Kenangan Aidilfiti

Nak raya ni teringat aku beraya diperantauan. Dua tahun aje. Tapi tahun yang pertama tu syahdu aje. Nak balik duit tak cukup. Malam raya aku dengan member aku berlonggok depan public phone. Call Malaysia guna nombor 1-800-0-900-88-60 (kalau tak salah aku la). Tapi nombor tu nombor operator Telekom Malaysia. Line payah nak masuk. Kami gilir-gilir cuba dapatkan operator tu, siapa yang dapat dulu dia cakap la. Even kalau dah lepas giliran pun, member masih tunggu, tolong dailkan. Bila aku dapat aku pun speaking la, ingatkan operator BT. Ropenye Malaysia! Terus tukar BM..heheh. Time panggilan diselaras dengan waktu Malaysia, jadi aku call rumah atuk aku dalam pukul 2pagi GMT atau 10 pagi Malaysia. Dapat la cakap dengan mak, ayah dengan atuk aku. Masa tu aku tak tahu, tapi family aku dah decide camne nak deflect kalau aku tanya mana Mak Ani aku. Dia tak dapat nak merasa raya tahun tu sebab pergi selama-lamanya November 1994 sebab leukemia. Entah la , hati aku sendiri macam tak tergerak nak tanya pasal dia (bila aku balik cuti summer tahun tu baru family aku bagitau). Apa-apa hal, bila kat tempat orang, lagu macam Dendang Perantau dengan Dari Jauh Kupohon Maaf memang terasa efeknya.

Raya tahun tu aku kongsi masak dengan member aku dari Bath yang beraya dengan awek dia kat Aber. Kami nak buat lain dari yang lain…jadi kami masak baryani dengan tandoori..rendang tu ada la jugak dengan nasi impit. Mak aku pun ada kirim kuih tapi jenis kerepek dengan rempeyek aje. Kalau hantar biskut, alamat aku makan pakai sudu aje la.

Semayang raya buat kat bekas gym universiti, tempat yang sama buat tarawih. Tapi yang aku nak tergelak, tengah imam berkhutbah dia boleh sound golongan ibu dengan anak-anak yang bersembang dan secara umumnya buat bising. Senyap sekejap..tapi sekejap aje la. Lepas semayang kami ke rumah student PhD dengan Masters terutamanya PhD sebab depa dah berkeluarga dan banyak buat makan! Belasah la sate, ketupat (plastik – Adabi), rendang dan sebagainya. Kami pelajar Malaysia terutamanya jadi perhatian penduduk tempatan sebab baju yang berwarna-warni..masa tu late winter/early spring jadi secara umumnya mat saleh pakai baju yang kelabu, gelap dan sebagainya – nak match cuaca!

Petang tu ada kelas, asalnya memang aku nak pergi. Tapi bila aku keluar bilik aku tengok macam kapas gugur dari langit...snow! Snow pertama aku kat UK. Lebat pulak tu, ada la dalam ½ kaki turun. Jawabnya aku sambar kamera aku, kelas Intellectual Property Law aku entah ke mana…ehhehe. Oh, paginya, masa aku nak pergi semayang hujan batu turun.

Raya tahun depannya lebih kurang sama cuma takde snow...dan aku dah jadi biasa beraya di rantau..takde la syahdu sangat. Cuma kali ni aku telefon rumah direct call dengan segenggam duit satu pound. Tak payah nak tunggu. Nasib baik hostel upgrade telefon public tu boleh buat international call..

Di kesempatan ini juga aku nak ucapkan Selamat Hari Raya kepada pengunjung blog aku ni. Kalau ada sesiapa yang terasa hati dengan tulisan aku...aku mohon maaf. Kesilapan tidak disengajakan. Juga aku break dari berblog sampai at least awal bulan 11 sebab aku ambik cuti panjang. Unless aku jumpa CC atau guna PC pakcik aku. Sekali lagi Salam Aidilfitri dari Alpha!

World's Crappiest Modeler!

