We were on our way to an open house last Saturday, and were driving along the LDP when I saw a yellow Lotus cruising from behind us, and for about 15 seconds we were side by side, moving through the traffic.
I turned to look at the driver, and jokingly said out loud -
"Hmmmmm...Nice car. Shame about the driver".
All eyes automatically turned to look at the driver, and Hilman had this to say -
"Mommy, rich people are usually fat, right, Mommy?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Okay, mana orang-orang kaya kat luar sana nak tolong jawab??!! Silakan :D
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
The (mad-rush) weekend that was...
Last weekend could not be more representative of my life as a doctor's wife , and the kids' lives as a doctor's kids.
It started on Friday night when Ayah had to work late to meet the dateline to submit his MM article to the editor. Ayah knew that he would be very late, but he wasn't sure as to when exactly he would be coming home that night. So, the kids and I decided to have our dinner at One-U, and then tapau some for Ayah and join him at the hospital like we would sometimes do on Friday nights.
Our first stop was MPH as we had to get some workbooks for the kids to practice in preparation for their Final Exam this Friday. But, seperti biasa we ended buying books which were not in our original list lah kan... Anyway, after MPH we decided to have dinner at TCRS, after which we left One-U to join Ayah at the hospital, with some tapau-ed chicken rice for him. Mind you, it was already 10:15p.m, and he had not had his dinner yet, and his lunch was taken after solat Jumaat earlier that day.
We reached Ayah's office at about 10:30p.m, and he was still working on the article. Every now and then his focus would be disrupted when he would be called to the ward and/or ICU to attend to his patients. The kids and I decided to just do our own things as we did not want to disturb Ayah.
We would normally go home separately in our own cars after our Friday visits to Ayah's office, when the kids would choose who they would want to follow in the 15 minutes journey back to SD, and we thought that night would be the same, too.
However, by 12:00a.m, Ayah was still with his patients, and his article was not even halfway done yet! I thought of just driving back home with the kids first, but, Ayah was not keen on the idea of me driving alone with the kids at that hour. So, we decided to just take a short nap while waiting for Ayah to finish his article. He was not keen to bring his work back as he knew that if once he was home, he would be tempted to sleep, and he could not afford that to happen!
Anyway, our short nap in Ayah's office turned out to be an overnight stay when I woke up the next morning at 6:00a.m! I saw Ayah still working on his article, and the kids were occupying different parts of his room - sound asleep. Hilman was sleeping on the patient's bed, and Hanna and Hasya were sleeping on the L-shaped sofa where I was also sleeping on earlier.
Ayah finally finished writing his article at about 8:00a.m, after which he had to do his ward-round, while I struggled to wake the kids up! Syok sangat tido kat Ayah's office, kot? :) Anyway, the kids and I just washed our faces, and luckily Ayah had some Listerine stocked in his office. We brushed our hair - trying our best to look fresh - like we already had our shower, etc, but of course, our wrinkled clothes actually gave everything away... Hehehe!
Ayah has his own toiletries, towels and some change of clothes in his office for days like this, and he managed to shower before we decided to have that rare breakfast together at the Cafeteria, before he had to go see his patients at another hospital in Puchong. Thank God, it was a public holiday on Saturday and there were not many people at the Cafeteria :)We finished our breakfast at 10:00a.m, after which we went our separate ways, with the kids and I going back to SD.
The plan for Saturday was "Open Houses Marathon" from 12:00p.m until late at night. We had 4 open houses and 1 wedding to go to, and we had to strategize so that we could go to each in good time.
We knew that it was going to be a mad rush as we were planning to go to Section 14 (PJ) - Damansara Heights - Kajang - Shah Alam - Rawang within 8 hours, with the hope of reaching our last destination by 10:00p.m. So, we had packed some spare clothes, especially for the kids, just in case we needed to change mid-way through the marathon.
Ayah came back from Puchong at 11:50a.m, and we left the house at 12:20p.m, reaching the first house in PJ at 12:45p.m. We left at about 1:50p.m and made our way to the second house in Damansara Heights for a Deepavali do. And just as we were leaving for our third house at 2:50p.m, Ayah received a call from the hospital, and he had to rush back. And of course, seperti biasa di dalam kes-kes sebegini, WE also had to rush and tag along with him.
The kids and I waited in Ayah's office while he attended to his patient. A half hour wait ended being a 2 hour wait, and we only left for our third open House in Kajang at 5:00p.m! We reached Kajang at 5:25p.m, and spent quite some time chatting with the hosts who were back from the UK for a short break. The original plan was to stay from 3:30p.m until 5:30p.m, but the fact that we only reached the place at 5:25p.m, all our plans had gone haywire lah kan? (Mu*ni, if you're reading this, nanti kita catch up later this week, okay?)
Ayah and I had a wedding to go to in Shah Alam that night, and we knew that we had to leave Kajang by 6:30p.m the latest to go back to SD and get ready for the wedding. And of course, there was that final open house/birthday do at Ibu's place in Rawang which we would be going to after that. Logistically, memang sakit badan lah we all, if we were to go back to SD after the wedding to fetch the kids to go to Ibu's. And the kids would miss out on most of the birthday party.
So, tukar strategy. Nasib baik Sh*dy and On*ir (Mr and Mrs Engineer) were also at the Kajang Open House, and as they were also going to Rawang that night, we decided to deposit our kids so that they could follow their Uncle Sh*dy and Aunty On*ir to the birthday do first, while Mommy and Ayah gi makan khenduri. Luckily we had all their spare clothes with us in the car, maka bermulalah sesi mengeluarkan beg-beg baju from our car to be brought by Hanna to their car :)
Ayah and I left Kajang at about 6:40p.m and reached home just after 7:00p.m. We got ready for the wedding, solat Maghrib, etc, and only left the house at 7:55p.m (and the wedding was supposed to start at 8:00p.m!). Satu hal lah pulak coz' we were not sure where Kelab Golf SAAS was, and with a bit of sesat larat, we only reached the place at 8:30p.m! Pengantin dah dok bersanding kat pelamin!
