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Showing posts from 2008

Aliyah the Moral Police

This morning I was having roti canai breakfast with Aliyah at our usual place. In the midst of eating, I saw her stare at a boy sitting next to us, and then I smelled something burning. Seemed that the boy, of about 5 years old, was burning a tissue paper using his father's cig lighter. I looked at the father, who then asked for the lighter from the boy and then walked away to pay. Aliyah gave me this uncomfortable look and asked, "Mommy, kenapa ayah dia bagi dia main api? Dia kan kecik lagi?". I asked her, "Dangerous tak main api?". She replied, "Dangerous lah!". So, I sized the opportunity to stress on how dangerous fire is and other related stuff. Then she asked me again, "Kenapa ayah dia bagi dia main api?". Oh wow, that I don't know how to answer. Aliyah believe adults always do the right thing, so how can I explain what a jerk that guy was for allowing his son to play with his cig lighter? Just a few weeks ago I was having dinner wi

Aliyah's Tortoises Died...

I know when we bought Aliyah the tortoises, there is very high tendency that the green creatures might die. Aliyah lost the first one about a month after we bought it. It's the one named Muza. But that little creature has not been so well I think. It didn't eat much and spent most of its time hiding under the bridge. We then bought another one to accompany Stella. That one lasted like 2 weeks. It became blind a few days after we took it home. I at first thought Stella scratched its eyes. Then last week Stella died. Aliyah was really sad. I noticed the tortoise stopped eating and knew the time won't be long. But it broke my heart when Aliyah asked: " Mommy, kenapa dia mati? Aliyah tak jaga dia elok ke? Aliyah nak ingatkan dapat jaga sampai dia besar". The next day on the way home she was so quiet. When I asked why she said she missed Stella very much. I finally concluded it's because of the water. The lady at the first pet shop said to put 2 drops of anti-clori

Codename: Ops Buntal

I've been thinking and thinking. I have little "mes" debating on my right and left shoulders. Know what, I am a nice person. No matter what people do to me, I don't have the heart to ruin the life of another human being. And she is so, so lucky she messed up with me. Imagine if it were another woman... my eldest sister, for example. She'd die, man. However, I'm saving this for another day. The day that person starts to disturb my peaceful life again. I'll swear I'll do something nasty. I've created a codename for it - "Ops Buntal". Why? Because she is on the buntal side. I'm nice tonight. So, I'm not going to mention her anatomy, just summarising the whole package as "buntal". Ops Buntal is on hold... till the D-day comes. Watch out b****h.

I Still Got It

I still got it you know... I was at Petronas this morning. While I was pumping petrol into my car, I noticed a guy in a suit walking into the Petronas store. Hmm... quite OK looking, sure kerja gomen ni and this morning ada meeting somewhere around here. Then, he suddenly looked towards me and our eyes locked. And I did something I've not done in such a long, long time. I gazed back into his eyes 2 seconds longer than I should. Then I slowly lowered my eyes, smiled slightly to myself and focused on pumping petrol. A minute later, that guy came out and walked pass my car to his car. All the while, I can see him watching me from the corner of my eye. No make-up, in my T shirt, faded jeans and slippers, I still got it. Heh, heh...

I Am Happy When She's Happy

It's amazing how a little girl with a big smile and a hearty laugh can turn my world upside down. Yesterday was not a good day for me. After finding that something I was not supposed to see and read, I was kinda down. You know, a broken heart is difficult to mend. So, I did what a mother would do to cheer herself up - take her daughter out and make the girl happy. We went to our usual place - Alamanda - checked out the movies and bought tickets to see Bolt. That's our second time watching it this week! Aliyah just love that story. And you should sit with her during the movie - she laughed so loud and sing along to that country song when the 3 friends were on the big trailer. Kinda embarrassing actually! We had lunch at Sushi King. She loves the food there, I only nibble on some tempura. Then a visit to Toys R Us at Parkson where she ogle over Barbie dolls. After the movies, grocery shopping at Cold Storage with me buying her favourite stuff - mini Cornetto ice creams, harsh bro

Evil Act?

I did something evil. I found something that I was not supposed to see. I'm now a fair CSI you see. I can even open files that I have not the program. I then saved that something I was not supposed to see. The result of me finding that something was my heart hurt again. My head began to spin. This is not good. Then I saw a friend online. And I chatted with her. I need to let this feeling go. Then we conspired. And I sent her some of that something I was not supposed to see. The conspiracy is to teach the person in that something I was not supposed to see a lesson. Well, actually I had a sudden impulse to hurt. Just like I was being hurt. It was an evil act. But the making of that something I was not supposed to see is even more evil. It was even stupid for that person in that something I was not supposed to see. But then... you hurt me. Now I hurt you. I'm not evil. I'm just getting even. Ops, my friend said I must never seek revenge. No, I'm not getting even. I'm t

It Was a Good Kuantan Trip

I just came back. Exhausted... But it was worth it and it was a very good trip. We reached Kuantan around 4pm on Sunday and stayed at MS Garden Hotel. Aliyah was so excited seeing the nice bathtub and the huge pool. I, obviously, can't really enjoy any of those with the seminar in mind. Now, the seminar turned out quite well. There were about 80+ participants from all over Pahang and I received quite good questions from them. It helped a lot that I see them thumb-size from the stage that my stage fright lasted only the first 5 minutes. It also helped a lot that they came in big number that the break times were quite long and I can stretch my legs. As usual I get surprised remarks - "Puan buat seminar ni seorang saja? Penat lah nanti?". "Err... saya dah biasa, lagipun topik ni my area of expertise"... Yeah, right! Since Linda came along, at least I didn't get the usual questions of "puan datang seorang saja?". I got to know the seminar was an annua

Wish Me Luck!

