Still takleh tido...

Jet lag tak habis-habis... probably masa kat Frankfurt aritu pun tido lambat sampai almost 1-2am every night...

Love the train rides in Europe like the ICE - InterCityExpress trains that go at least 120km/hr.. I've also been on the Paris-Geneva TGV (my ultimate dream came true 2 years ago... ni pasal cerita Mission Impossible lah ni...) that went about 300km/hr... I wish the hi-speed train from KL-Singapore project becomes a reality.. only 1.5 hours ride!! But the price janganla macam cekik darah... like my TGV ride tu was free, since we already bought the Eurail tickets about 400 Euro that covers 2 weeks of trips across 3 European countries...

Now tengah berangan-angan nak tangkap iPad satu.. hehe still not available in Malaysia. In Singapore dah ada.. costs about RM1800+. I've checked the prices.. kat UK kalau convert it would be around RM2100+, Australia slightly more expensive than Singapore, and US still the cheapest at less than RM1600. Aritu I checked at Dubai Airport Duty Free shop... they were selling at RM3300+++ gila! Ingatkan kat Dubai bolehla dapat less than Singapore price.. bolehla swipe credit card, pastu mintak 0% installment plan... so bayar dalam RM150 sebulan for 12 mths oklah kot... but bila dengar je RM3000 lebih.. terus keluar kedai.. hahaha

I've actually buang my "ShoutOut" box sebab dah terlampau banyak spam kat situ...

I am also thinking of making this blog private... what say you? :)

Caroline in Frankfurt

This year alone, I've come across 3-4 ladies with the name Caroline. From the travel agent who booked my tickets, to the lady I met in Australia, and this time in Frankfurt, another Caroline - the 60++ year old German who hosted me at her apartment for 9 nights.

I got to know her by chance. As I was scouting for the best accommodation deals in Frankfurt for the duration of the book fair, I came across a "Craigslist" ad which I responded to. The person replied that since I was going alone, might as well he hook me up with a friend of his who has a room to let, instead of the whole apartment.

So he asked his friend, Caroline to contact me. I didn't know how she looked like, how old she was etc, but this lady could surely send/reply emails with attachments of the application forms, complete with a request of my photo so she could shortlist her candidates for the sole room she has... haha I guess I was the cutest one applied hehehe

For 60 Euros a night, that was a steal! Since the other Malaysians who were in Frankfurt had to fork out between 195-200+ Euros per night for just a hotel room with wifi.

For 60 Euros, I had the cozy room, shower room attached, a computer if I wanted to use, free wifi, free daily breakfast and night snack that consists of cereals & milk, fruits, breads, cheese, tomatoes, tuna flakes, chocolate pudding, fruit juices, chocolate milk, tea & coffee, and of course, Caroline doing my laundry, changing my towels and cleaning up my room everyday!

Service at its best!

So far I've been very lucky in getting the best apartment deals off the Internet... from the ones in Bologna, Paris, and now in Frankfurt... all had excellent connectivity to the places where I wanted to go with great facilities within the accommodation and around the area..

I wonder if Malaysians can provide such excellent service... if a 60++ year-old German lady can provide such service, it's a shame that we can't.

That reminds me.. I have to get Caroline a Malaysian thank you gift! :)

Baru balik Frankfurt...

Just got back from Frankfurt on Wednesday. Still fighting the "gangguan ritma harian" or "lamban jet" or "lesu jet" (I swear those are the official Dewan translations of jet lag)... hehe

It was a truly fruitful trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Verbally agreed to get my books to be translated into German, Russian, and Spanish and to be distributed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, and all Spanish speaking countries. Now tengah sebok mengarang contract for each deal. I wish I have the money nak buat modal for the capital to support the production and demand from these countries... I punya style, takde duit, jangan pinjam, jangan expand.. Buat setakat mampu... kalau orang nampak potential, bagi je duit tu toksah banyak soal.. the money will come back to you insyaAllah... I don't have time and patience to do paperwork although people say I'm excellent at that... I just do my work, my pace, my style... :)

The book fair was HUUUUGE... didn't manage to jalan through all the exhibition halls. It was like 4 or 5 times the size of London Book Fair!! I can cover London Book Fair in just 1 day, 4 days in Frankfurt pun tak habis nak cover the Frankfurt fair...

Got the best deals in a "homestay" accommodation (paid only 60 Euros per night for 9 nights, as opposed to 190+ Euros per night other Malaysians had to pay). And that is inclusive of laundry (the landlord basuh and lipatkan), breakfast and evening snack.

Managed to sneak my way to Munich, and Salzburg (Mozart's birthplace) for 2 days for jalan-jalan... (train to Munich was 3 hrs, 45 Euros pergi balik from Frankfurt and train to Salzburg was 2 hrs, 30 Euros for 2-5 people pergi balik from Munich).

All in all I spent roughly RM6k, but Matrade will reimburse 50% of my flight and accommodation... so kalau nak ikutkan it was money well spent for the potential business I get :)

But I missed Rayhana's birthday! :( Ja, the kids and those at home did a small celebration.. but I think we're gonna make another one soon with me around :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAYHANA!!

Rayhana is 2 years old today!!!! Happy Birthday Rayhana!!!

Super Busy Month

Hectic, emotionally and financially draining month... lots of work done mostly in my head rather than in writing or what people would like to label as "action" (I do most R&D work in my head and not putting it down.. hehe) most of the time, if the time comes that requires for me to get it done in writing or "action", you can be sure that whatever is written/done is thoroughly researched and qualified and I can get the writeup/work done in just a fraction of the time it would take for anyone to write a full blown proposal, report, or doing the "action" as professionally as intelligently as possible.

Whatever I want to do, how I want to do it, be it business or family matters, it's all in my head, from the planning, execution, expected deliverables, all the way to the expected revenues, how to get it, and all the plan B's and C's etc.

With all that in my head, it really requires me to block off "intruders" that may come from other people's nagging, instructions and orders (gosh I get loads of that), etc., what more if the "intruders" expect me to be financially involved... that would definitely ruin all the equations and relationships between all the different entities I've already made in my head.

So I block them off.

I do have priorities.. and they change as I see fit..

Rayhana is going to be 2 years old next week.. that sure brings out a smile in me.. syukur and proud of what she can do so far at her age.

Rayyan is realizing that much of the time has been more on us blaming him for Rayhana's crying etc that he occasionally seeks affection from both of us. He would sleep while holding my arm and sometimes would put his head on my shoulder while laying on the bed watching tv... that brings out a smile in me as well...

I have so much respect and love in Rayyan for tolerating Rayhana & us blaming him on many occasions.... I occasionally "test" him to see if whatever I did to him was harsh or not.. if I could bring out a smile in him, then it's all okay...

Smile!

:)