Bandung Day 1

I had a romantic getaway two Wednesdays ago with my husband to Bandung. Romantic ? Wa ha ha ha ha…. It was as romantic as watching paint dry because a day before we left, I was plagued with sickness. I started coughing and had a fever.

The plane ride was okay as I was not that sick at the time. When we arrived, we went straight to the hotel and were allowed to check in. When I laid down, I found it hard to get back up again. Dan was concerned but I dismissed it away as we were already there and I promised to take Dan around.

I forced myself to get up and took a cab to Pasar Baru. Dan hated the pasar. At that time I was already quite under the weather and didn’t know where to go. I remembered that I wanted a new telekung so I took Dan to the shop where Amelia and I bought ours last time. I was sick and disorientated. The pasar looked more crowded than it did last time. We went around and around, trying to find that particular shop when I spotted it by chance. What a bummer. There were not many telekungs around and the style was out-dated. All that for nothing.

I insisted for a new telekung and therefore visited about 3 shops before Dan pointed out that all the shops carried the same telekung. He was pressuring me to just pick one. O-kay….. Right then I was thinking Amelia was nicer to walk around the pasar with. I hastily picked one. I hate doing that because I know I will feel discontent ( and how right I was ) with my purchase.

It was already 12 and I suggested we sit down for lunch. I needed to take my medication anyway. Up we went to the 6th floor to the food court. I was raving to Dan about the food Amelia and I had there. However Amelia was the one who bought the food. I sat at the table and waited for her. So when I got there I was confused. Nothing looked like the food Amelia had cleverly bought. Aiseh. I was getting dizzier by the minute and Dan had a look of consternation on his face. I hate being a tour guide.

I finally decided to eat the safest thing that was offered there, Soto. At least there will be no surprises there and I do feel like having soup. We sat down and ordered 2 sotos. The alarm should have been raised when after 10 minutes of ordering the food failed to appear. It is just soto and in good ol’ Malaysia, it usually takes less than 5 minutes to put everything together. I was sick and was just relishing the comforts of the chair and was not thinking much.

The first to appear were 2 plates of rice. Aiik ? Nasi ? I thought we ordered soto ? Then came 2 steaming pots ( yup, pots ) and when we opened the lids, it revealed burbling beef soup ( or more appropriately broth ). Dan looked at me but hey, I gave a him a look that said don’t-look-at-me-mister-I-am-as-confused-as-you-are !

We dug in. It was nice enough but Dan hated it because it was littered with timun air. I had no appetite and Dan didn’t like his food ( he is fussy, that one ). The waiter raised his eyebrow when he saw the uneaten fare.

I took my husband to Rich and Famous next. Luckily he was happy there. Since I only have the clothes on my back and a pair of pyjamas in my bag, I had to choose an outfit. I was rather ill by then and couldn’t choose anything. Dan had to do my shopping for me and chose a long-sleeved t-shirt that is too short for me. The next day I had to walk around with my tudung covering my chests ( as it was just not too short, it was one size too small too ) while looking for a more appropriately sized baju ( thank you honey for thinking that I was that thin ).

We then went to Rumah Moda. Dan luckily loved it there too as the ambiance was calming and the décor was superb. He quickly found clothes for himself and we bought loads for our kids. None for me though. No baju ( semua long sleeves t-shirt yang Britney Spears nak lah pakai or short sleeves ) and not even bags. It was so much different from when Amelia and I went.

Then of course I went to got my feet reflexologied… he he… That is the best reason to go to Rumah Moda actually. I practically ran there as my was body aching and my head was throbbing. There was only 1 chair left and I quickly took it. Dan refused to be massaged and sat next to me. Boy was that a killjoy. I found out that day that it is very disconcerting and very unnerving being massaged while somebody watched in boredom.

We then trudged back to the hotel. Well, not exactly trudged as we did take a cab. Despite the massage, my body was killing me and I had a fever. I was alternating from being hot to cold at very regular intervals. Luckily I had my supply of ponstant with me and Dan thoughtfully packed some Panadol Actifast. Come 7 o’clock we were hungry again ( I barfed twice ) and decided to head to the shopping complex just down the road from our hotel.

We were debating whether to go on foot or take a cab. I felt we should walk as it is so near but Dan said he doesn’t want us to walk where the pavements are housing various stalls and had to walk on the road instead. He apparently mistrusted Bandung drivers. As we were discussing ( more like bickering ) the hotel’s pak guard approached us. He advised us to take the Angkutan instead. We apologetically told him the smallest denomination we have on our person was Rp 100,000 and therefore will pose a problem when paying the Rp 1000 fare each. He then whipped out his wallet ad gave us Rp 2000. We were horrified and horribly embarrassed. He kept pushing the money to us and we kept pushing it back to him. I finally took the money when I saw how adamant he was and frankly I did not have the energy to play Rp. 2000 tug-of-war with him. He was so proud I felt guilty for refusing in the first place.

Where did we go ? First to find a Wartel. Dan was so homesick ( read missing Umar and Elsa ) his eyes went watery as he talked fondly of his children ( their monkey-like perangai mysteriously vanished from their father’s memory ). We found one but it couldn’t make calls to Malaysia. We tried at the hotel before we left and the receptionist said “ Belum biasa buat panggilan ka Malai-sia pak ”. O-kay.

We went inside the mall to look for a pharmacy. I bought a packet of Panadol for flu and fever and bought some cough drops. Then we went to search for food. My husband took me to McDonald’s. He said he doesn’t trust Indonesian food anymore. Yelah tu Rashdan. Just admit that you are a junk-food junkie.

Admittedly, my mouth watered looking at the Indonesians eating friend chicken with rice but luckily I remembered the frogs in my throat. I ordered Fillet-o-fish and some fries ( which oddly was okay for the frogs… he he ). The chilli sauce was hot I tell you. It was super hot but yummy….

Anyway, went to their supermarket and Dan bought more junks for his tummy. Then off we went back to the hotel. I slept fitfully amidst Dan’s channel search for something that he could understand. Finally he shut his mouth when an English movie appeared on the screen at 9pm, but with as much iklan as before ( there were so many iklans on their telly, we watched more iklan than real shows. All about keputihan baju and kulit muka, menghilangkan ketumbir and entah apa – apa entah ).

Bersambung esok kay sebab karangan ni dah melepasi 3 muka surat...

Where iklan Petronas took me

Haiii Petronas… menyusah kan aku aje. I fill my petrol at Petronas and because of that I have like 10 pieces of entry forms for the Saya Anak Malaysia contest. I am very much not into entering competitions especially those that require me to write slogans, but since I got loads of them ( not counting those that I have actually scrunched up and thrown ), I think well … why not.

Before I have to think up some witty words that will get me one of those cars, I have to match the messages written to the correct Petronas commercials. So I went to their website and watched all 5 iklans and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.

I love my country. Each iklan stabbed my heart because it reminded me how much I really love my country. I mean that is the reason why I buy only Petronas, bank at CIMB Bank and RHB Bank and try to buy Malaysian first whenever and wherever possible.

Those close to me also know how much I love my people. Amelia and I, we share the same values and that is why it is so easy with her because with her, I do not have to explain. She is with me all the way.

But those Petronas iklans taught me a few new things too. First, I have to value being anak merdeka. Hari Merdeka should not be just another holiday, another reason for me to have an extra work free day, but a day to really thank Allah SWT that I am living in a wonderful and free and safe ( to some extent ) country. Sadly, the current government failed to see that and I see them failing to keep us free, safe and wonderful. And I foresee that soon, we will again be colonised.

The second thing it taught me is that, I have to love my fellow Malaysians. I have to love and cherish my friends more than I currently do. We are too caught up with our work and family that we forget the community. Sadly, it is something that the current government has failed to notice too. Poverty is everywhere. It is not focus on any particular race, but a problem that is faced by every type of ethnicity in Malaysia. What they are interested to do is just fattening their pockets. I can show you the house of a local politician who if I am not mistaken, was just a government engineer before. It is so huge and that is the second wife's house. The first wife ? Fooo.... words cannot describe it. How can you steal rakyat's money for your family's extravagance ? If your family were living on the street, I would've understand it but they were not. Sure you were not living on a sprawling estate but you you do have a roof over your head. How can you let some poor people starve so that your kids could be kitted in Rolexes.... ?Neraka jahanam for you...

What I am most saddened by is that no matter what we do, no matter what we try, we only have small hope for all Malaysians to unite and stand together because we were never united in the first place. Simply because of our failure to speak in one language. We failed to be educated by the same school system. How can we unite when we each have our loyalties elsewhere ?

Indonesia had done and is doing the right thing.

Article Review : Hidden Dangers in Your Car

Very eye opening article featured in this month’s Reader’s Digest. It discussed about the importance of securing every item and person in your car when you travel. This is because when you are involved in an accident and your car brakes suddenly, every unsecured objects ( including humans ) would become projectile, fly at a high speed and could be deadly to you.

What Malaysians are practising is only passengers sitting in the front seat would be safely belted. Even that is a hit and miss. We never consider unbelted passengers behind and stuffs on the backseat floor that can fly if not restrained. All these are hidden dangers.

One guy put his credit card on his dashboard. When his car stopped on impact it flew and cut his throat. A measly credit card, kay ? Luckily the cut was not deep enough to be fatal. Another guy although survived when his car collided with another car, was killed by his tool box when it flew and hit him on the head, hard.

A team analyzing car crashes concluded that risk of death for belted front passengers rose 20% higher when there are unrestrained passengers behind. Whereas you have 120% higher chances of surviving the crash when your passengers put on their seat belts. Logic really, the front passengers became the back passengers’ airbags. You actually have to brace yourself from impacts internally when you’re involved in an accident.

MPV owners are more at risk because their cargo area is not separated from the main body of the car. Prams and whatnots that you stow there can potentially hit you or your children when accidents happen. Therefore they suggest getting a cargo divider, a gate that separates the cargo area from the passengers.

One lady luckily heeded that particular advise. Her car hit a curb and was forcefully stopped but when she looked behind, her son was not even bruised because the stuffs she had in her cargo; prams, first aid kit, can of food and auto supplies slammed on the cargo divider instead of her son.

Be aware. Be safe.

Book Review : Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter

Ms Potter is an unknown author to me. I chose the book because I like Mr Darcy and there were promises of special appearances by the enigmatic man himself !!

To those who had read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen would have known and loved Mr Darcy, the fictional hero. He is the perfect gentleman, the tall and silent type, handsome and brooding. His problem is that he could be quite arrogant though, thinking that he is vastly superior to anybody else. But did I mention that he is handsome ?