Luckily, it was a free and easy buffet style wedding, and our tardiness was unnoticed as people were going in and out of the hall going to the buffet stations. We stayed on until 9:40p.m, after which we had to leave as Ayah was again called to the hospital. We reached TMC just after 10:00p.m and Ayah had to review his patients at the ICU, and we only left for Rawang at about 10:40p.m.
Sampai ajer Rawang, Ayah just had to catch up on his sleep. Remember? He had not slept at all since the time he woke up on Friday morning because he was working on his article,on top of his usual hospital routine, right? Meaning at that point in time, he had not slept for over 40 hours! He went up to the room (which is one of the rooms at Ibu's reserved for MT members for out late nights in Rawang. Hehehe!), while the kids continued with the party funs, and the Mommies engaged in meaningful activities - basically borak-borak and kraoke-ing :)
By 2:30a.m, everybody decided to call it the night, and one by one of Ibu's guests started to bid good night. And we thought that we should also make our way home. I went to wake Ayah's up, and I had a tough time to make him open his eyes!! He was really catching up with the last 2 nights sleep which he didn't get. So, finally, we decided to just stay the night at Ibu's... (Errrr, macam tak biasa, kan?! Hahaha!) Again, nasib baik ada spare clothes for everybody in the car. And as always, Ibu being such an efficient host was always ready with all the spare toothbrushes and items yang sewaktu dengannya. Hehehe!
The next day, we left Rawang just before noon - but not before being fed with some Yummylicious Nasi Lemak cooked by Ibu's Bibik - siap dengan Sambal Kerang and Sambal Udang, Ayam Goreng, Ikan Kering Bulu Ayam, etc! (Mana lah nak kurus, kan?!)
Thank you so much for having us over, and being such lovely hosts, Ibu and Mr. Ibu... ;)
We reached home at 12:30p.m, and Ayah had to again go to the hospital at about 2:00p.m. We were planning to go to a khenduri do'a selamat-cum-Raya open house at Bukit Jelutong which was supposed to be from 1:30p.m until 5:00p.m, after which we had planned to go to our BJ house to do some cleaning and mopping and have our shower, and then go out for dinner around there like we normally would do.
However, by 4:30p.m, when Ayah was still not back, I SMSd to the host to apologize and tell her that we would not be able to go to her do. I asked the kids to change (from their Baju Kurung, etc, to some casuals) and help themselves to the Macaroni Goreng I fried earlier. She immediatly called and said that we could still go, even later as they were still receiving guests at that time. Even then, I still tak berani nak janji coz' I wasn't sure when exactly Ayah would be home.
Ayah FINALLY came back at 5:05p.m, and the kids were asked to change back to their Baju Kurung, etc, after which they were bundled into the car, and we headed to BJ. We reached our friend's place at 5:25p.m and met some other friends there and caught up with them over some delicious Briayani spread.
We left our friend's place at 6:30p.m and headed to our BJ house and Bibik Dar and I started to sweep and mop the floors, while Ayah and the kids took their shower, etc. We were done by about 8:30p.m, but instead of going out for dinner, we decided to go to my brother's new place (also in BJ - at Tr*pi*a), and ended up staying there until about 10:50p.m.
We reached home at 11:15p.m and by then, everybody was like kain buruk already...
And I was gone to the world as soon as my head hit the pillow, and only woke up at 6:00a.m this morning...
And it's already Monday...
Sigh.
:(
It started on Friday night when Ayah had to work late to meet the dateline to submit his MM article to the editor. Ayah knew that he would be very late, but he wasn't sure as to when exactly he would be coming home that night. So, the kids and I decided to have our dinner at One-U, and then tapau some for Ayah and join him at the hospital like we would sometimes do on Friday nights.
Our first stop was MPH as we had to get some workbooks for the kids to practice in preparation for their Final Exam this Friday. But, seperti biasa we ended buying books which were not in our original list lah kan... Anyway, after MPH we decided to have dinner at TCRS, after which we left One-U to join Ayah at the hospital, with some tapau-ed chicken rice for him. Mind you, it was already 10:15p.m, and he had not had his dinner yet, and his lunch was taken after solat Jumaat earlier that day.
We reached Ayah's office at about 10:30p.m, and he was still working on the article. Every now and then his focus would be disrupted when he would be called to the ward and/or ICU to attend to his patients. The kids and I decided to just do our own things as we did not want to disturb Ayah.
We would normally go home separately in our own cars after our Friday visits to Ayah's office, when the kids would choose who they would want to follow in the 15 minutes journey back to SD, and we thought that night would be the same, too.
However, by 12:00a.m, Ayah was still with his patients, and his article was not even halfway done yet! I thought of just driving back home with the kids first, but, Ayah was not keen on the idea of me driving alone with the kids at that hour. So, we decided to just take a short nap while waiting for Ayah to finish his article. He was not keen to bring his work back as he knew that if once he was home, he would be tempted to sleep, and he could not afford that to happen!
Anyway, our short nap in Ayah's office turned out to be an overnight stay when I woke up the next morning at 6:00a.m! I saw Ayah still working on his article, and the kids were occupying different parts of his room - sound asleep. Hilman was sleeping on the patient's bed, and Hanna and Hasya were sleeping on the L-shaped sofa where I was also sleeping on earlier.
Ayah finally finished writing his article at about 8:00a.m, after which he had to do his ward-round, while I struggled to wake the kids up! Syok sangat tido kat Ayah's office, kot? :) Anyway, the kids and I just washed our faces, and luckily Ayah had some Listerine stocked in his office. We brushed our hair - trying our best to look fresh - like we already had our shower, etc, but of course, our wrinkled clothes actually gave everything away... Hehehe!
