Kiss Chase my new favourite book

Ahh...... I am basking in the glory of a real good book. It was Kiss Chase by Fiona Walker. I love Fiona Walker and I have all her books. I am re-reading all her creations now and Kiss Chase is the 3rd one I read. Funnily, I couldn't remember the book. Although I recognise the cover, but the contents was most unfamiliar. It was like reading a new book.

I looked to see when I bought it and I had written 2001 in Leicester. I am sure that I must have read it then in 2001 but like I said, the book was a new experience for me. And as I read the book, I was everwhelmed by its ingenuity that I keep asking Dan how could I have forgotten this utterly wonderful book.

It was such a sexy book. The characters were totally well developed and consistent. I totally loved it. I am glad though that I have forgotten it the first time, like I was given a second chance to totally enjoy and absorb the book.

Hmmm.....................

Team Rashdan

What a day yesterday for Dan and me. Yesterday really showed what kind of a husband/wife team we make, which is the very-unsure-disorganised-if-you jumped-off-a-bridge-I-will-follow-you team. It is also, I have to say, team orang yang akal pendek dan yang panic tak tentu pasal.

I looked up my Bonuslink statement on the net yesterday and found that I have enough points to redeem RM 100 vouchers from Tesco. I thought that is a very good deal. Instead of redeeming my points for things that I do not need, it is better to get an almost money thing that I could use to buy more important stuffs like groceries. Or so I thought.

To make the story short, we went to Tesco yesterday, redeemed the points for the sought after vouchers and discussed the best way the spend it. Then we fought over it like our lives depended on it. Then we strategised and came to an agreement. The boy at the counter cautioned us that if we spend less that RM 100, no balance would be returned to us. So he said make sure our groceries cost more than RM 100. Okie dokie.

On top of the list, Elsa’s night disposable diapers. Then the industrial size and expensive children soap and shampoo. Wet wipes came next. “ Everything is for Elsa and Umar je. We should get what we want, “ said my husband. And what do you want, I asked and there was a gleam in his eyes. Junk food.

In came the biscuits and the crisps and juices, yoghurt for the kids and cans and cans of drinks. I told my husband the expected draught is in March, not January. In went more drinks. Hmm…. Men. If he was a Brit, I knew it would be cases of beers and lagers.

“ So.., “ I observed, “ this is how we spend our so called free money, on stuffs that could clog our arteries and sweeten our pee ? “ However on closer inspection, our would-be purchases didn’t look like RM 100 to me. Dan agreed. Our discussion apparently did not include looking at the price of each item and mentally estimate the whole amount. We looked to the left, to the right, not sure of our next move. The queue was long and we did not want to loose our place. But what if the final tally is less than the vouchers ? Sayangnya. We were literally jumping up and down as our turn at the cashier loomed nearer.

He eyed the boxes of Cokes near the counter and said if it is really less than the amount of the vouchers, he is just going to grab the Cokes. I looked at him in horror and said not when I am around. I told him to man the fort and ran to the beauty aisle. I grabbed shaving razors and cream and a huge supply of sanitary pads.

“ That should do it, “ he said and smiled and ruffled my head. The bill ? Well, it came up to RM 161.07. Dan and I laughed and laughed at the check out counter to the bewilderment of the cashier and people behind us.

“ Itu le you, tamak sangat… “ I said.

“ You yang pandai maths, tak tahu kira ke ? “ he accused.

As we put all the things away together at home, he held my hand and said, “ What an adventure…. “. I looked at him and said, “ Baby, how sad are we ? “

And he agreed. He he……

Reading Yasmin's blog

I read my dear friend's Min's blog just now and it brought a lump to my throat. Miss you Min. Wish you were here.

And eventhough I still live in Shah Alam and not missing it anymore, it nearly brought tears to my eyes as I know what she meant. I am experiencing it right now. All my friends know that my family live with Dan's parents. It is high up on a hill and my little room faces the Shah Alam mosque. I thank Allah for giving me the chance to wake up to the sound of Azan and hearing His verses being read everyday. I sometimes follow the prayers in the mosque from my own room because I could hear their prayers. Every Allahuakhbar, every al-Fathihah is delivered to my room. Sometimes loud and sometimes as soft as the breeze....

