No Time Off

Letting Out

2012-02-16T18:02:00.004+08:00

It is hard to find happy things to do nowadays. I cannot think of happy thoughts pun. I am tired to start thinking. Sigh!

The maidless thing is creeping slowly to the nerve. A maid came for a week after the one yang "kabur". She stayed for a week and dropped the bomb to say that she wanted to work in a restaurant. Boleh ke? Grrrr.... So I sent her back to the agent.

In the meantime, Emak lent me her maid. Then one fine day, as she was on her way to go back to Emak's for the weekend, my little sister's maid ran away (my sister lived with Emak together). Like it or not, Emak's maid whom she lent to me temporarily had to be sent back to Seremban for good.

It has been madness, by the time I came home about 8 pm ish, I will be like a headless chicken. Serving dinner, doing dishes, laundry and ironing. By the time I hit the sack, it will always be past midnite. The next morning routine will start as early as 5.45 am, otherwise I will be stuck in the endless KL jam.

I want to curse the people who knowingly allow the immigration laws to be flaunted. I think there are many many more than the registered 300K illegal PATI in Malaysia. They are just making our lives difficult. If the laws are not enforced stringently, I bet you, the Indonesians will one day rule and take over our country. No rocket science but I don't know why it has become such a prevalent tak kisah attitude.

The little good news is.. beloved husband is gainfully employed after being a freelancer for so long. The not so good news, he will soon be posted overseas. He was supposed to leave last week, some how visa arangement is a bit problematic and it gets delayed for another week. In the meantime, I get to enjoy having lunches with him at Suria because his office is just around this area. Not to mention, now tak payah pening sorang sorang in the jam cos there are 2 of us stuck in the same car and he drives.

Ayna will be leaving for umrah with Emak next week. That will create another problem. Who will take care of the no 4 and no 5 Aces at home, since maid tak de. Last two days, Alim broke the rule, for ponteng his Kumon and headed straight home to find nobody was home. He ended up waiting outside the house from 6.30 pm for almost 2 hours in the rain and crying. Poor boy and Mom is feeling guilty about it. What breaks my heart even more, I don't think he felt equally guilty for using my credit card purchasing i-Tunes games online which hit thousands in value, the best part is yours truly only found out about it a month later. There goes the trip to Hong Kong!

I hope for miracles to happen. I am thankful nonetheless that I can still breathe the air despite the lethargy and I still have the wonderful people around me :))

Salam Maulidur Rasul

2012-02-04T22:13:00.007+08:00

Something which I keep on reminding myself.

Last sermon of Nabi Muhammad s.a.w which was delivered on 9 Zulhijjah 10 Hijriah at Arafah

*******************************************************************************

Wahai Manusia, dengarlah baik-baik apa yang hendak ku katakan, Aku tidak mengetahui apakah aku dapat bertemu lagi dengan kamu semua selepas tahun ini. Oleh itu dengarlah dengan teliti kata-kataku ini dan sampaikanlah ia kepada orang-orang yang tidak dapat hadir di sini pada hari ini.

Wahai Manusia, sepertimana kamu menganggap bulan ini dan Kota ini sebagai suci, maka anggaplah jiwa dan harta setiap orang Muslim sebagai amanah suci. Kembalikan harta yang diamanahkan kepada kamu kepada pemiliknya yang berhak. Janganlah kamu sakiti sesiapapun agar orang lain tidak menyakiti kami lagi. Ingatlah bahawa sesungguhnya, kamu akan menemui Tuhan kamu dan Dia pasti membuat perhitungan di atas segala amalan kamu. Allah telah mengharamkan riba, oleh itu segala urusan yang melibatkan riba dibatalkan sekarang.

Berwaspadalah terhadap syaitan demi keselamatan agama kamu. Dia telah berputus asa untuk menyesatkan kamu dalam perkara-perkara besar, maka berjaga-jagalah supaya kamu tidak mengikuti dalam perkara-perkara kecil.

Wahai Manusia sebagaimana kamu mempunyai hak atas isteri kamu mereka juga mempunyai hak di atas kamu. Sekiranya mereka menyempurnakan hak mereka ke atas kamu, maka mereka, juga berhak untuk diberi makan dan pakaian dalam suasana kasih sayang. Layanilah wanita-wanita kamu dengan baik dan berlemah-lembutlah terhadap mereka kerana sesungguhnya mereka adalah teman dan pembantu kamu yang setia. Dan hak kamu atas mereka ialah mereka sama sekali tidak boleh memasukkan orang yang kamu tidak sukai ke dalam rumah kamu dan dilarang melakukan zina.

Wahai Manusia, dengarlah bersungguh-sungguh kata-kataku ini, sembahlah Allah, dirikanlah sembahyang lima kali sehari, berpuasalah di bulan Ramadhan, dan tunaikankanlah zakat dari harta kekayaan kamu. Kerjakanlah ibadah haji sekiranya kamu mampu. Ketahui bahawa setiap Muslim adalah saudara kepada Muslim yang lain. Kamu semua adalah sama; tidak seorang pun yang lebih mulia dari yang lainnya kecuali dalam taqwa dan beramal soleh.

Ingatlah, bahawa, kamu akan menghadap Allah pada suatu hari untuk dipertanggung jawabkan di atas segala apa yang telah kamu kerjakan. Oleh itu awasilah agar jangan sekali-kali kamu terkeluar dari landasan kebenaran selepas ketiadaanku.

Wahai Manusia, tidak ada lagi Nabi atau Rasul yang akan datang selepasku dan tidak akan ada lain agama baru. Oleh itu wahai Manusia, nilailah dengan betul dan fahamilah kata-kataku yang telah aku sampaikan kepada kamu. Sesungguhnya aku tinggalkan kepada kamu dua perkara yang sekiranya kamu berpegang teguh dan mengikuti kedua-duanya, nescaya kamu tidak akan tersesat selama-lamanya. Itulah al Quran dan Sunnahku.

Hendaklah orang-orang yang mendengar ucapanku, menyampaikan pula kepada orang lain. Semoga yang terakhir lebih memahami kata-kataku dari mereka yang terus mendengar dariku. Saksikanlah Ya Allah, bahawasanya telah aku sampaikan risalahMu kepada hamba-hambaMu.

Salawat dan salam ke atas nabi junjungan kita, Nabi Muhammad s.a.w.

Missing Him

2012-01-31T23:37:00.007+08:00

It is 9 pm. The house is just so quiet tonight. Usually there will still be the 4 Aces at home at this time. Ayna is at work, Alina is at tuition whilst Ali is far far away in Melaka. Sigh… Ali left to pursue his studies in a boarding school in Selandar Melaka today. It is hard to accept that my first son, who has never been away from us for more than two nights, is living on his own with his new friends. His room is empty, clean and well-kept, a bit unusual when Ali is around; the room would always be in the state of a bujang-mess. Suddenly I realized that I am suffering withdrawals ; gradually missing him, something I didn’t feel just now when we bade farewell. I guess I was then more worried as to whether he can cope with hostel life.

I miss nagging him for sitting infront of the computer for too long, or for watching the Starsports during solat maghrib time, or leaving the house as soon as his friends asked him out knowing it was already almost bedtime. Naturally one doesn’t really appreciate what you have until you are deprived of their presence.

I am delighted that Ali is studying in one of the best schools in Malaysia. By far and large, the prospect of pursuing his studies to the universities after the SPM, local or abroad, is far more promising when he is in the boarding school. Insha Allah …

Inadvertently, his acceptance to SBPI Selandar has made me learnt about the process of application, beloved husband’s attitude and the inner me. Actually I regret that I didn’t really pay much consideration for Ali to be accepted in the boarding school as compared to during Aliah’s and Ayna’s time. Aliah and Ayna knew what they wanted and where they want to study. However for Ali, he was unsure. He wanted to be near us yet he wanted a familiar place. Initially when he did the application online, he wanted to study at Sek Men Sains Muar where Aliah used to study but felt that it was too far. I suggested him going to MCK*, beloved husband’s alma mater, but I don’t think it was something he wanted to consider deeply, to beloved husband’s dismay. In the end he chose Alam Shah Putrajaya.

When the refusal to go to beloved hubby's alma mater was realised and discovered, the grandfather gave Ali his piece of mind after knowing that Ali’s perception that studying in any boarding schools are pretty much the same anywhere. His father wanted to continue his legacy whilst the grandfather seconded it. Despite the controversy, not much push or persuasion was done and in the end when the offer came out, he got SBPI Selandar, a school which was neither in his list nor ours.

So when Ali got SBPI Selandar, we appealed to KPel to transfer to another school nearer to home, reason being (seems much too silly) that the father will be away and it is only the mother who will have to take care of things. It was rejected not because of the silly reason but because there is this directive no transfer after placement. If it is done before placement, that can be considered (as if everyone knows about it lah kan..) If we knew about it from the beginning, we should have “panjat” KPel much earlier. By now it is already water under the bridge.

Taking it with open mind and with the rationale that everything happens for a reason, we let Ali go to Selandar today. Last night I had a pep talk with him and he seemed alright, receptive to take new challenges. Owh.. my son has grown up, and I like that feeling !

Selandar is a 2 hour drive from KL. When we reached there we did the usual stuff. We are good at it already since the process of registration is similar to the previous two occasions; Aliah and Ayna.

We were told that there would be 100 new students for Form 4 but at noon only 54 pupils turned up. After checking around, we realized that most new students are from Melaka area. This is the time when Ali put a looongg face. He felt that it is unfair for him to be in Selandar when his choice of the boarding school is different.

It breaks my heart to see him sad. I wish I had the extra powers and do a bit more for him originally, which at this instant, I am not sure what.

One consolation,there is tae-kwon-do in SBPI and hopefully he can sharpen his black belt skills, something which he loves.

Here I am thinking about Ali and what is he doing tonite; whether he is pondering about the beloved ones at home, or wondering about being in a different school or reflecting regrets for not listening to the father or grandfather. Is he able to get along with new acquaintances and new environment? Is he able to sleep on his new double decker bed in Dorm 11? Is he able to withstand the orientation week pressure? Will he be homesick for being away from us and will he miss us ?

I recited a long doa specially for Ali during isya prayers just now, praying that he will like it there and he will find passion in whatever things he newly encounter. Above all that he will be happy…..

Good Morning Vietnam

2012-01-29T23:40:00.004+08:00

When our feet stepped onto the land where it used to be the battlefield between the Vietcongs and the Americans GIs, we instantly knew why Vietnam has become one of the largest importers of motorcycles in Asia. There are 4 million motorcycles in Saigon alone. I considered myself lucky for being part of the motorcyclists population in Saigon; Zaidah, the baju kurung retailer made her husband fetched us on his motorcycle to her home in Kampung Champa on our 2nd last day in Saigon. The breeze that ran through my tudung displayed a sense of utmost enjoyment of my visit in Saigon.

Aliah, Ayna and I went to Ho Chi Minh city last Friday. It was meant to be a sight seeing + (little) shopping vacation. I wanted to see for myself the land which is famous of the Vietnam war, those that I read in the books as well as that I saw in movies like Deer Hunter or Good Morning Vietnam. The visit to the War Remnants Museum really described it all. Gory, brutal and inhumane.

We stayed in Au Lac Hotel 2, a 3 star hotel, which is a reasonable walking distance to Ben Thanh the famous market in Saigon, and Halal@Saigon, the Moslem restaurant where most Malaysians eat when in Saigon. The area surrounding Au Lac seemed dodgy but once you are in the hotel, everything is transformed. The room is spacious, clean, the receptionists and bell boys are friendly and most importantly the TV aired Star Movie, Star World, HBO and AXN other than CNN.

We only shopped on the arrival day and first half of the second day. Ben Thanh was definitely a good area to shop. However we did find it difficult to bargain because even after we have managed to get the price which we wanted, in satisfaction, there was always the tinge of regret that “..aaah.. should have asked for lower!!”. Fortunately for us there is not much to shop because other than the bed spread or table cloth, I did not fancy them much. I find that the cotton material in Bandung or Jakarta is far better. We didn’t shop for other clothes because we thought we could find the same in Petaling street. We bought Ali’s teeshirt and slacks because he will be going to boarding school soon and I don’t really have time to shop later later.

The highlights of the vacation were our visit to the War Remnants Museum where it showcased weapons used during the war and pictures of the horror Vietnam war story, and Chu Chi tunnel, an approximtely 200 miles of multi level tunnels which was the hideout of the guerrillas which passes below the American base connecting one village to another.

The War Remnants Museum

Chu Chi Tunnel

It would not be complete if we didn’t go sightseeing around Saigon and cruise along the Saigon river.

It was my ignorance; I didn’t know the Vietnamese celebrated the lunar year. The shops were already closed by 3 pm on the last day of the Rat year to usher the new year of the Dragon. Not knowing what other productive thing to do, we joined the Saigon people hanging out around Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue, the two famous main streets in Saigon.

Alhamdulillah, our rezki ... that although the baju kurung retailers like Hong Ann and Minh were closed since the Saturday, we met a couple from Malaysia who knew Zaidah who sells beaded baju kurungs. We were not sure of her place, she sells them from her home. What we knew that the land mark was the Buddhist temple on the way to the airport. So when we arrived at the temple, Zaidah's hubby came to fetch all 5 of us on a motorbike. He transported us one by one to their home in Kg Champa and that was when I got to breathe that air of excitement on the kapchai. Luckily the house is just about 1 km away from the drop point. The baju kurungs sold were beautiful. One would cost about RM60. I didn't buy that many, just reasonable pairs reserved for raya. Zaidah also opens a restaurant and do catering. I like the soup she made, pedas manis!

Saigon has become a popular tourists attraction. I am certain that one day, it will be developed like Bangkok or KL. Hong Leong Bank and Maybank have set their brand there. And so has Petronas :) Hopefully the government will take heed of the potential development especially how the locals treat the tourists. For tourists, my advice is be careful of those who like to take the opportunity to earn fast bucks in particular the cab drivers or the cyclo (trishaw) riders. Guess that is part of the costs of developing a country and opening it up to the foreigners.

By the way I think Saigon has bigger LV, Gucci and Chanel outlets relative to KL, thus if that is the yardstick of "a developed country", there you go!

A Humble Recognition

2012-01-26T23:45:00.000+08:00

When the alarm rang that morning of 14th Jan 2012, I woke up in panic and remembered that I fell asleep without realizing. Came back from Kuantan the night before feeling feverish. It could have been the rain the day before. Kuantan was raining the whole day and although in most times I hate walking in the rain albeit with an umbrella, I could not resist it this time. Datin S enticed me with the gulai ikan patin and sambal tempoyak at Akob’s. Other than these 2 yummeh food, there were also gulai tempoyak daun kayu and goreng tempe and ikan bilis served there. Catching up with Datin S was something that was much awaited. What a pity I had to leave for office especially when I was already tugged into lots of coziness at Datin S’s bungalow.

After the panic, I realized that the camera battery had only one bar. Worse, I forgot to switch on the charger of my blackberry and the bb’s battery was draining out. Today is the big day and with my state of unreadiness, I foresee that there would only be a few shots to be taken at the palace later.

I was clad in blue kebaya labuh and sedondon with beloved husband’s blue baju melayu complete with destar, bengkung and sampin. He looked very handsome and reminded me of him 20 years ago when we got married. Even our temporary helper was pleasantly shocked to see him that morning and asked Alina “Bapak nak kahwin lagi?”

The drive to Seri Menanti lasted about a little more than an hour. Seri Menanti is the royal town for the Negeri royalties. My paternal grandfather hailed from Tanjung Ipoh which is the kampong next to Seri Menanti. I suspected that my ancestors may have lived here too long time ago.

The royals are mostly from suku Biduanda. As some of you may know, there are 12 sukus in Negeri. In adat pepatih, one follow his/her mother’s suku which makes me a Tanah Datar. (Note to self * I swear that I will not delete the names of the Penghulu, Lembaga and Buapak of Ulu Muar Tanah Datar from my Notes for fear of being quizzed again like during the rehearsal).

I feel very proud the fact that I am bequeathed the pingat Ahli Setia Negeri Sembilan by the Yam Tuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, Tunku Muhriz on his 64th birthday at Istana Besar Seri Menanti. It is the recognition which my birth state had granted on me and the feeling is almost beyond honourable. The fact that I am a company secretary and a senior lawyer in one of the reputable companies in the country must have some elements for the palace to consider. I feel thankful. As a matter of fact, the last three years I instructed the payroll to deduct a hefty part from my pay and channel it to PPZ NS would probably indicated that Allah is rewarding me in return. We never know cos’ He works wonders!

I don’t know that many recipients. There was my ex officemate who got the Dato’ship, there was my Srikandi friend’s father who was the Dato Pengiring, Edi my classmate who was there as invitee and Tunku A, SIL's uncle whom Datin S nicely referred him as Lord Chamberlain. It was such a moderate affair. The Yam Tuan and the Tunku Ampuan are two charming faces which make you feel at ease. I think the Undang yang Empat and the Tunku Besar Tampin look more fierce. I shook hands with the MB who is another friendly face. He came to where I was seated twice and I just didn’t feel good if I didn’t shake hands with him. He probably has some say to me receiving the pingat one way or the other.

When I went up to receive the pingat from Yam Tuan, I carefully counted my steps whilst ensuring the right time to mengangkat sembah. The sembah should not be too low or too high. Someone corrected my sembah during the rehearsal and I was determined not to repeat the same mistake. There were sounds of sigh from the audience when they noticed any of the recipients made mistakes. Blunders like immediately turn the back when Yam Tuan has given the kurniaan or forgetting to angkat sembah were pretty common. The Yam Tuan is indeed a forgiving king and I think he must have tried to hide his giggles when such silly blunders occured. Anyway he was like one of us before he was throned and he surely does not look like one who harp on trivial matters.

When the ceremony was over we proceeded to lunch. The lunch was fun. Guests was entertained by the singer Aishah, who is also a Nogori born. The king cut the 5 storey birthday cake with a sword (wow! I thought only Samurais do that) and everyone got their share.

All in all it was such a sweet affair; particularly sweeter because it happened 3 days after my birthday. What a good start for the year, Alhamdulillah. Of course it is not like I receive a grand bintang carrying the title Dato’ship, nonetheless it is a humble but huge recognition for me. The funny part is, resulting from this honour, my close colleagues at office are now calling me Datin!

Aliah's New Phase

2012-01-08T23:27:00.008+08:00

Aliah went back to the campus today. That would be the end of the service of the Aces' reliable driver, at least for now, until she comes home again for the next semester break.

Everyone in the family sent her to Mahallah Maryam in my alma mater. She was at the Centre of Foundation Studies in Nilai last semester. The landlord of the facilities didn't want to renew the lease, resulting in the matrics students being moved to the main campus in Gombak. I prefer Aliah to be in Nilai because it is a lot closer to our home. Of course, main campus is more spacious and learning in the main campus has its advantages.

I have only been to the main campus once, when Shamilah, my little sister graduated. I was the product of the 3rd batch of IIU students. At that time, the main campus was only a blue print. The university in Gombak is probably like 7 times bigger than what used to be the PJ main campus.

Everyone was excited to accompany Aliah to her new study place. The hostel is quite cool. Four in a room and she has her own cubicle; the cubicle is a double deck, study table at the level below and the bed on top. It is like the individual room which we see at Ikea, only that Ikea's is much classy.

The view from her room.

There are tennis courts and hockey pitch next to the Mahallah.

I truly hope she will enjoy this new phase of her life in IIU. There will be ups and downs, happiness and sorrow. She was happy to meet the friends again just now. The twinkle in her eyes reminded me when I was enthusiastic and excited some 25 years ago when I commenced studies in IIU : )

Having said that, we encountered a bad experience when sending her back to the hostel the night, an anticlimax over the whole excitement. The last call to enter the Mahallah is 9 pm and after dinner et all, we sent Aliah back at 9.30 pm. The mak guard seemed to be exercising double standard when allowing people to enter the Mahallah after the curfew. Well, I guess that happens when a tired makcik be given the absolute power, particularly so when she has to do the night shift.

We will definitely miss Aliah. So used to her being at home since Nov last year. For the time being, no more kakak to boss Alim around to do kumon, to take his bath or to stop playing computer. Hopefully Ayna can take over Aliah's responsibility as the kak Long. Praying that all will be fine for Aliah and may she succeed passing her exams in flying colours.

2nd day of 2012

2012-01-02T16:58:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I am such a lousy blogger. The last time I wrote was last year and without realising it, it is the new year already. My my my... how fast time flies.

There is so much to tell but so little time. I am now taking a break after mopping the rooms upstairs plus the kitchens. After this, it will be ironing and ironing. Sigh... when will the house work stop?

My one month old maid ran away. That was probably a month ago. I have lost track of time because everyday is just the same routine. Go to office and slog, later come home; cook, wash and iron. We do have the part time maids who come to the house to do the other chores. They are such a help and I just love seeing the bathroom became spick and span after they completed their job.

The 3rd Ace, Ali got straight As for his PMR. That was unbelievable :)) Alhamdulillah. Now I guess he is in a fix. He applied for Alam Shah Putrajaya in case he is admitted to the boarding school for Form 4. However beloved husband wants him to be enrolled into MC*K, to carry his legacy. I don't know why the big fuss over a school. As long as one gets excellent results for SPM, that to me really matters.

We ended 2011 with a big bang, hahaha.. Well I would like to think it that way. We had an amazing year end break. We went to Universal Studio in Singapore and later to Penang. It was a wonderful getaway especially after the crazy past weeks. Screaming our heads off in Singapore and beach bumming in Batu Feringghi. Kids loved it and parents loved it more.

Singapore ...

Penang ...

