Mercury Training

about 3 weeks ago, a long lost friend, a director/producer whom i used to work with, probably about 5 years ago contacted me after so long. told me that he wasn't sure if i was still using the same number. the reason he called was because he had a job for me. not the normal tv program but a coporate safety video. i've done corporate videos before, it normally takes about 3 days to shoot. memorizing scripts is a MUST! simply because we need to educate and inform people about the company we are doing the video for.

of course i said yes to the job. but the process took forever. this video is a lil different because we are going to be doing it for an oil and gas company. we are required to go for training in certain fields. after the long wait, harry (director/producer) called me yesterday to say that the MERCURY TRAINING is on, but not in KL, instead Cherating! say whaaaaat???!!

fine, not a problem, Cherating is not that far, with the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur you can get there in 3 hours. so harry decided that we should just leave very early in the morning and come back the same day. fine with me because i wasn't the one to drive. hahahhhahahah....

the training was to start at 9.30am, so just to be sure we had called to reconfirm, but gues what! the venue was changed to KEMAMAN! say whaaaaat??? hahahaha but despite the change, we managed to get there before 10am. i was the only one to attend the training for today because harry and adam had gone for it last week in KLCC. so the trip today was a joyride for them.

mercury training is a must for each person who needs to be at the oil rig. can you imagine, im gonna be on a helicopter for 2 hours to get to the rig which is 240km off shore! woohooooo!!! i cant wait. that too, we need to go for training..all for safety purposes. best thing about doing the "boset training", it gives me like a "license" that's valid for 4 years! meaning, an advantage for me as a tv host (should there be a need for me to do something similar like this video).

in school we did learn about mercury but only maybe 5 percent of it. so today, its all about ones' safety when we are on the rig and how to deal when we come in contact with mercury.

let me share with you a little bit about the chemical chareacteristic of mercury:-


1) chemical symbol : Hg
2) in elemental form, mercury is silver/white metal
3) emit mercury vapor
4) vaporization increases with temperature and surface area
5) metallic form is insoluble
6) liquid at room temperature (melting point - 38 degrees celcius)
7) weight is 13.5 times denser than waste (1 liter weight = 13.5kg)

there are 3 forms of mercury, elemental, inorganic and organic. when you are on an oil rig, it is very hazardous. the people who work on an oil rig gets paid a helluvalot of money because it is a high risk job. so safety comes first. how can you get mercury into your system? well there are 3 routes of entry:-

1) inhalation - from occupational hazards or pollutions
2) ingestion - consumption of contaminated food
3) exposure - direct contact (cosmetics, creams, dental filling)

they actually showed a video of Minatama Disease which happened in 1908 in Japan where people were exposed to a huge amount of mercury. they kinda go through a slow yet messed up death. they get major alzheimers where they would shake uncontrolably (imagine shaking a bottle hard) and they lose balance. they also did a test on some cats where it had the same effects, the poor cats!

so in order to avoid/minimize the content of mercury in a body we were taught on how to wear a safety suit (tychem) and our safety gears which looks like this...

yea, laugh now why dont you! hahhaaa this took about 15 minutes to wear!

and in the end this is how we're suppose to look like. imagine me in it???!!! i almost disappeared in all that!

and can you believe this dude was actually asleep during the training! caught in the act dude!

hahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahaha hahahahahah!!!

so after learning that, we had to do a practical at a mock-up rig. the guys who attended the training were nice. they helped me in getting dressed and explained a lot to me too! they recognized me from Xplorasi and Langit dan Bumi :p. the guys are working for maintenance where they have to do mercury clean-ups. before and after their job, they need to take a urine and blood sample to indentify the level of mercury in their body. some of the side effects are irritate lungs, cough, kidney, nausea/vomiting, just to name a few. 


so this was what i learnt today...very interesting indeed. u cant take the tv presenter out of me...

i know this is quite a long post, but i just thought it would be interesting for me to share with you. you can never have enough of KNOWLEDGE!

hope you've gained something from this just like i did!

love, me.

masterchef Kelana Jaya!

today i decided to cook lunch because my brother Idzhar will be heading back to the United States tomorrow and his request was for me to cook this! One of my favourite dish to cook...