He he… however his cold, arrogant attitude actually masked his loving, compassionate and kind nature. There is where the pride and prejudice comes from, by both Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Proud of their own heritage and family and then prejudiced against one another. Aiseh.. please read this marvelous book if you haven’t because it is such a total loss if you didn't.

Pride and Prejudice has been adapted into the big screen many times but the most popular ones are the BBC drama featuring Colin Firth ( say aaahhhhh…………… ladies ) as the dashing Mr Darcy and one actress I have forgotten her name and most recently on the big screen with Keira Knightly and the delicious Matthew Macfadyen ( you can catch him on Hallmark and Channel 26 in the tv series Spooks where his smoldering good looks and somewhat Mr Darcy attitude makes me forget what the day’s story is all about ).

Anyway, when I read this book, I alternately pictured Mr Darcy as Colin Firth ( who is just wonderful ) and Matthew Macfadyen. This book is somewhat like Kate and Leopold where two different eras somehow merged, and in this case a fictional character became real.

Emily has sworn off men. She had always fancied Mr Darcy and decided that the man in her life from then on would only be him, in her head. Magically ( and due to her best friend who wanted her to go to Mexico for some serious partying which is totally not her scene at all. She is after all a bookworm ) she joined the Jane Austen tour to England ( did I mention she is American ? ). All the participants were old biddies, except for one Spike Hargreaves, a journalist researching why women would like to date Mr Darcy or even be Mrs Darcy. Emily then actually met Mr Darcy in bizarre circumstances, dated him and well… read.

The book is well written and I enjoyed her style. I also love her ideas as again I always look for something that hadn’t been written about. I also love the idea of resurrecting Mr Darcy as well… sigh… I wanted to know more about him.

Apart from that, the book I have to say is rather predictable. Spike from the very start showed his Darcy like tendencies. And the way they met and the prejudices they harboured on each other from the very beginning.. well… gave the ending away.

But, it is still a very good read. So much so that I am buying another one of her books today for me to decide if Ms Potter is a keeper !!

PS : Can I say that although I love the brooding Mr Darcy, why I feel like strangling brooding Mr Dan ?

Halal Food

Last week I read in disgust on JAIS’ claim that only 3 hotels in Selangor have Halal certification. Halal food in my Muslim country has been a real sore point in my life. Malaysia is an Islamic country. I don’t care if is Islam is just the official religion ( which I have been reminded of many, many times ) but being an official religion has to mean something doesn’t it ? Then why bother putting Islam as the official religion ( whatever that means ) ? The majority here are Muslims. We have mosques and suraus littered everywhere, but when it comes to food the halalness is not a sure thing. As JAIS put it, halal certification is a voluntary thing. Ada ka ?

This means all this while, all the food I have consumed is not guaranteed its halalness ? When I was living in the UK, I had to scan and check every food item I intended to buy to ensure its halalness ( read vegetarian ). I memorise all non-halal ingredients like gelatine, whey, E315 or more obviously animal fat to ensure that the food I eat and feed my family with falls within the requirements of Allah SWT. It was tiring.

In Malaysia, I took for granted that everything is halal. Either the displayed food items in the supermarket, or restaurants ( except those clearly non-halal ones lah ) or hotels, any place that sells food. I thought being in a Muslim country, I am safe. Apparently I am not. I felt cheated somehow.

I was in a mall in KL the other day and was at the food court. I saw a stall that said Nasi Padang manned by 2 female employees clad in tudung. I was in a hurry and although tudung wearing Indonesians are not a sure guarantee that the place is 100% halal, but the name of the stall was Nasi Padang. Surely…. Right ?

Anyway, I went there, asked for nasi tapau and as to my customs chose vegetables only. When I waited for the kitchen help to calculate the price of my food, I took a good look around. Then I noticed quite a few items that were noticeably not Padang people’s food. Fine. Sometimes you know, to attract wider customers, you have to offer food that suits everybody’s palate. Then as 1 policeman asked for nasi bungkus, I blurted out the question that had been plaguing my mind. Is the food is halal ? Yes, was the answer.

Who is the owner ? I asked. One looked nervous and the other one said campur – campur. She then added that the cook is a Javanese. I then asked again who is the owner ? She reluctantly said it is not a Muslim. But then she quickly added that everything is halal. Yeah, I said, who buys the fresh produce ? I looked at the policemen and he appeared nervous too. He smiled at me. I smiled back and left.

Sure the cook is a Muslim but where did the owner buy the meat ? I know for a fact that non-halal chickens are 50 sen cheaper. For unscrupulous people who just don’t care, they want to save that 50 sen, correctly thinking that the unsuspecting public wouldn’t know. I am not saying that every restaurateur in Malaysia is unscrupulous, but not all in the rose bush are flowers. There are thorns. Can I just remind my friends on the sausage debacle last year ( or was it this year ? ). I am not so trusting anymore after that.

I once saw a nasi ayam restaurant receiving its stock of chicken for the day wheeled in by non-Muslims deliverymen. I went red in the face and asked the cashier. She assured me the chicken is halal but when I pointed to the 2 deliverymen, she coloured a bit and she said campur – campur. What do you mean by that ? She explained half of the chicken from a Malay and the other half from a non Muslim, but she said even from the non-Muslim they are halal. Really ?

When I asked for halal certification, they have none. I left. When I called JAIS he advised me that as Muslims I should go to restaurants with halal certificates only. But, I stammered, I am in a Muslim country. How can that be ? What about those Arabs who come here and eat anything they want thinking that all the food in Malaysia is halal ?

From then on, whenever I am unsure if I will be served halal food, I will only take the safest option, go vegetarian. Therefore I eat laksa assam a lot and no more curry laksa. Please do not add more headaches to me by asking about plates and cutleries. As long as it is not pork… he he… boleh ke ? Hmm… one step at a time…

Masterfood announced their infamous confection Mars is no longer halal. They will start using rennet, an animal based product. Will Mars bars have a non-halal stamped on it from now on ? Or at least a sticker, to warn us that it is not suci for us anymore ?

Please, make halal certification a must. If not, produce a non-halal one. Employ more people to ensure that fresh produce is bought at halal certified abattoirs and manufacturers. I wouldn’t know the identity of the owners until I take the liberty to ask. Seriously, I don’t want to do that. Apart from that, please create a system that can clearly indicate where these halal certified restaurants get their meat from. Sure it is a lot of work and requires real enforcement work but isn’t Jabatan Agama Islam’s job to ensure ( at some point ) that we live the Muslim way ?

Movie Review : Transformers

I don’t know what to say. Dan and I when we heard they made a Transformers movie jumped up and down with joy. When it’s date of arrival was announced, we bought the tickets 2 weeks early.

Come Saturday, I leapt from my sejadah when I heard my husband came into the room. We almost collided. Dan was jumping up and down. “ Transformers !! “ We shouted at the same time, giddy with excitement.

Dan and I are big fans of Transformers. One of our special moments was when we realized that both of us watched the sad Transformers movie where Optimus Prime died. We cried ( I was at Seksyen 8 and he was at Seksyen 7, oblivious to each other’s existence then ). I cried for days whenever that scene re-played in my head. Him, lying there on the hill ( I said hill Dan said no hill ) alone, while the rest of the Autobots stood and watch. I forgot what his last words were but the leadership was passed to Ultra Magnus ( although he didn’t want it ), then Decepticon’s Galvatron got the Matrix before Hot Rod recovered it from Galvatron and became Rodimus Prime. But none matches my Prime. None. He was kind and compassionate, such a gentle giant.

We both looked at each other in wonder when we found out how we both felt about that scene. I was thinking if he could feel the way I feel that day, then he is definitely the one for me. I looked at him with renewed respect starting from that day. We were glad that we had something special to share. I would say, Transformers made us closer… he he.

Anyway, wow ! The cinema was full. When it started, people started clapping their hands. Then I know I was in the cinemas with people my age, people who grew up watching them. Dan kept showing me his hands, where all hairs stood on its end. Me too babe, me too.

The US in Qatar was attacked first by Decepticon Blackout and the survivors was then attacked by Scorponok. Bumblebee by then had weaseled his way to be Sam’s car when Barricade assaulted them. Bumblebee annihilated him.

When the rest of the Autobots came in a meteor of some sort after Bumblebee called them, I knew one of the 4 was my heroic Optimus Prime. “ There ! Optimus is coming !! “ I shouted. When he stood, and emulated the famous blue and red truck, I thought I could burst.

When they converged, re-uniting with Bumblebee and revealing themselves to Sam, and they transformed with the sound that I knew and remember so much, I wept. I wept when I saw Optimus Prime for the first time. He is so handsome. Man. His light blue eyes were familiar and his voice was the same. It was still Peter Cullen.

Watch it people. It was wonderful with serious military action. It was high octane. It was funny too. It will make your goose bumps have goose bumps.

Megatron is so huge. Damn him.

Anyway, Dan and I agreed, this movie was so excellent, it surpassed all other movies. Not Fantastic Four, not Spiderman, not Pirates of The Carribean... nothing. I do not think Harry Potter's new movie is going to standout. No way... no way....

However, if you are not a fan, then you will be confused when the action starts. You will be thinking which are the Autobots and which are the Decepticons. That complaint came from my boss anyway....

Transformers ! More than meets the eyes…

Why I hardly ever walk up the stairs

2 –3 days ago, I ran upstairs to our surau. My colleagues were already in the surau and as I opened the door, one remarked “ Naik macam apa entah. Macam kena kejar.. “ or something like that.

I replied, “ Sorry, none of my siblings berjalan naik tangga. Semua orang berlari sebab kalau jalan ada yang tangkap bontot… “.

It is true. Dan’s father once made a remark somewhat like my colleague’s when he heard my sister ascending the stairs when we were in Nottingham.

Can’t be helped. Because if my father was home, as we unsuspectingly took the stairs, there will be somebody creeping from behind and grabbed our butts. After that we learnt to run as that is the safest. Running and looking behind, just in case. If you walk, you are an easy target, my friend. Believe me.

“ Waarrgghhh ! “ Grab !!

“ Wargghh !! Janganlah !! Ayah jahat !! “

That is the usual exchange of words at our stairs at home.

I do not like walking in front of anybody when I ascend the stairs. But now… well… we never learn do we. My children would also run when they use the stairs. Because.. well there is me to grab their cute behinds now.

