Of sports, and birthdays...

Sorry, sorry, sorry... Have been busy, busy, busy!

Exams have started, and I need not say more :)

Anyway, before cerita jadi lemau, I'd better post this.

It's the time of the year when anak-anak kita get the tan, or rather - sun-burnt. Yup - it's Sports Day time :)

Hanna took part in the shot-putt event and she got silver for Class 2. Initially she thought she got the gold, but apparently the teachers also took into account the throws made by the students during the qualifying rounds. It's okay, dear. Silver is good :) You can always try for the gold next year, okay? No pics of her because her Sports Day was held on a Thursday and both Ayah and I couldn't be there :( Most parents couldn't make it. Maybe memang the school wanted it to be a closed thingy? I don't know.

Hanna was also involved in the handball tournament. She's in her school U-15 team and they also had the inter-school tourney last week. She was the Wing and one of the Strikers (I think?). Anyway, they won 1, and lost 2. So, their journey to the next level ended there :( But, I know she had fun practising and playing for her school. That's the most important thing, dear :)

Hasya was in the 200m and also the 4x100m events. She just missed the bronze medal for the 200m run by just a foot, I must say. But, YEAY!!! Her team got GOLD for the 4x100m event! We've never really seen her run on the tracks before, and I have to say, she can really sprint! It just so happened that three of the runners in her team were also with Hasya in the state rhythmic gymnastics team, which I blogged about here. Memang gymnasts ni kuat lari, kot? Hasya was also in the Perbarisan and her house - Tun Perak (Green) won first place.

Hilman pulak was in the Baling Bola dalam Bakul event and his team won the silver medal. And I think, if there was a prize for it, he would have also won the "Student Most-Resembling Udang Bakar" prize that day. Him, being so fair and gebu, habis muka jadi so merah! Kesian betul...

Overall, Green House got second place, behind Red House. And Hasya is praying hard that her legs would grow longer so that she can run faster, and beat Red House in all events next year. That's the spirit, my girl :)

Anyway, Mommy and Ayah are SO proud of you guys!! Well done :)

Petang tu, they didn't go for their Chess and Swimming classes. Balik from Sports - semua melepek...

In the evening - checked in at Sa*ja*a Im*ia* Resort again for a triple birthday celebration - Hasya's, Ibu's Idin's and also Sh*dy's a.k.a Mr.Engineer's birthdays, or in short - "HASYIDIN'S BIRTHDAY" :) It was a Pot-Luck thingy with spreads like Nasi Hujan Panas, Kari Daging, and Acar (On*ir's), Ayam Masak Merah (Moi), Ketam Masak Lemak, Lala Tumis (Ibu), Eclairs (J*), Satay Kajang Samuri (yang dibawa dari Taman Melawati ke KAJANG oleh Re*a, buleh?!), Nasi Lemak, Spaghetti Bolognaise dan macam-macam lagi.

Ibu was the games coordinator and the kids had some water games in the pool, which included water polo, and also a race. Who would have guessed - Hilman won the swimming event! (But, errrr...maybe because he was the ONLY one wearing flippers that night? Laju giler...Hehehe!)

We also had a Karaoke contest, and Ayah got the highest score of 98! Fuiyoooo... don't pray-pray, okay? :)

Another sleepover, but, the Kaum Ibu only went to bed at 4:30a.m :)

Sunday morning - left the "Resort" at 11:00a.m as Hasya and Hilman had their dancing lesson nun on the other side of KL...but, not before having a few rounds of Nasi Lemak with Sambal Sotong and Sambal Udang and Ayam Goreng, and Nasi Goreng Bibik Special. Breakfast included in the package, maaa...Kena lah makan, kan? ;)

Everybody had fun. And needless to say - everybody had extra kilos on them that weekend... :) And nobody cares. Hahaha!

Here are some pics.

The (not quite) sleepover :)

The long awaited day finally arrived!

We had been waiting for it for the last 2 years or so, and On*ir had been teased and chided by us as to why laaaa the construction of her house was taking soooo long to complete. The standing joke was that it was because she took so long to decide on the FONT to be used on the floor plans of the 2 1/2 storey bungalow, and THAT had stalled the building process and progress...Hehehe!

(No lah, On*ir...we know how tedious and nerve-racking it is to build a house from scratch...AND BRAVO to you and Sh*dy for a job well done! The house is REAAAALLLLY beautiful. So, now you guys can sit back and relax, and sigh a breath of relief :))

Anyway, On*ir, Mr. Engineer and their kids finally moved in into their spanking new place about a month ago, and last weekend, we were all invited to their housewarming do, and a few of us yang muka memang tak malu had invited ourselves for a sleepover, too :)

It was supposed to start with Tea at 5:00p.m on Saturday, followed by Dinner and Supper in the evening, and for those self-invited sleepers - Breakfast and Lunch on Sunday were also included in the package :)

Saturday, as usual, was a packed affair for us, and what with the kids' school replacement and all, we only managed to leave SD after Maghrib and only reached Sa*ja*a Im*ia* just after 9:00p.m. This time, we brought with us some Spaghetti Olio and Bubur Chacha to complement the spread prepared by the tuan rumah - Nasi Ayam and Mee Hoon Soup. Aw*n brought some Soto, and No* brought with her some Carrot Cake (yang very the sedap!) And, oh yes - Ibu brought with her some Tauhu Sumbat! :) (By the way, who brought the Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang and the cupcakes, ya?)

While the Mommies were catching up with the latest gossips, and the Daddies were busy watching some football matches over on ASTRO, the kids were busy "officiating" the spanking new swimming pool!

Later, the Mommies and Daddies lepas gian berkaraoke until about 2:30a.m. :)

The hosts were kind enough to give each family a room for the night, and after tucking the kids (and the hubbies) in bed, the Mommies went down for an all-night long chat which lasted until the Azan Suboh berkumandang from Ibu's phone! Hehehe...memang tak ingat dunia!After solat Suboh, baru lah rasa mengantuk giler.

Yours truly only managed to fall asleep just before 7:00a.m, only to be woken up by Hilman who wanted to ask permission if he could go for a swim in the pool again, at 10:00a.m :)

So, the kids had another round of splashing about in the pool until about 11:30a.m.

Sunday Breakfast menu was - Nasi Lemak with Sambal Udang, Sambal Sotong and Ayam Goreng Berempah, and also Nasi Ayam - served with Air Sirap, Teh Tarik and Nescafe Tarik.

