Wee hours rambling...

It's 4:25a.m now, and here I am wide awake - for two reasons.

Firstly - Ayah was woken up by a phonecall from Sri Ko*a Medical Centre, Klang just over an hour ago, and he had to leave immediately to attend to an emergency heart attack case. He left within 15 minutes of the call - after taking a quick shower to freshen up and gulping down a mug of Ali Ca*e coffee I made him - as an added measure to make sure he stays wide awake and alert on the road at this hour of the night/morning.

He has brought along his work attire with him, just in case his Klang patient needs an emergency angioplasty which would probably, give and take, take 2 hours to complete, after which it would already be time for Ayah to go to TMC for his ward round and later – clinic.

It has become a norm for Ayah to either come back VERY late and/or being called in the middle of the night to attend to his patients for the past 6 months or so. The reason being - he is now covering four hospitals. On top of TMC where he is a Resident Physician and Cardiologist, he's also a Visiting Consultant at 3 other hospitals - Col*mbi* As*a (Puchong), Ass*nta Hospital (PJ) AND Sri Ko*a MC (Klang). He has also been accredited to practise at Su*way MC, but, as it is, he has his hands full with the said four hospitals and has yet to start his sessions at Su*way.

So, you can just imagine the amount of to-ing and fro-ing he has to do on some days if he has patients to see at ALL four hospitals! It's just like you doing your current job, but, four times more at four different offices spread out at four different locations. Almost everyday.

Attending to his scheduled clinics and ward rounds at these hospitals is not much of a problem, as Zaidy, can drive him around. It's answering to emergency cases like this morning that is making his life topsy turvy now (and my life, too, for that matter!) The calls could lead to him going to Kota Damansara (which is not too bad), or Puchong, or PJ, or even Klang at godforsaken hours, like this morning.

But, Ayah did warn me early last year when he was leaving PP*M to go private that the first couple of years would be hell as he would have to establish himself in the private practice first and get his patients base in a few hospitals as he would not be able to survive just on income coming from one source. And true enough, he has to do just that now.

Syukur alhamdulillah, his earnings since leaving the government hospital has been pretty steady without too much fluctuations between the months, but to guarantee that, he has to work twice as hard as when he was in PP*M. (and as it was, he was already working like 14-18 hours a day then! But, it wasn't too bad then as he was only covering PP*M, and was not running here and there between four hospitals like now!)

The kids and I have gotten so used to Ayah's crazy schedule now, and what little time we have with him would be maximized with whatever family outings we could go on.

It has not been easy for both parties – Ayah, and me and the kids. But, over the years, things have become relatively easi-ER.

I know a lot of people out there are thinking just how on earth does he do that? And, maybe a LOT MORE are probably thinking – “How on earth does she know that his coming home late everyday IS because he’s attending to his patients? How on earth will she know if he is in fact up to no good with some other woman?!”

Well, I don't, and I probably won't know.

I’d be lying if I were to say that these thoughts had never crossed my mind – especially in the early years of being married. Hell, I have to admit that as recent as maybe 5-6 years ago I still had doubts about that!

But, like all couples, we would have our arguments, and more often that not, they were always because of him not spending as much time as I wanted him to with the kids, and me doubting if he was really at work during all those long hours he was not home. Hati perempuan, kan…?

But, Syukur Alhamdulillah… things are so much better in that department now. I guess we grew up… Or rather, I grew up.

I guess, as long as I focus on fulfilling my duties as his wife well, and as long as I bersangka baik with him, and trust him with all my heart, and as long as I appreciate just how hard he’s working to provide for the family, and as long as (and I make sure he does! Hehehe…) he appreciates the sarifices the kids and I also have to make over the years for him, insya Allah, we will be okay. In fact, MORE than okay :)

It is strange, but, I do find our relationship has reached another level whereby there are better understanding and tolerance between us, since Ayah went private, even though as mentioned, he is so, so much busier now.

I now see and focus on how hard he works for the family, rather than on how little time he spends with us. BIG difference there.

And apart from focusing on how hard it was for him to be where he is now, I think Ayah now also focuses on how hard it was for me and the kids to go through life with him not being around for most of the time, and I know that he appreciates that fact.

Experiencing life as a doctor, and even more so, as a cardiologist, AND seeing how it has affected us as a family, Ayah is forever trying to discourage the kids to follow his footsteps. His latest attempt at this was made last weekend when he had to give a talk to a group of students aspiring to become doctors, whereby he had dragged the whole family to listen to his talk which covered his journey to becoming a doctor and what he had to give up along the way until now.

Listening to him that day had made me realize that I should have appreciated him more as a very good and responsible husband and father all these years and should have given him 200% more support than I had given him all this while. I should have given him more credits…

Anyway, I don’t think he did a good job at discouraging the kids to do medicine – cardiology in particular, as I think Hasya is more determined to become a cardiologist now after listening to her Ayah’s talk!

In a way, I guess it is not fair for us to discourage the kids to become doctors, and even more so - cardiologists. So, we have agreed that we will not discourage them, but, at the same time, we will not ACTIVELY encourage them to follow their Ayah’s path. We have gone through the trials and tribulations as a family in medical life conundrums - and we know that not everyone will be able to go through it like we did/do.

However, if Allah SWT has determined their paths to be so, then we as parents will embrace it whole-heartedly, and will support them and their families all the way, insya Allah…

So, THAT was one of the reasons why I’m still wide awake at this hour – being woken up by the emergency call for Ayah at 3:30a.m!

A blessing in disguise, I guess, because I have somehow managed to come up with this entry :)

Now, the SECOND reason why I still can’t go back to sleep is that in less than 5 hours, Hanna will be getting her PMR result!

I’m pretty nervous even though I have every confidence in her, insya Allah…But, Moms, being Moms, we just can’t help feeling the jitters, kan?

Come what may, I know she has worked hard, and I’m very, very, very proud of her.

And as my senior at school, Along Faezah would say, “Usaha sudah, tawakal sudah. And now kita redha with anything that comes our way…”

All the best, my darling Hanna! Mommy and Ayah love you VERY, VERY MUCH! And don’t you ever forget that…

And (after all that was said! :)) even when your PMR results would mean that you probably would get good SPM results, too, insya Allah, and can probably go ahead and pursue medicine after school, do think about it twice (or maybe, three or four times, or more, okay, dear…?) ;)

* By the way, Ayah's MM article for this week can be read here :)

How we spend our time together in the car... :)

One of the things that is common to maidless moms like me is that we could not leave the kids at home whenever we need to run errands outside, for me - especially at night when Zaidy, our driver, has gone home.

For instance, last Tuesday night - I had to send Hanna to her guitar class at OU, and I had to bring both Hasya and Hilman with us even though the class was just going to be for half an hour. And mind you, Hilman was having a slight fever and I would have preferred him to just stay at home and rest, but, NOPE - I still felt safer to angkut all of them sekali with me.

And last night, when I had to fetch Ayah back from the hospital - again, had to angkut everybody with me. Much to the dismay of Hilman and Hasya who were watching the final episode of MONK! And you could see how frustrated they were when we reached home at 10:00p.m and Monk had just ended, and they didn't know how the mystery was solved. Sorry, kids! :(

I even contemplated to bring them with me when I wanted to send the washloads to the laundrette last night, but decided against it as the place is just 3-4 minutes away from the house. So, I made sure I got back home within 12 minutes!

But, one thing I like about all this is that I get to spend more time with them in the car. Something that I've missed since Zaidy started working with us. And I like it even better when every now and then Ayah would also use the driver and not drive to work, and I would have to fetch him from the hospital when he's done. Like last night. The conversations in the car can be quite interesting and amusing when all of us are together :)

For instance -

Ayah : So*ha*dy (his doctor friend at work) has been promoting this game to me to be uploaded to my phone, It's called "Mo*ste*s and Pl*nts. But, you have to pay for it laaa...(FYI, Ayah and I only upload FREE stuff ajer so far :))

Me : What does it do? I mean, how do you play it?

Ayah : Apparently it's quite clever and interesting - the monsters will attack you, and you have to defend yourself by planting trees/plants around your house, and the trees will have all the ammunitions, like seeds and all for you to shoot the monsters with.

Me : And what do the monsters do?

Ayah : Oh they have several ways of penetrating into your defence - they can use polevaults, and....

And just at this point, Hanna butted in.

Hanna : Oh God, Ayah...Don't tell me that these are the things you and Uncle So*ha*dy talk about when you see each other at the hospital, please...(eyes rolling...)

LOL!!!

Another conversation -

We were using the jalan belakang Sungei Buloh to go back from TMC to Sri Damansara last night, when Hilman saw the sign to go to Kuala Selangor, and he started asking -

Hilman : Mommy what other "Kualas" are there in Malaysia?

Hasya : There's Kuala Lumpur.

Me : Kuala Lipis, Kuala Kedah...

Hasya : Oh yes, Ayah's school - MC*K, in Kuala Kangsar.

There was about a 10 seconds silence, when suddenly, out of nowhere -

Ayah : Kuala Bear...

And the kids just started laughing uncontrollably!

I know...I know...it was quite a LAME joke ("What do you expect from Ayah?" - the kids would say) but, the kids laughter was just contagious and all of us just started laughing! :)

Another one -

Hanna was just sharing with us some of the lame jokes she and her friends had come up with at school using their fingers and thumbs.

Hanna : If this is a "spear" (and she held up her index finger), what is this? (And she started moving the finger vigorusly to the left and right)

Us : Hmmmm...Dunno?

Hanna : SHAKEspear...

LOL!!!

Hanna : Okay, okay...If this is a "lighter" (and she held up her right thumb), what is this? (And she started bringing the thumb up above her head).

Us : Dunno? (Obviously we just didn't want to think too much knowing how lame the answer was going to be!)

