Living with Sarah

It's not even mid-week yet, but I've got to post this. A couple of weeks ago, my nephew aka contractor came over to discuss the design for our porch. We selected dark brown and light brown tiles, and Miqdam was supposed to do some geometric design with the combo. We actually don't have any idea. With us, Miqdam likes to experiment and propose something out of ordinary because we are always open to his suggestions. Know what, he finally suggested "two hearts". I told him, no way. Jiwang and corny nya. I even told him - "baik kau letak anak panah sekali!". Hehehe... But he explained and did some sketches. The design looked nice on paper. Something different. And we said OK. Today, Hubby came back from work with these pictures of our porch. I love it. Akak suka, akak suka! The two hearts design. Lambang cinta sejati kita berdua, kuang, kuang, kuang. This actually turned out much better than I imagined. Tiles do work in mysterious ways. The colours look diff...

My little baby kena chicken pox. Haiyoo... and now is actually exam week. Sempat pegi first day exam je semalam. But good thing we had her vaccinated when she was a baby, so dia kena ni tak lah teruk sangat. She doesn't even feel itchy. Just having minor fever and feel a bit uncomfortable. And I believe those anti-viral pills she's taking help too. Except for the spots, she actually looks OK. I'm at home nursing her. So today, I had to get Hajar to replace me for our third presentation to that organisation. I pray things go well. I'm still waiting for updates. On Thursday, Hubby's turn to take care of her because I have a training to conduct. She spending her time watching TV and doing origami. Again, I was so so glad we had her vaccinated before. If you have babies, go get them vaccinated. They might get it eventually, but the condition will not be so bad. Muka dia tak ada spots, for now, mostly on her back. Bestnya duduk rumah tengok Ben 10. Orang lain sibuk ambik...

My CSI skills have improved tremendously. Last week I stumbled upon something. I already have this bunch of ugly and yucky things in my possession, now I have a name and address to post it to - if I want to. So, what do I know? I know the full name of that person's husband, I know his phone number and now I know where he works. Imagine... But like my conversation with a dear friend - "we are nice people... and it's difficult for nice people to do bad things".

It's week 8. Two months have passed. Things are progressing well. But the bad weather nowadays does take its toll on the speed of work done. On Friday I took Linda over to the house to measure the space for curtains. And today, we actually just came back from choosing tiles, again. The ones that we chose earlier for the wall at the kitchen cabinet is out of stock. I then selected an earth colour theme - little tiles of beige, light orange, light brown design. They do look nice but Miqdam said they look quite dark and dull for a kitchen. But that's the only option based on the budget we have - RM4.80 per square feet. Miqdam then looked around, all the while doing some mental calculations. He then pointed to another set of little tiles and asked me to select. I told him those costs more than double - RM12.80 per square feet, no way. But he said, "tak apa, nanti Miq rasa tak seronok nak pasang kalau Ateh pilih yang tadi". So, I pun pilih lah colour combo of red, orange a...

I do my best for the earth, even though not much. I try to recycle - basically collect all plastics and aluminums and pass them to my father who will sell them. So, selalu dapat around RM10 which I will put into Aliyah's account. Other than that let's see... I try to switch off the lights bila tak pakai... Memang not much. Earth Hour yesterday, we were off to my parents' place for dinner - Miqdam belanja satay. So, I switched off all lights except for the one at the porch, for safety reasons of course. At my parents' place, hmm... orang tua manalah nak observe earth hour ni. I switched off the lights at the living area, my mother bising cakap gelap. But my daughter was so cute arguing with her Mak Long about switching off the lights. I told her what earth hour is, some basics about global warming and stuff. So, over satay, nasi impit and kuah kacang, my eldest sister told her that there is no need to switch off lights, but Aliyah argued back - "Kita mesti jaga bumi...

My pillar episode puts us apart for a short while. Sometimes things spin around you so fast you feel really dizzy and sick. And at times like that, your heart can be so vulnerable that a slight tug can hurt so much. I had my time and space. And I used it to reflect. But I was also so very stubborn. I can be stubborn when I wish to. But the other pillar knows how to melt my stubbornness. And it felt like being wooed again. Like he was on bended knees, again. I know where my place is. Together, side by side, being pillars. To support the house and make it a heaven full of love and happiness. Insyaallah. Update: It's a corny love song I know... hmmm... But I've been listening to this song these few days. Once in a while, you need to be reminded how everything started kan? Anyway it's sung by Shania Twain and Bryan White/Bryan Adams - which one I'm not sure. From This Moment - Shania Twain I do swear that I'll always be there. I'd give anything and everything and I ...