First Class Service, or what, huh?! :)

Dengan berat hati, we left the house just after 1:00p.m, as Hanna had to go to her replacement guitar lesson at 2:30p.m. We reached home about 1:35p.m and Ayah and Hanna left again for One-U just after 2:00p.m.

I was struggling to keep awake the whole afternoon, but, by 4:30p.m I was already like a zombie. I think I zonked out just after Asar, and only woke up at 8:15p.m in the evening! Baik punya qadha' tidur!..

Even though my timing was a bit off, and this continued over until the next day - it was all worthed it :)

We all had a great time with friends and family during the Sleepover at On*ir and Mr Engineer's beautiful and cool new abode :)

(Errrr...but, me think - "Sleepover" is somewhat a misnomer for the Mommies, as we didn't really sleep that night. Hehehe! ;))

To the gracious hosts - Thank you so much for having us over the weekend, guys! We had a great time.

Planning to check in again this weekend. Can aaaarrr?! ;)

Oh ya...Lupa la pulok -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ENGINEER!!! :) Semoga dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezqi, and may your life with On*ir and family be blessed always. Insya Allah. Amin.

Here are some pics. Enjoy! :)

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 :(

Mesmerized and blown away...

Nope - this has nothing to do with a certain Mongolian beauty who met with a gruesome end not so long ago on a secluded hill/mountain somewhere. But, this is about another beauty...who...errr...has something to do with a mountain, too. Different beauty, different era, different ending. And different mountain. So, sit back, and relax :)

I had never been to a Musical before. Not even when I was residing in London way back in 1991-92 when the West End was a just a tube ride away from where I was staying. I don't know why I was never interested to go and see Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon and the likes then. The closest I got to a Musical was all those Christmas pantomimes at the end of the year. Pathetic, huh?

When Istana Budaya was having Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical Season 1, I never bothered to find out when the show was on, or even how much the tickets cost. I was saying to myself, "Alangkan West End shows pun I tak tengok...why should I go and watch PGL kan?" (I know...I know...sungguh macam diva, kan?!) And I guess because I never got to watch PGL The Movie, there was no "attachment" to PGL The Musical. I started to pay attention and show some interests only after hearing the rave reviews it got.

PGL 2 came....and went. Just like that. Both Ayah and I were just too busy. By the time we decided that we could go and watch it, all the tickets were sold out. And we thought, that was it. There goes our chance to witness the most talked-about Musical in town.

So, when we heard that there was going to be PGL 3, we decided that whatever the prices were, we would just get the tickets. Everybody else we knew seemed to have watched The Musical. Some had even gone to watch both PGL1 and PGL2 and were going back to watch PGL3, too! So, there must be something with this Musical which kept on pulling/calling people back to it, kan?

We decided to coincide this PGL3 outing with two of our MT members' 40th birthday celebration - Ibu and Re*a. It was kind of a belated birthday treat for them, as theirs were the only 40th birthday parties of the MTs and hubbies' which we didn't manage to organize properly last year. So, their PGL tickets were on the rest of us :)

So, armed with 3 credit cards which entitled us to a 15% discount on the tickets, Ab*d and I went to Ro*k Co*ne* at The Cu*ve about a month ago to purchase the tickets. As one person could only buy 5 tickets per one credit card, we decided that I would purchase 5 with one of my credit cards, and Abid would purchase another 7 using 2 of her credit cards. And we managed to get quite good seats for Thursday 19 February. (I was sitting right smack in the middle - in fact almost directly behind PM Pak Lah malam tu, albeit selang 4 seats behind him! And before anyone starts asking me, NOPE! I didn't see him sleep/doze off that night. Hehehe!)

There were a few celebs which caught our eyes that night, one of whom was the ultimate Perempuan Melayu herself - Datin Seri No*ma*a Sh*msu*in. There were a few dramatists whom the MTs for the lives of ALL of us could not remember their names at all! Haiyaaaa...where got time to watch all those Samarinda and yang sewaktu dengannya, and hafal their names what...I must say Datin Seri NS memang anggun and jelita in real life (or should I say "LEBIH" anggun and jelita dari dulu?)

The show started right on time, and from the moment the curtains were up, we were all mesmerized and blown away with everything The Musical had to offer. There were moments when I suddenly realized my mouth was gaping while watching the superb performance. There were moments when my eyes were welled with tears. There were times when I would just laugh at the hilarious antics portrayed on stage. And the songs...and, oh, the dances - they were just brilliant. And the backdrops and props and all those special effects. Oh my...VERY impressive indeed. Kudos to the whole PGL3 Team!

I can't even pick my favourite character(s) of the night! I loved AC Mizal as Adipatih. I also loved Ida Mariana who played Bayan - she has such a beautiful voice. She was the best singer on stage that night, I must say. But, Stephen Rahman-Hughes a.k.a HUNKY Tuah has such a wonderful and dreamy voice, too! And Adlin Aman Ramli - Mahmud Melaka, was one hell of an entertainer, too. And Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina - what can I say? She was in all her elements that night. She was really into her character...

After the show, the rest of the MTs and their hubbies decided to go for a Teh Tarik session in Keramat, but Ayah and I had to give it a miss as Ayah had to rush back to TMC to see a patient. We also had to fetch the kids from Mak's house in PJ and bring them back to SD as the next day was a school day.

All in all, we had a great time at PGL3 The Musical. Worthed all the money and time spent. And Ayah and I have decided that when P.Ramlee The Musical makes its next round, we're definitely going. This time, bringing the kids with us, insya Allah.

Who needs West End musicals when we have such superb talents in our own backyard, huh? (says the once-a-diva-me-when-it-comes-to-local-musicals... Hehehe!)

(Errrr...do I get commissions for this 6-Star review?)

Here are some (BLUR) pics...

What a Sunday...

How shall I describe it?

It was makan, makan dan makan lagi...AND ketawa, ketawa dan ketawa lagi!!!

In one word - SEROOOONNNNOOOKKKK!!!