Lemak Cili Api Crab! its a family favourite. everyone of us knows how to cook this although i have to say today's lemak cili api wasn't spicy enough, which was weird because i had put 13 cili padi, 1 red and green chilli in it?! Ok la, i normally put 15 but i thought by putting red and green chilli it will compensate the remaining 2 cili padi....and so, i was wrong. oh well, it still tasted GOOOOD if i do say so myself!

it was quite a crazy day for me. early morning at 2, i had to accompany a friend to send a friend to the airport. she was going to cambodia with ther family. just before that, i had a meeting with another friend which ended at 1230am. so i only had an hour sleep. after coming back from the airport, i managed to get 2 hours of shut eyes before heading out again to CHOW KIT ROAD to do marketing (talk about old school-not cold storage or village/jaya grocer yo!). so i was like half zombified when i was there to look for crabs and fish and etc...it's been a while since i last went to chow kit. when i was in school, my parents used to get my brother and i to follow them to do marketing every sunday. we would get our feet and clothes dirty and not forgetting coming out from the market smelling like a dead fish! my parents would introduce us to their "people", so they would say, "ok this is where we buy our chicken and meat, if you want to buy crabs, this person here has the best price and for vegetables you go to this aunty here....." and so on and so forth.  then as soon as i got my driving license, everything changed. my brother and i was given responsibilities to go to the market every sunday without them! it was quite an adventure! hahahahahah of course i'm very grateful and thankful to my parents for doing what they did because now i have an extra advantage.

nowadays, its hard for you to hear a modern girl say "yea i go to the market to buy groceries for the house" or "yes i do know how to cook a meal". we are more focused on other things such as work, play, holiday and most of us eat out most of the time. well, maybe after MasterChef people are starting to change their ways???. besides making us go to the market, they also made us cook every sunday. my late mother said she wanted all her children to be an all-rounder, and that includes knowing how to cook for our wives and husbands. :)

i started cooking quite early because lunch had to be served before the Friday prayers. got my ingredients ready...

and im ready to cook! and yes, i haven't slept yet... straight to the kitchen after marketing....

the menu besides the crabs were fish in soy sauce and fried vegetables...

simple yet satisfying! YUMMEH!! bom apetitie!!

might cook again tomorrow too..

i hope you had a great a lunch and dinner just like i did... remember to always drink lotsa of water ok! :P

love, me.

Friend for Life!

This person is special. Her name is Yeoh Ee Ping and u can follow her on twitter @eepings. I first met her when she was 9! And she was a big fan of Disney Buzz. I remember reading her letters to us where she would send in without fail! She was there at every Disney event to show her support and she STILL does in whatever I do, be it work or personal! We got connected again through a phone call she made to Hitz.fm when I was a radio announcer then and that's when our relationship changed from a fan to a friend. And with that I love u babs! Even though you're a decade younger, but it doesn't keep us from being friends where we can share about anything. On this special day, I wanna wish u a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR and besides it being prosperous, I hope our friendship will prosper too. :D 

I'm a beautiful butterfly!

it all began here....

this is a picture of baby Anatasha Abd. Halim. The cute boy who was holding her is my baby brother Imran. She was born on the 8th of August 1994 and she was the first grandchild. And now she looks like this.....

this gorgeous girl is now a beautiful butterfly who has left her cacoon and flown off to Abu Dhabi to stay with her father. She just finished her SPM and she's there to look for good colleges to further her studies. We are all very excited for her because i feel she is very lucky to be able to have the option of "looking" for the best college outside of Malaysia. another reason she's lucky is that SHE GOT TO TRAVEL BUSINESS CLASS!!! hahahha this is because her father is the Captain of Etihad Air! :p

i mean, she and her sister Athira would always fly off to see their father in Abu Dhabi at the end of the semester break and would stay there for a month until school starts again, but this time, Tasha had to travel alone for the first time, and she's not coming back until the end of February to get her SPM results.

