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…..”