Ayah has his own toiletries, towels and some change of clothes in his office for days like this, and he managed to shower before we decided to have that rare breakfast together at the Cafeteria, before he had to go see his patients at another hospital in Puchong. Thank God, it was a public holiday on Saturday and there were not many people at the Cafeteria :)We finished our breakfast at 10:00a.m, after which we went our separate ways, with the kids and I going back to SD.
The plan for Saturday was "Open Houses Marathon" from 12:00p.m until late at night. We had 4 open houses and 1 wedding to go to, and we had to strategize so that we could go to each in good time.
We knew that it was going to be a mad rush as we were planning to go to Section 14 (PJ) - Damansara Heights - Kajang - Shah Alam - Rawang within 8 hours, with the hope of reaching our last destination by 10:00p.m. So, we had packed some spare clothes, especially for the kids, just in case we needed to change mid-way through the marathon.
Ayah came back from Puchong at 11:50a.m, and we left the house at 12:20p.m, reaching the first house in PJ at 12:45p.m. We left at about 1:50p.m and made our way to the second house in Damansara Heights for a Deepavali do. And just as we were leaving for our third house at 2:50p.m, Ayah received a call from the hospital, and he had to rush back. And of course, seperti biasa di dalam kes-kes sebegini, WE also had to rush and tag along with him.
The kids and I waited in Ayah's office while he attended to his patient. A half hour wait ended being a 2 hour wait, and we only left for our third open House in Kajang at 5:00p.m! We reached Kajang at 5:25p.m, and spent quite some time chatting with the hosts who were back from the UK for a short break. The original plan was to stay from 3:30p.m until 5:30p.m, but the fact that we only reached the place at 5:25p.m, all our plans had gone haywire lah kan? (Mu*ni, if you're reading this, nanti kita catch up later this week, okay?)
Ayah and I had a wedding to go to in Shah Alam that night, and we knew that we had to leave Kajang by 6:30p.m the latest to go back to SD and get ready for the wedding. And of course, there was that final open house/birthday do at Ibu's place in Rawang which we would be going to after that. Logistically, memang sakit badan lah we all, if we were to go back to SD after the wedding to fetch the kids to go to Ibu's. And the kids would miss out on most of the birthday party.
So, tukar strategy. Nasib baik Sh*dy and On*ir (Mr and Mrs Engineer) were also at the Kajang Open House, and as they were also going to Rawang that night, we decided to deposit our kids so that they could follow their Uncle Sh*dy and Aunty On*ir to the birthday do first, while Mommy and Ayah gi makan khenduri. Luckily we had all their spare clothes with us in the car, maka bermulalah sesi mengeluarkan beg-beg baju from our car to be brought by Hanna to their car :)
Ayah and I left Kajang at about 6:40p.m and reached home just after 7:00p.m. We got ready for the wedding, solat Maghrib, etc, and only left the house at 7:55p.m (and the wedding was supposed to start at 8:00p.m!). Satu hal lah pulak coz' we were not sure where Kelab Golf SAAS was, and with a bit of sesat larat, we only reached the place at 8:30p.m! Pengantin dah dok bersanding kat pelamin!
Luckily, it was a free and easy buffet style wedding, and our tardiness was unnoticed as people were going in and out of the hall going to the buffet stations. We stayed on until 9:40p.m, after which we had to leave as Ayah was again called to the hospital. We reached TMC just after 10:00p.m and Ayah had to review his patients at the ICU, and we only left for Rawang at about 10:40p.m.
Sampai ajer Rawang, Ayah just had to catch up on his sleep. Remember? He had not slept at all since the time he woke up on Friday morning because he was working on his article,on top of his usual hospital routine, right? Meaning at that point in time, he had not slept for over 40 hours! He went up to the room (which is one of the rooms at Ibu's reserved for MT members for out late nights in Rawang. Hehehe!), while the kids continued with the party funs, and the Mommies engaged in meaningful activities - basically borak-borak and kraoke-ing :)
By 2:30a.m, everybody decided to call it the night, and one by one of Ibu's guests started to bid good night. And we thought that we should also make our way home. I went to wake Ayah's up, and I had a tough time to make him open his eyes!! He was really catching up with the last 2 nights sleep which he didn't get. So, finally, we decided to just stay the night at Ibu's... (Errrr, macam tak biasa, kan?! Hahaha!) Again, nasib baik ada spare clothes for everybody in the car. And as always, Ibu being such an efficient host was always ready with all the spare toothbrushes and items yang sewaktu dengannya. Hehehe!
The next day, we left Rawang just before noon - but not before being fed with some Yummylicious Nasi Lemak cooked by Ibu's Bibik - siap dengan Sambal Kerang and Sambal Udang, Ayam Goreng, Ikan Kering Bulu Ayam, etc! (Mana lah nak kurus, kan?!)
Thank you so much for having us over, and being such lovely hosts, Ibu and Mr. Ibu... ;)
We reached home at 12:30p.m, and Ayah had to again go to the hospital at about 2:00p.m. We were planning to go to a khenduri do'a selamat-cum-Raya open house at Bukit Jelutong which was supposed to be from 1:30p.m until 5:00p.m, after which we had planned to go to our BJ house to do some cleaning and mopping and have our shower, and then go out for dinner around there like we normally would do.
However, by 4:30p.m, when Ayah was still not back, I SMSd to the host to apologize and tell her that we would not be able to go to her do. I asked the kids to change (from their Baju Kurung, etc, to some casuals) and help themselves to the Macaroni Goreng I fried earlier. She immediatly called and said that we could still go, even later as they were still receiving guests at that time. Even then, I still tak berani nak janji coz' I wasn't sure when exactly Ayah would be home.
