Football oh Football

EURO 2008 will come to its final on June 29, 2008, gosh it was just like yesterday when the streets were full of supporters and players. Soon it will be back to normal, just tourist walking around, same thing different time.

I guess most football lovers will be counting for the next Euro, meanwhile they are doing what's best as you can see from the pictures in the posters (which I captured yesterday on the way to the U station :)

This is the way to catch

He went too far into the net

They are the die hard supporters

Fortune Tellers

Do you believe in fortune tellers? Have you ever been to one, then ponder and wonder how the hell does he know about me? I have stumbled upon them coincidently many times but I have never let any of them read my palm. To me some of the fortune tellers are quite mind boggling and interesting, however I never take what they say seriously and often I would just forget them.

Two times since I have been here, I met the so called fortune teller, once was last winter when Amal and I were out shopping. We were stopped by this Punjabi looking guy (he was wearing the turban), he was saying things about me, and one way or the other telling me what to expect in the coming year. Politely, I told him that as a Muslim, it is wrong for me to believe in whatever he was saying. He just kept on going even when we decided to walk away already. Last Saturday, hubby and I were crossing the road when I was again approached by a similar character. But this time he instantly introduced himself as a fortune teller, and again the babbling about me, we politely said thank you and walked away, however, he was not done the babbling even when we were walking away.

Ultimately can I say that fortune-telling should not be seen as a very rigid belief. Personally, I find them very entertaining and can I also say that it is like a self-therapy, meaning you take what was told as a dosage of being aware always. When I was with the Diplomatic Mission, I had the opportunity to meet with Essam Khashoggi , it was a very interesting encounter. This is one guy who told me directly that he seek the help of the fortune teller diligently, he told me that the best ones are from Cairo. During that meeting, he had arranged for a lady to come and read his palm from `China Town’. She does not speak English and the translator was bad, the charge was 1,000RM being a house call. It’s amazing how someone can be so willing to pay such an amount for something so superficial.

Having said all this, I somehow found this person by the name of Michel Hayek aka as the modern time Nostradamus very interesting. He claimed that what he does, anyone can do it too. He does not term his predictions as fortune telling or likewise, he is just telling what his feelings were through tuning in to vibrations, images and signs that he gets day and night, even during his sleep by concentrating. He said that there is nothing exceptional to his ability of prediction.

So, can we then conclude that a kind of special force do exist in each and every one of use, if we concentrate hard enough????

Roti John and Sago

By 1800 hours on Sunday, hubby told me to get ready for a walk, but I was really not in the mood as the weather was super hot. The other reason for staying home was to watch F1, however the heat was making me tired too.

I decided to make `Roti John' for dinner, so here you go:


Beaten eggs and minced beef


Top with wholemeal bread


One side done


Top with cheese and tomato and ready to eat


Sago for dessert

Stuffed Eggplant

Two full days of walking and walking; our legs are sore, actually the knees more than the feet. Decided to take a break this Sunday, even the idea of going to the park to complete the painting seems so distance. Our incomplete painting still sitting diligently in the paper bag, ahhhh……………… well one day may be it will be done. For now, it is EURO 2008 time.

Hubby vacuumed the house, he made breakfast, so I have to cook lunch. Here is our Sunday lunch, stuffed eggplant and it was yummy.

Pocket is made in the middle of the fried eggplant

The eggplant is stuffed with cooked minced beef

The homemade tomato sauce, I don't like to use the commercial brand as it will not taste as good

All stuffed and ready

Tomato sauce is poured on top of each eggplant and ready for the oven

After 15 minutes in the oven, ready to eat with Lebanese rice

The end result

Friday, 20.06.2008

It is Friday today, and Friday is always happy day for us because this means that hubby will be home for the next 2 days, Saturday and Sunday. However, today we have so many things to do. Hubby went to work as usual and he has a scheduled meeting at 1000 hours, and I was begging him to try and take half day off.

He called me at 1200 hours that he is able to take the half day off, happiness for me of course. I left the house to meet him because I need to go to the Infirmary as my eyes have been bothering me too much. Due to the weather change both eyes have been very itchy and tearing all the time. This is due to the fact that I am allergic to the airborne pollen.

We also have an appointment to meet a real estate agent to view a property at 1300 hours; we were squeezing for time, as we never like to be tardy for appointments. Decided that we will go view the property first and then to the infirmary. The agent and the owner was very pleasant and welcoming, we like the property but it is kind of small, so we will have to do a lot of thinking first.

After the infirmary, hubby was hungry but he does not want to go around with his working attire, so he went home to change while I mingle in the shops nearby the house. Lunch was horrible for me because we thought that the restaurant was Japanese by virtue of the name `Yumiro’ but it turned out to be some kind of a combination between Mediterranean and Asian, hubby enjoyed his though.

Once done with lunch we have to go to the University, and we went to the Tram station just to discover that they have decided to close all the roads leading to the Parliament house, the University and all the surrounding areas there, which has been converted to a Fan Zone for the EURO 2008. Well, what luck but we are not turning back, so decided to walk there. Believe me, we actually walked there. Along the way, we were body checked as we have to enter the Fan Zone, people were very nice and everyone was enjoying the sun and the music. To not feel the weight on our feet so much, we danced in front of the live band, we joked, we laughed, we made stupid remarks of each other, we just had total fun and we reached the University at last. Guess what?? *sigh* the student board was already closed. Hubby looked at me at said `nasib’, so we will have to come on Monday, InsyaAllah.

We hanged around the University for a bit more, then well, of course, we have to walk the distance back, as no transportation is allowed at all on the Fan Zone closure. Body checked a second time upon entering; however we realized that the distance seemed shorter. The countdown to the match is approximately 3hrs 50 minutes, hemm…… too long a time to waste just like that.

We decided to walk to the market to get some minced halal meat and also to go to the Asian store, as hubby wanted to eat `sago gula melaka’. We found the Asian shops, in fact we went to three of them but no `gula melaka’, so I decided to compromise and bought palm sugar instead. It works, you w when you are away from the destination of the known, make do always. So, Alhamdulillah.

When we arrived home, we calculated that we have actually walked a near total of 20km today. Before, I would pick a fight if I have to walk but after months of gym sessions back home, walking is a must. I miss walking and I feel that my body becomes very moody if I do not walk. Hubby had insisted that I sign up for a gym here, but what’s the point, I would rather go walking with him in the evening or whenever he’s not too tired to entertain me as my walking buddy.

He was drenched with sweat, his face was red, we could not hold hands any more as both our palms were so sweaty, my feet were bruised, our bodies were crying but we had fun, we know that nothing matters, and if we set our heart for something we have to get going. Weather the rough water and success will be sweeter. You are a darling honey; truly you are and thank you for sticking by me always for the sake of the kids.