Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Tomorrow : Report Card Day...

Tomorrow's Report Card Day for Hasya and Hilman.

Ayah will not be able to attend in the morning for Hasya's session as he has scheduled a few patients for his clinic, so Mommy will be going alone. But, insya Allah, both of us will be there for Hilman's report in the afternoon.

We sort of could guess how the results would be by the way the kids react when we ask them for the marks and the marks of their classmates.

Hasya seems to be answering with, "I'm not sure...", everytime we asked her who got highest for each subject and what their marks were, just to gauge where she stands this time. (Remember us? K-I-A-S-U PARENTS - spelt in capital letters? :)) So far Hasya got highest for English. The rest of the subjects - she either got second, third or fourth highest, with two classmates consistently doing better than her. Unlike the previous years, this year her two classmates were quite consistent in getting high marks for all, and not just for 1 or 2 subjects.

Ayah and I feel that Hasya might have been too complacent this year. As usual, we never push the kids for Mid-Year exams as we want to see who their "competitors" in class are in a "baseline" situation first. The grilling and drilling are reserved for the Finals :) We realized that she has been watching too much TV, and reading way, way, way too many story books at the expense of her school books.

As for Hilman, he has been keeping track of the marks of all the "smart" people (based on his observation la) in his class. He came back on Friday last week, saying that he might not get first place because Al*x and Ja*in*tha might have beaten him in a couple of subjects. But, yesterday, he came back and said that there might be a possibility that he could get #1 because he just found out that the two friends actually got lower marks than him for the subjects concerned. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes tomorrow. It might be that some of his other classmates also did well, and he was not "monitoring" their marks, kan? ;)

Anyway, we know that Hasya has learnt her lesson. But, we still need to put her in place. So, we have decided to bar her from watching TV indefinitely. And she's okay with it. The house has been void of the sounds coming from the idiot box for 5 days now. And the sweet thing is - because his Kak Ngah is not allowed to watch any TVs, Hilman is also not watching any programmes - including his regular and mandatory 10:00pm Naruto :) I think he feels kesian for his Kak Ngah.

But, but, but - yesterday he asked me, "Mommy, if I get #1, can I watch TV again?" Hehehe! I guess there's only so much a little brother can sacrifice for the sake of his Kak Ngah, right? Especially when he so deserves what little entertainment he can get around the house :)

Anyway, we'll see how they have really fared in their Mid-Year tomorrow. Whatever it may be, we hope that they'll do better in their Finals, insya Allah.

Even though Ayah and I never believed in sending the kids for tuition at such a young age, we feel that this time around we'll have to make an exception, especially when both of us are finding it more and more difficult to find the time to REALLY sit down and coach the kids, especially on a daily basis, out of the exam fever period. At least for Hasya, that is. We're thinking of a Home Tuition for her, and we're trying to get Pn. Ya*un*ha who tutored Hanna for her UPSR three years ago to tutor Hasya, too. As for Hilman, he'll probably need it when he's in Year 4 next year, too, ESPECIALLY for his BM Papers.

As for Hanna, she just finished her exams on Monday, and so far the results that she has got back are pretty good :) She'll probably get all her results after the school hols, I think. In the mean time, yours truly will have to just sit back and relax and TRY not to think of what her overall results would be.

My God...did I just say "school hols"?!

Hmmmm...I'd better think of things for the kids to do over the hols, now that TV is OUT for Hasya!

Cheers, y'all :)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Naik hangin...

Ayah came back home quite late some time last week and asked me, "Did R*B and HS*C people call you tadi? They called me to tell that our credit card payments were overdue, and I gave them your number".

Alamaaaak!!! Then I remembered the thing that was bugging me for the last few days before that. I knew there was something I needed to do which I had forgotten to do - settling the credit card bills!

You see, I'm in charge of paying ALL bills : credit cards, car loans, housing loans, utilities segala.

Well, errrrrr, let me rephrase that.

I'm actually in charge of SIGNING the cheques and posting or banking them into the relevant banks. The cheques are from our JOINT-ACCOUNT, but, ONLY AYAH'S PAY goes into it, get it? ;)

Ayah just fills in the account at the end of every month, and yours truly would sytematically empty it throughout the month, paying all the bills/loans, etc. The only thing Ayah wants to know is that every month all the bills are settled, and he doesn't have to worry about them.

So, when the banks kept on calling him to ask about the overdue payment, it was only natural for him to pass them to me. Short of saying, "It's your job, dear..."

Anyway, after that reminder, yours truly immediately signed the cheques and put them in the envelopes with plans to just drop them into the mailbox the next day as I just didn't have the time to go to the respective banks to make the payments. But, of course, dok sibuk sana sini, etc., I again forgot all about them, until early this week, that is.

I was attending a conference in KL on Monday and Tuesday this week, and my phone was on silent mode throughout the sessions. And I was quite perplexed when I saw 6 missed calls from a 03-2******* number at the end of the conference. And I suddenly remembered about the cheques which were still in my handbag.

"Alamak!! It must be one of the banks!"