Hanna : HIGHlighter... :)

Hehehehe! :)

And she continued -

Hanna : Oh ya! Oh ya! Another one! Another one!

Us : Okay... (?)

Hanna : If these are your thumbs (And she held both thumbs up), what is this? (And she started moving her thumbs up and down alternately)

Me : ThumbDRIVE!!!

Hanna : LOL!!! Yup!!

And then Ayah exclaimed excitedly -

Ayah : Okay, okay! I have one! I have one!

Kids : Oh no!!...(eyes rolling...) (LOL!)

Ayah : If this is Hanna (and he put his index finger in front of us - and at this point the kids had started giggling already!), what is this?(And he slowly raised the finger up above his head)

Hanna : Oh Ayah...puhleeeaaazzz?!

None of us could give any answers!

Ayah : Give up? Give up?!

Kids : WHAT is that, Ayah?!!

Ayah - giving his victorious look as nobody could figure it out, then came out with this -

Ayah : Hanna SO HIGH LAAA.... *

Us : AYAH!!! THAT IS SO LAME!!!!

But, we ended up laughing bagai nak rak anyway. NOT so much because we thought the joke was funny, but, more because of how lame the joke was!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Aaaahhh...I love spending time with the family in the car... :)

* For those who didn't know - Hanna's full name is Hanna SUHAILA ;)

Naik bukit, turun bukit...

It's 1:14a.m, Sunday 13th December 2009 - and the kids and I are still awake in our room at Aw*na Hotel, Genting.

Ayah, meanwhile is down in KL. He turun bukit a few hours ago as he was attending MC*BA's Dinner at Is*ana Hotel, and I asked him not to naik bukit balik tonight, but instead sleep at home. I just didn't want him to drive up back here alone. Not when he's not that familiar with the roads and all. Anyway, he has decided to sleep at the Hospital instead as he has some work to finish there. He knows that if he were to go back home, he would be sleeping instead :) Anyway, he should be back here again first thing tomorrow morning, insya Allah.

We checked in at the hotel on Thursday afternoon. Ayah has a Cardio meeting/conference and it will only end at 1:00p.m today. Nasib baik they only have half-day sessions in the morning ajer, so for the last two afternoons, we've been going on the rides at Genting Theme Park. Syukur alhamdulillah the weather has been really nice.

The kids have really enjoyed themselves especially Hasya and Hilman because this time around they could go on most of the rides. The last time we were here they were not tall enough for some of the thrill-rides. In fact, on the second day they actually went on some of the rides again. Me, I only went on 5 rides - itupun I had my eyes closed during most of them. Hehehe! I memang penakut...(tapi teringin jugak nak naik!)

Insya Allah we will be going back to KL tomorrow afternoon. IF Ayah larat, after checking out we will be going up again and lepak-lepak at First World Plaza, etc. If Ayah tak larat, we'll probably lepak kat OU jer. See la how it goes nanti.

Anyway, here are some jokes from Ayah sempena our Genting trip ni -

JOKE 1

Just as we were approaching Aw*na Hotel and as the kids saw the signboard, they shouted -

Kids : Ayah! AW*NA!!!

To which ayah answered - "You wanna what?!"

Me : Errrr...?


JOKE 2


As we were driving up, we decided to open the car windows and breathe in the cool fresh air.

And just as the cool air came through into the car, Ayah said -

"Hmmmmmm...The Late Lim Goh Tong was SOOOOO rich he actually installed AIRCOND through the whole of Genting Highlands!"

To which the girls responded, "Ya Allah... Ayah, punya ler lame your joke..."

Me : (SETUJU....)

HAHAHAHA!

P/S : And Ayah, if you're reading this tonight (instead of doing your work!), I just want to say "I Miss You..." :(

This and that, and everything in between...

"Hmmmmm....I can't remember when was the last weekend I was NOT busy..."

Ayah suddenly said to me last night while organizing his notebook before he started working on his presentation. He has to prepare 3 powerpoint presentations for a couple of seminars today it seems. Truth be told, I've lost track of how many talks he has to give nowadays.

I went quiet. Or rather, I let out a small "Hmmmm..." before I made my way to the kitchen. In my heart, I was saying, "I hope you also realized that that means it has been that many weekends that we had not had a real family time..."

For the last 4-5 weekends, Ayah had been pretty busy with stuff. If it was not this, it would be that. Vise versa. You know what I mean? He had been busy preparing for talks held nearly every weekend at different venues and function/seminars. At the same time, he had been bogged down with deadlines to meet for his weekly article with MM. And he also had to go to Kuching for a few days last week to attend a Course, after which, when he came back, he was tied down with his Primary School Alumni Dinner on Sunday. All that ON TOP of his usual clinical/hospital routines which always see him coming home way after 10:00p.m every night.

He has been working/attending seminars/giving talks/attending courses over the last few Saturdays AND Sundays, and so, I had been attending to the kids' weekend routines/schedule. At least I had the kids with me almost all the time. That's a good thing, I guess. But, sometimes I do need him at home with me, just to talk. One to one. Without any distractions. Definitely NOT while he's busy working on his notebook. Sometimes I feel that he always could MAKE time for other stuff, but not for us... (Don't mind me. Tengah melayan perasaan...)

Anyway, just thought I'd get THAT out of my system.

Now, on to other things, shall we? :)

We went to Hilman and Hasya's Hari Anugerah Kecemerlangan last Tuesday. I stayed on until the end, while Ayah had to leave right after both kids had received their awards. Hasya received an award for getting No. 2 in her class, while Hilman received two awards - one for getting No. 3 in class, and another one for getting 5A's :) Syukur alhamdulillah.

Their school starts streaming the pupils when they are in Standard 4, and insya Allah both of them will be placed in one of the top classes. That means fiercer competition for Hilman, while Hasya will probably have to face another set of children of kiasu parents... Hehehe! Oh ya, Hasya has been selected to become a prefect next year. More responsibilities for her, and I hope that will mean she'll learn how to manage her time better.

On Tuesday night, we had a small birthday do for Hanna's 14th Birthday. Her Aunty Adek cooked Roast Chicken a la Jamie Oliver, Some Yummy Baked Potatoes, and Tagliatelle with Meatballs and Cream Sauce. It was just among Ayah's side of the family. I can't believe my Hanna is already 14...And next year she'll be sitting for her PMR! Yikes!

That Tuesday, too, Hilman started to develop some rash on his hands, feet/legs, and ulcers in his mouth. The first thing that came to my mind was Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. But a visit to the doctor told us that it was not. He is not within the usual age group to get HFM, and the rashes on his hands and feet were not on his palms or soles, but rather, around his wrists, elbows and ankles, and on his groins and bu*t, and a few here and there on his body - which are atypical of HFM. He didn't have any fever, and the rashes were more like chicken-pox blisters. We were told that it was from the same family - chicken-pox, cold sores and shingles, and as contagious. We suspect that he may have contracted it at a birthday party he attended at Ki*s Zo*e on Sunday.

So, Hilman had to be quarantined. Poor baby :( He has been in his room for the last 3 days - well equipped with his PS2 and DVD Player. But, I think he misses his ASTRO. Ayah said he could only be de-quarantined tomorrow. Until then, he's only allowed to leave his room when he needs to go to the loo and take his shower. I have been applying Zovirax cream on his blisters over the last few days, and they look like they're healing. Thank God. I was quite worried that they would leave scars because Hilman is so puteh melepak!

I had bought him De*to* anti-bacterial shower gel, and De*to* anti-bacterial spray for him to spray all surfaces he touches in the bathroom/toilet. And I've also asked Dar to soak all his clothes and towels in De*to* solution before washing them in the washing machine. Of course - separately from the rest of the washing. Tomorrow will be his beddings pulak. You can never be too sure, kan? Hehehe! (Teruknya Mommy dia ni...Anyway, I have to make sure his kakaks don't get it, too, right?)

I think Hasya misses his brother. Every now and then she would pass his room and shout out, "HI, HILMAN!!!" before going up to her room or downstairs to the Study or Living Room. To which Hilman would reply back, "HI, KAK NGAH!!" from behind the door. Sedih lah pulak I tengok :( Tak per...soon he'll be okay to play with his Kak Ngah, insya Allah.

The thing about the rashes - Hilman had to miss his Class Party on Thursday, and I knew he was quite sad because he was really looking forward to it. Siap dah suruh and ingatkan his Makcik Dar to goreng Ayamas Hot & Spicy Chicken for the party since last week! Kesian dia... He also had to withdraw from a swimming competition which he was supposed to enter today. He had registered for the 25m freestyle event. I had to withdraw Hasya from the competition, too, when it just so happened that it's that time when she cannot go into the pool. She was supposed to race in the 25m freestyle and breast-stroke events. It is a pity because it would have been their first experience competing in a race. It's just not meant to be. Tak per lah...insya Allah next year.

And yes, of course - the school holidays are finally here...and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

For one, Bibik Dar will be going back to Indonesia for a 2-month holiday and her flight is on 29th November - next Sunday, and I have yet to find a temporary maid. I have stocked up my pantry with all sorts of instant meals/mixtures, just in case I would not have the time to prepare all the nitty gritty ingredients to cook a proper meal. Thank God for Maggi mixtures for Kicap Berempah, Tandoori, Ayam Madu, Asam Pedas and the likes. Having said that, I have also bought all the bawangs, halia, and chilli kering for Dar to blend and keep in the fridge for my convenience during her absence. Should all of the above finish mid-way through Dar's holiday, I will have to resort to the Nyonya in Pasar Taman Tun who prepares all blended stuffs under the sun, including all ready-made pastes. Just add Ayam/Daging/Ikan saja (and santan if necessary :)).

