Friday, August 6, 2010

walaupun OKU, pd sy, mereka istimewa di mata Allah


bila awk tgk seorg yg cacat, atau OKU, meminta sedekah, atau berusaha keras bekerja. mengutip sampah, menyusun kotak - kotak, dan makan dgn gembira apabila ada yg sudi menghulurkan bantuan, apa yg terlintas di fikiran awk? ada yg berusaha keras utk berjln, sewkt org lain berlari- lari anak, menyelamatkan diri sewkt hujan lebat. tak lupa yg mendendangkan lagu-lagu dan menjual tisu. apa yg awk rasa waktu tu?

wkt tu. selalunya sy diam sebentar. sy tgk, dan kadang laju sy mengalihkan pandangan. sebak. bnyk yg bermain di fikiran.

rasa simpati, kasihan, tak lupa jg, kagum. wkt tu, baru rasa insaf, rasa bersyukur. simpati dan kasihan sbb, bkn senang berada di tempat mereka. persepsi setengah masyarakat yg terlalu memandang hina, sedangkan, fikirlah logik akal, mereka tak minta pun lahir atau dijadikan mcm tu. kalau bnde tu jd dkt kita, tiba-tiba demam panas, atau kemalangan, kemudian tahu-tahu, kita dah cacat, atau kurang upaya, mesti kita pun sedih, bnda yg kita tak pernah minta, jd dkt kita.

kasihan sbb kdng ahli keluarga sendiri pun ketepikan mrka. pdhal mrka patutnya dibantu. kasihan dan simpati sbb ramai majikan tak mahu bagi mereka peluang bekerja, sebagai inisiatif, macam-macam kerja mereka buat & pd sy, sy rasa, nilai sekeping duit biru RM1 tu tinggi nilai buat mereka walhal majoriti org sekarang sudah tak endah kalau duit RM1 tercicir. kasihan jgk sbb kadang, bila mereka sakit, pergi ke hospital dan klinik, ramai yg pilih kasih, dan tak pedulikan kehadiran mereka.

tapi sy kagum. mereka tak malu, mereka terus senyum. sy cukup sifat, blh bergerak, melihat, mendengar, tp kadang sy tak jaga dgn baik semua pancaindera yg Allah pinjamkan pd sy. Kalau tiba-tiba esok ditakdirkan sy kehilangan salah satu kelebihan ni, sy tak rasa sy mampu bangun sekuat mereka. mungkin berhari-hari sy menangis, murung? kagum sbb mereka masih blh bergelak ketawa, teruskan hidup, walaupun sentiasa ditindas. kagum sangat, sungguh.

mereka jg buat sy sedar, ciptaan Allah tu pelbagai. dan Allah tu Maha Berkuasa. semua blh terjadi sekelip mata, atas kehendak-Nya. barulah sy rasa insaf sbb kadang tak reti nak bersyukur dgn apa yg sy dah ada, tak reti nak gunakan sebaiknya potensi diri, sebaliknya terus mengkritik diri sendiri, yg diciptakan oleh Allah SWT. insaf, syukur, sbb terpilih dilahirkan sebagai manusia cukup sifat. Alhamdulilah.

melihat mereka. teringatkan sy kpd seorg kawan. waktu berpindah ke Sekolah Menengah Seri Mahkota, Kuantan, Phg, sy dimasukkan ke tingkatan 3RK -- (Rancangan Khas). sy duduk depan sekali, bersebelahan seorg kwn yg sgtlah istimewa. Siti Hawa. waktu itu, sy baru berumur 15 tahun, di mana memerlukan kami sekelas ke sana sini wkt kelas-kelas tertentu. mcm ke makmal komputer, makmal sains, dan perpustakaan. kelas di tingkat bwh, tapi perlu bergerak ke tingkat atas. mcm mane?

time ni, semua budak lelaki kelas akan tlg. pegang setiap penjuru kerusi roda Hawa, naik tangga beramai-ramai. ya kami bekerjasama. bila perhimpunan, selalunya sy akan tolak kerusi roda Hawa. bergilir dgn kawan lain, manakala sy bawakan buku & barang Hawa. Hawa pemalu, pendiam. tp manis sangat bila Hawa senyum. suara Hawa lembut. tulisan Hawa comel. mcm tgn Hawa. comel je. Hawa selalu takut-takut nak cakap dan gelak. tp tu awal-awal je. hehe.

mula-mula, sy rasa mcm susah nak buat Hawa rasa selesa. sbb sebelum ni Hawa duduk sorang-sorang dkt depan. mungkin sbb tu Hawa tak biasa bila sy banyak cakap. Tapi, sy teruskan berbual selalu dgn Hawa, bergurau, tolong ambilkan buku. Lama-lama, Hawa nampak tak kekok & makin selalu sy nampak Hawa senyum. suka sangat. Tapi waktu form4, sy pindah sekolah lg. terpaksa tinggalkan Hawa. sebak, tp Alhamdulilah. Hawa sekarang dkt UMP. tak silap sy, Hawa selalu dpt dean list. kalau tak dpt pun, sy tahu result Hawa sgt bagus.

Aqilah bangga dgn Hawa. Hawa contoh seorg kawan yg pd sy, sgt tabah. Qila doakan Hawa terus berjaya & dipermudahkan segalanya. Hawa jgn rendah diri sgt tau, jgn malu-malu nak bercakap. Qila tak pernah lupakan Hawa. Mama pun pernah ckp, Hawa selalu tanya khabar Qila bila Qila dah tak ada. Qila kagum ada kawan yg cukup istimewa mcm Hawa. semangat Hawa. moga terus berjaya menggapai bintang di langit. ;)

What will Seamus Mullen do next?