I am the world’s crappiest modeler. There is no doubt about it. Sometimes my ego got stroked when friends, relatives or students come around my house and marveled at my model collection. Never mind that 99.9% of them have no idea or interest in scale modeling – I could use some compliments. At first I thought my builds are ‘below average’. After the introduction of the internet, the world is opened up. Now I can view models made by modelers from all around the world including others in Malaysia. Wow! As comparison, my builds can be likened to pre-schoolers’ scribbles on an A4 paper whilst those I see in ‘Aircraft Resource Center’ or ‘Track-Link’ or ‘ModelWarships’ deserve a place in the Louvre, or at least, Galeri Seni Nasional (is there such a place?)

I thought that my Tamiya tape seatbelts are the epitome of modeling skills, not! I have seen model aircraft in 1/48 scale with numbers on their instrument panel dials and no, they don’t use some fancy Eduard stuff…it’s painted on! No seam lines can be seen…it’s all smooth whilst mine have gaps and cracks all around! Even if I fill and sand the seams, there is now a small ridge of putty! And talk about putty, I really don’t use the stuff…children’s modeling clay would do! I must also confess that sometimes I get my fingerprints on the models courtesy of stray drops of cement or that there is cement on my fingers. The problem has been significantly reduced for the past few years as I have discovered that sandpapers are useful to the hobby.

Browsing through the internet or the shop windows of Miniature Hobbies and Hobby HQ, I wonder how do they get the lines between camouflage colors so smooth. Somebody told me that they are created through airbrushes. Ah yes…that most basic equipment of any modeler. Well being the worst modeler I stick to my paintbrushes. If I paint camo’d tanks or planes, I’d end up with highly contrasting edges between the colors, totally toy-like and not a model, according to certain zealots. That is unless I’m painting planes which DO have hard-edge camo. Whatever it is, on closer inspection, it looks like they have been painted using mops! Then there is the concept of weathering. Me? Nah, I don’t need to do that, my painting skills have already made the models look weathered!

Most modelers have a dedicated studio to indulge in their hobby. I built my models on the all-purpose dining table. I use the end which seldom used by my family (unless there’s somebody coming for dinner). That part of the table is marked with glue deposits, stray paints, small holes caused by the drill and damaged surfaces from spilled superglue. Good thing I have discovered that window-cleaning liquid and Easy Off Bang are useful to remove the paints!

I am also ham-fisted…I really can’t work with delicate plastic and metal parts, it all got broken or distorted. My PE railings of the inclined ladders on my 1/350 HMS King George V look like it has abused by overweight skateboarding dudes! And sometimes I have to leave off the small parts completely pretending that they are lost through battle damage.

Finally, many modlers arm themselves with a whole array of tools, tools enough to build a real tank/aircraft/car/ships. For me, I just have a scissors, hobby knife, nailclipper and paintbrushes to build my ‘masterpiece’. Oh, talk about masterpieces, My models only look good from six feet away!

Telur Punya Cerita

Masa aku di A-Level, hari Isnin memang best. Hari pasar malam! Yang menariknya pasar malam kat luar pagar hostel aje. Tak payah nak jalan jauh2. Kat situ ada la satu stall ni jual nasi/mee/meehoon/kuetiaw goreng yang pakai kuali besar tu. Ini persinggahan biasa aku dengan gang aku. Ada satu hari aku tak berminat nak bubuh telur goreng kat nasi aku pasal makcik tu goreng tak garing, masih ‘bernanah’ (kuning dia cair lagi le). So aku cakap, ‘Makcik, saya tak nak telur ye’. Yang lain makan aje telur goreng camtu. Lepas tu bila nak bungkus, makcik tu tanya la,”siapa yang takde telur tadi?”. Aku pun mengaku la diiringi gelak ketawa member yang otak ke lain serta kata2 macam ‘wei, selama ni engkau takde telur ye?’…cis! Makcik tu senyum aje.

Juga masa A-Level, kami selalu keluar makan kat ‘Junction’ – sebelah Esso dengan Giant seksyen 18 sekarang ni. Dan makanan biasa kami yang goreng-goreng la. Bila makanan sampai member aku komplen dengan suara yang agak kuat “Eh, telur aku kecik la!” (sebab telur goreng dia ‘cacat’ sket, nampak kecik). Dan macam aku kena jugak, kawan aku ni digelakkan secara beramai-ramai….