2012 will be a very busy year. A little bird informed me that I will be promoted very soon. I have not seen the appointment letter nonetheless I understand that the communications between the top guns have commenced. They wanted me by 15th Jan but I am soooo hoping that it will only be in May or June after the company's AGM. A wait longer does not hurt, afterall I waited so long for this promotion already. I know they rejected my name to fill that position a year ago and they gave it away to someone whom they thought would be more deserving. Actually I don't really care because I am much happier where I am now. Taking a bigger responsibility gives me the shivers.

Another good tidings will be around the corner. Insha Allah I will be invited to istana Seri Menanti on the 14th Jan and of course I am so looking forward to this one. I am a true blue anak Negeri Sembilan and will always be.

Have a great 2012 folks :))

Comfort

2011-12-07T22:03:00.002+08:00

I was rummaging my Archives mail today hunting for an email which I wrote to a counter party 9 years ago. In my search, I found this particular email which I sent to a good friend, S. A couple of friends found out that S’ husband got married to a no 2. S who knew about it and she relapaksa into consenting the marriage, could not take it and had gone into hibernation. My only contact with her was through this mail. I would like to share the mail here. I hope it will also comfort anyone who is in S’ position.

Dear S,

I sort of promised to A that I will only contact you some time later but what she told me just now had me caught in distress. I am very very sad for you as what you have to go through, believe me, this is just a beginning, a lot of pain will appear and you just have to be strong. I have not gone through it to the extent that you are in, but just preparing if the worse may happen. I don't know how you feel, but one thing for sure, I know this is not something we ever wish for in our lives. So if you care for my advice, go on read this...

The worst nightmare for a wife is to have the husband cheated on her. And worst still to know that it has been going on for a pretty long time and he had led her to live in deceit and betrayal. One begins to question that if he really is a good and responsible husband, would he has the cheek to do this to you and the children? A lot of questions will linger in your head, especially happenings during those betrayed years; you will have sleepless nites, refusal to eat and a lot of other suffering and is this fair for you who have sacrificed a lot for him. You have to suffer this agony yet he is living happily with two people whom he believed will love him very much. Isn't this something which is so ungrateful of him? One thing you must remember, don't let this run your life down, it is not worth it to do that. You have to love yourself and take care of yourself because nobody else would if you wouldn't.

This is not a competition to win his love but it is all about his trust, respectand honour. For all the good years that both of you are married with each other, doesn't he has the decency to tell you what he wants or at least to get your permission or ask you what you want in your life? It is all about ego and selfishness. There is no point talking him out of it because all has been done. Would you be willing to continue with it alone or together with him, undoubtedly my guess is the latter, and knowingly enough with a lot of pain and hurt.

S, nobody can tell you what to do. Follow your heart, you know what is best. Can you live without him, what about the children? They are paramount of all. Does he still have a place in your heart despite what he has done to you? And if he still does, would you be able to share his love with another one. Yes, it has been that way for the past years but during these years, you don't know about it and definitely a lot will change now that it is already out in the open. I bet you that you have not forgotten about this betrayal not even a single second and it will take a long time to heal, God knows until when, perhaps even till death. Life is unfair and you regret for it to have happened to you. What I can say is just be strong in whatever decision you take. You can pray for anything that you wish as Allah is the most merciful. You can turn to friends, talk and cry it out but at the end of the day it is Allah who can make the changes. This is the TEST for you and I am very sure you are strong enough to go through it. If you think you are not, keep on praying to Allah, and sometimes, as you pray you could become weaker and weaker but don't give up, there will be a time when you strike that strength, believe in Him, you must.

I wish I can say a lot more and to show you the comfort. If you need a shoulder to cry on, call me, I am willing to be that shoulder. Funny isn't it when previously we have a best friend whom we thought could be our ears, eyes and shoulders but now that friend has betrayed us. What worse could we wish for?

Please don't be angry with A, I will keep it to myself and my prayers are for you. Take care dear. You have my no. call me if you wish.

Love,
TM

S is still together with the husband. She is still bermadu. She has led a good life at her own account, in fact much better than her husband and her madu. I am very happy for her. What happened to S goes to show that women are much more stronger and self-sustaining than their other half.

Incredible Kuch Kuch Land

2011-11-14T23:00:00.002+08:00

When I stepped out of the Indra Gandhi International Airport, there was a gushing pungent scent floating in the air. This smell was existent throughout our 4 day stay in Delhi. However on the last day I noticed that either the smell was gone or was it that our nostrils have become accustomed to it?

It was my first visit to India, the second most populated country in the world, and if it is not because I have not reached Agra to visit Taj Mahal this time, I don’t dream of stepping on the Kuch Kuch Hotai Hai land again. Not that I have anything against the country, but there was a lot of drama.

For a start despite paying a 1000 rupees for the taxi from the airport to the hotel we stayed, Crowne Plaza Today at Okhla, about 2 km upon reaching the destination, the taxi driver asked us how much tip that we want to give him. To our astonishment, he was uttering some Urdu words that for a second we thought that we would not arrive at the hotel safely. Once we reached the hotel, we quickly took out our luggages and ran helter skelter through the hotel scanner and took protection under the hotel roof, phewwww… Selamat!!

We were in Delhi for a regas and pipeline training. The UK based trainer’s CV was simply excellent and if it was not for the trainer’s resume, we would not have travelled to Delhi. I did enquire the organizer whether they had a similar training held in Singapore, Hong Kong, or even the UK, the response that I got was negative. Since I have never been to India, perhaps, it may be worth a trip to venture. However it was quite a disappointment to know later that the original trainer could not make it, leaving us the next best trainer, sigh!

The training was from Tuesday to Friday and there was intention to extend to either Saturday or Sunday. However, my other two colleagues had family commitment on the coming Saturday resulting in us having to return on the last day of training, which was Friday. There was also intention that I alone extended the stay. But after our incredible experience, it was the correct decision to return with my other friends.

The training agenda was packed. There was a lot to cover during the 4 days. The programme was scheduled to commence at 9 am and finish at 5 pm. On the first day we started an hour late because the local participants arrived late and the programme had to drag. Actually the highlight of the day was the end of the training which was shopping and bersiar-siar time despite it was almost sunset and the horrendous jam.

There are so many many people in Delhi. This is what my uwan desribes as "berembik". People under the bridge, in the back lane and alleys, in the park, and the most incredible thing is they also sleep and cook there. As midnite approaches, one will see them taking out the steel old bed for a place to sleep, or if they do not have one, they just sleep on the ground bermandikan cahaya bintang dan bulan! Although there were many cars on the road and people blowing their horn for no particular reason, it was not like the KL jam which can be a bumper to bumper and at times stagnant. In Delhi, the cars are still moving albeit slowly. We once witnessed an accident and for a minute, the driver stepped out to check his car, and that’s it. The traffic returned to normal. The road users are more patient there.

We took the auto or tuk tuk from Janpath market to Le Meridien and it was again an incredible experience. I guess the tuk tuk driver knew that it was our first time and he drove us in a gentle and friendly manner. The last time I enjoyed a similar excitement of an open air drive was with my aruah Abah in his red MG. The tuk tuk is a very famous mode of transportation in this 19 million population city.

The food too was superbly incredible. I just love the pratha, the butter naan and the dosai. The chicken biryani too was marvelous as long as it is not too spicy. There were other food like the sambhar, chicken tikka, palak paneer and idli which are also to my liking. It was quite difficult to find Moslem food within Okhla area except for the hotel or some places like Kasbaa at Greater Kallash. We even ventured to Connaught place which is about 45 mins drive from Okhla just for good Moslem food. On the last night, the driver introduced us to Lazeez Affaire which was the best taste of Indian cuisine I have ever endured. It was a porschy restaurant but not that pricey. Chicken biryani, mutton curry, butter naan and vegetables curry costed 4of us only Rupees 2000 which is about RM140.

Garam Masala, another famous restaurant. I love the butter naan served here, simply crispy like the roti canai.

This one we ate at Saravana, the vegetarian restaurant which has its franchise in Malaysia. Yummy !

Although we only had the nights to shop, we had explored some nice ethnic shops; to name a few, Fabindia, Delhi Haat, West Side and some cotton shops at Nehru Place. However we have to brace ourselves to reach the destination late because the driver would insist that we stop by at "this shop" first which he suggested and if we don't like it there, never mind, we can go to our choice of shop/mall after that.

I particularly like Janpath market where you could bargain the kurtis for as much as 50% off. N, my Srikandi batch had spared her busy time in accompanying us to shop and bargain at Janpath. Got a few kurtis here as low as 100 rupees. After N left us on our own, one of my friends insisted that we visit her friend’s jewellery shop at Le Meridien and jeng jeng jeng… I am in possession of a beautiful big amethyst brooch for as low as about RM250!!! Aiyo yo!

On the last day of the programme, we managed to persuade the trainer to end it about an hour and a half early so that we could see Delhi during daylight before we return home on the same night.

These are some of the interesting sights. What a pity we could not enter the places as there was so little time.

Humayun Tomb

The Putrajaya of India

Red Fort and India Gate

Venue from my hotel room

People queuing for discounted fresh milk

At the airport was another drama. It is a long story. Make sure if you are there boarding a flight, you have your electronic ticket to enter the check in area, your hand luggage tag is always intact and there is the security stamp on it otherwise, there will just be unnecessary and bizarre stress.

Tommy

2011-10-16T22:30:00.002+08:00

Outdated. Hahaha... I think I am.

I went back to Emak's house today and I saw my three little nephews playing some videos of a shrieking-voiced singer on You Tube. They were laughing their heads off.

Little that I know that it was a cat singing.

Then I was introduced to Talking Tom Cat, who happens to have its own facebook page. Whoaaa!

Apparently Talking Tom Cat is a pet cat which responds to your touch and repeats everything you say with a funny voice. You can pet him, poke him or grab his tail.

If you talk to Tom, he will repeat everything you say with a funny voice. You can pet him to make him purr. You can poke his head, belly or feet, grab his tail, pour a glass of milk for him. You can also make Tom scratch the screen.

I am fortunate to have two teachers; Alim and Alina who explained to me about Tom Cat. Alim, who wanted an iPod Touch if he gets good results for his final exams later told me that by getting one, he can play with Tom Cat on the iPod Touch. Tom Cat has not been downloaded to our iMac although many other games have been. Perhaps I should explore how to do that and get up close and personal with Tommy.

Somehow I am unable to share the video of Tom Cat from You Tube. Just search for his name and try to listen to his number on Bruno Mars' Lazy Song or Shakira's Wakaka. It could make you laugh.

I wonder what Angelina of Cat in Sydney has got to say about Tommy! Meowwww...

Creepy

2011-10-02T21:00:00.002+08:00

Alina came home one day looking terrified.

“Mom, percaya tak? Just now I took care of my friend who was attacked with hysteria!”

I did not believe my girl, she is the one who must always berteman every time she wants to go upstairs if everyone else in the house is downstairs.

“What happened?”, I asked in curiosity.

Her friend, Anne was at the surau when she suddenly became hysterical. She almost fainted. Then there was another friend, Din, who has six sense who saw this scary creature. The thing was disturbing Anne. In fact when Din wanted to help Anne, the thing bit his fingers.

Alina and two of her other friends tried to console Anne but to no avail. There were a lot of other things which happened concurrently. Some people were praying to get rid of the creature and an ustadz was trying to physically pulihkan the place. However Anne was still yelling and screaming. Once in a while her voice sounded hoarse.

Din at one time asked the creature, what it wanted and it replied that it wanted something that Anne has, eeeeee…. creepy.

I cannot imagine my little girl tried to help her friend in the most eerie situation. Advised her that she should never tinggal solat and always pray to Allah so that these unwanted things do not disturb her.

Apparently the spooky creature came back two days later to the school. It tried to disturb the whole school and Alina’s two friends who helped Anne plus Anne herself were attacked. It stirred quite a havoc. Yang pelik nya, it tends to disturb the Moslem students and not the non-Moslem. Why ah?

Anyway, apart from the disheartening news, I gathered that Anne’s father was called by the guru HEMP on that fated day. The father did not really care what happen to her daughter. He came by and left. When he saw Anne’s condition, he had the chic to comment “ Biarlah dia, masa kecik tak mati, dah besar menyusahkan” OMG OMG. How can own her father said that to her!!

I later found out that Anne came from a broken family. She stayed with her father and step mother and her other siblings. Her other siblings are away in college. Most of the time Anne would be on her own, feeling depressed with her current state. I read somewhere that most hysteria cases strike on depressed people and this is one good example.

It is so sad that the father vilified Anne. How can one do that to his own offspring? One can be angry to them but to say those nasty words, it is unbelievable! My son and daughter can be difficult and stubborn at times. Undeniably they made me feel sad and disappointed. But I don’t think I will ever give up on them because if I were to give up, who else would guide them through and through….

I pray that Anne’s father will realize that this is no simple matter. Hopefully Allah guide him to love, care and cherish his daughter again.

Alim's Birthday Partayyy

2011-09-20T21:40:00.002+08:00

I told the Aces that I can only afford a real birthday party for them, once in their life. Other birthday celebration will be just amongst us, the family. They have the right to choose at which age they want it to be. All of them except Alim have had theirs. Mostly had their birthday party between the age of 10 to 12.

As for Alim, he chose his birthday party to be held this year. I didn't hold any open house this raya and having a birthday party for the kids were equally tiring like having a raya open house.

When we shopped the items for Alim's party packs at GM Plaza, he insisted that I buy 100 packs on the assumption that each of the sibling invited between 15 to 20 of their friends! Alim was excited to prepare the party packs as early as 4 days prior to the event. His spirits were dampened after getting scolding from the father as there were meant to be chocolates in the pack and they would melt. Miserably Alim had to keep them away in the fridge after filling in all 100 of them!

On the day itself, we had the orang masjid to grace the ceremony with bacaan doa selamat after the Friday prayers. Gradually one by one of the Aces' friends turned up despite the rain.

I was a bit nervous early that day because Daalia, my Srikandi friend was only baking Alim's birthday cake in the morning. Luckily the cake turned out to be superb and the kids love the Angry Bird and Boboiboy's edible image, not to mention chocolatie delicious. Thanks a lot Daalia; for baking it last minute and for taking all the trouble to personally deliver it to the house.

Indeed Alim was right, lots of kids turned out.

The house was filled with children. At each nook and corner of the house were children. Despite the pitch and loud noise as if it was a school canteen, I loved it especially knowing that everyone was very excited and delighted, chit chatting, eating and drinking and not to mention playing games (thanks to Aliah who was sporting enough to entertain them).

The idea of having 100 children as our guests was crazy. It was like Hari Kanak-Kanak Sedunia, and my sister Kay infact described it even better, Hari Kantin Sekolah, LOL.

We had Alim's friends.

Alina's friends.

Ayna's friends.

And finally Aliah's friends.

Ali's friends were missing at the party as Ali had to attend the PMR workshop the whole three day weekend. Only a few of them came that night.

Come to think of it, I will miss throwing birthday party for the Aces' friends. By the way, in case you are wondering, out of the 100 party packs, we are left with only 10!

Alim's 9th Birthday

2011-09-11T19:49:00.002+08:00

Yesterday’s was the 5th Ace, Alim Erfan’s birthday. Since beloved husband and Ayna were not around, there was no real birthday celebration except the small do of cake cutting at night. Alim has been wanting to hold a birthday party and despite the coming weekends which will be filled with either Raya open houses or weddings, we managed to slot a party for him insha Allah on the 16th September, even that one has to end up early as that night beloved husband and I have a wedding to attend.

Alim being the last among the Aces is a true blue “manja” son. Pampered by the parents and the Kakaks and Abang, he can turn out to be an opportunist. Many a times beloved husband and I could be caught in a dilemma; to return home during lunch time just because “spidey’ what we fondly call him was late to school and missed the bus. Despite going to sekolah agama in the morning, that little time that Alim was supposed to have lunch, take bath and prepare himself to school was spent either playing computer games or watching TV. Ironically we gave in notwithstanding that we want to instill discipline in him. Alim is so adorable to be refused and admittedly we blame ourselves for pampering him, too much at times.

(Image deleted)

He has a myriad of ambition. Started with policeman, fireman and recently he seems to be interested in becoming a scientist. I suggested to him a doctor, but he was not interested. Kept on hammering on him that a scientist can also be considered a doctor and slowly I think he is beginning to be contented.

I noticed that he has a few friends whom he cycled almost every day to the park. Initially I was skeptical to let him go on his own. After Alina chaperoned him several times, he appeared to be confident.

Alim loves to sing and enrolling him in the drum class was a good choice. I have heard him singing on his own, Lady Gaga’s or Selena Gomez’s tunes or even Najwa Latif’s Cinta Mukabuku, only feeling shy when he know that I eavesdropped.

Lately before he goes to bed, he loves to get a foot rub from me. If he doesn’t get it, he may not be able to fall asleep, how is that? Manja tak manja!

(Image deleted)

To Alim Erfan, happy 9th birthday Mas (another name we nicknamed him). I pray that you will be a good boy, always have respect on your parents and may Allah bless you. We love very much always.

Syawal 1432H

2011-09-01T09:45:00.003+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Maaf Zahir & Batin to all readers

Have an enjoyable and blessed Eid :)

Halfway Through Ramadhan

2011-08-14T13:52:00.002+08:00

This is already the 14th day of Ramadhan. It is still not too late to wish everyone “Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puasa.” Let’s make the best out of this holy month. The challenges of Ramadhan have been thus far bearable for me.

The 1st week of Ramadhan saw me leaving office latest by 4.30 pm on almost every day. As I conquered the kitchen cooking my favorite dishes for iftar, I counted my blessings to Allah for allowing me to enjoy the satisfaction of breaking fast with the loved ones.

Sometimes what we wish to happen forever is easily taken away. That is Allah’s way of testing us. Nonetheless I remain persevere and thankful to Him. The second week was somewhat contrary. During this month, I try as much as possible to schedule the office meetings and discussions in the morning only. Obviously this was meant to facilitate my coming home early. Unfortunately when the meetings are dictated by the senior VPs, small fries like me will just have to kao tao. The second week saw me leaving office between 6.30 to 7 pm. At times, I reached home just in the nick of the iftar time whilst on other times it was allahummalakasumtu in the car. Not to mention that last Friday, I did a stunt and committed a serious breach of road traffic rules. I had to follow the reverse flow of the highway after seeing MEX in epic jam and in the end I reached home past 8 pm.

I am doing a lot of serious thinking this Ramadhan; matters that relate to family, work and friends. Some decisions would have eternal effect; my continuous chanting of prayers to Him especially during terawih that He guide me to the right path. I am determined to go through these challenges with great stride, so that it will warrant the exhilaration for victory and celebration on Eid, something I am looking forward to.

If last year’s Ramadhan had a different set of challenges on me whilst I was performing umrah, this year seems no different. Challenges definitely make one discover about themselves. So last year if I saw this 80 year old makcik braving her way in the almost 50 deg celcius desert temperature, to and fro Masjidil Haram which is about 500 metres away from our hotel, in order to seek the blessings of Allah, her perennial challenges are in no way comparable to mine in any scale.

Hope the coming weeks are kinder.

Busy Highlights

2011-07-10T23:42:00.000+08:00

I am busy again. I have not been able to update this blog and to keep in pace with friends' and family's latest blog updates. Dah bersawang dah blog ni .......sigh.

When I am busy, I can lose control over myself. After having been reminded that I have not cherished my life enough, I persuaded beloved husband to travel to Helsinki to visit his friend. Excited and overwhelmed, super duper anticlimax happened.... , DANG!! The trip was postponed indefinitely because of beloved husband's and my work load and challenges.

Ta ta Helsinki for now !

Being frustrated with this predicament, I lost even more control. I spent the money which I saved to fly to Finland to buy this babe.

Now I am living with regrets....

But one thing I am sure, this baby suits well with my baju kurung lip lap which I wore at the wedding today. (Sorry photo tak sempat upload. Have to wait til Ayna comes home.)

Mishap On the Birthday

2011-05-17T07:14:00.006+08:00

I am upset! There is no doubt about that. Aliah has just banged my car into the wall of our house. The Vios’ side mirror is now kaput. Our garage can fit two cars and it is no brainer that whoever drives into the garage has to be extra careful maneuvering the car in, particularly when one car is already parked inside.

Aliah got her P in February this year. She managed to secure it after undergoing the exams twice. The parents were equally excited as she was. Of course we realized that although she got her licence, that does not mean that she can already drive the car on her own. I have a couple of times accompanied her in the car. It still needs a lot of polishing up. For instance her cornering is still not neat, she turns the steering wheel too sharp and not taking a wider circle at the bend. Granted she is still not confident, she is unsure of the direction hence needs a lot more practice. She has banged the wall twice. Last night was the second time but at a different spot. The first time she did it, the plate number cracked and this time round the side mirror fell off.

Considering that I am the registered owner of the Vios and maybe (yet to negotiate with husband) I also have to fork out the money for the repair, I am upset plus disappointed. At the peak of my anger, I scolded her without considering her feelings. All the banterings were flying all over the house. Yes, when I am angry, I do turn green. Now that I have slept on it, I am letting you know Aliah that Mama is truly sorry. The scolding was just to make you realize that what happened could have been avoided if we utilize a bit more of the thinking department.

I have shared with her about how my aruah Abah taught me to drive. Although I have obtained my driving licence, the car was off limits. It was his rules that in order for me to be allowed to drive on my own, I have to pass his tests. So there I was, during one of the school holidays, I had to drive in Abah’s Proton Saga, with him as the co-pilot, bearing all his rantings from Seremban to Kelantan, cross the East-West highway, off to Penang island and later back to Seremban. It took us about 5 days to complete the round trip. I think I must have driven about 7/8th of the journey and the remaining was Abah.

Despite that ordeal albeit an enjoyable and enriching one, within the same month, I still endured some misfortunes. I met with a terrible accident that resulted in the car I was driving to almost a total loss. All because I forgot to give the indicator that I was turning left. For another carelessness, with the intention to gallavant with friends, I had left the engine running and accidentally the car was locked on its own. Initially I wanted to get a stranger to help but after realizing that he could not do much but to unlock it with a spare key, I have no choice but to ring Abah up. To my expectation, there was a trail of leteran from Abah I had to endure.