Most days, I will open up my windows, bathe and don my telekung and sit on the bed. Before azan there will be mengaji and sometimes there is even a little tazkirah. My own masjid facilities in my room.

Nanti bila anak2 dah besar, I will take them to the mosque. We will make a point to join the prayers and activities. Insya-Allah.

That is why I so love Shah Alam. A real Muslim areas where you can hear 3 azans continuously, where you have the luxury to pick and choose any suraus to pray and where you have some sort of Islamic values still intact ( although I do fear it is slipping bit by bit ). Where friendships are forged and still hold on strong after 20 years and still counting. Where new friends are made because some Shah Alam people couldn't bear to leave it and therefore bring ( either by persuasion, intense cajoling or even force ) their spouses to join in the community.

A kampung at heart...

Hmmm.......................

Tengok Wayang with my bestfriend

What a pair Amelia and I was yesterday. We met up and turned up wearing the same shoes from Clarkes. Hers is in white and mine is in black ( we have 4 pairs of shoes from Clarkes that are identical except for the colour. We have 1 pair that is of the same colour - red, but hers are flat mary janes and mine are sandals ).

After an hour, it gave us blisters and we were limping and wincing at the end of the night. We decided to watch Kuntilanak at the movies yesterday, to much disbelief of our colleagues and loves ones as we are known to be lily livered when it comes to cerita hantu, and the prospect of hantu. However we braved it yesterday, rather unbravely... he he.

First of all we were late. We entered the cinema 20 minutes late due to Maghrib prayers commitment. Then, we covered our eyes with our tudungs 3/4 of the time. We hunched and contorted to the left and right and at one point berlaga kepala.

My RM 7 was wasted and she wasted her free ticket. Before we went in the darkened room, she told me that we should've car pooled. I told her I deleted my sms to her yesterday suggesting the same very thing and totally regretting it now. We both wished fervently that there will be no car scenes. Ha ha... unfortunately, there was 1.

I drove her back to her office, and accompanied her to her desk. Then I drove behind her the whole way home until we split at the Istana Kayangan Roundabout. During the drive back home, at Bukit Bintang, she sms'ed me to say that she had lost me and informed me of her location when I had been behind her all the while. She then sms'ed advicing that I keep my eyes on the road and not to look at the empty passenger seat. He he... I know it is something that she is trying very hard to do.

All in all what do I get from yesterday ?

a) The knowledge that uncannily, we still have the same taste in shoes and wardrobe

b) We still haven't grown out of our absurd fear of ghouls and haunts ( although I have to say Amelia is braver than me as she actually saw the kuntilanak yesterday. I didn't at all, just a blurry vision of a figure swathed in white )

c) It is not easy watching a movie behind a veil, albeit one fashioned out of one's tudung

Hmmm...........

Our Sick Environment

I shudder to think the past events that has been happening since the tsunami. Strong winds, more earthquakes, heavy rain and floods that we just watched on the telly without experiencing it. We thought we were lucky. Then our turn came.

Floods. Terrible floods in our southern state that devastated many. Johor hasn't yet recovered and Pahang is already getting the same fate. Kuala Selangor was asked to be prepared. It is creeping nearer and nearer to us. Selfishly, I quickly assessed the situation for my family. I live on top of the hill. So does my mom and my sister. My brother lives on the 5th floor at Bukit Jelutong. His new house however is beneath a hacked hill. My new house is somewhat in the middle of a hill. There are houses that are above mine but there are houses that nestled below us too... So probably my new abode will be safe.

Now throw away my selfish need to save my loved ones first, I am thinking about those that are in real threat of their livelihood being literally, swept away.

