Sepetang di Tepi Pantai

West Haven Beach

Petang tadi lepas balik beli "Biscuit Ice Cream Hiding" dari 7-11, mr ayah & littleman terserempak dgn atuk & nenek tgh nak keluar rumah. Biasa la mesti bertegur berborak depan pintu rumah. Kebetulan diorang nak pegi tepi pantai. Nak tgk cucu diorang ada beach volleyball game. Ada league cikgu2 sekolah thru out summer ni. Since mmg tgh bosan, mr ayah & littleman agreed nak ikut sekali ke tepi pantai. Mrs mama malas nak ikut.

Sampai tepi pantai ada a few beach volleyball courts. Bila sebut cucu atuk ni, jgn la bayangkan budak kecik, dah jadi mak orang pun. Anyways, mr ayah & littleman wouldn't bother much pun pasal volleyball games ni. We spend our time by the beach. Collect seashells and chasing seagulls. Littleman pun sibuk gak mengeja nama dia atas pasir. H.A.R.I.T.H. Tapi bila dia malas, huruf H je yg dia tulis, yg lain takat sebut mulut je la. Ada a few kids yg buat sandcastle and main2 tepi pantai. The weather was really nice today.

After an hour plus, kami pun balik...

Jonas Brothers' Fan

Our littleman nie peminat Jonas Brothers aka Jo Bros (as what littleman calls them). OK la... dpd our son minat Hannah Montana, better la dier minat dgn Jo Bros tu.

His current favorite song is Burnin' Up:



Obviously chorus part la yg selalu kedengaran kan...
I'm slippin' into the lava
And I'm trying' to keep from going under
Baby, you turn the temperature hotter
And I'm burning up, burning up for you baby

So, itulah yg dier nyanyikan... awal2 dulu tak jelas sgt amende dier sebut. Psl littleman lebih rock kan lagu nie :D yg jelas hujung2... babyyy... ;)

First song of Jo Bros yg littleman sangkut was When You Look Me In The Eyes Then biler disney movie Camp Rock keluar, dier sangkut dgn lagu We Rock lak!

We rock, we rock, we rock on

Clip videos Jo Bros selalu keluar kat disney channel, tergedik2 la littleman menari sambil gayakan main gitar depan tv. We are planning to get a guitar for him soon. Support la sket kalau anak dah minat ;)

Jenjalan US 2008 - Long Island, NY

Long Island, NY (23rd July 2008)

Dalam weekend aritu mr ayah chat dgn kawan sekolah dia, Fadhil aka Gebak over YM. He told mr ayah that his flight will be stopping over in NY. Jadi dia ajak la jumpa. Since dah a few times dia stop over kat NY tapi tak dpt jumpa sebab timing manjang je tak kena, kitaorg pun agree nak turun jumpa dia. Tambah pulak mmg tgh free ni.

So off we went to Garden City, NY since he is staying there. Kitaorg pi makan dulu kat Point Lookout Clam Bar & Fish Market. Outdoor seating, dock view. Makan sedap, harga pun murah. :D

The trip takde specific hala tuju. Yg kitaorg tau, nak cruising along Long Island. Menurut kater Gebak, nampak cantik sgt dr atas. Dier dok psg niat dah lama dah nak drive along sepanjang Long Island. Weather tak begitu memberangsangkan, foggy weather and angin yg kuat. Tapi nasib baik gak la tak hujan. At the end of our cruise, we crossed over via Robert Mosses Causeway bridge to get back to Garden City. Kira macam buat satu pusingan la...


Later mr ayah dropped mrs mama and littleman kat Roosevelt Field Mall. Then mr ayah pi lepak2 with Gebak, while mrs mama dok melayan littleman kat mall. Langsung takde chance nak shopping biler berdua je dgn littleman. Littleman sorang je la yg shopping, book and toys. Layan je la kehendak anak bujang sorang... Oh btw, maser kat mall tu ader org tgh search for kids model. Mrs mama and littleman was approached and asked whether interested or not :D

We went back to West Haven around 6pm. Singgah beli Krispy Creme for mr ayah and mrs mama's dinner. And singgah Pizza Hut plak for littleman's dinner.

For more pics, please visit our FP and FB.

I'm Yours

I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

Aper kena dgn lagu nie skrg nie? tgh musim ke? First time kitaorg dgr lagu nie from mr. ayah's sister's blog. Not bad... boleh ler masuk dlm category kegemaran mrs mama. Then, tadi masuk blog gorjesss ader gak lagu nie... Udahnyer now dok terngiang2 dlm kepala kitaorg :D and mrs mama dah download lagu nie, hehehe...