Ayah FINALLY came back at 5:05p.m, and the kids were asked to change back to their Baju Kurung, etc, after which they were bundled into the car, and we headed to BJ. We reached our friend's place at 5:25p.m and met some other friends there and caught up with them over some delicious Briayani spread.
We left our friend's place at 6:30p.m and headed to our BJ house and Bibik Dar and I started to sweep and mop the floors, while Ayah and the kids took their shower, etc. We were done by about 8:30p.m, but instead of going out for dinner, we decided to go to my brother's new place (also in BJ - at Tr*pi*a), and ended up staying there until about 10:50p.m.
We reached home at 11:15p.m and by then, everybody was like kain buruk already...
And I was gone to the world as soon as my head hit the pillow, and only woke up at 6:00a.m this morning...
And it's already Monday...
Sigh.
:(
Friday, October 16, 2009
No visuals! No audio! Please!!!
Please, I hope nobody will be offended by me writing this. Just to share :)
Ayah and I are quite open when it comes to showing our affections to each other in front of the kids. But, of course within limits lah, kan? Hehehe...And of course, when we're at home lah kan? :)
Just the normal hugs, a peck on the cheeks, a brushing kiss on the lips, etc. You know, the usual normal things which you would do naturally, without having to think about it to do it. On reflex.
The kids are so used to these as we've been doing this sejak azali lagi. And I guess they see it as a normal thing for their Ayah and Mommy to do this, and also for other married couples to do the same.
Some may not agree with me, but, I do believe that it is okay for kids to see their Moms and Dads show their love openly, as this exudes warmth, love, respect and happiness in the family which I think is very important for their growth and development. Happy thoughts in children really can do wonders, especially to their psychological development which will determine how well these kids will do in life later.
But, we don't really see this as a norm in our society. Which is a shame.
Anyway, yesterday was just like any other day, except that Ayah came back earlier than usual. Hasya was in the living room with me then. I greeted Ayah at the door when he came in. We hugged, and we kissed lightly before walking to the sofa.
Hasya, who all those time was sitting on the sofa and observing us, suddenly said -
"Ohhh, Mommy!! Ayah!! Please...NO VISUALS, please!! NO VISUALS! And NO AUDIO, too, please!!!"
Ayah and I just looked at each other, trying to figure out what it was that she was talking about, and realizing that she was referring to the light kiss we had earlier, both Ayah and I just had to gelak besar after that!
What?! No visuals?!! No audio??!! What??!
Why the sudden change in her reaction to all the "openness" thingy, ya? (Have to ask her about this nanti!)
And of course, Ayah responded by hugging (or rather - squeezing her) and giving her a big kiss on her cheeks - with AUDIO set at full volume!
"MMMMUUUAAAAAAHHHSSS!!!"
Much to Hasya's annoyance, of course!
LOL!!!
:)
Ayah and I are quite open when it comes to showing our affections to each other in front of the kids. But, of course within limits lah, kan? Hehehe...And of course, when we're at home lah kan? :)
Just the normal hugs, a peck on the cheeks, a brushing kiss on the lips, etc. You know, the usual normal things which you would do naturally, without having to think about it to do it. On reflex.
The kids are so used to these as we've been doing this sejak azali lagi. And I guess they see it as a normal thing for their Ayah and Mommy to do this, and also for other married couples to do the same.
Some may not agree with me, but, I do believe that it is okay for kids to see their Moms and Dads show their love openly, as this exudes warmth, love, respect and happiness in the family which I think is very important for their growth and development. Happy thoughts in children really can do wonders, especially to their psychological development which will determine how well these kids will do in life later.
But, we don't really see this as a norm in our society. Which is a shame.
Anyway, yesterday was just like any other day, except that Ayah came back earlier than usual. Hasya was in the living room with me then. I greeted Ayah at the door when he came in. We hugged, and we kissed lightly before walking to the sofa.
Hasya, who all those time was sitting on the sofa and observing us, suddenly said -
"Ohhh, Mommy!! Ayah!! Please...NO VISUALS, please!! NO VISUALS! And NO AUDIO, too, please!!!"
Ayah and I just looked at each other, trying to figure out what it was that she was talking about, and realizing that she was referring to the light kiss we had earlier, both Ayah and I just had to gelak besar after that!
What?! No visuals?!! No audio??!! What??!
Why the sudden change in her reaction to all the "openness" thingy, ya? (Have to ask her about this nanti!)
And of course, Ayah responded by hugging (or rather - squeezing her) and giving her a big kiss on her cheeks - with AUDIO set at full volume!
"MMMMUUUAAAAAAHHHSSS!!!"
Much to Hasya's annoyance, of course!
LOL!!!
:)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thank You, ALLAH, for the dawns and the dusks...
It's 1:54a.m, and I'm finding it hard to sleep.
Even the cool air of the aircond is not helping.
I have a full day today. I have classes from 9:00a.m until 12:00pm, 2:00pm until 3:00p.m and 4:00p.m until 5:00p.m. I desperately need to sleep, unless I don't mind my students seeing me sleeping in class today!
And as always, when I can't sleep, the deafening silence of the night would make me reflect and remember the things I've done or said, and the things others have done and said which have been there at the back of my mind, waiting for a night like this to knock on my head again.
And tonight, I remembered a conversation I had with Hilman last week.
We were on our way home to SD and I was driving along the normal route we would take from the school, and as we were approaching the flyover besides the Bukit Kiara Cemetary, Hilman asked me,
Hilman : Mommy, when is dusk and dawn? What's the difference?
(Can't blame him - I think I got confused between those two, too, when I was his age :))
Me : Dawn is when the sun rises, and dusk is when the sun sets. Solat subuh masa dawn, and solat Maghrib masa dusk.