As in the Quran, all catastrophe bears a story and warnings from Allah. Let's not dwell on the moral warnings as that is what most of us thought of first. Let us talk about what have we done to preserve this world that Allah has given us ? What have we done to say thank you for this home that we have so selfishly used as a mere tenant ? We destroyed it through industry and our great need to live in comfort.

I quote a climatologist David Pierce of San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, " If carbon dioxide has a colour, if people saw the sky getting darker, people would have no problem recognising what is going on." What is going on ? The world's daily output of manmade carbon dioxide, from burning fossil fuels, is 11% greater today that a decade ago. The planet is warming. NASA reported that the global temperatures rose almost 1 degrees Fahrenheit from 1981 to 1988. ( quoted from www.wired.com)

If greehouse gases aren't cut back soon, temperatures could rise, expanding oceans, causing drought, intesifying storms and altering climates. Our own scientist reported that due to melted icebergs in Greenland, Johor is flooded. What melted Greenland ? High temperature. What causes high temperature ?

To make things worse, pokok bakau from the swamps that has been fencing Johor has been cleared for development. In Penang, after the tsunami, the same trees that they deemed improper was planted back as a fort to guard Penang. Haven't we learnt anything ? Will we start learning after this ?

Kyoto Protocol doesn't really help without the participation of US as they are one of the biggest manufacturer of C02. Their reasoning ? Higher energy cost ( from imposing energy taxes ) would seriously damage the economy. But surely, as they always pompously reminded us in "third world country" of their importance and ingenuity, they could think of something to offset the economics damage ?

The Malaysian government is looking to impose car entry fee into KL to curb traffic congestion. I agree to it as it will help to make KL greener with considerable lesser amount of C02, but please upgrade the public transportations first. More buses and trains. Please have some sense to build trains that run on the same kind of tracks so that they can intertwine and weave and we, your lesser subjects can have easier time hopping from one public transport to another, to and from work. We will be generating income that is taxable which the corrupt politicians can steal from. See, it is a win win situation for all.

Make the tracks longer so that it could reach all KL satellite cities, including Shah Alam. Please remember your own "Sayangilah Keluarga" campaign, as how can we be with our families if it takes us 4 hours to travel daily. Please ensure your campaigns coincide with each other, that is all. How can I sayang my family if due to the inept bus and trains services that break down often, too full I can't even squeeze my hair in and have to wait for the next one ( if I am lucky ) and jarang - jarang ( please think of PRamlee in Nujum Pak Belalang when you say jarang - jarang ) ada, when I get home my babies are already sleeping and my spouse is already seeing someone else due to my absense ?? How can I not be absent when I spend more time in a vehicle more than I do in my own home ?

Right now, eventhough our ( me and Dan ) offices are like 5 minutes apart ( I could walk to his office from mine ), it is difficult for us to carpool as our jobs require us to travel during working hours. So then the government should make company cars tax deductable or a law. If we have enough company cars, I do not have to drive my own car to work.

Help !! Government of Malaysia, please grow some brains !! Mana Allah tak turun kan bala ? Please remember the people of Sodom and Gonorhea. Listen to what Allah SWT is trying to say.

What am I grumbling about ? I thought I was talking about the floods in Johor and how we are not taking care of the environment which is really amanah Allah ?

Hmm.......... ( it was the carbon dioxide talking... )

Trip Down to Memory Lane 2

It was a truly lazy Sunday yesterday. We went out for lunch ( and bumped into our good friends Kamalia, Sheik and Ayesha ) and again went out for dinner ( Sunday dinners have to be a really quicky affair as I have a date with Mark Harmon at 9 pm ). It rained heavily and had to use brollies for the short dash from car to restaurant door.

At the door, the restauranteur had thougtfully provided umbrella stand for our dripping brollies. Dan gestured me to leave my brolly there and as we did, we looked at each other and beamed. " Do you trust the people here ? " he asked and I laughed. It brought us back to one rainy day in 2002, Regent Street, London.