Either that, or Nasi Kandar Se*ap will be very rich at the end of the two months...

The pantry is also full to the brim with all kinds of snacks and light food for the kids, and all sorts of 3-in-1 stuffs. You'll find canned and packet (powdered) soups, all sorts of canned tuna, pre-mix pasta sauces, UHT Milk, Cordials, crisps, etc. You just name it, you'll probaly find it in our pantry :) The fridge is also packed with all kinds of sausages, nuggets, drummets, and ice creams. Not forgetting the full list of protein sources. Cuti sekolah ni memang grocery bill and utility bills melambung tinggi... Kids asyik bukak fridge, and search for food. And they would switch on the airconds and laptops 24/7. Same old same old...

I'm thinking of having my Mommy to stay with us and be with the kids while I'm at work over the holidays - not to take care of them, but, just to be with them. Hanna is old enough to be given the task of re-heating the meals and setting/clearing the tables and washing the dishes with Hasya (but, I will have to brace myself for a few reports of broken glasses and dishes here and there, I guess). And I might just send the kids to my Sis Lala for a few sleepovers here and there over the holidays.

We have not planned to go anywhere this time as Ayah will not be able to get away from work, and me myself will be cracking my head with a few deadlines. Anyway, we already had that Bali trip in June. That should fulfill our overseas holiday ration for the year :) We might just follow Ayah who's attending a conference some time in December for a few days, insya Allah. Just to get away from KL sekejap. Cuti-cuti Malaysia :)

I just hope Ayah will not be that busy over the next few weekends during the school holidays ni. Kesian the kids...and their Mommy, too, for that matter :(

Will update you guys on that :)

In the meantime, to all mothers out there - GOOD LUCK FOR THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, Y'ALL :)

* Click below for some photos from last week :)

Facebook | Your Photos - Last Week Before School Holidays 2009

9/11 revisited...

9/11/2001 - the day the world stood still when the unthinkable and the unexpected happened.

The day which changed the whole landscape of international relations and security as we suddenly realized that we were faced with non-traditional threats, and we didn't really understand the whole situation, and we didn't really know as to the next course of action.

The whole world was shocked and everybody still remembers vividly the image of the planes crashing into the World Trade Centre, and how it crumbled in front of our eyes...

I will always remember that day. Not just because of its significance to international relations, nor because of those vivid images etched in my head, but, because we as a family were also affected by the whole thing at a personal level.

We were in London when it happened. We had just arrived two days before that, with plans to spend a short break in London, while Ayah was to attend a cardio conference in Washington D.C. We had travelled to London together - both of us, and the kids, accompanied by my MIL and SIL. Hanna was just 6 years old then, while Hasya 2 1/2, and Hilman had just celebrated his 1st birthday a day before that.

The plan was for us to spend 2 days together in London, before Ayah was to fly to and stay in Washington for 3 days, and he would then join us again in London for the last 5 days before we were to fly back to KL together.

On that fateful day, we bade Ayah farewell before he left our London apartment early in the morning to catch the tube to the airport. Never did we think that that would be the start of one the most anxious times in our lives.

Ayah was supposed to get on the 9:15a.m Vi*gi* At*an*ic flight which would have taken him straight to Washington. He called just before boarding the plane just to say that he was fine and the flight was on schedule. And that was that. And he said he would call me once he reached the hotel in Washington.

I was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen later that morning, when images shown on TV of this building into which a plane had crashed, caught my eyes, and I remember running to the adjoining living room to turn the volume on to find out what exactly had happened. I called out to my MIL and both of us just sat there watching the image being repeated over and over again over BBC1 and we were trying to gather what was that all about. Not much was disclosed at that point in time, and we were glued in front of the telly watching the live coverage of the tragedy.

Imagine our shock when just as we were thinking that it was just an unfortunate plane crash, we saw the second plane crashing into the second tower while we were watching the coverage! And right then, we knew that something was terribly not right...

In the middle of the chaotic reporting and total disbelief amongst the media reports, we saw the flashes across the TV screen stating that it was a terrorist attack on the USA, and that all airspace and all airports would be closed, and all flights into and out of the USA would be diverted elsewhere and all lines of communication were also blocked until further notice.

I remember feeling very faint, and finding it difficult to breath for a good 15 seconds after reading the news flash, as my mind was immediately thinking about Ayah who had left the UK just over two hours before that! He was already somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean on the way to Washington, and he would be amongst the hundreds of thousands of flight passengers to be re-routed to numeorus airports all over the region.

I began dialling the numbers for Vi*gi* At*an*ic to find out where Ayah's flight was to be re-routed to, and all I got were engaged tones and computer-generated voicemails asking me to hold on or try again later. And THOSE were the only things I got from the airline company for the next 2 days...

Imagine my state of mind at that time - not knowing whether Ayah was okay, or where he was at that time - or whether there were more attacks being attempted or planned on more flights...And I had 3 small kids with me who were oblivious to what was happening, and I was trying my best to not show my anxieties to them. And I was also with a mother who was worried sick about his second son. My MIL was on her sajjadah almost throughout the entire waiting period...

It was only on the second day when we managed to call the airline and we were told that Ayah's flight had been diverted to a small town in Newfoundland, by the name of Gander, and they were waiting for clearance from the US authorities before deciding on whether to continue their flight to Washington, or fly back to the UK. And over the next 2-3 days, they kept changing their flight plans and schedule, and I was already feeling the strain of being in the dark and being treated like a yo-yo. One minute they would say that his flight was scheduled to fly back to the UK on that particular day and the next minute they would inform that the flight had been delayed, or had been given clearance only to fly to Washington, and the next minute they would tell me another thing. I was on the worst roller-coaster ride of my life... And all those times, there was no communication whatsoever between me and Ayah...

It was also on the second day that I received a phone-call from my biras who was in KL at that time to inform us that Ayah finally managed to e-mail him and he had asked him to assure us that he was fine, and there was no need to worry about him. E-mails were the only mode of communication available to Ayah then, and I, on the other hand, had no ready access to the internet at that time.

"NOT TO WORRY"??!!

THAT was like asking us to continue having our dinner calmly in the middle of a hurricane, I tell you.

Anyway, I was so relieved to get a little news as to his well-being, and for the next couple of days (i.e. 4 days after he left London) my biras who was keeping in touch with Ayah via e-mails, would be the one who would update us on how Ayah was doing in Gander. At least we knew that he was safe.

And after waiting for 3 days, Ayah finally managed to call us from Gander. And the moment I heard his voice, the strain just gave in and I broke down and cried like nobody's business...Unashamedly in front of my MIL. In front of the kids. It was more of uncontrolable sobs, I think.

I could somewhat sense the strain in his voice, too. He was the one who had been stranded in a middle of nowhere, with strangers, makan tidur tak terurus for days...But, he sounded calm and cheerful. I guess he was trying not to make his mom and his wife overly worry about him...

The days after finally being able to hear his voice were much easier to face, and Ayah managed to call a few times after that to update us on his flight plan. Even then we were disappointed after initial plans for him to fly back straight to the UK were postponed and later cancelled. Several times. Within one day.

Finally, after nearly 5 days of being stranded in Gander, Ayah's flight continued its journey to Washington, and from there, he took the next flight back which took him straight to London.

And never had I felt so happy to see my haggard-looking, unshaven, sunken-eyed hubby's face as I did that day when he arrived in front of the door of our London apartment that Sunday.

THOSE were the longest 5 days of my life. And I pray that I would never ever have to go through that again...

And everytime 9/11 comes, I would be reminded as to how lucky Ayah was, and how fortunate we had been. Even though we were amongst the hundreds of thousands of people directly/indirectly affected by the tragedy, and had gone through hell during those nerve-racking times, there were those who had perished, and their loved ones would never see them again...

May they rest in peace...Amin.

Ayah's articles :)

Hi, y'all.

For those who might have missed it on Malay Mail yesterday, here's the link to Ayah's article :)

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/kamar-heart-and-environment

And here's the link for the article he wrote last week -

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/shape-size-does-matter

I will try to get the links to all of his articles in Malay Mail and post them here, soon, insya Allah.

And if you want, you can always get Malay Mail every Monday to read the hard copy, of course :)

And here's the link to Ayah's first article in Metro Ahad early this year. I couldn't seem to find the link to the rest of the articles that he had written to Metro Ahad, though. Sorry.

http://www.hmetro.com.my/Current_News/myMetro/Sunday/Sihat/20090104003524/Article/index_html

He writes in Metro Ahad every two weeks, by the way.

I love the way Ayah writes - in that he tries to make it non-technical so that people like me (yang lemah when things are so technical - malas nak fikir!) find it easy to understand.

Hope you'll find Ayah's articles beneficial for your health - in particular the health of the heart, insya Allah.

Happy reading :)

* Btw, Ayah appeared on Selamat Pagi Malaysia on TV1 this morning :) Hmmmm, my hubby macam "Celebrity" Doc lah pulak! Tsk...tsk...tsk...

OH TIDAAAAKKKK!!!

The difference... I like :)

It has been just over a month since Ayah cut his 'umbilical cord' totally from UM*C, and already I could see the difference in him. The good kind of difference. This, I like... :)

Yes, he still goes out to work at 6:45a.m. every morning as he has to send Hanna and Hasya to school first, and he would go straight to TMC after that. And he still comes home after 10:00p.m. nearly every night.

But, I notice that when he comes home tired at night - it's a different kind of tiredness. I could sense a kind of calmness in him, unlike before, when he would come back tired AND stressed out.

And he calls and SMSs me more often now. Sometimes, it would be -

"Hi...How are you? Saja ajer call...How's your day? Have you had your lunch? You makan apa?"

OR

"Hi...okay to talk? Saja ajer call...I'm taking a break now. Where are you now? You tengah buat apa?"

