no summons or something. Well, I could not care less. On the way back I stopped by at Maynooth University to meet up with Tony. I let him know what I would pass Leixlip and Maynooth on the way back to Dun Laoghaire. The idea of meeting up was great :)

+ The Maynooth town park

Maynooth town is small, but adorable. It is adequate. It has everything. The university campus itself is very nice. Tony took me for a tour around the campus, it was indeed an eye-opening 20-minute tour. The buildings are old and nice. He took me to the chapel where I was amazed with the paintings of the cardinals on the ceiling. That was simply awesome. (Just a note: Apparently, St Patrick College of Maynooth Univ is a centre of Christianity and Bible Studies where the institure produces a number of priests over the years)

+ Maynooth University Chapel. Check out the paintings of past cardinals on the ceilings

It indeed transported me back to the amazing experience in Kings College Chapel in Cambridge. As a matter of fact, Tony told me, the chapel is famous for its Christmas carol. I wish I were here this coming Christmas to attend the carol. Another facinating thing about this campus is, there is a big orchard full of apple trees. They are rather shady and I could see some young green apples - I could imagine when they are all ripe and ready to be plucked. Just imagine, the students end up on the benches between classes under the apple trees.

Wait a sec, wasn't that Newton who sat under the apple tree, hence the discovery of Newton's Law? I bet Maynooth took the whole idea with full exeggaration of apple treess in a form of an orchard to increase the odds of one of her students would be able to come up with some great theories/laws ;)

Finally the painting is done

Yes, I have started painting again after years. This time around I want it to be more professional - real brushes, high end paints, easel, canvas etc. My forte is never portrait or figure drawing - never. But, as a going-away present for a friend, Itamar, I wanted to run away from the typical gift (when I should have just got an after shave or something, after the agony of having to paint the face on the very last minute and trying to survive the headache from lack of sleep!).

The process is so hard (no doubt I enjoy painting, no question about that). Thank god the talent is still within me. And it is my first time painting using acrylic paints, and on canvas, and on easel etc. It is not easy - as they dry so fast and use of water makes the colour drips and runs. I am glad I am done with this. I had to refrain myself from going out to enjoy the sun (yes after days of cold days, today is full of sun rays and the town is brimming with people).

Here goes the painting that I have been working on for a month now. I am quite glad with the outcome and I am quite glad that it is now ready to be given to Itamar - my best wishes to him for his new life in Netherlands.

+ The sad part of this is, my first serious painting in 20 years, it turns out great and I have to say good bye to it very very soon and it will travel to Netherlands, and where ever else Itamar will take it.

Now, looking at the painting it is rather satisfying the fact that I could accomplish that. But the whole journey was a bit more than that, from choosing the right paints, canvas and the step by step painting process from sketching to what I handed over last night. But here goes...

+ The process

Market Bar & A Chat on Economy

I went out with mates last night and it was an enjoyable evening at Market Bar and even Itamar said that he would hold his farewell party at that place. It was my first attempt to sample foods at the place after 2 failed attempts. The food is great – tapas and some other foods that scream Spanish.

+ Market Bar

We talked about so many things. Paul and Itamar just got back from holiday in Brazil. The pics were superb. One thing led to another – and then I led them into talking about the credit crunch that’s faced, generally, by all nations across the world. I was called to talk about it for 2 reasons;

1) Lehman Brothers filed for protection against bankruptcy over the weekend, &
2) The attitude of Irish towards wealth and the sustainable economic activities post Celtic Tiger - whether or not it'll be able to survive the turmoil.

Yeah, you guess as much – I bored them to death. Hehe. But that is not the point. I was surprised, Lehman Brothers, fourth largest investment bank , would set the record as the largest bankruptcy in US history. It has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection listing bank debt of $613 billion, $155 billion in bond debt and assets worth $639 billion (Source: Wikipedia.com).

What sent shivers down my spine was – the spokesperson of Lehman Brothers appeared to be a little adamant to claim that the credit turmoil is being faced by all economies and all companies to certain extent, regardless of the size. They have regarded as their bold move to step to the plate and asked for protection should be seen as no sign of further damage that will take place but enough to urge companies to do honest self-assessment on the status they are in. Yes folks, what this tells us – it is not bed of roses ahead of us. No one can tell how bad the credit crunch is right now and how much worse will it be. But one thing for sure – be aware, be vigilant and be sensitive towards what’s happening.


