Happy New Year wishes

This is the most interesting New Year wish I got this year..So, I wish you guys the same hehehe

"It is time to say good bye to the year 2008 and welcome new 2009. I hope you did well and there was nothing left behind to be sorry for"

Ahaks...insaf tak?? I never receive such new year wish like this before hahahaha...

Happy New Year!

Notre Dame

When I read or heard the word Notre Dame, I always imagine the plot in novel or cartoon The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The novel was written by Victor Hugo in 1800s with original title Notre Dame de Paris..I guess most of us know about Notre Dame from this cartoon instead of the real Notre Dame hehehe...probably on me...

Here are summary of the story, which I copied somewhere :-)

The story begins during the Renaissance in 1482, the day of the Festival of Fools in Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer, is introduced by his crowning as Pope of Fools.

Esméralda, a beautiful 16-year-old gypsy with a kind and generous heart, captures the hearts of many men but especially Quasimodo’s adopted father, Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his lust and the rules of the church. He orders Quasimodo to get her. Quasimodo is caught and whipped and ordered to be tied down in the heat. Esméralda seeing his thirst, offers him water. It saves her, for she captures the heart of the hunchback.

She is later accused of the murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo killed in jealousy, and is sentenced to death by hanging. Quasimodo saves her by bringing her to the cathedral under the law of sanctuary. Frollo rallies the truands (criminals of Paris) to charge the cathedral. The king, seeing the chaos, vetoes the law of sanctuary and commands his troops to take her out and kill her. When Quasimodo sees the truands, he assumes they are there to hurt Esméralda, so he drives them off. Frollo betrays Esméralda by handing her to the troops and watches while she is hanged. Quasimodo pushes him from Notre-Dame to his death. He then goes to Esméralda’s grave, lies next to her corpse and eventually dies of starvation. Two years later, excavationists find the skeletons of Esmeralda and Quasimodo locked in an embrace.

For me Victor Hugo did lots of study before he wrote that novel..Same like Dan Brown in Da Vinci code-exactly what you can found out yourself hehehe...ok, here are several pictures during my visit..More pictures in my facebook. To get into Notre Dame is free and the Q was very fast although long Q. To go to Notre Dame tower, I paid 7.50 euro and I queue for more than 1 hour in chilly weather hehehe...also, expect the worst, the staircase was really steep and narrow. Only 1 way...Not suitable for old fella or kids..

me-Notre Dame background

you can take boat tour to get to Notre Dame..me?? org kemut naik metro la :-))














Long Q to go inside notre dame



















inside notre dame..erk..I went there on Saturday so I can't post what was happening inside..In case might offended somebody..



















Quasimodo worked here-he was blind, deaf and ugly...hmmm...



















Stairs to go to bell the bell...oh yea, this was the place where he kept Esmeralda...very steep staircase..






































View from notre dame tower














Along the road to Notre Dame














View from Notre Dame tower

Antara dua darjat...

Sy terpanggil untuk menulis rasa hati tentang bencana alam di Malaysia sejak akhir-akhir ini. Mula-mula kita dikejutkan dengan tanah runtuh yang mengorbankan 2 kanak-kanak. Seminggu kemudian kita dikejutkan lagi apabila 14 buah banglo musnah sama sekali di Bt Antarabangsa. Tak cukup dengan itu, beribu-ribu mangsa banjir di seluruh Malaysia ditempatkan di pusat-pusat pemindahan banjir..Ini tidak termasuk kemalangan bas baru-baru ni yang mengorbankan 10 orang di Johor..

Dalam semua kejadian yang disebutkan di sini, yang manakah mendapat liputan luas?? Yang mana ditawarkan dengan pakej-pakej menarik? Yang manakah yang paling banyak dibantu?? Jawapannya cukup mudah, mangsa tanah runtuh Bt Antarabangsa..Walaupun kesannya memang buruk, tetapi jika nak dibandingkan harta benda dengan nyawa mungkin tak terjawab. Pak menteri sibuk mengunjungi dan membuat kenyataan akhbar berkenaan kejadian tersebut hinggakan Ali Rustam yang di luar kawasan turut membuat kenyataan. Mungkinkah kerana pemilihan UMNO tidak lama lagi, atau pun kurangnya keyakinan untuk memenangi pilihanraya kecil di Terengganu??? Mungkin hanya spekulasi sy...:-)

Berbalik kepada kisah antara dua darjat..Saya tidak pernah terbaca kerajaan bercadang membayar pampasan kepada mangsa di Hulu Kelang...Yang membuatkan sy tertanya-tanya macammana kerajaan boleh terfikir untuk membayar pampasan untuk pemilik rumah tersebut. Tidak cukupkah kalau pemaju, jurutera, dan mereka yang terlibat dalam membina dan menyelia kawasan tersebut diminta bertanggungjawab?? Kenapa mesti wang keringat pembayar cukai digunakan?? Tidak cukupkah tawaran bank e.g. Maybank untuk membantu mangsa secara memberi pinjaman dengan pelbagai keutamaan?? Tak cukupkah kerajaan campuran Barisan Rakyat yang memberikan 50% potongan hotel untuk mangsa???