OR

"Hi...Just to let you know - I'm on my way to As*un*a (or Co*um*ia As*a or Ch*ll*ah) and I should be back home (or at TMC) by XYZ a.m. (or p.m.)"

It may not be a big deal for some of you, but, it's a big deal for me, okay?!

Before, when he was with UM*C, he would TRY to call at least once during the day, and once just before making his way back home. Itu pun terkejar-kejar nak bercakap, and normally he would call while he was on his way to the wards, or to the clinic, or on the way to some other parts of the hospital, etc., and everytime when he got into the lifts, the phone would go dead on us! Tension... And if he didn't call by 3:00p.m, I would call him instead. And when we spoke, I could sense that his mind would be elsewhere - thinking of the 1001 things he needed to attend to at the hospital then.

But, now - he would call just to say "Hi" every 2-3 hours :)

This, I like :)

And he's always in a good mood nowadays. Dah tak marah-marah the kids sangat (NOT that dia selalu marah them before this pun...but, well, you get what I mean? He doesn't get irked easily by small-small things the kids do).

The ONLY time that I see him stressed out sekarang would be when he has to meet the datelines to submit his articles to the Editors of Ma*ay Ma*l and Me*ro Ah*d :) But, it's still bearable because I know that he enjoys writing them. It's just finding the time to write them ajer yang sometimes a bit bermasalah for him :)

Oh ya, for those who are not in the know yet, Ayah has a regular column in The Ma*ay Ma*l (you can read it every Monday), and he also writes once every two weeks for Me*ro Ah*d. So, a couple of days before the articles are due, I pun stressed jugak, coz' I'm his proof-reader and personal editor. Hehehe!

And his clinic at TMC is also picking up, syukur alhamdulillah :) He also does sessions at Co*um*ia As*a (in Puchong), and As*un*a Hospital. And also at Ch*ll*ah Diagnostics Clinic in PJ. He has to. Mula-mula ni, kena kais kat banyak tempat nak cari rezqi... :) And he gives talks on health in general, and on heart matters in particular, here and there, too. Yes - he's pretty busy. But, he's doing it on his own terms :)

And the best thing for the kids is, sometimes when he has to work late, the kids and I would join him at his clinic/room, and we would tapau some food and have dinner with him there...and sometimes, while waiting for Ayah to wrap up his work, the kids would sleep on the sofa in his room, or help themselves not just to the drinks or food in Ayah's fridge, but also to all the medical "gadgets" in his room :) (We start them young, you see...Hehehe!)

In a way, Ayah gets to spend more time with the kids - tak kisah lah even if it's in his office on some of the evenings. It's HIS time, and NOT his employer's.

And this, I like. Very much :)

This and that...

Some updates on this and that -

I brought my Abah for his second visit to GH on Monday last week for his CT Scan at the Oncology and Radiology Department. Even though he had done a similar scan at UH about 3 weeks ago, this particular appointment at GH was to measure his face for them to make a mould for his face-mask to protect the non-cancerous parts from being exposed to the radiotherapy rays once he starts his treatment.

They will be calling Abah again on Monday next week to set a date for another appointment - this time to lay out his treatment schedule which will be done over 5 weeks, starting from the second week of April (tentatively). Abah will have to go for the radiotherapy treatment 5 days a week, for 5 weeks, and only taking a break on Saturdays and Sundays (and Public Holidays).

His three daughters - my Sis Yong, Sis Lala and I will take turns to bring him to the hospital, and be with him when he's going through the therapy, as all of his sons will not be able to bring him. Our third brother is a teacher and it's quite difficult for him to take off days (unless Abah's treatment is outside of his teaching hours, I guess). Our second brother is in Taiping, and as for our eldest brother - hmmmm...let's not go into that.

My brother-in-law - Abang Rosli (hubby to my Sis Lala), has suggested that Abah stay with them in Keramat over the five weeks, as it would be nearer to GH, and Abah will not need to travel across KL everyday. They also have a driver who can send and fetch Lala and my Abah everyday. But, the question now is - will Abah agree to that?

Abah is known to prefer to sleep on his own bed, do his 'business' in his own toilet, and watch his own TV set (taking possession of the remote indefinitely), and there had been so many of our family gatherings in the past which he had given a miss because he just did not feel like being around too many people, just in case he would fall asleep in front of the crowd, or just in case he would need to go to the toilet, and the toilet might not be clean, etc. And we're talking about gatherings at his children's houses, okay? Not any stranger's place, okay? You just name any of the excuses that you can think of - he had used them. People say, it's quite normal when people get to that age... They just prefer to spend and while away the time in the comfort of their own home...

So, we're trying to slow talk to him about the whole thing, and we hope he would see some sense and agree with the arrangement. It'll be too exhausting for him and my Mom if they are to travel from KD to GH and back to KD everyday. My Mom would definitely want to be with him everytime he goes for his treatment. That's for sure. But, Abah being Abah, he can be very stubborn and set in his ways sometimes...Sigh.

And if I'm going to be with him at GH 2-3 times a week, they'd better do something about the parking there! It's pure madness, I tell you. If not, by the end of the 5 weeks, there's a high probability that I would be admitted there for hypertension myself, or worse - at the Psychiatric Ward...

Will post updates on Abah's progress every now and then, insya Allah.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

At the work-front - Ayah has cut his umbilical cord off from UMMC totally since his birthday the other day. He is now officially a former government servant. He's still allowed to attend to his clinics at UMSC though, albeit only until the end of this month. From then on - it's literally kais pagi, makan pagi for him...Scary thought.

His clinic at TMC is 'separa' ready. We've got the sofa, the rug, the book racks and also the fridge for him. But the walls are still bare. We're eyeing some nice framed veneer art pieces which we saw at The Arch (?) One Utama a couple of weeks ago. Entah bila lah Ayah will be free to have a look at them again... The rest of the furniture and fittings are provided by the hospital - his desk, chairs, PC, and the examination table/bed. I'm thinking of getting some nice lightings for his clinic to give it a more homely/cozy feel. Any ideas?

Oh ya... By the way, Ayah has also been regularly writing articles for Me*ro Ah*d (every 2 weeks) and also Ma*ay Ma*l (every Monday). The latter is more of a Q&A thingy on heart matters (as in "cardio" and NOT the romance type, okay? Hehehe!) So, he's been pretty busy. If you all have any queries whatsoever, do drop your questions at haizal@tropicanamedicalcentre.com. He'll be compiling all the questions and offer answers/explanations/clarifications, etc to all queries in Ma*ay Ma*l every Monday, insya Allah :)


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And last weekend, we went to check on our BJ house. That was after about nearly 5 months of not jenguking the house! Reason being, we actually misplaced ALL three sets of keys to the house, and we were just too busy to actually search for them in the last 5 months!

It just so happened that we wanted to have a karaoke session at home during Ayah's birthday party with our friends the other day, and we realized then that the cable to the Magic Mic was missing. Yours truly started going through all the knicks and knacks and dunno what in the study room/store room, to look for the cable, and lo and behold! I found the sets of keys instead!!! Lain yang dicari, lain yang dijumpa..:) And FYI, at the time I'm typing this, the Magic Mic cable is still M.I.A :(

Anyway, Dar tackled the ground floor while I did the first floor. You can imagine how dusty the whole house was! It was 4 rounds of mopping for us! Thank God the compound was well maintained. Thanks to our Mr Badal Khan who has been mowing the lawn once a month for the past 3 months (without being paid, okay?! But, be rest assured - we had paid him when we saw him last weekend :)

Have to make a point to go to our BJ house every weekend. The kids just love having a go at a game of badminton with me and Ayah when we were there even though we tak bagi chance for them to win at all. Hehehe!

And bila dah start going back to the house again, my imagination mula lah running wild again now on how to renovate the place...

Terbang lagi lah duit...

So, Ayah! Apa lagi? KAIS BAIK PUNYER, OKAY??!!

:)

All about Ayah...

Well, almost :)

I've been tagged by MrsNordin on facts about my husband. I was supposed to do it last week, but sibuk memanjang. Sorry, BJ :)

Today is the perfect time to do it because I'm missing Ayah terribly. He's in Beijing and is only coming home tomorrow afternoon. No better way to nurse this 'pang' than writing about him, kan? ;)

So, here goes -


1) He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?

EPL - when Liverpool and/or Newcastle is playing. He only watches Man U matches hoping to see them lose :)

Rugby Union (6 Nations mainly)

Badminton (only if Malaysian players are in action)

Tennis


2) You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?

Thousand Island, and Chili Sauce (Lingham preferably!) Boleh?!


3) What’s one food he doesn’t like?

Petai :)


4) You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?

Food ~ depending on the restaurant, it could be one of these : T-Bone Steak, Nasi Goreng USA, Nasi Ayam, Nasi Goreng Kambing, Roti Telur :)

Drinks ~ Apple Juice, Air Kelapa, Ice Lemon Tea, RO Water. He NEVER orders hot drinks.


5) Where did he go to high school?

MCKK - Kesian kat dia, kan?


6) What size shoes does he wear?

7 or 8 - depending on the cutting.


7) If he was to collect anything, what would it be?

Football jerseys (except Man U's!)


8) What is his favorite type of sandwich?

Anything with chicken in it.


9) What would this person eat every day if he could?

Nasi Goreng USA :)


10) What is his favorite cereal?

Frosties :)


11) What would he never wear?

Man U's Jersey :)


12) What is his favorite sports team?

Football - whoever playing against Man U and beating them! Hehehe! He supports Liverpool and Newcastle United :) (So, he's not really a happy man this season) :(

Rugby - England!!! Yeay!!!


13) Who did he vote for?

BN


14) Who is his best friend?

