Yesterday Umar went out with his Abah to tapau food for his Atuk.
When they got home, I was bathing and in come Umar into the bathroom. Luckily the shower’s frosted glass door was closed ( Umar saw me in a state of undress last week and it induced a “Mum !! I saw your pusat !! Oh, the horror !!” scream from him).
“Mummy ! Listen to me !!”
“Iya… what is it ?”
“I saw 3 porcupines tadi !!” Said he eagerly.
“Really ?” I was excited too. I saw those 3 porcupines like last year and I was so pleasantly surprised and was so awed by their beauty.
“Yes … Their eyes were yellow and big !! Like flashlights !!” Had the same impression last time. Maybe due to the car headlights or whatever you call it.
“There were 3 kan. Dia dengan Mummy dia and adik dia…” Okay.. Mummy, U-um and Titi then.
Then he looked wistful, almost sad.
“I think they were looking for shelter lah Mummy. Sebab kan dekat tong sampah besar tu (at the Police Contingent car park) dah penuh dengan monkeys and cats. So they have to find somewhere else for shelter…”
His eyes were huge with worry.
“I saw their spikes, Mummy…. I think they are looking for shelter….” He said again.
Baru nak tanya what he wants for them, Babah masuk with “ Oii… Umar dah cerita ? Landak tu ada balik !! Polis-polis pun berhenti tengok !!” My husband was soooo thrilled… Kena layan dia punya excitement pulak.
Me… I macam Umar actually. When they were out of my sight, I was really worried. Where is their home ? Where are they going ? Do they have food ? It is quite undignified for a fabulous, elegant creature like that to forage for food (and seek shelter) at the smelly dustbin isn’t it ?
Sudahlah. Please stop all this felling of the trees (read:destroying wild creatures natural habitat) for development kat kawasan kontinjen polis tu. Kesian lah binatang2 ni….
I also love the trees !!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
That reminds me of…
Well… this incident happened quite recently. For the past 6-7 months, whenever I see a red or rather maroonish Kancil, I will remember the day Mr. Phang, my his-bark-is-worse-than-his-bite high school Maths teacher, almost killed me.
I know, I know… shocking ain’t it ? Well here goes,
I was driving happily (actually I am sure it is moodily or tiredly because I hate driving) from work. I was driving up the hill to the house when suddenly a maroonish kancil from the junction on the left (coming from Sek 8) swerved a hard right, into my lane and coming on to me fast.
I honked the car and saw the driver. He was distracted and was looking elsewhere. When I honked he looked at me, raised his hand in apology with a smile (he didn’t look taken aback at all) and veered of to the susur keluar lane on my left, very unsteadily I might add, instead of going into the lane on my right… which was the errmm….. right lane.… at the very last minute. He was still on the wrong lane and he is still not out of danger.
I gawped at him, very much shocked at his audacity and stupidity when I recognized Mr Phang. Mr Phang ? Biar benar !! He could’ve seriously injured me !! My teacher who taught me statistics and what nots could have given me angry purple bruises or even a broken bone or two!! He could've ceacked my windshield and damage my engine and cost me money !! Money that I have to save to pay for petrol !! Arrgghhhh !!!
I looked at the junction where he just exited and saw the occupants of the other cars’ shell-shocked face. Everybody’s mouth was in a neat ‘O’.
Can you imagine the tajuk berita ? Seorang guru terlibat dengan kemalangan dengan anak muridnya dulu-dulu yang sudah tua…. blah, blah, blah…
So that is why, because it is very much a new memory, I would inadvertently think about Mr Phang and that narrowly missed accident (and his ill-advised permed hair when I was in form 4) when I see a maroonish Kancil on the road.
I know, I know… shocking ain’t it ? Well here goes,
I was driving happily (actually I am sure it is moodily or tiredly because I hate driving) from work. I was driving up the hill to the house when suddenly a maroonish kancil from the junction on the left (coming from Sek 8) swerved a hard right, into my lane and coming on to me fast.
I honked the car and saw the driver. He was distracted and was looking elsewhere. When I honked he looked at me, raised his hand in apology with a smile (he didn’t look taken aback at all) and veered of to the susur keluar lane on my left, very unsteadily I might add, instead of going into the lane on my right… which was the errmm….. right lane.… at the very last minute. He was still on the wrong lane and he is still not out of danger.
