Teman Adik makan laksa

Saturday Mak Boyot felt like Laksa Assam at Jaya Jusco Mid Valley and she decreed that all her sibling must come too, so there we were the whole lot of us during lunch, humouring her request.

We of course could not just stop merely at lunch so we discussed what could be done afterwards. I suggested watching the Green Hornet but entah macamana we found ourselves at 8.45 pm buying popcorn for Khurafat.

Err…. Entah macamana is a bit tipulah because I was tired of the ding-donging between Green Hornet and Khurafat so I stopped my siblings in front of Memory Lane and asked them to angkat tangan for either choices. Khurafat won by ½ a hand because CT couldn’t choose.

MI was the loudest opposition of Khurafat because he claimed society is unfair to male screamers.

Whatever.

Anyway, I was a bit gung-ho about going to watch cerita hantu. My last one at the movies was with Amelia watching Kuntilanak. It was not a good experience because we covered our eyes with our tudungs and then talked non-stop during the ride home to ease our nerves eventhough we drove separate cars. Ha ha.

Since that was like years ago and I have forgotten how scared I was then, I was a bit more positive about watching Khurafat, even with all the warnings to perempuan mengandung and what nots because MJ who had seen it twice gave a very good review.
So… eventhough I was very clearly reminded of how penakut I am when the film started (I did hide my eyes behind my tudung), I can’t help feeling disappointed with the movie. Granted, it was scary. But … there are these missing links that made it somewhat an unsatisfactory experience. Again I was left with a feeling that this movie was not well thought of.

Like when the hero told his colleague that he and his wife have been ‘disturbed’ by supernatural elements, I expected the friend to be more horrified and inquisitive than that. His calm reaction was ludicrous because if it was me, I would have grilled and grilled my friend for the whole story. This guy didn’t, in fact he just advised his friend not to point fingers without any proof.. if I remember it correctly, of course.

I then couldn’t understand the connection with the cleaner. All it did was to show that this guy is so damn popular sampai makcik cleaner pun is stalking him. Maybe I lost the plot somewhere, I dunno.

Plus the actress who played the wife was a bit too young for the husband. It looked like he married budak lepas SPM aje. Sangat-sangat tak kena.

Or maybe I am not the best person to review this movie because asal malam aje, aku dah start cover mata ngan tudung. Bukannya apa, I kept thinking that since I travel a lot and stay in hotel rooms alone a lot… soo….. heheheheh…… Better not lah kan.

Our mom was not spooked at all. MI said she even asked for more chicken nuggets in the middle of the movie.

Anyway, after ward all 10 of us went for dinner and discussed the movie. Kamil who paid for the tics grumbled that that was the stupidest way to spend his 100 bucks.
We came home late and woke up late. Luckily Amelia came over for a chat at 9.30am or I would have probably stayed in bed until noon. We did have a very, very late lunch… at 5 pm… Hehhehe…. MH is sailing again so I made chocolate cake and cheese tarts as per his request and my sisters made roti jala and mom made sambal sotong and lovely, lovely beef kalian.

So we sat down and be merry again until quite late when MI bade us goodbye to return to his campus and CY started the car to send her husband to catch the plane.

No dinner for us so that was why I ate nasi lemak at 11 am.

Ha ha….

Pasal pasu

I dunno why I have been quite melancholy these past few days.

I keep motoring through memory lane and even though I visited many happy memories, I somehow managed to squeeze the element of sorrow in them.

First I thought about my Nyang. Even though they were good memories, visual excerpts that showed how much I was very loved by that woman, I managed to be so darn sad because I suddenly realized I own nothing that she knitted ! Itupun nak sedih ke ? But I am sad..... Sigh.

Today… well yesterday actually I reminded Kamil that we will be celebrating our 19th year together. And today when I woke up, I still thought about it and of course I went cruising through the darn Memory Lane again and stopped at one Anniversary when Kamil surprised me with a bouquet of roses delivered to the office.