Up til now after 28 years of driving lessons, I can call myself an experienced driver, but with the current condition of some of the Malaysian drivers who think that they are the only ones paying the road tax or their grandfather owns the road, I have to continuously learn the defensive driving skills, not to mention to remain cool, calm and contented always.

It has only been two months since you got your licence Aliah. The learning doesn’t stop. It was an expensive learning last night. After what happened, you may feel bad, as if you are hopeless and not fit to drive anymore. That is normal for a teenager to feel that way. I did when I wrecked Atuk’s car. I remember I went into seclusion for a week. The rantings will definitely continue and may mount up even more at times, but that is part of the whole experience. I may be harsh, I may turn into a green monster but I am still your mother who wants you to master the art of driving. I am confident that one day you will just drive like Mama or Baba, maybe better. Practice makes perfect, but don’t forget to use Mr Brain.

I am really sorry if last night’s incident has spoilt your 18th birthday. On hindsight, you will remember this forever and who knows one day, you will relate this incident to your beloved children.

Happy birthday sweet 18 Aliah. We all love you. Chill. Let’s celebrate.

Mother's Day Celebrated

2011-05-08T23:17:00.019+08:00

Ibu...

Ibu...

Engkaulah ratu hatiku

Bila ku berduka

Engkau hiburkan selalu

Ibu...

Ibu...

Engkau lah ratu hatiku

That may seem to be the favourite jingle for the milk commercial.

But I love that song at the first instance I heard it.

Today, Mother's Day is celebrated. For a second, I forgot about it due to yesterday's misfortune. I lost my blackberry. Was busy tracking the whereabout just in case I have some luck to catch the thief and get the Bold 2 back. Did the formality, block the number and lodged the police report. By the time I came back, it was already midnite and the energy had drained out, all of them.

This morning I was awakened by a lovely surprise.

5 Aces gave me a sweet card with some photos down memory lane in it. I was teary for a moment because it was like yesterday that I entered the motherhood era. Raising all five of them is something I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life.

Beloved husband also surprised me with a funny sweet Mother's day card. Thank you very much dear. The card said, I am a brilliant mum and wife. Terangkat sekejap.

As for the rest of the day, we went to visit the mothers aka grandmothers with Mother's Day cakes; one in Kota Damansara and one in Seremban. Happy Mother's Day to Emak and Mama/ Uwan and Tok Mama as what the 5 Aces call them.

Hope your Mother's Day is awesome too.

Bz

2011-05-05T23:00:00.000+08:00

To describe my state of life now; makan tak lalu, mandi tak basah and tidur tak lena

No, I am not in love, how I wish lah kannnn...

Makan tak lalu ....

(breakfast is gobbling the food in the morning whilst preparing myself to work; satu tangan feed, satu tangan pakai tudung, not to mention I have been skipping lunch)

Mandi tak basah ....

(in jiffy because I have to rush back to my laptop and work on pieces and pieces of outstanding assignment *at home*)

Tidur tak lena ....

(slept past midnite and waking up every other hour to make sure that I am awake by 5.30 am to start the routine again especially leaving home for work by 6.30 am)

Or is it because age is catching up that I cannot manage my precious time?

SIGH......

I know life is not about work work and work (well, I still manage to catch Glee every Tuesday night and say a longer prayer before I sleep)

Semua orang pun busy so really realy hope that this is just a phase.

Belieber and Besotted

2011-04-28T22:04:00.001+08:00

Two things which have been abuzz at home since last week....

Justin Bieber and the Royal Wedding.

Nay, we did not watch JB's concert last week. Nevertheless the thought of JB in KL was sufficient enough to make Alina and Alim googoo and gaga.

I am not really a fan of his although I honestly admit that I love his song in particular You Smile and Never Say Never ft Jadine Smith. Sometime in January this year, I heard about JJ and Ian of Hitz.fm wanting JB's fans to like his page on fb and if it reaches 1 million, JB will perform his concert in Malaysia. I wonder whether JB had already that planned up and liking his fb page was just a thriller to the scheme of things.

Since Alina missed the concert, I didn't mind at all accompanying her to the movie Never Say Never. That Saturday, mom and 2 Aces plus 4th Ace's two other friends watched NSN. Awesome! To my amazement, it was phenomenal!! Never mind if we didn't get to see him live, the movie was brilliant enough to make me smitten over him and lulled by his fame.

With my maximum bragging about the movie, beloved husband was convinced to watch it with us. The next day, beloved husband plus the same troop minus 4th Ace's friends watched it again. It was worth it. Better than watching Michael Jackson during our time. Guess what? Beloved husband has now "never say never" profile on his bb.

The Royal Wedding is tomorrow. I had planned to go back as early as 4 pm to catch the royal wedding live. Thanks to the flexi hours implemented recently. I watched Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding at the boarding school 30 years back and having a princess in the same class back then really hyped a lot of things about the British Royals and Charles and Diana's wedding. As history repeats itself, who would want to miss this golden chance. Channel 707 Astro has been the home official favourite channel at the moment. Kate Middleton's enchanting smile and glossy hair make me wish I am living in the past at the age of 20 something. It must be a dream come true for her, just like how it was in the fairy tales although at the beginning she fought very hard to make Prince William notice her. Kept on telling the Aces that I have been to St Andrews University, where both of them studied and met. Infact hubs and I wished that Aliah could end up to do medicine there.

Not all wishes come true. Well, not about Aliah not being able to do medicine in St Andrews University but because of some thoughtlessness. Datuk C is holding a Town Hall tomorrow at 3 pm. I have to attend, bitterly. Huh! Whoever had arranged for the session, really is insensitive to the current affairs of the world, not to mention unmindful to be part of the history!

I shall wallow my misery with this song now. Before I end, to Prince Williams and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton, congratulations and cheers. "... and together they live happily ever after..." My special advice to Kate, please avoid tunnels at all costs!

Is This Latin - Charut

2011-04-21T23:44:00.008+08:00

Semasa akak belajar di Sekolah Rendah Convent tiga puluh tahun dahulu, terdapat enam kelas di dalam tiap satu darjah. Kelas-kelas mengikut tahap kepandaiannya adalah Kuning, Biru, Merah, Hijau, Putih dan Jingga. Daripada Darjah Satu hinggalah Darjah Enam akak berada di kelas Kuning.

Walaupun terdapat enam kelas yang berbeda, apabila matapelajaran Ugama, pelajar-pelajar beragama Islam akan belajar di dalam satu kelas. Macam-macam perangai dapat dilihat apabila budak-budak Melayu ini disatukan di dalam satu kelas yang sama. Satu pengalaman yang akak tidak boleh lupakan ialah apabila ustazah terdengar salah seorang pelajar kelas Jingga mencarut. Pelajar tersebut terkeluar perkataan “bahal*l” apabila bergaduh dengan rakan sebelahnya. Terkejut akak apabila perkataan itu dilontarkan. Semestinya akak tidak biasa. Lanjutan daripada insiden itu, ustazah telah merotan sahabat akak di tapak tangan. Birat juga rasanya.

Akak bukan lah dari keluarga yang elit. Kedua-dua abah dan emak hanyalah guru sekolah. Mereka berasal dari kampong. Kami tidak pernah bercakap Bahasa Inggeris di rumah, dan akak sememangnya tidak fasih bertutur dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Walaupun perbualan kami di rumah menggunakan Bahasa Melayu, diselangi dengan dialek Negeri Sembilan, bahasa nya halus. Mungkin ramai orang yang berpendapat bila kita menggunakan loghat daerah, ada kalanya kita terbawa-bawa dan bahasa kita kadang-kadang menjadi kasar.

Seingat akak, kami adik beradik memang prihatin dengan penggunaan bahasa yang digunakan. Jikalau kawan-kawan sepermainan di kawasan perumahan itu agak liar mencarut semasa kami bermain teng teng, galah panjang atau “police and thief”, kami tidak dibenarkan langsung menggunakan bait bait yang menjijikkan itu, mahupun bergurau-senda atau usik-mengusik. Uwan sangat menitikberatkan perkataan yang kami guna. Kalau dia terdengar kami terlepas cakap, siaplah kami. Ada mulut yang dipugar dengan cili api. Mencarut dianggap tiada hormat terhadap orang lain. Apatah lagi bila ulit-ulit perkataan yang haram itu tersembur di hadapan orang tua.

Ada kalanya akak merasa pelik apabila kawan-kawan akak dengan selamba sahaja mencarut apabila mereka marah “*elaka!!”, “*abi” atau “buri*”. Ya Allah, sungguh tidak sopan dan tidak hormat! Kenapa suka mencemari bahasa kita? Tidak adakah cara lain yang boleh meluahkan perasaan marah dan geram? Bukankah bangsa Melayu berbudi-bahasa dan bersopan-santun.

Selepas akak berjaya melanjutkan pelajaran di sekolah berasrama penuh, seterusnya ke menara gading, jarang sekali akak mendengar carutan-carutan yang tercemar dan jahat. Barangkali pergaulan akak di waktu itu terhad kepada orang yang tertentu. Akak kan pemalu orangnya. Lagipun akak tidak pandai bersosial. Bersosial sekiranya terpaksa.

Sejak akhir ini akak dikejutkan dengan penemuan kata-kata carutan yang tidak masuk akal. Di mana perginya hormat kita kepada kawan-kawan kita, tidak kiralah mereka sebaya, tua daripada kita atau muda. Tidakkah dia yang mencarut itu diajar oleh ibu bapa nya semasa kecil supaya berbudi bahasa? Tidak diajar atau sengaja tidak mahu belajar? Kenapakah tiba-tiba dia melenting sehingga terlalu emosi dan tidak dapat menahan kemarahannya? Akak pernah terbaca di dalam sebuah buku motivasi yang menegaskan bahawa mereka yang suka mencarut ini selalunya merasa bersalah akan sesuatu yang telah dilakukan dan untuk menyorok kemarahannya atau menyorok rasa insekuritinya, tersemburlah perkataan-perkataan yang memerahkan telinga. Bukan ke kita sama se Islam, sama serumpun. Kenapa begitu bacul sekali sehingga terjadi begini?

Secara tidak sengaja semasa akak menaiki kapalterbang baru-baru ini, si pramugari yang selalunya tersenyum dan sepatutnya begitu sopan susila tiba-tiba telah terlepas cakap semasa di dapur kapalterbang. Mungkin dia tidak sedar akak berada di situ. Akak yang terkejut bila dia “melatah”.. “Puk* mak!” katanya. Jatuh jantung akak! Dibuatnya lah si pramugari adalah pramugari d’Nest dalam cerita Awan Dania, hmmm… mahu ada yang dibuang kerja serta-merta.

Alah bisa tegal biasa. Di satu lagi peristiwa yang dialami baru-baru ini, apabila mengetahui carutan sengaja di gunakan, akak bertanya… Adakah sudah menjadi satu kebiasaan si dia begitu celupar sehingga sanggup menyakitkan hati seseorang dan jatuh maruahnya memperkecilkan dan mempersenda orang dengan kata yang hina dina? Busuk sangat ke orang itu? Sendiri yang jahil, mungkin tidak disedari dan diakui, "self denial".

Ustaz ada berkata di dalam ceramah nya, di akhirat nanti seringan-ringan hukuman adalah seperti jari tersepit di pintu di dunia ini. Adusss… jari akak pula tersepit di pintu pejabat tadi kerana refleksinya lambat dan terasa keluar anak tekak ini menjerit. Kalau balasan orang mengumpat di akhirat kelak ialah digunting bibir dan lidahnya sampai putus, akak rasa yang mencarut akan lebih lagi. Beribu kali ganda sakitnya daripada tangan akak yang terkepit tadi. Itu baru mencarut, yang merampas hak orang bagaimana pula ye ?!

Bak kata Dr Izzy… renung-renungkan….

Of Happiness And Misfortune

2011-04-12T23:42:00.013+08:00

After spending two years in Sek Men Science Muar (Samura), Aliah, my 1st Ace is happy to be back to the nest for good. She spent her Form 4 and Form 5 in Samura. I still remember how sulky she was when we sent her to the boarding school in Feb 2009. In the first few months, we had to travel down south almost every two weeks to coax her to stay on because at times she wanted to give up and refuse to be in one of the best boarding schools in the country.

Upon finishing SPM, she didn’t do much at home. Passed her driving tests, became a part time teacher at Kumon and helped around to ferry the other Aces, be it by car or by motorbike.

Alhamduliilah, when the SPM results were out last month, her results were not that bad. She didn’t get straight As. Suffice to say that we expected the outcome and thankful that she got B for her most unfavored subject Biology. Aliah was a bit disappointed, in the light that out of the 300 odd form 5 students, 94 students achieved all As but she was not one of them. She was feeling down for a couple of days until she realized that life has to go on, SPM is not the determining milestone to her success in the future.

Aliah has always love numbers. Hence it was no surprise that she plans to take up accountancy. Although that is not what her mother desires for her (it is pretty obvious that I want her to do medicine), she is given the liberty to choose according to her passion. Based on how my friends accountants work at the office, I hate to see her not seeing the sun rises and sun sets when she pursues her career. Well, emak dia pun apa kurang nya.

She hopes to enter IIU for foundation, insha Allah I will try to check whether there is a quota for alumni to facilitate her entry.

I treated Aliah to Bandung for a shopping spree two weeks ago. It was more like the Mama who wanted a break and brought her along. Bandung is the same. Other than shopping, the jam was even more horrendous than previously because of the weekend craze. It seems to be the most popular vacation spot overseas for Malaysians. We stayed in Hy*tt. Other than shopping, which we didn’t really indulge much, the other times was just spent chilling at the hotel. I discovered a new factory outlet, Bali Heaven this time. It probably was there the last time I was in Bandung but didn’t get to shop there. They have nice clothes, although I still prefer Summit or Rumah Mode.

It was such a joy being back in that place; we borong Amanda choc marble brownie like crazy, shopped jeans for my teenage Aces at Toko Tiga and lastly purchased lots of cotton in Pasar Baru, including those for raya puasa. Aliah is not as patience as the father; she had to endure the endless waits and letting the Mama to shop. Nonetheless I am sure she had enjoyed it to the bits. Typical girls!

I remember my arwah uwan said, sometimes it is not good to be too happy. Even if we are happy, we must always say thanks and be grateful to Allah. Perhaps we were not showing our gratitude enough to the All Mighty….

Last week beloved husband was not available to send Ali for Friday prayers. As usual if the father is not around, Aliah would be always willing to send and pick Ali at the mosque. After sending Ali, on her way back, as she was about to approach a t- junction, a car came from the front and hit her at the leg. The driver may have been in a hurry to go for his Friday prayers that he approached too close to Aliah who was riding the motorcycle. Aliah did not fall. The motorbike too did not fall or was damaged. She managed to control everything and suddenly realized that her leg was bleeding profusely.

To shorten the story, the driver sent Aliah to the clinic and the doctor had to stitch the big cut. Poor girl, she called me from the clinic, crying helplessly. My heart beat stopped for a few seconds. I don’t think I could handle shocking news like that ever. After her description of the accident, my initial thoughts were, it was not that bad. It was only the cut and stiches. She was not injured on her other part of the body, neither was the motorcycle damaged. Until I saw this....

That evening when I came home, had to feed her and nurse her and it was like nursing a big baby, hehe. Makan bersuap, as she was dizzy, jalan pun kena papah.

She still can’t walk without a walking stick. My hopeful doa that she will recover soon. Since she is “grounded”, that extra pair of hands also have disappeared until she recovers 110%. Get well soon dear and don't forget to take the pati ikan haruan diligently.

C and D Alike

2011-03-27T19:26:00.005+08:00

Upon reading some of the leadership books, I can’t find anything on leaders having to be jumpy, annoying, cynical or even grumpy.

It talks about being influential, walk the talk, coaching, imparting knowledge, role model and all the great traits of a leader. Jim Collins in his book From Good To Great labeled the key factor to leadership is humility. According to him, humble leaders do not need to always get their way, who admit that others may be right, who express expression for insights, who seek to learn and who help others to do their job. Humility helps create a positive work environment of learning, service, appreciation and growth.

I loathe writing about work because life should not be about work only. We work to live, definitely, and when we go to work every day, the office environment has to be appealing. Working 8 hours a day and being stuck in the horrendous traffic jam means one is likely to spend probably half of its career life; being out of home and away from the beloved ones. That is if you spend 8 hours. In my case, I have worked at the average of 10 to 12 hours a day for the past weeks.

Lately I am beginning to ask myself whether is it worth it?

I have worked for Dato' D since the past 6 years. An ex government servant, it explains why he is so bossy. At meetings, he doesn't say much but when you deal with him one to one, he tends to be very demanding and his demands can be expressed with annoying shrieks and shouts. But because he is somebody whom has to be respected within the system, like it or not, I just have to follow the system,

Another grumpy character whom I am serving now is Dato' C. I have only worked with him for the past 8 months. He is the kind who seems to be making others look stupid. I am not sure whether that is intentional or unintentional. I know it is the job of the leaders to probe and make sure there is no stone left unturned, but in the course of doing so, he begins to be cynical, antagonized and scornful. I wonder at times if he is ever fit to be at the helm. I am least surprised when I heard nasty rumors about Dato’ C that he was seeking help from a shaman because some staff were very peeved at him that they had casted spell on him.

Given their respective idiosyncrasies, and because I am an extra forgiving person, despite the “barking” received from Dato' C and Dato' D once in a while, I never felt dented, not until last week.

There were some matters that have been unresolved in connection with Dato’ D. Dato’ D was adamant that his stand was correct and he demanded that I recorded it that way. As this matter has to get the consent from Dato’ C, the boss and I made our way to Dato’ C’s office. Granted that there were some matters that I overlooked and I felt silly for not covering that point. (Note to boss: From the bottom of my heart I apologise. I know you think highly of me and sorry I have disappointed you this time) My omission was an opportunity for Dato’ C to get to me. To me it was ok because he is after all the boss. But what really disturbed me was the root of the problem, i.e. Dato’ D’s predicament was also caused by non-thoroughness of Dato’ C. And here he was shouting sarcastically at me. Ok chill, chill TM … because I believe I am also to be blamed due to my unpreparedness before seeing Dato’ C.

Thereafter, when I tried to correct the whole situation including calling Dato’ D to clarify and explain, unexpectedly, Dato’ D was ready to fire me like a M16. He was lamenting about our inefficiencies, our no respect of him, our incompetencies … bla bla bla…. Over and above that he had the cheek to tell me that although nothing of this is due to me, he didn’t care. Because I am in the system, I too should get the brunt. He screamed and shouted at me. At the end of the tele-conversation, I was speechless, emotional, shocked and just stared at the wall for a good 15 minutes. Wooohh!! This is what I call arrogant leaders who seem to forget about their roots and their existence. I am sure he was not conferred a Dato’ overnight but through hard work and sweat. Certainly he was like me ages ago. Can’t he understand, or is it the case where he refuse to understand?

I am just trying to do my job sincerely and making sure that these two Dato’s are happy with our service. For some unknown reasons, I unexpectedly got the emotional bashing.

I felt very down and disappointed that weekend.

The good thing about being sad was I conquered the kitchen during the weekend. I did not become the kitchen goddess but I feel very much at ease and doing what I love. Now I know the reason why Kitchen Guardian made baking as her core job and lawyering as her hobby.

I shall leave this with a quote; some people aren’t worth your time or happiness, love those who love you, leave those who curse you and pray for those who hate you.

Our Niece's Wedding

2011-03-20T00:02:00.007+08:00

Our niece, Safia got married today. Between the Mohd. Noor and Hussain's family, she is the first cucu to get married. Since the past two weeks, I have been busy sibuk-sibuk-ing at Taman Tun to give my support to kak Hah, my biras.

Eighteen years ago, I met Safia when she came to my wedding. I still remember her as the chubby and sweet little girl whom others will instantly love. As a matter of fact, until today, she has this warmth enveloping all over her. No wonder she easily had stolen Afif's heart.

I am amazed with my biras, kak Hah on how she managed almost single handedly with the wedding preparation. Someone quipped today that she may have conquered the whole of Klang Valley to look for suppliers, everything; from the pouch for the bunga rampai to the honey for the gift. The endless energy she had put into the preparation is fantastic!

Today is the nikah where everything had transpired almost perfectly, not to mention beautiful. Alhamdulillah.

Tomorrow will be the wedding reception and it will be the moment to celebrate this happy ocassion, reunion, makan makan and rounds of merry photo-taking sessions.

Since Afif is still studying in Japan, Safia will follow her newly-wedded husband back in the next two weeks. Although he studies in Kyushu, the southern island of Japan, which is quite a distance from the Fukushima nuclear plant, we pray that the aftermath of catastrophic tsunami in Japan will not affect them in any way and that the fear and suffer will come to an end soon.

On a happier note, congratulations Safia and Afif, Selamat Pengantin Baru and semoga kekal ke anak cucu :)

The two mempelai, sama cantik dan sama padan

Women, ladies and girls

My biras, kak Hah and me

Safia and Aunty TM

Gurindam Nasihat

2011-03-13T23:24:00.002+08:00

I was looking for some gurindam and puisi to say next weekend. Beloved hubby and I have been given the task to emcee the wedding reception of our first niece (husband's side) who will be married that weekend. Beloved husband's cousin, abang Sahak initially was to emcee the lovely ocassion but due to his health condition, we do not want to trouble him hence we truly hope he can focus and concentrate on getting better.

Anyway, I remembered some good gurindam nasihat and pantun dua kerat which I encountered during some weddings we attended. I plan maybe to incorporate some in the script. I am beginning to love them and as I think more about them, they shed light to me as to what suami isteri is all about, in particular sharing the responsibilities together.

