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Showing posts from June, 2015

Work Started

Our project officially started yesterday. Things are still a bit huru-hara. We haven't resolve transport issue. So, when both of us have to be stationed at the client's place, we got the help of Ejat, our nephew, to send Aliyah to school. On days that only Hubby has to be there, almost every day for the first month, I have to send him to work. Like today. Tiring but we have to make do for now. So, pagi-pagi hantar Hubby ke Putrajaya, then I open shop, work (jaga kedai sambil-sambil buat kerja), then send Aliyah to school, singgah kejap hantar food to my mother (sambil tunggu Aliyah siap, buat nasi goreng ka, maggi goreng ka, roti sardin ka...), then back at the shop until Hubby gives signal to fetch him, then drive back to fetch him, get food for buka puasa, and finally fetch Aliyah from school. Drain rasa badan. We think hiring a part-time mechanic is necessary. Takkan kedai tutup memanjang kalau both of us kena attend meeting. Will see.

Reality Bites

We met two people while buying food for buka puasa yesterday that "confirms" our current economic condition. I was left with a heavy heart thinking of the many people in the country facing hardships nowadays. And I realised how lucky we both are that we just got a new project which officially starts on Monday. Very, very lucky. Alhamdulillah... First we met Hubby's ex-colleague at Pasar Ramadhan who works for the IT division of an international oil and gas company. He said that he's now trying to find another job because the company will shut down the division's operations and relocate to India. No more IT hub in Cyberjaya. Something unthinkable a couple of years ago. Then, we met our neighbour who has been unemployed since early this year. Now, only his wife works. We met at our favourite restaurant. A place where the food is delicious and the price very reasonable. We were waiting for our pari bakar to be made well-done. I was standing near the counter and s

Felt Lurve

Stress-reliever. Never would have thought I would actually enjoy sewing and making crafts. So far sudah berjaya membuat beberapa ketul love-shaped felt keychains. Rasa nak buat business out of this lah. Open for orders :)

Help Came

A lot has been going on. Things have been quite tough. Tapi, alhamdulillah, we managed. Sometimes OK, sometimes tidak. Since our M3 payment last year, we have relied merely on the shop. And with care, the M3 payment has lasted quite some time. However, we have been seeing rough days since GST was implemented and the economy on the down side. With people being more cautious in spending, sales have gone down. For the first time since we opened shop, this month we required help in paying the rent. That's how bad things are. I've been formulating plans since early of the year. Not going to talk about it here. After some time, I had to switch plans. All the while, I prayed and prayed for help. Minta Allah beri bantuan. I have people I need to pay for the work they have rendered. Honest people. Even though my debts are considered quite low, perhaps compared to others, paying them off is a challenge. My prayer every single day is for Allah to help me ease my burden, to help me to

Lama Tak Bermeeting

After months, semalam pergi official meeting. A pre-kick off meeting of a project. Sebenarnya I tidak ada pun dalam filem ini, tapi the night before, Hubby said his contact for the project asked me to come along. He said perhaps he has something for me too. Dalam kepala bayangkan ada small discussion with him to discuss my role. Tapi bila sampai, terus berintroduce sesama project team dan lepas tu masuk meeting. Sudah tentunya bila datang dengan zero (expectation, knowledge, etc) dan dihidangkan dengan presentation yang panjang lebar by the client tentang scope project yang menyentap jiwa, I terus sakit kepala. All the while, I thought - why oh why am I here? Lepas meeting baru dapat duduk and discuss my role. Alhamdulillah, something I can do from home/shop walaupun ada masanya kena juga stationed at client's place. Sekarang tengah tunggu scope of work to finalise the arrangement. After my very bad first day of Ramadhan - one urgent-need-to-pay-for-something-that-could-not-wait

Rapid Heartbeat Came Back

Selamat Berpuasa. Ramadhan is here. I had quite a scare yesterday. Everything was well the whole day. I stayed home to prepare dinner cum sahur. The morning was spent at bicara pusaka at Pejabat Daerah and then buying stuff to stock up our fridge. It was a tiring day. Then it was time to fetch Aliyah from school and Hubby at the shop. I backed out the car, and just as I was about to drive away, I had this strange feeling. My cough is still going on even though not as bad as before. I felt like there's suddenly a big lump of phlegm in my chest. I coughed but the lump was still there. And I can literally see my body shaking. I thought it was the car. It needed some repairs to the exhaust and gave this funny noise. The whole time I was driving I didn't feel good. It feels like anxiety and exhaustion at the same time. And I remembered the feeling. I had this once a long, long time ago. I parked in front of Aliyah's school and while waiting for her, I used the calculate hear

New Murakami in the House

I've been wanting to get the new Haruki Murakami books for ages. Ada dua yang agak baru - The Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and The Strange Library. But then selalu defer the niat sebab perlu guna cash for something else more important. Then comes the savior in the form of an app ie Carousell. I searched and found 2 of the books on sale. Used. I think I'd get Colourless first. Of the 2 offered, one of them looked quite new. The owner said she bought extra copy. Bila contact apparently someone has already booked. So, I just left a message saying if it's still available, then I'd be interested. A few days later, the seller contacted me saying it's available. Yeay! Retail price at MPH is RM82.90. The book is offered for RM60. After we agreed on the price, she then told me her bunny baru saja gigit sikit buku tu. She posted the pictures for me to see. Price was reduced to RM50 including postage. Not much damage actually, so I agreed. It's the book that matters kan?