Me :)


15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?

Procrastinate :)


16. What is his heritage?

Oghang Nogoghi. Ghombau to be exact, on his Mom's side :)

Oghang Peghak. Teluk Intan, on his Arwah Father's side :)


17. What is his favourite colour?

Anything that I choose for him :)


18. What is his habit?

Shaking his feet before he sleeps. Once they stop shaking, I know that he's asleep :)


19. What is he proud of?

His children and his parents :)


20. Lastly, do you think he will read this?

Definitely :) He's my #1 fan...Hehehe!


So, Ayah...Markah penuh?! ;)


And I hereby tag -

Ibu (Woiii!!! Buku 555 you dah melimpah-limpah woiii!!!)

MrsA

Amy

Kak Puteri

Kak Teh

Azian

Anom

Kat

(Dan semua yang mengenali diri saya...Chewaaahhh!! Hahaha!)

Thank you, you all :)

Happy Birthday, Ayah :)

Today's Ayah's birthday!!! Yeay!!!

Happy Birthday, my dearest :)

I wasn't sure whether to just have a quiet outing with the kids to celebrate this special day, or to belanja makan the whole clan like we always do on someone's birthday, or celebrate with friends, either at home, or at Re* Bo*. I was toying with different plans for the last one week, and still could not decide on Friday night.

On Saturday morning - woke up and suddenly decided to have a makan-makan at our place for that night. And another dilemma - whether to have ONE makan-makan session for family and friends this weekend, OR have TWO different sessions for them. After campur tolak kali bahagi the pros and cons, I decided to do the latter - dinner on Saturday night with friends, and lunch with family on Sunday :)

(Our house is just not big enough for us to have family and friends together over at one given time. Lagi pun nanti depan Mak Mertua tak leh nak huha-huha ngan member sangat! ;))

I didn't tell Ayah about it, and right after Ayah went to work, I started SMSing/calling our friends about the dinner plans, before going to Pasar Taman Tun to get all the wet stuff to cook. Came back and briefed Dar on the dinner menu, and after giving instructions to her on what to prepare, we began our campaign to bring the kitchen down. Hehehe...Memang macam tongkang pecah...

At 1:15p.m, I left the house to send Hasya and Hilman to their Chess class, and after that made my way to Tesco to get the dry stuff pulak. Nasib baik Ayah volunteered to fetch the kids from Chess and send them to Swimming class after that. I finished my Tesco rounds at about 2:45p.m, went home and started cooking. Nasib baik Dar had finished preparing all the ingredients while I was out, so, sampai rumah ajer, senseng lengan and started to bersilat in the kitchen.

It was easy to keep it as a secret(ish) as Ayah was out from morning, and only came back with the kids just before 7:00p.m. But, of course, by the time he came home, the extra table was already set, and the buffet "station" was halfway prepared, and he sort of knew that there would be guests coming (and I bet he knew it was to celebrate his birthday :))

Anyway, the menu for the night was :

Nasi Lemak with -

- Sambal Tumis Udang
- Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis
- Szechuan Chicken
- Fried Ikan Bilis + Kacang Goreng
- Kangkung Tumis
- Telur Rebus
- Timun)

Spaghetti Olio

Kuey Teow Goreng

Ayamas Fried Chicken Drummets

Ayamas Fried Hot and Spicy Drummets

Sirap Bandung Soda

Chocolate Moist Birthday Cake (Se*re* Re*ip*)

Teh Tarik/Coffee


(Ada sorang kawan we all tu, sanggup tak makan lunch coz' he was saving his tummy for the dinner! Hehehe!)

The first to arrive were Ab*d and her kids, followed by On*ir & Co., J* and her clan, Re*a & her heroes, and Yu* & family. Ib* could not join us as she had gone balik kampung in JB. Aw*n, too, was back in Melaka.

As usual - sangat hingaq bingaq tak ingat dunia we all semua. Makan, borak, gelak, borak, makan, mengekek/mengilai, borak and makan non-stop.

As the clock struck midnite, we took the birthday cake out, and sang the birthday song for the Birthday Boy (who was at the time dah terlena kat sofa...Hehehe!)

Everybody stayed on until just before 2:00a.m. and left with tapau-ed food beraneka jenis :) and by the time Dar and I siap kemas everything, it was already 3:00a.m before we went up to sleep.

I set the alarm clock for 6:15a.m, 6:25a.m AND 6:35a.m. as I wanted to go to Pasar Taman Tun early to avoid the Sunday crowd there. And I didn't hear it went off at all! All the three times - tidur real punya!

I only woke up at 7:35a.m (Suboh terlepas!!!) and left the house for Pasar Taman Tun at 8:05a.m. Spent about 45 minutes there, and reached the house just after 9:00a.m.

Again, briefed Dar on the menu, and she prepared almost all of the ingredients, with me helping with the not-so-yucky/tedious stuff only. Started cooking at 10:00a.m, and Ayah left the house at 10:30a.m to send Hasya and Hilman to their Dance class.

By the time they came back home at about 1:15p.m, all the dishes were ready.

This time, the lunch menu was -

Nasi Ayam

Kuey Teow Goreng (again!) - special request from my nephews and niece :)

Kuey Teow Soup

Sirap Bandung Soda

Tiramisu Birthday Cake (Ca*e Se*se) which was just soooooo yummy!

Teh Tarik/Coffee

My Sis Lala and her clan arrived at 1:30p.m, followed by my MIL and my SIL (Ya*re*n), my SIL Lynn & Co., my BIL Along & family, and finally my Mommy and my Sis Yong. My Abah was not feeling well, and decided to stay at home. My Mommy didn't want to leave him alone at home, but he insisted that she come. Tu yang by 4:30p.m, my Mommy dah nak balik rumah dah...My Brother Ed*ie was involved in a camping thingy at his school and could not make it. My Brother Jame was in Taiping, while my Brother Imi could not be contacted - last minute planning lah kata kan...

Again - everybody tapau-ed food back with them :)

(I ALWAYS cook a lot when I invite people over for makan-makan. My motto is - "Lebih tak per...Jangan terkurang" :). And every time I buat makan-makan, I would buy all the plastic containers sesiap for them to tapau the food :))

After everybody had left, it was back to mengemas again for me and Dar. And by the time we were done, it was already Maghrib.

As for the Birthday Boy, he was called to the hospital at 5:30p.m and only came back at 9:30pm just now!

(See?! Sunday AND his birthday pun kena gi kerja...)

Anyway Ayah...Hope you enjoyed your special day with our family and friends.

I know that you've got pretty nice birthay presents this year - the best must have been when Liverpool bantai Man U 4-1 last night, huh? And of course, when Dato' Lee Choong Wei beat Lin Dan at the Men's Single Finals at the Swiss Open this evening, huh?

And as I'm typing this, Ayah is watching a Rugby match between England and France on ASTRO downstairs. If England wins tonight, memang sah - the best birthday ever for him. :)

Happy Birthday again, Ayah :) Semoga dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezqi, dan segala usaha diberkati Allah SWT.

Love you loads, dear... MMuuuaaaahhhh!

* Sorry - no pics yet. The camera battery was empty, and we couldn't find the charger the whole of yesterday! Hanna managed to snap some pics using her camera, but she has yet to download them to this laptop. We found the charger late last night, but alas, today Hanna was not in the mood to take pics, and I was busy in the kitchen most of the time :(

Of bugs, fungus and roaches...

Ayah and Hasya were feeling better on Monday night and throughout half of Tuesday. However, by the time they came back from work and school respectively yesterday, both were having slight fever again, and aching joints. The bug seems to be making its comeback every other day it seems. And this time around, Hanna pun dah start demam.

She looked pretty pale and was not her usual perky self when she got back from her tuition last night. Gave her a couple of PCM (which she had difficulty swallowing, as usual :) Hilman and Hasya are much better at taking pills whole compared to their Kak Long actually :) Anyway, after having her supper, she went straight to bed. I told her that she should not go to school if her fever were to get worse, but she insisted that she had to go to school as they were having the inter-class choral speaking competition today and she was the conductor for 2H.

You can read her version here :)

Hmmm...all three of our kids are like that! They never want to miss school even if they're sick! It's good I guess...But, that would mean that they can be guilty of spreading all the bugs to their friends at school! Sigh...

They follow their Ayah. Cannot stop working. Throughout his waking hours, he would be working, working, working.

That brings us to the next thing. Ayah had to work on a presentation which he's scheduled to give tomorrow, and he was also supposed to work on his 2-weekly article for Me*ro Ah*d last night, but, he just had to take a short nap before he started tapping on the keyboard. He had been working on an article for Ma*ay Ma*l the last few days which was sent to the Editor just yesterday, and he really needed a break. And his fever was not helping at all.

Just as he was about to lie down on the bed, Hilman came in, grinning. We knew that he was hoping to be allowed to sleep with us because apparently there was a BIG cockroach on the wall outside his room when we got back from my MIL's last night, and before we knew it, it was gone. And Hilman was pretty sure that it had gone into his room. And because of that, he was so not going to sleep in there :)

Seeing Hilman entering our room, Ayah asked him :-

Ayah : Chiman, urut kaki Ayah, boleh? Please?

Hilman : Okay! (without hesitating at all and he went straight to Ayah's feet), but I want to check if your feet got fungus or not first...

Ayah : Fungus??! (And Ayah and I tergolek-golek tergelak!) HAHAHAHA!

Just then, Hasya came in, asking me to feel her forehead. I had also just given her some PCM before that for her fever, and she just wanted me to check if it had started to work on her or not. And Hilman said -

Hilman : Kak Ngah, are you demam?

Hasya : Yeah...

Hilman : You can sleep with Ayah and Mommy tonight. I sleep with them when I demam, too, you know?