Hilman : Ohhhh, okay? What is your favourite time of the day, Mommy?
Me : Hmmmm, I don't know. I don't have any favourite times. They're all the same kot? But, I love it when it rains, and then it stops, and the sun comes out again - especially in the late afternoon. It feels so fresh and nice. Why do you ask?
Hilman : Errrrr, nothing.
He was silent for about 10 seconds, and then he said -
Hilman : My favourite time is dusk, Mommy - because that's when you can see all the beautiful clouds in the sky...
I looked at him and I saw him staring at the vermillion sky in front of us - his eyes fixed on the clouds above the skyline.
And just then, it dawned on me just how long it had been since the last time I sat down, and appreciated, and I mean REALLY APPRECIATED the fact that I had woken up at the dawn of a new day, and had been given the chance to live through that day to see the sun sets at dusk, EVERYDAY for every single day of my life until now. And not just appreciating the colours they bring with them. But,even more so, to have been given the chance to share those days with those who matter most in my life.
Thank You, ALLAH, for giving life to me, and to my loved ones...
Thank you, ALLAH, for still giving us our dawns and our dusks...to live another new day, every day...
Even the cool air of the aircond is not helping.
I have a full day today. I have classes from 9:00a.m until 12:00pm, 2:00pm until 3:00p.m and 4:00p.m until 5:00p.m. I desperately need to sleep, unless I don't mind my students seeing me sleeping in class today!
And as always, when I can't sleep, the deafening silence of the night would make me reflect and remember the things I've done or said, and the things others have done and said which have been there at the back of my mind, waiting for a night like this to knock on my head again.
And tonight, I remembered a conversation I had with Hilman last week.
We were on our way home to SD and I was driving along the normal route we would take from the school, and as we were approaching the flyover besides the Bukit Kiara Cemetary, Hilman asked me,
Hilman : Mommy, when is dusk and dawn? What's the difference?
(Can't blame him - I think I got confused between those two, too, when I was his age :))
Me : Dawn is when the sun rises, and dusk is when the sun sets. Solat subuh masa dawn, and solat Maghrib masa dusk.
Hilman : Ohhhh, okay? What is your favourite time of the day, Mommy?
Me : Hmmmm, I don't know. I don't have any favourite times. They're all the same kot? But, I love it when it rains, and then it stops, and the sun comes out again - especially in the late afternoon. It feels so fresh and nice. Why do you ask?
Hilman : Errrrr, nothing.
He was silent for about 10 seconds, and then he said -
Hilman : My favourite time is dusk, Mommy - because that's when you can see all the beautiful clouds in the sky...
I looked at him and I saw him staring at the vermillion sky in front of us - his eyes fixed on the clouds above the skyline.
And just then, it dawned on me just how long it had been since the last time I sat down, and appreciated, and I mean REALLY APPRECIATED the fact that I had woken up at the dawn of a new day, and had been given the chance to live through that day to see the sun sets at dusk, EVERYDAY for every single day of my life until now. And not just appreciating the colours they bring with them. But,even more so, to have been given the chance to share those days with those who matter most in my life.
Thank You, ALLAH, for giving life to me, and to my loved ones...
Thank you, ALLAH, for still giving us our dawns and our dusks...to live another new day, every day...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Ada satu cerita kelakar...
Tapi, I tak tau nak gelak ker...or nak nangis...
Ayah and I had a wedding invitation yesterday. It was a reception for the son of my colleague at the Faculty - Prof Fa*zi, and his wife Dr. Fa*i*ah. It was to be held at Gr*nd Bl*e Wa*e, Shah Alam.
I went to get the wedding present on Saturday while waiting for Hanna to finish her guitar lesson at One-U. Jenuh jugak lah nak memilih the present because nearly all of the items which I berkenan semua dah out of stock. They should have tagged on the display items that only the display items were left lah kan? I think I asked for about 8 items, before they finally had one in stock. Wasting my time only!
Anyway, I had chosen our Bajus to wear for the wedding - sedondon, etc. Had asked Dar to iron them nicely, together with a matching samping for Ayah and tudung for me. I later had to go through my accessories collection to find a matching clutch handbag, and later asked the girls to find a matching pair of shoes to go with it. Finally, I took out some bling-bling to be worn to the wedding. By 3p.m all the bajus had been ironed, and Ayah's songkok had also been brushed.
I decided to cook Honeyed Chicken Casserole for the kids' dinner. Ye lah kan? Ayah and Mommy nak makan khenduri, takkan anak-anak mak makan Maggi ajer kat rumah, kan? Dinner was ready by 5:30p.m.
Ayah came back from the hospital just before 7:00p.m, and we left for the wedding at 7:40p.m. We reached GBW at 8:05p.m and was amazed when we actually found a parking slot in no time at all. Ayah and I joked - hmmmmm, maybe we were the only guests at the wedding because everybody else was busy waiting for the by-election results in Teluk Kemang. Hehehe!
We went up the lift to the 2nd Floor where the Grand Ballroom is, with the wedding present in our hands, and as we walked out of the lift, it suddenly dawned to us if we had got the date of the wedding wrong. It was eerily very quiet. Too quiet for a wedding. We walked towards the Grand Ballroom, and saw a group of workers clearing up the tables and stuff there.
I stopped in my stride, while Ayah continued to walk straight to one of the staff there and asked if there was any wedding reception in another Hall at the hotel, and the staff said 'Nope'. She then asked Ayah the name of the hosts and when Ayah gave the name, this was what she said -
"OOooohhh... Dr Fa*i*ah punya function buat petang tadi. Dia buat Hi-Tea from 2:30 sampai 6 petang tadi!"
And at that point in time how I wished the floor under me would just open up and swallow me - all of me, together with my matching handbag and shoes, tudung, and bling-blings!