I'll be going to Kuantan tomorrow for a seminar on Monday (today I mean since it's already past midnight). I'll be conducting the seminar actually. And I'll be speaking to a group of about 100 Pahang webmasters / web team. Adoi sakit perut. I normally conduct trainings to small - moderate number of people ie 10 - 20 only. So, this is the first time I'll be facing a huge crowd and I'm beginning to feel a buzz of nervous bees in my stomach. Hubby and Aliyah will be coming too. A paid-for trip so they can have fun while I sweat speak. I'm bringing Linda along. Another paid-for trip for my staff. Kasi can la kat dia since hubby dia dah nak naik kapal dah next month. Wish me luck... Semoga aku tak pengsan di atas stage.

Song: Laskar Pelangi

Sometimes you can be really down and you might think that the world is just so unfair. I have had that share of thoughts many, many times. At times I think if I can have a little bit of this, life would be easier. Just a little bit of that, and life would be great. And those are the times that I forget that I am actually so very blessed. I was on my way to the office this morning, my head full of thoughts - car insurance and road tax already overdue... house installment also overdue... when will I get that payment from my client who is also my previous employer (tak reti-reti nak bayar la korang nih)... what will the arrangement like for Aliyah when she starts school come January... will I get projects next year with economic crisis already felt all over... And then this song came out on the air. And then I actually felt much, much better. With Aliyah next to me giving me her cheeky smile and saying "Love you Mommy", life is actually good to me. I might not have everything I

Father-Daughter Time

Our little family had a blast yesterday. After breakfast, off to Bukit Unggul swimming pool. Aliyah had a good time in the water with her father. There was another family there, kalau tak I pun terjun sama. After that, one round ball hitting at the driving range. My daughter has such amazing energy for such a thin girl! After lunch and back home, she still has energy to play games and do her drawing stuff while us the parents bongkang in front of the TV. I watched these two in the water and thank God we are still together as a family... Aliyah in her new floats. She's really good in taking care of her stuff. Her old floats lasted for years until the tube got a bit loose recently.

The Cough is Almost Gone, My Heart is Almost Healed

Last night for the first time in the past month, I got to sleep through the night without coughing. Alhamdulillah... bestnya dapat tidur lena. I am worried because if my cough still persists, I need to go for chest x-ray next week. My research on the Net on my symptoms jumpa macam-macam scary diseases from pneumonia to bronchitis and even lung cancer! Nauzubillah... And my heart pun dah heal sikit... Even though I still have all these disturbing thoughts about what that woman said and her SMSes, I believe I need to put my trust on my hubby. Especially since all the while that so-called "relationship" happened, there was never even a dent in the love that hubby showered me and my daughter. It's difficult for me but I have put a closure to that heartbreaking chapter of my married life. Hubby MMS me that woman's photo. I replied: "The one in tudung? Is she also dark and short?". (Dah lah pakai tudung, dah kahwin pulak tu, sibuk nak kejar laki orang whom she fee

Song: Dia Milikku

Hari ni I dengar this song on the radio. Adala sikit-sikit sesuai. So, hari ni I nak buat permintaan lagu, ala macam kat radio tu kan... Ok, lagu ini I nak tujukan pada seorang counter staff yang berada di negeri yang ada Bandaraya Bersejarah dengan ucapan, sudah-sudahlah tu stop calling, smsing and harassing my husband. Husband I sekuman pun tak ada hati kat you selama ni dia kesian je and tak nak you malu pasal dok terhegeh-hegeh kejar dia ye. He's a happily married to me ok. Lagi satu ucapan I, you bernasib baik sebab wifey orang yang you dok kejar tu sangatlah penyabar, baik hati dan gorgeous orangnya (akak suka, akak suka...). Kalau terkena macam Cik Latifah ke, Cik Hasnah yang macam singa betina tu, haaa, mau mata you kena korek. Ucapan ini I akhiri dengan nasihat, you jaga lah suami you kat rumah tu baik-baik ya. Berdosa perempuan dah kahwin cari jantan lain tau. Nanti, orang lain pulak kebas laki you, baru you tau. Oh ya, lupa lak, lagi satu, hubby I memang la officer tapi

Meeting E Was The First Sign

My posting: Do I Really Know Him? I was destined to meet E that day, to listen to her, to learn from her... It was one of the signs. Perhaps me being patient and composed when facing this test is because of my meeting with her. She taught me to be strong, to face the problem with pride and class. And most importantly, to know that I'm never at the losing end. Thanks E...