And how this relates to Irish economy? Well, other than the general pain from credit crunch that is also being faced by Irish economy, I want to assess the economic situation of this country in general. History states a fact that Ireland was once one of Europe’s poorer countries with not much economic activities. There were hardly jobs for the people. Hence, this explains the larger Irish community in the US, in the period of emigration during the hard period. And to cut the story short, Celtic Tiger took place. Basically, the economy boomed tremendously in the 90s, that has never been seen before and slowed down in 2001 onwards.

Irish have been deprived of wealth for hundreds of years and then this period of 10 years is somewhat something they have been waiting for. Local Irish and emigrated Irish formed the force to take advantage of these local economic activities. But something is missing from the equation – sustainability of this whole thing to pass it on to next generation. This is apparent from the recent construction bust, the crazily priced houses, the high rate of rents, the generally more expensive things compared to other cities in Europe, high tax and not much going to the public services. I can go on and on here. The crux of the matter is sustainability. I spoke to an Irish friend recently, and he summed it up well – Irish were deprived of this for many years and now that greedy side of them comes out.

In a nutshell, what there is to take away from here is the idea of fair distribution of wealth across a nation in sustaining development - and especially true to help in difficult time like right now. Sustainable economic development is not only about recycling (as an example), but the ability to pass on the comfort and wealth to the people of next generations, without widening the parity gap. In the case of Irish economy, that is not really apparent to me especially in the domain of public/people. Let’s not get me started to talk about public service and health system. That is a whole different article. I am not certain if Ireland sees the current credit turmoil, but I am sure some would reflect "I wish I could've done it differently!"

Random Ranting - Fasting

It is approaching 5:00 am. I am still sitting on the couch, staring at the muted teley, thinking about the lazy Sunday I am planning to have. I have absolutely nothing on my mind except that I need to be in town/city by 5:00 pm to meet Liam and to break my fast with him. It is really funny when I told Liam that I still have a number of days before I am completely done with my duty.


It is fascinating to note, this weekend is all about being hosted by friends of different beliefs for iftar. It started off with Mark on Friday night - it was superb. He prepared tortilla & salad for dinner. It was rather funny when the first thing he offered me was water/juice. He was wrecked from walking. And he assumed, I was in the same state. And I explained to him, not even a sip of water that I could take during the course of completing it. At that very moment, I knew that he had added new knowledge to concept of fasting that I am doing. He was even amazed with my 'strength' to watch Planet Food on the cable TV while observing my fasting. To me, that is not big deal!

Last night, Mike and Susan invited me for dinner or iftar at their house in Leixlip. It was my first time getting to know Susan and the kids - lovely kids - Alexander, and Alyana - and also the dog, Molly. It was fantastic time that we had. They asked questions on fasting and the whole concept and they connected it to Lent etc. I can see that they are improving their knowledge about fasting in Islam and the rationale behind it. Within my limited knowledge within this domain, I attempted to answer their curiosities. It was so good to have such dinner - we talked, and talked and talked. I gave Susan a batik sarong and she immediately fell in love with it. In the same breath that I suggested that batik can be used as table cloth, she was so keen to wear it as shawl. Well I am not sure now, the fact that I have told her some people use it as table cloth :)

Tomorrow, is Liam's turn. If the sun is out, I will try to go out early - shopping for some stuff that emak has asked for. That is after I refuel the car. Oh my, yes you heard me right - thank God I was not stranded on the motorway (M50) when the car fuel was down to the last few drops. No petrol stations were open at that early hours of 11.00 pm (on the way back from Mike's). I promise I will not be procrastinating when it comes to refuelling the machine. Lesson learned! (I had to turn the radio off to calm myself down, "Yes Zul, you can make it"! That was the mantra, played again and again in my head)

OK now, I am beginning to sense that the do-go-to-bed-now-or-else headache has started to blanket my head. So I must dash off real soon. I am not sure what this entry was going to be - but there you go. Uh, I don't really care. I am ready to retire for the night.

Juadah berbuka di perantauan

Sememangnya, kehadiran Ramadhan memang dinanti oleh setiap umat Islam. Kerana bulan agong ini bukan sahaja menyaksikan ketawadukan hamba-hamba Allah menunaikan Rukun Islam yang ketiga ini, akan tetapi ia juga menyajikan pahala yang berlipat ganda untuk setiap amalan yang dilakukan.