Here goes:

Adat orang bersuami isteri
Pahit manis sama dirasa
Dalam surut ada pasangnya
Dalam susah ada senangnya
Dalam sempit ada lapangnya

.....

Kalau tebu seruas seorang
Kalau nangka seulas seorang
Payung satu sama berteduh
Perahu satu sama menyeberang

Tikar sehelai sama ditiduri
Selimut satu sama dikongsi
Kalau sempit sama berhimpit
Kalau lapang sama berlegar

.....

Biar teruk asal keluarga elok
Biar berhutang asal anak menjadi orang
Biar bergadai asal anak pandai
Biar tenat asal anak isteri selamat

Such profound meaning, don't you think so?

Embarrassed

2011-03-10T23:56:00.003+08:00

It rained this morning when I woke up. I remembered that there would be a meeting on corporate re-structure in SA after lunch and thought I should put on one of my favourite power blouses cum jacket. The V neckline was plunging and as always I had to wear the sleeveless baby tee within. The morning was a bit chill, I guess it is ok to wear two piece.

At the office, there was something wrong with the air condition. With the two-piece, obviously it was very warm. I could not stand the heat thus took off the tee within at mid morning. Tak pe, the plunging neckline can be covered by the paisley tudung Ikin.

Arrived at the target company office about 1 pm. The other key personnel from my office have not arrived. My other two colleagues and I decided to wait at the lobby near the reception area. Waited and waited, there was no sign of them. The secretary to the CEO had requested us to just proceed with lunch with the CEO, yet we insisted to wait for the rest to arrive.

It was already thirty minutes past the scheduled lunch time and we gave up waiting. As we walked slowly to the dining room, saw this guy throwing to us a big smile. He looked familiar. I think he must be the one who always attended our company Hari Raya open house. Yes, he must be the CEO.

I greeted “ Apa khabar Datuk?”

“Jemput jemput. Mana yang lain? Awat lambat mai?”

We exchanged greetings and cracked some jokes, with me addressing him Datuk as a sign of respect. He ushered us to the two tables with white covered dining chairs at each table, all nicely decorated. There were petals of roses on the tables and I said, “Wah bahaya ni Datuk. Mesti nak mandram so that we can agree to this corporate restructure!”

“Mana ada Datuk? Kat sini ada satu je Datuk.”

I didn’t really get what he meant. Not admitting I was “blur”, I continued the conversation with the Datuk.

A couple of minutes later, there was a big laugh coming from the corridor. The other key personnel have arrived with an elderly man. He looked familiar. After a long look at him, OMG, this is the Datuk CEO and not the one that I was talking to. How could I be confused (and blur). The wrongly called Datuk is the COO. I have met both of them before, in fact we had a similar meeting in their office 5 years ago and I forgot who is who. Shucks!!

Swallowing my embarrassment, I didn’t fail to enjoy lunch. It may seem as if they want to stuff us to bodek for the restructure. There was a wide delicious spread; buttered prawns, grilled chicken, mutton, sweet sour fillet, yumm yumm!

As I was enjoying my kuih tako, I didn’t feel nice sitting. Oh no! I swear I changed it before leaving the office and it can’t be overloaded already! Ish, ish why didn’t I ensure that I sat properly just now.

I whispered to K. “Can we leave last when the lunch is over? I think I must have …. Just walk behind me closely as I don’t want anyone to see the spot.”

True enough there was a spot. Pretty obvious as I was wearing a light colored long skirt. K was a bit concerned, “Ada bawa extra?”

“Don’t worry K, just walk behind me to the ladies” I stressed. Aaargghhh, what an uncomfortable moment and satu kerja nak clean up the mess!

The meeting went smoothly. Typical Qs and As for a restructure as such. If I was the Datuk CEO, I would feel as if being bombarded with questions from the press or analysts. After almost 2 hours, meeting ended. Time to disperse, but I had to stay back to check a few things with my counterpart.

As I stepped out from the reception area, outside the building, Datuk CEO was having a puff near the glass door. He stopped me and we discussed some more. The wind was blowing hard and I quickly held my tudung Ikin. Mahu ada yang dapat free show ni. It was obvious that I was clinging to the edge of the tudung with the other two bags in my hands. Haiya… banyak pulak Datuk ni nak berdiskusi in this strong wind !!! &%@#(*&^%

As I related this to beloved hubby just now, he commented “Lagi you pegang tudung tu, lagi dia nak cakap lama-lama dengan you.” As a result of this, beloved husband promised to buy me a tube which is not that warm even if the air condition is faulty. Make sure got or there could be other cringe moments!!

Can ah?

2011-03-07T23:49:00.001+08:00

Have you ever wondered how a person can be rich? Forget about those who are hard core business men, or those listed as the top 10 wealthiest person in the globe or the country because I am very sure that these people evidently sweat their a** to be wealthy. If we read their road to success or their journey to where they are today, we will be amazed. Some of them started off from a humble kampong boy to a billionaire, the story from rags to riches. We have books to teach us to be millionaires, TV programmes to motivate us and courses to educate us on this subject.

Your rezki is your dugaan (test), do you believe in that? I do. I have seen many people that when they become rich, there could be other happenings related or consequential to it, it could be good or otherwise. An employer of a friend paid a15 month bonus to the employees. According to my friend, if she does not remind herself repeatedly to save, the money will be gone in no time. I am sure every one of us in a way or another may have experienced an unexpected “durian runtuh” and if the money was spent for a good cause, well and good, if not we would again wish that the opportunity could recur. By the way does retail therapy include in the good cause category? *Hiks..

I was in Telok Intan the other day for a khenduri and discovered that one of our sedara mara drives a Hummer. I am not sure whether the Hummer is his or he borrowed it from someone, but the fact remains, he drives a Hummer. (Anyway he owns a company by the name Pemu*ah, and I must say, the company name pretty much reflects him).

A friend who lives within the vicinity, a contractor, other than having built a mansion around this neighborhood, changes his car from a Merc sports to the X6 to the … maybe Cayenne next who knows!

At the rate the people are getting richer by the day, it surely is mind boggling to me. The saying goes that 90% of the rezki in this world can be derived from “berniaga” (doing business) and it is true, the person who drives the Hummer and the friend contractor are successful businessmen.

This leads me to the story I am about to tell.

Beloved husband got a fat pay check recently. After he quit his job , he has been doing training. What he trains, actually I am not too sure myself. I know he does motivational talk. And I also know he does some kind of chicken dance… oh ok, that is during the light moment of the training. Sorry! Ok, he teaches ethics and etiquette, how to eat with knife, spoon and fork, yes… table manners!! One more thing, how to make selling akar kayu enterprising. No, no .. not akar kayu alone, it is anything that could add value to your business or create business opportunity.

Actually that is not my story. The story is about the pay check.

In one of the single sourcing bids his company participated, he was asked to do the pricing. He did it in good faith just like what the boss had asked him to do. Unfortunately, other than the boss’ instructions, someone who organised and facilitated for them the training has told them to massage and cushion the price. It was no big deal because usually their margin is 20%, but in this instance in order to entertain the request, they had to hike the price to additional 20%. 20% for beloved husband’s company and 20% for the arranger. As long as it was accepted by the owner or principal as in within their estimated budget, and since there was no violent objection, I guess that is alright, berniaga mahh..

The training turned out to be a success. To everyone’s surprise (but not the arranger of course) when the monies was paid through the pay check, he claimed for additional $$$ for himself. It was the most uncalled thing to do. Huh!! He was persistent, moody and maybe slightly ruthless at that point of time. As beloved husband did not want any trouble and with the hope that future training at that location will not be problematic, he paid him off. Despite it was not that much of money like with five zeros behind (maybe three to four), it was still money right!! The person claimed that it was his commission.

The BIG question that was playing in my head is, if this one he pow $x, that company $y, another company $z, would not that total up to his current affordability to drive the latest beemer, live in a luxurious bungalow and have two wives? Hmmmm… I leave it to you to answer that question.

Hidup ini mesti berkat …..

Nineteen

2011-02-22T00:35:00.001+08:00

(image removed)

Today, beloved husband is miles away, whilst I am busy attending to some very important corporate matters. How I wish we can spend another honeymoon together in the land far far away.

22nd February 2011 marks 19 years of the co-existence of beloved husband and me as suami dan isteri. We may not be the best couple or ideal pair on earth but we "complement, supplement and complete" each other.

To my beloved husband, indeed there have been many ups and downs together nonetheless I am grateful that you, me and the family remain in tact. I pray and truly hope that our love will remain stronger as the days, months and years pass.

Maulidur Rasul

2011-02-15T16:43:00.004+08:00

Ustaz asked me the other day "Tahukah kamu berapa orang anak Nabi Muhammad s.a.w?"

It took me a while to come up with the answer. I wanted to say Hassan and Hussain, hish, so ignorant of me until my dear friend seated next to me nudged me and gave me the answers, 4 daughters; Ruqayah, Ummi Kalthum, Zainab and Fatma Zahra, 2 sons; Abdullah and Qasim. All his children except Fatimah died before Prophet pbuh passed away.

Then ustaz cynically quipped, "Nama anak artis ingat, nama anak Nabi Muhammad tak tahu." Indeed what he said may be true in some of us.

Later ustaz related the story of Aishah who was very jealous of "kak Jah". The Prophet pbuh only married the other wives after Siti Khadijah has passed away. Although some hadith said that Aishah is his favourite wife, it is obvious that he loves Siti Khadijah very much. Yelah she is his first wife and from the very beginning she helped him out, susah senang bersama.

Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. is the exemplary model to all and we must emulate him. Bukan bab kahwin je but Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. also did his own housechores and helped with the housework. Ustaz also said, "Do our husbands do that? Or setakat balik rumah terus tengok TV and baca papers sambil minta kopi." Hmmm... something to ponder.

Itupun from what I read Nabi Muhammad's s.a.w. marriages after Siti Khadijah were mostly for political or humanitarian reasons, these wives being either widows of Muslims who had been killed in the battles and had been left without a protector, or belonging to important families or clans whom it was necessary to honor and strengthen alliances.

Sensitive to elaborate more.

Marilah kita teruskan berselawat ke atas baginda Rasulullah s.a.w. dan menghayati video ini.

Cerita Kedai Kopi - 1

2011-02-13T00:48:00.001+08:00

N, a friend of mine handed to me a wedding card. “Make sure you come for the wedding ya. “ She insisted. To no surprise of mine, her eldest daughter is getting married in a month’s time. N is the same age as me and she will soon have a menantu. Her eldest daughter is 23 years old. N got married in USA in her second year.

There are a few friends of mine who went overseas immediately after SPM, and got married whilst they were still studying. I cannot imagine if it were me.

I was one of the privileged ones to have been selected to further my studies in tertiary education even before the SPM results were out. I did SAM in Sri Inai Ipoh. I wonder if I was in the same situation with N, and if it is fated that I met someone special, would I think twice to start a family when I was still studying.
I never had any special relationship with any boys when I was in school. Crush yes, does crush with Jimmy McNichol or Scott Baio counts? In fact when I was in Sri Inai, it was pretty obvious that the main objective is to secure a good place overseas hence other imaginative objective was pretty much not allowed. The situation aggravated when I was offered a scholarship even before the SPM results, hence the pressure was indeed mounting.

That was the desired plan, which did not materialize.

Somehow I don’t know how it started with L. Tall, Chinese looking, specky and has this playful boyish face. We were both in Class SAM 1B. I noticed him as one of the boys who loved to get on to the girls’ nerves. The girls would complain to each other how L can be a nuisance to them. There would always be one or two silly remarks said by him as a way of harassing the girls. It could be after class, in the bus home or any other unthinkable time. Ironically, I don’t recall ever been teased by L.

I think it started off with A and her partner J, who told me that L liked me. A and J, who happened to be my classmates were already “dating” each other. At times when I bumped into J who would "date" A outside our house in Tasek (all of us stayed in the rented link houses in Tawas, Taman Tasek), J would find any reason to tease me with L. Me and L? I thought it was a complete joke altogether.

I couldn’t recall whether there was any attempt by L to be closed to me from beginning of the year until one day some of us from the same class, including A, J, L and me went out to watch movie together in Ipoh. There was no interesting movie showing that weekend except this one called Smorgasbord. Until now, I don’t think I understood that movie!

It must be after that outing L and I became close. I know that he was good in accounting, I was the hopeless (and helpless one) and L's familiarisation and soundness over the subject really helped. I also liked to watch him play football at the field right behind our house together with the rest of the SAM and A-Level boys. Nine of us from the same house would flocked at the room behind to "komen and kutuk" them play. And the rest was history.

Other than being classmates, there was not much of memories about us except this unforgettable one; we were caught by two policemen when we were riding bicycles around Taman Tasek. We forgot to bring our IC along and due to that, was subjected to lots of interrogation from the “datuk”. With some “auta”, I managed to convince the policemen that we caused no harm. From that escapable incident, I saw myself a lawyer in the making.

When the SAM results were out, L made it through to pursue Accountancy in Wollongong. Although my SAM results were better than his, I have unsuccessfully accomplished my dream i.e. to secure a place Down Under. I was devastated of course and I know L was pretty much devastated too although he didn’t really show it. Well, typical males! They chose to be macho when it comes to melancholic disappointment! From that day onwards, we went separate directions. It was evident that neither of us believe in long distance relationship. On hindsight it may be a blessing in disguise. Like N, L got married in his second year. We did meet up when he came back for his holidays in his first year prior to his wedding. That time when we met, I never discovered up til now whether he was already in close relationship with the girlfriend then turned wife).

It was a pleasant coincidence that when I was in Ipoh in 1984, not too far away, a stranger then as in beloved husband was studying in Kuala Kangsar. The bus which goes to Kuala Kangsar would pass the main road infront of Tasek. Beloved husband may have taken that bus back to college and similarly I may have taken the bus back to Tasek from Ipoh town. Ahaks! Who knows, we may have taken the same bus back! It is not impossible if I may have bumped into him whilst I was eating at Medan Kidd or at the Railway Station or at Jubilee Park, perhaps whilst shopping at Super Kinta! Wow, this could be another movie of Khabir Bhatia.

February

2011-02-06T09:33:00.001+08:00

February is the month of love, so they say.

I can be a hopeless romantic when the mood comes, especially if I have nothing else to do (like for example, now, when beloved husband is away since as long as I can't remember and will be staying away the whole of February).

In view of this "undesirable" circumstances :), don't blame me if I layyaaaannn the jiwang-ness in me.

Here is what I kept on tuning this CNY break with the hope it will stop by tonite (I mean my bad cough and cold which have been bugging me since last Wednesday) to spruce up for the busy weeks ahead.

Happy Bunny Year

2011-02-03T15:07:00.007+08:00

Happy New Year to all the Chinese readers

May the year be free from conflicts and filled with prosperity and joy

The feng shui master predicts that for those who born in the year of Snake like yours truly (I thought I am a Horse but just realised that I am a Wood Snake), can anticipate a good start of the year but by mid year, it will be a bad stretch. Op... op... I am not Chinese, so why do I bother, hehehe.

Have a good one, you all!

AlIkhlas Where My Heart Was

2011-01-31T23:38:00.007+08:00

CSR works is supposed to make you feel insaf right? But why was it that the recent one had made me become miserable? Sigh.

The office identified the Rumah Orang Tua AlIkhlas in Pulau Meranti as our CSR activity this quarter. I have never been to an old folks’ home. Watched dramas on old folks being left at homage like this.

Rumah Tua AlIkhlas is operated by one tough woman, Hajjah Muj*. She has 8 staff that assisted her apart from her own daughter in law. There are about 47 occupants, a mixed of Moslem men and women. An old mosque in Pulau Meranti was converted into this home.

The place is divided into two (at least that is how it is for the women's side). The floor of the first part is covered with linoleum mat and the other is covered with carpet. The latter is occupied by the women who are pretty much healthy as in they are not in diapers whilst the other section is the opposite. These are the old folks who cannot walk, who has chronic health condition or have turned senile.

Each Makcik, and some called themselves nenek, has their own story to tell.

Makcik A thinks that this is her home in Gemencheh. According to her, her children live just behind the house which she built. She has 5 kids. Even the banana trees which can be seen from her bed are what she had planted. Of course Makcik A kept on repeating what she told me over and over again like a broken record.

Makcik B has diabetes and high blood pressure. Her right leg has been amputated. According to her she was "ligat" in her younger days. She married someone's husband and lasted only 5 years. The divorce was due to the jealousy of the first wife whom she described as "senga". She cannot control her food. She wanted syrup, mandarin oranges and even tamarind (asam jawa). She asked me to get them from the kitchen myself but told me categorically never to ask from the maids because they surely will not let me. Because of Makcik B’s health problem, according to Hajjah Muj*’s daughter in law, she can only consume 10 ml of liquid a day (which I can’t find any sense in it). That day when we came, she was probably drinking 5 cups!

Makcik C said that she has only been there for a month. The children visit her every weekend, which seem to be contrary to what Makcik D said i.e. Makcik C has been there for three years and her children never came to visit her. According to one of the maids, Makcik C could not control her bowels the night before. At 3 am, everyone was woken up with hues and cries because Makcik C took off her diapers and did her business on the way to the toilet. It was such a mess and the two maids who stayed in really had a sleepless night.

Makcik D who came from Kelantan broke her pelvic. She is on wheel chair. She is one of those who seem sane to me. I wonder who is right between Makcik C and Makcik D?

Makcik E is an ustazah. She cannot sleep on the bed. Her mattress is laid on the floor because she keeps on falling from her bed. She is 86 years old. Her husband is dead and there is no one else who could take care of her. She kept on repeating about how cruel the Japanese were. They raped the girls and at times killed them. Once in a while she blurted twangs of English words.

I could not figure out what Makcik F was saying. Her accent was this thick Kedah accent. She kept on wanting to leave the house. Somehow, the door was just next to her bed.

Makcik G was just sitting on her bed, saying nothing. Slowly she bent down as if her back bone was flexible. The maid kept putting her in the right straight position every 30 minutes. I tried once but could manage to pull her half way straight. She sure was stiff.

There are a couple more Makciks that I met and talked to. I could see the twinkle in their eyes when I spoke to them, or rub their legs or fed them the nasi ayam served that day.

One makcik who intrigued me most was Makcik H. Makcik H appeared healthy to me. I persuaded her to tell me her story. Initially she refused and after seeing that I was no longer pushy or interested, she blurted almost three quarter of her life story. Makcik H doesn’t want to be taken care of the maid. She doesn’t trust the maid. Her son is a specialist doctor in one of the renowned hospitals. Because there was no one she can trust to take care of her and the son is always busy working, she begged the son to send her to the old folks’ home. She has been there for three months. She realized that now she is there, there seem to be a lot of challenges. The healthy ones bicker among each other. The administrator and care taker don’t always entertain her request.

One thing good about the place, the imam will come every waktu to lead the jamaah prayers. Those who can pray will be able to perform the congregational prayers. When we performed Zuhr that day, I noticed at least there are about 10 people who could come to the prayer hall to pray, some can still stand, some performed prayers on wheel chair and some sat down on the floor.

After lunch, we had birthday celebration for Makcik I and Uncle A, both of them are muallaf. Uncle A broke down when Hajjah Muj* said thanks to us for taking time to spend the day with them. Uncle A continuously put his hands high up as if praying for us. I was filled with sadness and couldn’t help being tearful.

According to Hajjah Muj*, she observed from the old folks who are under her care that whatever wrongs that they must have done in their life would usually be reflected when they are old. She advised us to repent no matter how small our sins are.

I am happy that I have made many old folks happy that day. Nonetheless I am equally miserable because I am not sure how my old life will be. One of my friends commented, maybe it is better to die young, at least we do not bother people when we become old, or if we do, we could end up in an old folks’ home like this. Some of the Makciks here have children whom they nurtured and loved very much, and somehow they still ended in a place like this. Miserable isn’t it? Come what may, this is all God’s will. I only pray that if I live long enough, I would die before I turn senile so that I will not bother people with my doddering.

Conversation With Mat

2011-01-16T23:30:00.002+08:00

The ride from KKIA to L*Meri*ie* was different this time. The company may have forgotten to arrange the driver to pick me up at the airport so when I saw that nobody was waiting for me at the arrival area, I quickly went to purchase the taxi voucher.

A small man greeted me, “Assalamualaikum Puan, mahu ke mana?”, in his local Sabah dialect.

“L*Meri*ie* Encik”, I replied.

As he drove away, he started small talks with me, I pun layan. We talked about the weather, then he asked where I was from and how many kids do I have. Somehow, I like it when people ask me how many children I have.

I asked in turn.. “Encik?”

“Empatbelas.”

“Whoaaaaaa!” I inadvertently screamed! “Sorang ibu atau lebih?”. Typical, trying not to sound judgmental.

“Dua.”

“Ooooooh..”, didn’t want to commit any further idiotic mistakes on further conversations.

As if he knew what was in my mind, the taxi driver quickly chipped, “Sebenarnya anak saya tujuh orang, yang lagi tujuh anak adik saya. Dia bapa yang tak bertanggungjawab. Tinggalkan anak dia macam tu aje, jadi saya bela lah.”

Noble, noble…

I didn’t ask that many questions after that. Mat did most of the talking. However I found out from Mat (his full name is Muhammad Fatihah) that the more you give the more you get. He was grateful to what God has bequeathed him. His eldest son is now doing medic in Egypt whilst his second one is doing Human Sciences in Al Azhar University. His own youngest son is two years old. One of the sons that he adopted is in a college in Terengganu whilst another brother of his, plans to be a pilot. There are lots of challenges in bringing them up, of course one of them is money. He quit working with the State Government because the money was not enough for everyone. The wife teaches and that really helps according to him. So far with God’s will, the first two managed to get scholarship, first one from JPA and the second one from Baitul Mal.