It was just SO EMBARASSING, okay?!
We got the date right. We got the venue right. But, we got the time wrong!!
But, Ayah being Ayah, dia selamba ajer tanya -
"Oh, ye ke? Hmmmm, You tau tak, if there's any wedding tonight which we can go to? Alang-alang dah pakai Baju Melayu ni. Boleh jugak we all bagi hadiah ni kat they all..."
And I was like ???!!!
We walked back to the lift, went down to the basement parking, and Ayah called Prof Fa*zi to explain and apologize to him for not going to the wedding that afternoon. After which, we got into the car, and we started laughing!!!
Only Haizal and Shana are capable of doing these things, you all!!
Anyway, on the way back we started to come out with names of eating places to go to for our dinner, and we decided that it had to be a place which serves dishes similar to Nasi Khenduri as we, or rather I, had already set our minds to makan Nasi Khenduri that night.
And we settled for d'Ta*do*r in Damansara Utama.
But before we went out of the car, we obviously had to dress down lah kan? Giler apa nak masuk d'Ta*do*r with what we were wearing, kan?
So, Ayah took out his songkok and samping, unbutton a few of his butang Baju Melayu, sengseng lengan baju (biar nampak macho lah kan?),and changed to his chapal which fortunately were in his car.
As for me - I couldn't do much dressing down, except to take off my bling-blings. And I just couldn't bring myself to carry my clutch bag yang glamour giler to d'Ta*do*r. So, I kept my jewelleries in it, put it under the car seat, and berdo'a that nobody would take them, and lenggang masuk the restaurant.
We ordered Pilau Race and Garlic Naan, Chicken Jalfrezi, Mutton Roghan Josh and some Brinjal dish and some Mango Lassi. The Poppadums were complimentary. Kira okay lah tu...Lebih kurang macam Nasi Khenduri lah tu! HAHAHAHAHA!
We finished our dinner at 9:45p.m and headed back to Sri Damansara and reached home at 10:00p.m.
The kids were still up.
And barely a minute after we went in, Hilman asked -
"Ayah, you have not given the present yet?! Why?"
Hmmmm...That's what you get when you have a very observant child in the house.
And we ended up having to tell the kids our embarassing story...
The moral of the story, you guys -
(i) When you get an invitation, make sure you read it properly, and don't just assume that just because it is a Malay Wedding held at a hotel somewhere, it would be a sitting down dinner reception.
(ii) Make sure BOTH you and hubby read the invitation from A to Z, and put a reminder in BOTH your phone Calendar/Schedule. And of course, make sure that ALL the details are CORRECT.
(iii) Do not misplace the invitation card (like we did!). It'll do you good to CHECK it again a day BEFORE the function/event.
(iv) Make sure you have spare casual shoes/attires in your car, or you might end up having dinner at Kayu dressed macam nak gi meminang anak raja...
Ayah and I had a wedding invitation yesterday. It was a reception for the son of my colleague at the Faculty - Prof Fa*zi, and his wife Dr. Fa*i*ah. It was to be held at Gr*nd Bl*e Wa*e, Shah Alam.
I went to get the wedding present on Saturday while waiting for Hanna to finish her guitar lesson at One-U. Jenuh jugak lah nak memilih the present because nearly all of the items which I berkenan semua dah out of stock. They should have tagged on the display items that only the display items were left lah kan? I think I asked for about 8 items, before they finally had one in stock. Wasting my time only!
Anyway, I had chosen our Bajus to wear for the wedding - sedondon, etc. Had asked Dar to iron them nicely, together with a matching samping for Ayah and tudung for me. I later had to go through my accessories collection to find a matching clutch handbag, and later asked the girls to find a matching pair of shoes to go with it. Finally, I took out some bling-bling to be worn to the wedding. By 3p.m all the bajus had been ironed, and Ayah's songkok had also been brushed.
I decided to cook Honeyed Chicken Casserole for the kids' dinner. Ye lah kan? Ayah and Mommy nak makan khenduri, takkan anak-anak mak makan Maggi ajer kat rumah, kan? Dinner was ready by 5:30p.m.
Ayah came back from the hospital just before 7:00p.m, and we left for the wedding at 7:40p.m. We reached GBW at 8:05p.m and was amazed when we actually found a parking slot in no time at all. Ayah and I joked - hmmmmm, maybe we were the only guests at the wedding because everybody else was busy waiting for the by-election results in Teluk Kemang. Hehehe!
We went up the lift to the 2nd Floor where the Grand Ballroom is, with the wedding present in our hands, and as we walked out of the lift, it suddenly dawned to us if we had got the date of the wedding wrong. It was eerily very quiet. Too quiet for a wedding. We walked towards the Grand Ballroom, and saw a group of workers clearing up the tables and stuff there.
I stopped in my stride, while Ayah continued to walk straight to one of the staff there and asked if there was any wedding reception in another Hall at the hotel, and the staff said 'Nope'. She then asked Ayah the name of the hosts and when Ayah gave the name, this was what she said -
"OOooohhh... Dr Fa*i*ah punya function buat petang tadi. Dia buat Hi-Tea from 2:30 sampai 6 petang tadi!"
And at that point in time how I wished the floor under me would just open up and swallow me - all of me, together with my matching handbag and shoes, tudung, and bling-blings!
It was just SO EMBARASSING, okay?!
We got the date right. We got the venue right. But, we got the time wrong!!
But, Ayah being Ayah, dia selamba ajer tanya -
"Oh, ye ke? Hmmmm, You tau tak, if there's any wedding tonight which we can go to? Alang-alang dah pakai Baju Melayu ni. Boleh jugak we all bagi hadiah ni kat they all..."
And I was like ???!!!