The day started off with me driving to Ab*d's place in Vi*la Da*an*ara and reaching there at 9:55a.m. The janji was to reach her place at 9:45a.m, and then we would just car-pool in her car to go to The Pa*il*io*. The MT was to have brunch at The Loaf at 10:30a.m. Biasa lah kan. When it comes to MT gathering or outing, when we fix a time to meet up, we always have to plus (never minus) 1 (or sometimes 2) hours! Hehehe!. Anyway, we left at 10:05a.m, and syukur alhamdulillah the traffic was okay and we reached The Loaf at 10:40a.m. As expected (Hahaha!) we were the first ones there. By 11:25a.m, all the usual suspects were there. Standard lah tu...nearly one hour off the scheduled meet-up time :)

Makan punya makan, sembang punya sembang...we didn't realize that it was already 2:30p.m! We said our bye byes and muah-muaahs and both Ibu and I rushed to Concorde for another get-together at The Melting Pot. This time with our Makcik Bloggers friends. Dup dap...dup dap jugak lah hati (to borrow Ms Hart's description of her perasaan untuk bertemu mata buat pertama kali!) Hehehe!

We reached there just after 3:00p.m, and were greeted by the lady who has made the gathering possible - Mrs Nordin. Already there were Madam Tai Tai, Kak Ezza, Superwomanwannabe, Ms Hart, Zaitgha, Ummi365, The Principal and Busybody. We were later joined by Bella, Kay-Leeda and Tireless Mom. Memula tu memang nervous giler...

I swear memang bergegar Melting Pot semalam! And it was indeed a Melting Pot of blogger friends alright. Everybody just clicked and blended very well with each other. In a way, it was rather strange because even though we had never met before (except for a few who had gone a long way together), it felt like we had known each other for years! Strange...but it was a very, very warm and very, very nice feeling :)

I've known Ibu, MrsNordin, Tireless Mom for the last 28 years. We were at a boarding school together, and The Principal was our junior. But, the last time I saw MrsNordin was about 3 years ago, while I had not seen Tireless Mom since she left ST*, while The Principal - since I left school (and that was a looooooonnng time ago!). As for Ibu, errrrr...tak dapat dielakkan - selalu sangat jumpa whether we like it or not! (HAHAHAHA!!)

As for Superwomanwannabe, the last time we met was probably when my Hanna and her Nadine were about 3-4 years old when we went to visit her and Ja* at her Mom's place in Kemensah (?), when they first came back to Malaysia for good. That was about 10 years ago. She had 2 kids then, if I'm not mistaken. And now, after 3 more kids (for her) and 2 more kids (for me), we met again :) And I've also met Zaitgha a.k.a The Kitchen Goddess, once at a Raya gathering at Kak Ena's arwah Bapak's place last year. Tapi, masa tu I ni pemalu and segan nak mingle mongle coz' saya budak baru berblogging...Hehehe!

As for Madam Tai Tai, Kak Ezza, Ms Hart, Ummi365, Bella, Busybody, and Kay-Leeda, that was the first time we met mata bertentang mata. But semalam we were berpeluk-pelukan macam berjumpa semula lepas 30 tahun tak berjumpa dalam salah satu siri Jejak Kasih... Hahaha!

IT WAS SO SURREAL...

We were chatting away and ketawa bagai tak ingat dunia even after the Hi-tea buffet spread dah tutup. Even Ayah and the kids who came towards the end to fetch (or rather "drag") me home (?!) made a comment - "Fuiyooo...we could hear you guys even from outside!!" Hahaha!

And as for Madam Tai Tai, Hanna made a remark - "Mommy, she looks so posh!" And I agree with her. The birthday girl memang very the posh :)

We HAVE to do this again. SOON.

MrsNordin, Madam Tai Tai, Ummi365, Zaitgha and The Principal presented all the Makcik bloggers with gifts, and I feel so ralat coz' tak sempat to get anything for anybody. So, that is a very good enough reason to meet up again, non? And of course, another reason is to gegarkan ANOTHER place pulak. I don't think The Melting Pot would allow us in again after yesterday. Macam Concorde we all yang punya! HAHAHAHA!

To all the Makcik Bloggers - it was REALLY nice to have finally met all of you yesterday. Thank you, thank you for such a fun-filled afternoon. I dah sakit rahang now ni coz banyak sangat ketawa :)

We parted ways after beberapa rounds of peluk ciums just after 6:00p.m, with everybody already looking forward to the next Makcik Bloggers get together.

And because rasa guilty meninggalkan suami dan anak-anak satu hari, I decided to make up for it by bringing them to Hard Rock for dinner after that :)

So, all fair and square...(But, Mommy still think Mommy had the most fun, okay? :))

Dan sempena dah berjumpa dengan Ms Hart, malam ni I nak masak her famous Ayam Bali. Buleh??! ;)

For more sure heboh reviews, please see MrsNordin, MsHart, Kak Ezza, Superwomanwannabe, Ummi365, Kay and Tireless Mom postings on the get together.

Here are some pics. Enjoy!

My de-stressing process...

Thanks to all who had put in words of comfort and advice in my "Stressed Out" posting before this. It felt good after I poured everything in the posting, but, it felt even better reading your comments. Thanks again :)

Just an update on what happened after that posting -

FRIDAY 24/10/08

(1) I managed to finish all that was needed to be done by 5:30a.m, and somehow I also managed to squeeze in a 2 hour sleep before getting ready for work. That was the first step of me de-stressing myself (albeit just a bit).

(2) And I managed to improve on my slides for my presentation at the office and print out all handouts for my session. Felt better when I looked through the finished work. More de-stressing factor for me :)

(3) I delivered my presentation at 11:30a.m, and received some very positive feedbacks and suggestions. An Aussie Professor who also presented his paper during the same session had proposed that I expand my paper and write a book on the topic! And he said he would be more than happy to provide me with all the old maps which I might need for the book (he's a professor of maritime cartography, by the way). Now, THAT was a MAJOR de-stressing factor for sure :)

(4) We had our Faculty meeting at 3:00p.m. Thank God it did not drag on like it usually did, and this time around there was no intra-departmental bashing of this ONE particular Department at our faculty meeting. So, it was not as stressful as I thought it would be. I just so hate it when departmental issues are brought up at faculty level. Your mess, you clean it up yourself la, kawan... And please, la... keep your politics confined to the department. Buleh?

Anyway, that didn't happen that Friday - so, another de-stressing factor for me :)

(5) My MIL had a makan-makan session at her place for her staff on Friday night, so all of us had our dinner there. No worries for me - no need to think about what to cook for dinner and all. Bliss...(thus de-stressing myself further :)

(6) However, in the middle of dinner, I received a phonecall from my Mommy, informing that my eldest brother had been admitted to the ICU at Si*e D*rb* Health Centre. Ayah and I went to fetch my Mommy and Abah at KD and straight to the hospital. Apparently, my Abang I** had a stroke (bleeding of his brain-stem) while conducting a meeting at work, and the cause of it was his BP. He went in with a BP reading of 240/100+! (Hmmm...obviously HIS stress level was more than mine!)