I asked him if he has any regrets. He said no except that he is one furious father especially if he finds out that any of his children does not pray. The usual questions he would ask every time he comes home would be “Dah makan ke?” then followed by “Dah solat ke?” He would lose his temper if he finds any of the children puts priority to sleep than pray.

In the rush of him wanting to tell his story, he did not forget to mention “Isteri saya lah yang banyak membantu. Dialah yang terbaik. Kalau dia tak ada, tak tahulah saya apa nak jadi dengan anak anak saya dan saya. Saya yang pemarah tetapi dialah yang buat semuanya tak jadi susah.”

Sweet….

Note to beloved husband, I hope you appreciate me like Mat.

Note to myself, stop buying handbags, cotton and casa rubia and every time I indulge in anything unnecessary (will try to refrain, ini … if tak boleh lah), say a prayer to people like Mat and family and whoever in need and unfortunate. Also spend more in giving.

Note to 5 Aces, you don’t want either your father or your mother to be as ferocious as Pak Cik Mat ye. So I am sure you know the do's and don'ts.

In case any one of you requires a taxi ride in KK, let me know. I am most happy to recommend Mat.

110111

2011-01-14T23:56:00.001+08:00

110111, nice number eh? That's the date when I became a year older this year.

Zillion thanks to families and friends who sent me their birthday wishes and their doas. Thanks too to fb, bbm and other social networking media that made me feel remembered.

I was in a workshop outside KL when the emcee announced to the participants that it was my and Hu*a*'s, my fellow management team, birthday. A pleasant surprise especially when I was not prepared to tell everyone in the ballroom it was my birthday on that very day. If in the previous years, Hu*a* and me celebrated the birthday lunch together in the company of our beloved spouses, this time it was free meals at the courtesy of the event organiser.

The family didn't get to celebrate the happy ocassion with me that night. By the time I returned home from the two long day workshop, I was bummed. Beloved husband decided to play futsal that nite leaving Alim yakking at my bedside, asking me what time would the celebration be. The birthday girl was fast asleep even before the clock struck 10 pm, moreover beloved husband did not return until almost midnite.

Anyway, the celebration was deferred to the following day together with all in the family minus Ayna, a very very humble scale after dinner.

Today my ever wonderful Legal team belanja the boss makan at Li**le Pena*g C*fe which was supposed to be a surprise but the boss was too smart to be "conned"!

Two birthday cakes and amazing celebration with the people who cares, owh, I feel blessed. So another year has passed. Am I a year wiser? Do I feel older? Considering the current poor eye sight, I guess I am, but then, age is just an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter ;)

Weekend Yang Hanyut

2011-01-09T09:45:00.001+08:00

A few of my Srikandi fans are die hards of FT and these few days, Hanyut and Selamat Malam have been flooding the fb posts.

I love Hanyut. One of my Srikandi friends asked me if it is a personal experience, It would be a lie to say No because in our own personal way, especially to some wives, we wish we are given extra attention by our husbands. Of course it may not apply to husband and wife only, it can also apply to any other situation; children and parents, couples and whatever you want it to be.

So here is wishing Faizal Tahir all the best for tonite’s AJL 25. I am not a great fan of his but I do love his voice and his songs.

Harus bagaimana lagi
Dan terus begini
Dengarkan aku
Lihat ke mataku

Cukup sudah kau menghukum
Salahku tetap salahku
Benarkan ku berbicara
Agar bisa pulih semua

Namun harus sampai bila
Kau kan diam seribu bahasa

Maafkanlah ku tak bisa hidup tanpa kamu
Fahamilah ku tak mampu terus tanpa kamu
Bagaimana ku nanti
Bila tiada mengganti
Yang ku ada hanya kamu saja

Saat mata terpejam
Hanya kau ku terbayang
Menghapus semua segala rasa di jiwaku

Saat mata terbuka
Kamulah yang pertama
Tak mampu aku
Bayangkan
Hidup tanpa dirimu

Maafkanlah ku tak bisa hidup tanpa kamu
Fahamilah ku tak mampu terus tanpa kamu
Bagaimana ku nanti
Bila tiada mengganti
Yang ku ada hanya kamu saja

Aku memang bersalah
Selalu saja mengabaikan mu
Dan tapi dah ku sedari
Segala perit kau lalui
Ku terlupa kau terluka

Dan memang selalu
Aku bersalah
Selalu saja mengabaikan mu
Meninggalkan mu
Dan tetapi itulah aku sedari
Segala perit yang kau lalui
Kerna diriku yang terus hanyut

Maafkanlah ku tak bisa hidup tanpa kamu
Bagaimana ku nanti
Bila tiada mengganti
Yang ku ada hanya kamu saja

Bagaimana ku nanti
Bila kau tak di sisi
Yang ku ada hanya kamu saja

Bonus Trip After KK

2011-01-03T23:05:00.002+08:00

Mak Yan, my auntie and his family lived in Woodlands, Singapore in the 70s. My fond memories of Singapore (other than apples and lychees) was driving to Singapore with my family in Abah’s Volkswagen NB 5689 (and in the subsequent years in his Toyota) during school holidays. Because it was certainly a long and tiring journey, Emak would always stock us with the mangkuk tengkat laden with food. We usually pushed off from Seremban as early as 7 am and by noon Abah would do the pit stop at Ayer Hitam for solat and lunch. Our favourite lunch spot was the Ayer Hitam mosque located on a hill.

Although the house which Mak Yan and the late Pak Lang lived could barely occupy both of them and my 3 cousins, Bang Zai, Kak Ton and Ambong (there are 4 siblings altogether but Kak Yah was most of the time with Uwan in Juasseh as she was schooling in Seremban), the tiny space didn’t seem to bother any of us. As a matter of fact, when you are with the loved ones, there was just space to squeeze practically everyone. I also remember how small Mak Yan’s kitchen was. Mak Yan banned us from entering her kitchen because it would be too crowded for us girls who were always eager to help, otherwise distract. Mak Yan seemed to be in the kitchen all the time and her cooking were just appetizing for all occasion.

Pak Lang worked in the naval base. When we visited them, he never failed to tell us stories about the Mat Sallehs he worked for. He was all praises for them, their working culture, their language and their vision. Near the place where he worked was a public swimming pool. The swimming pool was our universally favourite hangout when we visited Singapore. Back in Seremban, we took swimming lessons at the King George V school and undeniably when we saw a huge swimming pool in a so familiar place, much of our intention was to hone our swimming skills, not to mention showing off to the anak mat sallehs that we were as “terror” as them.

Our morning activity in Singapore would be swimming whilst in the afternoon, we followed Mak and Abah to shop. At that time, there was no currency difference; one Singapore Dollar was also one Ringgit. In some shops in Woodlands, you can use duit kertas Malaysia to purchase the goods.

Abah and Mak were earning as teachers and I guess they did not have the luxury to bring us holiday with whatever doe they earned from the Government. Every time we went to Singapore, they would shop some goods to be sold to their “clients” back home. Whatever extra they earn would be able to cover our trip's expenses down south.

The popular main bargains at that time were these three items; Wexford set, Arcopal Pyrex set and material or what we call kain ela. The first two items were bought at the regular shop in Woodlands or Rochor, whilst the material especially georgette were bought at the famous Arab Street.

We would dutifully tag along wherever they go and I believe this favourite pastime or shall I say frenzy, survives and continues with us until this very moment.

I have always been longing to go to the Lion City on Christmas and Boxing Day. I have seen the beautiful Xmas decorations on the Orchard Street before. Previously our visit to Singapore was either on the first or second week of December. Never have we been able to be there on Xmas Day itself.

I realized that I have many many Enrich miles points to utilize and if I don’t use it, about 60,000 points will be forfeited. Singapore was the place where I could bring the 5 Aces with the soon-to-be-forfeited points. When we returned from Kota Kinabalu, beloved husband was still working in JB and the idea was to fly down to Singapore and beloved hubby joins us.

My plan eventually materialized. Although beloved husband could only join us a day after our arrival, it was a super marvelous brief holiday for everyone (the briefness has resulted in us not going to Universal Studios Spore, never mind!)

The decorations and crowd in Orchard Street. I vow I will not come to this place on Xmas eve or Xmas day anymore. Sekali seumur hidup cukup lah. It was bumper to bumper!

We had dinner at Ayam Penyet at Lucky Plaza. Everyone especially Alina loved it.

Sempat buy some books at Borders in Whe*lock Place and Alim finished his Horrid Henry book before we even return.

Alim wanted to partayyyy too that night. Unfortunately he underestimated. He did not realize that Orchard Street is quite a stretch to walk for his standard. Mama siap bawa minyak urut to massage his feet in front of Tangs. We had to call it a day because Alim was endlessly merengek.

The walk from Bugis MRT in the rain to Land*ark Villa*e Hotel at North Bridge. In the end, we ended watching Anugerah Skrin on TV3 that Xmas Eve. Nonetheless, we had our party too in the hotel room, hiks!

On our last day in Singapore, Kay and brood came to join the hoopla. All of us did not get to shop together as we were rushing to catch the flight after lunch. But we did get some marvellous juicy stuff from Sephora.

2011 Is Here

2011-01-01T10:11:00.002+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

If you were not able to achieve your resolutions last year, move on.

If you are still thinking what your 2011 resolutions will be, you have one year to crack.

May your dreams defy the law of gravity - Jackson Brown Jr

Hope your 2011 will be the GREATEST.

More of KK

2010-12-28T12:56:00.001+08:00

We had a grrreeeaaaatttt time in Kota Kinabalu. Did almost everything that we could. From eating the gastronomical sea food to eating nasi padang, from shopping at Tamu to Filipino market, from going to the mountain to the stream and even reached the sea, from staying at the amazing Suter* Harb*r to the quaint Pine Kinabalu Reso*t, from jungle trekking to canopy walk, from swimming in the sea to swimming in the hot spring, besssstttt!

I must say, after our Phuket holiday trip 2 years ago this is one of the best holidays we have ever had.

I frequent KK many times before due to our JV power plant project. Being in KK for work and being there for holiday differs vastly. Of course, when you are stressful, you can't even think of the big Olympic size pool at the hotel. The mind is filled with points to put forward for negotiation with the opponent. Meanwhile when I am there for board meetings, it would be another story. The mind would be pre-occupied on how to make sure the shareholders' interests are safeguarded.

On the other hand, favourite questions last week were "bila nak pergi mandi pool", "next meal nak makan apa" or "bila the next shuttle is bringing us to the city". Of course other than "jom jom, pergi sana" or "jom, jom beli souvenir" Haha, cool eh. The pictures speak for itself.

Famous gastronomical seafood

Tamu in KK. Usually on Sundays.
If you find any thing you like here, make sure you grab them otherwise you have to wait for the next Tamu to be held again. Bought a nice mountains trail tee shirt for beloved hubby which he really likes, and I like it too :)

Canopy walk in Ranau and Kinabalu Park

The places we put the night.

Splash and splash, hot spring, river and sea

The island hopping.
We went to Pulau Manukan and Pulau Sapi. We wish we could picnic there longer unfortunately evening is meant to shop in the city, again!

On our last nite in KK, we ate dinner at Grace Point. Next to Grace Point is the Double Six Monument. The monument is to mark the place where the late CM, Tun Hj Fuad Stephens perished because of plane crash on 6th June 1976. There is a story behind the plane crash. Try to find it yourself. It may be malicious if I were to mention it here. Anyway, it was only presumption.

Unfortunately we did not get to do a few other activities like white water rafting, going to the tip of Borneo, snorkel at Sipadan or nature walk at Danum. Nonetheless, for a six days stay, what we had was more than enough.

And next destination, Lion City. As a thriller... hmmm... cotton and casa rubia, but most importantly a reunion with beloved husband :))

Kundasang and Mount Kinabalu

2010-12-22T09:00:00.000+08:00

"May you reach your Everest one day", someone dear to me reiterated this many many times before when I was almost at the peak of my career, so I thought.

I have not reached there. Somehow, the peak, for good or for bad, didn't really turn out to my favour. Never mind.

But I almost reached my Kinabalu. I would have gone to the summit if it was not for the weather and without my 5 Aces faithfully tagging me.

The trip to Kundasang was like a long trip on Bukit Putus where I used to travel when I was small. Only, this time no pening and nausea, I have grown out of it. The 5 Aces too were enjoying the trip. Commenting on the nature and after some time on the windy road, it was natural that they dozed off.

One and a half hours trip to reach Kundasang from Kota Kinabalu.

Nasib, our driver, whom we thought was a regular there, has not been up to Kundasang for years. The original driver had to attend to his children who were hospitalised that day. During the journey Nasib was amazed himself as to how things have developed.

We put the night at Pine Kinabalu Reasort. I love the chalets, but not Alina, who said it was "lopek". She is just not used of the old wooden English houses, that's all. The night was cold. We ate KFC at the balcony and when we looked around almost all the patrons of the resort were doing the same thing, having dinner at the balcony and enjoying the weather.

At 6 am the next day, it was like a big pesta where people congregated outside to have a braethtaking view of the Mount Kinabalu. The weather was good, no clouds and from Pine Kinabalu Resort, Mount Kinabalu was just like right infront of my eyes.

We were every where. Enjoying the mountain, the flowers, the nature, the forests, the fish, the tea, the canopy walk etc etc.

Sabah Tea

Playing fish at Kg Luanti. Only Ayna, Ali and myself were willing enough to let the fishes eat our dead cells. Aliah, Alim and Alina gave it a pass. Mula mula geli but after some time, rasa nak lagi and lagi. The fish love that ankle part of my feet. Must be yummy there.

The jungle trekking and canopy walk at Kinabalu Park and Poring.

Hot spring at Poring. They have the small hot water pools and a big slide pool there. The best part is admission to children is RM1 only. I hope they clean up the pools quite regularly.

Not forgetting, the beautiful flowers. We were fortunate one of the Rafflesias near Poring bloomed that day. According to the gardener, it will bloom only for about 5 days and goes to sleep again. Next time it will bloom again is after 15 years!

I Don't Believe I Am Back

2010-12-19T23:53:00.000+08:00

My, my, my! It has been a loooonnnnggg time since I sat in front of the computer and blog. Now that I am doing it, I am trying to recall whether there was any special reason for hibernating.

Hmmmm… let me see. The last time I seriously spent time to update the blog was when I came back from umrah and later the Eidul Fitri. Subsequently, the distance between blogosphere and me was growing and increasing. I guess I was just plain lazy added by the fact that I was busy. Further, I think it was also because I was not in the mood.

I was technically maid-less for a good three months, and eventually when the new maid arrived, I was busy teaching her. A forthnight of training passed, I realized she was still non comprehendo to most of the basic things. I was left with no choice but to send everyone to Emak’s because I could not stand her silliness. Lucky it was school holidays already.

Beloved husband was always away most of the times and I was tending to the kids alone. My work schedule became crazier and in no time I discovered myself burying 110% of me into it.

In nutshell that was what actually happened. The work still continues. The maid improves slowly but surely. I survived without beloved husband and thus far I have not complained.

At the moment, work is the least in my mind. I am currently holidaying in Kota Kinabalu with the 5 Aces and looking back I have waited almost a year for this.

Beloved husband is not with us as he had to work. It does sound awful, doesn’t it? The piece is something important to him and if I were to force him to follow us, I think he would still come but it will be the most un-enjoyable holiday for him and for me too.

We are here for 6 days after which our next destination is Singapore for Xmas. Was in Kota Kinabalu since yesterday and tomorrow we are heading to Kundasang.

Let's hope this blogging mood continues.

Eidul Adha

2010-11-16T20:55:00.001+08:00

Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda

"Barangsiapa mempunyai kelonggaran (harta),

namun ia tidak melaksanakan qurban,

maka jangan lah ia mendekati masjidku"

(Hadith Riwayat Ahmad Ibnu Majah)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha to all Moslem readers.

Festival of Lights

2010-11-04T22:15:00.003+08:00

Happy Diwali to the Hindu readers and friends.

May the light glows and spreads in your life, and leads you to happiness.

It definitely has for me because I am about to be supplied with marukus by one of my Hindu friends :)

Ziarah Wada & Umrah

2010-10-04T22:51:00.002+08:00

On our last day in Madinah, we were to depart and leave for Mekah at 9 am. We have packed our stuff the night before. There was not much extras added on to our existing baggage except for the dates and tidbits which we had bought. Beloved husband still harped on the hangers, plates and cups and other "unnecessary" things which we had brought.

I was amazed with myself that I had not bought anything spectacular in Madinah. There was a tiny weeny intention to acquire a pair of jubah, but somehow I didn't have the heart to shop although the jubah shop was just next door Al Taybah, the hotel we stayed. Blame it on the blazing heat which dampened my RT spirits.

That Suboh, Mek was no where to be seen. We left without her and I prayed that she would be alright on her own. She should be, after all three days was a pretty long time to learn how to go to and return from the mosque on your own.

As the Suboh was our last prayer in Masjid Nabawi, it is a must that we perform ziarah wada (farewell ziarah) at Makam Rasulallah. Women, at the time immediately after Suboh, unlike the men, would not be able to do the ziarah wada inside because of the non-visiting time. Suffice that we do it outside nearest to Makam Nabi. I did my ziarah, beloved husband did his and he told me that after that he will meet me at pintu Baqi.

Suboh prayers ended about 5.15 am and off I went to the outer side of Makam to bid farewell to Rasulallah. There was no stopping of the sadness. I stood there for a long time, didn't want to budge, didn't want to leave. Hoping and praying that I would return soon. This is all rezki, tak tahu bila lagi nak ziarah. Moga Allah panjangkan umur dapat kembali.

Later I went to the door near Baqi as agreed. Waited and waited, there was no sign of beloved husband. After 45 minutes, I gave up and walked home to the hotel. I later discovered that beloved husband had returned. We must have missed each other. He clarified that he asked me to wait at Babun Baqi, whilst I waited at pintu nak pergi Baqi! Hear ye hear ye, talking about communicating effectively. This is something we have to pay attention to when we do our umrah and ziarah. Otherwise, memang naya! It can be a point of dispute, even a point of no return!

It is a must to do umrah as we enter Mekah. As we return from the mosque, the first thing we did was to mandi sunat ihram and prepare ourselves to be ready with ihram at miqat. Since we were coming from Madinah, our miqat is at Bir Ali.

Bir Ali is just 20 minutes away from Madinah. The mosque is big. The toilet is huge and of course there are many jemaahs. At Bir Ali we did our solat sunat ihram and niat ihram. After that was done, we departed to Mekah.

The journey from Bir Ali to Mekah took almost 6 hours. We solat jamak zohor and asr on the way. Since we puasa and I managed to tahan air wuduk, yeay, tak payah ambil another one. You knowlah how the toilet can be very de-motivating.

We reached Mekah almost 5 pm. The jemaahs from our package were split into three groups, depending on the value we purchased from the travel agent. The first group was dropped off at Al Massa. This group paid approx RM12K each for the package. Next stop was Dar Firdaus. Mahmud and Mek were dropped here. They paid almost RM11K per person. Al Massa and Dar Firdaus are near the Hilton or Zam Zam Tower. Our group, was the last one to be dropped off at Holy Day, near Masjid Kuching. Masjid Kuching area is really the opposite of the Hilton area.

Nearest to Marwah, the building still standing is Masjid Kuching. Our hotel to Masjidil Haram is about roughly 15 minutes walk. There have been many developments, resulted in a lot of buildings demolished.

(sorry, picture not so good)

Also some new icons, like this one.

Big Ben of Mekah?

Actually, our group was to stay around the same area with the other two groups. But due to Ramadhan, and some nationalities are fond of buying over rooms even if they are already booked, our room was given away. Well, those were part of the challenges.

Holy Day, where we stayed and Masjid Kuching in front of Holy Day.

We iftar at the hotel. The mutawwif advised us to go to the mosque to complete our umrah only after Isya because there were just too many people and the Saudi soldiers guarding the mosque will not allow an opposite flow of jemaahs if we go in after Maghrib. Tak pe, blessing in disguise. Dapat jugak beristirehat lama sikit after the long and tiring journey.

We came into Masjidil Haram after terawikh. I could not wait to look at Kaabah. Rindu rasanya. Semasa melihat Kaabah yang diselubungi tabir hitam disulami benang emas, Subhanallah, terasa keagungan dan kebesaran Allah swt yang telah mengizinkan diri ini kembali sebagai tetamu Allah. Apalagi di bulan Ramadhan yang penuh dengan keberkatan.

When we did the tawaf that night Alhamdulillah it was a smooth one. We had to follow the mutawwif together with the group although we wish we could do on our own because that would be faster. Later before performing the saie, we lost the rest due to the massive big crowd walking across in between us. We did not worry much for the rest as the mutawwif was with them, moreover, saie was a lot easier.

Jemaahs memang tersangat ramai, be it during tawaf or saie. They were like oceans of them. It looked difficult, banyak cabaran in the beginning, but with faith to Allah, all went ok.

Nonetheless, after tahlul and all done, we still waited at Marwah for everyone to finish.

Beloved husband after tahlul umrah pertama, notice the shaven head. I like!

We discovered that of recent times, the Majlis have passed a fatwa that tersentuh tidak sengaja dengan yang bukan muhrim during tawaf is no longer batal wuduk, hence performing tawaf is a lot easier now. The last time, we were here, the fatwa was not passed yet.

Despite the throngs of people during Ramadhan, Alhamdulillah selesai satu umrah.

Activities In Madinah (Part 2)

2010-09-26T22:59:00.001+08:00

That night we were “dikejutkan” with the news that Makcik S did not come back from the mosque since Zuhr. We were having our sahur and Z, Makcik S' roommate complained that Makcik S was never in her room after terawikh prayers. It was already sahur and still there was still no sight of Makcik S.

