Talak

I went to a lot of weddings this month like most Malaysians in December and every wedding I attended, heck… even all the wedding signs I saw along the street reminded me of a conversation I had with my colleagues on polygamy.

At my old workplace, my manager En. X ( don’t want to name names sebab takut kalau bini dia baca habih dia and ngan aku-aku sekali….. he he) is an advocate for polygamy. He loves to lecture us about the beauty of it and how it actually benefits women.

“Untung dik….” He said one day to both Kak D and I as I looked at him with boredom and Kak D with sheer anger.

“Orang perempuan akan dapat kawan kalau suami dia kawin lain… Yang you boleh kongsi segala masalah you….” Said he unconvincingly.

“Cik X… ni ha I ada kawan baru ni ha… si A ni…” Answered Kak D. “Tak payah si P (her hubby le) kawin lain untuk I dapat kawan !! Masalah I nanti Cik X oi, dia le yang bawak… Takkan I nak pegi cerita kat dia pasal suami I tak balik sebab because of her lah suami I tak balik !! Gila apa ?”

“Jangan dik….” Said he who apparently coveted death at that time. “ You akan dapat kawan yang jadi adik-beradik you…. Yang akan sama-sama susah and senang dengan you…..”

“Cik X…. adik-beradik I ada lapan…. 5 perempuan…. Kenapa I nak tambah lagi ?” She answered, totally taking the bait. I was quiet because we have gone through that conversation before many, many times and I know he just wanted to cause mischief…. He he…

“Itu le orang perempuan…. Tak paham…. Sebab itu Allah jadikan lelaki Khalifah sebab orang perempuan tak rasional. Asyik pikir dia punya cemburu je…. Blah, blah, blah…..” I just looked at him, jumping around trying to make his case.

Then he said, “Sebab itu lah Allah bagi kuasa talak tu kat laki…. Kalau dapat kat perempuan, talak 3 habis dalam masa setahun !!” He smiled and laughed and was generally having a good time, taunting us.

At that, I finally had to open my mouth. “Cik X… Allah tu maha besar Cik X. Kalau dia bagi talak kat perempuan, you ingat dia bagi 3 ke ? I am sure dia bagi sekurang-kurangnya 58 !…”

He was so shocked with what I said that he stopped his pacing and hand gesturing and jumping. Then he laughed out loud. “You ni kan dik, memang tau. …” He said between laughs. “You bayang kan yek… I ni kat mahkamah ni sebab Kak B dah ceraikan I talak 12….. wah ha ha ha… Pastu kan hakim tu punya phone bunyi...Toot-toot... Angkat2 dia punya bini, gaduh-gaduh hakim tu kena cerai talak 43 !! Busy dik, mahkamah syariah kalau macam tuh, dik !!” He started jumping up and down again.

Wah ha ha ha … he went.

.

He never lets me forget it.

Movie Review : Twilight

Haven’t been to the movies much lately. Been to a few but was not enthusiastic enough to write about it. Although Quantum of Solace was amazing ( a lot of people didn’t like it… but I enjoyed it enough…. Daniel Craig is oh so good…. Good enough to eat that is…) but I was not in a review writing mode.

Talking about good enough to eat brings me to the title of this entry…. Twilight and what a beautiful story it is. The movie that made movie review a necessity again... Ha ha..I had always been a fan of fiction… you know something that takes us away from our everyday existence… I mean my favourite movies among others are Transformers, Harry Potter, Superman and Star Wars…. Up until now my favourite series would always be Star Trek and Angel… He he…. Do not want to be rooted to the real world when I park my butt in front of the screens (big or small). So Twilight to a person of my taste is just perfect.

And perfection it was. It is a beautiful, lovely romantic movie. The vampire and werewolves and all those stuffs made it even more interesting. And, Robert Pattinson is the essence that made me bit my fist. Just asked my husband what I told him when I first laid eyes on Mr Pattinson as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter.

Went to see it with my hubby. He got us the kerusi romen (as he fondly calls the couples’ seat at the Cineleisure) and therefore we were high up there. Before the movie started, a gaggle of girls came in and sat like 10 rows in front of us. They were chatty as girls usually are and we were much relieved when they shut their traps when the movie started.

However when the delicious although very pasty looking Edward Cullen came in, the screaming started. Babah and I looked at each other in shock before we burst out laughing. They were in a frenzy, those girls, screaming and clapping whenever he appeared. So much so that I too started screaming with them. It was the most fun time I had in the movies !! The masses can really influence you, eh ?

Ha ha !!

Anyway, I love the movie because it was so romantic (I have mentioned that before haven’t I ? Just want to drive the message home… he he), set in a dreamy location with excellent actors (Yeah, I managed to get my eyes off Robbert Pattinson). I don’t know what is it but the movie really captured my heart. What a girl to do then but get the book ?

The book was better than the movie. I think because I was already well acquainted with the faces of the characters so the words came alive ten-fold. It was really exhilarating because I do not have to work hard to imagine the house and the forests and the town because I had already seen it… so 10 points for me for watching the movie first before reading the book !! He he…

I was clever enough to snap the first 2 books of the Twilight saga but was stupid for not buying all 4 when I had the chance because when I finally finished reading the second book, all bookstores in the Klang valley had sold out every single book of the saga. Every one. Not a page was left for me to cling on.

I quickly called my mate Munira to tell her of my woes, and since she was super duper crazy of Edward Cullen more than me, saved me form my literary meltdown by telling me that Midnight Sun (Twilight written in Edward’s perspective) is available on the net. Only 12 chapters but 12 chapters are better than nothing, eh ? And let me tell you, Midnight Sun is more intense than Twilight. I totally love it.


After watching Twilight at home 2 nights ago, I looked at Babah and said, “Why do you never ever take me tree climbing on our dates ? Look at them, Edward and Bella…. So bloody marvelous talking on tree branches….”


Babah who had been with me for 15 long years didn’t even look at me when he said, “Awak panjatlah dulu… karang saya ikut…..” Before adding, “Cacing pun takut, nak panjat pokok konon…. “ He he….


Yelah Babah…..

Ha ha

Kelakar wei.... cerita ni. Again aku ambik dari orang lain punya blog. Sorry... this is really funny. I ahve to share this... He he..

Najis Kecil, Najis Besar

Semoga dijadikan iktibar bukan bahan ketawa, hari ni hari dia mungkin besok hari kita.Betul tak.

Masa zaman kami dulu tok imam tu tanya "ko orang islam nak kawin nak cuba tanya soalan sikit yang saya ingat. :-a) Cuba Mengucapb) Apa rukun dan fardunya.Berpeluh juga BEB.Pada cuti hari minggu yang lalu, aku menghadiri Satu Majlis akad nikah kawan pada kawan ku. Waktu tu aku bercuti dikampung dia. Jadi bila ada kenduri macam tu dia pun pergi dan ajak aku sekali. Aku pun ikut sama.

Masa tu majlis akad nikah tu dijalankan diruang tamu. Ramai orang aku tengok, sambil duduk bersila mengelilingi tok kadi dan pengantin lelaki. Dahsyat, pengantin tu duduk atas bantal macam raja. Aku jarang tengok majlis macam nih. Jadi masa bersila tu, aku pun mengesot sikit2 untuk dengar apa yang tok kadi akan tanya.

Rupanya macam2 jugak tok kadi tanya.Tapi ada satu soalan yang menyebabkan aku malu besar.....Tok kadi tanya pasal satu hari berapa kali kene sembahyang, dengan lajunye mamat pengantin tu jawab "lima". Tok kadi tanya lagi, bagi contoh2 najis kecil, dia pun jawap kencing baby yang kecik2 lagi. Tok kadi pun angguk ler, jadi aku rasa jawapan tu ok la kut.

Tok kadi tanya lagi contoh najis besar, mamat tu mula dah panik, jeling kiri, jeling kanan, mula tengok siling, aku rasa macam nak tolong je mamat pengantin tu...bukannye susah, jawapannya anjing ngan babi je,..tapi mamat tu dah mula berpeluh jantan keluar kat dahi....tok kadi mula senyum...Aku sebut dalam hati moga2 dia dengar 'anjing ngan babi la hoi', tapi rupanya aku cakap dalam hati dia tak dengar.

Aku tak tahu apa yang jadi selepas itu, kerana majlis tu jadi kecoh kerana ramai orang yang berada disekeliling majlis tu sambil minum air sirap, tersembur keluar minuman tu terkena baju ramai orang, aku pun sama, masa tu aku tengah minum sirap tu, tiba2 aku semburkan balik, dah kene member kat tepi2, kecoh jadinya, aku pegang mata aku, penuh dengan air mata.

Yang aku ingat masa tok kadi tanya tentang contoh najis besar kat pengantin tu keadaan senyap sunyi....tapi bila pengantin tu jawap "Taik Gajah" suasana jadik hingar bingar dengan gelak ketawa orang yang dah tak boleh tahan, nak control macamana ...taik gajah... besar betul..nak2 bila gajah makan durian.

Mak Mah sebelah rumah

Tiba – tiba hari ni aku teringat kat Mak Mah, neighbour kami masa kami tinggal kat seksyen 6. Mak Mah and suaminya Pak Chot. Depa ni mak bapak Datuk Azhar Mansur, so bila si Azhar start belayar memang terkejut beruk lah kami.

Anyway, I love Mak Mah. Many of my childhood memories included her as she taught me a thing or two.

Like how to eat siput sedut. My mother never cooked siput sedut but I love them because whenever Mak Mah had it in her menu, she would call me over (she doesn’t ask for my mom’s permission because she is the respected elder and in a Malay society, she can pretty much do anything she wants. Plus, my mother trusts her… so no worries there I suppose… Or she did ask for permission, I just never knew it…) and I would eat and eat and eat. She would sit next to me and tell me stories or just be there. It was always very comforting. I feel safe with her.

She also taught me not to chew with my mouth open. “Tak baik… hang pompuan… Malu aihh…. Katup mulut tu bila kunyah….” or something like that. I do remember her emphasizing on malu sebab perempuan, though. I listened to her so much so that one of my pet peeves is if people chew with their mouths open in front of me. I hate it. Hate it. My dad used to say every time I am due home for summer, he would caution my siblings that they must be on their best behaviour during meal times because I would be around soon. He he….

Petang-petang, we would go over to her house and play in her frontyard. I do not remember her having any children or grandchildren our age, but we kids were always playing in her lawn. Such kindness Mak Mah and her family have.