But, Syukur alhamdulillah, he was alert and conscious, and did not have any weaknesses on any parts of his body. His grip was firm that night, and no slurs as such. He was only complaining of severe headache and numbness on his left side. As I'm writing this, he is now at the normal ward, and the doctors are trying to get his BP down, and he's been given 6 weeks to rest. (But, knowing him, he would be back at work next week for sure...Sigh...)

Anyway, of course this piece of news had brought my stress level up a few notches, and I need to de-stress myself more after that.

SATURDAY 25/10/08

(7) Saturday morning - stress level went up a bit as it was my Supersupir Day, and I had to send and fetch the kids to and from a few of their classes.

(8) Stress level went down in the afternoon when we attended the Badan Anak Negeri Sembilan Raya Do at KG*A. I'm no anak Negeri, but I'm a member by virtue of being married to one and because my MIL is orang kuat persatuan. So, no choice. Hehehe! Anyway, good food can never go wrong. So, the raya do really helped the de-stressing process a lot :)

(9) We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon at Mak's as she was flying off to Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday. Right after maghrib, Ayah and I decided to bring the kids to One-U for dinner. The last time we went to One-U was just before Raya. We had dinner at Fi*h & Co., and after that, we didn't know what happened (probably there was something in our dinner?!), the kids managed to persuade Ayah and I to watch HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 at GSC! As we had nothing planned, and it had been a while since we went out on a proper outing with the kids, Ayah and I surrendered. We also had to drag Dar along.

I hate to admit it, but, I actually ENJOYED HSM3! The choreography was just superb, and the songs were very catchy. But, of course, like the previous HSMs there were so many lame scenes. Even Hanna and Hasya could not help themselves from giggling and laughing out loud during those lame scenes. But, overall - if you need a major de-stressing treatment (like I did), watching HSM3 should do the trick :). Go watch it with your kids!

SUNDAY 26/10/08

(10) Sunday morning, went to Te*co for grocery shopping. Was there from 11:40a.m until 2:15p.m! Punya la banyak manusia!!! Stress level - CONFIRMED shot up. But, I managed to get everything to fill in my fridge and pantry. And there's no better way to de-stress myself than by looking at my fridge/freezer and pantry full to the brim later when I got home (and DAR kemas everything while I surf the net. Kalau I yang KEMAS, blood pressure sure go upstairs... Hahaha!)

I just love it when I open the fridge and freezer and the pantry, and I see that I have everything in there, just in case I suddenly feel like cooking something special. It doesn't matter if I didn't. Yang penting - the ingredients are there. Just in case. A good feeling - that one :)

(11) at 4:15p.m, got a phonecall from Ab*d (one of my MT friends) -

Ab*d : Are you there yet?

Me : There? Where?

Ab*d : Aw*n's House-warming and Open House?

Me : Errr... When did she move to a new house? And errr...I didn't get the invitation pun!

Ab*d : It was in the group e-mail lah!

Me : Ye ke? Alamak. Sorry lah - I've not checked my e-mails for 2 months laaa. Okay, never mind, I'll check it now, and I'll see you at Aw*n's house in an hour.

True enough, the invitation to Aw*n's new home was in one of the 2580 un-opened mails in my Inbox!

Another MAJOR de-stressing session at Aw*n's house that afternoon - with good food and good company in the form of other MTs and their spouses. After Isya', we later adjourned and convened at Ab*d's house in Vi**a Dsara, and lepak till about 11:00p.m.

MONDAY 27/10/08

(12) We left the house just after 9:00a.m and headed straight to the MPH Warehouse Sale at Section 13 PJ. We thought we were early, but there were already throngs of people there. Everybody managed to get books for themselves. Not bad at all - we got 38 books all in all, for about RM600!! That was definitely another major de-stressing point for me - hilang all my guilty feelings that I had with Hanna (especially when she got 18 books for herself!). And of course, it was also a very de-stressing moment when we paid for the books (especially for Ayah) because we thought they would cost us more than RM1,500! Happy, happy, happy!

(13) What better way to further de-stress myself than tucking in in some good food for lunch with the family. We went to Co*y Co*ne* at Jaya 33 and everybody had their favourites. Their sharks fin soup was so yummy...

(14) We then went to jenguk our BJ house (which we had not jenguked for more than 2 months!). Suffice to say, it's time for another call to Badhal Khan. And we also found out that the roof was leaking in a few places and there were water marks in some areas of the house. Stress level naik balik... But, I'm just going to tell myself that IT IS NOT A MAJOR PROBLEM. I'm not going to stress myself out over this. I'm not going to worry. I'm just going to be happy :)

All in all, the de-stressing process over the long Deepavali weekend has really helped. And I'm ready to face it all, insya Allah.

And I guess, what I could gather over the last few days ni - there'll be stressful moments everyday BUT, some things might just creep up while we least expect them, and make us feel better. And we have to always prepare ourselves for other unexpected things which might spoil our day again. The trick is to wait for the positive things to happen, or it they don't, we take things positively. Or we make them happen.

And however stressful we feel our lives are, there are others who lead an even more stressful lives than we do. So, we have to bersyukur with whatever it is that is thrown to us.

Cheers, you all :)

Mee Rebus & another birthday do...

Hmmmm...what else but a posting on makan-makan AGAIN. Hehehe!

After more than 6 months of hinting to yours truly, Ibu finally got her Mee Rebus last night. Hehehe! Sorry, kawan, for having to wait so long :) Gua manyak busy maaa...

Anyway, we had a berbuka do at our place last night, and the main menu was my Mee Rebus.

But for those who have to eat rice for berbuka, we also had Nasi Briayani, courtesy of J* and Iz*am (who also brought some Tauhu Sumbat with them.

Yours truly also prepared some Nasi Putih to accompany the Ayam Percik Kelantan - prepared by Re*a and Ta*s (Errrr....more of the latter actually. Hehehe!) who also brought with them satu GUNI keropok yang sangatlah sedap!

For desserts, I prepared Custard Pudding, while Ibu and Sa*a brought those yummylicious Big Apple Donuts.