Enjoy!!!

Makan2 and MRI

Last saturday we had makan2 session at one of the m'sian house here. It was a farewell for a guy who is going back (for good) to M'sia bumi tercinta. Dgr je nak pi keluar, littleman la org yg paling excited... psl dpt keluar rumah :D Kesian betul la littleman nie, since summer break nie mati kutu duk umah jek!

The farewell was held outdoor, ader bbq sekali. Food mmg bykkk... potluck, and we brought dessert. Crowd... the usual crowd plus few others yg kitaorg tak pernah jumpa.

Ader this one guy, baru balik from M'sia. Balik for 3 mths, jaga mak dier sakit. Balik ke US, he told others about his mom's treatment. His mom ada kena buat MRI, and ada lah salah sorang nie mcm kagum M'sia dah ader MRI. Wah!!! dah baper tahun tak balik M'sia nie? Ke tak amik port psl perkembangan di M'sia? Mr ayah once did MRI in 1997 at Ampang Puteri. We believe MRI technology had arrived in M'sia long before that.

Sorry aaa takde gambar on this event. Tak terpikir pun psl nak amik gambar, so tak bwk camera :D

The 5Qs Tag

Question 1:
What were you doing 5 years ago?

Tgh serve the 1st 6 months as a humble Civil Servant. Rezeki org baru dpt anak pertama. Time nie belum masuk DPA la... masuk DPA in August... Mcm mana la kawan2 semua dah pegi DPA time ni? Aku ingat kita satu batch, confuse aku..

masih dlm pantang... lepas bersalinkan littleman. dok lepak rumah je, layan Pangako SaYo... hiks!

Question 2:
What were the 5 things on your to do list everyday?

1. Get online - check email, check weather forecast, check highlighted news worldwide (belum mandi lagi ni, online dulu)
2. Start buat assignments, papers, research and the required reading - ni of course lepas mandi (senang buat pagi2 sebab littleman blm bangun lagi)
3. Layan littleman main - video games, wrestling, ball or ikut dia la nak main apa (tapi for Summer ni Aku Seorang Kerani, balik keja baru layan dia)
4. Kalau ada masa hari tu, pegi bermanja2 dgn Shadow. Bawak dia jalan2 (normally sorang je - littleman takut nak naik, takkan nak naik dgn mrs mama and tinggalkan littleman? Alasan je... Hehehe)
5. Online lagi utk tujuan academic & tak academic (since ada WiFi and laptop sorang satu. tu yg korang boleh tgk kitorang manjang je online)
   

Lepas bangun tido and mandi:

1. mandikan littleman
2. bakar ayam for littleman, suap dier makan pasik (nasi) and chicken
3. masak (normally dah ptg baru nak masak)
4. sudoku, buku citer
5. layan tenet (FB, blog, korea, google maps... recce2 maner nak pi laie...)

tiap2 hari pun dok buat mende samer jek... dah jadi routine sejak jadi surirumah di US. boring giler kan!!! kalau kat m'sia nie, harus colorful to do list hari2 ;) sib baik la ader internet yg laju nie... mmg my lifesaver!!!

Question 3:
What are 5 snacks that you enjoy?

aiskrim, cokelats, choc cake (mrs mama secret recipe), maggie (tomyam, kari, assam laksa), potato chips

We share the same taste bud...
Tapi mr ayah ni letak apa aje depan dia abis semua dia bedal...

Question 4:
What are 5 things that you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. pi umrah/haji selagi terdaya with the whole family
2. nak duk belah western US lak for 1 yr, especially kat Seattle
3. nak merayap Europe sampai ke Moscow
4. nak jenjln umah billionaire Eriq kat south america
5. melawat the rest of world and cuti2 umah kawan2 billionaires yg lain (semua dah jadi billionaires kan???)

Kami ni mmg kuat berjalan...

Question 5:
What are 5 jobs you’ve had?

1. software engineer kat Guinea
2. Tech Support kat anak syarikat TM
3. PM kat anak syarikat TM
4. A humble civil servant (Berkhidmat utk Negara)
5. Kerani kat UNH (kira keja gak kan, even tak dibayar gaji?)
   

1. software engineer kat Guinea
2. System engineer in an IT company in UPM-MTDC
3. IT executive kat Proton (now on unpaid leave)
4. surirumah (dpt upah leh shopping kat US)
5. ... balik ke proton kah? cari kerja baru kah? teruskan jadi surirumah kah?

Since org2 awal yg buat tag nie dah tag hampir semua org... so kitaorg won't tag saper2... peace!!!