The jemaahs panicked and were very concerned. What could have happened to Makcik S. Some speculated that she may have been “rescued” by other jemaahs from a different package whilst some thought that she may have not found her way home, despite the hotel is just too near to return to after prayers. During the commotion and as I was about to leave the dining hall, an elderly guy came in with Makcik S. To my disbelief, Makcik S was standing right before my eyes. Speaking of the devil!

"Makcik, makcik pergi mana?"

"Dah makan ke belum ni?"

"Siapa jumpa Makcik?"

"Makcik berbuka di mana? Tidur di mana?"

After bombardment of questions, Makcik S explained in her thick Dungun accent that she came back to her room after Zuhr but she could not open the hotel room door, tahulah ini bangsa yang key swipe. She didn’t want to trouble anyone else. So she went back to the mosque. Similarly same thing happened after Asr. Leaving her with no other choice, she returned to the mosque to wait for iftar and terus stay on until sahur. She slept at the mosque. Kesian Makcik S. Although some were of the opinion that Z should stick by her and vice versa, I think it is pretty difficult to be with each other’s side 24-7.I don’t blame Z for not taking care of Makcik S all the time. I believe Z has her set of problems too.

As for me and Mek, she is such a resilient person. She dutifully followed me where I go. If I say get ready by a certain time, she will surely be there punctually. There were times when I wanted to stay in the mosque for a much longer period, and I wish Mek could go back by herself so that she could rest. Tidak, she insisted that she would wait up for me until I finish mengaji. I think it was her fear to go back on her own. I overheard Mek said to Mahmud that because of the crowd going in and out Babun Nissa after prayers, she fear that she may be crushed hence the reason she kept on hanging to my telekong every time we left the mosque.

Ending the commotion about Makcik S, beloved husband slipped his Saudi phone number into Makcik S’ sling bag, just in case she finds it useful later. Luckily Makcik S wore her tag with the package name and hotel we stayed indicated on it. Anything happened, the tag can be a tool for reference.

That day, we went for ziarah. The places we visited were Masjid Quba, Bukit Uhud (where Perang Uhud happened, the Muslims initially won, but later because they had disobeyed Rasul s.a.w. they were defeated) and Masjid Qiblatain. Many years ago during my ziarah we had a bit more time to spend in Madinah. Almost every day we would go to Masjid Quba, solat sunat there and return to Masjid Nabawi. There is this hadith which says that if we solat sunat at Masjid Quba and later perform the solat at Masjid Nabawi, the pahala will be equivalent to satu kali umrah. However this time round, sadly the time was short, we could only go to Quba once.

Quba

Bukit Uhud

Later we went to the kurma supermarket and pasar kurma (two separate places, the former a bit exclusive with air condition) where we bought dates setakat perlu. Beloved husband reminded me what happened on our last visit. The last time we went there, we over-purchased the dates which resulted in us paying hundreds of riyals due to excess weight.

At the kurma supermarket they sell other delicacies for e.g. cashew nuts, buah zaitun, buah tin, apricot and chocolates. They say the other pasar kurma near the mosque sells cheaper dates. This time round we just bought kurma Nabi, a kilo each of the Ajwa and the Ambah, some apricot, cashew nuts, pistachios, buah tin and chocolates. As for the kurma Nabi, it is believed that those who eat 7 pieces of Ajwah a day will be protected from any kind of sihr.

Kurma and other delicacies mart

Pokok kurma

As mentioned earlier, for this trip, our stay in Madinah was short because we only spent three days there, which means that night, it would be our last night. I was overwhelmed with sadness. Since that night was the last of the Madinah memory, I was determined to visit Raudhah again. So when husband came back from his nasi mandi feast with his friends, I was subconsciously awaked and I thought it was a good time to check out Raudhah, and so Raudhah I went.

It was 2 am i.e. about an hour before Raudhah closed for Suboh prayers. There were not that many people waiting outside. I only had to wait about 10 minutes and the batch before us exited. I quickly rushed into the heavenly area. Initially I prayed in the middle of the area and slowly I progressed to the front. When I reached the very front, an Arab looking lady (not sure her origin) told me to solat next to her, and she would make sure that nobody disturbed me. Alhamdulillah, bersyukur and seolah-olah tak percaya. I prayed and prayed, and didn’t know for how long. By the end of it, the Arab looking lady, without fear still guarding me from any unpredicted encroachment. Subsequently, it got into me that I have prayed long enough that I should be letting others to pray next. The lady was still there, sitting and raising both her hands, praying to Allah.

I was lost for words. I hugged the Arab lady and gave her a kiss. I exited from Raudhah and performed the solat syukr. I was confounded with joy because indeed it was a memorable and blessed night. Allah is Great!

Good Luck Alina

2010-09-21T13:19:00.003+08:00

All the best ALINA in your UPSR.

We know you have studied very hard, so break a leg!!

ps:
A stint of regret on Mama's part, .... looking back, I should have spent more time coaching you. Our doas are for you dear, therefore no worries. All should be a OK!!

Aidilfitri 1431 H

2010-09-14T23:39:00.004+08:00

My maidless situation is never to dampen our raya spirits this year. My maid left for good three days before 1 Syawal. With me not having able to take leave this raya, it was tiring and challenging to juggle between work and tending to the needs of the loved ones on the last few days of Ramadhan and on Aidilfitri. The replacement is still in absentia. God knows when she will arrive, or will she ever arrive!!

In my busy-ness of cooking, cleaning the house and ironing at the moment, I am finding some time to upload some lovely pics during the Raya.

Our theme is blue this year. We didn't realise that it turned out lovely.

Ha... siapa yang banyak buat salah ni....

The clan at parents-in-laws.

One of the uniqueness this raya, my 5th Ace, Alim Erfan's 8th birthday.
(thanks Zai for the Ben 10 cupcakes, Alim and the rest loved them)

At Emak's house in Seremban.

The following pics, were taken level by level, started off with 2nd generation, 3rd generation and 4th generation. At this instance, there are almost 60 persons in Emak's house. Itupun tak semua yang ada. Family from Uncle Kassim my arwah Abah's brother, from arwah Abah's sister, Mak Yan (she was not well and could not join the joy of celebration with us), arwah Abah's sister Induk plus the nieces and nephews and to those yang not able to make it, near and far (as far as Buenos Aires), we missed you. Laksa Penang which I cooked and Mee Hailam which Kay cooked were just enough for the 60 of us.

The first Aidilfitri for the additional members of the family, Nasiruddin or whom we call "fishball", my brother's 3rd child and Ehsan, my lil' sis 4th son.

Once Amalina [read : Amalina & Amrin's Wedding], my cousin's daughter gives birth to this one, insha Allah in Oct, I will be an Uwan. Uwan TM, perghhhh... vogue betul Uwan ni nanti!

Balik kampung @ Batu Kikir (a kampung related to what Ito of Blues Gang sang in his song Apo Nak Di Kato --->> "jambatan bosi")

Of course the guraus senda and gelaks ketawa.

Maaf Lahir and Batin from us :D

Hope your Aidilfitri was an enjoyable one! Jangan lupa puasa 6, and I am reminding myself too.

Selamat Hari Lebaran 1431H

2010-09-11T07:15:00.003+08:00

To all the Muslim friends; bloggers or silent readers
Semoga bahagia di hari yang mulia ini
Taqqabballahu Minna Wa Minkum :)

Activities in Madinah (Part 1)

2010-09-05T18:56:00.001+08:00

When I went to Raudhah that morning with Ibuk Sham, the guide, I didn't know whether the old visiting system or the new one is better. Previously, the ziarah times for women at Raudhah was morning around 7 am to about 11.00 am before Dhuhr, and 2 pm until before Asr. The jemaahs will rush in, into near the Makam and subsequently into Raudhah. It was be a big rush obviously. For men, it is open at all times. People will just assess how the situation is in Raudhah by waiting at the outer side of Raudhah. Rasa-rasa dah tak ramai...., masuk. Then the move escalates from behind to front where the barricade is. You can stay in Raudhah as long as you want if you are able to fend the push and the whoosh especially from the big Arab women.

Since perhaps 2 years ago, the visit system to Raudhah has changed. The visiting times for women have changed. There is an additional visit for women at night i.e. from 12 midnite to almost Suboh times (previously Masjid Nabawi was closed after midnite until about Suboh). Apart from that, the jemaahs are divided into groups of Iranians, Arabs, Indians and Malays. Maybe there are more groups but I only realised these ones. Indonesians, Singaporeans, Bruneians and Malaysians fall into the Malays category. What will happen is, you have to wait for your turn to be called. There is no special order hence I found the waiting time to be irksome. Towards the end of the visiting times, although it is for eg Malays turn, they still allow the others to join.

As one enters Raudhah, one wishes salam to Nabi and sahabah because Raudhah is just next to the Makam.

My visit that morning was almost at the end of the allowable time before Dhuhr. Initially we thought it was just us Malays, but half way in Raudhah after visiting the Makam, we were rushed by the ...not sure who... they were either from Turkey, Yemen or Algeria. One of them just sondol her a** and solat infront of me whilst I was performing my solat. I was furious. I insisted that I continue praying and she suddenly pushed me and said "Haram, haram!".

I argued by exchanging sign language, she still insisted to lug her big a** infront of me, and annoyed, I left. Exited and slowly I went in again from the other side. This time round, I was able to go into further front and solat a while longer. Alhamdulillah. You see it takes some strategy too to go in. You just need to doa like Rabbi Yassir Wala Tu 'Assir or Hasbi Allahi Tawwakalllah Huwal Rabbul'arshil Azim i.e untuk dipermudahkan and bertawakkal kepada Allah.

Raudhah is the taman Syurga. It is not that big, about 144 metres square. It is the place in between the houses of Siti Aishah and Saudah, Nabi Muhammad's wives and the mosque mimbar. In the Hereafter, the Raudhah will be moved to the Heaven. There are five beams here and it is within these five beams that one pray and doa, It is distinct from the other part of Masjid because the carpet is green, and it is wangi.

As I prayed and sujud, indeed there is this sweet scented smell which I am not sure how to describe, Argggh... I am so missing the place. Raudhah is one of the places where our doa is mustajab. Hence it explains why the all-time-crowd, other than Nabi previously solat di sini.

Apparently the same night, beloved husband had to bring in the pakcik whose son was deported. The pakcik was 70 + and appear lost and oblivious. The time was after terawikh and he was not sure how to brace the crowd. Alhamduliilah, bringing in the pakcik, he was able to solat close to the mimbar behind the pakcik, The pakcik solat right at the mimbar. The guards as a matter of fact, called them to be at the front. Rezki masing-masing, and rezki menolong orang tua.

After Asr, we can find many stalls selling the goodies. Mind you this is in the hot blazing sun!

In the evening as we prepared ourselves for berbuka and made our way to the mosque, we saw many invites to the berbuka spread.

At Masjid Nabawi, we would berbuka at the mosque first, solat terawikh and later berbuka with a hefty feast at the hotel. At the mosque it would be just dates, air zam zam, roti Arab, labban (yogurt), chai and qahwah. The roti Arab delicioulsly blends with the serunding which I brought and shared with the other jemaahs. They were sceptical to eat initially but later succumbed for more. I learnt that if you can't finish the dates or roti Arab, don't throw them away, otherwise you will be subjected to the wrath of the Arabs. You can politelly leave them on your plate and someone will collect and give them away.

The first night of terawikh for me was really challenging. Because of the time difference and not adjusting to the local times yet, had to really keep my eyes wide open especially the 10 rakaat ke atas.

There was this Arab lady who solat next to me. She was holding and reading the Quran throughout the terawikh. After prayers, as she was about to leave, I just felt like striking a conversation with her. I saw she had an English novel apart from the Quran.

"Do you speak English?", I asked.

"Yes", she said.

"What was the imam reciting during terawikh?", I didn't know what else to ask other than I thought the imam was reciting An Nissaa i.e. the surah I was reading then and I neede some confirmation.

"Surah An Nissaa", she replied.

"By the way, are you local?," I asked again.

"I am an Arab but live in London. We are here for the Ramadhan. It is summer in London and I am having my break. I work in London."

"Ah, ok. Have a pleasant stay here", somehow I was amazed.

"You too", she smiled as she stood and made her way out.

The Journey To Madinah

2010-09-01T22:56:00.016+08:00

When we arrived at KLIA that Friday, 13th August, we knew that we were the odd one out. We saw the other jemaahs on the same flight having only one luggage and one hand carrier, whilst ours..???? Gosh, we were with 3 bags full! My parents-in-law sent us to the airport and when we were tucking in the bags into the boot, we realized that perhaps it was just too many things that we had brought with us.

They were in the list, I argued with beloved husband; ihram 2 pasang, telekung 2 pasang, towel, baju etc, toiletries and vitamins. With two of us, we needed two bags. OK, OK. I also brought the serunding, the maggi mee, the milo sachets, hmmm apa lagi, hangers 12 butir, sabun basuh :), 2 plates, fork spoon and knife, sunblock, heel balm, lip balm, and surely we needed that kan. Beloved husband was already grumbling claiming that he should have packed, and not left everything to me. This was not the first time we packed for our umrah. I can’t recall whether we had brought that much in the previous trips. It was embarrassing to line up of three bags at the check-in counter, and luckily there was no excess kilos.

My sister, Kay was thoughtful enough to drop by at the airport and informed me that my children were already missing me, after she read the posts on fb. Urggghhh… can I survive being away from them. Lucky Emak was at home to take care of them for approximately two weeks. Good luck to her! Nak layan kerenah tiga serangkai tu, plus two when the two kakaks come back from the boarding school during weekends.

The Saudi flight which we took was a KLIA-Jeddah flight, although we wished we were on the KLIA-Madinah flight. The latter was more relaxed as one doesn’t have to take the bus from Jeddah to Madinah which could consume almost 5 hours journey. As we departed at KLIA at 3 pm, obviously iftar was performed on the airplane. I remembered the last time I went for umrah during Ramadhan in 2004 where, MAS flight attendants sort of explained that we have a choice, either to break fast according to Malaysia time or destination time i.e. Jeddah time. I was then travelling with an ustaz friend and he told me that if we think it was mudarat to berbuka following Saudi time, which is 5 hours later, we can berbuka following Malaysia time. So I did.

However, this time round, there was quite a big chaos of uncertainty. One of the flight attendants who happen to be a malay, cynically put it to us that at 1930 hours Malaysia time, it was still Zuhr in Saudi, in fact they initially were reluctant to serve us food. There were some passengers who insisted that we wait til we reach Jeddah whilst some claimed that we can already eat . It was quite a fiasco. I ate about half an hour after Malaysia berbuka time because I didn’t want to trigger my gastric. That I believe can be considered, takut mudarat.

A Mak Cik S seated next to me, initially wanted to wait until we reach Jeddah but 2 hours later after most of us broke their fast, Mak Cik S felt hungry and asked for food. She didn’t want to break her fast earlier because she wanted to “temankan” the girl seated on the other side of her to berbuka at Jeddah. Poor Mak Cik S, when she requested for food, there was no more rice and she had to settle with spaghetti!

We reached Jeddah almost iftar time in Saudi. Beloved husband and I managed to clear immigration in no time. As the azan Maghrib was berkumandang, the immigration at their whim just closed the counters, leaving the other jemaahs to be kept in a lurch. Well what’s new with the immigration there, kan. For those yang in the queue and belum berbuka tu, they have to bersila on the floor in the queue eating their food. Kesian sangat, the makciks and pakciks who must be in their 60s or 70s. My mouth kept uttering Alhamdulillah (for us) and Subhana Allah (for them).

It took the rest about 2 1/2 hours to clear immigration and customs. It was not normal according to the representatives from the package agent. Later we realized that four people from the same package were not in the bus en route Madinah. Apparently the four; i.e. father, mother, son and daughter in law got stranded with the immigration because there was technical error in the visa imprint of the son who is the mahram. The son had to be deported to Malaysia to get the visa rectified and return back to Saudi. All expenses paid by the Saudi government. The other three would still need to fill up some documentations and will only travelled to Madinah later when all are complete.

I could not sleep during the journey, thinking about the fate of the four. My mind boggled, what if it were us. Troublesome nya. People say umrah or haji ni, tidak lah susah because they are more of what we do i.e. perbuatan kita, not so much what we recite, but the challenges associated with them are sometimes unexplainable.

Mid journey, we reached the pit stop, the R & R. It was good to stretch your legs in a bit. The stops along the journey have not changed much from the time I performed my hajj in 2000. I thank Allah for giving us the highway authorities and concessionares in Malaysia and their keprihatinan (although admittedly ada jugak complain especially masa cuti sekolah and public holiday on mega celebration) because what they have at the R&R along that particular highway is somewhat, a humble and basic one.

As we approached Kota Madinah, my heart leaped as I saw the green kubah, Underneath is where makam Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. and his sahabah Abu Bakr As Sidiq and Umar ibnu Khattab. Selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan Nabi kita. It is unbelievable that I was back in Madinah again.

The hotel where we stayed was just about 150 metres away from the Babun Nisaa of Masjid Nabawi. What struck me was at 3 am as we alight the bus, the weather was warm, warmer than KL in the afternoon. After checking in and sahur, we made our way to Masjid Nabawi and all the kesyukuran was said to the Yang Maha Esa.

In the rush to go for Suboh prayers and my absentmindedness, I forgot to leave my compact camera behind. Hence, during the body and bag search upon entry into Masjid Nabawi, the guardian lady in black robe and burqa was furious. I tried to explain that it was not my intention to snap any photos, and ignoring me, she shouted “Keluar! Keluar!” (wah, pandai cakap Melayu dia ni, I whispered in frustration) Didn’t want to make a scene of my first entry into Masjid Nabawi this trip, I rushed back to the hotel. Thank God, it wasn’t that far away and I was doing a 100 metres sprint.

I was actually with another makcik who called herself Mek when I entered. Mek came with his son Mahmud. It was their first time there, beloved husband accompanied Mahmud whilst Mek was clinging helplessly to me. When I was di usir keluar I pleaded to the guardian in black “Ummi, taiyyib” and so she let Mek go. After doing my 100 metres sprint and being allowed entry, God help us, Mek was still there at the door searching high and low for me. Then I knew that I was destined to take care of her during this trip.

I entered Masjid Nabawi sambil berdoa, “Ya Allah, bukakanlah untuk ku pintu rezki Mu” and there I felt the peacefulness. I said salam to Rasul s.a.w and instantly I knew that he knew that I had come to visit and that he was listening.

Umrah in Ramadhan

2010-08-31T01:07:00.001+08:00

Alhamdulillah my husband and I are back from our umrah trip. We left Malaysia on 3rd day of Ramadhan and arrived home on the 16th of Ramadhan. Thank you to friends who have wished us well and safe trip. You have been in our doa cited at the most mustajab places on earth.

It was a fulfilling and enriching trip. Being tetamu of Allah, we cannot describe how grateful we are to the All Mighty for allowing us to perform the umrah and ziarah again. It was even more blessed because it is Ramadhan. As we know, solat sunat in the month of Ramadhan is equivalent to pahala solat fardhu whilst solat fardhu is equivalent to 70 times pahala.

Then there is this hadith from Abu Hurairah r.a. which quoted Rasulullah s.a.w. to say mafhum nya "Melakukan sekali sembahyang di dalam masjidku ( Masjidil Nabawi di Madinah ) ini adalah lebih baik daripada 1 000 kali sembahyang dalam masjid yang lain melainkan Masjidil Haram".

It is further explained in another Hadith by Jabir r.a., Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda "Satu sembahyang di masjidku lebih afdhal daripada 1 000 sembahyang di masjid-masjid yang lain kecuali Masjidil Haram di Mekah dan satu sembahyang di Masjidil Haram pula lebih afdhal daripada 100 000 sembahyang di masjid-masjid yang lain."

There is always this unexplainable reason why we miss being at Tanah Suci for those who have been there, and for those who have not been there, the yearn to go. The last time beloved husband and I went was in 2007 and somehow, in April this year, there was a calling for us to go. Alhamdulillah, ada extra money to spend hence all arrangements were made.

There are a lot of experience to share, challenges, suka and duka. I will not narrate everything in a single posting, hopefully in the coming posts. Although I have been back for 5 days already, I am still very tired. Catching all the sleep which I can get and in between trying to finish the Quran. Regrettably I did not manage to finish the Quran over there because the weather was hot and staying in the mosque for too long may have its repercussion. Madinah was at 55 degrees C whilst Mekah was slightly lower, around 48 or 49 degrees C.

The trip was short and of course there is this insatiable feeling that we wish we were there longer. Umur panjang, insha Allah ada rezki ke sana lagi. See you in the coming posts, insha Allah.

By the way, Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke 53!

RT Before Ramadhan

2010-08-10T20:00:00.002+08:00

Bandung was no more chill as it used to be. When I first stepped into Bandung six years ago, I remembered it was as cold as the places at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu. According to Bapak Faizin, our supir for this trip, Bandung also suffered from the global warming. Many trees near Setiabudi are cut off because of the need and greed of certain quarters to construct golf courses as opposed to maintaining the green lung. What a waste!

Even Kartika Sari has greens in the middle of the eating place.

Sup buntut for me and beloved husband

Avocado juice yummmmmmyyyy!!!

Machet in Bandung is even more extraordinary that Sunday which we arrived. Apparently it was due to, firstly the nearing of Ramadhan and secondly because of the highway which connects Jakarta and Bandung. Driving up and down Jakarta - Bandung would only take slightly less than 2 hours, thus the Jakarta city folks have all the reasons to shop, eat and unwind at Bandung.

The warm weather in Bandung and the machet obviously did not dampen our spirits to shop. If we can struggle through Tanah Abang in Jakarta last year, shopping at the FOs and Pasar Baru in Bandung was such a simpliciter. Because of the effortless shopping, the damage was unbearable!! What more for this time round. The holiday was four days three nites and we were nonchalantly taking our own sweet time to do whatever needs to be accomplished. Anyway, no regrets… money is meant to be spent, ye tak?

