Living with Sarah

Just got these pictures from my niece Iqah. Let me introduce you to my big family. Bukan senang to get everybody to be present. The day started early. My nieces & nephews range from 30 year old to 3 weeks old. Here are the primary school ones from left Nurul (my Kak Lang's daughter), Wana, & Wani (my youngest brother Azlan's daughters), and the secondary school age - Ikram & Fathiyah (both my Kak Lang's kids). They are preparing the tables. The "penanggah" for the day - they started the BBQ pit. Of course they get to eat first (they claimed that they "test" the food they BBQ), throughout (still testing) and till the end (QC)! From left my youngest brother Azlan, my nephew Miqdam (my Kak Lang's eldest son) and my Kak Long's husband Abang Din. We arrived at around 12.30pm. Hubby started to help out here with Ikram. Those pieces of meat for testing you see... It was only 1.30pm but everything was ready and from the speed the "penang...

Today ada news about one telco exec kena tangkap sebab jual **** clip videos to the company customers. I'm just letting my imagination run wild now. Where did he get the clips from? Let's see, all SMS and MMS go to telcos first then only to the recipients kan? That's why kalau ada court cases ke apa, SMS can be retrieved. So, those "personal" video clips and photos sent to other people sure ada orang kat telco yang boleh intercept and keep for their own, err... pleasure kan? If they want la. It's just like emails especially corporate emails yang ada orang monitor kan? Kan? Kan? I'm just wondering out aloud - that someone yang hantar gambar-gambar "personal" dia to another person's husband tu... entah-entah gambar tu semua dah selamat... So, kalau gambar you dah "selamat", jangan salahkan orang lain selain dari diri sendiri...

I actually have not really watched Mama Mia entirely - at one sitting. It's not an easy feat for someone like me - either I'm in the middle of a chore or task, or I have to wait for my turn to watch my TV show, or I might go to the kitchen to check on something or have a drink for a few seconds and come back to a cartoon. Yesterday I actually managed to sit through the movie till the end. Abba songs are of course full of soul. I was so touched with Slipping Through My Fingers scene when Donna helped her daughter prepare for her wedding, I had tears in my eyes. Any Mommy (or Abah) watching it will shed a tear... Slipping Through My Fingers - Abba Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness And I have to sit down for a while The feeling that Im losing her forever And without really entering her world Im glad whenever I can share her laughter That funny little girl Slippi...

We were at Chow Kit, err... Kuantan again yesterday for another day trip. The project has progressed and now is content gathering activity. I am starting to get worried - can we finish this in time? But then, I always get worried. We managed to get agreements stamped and submitted our first invoice. I hope the payment comes in very very soon. Cash is really low nowadays. The source I was hoping to get payment from is delay-dallying. It's been 8 months already wooiii, bayarlah! Some people just never learn kan! That's me actually. Dah kena banyak kali dengan my previous employer but I never learn. Know why? It's not because of the company, it's the people. They are friends. Every time they offer, I will always accept because they are my friends. Even though I know the payment will be hell to ask from. My company is so cash-strapped, I (almost!) resorted to surrendering my insurance policy I've had since 1998, hoping to cash-in the surrender value. I'm not comfort...

It is not easy to get everybody in my family to be at the same place and the same time. But today, I think for the first time in years, we were all there at once under the same roof - my parents' extended car porch - including the nephews and nieces. The BBQ was a success. Food was abundance, drinks free flowing, the BBQ pit smoking hot with pieces of chicken, prawns and lambs, and most importantly in good company. The BBQ pit manned by my nephews. My father looked on waiting for his share of lamb, but everybody actually thought that he's not supposed to eat lamb. After he ate the rest of the food, he went back to the house and my brother Azlan took in a huge piece for him. Then he came back out to get sauces for his lamb. And everybody looked at each other grinning - and feeling a bit guilty! Hehehe... My mother with my Kak Long. Aliyah in her now-too-small golf cap. The kids are now in frisbee craze. The cake I made this morning. Plain vanilla cake with lemon butter cream. OK...

The highways are jam-packed. Thank God we didn't plan to go anywhere this CNY holidays. We have done enough traveling for the past few weeks! My sister plans a BBQ on Monday - a family gathering and to celebrate her winning this tekakata for Berita Harian. She won RM5K! She didn't all correct but hers was the least mistakes for that week. So today both my sisters will come over to discuss the menu while I have arranged for other little logistics. I also plan to bake a cake for my sister - a surprise for her. Her birthday was last Friday, along with the new baby, and also for Atiqah my niece whose birthday is next week. I have not baked for such a long time. I'm now reviewing cake deco videos on Youtube :)

Just got back from a day-working-trip to Kuantan - only there about 3 hours to collect agreement, submit URS report and make a few appointments for next week. Told my sister this morning when I sent Aliyah at 10am - "Nak gi Kuantan jap, malam nanti balik." And she said - "Kau pegi Kuantan macam pegi Chow Kit je!". It's always tiring to travel back and forth, but then what to do, rezeki dah disana kan. I personally enjoy the trips actually. Gives me a lot of time to think and discuss (while Hubby drives!). So, traveling time not really wasted. Also, good time for both of us to spend with each other. Six hours confined in a car - we can talk, listen to songs, hold hands... Hmmm... Things have been busy since early of the year we can't seem to find the time to catch a movie. Avatar pun tak tengok lagi nih! And I missed Storm Warriors, Sherlock Holmes, and the rest of the popular movies. Today, we found a shop in a shopping complex in Kuantan that sells pirated ...

Feels so good to be loved... and to be in love.

A lot of things happened this week. Let's see... We went to Kuantan for 2 days early of the week (Monday & Tuesday). It has been a hectic week and I totally forgot to pack Aliyah's books for Tuesday. She told us her teacher for Agama is so garang if the pupils don't bring their books. So we decided to give Aliyah a day off (the first this year!) - it's us - the parents' fault. We didn't want her to get any scolding. Then Aliyah actually got sick till Thursday. She's been very healthy this year. We went back to Melaka on Friday afternoon for the wedding. Since then it's been a totally hectic and tiring weekend. But it was a good kenduri. But my knees ache from too much standing and walking - making sure the goodies for guests are always refilled and also welcoming the entourage from Sepang. My parents with the clan - my Kak Long & Angah came too. I managed to secure them a "VIP" table near this "kugiran" (borrowing my MIL's...