Ohh… well Dan, somehow knew that I miss the tooshie grabbing routine and would sometime grab mine whenever we were on the stairs. Aaahh…. Bring back fond memories of childhood.

But… no matter if it was us or my children, we would dissolved in laughter whenever ayah ( or me ) did that. It is rather exhilarating, somehow…

I have to say, sometimes we were disappointed when ayah didn’t do it. That is a secret. Don’t tell my daddy…

Maid

Last week an interesting article on maid abuse surfaced in the papers. This article was of course spawned by the week before’s 15th floor maid incident. NSTP interviewed some abused maids who are currently seeking shelter at the Indonesian Embassy. There were many horrifying stories. But what is more appalling is that one abused maid’s employer was let go after paying a fine. Only fined ?

What a load of crap. Abuse is abuse no matter to whom it was done to. The last time I checked, Malaysia is not an apartheid country. Foreign workers although do not have full rights as we Malaysian do ( like voting or free education or whatever ), still have the right to be safe and to be paid for the services they have provided, among other things. They still deserved to be respected, to be pitied and most importantly to be treated as human. Basic human rights that is given to all people no matter if there are on their own soil or not.

I condemn the authority that let abusive employer’s go with a mere fine. Just a stupid slap at the wrist. These things can put a permanent label to us. I mean we Malaysians endure labelling our whole lives. You know, every Malay is lazy, or this race are liars and people of that ethnic group are thieves. I mean come on, we do not even have to look at other races, we Malays even dissect our own people by the state they come from. How Kelantanese is like this and Kedahan is like that etc. Do we want to be known as a country of abusers ? It will stick to you, you know. Especially when stories of fined abuser leak out to the whole world. It shows that abusing maids are the norm of our countrymen. “ Oh everybody does that here. Just yesterday, I poured hot oil over my maids body because she didn’t wish me good morning !! “ The acts of a minority can effect the whole nation.

Having a live-in maid is part of our culture. When I was small, all our maids came from Johor. I don’t know why but they just did. One stayed for 6 years until she got married and after that we had a succession of Johorian maids with 1 to 2 years stint each. We usually lose them to their boyfriends and after that we got ours from Indonesia.

So when I moved to my own abode 4 years ago, there was no question of whether I am getting a maid or not.

Our maid was good to us initially. The house was clean but most importantly my children were happy. We have two tellies and which ever one we used, she would use the spare one. I once cooked alone because she wanted to watch a Hindustan movie upstairs. I let her be as to me there is no issue there. She was at home the whole day and as far as I am concerned, if I get to go home and relax, she can too. Her condition is worst than mine as I can leave my office. She can’t. She sleeps and breathes her workplace.

Everyday I will leave her some money just in case she wants to do a little bit of shopping at the nearest shop or too lazy to cook. When I found out that she liked to read, I bought her new Malay novels every month. Sometimes I even furnished her with Malay magazines ! All in the name of compassion and pity.

When we went out, the kids didn’t want her to assist them at all. Dan and I still had to feed and mind them. She is left with carrying our things. I didn’t like that. My mom didn’t like that either. I remember us taking the maid out only once because mummy didn’t like Kakak trying to make herself useful by carrying whoever is youngest at that time or our things and then walked 2 – 3 paces behind us like she didn’t deserve to be with us. Therefore Dan and I always asked if she wanted to come along. She usually didn't. So we stopped asking knowing that if she wanted to come, she could just say so. She was relieved because she said she preferred to stay home to relax and watch the telly anyway. Why not ?

Whenever we were home, the kids were our responsibility. She never bathed or fed them whenever we are around. They are our kids and therefore our duty. I do not have the stomach to let somebody else be with my kids, nurturing and loving them whenever I am around. Therefore whenever we were home, the kids were completely ours.

So you could imagine her life. We respected her, we called her Kakak and she just called us by our names. I learnt to buy Malay DVDs to keep her entertained and watched them with her so that she had somebody to watch them with. I bought her RM 100 shoes, real leather ones because none at Bata fits. I bought her a set of pots, the ones that she had been dreaming of. I even paid for her intelligent son’s monthly school fees and promised that I would give her the money to buy her own cooking gas tank.

Then I found out that she had been abusing my kids. Not just physically but she had been yelling and cursing them too. She even spread lies about us to our neighbours, lies so outlandish that luckily none wanted to believe. Our neighbours saved us by ratting on her. Apart from that, before we found out that she was doing those things, she was offensive to us. About 5 months after she entered our homes, she started to be cynical and rude but since we needed her service and didn’t want her to hurt our precious ones ( which she did anyway ), we just closed one eye.

What did I do ? I did nothing. I sent her to my in-laws’ house without so much as a harsh word and soon after that showed them her true colours to them and were sent back to Indonesia, pronto.

Did I want to kick her sorry arse ? Yup. Did I want to slap her face ? Badly. Did I want to rant and rave until I get hoarse ? Until now the feeling is there. But I didn’t want to because I still have empathy. But most importantly because I am a Muslim, I got more class than that. I would not stoop that low.

Errmm… I think my entry today veered from my original plan. I got sidetracked because of course this issue reminded me of HER. So… well.. I have lost my original train of thoughts. I basically wanted to voice my displeasure of all these monsters who abused their maids because my maid abused my family mentally and physically and I didn't lay a finger on her.

Maybe I will get them back… My thoughts that is...

Book Review : For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Waaahhh….. What a touching book. Sedihnya. This book will teach you stuffs, my friends. It will teach you about forgiveness, parental love and especially teach you about the sacrifices they make. It will make you want to reach for your mammy or your daddy or even better both of them.

It will make you reflect on your relationship with your parents and this book will make you weep for the wrong things you have done to them. When I read this book, I imagined myself as the narrator. After every anecdote, I will remember almost similar incident that happened to me and then I will be overwhelmed with regret. Children will always hurt their parents because they don’t understand. There is no maturity. It is quite okay if you don’t mean to hurt but if you do it with intent… well, then….

This book is about Chick who totally lost it when his mom died. He lost it because the last time he spoke to his mom the conversation was full of deceit and he couldn’t wait to leave her. All his life since his father left, he had been angry with her and the last time they spoke to each other was no exception. When she died he drank his sorrows away and became a person that his wife and daughter could not live with. The failure of his marriage made him turned to alcohol further more and he lived in the shadows.

Until one day when he received a letter from his daughter announcing her marriage. He was not even invited. He didn’t even know his new son-in-law. He was overcome with grief so momentous that he decided to take his own life. But before that he wanted to visit his childhood home for the last time.

He was involved in an accident on the way there and escaped unhurt. Since the accident happened near his home, he decided to resume the journey on foot, still fresh from the disaster. Imagine his surprise when he opened his door, his momma was there to greet him.

Then, like all moms are wont to do, she consoled, supported, and guided him.

His dad once told him “ You can either be a momma’s boy or your daddy’s boy. You could never be both. So choose, “. Chick said, he chose his father because unknowingly, you will cling to the person that was most likely to leave. And he was right. His daddy left. I felt so sad because to me his father leaving changed him. If his father had stayed, he wouldn’t be a drunken man, living his regrets.

Books like these are important. It could either teach or make you realise about certain aspects of the life you lead, or better still both. To me, kesedaran itu penting. It is good if the kesedaran is long lasting but even it if it lasted for a short while, giving you enough time to make a difference even a smidgeon, that is good enough for me. This book reminded me again that I do not know every little thing that effects my parents’ decisions. That even at the times when I hate them, even if at that time their decision seemed cruel or stupid to me, they did it out of love and for my best interest.

We do not exactly have a clear guidebook on how to be good parents. All of them are usually vague and very macro at best. We make mistakes. Parents make mistakes. Therefore it is crucial for children to understand whatever mistakes parents did, it was out of love.

This is my third book by good old Mitch. My first was Five People You Meet In Heaven followed by Tuesdays With Morrie. Both books were out of the normal topics that people usually write about. Although love was still the main staple, but it was presented to us in unique plots.

Read it.

Book Review : Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

I grabbed this book as soon as I saw it. Firstly because it was a Meg Cabot masterpiece and second because it was the lone copy there. I didn’t even want to think about it. Grab, pay and oh shucks, my kids are running to me with their own books, rummaged for more money. Oh well..

The book is about Lizzie who went to England to meet her English boyfriend only things didn’t turn out well. Well it was a disaster in fact. Luckily for her, her bestfriend is holed up somewhere in France in a castle helping her boyfriend’s bestfriend Luke, to organize a wedding for Luke’s cousin. Phew.. !!

Lizzie and Luke of course fell in love in the midst of Luke’s parent’s coming divorce, Luke’s scheming girlfriend and the wedding planning headaches coupled with a spoilt bride and a few other wedding disasters. But Lizzie and her big mouth ( she doesn’t think when she speaks and regrets her words as soon as they came out. Happens to the best of people many, many times – aku le tu ) saved the day. Hmmm…….

The book is funny. I like funny stuffs so I like the book. I mean I have recommended Size 12 is not Fat and Size 14 Is not Fat Either and I was not disappointed with the book… well at the end of it anyway.

Seriously, the first few chapters weren’t good. It was not the story line, I have no problem with that but the way she wrote it. The words she used and the style of writing was so cliché that I was hugely disappointed. She wrote like any other chick lit writers out there. It was cliché… unoriginal. But then she began to pick up pace, she might have worn her usual hat when she wrote the rest of the book as it sounded more like her. All in all, I gave a huge, satisfied smile at the end.

Read it.

Movie Review : Sumolah

Watch it. That is all I am going to say. Watch it. Hilariously funny. If it is too late to catch it at the cinemas buy the original dvd when it comes out later.

No lah, that is not all I am going to say. I have a lot to say actually. Praises first. The dialogue is funny. It had us laughing the whole movie. There is a believable storyline with the right amount of love story injected into it. Afdlin was brilliant during the sumo tournament scenes. The action, the snapshots of sumo wrestling, the wrestlers themselves and the audience coupled with brilliant music ( all kinds of drums from the Malay, Chinese, Indian and Sikh version ) was amazing. I didn’t know my people had it in them. Directorial capability that is.

Afdlin’s acting was of course amazing. But I have to give a special recognition to Awie, Radhi Khalid and Kartina Aziz. And well…. Gurmit Singh. Wah lau wei…… He is such a good actor. We are so used to his Phua Chu Kang altar ego that when he played a baddie, he looked like a totally different person. Like he was not Gurmit Singh at all. He was brilliant. He looked Japanese somehow and his portray as a Japanese was convincing. I like the essence of Manga that was incorporated in the movie whereby whenever a hero or villain makes an entrance they will pause at the door for their goodness/badness and usually handsomeness to take effect. He he… so cute. The conclusion ? Gurmit Singh’s embodiment of a villain ( albeit a soft one ) was realistic.