Sembilu di Astana Idaman Kasih

Sembilu di Astana Idaman Kasih

Entry kali ni pasal drama nan dua biji di Astro Ria dan TV3/TV9 tu. Dengan rasa boringnya aku isytiharkan dua drama ni antara drama paling buruk walaupun dapat rating tinggi. Sembilu tu mmg patut pun ditukar nama menjadi ‘Sembelit’ sebab dah beratus-ratus episod tak habis-habis. Masalahnya jalan cerita langsung tak berkembang. Minggu ni gaduh, minggu depan Ok balik lepas tu gaduh balik gila2. Minggu ni faham tugas suami alih-alih dua episod lagi terus macam orang dungu! Pasal laki lambat amik lunch sampai nak terjerit-pekik? Dah la tu, penuh dengan adegan flashback...kadang-kadang siap boleh flashback musim lepas punya! Ah, satu lagi mesti ada artis baru syok kat Fendi...arghhhhh!!! Satu lagi bila wtak pompuan mengandung...sikit2 ‘blablabla kau tu mengandung’. Alahai Datuk YH, kami mintak tolong supaya tamatkan drama ni...dah boring la!

Astana Idaman pulak...aku tak pasti, ini drama Melayu ke Mexico? Musim lepas siap ada shoot-out macam cite Hong Kong. Tapi apa-apa hal drama ni memang menunjukkan anak-anak yang kurang ajar…nak kira dah tahap derhaka dah, siap jerit2 maki mak sendiri. Lepas tu pulak kebanyakan watak pulak punya la busuk hati, terutama sapa, Tan Sri Borhan? Tau la orang bisnes ni ada suka tikam belakang tapi ni macam entah…teruk sangat la jiwa dia! Dan juga dalam drama ni aku tengok lagi banyak cleavage didedahkan dari drama-drama Melayu lain! Dialog pun kengkadang lapik ala kadar aje...kengkadang tak cover langsung. Satu lagi nama, tolak Atikah, Borhan, Mansor, Abas, Arman dengan Juwita…yang lain-lain dah macam drama Sopranos pulak, takpun drama Pinoy. Apa taknya, nama Mark, Rocky, Mickey, Tony, Maria…

Dua-dua drama ni letak prime time…sesuai ke untuk tontonan keluarga?

Boeing F/A-18D Hornet

Function : All weather, night capable multi-mission aircraft
Dimension : 17.06m(L) x 11.43m(W)
Powerplant : 2 x General Electric F404-GE-402 afterburning, low-bypass turbofans (8,029kg thrust per engine)
Speed : Mach 1.8 / 1,900km/h
Combat radius : 460 miles (air-to-air); 660 miles (air-to-ground)
Ferry range : 2,300 miles
Armament : 1 x 20mm M61A1 rotary cannon (570 rounds), up to 7,711kg of weapons

The F/A-18 Hornet was conceived in the 1970s as a result the US Navy’s VFAX program to replace the existing F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 Corsair of the US Navy and Marine Corps. The aircraft can perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, roles of which can be switched literally at the push of a button.

The initial A and B models entered operational service in 1983. In 1987, a block upgrade resulted in the ‘C’ and ‘D’ model. Whilst the B model is designed as operational/conversion trainer, the ‘D’ model is configured to be an all-weather combat aircraft. The upgrading includes better version of the AN/APG-65 multi-mode radar (upgraded to AN/APG-73 in 1992), ability to fire the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, SJU-17 NACES ejection seat, AN/AAR-50 thermal navigation pod, AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk FLIR, NVGs and full-colour MFDs.