                                               (my sister with her beautiful daughters :p)

i still remember how small she used to be! how she used to be afraid of the sand, coz she didn't like the way it felt on her feet. She refused to go to the beach for the longest time!! She was also afraid of the dark for a while, but now she's ok. :) time really flies and can't believe that she will be eighteen and she is legal to be taken to the clubs! arrrhhh!! how awesome is that?! mum, aunties and uncles can take her out dancing..... FINALLY!! hehehe

its funny how everyone was at the airport to send her off because its not like she's going for good just yet! her friend Zhou Han was so sad that she was leaving, he teared! hahahahahah. its funny but its also fun to just go to the airport and have Mcdonalds before sending people off...yea, we are weird that way!

yes! food was expensive but thank mickey my younger siblings are with MAS, so we were able to get discounts! haaaah but it was still expensive! so happy faces everyone.....

when the time came for her to go, we were quite sad, coz that means, 1 less person to pick on!

c'mon, that's what uncles and aunties are for!? to make your nieces and nephews' life fun, miserable and exciting! hahahahaaa!

tasha!! we're all gonna miss you heaps! all i wanna say is, dont forget to have fun and explore as much as you can. you are young only once so live life to the fullest. take care and love you!!
here's a picture of Tasha and her siblings, including Zhou Han.... :D

love, me.

Dreamgirls DinDin

so yesterday i orgnized a dinner with the cast of the Dreamgirls. invitation was fired on twitter and was hoping a lot of people could make it but not many responded to the tweet except for Rydee, Dina, Alia and Nadrah...it's ok ( their loss :p) we had fun anyway, more personal.. :)

we had johnny's steamboat at one utama...YUMMEH! i just love the chili dip served there. johnny's steamboat was my late mother's favourite place. i used to remember how she would make me go to the waiter and ask them to pack the chili dip! it was so embarrassing but i did it anyway. :p 

we had a lovely time there, just the 5 of us and mind you we ate so so much! the usual things happened like gossipping and catching up with everyone. i had a picture taken but right now i cant upload it coz i dont know why im not able to open my iphoto (very very annoyed). once im able to i will put it up ok!

after a wonderful dinner and catch up session, dina took us to her friends' coffee place in taman tun to have desserts called mukha...OMG the cakes that we had was to die for! we had hazelnut chocolate brownie..i think also known as the "aaaaa" cake! hahah, and we had super chocolate cake mud pie ala mode! OMG! i can actually still taste the goodness of them! im sorry for not taking the pictures of the desserts coz i was to immersed in the whole experience while indulging the chocolatie goodness! AARRRRRHHHH SEDAP GILER..im sure you're thinking it must be super duper sweet, but surprisingly it's not! it is just right! Garsh, just writing this makes me drool and craving for more!

mukha was a good ending to a good night, our next girlie session will be a day of mani and pedi. cant wait! hehehehe

love, me.

Hello 2012!

I cannot believe 2011 has left us....a good year it was. I had good working times. New experiences and making new friends..

The year 2011 started out with a brand new show with Astro Prima. Finally I got to do a show with Zainal Alam Kadir, very knowledgable and talented man, and it's called "Langit dan Bumi". It's the brain child of Zainal Alam. When he first shared with me the idea of the show and wanting to present with me, I didn't put high hopes on it. But when the time came, he kept his words, and the next thing you know, I got a call and and we're on the road shooting the program!

We grew really close, as our shooting dates were blocked for 2 and half months! We travelled in a van which Alam likes to call the "Scooby Doo" van. The van travelled all over Malaysia, from one city to the other, north to south and east to west...and how can we forget the pathetic make-shift towel curtains for the van. We bought the towels from Maidin Terengganu. hahahahahaha (long live Maidin!)