Berpuasa di perantauan, bukanlah sesuatu yang asing bagi aku. Walaupun tiada apa yang serupa dengan apa yang dinikmati di bumi sendiri, akan tetapi ia tetap menggamit perasaan ingin menikmati juadah yang selari dengan selera kita tatkala Ramadhan menjelma.

Pada minggu lepas, aku begitu bersemangat untuk menyediakan Kuih Ketayap, setelah Kuih Ketayap ciptaan Ramz mendapat kutukan pedas para juri (sila lihat tagboard). Jadi apa yang saudara/i lihat di dalam paparan gambar-gambar ini adalah bukti yang Kuih Ketayap rekaan tangan aku ini, mampu memancing undi lebih besar untuk aku terus berada di Realiti Ramadhan kali ini.

Berbekalkan seturus gula melaka yang aku bawa dari Malaysia, aku sediakan intinya. Kelapa parut kering pula, walaupun bukan ditaja, tapi boleh didapati di Tesco. Hidangan yang serupa juga akan aku cipta untuk Sabtu ini di mana aku akan bermakan malam di rumah Mike/Susan. Setelah sekian lama dia dia merancang untuk membawa aku makan malam di rumah mereka, kali ini, aku akan merealisasikannya.

+ (1) Sediakan inti - Kelapa, gula melaka, gula pasir dan sedikit air

+ (2) Sediakan adunan untuk kulitnya - Tepung, telur, susu, sedikit air, perasa pandan dan sedikit garam

+ (3) Gunakan senduk kecil untuk membuat kulitnya diatas kuali non-stick

+ (4) Inilah hasilnya :) Selamat menjamu selera!

- Sekian -

Ramadhan Al-Kareem

It has been ages since the last update I composed for this blog. I have not been hibernating, neither have I been gallivanting. Anyway, this is going to be a short entry. For a quick reminder, I still have entries that I owe myself and my loyal readers (hehe). The entries I owe:

1) Trip to London for Malaysia Fest
2) Trip to Glendalough with Luke/Zul
3) Trip to Donegal with mates
4) Breakfast/picnic in Glendalough (again) & shopping in Kildare
5) Picnic at Malahide Castle, before the 1st day of Ramadhan

Ouch! That is a lot.

Well, now we have stepped into Ramadhan. Of course, things are moving so fast and all of a sudden it is another cycle of time, and Ramadhan arrives again - as promised. It has been so meaningful and it has been manic as well. Thankfully, there is Faris who cooks every single day without fail. Ramz, from next door teamed up to cook stuff. Some of the stuff we have feasted ourselves on were; karipap, bubur kacang hijau, mee bandung, kuih ketayap (or gulung), pengat labu, rendang ayam, masak lemak cili api daging, ikan masin... and many more. Tomorrow (Fri 5th Sept), I have invited Anuar from office to come over and join us - a sneak preview of what's on the menu; nasi tomato, rojak buah, karipap sardin (again! very nice indeed), cucur pisang etc.

+ Mee bandung prepared by Faris

I have asked my sister for recipe of seri muka (it looks complicated) but I have indeed checked some steamers from Argos to realise this mission. I am not really certain whether it will come to fruition, but let's see. I am craving for seri muka and I am not surprised if I just go out to buy the steamer for this. And days to come, perhaps I will prepare buah melaka too, since I still have the gula melaka wrapped somewhere.

+ Kuih Ketayap by Ramz

It is also nice to learn that some of the local mates over here are all excited about me observing Ramadhan and started asking questions. Mike, from office has booked 13th Sept (Sat) to host me for iftar. I will drive to his place in Leixlip and I will prepare some kuih ketayap for the family and his 2 cute kids. We have been wanting to have this get-together with his family for ages now.

+ Karipap sardin by Faris

Mark has booked my time next week for a dinner as well. He will prepare some Mexican food. I am so excited about all this, but as it is, I am very tired due to hectic days at the office and I tend to avoid weekdays to go out after work. But, it looks like I'll be busy a lil' bit to attend all these Iftars. I like it busy, before I know it, it is already my trip to the airport to fly home - that will be on 26th Sept 2008- I can't wait. And time flies too fast - it's magic.