I gawped at him, very much shocked at his audacity and stupidity when I recognized Mr Phang. Mr Phang ? Biar benar !! He could’ve seriously injured me !! My teacher who taught me statistics and what nots could have given me angry purple bruises or even a broken bone or two!! He could've ceacked my windshield and damage my engine and cost me money !! Money that I have to save to pay for petrol !! Arrgghhhh !!!
I looked at the junction where he just exited and saw the occupants of the other cars’ shell-shocked face. Everybody’s mouth was in a neat ‘O’.
Can you imagine the tajuk berita ? Seorang guru terlibat dengan kemalangan dengan anak muridnya dulu-dulu yang sudah tua…. blah, blah, blah…
So that is why, because it is very much a new memory, I would inadvertently think about Mr Phang and that narrowly missed accident (and his ill-advised permed hair when I was in form 4) when I see a maroonish Kancil on the road.
Huh !!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
My mother's kari kuting
Kenapa aku masak tak sedap macam mak aku masak ? Why ? Why ? Why ?
I cooked kari kuting for Saturday lunch and although it was nice in its own right (chewah), but it not near as lovely as my mom’s. If my mother made it, the kuah would be so lovely, we could eat it on it's own...hirup santan... he he....
Sunday dinner I made mee bandung. My kids slurped and slurped and had seconds and my mom-in-law polished her bowl, but I know if my mom made it, my kids will have a third helping and so will Dan’s mom. I am sure I will re-fill my bowl 5 times, at least.
She taught me how to cook so I know I didn’t do anything wrong, well… basically lah. What didn’t I put enough ? The tomato sauce ? The kuting ? Should I rebus the daging longer ? Would it make a difference if add in the ketchup towards the end ?
The last time my mom made mee bandung was about 3 weeks ago. We ate greedily and Shera shouted between mouthfuls to my mother who was cutting fruits in the kitchen, “Sedaplah, Mi !” repeatedly.
Let’s not talk about her cok udang lah… I mean.. it is just simple ain’t it ? But why is hers so crispy and light and anggun to the tongue ? Why ? Why ? Why ? Ijat’s friends once even asked my mom to bungkus some for him to take back to college. He he…. Sebelum dia datang pun he would ask if Mummy would be cooking….
Kalau mummy masak, all of us would go to her house in droves. Some would tapau and some would just eat there…Telur goreng pun cantik. The edges brown and crispy and the yolk not too runny but definitely not firm either ( she knows if the yolk is firm, we would only eat the whites. She would find yellow eggs as leftovers ). Kadang-kadang bila aku ke atau adik2 aku ke yang goreng telur (even ikan bilis), my dad would take one look at it and said, "Ini mesti Ala yang goreng ni...." Cess !!!
I cooked kari kuting for Saturday lunch and although it was nice in its own right (chewah), but it not near as lovely as my mom’s. If my mother made it, the kuah would be so lovely, we could eat it on it's own...hirup santan... he he....
Sunday dinner I made mee bandung. My kids slurped and slurped and had seconds and my mom-in-law polished her bowl, but I know if my mom made it, my kids will have a third helping and so will Dan’s mom. I am sure I will re-fill my bowl 5 times, at least.
She taught me how to cook so I know I didn’t do anything wrong, well… basically lah. What didn’t I put enough ? The tomato sauce ? The kuting ? Should I rebus the daging longer ? Would it make a difference if add in the ketchup towards the end ?
The last time my mom made mee bandung was about 3 weeks ago. We ate greedily and Shera shouted between mouthfuls to my mother who was cutting fruits in the kitchen, “Sedaplah, Mi !” repeatedly.
Let’s not talk about her cok udang lah… I mean.. it is just simple ain’t it ? But why is hers so crispy and light and anggun to the tongue ? Why ? Why ? Why ? Ijat’s friends once even asked my mom to bungkus some for him to take back to college. He he…. Sebelum dia datang pun he would ask if Mummy would be cooking….
Kalau mummy masak, all of us would go to her house in droves. Some would tapau and some would just eat there…Telur goreng pun cantik. The edges brown and crispy and the yolk not too runny but definitely not firm either ( she knows if the yolk is firm, we would only eat the whites. She would find yellow eggs as leftovers ). Kadang-kadang bila aku ke atau adik2 aku ke yang goreng telur (even ikan bilis), my dad would take one look at it and said, "Ini mesti Ala yang goreng ni...." Cess !!!