The criticism ? Again, lack of attention to detail. Patrick Teoh should spend more time being around Japanese who could speak Malay or English. I cringe whenever he speaks because well, it was horrendous. That Thai girl who played Honda Siti ( isn’t that just funny ) although very lovely, suffers from the same problem. Her Malay was… well just not there yet. Some would argue that she is half Japanese and half Malay and therefore her Malay is not perfect but she doesn’t sound like a Japanese speaking Malay either. It was neither her nor there.

Whatever it is, Sumolah is funny. Like I mentioned earlier I love the tournament scene which I find very well planned and inspiring, a stroke of genius. Although Afdlin is still not there yet with the likes of Hollywood greats, but he is definitely getting there, fast.

Epidemic at 1 Baiduri

There is a new epidemic at Umar’s school. It is really scary and has me scratching my head with worry and fear of contagion. It is one of the worst kind of epidemic that mothers ( especially mine because she has 8 children ) scream with fear and have sleepless nights.

Yup, the kutu outbreak. I am really scared that I have been thinking of shaving Umar’s hair off. I had wanted to last week but well… do not want to overdo it. But after meeting with Dan’s sister whose daughter is in the same class as Umar, I am determine to do so.

I pity the source as she gets regular jibes and cynical remarks from her friends. The teacher said the kids are not deliberately cruel it is just that they have no social understanding yet. Kesian…

But, well… Sometimes I could feel little feet running through my hair. I have obessesively checked Umar and Elsa’s hair for signs of invasion. I am also contemplating to do a new sleeping arrangement, the same arrangement my sisters and I designed when we were kids and were bloody petrified of getting infected, the alternate head and feet layout. If one sister slept at the head of the bed, the other sister who shared the bed will sleep at the foot of the bed. Meaning instead of sleeping or talking next to your sister’s face, we will be sleeping and talking with your sister’s feet. No two heads were ever together and therefore no kutu ( if any ) can jump on anybody’s head, unless kutus can live on your bulu roma kaki…. Ingenious.

So, Umar will go Kojak. Will send pictures soon… he he…

Book Review : Spinster Sisters By Stacey Ballis

This is a story of two sisters who made it big by being single. They have talk shows and books celebrating life as a single. However things started to take a different turn when one decided to marry. This story is more on the other sister trying to cope with the bad press and her worry if the company will survive with one sister not a spinster anymore. Of course she is trying to manage her love life as well plus her ffriendship with her ex-husband.

The book has a good idea. I mean the idea is quite an original, something that I have never stumbled upon. But it was marred by the way she writes. It was boring. The storyline was okay but needs more work. The praises in front of the book somehow does not match the filling of the book at all.

It held a lot of promises but… well, she has to write better. Try it though, you might like it.

Magazine Review : Reader's Digest May Issue

I have been reading Reader’s Digest for as long as I could remember. My dad forced us to read it month by month and I am glad he did. This puny magazine has a lot to offer. It contains a wealth of information and stories and I can say that it will help to mould your life.

Let me tell you how it shaped mine. One very nice thing ( and the very thing that attracted me to read it when my father initially pushed it to me ) about it is it has a lot of jokes insides. From Laughter Is The Best Medicine to Life’s Like That, jokes also make their appearances after the ending of an article.

One joke went like this, At a conference for worriers, the speaker advised his audience the futility of worrying and the side effects it could have on a person. He said “ Usually, 70% of what you worried about, never happened !! “. One participant shouted “ Then it worked, didn’t it ? “.

It is only a joke but it has such a profound effect on me. So much so, as I told my boss about 2 months ago, it has made me the person I am today, a first class worrier. I couldn’t let go any of my worries, as I fear it would happen when I stop. Therefore I am content to frown and be edgy until the situation passes. Or if it is a long standing issue, I take comfort when the worry surfaces now and then, because when they do then I have hope that it will not happen. Psychological thing, trust me.

Anyway, this month there is an article on the medical dramas that has graced television screens all these years, from Dr Kildare to House, which is my absolute favourite. Then there is an article on the piracy on the Straits of Malacca and told 2 heroic stories of Malaysians who helped to save the day ( and lives ). That was a good one and made me proud.

There is also an article on why insurance buyers should read the small prints of the contract. It also advised on the important things we should ask our agents before we sign up for anything. Brilliant. One sad article is on how families who lost their children try to re- build their lives. These children died when their own family car backed into them. Truly tragic.

Read it. There are other great articles too that either could help you or just be an enjoyable piece to read. The jokes ? Wa ha ha… funny !!

Badminton

Yesterday I played badminton with my husband. He hates playing badminton with me. The problem is he said is my hits never went to him. If he is on the right side I will hit the ball to the left and vice versa. If he is in front of the net, I will hit the ball far back and if he is at the end of the court the ball will fall near the net. He even went as far as saying that is where Umar get his lack of co-ordination genes from. Oii… tolong sikit ye….

Okay, this is what my father taught me. When you play badminton, you want your opponent to be unable to serve back your balls. Make him run to return them. That is how we score points. This explanation came when I cried in frustration due to my inability to return my dad’s ball. I mean that makes sense innit ? Our opponents dropped ball is a gained point for us. And therefore, I do not know how to play badminton any other way.

Dan’s reasoning is we are playing for fun and not collecting points. But…. Where is the fun in that when I have to return all his balls back to him ?

Hmmm........

Movie Review : Chermin

We watched Chermin during the weekend on our telly ( I bought original DVD okay ). I am not gonna mention about the story line much as I really want you guys to watch it. The gist of it, it is about Nasrin who was involved in a mysterious accident and was scarred at her cheeks because of it. The accident of course is a result of something deeper and sinister as it involves a family curse. Deanna Yusoff plays Mastura, the curser ( he he ) and Natasha Hudson as the chosen great granddaughter that she wants to possess. Why is Mastura so evil ? What happened ? Well, it is actually quite sad. I am not saying that Mastura has a right to do what she did, but I understand why she did it. Really. Of course she was half crazy anyway… so… well….

It is a better movie to me then Jangan Pandang Belakang. Deanna Yusof’s acting was good however it was marred by her inability to speak Malay properly. The intonation was not there. They should’ve probably chosen somebody who is a native Malay speaker or should’ve spent more time teaching Deanna to talk. I have no complains about her acting though, I mean she is a scary hantu, albeit a very beautiful one. The scene where she was taunting them from inside the mirror was excellent and her portray of a deranged wife is spot on, but I just couldn’t relate to her way of talking. It is just not there yet. Seems forced somehow and it made her sound unrealistic. I mean the face and the modulation didn’t match. But all the same, good acting Ms Yusof.

Natasha Hudson was okay. We could tell when Mastura had possessed Nassrin because the way she talked was already different. She was successful in her attempt to talk like Deanna. So yes, that was excellent.

The cinematography was admirable and the songs were brilliant. I like that. Like Cinta, the songs came at appropriate moments and the choices were apt. The location.. well, where did they film the movie ? The kampong is a very beautiful kampong. Very clean and well kept. The houses were fine-looking and deserved a mention in interior and exterior design journals. Rumah sapa lah tu ye… Maybe somewhere in Hulu Langat.

I don’t know why it didn’t receive more rave reviews or stayed longer in the cinemas. I don’t know why they said it’s boring too. I mean, the dishy Farid Kamil should’ve taken out all the boring bits, if any, immediately. However, I do have to say he didn’t appear enough times in this movie, so maybe that’s why. Ha ha.. Seriously it is a good movie.

Complains ? Well again ( check my review on Jangan Pandang Belakang ), the exorcism was too easy. I need a more elaborate scene. It has to be harder than that, surely ? Nevertheless, is she really gone ? Really ? She’s dead ? They are never truly gone are they ? Ha ha…. Hmm.. maybe that is the boring part.

The unrealistic moment was very funny. It highlighted the problem with all Malaysian movies, lack of attention to detail. What happened was Natasha Hudson’s scar was.. well how can I put this ajar ? The scar was not properly attached to her skin. We could actually see the gap between skin and the paste on scar.

Moral of the story ?

Don’t force arranged marriages on your children. Something could go wrong. Sure love marriages could turn out bad too but at least the love factor ( which I feel is very essential to all unions ) is there.
If you are a second wife, don’t be cruel.
If you feel hopeless and could hear voices and you know you are going crazy, seek help and seek God !!

Okay ? Watch it.

Bye bye Anu..

My friend Anu has left Shah Alam. He is in Melaka now, working for a new company. What a group of friends to do but host a farewell dinner for our dearest Anu.

From the picture you can see Amelia and I were allowed to sit next to each other. But soon of course we started to whisper. Shazmi protested with a " Oi.. oii.. oiii " and Anu just lifted his hand in despair.

Eii... suka hati lah...

Shah only arrived after Amelia left for her meeting, so next is the picture of 4B !! Ha ha...

PS : Anu will only be in Melaka for 3 months... after that he will return to his beloved Shah Alam.

Book Review : Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes

I remember reading a book by Marian Keyes on the plane. I was from Singapore back to Malaysian soil and I was sitting next to a mat salleh. Marian being Marian were hilarious. The guy next to me kept putting his book down to watch me laugh. After awhile, he remarked that that must be a really good book. I looked up at him, eyes twinkling and said, “ I love Irish writers. They are the best !! “ He nodded at me and I continued with my reading. I couldn’t concentrate after that though ( not just because he was kinda hot ) because it had me thinking why did I say that ? Apart from Maeve Binchy, I couldn’t think of any other Irish authors. “

I closed my book and said to him “ I’m sorry but I do not know why I said that. To be honest, I couldn’t think of any other Irish writers !! “ He smiled and said “ I know !! “ and we got to talking. His name is Paul ( Merkin I think ) and at that time was working with Manchester United ( could you believe my luck ? ). I was scheduled to go to London the month after and he graciously offered tickets for me and gave me his e-mail address. Sadly, I lost it and I was mad with regret when I touched down in London ( sadly when we met on the plane, Paul was leaving for England with his best friend’s body, who was a victim of the Bali bombing. MAS graciously offered to fly him first class back to England. He flew MAS from London to KL, stayed a few weeks in KL and Penang, went to Singapore then to his unfortunate trip to Bali ).