I was pretty bushed by then and decided to just post the cheques the next day as the Post Office was out of my route going home.

And post the cheques I did on Wednesday.

It was on Thursday that I received an SMS text asking me to call a certain 03-2******* number, and I knew it was one of the banks, so I quickly made the call.

It was R*B. A young chap answered it, and I informed him about the SMS that I received asking me to call them. He asked me what it was pertaining to, and I told him, I wasn't sure as they were the ones who asked me to call them.

He asked me what my MyKad number was, and after checking their records, this was what he said,

"Ooohhh, Mrs. Wan, etc., etc. This is because you have defaulted in your credit card payments! When was the last time you paid, madam?"

Darah I dah tersirap dah masa tu. Macam lah we had defaulted for months! And lagi pun, he should know when our last payment was made anyway. He was checking our accounts masa tu via their system, kan?! Apasal lak nak tanya, kan?!

I was trying to remain calm, and told him -

Me : Ohhh, okay. Yes, my husband received the MANY CALLS made by your bank, and I've already posted the cheque yesterday. You should get it by the end of the week, I think.

R*B chap then said, "Okay, madam. That's fine then".

I was about to put the phone down, when suddenly I had this really strong urge to pick up a fight -

Me : Errrr, excuse me. Wait, wait, wait! Wait, wait, wait...I just want to say something la to you all ni.

Him : Yes, madam?

Me : Our overdue payment tu how much, ya? (I just wanted him to say it out loud)

Him : Let me check. (Pause for about 5 seconds) It's RM327.14, madam.

Me : JUST RM327, right?

Him : Correct, madam.

Me : And it was what? 8 days late when you started harrassing us, right?

Him : Errr, mmmmmm...No, madam...it's like this...

And I just cut him short.

Me : Why aarrr you all ni so hard-up sangat with the RM327? You called my husband, or rather harrassed him every day for that RM327, and even sent SMSs to us, when the payment was only overdue by about 7-8 days?!

Him : No, madam. If we don't do that and you don't settle it, then we have to suspend your card, and take legal action. Nanti madam jugak yang susah (or something to that effect la)

Me : (Kepala dah gatal...) THAT'S JUST IT! Baru defaulted this time, and ONLY for RM327, and you treat us macam hutang banyak sangat lah with you all! EXCUSE ME, I think you all should differentiate between your clients yang memang hutang tak bayar berpuluh ribu, and have defaulted for months and clients like us who pay the bill fully everytime without fail, okay?! You should check our records for the last 4-5 years. Never once did we pay JUST the minimum payment, okay? We had always paid in full every time, no matter how much our bills were, okay? And bila default RM327 ni, you all harrass us sampai ke lubang cacing! Please lah! I want you to convey our displeasure about this whole thing to your collection department laaa... Langsung tak value clients/customers macam we all ni!

Dung dang dung dang, dush dush dush - si mamat tu kena sembur dengan I.

He tried to explain something, and I just couldn't care less what he was saying and I just put down the phone.

Bengang.

Ya, adik-adik, kakak-kakak dan abang-abang. It was THAT time of the month, okay? Fuse box memang cepat blow.

Bengang. Bengang. Bengang.


I just didn't like the way the credit cards people are treating us.

And what made me even bengang, barely a minute after I put down the phone, HS*C people pulak called! Aaaaarrrggghhh!

Malas nak layan, and I just told them I had posted the cheque and they should be getting it by the end of the week. This, I was quite okay as the amount pun was quite substantial. But, R*B people tu...memang tak patut.

And as I'm writing this, I'm still waiting for people from Ma*ba*k to call me and ask for payment. Believe it or not, I've not paid them for 2 months. Reason being - the outstanding amount is 37 sen. Yes, you read it correctly. 37 sen.

Tak kuasa nak go to the Bank just to pay that amount. Duit minyak pun will be more than that. And tak kuasa nak membazir stem 30 sen to post the cheque(?!) for 37 sen(?!). Tak masuk akal.

If they still harrass us for the 37 sen, memang I akan naik hangin satu badan...

Grrrrr...

Monday, May 18, 2009

WSR v4.1

Yours truly celebrated her birthday last week - another year older, another year wiser :) ( I hope!)

Thank you so much for all the well-wishes and do'as which I got through Facebook, SMSes and e-mails. I'm very, very touched indeed. The friendship and warmth extended on my birthday are very much appreciated and treasured. I still received birthday wishes even until yesterday - when I got free kerang from my usual towkay ikan at Pasar TTDI when he knew it was my birthday last week! (Next year nak demand ketam lah pulak...)