We walked back to the lift, went down to the basement parking, and Ayah called Prof Fa*zi to explain and apologize to him for not going to the wedding that afternoon. After which, we got into the car, and we started laughing!!!
Only Haizal and Shana are capable of doing these things, you all!!
Anyway, on the way back we started to come out with names of eating places to go to for our dinner, and we decided that it had to be a place which serves dishes similar to Nasi Khenduri as we, or rather I, had already set our minds to makan Nasi Khenduri that night.
And we settled for d'Ta*do*r in Damansara Utama.
But before we went out of the car, we obviously had to dress down lah kan? Giler apa nak masuk d'Ta*do*r with what we were wearing, kan?
So, Ayah took out his songkok and samping, unbutton a few of his butang Baju Melayu, sengseng lengan baju (biar nampak macho lah kan?),and changed to his chapal which fortunately were in his car.
As for me - I couldn't do much dressing down, except to take off my bling-blings. And I just couldn't bring myself to carry my clutch bag yang glamour giler to d'Ta*do*r. So, I kept my jewelleries in it, put it under the car seat, and berdo'a that nobody would take them, and lenggang masuk the restaurant.
We ordered Pilau Race and Garlic Naan, Chicken Jalfrezi, Mutton Roghan Josh and some Brinjal dish and some Mango Lassi. The Poppadums were complimentary. Kira okay lah tu...Lebih kurang macam Nasi Khenduri lah tu! HAHAHAHAHA!
We finished our dinner at 9:45p.m and headed back to Sri Damansara and reached home at 10:00p.m.
The kids were still up.
And barely a minute after we went in, Hilman asked -
"Ayah, you have not given the present yet?! Why?"
Hmmmm...That's what you get when you have a very observant child in the house.
And we ended up having to tell the kids our embarassing story...
The moral of the story, you guys -
(i) When you get an invitation, make sure you read it properly, and don't just assume that just because it is a Malay Wedding held at a hotel somewhere, it would be a sitting down dinner reception.
(ii) Make sure BOTH you and hubby read the invitation from A to Z, and put a reminder in BOTH your phone Calendar/Schedule. And of course, make sure that ALL the details are CORRECT.
(iii) Do not misplace the invitation card (like we did!). It'll do you good to CHECK it again a day BEFORE the function/event.
(iv) Make sure you have spare casual shoes/attires in your car, or you might end up having dinner at Kayu dressed macam nak gi meminang anak raja...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Surat Tunjuk Sebab :)
Hmmmm, we're into our third week of Syawal, and I had not posted anything on our Raya celebration this year. So not me!
Well, life pre, during and post-Raya had been pretty hectic for all of us, me included, and on top of that I have been spending more time on Facebooking than blogging (which I think quite a number of bloggers are guilty of, too!) But, I hope to be able to balance between the two soon, insya Allah.
A summary of what had happened in the last couple of weeks -
The first day of raya, my MIL cooked Lontong and Macaroni Goreng, on top of the usual Lemang, Rendang, Nasi Impit, Satay, etc. While my Mom cooked Mee Rebus, on top of the usuals. And I also cooked some Asam Laksa for both. Malam Raya was spent at my parents' for our last berbuka, after which we went to spend the night at my MIL's. Pagi Raya was spent at my MIL's and we only left for my parents' around 4:00p.m and stayed till late. Everybody was there except for my second brother, Jame who spent his Raya in Taiping as he had to work.
Oh ya, the theme for First Day Raya was Turquoise Blue :) The following days - semua carca marba :)
I lost 2.5kgs during Ramadhan, and gained 1.5kg back in the first week of Syawal. Sedey tau ! :( I'm still trying to make sure that it stays at that, or hopefully go down from now on. I'm on my third day of Puasa qadha' (some say, can also be considered as part of Puasa 6). Thinking of doing a proper Puasa 6 after that. That is IF there's enough time to do that. Syawal dah half-way dah ni...
The whole family is fasting now. Just as how it was last year, I'm very heartened when the kids, especially Hilman and Hasya decided to join us to puasa. Nobody pressured them or anything. They decided to do it on their own accord. And so far, so good. Imaan masih kuat di sekolah even though the temptations must have been great when they see their friends eating and drinking during recess.
We have also been dining out a lot after raya, AND buying food for our meals - the reason being, my MIL's and my SIL's maids (both staying at my MIL's) ran away on first raya! My MIL left the house at 6:15p.m to beraya at her sister's place in Keramat, and by 7:00p.m., when the guard came for duty, he could not get in as there was nobody to open the gate for him! Within 45 minutes - the maids lesap. That was after we gave them 2-3 pasang Baju Raya each and duit raya! Big mistake - with the cash in hand, panjang lah lagi kaki they all :(
Anyway, so, now my Bibik Dar kena kerja lebih sikit coz' kena cover 2 houses. But, my MIL is paying her extra for the extra chores/responsibilities. And everybody in the house chips in to wash the dishes, iron the clothes, sweep and mop the floors, etc. I would help with the cooking if I finish work early. If not, my MIL would just buy lauk dah siap, or we would eat out.
My MIL had a temporary maid last week on Thursday, but decided to send her back to the agent on Monday morning. So many things yang memeningkan kepala and menaikkan darah my MIL. That maid refused to eat leftover rice, and would cook fresh rice for HERSELF every day, and would also serve the DRIVER the fresh rice. BUT she would serve leftover rice to my MIL! Ada kah patut?!
On top of that, she spent more than half of her time eating whatever she could find in the kitchen, in the fridge, in the freezer, etc. She even finished the food meant for the toddler at home, Qadri! And she actually cooked one whole packet of Meehun and ate the whole thing herself for breakfast on Sunday! The whole KUALI of Meehun... Can you beat that? She refused to do other things EXCEPT cook. Even then, she would cook ikut selera dia even though my MIL had taught her how to cook the way the family likes it.