Hasya : Naaahh...I want to sleep in my room, but, I just can't sleep.

Hilman : I always relax here first, you know. Everytime before I go to my room. I relax here until I feel sleepy. But, sometimes I would fall asleep terus. You can relax here first, too, Kak Ngah.

(That's Hilman - offering OUR bedroom to his Kak Ngah. Hehehe!)

Hasya : Naaahh...I think I'll go up now. If I still can't sleep, I'll come down. Okay, Mommy?

Me : Okay, darling. (Kiss kiss, Hug hug). Get well soon! You come down if you cannot tidur, okay?

Hilman : So Kak Ngah. You're not sleeping here tonight? (Just making sure :))

Hasya : Naaahh...

Hilman : Okay then. I can sleep with Mommy and Ayah then.

And he jumped straight onto the bed!

And yup! He ended up sleeping with us sampai pagi.

But, not before he was satisfied that Ayah's feet didn't have fungus on them, and not before he urut his Ayah's feet until Ayah pun tertidur... :)

Rejector? Rejectee?

Hmmmm...I can't remember the last time Ayah didn't go to the hospital during weekends or public holidays. The only times he didn't go to review his patients, I think, were either when we were on vacation outside of KL or the country. Even then, he would be calling the wards to check on his patients. Either that, OR his MOs or lecturers or his nurses would be calling him for advice.

So, when he told me that he was not going to review his patients today, I was thinking, "Joy, joy...Happy, happy! Maybe we can spend more time as a family today? Maybe go for an outing somewhere?" But alas, the only reason why he's not going to the hospital today is because he's not feeling well. He has a temperature and an upset tummy. He even threw up early this morning. Poor thing. So, today, it's my job to review him instead. Hehehe! He must be feeling VERY sick, because as far as I could remember, even when he was sick before, he would still go to work!

Not only that, Hasya is also not feeling well. It's probably the same bug. But, so far, only her body is dedar, and she just feels generally unwell. No vomitting, no upset tummy, etc. I pray that both Ayah and daughter will be okay by the end of the day, insya Allah.

Hmmmm, talking about the sick duo of Ayah and Hasya, this was relayed to me by Ayah yesterday.

Ayah was driving both Hasya and Hilman back from their traditional dance class yesterday when Hasya suddenly said -

Hasya : I want to study at Oxford University after my SPM (Mind you, she's only going to be 10y.o. next month, okay?)

Ayah : Hmmmm, that's really good Hasya. What do you want to read there?

Hasya : Medicine. I want to be a Cardiologist, just like you.

Ayah : But, why Oxford? (Ayah was just trying to test her)

Hasya : Because it's one of the best universities. And I want to study in the UK. Not in the US. Errr, Ayah, why didn't you go to Oxford, Ayah? Was it because you were not good enough for Oxford? (HAHAHAHA! Trust our choleric Hasya to say that!)

Ayah : Hahaha! No, Hasya...I chose not to go to Oxford. But, I did apply to do medicine there, though.

Hasya : And?

Ayah : And I didn't get in.

Hasya : Why is that? You were not good enough la kan?!

Ayah : Hmmmm, maybe. Or maybe because I listed them as my FIFTH choice in my UCCA Form?

Those who are familiar with the tips on how to fill in the UCCA Form to get into British Universities years ago, would know the Golden Rules of -

(1) NOT listing BOTH Oxford AND Cambridge in your choices of Universities, as the one listed below the other would definitely give you a straight rejection, hence you would be wasting one precious offer for a placing at a university.

(2) And if you were to list down Oxford OR Cambridge, you MUST list them as your FIRST choice, nothing less, if not, you would again be wasting one precious offer for a placing at a university.

(3) Only then could you go on and list the other 4 Universities of your choice.

And Ayah broke Golden Rules #2 and #3.

He listed Oxford University as his fifth choice, below Newcastle, below Nottingham, below Liverpool and below Wales in his UCCA Form.

But, what happened was, Ayah was called for an interview by all 5 universities - which was quite rare for those applying to do Medicine back then.

And he got offers from 4 of the 5 - which was even rarer for Medical School applicants. Most applicants would probably get, at the most, 2 offers.

Who knows? MAYBE, just MAYBE - the only reason why he didn't get any offers from Oxford University was because they could not accept the fact that Ayah listed them as his fifth choice?

He was called and went for the interview at Oxford, but they never asked him why they were listed as his fifth choice. But, I'm sure they must be going crazy inside to ask him!

But, the interviewees from Wales U did ask him why, and Ayah told them -

"If they know they are the best university, it doesn't matter where I place them in my UCCA form, they would still be the best university..."

He's got a point there.

And I hope Hasya (and her Kak Long and Hilman, too) will not see their Ayah as an "Oxford reject" (Oooops! No offence meant, okay, Ayah!), but rather, Oxford University was in a way, "their Ayah's reject". Hehehe! (Chewaaah!! Buleh?!)

And I know, Ayah would never change a thing even if he could turn back time and have another chance to fill in his UCCA form again.

Because he always knew what he wanted, and his first choice - Newcastle Medical School, had given him just that, and has made him what he is today :)

Get Well Soon, my "Oxford Rejector" hubby, and my potential "Oxford Scholar" daughter (whom I hope would neither be an Oxford rejector nor rejectee...) Hehehe!

As he takes the new road ahead...

Ayah is into his 10th day of his annual leave today, and he has another 60 days before he cuts his umbilical cord totally from UMMC/UMSC. Quite scary, really - to totally be on his own once he finishes his annual leave in March nanti.

Even though he's officially on leave, he still goes to UMMC/UMSC to perform angiograms and/or angioplasty on his patients there. And he'll continue doing that until his official last day as an employee of UMMC - i.e. on his 41st birthday, 15th March 2009. From then onwards, there'll be no back-up in the form of his guaranteed monthly pay anymore. As Ayah himself puts it - it's like "kais pagi, makan pagi" from now on. However, his cheques from UMSC which normally come 3 months late, would mean that, insya Allah, they will see us through while Ayah builds up his patients base at his new place at least for the first three months at TMC.

So, to prepare for life after the tag "government servant" is taken away from him, for the past 10 days, Ayah has been extremely busy setting up his new clinic and trying to establish his patients base in a few places, and putting his foot here and there. Whenever we call each other, I would first have to ask him where he is. He would either be in Co*um*ia As*a (Puchong), Ch*ll*ah Diagnostic Clinic (PJ), UMMC, UMSC OR TMC. And on some days, he would be at all of the places mentioned at different times of the day! And he'll always be at TMC at some point or another. If he's not at any of the clinics, he would then be doing a bit of marketing around Ko*a Da*an*ara. Apart from that, he's also working on articles to be published in several newspapers for the past week as part of his efforts to reach out to the public on the importance of cardio care.

I'm already getting some rough ideas as to how it's going to be in the first year of Ayah being his own boss. Already he's fast losing weight, losing his sleep, losing his hair (?!) and in fact as I'm typing this, he's also losing his voice! It has been quite a while since he last had his dinner at home with us. He has been working really hard the last couple of weeks ni, and his health is being sidelined somewhat. And last night, I think his slipped disc was also causing him some discomfort and pain. And as he was sleeping last night, kesian lah pulak I tengok dia... I don't think he was even aware at some point when I gave him a back massage. Memang zonked out habis...

Physically, his clinic is slowly taking shape. The sofa has arrived. So has the coffee-table. We've also got a nice rug which goes nicely with the furniture. We are now in the process of getting some book racks and TV cabinets which can match the rest of the furniture. We might just get them custom-made IF the carpenters can actually find the same material as the coffe-table for the racks. We are also trying to find a nice painting (oil preferably) to brighten up the main wall. Anyone has any ideas as to where we can get a nice oil painting from, please? I'm also trying to dig up some nice deco pieces from the many boxes which we brought back from the UK in 2004, to add some seri to his clinic :)

We're very excited about the whole thing, but, at the same time we are prepared for whatever it is that might be coming Ayah's way. Whatever it may be, we make do'a that Allah will limpahkan His rezqi onto Ayah as he continues to do what he does best - giving his all to his patients, albeit at a new place. Insya Allah. Amin.

Time to move on...

Thank you to all who had left their well-wishes for Hilman as he starts a new phase in his life. Boy to man :)

And as Hilman starts his journey as a (little) man, Ayah is also starting a new phase in his life.

Yup. After exactly 10 years 9 months of dedicating his life to PP*M, Ayah tendered in his resignation on Tuesday 16th December 2008 - something which neither of us ever thought would happen.

PP*M had been Ayah's second home. In fact, I dare say that for most of the times, it had been his FIRST home because he spent more time there than at home actually. He would leave for work around 6:45a.m (sending Hanna to school first), reaching the hospital around 7:30a.m., and he would come home (earliest) at 9:00p.m. There were times when he didn't see the younger kids for days as they would still be asleep when he left, and they would already be in bed when he came home late at night for a few days in a stretch. And he would go and see and review his patients at the wards even during weekends. I can't even remember the last time (if there ever was one) Ayah did not go to the hospital on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sometimes I would ask the kids, "How many days have you guys not seen Ayah?". And they would have to take a few seconds to count the days, before coming up with, "Errr...2 days, kot? Or maybe 3?"

But, I know that Ayah saw them EVERYDAY. Every time when he came back from work late at night, he would first go to their room and kiss them, unbeknown to them...And sometimes when I would be asleep when he came back, halfway to Dreamland, I would feel him hugging me close, and kissing my forehead before he surrendered to Slumberland himself...

And sometimes, the kids didn't even realize it when Ayah was away on conferences. They were so used to not having Ayah around at home that sometimes they didn't even feel that Ayah was thousands of miles away. To them, Ayah was probably at the hospital, working as always. And when he came back from his meetings abroad, his luggage would be filled with stuff for the kids. So much so, that the kids would always terpa and hug his luggage first before they hugged their Ayah when he came in through the door. Hehehe...