Crazy Over Origami

Aliyah has new passion - origami. Actually, it's more of asking people to do origami for her. It started with Aunty Hajar lending her an origami book for the holidays. Ever since, our office has this origami fever. We have been doing origami for the past 3 days. We have been folding tortises, frogs, birds, flowers, boxes and balloons for Aliyah. Kinda interesting and challenging actually. Yesterday, even Caspian joined the fun. Origami amidst Aliyah's Barbie dolls

Aliyah Naik Satu Kelas

All parents have high hopes for their kids. And with high hopes come high expectations. When Aliyah started her kindy, I had high expectations. She is very smart and have all the makings of a straight A student. When her exam results came back, she's not the top of the class. I scrutinized her test papers and I know if she is a little bit careful, she can get better results. A little bit more careful, a little bit more patience, a little bit more thinking... After that, I scraped off that high expectations and replace it with - I want her to learn and have fun. Of course that high hopes and expectations are still there somewhere. Anyway, she's in the 4th class. Early this year she was so very rajin going to school. The second half, however, she started her old habits of not wanting to go to school, especially on Mondays. If she cut school, I would take her to the office and got her to do some exercises. So, she still learns even though it's just half an hour of simple lesso

When Will This Cough Go Away...

It's already been 2 weeks. I'm over seeing a doctor. Yesterday went to a pharmacist. A different one this time. So, now I'm on another round of antibiotics plus chesty cough syrup pulak. Last night I wonder why this time I'm sick for so long. Maybe it's true that one's bodily functions tie closely to one's spirits. My spirits are up and down these days.

The Test Of Hearts

I thank friends who expressed their concerns over my postings last week. It's amazing how friendship blossoms over these ramblings. Your kind words gave me strength. I obviously won't detail out what happened. Just that I'm OK now than I was last week. And my marriage is as strong as ever. People make mistakes. I have forgiven, but have not forgotten. I used to read or hear these kind of things, especially about women who don't really care whether the men they are pursuing are married or not. Wrecking other people's marriage is not of their concern. Married men seem to be more appealing. Now it actually happened to me and it's scary to experience this first hand. I was devastated when I got to know. I felt like my world came tumbling down. My heart hurts so much I wonder if it was a heart attack. At times when I was driving with my daughter next to me, I thought if something were to happen to both of us, then it will serve him right. I was sick and the heartache

How To Get Rid Of This Cough?

I'm still having this dreadful cough. Can't get decent sleep at night. And my days are full of coughings and cough syrups and lozenges. I've slurped 3 different bottles of cough syrups, tonnes of different brands of lozenges not to mention doses of antibiotics. I've also taken drinks of honey mixed with lemon. No ice for the past 2 weeks only warm water. Help.

I Live For Her

My pillar of strength...

Selamat Jalan Alang...

Last night around Maghrib, we lost my Alang Manah, my aunt, my father's sister. She's been treated at the Putrajaya Hospital ICU for the past week and finally passed away... on a Friday. I can't say I'm very close to her, but still, she's the aunt you must visit on the 1st Hari Raya morning and whose kenduris you must attend. And she's the one you must seek when you attend other people's kenduris. When I was little, every weekend we would go balik kampung and my father would take me and my brother to visit her. I last met her last Hari Raya. She doesn't recognize people anymore, but she was healthy then. I was late and was the last to kiss her forehead before they close her up and performed prayers. I stood outside with my daughter watching the the action from afar. I'd rather stand outside, loss in my own thoughts and feelings, then sitting with the rest of the womenfolk in the kitchen. At least, I can hear the tahlil and prayers and amin the doas.

Bila Tortoise Mandi

Pernah tengok tortoise mandi? Anak I ni ada potential jadi vet lah. She is so very loving to animals. Last night, lepas bersihkan bekas tortoise dia, dengarlah dia borak-borak dengan kawan-kawan dia tu. Lepas tu dengar dia kata, "Nak mandi tak? Kita mandi ye". Then I saw her take the tortoises one by one and actually bathe them, siap guna tissue lap each of them sampai kering. Then she put them back into the water. I told her tortoise tu kan memang duduk dalam air, tak payah le mandikan. She insisted saying tortoise tu mesti mandi hari-hari pasal badan diaorg terkena food pallets, kotor sikit.

How We Spent the Day

This year no cake and candle blowing. No party. My house is in a mess. Maybe next year when we move to our new place. We spent the day at Alamanda. Hubby bought her the Ben 10 Omnitrix she wanted. Then lunch at the place of her choice - Sushi King. Next, ice cream. That's basically it. After that, a stop at her "wajib" place - her Pak Ngah's house. She just wanted to get a wish from both her uncle and aunty and show off her Omnitrix to her older cousins. Not much celebration as her exams starts tomorrow. I'm thinking - this Friday, after her exams I'll take her out. Maybe for a movie. And then, a cake perhaps...