The Nomination for Cleo Most Eligible Bachelor 2009

Cleo Most Eligible Bachelor is back in town. We had decided to nominate our good friend Eriq Nor for Cleo Most Eligible Bachelor for the year 2009. We have submitted the nomination and now we are waiting for the confirmation whether Eriq Nor is eligible to run for the next step.

We will update when the time come to cast the vote...

Together-gather for Eriq Nor!

*Eriq, seriously play² aaa...

The 3 Stooges

Littleman rindu betul dgn his beloved cousins. Asyik la tersasul2 sebut nama cousins dier. The day we flew to US, menangis giler maser berpisah dgn diaorg kat KLIA. And awal2 sampai US, hampir semua boys around littleman's age yg dier jumpa dipanggilnyer Aiman. If not Aiman, Aliff. Hahaha!!! Rindu sgt la tu. Both his cousins are now in standard one.

- BFF... insyaAllah...

Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah

July 14th, 2001
On this date, 7 years ago it was one of our days to be remembered. Today, 7 years ago mr ayah and mrs mama got engaged :)



- pic courtesy from aunty ixo's blog

We share today's date and every year to come with these two beloved atuk and nenek of littleman (mr ayah's parents) for they are celebrating their 35th Anniversary. On the same date, nenek also celebrating her birthday. Moga kasih kekal berpanjangan hingga akhir hayat...

Not to forget, littleman's opah (mrs mama's mom) who also turns one year older on this date. Nenek and opah, Selamat Hari Jadi... semoga panjang umur, murah rezeki dan hidup diberkati Allah swt.

iPhone 3G - Unleashed

Apple Inc. launches the new iPhone 3G worldwide on Friday, July 11th 2008. Unfortunately, Malaysia was not one of the participating country for this gadget. I wonder why? The nearest for the Malaysians to get an iPhone 3G is in Singapore. However, Apple is smart enough to "take charge" of their market by having "teaming agreement" with the major telco provider of that country. For instance, in the USA, Apple teamed up with AT&T, in Germany with T-Mobile, Swisscomm in Switzerland and Singtel in Singapore.

No doubt that iPhone is a sleek gadget in terms of look with intelligent features. The Multi-Touch display is really a seller. It makes navigation at ease especially with the wide screen. Accelerometer is another extra function that add a plus point to it. Whenever you move/rotate the phone, the screen will automatically adjust to portrait/landscape mode automatically. Cool, huh?

Connectivity? 3G, WiFi, GPS et all. You name it they have it. Tapi tak sure pulak GPS and map tu ada map Malaysia or not. Kalau tak, tak berbaloi la beli kat sini. Beli kalau bawak balik, tak boleh fully utilize the functions, no point la.

Anyhow, regardless whatever the technology offers (most of the time, the gimmick that have been featured by the ads), the bottom line is do we really need it? Unless you're still using Nokia 3310 or MT V3, I guess it's worth an investment for upgrading. Or else, this gadget will end up as normal phone. Think twice before investing.

As for us, the temptation is there, but we settle for our E90 while it lasted.

*Tapi the new HTC Touch mcm menarik pulak!

Jenjalan US 2008 - Niagara Falls, NY

Niagara Falls, NY (6th July 2008)

Since the distance dari Kent ke Niagara Falls ni takla jauh sangat , around 4 hours driving. We decided to give Niagara Falls a try. Niagara Falls ni besar, yg kami nak pegi ni kira side US la, which is located in the State of NY. Near Buffalo to be exact.

We were told that Niagara Falls ni yg cantik sebenarnya belah Canada. Tapi memandangkan leceh nak kena ambik visa pelbagai ($150 multiple entry / $75 single entry : per person) we give it a pass (for now).

Once we reach Niagara Falls State Park, we straight away had our lunch in the park. Siap bawak bekal tu, bihun goreng, hot dogs, jagung rebus and simple rojak (timun + mango plus kuah rojak). Tak dpt kuah rojak mak bee or mcm Cheeky Pah dgn Vivavogue buat pun takpe la. Janji dpt lepas geram makan kuah rojak. Mana Joey jumpa kuah rojak kat Ohio ni pun tak tau la (ke beli online?).

Next we hop into the boat ride known as Maid of the Mist Boat Tour. Before naik tu, diorang siap bagi baju plastik ala2 baju hujan je. Littleman refuse to wear, takpe la dah agak pun sure dier takmo pakai punyer. During the boat ride, we were brought nearby the Falls itself. Apa lagi, mmg tempias la kena air. Littleman seronok sakan la dpt main air. The boat tour was around half an hour. It is really worth it la. Cantik view Niagara Falls ni, tak tau la mcm mana rupanya from the Canadian side. Kalau yg ni dah cantik, kat Canada sendiri mau ingat la.