It had not been easy being married to a doctor. It's worse when his area of specialization is in cardiology. But, I know that it's even harder for Ayah to have missed out on so many things with regard to the kids due to the nature of his work.

I've lost count of how many times we had to postpone, or even worse - cancel, our family outings when Ayah was suddenly called in for emergency procedures.

I've lost count of how many times we had to wait for Ayah to fetch us from the malls, relatives' and friends' houses, etc., because he had to go to the hospital in the middle of our outings or functions.

I've lost count of how many time the kids and I had to follow him to and wait for him at the hospital during weekends when he was suddenly called while we were on our way to somewhere.

I've lost count of how many times I had waited for him to have dinner with him, only to be told that he would be very late because he had to perform a primary/emergency angioplasty just as he was about to leave the hospital for home.

I've lost count of how many times he would be called to the hospital in the middle of the night to attend to emergency cases.

I've lost count of how many times Ayah would fall asleep while having conversations with me, out of sheer exhaustion after work.

I've lost count of how many times he would come home feeling down when he couldn't save his patients' lives, even after going all out and giving his best everytime.

I've lost count of how many fights and arguments we had when I just could not take it at times - not having him there with us during the times that I wanted him to be there most, but, he could not make it, either in time, or at all...

Yes, I admit. I am not one of those very understanding doctors' wives that you often hear of. I can be rather selfish at times. I am only human.

If you think working in a government hospital is tough, let me tell you this - working in a teaching government hospital is even tougher. Ayah has his clinics to attend to. He has his ward-rounds to perform. He has his angio procedures to perform. He has to carry out research upon research. He has to write and publish academic papers. He has to present papers at meetings and conferences. He has to give lectures to his students. He has to supervise their clinical attachments, etc. And on top of that, he's also required to carry out certain admin work for the hospital AND faculty. And he does that nearly everyday - day in, day out for the last 10 years and 9 months.

But, he never complains because he loves his work.

Just as I've lost count on so many things that had happened, I've also lost count of how many times I panjatkan kesyukuran to Allah SWT for giving me such a responsible and loving husband who always tries his best to give the best to his family, his patients and to others. Syukur alhamdulillah.

The decision to leave PP*M was not done in haste, and it was NOT an easy decision to make. In fact Ayah had been thinking about it for nearly two years, but never seriously. There were so many things that pulled him to stay on - so many people to please, so many hati to jaga, so many debts in deeds to be paid.

But, there was only ONE thing pushing him to leave in the end. His kids. Their future.

It's not that he could not provide them with a good future. But, he doesn't want to settle for "good" when he has a choice to settle for "the best" for the kids. And it's not just about financing their future. It's also about investing more of his TIME with them now and the years to come. Something that he had not been able to do as much as he wanted to in the last 10 years.

I for one has never influenced him in any way whatsoever when it comes to his career. He would be the only person who knows what is best for him career-wise, and whatever decisions he made had always been his, with me giving him my full support.

Ayah only started to seriously think about leaving about a year ago. And, somehow macam tersusun elok, when one fine day I received an invitation to attend a health-talk organized by a PR firm for a soon-to-be-launched hospital. Ayah followed me to attend the talk, which did not materialize in the end when the Manager found out that Ayah was a doctor, and I obviously did not need any health-talk given by them. Hehehe... Anyway, before leaving, I managed to joke with them, and said, "If ever you need a brilliant cardiologist for your hospital, just contact my husband." :)

One thing led to another, and before we knew it, Ayah was head-hunted and approached by the said soon-to-be-launched hospital to join them. At the same time, Ayah was also approached by another hospital which is much more established to join them. But, Ayah being Ayah - one who thrives on challenges, he accepted the offer from the former, simply because it's a new hospital, and Ayah will be the first and only cardiologist there (at least for the first year or so), and he wants the cardio unit to be his 'baby'. He has great plans for the new hospital, and I know that they are very, very lucky to have Ayah as part of their pioneering team. They will never get anybody nearly half as dedicated as Ayah who will give them his 200% to bring the hospital to the next greater level, insya Allah. Amin.

Ayah is indeed one of the best cardiologists around, and his work, especially in peripheral and radial angioplasty, is recognized amongst the cardio fraternity in the region. And I'm not saying all these because he's my husband. He IS one of the best. And the kids and I are very, very proud of him.

In a way, it is a sad moment for Ayah to leave PP*M which had taught him so much. But, it is time to move on.

After giving his 3 months notice last Tuesday, Ayah will officially leave PP*M and start the next phase of his career at the new hospital on his 41st birthday, i.e. on 15th March 2009. He started working with PP*M, on 16th March 1998 - a day after his 30th birthday. So, in a way, it's a nice and neat closure for Ayah, leaving exactly after 11 years with PP*M. Just the way he wants it to be, being a melancholic guy that he is :)

And being a workaholic that he is, he still has 44 days of his annual leave to finish before his last day at PP*M. He'll start his leave on 5th January, 2009, i.e. the kids' first day of school. And insya Allah, for the first time ever, he would not need to rush back to the hospital while settling the kids fees and whatever nots on the first day. And I'm already looking forward to that :)

And hopefully, being his own boss, he will be able to spend more time with the kids, and make up for the times and opportunities lost in the last 10 years and 9 months, insya Allah. Amin.

I'm so excited for him. For the kids. For us.

Ayah,

Come what may, I'm here for you, dear. The kids are here for you, too.

Just continue being the brilliant cardiologist that you are, and you'll be fine.

You'll be more than fine... Wherever you are, wherever you will be in life.

TR*PI*ANA MEDICAL CENTRE is VERY lucky to have you there, my dear.

We want you to know that we are very, very proud of you, and that we love you very, very much - remember that always.

And we make do'a and wish you all the best in your new undertakings at TMC, dearest, dearest Ayah. Amin. Insya Allah...

We are "semi-good neighbours" now (?)...

Remember my posting on how people perceive or judge other people by looking at the cars they drive? And that because both Ayah and I drive our national cars, we could not be put in the "Good Neighbours" category?

Hmmmm...What if Ayah "pasang lagi satu" in the form of this?



Does this mean we are now in the "Semi-good neighbours" category? Hehehe...

Anyway, Ayah got his new car a few weeks back, after years of me persuading him to get a proper sedan. He had been driving his Naza after we sold off our 12-year old second-hand banged up Audi 100 2.3l in 2004 (we brought the Audi back from the UK in 1997). He was happy with his Naza. In fact, he was (and still is) VERY happy with it.

He only started seriously considering getting a sedan about 8 months back and was waiting for a new model to come out which would be worthed buying. A lot of our friends and family suggested the new Camry (what a beauty that is, kan?), but, as Mak already has that Camry at home, Ayah being Ayah, he was not really keen on getting the same car for himself. So, it was actually quite a tough thing trying to decide on which car to get. With him not wanting to get the exact same cars as Mak's or his or my siblings' or our friends', we didn't have much choice of good/nice cars left there, did we? Nasib baik we didn't opt for Perdana - such HIGH maintenance, that car, huh? Or is it only if we live in Terengganu? ;) Hehehe...

Anyway, so, when we heard that Honda was launching the new Accord in April, we decided to check it out. We brought the kids along, and they just loved it! With a 4 to 1 vote for the Black model, I lost. I had wanted the silver/blue-ish model. But, I've also seen the gold one on the road a few times, and I think that's awesome, too! It's okay lah - as long as Ayah and the kids are happy, I'm happy :) So, black it is.

But, we had to wait for more than 2 months to get the car.

So now, we have an MPV in the form of the Naza - our family/weekend car which has to be parked outside our gate as our porch is just way too small to fit all three cars in. Well, actuallynya boleh fit if tak ader this tiang in the middle of the porch. We deliberated on over whether we should do a bit of renovation to remove that tiang and change the gate, etc., but, decided against it as insya Allah, next year dah nak pindah to the new house anyway. Might as well use the money to renovate the new house, right?

We have a small 4x4 (if you can call it that) in the form of the Kembara - MY faithful car which I drive to work, to pasar, to run errands, to ferry my kids around to wherever it is they need to be ferried around to.

And we have a sedan in the form of the Accord - Ayah's car which he drives to work now (alternating with his Naza every other week - coz' takut nanti his Naza "merajuk"...Hehehe)

But, let me fill you guys in into a piece of fact. If you guys want to know, I have NEVER EVER driven the Naza and the Accord since we bought them. Not even once. And the Naza has been with us for the last 4 years! Reason being - I ni penakut nak drive big cars! Ada phobia sikit (or rather, BANYAK!) Hehehe! In fact, I have NEVER driven any other cars (not my siblings', in-laws', friends', etc.) apart from MY Kembara!

My Kembara was my FIRST and the ONLY car I've bought and driven thus far (I only sat for my driving test and got my licence in 1998, BUT, only started driving in 2003 at the age of 35!) I'm so used to driving a small 'elevated' car, that I don't think I can start driving a big car (and so near to the ground some more).

Ayah has been asking me to drive his Accord whenever he's taking the Naza, but NOOOOOOO WAAAAAAYYYY I'm driving that car, man...

Whatever it is, we have yet to qualify for the "VERY Good Neighbours" title.

No Beemers, no Mercs, no Jags and the likes parked on our porch the last time I checked maaaa...

Bila lah agaknya boleh upgrade ourselves to the "Very Good Neighbours" category ni, ya? ;)

Hmmmm...Tak per lah . While Ayah is now in the "Semi-good Neighbours" category, I can continue sitting in my warm and comfortable seat in the "Not-so-good neighbours" club for now... Hehehe...