Like the previous practice, we do our raya shopping one or two weeks before Ramadhan. Not that we are some big shots who do their shopping overseas, it is just that we find shopping in Indonesia fits our budget pretty much. There are 7 members in the family, which does not include the bibik, the mother, and the in-laws. So when we spent the money in millions of Rupiahs, albeit sounding humongous, after auditing the things which we got for ourselves plus the expenses, I think we should be able to survive another spree.

Also it was a shopping holiday for me and husband. Other than shopping for the family, which we only do technically once in a year, it was time to get away from the hustle bustle of work. I needed the break badly. Waking up in a hotel with someone to make up your bed, a view of the mountain and country side to enjoy, a shopping complex just next door to the hotel and a supir to drive you round really make every single bit of the holiday a well-deserved and treasured moment.

A view from our hotel.

And the damage...., Aiyohhh!!! This is only part of it! No wonder the locals here view that "shopping is cheaper than seeing a psychiatrist"!

Guess after the shopping is more or less settled, it is now time to focus on the ibadah puasa.

Here is wishing everyone, Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan al Kareem and mengerjakan ibadah puasa dan ibadah yang berganda ganda pahalanya di bulan mulia ini dengan penuh tulus.

Through Sickness We Recognize Health

2010-07-31T20:25:00.001+08:00

"I believe it is nothing serious but I would still refer you to a specialist. You see for most people who have attained the age of 40 and above, they would sag. In your case they don't. And with the dense lesion which we discovered, it does seem abnormal and thus better to do the ultrasound."

That was the conversation I had with the Primary Care Physician after my annual medical check up, something which I don't really fancy to undergo. I quipped with Nora who was caring enough to accompany me to the medical centre and one hilarious thing we joked about was, Wahhhh... they have not sagged!

If the reason why I didn't know about it earlier is because I have not been diligent in doing my medical examination, I am guilty as charged. I missed the last year's, and perhaps the year before that too, due to, (I know it is such a lame reason) busy.

A week later, I got an appointment with the breast surgeon. Did the ultrasound and as a matter of fact he referred me to do an ultrasound at the stomach area too.

Yup, they found a lump on the left breast but because it was too small as in a little less than 8 mm, the breast surgeon felt that the biopsy can wait. In the meantime, let's just monitor, he said, until October. An October appointment has already been fixed with him.

That is just a part of the story.

When they did the scan on the stomach area, they found sandy sediments in my gall bladder. I knew about the condition of the gall bladder when I last did my medical check up in 2008. The doctor who had attended to me in 2008, was just cool about it. If it is not giving you any trouble just leave it, that was his advice. On the contrary, the breast surgeon had recommended me to remove the gall bladder. His reason was, it is these sands which are making me feel "kembung & angin" at times and if any of the pieces were to "drop off (out?)" from the system, I could even suffer something akin to yellow fever.

I have reservation after hearing that. Well, he is a breast surgeon after all and not a specialist on gall bladder, whatever one calls it. So his opinion may be relatively incorrect to the specialist in this field.

One fine day, I met one of my buddies, Dr Nor, the Occupational Health doctor at the office, Dr Nor had a different view. First on the dense, she thought that it is just hardened calcium, and if I feel anxious about it she has recommended me to see her friend, another breast surgeon. Otherwise I can wait till Oct. As for the sand in the gall bladder, to her it is pretty normal and to remove them may even cause more problem than now. Alas my observation, consulting the problem with your friend and the well-paid consultant did make a huge different. Indeed I was unduly worried before but they seemed to have vanished gradually after I met Dr Nor.

Another related story to this is, when both my mother and MIL knew about this, they were perturbed, for obvious reasons.

I told my mother that there is nothing to be alarmed. We just have to wait until Oct. My late father removed his gall bladder for something similar and we knew what was the repercussion post surgery. Hence to take up that option would be the last resort. My brother doctor too shared the same views.

A mother's love is boundless. Emak had supplied me some blessed water and "gula batu" to be eaten with watermelon.

As for my MIL, I must say she was very much taken aback with the bad news. I appreciated her seeing a couple of ustazs to bless for me and had also arranged for me to see one of them. Although I think there is no cause of concern, at least not yet, I just have to oblige being a dutiful daughter-in-law. I don't want to be accused of taking things lightly. Moreover, I know it is appeasing for her to see me making that extra effort to heal, particularly so when I am currently the sole breadwinner and her grandchildren in this house (plus her son) is 100% being supported by yours truly.

Two months have passed since I knew about my condition. Alhamdulillah I feel no different from pre medical checkup (I don't know whether that is good or bad). I have been industriously taking healthy food, supplements and herbs, from lots of watermelons to virgin olive oil to lemon to dandelion. Effort plus prayers could work miraculously. Above all I truly believe in the power of doa.

Tahlil For Dalilah

2010-07-25T23:01:00.001+08:00

Some of the makcik bloggers triggered an excellent thought to do a tahlil for arwah Dalilah. It was the most that we could do for her and today the tahlil was performed. Many thanks to the host Kay and the rest who chipped in with lotsa food (and fun).

From near as Shah Alam and as far as Ipoh and Sg Petani, the makcik bloggers gathered for the bacaan Yaasin and tahlil. The ustazah was gracious enough to lead the selawat and read a little tazkirah as reminder to the Ramadhan which is soon approaching.

All of us remembered arwah Dalilah in a beautiful way. We are sad that she is gone and will be missed, nonetheless her memories and fighting spirit lingers on.

The tahlil

The food

The makan-makan & gelak ketawa

Thanks again to all that has made arwah Dalilah smile.

Kay, Kak Ezza, Kak Puteri, Pi Bani, Zendra, Eja, Lyana, Shana, Liya, Kak Nong and amazing people who shared the wonderful afternoon.

Not forgetting Ummi who made the beautiful Yaasin packets and Kitchen Guardian whose chocolate cake with strawberry topping was nowhere to be seen after the event. Tidak saya lupa to the one and only, Naz who is back enjoying the rain in Malayisa despite the summer in Norway but missed the event due to migraine :) Last but not least Mamasita whom we know that would love to be there too.

Dari Allah Kita Datang, Kepada Allah Kita Kembali

2010-07-19T20:51:00.001+08:00

Hajat hati untuk melawat Dalilah di HKL pagi ini tidak kesampaian. Sebelum saya memulakan Town Hall di pejabat kami di Shah Alam pagi tadi, telefon saya berdering-dering. Satu panggilan daripada kak Ezza dan disusuli pula daripada Kay.

"TM, Dalilah dah tak ada," kata Kak Ezza. Sayu bunyinya. Walaupun berita sedih itu mungkin telah diduga, terasa jantung ini seolah-olah berhenti berdenyut seketika.

Teringat kata-kata arwah semasa Eja, Kak Ezza, Yani, Kay dan saya melawat arwah dua minggu sebelum arwah berangkat mengerjakan umrah pada akhir bulan Jun lalu. [read : An Evening in Banting ]

"Kalau memang dah ajal, kita akan pergi. I redha kak Yatt. I have prepared myself as well as my husband if I am gone. Suami pun dah redha. Yang sedih nya bila saya ingatkan anak anak. Itu yang saya tak boleh tahan."

Ibu mana yang tidak sedih meninggalkan anak-anak nya yang kecil dan masih dahagakan kasih sayang nya.

Suami mana yang tidak sayu melihat isteri tercinta pergi di depan matanya.

Emak mana yang tidak hiba melihat dia mengebumikan anak nya dahulu sebelum dia kembali.

Dan itulah suasana di Kg Labohan Dagang pada petang tadi. Cuaca yang mendung di sisipi dengan hujan gerimis turut merasakan kesedihan kepulangannya seorang insan yang menghidap sakit kanser, kembali kepada yang Esa, insan yang telah menyentuh perasaan berbagai manusia melalui tulisannya di onebreastbouncing.blogspot.com

Sebelum tahlil tadi, ustaz yang memberi sedikit ceramah mengingatkan hadirin. Kata ustaz apabila datangnya sakit kepada kita, ia menunjukkan bahawa mati itu telah hampir. Sekiranya kita tidak sedar juga, dan akhirnya malaikat maut datang mengambil nyawa, nescaya telah terlambat untuk meminta ampun.

Saya pasti Dalilah telah menyiapkan dirinya. Arwah beruntung kerana telah dikejutkan Allah dengan sakitnya. Arwah telah melengkapi dirinya, tidak lekang mulutnya dengar zikr dan tahmid untuk mengurangkan kesakitan dan penderitaan yang ditanggung. Itulah bahagian Dalilah. Tetapi bagaimana dengan kita? Adakah kita telah bersedia? Juga satu peringatan dan kesedaran untuk saya insan yang daif. Sesungguhnya mati itu akan datang, tidak sesaat awal dan tidak sesaat akhir ....

Sambil menulis blog ini, saya teringat sms terakhir yang dikirim Dalilah semasa di Tanah Suci berbunyi... "Apapun yang saya hadapi, adalah yang terbaik dari Allah dan saya redha serta pasrah dengan ketentuanNya. Thanx for the doa akak. It means a lot to me." Itulah Dalilah...

Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas arwah Dalilah Tamrin dan ditempatkan di kalangan golongan orang-orang yang beriman. A'min. Salam takziah untuk keluarga tercinta arwah.

Netball

2010-06-15T23:39:00.007+08:00

Taking a break from blogging for a while.

Just like almost every male (and maybe everyone in this planet) is geared up on the World Cup, I am also very much hype and enthusiatic about managing the netball team. Now I feel a bit like Rafa Benitez, although a totally different game with major differences.

Haven't been getting much rest and sleep.

The netballers are eager and energetic to win, but we have so much limitations.

In the end, the sporting spirit counts. Wish us luck for the office sports carnival.

Mid Year Break

2010-06-09T21:25:00.002+08:00

It is school holidays again. We don't plan to go anywhere this time of the year. Aliah and Ayna are back from boarding schools, and returning home is as good as big marvel holiday for them. They have started complaining to each other that they wish they don't have to return to school. Aliah will have to return to Samura next week due to her extra classes. Was at Emak's house for the weekend. That was by itself one good vacation for us.

I will start netball camp starting this weekend. Although I am releasable for the whole week, I am still required to go to office since there are still lots of stuff to complete in view that the AGM is just around the corner. Sigh! No choice but to juggle. Hence my eagerness of the time out from office is shortlifted. Other than that, we will not have the same players as per last year's. Still too early to comment on their performance but I surely hope we can bag some unexepecteds. Menang sorak pun jadilah.

With me away during the school hols, will just monitor Alina and Aliah remotely. Alina will be taking UPSR in Sept and November is the SPM exams for Aliah. Study hard babes! To Ayna and Ali, there is no excuse for you to honeymoon this year tau. This does not apply to Alim, he can still enjoy playing but Kumon still continue ye darling.

To those taking exams this year, especially Aliah, Farah and Alina, be reminded to study this mid year break. You may have seen this. Never mind! Treat it as sweet reminder. :)

An Evening In Banting

2010-06-06T14:10:00.001+08:00

KG and I had planned to visit her more than two months ago. KG even planned to bake the devil's choc cake for her. With sms exchanges, the meeting was set at Suria KLCC. We can plan but whatever happens after that would be Allah Taala's destiny for us. Dalilah, KG and I did not get to meet that April. Dalilah posted in her fb that she was not feeling too good that day. Accordingly, we did not want to impose on her because we know that her health is prime.

Whoever reads her status on fb or her entries on her blog would definitely know that Dalilah was not well probably since March. The masectomy performed on her 5 years ago was not able to cease the spread. Reading her entries would also tell that she is never giving up, not even once. It is amazing to see how strong and determined she can be. Everytime I watches Oprah and be told of the survival of a woman from any disease, sadness or misfortune, I will undoubtedly feel that Dalilah should also be given a chance to appear on the same programme to tell her side of story.

Dalilah was my junior in university. Come to think of it, we had not met since I left university in 1989 and when Kak Puteri invited me for the makan makan at Lake Club last year, I met Dalilah again. Since I started blogging, I have been following her blog and seen her pictures but little did I realize that the popular Raden Galoh is Dalilah, my junior in university.

In university, I recall that a group of juniors of the same batch have always been close with and fond to me. Some of them like Yah, Id and Laili were my juniors in STF. They had a circle of friends whom most of the time, during lecture hall, tutorials, library, lunch, Jaya supermarket or santai were seen together. Included would be sisters like Bam, Miss Hart, Iza, Wa, and last but not least, Dalilah(to that wonderful "quorum" of sisters, sorry if I miss to mention any of you here). They never failed to greet me when they bumped into me or during their free time would come and chat with me about anything under the sun, even at times just popped by at my hostel door greeting salam or exchanging Hi!s. Because Dalilah and I have gone a long way, evidently she has always been dear to me.

Alhamdulillah, last Friday Kitchen Guardian, Desert Rose, Kak Ezza (and anak anak daranya), Kay and I were able to see Dalilah at her humble abode in Banting. Although there may seem to be obstacles at the beginning to reach Banting, God willing we reached there safe and sound.

Seeing Dalilah that day proves to show that with doas from families and friends, positive energy, determination, motivational support and not forgetting living in serene and green kampung help to slow down the acceleration of illness and sadness. Dalilah is a terrific host and if one does not know her background, there was no inkling at all that she has undergone undescribable pain and endless suffering. We chatted and joked as if we have been forever buddies, thanks to the blogsphere! She was very cool about a lot of things, and above all we noticed significantly that she is leaving her fate and destiny to Allah swt. She is such a blessed being.

Bidding farewell in the end was one of the hardest things to do, for obvious reasons. Sadness engulfed me as I hugged her, speechless and tearful, I could not just help it. ........

Nonetheless we are happy that we are able to see Dalilah before she leaves for the Holy Land end of the month. Mind you, not everyone is blessed to be Allah's guests despite having the energy, time and wealth. Dalilah dear, you are truly blessed and privileged!

May Allah permudahkan perjalanan, ibadah dan penderitaanmu, Dik.

(thanks to Kay for this pic which was uploafed on fb)

Weekend Banter

2010-05-30T12:05:00.001+08:00

I saw her appeared in seconds on the AF8 final two weeks ago and I knew that her appearance that night will create an uproar to the industry and community. And so it did. Some like the way she dressed up whilst some obviously don't. To me, it is unthinkable when she boastfully claimed that she has performed umrah three times and yet has the nerve to look pretty cheap that night.

Extracts from Normah Becok BH 27th May 2010

"....Atas sebab itulah, atas undangan rakan-rakan di Astro, Cik Normah pergilah juga sebab tak mahu mengecilkan hati kawan-kawan. Walaupun pada mulanya hati Cik Normah keberatan, tetapi apabila sudah sampai ke sana dan terjumpa pula rakan-rakan seperjuangan. Kebosanan Cik Normah berubah menjadi keseronokan.

Ketika berborak sakan dengan teman-teman, tiba-tiba mata Cik Normah terpana pada seorang wanita yang cukup anggun yang juga bukan asing dalam industri seni tanah air. Wanita cantik berbaju merah dan berbunga di kepala itu cukup menarik perhatian Cik Normah. Dari paras kepala ke pinggang, Cik Normah memang terpegun melihat kecantikannya tetapi bila melihat pinggang ke bawah, Cik Normah hampir saja tersedak. (I noticed she loves decorative headgear. Can still remember her wearing the big black hat on that midnite flight from Jakarata to KL months ago).

Dalam hati Cik Normah terdetik, amboi seksinya Rozita Che Wan. Bukan main putih gebu lagi pehanya. Ramai juga yang agak ‘tersiksa’ apabila terpandang penampilan seksi Rozita ketika itu. Maaflah Ita jika Cik Normah menegur, Cik Normah bukanlah ortodoks atau old school, cuma Cik Normah tak berapa berkenan dengan penampilan Ita pada malam itu. Memanglah cantik dan mengiurkan, tetapi skirt pendek paras atas lutut yang bila duduk menyerlahkan keputihan pehanya tak berapa elok pada pandangan Cik Normah.

Lagipun Ita baru saja pulang dari umrah, bukankah lebih elok jika memakai pakaian yang lebih sopan. Kalau boleh bila balik dari menunaikan ibadat, pakaian kenalah jaga sikit. Ialah seolah-olah umrah tu pergi melancong pula bila balik penampilan tidak dijaga. Dalam sebuah drama yang disiarkan dalam Astro juga turut menampilkan Ita berpakaian sopan, lengkap bertudung. Tapi realitinya... aduhai!"

(Well, actually the one seated next to her, Azza of Elite is pretty much in the same boat. But because she tak de lah baru pulang from performing umrah kali yang ke 3, and may not be as "iconic" as RCW, she was not that critically lambasted. Too bad, life can be unfair!)

Then in Zubir's corner in B Pop today, he tried to get clarification from RCW.

RCW's reply was,

"Saya akui kelalaian saya, sewajarnya saya perlu lebih peka dengan keaadaan sekeliling yang dipenuhi peminat dan rakan wartawan. Mungkin kerana faktor masa, tak sempat cari baju lain, selain teruja dengan rekaan Calvin Thoo, saya lalai dengan status diri yang baru saja mengerjakan umrah" (Aiyoh gurl, isn't that too contradictory!)

"Saya mohon maaf kepada semua pihak yang tersinggung atas ketelanjuran pakaian saya pada malam konsert AF8 tempoh hari. Kalau ikutkan hati, saya nak berhenti berlakon serta merta, lambat sangat nak tunggu sampai tahun depan. Inilah pengajaran paling berharga sepanjang karier lakonan saya. Saya benar benar tersentak dan malu dengan apa yang berlaku pada malam itu." ( Chill. OK, apology accepted. To err is human. And hopefully you remember that kata perlu dikota gurl, or your fans especially a teacher whom I know, who links you in fb, will be utterly devastated).

Meanwhile, I am inclined to share Wardina's view which has attracted so much criticisms, and, sis, I am with you. She felt that Malaysian artists are not qualified to become icons or idols. Although she may be making a general statement, I am pretty sure that it is her experiential observation with regards the Malaysian artists. I can't agree more.

It is never my intention to humiliate or damage anyone's reputation in this post, only that I hope kita akan terus prihatin terhadap budaya timur kita yang penuh dengan kesopanan dan adab susila yang tinggi.

Aliah Is 17

2010-05-20T23:27:00.003+08:00

It was 17 years ago that I held my first baby in my arms. Her birth was a life changing moment for both me and beloved husband. On that 17th day of May 1993, there emerged a new born baby and a new mom with immense love, passion and excitement towards each other. Honestly, I thought I would have never coped and made it this far. Alhamdulillah other than the first 100 days after Aliah's birth which was very challenging, she was such a tolerant and adorable baby to take care of.

She sailed through the years with the other 4 siblings year on year with abundance of love and merriment. I still remember her puzzled face when I brought Ayna back from the hospital 13 months later. Her competitor baby sister turned to be her best friend until now.

After we conceived Ali, Alina and Alim, having little baby sister and brothers was no big deal to her anymore. As a matter of fact, Aliah proves to be a responsible sister to all of her four siblings. They have shared joy together and at times, inevitable sadness. For 15 years she was at home with us all, I could sense how she dread leaving home away from her beloved ones and her close friends @ BK, to move on to a different life in Samura.

On 17th May as we celebrated her 17th birthday quietly, we surely miss her laughter and Kak Long nagging. I am sure albeit the birthday celebration she had at the boarding school with her new friends early this week, she yearns to be with us and her old friends.

We will have a delayed birthday celebration this weekend when Aliah comes home.

Happy birthday sweet 17 Aliah and may Allah bless you with great health, happiness and success. We truly love and miss you.

Di Antara Kahwin & Makan Angin

2010-05-17T18:00:00.001+08:00

Yesterday when I was at Kay's khenduri, Zendra asked me as she hugged me farewell, "Lama tak update blog?" "Busy, busy" I replied with a smirk.

Busy ke.... hehehe... Work as usual, it is endless, whilst at home, well since beloved husband was away for the whole week, I was also forced to do lots of errands, ye lah, to run those errands which I don't have to do when he is around.

I was looking forward to spending some time with beloved husband in Surabaya this Wesak Day weekend. Arrrggghhhh... should have booked the tickets earlier. Then I can tell him, "Sorry sayang, ticket dah book. Tak boleh buat apa dah." But I did not and now I regretted it. Why lah it took me so long to click on the MAS website buttons to redeem my Enrich points yang actually not that much pun cuma they will be expiring soon if I don't do anything. Huh!

What happened was, just now, beloved husband called me up when I was boring gila duduk kat kerusi JPN Maju junction waiting for my number to be called.

"Sayang, I am at Sri Hartamas. Just had lunch with E. And guess what? He is getting married on the 27th. Nikah on 27th and kahwin on 30th. 27th tu you tak payah datang lah. Just the guys. But 30th we go together, must! Sebab he is only inviting 5 of his close friends, with wives."

"Eh eh... wait a minute, so what happened to Surabaya? That is the Surabaya weekend kan. Thought you promised Oth*an and wife that we are visiting them?"

Deep in my heart I was wondering since when pulak beloved husband is prioritising his best friend's wedding over my dire need to SHOP in Seberang splurging my rupiahs away. Also to buy the cotton for baju raya especially when the tailor has warned this time, "Ti, buat baju raya awal sikit ye tahun ni. Mata dan tangan Kak Zai dah perlu mengambil lebih masa untuk menjahit baju kurung tu."

"I know this is E's big night but this is his second wedding."

"Eh, he is my best friend. Takkan tak pergi. Yang dulu tu lain, was more than 10 years ago and this time round is the proper, nikah and kahwin, ikut adat orang Melayu... Kena give all the support to him."