Before we head up to our next destination, singgah sat kat HRC Niagara Falls. Kecik je HRC ni. Barang pun tak byk. So tak lama la kat sini. Beli t-shirt for littleman je, yg lain semua tak berkenan!

Next target... Niagara Falls Fashion Outlets! Since pergi on Sunday, kedai2 tutup pukul 6pm. We spent about 2 hrs je kat sini. Ok lah jugak, kalau lebih lama nanti lebih rabak la plak! Tapi hasil for 2 hrs pun not baddd... ;) Mr ayah got another suit??? wink2* (joey, i know i pun lebih kurang je :P)

Niagara Falls basically concludes the episode of Jenjalan US 2008 for now. Niagara Falls was just a day trip. We headed back to joey's place and went back home to CT the following day after lunch. We opt for a different route; longer by an hour / 30 miles but more interesting. Selamat sampai rumah around 10.30 pm.

Where to next? Belum tau lagi, but there sure will be more... ;)

More pics are in our FP and FB.

Jenjalan US 2008 - Kent, OH (Outlet Shopping)

Kent & Aurora, Ohio (5th July 2008)

We woke up a bit late today. Nak cover balik penat and tak cukup tido for few days. Esoknyer plan nak travel jauh lagi, so relaks la one day. Since hari ni we've decided not to go far, it was a little bit relax. Furthermore, we have promised Joey that mrs. mama will cooked some decent meal. Kesian la kan, since Joey ni dah la single.

Later after we settle all the logistic matters, off we go to Aurora. Primary mission is to check out Aurora Farm Premium Outlet. Its just nearby Joey's place tapi dia sendiri pun tak pernah pegi situ (aper aaa joey, dah 7 mths la kiter duk US!). We drove around 20 minutes to reach our target.

Aurora Farm Premium Outlet ni is a class of its own la. It looks more country-like outlet. Brand selections are as usual. Polo RL, CK, Eddie Bauer, Guess, Fossil, Adidas, Nike, Bose and of coz Coach (at last, bought something here ;)).

We spent the whole evening there. Nasib baik jugak la ada playground kat situ. Our littleman spent his entire evening in the playground. Budak lain berganti keluar masuk, dia aje yg maintain kat dlm tu. Mr ayah and mrs mama bergilir la tunggu littleman kat situ (actually most of the time mr ayah je tunggu :P)

Jenjalan US 2008 - Chicago, IL (Day2)

Chicago, Illinois (3rd - 4th July 2008)

Day 2
We woke early since tak nak rugi masa. Checked out from the hotel and simpan semua bags dlm kereta. Dah settle simpan barang, bermula episod jelajah Chicago.

We took a stroll along the Grant Park. Cantik, especially time Summer ni. We did take some pics around the park, and not to missed the Buckingham Fountain too. Kata orang since fountain ni dah jadi landmark Chicago, tak complete la trip ke Chicago kalau takde gambar kat fountain ni.

While walking in the park, kami start atur plan. We've decided to start with the Shedd - The World's Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the world. At first our impression was like, sure lebih kurang Aquaria KLCC la ni. However, we were wrong.

Shedd Aquarium is HUGE! They seems like have the collection of the underwater world, globally. Really impressive and not to be missed while you're in Chicago. Dlm Shedd, kami sempat tgk dolphin show dgn Spongebob 4D show. It was interesting though even nothing to shout compared to those in Disney. We were amazed with the collection of the underwater creatures yg ada dlm tu, especially those dlm Wild Reef.




From Shedd Aquarium we took a boat ride on the Michigan Lake from Shedd Aquarium to Navy Pier. The ride was around 15 minutes and dpt la tgk Chicago skyline from the lake. Navy Pier nampak mcm meriah, byk activities for the kids. But we decided to skip, since our next target is HRC Chicago.



We get some souvenirs from HRC and had our lunch there. The nachos, vegie burger and grilled salmon was great. The portion are big, siap leh tapau bawa balik.

From HRC we walked back to Millennium Park. On the way, we did stopped at few boutiques (as usual, mr ayah sempat lagi beli suit). At millennium park, ader Cloud Gate, design lebih kurang mcm bean. Ramai betul org kerumun bean nie. Semua nak tgk reflection masing2 :D We skipped the Crown Fountain coz we knew, kalau lalu situ, confirm littleman sangkut kat situ. Ramai betul budak main air kat situ. Joey je yg pergi snap pictures kat situ.

We headed back to our car, and bergerak balik ke Kent, Ohio, joey's place.