Dulu my friend Shazleen selalu datang rumah and one day after eating my mother's chicken congee she whispered, "Your Mummy masak apa pun sedap kan ?" I know !!
Jadi kenapa aku masak tak jadi ? Kenapa ? Kenapa ? Kenapa ?
Camana nak buat ni ?
Monday, June 09, 2008
Cerita pukul 2 pagi
I am fasting today… Because this is only my second day, I need to bangun for soq. Dah lama sikit karang I can do without pre-Subuh eating. Am hungry by the way, if you wanna know.
Anyway, things were just dandy when I got down to fix my plate, at 2 am. Scoop up the nasi (which my mom-in-law cooked for me when she heard I would be waking up for sahur… Thanks, Mak), offload the kari kuting from the tupperware. Now the soup su-un.. be careful don’t put too much soup nanti tumpah. Then in the plate go in the microwave. Blitz for 3 mins.
While waiting, fix beverage. Sirap… yummm…. He he… batal posa.
Anyway, when I returned to the microwave, there was 1 minute left so I hovered near it. And in that 1 measly minute, my mind managed to wander of to the unpleasant, very spooky story I heard from my sis-in-law. I managed to imagine it, get even more spooked by the second and when the microwave gave a PING!, snatched my plate and legged it upstairs.
Hmm…. Macam budak-budak.
Ceritanya begini… Abang Kamal is working at a certain tower (have to protect the said tower’s reputation), at Level 20. Last Friday, the very big conglomerate who owns the premise organized a tahlil to rid the building of e-ek (hantu le). Wargghhh !!
According to abang Kamal, the building is rather haunted. He himself would always bump into a small boy waiting to enter the lift whenever he arrived at the basement after a late night at his desk. Sometimes the little person (I forgot to ask gender because after Ju-On, I always assume a boy) would be accompanied by a lady.
Once, when he was alone on the entire floor and was in his room, he heard a furious rustling of papers and when he went to investigate, found he is very much alone but a lone paper that was gradually falling from a height and rested on the floor. Yikes !! My goosebumps have made an appearance again.
But what made them seek help last week, to rid the office of unholy presence was rather…. terrible. There were 3 ladies burning the midnight oil at the office when one, let’s call her Kak Anis, went to the surau to pray. Kak Anis said while she was praying she heard people shouting her name, but it was so faint, she ignored it. When she opened the door to the surau after she was done, she saw her 2 colleagues were shaking and looked like their blood have been drained from them. They were white, with fear.
They told her that while she was praying, a lady floated past them… not once, not twice but numerous times. Being girls they screamed (am very sure non-girls would scream too) and screamed and screamed. He he…
So aku yang terpengaruh pun mencanak-canak naik atas, tak perasan pinggan tu panas bila ter-imagine ropanya. Eiii !!!
Anyway, things were just dandy when I got down to fix my plate, at 2 am. Scoop up the nasi (which my mom-in-law cooked for me when she heard I would be waking up for sahur… Thanks, Mak), offload the kari kuting from the tupperware. Now the soup su-un.. be careful don’t put too much soup nanti tumpah. Then in the plate go in the microwave. Blitz for 3 mins.
While waiting, fix beverage. Sirap… yummm…. He he… batal posa.
Anyway, when I returned to the microwave, there was 1 minute left so I hovered near it. And in that 1 measly minute, my mind managed to wander of to the unpleasant, very spooky story I heard from my sis-in-law. I managed to imagine it, get even more spooked by the second and when the microwave gave a PING!, snatched my plate and legged it upstairs.
Hmm…. Macam budak-budak.
Ceritanya begini… Abang Kamal is working at a certain tower (have to protect the said tower’s reputation), at Level 20. Last Friday, the very big conglomerate who owns the premise organized a tahlil to rid the building of e-ek (hantu le). Wargghhh !!
According to abang Kamal, the building is rather haunted. He himself would always bump into a small boy waiting to enter the lift whenever he arrived at the basement after a late night at his desk. Sometimes the little person (I forgot to ask gender because after Ju-On, I always assume a boy) would be accompanied by a lady.
Once, when he was alone on the entire floor and was in his room, he heard a furious rustling of papers and when he went to investigate, found he is very much alone but a lone paper that was gradually falling from a height and rested on the floor. Yikes !! My goosebumps have made an appearance again.