Getting a Hang of It!

Completed my 2nd felt craft- bookmark kontot. Sebab kainnya memang sikit saja. A gift to Hubby even though he's not a bookworm. I am. Must make myself one :). But he keeps my bookmark in his wallet!  One side cupcake... One side butterfly! Nowadays, every night I would work on my little "studio". My writing table in my bedroom has been converted into a workbench. My rabun dekat got the help of one LED table lamp and one LED reading lamp plugged to my laptop. So, quite a good working environment. Usually, lepas tengok Big Bang Theory, start work :).  Today spent almost a day at The Mines with Linda researching our project at Spotlight. Memang best but a bit pricey. At least dapat ilmu baru :). So, we parted with each having tasks of our own. We'll start with simple felt craft first before we do that secret project. Yeay! Anyway, quite tiring 2 days of spending time at malls. Semalam Hubby and I had a meeting in Putrajaya. So dropped Aliyah and her f

Hobi Baru?

For the past 2 weeks, I've been researching this field of handicraft that really interest me. As time goes by, when I actually try doing it, it really is difficult. Nampak macam senang. What I plan to do is - secret for now. In the midst of research phase. I think the best way is to go to a class and really learn how to do it. Anyway, one branch from that handicraft field is felt art. Amazing stuff. Also, nampak macam senang tapi tak lah senang. Mulanya plan nak pegi buat research dengan Linda esok, tapi hari ni pun dah jumpa barang-barangnya. Hari ni Aliyah patut pergi hangout dengan kawan-kawan dia kat IOI City Mall. Tapi last minute, sorang backed out due to an emergency. Mula-mula muka tension macam mati kucing. So I thought, since I'm the one supposed to drive the girls, might as well take the day off and hangout with her. So, hari ni spend setengah hari ukur mall. Berjaya membeli jeans baru setelah jeans lama koyak setelah bertahun-tahun pakai. Half price at Parkson.

Very Quiet School Holidays

As usual, school holidays are quiet times for us. Kedai pun agak sunyi. Budak sekolah semua balik kampung kot. We close early these few days - after Maghrib. Besides finalising last year's accounts, nothing much. Project dah habis, tengah nak cari project baru. Payment wise, alhamdulillah, we finally got that proof-reading payment walaupun masih belum clear. Yang besar sikit tu, entahlah. Rasa dah malas nak follow-up. We took Monday off to go to Alamanda for nice lunch at TGIF. Esok Aliyah nak hangout dengan kawan-kawan pulak. Perhaps one more off day for me. Thursday, ada idea baru nak explore which might require me and Linda to go to The Mines. Buat research dulu :). Must create product. That has been my aim for the past few years. Maybe this is it? Will see.

Seorang Lagi Kawan Pergi...

Ya Allah... Within just days... Innalillah. One of my friends during my Yayasan Selangor days passed away on Monday. We just got to know about it today. It was sad that none of us got notified. I don't think I've written about her. She has been suffering from lung cancer. September last year, she was supposed to attend our reunion but backed out at the last minute. She was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with lung cancer stage 4. Just like that. No stage 1, 2 or 3. She was determined to be a cancer survivor. Our friends told stories how strong she was, how positive and optimistic. Linda and I planned to visit her on the day we went to Masjid Besi a few months ago when she was having her chemo at IKN, however, she was released on that very day, we didn't get the chance to meet. That friend of mine was the first to get married among us. I think as early as 18 years old. She now has daughters already married and expecting her first grandchild within these few months.

Hard Times. For Many.

The plight of MAS staff is understandable. Even though, I personally believe the new CEO did the right thing. Shrink the workforce, retain only the ones really needed. Try to make afloat a company now declared technically bankrupt. Very basic. However, MAS is not the only company affected by the current situation. I've been reading about a few companies closing down or downsizing. Perhaps MAS' case is over-hyped. Our attention is being dragged to focus on one lost cause, sympathizing with the ones being forced to leave, when there are many, many out there affected by our current economy. Jaring? Dawama? Just naming the ones I know. Open your eyes. My friend/staff Linda's husband for example is being forced to resign from this big shipping company. At first he was promised VSS, a week later he was forced to resign. Compensation? Not much. How about us? I have stopped participating in sebutharga/tenders since mid-last year. How can I compete with big multi-million