May 2012 until now - in a nutshell

Gosh... The last time I posted an entry here was.... (let me see)... in MAY 2012!

So many things had happened between then and now, and I have to apologize. I don't think I'll be able to give an update on each and every event here.

In a nutshell -

My injuries which I wrote about last year, had not healed as well as I had hoped for, and because of that, Ayah and I decided that I should take unpaid leave throughout the first Semester of 2012/13 Academic Year as I had used up all the Medical Leave I was entitled to for the year. So, in sya Allah I'll resume my duties some time in mid-February this year (Oh dear...I just realized that that's a mere 1 month away jer lagi!!)

Ayah has been pretty busy and has been working extremely hard juggling a few things at a time in addition to his cardiology practice, and syukur alhamdulillah we are starting to see positive results of his endeavors now.

Hanna turned 17 on 17th November 2012 and sat for her SPM at the end of last year, and I pray for her to get the results she hopes for. She has worked hard throughout last year, juggling between her studies and co-curricular commitments within and outside her school, and in sya Allah we do'a to get great news when the results come out in March.

She'll be taking her "practical/on-the-road" driving test tomorrow. (Good Luck, Hanna!) and the plan is for her to start work at one of Ayah's companies next week until June or July this year. She's planning to pursue a 2-year "A" Level Programme at KYUEM Lembah Beringin, after which she hopes to take up Medicine in the UK, in sya Allah. We make do'a for her forecast results to become a reality. Amin...Amin...Amin...in sya Allah.

Hasya turned 13 on 8th April 2012 and has been doing well in KYSM. Academically, she obtained a CGPA of 3.55 in her Final Exam last year (still room for improvement, dear :)) and has been actively involved in co-curricular activities in Kolej. She represented Hussein House in athletics and swimming events and won a string of medals along the way, and represented the district in Chess in MSSMelaka. Apparently she got 17th place in the state for her age category. Not bad for somebody who has never entered any chess competitions before that. She swims under the Kelab Renang Todak of Melaka and is now training hard for MSSMelaka 2013 meet.

Hasya also won the Overall Best Speaker Award in the KYS Junior Debating meet last year (much to our surprise because most of the times at home we could only hear her mumbling... Hehehe...). She has also been selected as one of ten students to represent KYS in a Robotics Championship to be held in the USA in April this year, in sya Allah.

Hilman turned 12 on 10th September 2012, and syukur alhamdulillah, he managed to get 5As for his UPSR. He applied to go to SAS and also to KYS  as Ayah and I decided that Ayah's alma mater in Kuala Kangsar is just too far and will be a bit of an inconvenience to us to regularly visit the kids considering Hasya is down south in Ayer Keroh.

Syukur alhamdulillah, he got offers from both schools. However, in the end we decided to decline the offer from SAS. We feel that it is only fair that he gets the same opportunity his Kak Ngah gets to study in KYS. We also know that this would be the only way for both Hasya and Hilman to grow up together, and be close to each other - in sya Allah forming a special bond between them as they go through Kolej life together. Being products of boarding schools ourselves, both Ayah and I know the risks of boarding school kids being closer to friends than their own siblings, and we hope to avoid that from happening between Hasya and Hilman.

Basically, that was a summary of what has been happening with the family.

Some of you who had been following this blog would probably know that we have been staying with my MIL since April 2011 as she has been having problems getting maids after her maids went MIA in April 2011. The plan was only to move in with her (together with our Bibik Dar who would help around her house) until the new maids arrived. But, alas, a few maids came and went, and none stayed longer than a month each time, and that explains why we are still staying with my MIL until now.

She has one Cambodian maid by the name of Ismah who has been with her for 6 months now, and she's waiting to get a second maid as Ismah will not be able to cope alone taking care of the household if we were to move back to Sri Damansara with Bibik Dar.

However, we feel that we have left our house for far too long now.

Given the fact that Hasya and Hilman are now in Melaka (and only come home once a month), and given the fact that Ayah's youngest nephew, Qadri, has also started primary school this year and is not at home for most part of the day, there is less work to be done around the house, and we feel that, in sya Allah Ismah will be able to cope without Bibik Dar.

And given the fact that our Sri Damansara house is collecting dusts so thick that it needs 8 rounds of mopping when Bibik Dar and I went to clean it up yesterday (and continued today!), and given the fact that all the taps in the house are rusty and faulty and need replacing, and given the fact that almost all of the light bulbs in the house dah terbakar and also need replacing, and given the fact that our sekangkang kera front garden now looks like hutan hujan Tropika, and given the fact that we don't really know what's happening with our Astro as we don't seem to be getting the normal channels we used to get in early 2011, and given the fact that our phone line is also playing tricks on us, hence our wi-fi pun buat hal, we think that it's about time we move back to our own place and take care of things  properly.

So, in sya Allah, next week when all repairs are done and the house is all cleaned up, it'll be "Home Sweet Home" again for us, in sya Allah...

However, there is only one small problem. Ayah has not informed his Mom about this...

* And all I can say is - All the Best, Ayah! Fighting!! :))