There were also some popiah basah which Ayah got from the SD Bazar Ramadhan - one of the better popiah basah around.

I also asked Dar to fry some Ay*mas Hot & Spicy Chicken, and for the kids who could not take spicy dishes, I also made some Kuey Teow Soup for them.

For drinks - we had Sirap Bandung Soda and some Teh Tarik.

Ab*d and On*ir and their cos came slightly later as they had their proper berbuka somewhere else first. Kengkawan lain - Yu*, Et* and Aw*n could not make it as they had prior engagements somewhere else :(

We also had another birthday do for Hilman. The other day it was at Mak's and he was surrounded by girls. This time around he had a REAL fun party because there were boys, boys and more boys around!

The highlight of the night was of course Hilman's birthday thingy, but us Mommies (and Daddies) had our own highlight in the form of reminiscing the Mommies' culinary (or lack of it!!) skills. Hehehe... We even came up with our own Charta and ranking (results of which shall remain within the group sahaja, okay?! Hahaha!)

Later, we (or rather - the hubbies) had a field day gelakkan the wifeys when we went through my album of old photos from zaman sekolah dulu . Masa zaman jahiliah. Even the kids gelakkan mak-mak they all yang posing maut. Cissss...

The last of the guests left just after 1:00a.m - adjourning to Na*i Ka*dar Se*ap for their sahur. Ayah and I didn't join as Ayah was supposed to drive up to Ipoh this morning for a meeting, and he needed his sleep so that he would be fresh.

But, as I'm typing this (and it's 12:23p.m!), he's still sleeping beside me, as he's not feeling that well.

Too much Mee Rebus last night kot?! :)

And as I'm typing this, too, the rest of the MT are (on their way to?) at KLCC for a ladies day out/shopping tak ingat laki... Hahaha!

Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Crazy Weekend...

Today's Merdeka Day, tomorrow's 1st Ramadhan, and it has been a long-ish weekend for me thus far.

It seems like a very long weekend because Ayah is away in Surabaya. And we're missing him loads. He left KL early Thursday morning, and Insya Allah will be back home by 4p.m tomorrow. So, even though we will not get the chance to have our first sahur together as a family this year, insya Allah, we will be able to berbuka sama tomorrow.

However, on the other hand, it has also been a very hectic weekend for me, and the weekend seemed to have passed unnoticed somewhat since I was running here and there like a headless chicken most of the time.

Anyway, just to share with you guys just how much petrol and toll money (and shopping money, of course!) yang habis the last couple of days, here goes -

Friday night :

We slept at my MIL's in PJ. And I accidentally tore my left contact lens while taking it out from my eye before going to sleep...and I realized that I had left my glasses and my spare contact lenses in SD!


Saturday morning :

So, with only my right lens on, I drove Hilman and Hasya to TTDI for their Chess Class at 10:45a.m and after dropping them off, I drove back to SD to get my spare lenses and also my glasses. (Surprisingly, it was not THAT bad driving with just one lens on actually considering the power for my left eye is 525, while my right eye 475!...BUT, memang tak digalakkan buat selalu, makcik...)

As the kids were only finishing at 12:30p.m, I decided to drive back from SD to PJ first to fetch Hanna and Daryati, and also to put all our bags (which I had packed the night before) in the car for our sleep-over at Ibu's that night.

Ibu's Hafiz was having his 7th birthday do, and as we knew that once the MTs dah berkumpul, it would continue until the wee hours of the morning. And since Ayah is away, yours truly did not trust my own driving back from Rawang to PJ masa subuh sepi'e, and therefore had made a self-invitation to sleep at Ibu's. Hahaha! And, it just so happened that Mr. Engineer is also away (in Jeddah), and so, Mrs Engineer (Onair) had also invited herself to sleep over in Rawang with her brood! Begitulah muka-muka tak malu ahli MT... Hahaha!

Saturday afternoon :

So, anyway, after fetching Hanna and Dar and after putting all the bags into the car, we left PJ and went on to fetch Hasya and Hilman at 12:45p.m from their Chess Class in TTDI, and straight away headed to One Utama. Surprisingly, there were not as many people as I expected, and parking was a breeze with the One Privilege Card.

We had lunch at TCRS first (isi minyak before meredah kedai...), and started our shopping spree at 2p.m, which lasted until 5p.m. - the last item we got was Hafiz's birthday presents. And kira punya kira, we managed to get 15 items within that 3 hours. That's an average of about 1 item in every 12 minutes! Fuyooo...Best Personal Record maaaa...

We made our way to Ibu's at about 5p.m. FYI, Ibu had texted saying the party would start at 4:30p.m Malaysian time, so, it came as no surprise when we found out that we were the first of the MT clans to arrive, checking in at Emerald at 5:30p.m... :)

From 5:30p.m until 2:30a.m - it was eat, eat, eat, yak, yak, yak, eat, eat, eat, yak, yak, yak, birthday party and karaoke intervals, eat, eat, eat, yak, yak, yak. Errrr...and I'm talking about the mothers, okay? Frankly speaking we didn't really know what the kids were doing half of the time...They were left to their own devices... And they have become so PRO at that! Hahaha!

Anyway, Here's wishing Hafiz "A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!"

For the record, we only went to sleep close to 3a.m.

Sunday morning :

Had to rush to Shah Alam, as Ayah's niece was having a school concert at Conco*de, and the kids had promised her that they would be there.

After a breakfast of nasi lemak hingga menjilat jari prepared by Ibu's Bibik, we left Emerald at 9:30p.m, and headed straight to Shah Alam using the Guthrie Expressway (berapa banyak tol daaaa??!), and we reached Conco*de at 9:56a.m - just nice, as the concert was just about to start at 10:00a.m. My SIL was already waiting for the kids at the lobby, and I just dropped them there, and made my way to Plaza Mas Alam with Dar.

And you guessed it - we continued with our shopping spree there.

Dar had told me that she did not want another baju kurung, so we set out to get her a blouse and slacks/jeans/pants. We managed to find her baju and seluar AND also another 14 items for me - 9 of which are new tudongs for myself. I've decided sempena bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini , I want to upgrade my hijjab to a different style, which covers all my anak rambut as well (which sebelum ni asyik lah made guest appearances every now and then above my forehead) Insya Allah, with the new style all the anak rambut will be covered from now on.