But…. Yang paling best pasal Mak Mah is she would intervene if aku kena ligan dengan my dad. Many times she would lecture my dad about his parenting skills whenever she heard me screaming. I would gratefully hug her from behind, hiding from my dad. Aku pun selalu le jerit extra sikit, enough for Mak Mah to hear and come to my rescue.

He he…… Apa habaq Mak Mah la ni, na ?

My friend for life

I was at KLCC on Tuesday, very much alone, waiting for my boss. I informed Shazmi of my predicament and he came to my rescue. So we walked, without anywhere in particular to go and bizarrely found ourselves looking at fridges.

Now this is one thing I do not know about my friend, how much he knows about fridges and their prices. He he…

Well I suppose since he will be setting up home with his fiancée soon, he had been looking around for one and in that process managed to be well informed on the many, many brands, litres (?) and prices of fridges.

After that, I went to accompany him to the bank where he bumped into a friend. I stood a respected distance away and when they bid each other goodbye, I noticed Shazmi’s friend looked at me. I politely ignored her once or twice over.

“I have to stop be seen with you..” He whispered to me.

“Why lah ?”

“Because my friend thought I’m marrying you !!”

Well, thank you my friend for sounding like that was the most absurd, ridiculous, laughable and preposterous thing on earth.

While I was pregnant with Adik, Babah was busy being a dealer (not drugs but short deposits) and I was without a car or the license to drive it. So I had to rely on my family and friends to take me around. Sometimes Amelia but usually Shah. Can you imagine the very bachelor Shah's (at that time. Now he is married) ability to pull girls while walking around with me ? But he didn't care did he ? I needed someone to take me, so he did. We even went to a kenduri together once. He being a bachelor at that time should really refuse to be seen with me waddling next to him, since there are a lot of girls hanging around at weddings and all.... But he did ...... And I am ever so grateful.

.

So, that was why I wanted to pull Shazmi's ears for even daring to suggest that we should stop fraternizing with each other. Even if it was a joke.

But still when he forcefully steered me towards his office, because he wanted company for the 3 minutes journey, I happily obliged because he is a dear friend. As much as I want to thump him, I want him to remain my friend.

Bila orang perempuan bercerita

My friend and I were discussing children the other day. She is a very close friend of mine so we were comfortable discussing about the problems we have in raising our respective children.

Of course our level of intimacy allowed us to talk about our respective partners also. Being women, we fancied ourselves the more patient and serene half of our relationship. And with patience and sereneness (ada ka perkataan tuh ?), came also astounding logic. He he… well I did say fancied…

Anyway, we discussed how unsympathetic our husbands when it came to our progeny’s limitations. We agreed that their expectations are too high, especially when helping with homework.

“Macam mak aku pernah katalah,” said I. “My father bila mengajar kita orang mengaji, kalau sorang tak meraung tak sah. Dia yelah dah belajar, pandailah… he cannot understand that we cannot get it the first time….”

“Exactly….” My friend agreed.

“So… aku pernah dengar mak aku kata, anak bapak aku patut lahir-lahir… terus umur 40. Dah mature, dah pandai… baru dia senang….”

Of course we laughed and the jokes came in.

“Uii….. tak comelnya…. Dah berkedut… buruk gila…”

“Ha ! Ha ! Lahir-lahir terus ada misai…” I added.

Then my friend added, “Keluar keluar terus jadi Datuk K…” Terdiam kita org berdua. Then both of us shuddered and simultaneously went “Uweekkkk !!”

He he…. Termuntah den……

Sayang...

2 weeks ago I was informed by Juliette, the administrator at Yamaha Music school that Abang’s teacher had resigned from her position. His new teacher would be coming in next month.

I was shocked of course because there was no indication what-so-ever that his teacher was leaving. I told Juliette as much and then she sighed.

“Kesian dia lah….” She said. “She has a family problem lah, that’s why… Her son had a mental breakdown, 2 – 3 weeks before SPM or PMR, I cannot remember…” She confided.

I was so surprised. And upset for the family. “Kesian kan ?” Juliette agreed.

Apparently, Abang’s teacher didn’t realize things we were wrong with her eldest child until she saw him talking to himself. He had since expressed his hate towards his mother and had threatened to harm himself. He had abandoned his studies altogether. She of course couldn’t concentrate on her work, with the worrying and the crying and trying to find a solution for her troubled son.

Is it caused by exams pressure ? If it is, and I suspect as much, then what a waste, to loose your mind because of the rigidity of our schooling system. It is really high time for Malaysia to re-evaluate its education system. I couldn’t compare our system to anywhere else in the world except for the UK because I am familiar of how they work.

In the UK, some doesn’t even believe in university education. Work experience is more prized. In my university course itself, 40% of the students were part-time students, where they started as engineering apprentice with manufacturers like Boots, Walkers and Cussons. And by far, they are the smartest in class because they actually understand the mechanism we learnt as they have encountered it on a daily basis. We novices looked at a stroboscope and wondered when am I going to use this ? What is this thing, really ? But they know the why and the hows. Their understanding makes them first class degree holders during my year.

Another factor I think is the level of maturity. Maybe they are better students because they have already wisen up, gotten calmer and have dealt with whatever teenage angsts they were suffering. It is never too late, isn't it ? They didn't waste the university year by being a Mat Rempit but went on to learn a skill. They became engineers first before getting the degree.

In England, you can start from the very bottom and literally climb up the corporate ladder to be at the top. One of HSBC’s top gun in London is a lady who has only A-Levels to her name, not even a diploma. She got there because of the experience and acumen she accumulated over they years. Something that you cannot get through book learning.

In Malaysia, you need certificates every step of the way. I remember a friend whose husband only has a diploma but is doing managerial work. However his pay and designation doesn’t match the work he is doing, just because he lacked the certificates. He can’t even ascend to the top because of that reason.

I am not saying that we should do away with universities but what I am saying is learning is not for everyone. Create more opportunities for those who just cannot do learning as their brilliance could be undiscovered or worse become totally lost. The Education Ministry should work with business owners to create apprenticeship program for school leavers who aren’t interested to continue studying but interested to learn a trade. Maybe there are companies who offered that sort of programme in Malaysia (like MAS) but it is not common knowledge. Many people are unaware that sort of program exists. Plus, they usually cost a bomb. Make it accessible to everyone is another thing to consider.

-

Probably that is why the boy lost his mind, thinking if he doesn't succeed then all is gone and the future looks bleak. Maybe he is thinking "I don't understand this..." but he still has to plough on because his parents are depending on it. As exam time drew nearer, he got more desperate and well.... started to withdrew from the real world. My own parents had always maintained that without education, we will be reduced to become clerks all our life, which is true. Malaysia is not UK where a drop-out can own a chain of record stores !!

-

To become a football coach you have to have at least a diploma first. Can you imagine, somewhere out there is a boy who could be a brilliant coach but because his SPM results was so bad, he lost the opportunity to gain a place in further education, thus rendering him an unqualified coach.

-

Please create a place for people who aren’t interested to study a place to go to ease the pressure. University should not be the only way to the future. Then maybe there won’t be anymore Mat Rempits.

Ada orang belanja minyak...

Something funny but sweet happened to me the other day. On the way back from work, I stopped by for gas at Petronas next to Tesco Extra. As I was filling my hungry car (very hungry inefficient Gen-2) I heard a soft, “Kak… Kak…” from my right.

I turned and saw a young Indian man looking at me, gas pump nozzle in his hand.

“Ya ?” Said I.

“Kak… saya ada minyak lebih ni kak. Akak nak tak ? Tank saya dah penuh lah…” He asked politely. I peered over at his side and saw a motorcycle.

Entah kenapa aku naik segan… he he….

I said to him, “Eh.. kan boleh pegi mintak duit balik kat counter. Mintak refund balik lah….” Said I while consciously aware that I just gave my son a lecture on if people offer you something, just take it, don’t let him hanging there. I gave him that talk because after his recent hair cut, the barber fellow offered him sweets before we left. However because the sweet he offered was Kopiko which my son doesn’t like, he politely refused. The barber fellow insisted and my son again refused then I cubit him and asked him to just take it. Both the barber and me sighed in relief when he did, for some reason. Sometimes people could take offense if their act of benevolence is rejected, right ? So there I was, rejecting this lovely boy’s offer. However it was his turn to look segan.

“20 sen je lah, kak. Malas nak pegi sana ambik balik 20 sen….”

He he….. I really shouldn’t refuse people’s kind gesture kan ? So I smiled sweetly at him and asked him to wait while I finished pumping gas. When I withdrew my nozzle, he was kind enough to fill in his 20 sen worth of minyak for me.

However both of us flamed in embarrassment again when it took him probably 2 seconds to do it. I gave him my brightest thank you, he went red in the face again and we went on our separate ways.

-

I will always remember this nice chap who belanja me minyak… Seriously, he could have just left the 20 sen in the pump right, but he didn’t want to waste…. SO dia sedekah...He he….

Sunday hujan lebat giler

Apa aku nak cerita hari ni…. Weekend aku idak le sebusy mana… Biasa je… In fact aku migraine and therefore while Babah keluar, aku duduk rumah sorang2 melayan migraine. Pastu hujan lebat giler, pastu aku tutup tingkap. And lepas tu bila main switch trip, aku menjerit2 suruh Babah balik… he he….

Bila Babah balik, he noticed air longkang keliling rumah tinggi semacam… siap melimpah keluar. Berbekalkan payung and kayu floor scrubber dia godek longkang belakang sebab we suspect tersumbat dengan daun-daun pokok-pokok belakang rumah.

I pitied my husband who refused to let go of his brolly although his body was already soaking wet. So I went to join him and offered to hold the huge golf brolly. While I was there, I remembered my rainy childhood. Us kids loved the rain. The first drops of water from above would hold us in anticipation and when we feel the rain is lebat enough, we would go begging to our mother, trying to get her permission to play in the rain. I would say that 40% of our pleadings got her blessings and what a fine time we would have, screaming and yelling in delight, playing games that I have now forgotten about.

We would stop only when our mother called us in (or most likely if she stood in the rain too brandishing a rotan). By the door, dry towels would be waiting for us and mummy would take the shivers away with hot tea... And sometimes goreng pisang... Oh man, I remember once hot bubur gandum was waiting for us. I do love you, Mum !! He he...

The rain I felt last Sunday brought back the shivers of excitement again and I really wanted my children to experience it too.