But what made them seek help last week, to rid the office of unholy presence was rather…. terrible. There were 3 ladies burning the midnight oil at the office when one, let’s call her Kak Anis, went to the surau to pray. Kak Anis said while she was praying she heard people shouting her name, but it was so faint, she ignored it. When she opened the door to the surau after she was done, she saw her 2 colleagues were shaking and looked like their blood have been drained from them. They were white, with fear.
They told her that while she was praying, a lady floated past them… not once, not twice but numerous times. Being girls they screamed (am very sure non-girls would scream too) and screamed and screamed. He he…
So aku yang terpengaruh pun mencanak-canak naik atas, tak perasan pinggan tu panas bila ter-imagine ropanya. Eiii !!!
Friday, June 06, 2008
Book Review : Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend
I have seen this book on the shelves of the countless bookstores I went to. I have taken them down, read the synopsis at the back of the cover, put them back and picked another book instead. I have even bought 3 other titles by the same author but somehow I never picked this one up. What a fool I was because when I finally had the courage to do so, I was mesmerised by it. The book was really good. It was funny. And funny is very important.
It gave me an insight of the mind of a 13 year old (oh, yeah and ¾) which I should say seemed familiar (oii…! It was only 19 years ago for me okay… Man…. 19 years ago doesn’t sound recent does it ? Maybe a miscalculation… 32… minus 13…. Calculator !! God !! Who am I kidding ? It was a long time ago … What was I doing when I was 13 ?).
Anyway, for a 13 year old male, Adrian is quite a disciplined journal writer. He poured his heart out on the angst of being a teenager, like zit (he obsessively checks his face in the mirror and wanting to eat good food to promote good skin…) and girlfriend (Pandora but sometimes people call her Box, which Adrian finds funny and I find totally hilarious).
He also wrote about his mother’s meetings with their next door neighbour, never realizing that his mother was having an affair with him until it was too late. He also talked about his father and grandma and the senior citizen he helps in a Help the Aged program. He actually recommended quite a few good books actually, interesting books that he read in his attempt to be an intellectual. Expect a very observant, cynical, compassionate and bright young lad, surviving life.
It is a wonderful book, cleverly written, making me think that Ms Townsend was actually 13 when she wrote this. There is more to Adrian. His diary didn’t stop at 14. In fact there are about 3 more of his diaries being sold at bookstores.
But alas, I shopped for this month ration at MPH Shah Alam, which is rather small. That means they didn't stock up on any of Ms Townsend's books (I really should sit on MPH advisory committee or something like it). I might have to go for another shopping trip next week if my literary purchases were bad choices.
Read it.
It gave me an insight of the mind of a 13 year old (oh, yeah and ¾) which I should say seemed familiar (oii…! It was only 19 years ago for me okay… Man…. 19 years ago doesn’t sound recent does it ? Maybe a miscalculation… 32… minus 13…. Calculator !! God !! Who am I kidding ? It was a long time ago … What was I doing when I was 13 ?).
Anyway, for a 13 year old male, Adrian is quite a disciplined journal writer. He poured his heart out on the angst of being a teenager, like zit (he obsessively checks his face in the mirror and wanting to eat good food to promote good skin…) and girlfriend (Pandora but sometimes people call her Box, which Adrian finds funny and I find totally hilarious).
He also wrote about his mother’s meetings with their next door neighbour, never realizing that his mother was having an affair with him until it was too late. He also talked about his father and grandma and the senior citizen he helps in a Help the Aged program. He actually recommended quite a few good books actually, interesting books that he read in his attempt to be an intellectual. Expect a very observant, cynical, compassionate and bright young lad, surviving life.
It is a wonderful book, cleverly written, making me think that Ms Townsend was actually 13 when she wrote this. There is more to Adrian. His diary didn’t stop at 14. In fact there are about 3 more of his diaries being sold at bookstores.
But alas, I shopped for this month ration at MPH Shah Alam, which is rather small. That means they didn't stock up on any of Ms Townsend's books (I really should sit on MPH advisory committee or something like it). I might have to go for another shopping trip next week if my literary purchases were bad choices.
Read it.
PS : Nuyui, I wonder if you ever take up any of my recommendations ? Just wondering…. because I could see we have the same taste in books…
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