The long stem roses came in a very tall glass vase with baby breaths and ferns and a lovely ribbon around the neck. It was gorgeous.

Anyway the vase took its place on my dining console table, collecting dust of course but still I loved looking at it as it reminded me of the jarang-jarang romantic gestures I get from my beloved hubby.

Until one day that is when my siblings helped us to move out and Shera who was helping me to throw out stuffs held the vase and asked if it was going to the bin too. “Kalau you nak buang bagi je lah dekat I… I memang suka pasu ni…." and she said that with her usual enthusiasm and happy grins... Sigh..

And even though I loved the vase and was not intending to throw it out, I didn’t even hesitate before I gave my yes because I love Shera more than I do the vase and when I love somebody, I just want to see them happy.

And her happy grins and her “Yeay !” when she held it and lovingly took home was worth more than a thousand vases. Not even all the Bohemias and the Royal Albert’s in the world.

And when my horrified husband took me aside and asked, "You bagi pasu yang I bagi you kat Shera ?" I shrugged and answered, "Well.... because she wants it..." and my husband let it be like that because he knows how fond I was of her.

So that is why I am so bloody sad today because I thought of her (and it was very much unplanned) and I like wonder, where is that vase ?

Sigh..

My little orange boy

My cat is sick.

My orange furball, Moggy has been with the vet for 1 week today.
Last 2 Fridays Kamil informed me of his illness as we arrived home. He went to check on him immediately and when I joined them, Mogster was lying at an odd angle and there were black substance sticking to his rear. It looked like a car had hit his rear end.

I didn’t sleep well that night as I was worried. I was afraid that I would be greeted by his corpse in the morning. But luckily come morning he was already in the kitchen, but he was hiding himself behind a cabinet.

My mom and I (plus my nieces and my kiddies and my sister) took him to the vet but because they were understaffed that Saturday, they asked me to either visit another vet or wait till Monday. They referred me to a vet with X-Ray capabilities but they too were busy. Too busy to schedule him in.

So we had no choice but to wait till Monday which made me fret again.

That afternoon, he hid behind an armchair in the living room.

Then when I was in front of the laptop at the dining table, he brought tears to my eyes because suddenly there he was, out from his hideout… lying next to my chair.

You see Moggy loves me. Before he joins our family, I only have Adik as my stalker. But as soon as Moggie pandai panjat tangga, I have Adik and him trailing behind me. Wherever I go, there they will be.

Once I told Kamil to just wait and see who will be coming through the bedroom door after us. Not even 2 minutes after, Adik came in babbling away. As she talked I could hear a furious jiggling of bells and soon Moggy landed on our bed.

Ha ha.

There was this one time when Kamil and I woke up from our impromptu afternoon nap to be greeted with the sight of Adik squeezed in between us and Moggy at our feet snoring away. When Adik vacated the space, Moggy quickly jumped in and settled in happily.

Every morning his routine would be greeting me as I sit on me morning throne, rubbing himself on me legs so I would fill a bucket with water for him to drink. After his thirst is quenched, he would just sit there while I did my business. Once he came in late and I was already out of the loo, so Kamil said to him, “Moggy lambatlah hari ni… Mummy dah habis mandi dah….” Hehhhhehehehehe…..

And he really could not see me reading the papers or have the laptop in front of me. First, he would sit on the offending item. I would then have to ignore him or if I was in a hurry I had to push him aside. He would then settle near me, meowing once in a while, while I read or tapped the keys.




I would usually use the laptop at the dining table. Ini lepas aku tolak dia tepi. Tak atas laptop, sipi-sipi pun jadilah.....




Ini case bawak diri sebab aku angin, Adik pun angin. Lepas dia kacaunya orang tu baca buku, dia kacau aku pulak.

That was why I was sad to see him on the floor when he hurt his leg and not on top of the dining table as usual. He still has to be with his Mummy…. As near as he could get.