Remember I said I was so inspired by my interviews with several people who have their own online business? I actually had an idea on an online store 2 years ago. I even drew up my own business plan. But it never materialise. And now, I'm actually reactivating the idea. The website is still being developed, I hope it will be ready come Mother's Day. Anyway, among the products for sale on the website will be cupcakes. Yes, we are still doing cupcakes whenever we receive orders, normally from my sister or close friends. Sometimes, when we are free (a.k.a. no work or project), we would bake cupcakes just for fun and get Hubby to sell them at his office. He doesn't mind especially that he gets sales commission. Not much but lepas lah duit toll and cigarettes. So, here are a few. My idea is for buyers to send the cupcakes as a surprise - birthday ka, anniversary ka, expressing love ka, nak say sorry for being a jerk ka, or just suka-suka... For cupcakes, we deliver to these areas...

I know I've said it many times, but she really is the nicest little girl on the planet. We come from work, heads all clouded with the problems life has to offer, and here is a nice little girl who always tries to make us feel better. Yesterday Hubby came home with aching legs due to too many walks up and down the offices to meet people. Aliyah nicely told her father, "Lepas makan nanti Aliyah urut kaki Abah OK,". And after dinner, she asked her Abah to lie down, use her trusted Minyak Telon (which we still use on her whenever she gets stomachache) and massaged Hubby's legs. I don't think that Minyak Telon did much to relieve his pain, but the little hands who massaged him did. Today, after dinner, I was doing my weekly washing and scrubbing of Aliyah's school uniforms and Hubby's work shirts (all the while thinking - I just completed 4 sets of proposals today, submitted them by hand successfully before the due date, celebrated by having apple crumble chees...

I'm back as the pillar. I have no qualms being a pillar as long as what I do is appreciated. I understand sometimes in the midst of frustration one can be a bit cruel, unintentionally. But the words still hurt. And being a nice pillar, words of apology can heal the wound. Especially when the pillar comes home seeing the house was in a wreck, and the other pillar down and sick. Mana nak dapat wifey baik macam I ni cik abang oooiiii... Anyway, yesterday the two pillars visited the new house. It's week 7.5 now. I know it's boring, but we are excited OK. Nice sky view after a rain Kaki lima patio dah disimen. Longkang pun dah ditutup. Akak ni bukan muda sangat lagi, longkang kena tutup takut tersungkur laks... I requested for this pipe kat tepi rumah, senang nak siram pokok nanti, tapi konon-konon nak buat exotic sikit nak letak batu sungai kat tempat air jatuh tu. Tempatnya dah disimen. Nanti nak kena cari kepala paip cantik sikit...

It is such a tiring and difficult journey uphill and many, many times I felt like giving up and let myself fall and roll down the bumpy hill. I am tired. I'm tired of being the pillar. I'm not supposed to be that pillar. I'm supposed to simply lean against it. Being a pillar means you need to support the house. Your shoulders being pressed down every day by the weight but you need to hold on. You are the giver, never the taker. And I am tired. And I feel like letting go.

It's now week 7. Looking at things and the weather, it will take more than the planned 2 months to complete. But we are not really in a rush. I have another month of deposit to spend for this current house we are staying. I think should be enough. Maybe plus one month. Maybe... I really want the house to be complete entirely before we move in. The drains have been constructed around the new patio and kitchen The kitchen concrete top has started My eldest brother commented the single high windows look nice. Very suitable for dining & kitchen. Hubby meng-inspect the end result after they plastered the window edges. We cover up the space next to our neighbour. Bukan anti-social OK, just need some privacy especially in the morning. Also, the low wall is prone to people, err.. neighbour, putting shoes to dry la, sidai carpet la, alas kaki la... macam-macam yang menyakitkan mata. Father and daughter pose

School holidays is almost over, Aliyah is still not so well since last week. She's still having a cold and now started coughing. Good thing the fever is gone. As always, every school holiday I mesti busy. Bila I free, dia pulak sekolah. This time around we didn't take her anywhere. Hubby busy this week with the dividend announcement. And I'm drowned in work. Of course that's good news. No work => bad news. Things at work are going quite well these days. I pray my company will survive this economic crisis. So far the crisis has not shown its impact on us as yet. But we are smacked with the (crazy, unstable, stoopid, ridiculous) political crisis ever since the general election last year. And it's getting worse by the day. My supposedly seminar today was postponed for the second time to next month due to low take-up. But we finally have enough participants. People are interested to come but restrained by - budget belum keluar (ni kan dah nak masuk April, budget tak ...