Sunday afternoon :

After 2 1/2 hours of shopping, we went to fetch the kids at Conco*de at 12:35p.m, and made our way back to SD as I needed to get the keys to our BJ house. All the MT members had decided to come and see it that afternoon as all these while they had only seen the pics and videos of the house. However, unbeknown to me, Dar had decided to do the laundry, thus we could only leave SD after the washing cycle ended at about 2:15p.m.

We left SD at 2:25p.m, and took the Sg. Buloh toll route and managed to catch up with Ibu, Mrs Engineer and their clans on the NKVE. It just so happened that they had just had lunch and had just left the Sg. Buloh R&R, and we headed to BJ in a convoy.

We spent nearly 2 hours at the BJ house and later made our way to Kayu Ma*is Restaurant in BJ for tea (which ended up being more like early dinner for all of us), and by 5:30p.m, everybody made their way home, while the kids and I went back to the BJ house where Dar was just finishing up with the mopping, etc. We had tapau-ed some rice for her, and we only left BJ for Mak's around 6:15p.m after Dar had had her dinner.

We reached PJ at 6:50p.m and I immediately SMSd Ayah (we had been SMSing each other every 2 hours or so for the last 3 days, updating each other on the "damage" done to our pockets...Hehehe...)

My SMS to him : (inter alia)...btw, I spent RM**** shopping dis weekened (and I went on telling him how many items we bought, etc, and what they were, etc., trying very hard to JUSTIFY the damage...Hahaha!)

And what came back from him made me feel less guilty.

His SMS : Dats slightly more thn wat I spent...(until I read the continuation to his SMS!)... >1/2 of wic on my wife! Go spend RM**** more then! ;p

(Alamak!! I had not bought anything at all for Ayah!)

Hmmmm, I hope he's not being sarcastic, maaaannn!

My reply : >1/2 of ur shopping on me? Serious?! Thx, but u rlly shdnt hv! Shd jz get stuff for kids...But, thanks! :D

His SMS : Errr..dat wz only 1 item, dear... :) jz like 4 da kidz coz' time constraint...sori. Don't think hv time 2 get anything 2nite or 2moro...

Hmmmm... Now, THAT has REALLY made me curious. I wonder what Ayah had bought from me which cost about half of what I had spent this weekend...

NOW, I REALLY CAN'T WAIT FOR HIM TO COME BACK!!! Hehehe...

Counting the hours ;)

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you -

"SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADHAN, AND SELAMAT MENJALANKAN IBADAH BERPUASA"

And when you all go to Bazar Ramadhan, make sure you all only have RM15 in your wallet/purse, naaaaa...Jangan lebeh-lebeh naaaa...

Wassalam....

P/S : Sorry, no pics this time as the camera is with Ayah :) Maybe, Ibu can provide the visuals?


P/P/S : Summary of my mad headless chicken weekend dashes over the last couple of days : PJ - TTDI - SD - PJ - TTDI - One U - Rawang - Shah Alam - SD - BJ - PJ, and all in all 10 kali lalu toll...

Of Laksa Asam and a good friend...

I was in Kuching for a few days the other day for a conference, and was working on my slides for my presentation at the hotel room on Monday afternoon, when the phone rang.

It was one of my MT friends.

She is one very hard-working mom, I tell you. A high-flyer, and very good at what she's doing. And she's somebody whom I would say, memang tak boleh duduk diam. She was (still is) on a 2-week MC, and suddenly found that she had so much time in her hand at home, and so, she decided to cook for his brood and the brood's Ayah who had just come back the day before after being away for about 10 days.

The menu - Laksa Asam.

Apparently, she was flicking through our alma mater's Recipe Book (Dari Srikandi untuk Srikandi) and just could not decide on whether to cook Laksa Asam or Laksa Johor. She called just to clarify on some of the ingredients and instructions to whip up a mean laksa dish for her family. She finally decided on Laksa Asam, when I told her that it would be the less remeh between the two :)

We said our bye-byes, and I continued working on my slides.

A few minutes later, an SMS came from her -

"What do I do with d laksa? Rendam air panas n toss? Kan?"

I texted -

"Hehe...If fresh laksa, jz rendam in boiling water 2-5 mins dependg on types. If dry laksa, boil water first, add laksa n boil til soft. Gd luck!"

Then came her reply -

"Tq! Yeay, almost done. Errr...Bibi tanya, letak timun nggak? Bagimana sih, bu' Shana? Kasi in timun nggak?"

I replied -

"Timun ricik halus for garnishing - x need 2 put in kuah. Other garnishg sliced bwg besar, lettuce, chili padi, telur rebus, mint leaves, limau nipis. PETIS. YUMMY!"

And she came back with -

"Mak oiii? Bnyk nyer!"

Hehehe...She never fails to bring a smile to my face everytime she speaks, e-mails, SMS, and of course, when she blogs - even when her heart is not smiling sometimes...

So, to my friend (you know who you are), I hope the Laksa Asam turned out better than what you expected it to be, and that your boys enjoyed it sehingga menjilat jaghi. You should give yourself more credit when it comes to cooking la, kawan...

And more importantly, I hope you are embracing the hikmah well...

One of these days, I'm going to call you up for your Ketam Masak Lemak Kuning recipe, okay?

In the mean time, have a good rest, and enjoy the time with your heroes ;). And if you ever feel like cooking Laksa Johor - errrr, please call J*!

Hahaha...

Take care, my friend :)

(((((HUGS))))))


P/S : You did say I could blog about this didn't you? ;) Hehehe...

Interval : Emerald Rawang Birthday Bash!!!

Hi there, folks. Thought I'd take a breather from continuing with the Cerita Chenta sequels for a bit, and share some pics with you guys.

Have been meaning to blog about it for a few weeks now, but the Cerita Chenta took the better of me...Hehehe...

Anyway, the Majlis Tertinggi had another gathering a few weeks back, and this time, Ibu and her Ayah played hosts at their fabulous spanking new place in Emerald Rawang. It was basically a 3-in-1 thingy : their house-warming do, their Idin's 12 b'day bash, and four of Ahli MT's 40th birthday celebration (Ayah, myself and Mr. & Mrs. Engineer).

And it was really great to be able to catch up with everyone, especially with Y*s and Bu*an, and Aw*n and Nu*q after so long!

The theme was "Everything Football", and we went in our favourite football team jerseys. We had all the perkara wajib for our normal gatherings - good food, hilarious time, karaoke session, and great company, of course :)

Back by popular demand/request was my Char Kuey Teow. Ibu had asked me not to cook too much, as there would be A LOT of food (and she was right!), so yours truly only cooked 2 kilos of Kuey Teow. Should have doubled that actually...it was all gone within 20 minute...Hehehe!