“Babah… you bagi tak anak you main hujan ?” Asked I tentatively. Raised by two different mothers, all your childhood delights could well be a big stinky no-no in your other half’s eyes, so always approach with caution.

“Panggil lah dia orang…” Said he and I were oh so happy for my children.

“Adik !! Abang !! Datang sini !!”

Two eager faces materialized and my beckoning to play in the rain was met with hesitant interests, but when I persisted, they jumped from the doorway into the rain and straight under the brolly with me.

Apa da….

Adik had a hat on her head already so she was more adventurous. She was the first to take tentative steps into the downpour and smiled with pleasure when the rain dropped on her face like small kisses. Abang being the future health and safety expert was more cautious but soon the delicious call of the rain and its’ possibilities melted his prudence. He was jumping with delirious happiness, devising games with his sister. He even tried to catch a frog that was swimming in our drain.

Lovely….

We went in tired but happy, with laughter still in our bellies. Mandi, sembahyang and we feasted on oven-fresh baguettes with mushroom soup and hot chicken wings.
-

Pastu tidur….. Tapi Babah pegi keje. Sian...

Aku gelak sorang2

I found this joke in a blog of a person unknown to me. I laughed so hard, I decided to share with you. However, I do not know if this is illegal (copyright and so on) so to the owner of the blog, very sorry to copy your material but it so darn funny !! Ha ha

TAK BOLEH TAHAN

Seorang gadis pergi makan malam kerumah orang tua kekasihnya.Ini adalah makan malam pertama dengan keluarga kekasih dan dia begitu gugup. Mereka semua duduk di sebuah meja makan dan mulai menikmati hidangan enak yang tersaji.Beberapa saat kemudian si gadis mulai merasa kurang selesa akibat rasa gugup yang keterlaluan dan broccoli casserole yang dimakannya.Hampir menangis rasanya ia berusaha menahan kentut.

Namun karena sudah tidak tahan, tak ada pilihan lain, dia putuskan untuk mengeluarkan sedikit kentut agar terasa agak lega. Kentut itu tidak begitu nyaring, tapi semua orang di meja makan mendengar bunyi kentutnya.Belum sempat rasa malu menyerbu si gadis, bapa kekasihnya melihat ke anjing keluarga yang asyik mengendus-endus di kaki si gadis, dan berkata dalam nada yang agak tinggi,"Doggy!"Si gadis berfikir, "wah ini bagus!" dan segaris senyum lebar menghias wajahnya.

Beberapa menit kemudian, dia mulai merasa tidak selesa lagi.Kali ini, dengan tanpa malu-malu di lepaskannya kentut dengan bunyi yang lebih kuat.Bapa kekasihnya kembali menatap anjing keluarga mereka dan berteriak, "Celaka Doggy!"Sekali lagi si gadis tersenyum dan berfikir, "bagus!"

Beberapa menit kemudian si gadis merasa perlu mengeluarkan kentut lagi. Kali ini dia tanpa berfikir panjang dia melepaskan kentut begitu saja, bunyi kentutnya kali ini boleh menyaingi bunyi kereta api.Sekali lagi bapa kekasihnya melihat ke anjing keluarga dengan pandangan jijik dan berteriak, "Celaka Doggy!", cepat pergi dari perempuan itu sebelum dia berak diatas kamu!"

Series Review : Puaka Niyang Rapik….. Uweekk…

Cerita Melayu susah dipuji. Ada aje yang tak kena… bagi mata aku lah…. Tak tahulah orang lain macamana..

But when praise is due, I would gladly give them… Readers of my blog can attest to that.

Maybe I haven’t done the praising but since it is due, I commend the production of Kekasih Ku Seru. It was enjoyable, the actors were good and the … alahai… apa benda kita panggil… aaa… special effects (I had to call Babah and asked for the word… I tell you my mind is failing me… I forget words…. Nak doa minta kat Allah tolong restore my memory pun boleh terlupa… he he….) were believable.

We as a family like it very much. All of us would camp at my mom’s house where Mummy cooked delicious dinner and by 9.30 all of us would be in front of the telly (some with bantals in hand) ready to be scared stiff.

The next day Abang would start discussions on yesterday’s episode and would talk about it through the weekend.

Sadly the series came into a conclusion last week (although it looked like there will be a second season) and was replaced by Puaka Niyang Rapik. We eagely waited for 9.30 and when it was aired, by 9.50 we were disspointed already. First problem is the ridiculous name. Don’t know lah if the place actually exist or there are places with similar sounding names, then I apologise for my ignorance.

Secondly… well it was just urrghh !! Terrible. The storyline I suppose was okay enough but the episode went on boringly we were glad that we could switch to Heroes on and off. I can tell you this it is nothing like Kekasih Ku Seru which captivated us form the very first episode. Lawan hantu pun boring with boring hantus and puakas with teeth a tad too long… he he…

I will give it another try next week, maybe it will pick up pace but if not… I will persuade Abang to watch Heroes instead. The bummer of it all is that it comes (or came) from the maker of I Am Not Single which was very entertaining (and Jangan Pandang Belakang)….

-

Hmmm….

Babah demam... so...

I really miss you today, darling husband.

You have been poorly this past week so you haven’t been talking much. The house seems bigger with you quiet and if I try to recall the past few days, all I could remember is the silence. I can’t remember you laughing but I could summon up a few smiles. My poor baby…

Yesterday you came home still very much unwell and fell asleep in front of the telly at 9. So I watched Criminal Minds alone and I can tell you this watching a whodunit without you is boring. And I can’t complain about the kids if you were asleep so they were safe yesterday…. Ha ha..

I wonder if you were aware that I held you hand all the while you crashed out on the sofa. But you did tighten the grip once in a while so maybe you did.

Tonight you will be home late and so I have to send the kids mengaji very much alone. I am so not looking forward to that.

I miss you. I keep thinking about you, I can’t get you out of my head.

Cause I miss you
Body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
Cause I love you whether it’s wrong or right
Though I can’t be with you tonight

You know my heart is by your side

Decisions, decisions....

Aku di dalam dilemma sekarang.

I have no maid. Babah and I, we have to do the housework ourselves but we are fine with it. Our routine is a bit chaotic, what with work and housework and children to juggle, but the floors are still swept (let’s not talk about mopping, yeah ?), the clothes are washed, folded and pressed and I still manage to cook dinner and my children breakfasted on hot home cooked meals.

It is far from perfect, obviously. The windows needed cleaning, the mirrors in all the bathrooms needed to be sprayed and wiped, the shelves could use a few dusting action… (the cat crap to be buried) the list goes on and on.

But we are okay. We borrowed my mom’s maid for a month before Ramadhan and we found that we didn’t like it. We somehow felt uneasy with a stranger living in the house and I especially felt a bit rimas when she hovered behind me when I cooked.

Without a maid, the whole family is up on their butts. The children know how to sort out the laundry (he he), switch off the bathroom light and water heater, susun kasut whenever they enter the house… basically they understand responsibilities (who wouldn’t if Mummy keeps on reminding them that she has no helper 24/7). They do chores without complaining and at this moment are quite adept at housework.

Adik will collect her shoes and her brother’s before leaving for school and put them in their everyday bag. Abang knows how to get the laundry from the washing line. In fact 2 days ago I was cooking and had left the fridge door open. When the fridge made the tit-tit noise to inform us that the door is ajar, Abang went to close it. When he saw I left some stuffs at the edge of the fridge door, he put them back on the shelves and closed the door. I was proud because he didn’t ignore them.

I know if we have a maid, my children would be lazy. Worse they would stop caring.

But without a maid, I come home to a musty house. The house has a dank sort of smell that is most unpleasant. It is not because I left my house unclean when I left for work but because no fresh air entered when we are away.

The house is hot too because again there is no fresh air. The sad thing is we can’t have the windows open when we get home because usually it will be almost dark when I insert the door’s key and Shah Alam being dengue area… well you know where I am going.

I also pity my babies. Sure they go to their grandma’s house after school but they do not exactly have their own room to go to, is there ? I wonder where they go to unwind and relax after half a day at school, whether they flop themselves on my mom’s bed or in my sister’s room or just crashed on the sofa. I somehow feel that they do a full day like me and their Babah because they are not home.

But having a maid is a trial in itself. Trying to adjust to her presence, wondering if my children are actually safe with her, always thinking all the worst possible things that could happen to them just because they failed to answer the phone.

Basically, can I trust her ?

So is wanting to go home to a fresh smelling house, all nice cool because the windows are open is a reason enough to get a maid ? Are my children really unsettled because they have to go my mom’s house after school instead of coming home ?

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HMMM………….

Kisah Gameboy charger Amir dan misteri kehilangannya.

Very mysterious. As Adik once said to me when she found a single white sock in my car, “This is a mystery, Mummy….” She said, dangling the very smelly sock between her fingers, “Mana yang lagi satu ?” He he…

Anyway, while at Amelia’s house, I saw Amir playing with a Nintendo (I think) and was reminded of Sib offering Amir’s Gameboy charger. He gave it to me and then the cutest thing happened (this cute incident is not the mystery, kay. The mystery is coming…), Amir started to get teary eyed. He touched the charger a few times, then took it to his mom and requested for the charger’s picture to be taken…. For keepsake purpose.

Apparently he gets attached to his stuffs, that every little bit matters and he just couldn’t bear to part with any of his possessions. So looking at his reaction, of course I didn’t want the charger. I asked Sib to take it back and Sib of course refused. I couldn’t bear to look at Amir’s stricken face, I was so racked with guilt and when we were about to leave, being me, I asked Babah to hide it from Amir’s view.

When we were already comfortable in our own home folding and ironing the clothes while watching the telly, I suddenly remembered the charger and abruptly I was overwhelmed with the need to play… entah apa nama ntah game tu… Fuiyoo…. Punya lama dah tak main, sampai lupa nama game….

I asked Babah for the charger. “Oh, in the car !” He said and promptly collected the keys to his vehicle (apparently he too is consumed with the need to play it). 10 minutes later he came back in grumbling that he couldn’t find it. “I think I gave it to you !” Which exasperated me because he says that a lot to shift blame.

My denial that I even touched the thing in the car made him go back to his vehicle the second time for another search. He came to us empty handed again.

“Bah !! You jangan main-main. Kesian kat Amir … takkan nak pi mintak lagi. Mentang2 ada lagi satu, you boleh hilangkan satu !!”