Aliyah is Almost 7!

Time flies. Aliyah will be 7 next Monday - 19 October. I have already bought her an early birthday present last Friday during our little outing. This Mermaid Barbie doll yang tail dia boleh tukar colour bila rendam dalam air sejuk tu. Dunno la how many Barbies she has now. My beloved daughter... I pray. May she grow up to be solehah, bijak, cerdik, hormat orang tua, berbudi-bahasa, diberi Allah kesihatan yang baik... Her many faces... Umur 11 hari... One month plus... Masa ni macam Jepun... One year 8 months... Rambut dah start curly... 2 years plus. Very naughty. Around 3 years old kot... Lupa lah... Abah dia dah start bawak pegi driving range. 4 years old... Sibuk nak menulis je. 5 years old. Dah pandai melawa. 6 years old... She's become the "boss kecik" at my office. Latest photo just after Raya... Love her so much...

An Ex-classmate the future TPM?

I read with interest that my ex-classmate at UPM when I took my masters expressed his interest to contest for UMNO's no 2 spot. I remember he was kind of ousted at the time and took the time off to pursue his studies. Ours was a 3-semester program, but since he did it full-time he completed it in 2 semesters and we graduated together. My gang was never close to him even if we often said Hi and chat through one of my gangs - a 50+ old UMNO veteran guy who took the break from his business during the economic crisis. Meanwhile, the Datuk Seri was always surrounded by people, many of whom, I always suspect are simply vultures. Seriously... At times, I have a feeling that he too felt it. There were some occasions when he would look to the back and smile from his front seat to our gang known to be the crazy ones. We were always late especially coming back after the Maghrib break. Rushing to class after work always make our stomachs growl, so we always took time to eat knowing by then the

Aliyah's New Pets

My daughter is so very fond of cats, especially kittens. Macam mak dia. But we never allow her to keep any cats, sebab I know end of the day, I jugak yang kena jaga and clean up. And cats poo-poo is simply urgghh... smelly no matter how cute the cats are. When we were back in Melaka last week, Aliyah's cousins Nadhira and Najeeha brought back their little tortoises. Now Aliyah has fallen in love with the little ugly green beings. So, today, after I took her to the clinic (she's having these nasty red insect bites looking thingy on her thighs), we dropped by a pet shop and got her 2 little green tortoises. Using her duit raya, of course. Yang kat bawah bridge tu namanya Muza. On the right is Stella. All after Winx Club. Whatever... Ariel view pulak...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin to All

Uols semua dah sampai kampung? Tahun ni Raya di Bangi. Yippee... I nak masak rendang. I suka masak rendang. Nama rendang I - rendang suka hati. Mak mertua I selalu tanya kalau I masak rendang - rendang apa ni? Rendang tok ke, rendang negori ke? I cakap - rendang suka hati. Sebab I suka hati nak masak macam mana. Agak-agak kat belakang rumah banyak daun limau purut, I letak la daun tu. Kalau tak, I letak daun kunyit, hiris nipis-nipis and tabur towards the end. Tapi I tak letak dua-dua ok, nanti rasa dia contrast. Tak sedap. Belah husband I masak ikut "rules". Sebab tu I tak masak bila balik sana. Sebab I masak tak ikut rules. I masak sesuka hati I. Tapi I masak sedap OK. My hubby suka je, tambah nasi lagi. My father pun suka makan whatever yang I masak suka hati tu. Once I goreng sotong sesuka hati I ala-ala Jamie Oliver, dia punyala suka, the week after dia beli sotong and pesan to my mother - "mintak Anizah masakkan!". Hehehe... so, I punya suka hati ada class uol

Aliyah and Her Hair

When I was in primary school, I've always had my hair short. My mom always, always ensured that. Then, when I was in secondary school and staying at ATPN, I had shoulder- length hair, but the "rock" style (it was the 80's ok). Yang layered tu. Since I'm not the girlish type, I never had those fancy hairclips and stuff, just plain hairband. I remember my gang and I always made fun of the girlish type girls. (We ruled the hostel...). There was one in particular. She's very pretty, with exotic name. And she's an expert when it comes to "playing" with her hair. In prep hall, we can see her sit, first, with her hair flowing. Next, you can see her hair is in braids. Then, you look up and see her hair in now in pony tail. Then those fancy hairclips start to be all over. Then, she will braid her hair back - at times the elaborate ways. And all these within just a few hours, and without any mirror. We always rolled our eyes watching her and wondering what

It's My Birthday...

Still got 2 minutes left... It's my birthday today. Quite a boring one actually. Hubby was not well he spent the day mostly sleeping. We spent our morning meeting up with the architect who'll be drawing our house extension plan. Finally, Affin Bank faxed us our redemption letter for us to refinance our apartment - after 2 months of chasing. 2 months! What kind of bank does that to its customer? Anyway, now that there's money at the end of the tunnel, we shifted our gear from P to D. Now we can plan our house renovation as there's now a budget to work around. Late afternoon, we went to Alamanda where hubby got me my birthday present. Tommy Dreaming perfume... Nice... Then, we met up with Angah and family for a birthday buka puasa at Johnny's. That's my eldest brother whom I share the same birthdate. Imagine, there are 365 days in a year, and my mom was destined to give birth to 2 children on the very same date, 12 years apart. A year older, hopefully a year wiser

Do I Really Know Him?

