Resolution for this month!!

I badly need to spring clean my bedroom, effectively now!!! The plan has been overdue for quite sometimes...sigh. Tak tahan!! I cudn't bare to see the things all over the place. Bersepah ok. Some are still in the luggage, hand luggage, plastic bags, karung u name it! My stuffs from hajj, kb n now from outstation. And I'm postponing this again and again...hmmm. So my resolution is to make it happen before Feb 2011!

Baghdad??

This is my first time in Baghdad, the city of late Saadam Hussein. Being outstation in Iraq is a different experience altogether compared to other part of countries that I've been. Due to current unstable situation in this country, we can't take for granted the risks that we might face. For the first time in my life, I put on a 5kg bullet proof vest, with the help of bodyguard (it's heavy ok) and I was escorted with armed bodyguards, armed driver and also escorted with two separate security bullet proof vehicles whenever we need to go out from the camp. It's a company procedure for the security vehicles to escort our 4WD, each of them is in front and behind of ours. For the first time also, I hear this kind of instruction from my bodyguard: "if both of me and the driver got shot, pls press this button. This will link to the security for a rescue" Hmm... do you think it is such a cool instruction?? 

One of the street in the city of Baghdad. The picture taken otw to Ministry of Oil.
Not many pictures taken as I was conscious with the presence of armies with suspicious look along the checkpoints...

Along the way here, we had to go through series of army check points, went through the body scan machines, showed them our passports, etc. Hmmm, procedures that I normally watched in the action movies and apparently I'm experiencing all these, now. We convoyed with 4 SUVs for the 3 of us to go for a meeting with Iraq Ministry of Oil staffs. The bodyguards waited outside of the meeting room and we were escorted all the way until we reach the camp. The con is, we don't have the chance to go to somewhere else. It's strictly business. No fridge magnets peeps!

Alhamdulillah, the meeting went smoothly. And alhamdulillah so far so good. We did hear some shootings sound from a far distance. I'm not sure whether it's a training camp nearby or any real shootings were actually taken place. I noticed few attacks-status from the security screen during the security briefing on the first day here however those were far from our camp. I always pray to Allah for our safety and can go back to Kl as scheduled. Thank God, they have wifi here in the camp. I don't care if I don't have big screen tv or fridge in the room but I desperately need to get access to the Internet. Alhamdulillah we have all of those in the room ;) There were few electric trips occurred during our stay. It was damm scary at first. Just imagine that I was in total darkness in the new army camp. However it only takes like 3-5 mins each time. After several times, I've got used to it huhu...

Can't wait to fly back to Dubai tomorrow and hope to be back to KL on Friday as scheduled. I miss my family. Akid started his new year school without me and hubby around. Poor him ;(

Bullet proof jacket and helmet beside each bed in the camp

Testing 1 2 3

I've just remembered that I do have a blog and it has been almost a year now, since i last updated this huhu.. Try to update my blog from my iphone and well it's not bad at all. Even it has become a common thingy, but for the gen x folk like me, who prefer the hard copy compared to the softcopy, and favor the real computer / laptop or at least an ipad rather than surfing using handphone, I can say it's quite an achievement! haha...
Today, for the first time ever i shop online using iphone and I just have to get used to a small screen! Zoom in & out the screen,hmm..
I'm the type of browsing using at least a 10" screen if not the 46" tv screen!

Btw i love my new toy...

I'm in Muscat...

Nov 13th 2009.

This post has been in the draft form for like a month ago while I was out stationed in Muscat with my 2 other colleagues... I remembered, I gave up as the Internet connection in the room was not stable. Till then, I was extremely busy to update this blog of mine... Currently, I'm on my 3 wks-leave, resting & working from home... bliss, bliss...;) but I guess I have to go to work on the 3rd week, if not the 'never-ever-finished-office work will start piling up... :(

Sight of a camel on the desert otw to site visit. It was a day trip by a 4W drive which was 4 hrs journey to site and coming back to Muscat for another 4 hours. Reached Muscat @ night huhu... We were refreshed by having delicious 'kebab' cooked by Zamzabi folks by the dim street...

Mountainous view along the journey

My room.

It was not bad even at a cheaper place @RM600/nite compared to next door hotel, Hyatt @1K/nite.

Stopped @ Sink hole otw back from our personal trip.

Fortunately we got a day off, waiting for conformation from site mgmt to obtain permission to enter site. At the same time, It did compensate for working over weekends on Sat & Sun ;P

One of the famous forts in Muscat

Stayed @ this hotel - Muscat Safari Resort.

We could picked the fresh dates falling from trees...

The view of the Oman beach. It was all covered by pebbles...

This was @ Wadi Shaab. It took us 1 hour to walk along the pebbled path under direct hot sunlight before we reached the right place for having our lunch... however it was worth the effort after we reached the splendid view of grand canyon with the small river of clear greenish water flowing in the middle...

View of golf course for PDO (JV of Oman & Shell) staffs

Addiction

For the past two months, I had the chance to read quite a number of fiction books, not because I was really free but I was somehow addicted to these books.... Especially when I was on holiday or on business trip, which I had spare times to read in the flight, taxi or even in a train (Reading-London)... Being outstation alone, I could just spent my night time reading, before going to bed or even in the morning before shower or during breakfast... Gosh, I couldn't believe myself, it was just like my teenage years...:P

My say:

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series relates more on teenagers' lovey-dovey life with a stretch imagination of vampire & werewolf characters... The main character in the book is Bella, a high school girl who's deeply in love with a romantic vampire, Edward Cullen and befriends a werewolf, Jacob. A very smooth flowing and engaging story ever...especially as I've already watched the twilight movie. (can't wait for the next movie- new moon in Nov.) I'm thinking of getting the 4th series -'breaking dawn' later, depending on my time & my mood for reading...

Sophie Kinsella's novel collections are obviously funny and engaging as well... even most of the times, the madness for Becky to shop is quite exaggerating... The main character in this book series is Becky, who's funny, spontaneous and the type of 'go with the flow' girl... and it's balanced with Luke's character as a firm, smart and a loving partner. I watched the movie - confession of shopaholic after reading the book & it was quite frustratingthat the movie's storyline twists quite a lot from the book, ... btw, it's still entertaining...