Anyway, whatever it is, this Irish novelist is simply marvelous. My first book by Ms Keyes was ‘ Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married’ and from then on I was hooked. It was so funny, deep and described the trial and tribulations of the singles trying to find love ( permanent one ) beautifully. Her angst and yearnings was so vivid and believable. I totally could relate to Lucy.

Her latest book is ‘Anybody Out There’ and it is just so sad. I cried because the ending is so bittersweet. It is about the 4th Walsh sister ( Rachel was in Rachel’s Holiday, Maggie was in Angels, Claire was in Watermelon and Helen hadn’t got a book yet. Next one I hope because Helen is a real interesting character ).

It is about Anna who lost her husband of less than 1 year. She was ignoring the fact that her husband died and kept on e-mailing him and leaving messages on his mobile and I just wondered why did this Aidan disappeared ? She was badly wounded and he just upped and left her alone ? Then it turned out she was just blanking out the fact that her beloved, perfect Aidan died in a car accident. The same car accident that wounded our Anna.

When she finally acknowledged that Aidan had passed on, she went crazy trying to find mediums that could contact Aidan from the other side. Then, came the startling news that so broke her heart. The news that Aidan wanted to break to her gently over the dinner. The dinner that they were trying to get to before Aidan was ruthlessly taken from her. The last dinner that Aidan had planned for them.

I liked the way she finally embraced the news even though it hurt like mad. I liked the way Aidan finally came to her from the other side at the end of the book. It was gentle and sweet and oh so sad…. I like the way it ended with promises of a new love in the future and that she actually is not alone. She has 4 crazy sisters that love her, an even battier mother, a silent, loving father ( who was lovingly ruled and trampled by the 6 opiniated women in his life ) plus marvelous and motley collection of friends that desperately tried to help her get by.

Beautiful… hmmm……………

Pasar Tani

Today I was thinking of joining Umar’s tennis class. I asked his coach if it is possible and he doesn’t mind at all. He is just concerned that I might get bored since his students are from5 – 14 year olds. As I was discussing with him, I received an sms from Amelia asking for my company. She needed to go to Pasir Tani.

Female companionship wins over tennis expertise. Kamalia joined us and it was good. I was craving for some female bonding. I love pasar tani. You can virtually get everything there from fresh produce, halal ( Muslim produced ) fisballs, beefballs and noodles ( keaw tiaw, mee etc ), clothes, food even cars !! What they still do not have is sadly good Laksa Penang. I have tried most of them and none came up to my standard.

I especially love the tudungs on sale there. Many times whenever I go to the office attired with a new tudung from there, I was pestered by my colleagues to go again to get them the same design. At one time, I got high fever because I went every week !! It is so hot there and preferably one must go before 8.30 am if you want to save your skin from being burnt and not getting your throat parched beyond believe.

I have gone to pasar tani with Dan but choosing tudung is not the same as he is just so difficult to please. Everything is ugly. I once went with my mom, dad and grand ma and that was as bad as going with my kids. Same amount of whining and complaining.. he he. Going with my girlfriends was good as I can get honest opinions and retail expertise. The conversation is great too.

It brought me to my shopping spree with Yasmin and Amelia a few years back. Min was about to return to work after 3 months confinement at home when she had Farah. We were at Mid Valley from 10 am to 5 pm. We had to stop for refreshments twice, once for lunch and once from exhaustion. By 2 pm, 3 husbands were constantly ringing asking and pleading ( and at one point ordering ) their wives to come home.

Ahhh…. Bliss…… Bila nak buat perangai lagi nih ?

Susuk Lagi

Dan and I raced against time to watch Susuk yesterday. We went to MidValley after work to buy Umar’s tennis stuffs. Came home and after Isyak went to Nasi King and ordered food. We then went to Kamalia and Sheik’s house to get the stuffs I pesan from Padang. Then went back to Nasi King for the food. I raced upstairs to our room, dragging our sleeping son while Dan went to the kitchen to get cutleries, bowls and drinks. When he entered the room, Susuk started. Phew !! Just in time. We plonked ourselves in front of the telly to view a very disappointing episode.

All the effort for naught. Zilch.

When we were at Kamalia’s house, I went up alone as Umar was already sleeping in the car and Elsa was not yet home ( anak dara si Rashdan tu balik pukul 10 malam ). My hair stood on its ends while waiting for the lift and while I was on the lift. As soon as Kamalia opened her door, I was so relieved, I bounded in happily. I immediately told them about ‘Jangan Pandang Belakang’ effect.

Ayesha was so cute, she asked her Mama “ Mana anaknya ? “ He he. I told her “ Anaknya tidur dalam kete jadi bapaknya teman.” Kamalia bought me the nicest kebaya. Thanks Ya. But I couldn’t stay long because it was 20 minutes to Susuk.

What lah. Why is there no continuity ? Why is everything so unbelievable ? Why is the directing and the acting so unconvincing ? The best acting I have to give to the dukun. I should have stayed and have more tea with my friend and inspect the lovely telekung she bought from there. Very nice, very pretty.

Hmmm…….

Movie Review : Jangan Pandang Belakang

I am reviewing Jangan Pandang Belakang. It is a much hyped about movie, with rave reviews and high praises. I though put it in the middle of good and predictable. It is totally expected and unexpected at the same time. It was scary and the sound effect was excellent. It was different from the normal Malay movie but somehow very much the same. It left me this feeling of an unfinished story and I regret how easy it was to get rid of the unholy entity.

Pierre Andre played the hero who lost his fiancée, due to accidental suicide. She foolishly picked up a bottle she found on the beach, took it home and from then on her nightmare started. After her death, Pierre ( or Dharma – what a ridiculous name ) went to her apartment with her twin sister ( who had the good grace for being identical ) and found the cursed bottle. He then pocketed it, took it home too and thus sealing his fate.

He went back home to his kampong to rid of the disturbance ( which turned out to be my kampong, Batu Gajah, Perak… waa…. Susah lah nak balik sekarang ) and surprise, surprise, he actually collected his late grandfather’s hantu.

Okay, to their credit, it is rather good and seram. Scenes like the hantu trailing his car from behind, sitting on the roof of his car, him picking up his Opah whom he found squatting on the floor, hungrily shoveling food and when he picked her up to put her to bed he found she was already soundly asleep and * gasp * his horror when he realized that and was too scared to look at what he was carrying in his arms ( it made me think hadn’t this guy heard any ghost stories in his youth ? That scene is a classic hantu scene that if I ever see my grandma crouching like that I would have legged it in a second ) was good. Numerous scenes were good actually, but when things have calmed down ( for me at least and that meant being at home and waking up in the morning ) and you start to reflect, you feel sadly unsatisfied and empty.

For one, the lack of sadness and shock of his fiancee’s sudden demise. Not just from him but her twin sister who seemed too cool and collected even after such a catastrophe event. I mean, suicide !! That is sooo terrible. Probably some time should have been allocated for that, to show them bawling their eyes out or something like that. However maybe because they were thrown the hantu angle very much soon after her death could be the reason why they couldn’t grieve properly. Well maybe. But when he went home to his family, no word of condolence or empathy came from his aunt and cousin. Like her death ( or even his engagement ) was not a known fact. To me there was no continuity.

Then he keeps returning to his house even after all the sightings and the voices that he heard. If it was me, I would have packed my bags and camped at my friend’s living room. I also feel the way they stumble on the existance of the hantu was not properly thought of. It was not that beleiavble and again, the proper reaction was missing.

Apart from that, the Pak Imam’s exorcism was too easy. I anticipated more resistance and seriously, something akin to head rotating 360°, you know …. the works. I expected at least 2 nights of orang kampong keeping vigil at his side or something like that. Basically, I want more action. It is like watching Die Hard minus the body counts.

And this complain comes from my mother. Since the kampong is in Perak so of course his family speaks in Perak dialect. Khatijah Tan’s was believable and had us thinking that she is a Perakian after all. Mak Mah’s ( Rosminah Sidek ) attempt was laudable but a few words here and there made it quite unconvincing and the lilt was just not fully there. Like when she asked for water, she said air when it is ayor to them. My mom who left her native Perak at a young age says air but my Wan still says ayor.

And here comes the boring part. I blame Ju-On for this. To me, after that film, most of the hantus in the world found it hard to float or walk anymore. They prefer crawling or slithering on the floor nowadays. It is like a trend.

What are welcomed though were the hilarious scenes. Cat Farish was good albeit a very short appearance. I also love the scene where Opah invited the hantu to enter the house. Dharma had just arrived at his family abode and Opah peered outside. She admonished her grandson for not inviting his friend inside. She then said “ Buruk bebenor ropanya kawan kamu tu. Rambut nya tak terurus…. “ or something of that effect. There was one scene when she screamed because Dharma’s ‘friend’ slept with her and was pushing her off the bed !!

Whatever it is, it is better than any other hantu movies that have been released in our mother tongue. Better than cerita Hantu Jepun and better than Kuntilanak that Amelia and I saw ( I am not gonna compare it to Pontianak Harum S***** Malam since the director is now my sister’s aunt ). It is a good effort but somehow looked hurriedly done. It lacks attention to detail, which is what Hollywood movie is very famous for.

But.... and there is this but, I will think twice before I pandang belakang now. Well at least for a few weeks.

Hmmm…………….

Emak yang tak boleh tengok cerita hantu

Yesterday was the first episode of Susuk on TV3. It was okay and quite scary by my standard ( and I have to tell you my scare threshold is very, very low. This is the girl who got scared watching Pontianak Harum S***** Malam the first time. The second time dah pandai sikit dah… ), so much so it … well, here is the story;

Umar was already sleeping when Susuk ended and as usual Elsa was still wide-eyed and very much on the go. Dan lifted Umar to his bed and I prepared Elsa for hers and since Umar was already off to Slumberland, allowed Elsa to watch her cd ( Barbie ).

My eyelids got heavy 10 minutes after House started and I was jolted from my slumber while House was still on. It was the sound of the door what woke me. I couldn’t identify which door or why it was doing that but it was the door nonetheless. Then I looked at the direction of my children’s room. It was pitch dark. I was shocked to my bones.

“ Dan, Elsa Dan…, “

“ Hummpphh………………. “

“ Where is she ? The room is dark … “

“ Hummpphh……… “

“ Dan, mana dia ? “

“ Ada dalam bilik lah…. “

I was not satisfied, threw all caution and fear and walked towards my children’s bedroom. I switched on the lights and there was my daughter, looking up the ceiling, foot waving on air.