In 1993, the Malaysian Government announced its decision to purchase new combat aircraft. One of the aircraft types is the D model of the Hornet, of which the government purchased eight. There was an option for a further 12 airframes but the plan was shelved because of the economic crisis in 1997. The aircraft were delivered in two batches; four in May 1997, piloted by TUDM and USMC aircrews and the other four in August 1997, piloted by Boeing pilots. The TUDM Hornets are similar to their USMC counterparts. However aircraft M45-01 to M45-04 are ‘twin stickers’ (dual control) and can be used as operational/conversion trainer. Aircraft M45-05 to M45-08 have fully missionised rear cockpit. The Malaysian Hornets are painted in Gunship Grey, similar to USAF F-15E Eagles. They are assigned to No.18 Squadron ‘Lipan’ (Centipede) based at Butterworth in the State of Penang.

Weapons package in the TUDM purchase includes AIM-9S Sidewinder (slightly downgraded version of the ‘M’ model) IR-guided AAM, AIM-7M Sparrow SARH AAM, AGM-84A Harpoon AShM, AGM-65 Maverick AGM (photos have shown white painted missiles, probably denoting TV /Scene Mag ‘A’ or ‘B’ variant. There is also a photo of a grey missile, probably denoting laser-guided ‘E’ model), GBU-12 Paveway II LGB, Rockeye CBU and CRV-7 unguided rockets.


In March 2003, M45-08 was involved in an accident at Kuching International Airport when it skidded off the runway. The airframe is salvageable although there are damage to the cockpit when the aircrew ejected. M45-08 has returned to service some time last year.

Jawapan Seorang Juara

One In A Million dah habis. Dah tahu siapa pemenangnya walaupun aku langsung tak follow rancangan ni. Macam biasa, kontroversi akan melanda dan sepertimana AF, undian SMS menimbulkan rasa tak puas hati. Kali ni melibatkan bau-bau perkauman sikit pasal pemenangnya bukan Melayu dan dikatakan saluran TV tu majoriti penontonnya bukan Melayu.

Apa yang aku nak sentuh kat sini bukan pasal tu, tapi apa respon Suki bila ditemuramah. Bila ditanya apa nak buat lepas ni, dia kata dia nak sambung belajar lagi dan nak concentrate SPM sebab dah tak lama lagi. Agaknya kalau budak Melayu yang sama baya menang apa jawapannya? Aku rasa mesti camni “Saya tak sabar nak masuk studio...mungkin lepas Hari raya ni dan saya harap perjalanan seni saya ini diterima peminat”...blablabla. Lantak la SPM, aku dah jadi millionaire!

Tahun ke-34

Dah 34 kali Bumi mengelilingi matahari sejak 1972. Dan sebanyak itu la umur aku hari Sabtu lepas (30 September) tapi kalau tolak weekend, public holiday dengan Bank Holiday, umur aku baru 24 kot? Haha.

Wife aku kata, ala baru 34, muda lagi..tapi bagi aku bila dah ada ‘3’ kat digit kedua tu...dah tua le. Perubahan ke arah yang lebih perlu dibuat...aku rasa aku dah mulakan langkah tu, takyah la aku cerita kat sini...sebab terlindung oleh PSA (Personal Secrets Act 1972) Bukan apa, orang kata ‘life begins at 40’. Kalau aku tak berubah by then, jawabnya sampai mati le aku tak berubah! Kepala aku tak beruban, Cuma dah jarang macam aku kata dalam entry sebelum ni, tapi janggut aku dah mula ada grey spots here and there...lagi petanda yang menunjukkan aku dah ‘berusia’ dan perlu act as one.

Aku nak cite apa lagi pun tak tau pasal kepala aku weng lagi. Semalam kena handle student punya elections. Sehari suntuk aku kena berjaga. Masa kira undi pulak, disebabkan kelaparan dan kepala otak yang asyik melayang ke rumah, staf yang ditugaskan bawah aku kira undi sampai lari figure…kena kira balik sebab nak tally up. Pusat mengundi aku yang terakhir bagi result…masa aku sampai kat pusat pengumuman, tengah azan Maghrib. Aku pun dapat capai kuih dengan kurma 2-3 biji aje. Pukul 9.00 baru balik rumah.

Hari Sabtu pulak aku off…tu yang entry ni baru masuk ari ni…belated giler!