More pics are in our FP and FB.

Jenjalan US 2008 - Chicago, IL

Chicago, Illinois (3rd - 4th July 2008)

Day1
Dgn badan penat travel almost 10 hours the day before plus tido takat cukup syarat, we start our mission to head up north to Chicago, the Windy City. Journey around 5 jam lebih. Nasib baik la ada Joey, dia la yg drive all the way. The trip was a bit slow sebab hujan.




In Chicago, we checked in at The Palmer House Hilton hotel, area Chicago Loop. Cantik!!! and recommended. Nasib baik la dpt hotel yg strategic and betul2 dekat dgn center. After a short rest, kami start berjalan sekitar Chicago. Rugi la kan, dtg jauh2 dok dlm hotel. Target nak ke John Hancock Center or known as Hancock Tower. Jauh jugak sebenarnya jalan dari hotel ke Hancock Tower ni, ada la around 20 minutes. Nasib baik kami dah invest beli stroller for littleman, kalau tak jenuh gak tu nak dukung dier. Dtg angin dier malas jalan, mmg boleh buat mr ayah and mrs mama hilang mood, psl penat nak dukung dier.

As we walked to Hancock Tower, sepanjang Michigan Ave tu, sempat la cuci2 mata sambil pasang target kedai mana nak singgah masa on the way balik nanti. Its kinda chilling in Chicago, patut la orang panggil Chicago nie The Windy City.

Joey insisted us to try The Cheesecake Factory. Alang2 perut tgh lapar, we all decided to have a go. The food was good and the portion was big. Puttanesca and Cheese Pizza was good. Tu je la pun yg agak confident nak order dlm menu tu pun. Ops! tak lupa jugak one slice of original Cheese Cake. Heaven!!!


Lepas makan, we walked back towards Grant Park nak tengok fireworks. July 4th is the Independence Day, and the day before that ada fireworks show and concert. By 5pm orang dah start ramai, and polis pun dah start tutup jalan. On the way to the park, sempat la kami menyinggah a few kedai. Mrs mama mcm biasa pasti tak lupa singgah Coach (eh! i tak beli la kat sini, the one yg dicari takde stock!).

Fireworks patut start at 9.30pm, tapi mcm janji melayu jugak diorang ni. Dah dekat 10pm baru start. It was worth waiting. The fireworks took place for solid 15 minutes. Cantik... Tapi sayang littleman ni penakut sikit, especially masa mula2 start. Bunyi meletop2, sama kuat je dgn suara dia menjerit. Tapi bila dah start nampak colorful, dia ok dah.


Habis je fireworks, kami balik terus ke hotel. Malas la nak tunggu concert, lagipun esok ada misi nak jelajah Chicago.

More pics in our FP and FB.

Jenjalan US 2008 - Kent, OH (Travelling Day)

Kent, Ohio (2nd - 7th July 2008)
Currently blogging from fren's place in Kent, Ohio.

Perjalanan ke Ohio nie byk pula cabarannya. Bertolak around 11am, which was already quite late considering we would be traveling for 8hrs journey. Hit the i95 highway, baru lepas 2 exits, mrs mama teringat yg dier terlupa nak bawa passports. Patah balik ke rumah, amik passports, bertolak again. Hit the i95 highway, after 2 exits, suddenly our rented car, a buick made funny noise. Tak raser mcm tayar pecah, tapi the sound agak kuat jugak la. Other drivers pun dok menoleh ke arah our car. Stopped tepi jalan, tgk takde aper2. Tapi mcm ader bau hangit. So decided to patah balik to the car rent centre. Sekali bila check, the fender yg support the front bumper dah jatuh. Tepuk dahi mamat kat car rental tu. Lepas buat all the paper work, diorang bagi a replacement car. The replacement car is a nissan altima. Bagus gak, this car lebih jimat minyak compare to the buick.

After transfered our luggages to altima, we hit the highway again. That time was already around 1215pm, starting je dah tak smooth. Next, traffic jammed pulak once we approached NY, and another very long traffic before we crossed NJ to PA... tension... tension... Journey across PA was boring. We used i80, byk giler trucks on the road. Polis pun bersepah. Service area tak byk, we only stopped at 1 service area, at Clinton county. Itupun dah pukul 6 ptg. Makan bekal nasi and daging kicap.

We arrived in Kent dah dkt kul 10 mlm, lebih dr 8hrs!

Badan agak penat ni, since we are always on the go just to make sure our trip is fully utilize. Tapi pada para peminat Together-gather, teruskan bersama kami utk update yg seterusnya... mcm poyo jek!!!