Ayah gave me my birthday card at 12:55a.m on my birthday - 55 minutes later than usual because he overslept. He was supposed to take a nap for 15 minutes before the clock struck midnight. In fact he even asked me to wake him up at midnight just in case he didn't hear the alarm. Ada kah?! :)

Anyway, I just didn't have the heart to wake him up, and I only managed to stir him when I snugged under the duvet as I called it a day at 12:55a.m. He woke up, wished me a happy birthday, gave me my card, kissed me on my forehead and off he went back to sleep after that. Granted and understood - it had been a long day for him at the hospital :)

Throughout the day, family and friends called to wish me, and my staff and colleagues at work threw a "surprise" birthday tea party, which was not really a surprise because I sort of guessed it. Who wouldn't if they kept on asking me over and over again, "Puan, you're going to be around petang ni, kan? Around 3:00p.m?" (AT LEAST 5 times, okay?) So, the "surprised" look wich I practiced for Hilman on Mother's Day, also came in handy on my birthday. HAHAHA!

Ayah came home earlier than usual that day and brought back a lovely bouquet of flowers (from him and the kids). And Hilman being Hilman, gave me a stalk of plastic red rose which he got from school, which according to him cost him RM1.20... And he wasn't lying, because the price tag was still there when he gave the rose to me. HAHAHAHA! Bless the sweet boy :)

We left the house after Maghrib for a family Japanese dinner at Su*hi Za*ma* at One-U. The restaurant is one of the children's favourites. Suffice to say, I think the kids enjoyed the food as much as (if not more than) the birthday girl did :) We finished our dinner just before 10:00p.m., after which we had to follow Ayah to Co*um*ia As*a as he had to review one of his patients there. We reached home JUST before the clock struck midnight to end my birthday. Perfect timing, I'd say :)

I feel very blessed indeed, and bersyukur to Allah SWT to have have had another year to spend with my loved ones, and I make do'a semoga diberikan umur yang panjang, kesihatan yang baik dan rezqi yang halal, and love and joy , and hidup yang diberkati throughout the rest of my life, insya Allah.

I thank Allah SWT for my family, and my friends who have made my birthdays more meaningful each year as I grow older...

Syukur alhamdulillah :)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Surprise for "Mumy" :)

Hari yang dinanti-nantikan akhirnya tiba...

And on Mother's Day, Hilman presented me with his "surprise" - a weaved basket with a hand towel with "Happy Mother's Day Sharina" embroidered on it. That was the "surprise" which required him to take out all his school books from his school bag the other day. And he also gave me a Mother's Day card which Ayah bought for him :)

And I think I did a good job at my "surprised" look, especially when I read the wordings of the embroidery. Hehehe!

And when I thanked and kissed him, I asked, "Hmmmmm, darling - why did you put 'Sharina', and not 'Mummy'on the towel?", and he said, "Because my teacher asked me what your name was and I told her 'Sharina' laa..." Hahaha!

And his Kak Long gave me two cards - one hand-made, another one, courtesy of Ayah :)

And his Kak Ngah gave me a card (also courtesy of Ayah) and another one which she made for her Seni on Monday.

And the kakaks had a field day teasing Hilman for spelling "Mummy" wrongly on the envelope...and the WHOLE of Sunday they kept on wishing me "Happy Mother's Day MUMY...."

And Hanna said, "Mummy, if Hilman had told his teacher to put your name as "Mummy" and NOT "Sharina" on the towel, it might have come out as "Happy Mother's Day, MUMY", anyway what..." (Trust Hanna to tease her lil' bro :)

:)

Aaaaahhhh...Children. Without them we are not mothers...

Thank you for making me a Mom, my children :)

Mommy loves you all so much...


Friday, May 8, 2009

Separa surprise :)

I was in the car with Hilman after fetching him from school earlier on. He was sitting alone at the back, with his schoolbag occupying half of the space.

We were on our way to his Wan's house to fetch his Kak Long Hanna and Kak Ngah Hasya, before going back to SD when he suddenly said -

Hilman : Mommy, your "surprise" is in my schoolbag okay, Mommy?

(FYI, he has been hinting about this "surprise" for me for the last week or so :))

Me : "Surprise"?! Hmmmm, I think I know what it is, Man. You want me to guess, ke?

Hilman : Okay la, Mommy. You can make a guess.

Me : It's a Mother's Day Card, right?

Hilman : (Silent for about 10 seconds) I know you already know la, Mommy.

Me : Hehehe...Sorry, to have spoilt it for you. Thank you, dear. Did you make it yourself?

Hilman : You see la nanti, Mommy...(Pause for about 10 seconds again). That's why la all my books are on the seat. Cannot fit in the bag because your "surprise" is in there.

I looked behind, and true enough his books were all over the backseat!

Me : Cannot fit in your bag?! Waaaaahhh, how BIG is my Mother's Day card, Hilman?

Hilman : I'll give it to you in 2 days time, okay? Then you see laaa...

Me : Okay, darling :)

Hilman : And Mommy, when I give it to you in 2 days time, make sure you "look" surprised, Okay?

Me : (???!!!) Errrr, okay... (Hehehe!)

So from now until Sunday, I will be spending most of my time in front of my mirror - practising my best "SURPRISED" look for my dear boy ;)

* HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS OUT THERE! Hope you'll have a lovely time with your family this weekend. And make sure practise your muka 'surprised' for your anak-anak, too, okay? ;)