Hubby came back today bringing something I've not eaten in ages - Nasi Beringin NST. There was a makan-makan at his office and they bought Nasi Beringin NST yang famous and delicious tu. Ada extra so he brought back satu bungkus knowing I memang suka. Memang delicious. Dulu masa kerja NST every week mesti makan at least sekali. And makan kena hari yang kerja tak banyak sangat sebab nanti kenyang gila. Nasi tu simple je - nasi beringin with kuah kari + ayam goreng rempah + acar timun & nenas. Yummy... Bila lah I nak gi NST visit kekawan lama agaknya...

It's week 6 now. Renovation work goes on despite the daily heavy rains. Yesterday, Hubby and me met up with the lawyer to sign our refinancing agreement. Finally... it took so long. But I'm thinking - ada hikmahnya. Definitely ada hikmahnya. This is the right time to finally seal it. Not 2 months ago, not last year. Because things are good between us. Even better than before. Now is good. Perfect. Front view. Just the same actually. View at the back. All walls - exterior and interior have been plastered. The workers working on the beam at the patio. Inside. The wall to the new dining area and kitchen has been torn down. Looks quite "spacey". For the three of us, good enough. The electrical wires all dangling from the roof. Alamak, petang-petang time lembu lalu lah pulak... Mana datang nih?

I'm so tired... I just finished my slides for tomorrow's presentation. We actually just came back from Melaka about 8.30pm just now. My mother-in-law is not well and hospitalised. When we saw her yesterday she was on drips of sodium. Salt level too low. And she coughs quite bad that her chest hurt (macam I kena last year je). And she's on her usual medication for diabetes and high-blood pressure. I sat and talked with her. Dia kata kepala dia pening sangat. At one time she was shivering and I put on her a blanket and her sweater. I held her hand and she whispered weakly to me - "Za, mak penat makan ubat banyak sangat. Tiap-tiap pagi nurse bagi dekat 15 biji ubat. Mak dah penat makan ubat Za...". I just gripped her hand and told her she needs to take the medications and not to say stuff like that... I didn't see her today because Aliyah had a fever. That night after we came back from the hospital Aliyah demam panas both of us couldn't sleep the whole night....

These few days have been busy. I just wrapped up the translation work for our regular client, now waiting for 2 last files to come in. There'll be a presentation to a potential client next Monday for a web development project. We have been short-listed for second round. I'm not putting much hope actually, usually these kind of projects memang dah ada orangnya. But then, mana tahu ada rezeki... I have an excellent team on board and their portfolio saja dah berjaya "mengerunkan" our client tu. Hehehe... tu pasal la short-listed kot. Now mentally tengah strategize how do I wiggle away from the need to show "concept designs". We don't have that, but our prototype dah 75% ready for them to use. Should do the trick. I really hope these people value experience and expertise rather than beautiful [deceiving] designs. On that SME project, we have completed 5 rounds of interviews. I only went to 2 having other stuff to do. But the interviews were amazing. This mor...

Ada seseorang yang duduk kat Selatan tu masih lagi melawat blog I. Weekend pun dia datang. Ke kawan dia? Ataupun cousin dia? Dialah kata dulu. Entah-entah cuma dia sorang saja. Apa dia nak tau I pun heran. Nak kata akak ni celebrity, memanglah bukan. Nak kata life akak ni interesting, pun bukan. Tak pe lah, since dah sampai sini meh I hiburkan lagi ye. The other night ada cerita Pendekar Bujang Lapok kat Prima. I memang sangat-sangat suka cerita Bujang Lapok - sangat best dan kelakar. And ada lagu ni - Bulan Dipagar Bintang. This is such an amazingly beautiful song. Bulan Dipagar Bintang - P. Ramlee & Saloma Malam bulan dipagar bintang Makin indah jika dipandang Bagai gadis beri senyuman Pada bujang idaman Duhai kasih ingin dimanja Dengan cumbuan mesra Untuk pelipur lara Penawar dik asmara Mmm.. mmm... Mmm.. mmm... Malam bulan dipagar bintang Tambah seri cuaca malam Murni sungguh ciptaan Tuhan Bulan bintang lampu alam Andai kata bintang menyepi Bulan tidak berseri Malam menjadi sun...