My little boy !!!!

We went to visit him at the vet twice already.

The first time we went, Abang and I meraung bagai because when he saw we were leaving he struggled to get up too to follow us home.

The second time we went as soon as he saw us he meowed and meowed in distress and we collectively agreed that he was actually begging to come home.

Today finally the vet decreed he is well enough to be operated on so he is fasting now and would be cut open late afternoon.

Waaaa !!!!!

He has to be well soon as I miss being stalked by him.

Also damn you orang yang langgar kucing aku !! I hate you !!

Nyang...

I dunno why when I was on the john this morning, I suddenly thought of my Nyang. In my head, I saw her on my bed at our old house, knitting. A window was next to her so there was a like an ethereal glow surrounded her , as her 2 needles worked at a furious speed.

I remember the wool being white and I remember huddling next to her, my 6-7 year old self, watching in fascination as shapes formed and tied together.

“Ada orang suruh Nyang buat ni. Alas meja…..” That was how she fed her family after her husband passed away by selling her knittings and cloths. My mother was about 5 then. She never re-married although she was widowed quite young. My mom told me once that she used to chase her suitors away with shoes and brooms if they dare propose !

“Nanti Nyang ajar boleh ?” I asked this much loved lady who taught me to pray by forcing me to emulate her movements and reading the verses out loud. This was also the lady who bought me my first telekung and dressed my head in her scarves. I remember a pink one that is my favourite. I was forever putting it on my head and inhaling her scent that lingered there.

This was also the lady whom I remembered sending me to my kindergarten (funny enough, the kindergarten was on the same row as my house now….. It is no more a kindie though…..) by pushing the bike while I sat happily listening to her chatters for all 30 minutes of the journey. Whenever she is around, Mum had to cancel the school bus.

This is also the lady who fed me Maggie Mee Assam Laksa in front of my mom, as an act of defiance as she is the one who raised my mother so she knows best. Says who Maggie Mee is bad ? Ha ha...

I remember her tipping me RM1 whenever I accompanied her to wait for the bus and who grabbed my brother in the morning, holding him upside down by his ankles, shaking him a bit in her bid to cure him of his bed wetting.

This is also the lady who pretended to be deaf... because she could hear just fine when we gossiped. And this is also the lady who irked my aunt because she can't recognise her but could see that she had put on weight. "Sapa ni ?" she asked. "Ohhh..... Kiah ke ? Gemuk kamu ye....." He heh... Precious.

I also remember that this was the lady who saw my dad sneakily burying our family cat he just ran over. When he came inside, relieved that nobody saw what he did but my Nyang surprised him by asking, “Dah mati ke kucing tu ?” and he had no choice but to confess to my mother.

I also remember her funeral where I was cried non-stop as soon as I yanked the cover and cried even harder when the skin I kissed was cold. I wailed the whole time they bathed her and sat next to her wailing some more while they kapan-ed her body.

It was during her funeral when a second cousin looked at me curiously and asked, “Ini nenek kakak ke ?” I shot daggers at her and shouted “Ini Nyang kita !!”

I also remember that she never got around to teach me how to knit properly eventhough we had plenty of time. She only passed away 4-5 years ago.

And I now realized that I do not own even one of her knittings, not even my mom, the favourite grandchild whom she raised.

And I never realized up until know how much I miss her.

Al-Fatihah to Saenah Bt Naim, my great-grandmother.

Sampai demam

Saturday my siblings and I went karaoke-ing dari 8.30 mlm sampai 11-30 mlm. Then we sambung with movie watching Season of the Witch. Pukul 2 pagi baru kami pulang with throat so dry and sore.

Sunday night we gathered again but this time at my mom's for dinner sambil tengok recordings of our antics berhuha-huha macam orang gila. Gelak berdekah-dekah lagi.