A lot of stories, experiences, hilarious happenings during the period of shooting that I will keep with me for a long time..I do plan to share it with you, provided that i discipline myself to write on this blog! hehehehe

Right after "Langit dan Bumi" i went straight for the Dreamgirls rehearsals. That was an experience i wont forget. Firstly, when will we ever get to be or play a role from Broadway??? Then, get to work with a theatre person who IS from Broadway?? And then, meeting new people in a new "industry" ie theatre??

I was very pleased that I was able to showcase my talent in acting, singing and dancing. Who would have thought that I was able be perform in Istana Budaya!

Working with people from different working background is amazing. You get to learn so much, especially when we were told our Jimmy Thunder will be played by a black guy from Broadway who actually left "Jersey Boys" to come to Malaysia! I was extra lucky because my role as Lorell Robinson (Jimmy's girlfriend) gave me the opportunity to work along side Kris Coleman even more! He shared with us a lot of his experiences from Broadway and giving tips on our performance as well.

I totally enjoyed my role and my experience in Dreamgirls, I think that could be one of my proudest moments...*tears* :)

After the Musical, I was offered to do A DIVING PROGRAM! Oh my gosh! I've been wanting to do a show like that in a long time! hehehe the power of manifestation?? :p

I got even more excited when they (Screenart Studio) told me that we will be staying on Mabul Island for a whole month! DANG!! Who would've thought??! It was soooo gooood! Now, I don't have to imagine what it would be like to stay on an island for a whole month! hahahahah

Everyday i woke up, got my gears and ready to dive...it felt like i was home..the sea was my playground in my backyard. I got to dive in Sipadan a total of 8 days! We even came to a point where we were willing to let go 1 of the days in Sipadan! I mean it's not easy to get there, everyday resorts are given a quota of 120 people a day including snorklers to be in Sipadan, and we were just spoilt! hehehehe

Thanks to Scuba Junkie for all their help and hospitality during our stay there. Not forgetting the people in Mabul, the Suluk people especially Abg. Mokhtar, the sweetest and most helpful man! We even got invited to weddings...yes more than once..we didn't feel like strangers at all! Im wishing for season 2 of 13 Hari Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai.. *crossing all fingers*

And now 2012 is here and I'm hoping it would better and more awesome opportunities come my way. A lot of ideas and things to do not just for me as a TV Host, but branching out into other areas. Time to grow my company Gumblow Cabxi (M) Sdn. Bhd.

I wish you the best in 2012, be sure to come and check on my blog k! I WILL make it a point to blog more! hehehehe *blushing*.

Talk to you soon!

love, me.

time to take it easy...

I know I suck at keeping my blog updated, but this time my reasons are valid! heheheh.. I have been so so busy since the month of March shooting a brand new travel show for Astro Prima called Langit dan Bumi which will be on air after Hari Raya. I am actually looking forward for this show. I am sure you will find it awesome too!

We were supposedly to shoot all 13 episodes till end of May, but due to some un-foreseen circumstances, we only managed to shoot 11 episodes. The reason why it had to finish by end of May was because throughout June I will have to go for rehearsals for DREAMGIRLS the musical which will be in Istana Budaya from the 14th-24th of July. I am playing the youngest Dreamgirl, Lorell Robinson. So u must come and watch me okay???!!!

I have been been working non-stop, 7 days a week and am not complaining. Its just that it has gotten the best of me. I came back and went on with my rehearsals everyday from 10am-630pm. Saturdays and sundays are sometimes taken for shoots and weekday nights I have to do my voice-overs. So I think its about time that my body says "ENOUGH! TIME TO TAKE IT EASY!"

So yesterday, I decided not to go to rehearsals and go see Dr. Jo instead. And now I am at home, able to blog this! hahahaha.. I have a bad cough and wheezing and a flu. I just hope I will be alright on Monday so I can start singing and dancing again for DREAMGIRLS. I actually miss everyone at rehearsals :(


This is me, trying to keep my throat heated with VICKS as advised by Cheryl Samad, who is also in Dreamgirls :p