And of course, there was Ibu's speciality, too - Masak Lemak Kuning Ketam! Tak sempat nak ambik gambar, dah licin!!! I really don't know how many kilos of ketam ended up in Ibu's wok that day, and I've lost count of how many batches of the ketam dish Ibu cooked for us. I only know that it was finger-lickin' good!

Ibu organized some fun games for the kids, and the highlight of the evening was definitely the "Make-Your-Daddy-Up-As-Your-Mommy" game sempena Mother's Day. The Daddies were so sporting and they actually let all the kids have a free hand at dressing, accessorizing and making them up! Well, I guess that's what happens when you're among friends you're very comfortable being with. No qualms, no shame, no pride whatsoever! Ilek...zilch! HAHAHA!

But, of course the pics of the Daddies in all the Mommies' accessories and make-up are not for public display, but, I have made a note to self to really keep them in a safe place. Who knows, in the future I can use them to peras ugut the Daddies?! Hahaha! So, to all the MT's hubbies reading this - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! You all better be nice to ALL the Ahli-ahli MT, comprende?

By the time we started the karaoke session, most of the kids dah bergelimpang all over the house.

And seperti biasa, majlis bersurai pada pukul 4 pagi...


Thanks everyone for the birthday presents => cool snorkelling goggles/gear from diving fanatics Iz*am and J*; ties and a lovely brooch from the prim and always proper Re*a but not necessarily so T*bs (Hahaha! Ampun!!!), and a bouquet of lovely roses and a teeny weeny Bl*sh lingerie from (romantics? xxx craze?!) Ab*d and Ra*f (HAHAHAHA!) Thanks guys... And just for the record - ALL the presents have been put to good use...(winks*! Hahaha!)


AND THANKS, Ibu and Sa*a for being such great hosts! Must do this again. Soon.

P/S : LOOOOVVVVEEE YOUR NEW ABODE, IBU!!!

Enjoy the pics!

MT Weekend...

Last weekend was a "Majlis Tertinggi" weekend.

For the uninitiated, my "Majlis Tertinggi" is an apolitical body consisting of 6 hot-looking and hard-working Mamas (Hahahaha! We wished...) whose friendship has spanned for more than 27 years from WAAAAAAYYYYY back then masa zaman "ketoye-an" when we were schooling in JB until now when all of us are settled all over Klang Valley. I posted a couple of postings on Majlis Tertinggi early last year here and here (which were actually taken from my earlier (now defunct) Friendster's blog for those who may want to be initiated... Hehehe!

A typical MT gathering would involve kids parties and/or MT's kecoh sessions in one room and our spouses watching ASTRO Channels (Sports or Movies) WITHOUT muttering a single word (except when somebody scores a goal) in another room. MORE often than not, we - ahli MTs and hubbies, would have dinner outside - followed by Karaoke sessions at R*d B*x (minus the kids) until about 4:00a.m. Sometimes, we would readjourn at K*yu Na*i Ka*dar @ Mutiara Damansara for teh tarik and would be back home in time before Suboh.We make a point to meet up at least once a month to let off steam.

You can never get a more mismatched groups like the MTs and our spouses, I tell you. You can walk in a room which is like Pasar Borong Selayang having a Kempen Pilihanraya, and when you go to the next room it's like going through a mortuary... (Ok, ok...I may be exaggerating here, but, it's not that far off...Hahaha!). However "mismatched" all of us are, collectively, we have 18 kids between us ranging from ages 14 to 3 years old. Hahahaha!

One thing we realized - all the ahli Majlis Tertinggi are very loud and kecoh (only when we're together, that is. Outside - we're pretty demure and serious. Wakakaka!!! Yeah, right...), while all our husbands are our total opposites. And we don't have any problem with that. The beauty of it all is that our men get along very well with each other, and so we never feel guilty when we have our gatherings because the men would be tagging along every time. (Paksa rela?!!! Hahaha!)

Ooopss! I've digressed.

Anyway, on Saturday, J* (a.k.a Mak Datin SS3) and Iz*am threw a birthday party for S*ra at Tr*pi**na Bowl, and the kids had fun! All ahli MTs (except for R*ha a.k.a Rasah Kemayan, who's now residing in Taman M**aw*ti) were there with hubbies and kids. We were there from 5:00pm until 8:30pm.

There were 2 coaches on hand, teaching the little ones bowling techniques, etc. (But I think yours truly needed the coaching MORE sebenarnya!). The kids were divided into 5 teams, with one parent "assisting" them. Errrr....I think I did more damage to the team, than helping them! Luckily for my Team, Hanna came just in time from her Piano theory revision class to take over my place and managed to pull the average up. But alas, no amount of strikes and spares could help my team with all the damages I had created earlier on! Sorry kids! Aunty janji tahun depan Aunty ambik lesson from Aunty Ibu (who was the highest scorer for the day! Chaya laaahh, Ibu.... Tapi, tak achi coz' Ibu dah training 2 bulan sebelum ni...Hahahah!)

From Tr*pi**na, we made our way to continue with the party at J* and Iz*am's place. Reason being, the kids tak puas main lagi, or rather - Mak Bapak nak lepas gian....The hosts had just installed a new Karaoke System at their home, and check this out - it has over 5000 songs in its list! Tak ingat dunia lah we all...Hahaha!

Pizzas ordered, kids sorted with PS2 and computers upstairs, and after MT's kecoh sessions in the Dining Room, the party was adjourned to the AV Room, and the melalak session went on until 2:30a.m!!! This went on even after Iz*am had to leave at 12:30a.m as he had to mengiring calon-calon Pilihanraya in Kedah on Sunday. Tuan Rumah sudah pergi, guests melalak lagi...Hahaha! Most of the lagu-lagu wajib for everyone were in the list, and Ayah and Ibu's Ayah had the time of their lives crooning. But, we couldn't find a Zaiton Sameon's song for Ibu to sing that night. Dang! As for me - I just can't explain it, everytime I held the mic and sang, suara tak keluar...It MUST be the mic...It MUST be the mic...Hahaha! We left J* about 2:30a.m and reached SD at 2:45a.m, and slept at about 3:00a.m.