I noticed E's facebook contained depressing thoughts lately. She has this beautiful way with words - poetic and sincere. I thought to myself, I pray she's in the midst of writing a novel. Apparently, she's not. She really is going through the worst in her marriage. When we met, almost on cue of my how-are-you, she immediately poured out her souls. I felt uncomfortable at first, us not really being what I can call good friends. She's my junior from university and that day was actually our second meeting even though we do email and sms each other, but mostly about work. She's my favourite proof-reader, I never want anyone else to proof-read our translations. We ended up talking for almost an hour. She opening up, me listening, commenting and I felt deeply for her. She's going through this rough time in her marriage and amazingly she's so calm and composed. In the end, she wondered aloud why she was telling me all her problems but said she felt relieved. I was

Negative Thinking People Are Losers

I have little patience for negative thinking people. Yang I paling irritated - "kalau tau lah jadi macam ni, tak payah buat (this or that)...". Memang lah as humans we never know what will happen. Sometimes we think it's an excellent idea, but then bila execute, it failed. That's why we need to try again and not give up. Another one I paling tak suka is negative-thinking men, especially husbands, yang tak support their wives. Just the other day I naik angin (sorang2) when Linda told me her husband mocked her when she told him she wants to learn driving, saying she will never be able to learn. I must say I'm blessed to have a husband who supports and encourages me to explore things, and I do the same for him. I always feel husbands yang tak support their wives are simply chicken. These men have inferiority complex. They want their wives to stay they way they are. I'm not saying I ni positive sangat, at times duduk tersandar juga. But staying positive in life ma

Some Cuppy Cakes

We have been making cupcakes for sale lately. We even got orders for Hari Raya and a huge order for a wedding kenduri after Hari Raya. We are still perfecting the cupcakes - in terms of presentation. The taste is of course good. Well, that's what my daughter says... Latest one we did for my nephew Ejat whose birthday is today Hubby and my nephew Nizam brought this to their offices and were sold out within a few hours. Dark chocolate moist cuppy with butter cream and this heart-shaped chocolate on top, with a dust of cocoa powder. Another variety of the dark chocolate moist cuppy. Vanilla cuppy with lemon butter cream. The cuppy we'll be doing for the wedding kenduri after Raya.

Books I'm Rereading

Lately I couldn't spend much on books. Poket kering. Payment lambat. So, I resorted to rereading my books. At times I rent, but then they don't really offer my kind of books. In the end, I ended up with Danielle Steel's books which I have read in my college years. Tak apa lah, as long as I always have books under my bed. These few weeks I've reread Murakami's Norwegian Woods and South of Border, West of the Sun. Never grow tired of Murakami's books. I reread Sophie's Bakery for the Broken Hearted. Still a very heart warming story. Then I rented Danielle Steel's The Ring. After a few chapters, it seemed I have already read it years ago. I have under my bed The Magician by Raymond E Fiest. It's waiting its turn. Now I'm rereading Under the Tuscan Sun. Not that bad this time around. In fact, quite interesting. I was disappointed reading it the first time. I bought a cheap book at Sogo this afternoon while waiting for hubby. I'm sure it's tra

How Can One Be So Arrogant?

I serious tak faham. Like the whole country was in uproar over this person's statement and yet, he is still so very arrogant. Just look at his face and the way he talk in TV interviews. And he kept on saying ikut budaya Melayu kalau tak salah tak payah mintak maaf. I've never witnessed such arrogance before. Dah lah ini bulan Ramadhan bulan yang tersangat mulia. Cara cakap punya kasar tak ada rasa hormat dengan bulan puasa ni ke? And most interestingly, the Chinese guy yang dia dok kutuk-kutuk handled his interviews in such calm manner. I have admired the way he handled the press ever since the March election. Watching the TV just now, I wondered - siapa yang puasa actually? Datuk Melayu tu ke Tan Sri Cina tu?

My House is Spotless

I hate cleaning the house ie sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc. Serious tak suka. And also because I have allergy. Usually, hubby will help do the elimination of dust work. However, ever since our new house siap, we all malas sesangat nak kemas rumah. As a result, rumah we all macam rumah tinggal. Sawang, habuk, you name it. We don't have a maid. And we never tried the weekend house cleaner before. I'm just not that kind of person actually. I just can't imagine having a total stranger come and clean my house. I mean, how? How would this person know where to clean and how to clean? Where do we start? How would the person know where to place things? So, the dust in my house kept getting thicker and thicker, and we are nowhere near to moving yet. And I thought, I must get help. So, last Saturday, I finally enlisted help. And I was so very impressed. My whole house was cleaned top to bottom in just 3.5 hours! (Err... if the dust is not that thick, the time might be shorter). Th

We Await the Change... If Any...