She didn't know how to iron properly, she didn't know how to use the mesin parut kelapa (even though dah diajar a few times), and she refused to cook the fish/chicken/meat which had been in the fridge for more than 4 days. According to her - dah tak sedap! Lawan tokey betul...The majikan tak kisah, pembantu rumah lah pulak yang memilih!!! Tak sakit jiwer kitorang?! Anyway, good riddance - my MIL asked her to pack her bag and sent her to the agent on Monday morning.
Another thing yang memeningkan my kepala, Bibik Dar wants to go back for a 2-month holiday in November, but, I'm trying to persuade her to go back in January 2010 instead. So many things to settle at work year end, and having her around while the kids are on their school holiday would really help ease a lot of things. She's keen to come back and work for another 2 years after that, but, she said she has to ask her husband first...I REALLY hope she'll get the geenlight from her hubby. She has been the best maid we've had so far, and the kids are close to her. We're giving her a substantial raise if she comes back, and we hope that will convince the hubby to let her come back and work with us. Pray for us, please. Thanks! :)
Okay, I guess that's all for now - Surat Tunjuk Sebab why this blog has been idle for a while :)
But, before that, you can click here and here for some of our Raya pics :)
:)
Well, life pre, during and post-Raya had been pretty hectic for all of us, me included, and on top of that I have been spending more time on Facebooking than blogging (which I think quite a number of bloggers are guilty of, too!) But, I hope to be able to balance between the two soon, insya Allah.
A summary of what had happened in the last couple of weeks -
The first day of raya, my MIL cooked Lontong and Macaroni Goreng, on top of the usual Lemang, Rendang, Nasi Impit, Satay, etc. While my Mom cooked Mee Rebus, on top of the usuals. And I also cooked some Asam Laksa for both. Malam Raya was spent at my parents' for our last berbuka, after which we went to spend the night at my MIL's. Pagi Raya was spent at my MIL's and we only left for my parents' around 4:00p.m and stayed till late. Everybody was there except for my second brother, Jame who spent his Raya in Taiping as he had to work.
Oh ya, the theme for First Day Raya was Turquoise Blue :) The following days - semua carca marba :)
I lost 2.5kgs during Ramadhan, and gained 1.5kg back in the first week of Syawal. Sedey tau ! :( I'm still trying to make sure that it stays at that, or hopefully go down from now on. I'm on my third day of Puasa qadha' (some say, can also be considered as part of Puasa 6). Thinking of doing a proper Puasa 6 after that. That is IF there's enough time to do that. Syawal dah half-way dah ni...
The whole family is fasting now. Just as how it was last year, I'm very heartened when the kids, especially Hilman and Hasya decided to join us to puasa. Nobody pressured them or anything. They decided to do it on their own accord. And so far, so good. Imaan masih kuat di sekolah even though the temptations must have been great when they see their friends eating and drinking during recess.
We have also been dining out a lot after raya, AND buying food for our meals - the reason being, my MIL's and my SIL's maids (both staying at my MIL's) ran away on first raya! My MIL left the house at 6:15p.m to beraya at her sister's place in Keramat, and by 7:00p.m., when the guard came for duty, he could not get in as there was nobody to open the gate for him! Within 45 minutes - the maids lesap. That was after we gave them 2-3 pasang Baju Raya each and duit raya! Big mistake - with the cash in hand, panjang lah lagi kaki they all :(
Anyway, so, now my Bibik Dar kena kerja lebih sikit coz' kena cover 2 houses. But, my MIL is paying her extra for the extra chores/responsibilities. And everybody in the house chips in to wash the dishes, iron the clothes, sweep and mop the floors, etc. I would help with the cooking if I finish work early. If not, my MIL would just buy lauk dah siap, or we would eat out.
My MIL had a temporary maid last week on Thursday, but decided to send her back to the agent on Monday morning. So many things yang memeningkan kepala and menaikkan darah my MIL. That maid refused to eat leftover rice, and would cook fresh rice for HERSELF every day, and would also serve the DRIVER the fresh rice. BUT she would serve leftover rice to my MIL! Ada kah patut?!
On top of that, she spent more than half of her time eating whatever she could find in the kitchen, in the fridge, in the freezer, etc. She even finished the food meant for the toddler at home, Qadri! And she actually cooked one whole packet of Meehun and ate the whole thing herself for breakfast on Sunday! The whole KUALI of Meehun... Can you beat that? She refused to do other things EXCEPT cook. Even then, she would cook ikut selera dia even though my MIL had taught her how to cook the way the family likes it.
She didn't know how to iron properly, she didn't know how to use the mesin parut kelapa (even though dah diajar a few times), and she refused to cook the fish/chicken/meat which had been in the fridge for more than 4 days. According to her - dah tak sedap! Lawan tokey betul...The majikan tak kisah, pembantu rumah lah pulak yang memilih!!! Tak sakit jiwer kitorang?! Anyway, good riddance - my MIL asked her to pack her bag and sent her to the agent on Monday morning.
Another thing yang memeningkan my kepala, Bibik Dar wants to go back for a 2-month holiday in November, but, I'm trying to persuade her to go back in January 2010 instead. So many things to settle at work year end, and having her around while the kids are on their school holiday would really help ease a lot of things. She's keen to come back and work for another 2 years after that, but, she said she has to ask her husband first...I REALLY hope she'll get the geenlight from her hubby. She has been the best maid we've had so far, and the kids are close to her. We're giving her a substantial raise if she comes back, and we hope that will convince the hubby to let her come back and work with us. Pray for us, please. Thanks! :)
Okay, I guess that's all for now - Surat Tunjuk Sebab why this blog has been idle for a while :)
But, before that, you can click here and here for some of our Raya pics :)
:)
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