So he went again. When he came back full of “I think I gave it to you” and “I’m sure you yang pegang dalam kereta.”, I decided it is time for me to have a go. I couldn’t disappoint Amir… he he. I marched outside, yanked open the car door and there it was, right in front of my eyes.

Babah’s embarrassed grin irked me further as I launched into a tirade of why only women have eyes.

So it was very mysterious why Babah took 3 searches and a lot of bebelans and failed to locate it but it took me 1 second, a measly second to find it.

Good Morning ?

What a morning. Well… everyday has been rather strange since I moved house. Well new house, new environment yeah ? Still trying to get used to the noise the house makes, plus the noise from the traffic outside (unfortunately our backdoor neighbour is a persiaran), the noise my neighbours make… Well that is just the noise aspect of things. We have to adjust to the temperature of the house too, the new faces of neighbours, even the amount of sunlight we get is something to get use to. Basically, everything is novel, fresh, we need to adjust… so everything is a still a revelation.

Well apart from one thing. The cat with a bell in its collar still has not revealed itself although I have been hearing it jingling and chiming about since we moved. My daughter too makes a tinkling sound that came from her anklet. Sometimes I couldn’t discern between the two bells’ sounds but whenever it was my daughter, I would at least hear her voice (mostly I would see her because a large amount of the time she would be looking for me).

But this jingling sound that came from the cat remained a sound because I have never laid my eyes on the wretched thing. It is never visible but I can see the wave of destruction (that is of course an exaggeration) it makes around me very clearly, thank you very much.

I plant my terung and my bendi in a trough. A trench maybe. I actually asked the contractor to make window boxes for flowers but instead I got a trough. A huge one with high walls, just below my knees (this is again something that I hate, just like my patio tak jadi… benci aku). So on this said trough walls, at the side walls to be exact, I lovingly placed 3 flower pots on each side. Lovely bell shaped flowers on the right (the purple one is dying because my husband cleverly sprayed it with Ridsect… adding my ever growing list of Benci Aku) and lovely small flowers in bunches on the left.

Every morning I would find the fuschia pot (I have purple, shocking pink and fushcia) on the floor, overturned and dried. Every day I would pick it up, put it back at its rightful place as I intended for it to be and apologising and cajoling for it to live while I water it. Everyday when I return home for work, it will look much better, giving me hope.

Repeat cycle.

We of course blame it on the cat. What else is there to blame ? Milli Vanilli’s entreaty to hold the rain responsible doesn’t make sense because only one pot is ever knocked down. The same one every single day.

But today !! Today !! Dear friends, today is a mystery (I have another mystery that I had written yesterday, intending for today’s post… but that has to wait. This is more fresh and urgent) ! The rising of the sun is as sure as the tergolek-ness of my fuschia plant but today…. the pot went missing !! Exactly. Shocking ain’t it ? Eyebrow raiser ain’t it ? I looked at the very naked bottom of my fuschia plant with its roots exposed trying to get my bearings. My eyes swept the area but I didn’t see the pot. I looked underneath my car, around it, in the drain… but nada. I just couldn’t find the damn pot.

I scanned the length of my driveway and my very scant lawn but it just couldn’t be seen !! What had the chiming cat done with my pot ? Dumbstruck. Dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. Astonished. Surprised. Terkedu. Terkejut. Semua ada...

In my head, I tried to imagine how the cat pilfered my pot. How did it carry the loot away ? What does it want to do with the pot ? Then I thought, maybe it had an accomplice. A monkey perhaps because I do not know any species in the animal kingdom that is local to Malaysia other than a monkey (beruk le) that is able to carry things in its nefarious hands.

Hmm… however it just occurred to me the cat could be carrying the poor pot in its mouth… yeah… never thought of that… But ! The question remains why does it want with my pot ? And why such a grudge with the fuschia one ? It never disturbed the other two. Maybe the colour got to him ?

Come to think of it.….. well actually maybe the apparent bullying the fuschia one is suffering in the hands (or paws) of this elusive cat could explain the death of my first fuschia plant.

Before Ramadhan, Babah and I went to Sg Buloh with Adik and Ana. These lovely girls love flowers and were having such a good time oohhinnh and aahhhiiingg the many flowers on offer, I allowed them to choose one each. Both of them chose the same kind of flower as the bullied fuschia (sorry… I do not know the name… nanti aku check). Adik chose purple and Ana chose fuschia.

Everything was fine and dandy, blooming on the patio. One day my grandma came and fell in love with the purple one. She took it home with her and the very next day the fuschia one that was left behind began to brown. The day after it totally dried up and died. I wondered out loud (to my family, of course) if it died because it was missing its’ friend but…. maybe …. just maybe…. the stupid cat did something to it. It was after all fuschia and the one that keeps getting knocked over at this present time is again fuschia…. Hmmm……

Anyway, after making my despair known, I started to water the plants. I wish I didn’t because lo and behold !! Guess what I found on my patio when I went to water my red flowers (that is my only red one. I do not like red flowers for some reason) ? CRAP.

Yup… cat crap. It is one thing crapping at my terung… it is dekat tanah and therefore very much ignorable… but on the tiles on my patio ? This is too much. It needs to be washed ! I have no maid, so it is either me or Babah. Man !! As I stood there staring at it, my mouth ready with expletives, I heard the very soft ringing of a bell. I waited for Adik to emerge. I even called out her name but no answer. It must be that damn cat.

Then Babah came out the door, all handsome in his work clothes, and refused to clean up. Cess. Adik and I waved goodbye to our men and as I was about to enter the house Adik gave a loud gasp. “Mummy !! Look !!” She hollered and when I looked at where she pointed I shuddered. Oh tuhan !! Cacing !! A long (almost a foot, I’m sure), fat and very pink worm was eemm…. walking ? wiggling ? slinking ? slithering ? towards our patio. It must have been underneath Babah’s car all this while.

I quickly yanked my daughter in and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. “Where is it going you think ?” I asked. “I don’t know Mummy. Maybe he wants to tell us something because hari tu dia dah datang dah ….” Said my daughter, eyes wide with horror. Banyak le kau.

If you read the entry I posted today (posted today, written yesterday… tak sempat post semalam) in my children’s blog, you would be acquainted with “Me, Adik and the worm story”. And therefore you would know of our absolute aversion towards worms. Yuck !!

When I was ready for work a good 30 minutes after the door slamming, Adik was waiting for me outside by the door. I asked her if she could still see the worm. “Tu !” She said, nonchalantly. Aiikk ? Dah tak takut dah ke ? I looked and saw that it was already halfway through my patio but it looked like it’s going to my sliding door as it was going north-east instead of north, where the lawn is. Damn !

I legged it before I have to handle it.

So that is why this morning is what a morning because of all this.

My weekend

I went to Amelia’ house yesterday where she hosted a small raya gathering. When I went to hug Jubei, she laughingly asked “M, buat apa hari ni ? Selalu busy, baca blog you pun penat…..” I just laughed because seriously I was too tired to answer… Wahh !!

Okay Jubei, let me tell you of my weekend.

Saturday morning.

After Subuh started cleaning up the house. It consisted of first starting the washing machine with the dark colours. Soak the whites then collected the late night washing that was still hanging. Waved Babah goodbye (luckily he only needs juice for breakfast). Changed the sheets of my bed then Abang’s and Adik’s. Their bedding I put in the soft colour pile and mine has it’s own pile (King size… dengan bed sheets, duvet covernya and 6 pillowcases pun dah cukup penuh washing machine ku).

Bathed the kids and checked on their music homework. Swept the floor while repeating “Babah, mop” over and over again so I won’t forget to ask him to do so when he returns home. Then watered the plants. Since it is a weekend, I had time to carefully inspect my plants as oppose to weekdays where I only could afford to water them and rush to get ready for work.

Belek-belek (and steadfastly ignoring the cat crap near my terung plant. Adik who loves to follow me around said, “Mum !! The taik kucing is still there !!” And I answered, “Memanglah ! I don’t want to do anything about it and Babah pun tak nak buat… so of course it is still there !!” Susah betul lah….), cabut yang layu and cajoling the drooping ones to survive.

One good thing about the weekends is I don’t have to prepare breakfast. Yahoo !! He he…. Because Mak Cik kat Cili Merah tu yang masak. After Cili Merah as usual piano class then art. While sending the kiddies to Art Class, my sister called to say that her mom-in-law and S’s mom-in-law are coming over to the house for Raya. Sighed. My sisters wanted lasagna but I have to visit Kak Ya (my biras Abang Kamal’s sister) dekat Gombak. Did some mental calculations and told CT that I will cook the sauces and layer the lasagna but she has to bake it. Okay. Then she added Corn Pudding. Aduih…

Picked up CY at my mom’s for grocery shopping at SACC, sent the groceries into the car and went back inside SACC to find nice moulds for my pudding. And I so needed a book, but tak sempat masuk MPH. What to do….

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Sent CY back home first, went to fetch my kids, went home and started hanging the clothes to dry. Bung in the soft colours in the washing machine, and started folding the now dry last night’s washing.

Started lunch of Kuew Tiew Cantonese for my kiddies while waiting for Babah to come home. Started making the corn pudding after lunch and by 3.30 called Kak Wa to say can’t make it to Kak Ya’s house because Babah is not back from his office.

Made the lasagna and had a quick nip to the garden to shear all the drooping plants.

Bathed the kids, had a bath myself and by 8 went to mum’s house with the very hot lasagna and very cold pudding. Helped to set the table, cook the cucoq and layan the guests while I shoveled copious amounts of cucoq. I so love cucoq udang.

Helped with the cleaning up when the guests left at 11 and arrived home around 12. Tidur.

Sunday ? Well Ana ajak pegi beli bunga. Babah who loves Ana dearly agreed but when we got to my mom’s house at 10 (after all the lipat kain and basuh cadar and mopping and siram bunga etc) Ana tak bangun lagi. CY and Mum followed instead because Abang and Adik didn’t want to go.

I love going to Sungai Buloh but sadly the flowers that I want tak ada but luckily I found the ceramic bowl/pasu that I so coveted. Babah said if I want the pasu, I have to buy the flowers right away. Fine, bought some flowers that I do not like but hikmah di sebaliknya was I found some gorgeous strawberry plants in pots !! Bought one and I now have a strawberry plant complete with beautiful fruits hanging near my darling red door. What a coup ….

Sent mum and CY home and Babah and I went inside too (makan kuih raya). Had a lovely chat and somehow the discussion went to lunch menu. Babah told my mum to decide where to go for lunch while we go and visit his parents.