I had an interesting conversation with my father this morning. I've always known him to be a true UMNO man and supporter of the BN Government. A true ex-public servant. He oppose disruption of peace, having seen his fair share of 13th May. One day a few weeks ago, I was sitting with him reading the papers when he suddenly said, "[Sigh] What should we do about Nuar?". I said, "Nuar who?". "Anwar Ibrahim". (I ingat Nuar mana ler). He doesn't like what's he's doing. Anyway, this morning he voiced his disappointment with the big management. He doesn't believe in Anwar. But he finally admitted that BN has gone weak. He said BN must strengthen themselves. There are too many people talking, and they don't talk about the same things. In the end, someone will need to amend things. Listening to his opinions, I pun sokong lah. I mean, I have felt the same way about the Government since the 8th March election. But of course I don't tell my

My Little Golfer

My little golfer in action. She's now in the mood of giving these naughty poses.

On Harga Minyak Turun and Pak Lah Naik Train...

Harga minyak turun starting tomorrow. 15 sen jer. Jadi lah kan. Janji harga turun, dan blood pressure rakyat pun turun sikit. Katanya nak turunkan on 1st September. I naik angin. Hari tu masa nak naik tak sempat-sempat nak esok jugak, tapi bila nak turun kena tunggu 1st September? Tiba-tiba dalam news esok turun... Hmmm... raih undi Permatang Pauh ker? Buatlah apa yang patutkan... Asalkan guna otak. Cuma I rasa pelik dengan statement Datuk Shahrir kita kat TV. Bila tanya kenapa sekarang tiba-tiba nak guna monthly revision of petrol. Dulu masa minyak mula-mula naik kata nak buat tapi tak buat pun. So he said, susah for certain operators. Nak naik senang, but turun harga susah. I wonder apanye yang susah. He kept on repeating that. Susah nak tweak the petrol pumps ke... susah nak tweak accountings ke... apa yang susah sangat actually sampai berbulan-bulan KPDN&HEP study those operators? Elok ada by-election next week, boleh pulak implement. Serious tak paham. Anyway, my personal con

Cuti Sekolah Dah Nak Habis...?

I rasa cuti sekolah macam baru start, esok dah last day... Hmmm... Again, it's not a good holiday for her. We didn't take her anywhere. Hubby's busy with this anugerah kualiti thingy at his office, he practically comes back home at 11pm every night. So, entertaining Aliyah is my sole job. I feel really bad actually but then what to do. I got stuff to work on myself too... But I managed to squeeze some time in the mornings taking her to the pool besides the usual boring time spent with me at the office. Took her to Bkt Unggul Golf Club swimming pool. Hubby's a member. I can't really say the pool and gym are very well maintained compared to my gym membership at Equatorial Bangi, but very acceptable. Paling best, no one really use them, so, it's just the two of us. Huge kiddy pool for her alone! Her routine at my office - playing games. She can spend hours like this quietly on her mat. At times, I need to call her name to see if she's alright. Then after work,

School Holidays Has Started

School holidays has started. Today I memontengkan Aliyah. She finished her August test yesterday and I was thinking sure today tak belajar sangat. She's been very lazy to go to school lately, then I mintak Atok dia "jampikan" biar dia rajin sikit. Now dia dah rajin sikit, I lak yang memalaskan dia. This morning, she woke up at 7.30am, realized it was late and rushed to my room. "Mommy, mommy, kena tak kejut Aliyah!". I told her, Mommy bagi Aliyah ponteng today and I will teach her at the office. Terus tersengih punya happy and mintak roti & nutella for breakfast. So, next whole week she'll be with me at the office like the past holidays. Hmm.. maybe can arrange trip to the zoo my with cucu sedara Haris...

Asyik Nak Berdemo Jer... What Have We Become?

Saw on TV yesterday this huge group of UiTM students berkumpul secara aman at pejabat SUK Selangor membantah proposal Menteri Besar nak bagi 10% quota to non-Bumi to enter UiTM. I really don't see the point actually. Seriously. I nak tulis banyak-banyak nanti ada laks orang ex- or current UiTM students belasah I. But then, hey, I was from UiTM previously juga. I was at PPP Section 17 Shah Alam from 1989 - 1992. Just that I feel ever since the March election, we have become a very sensitive nation, or should I say try to be a very sensitive nation. Asal ada je ruang, nak berdemo. This was not the culture then. And I personally don't like this kind of culture because more often than not, the reason to demo is so trivial and you people end up inconveniencing other people. Unless you have fetish for traffic jam. I don't. Back to UiTM kan, macam ni lah. Menteri Besar Selangor yang baru tu baru bercakap sepatah. Jangan la kelam-kabut nak menunjukkan kita ni sensitive sangat sampa