“ Elsa what are you doing ? “

“ Hai Mum… “

“ What are you doing ? “

“ I am bored…. “

“ You tutup telly ke ? “

“ Yes… It’s boring, “

I looked at her. She looked at me. Then she said, “ Good night Mum, “ and I obediently switched off the lights again and retired to my room. I lay down beside my husband and waited for sleep to welcome me. It didn’t because of the stupid door. Again I reached for my husband.
“ Which door is it ? “

“ I don’t know… “

I tossed and turned and finally he got up and checked the bathroom door. Because the bathroom door is directly in front of the little window of the said bathroom, the extremely strong wind from outside was pushing it over and over again. That produced the sound.

We slept with the door opened.

The end.

Myra's Book Review

Let me tell you about 2 books that I read.

First, Never Let Me go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is the guy who brought us the wonderful Remains of The Day and When We Were Orphans. Now, how can I describe the book ? It is very chilling and haunting without any presence of ghosts in it at all. From the first few chapters, you would be left wondering about what they were talking about and you will be so intrigued that you have to plough on. Then you will feel very much unsettled that you have butterflies in your stomach but you interest have definitely been piqued that you could not put it down. Then you sort of could guess what was going on but still very unsure before the hard truth dawns on you. When it did, you will feel the chills to your bones.

Then came the sadness and the few tears and then the hope ( you will know the hope is fruitless ) that Katherine will be spared from the madness. When you finished, I bet you will log on the net in your attempt to find out if Mr Ishiguro was making it all up. For me, I was determined to proof that it was definitely just his imagination….. Please….

Read.. my dear friends… read this. I am more than willing to lend you the book, as I am very eager to hear another opinion….

The second book I read was SUSUK, by a Malaysian author. I bought it in a bid to support Malaysian writers and because I saw the iklan many, many times on tv. Apparently, they have turned it into a movie or tv series… I am not sure. Anyway, the English was good enough and I was quite enjoying the way he writes… but the jalan cerita…. Hmm…. Very confusing. At the end of the day, you were left wondering, sapa yang ada taik lalat kat bibiaq ni ? Si Suzana ke Soraya nya ? Lepas tu, hidup ke lagi minah tu ? What happened sebenarnya ? What has that got to do with Mona ? And then who is the dark-skinned man ?

I don’t want to read it again. So I suppose I have to get my closure by watching it on the telly. My problem is… well I am not very good keeping dates with my telly. NCIS, CSI … my favourite shows pun selalu miss. Grey’s Anatomy which I dearly love pun I don’t even know what day and time it comes out… not even which channel…. Ini lagi lah….

So… I have to read it again ke ? Tak nak …..

I will buy Adibah Amin’s In Passing next.

Hmm…….

PS : Kamalia, lupa nak habaq that you can pinjam CD Cinta tu. Bila ndak habaq mai na….

My 14th Anniversary

Today is our 14th anniversary. Yesterday my husband looked at me and said “ Do you know that I have spent half of my life with you ? “ I looked at him, wondering if he was complaining. But being my best friend for 14 years he could read me like a book. “ Take that as a compliment. I have no regrets… “.

True, I have no regrets ( so far ) too. He has proved to be a wonderful husband, a loving father and a considerate son and brother-in-law. Of course he make mistakes but his magnificence is truly greater. It is easy to take care of him as he is not demanding. I always have to offer him services like drinks or if he wants me to iron his shirts, as he would usually does it by himself. When the lazy bug bites yes he would call me but in our 8 years of marriage, the occasions are so few, they are negligable.

One of the things that I admire about him is his patience and boy do you need a lot of that when you live with me ( ask my parents and my siblings ).He is very generous, catering to my whims and fancies, so much so that I would be shocked if he says no. Seriously.

What I love about him most, coming from a person who loves her family so much, is how much he helps me in that endeavour. He never complains. He understands that I need my family and how I am always worried about then.

Thank you Dan....

Happy Anniversary Darling…

Movie Review

We have been going to the movies for 2 consecutive weekends. Two weeks ago we went to see Meet The Robinsons and last week we went to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Meet The Robinsons would pull your heart’s strings. It is about the importance of family ( usual Disney theme ) and of course about friendship. It is also about how it is okay to dream ( as it could be a reality ) and do not despair and give up if things look bleak… try and try to change your life. Also most importantly, do not hold grudges. At the end of the movie, Dan and I exchanged looks that said it all.

It taught me to support my children’s creativity. If we have the resources then why not try to indulge them ? I was cooking yesterday and the wet kitchen faces tennis courts of the condos behind us. There were 2 girls playing tennis with either their coach or dad. Boy were they good and I especially admired their strength. As I was watching them ( while keeping an eye on the fried chicken ) Umar suddenly said that he wants to learn how to be a good tennis player. Usually I would reply with “we’ll see” or “why ?” but this time I told him, “Okay, it could be arranged.”

Well why not ? Maybe his interest will only last until the chicken stool retains its warmth ( read in Malay as hangat2 taik ayam ), but at least it is something that he should explore and figure out if it could be of serious interest. I mean, what do I have to loose ? Weekend afternoon naps ? Negligable ( warghh !!!!! ).

The TMNT was fun. Especially when I read the Malay alih bahasa as Remaja Mutasi Ninja Penyu, I had glimpsed what a fun movie it would be ( really I got all that just from reading the alih bahasa ).The dialogue was witty, the animation ( or whatever that computer generated movie type is called ) was good, it was action packed.. well.. fun !! It taught we that boy are turtles fun !! ( and since when Shredder died ? )

Do I have to learn something every time I go to the movies ?. It did however evoked warm memories of sitting with my mouth open with my siblings, absorbing those green creatures’ ninja moves, deciding which one I could actually use to hurt and maim my adik beradik. Hey, I did learn something from watching TMNT !!

Jumping on the train tracks

Today the papers reported an incident where Putra LRT’s services were halted because someone jumped on the tracks. She apparently was accidentally left behind by her employer and leaped on the tracks to chase after the train her employer was in. Right…. She is safe so therefore it is okay for me to laugh. HA HA HA.

This episode however reminded me of our own experience involving fast train and train tracks. My mom, my sister and myself were in London. We were waiting for the tube at Leicester Square after visiting my Opah who lives off Carnaby Street. As were waiting on the crowded platform, the unthinkable happened. An elderly lady fell on the tracks. I saw her when she was falling. She just toppled over. Like she was dizzy or something and fell with a sickening thud.

Immediately there was uproar. I saw people urging her to get up. In my head I could still see this blonde lady with dark brown coat screaming for her to get up. The look of desperation and concern was deeply shown on her face. Then we heard the train. Things went noisier with the sound of the train and people screaming for help.

We were actually at the very end of the platform and had our backs to the wall. My mom… well here is the funny part. She started to say, “ Close your eyes ! Close your eyes ! “ before adding “ I don’t want to look… “ and pressed her eyes tightly shut. In my head I was thinking “ That is sooo weird, “. I know that we are in London but it is strange for my mom to speak in English. Don’t get me wrong, my mother’s English is very good, but I was expecting her to speak in our mother tongue. I was expecting her to speak in her local Perak dialect actually, “ Tutup mate kamu. Tak usah kamu nengoknye “ and then ended it with “ Teman idak le ndak menengok… “ In a panic state, surely you would speak in the language that you are most comfortable with. Surely…

Anyway, the train halted to a stop about 2 feet away from her. Then it went very quiet and very still. I could still the train driver’s shocked face and our disbelief that it actually managed to stop. Then, from the left, I noticed some movement. A very tall guy suddenly walked and jumped on the tracks to retrieve to old lady. My sister and I at that time agreed with plenty of sighs ( me while rocking my baby Umar )… what a hero.

We walked on jelly legs for the rest of the trip and avoided the tube like a plague. Luckily London is such a pedestrian friendly city that we were not much inconvenienced.

Going back to my mom’s language mystery, Ben a good friend of mine during university years once asked me in which language do I think with ? Do I think in Malay or English ? Hmmm….. good question Ben…

Hysteria at Sek Projek

I was shocked by a piece of news in the papers yesterday. About Sek Projek being plagued by hysteria… eee…. Scary.

I seriously do not know what causes hysteria ( ini hysteria lain tau… hysteria yang menjerit2 sakan tu, bukan hysteria beli kasut macam Melia and I ). Psychological or hantu-al or even pura-pura-al sebab saja nak cari publisiti, but when it happens, it is damn scary. Morbidly scary.

It took me back to when our school was attacked (?) by these hysterical people ( no pun intended ). The athletes were back from MSSN and they came home weird. I remember being first made aware of the funny situation during rehat where all these girls were sitting down looking stony. I said hello and none replied. Then the whispers told me what happened.

The first screaming happened after rehat. It was bad but not as bad as the day after. We were having our lab that day when I heard screaming teamed with some mad ramblings that seemed to come from the ERT lab above us. We were shocked. Puan Zahare ( remember her ? Everything she said ended with the vowel E… oreng Perek gameknye ) looked worried. We didn’t do anything but just sat down and listened to the commotion upstairs.

Then we noticed a few movements outside on our left. There were our heroes, all the ustazs rushing to the surau to take wudhu’. I have to say I was swelled with pride when I saw them, rolling up their sleeves as they hurried to the surau. In my head though, is etched the vision of Ustaz Shukry Torpedo calmly walking…. I don’t know why, but I remember that most.

Anyway, we were ushered to our classroom and we waited there. Everybody was nervous. We could hear people screaming everywhere. Then a senior appeared at our door. He looked tired and was sweaty. He ordered us to look at the masjid.

At that moment I got angry. I don’t know why but I felt everything was so absurd and couldn’t fathom how looking at the masjid could help any of us. I questioned his rationale for us to do so. He was pissed off. He said it is really entirely up to me. I then looked at Amelia and told her it is better if we recite Quranic verses.

Then we were asked to go home. School buses were already called and we were instructed to call our parents if they were our means of transport. Amelia and I and our school bus buddies waited for our bus at the usual spot, at gate B. The scene outside our classroom was… well, it was topsy turvy. Total mayhem. People were running, kids were screaming and being restrained. Teachers and the seniors looked harried and tired. Many looked scared.

Then… he he … something funny happened. One girl got loose. And she was fast heading our way. At the same time, one bee was hovering near us and we were dodging it. I screamed for everybody to run and as I ran I turned around and saw my bestfriend Amelia was left behind. She was flapping here and there. The bee was attacking her and the hysterical girl was fast going her way. I screamed and screamed for her to run but she was busy evading the bee. At the end, some other students caught the escaped girl and the bee looked for another victim. Amelia resumed her journey and I waited for her before we crossed the street together.