At Babah’s mum’s house, Mum called to say she decided on Asiari so we went to pick her and CY up and off we go to SACC. Went home in a rush because need to do my planting before the rain comes.

Dig, dig (no worms this time), plant, plant. Babah accompanied me by reading the newspaper at our patio (it is not a patio… more of a patio tak jadi… benci aku). Hujan came.

Despite my sighing, my job was done so I had the first opportunity to relax since Saturday. I read the papers leisurely in the kitchen when Babah’s mom came for a visit. After that mandikan budak2, had a bath myself and went to Amelia’s house.

Had a lovely time as usual when I am with this group of friends and I was totally relaxed. So relaxed was I, I didn’t even lift a bowl to be thrown or even went into her kitchen to help at all !! Sorry Melia and Sib !! Penat giler….

So that was when I met Jubei and she asked if I was busy that day. So really Jubei this entry is for you !! He he…….

PS : Bila baca balik entry ni nampak macam aku sorang je dalam dunia ni yang buat kerja rumah... he he... nak delete sayang sebab panjang bebenor.

Kain baju kurung

Yesterday I cried again. Went to Pasar Tani with Amelia for last minute tudung raya shopping. I had fun but every light green tudung reminded me of Shera.

I bumped into her mum at my parents’ home on Saturday. She was picking up my sister to collect our baju raya from the tailor. I was supposed to go on that trip, the trip to the tailor a month before her death. We planned excitedly to go into 2 cars because her mom and sister were going too and I was to meet her with my sister at her mom’s house. The day before the trip Babah told me his aunt, Mak Nina buat kenduri kesyukuran for her husband Pak Cik Basir who had just returned from a 6 months trip to Turkey.

So I called Shera to say that I can’t make it after all, as I had to go and visit Pak Cik Basir. So she picked up CY instead, armed with my kain and a baju for contoh.

Yesterday, I collected the new baju and mom showed me all her unmade kains. There were four that were returned. Shera’s mom didn’t want any and Ann, her sister only took one. There was the saree that MI bought for her from India (she was soo… gleeful that she got the first pick. None of us got there yet when MI last came home, and she snatched a lovely light brown/gold coloured saree. I called her to scream unfairness and she just laughed delightedly… so cheeky….), a red batik that mom said has ‘Shera’s taste’ written all over it and a dark blue embroidered kain that I gave her.

I remembered choosing the kain, unconsciously I was choosing it for her because although lovely I didn’t imagine myself in it. It was rather pricey at RM 260 but it was okay because I knew she is going to love it. So while the kids were at their art class, I went to her house with a bagful of kains. I took everything out and asked her to choose. I was right as she chose the one I had in mind for her. She was excited and happy as we discussed the best design for her.

Yesterday I took back the kain, clutching it to my chest on the ride home, bawling my eyes out because I didn’t get to see her in it.

Shera, Shera… how much I love you so. It has been too long since I last saw you, the heart is suffering. I miss you so much. I just wish that I had spent more time with you.

Takpe lah kan… I will visit you raya nanti. Love you lots and miss you bunches, dear sister.

Pokok ku, chocolate cake and the rest...

Announcement !!

Pokok bendi ku sudah berbuah !! Manyak-manyak pulak tuh !! He he…. happynya.

Pokok terung dah start berbunga balik… lovely purple flowers that I hope will turn into terungs… Ermm…. Bunga tu karang jadi buah kan ?

Anyway, had a very long weekend as usual. Long and tiring sure, but a happy one nonetheless.

After ambik anak2 from their classes (and seperti biasa bawak my Mum pergi Tesco), balik rumah and tak sampai 10 minit Dan pun sampai. By 2.30 we were already on the way to KLCC. Bliss…. Sejak dua-menjak kerja kat Shah Alam ni dah lama tak mengukur betapa besarnya KLCC ni. The kids lagilah dah lama tak pi KLCC because Dan and I totally refused to masuk KL during the weekends. Yelah… macam nak pi kerja je…

Babah bought something lovely for Mummy for Raya which Mummy is very grateful and thankful for. Thank you so much darling for the gift. I totally, totally love it. Tak sabar nak pakai for Raya !!

Balik Shah Alam around 4.30, golek-golek sat then went to Dan’s sister’s house for Dan’s nephews’ birthday buka. Makan-makan and sembang2 with Abang Kamal’s (Kak Wa’s hubby) sister Kak Ya which I really like, and her family and was very much shocked when somebody announced it was midnight. I thought baru pukul 9 !! Seriously. How time flies when you are having fun.

Helped Kak Wa and Abang Kamal to clean up, we arrived home at 1 am. Never partied this hard, okay ! Not even in my youth…. He he… Anyway, as usual had to wake up for sahur. Yawn !! Penatnya.

Sunday morning pegi Sg Buloh, nak ngebat lawn kami yang tak seberapa. Very much disheartened when found out that most of the flower plants I chose would die in 6 months time, if I am lucky. Definitely will replace the flower plants with more bendi and terung plants. Tahan lama sikit.

Singgah Tesco Extra (apparently berselisih with my close pal, Cho) to buy ingredients for lasagna for our pot luck that night. Ita called to say Yana and Esya wants to come over and off we rushed back home to wait for our lovely nieces.

Started cooking at 1. It takes a long time to make a good tomato sauce and I had the passata burbling on my stove for a good 3 hours before I added minced beef and mushrooms to make ragu. Made the béchamel sauce, chopped the garlic for the bread, sambil2 tu helped Dan tu plant the flowers and sedar-sedar dah pukul 6 !! Bunged the lasagnas in the oven, mandi and by 7, had the still sizzling lasagnas in the car.

Everybody was there already (except for the lovely Jubei and family of course) and the table was laden with goodness. Yum !! Buka sama-sama, laughed and exchanged stories and generally had a smashing time. I love my friends. All the food was good especially daging masak black pepper and Cho’s freshly baked chocolate cake. Nak recepi, Cho !!!

Paling best was when after 2 hours there, 9 month old Hazim baru perasan the existence of 6 months old Mohamed. Hazim crawled to Mohamed and greeted him with the best “Hai!!” I have ever heard. Mohamed responded and soon they were absorbed with each other, gurgling and laughing and exchanging smiles. Cho took pictures and I will put that in as soon as I get it. Beautiful !!

Sadly we had to leave early and not join in the terawikh because we had to go and visit Dan’s father who was just discharged from the hospital. Had to catch him before he sleeps.

The toll of the weekend is heavy on my shoulder. I can’t stop yawning and could feel a migraine creeping up. But I will not trade my lovely weekend for anything.

Another long day

What a day it was for me.

It started on Tuesday when Amelia and I went to Ampang Park during lunch for a spot of Raya shopping. On the way to the bank, we were stopped by a lovely girl selling spa treatment vouchers. Amelia and I who absolutely love being kneaded and scrubbed stopped to listen and was even treated to a demonstration of one of the treatments they offer.

The offer was really good because for RM 129, they offer a Jacuzzi bath (or soak), body scrub and an hour long body and face massage. And….. if you bring a friend, you only need to add RM 1. Great !! RM 65 for an hour and a half of total bliss. We bought a voucher and planned to try the facility that Thursday itself because we were scheduled to berbuka with the Bs at Planet Hollywood.

Thursday came and Amelia picked me up for work at an ungodly hour of 6.30 am. Was introduced to Yasmin’s very nice uncle. Arrived at KLCC around 7.30 and at 8 Sue came to pick me up and off we go to our office.

When we got there, suddenly I remembered that I have a day old stubble on my legs. I was suddenly transported back to 9 years ago when Amelia and I went for a spa and I was hugely embarrassed because I resembled a monkey. Showed Sue the state of my leg and she graciously agreed to accompany me to Pasar Rakyat. We decided to walk.

Bought a shaver from a dodgy brand but no shaving cream. Sue suggested 7-11 and first went to one that was 10 minutes away from Pasar Rakyat then went to the 7-11 on Jalan Imbi itself, pun takde. Walked to the end of the road to Jalan Walter Greenier where The Kiosk is but nada.

“Tak boleh guna body lotion je ke ?” Said the very pregnant Sue.

“Okay lah.. nampak gayanya aku kena ikut nasihat mung (Sue ni mek Terengganung…. He he).

On the way back, Sue saw one sundry shop and we went in. Ada !! Yeay and I quickly did the deed as soon as we got back to the office. He he… I felt refreshed somehow.

Anyway, Amelia picked me up at 4.15 and we arrived there at 4.35 (tersalah building. Nasib baik the real building was just nearby). We were impressed with the deco and the ambiance they created and therefore were really excited.

We were asked to fill in a form (the question included how long how have you been overweight ? Aii ? Spa ke slimming center nih ?) and a lady came to ask the kind of treatment we wanted. We chose milk bath, Amelia took a milk and honey body scrub and I chose the Javanese spice scrub to dispel all my angins.

We were escorted to our room where we passed luxurious surrounding and saw equally luxurious treatment rooms. I was excited when I saw a room with 4 massage beds, mentally counting friends that I could enjoy the experience with.

Our room was very nice and calming with 2 massage beds, a gurgling Jacuzzi filled with milk, a shower cubicle, 2 lockers for our stuffs and 2 sinks with large mirrors. We were introduced to our masseuses and then the first trouble began.

We were asked to undress which was fine because that was the norm but before they left we saw only towels and disposable panties on the bed. Amelia and I looked at each other. “Kain tak de ke ?” The masseuses’ turn to exchange looks. “Kain apa ?” one asked. “Kain untuk tutup badan lah…” Said I. “You ada ini kan ?” One said while, grabbing the now very small and insignificant looking panties.

“Mana boleh….kena ada kain…” Said Amelia. “We do this naked ke ?” Asked me, horrified. “ You dua orang perempuan kan… tak pelah…” Said one while the other said, “Tak pe… tak pe… saya bagi bra aaa…” and left.

I didn’t want to spoil the experience, decided to start stripping. “Takpe ma…..” Said the one who was still in the room, “Nanti masuk Jacuzzi sana tak nampak ma…. Itu dalam ada buih….” Amelia and I looked at the palm sized buih. When she also left we started giggling.