On Lazy to School, Cupcakes and Nothing New

I tried blogging twice the past few days but the stoopid Streamyx service is always, always getting on my nerves. Dah penat complain. Our phone bill has long list of 100 numbers, and the calls don't come cheap. Since dah letih complain and service is as terrible as ever, macam ni lah ya orang-orang yang bekerja di TM - we pay our bills on time, the money you collect from us goes to your account, which is used to pay for your salary including bonuses. If your service is not good, say service is down for 3-4 days in a month and we still have to pay for that days which we actually didn't get Internet connection, then I strongly believe that you actually are not entitled to that amount of money for that 3-4 days. However, since you people don't really care about your customers where we still need to pay anyway despite not getting the service, and you use the money to pay for salary and bonuses, I strongly believe that the money is actually haram because I memang tak halalkan. J

Makan-makan: Istana Budaya

On Thursday, Sharul and Ija took Hajar and me to Istana Budaya for lunch. I conducted a training at their office we "fondly" call "Sentulwood". A place with no decent place to eat. Must drive out. At first I thought - amboi bawak tempat mahal nih. The restaurant felt exclusive, the ambiance very nice and the surrounding with big shady old trees looked straight out of postcards. Ija old us there are always, always photography shootings, and true to her words, we met this ridiculous looking "bride" wearing short ruffled wedding dress with some kind of 30's head gear wearing white boots up to her knees. Anyway, selected out food and at the cashier I was so surprised. I took rice with ikan sembilang masak cili api, some kerabu pucuk paku and terung sambal, plus my air suam totaled up to RM4! The others took ikan bakar and other assortments of lauk and only fetched around RM5 - RM6.50 plus drinks. So, very, truly cheap! And the food, excellent. My masak le

Not in Mood

Tak de mood nak blog lately. Actually tak de mood for anything. Besides the usuals, have been busy with my other side business - cupcakes. We got 12 dozens order last week for a party. And once a week, we open our little kitchen at the office to bake cupcakes to send to my daughter's school canteen. I must say, the income is actually not much. To me, baking is more of tension-reliever - taking a few hours break from my laptop, then me and Linda got it going with the cakes. And eating them of course! There are 3 of us in this little business - me, Linda and my niece Iqah. It's an honest and hard-working kind of job where we spend hours labouring in front of the oven. But then, I was in bed one night before going to sleep and calculated the profits. Know what, say we sell off like 150 cupcakes a week to the school (minus any side orders like we got for the party), after tolak modal, etc we actually just got about RM50 each. And what can I do with RM50? Aku isi minyak half tank j

Song: Sempurna

I think I heard this song in Bali. It's used for a telco commercial. Ok la, I'm a sucker for this kind of Indonesian songs. Their songs can be so sincere. Now Aliyah and me tengah suka dengar this song. To me, it actually describes my feelings for my daughter. She is so perfect, even in all her imperfections. And I can't imagine life without her. Sempurna - Andra & the Backbone Kau begitu sempurna Dimataku kau begitu indah Kau membuat diriku akan slalu memujimu Disetiap langkahku Kukan slalu memikirkan dirimu Tak bisa kubayangkan hidupku tanpa cintamu Janganlah kau tinggalkan diriku Takkan mampu menghadapi semua Hanya bersamamu ku akan bisa Kau adalah darahku Kau adalah jantungku Kau adalah hidupku Lengkapi diriku Oh sayangku, kau begitu Sempurna... Sempurna... Kau genggam tanganku Saat diriku lemah dan terjatuh Kau bisikkan kata dan hapus semua sesalku Janganlah kau tinggalkan diriku Takkan mampu menghadapi semua Hanya bersamamu ku akan bisa Kau adalah darahku Kau adal

Let's See Who Got Toasted and Fried in the End

TV news is not interesting anymore. Go read blogs and forums. You get more reliable and close to accurate stories there including stuff that won't make it to the mainstream media such as statutory declarations and photos. Very interesting. Very thought provoking. At times, very disgusting. Here we are as rakyat jelata negara ini working our butts off cari rezeki halal that sums up in the end as simply meager income, then deboossshh... have to endure not only the direct impact of fuel hike, but also the aftermath yang makin hari makin snowball that in the end, your effort in earning that honest income rasa macam tak dihargai pun. Pasal apa? Pasal ditengah-tengah orang susah sekarang, ramai juga yang sangat senang. Dan yang senang-senang pulak, adalah orang yang dilantik untuk membela rakyat jelata yang melata kat negara ni. Dan bila dah senang, selalu pula lupa diri dan lupa Tuhan. Macam-macam benda pelik-pelik diaorang ni buat sampai bila muka orang patutnya sangat dihormati ni kel

First "Fieldwork"

We had the "garage sale" yesterday at Section 15. Crowd turnout wasn't that good. Not enough promotion I think. Anyway, we managed to sell half of our cupcakes and surprisingly, the half sold actually dapat balik modal and got a bit of profit. Interesting... The other half of the cupcakes we actually give out as samples. Also managed to sell off 3 pairs of Aliyah's shoes - in very good condition and branded too - Kickers, Garfield and Adidas, and a few books. It was tiring but it was quite fun. Our stall. We sold cupcakes both with icing and without, the cotton baju kurung for kids, some old clothes of mine and Yatt's, my old magazines and books. Kasut Aliyah tinggal ni je! Our cupcakes - yang green tu coconut, yellow tu lemon and last ones chocolate.

