Living with Sarah

We started cycling to work yesterday. Day One: I had trouble with the gears. Haven't really grasp the concept of bicycle gears. So, the ride to the office was a bit huru-hara and really tiring. I guess Hubby had the same problems too. There are 3 challenging hills to ride and we had to stop at two places. Really not fit enough lah. But then in the afternoon, my Kak Lang text saying she's outside and couldn't wait for Aliyah to come back from school. So Hubby had to cycle home and get the car. After office, I rode alone. The trip back is better because 2 steep hills are now downhill. Only one hill to ride up. Day Two: Better riding today now that I've basically learned the gear concept. And it helps that both of us exchanges what our gears were throughout the journey for each other to adjust. We still had to stop at the two places. I thought of some friends who cycle 50-60kms and wonder how they do that? Flat road? These hills are killing us! But today is not as tiring a...

It was supposed to be a look look see see trip to Keen 2 Cycle at Sunway, but we ended up taking home 2 bicycles. Aku dah agak dah! This morning we left Aliyah with her Mak Long (she's not interested to tag along - would rather spend the time in the small blow-up pool with her cousins) to check out the bicycles. Hubby has been doing extensive research and we have decided on the kind of bikes but we just wanted to see the options. We ended up trying several bikes, occupying 3 hours of the owner's time (great guy named Yoon) and finally decided on mountain bikes. The hybrid type we initially wanted didn't look too appealing in real life - they are 30% faster but the thin tires look pretty scary. And who knows we might want to go off-roads! (Berangan!). We brought back the 2 bikes in our little Viva - surprisingly muat! And the price paid was very reasonable. We tried the bikes around the neighbourhood - very smooth and light. And insyaallah tomorrow, we'll start cycling t...

Unlike last year, I think this year's Earth Hour was not so publicized. I just saw one ad on TV. So, I only got to know about it just a few days ago. I personally think Earth Hour's activities should be extended - with more knowledge sharing and promotions. Hubby and me have been talking about going green a lot. We are fans of Greenest Homes on TLC. We are now planning to buy bicycles to cycle to work. (Tried cycling to Kedai Mamak near our office 2 weeks ago and I survived!). And when money permits, we would like to scout around for solar panels for our home. In Malaysia, we get enough sunlight every day that can power the whole house. The Government should do something about such green technology - perhaps making them more affordable or give tax deductions. I don't think TNB will suffer much from houses installing solar panels. Anyway, our Earth Hour activities: since Aliyah is with her Mak Long at my parents' place, Hubby and me decided to go out for dinner. At exact...

This person came to me today with tears. She told of this story. I shall not elaborate but I truly understand. Her story might seem so trivial. It's just about her loved one hiding some facts from her. But the consequences were great. Her in-laws have negative perception about her even though she sacrificed everything for her loved one. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Most importantly, the heart is crushed. And when a heart is crushed, it leaves scars. And such scars can never be healed. I truly understand. My heart has still not healed.

Drowned in work. Nothing much happened. School holidays over, Aliyah back to school. I actually miss having her at the office. She eats so much when she's here - especially eating sausage buns from the bakery downstairs. I'll be fetching her from school today for her "ko-ko" activities but I have a feeling she'll want to skip it. She was not so happy with her science results she got the other day. I guess because she said the test was easy but got not-so-good marks instead. But I can't really blame her. Now that she's in Std 4, the tests have become quite complicated. Hubby and me have made a pact to get really serious in helping her with her studies. Must take turns and adhere to the timetable. Work wise, things are really stressful but quite productive. Stressful not because of the work but the delay in getting the funding. I don't understand why this certain bank that's supposed to help small SMEs like us are so very slow. Asyik cuti je. Kalau t...

It's such a short school holidays, we can't really take Aliyah anywhere. So she's been spending her days at our office. Kesian kat dia. Good thing I heard this competition on radio about the Hot Air Ballon Fiesta so we decided to go today - on the very first day before the place got crowded. Ajak Miqdam the Contractor and my other 2 nieces. Surprisingly the trip was fun. Never thought Putrajaya can be this interesting :) Several of the hot air balloons. We were there early but still tickets were sold out. Not many this morning. I suspect the Japanese didn't enter this year. I might be wrong. But we didn't see the Doraemon balloon. Nurul rock-climbing. She's quite good. Hubby lepas geram meng-paintball. Aliyah mana boleh miss naik horse. Very majestic looking horses. Naik lake cruise. It was fun. There's a lot about Putrajaya that we don't know... Aliyah trying archery. Siap tanya Abah dia - boleh beli ke?

I have always admired the Japanese. Never been to their country before but I've always found something admirable about them - their culture, country, food, movies, technology, royal family, even little stuff like origami and bento boxes. My father knows and will always hand me the quarterly Nippon magazine he receives from the Japanese Embassy for the past (more than) 30 years, ever since his visit there when I was in my primary school. And I would be engrossed reading the magazine, just a very thin magazine, yet serves as the window to their amazing culture. When the tsunami struck, I watched the video in horror. For the first time in history, a disaster of this magnitude is being documented and watched live by the world to see. Such advancement in technology and communication. And to see the beautifully lined farming areas being swept away by black sea water as fast as a jet plane... houses and buildings being ripped apart... vehicles thrown around like toys... One would feel suc...