“Apa depa ni….” Said Amelia. “Tak pa, Melia. Nasib baik kita dok besa pi swimming dua orang dulu-dulu…” Said me. We laughed and giggled and chuckled the whole time. Tak jadi lah nak bawak kawan kalau macam ni.... he he

Then one entered to give us the so-called bras. Amelia and I looked at it, ho-hummed on the ways and hows to use it for a long time before Amelia reminded me that the masseuses are coming back in 15 minutes. We had better jumped in the bath. So we did giggling and laughing as girls are bound to do.

The bath was great, sweet smelling with hard jet streams hitting our backs. We talked and exchanged stories and after 15 minutes they girls in black came back. We were asked to lay face down on the bed and we did so shivering to our bones. It was so cold. I was lucky though because I asked for the spice scrub and before long I was already heated up by the wonderful spices. Amelia though was shivering until they turned down the air-conditioning.

The scrub was wonderful. The scrubbing action plus the small grains of the spices left me feeling clean. I swear I could feel all the dead skins stripping away. Amelia was done first and she had her bath while I waited with all the spices on me. HEATY !! But it’s okay as I was more aware of the stickiness then the heat. Then my turn to bathe and I kept looking at the swirls of the orange water at my feet. Felt so good but still very warm.

We were asked to lie down again. Then the pounding and kneading began. It was marvelous. We didn’t talk to each other much as were we enjoying the wonderful feeling of being massaged to the core of our bones ( if there is such thing ). Amelia kept asking me if I was still warm and toasty and all my yes-es impressed her. My only complain is that they didn’t rub my feet. I was waiting for that as my twinkle toes were tired. The facial massage was good, too and we were enjoying every minute of it.

We talked to the two nice aunties who massaged us. We exchanged stories about life, family and so on but when they kept asking us to come back, I suddenly dreaded our journey out of the spa center.

“Melia, depa ni sure nanti suruh kita beli macam-macam lagi…..” Said I when were dressing ourselves again and very much alone.

“I thought I sorang dok pikiaq pasal tuh….” Said Melia.

“Hmmm….. jenuh le kita nak elak letak down payment untuk ntah apa-apa lagi….” Said I and Amelia agreed. When we opened the door we were met by the auntie who massaged Amelia. “I tak sembahyang lagi….” Whispered I to Amelia as I just had a brilliant idea.

As expected, we were put into a room with a small table and 3 chairs, the room where they will force for our money and where we will try to hold on to it. There was a paper stand on the table with “Raya Promotions” written on it. Amelia looked closer to read while I answered the phone, my mom updating me on Elsa’s condition (she had a fever).

“Myra…” Amelia whispered. “Package 4 ribu, Myra…!” Said Amelia, eyes wide.

“What ?” I mouthed back. “Lari nak ?” We were very much alone and I figured we had a good chance escaping.

Amelia got up and we sprang out of the room. Unfortunately the auntie who brought us to the room was at the lobby. I kept on talking to my Mom so Amelia had to talk to them. “Surau mana ?” Asked my brilliant friend. “Kami tak sembahyang lagi….” The ladies were shocked but a Malay girl managed to give us directions. I did not stop to hear and my mom on the phone was the perfect excuse to just leave and head for the lift.

“Cepat, Myra ! Tekan ! Tekan !” Ordered my fellow figutive. We couldn’t get into the lift fast enough. What a relief. We giggled nervously in the lift, faces red from the adrenalin. “Depa tercengang-cengang tengok kita pi, Myra….” Said Amelia with a big smile on her face. He he….

The boys wouldn’t understand the problem but us girls who have experience with beauticians forcing us to get this treatment and that therapy would know how difficult it is to extricate ourselves from paying for something we don’t really need. Fights with spa and slimming centers reps are normal. They can be really pushy, especially if we came on a discounted offer.

Shazmi sms-ed to say that he and Nadia were already at Lot 10 while we were in the surau. We quickly rushed to KL Plaza, expecting traffic jam but were pleased when there were none. The journey was less than 10 minutes. Our friends were already there with food on the table. As we sat, the boys were fighting if we had a facial or a full spa treatment. Amelia who malaih nak kena usik pasal pi spa told Shazmi earlier in the morning that we were going for a facial only but I had already described to my husband the day before the details of the treatment scheduled for us. He he… lantak korang lah…

Food was good. Had always liked Planet Hollywood buka puasa buffet and was glad that my buddies thought so too. Had fun talking and teasing (about Amelia and toner buyer cum chef , about how I smelt of curry from the spices etc etc) and…. oh yes, they managed to separate Amelia and I this year. Oh well… we did enough whisperings while we were being pampered… he he…

All the uruts made me sleepy for some reason. I was trying my best to stay awake but my body was already in resting mode. I had one of the best sleeps I ever had that night. Bliss…..

Plant killer kah aku ?

Susah gak hilang USB connection camera ni. Dah tangkap gambar yang aku nak sangat orang tengok and tolong bagi nasihat. Gambar pokok-pokok aku yang layu dan ada juga yang sudah mati…

Why ? Why ? Why ?

Mula-mula my terung aka brinjal aka aubergine aka… rasanya there is another name for terung ni. Yup… eggplant.

Mula-mula sangat cantik dan menawan. Three days after that dia layu. Apasal ? When I went back to the nursery, abang tu kata terung senang jaga and masalah yang boleh timbul ialah apabila pokok tu terlalu banyak air atau kurang air. Terung ni air dia kena ngam-ngam aje.

Okaaaayyy….

He said balik rumah test the soil. If dia lerai-lerai kurang air and if dia basah dan lembab it is drowning. So aku pun balik test and apa yang aku rasa ialah tanahnya lerai-lerai dan lembab. Aku bagi baja satu round, tambah tanah (sebab akar dia exposed although the abang said that is not a problem) and tomorrow segar balik. Yahoo !!!

Kelmarin dia droop balik. Camno ni ? Next to it I planted ladies finger and it seems to be doing fine, so what am I doing wrong ? Nak siram aku takut, tak siram pun aku takut.

Si Rashdan berjaya persuade Umar panggil aku Plant Killer. Elsa je tak nak sebab dia kata aku cantik (apa kena mengena aku tak tahu tapi kembang jugak le aku).

Pastu I bought a lovely yellow daisy plant from Ikea. Punyalah cun the next time I went, I bought a light pink one. Yang kuning tu aku alih to a cute pink pot from Ikea and put it on my piano. Comel sungguh.

The pink one bila aku beli, baru aku perasan came with instructions. Rupa-rupanya daisies ni kena tanam dalam pots yang ada lubang kat bawah sebab dia tak boleh hidup dalam tanah yang ada air terendam. So I didn’t change the pink one to a new pot (sebab semua pot dia tak de lubang) and bought a plate for the pot instead. I put that on my kitchen counter.

I should have changed the yellow one back to its original pot but I didn’t because it looked so cute in its new pink pot. Lagipun aku nak buat apa dengan pot tu sekarang ? I also read that daisies need loads of sunlight but I reasoned that the dapur has plenty of sunlight and the piano memang mengadap sliding door, cuma dia agak jauh ke dalam.

So kelmarin, yellow daisies aku layu dan kemudian terus lembik. Dan and Umar called me Plant Killer many times. Umar kata, “Mummy ni… why do you want to destroy the wonders of nature ?” Dah… mula dah start merepek budak ni…. Malas nak layan.

Semalam the pink ones also dah start layu walaupun belum lembik terus macam kakak dia yang kuning.

Camne nak selamatkan ni ? Aku kalau boleh nak nurse the yellow one back to life. Any advise ?

Aiseh !!

I planned to put pictures of Aik Peng’s wedding but I couldn’t find the USB connection for the camera. Ini yang tension pindah ni !! Things got lost. Don’t tell me I have to buy a new one as I have to buy a new Game Boy charger already.

And I think I have to buy new charger for the video cam also…

Why all the chargers yang hilang ? There must be a place where I have collected and kumpul all the chargers and wires and connections. I just have to find it again.

I have lost all my recipe books too. Books that I trust to give me real recipes with great results are gone. Itu pun hilang one whole bunch. However that one is more mysterious because I have never unpacked it when I moved to Dan’s mom’s house. So I am hoping that the whole thing would be found somewhere in Sek 9.

Hoping and hoping and hoping.

Busynya aku...

What a busy Saturday I had.

No maid on weekends. I had always sent my maid(s) to my mom’s during that time as I have always preferred to have the house to my own. Bathe the kids, wash the bajus, simpan the pinggans in the cabinets, blah, blah, blah….

10 am took Kak Idah, my mother’s maid to do her medical check-up. Since it was to be done at Sek 7 near Restoran Hakim, I had to go round a big circle since I do not want to pass by the site where my sister-in-law passed away.

Left her and my mom there and rushed to send my kids to their piano lessons. To avoid that road, pusing masuk Federal highway. Arrived at 10.35, 5 minutes late. Bought groceries, collected my kids again and send them to art class. Mum called at 11 to say they are done. Made a big turn again, and collected my mom. Masuk Federal again to send Kak Idah home. Rain was super duper heavy. Mum wants to go to Shah Alam Mall. Okay, but first went to SACC to buy more tanah because my pokok terung is dying.

Left mom in the car at the basement. Luckily the owner of the nursery is around this time, as opposed to his Bangladeshi worker whose instructions I couldn’t really understand when I first bought the pokok terung. Seek his advise but had to wait for 20 minutes for him to attend to a customer who was really, really fussy. Well, she did arrive first, but she was fussy nonetheless.

Anyway, went back to car suitably knowledged with tanah in tow when Mum announced her need to go to Tesco Extra to stock up on prawns. It was already 12.35 and I had to pick up my children at 1. Rushed there, collected the prawns, naively thinking that my mother could be content with just prawns. Left at 1.05, and arrived 15 minutes late. Luckily I had the insight to warn Ivy about my late arrival.

Went to Baker’s Cottage next door to get Elsa’s lunch and our (Dan and myself) buka. We have a Chinese wedding to go to and have to buka in the car on the way to the reception.

Came home and Dan was already there. Cleaned up the house, made the bed and so on and so forth. At 3 Ita called and ajak pegi KLCC to buka with my parents. Declined the offer but asked her to take my children. Okay.

At 3.30 my tailor Kak Mazlina called to say my kebaya for the evening dah siap. Yeay ! Collected the keys and set my way to seksyen 27. As I was passing pasar seksyen 6, I saw a silver car lying sideways across the road. Few cars were packed at the roadside and I saw some men running to it. Astargfirullahaladzim !! Accident. My chest was beating fast as I too stopped at the side. When I got out of the car, I noticed a police petrol car was behind me. As I ran to the scene, they have lifted up a girl from the car. They put her to the roadside and she sat shakily on the pavement, bawling her eyes out. Then I saw them lifting up another girl, the driver and put her next to me. She was crying and her hand was bleeding. A girl from a Waja car saw the blood and grabbed a box of tissues from her car. Together we tried to wipe the blood from her hand.