I don't want to argue with him albeit him saying that "Alah... jangan lah feel down. Nanti kita discuss kat rumah k." I am not the disputing type this time round, wonder why... Ooooo... must be sebab tak sampai hati after the stuffs he bought for me at la Sen*a last night :)

I know the Surabaya trip will be off this time. (sobbing sobbing ....) I checked the flight schedule. It is just too impossible to go that Friday and come back on Sunday. The one and only return flight reaches KL at 10.40 pm on Sunday. To go on Friday and come back on Saturday, just forget it. That is like equating our visit at Oth*an and Zi*a's to balik kampung in Seremban. Too short, tak best!

Guess I just need to chill and get over this frustration. Maybe it will not be that bad after all. Anyway I also need to do a bit of monitoring on Alina's UPSR revision. Have been neglecting that hence have to jamak my supervision over her.

Alamak, baju lip lap tak muat dah. Got time ah to tempah? Kak Zai... mata and tangan tu have to work extra hard this two weeks for me!

Tribute to Emak on Mother's Day

2010-05-08T18:50:00.001+08:00

(The Happy Mother's Day cards which Alim and Alina did for me today. Thanks dearies!)

I read somewhere, must be in one of the Hadiths, that "Hilang lah satu keberkatan di dunia ini apabila meninggal nya seorang ibu."

I berdo'a agar Emak dikurniakan kesihatan dan kekuatan, kemurahan rezki dan kebahagiaan yang berpanjangan.

Words can never express how grateful I am to Emak and how much I love her.

A mother is the truest friend we have,
When trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us,
When adversity takes the place of prosperity,
When friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us
Still she will cling onto us,
And endeavour by her kind percepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness,
And cause peace to return to our hearts
(Anon)

A tribute to Emak

And to all the beautiful and lovely mothers out there.....

Karat

2010-04-29T23:38:00.002+08:00

When Bedah showed me this particular girl who was befriending someone's husband, Bedah's remark was,

"Look at her TM. She is so karat. And that guy boleh suka kat dia pulak tu."

When Bedah referred the girl as karat, I wasn't sure what she meant. This girl was a bit dark, as in sawo matang, maybe slightly darker. I am sawo matang too, but I don't think I deserve to be referred to as karat. Hence I don't think Bedah was referring to her skin couture, I mean colour.

I assume the girl's original hair color would be black, like most Melayu who is Jawa or Minang, which is me. However, she was blonde. Or was it black turning into yellowish gold. It didn't really blend honestly. Someone with dark colored skin and yellowish gold hair. Bingo! Yay, I think Bedah meant karat is the girl's hair.

So is that wrong? Freedom of expression. Maybe she imagined to be Shakira or Jessica Alba and she succeeded, because the outcome was pretty close except for the darker sawo matangness. This girl, she can be considered a babe minus the gedikness of course.

Anyway, this entry is not about the gedik girl ok. It is about coloring your hair. Do you color your hair? Is it acceptable religion wise?

Some say that the label Halal at the Loreal bottle is referring to the ingredients contained in it. It does not mean that the act of coloring your hair is also Halal. I color my hair once in a blue moon. Sometimes with henna and sometimes with Loreal dye. I have never been that particular about coloring my hair until recently when a friend claimed that it is Haram. She said tak sah solat because air wuduk tak sampai, tak rata. Now I am beginning to get worried because the white greyish hair had grown longer and more, and naturally, I badly need to do a little touching up at the hair salon.

I googled some sites on this, some have contradictory statements whilst others are good knowledgeable ones.

What I can sum up is firstly the ingredients if not the product must be Halal.

Secondly it has to be not waterproof or the malay term telus air. One have to check the bottle carefully. If it is permanent dye or semi permanent one, that is not allowed.

Thirdly, makruh to use black dye hence the karat girl with the yellowish gold color is ok. Other favourite colors are mahogany and burgundy.

Fourthly, the intention has to be right. For example to hide the grey hair and especially so if the wife wants to look pleasant and still d-bomb to the husband. If it is for seronok seronok and show off, that "I am minah salleh the blondie" or in pursuit of seducing the opposite gender, lupakan sahaja or do it at your own "risk".

Good eh? The tudung can do wonders to us women kan, and similarly the waterproof dye can do wonders to a happy and blissful marriage.

As for the karat girl, I have no further comments. She left me with something to wonder, that is whether I should I try to be a blondie before I reach 50.

The Past Few Weeks

2010-04-26T23:31:00.004+08:00

Waaaa... so much dust here.

From the last time I was here, I have sat in a panel of assessment evaluating who are the people we should take the merit, demerit and possibly offer separation package, arguing with clients to the brim, travelling to Singapore for a crash course and later to Kota Kinabalu project site untuk memajukan negeri Sabah.

It was exhausting, arguing with people who are your friends but since they now sit across the table, they could become an arrogant critic and made derogatory remarks, packing and unpacking, catching the plane, making your way to the hotel in the middle of the night, trevelling alone, eating when you are not supposed to and feeling hungry when everyone else is full and other bugs, not to mention the backlog at the office whenever the "Out of Office" relpy is on.

However, no matter how busy I was, I will try my best to catch up with friends. I remember that day when I met up Yani Kitchen Guardian for lunch and I told her how relief I was tak payah travel lagi in the next few weeks cos I would only be scheduled to travel to Kertih for board meeting on 10th May.

Tahu tahu je, I received a distress call; my collegue who was supposed to go to Jakarta had to go to Turkmenistan and the project sponsors requested people obliging like us or more like me to replace him. Without much hesitation, Jakarta it was although I didn't foresee any shopping to be dazzled, nonetheless my expectation contradicted.

Because the meeting was last minute, I had to cancel some less priority meetings in KL whilst some remain intact. Consequently to make sure some clients are not disappointed, I promised to meet them in the office by lunch time on that day when I returned. I took the first flight out from Jakarta which was at 5 am (no, it is not an error! Memang pukul 5 pagi) And you could do the maths yourself as to the time I had to wake up. It was like no nite sleep at all, tossing and turning fearing that I may have missed the wake up time.

Anyway what I wanted to point out here is the flight was at 5 am and Subuh masuk 4.40am. To my delight, 5 Indonesians made sure that they solat first at the musolla at the boarding gate, including 2 Malaysians yang ini and inadvertently, it was jemaah in the small musollah. I was very touched by the religious observance and I must admit that this experience was rare in Malaysia. Maybe because I don't get to travel at Subuh sapiee. There was this bapak who made a call to someone after solat and said "Alhamdullah, saya udah dapat solat Subuh sebelum naiki pesawat." At one instant, the imagination of suicidal bombers did come across my mind at that time!

The week continued with more madness. Came home past 9 pm the nites after I came back from Seberang. One Friday, as we were approaching home at 9.30 pm, Bibik called "Ibuk, esok tidak ada apa mau masak. Barang dalam peti ais udah kosong."

Shucks!

With the hubby who was already feeling exhausted after a whole day of jual air liur training people, and me, who only wanted to landing on the bed, like it or not have to go to the pasar malam at Bukit Kuchai to buy groceries. I think I was the most bergaya ma'am at the seantaro pasar malam. Others were clad in teeshirts and shorts and some even already in pyjamas.

Sebenarnya nak tunjuk tersnap gambar pakai baju cantik yang beli kat Jakarta together with the purchase of ikan, ayam, ketam and daging !

And the madness will continue because this week beloved husband is outstation. After the rush today at four places, I need a foot rub, and tonite and malam selepas ini selama 5 hari, kenalah rub sendiri cik adek oi!

Have a good week ahead!

Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup

2010-04-10T10:35:00.001+08:00

There are only 2 Aces left at home now, Ali and Alim. Alina went for her pengawas motivation camp at Sg Congkak for the weekend. Ali is sick and Alim had to sleep alone last night.

I felt bad for the lonely Alim and told him that I will tell him a bed time story after he has read all the doa tidur which I taught him. Beloved hubby decided to join me too on Alim’s bed.

"Alim nak cerita apa?," I asked, “Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup ke, Sang Kancil dengan Ular ke, Sang Kancil dengan Harimau ke or Gembala Kambing Yg Menipu?”

Alim replied, “Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup”.

Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup, it was……

And towards the end of the story….

Malangnya, Pekan buat dunno kat kakaknya Melur yang marah dan terus makan telur ikan tembakul tu hingga habis.

Tak lama lepas tu, Mak mereka, Mak Tanjung pun came home.

Bila Mak Tanjung nak makan dan membuka tudung saji, Mak Tanjung saw that the telur ikan tembakul tu dah tak ada.

" Mana telur ikan tembakul, Melur? " tanya Mak Tanjung.

" Err... Melur simpankan untuk mak, tetapi Pekan dah habiskannya. Melur marah kat Pekan dan tak bagi tapi…."

" Sampai hati kau orang tak tinggal kan sedikit pun untuk Mak. Mak penat masak lepas tu keluar pergi kerja dan balik tengok tiada sedikit pun lagi untuk Mak?" kata Mak Tanjung.

Melur kept quiet and felt bad. Dia sedih melihat Mak nya yang kecewa.

" Mak sebenarnya tersangat ingin makan telur ikan tembakul itu. Tapi...." sebak hati Mak Tanjung fikirkan perbuatan Pekan tu.

Mak Tanjung pandang kat Melur dan Pekan dengan penuh kesedihan, went out of the house and ran into the jungle. She thought of her arwah suami dan suddenly felt that Pekan and Melur did not love her anymore sampai sanggup lukakan dia.

Melur and Pekan pun ran after their Mak. They called to pujuk Mak Tanjung to not run away.

" Mak, jangan tinggalkan Pekan! Pekan minta maaf ! Mak...." jerit Pekan sekuat hatinya.

Melur also menangis dan teriak, " Mak, Kasihanilah kami! Mak!"

Melur and Pekan knew that the mother would go to gua batu belah batu bertangkup.

Malangnya, Melur dan Pekan dah terlambat. Mak Tanjung tak pedulikan rayuan Melur dan Pekan dan terus menyeru gua batu belah batu bertangkup supaya pintu nya dibuka. Sebaik saja Mak Tanjung melangkah masuk, pintu gua ajaib itu pun tertutup.

Melur dan Pekan menangis sekuat hati di hadapan gua batu belah batu bertangkup. Mak mereka tak kelihatan lagi.

“Mak kami menyesal Mak, maafkan kami Mak,” ratap Pekan dan Melur.

Alim kept silent.

Beloved hubby who was next to me said” Baba yang sedih pulak!!”

Then Alim said, “Mama, is that the real story?”

“Yes,” I said puzzled.

“You know what, at Astro Ceria Cerita Belalang, the mom did not run away and die. Belalang came to their house when Mak dia nak keluar rumah. Belalang bawa telur ikan lain yang dah masak. Lepas Mak dia makan, Mak dia kata telur ikan tu lagi sedap daripada telur ikan tembakul."

“Serious?.... So emak dia tak mati lah?”

"Tak!" Alim smiled. “So can you tell me cerita Sang Kancil and Harimau pulak?”

Owh... I must catch this Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup Belalang programme at Ceria and apparently they are spinning the story this week and next week.

Ali Turns 14

2010-03-25T22:38:00.001+08:00

He was the most eager baby to pop out amongst my other Aces.

He was the easiest one to be delivered into the world.

One of our bundles of joy, Muhammad Ali Arief was born 14 years ago.

Happy 14th birthday Ali.

You have grown up to be a responsible son, not to mention brother to the Aces.

When you requested for a bottle of perfume for your birthday gift this year, I must say that your Baba has taught you pretty well, my boy!

Ali is a great Liverpool fan. However girls is his soft spot. Some time back, he succumbed to watching Sex In The City (with his beloved Mama) over cheering for a Liverpool match, at the wrath of his father!

Mama is delighted and thankful that I made it home on time for your birthday, dear.

Hallo, Busy Ke?

2010-03-23T23:30:00.001+08:00

I was here in Kota Kinabalu in the early week of March.

Last week I was in Kuantan.

This is the third week of March and I am now writing away in the hotel room in Bintulu, Sarawak, Land of the Hornbills. Have not searched for any belacan Bintulu or kek lapis Sarawak, but had a taste of midin for dinner.

Towards the end of the week I will be in Singapore.

Will have to give watching Schuey at Formula One Sepang amiss this year despite it will be such a memorable year for team Mercedes Petronas. I will be travelling to Kota Kinabalu again during flag off. Anyone care for the grand stand ticket? If they still remember me this time, that is!

After spending for a 5 day meeting in Kota Kinabalu, I will head on to the Lion City again.

Please don’t mistake my career with that of a stewardess.

It is just that part of my portfolio requires me to travel. OK, it is not marketing either. Let’s just leave it at that.

A son of a dear friend passed away yesterday. Al Fatihah to him. It is very tragic for a mother to bury her 18 year old son who met with a car accident, and whose future is so promising. The life shared with him, will just be a memory lingering in her mind. Come to think of it, her work schedule is just like mine. Her job requires her to do outstation work although not as much as me. The fact that we have to travel a lot, leaving our beloved ones, sometimes I wonder whether it is worth it. When I came home last night, I just had to hug my little ones to sleep and I wish I didn’t have to let them go, and that I have the luxury of sending and fetching them to and from school. And that overseeing them does not only exist when they are young, but extends until they are old enough to call themselves, husband or wife. The thought of your son suffering alone whilst taking his last breath and calling endlessly for his mother… Gosh, perhaps that was what she must have thought. May Allah give her strength to face this challenge, especially because this is her second loss.

My hectic days will continue until ???, I don't know myself. There was this corridor talk that there will be musical chair, to fill up the lawyers who have accepted the posting in the big project at Middle East. Promotion is brewing and if it hits me, which I must say is very likely since the seniors are scarce, what will it become? Will I continue to be even busier at the expense of the loved ones, or do I call it quit? I am seeking guidance from Him. A'min.

Frustration : Player or Observer?

2010-03-04T13:50:00.002+08:00

I was once a volleyball player in school. We didn’t really play up to District or State level, but suffice it was an incredible experience having to represent the school. If we won, it was the most delectable victory we tasted. If we lost, the sporting spirit was welcomed with wide open arms with the aim to do even better at the next round. Nothing can describe how the feeling is when you are going against the opponent. The anxiety, the passion, the excitement and even the stress, the feelings are all combined with mixed emotions. The sweat which perspires out of the pores pushes you to even do better and better.

My passion in sports continued. I played a bit more in the university and later at office. At this age however, I could only be an observer, age factor is a big obstacle to playing and winning. Obviously I do not want to injure myself unnecessarily and now I only choose to play anything safe. Something which does not involve much exertion. The passion in sports run in the family, from beloved husband to the 5 Aces. A healthy living, so to speak.

Winning is the sweetest thing. No doubt about it. Being in the first team and being a reserve carry huge difference. What more if you are there as an observer. Very undesirable! If you are able to be part of the winning success, yet you choose to be an observer, my take on it, BAD combination!

How can you allow your basketball team to go to a championship as observers? Even more painful when the team has almost on every day, especially in this hot weather of ours practised very hard to participate in the championship. After days of practice, the teacher in charge broke the news that the Pengetua has given strict instructions for the boys and girls teams to go to Johor to become merely observers of the basketball championship. They are not going to play or participate because the school they are representing is new and the Pengetua wants participation only if the team can win, jadi Johan lagi.

So this mother of the basketball player got mad….

Called the Dato' Pengetua asking for explanation with the hope that she can talk out Dato' Pengetua and change his mind. Not to her surprise, memang buang boreh! Some highlights of the most boring conversation of hers.

“Puan, anak Puan memanglah mungkin pernah main di sekolah dia dulu. Bagaimana pulak dengan budak budak lain? Mungkin ini kali pertama mereka baru bermain untuk kejohanan begini.”

“Dato', sebab mereka perlukan pendedahan lah kita mesti biarkan mereka bermain. Ini menjadi satu galakan dan pemangkin untuk mereka berjaya di dalam perlawanan ini dan yang akan datang.”

“Ini dasar sekolah. Team ini pun baru sangat lagi. Mereka pun bukan nya terlatih sangat sebab belum ada jurulatih yang betul lagi, harapkan cikgu sekolah aje. Masih banyak yang kurang nya.”

“Murid murid tu akan kecewa dan frustrated sekiranya mereka pergi hanya menjadi pemerhati. Sedangkan mereka sudah pun ada di situ. Apa salah nya dibenarkan mereka bermain. Pendedahan itu penting.”

“Kita main untuk menang bukan untuk kalah, Puan.”

“Iya pun sekolah baru setahun jagung, cubalah setakat mana yang patut. Tak johan pun takpe.”

"Eh,tidak! Saya kalau masuk pertandingan begini, mesti target Johan! Lagipun saya dah berbincang dengan guru-guru dan kami percaya inilah yang terbaik. Budak budak ni pun dah diberitahu, mereka faham. Permainan-permainan yang lain pun kami tidak akan masuk tahun ini. Bila dah jadi pemerhati tahun ni, tahun depan boleh lah kami masuk.”

“Mereka faham tetapi pastinya mereka kecewa.”

“Tidak… mereka tak kecewa.”

“Kalau Dato' beri alasan dasar sekolah dan masalah kewangan, saya tak boleh nak komen lah, Dato' yang menerajui sekolah ini. Baru teringin saya nak sponsor jersey basketball, rasanya saya akan lupakan sahajalah.”

“Janganlah sebab hal ini pulak niat itu terbantut. Sekolah mengalu-alukan apa apa pemberian.”

I can imagine the frustration and disbelief faces of Form 4 Ayna and her basketball team mates when the taecher broke the news. I tried dear! Some people are just bizarre!

I was taught in school that winning is not everything. It is the sports spirit that really matters. The camaraderie, the team work and giving your best shot are equally important.

I wonder whether the children in the school today are taught the same value. I must ask Ministry Of Education.

Mind you, I was talking to a Pengetua Cemerlang. Apa kriteria cemerlang tu yea? Can I suggest a 360 degrees assessment be made on any potential Pengetua Cemerlang by the peers, teachers, children and parents.

Quoting Tan Sri SM Salim... Apa Nak Jadi

2010-02-27T11:02:00.012+08:00

"You know kan how is my relationship with my wife. Since I mampu and there happens to be this girl who can provide me with what I need, tak salah kan I kahwin dengan dia? My wife does not have to know. We do it senyap senyap. I will rent an apartment for our meeting place on every week days lepas office. She needs the financial support for her 2 children and I can provide. In return she gives me what I want which I can't get from my wife. If anything happens after that, I will divorce her and we go separate ways, no strings attached. Maybe put everything in an agreement. All to be agreed upfront. I have asked some of the ustadzs around and they say tak apa. Daripada buat benda haram!"

I was speechless.

I was struck in awe.

"Arjuna (bukan nama sebenar) what about cinta and sayang with the girl? Isn't that equally important? What if your wife knows, tak ke it will break her heart, she will be devastated. If your man-ly desires require it, I am sure your wife will understand. Terus terang dengan dia that you nak kahwin another one and will be fair. Buat cara baik and betul."

"I dah tanya dah masa I was in love with another person dulu. Told her I nak pasang satu lagi but obviously it was a no. Expected what, from a perempuan melayu. Kalau you are in my wife's situation, I am sure you pun tak akan permit your husband to marry another one. Tell me you bagi ke? So after that incident, I malas nak pursue tanya dia. But I have my needs, natural what for a man."

"You all, man like you.. teruk lah. Mentang mentang wife you dah tua, (actually tak lah tua mana pun, late 40s), you buat macam ni kat your wife. If you nak remuk kan hati dia, buat dia menangis for the rest of her life, tak malu kat anak anak you yang dah besar besar tu, you go ahead. Don't tell me I did not adivise you. You remind me of the contract marriage which I encountered when I was working in Iran dulu. Arjuna, it is what they call legalised prostitution!"

"Kan I dah kata tadi, she doesn't have to know."

"Yelah tu... so stupid. As if the girl will not blackmail you, bring you to court or hocus pocus kat you sampai you jadi gila kat dia. The girl dah dapat duit, dapat husband lagi buta buta macam tu. Takkan dia nak lepaskan you. I have seen this thing happening many times, terus rumahtangga with first wife lebur! By the way I am just wondering, ramai lagi ke millionaire in Malaysia ni yang buat macam you ni? The so called kahwin kontrak? Mentang mentang lah dah ada big bungalow, CLK and everything that money can buy, this is what you all resort to!"

Arjuna did not answer my question.

I think I kind of know the answer.

"Bro... divert kan lah your energy to something else. There are lots of things you can do, bowling, golf, futsal, photography, oh lupa... and blogging too."

"You lupa satu TM, mengaji Quran!"

"Huh! Tahu tak pe."

End of conversation.

The Shi'ites have many practices which are not acceptable to the Sunnis. One of them is the legalised prostitution or mut'a. Also like the one below, a photo of me and Saidina Ali, picturing how the Shi'ites believe Saidina Ali looks like. Don't be surprised, they also have some idea of how Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. look like too.

Security

2010-02-27T11:01:00.000+08:00

For obvious reasons, the blogger's moderation is enabled from now onwards.

No worries, just something I wish to try out for these couple of days.

Catch the interesting entries soon.

TM

Eighteen Years

2010-02-22T02:22:00.004+08:00

I received this casserole as our Anniversary gift from beloved husband after a good 6 months of eyeing it. With 8 people in the house, Gi**t welcomed us with wide open arms almost every weekend whenever we shopped there, and finally.... beloved husband who has been diligently accumulating the stamps managed to get this one me for RM 9.90 with 200 stamps. I know some of you who are reading this have also been usha-ing the pots and pans!

(picture withdrawn)

It is our 18th Anniversary today. It has been a lot of smooth and not mentioning bumpy rides. Alhamdulillah we managed to bertahan until this point and hopefully, more years to share and encounter together. We realised that whatever awaits us in the future, some could bring us joy whilst others could be tormenting. That is life.

I recall what Mitch Albom mentioned in his book Tuesdays with Morrie. He said "There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage; If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike"... very true!