Dalam banyak-banyak tawaran tersebut, saya tidak pernah terbaca pihak bank atau pun pihak kerajaan membuat tawaran sedemikian untuk mangsa-mangsa bencana alam lain cotohnya mangsa-mangsa banjir. Tidak pernah terfikirkan mereka ini, RM1000 untuk warga kampung sangat besar ertinya untuk membina semula kehidupan..Tidak pernah kita terfikirkah jumlah RM1000 tidak membawa erti yang besar untuk pemilik Bt Antarabangsa ini...? Jawapannya, mangsa-mangsa bencana alam di kampung akan digula-gulakan dengan wang saku manakala mangsa2 Bt Antarabangsa akan diberi pampasan berlipat ganda...Pada saya, kalau mampu membeli rumah di kawasan mewah, tak mungkin mereka tidak mampu untuk membina kehidupan baru tanpa bantuan...hmmm....

Saya masih ingat ketika ribut di kampung saya sendiri, selepas beberapa hari (bukan serta merta) penduduk kampung telah digula-gulakan dengan wang pampasan RM700. Walaubagaimanapun jumlah tersebut sama rata samada hilang 2 keping atap zink atau pun rumah runtuh. Itulah adilnya kerajaan Perak dahulu. Tak cukup dengan itu, wang sumbangan untuk mangsa turut disalahgunakan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu untuk memeriahkan majlis penyerahan cek sumbangan..lawak yang saya akan ingat sampai bila-bila..

Kesimpulan dari tulisan antara dua darjat, kalau kita di atas, walaubagaimana burukpun nasib kita pasti ada yang membantu. Kalau kita di bawah, dah jatuh tu bersedialah untuk dipijak..:-D..menyakitkan tetapi inilah realiti...


p/s: huiyoooo...kagum tak dengan kebolehan sy menggunakan BM tanpa proof read???

Journey towards 'carte de sejour'

When I first arrived in France, I did not have slight idea what the hell was carte de sejour. As far as I was concerned, we provided everything to the company to do necessary arrangement for our stay here. Before I came here, I had terrible experience with visa, somehow I managed to get it almost 1 month later than my colleagues. .

When I arrived here, we were told we needed endorsement from Prefecture for our stay here. Actually carte de sejour is a card almost like work permit so that we don't have to carry our passport around. Prefecture is almost like Bukit Aman Police who controlled everything including immigration. As experienced by many people (try google immigration in France, ANAEM, prefecture, work permit in France), the Prefecture was nothing but full of bureaucracy...The first day we went to 1 of the Prefecture, we were sent to other branch-Cite. When we went to the Cite branch, we were told for carte de sejour application, we needed to go to another Branch in Gaite. In the Gaite branch, after we queue for almost 3 hours, we were told we needed to bring some documents hahaha...I felt like Bangla or Indon queue in front of immigration office...

In our next trip to Prefecture office, we queue for 5 hours before we were told we needed to supply some documents, and do medical check up in ANAEM. The thing I hate the most at Prefecture was the office was full of 'colourful' people..Most of them were not professional...Imagine, queue in Malaysia surrounded by African, Nigerian, Indon, Bangladeshi and other immigrants hehehe...I just thought, well I could be easily infected by any disease soon..hmmm...how stressful the condition...... Oh ye, since we were guinea pigs, nobody really knew what to do. Then, after days of waiting, finally ANAEM asked us to do medical check up. The medical check up was ok, not that scary compared to at prefecture..

Once we got ANAEM clearance, we were told we must supply birth certificate in French...Any of you bring birth certificate everywhere??? Not me though. The last time I used my birth certificate was in primary school. Thanks to my friend that helped me to scan and later courier my birth certificate to Paris. I did the translation from Malay to French in Malaysian Embassy.

Yeah...I also thought everything was over when I had all documents. When I went to the Prefecture again, I was so surprised to see how they hired 'robot' instead of human beings..hahaha..How brainless French is..My passport stated my full name with binti. In my original bith certificate that was issued in 1977, it only stated my first name and my father's name was stated in Name of father. The robot at the Prefecture refused to accept me the 'daughter of Abdul Razak' is similar person with me 'binti Abdul Razak'...see...told you French are stupid...End up, I went to Malaysia embassy and they issued me with a letter saying that me in Birth cert and in the passport is similar person..hahahaha...I felt so stupid even to ask for such letter, but what choice did I have???

Today, we went again..Thank God, we were served by a very helpful person. Although I was asked to get new pictures, she was very helpful..And finally Prefecture accepted my application but the real card willonly be ready in the next 2 months...Still not over, we were told until we get the real carte de sejour, we were not allowed to leave France...hahaha...helloooo...I'm not that 'religious' to stay in France during Christmas break...

Next few days, we will go again to other Prefecture office to ask for multi entry visa...I hope journey towards carte de sejour will not repeating itself in journey towards multi entry visa hahaha...

yeah...how difficult life is over here..I thank God, finally I accomplished a difficult chapter of my life..also, I appreciate those who help me this far-jasa mu dikenang...

Facebook fever

why I barely post anything in a week or two?? hehehe...Since, I came here I started my facebook using my full name. So, if you have facebook, you are welcome to add me. In fact upload lots of photos and activities in my facebook coz facebook is simpler than this blog..or is it just my excuse??? I just try to save some time....

Surprisingly using facebook, I met lots of long loss friends-could be more than 10 years I think...Out of no where, I came to know I have lots of friends in Europe and UK..hehehe...makin panjang la langkah....

This week is another hectic week per se..Had meeting with our sponsor, had breakfast meeting with Dato' CEO, chase USM for medical insurance, went twice to Malaysian embassy to translate my birth certificate and the most important thing tomorrow I have to go again to prefacture for work permit...Seriously I need a luck for this. The last time I went there, I waited for 5 hours before I was told nothing can be done...I really hope things will be much smoother this time....