Her friend came to her, gave her a hug and lifted up her sleeve to look at the wound and it was not pretty, I tell you. The girls wailed louder. As this was happening, the men lifted the car up and put it aside and the policemen was minding the traffic (they came out with senapangs I do not know for what).

All the while I was putting her to right, I asked her to go to DEMC with me but she never answered. I think she was in shock and couldn’t register what I was saying. I called her Dik, Cik, Yang and every kind of non-personal name I could think of but she just kept crying. Then her friend said that she called her boss and they are on the way from seksyen 7.

I shed a few tears also thinking well…. this must be how people helped Shera. The only difference was they had to deal with her body and not her crying uncontrollably. The men approached us and some asked if I want to take her to the hospital. I explained that I offered many times but she wouldn’t answer.

Another asked me again and I repeated that I tried but she just kept crying. Then a policeman came and asked if anybody would want to take her to the hospital and again I explained. Her friend again said that their boss is on the way but the masses agreed that there is no point to wait for the boss and to ask the boss to go to the hospital instead. Then another petrol car came and the policemen discussed among themselves and agreed that they will take her to the hospital. As the petrol car parked beside us, she fainted.

Her friend was hysterical, hugging her. A blue Honda Civic arrived and a man in kopiah and a woman came running to the girls. The boss offered to take the girls to the hospital and went to get his car nearer. The lady looked at the carnage and said, “Kereta saya tu !!” I did not find it weird because sometimes people just had to say something and most of the times they say the wrong things or state the obvious. Of course the masses did not react well to her statement.

“Takpelah….” Said one although in a soft tone, I could detect his disbelief. “Dia orang selamat…” He added. At that I left the scene and got into my car. As I started my car, the guy that was heading the operation, a man I think in his mid-40s carried the fainted girl to the car. Kuat sungguh.

Anyway, continued my journey to Kak Mazlina’s house, took the kebaya and went home. Arrived home about 4.45 and quickly bathed the kids. 5.20 Cik Ta arrived to take them to KLCC and Dan and I got ready for Aik Peng’s wedding. 6.15 left the house to pick up Dan's work pictures from the kedai gambar, went to Zul’s house thinking Dan’s mum was there with my watch then turned around to Dan’s mum’s house because she wasn’t there yet and off we go to Sri Damansara Club. Buka puasa on the way with a very fiery chicken curry bun and custard pudding. Got there near 8, did our Maghrib and joined the wedding party and what a party it was.

First of all it didn’t start until 8.30 and the Muslims were ravenous. Aik Peng and Wei Han entered the restaurant amidst a standing ovation. Oohh… the Chinese movies were not exaggerating after all. We were to expect nine dishes but I didn’t know they all came one by one.

First the starter with yam cake in the middle and variety of dishes around it. Then the shark’s fin soup followed by steamed fish. Next came roast chicken, prawns, vegetables and nasi goreng last. Mafa whose hunger couldn’t be staved without nasi was frantic. When the coveted dish finally came near 11, we were relieved for her. Lastly was Chinese pancakes and pau kaya plus longan and sea coconut soup.

It was a good wedding with good food. We had three tables of current and ex-colleagues and it was fun catching up on news. Even Dan had a marvelous time because we were at the same table as Marieanne, the loudest, funniest person I know, and who kept us in stitches.

We left the reception at 11 am, after all the yam sengs and speeches that Jessie had to translate for us. We were sleepy and tired by 10 but decided to soldier on because we had fun and because we were curious of the proceedings. Partly also because we were afraid Marieanne wouldn’t let us go…. He he….

We met a massive traffic jam just before tol batu 3 and suspected vehicle accident. Sure enough, after was passed an ambulance we saw a smashed white car with police and ambulance crew not to forget curious onlookers surrounding it. Since the internal light of the car was on, I could see a man unconscious on the driver’s seat. I hope he is alive, for the sake of his family.

Singgah 7-11 seksyen 11 because Mum was not feeling too well. Bought koyok and Wood’s Peppermint lozenges for her. Went to Mum’s house to giver her the medicine and to collect our kids.

12 something the bedroom light was switched off but my mind was buzzing with too much activity and refused to switch off. Sedar-sedar dah 4 pagi and time for sahur. I had to start all over again. Hmmmm……..

I remember when….

I was at the Padini Factory Outlet Sale with my new colleagues during lunch time (nothing could bond a newbie with her colleagues faster than a shopping trip. When we get back to the office we were firm friends already).

It was utter madness. We went at 12 pm so we were lucky there were not many people at that time, but by the time we went out at 1, the queue I think is about 1 km long and traffic was a murder with cars parked at both sides of the road. A colleague witnessed a Kancil being lifted up and deposited somewhere not obstructing the traffic. Crazy… But to be fair, it was extremely cheap. All my purchases cost RM 6 and RM 9. I bought 2 pairs of khaki shorts for Umar for RM 9 when it used to be RM 68 at the shops

Anyway, I gave my new friends Prema and Michelle my purchases because they were already in front of the paying queue and I waited outside at the junction for them. As I was waiting (luckily it was not that hot), I saw a girl parking her motorbike and that scene brought me back to a time when I was going for extra classes at a center in Kelang with my dimpled friend Shazleen.

In the class there is this very tall girl, rather plump and …. well, very well endowed, if you know what I mean. She always came to class with a rouged face and lipsticks on. And very, very tight clothes. She also drove a huge motorbike to class. Shazleen and I always looked at her in awe, with her motorbike and her ease with boys. Kita orang kena mengorat pun panic. Once I even cried.

One of the male teachers at the center called her Kushboo. I thought it was a term of endearment and one day I saw an old Hindi movie and got the message right away. She was Kushboo indeed.

Moving on, one day we were having a lively discussion in class and the Kushboo calling teacher approached her. He was asking questions and she was answering, chests high and heaving (I really do not know why I can remember the details so well) when she suddenly said, “Cikgu ni… tengok kat situ je pulak….” The teacher gritted his teeth and looked away. I was totally gob smacked, my mouth must have hanged open. I forgot to look at Shazleen because I was so busy looking at the scenes unfolding in front of me. Teacher gave a laugh and walked away. I could remember her face when she said that. Coy. She was looking coyly at the teacher with a dose of a come hither look. I was soooo embarrassed, I had to look away. Talk about how inappropriate it all was.

So whenever I see a lady on a motorbike, I would always think of her (and her chests). I wonder what happens to her….. And I wonder about that teacher too, really. Hmmmmmm…..

Movie Review : Penelope

Ooohh…… I love this movie. James McAvoy is sooooo dashing, so lovely in this movie, what a hunk… His made his character looked soo romantic and gallant…with his face and ……. * sigh * ….. so what was Penelope about again ? Ha ha…

It is about the Wilherns who were cursed by the local witch. Legend has it that the Wilherns were cursed to have their first female heir born as a pig. The Wilherns were lucky as about 5 generations, the Wilhern women only produced male, until Penelope was born. She was actually extremely cute, snout and floppy pig’s ears included and I personally couldn’t see any problem… yeah, right.

Anyway Penelope was hidden away to escape the press and from small, she was taught how to be a bride because the only way to break the curse if a person of her own standing would love her for who she is.

So this story is her quest to find somebody that could break the curse. It is not that straight forward, though and please be prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

You already know how I feel about James. The other astounding actor is actually a midget who plays a reporter who is so determined to get Penelope’s pictures (and lost one eye in that process). Please take a good look at him because I keep thinking what an excellent actor this guy is.

Richard E. Grant was flawless as usual and played his role well. Sadly though Reese Witherspoon’s appearance was so short, can’t really pass judgement.

The other surprising thing is how gorgeous Christina Ricci looked. I mean I had always thought that her huge forehead ( a sign of a big, kind heart, mind you ) made her looked less attractive than she should, but somehow for this movie, they cleverly diverted my attention to her huge, beautiful eyes, I totally forgot to concentrate on her forehead. Oh… maybe the snout…. I dunno.

Watch it people, funny and witty. A feel good movie that would make you go, “Aww…. That is soooo nice…..”

Sambungan cerita Babah

Day 4
Woke up sore because slept on a plastic recliner. Room very, very cold. Babah reminded me about the movers but decided to reschedule the activity. Sms-ed mover to postpone to next weekend.

Went home to get the kids. Set out for the hospital at 10 am and saw 2 lorries parked in front of the house. Went ahead anyway with a suspicion that the lorries are supposed to move my furniture. Turned back at Shell sek 9 and sure enough, there were men hauling my Janine sideboard.

Oh dear. Called Babah to explain the situation and helped with the moving. Done by 1 pm. Babah called to say that they have shaved him. Quickly collected the kids and started for the hospital.
 
Babah showed me his hairless body. Emm… didn’t like it. Looked like a shaved cat. Both of us very nervous. Babah very hungry. Promised to buy a delicious meal after surgery. Abang and Adik were worried but soon got lost in the Game Boy that re-appeared after going AWOL for a year.

About 2 pm the surgical nurses and orderly came with a wheeled bed. Transferred him and off we go. All of us very nervous. This is the first time Babah was admitted to the hospital. The very first time and surgery is involved. Hmmm…

Kissed him goodbye at the door and saw Dr Foo resplendent in his blue surgical uniform (my sister wears it to sleep. She said it is very comfortable) waiting for my husband.

Took the kids for lunch at the canteen. Then went up to the waiting room and….. well…. waited. 3 pm a staff came to say that we have to leave because they are starting renovations of the room. Now ? He gave me 15 more minutes to stay there after explaining my cause.

3.30 a lady staff came to ask whom I am waiting for. She told me Babah is done with his surgery and would be wheeled to his room soon. Went back to his room and after 5 minutes he arrived. Yeay !!

His eyes were closed. Abang and Adik looked anxiously at him and Abang of course asked a lot of questions. Suddenly we heard a very gruff "Abang !!". It came from his dad who was still asleep. He he….. Itulah, Abang. Orang yang pengsan boleh bangun dengar suara hang, tau dak ? We had to wait outside while they transferred him to his bed.

When we finally went in, the nurses came to take his blood pressure and temperature.