Yummy Yummy Cupcakes for Sale

I've become a little bit domestic lately. In a business-like manner that is. Dah letih lah buat training nih. Bukan apa, we know people want to attend, we know people need to attend, but people can't attend. There was a directive on the papers last week saying no more attending any meetings, trainings, etc at hotels. Only international events can be held at hotels. Sigh... Anyway, our baju kurung cotton for kids business is doing OK. By now, dah dapat jual dalam 8 pasang and terus dapat balik modal for the 1st phase. Interesting. I didn't really promote them. Now dah ada enough stock, we will begin to actively sell. Our first "selling activity" will be next Sunday. There will be a jumble sale at residences of Section 15 near our office. We'll be joining. I actually have never done this kind of thing before ie opening a stall and selling stuff. But then, at this age and at this stage in life, what the heck. I want to try stuff. So, we plan to sell our kids ba

A Nice Long Drive to Kuantan

I had to go to Kuantan for a presentation last Monday. As the invitation was last minute, all other alternatives are out of the question except to drive there. The last trip there I went with my eldest sister. This time around, even though she volunteered to come along, I kesian lah pulak. And hubby, being hubby, applied for leave to drive me there. We borrowed my nephew's car - MyV - because our Latio windscreen crack la pulak. Kena mandi bunga la kereta tu! The presentation was good, even though at first I was warned that some ass will be kicked that day by the ICT Exco including mine. Some 40+ reps came from all departments and agencies. I came well-prepared - before I get any comments on our translation work, I give some facts first. One thing that I have learned these past few years of presenting to the powers that be is that - get to know the power that be's personality first. I had a little chat with a lady from the IT department about the Dato'. With butterflies and

Father's Day Lunch

It's Father's Day. As usual yang suka celebrate these kind of days are me and my eldest sister. This year, decided not to buy a cake and celebrate the usual way. I suggested a lunch treat, so we went to San Francisco Pizza at Bangi. Only the 4 of us - me, Aliyah, my sister and my father. At first we wanted to have tea at Secret Recipe because my father dah pegi kenduri kahwin, but then lalu kat Section 8 tu my sister saw the super huge bunting of beef steak promotion kat San Francisco at just RM12.90 and terus rasa nak makan sana sebab beef steak murah (my sister ni super kiasu sikit). Masa tu jugak la my father confess yang dia tak berapa makan sangat pun kat kenduri kahwin tadi (ye ke...?). And masa tu jugak la my daughter teringin nak makan spaghetti. So, makan la kat sana... It's nice to belanja my father eat-out like that once in a while. Time for us to just listen to his stories. After that on the way back we stopped at a nursery to look around for fruit trees. Tanah

I Miss Her...

School starts again today. Last night before Aliyah slept, she kept asking when I won't be busy this week hoping I can pick her up from school. This morning, susah sikit nak bangun, but then she already promised me yesterday not to make a scene this morning, so she dutifully got ready for school. When I reach the office, hmm... rasa sunyinya... It was a full 2 weeks of having her at the office - with the mattress all laid out for her Barbie dolls to sleep, her books and stationery, her many artwork depicting me with words "I love you Mami", her messy table full of scraps of papers, her arguments with Auntie Linda, her songs from Narnia playing over and over again... This place felt really empty. I miss her so much...

Books: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

As with other Murakami books, I have read it twice, back-to-back. This book - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - is in same leagues as Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicles , with elements of fantasy, reality, comedy... Here's a quote that struck me and made me wonder about life. It was a thought by the main character whose life was going to so-called end in a matter of hours. "Were the stars out when I left the house last evening? Stars? Who remembers stars? Come to think of it, had I even looked at the stars recently? Had the stars been wiped out of the sky three months ago, I wouldn't have known..." We always forget about the little but significant things. We go about our lives without pausing much to take a few steps back and look at things. We actually need these little pauses to remind oneself where we are in this world, whether what we are doing is worth it, etc. That night I went out to the lawn and looked up at the stars...

Felt Like Being Thrown Into a Pit

I was not among the thousands who thronged the petrol stations 2 nights ago trying to fill up my car's tank at the last lowest price of petrol the country might ever see. Not that I didn't really care, just that I passed by an empty Petronas at 6pm, got SMS from Hajar at 6.15pm when I have reached home, tried my luck at 7.30pm at Seri Putra and drove back home after seeing the queue has congested the normally quiet road. I can be kiasu, but not that kiasu. And for these past 2 days, I felt like being thrown into a pit with these faces of the powers that be shoveling dirt into my face, slowly burying me alive. Burying us all alive. Isn't there any human with humane feelings in the powers that be? Isn't there anybody with brains over there? Know what, I'm really tired with all these stupid charade. Just a few days ago someone said the price hike will be in August, and then suddenly the boss said it's going to be today, yes today, like there's no tomorrow. Just