Phew…. I don’t know what would be worse for her. The bee sting or being at the mercy of a hysterical being. I wonder if the girl was meaning to attack somebody or she was just running away from her captors.

I wonder what was going on her mind. In fact, I won an essay writing competition at school once and my topic was hysteria. I do not remember which hysteria event that prompted me to write on it but I remember enough that I was really intrigued by a story of a girl who got the hysteria. She said she was possessed. I changed the topic of my essay at the last minute without any practice to write on that. In that essay, I imagined that I got the hysterics ( ye ke ? Diserang hysteria ? ) and tried to articulate what happened inside me when I was screaming and ranting.

Anyway, what really happened ? Were they really possessed ? I do not remember the full details or if what I am going to say is even true, but I believe one of those girls do not fully recover. When we left school, she was still sort of in a trance. Ye ke ? I don’t remember. Or maybe it was not anybody from our school but the other school where TV3 made a documentary about.

I remember Anu’s father said that it is all in their mind. But, who would willingly participate in a screaming marathon for long ? I for one would be embarrassed and would be very conscious of my red face and hoarse voice… susah aa nak dapat boyfriend lepas tu dak ?…. He he…..

My stupid brother

Mail is sooo stupid.

Dan and I picked him up yesterday at KL Sentral. Since his 2 years stay in India, he came back with a really funny accent. We were catching up and I asked him why he has a very strong American accent ? His abang Dan said “ A-ah, menyampah gila dengar . Kau gi belajar kat mana Mail ? “ Mail laughed and said it is probably because he hangs out with some Indian Americans and he most likely got it from them.

Fine enough.

Then I complained about my tonsillitis firing up again and he started to explain the workings of the tonsils. All the while he was explaining, Dan and I exchanged puzzled looks. It was really funny.

Dan : Mail, apasal keluar accent Indian Mail ?

Mail : Ha ?

Ala : Mail, tadi berabuk speaking American, sekarang awat cakap macam Indian ?

Mail : Ye ke ? ( quite for awhile ) Sebab cikgu yang mengajar aku semua Indian lah kot…

Dan : Jadi, bila kau bersembang keluar accent mat salleh tapi bila cakap pasal medicine keluar accent India ? ( Ala and Dan started to laugh )… Kau bodoh Mail…..

Mail : Aaa…. Abang Dan teruk….

After that, he lost all control and his speech became a mix of Malay, Indian and American brogue… he he…

Then Mail regaled us with a story that further skewered his reputation.

He said one day they had to learn how to do CPR on a dummy. The lecturer’s instruction was to act as it really happened. One by one went and then came Mail’s turn. He was, I should say, a tad ( or much more ) too much.

He pretended that he was walking happily when he saw a man lying unconscious on the floor. He let out a small scream and rushed to the dummy. “ Sir are you okay sir ? Are you okay ? “ Then he looked at an imaginary on looker and barked an instruction to call the ambulance. He then shouted at the dummy to answer him, shook and slapped it a bit and then proceeded to perform the CPR. He was all panicky and concerned. Halfway, he looked at the dummy and pleaded for it to not die on him.

I didn’t know how he finished it because Dan and I were laughing. He said he stood up to a stunned audience and a gawping lecturer. “ Ismail, you are too dramatic, “ was all the afore-mentioned professor said. And my brother replied, “ But you said we have to act like it really happened, “.

I asked him what possessed him to do such thing. I had done CPR training to get Safety Passport to go offshore and nobody did what he did, in my class at least. “Well, I want him to remember me. And who knows, there will be an extra mark for that. Maybe, he was busy admiring my acting, he forgot to look closely at what I was doing,”.

“ Ala, “ he added, “ I am sure they wished they had popcorns in their hands at that time… “

“ Mail, “ I replied, “ were Amitabh Bachan visiting your uni at that time ? “

At that he bellowed a laughter. Dan ?

“ You are sooo stupid Mail….”

Hmm…………….

RM 1.1 M terrace house

2 – 3 days ago Dan decided to cruise through Sek 9 on the way to Giant. I saw an end lot unit of a terrace house that was for sale. I had always been interested in property and quickly dialed the agent’s number. The price was jaw dropping, tear inducing, hair pulling RM 1.1 M. Could you believe it ?

A terrace house !! Granted it was an end lot but seriously ? My question is this…. Who determines properties prices in Malaysia ? What rationale do they use to warrant such high price ? What is the hope for my children’s property ownership in the future ?

All I can see is this, as more and more houses are coming up, the recent minimum price had been constant at RM 300, 000 – RM 400, 000. Never mind talking about the maximum price !! Where are the affordable ones ? And how livable are the inexpensive ones ?

A fresh graduate starting salary has always been at RM 1 800 – RM 2 000 level ( unless if you are lucky enough to get a job in Oil and Gas where it could start at RM 2 500 to RM 4 000 ) and the raise is slow and extremely steady. When would he be able to buy a decent house ?

The thing that added up high wind ( tambah naik again ) is the recent report about how much Malaysians should save for old age. If your salary is RM 4 000, you need to save RM 1 300 a month to ensure you have a comfortable lifestyle in your senior years. 4 000 – 1 300 will leave us 2 700 to pay for house, car, utility bills, car and kids ? You nuts ? The report stated that we need to have RM 1.6 M to RM 2.5 M to have a comfortable lifestyle, meaning to have roof, food and most importantly health care.

I am thinking how am I ever going to survive my old age, let alone my children ? Do I have to start thinking about doing MLM now ? Do I have to live frugally now and stop ( gasp ! shudder ! ) buying shoes ( Amelia, help ! ) ? So now, let us go back to the ridiculous house price in Shah Alam no less. Who could afford to buy that house ? Where can I afford to live now as apparently even my dear old Shah Alam is out of reach…. Rawang ?

My father in-law bought the land to his house in Sek 7 for RM 1/sf. Now it is about RM 70/sf. Now the question is, what made the price go up 70 times in 30 years. Who determined the price ? What can we do ??? I feel hopeless….

Cinta and The Wedding

My husband and I watched a good movie yesterday. It was good, we cried ( not buckets lah but a few linangan ) and were thoughtful afterwards. I was pleasantly surprised because it was a Malay movie called Cinta that heavily borrowed one of my favourite movie’s concepts. Although the concept is the same but the little stories are different. Although Love Actually is a feel good movie, Cinta brought tears to our eyes.

The direction was wonderful and the cinematography was admirable. The acting was.. well, not bad. Vaneeda Imran’s husband ( I really have forgotten his name ), Rita something, Pierre Andre, Sharifah Amani, her mom, Rahim Razali and the child actress who played Lis were good. Eizlan Yusof was okay. And the love portrayed was excellent.

I love the scene where Que Haidar and Nanu were little and Nanu was trying to comfort her little brother who was spooked by the thunders. I love the scene where Lis wanted to follow her Dad because she wanted him to be happy like he was before her mom left. I wonder and salute the love her dad ( laki si Vaneeda Imran tu ) has for her mom, willing to let go as long as she is happy. Weirdly I could see the love she has for him although it has turned into brotherly love.

I love my husband for reaching for my hand for comfort. During romantic scenes, he would entwine his fingers with mine. It made an impact on him especially when Rita and that husband of Vaneeda’s who met when they were 18 and she ended up leaving him for another guy… Me ? When Rahim Razali said that “Isteri itu adalah satu anugerah”, I jumped from my reclining position and asked him if he heard that. At the end of the movie he said “ Memang senanglah Cikgu ( Rahim Razali ) tu cakap macam tu sebab dia ada Alzheimer. Esok, dia dah lupa dah perangai bini dia hari ni… “ Cess…..

Although there were some cringe worthy scenes that reminded you that it is a Malay movie after all. Like Eizlan’s over-romantic first date dinner for Fasha that would have had me run a mile a minute if it was done to me and mamat laki si Vaneeda’s romantic dinner at an abandoned restaurant. I keep saying, “ Come on…. !! “ until Umar asked “ Why Mom ? Is it because it is too romantic ? “ I narrowed my eyes at him and said, no…… I don’t want him to think that being romantic is wrong. My mission had always been to make him on of the best husbands in the world. I do not want his wife to come to me and complain. I want to groom him to be a perfect gentleman…. Wish me luck.

Another cause for my tears ( now it is me alone, my husband just pat my head when he found me crying ) is another great book by Nicholas Sparks called The Wedding. It is a continuation of his earlier creation, The Notebook. Now let me tell you about Nicholas Sparks. I didn’t know him at all until this wonderful person I called my boyfriend went to a bookstore in Perth with his brother and sisters. He knew how I love books and went around to look for something for me. He bought me the very book and I will be forever indebted to him.

The Notebook is a lovely, lovely love story that made me cry for days. I especially love the poem at the last page that I still regard as one of the most romantic poems ever ( well, I am not exactly an aficionado of poems ). When we returned to Malaysia, my best friend Amelia excitedly told me she had just read a great book that he borrowed from Shazmi ( which he in turn borrowed from Anu ) and wanted me to read it. It was the very same book I mentioned above. So by admission of 3 of my good friends, it is really a good book.

Now, The Wedding… well… The story is about Allie and Noah’s ( hero and heroine from The Notebook ) son-in-law who is a kayu in the romance department. So kayu in fact that he thought that his wife is leaving him because he had forgotten their 29th anniversary. So, it was his race against time to make his wife fall in love with him all over again. It was so sweet that I feel there is still hope for my husband…. He he.

Anyhoo… Amelia, nak pinjam ? And Dan, thank you so much baby for patting my head when you found me crying in the loo.

Waiting without a book = Sheer boredom

I don’t do waiting very well. At least, the kind of waiting sans any reading material. My friends and family know what degree of reader I am, ardent. Very avid ( can I use the word avid like that ? ) And therefore I found it very hard this morning when I had to wait for 1 and a half hours for my meeting to start without anything to read. Man…..

I had a meeting today at 9.30 am in PJ. Dan and I for 2 weeks now have been surviving on 1 car as Dan has sold his and we are waiting for the new one to arrive…. in August. We have been car-pooling anyway these past few months but still there are times when we need to go separately due to work commitments. My boss was kind enough to schedule this particular meeting early morning so that Dan can drop me off there and I can go to the office with him. But he didn’t take into account that I will be there at 8 and therefore the sheer amount of waiting time I had to endure.

I have anticipated this wait actually and had planned the perfect book to accompany me. But… I have forgotten to anticipate that I might forget the book. Which I did… Man……….