What are you doing ? He groggily asked. Following their explanation, he said can you do it tomorrow ? I am so sleepy…He he… the nurses giggled too and offered their apologies, but they insisted they have to do it.

After that the nurses came in every hour. He slept and slept and slept.

I woke him up once or twice, just to make sure that he is alive, but he still didn’t have his wits on. He kept requesting water but was refused until the Dr Foo comes and says so. But he has got a fever and wanted some pain relief. The nurses said there is nothing they can do about that.

A nurse woke him up about 8 and asked him to pee. He couldn’t. He tried a few times but to no avail. The nurse was concerned because he was already bloated. When the doctor came, they decided to insert a urinary catheter to help him pee. It was painful because when I was allowed in, his face was flushed. They had to empty his bag 3 times.

By this time Babah was ravenous and extremely thirsty. His breakfast privilege for that morning was withdrawn and therefore he had not eaten at all. He was only allowed sips of water after Dr Foo visited and was warned that he can only eat after he passes wind. Pulak.

We slept fitfully again. Him due to pain and me because I was worried. He was injected with pain killers twice during the night.

Day 5Babah wanted the house to be cleaned because he wants to move in as soon as possible so I left that morning and went straight to my in-laws to collect their maid and my mom’s to borrow hers. We worked non-stop until 2 pm. I had to go to Babah. I didn’t want him to wake up alone.

When I went back to the hospital with Abang, Adik and Esya in tow, I saw a bowl of half-eaten soup. I went to get him some jelly from the canteen, which he likes. He was still in pain and slept most of the time.

Went to Subang Parade to get new handphone ( the screen got smashed while I was cleaning the house ) and fed the kids. Went to Sushi King. Mum was worried because I was running around and force-fed me Vitamin C. Went back to the hospital.

He was much better and was allowed solids. Asked me to share his bed because didn’t want to sleep alone. I refused because I was worried about his stitches. The nurses visited him through out the night for his blood pressure and body temperature.

Day 6
I went to work. Luckily SJMC and Glenmarie are 10 minutes away so I went to see him during lunch. The doctor said he could be discharged ! Yeay !!

Still worried though because he was limping and in a lot of pain.

When I got home after work, he insisted to see the house. Didn’t go long because he was still in a lot of pain. We both slept fitfully again.

But the most important thing is he is okay. We got a picture of the said appendics. The doctor said it is mildly swollen but it is infected so they did the right thing. Insurance covered the stay so yeay !!

Thank you to all friends and colleagues who visited and called. Thank you for your concerns.

Appreciate it.

Cerita si Babah nya….

Day 1

Came home with a painful back. Slipped disc ke, Babah ? Entah, he answered. Sakitnya macam masa kita kat UK dulu, he said again.

We didn’t sleep that much that night. Him due to pain and me because he kept tossing and turning.

Day 2

I have low blood pressure, he said. He went to the doctor for the back pain and was prescribed pain killers. Doctor asked for a returned visit to check on his blood pressure when the pain has gone.

He called to complain of dizziness.

Another sleepless night.

Day 3
Urged him to go to SJMC for a check up. Finally relented at 8 am due to intense pain that had spread to his tummy.

Went to see that Dr Chan, the family GP at SJMC. A nice doctor with excellent bedside manners (he is also a mind reader. Before explaining about something that I have totally forgotten about, he asked if I am an Engineer. When I said yes, he said Engineers are smart… Well not this one, doc ). He sent my husband for X-Ray. Found nothing with the X-Ray. Very concern about his stomach ache and loose stools. Asked if Babah would mind being referred to a surgeon. He suspects appendicitis.

Went to Dr. Foo’s clinic. A looooonnnnng wait. Neither of us had eaten, bought some sandwiches ( went to the canteen all nice and clean, came back to my husband with a soiled tudung. Dipped my tudung in one unfortunate person’s mee curry ). Forced Babah to eat a sandwich.

Dr. Foo wants Babah to be admitted. Ordered ultra-sound, blood and urine test. What are all the tests for doc ? asked me. Well….. he said, I want to make a proper diagnosis don’t I ? Wishing Dr. Chan was the surgeon instead.

Went to the administrators outside, waiting for a room. Heard she said on the phone needs a single room. Possible emergency operation. Our heads snapped up ? What ? We said in unison. Admin looked sheepish. You don’t know, ke ? Here, the doctor wrote it here…., she said and checked the file. Well, what a way to break the news to us.

Was sent to give blood and urine sample and after that was sent to do the ultrasound. Since Babah had some sandwiches, can’t do the ultrasound properly. Have to wait 3 more hours.

Insurance agent Al and Hafiz came to help with the admission. Excellent service, guys.

At that time it was already 1 pm and Babah had only had a measly sandwich about 10 am. One hungry guy entered his room, one hungry girl tapau-ed delicious SJMC nasi briyani and ate in the room while the hungry guy looked on.

3.30 pm Babah was wheeled for the ultrasound. Came out looking shocked because they found a small stone on his left kidney. Pulak. So we sat on his bed feeling relieved that he won’t be operated on after all. But still he can’t eat or drink until the doctor came. “Puasa, ye ?” Said the very friendly nurse.

So we waited. And waited and waited and waited until the day turned to dusk. Let me go and buy food, okay ? I offered. I’m so hungry, he said. What are you going to buy ? I smiled. Let it be a surprise, kay ? Said I. Please bear in mind that I am very hungry, was the parting reminder.

I walked to Sheraton Hotel and came back with nasi ayam and club sandwiches. Babah was delighted. Right, all we have to do is wait until the doctor comes, said I. And we waited and we waited and we waited some more. The friendly nurse was very apologetic and kept checking on Babah’s well being.

There are only 2 surgeons left, she explained. Some went for conferences and some went for holidays. So Dr Foo is very busy. He has surgery the whole day. Okay, we said and smiled and bled inside.

11 pm doctor came. The stone is too small to cause you any pain right now. Besides it is on your left side. The pain is on the left side and we are pretty sure it is your appendics. It is up to you, we can operate now or tomorrow. We ummmmm-ed and aaaahhhh-ed and Babah decided to have the surgery the next day. Okay, Dr Foo said. You can eat now but you must fast after breakfast.

When he left Babah said he doesn’t want the doctor to operate on him while looking so sleepy.

So yeay !! we can eat. But Babah’s appetite was small. Maybe the worry about the surgery, maybe angin dah masuk perut….

I didn’t sleep. Neither did he.

To be continued…

Kenapa tikus tu nak makan kacang aku ?

Urrgghhh !! I really hate that bloody tikus, the one that is sharing my room ( and yup, the one who licked me… ). Night after night we would hear him scratching the wooden wall ( he seems to be living in between the concrete wall and the fancy feature wall made of wood ), where our bed headboard is leaned against.

Since we live with Babah’s parents, therefore we really live in the room. All of my possessions are crammed either in my room or in my children’s. Therefore the small space between the said wooden wall and the bed headboard is very useful to me. It is for storing my depleted stash of kain ( which I am sure I will start replenishing with much gusto after raya ), a few slim odds and ends and a huge zipped plastic bag that stores our supply of Penang mari keropok udang ( the best in the world ).

Night after night the little sod would start with his customary scratching of the wall, as if to announce his arrival. Then he would enter our room, through an invisible hole, and start on his attempt to gnaw away the plastic bag and get the goodies. We would usually ask him to cut his crap by banging on the headboard.

He typically gets the message after a few bangings, where he then would start to scurry around the room. I would sometime hear him by my bags ( kalau Prada aku berlubang… siapa ko….), or behind our winged chairs doing God knows what.

Some nights Dan couldn’t take the scratching and would attempt to chase him away, which would result in me waking up too and us watching the telly until sleep claims us again. That is why I am always sleepy nowadays ( and grouchy… interrupted sleeps are non too pleasant ).

But today, today is the day where I am bloody pissed off with that stupid bugger. He ate my peanuts !! That was why Babah heard him in my bag !! He was after my peanuts ! Me… the lover of peanuts is damn angry !!

It started normal enough. Scratch ! Scratch ! Scratch ! Then the sound of him trying to drill a hole at the plastic bag ( that plastic bag is made of sterner stuff… he still had not managed to get through the bag yet ). Then me banging the headboard. Then Babah. Babah then got fed-up and shouted “Oiii !!” while peering at the small, confined space. He saw him ( well or her… but him is easier ) ran underneath our bed.

He ( Babah… not Jerry ) switched on the light and I covered myself with the duvet, just in case if he wants to have another taste of me. Babah jumped on the bed ( he he ). Of course nothing happened. I saw Adik’s bedroom slippers and asked Babah to throw it under the bed, to force him out. Babah did but nothing happened.

We watched the telly. Then the scratching sound again. He had beamed out to his safe heaven. We drifted off to sleep. I don’t know how long we slept before Babah jumped off the bed again. I decided not to bother, but had the foresight to protect myself with the duvet again.

When we woke up for Subuh, Babah informed me that he saw Mickey by my bag. My Furla ? He was sniffing my Furla ? Then I remembered the Red Bean roti I intended for my breakfast. Babah fished it out of my beautiful Furla, didn’t find any holes but threw it away all the same.

When I tidied up the room before I left for work, I saw a tin of cheese balls that had holes on its plastic cover. Threw that away and washed my hands vigorously to kill off the mouse germs. Don’t know where he had been, my friends.

Went to work, not suspecting anything. Had breakfast. By 11 am, my mind started to wander off to the lovely kacangs in my bag. Took it out and promptly saw a hole in the corner. Aiii ? I had it wrapped in paper and therefore tore off the paper wrapping away and saw another hole at the plastic wrapping. Truth dawned and it hurts. But there is nothing I can do about it.

It made a sickening thud as it landed at the bottom of my wastepaper bin.

I bought it only yesterday ( well RM1 was generously donated by my friend Sue and I only paid the remaining 30 sen ) and had only had a few pieces. I had wanted to eat more but Marieanne kept telling me of the calorific horrors of the lovely nuts, I had to put it away… for me to secretly eat it behind her disapproving back of course.

But now… when I am safe in my Shah Alam office ( the lovely Marieanne is in the KL office ), when I finally decided it is safe to eat some, there is a big hole in the paper ( that is why I double wrapped it in paper, tak mau bagi masuk angin… ) !! No doubt the work of the flipping mouse !

Waaaahhhh !!

Tu lah Marieanne !! Sekarang langsung tak dapat makan….

Kurus le aku …. He he….