The next morning, we had to wake the kids up rather early as Hasya and Hilman had their traditional dance class in PJ. After Hasya's lessons, D*da - her dance instructor came to me and said,

"Hasya was not focused and was dreaming away during the lesson today. And when I asked her why, she said, she slept at 3:00a.m this morning because Mommy and Ayah were having Karaoke at a friend's place until 2:30a.m?!!"

- GUILTY AS CHARGED - Kantoi...

Anyway, here are some pics. Enjoy!

Birds of a Feather : Addendum *

Toughts recorded on March 02, 2007...

* Addendum : Meaning - this posting would make a whole lot more sense if you were to read the posting before this first *


It just occured to me why only ONE of my Majlis Tertinggi friends (i.e. IBU) is in this Friendster thingy. IBU is a 100% choleric - so, she HAS to be in it! No two ways around it, man....

Anyway, let's just say, IBU, tomorrow you were to ask the rest of the Majlis Tertinggi guys this question -

IBU : Hey, you guys, why haven't you accepted Shana's invitation to join Friendster?

I BET the replies would be :

Queen of Phlegs of Villa Damansara :

Errr...ada invitation ya? How come I didn't get it? Anyway, does it involve me answering calls or replying SMSs? Can I just order McD or Pizzahut takeaway if the people in Friendster have to come over to my house....

HAHAHAHA!!!

(Errr...in the first place, my dear, you probably would have received the invitation IF you OPEN your e-mail sometimes?)

Sanguine Mak Datin of SS3 :

Friendster? What's that? And how EARLY do I have to wake up for that?! Anyway, do you guys know that ZARA ada Sale now?!!! Bestnyer!!!!!! I can't wait to go shopping!!! I have been aiming to get this really nice, cute, etc.....

HAHAHAHA!!!

Phlegmatic/ Melancholic of Bandar Hussein Onn :

Aku tak tau la... Aku kena buat costing semua dulu before aku join... By the way, FONT Friendster tu macam mana ahhh? Aku kena make sure okay semua dulu....

HAHAHAHA!!!!

Melancholic of Rasah Kemayan :

Aku susah la nak join....Laki aku tu kan....

HAHAHAHA!!!!

ADOI.... MINTAK AMPUN KAWAN-KAWANKU ....SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR BATIN....

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (I am literally crying my eyes out laughing at this moment.....) I AM REALLY, REALLY, SORRY, YOU GUYS.....(HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!)

But, I (REALLY) DO rest my case... HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Wassalam.... HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

P/S : To many of you out there who didn't really get the joke, wherever you are - please accept my humble apologies...I just realized that you would only find this hilariously funny IF you knew these people...and oooooh maaaaannnn....how I wished you DO know them...

Birds of a Feather...

Thoughts recorded March 02, 2007...


I was on the phone with Ayah just now, from the time he was walking to the car at the hospital until he found a parking space at The Curve (no prize for members of "Majlis Tertinggi" for guessing why he's at The Curve on a Friday night...wink wink!).

Anyway, we were just catching up on things that happened since we last spoke to each other on the phone this morning, and the conversations we had with the kids, and others, and all - and he mentioned that he had read the comments made by IBU on my posting on Personality Plus, which he thought was pretty funny (I totally agree!), and he said that all my "Majlis Tertinggi" friends ARE pretty funny... And I said to Ayah, "Well...birds of a feather, flock together..." But then, that made me think. "Hang on! We ARE NOT the same at all!".

For a start, there's our IBU from Green Park Rawang (a self-confessed choleric!). Hahaha! How more choleric can one get?! Like - "I don't want to hear any excuses...I just want to hear REASONS, like yesterday!!! You're FIRED!!!!" LOL!!!

Then there's the Queen of Phlegmatics of Villa Damansara who is the most laid-back person I have ever known in my entire life! Never raises her voice, always cool and collected, never panics. Always smiling...But, she can be pretty choleric sometimes. She can really juggle hundreds of things at the same time, I'm telling you. Imagine this, driving her Estima at 150km/h down to JB, on the phone with her office, while trying to keep her daughter still (the little princess was bouncing up and down on the front passenger seat!), and check this out - managed a work-related teleconference while having an outing with the rest of Majlis Tertinggi!

Talk about excelling under pressure!

Then there's our soon-to-be Datin of SS3 (insya Allah...Aamin) - who pretty much, I would say a sanguine through and through. Never has anything bad to say about anybody, always excited, always very animated, always has the "who-cares-what-time-I-wake-up- tomorrow" attitude. LOL!!! (Errr...I think the majority of the Majlis Tertinggi HAVE that attitude, actually...) But, she knows what she wants (so, there's a choleric streak in her, too). You should see how good she looks now - sheer discipline - making her way to the gym religiously...) Hats off to you, my dear Mak Datin....Hehehe!

And of course, our Bandar Hussein Onn friend...Another phlegmatic! BUT, my word...she can be so melancholic sometimes. Errrr....how many people out there do you know who would actually change the FONT (I repeat - THE FONT?!!) on the plan of their new house, like 10 times (maybe? or more?) before they finally think the plan looks good? She has been working and working and working on it for as long as I could remember! Oh maaaannnn...hurry up, woman!!! Bila kitoghang can go to your house-warming do at Saujana Impian ni?!!!

Then, there's our melancholic friend in Rasah Kemayan. Always making sure that everything is in order - has been trying to make sure the husband is in order, too!!! LOL!!! Errrr... he's a 100% sanguine, my dear...Just let him be! Nothing much you can do there, except love him...(LOL!) which I know you do! Hehehe!

And then...there's me...What you see is what you get... errrr...maybe not all the time, though (?!). I think I have a split-personality, depending on who I'm with, and where I am...Hmmm...That can be REALLY dangerous maaaannnn!! Anyway, small matter...

At the end of the day, I guess the saying - "Birds of a feather flock together..." does not ring true anymore... I guess as long as you feel really comfortable with all the birds, and the male birds are all comfortable with all the other male birds in the flock, then we will get one very big HAPPY flock of different birds of different feathers, maybe flocking together at The Curve, Rawang, Villa Damansara, Bandar Hussein Onn (Wei!!! Saujana Impian bila?!!!), SS3, Rasah Kemayan, and Sri Damansara anytime...

To all the birds of different feathers out there, wherever you are, flock with the other flocks sometimes...Who knows? You might find a flock which you feel so comfortable to be in, that you feel...so at home...together...wherever you are...

Wassalam...