Like I said, I don’t do waiting very well without a book. Luckily there is a little food outlet ( too posh to be a gerai, too skanky to be a restaurant/café and too small to be a canteen ), so I had my breakfast there. No matter how slowly I ate, I finished at 8.10 am. Okay, 1 hour 20 minutes to go. Mid-breakfast it started to rain so I watched the rain. Then after awhile, all the raindrops looked eerily the same, so much alike unlike snow, so I grew bored. Wow !! 8.20 am.

Then… well this is where it got a bit dangerous. I started to think. My husband hates that as he is usually the first thing I think about and depending on my mood, it could be tiring for him. You do the math. I was bored. To bits. Of course my thinking of him veered to the unpleasant ones.

Mulalah… pasal si A. Pasal si B buat perangai. Pasal how unfair I have been treated in certain aspects of my life. I once read that orang yang berdendam, doanya sukar diterima Allah. Susah tu. Last time, I had always wanted justice. Now, although I want justice as bad, but I have taken a more calmer approach to it by remembering Allah SWT.

Baca surah al Insyira and surah Dhuha to calm ourself ( baru gained that knowledge semalam ) and my Ustaz once told me that Sembahyang Sunat Dhuha is also meant to keep us composed. Perform this prayer, said Ustaz, bila runsing, susah hati.

As I was seething ( imagine not 30 minutes ago I was tranquilly watching the rain ), when my boss arrived. Nasib baik as I am sure if I had to wait the full 1 and ½ hours alone, Dan will surely get it from me about some minor thing he did eons ago, like forgetting to lift up the toilet seat…. He he….

Never go anywhere without a book. My mom said, banyak kan sikit hafalan… he he…. Yelah….

I just found a great book and… it’s great sequel. It is called “ Size 12 Is Not Fat “ by Meg Cabot, the author of the Princess Diaries series. Dear friends, the book is hilarious. Now, I am not a big fan of the Princess Diaries movies, as it was too peachy. Too feel good.

But I liked the title of Ms. Cabot’s adult book and I have been looking at it for months… well maybe even years as after awhile the sequel “ Size 14 Is Still Not Fat “ came out. I wanted to buy but didn’t want to invest in a book that is so-so because seriously, I have been doing that lately. I have 3 books that I bought this year that I regretted buying. I was fingering the book and 1 by Peter Mayle ( which I am sure would be good as I have 3 of his and they were all very enjoyable ) when I decided, what the heck, let’s just try a Ms Cabot piece as 2 of her books were made into a movie. It shouldn’t be that bad, right ?

I loved it. I finished it in 1 day. The morning after I finished the book, I told Dan that we have to go to MPH again as I want to get the sequel. Just my luck when we went to get our mail from our old house, I received a voucher from MPH. Yippee…. !! That very night I went to SACC and bought the sequel at a cheaper price.

This time, I went slow. I do not want to finish it too soon. I want to savour every moment and every word. I want to imagine it properly so that when I see the movie ( of course it will be turned into a movie ), I can comment with good authority.

Okay, who hasn’t had a favourite book ruined by the movies ? Me ? A lot. First was the Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The movie was different from the book. Especially the ending. Then Emma by Jane Austen. Then they spoilt Lord Of The Rings by taking out my favourite characters from the first book. In fact, why haven’t they done the prequel the Hobbit yet ? The Harry Potter series was followed religiously though and funnily, I somehow feel that they should divert a bit as it became too predictable… pulak… he he….

V-Day in Kuching

I returned to Kuching yet again last Tuesday. It looked different though, the Cat City. The air has a lingering scent of roses. The landscape has additional hues of white, pink and red instead the usual brown, blue and green. This time the streets were lined up with street vendors selling flowers and heart shaped balloons and teddy bears sitting prettily on top of baskets. Oooh….. Valentine’s Day.

I would say Valentine’s Day is really celebrated in Kuching. Everywhere you go, all the streets are filled with these vendors. Are they ad-hoc florists or there are that many flower merchants in Kuching.

As we were leaving a meeting on that particular lovey day, the sellers were getting quite desperate. One approached our van and offered me a rose complete with heart shape decorations. Being the only female in a party of 5 men, I was desperate too. Desperately embarrassed.

“ Husband kat KL, “ said I and everybody laughed.

Back at the hotel, we decided to have a brainstorming session and went straight to the coffee house. We were shocked to see the place we had breakfast that very morning has been transformed to a very heart shaped, pinky and rosey affair. Sorry we are full, said the waitress and we trudged to the lounge instead.

Since we were scheduled to have another meeting that night at the same coffee house, I suggested for my boss to delay the meeting a bit. We went to have dinner at a local sea food joint and boy, the night was super-charged with lurvvvveee…..

People were walking and holding hands. Ladies had their hands filled with bouquets and bouquets of flowers and the men smelled nice for a change…. He he.

At 10 pm, we went back to the coffee house and luckily the night was over for some of the Valentiners ( over with eating le… if they took their date further kat mana tu tak tahu le…. ). We managed to get a table and had our discussion.

Me, well my boss had complained before about what I do during meetings when I am not talking. I observed the people in our meeting. After meetings, I would tell my boss whose dressing is nice and who needs a stylist. If our meeting is at a public area, lagi teruk. I will tell him about the couple next to me quarrelling or making out. I will basically not pay attention. He he… sorry. Short attention span probably.

Anyhoo, during our friendly discussion at the Crowne Plaza, Kuching I noticed that people in Kuching do not celebrate Valentine’s Day in twos, as a couple. They do it in droves. I only saw 1 couple that was actually a couple. The rest brought their gang. I saw a table of fours, sixes and 1 table of eight. And some do not even care to dress up. One lady was in short denim skirt and tight t-shirt, that is all. Of course there were some who really dressed to the nines ( but cannot lawan this one couple Dan and I once saw, who were celebrating the girls birthday. The guy was wearing a sports jacket and his sweetheart wore an off the shoulder dress, emerald colour with Cinderella skirt. Eating venue ? Starwberry Field, Subang Parade…. Wee haa ).

The thing that made me went furry ( berbulu le tu ) however happened at 4 am, as I was woken up by some drunkards who was trying to get their room. It seems that to open one’s hotel door this day, one has to laugh hysterically and bang other people’s door before you can even think ofunlocking your door.

Hmmm…………….. Kids this age….

I will remember his face

Last night as I was about to enter Shah Alam Mall at Sek 9, a boy holding boxes of raisins approached me. I quickly looked away not because I do not want to contribute but because I do not want to remember. He softly called me and common decency forced me to look at him. Big mistake.

He said his mother is poor and really needed the money. How much is it for a box of raisins and he said it is up to me. I gave him RM 5 and he asked me is it sedekah or do I actually want the raisins. I got upset. Very upset. I shook my head and he thanked me and I quickly left. I do not want to remember his face nor his voice as it will plague my nights.

Is it wrong if I get upset seeing children begging and selling items on the street ? Where are his parents or at least his mummy ? It was Sunday night and he is suppose to go to school the next day. What is he still doing there ?

I can’t forget the pitiful face as he begs for my pity. Where has his dignity gone ? How long ago had it disappeared ? What happened if his friends saw him ? What happens if his teacher saw him ? What do his parents feel when they see him and his brother ?

As we were leaving his little brother approached me with a very pitiful “ Kak…...,” I told him politely that I have given some money to his borther. The said brother again approached me but when I was recognized, he nodded his head and gave me a little smile. My heart gave a little sob instead.

“ Rumah kat mana yang ? “ I asked. Although he was still smiling, the smile stopped reaching his eyes.

“Takpe, “ he said over and over again and I gave up.

Can I call the police to report ? What will the police do then ? Send them home and then what ? Will they be really out of food if they were no longer allowed on the streets ? What happened to his parents ? And seriously what happened to duit zakat ? If he is really poor, why hasn’t my zakat and my taxes reached him ?

Is it another one of the harebrain schemes by those Sekolah Agama ?

What can I do to help ? I want him to go to school so that he can get out of this. If he is not interested in school, fine, learn a skill. I want him to play and watch the telly. I want him to be a kid.

Maybe I am not really in tune to this world yet. Maybe I haven’t seen enough.

Look, I just want this kid, his little brother and all the children like him to be sheltered. Is that wrong ? Maybe not wrong, but I know it is too much to ask.

Hmmm……..

Awesomely Bad Love Songs

Yesterday we watched 'Awesomely bad love songs' on VH-1. They showed top 50 of a poll conducted on their website. It was really hilarious as they have very witty people to comment on it and why they think the song is awesomely bad. Comedians, wrestlers, actors, and writers all contributed their comments.

It was hilarious. However, most of the songs are our all-time favourites. Like Color Me Badd's I Adore Mi Amore that came fifth. And The Jets, Oleta Adams, Air Supply ( I don't really like Air Supply so no surprises there. They came in second with Even The Nights Are Better ).

Up to no 10, I told Dan, my Lionel Ritchie is not featured at all. I was proud and relieved as really most of the songs I like made into the list and was glad that Lionel was spared. Howver it was not meant to be. He made it to No 1 with Truly. Truly ? I have Truly in my mp3 and listen to it almost everyday.

I was crushed. Dan was laughing hysterically. Okay, I told Dan at least Rick Astley was not in the poll but the damage was done. He kept smirking all night.

Uweekk…..

My sweet Rashdan

A typical dining ritual with the family I was born to would involve setting up the table. Tablemats would be laid first followed by the plates. Then the glasses and beverage. Out came the rice next with the day’s fare. After that the spoons ( or cutleries ) and the usual announcement that dinner is served. Sit down, makan, lecture…….

So of course with the family that I made, we have the same custom. Umar will usually set the table and helped with the spoons. I love eating like that. However when we moved in with Dan’s family they have no such habit and I was too embarrassed to observe what I am accustomed to. Don’t want to look like a show off I suppose, after all it is not my house. Different families different habits. So we did without. It doesn’t matter, it is not important as our bellies are still filled up even without all the pom-poms.

Once we dined at a friend’s house. The table was lovingly set like we used to. Umar exclaimed happily that it looked like Tok Mi’s house. He he…

Anyway, yesterday Dan’s parents went to Australia. I prepared dinner as usual and as I got to the table with our steaming hot food, I saw my tablemats were out from their drawers and were arranged nicely on the table. Forks and spoons sat next to each other alongside the bowls.

I looked at my husband who was beaming at me. Umar and Elsa were already reaching out for their cutleries for imaginary sword fight.

“ Thank you… “ I said to my husband and we sat down to eat.