 
August 6

People who follow the New York restaurant scene closely were likely surprised and possibly saddened when it was announced several weeks ago that Seamus Mullen had left his job as executive chef and owner of Boqueria.

Naturally, I asked Seamus what he was up to next, and he didn’t respond. That’s fair. It’s my job as a journalist to ask, it’s not his job to answer if he doesn’t feel like it.

However he was good enough to send me a recent picture of himself so I could illustrate a blog entry about him. He sent it with the message: “headshots coming to you from Havana...”

So he was either in Cuba or engaging in a complicated plot of subterfuge, and I don't think he takes me seriously enough to bother with subterfuge.

But it means we get to speculate, and that’s always fun.

What do you think Seamus Mullen will do next? Is he in Cuba doing research for some Latin-American-themed place, or is he just on vacation?

Will he open a new restaurant in New York, or will he try his hand in a new market, like former Buddakan chef Lon Symensma recently said he’d be doing?

Or has he had enough of the day-to-day restaurant rat race and possibly heading to lower-stress and probably higher paying jobs, like former Daniel executive chef Alex Lee, who's currently in charge of the food at Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury New York (NRN’s classified ads saleswoman Leslie Wolowitz says the food is phenomenal), or like former Oceana executive chef Cornelius Gallagher, who's currently corporate chef for the Long Island-based Bohlsen Restaurant Group (and, I hear, considering joining the growing number of restaurateurs who are serving wine out of kegs)?

I’ll leave the speculation up to you with the poll on the right. If you have different guesses about what he’s doing, please write a comment below.

And Seamus, if you’re out there, obviously we’d love to hear from you. Just say “hi” if you like.

happened and going to happen


tomorrow gonna be a super busy day.
and it is gonna be way better than yesterday, insya Allah.


tahu tak, pagi td wkt pergi kolej sy rase kurang selesa dgn mata sy. lense belah kiri. dr semlm lg. tgk x de ape pun. sekali td tgk lense tu terkoyak! time tgh pakai! tak pernah jd, gelabah gile, terus bukak. tskkk. nasib baik mmg dah nak tamat tempoh. pheww~

lepas ni mate warne lain. jeng jeng jeng ;P

lense kalau terkoyak sikit gle pun mmg tak selesa ++ tak blh pakai langsung da. dan harga lense yg sy beli dkt tmpt biasa dah naik, menambahkan rasa ketidak-puasan-hati. grr.

esok buat pertama kali mama & abah nak pergi ke rumah Namin. melawati auntie yg kurang sihat. harapannye semoga semua berjalan dgn lancar & tak de adengan kantoi. terima kasih. HAHA.

sugar sakit perut, selalu beyak cair, and the worst part is -- berak atas sofa. pelik. tak tahan sgt ke sampai tak beyak dkt toilet die. hurm. sudah 3x. bikin mama mengamuk. huaaa. few days ago pergi clinic, x sakit lg. ni nanti pergi lg la kot. kesian sugar, being punished. grounded for hours.

oh ye. credit HP = RM0.00. harap maklum kpd semua yg berkaitan ;P

sudahlah, larut malam sudah, angkat kaki dulu, good nite everyone.


Spicy Dip with Shrimp Paste (Sambal Balacan)

Spicy Dip with Shrimp Paste (Sambal Balacan)

1/8 cup cooking oil
1 (120 grams) medium size tomato, halved and seeded
5 (20 grams) shallots
10 (75 grams) red chilies
8 (25 grams) green chilies
1/2 tablespoon (5 grams) shrimp paste (belacan / balacan)
2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar (gula melaka / gula merah)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lime

Heat 1/8 cup cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Fry tomato and shallots till soft and brown for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Next fry chilies until they turn a shade lighter for one minute.

Drain the oil, leaving only 2 tablespoons of oil on the skillet and turn down the heat. Fry the shrimp paste quickly, break the paste using the spatula for 2 minutes. Remove from heat for later use.

Pound the chilies and shallots in a mortal using pestle hard and slowly for 8 minutes. Add tomato halves (skin removed), shrimp paste, palm sugar and salt. Pound till everything mixed well for 5 minutes.

Squeeze lime juice into the mortar and mix well with spoon. Serve with selections of fresh and boiled vegetables.

Spicy Dip with Shrimp Paste (Sambal Balacan)

Spicy Dip with Shrimp Paste (Sambal Balacan)

1/8 cup cooking oil
1 (120 grams) medium size tomato, halved and seeded
5 (20 grams) shallots
10 (75 grams) red chilies
8 (25 grams) green chilies
1/2 tablespoon (5 grams) shrimp paste (belacan / balacan)
2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar (gula melaka / gula merah)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lime

Heat 1/8 cup cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Fry tomato and shallots till soft and brown for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Next fry chilies until they turn a shade lighter for one minute.

Drain the oil, leaving only 2 tablespoons of oil on the skillet and turn down the heat. Fry the shrimp paste quickly, break the paste using the spatula for 2 minutes. Remove from heat for later use.

Pound the chilies and shallots in a mortal using pestle hard and slowly for 8 minutes. Add tomato halves (skin removed), shrimp paste, palm sugar and salt. Pound till everything mixed well for 5 minutes.

Squeeze lime juice into the mortar and mix well with spoon. Serve with selections of fresh and boiled vegetables.