Aliyah's Mak Long aka my eldest sister adores my daughter. And my daughter loves her Mak Long very much. Ever since Aliyah was a baby, I've started using her "service" to help babysit Aliyah whenever I have something important to attend to. I remember the first time I asked her to babysit Aliyah was a few months after I gave birth because I wanted to go watch The Lord of the Rings - midnight show. (That was important!) Masa tu I called her like every 15 minutes to ask how Aliyah fared. Aliyah was an easy baby to take care of, err... after her 2-month crying episode during my confinement. She never gives my sister any problems. Sampai la sekarang. Nowadays, my sister comes back to my parents' place and spend the night there like every fortnight. And Aliyah will call her Mak Long and they will plan to spend the night together. So, about twice a month on weekends, Hubby and me will be "childless". At first, it was a bit awkard for both of us being so used o...

The progress at Week 5. Yesterday, Hubby and me spent the whole morning measuring lengths for the house's new curtains. For rooms yang can be recycled, we'll recycle lah. Miqdam said the house will be completed in just a few weeks' time. They have cemented the floor and plastered the walls. Plumbing and electrical works are almost complete also. They'll start on the tiles soon. The new dining area. Nice natural lights from huge windows. The window at the kitchen. The concrete for kitchen cabinet has not started yet. I got my wish to have the platform to put pots of herbs at the window. Hubby measuring the width for the new curtains for our high windows. He's in all photos I take, asyik enter frame je. The new patio. It's quite shady and windy even at 11.30am.

I baru lepas lunch. Since it's raining, terpaksalah makan kedai Mamak. I makan nasi putih + ayam goreng + sayur kobis + kuah kari. Nope, bukan nak buat you all rasa nak makan Mamak juga, tadi masa makan teringat kisah lama almost 10 years ago. Kisah sedih nih. About 10 years ago negara kita kan kegawatan ekonomi. Masa tu I tak dapat gaji dekat 4-5 bulan from my previous company. Kadang-kadang dapat pun adalah 2-3 ratus je. So, all of us resigned. I duduk rumah dekat 2 weeks pikir apa nak buat. My other ex-colleagues semua cari kerja lain termasuklah my Hubby (we all dulu kerja tempat yang sama). My father bising suruh cari kerja. Nasib baik my mother sangat baik, kadang-kadang dia songlap duit my father RM10 pass kat I. Boleh la I isi minyak kereta. After 2 weeks I knew what I wanted to do. I enrolled in my Masters programme at UPM. Duit bukan ada pun, tapi apply je and I got accepted. Lepas tu pening pasal kena bayar RM2500 for registration fees. So I pun pergi lah jumpa my ex-bos...

Wahai Stupid Woman, I wonder and wonder and wonder, why oh why are you or your friend or your cousin are still here...? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Stupid Woman dan kawan-kawan serta kaum kerabatnya, Aik? Datang lagi...? Meh I hiburkan you all dengan clip Upin ni ya... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Labu: Mak saya bilang, hari ni hari bodoh saya Encik... Haji Bakhil: Patut lah... Tapi bukan ke hari-hari kau ni bodoh? Labu: Memang betul Encik...

Rumah I dah ada atap...

My company is currently in a project with this organization to produce a book on e-Business for SMEs. The focus of the project is to introduce e-Business in the most simple way and to open the minds of SMEs on e-Business. What we have done is we identified several individuals/companies doing business with online presence and we meet and interview them. I actually selected a range of targets ie from the most basic way of doing online business (ie just having a simple blog with payment via money transfer) to the most advanced business (ie having a full-fledged website with e-commerce and e-payment using creditcard, etc). I have personally met with 2 of such individuals and I must say it is an eye-opener. I mean, I have been involved in Web ever since 1995 but have never thought of venturing into e-Business. Even that baju kurung blog was simply just to have a place to showcase, that's all. Last week I met with a very inspiring gentleman who heads a foundation to help the poor and sin...

Aliyah and me were at GSC Alamanda at 12pm on Saturday to buy tickets to watch Upin & Ipin. Stories of sold out tickets didn't dampen our spirits. My thoughts were - it's just the two of us, sure can get tickets lah. The moment we stepped into the shopping complex, I knew we had no chance. The place was so packed, the last time I saw so many people at Alamanda was during last year's Hari Raya sale. At 12pm, the only available seats were for that night's show at 11.45pm. Others all sold out! So, I decided to buy tickets for the next day (Sunday) for Hubby as well. The only seats I could secure was for 5.30pm show, itu pun 4th row from the front! Crazy. Tapi beli juga. So, yesterday the three of us watched Upin & Ipin. I can't say it was so so great, but two thumbs up. My daughter of course lah laughed tak hirau orang keliling. The cinema was so packed even the front seats were taken. I've never see such phenomenon before. I must say the singing part was a...