When I showed our mom the video clips, I said to her, "Look at your children. What a bad mother you are ..." bertambah lah gelak sampai terbatuk-batuk.

That was why Monday morning on the way to Johor I resigned myself to the coughs. Perils of a good weekend.

Which was also why when my colleague asked me if it was wise for me to eat the ice-cream cone I was holding, I answered with "No no... Am not sick. I was karaoke-ing during the weekend...."

But by Wednesday when I spat out awful, salty green flam in the sink I had to admit to my colleague that she was right after all. But no fear.... am not ill .... just a cough.... as I pushed away the heavy chest and sekejap ada sekejap tak de headache to the back of my mind.

And just now.... when Dessert Rose hugged me and asked if I am having a fever... Well darn it... I am sick.

Then that weekend with my siblings (when I say siblings, I include my hubby and my in-laws too... So there were about 7 of us....)was a smashing success.

We have to do this again, peeps !

Adoi la.....

It's been a week into a new school year, and I am still having nightmares about the first day.

It was awful.

First we sent the kids to school.

When sending Adik I had to check her class. Okay, still the same class. Then pujuk dia because 2 of her kawan ketat were changed to other classes. Saw her to her assembly then left as we have a busy day ahead.

I was informed like 4-5 days before school started by my good friend J that the school now doesn't accept cash. We had to prepare money order or postal order for the fees, books and PIBG. 3 separate ones at that. What the ? I try very, very hard to not ever patronise the Post Office but now I had no choice but to. Actually I had a choice. Darling J offered to do it for me. Buuuutttt........ aku asyik terlupa nak pi rumah dia hantaq duit so last-last, had to go on my own.

So next stop Giant. Arrived there 7.45 and already we were no 40 in line. What the ? again. Kamil did not like it one bit so suggested Tesco. I said lets have breakfast first then we check how far the line had gone. He grudgingly agreed and after breakfast I was happy that we are now no 20.

Kamil was but. Let's go to Tesco, he suggested. What ? Really ? I was thinking sama gak nanti. Tesco surely ramai orang gak and I am very sure the drive there would equal the 19 people ahead of us at Giant.

But pegi gak. And I was right. Kat Tesco lagi haru. There were 50 people in front of us.

Then I told him, darling let's go back to Giant. Mana tahu it is already our turn ?

Nope, the big man said. We go to the Pejabat Pos Besar.

What ? Really ? Pejabat Pos Besar actually don't encourage people to use their services. I get the message just by counting the seciput number of parking spaces they offer. But again pi jugak and again I was right because he had to wait in the car while I bravely marched in and met the din inside. There were more people in there and although most counters were open, I had to wait for like 40 people in front of me to be served first.

Again aku pujuk dia pi Giant. I still had the ticket with me.

Buutt.... tak nak. Pi market dulu. Pi bayaq yuran Abang and beli buku sekolah dia dulu then pi Tesco balik. Nope.... still the same.

Pi hospital dulu for an appointment with my torn ligament ortho then Pejabat Pos Besar again. Situation remained unchanged.

Then to Giant where Kamil finally condescended to wait. So we waited. Although our ticket showed we were number 40 in line, but most of the tickets were not used so that sped thing up a bit. But we still had to wait for 1 hour. Finally we had all 3 damn money orders by 2.30 and rushed to Adik's school. I was praying hard that everything written on it was correct as I could not go through all that hassle again.

So... I think I took about 7 queue tickets plus maybe around RM 30 duit minyak. And about 7 hours. I am darn sure kalau we had stick to Giant in the morning.... things would had been ready by 9 am at least.

Men.

PS : Terubat sikit hati aku bila ada lawyer yang nak tulis surat kat sekolah to berletiaq pasai kebodohan money order itu.

Lawyer, dah tulih belum ni ?

Boleh tak jugak hang buat surat Aku Janji ngan Kamil mintak dia tunggu aje in line and toksah pusing2 pi ntah mana2 ?