A lonely weekend :(

It's 12:04a.m, and I'm waiting for Ayah to come back from his all-guys karaoke outing at R*d B*x @ The Curve.

I would normally just go to bed, and if he's lucky, I would be half awake (or sometimes tido mati!, if he's unlucky) when Ayah comes back in the wee hours of the morning. But, as Ayah will be going to KK tomorrow for his alma mater's Old Boys Weekend, I thought I would just wait up for him. I will have to pack his overnight stuff later anyway.

Ayah will be working tomorrow morning, and he'll be leaving for KK in the afternoon - after lunch. So, this morning will be the only sembang-sembang time for us - that is if both of us can actually open our eyes when he comes back nanti! From experience, if Ayah and I went karaoke-ing with my MT friends and spouses, the earliest we reached home was around 4:00a.m, I think?! And I don't think this morning will be any different. Hehehe!

The kids are already asleep - sprawled all over our living room. Hanna's on the 2-seater sofa, Hasya's on the 3-seater sofa, while Hilman's halfway to Hot Wheels Dreamland on the carpet : ALL fell asleep with a book each in his/her hand! You see - we spent about an hour at M*H One-U just now, before having our dinner at TCRS, and Hanna, Hasya and Hilman ended up with 3, 5 and 2 books each, and their Mommy ended up RM238/= poorer! But, it's okay - good investments I always say :)

Daryati brought down all their pillows and blankets/duvet about half an hour ago. She's so used to us sleeping in the living room, with ASTRO watching us sampai suboh, especially during weekends. So much so, there is no need for me to ask her to bring down all the beddings, etc, when one or two of us has fallen asleep in our living room! It is understood. Anyway, at least when Ayah comes back later, he can straight away see the kids when he enters the living room. I'm sure he misses the kids as he had not seen Hasya and Hilman since Thursday morning!

Ayah had to go to a meeting in KL straight from work yesterday and came straight back to SD after that. Hilman and Hasya, on the other hand, went back to their Wan's house in PJ straight after school, and decided to sleep with their Wan after their Thursday night mengaji class there. My bet is, Ayah will try to squeeze and sleep in between Hasya and Hilman when he gets back home later - to lepas rindu :)

As for me, I'm already missing Ayah even though he has yet to leave for KK! Sobs! I am beyond help...I know.

Anyway, looks like I will have to fill my time with quality shopping hours at One-U yet again this weekend, guys ;) Hehehe!

Cheers, y'all. Have a great weekend, wherever you are.

POST-SCRIPT

Yahoo!! Ayah tak jadi balik KK!!!! Somehow or rather, not many of his batch could make it for the reunion, so, the organizer has cancelled all plans for the weekend for his batch.

But, daaaannnggg!!! This means no quality shopping time for me at One-U...Hehehe!

The new man in my life...

Turning 40 is a big deal to some people, because life, they say, begins at 40. But, does it really?

I guess it rings true more for men than women because more often than not, at that age, men are more established in their careers, they have walked the walk and talked the talk, and the experiences amassed over the years do boost their level of confidence tremendously for most. And of course, they have the extra cash to splash around as well to enjoy life more. And some say men actually reach maturity at that age. (Hmmmm...no wonder there are a lot of men out there who act like juveniles - they have a valid excuse for that, I guess :) Hehehe!)

So, what do men do when they reach 40?

Some change their lifestyles totally, which more often than not means changing cars, changing their style of dressing, changing their appearances, and some even change their wives - hoping that it would be for the better. They either do one or two of the above, or they opted for the whole package. Some find profound happiness after the change. Some fall flat on their face and only realize, albeit a little too late, that their lives are going downhill and heading to the end AT 41.

My take is - if you could not be happy and bersyukur with what you had and gradually gained at the age of 10+, 20+, or 30+, then you will never ever going to find happiness at the age of 40. The key factor whether it is profound happiness, or failure, or disgrace that you find after you turn 40 - is the people around you - those who have been with you through thick and thin WAY, WAY before you reach the BIG 4. Life needs not BEGIN at 40. It should CONTINUE with all those extra frills - shared with loved ones.

I don't have any objections at all to those who decide to change their lifestyles, or appearances at 40 - men or women alike. Yang penting is the nawaitu.

So, I have no objections at all when Ayah asked my permission if he could do something a day after he turned 40. Something which he had been meaning to do for the past 3 1/2 years. And the day he turned 40 seemed the right time for him to do it. He even asked the kids for their permission, and he received mixed reactions and feedback from them.



Ayah asking his daughters' opinions and permission.


Me - I was practically sitting on the fence. It was REALLY up to him. I didn't want my opinion to make it more difficult for him to decide. If he feels strongly about it, by all means, I'm not going to say "No".

His daughters gave a "DEFINITE NO".

His son said "YES".

Being a democratic household, my "on the fence" stand could not be counted - it's like undi rosak. And so, it was 2 against 1 : AGAINST his "plan/intentions".

But, being an authoritarian in a democratic household - Ayah exercised his Veto power, and decided to go against the majority!

We decided that all of us should witness this historic event, and after Maghrib on Sunday 16th March 2008, a day after he turned 40, everybody was bundled up into the car and off we went to give Ayah some moral support. His daughters were by then, already resigned to the fact that Ayah's decision was final, and they were quite nervous waiting for the outcome.

So, this was what happened.

While Hilman was doing this -




Ayah was doing this -



And this -




And this was how it turned out -




I know it's not that clear - this is just a teaser, until Ayah gives the green light to post a proper pix of him now without his beard and moustach. All I got to say is, he looks 10 years younger now.

And now he's worried that his patients would not take him seriously! This was what happened 4 years ago when he didn't have his moustach and beard when he became a consultant. Some of his patients thought he was a junior doctor and refused to be seen by him and insisted to see the consultant. And it took Ayah a good 15 minutes to explain and convince them that he was THE consultant! And THAT was why Ayah decided to grow his beard and moustach then. Well, Ayah - if I may remind you, it was YOUR decision to clean-shave everything, honey. Hehehe!

The kids are still not used to him not having any facial hair, and every night when Ayah comes home, they would start giggling, and call out -

"MOMMMYYYY!!! HOMER IS HOME!!!!" (as in Homer Simpsons?!) Hahahaha!

I say, now that he looks 10 years younger than his age, and we being the same age, and all, I guess I, too will also have to do something to look at least 15 years younger?!!

Hmmmmm....Anybody out there has Dato' Seri Mohamad Khir Toyo's number, please...

"A quiet night at home with the kids..."

Ayah celebrated his birthday by going to work first thing in the morning - as expected.

I wasn't planning anything special this year as Ayah had requested for just a quiet night at home with the kids. And respecting his request, I abandoned my earlier plan to either have a small gathering with family and friends at home, or a night out with the kids and Mak and Ayah's siblings and in-laws, and nephews and nieces. I even told Mak and my SIL about this - just in case they were expecting the normal night-out celebration this year.

However, an SMS from my SIL came at about 10:00a.m yesterday morning which read -

"Morng. I think Angah chngd hs mind 4 2nite. He said he does x mind going out. I was pullg his leg jz now. So, he asks me 2 ask u. Hw? We r ok either way."

I called Ayah at work, just to make sure if he REALLY didn't mind going out, and he said -

"It's ok, but, it's up to you. I can't be organizing my own birthday do, can I? (Hehehe! No, Ayah - you can't!). I guess I was just too tired the other day... And I was just thinking, I have not seen Mak today - it's my birthday and all. So, it's up to you. But, I don't want you to cook, etc. We'll just go out for dinner then?"

OKAY - GREEN LIGHT!!!

And I started calling out a few places to make reservations for the night. Settled.

We went to the new house in the afternoon as Hilman's study table and chair were to be delivered between 1:30pm - 2:00pm. Hilman had been looking forward to this. The rest of his bedroom set were actually delivered 2 weeks ago, but, the study table and the chair were out of stock. And Hilman had been waiting and waiting, and for the past 2 weeks he kept on asking - "Mommy, when am I getting my table and chair?!" (at least 3 times a day!). Needless to say, I was also looking forward to the delivery!

The partly assembled study table and chair arrived at 2:15pm, and by 3:00pm everything was set up and Hilman's bedroom set was complete.



Hilman trying out his new study table



Hilman on his new bed.



Hmmmm...doesn't matter if it was Hasya's or Hilman's bed - he still gets pushed out of it by Hasya... Sigh...

Later, father and son played footie outside. As his back was still not fully recovered, Ayah could not kejar the bola sangat, or so he said. Excuses... excuses...Hahaha!



Hmmmmm...if only Ayah didn't have slipped disc...we could've seen his incredible dribbling skills....NOT! Hehehe!



Watch out, Ayah!!!

We went back to SD and got ready for the outing and left for The Curve right after Maghrib. Reached It***an*ies at 8:00pm on the dot. True to It***an*ies motto/ad line - SO GOOD, SO MUCH, SO SHARE - everybody found the food good, the portion humongous, and so, everybody shared their orders. Even then, there were still a lot of left-overs at the end of dinner!

After dinner, it was Karaoke time, and off we went to R*d B*x! The whole clan consists of 7 adults and 7 kids - the oldest being Mak (at 67), and the youngest being Q*dri ( 1 1/2 years old!). We were there from 9:55p.m until nearly 1:00 a.m. (I just hope Hasya will not tell teacher D*da about the Karaoke thingy like she did before...Hehehehe!)

All in all, I think everybody had fun - especially the Birthday Boy. Give Ayah a Karaoke mic anytime and he'd be one very happy boy laaaa! Hahaha!

So much for "a quiet night at home with the kids", eh Ayah?!!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR. WE LOVE YOU VERY, VERY MUCH...

Here are some pics.