We were walking in the rain, I was pushing Umar's stroller and Dan was shielding me and him from the rain with our trusted black brollie when we got into Esprit on Regent Street. We deposited our very wet brollie at the stand, smiled at the attendant who greeted us hello and chatted with her a bit.

Then we went in, had a look around, found nothing interesting and turned back to leave when I couldn't locate my umbrella. Dan sifted through the other umbrellas and none looked familiar. I asked the very friendly attendant if she had seen our umbrella and she said, " I thought that guy was dodgy, ". She explained that a guy came in without an umbrella, did a 1 minute turn in the shop and took our umbrella before he left. The cheek !!

Dan and I was upset but of course couldn't blame her as there is no tag to say which umbrella belongs to whom. Then she asked if we could give her a minute. She went to her boss who was conveniently standing near rows and rows of Esprit brollies and informed her of our misfortune. She took pity on us, grabbed one delicious looking brollie and handed it to me for free. I was so grateful, I hugged everyone there. The supervisor, the girl standing at the door, the cashier... well not the customers though, although there was a very dishy model material guy that was beaming and smiling at us and I was sure if I had hugged him too, it would appear normal under the circumstances.

Anyhoo..... there we were on a very wet afternoon, walking through London with a brollie that signified charity and compassion of the Londoners. I loved that umbrella. I broke it sometime in May 2004 of overused as I was taking the public transport then. I replaced it with another delicious red Esprit one that is now lying side by side my now retired London one.

To tell you the truth, if we had to buy a brollie, we would always go to Esprit. Even Dan has a long black one in his car !! Hmmm.......

Mengorat husband ku

Dulu Dan loves to make prank calls on me. He would call, altered his voice a bit ( and for some reason I couldn't recognise it is actually one of the 3 people who shares my bed ) and pretended he is somebody who is interested in me and wants to ask me out.

Menyampah.

For some reason today I wanted revenge. We car pooled today because we are on a hot date and I get to keep the car. As he was walking down to his office, I slowed down the car and asked, " Boleh berkenalan ? "

He went " Ha ? "

I went, " Bang boleh berkenalan ? " The traffic light turned red. Yahooo.... !!

He looked at me in bewilderment especially as a few walkers started to look at me and him.

I said again, " Boleh berkenalan ? Bagilah nombor telefon... "

He gave an embarrassed laugh and said " Isshh... awak ni... "

The guy in front of him turned to look at him and he said " My wife.... "

The ladies behind giggled. The older ones shook their heads in disapproval.

Eii lantaklah... my hubby maaa....

Hmmmm....

My singing brother

My brother Mail is a wonderful singer. By Malaysian standard, to me he is far superior than Anuar Zain. Below is the youtube address where you can har him sing at some sort of a concert at his university.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc_AwqwhRcA

Recently he told me that he won a singing competition. Me, anxious and worried as ever told him to be careful as I do not want Shah Rukh Khan to whisk him away to be the singing voice Shah Rukh Khan can mime to. Why Shah Rukh Khan ? Well he is the only Bollywood name I am familiar with apart from Amitabhachan and Amir Khan.

Mail, I told him, you should concentrate on getting your degree first. Please, I begged.

Happy 21st Mail. Ala loves you very much.

Channel 26 on Astro

Almost midnight yesterday, I was already off to SlumberLand when I was shaken by my husband.

Dan : Yang sorry Yang, but you have to see this.

Me : What ? ( not bothering to open my eyes as my glasses were not on my nose )

Dan : Bukak mata. It is The Vicar of Dibley !!

That cleared my muddled brain immediately and I grabbed my glasses. Sure enough, on screen, Channel 26 BBC Entertainment, was the Vicar of Dibley, my favourite show ever !

Thank you Astro as I thought it would not make it to our shores.

The new Channel 26 put a new meaning to our lives ( how pathetic that is ? ) as we have been bored channel surfing lately. Nothing stirred our interests anymore, except you know specific shows on specific time and day. Monday 10.30 House. Tuesday, yelek ( except probably re-runs of Haunting ). Wednesday, CSI. Thursday 10.30 Wire in the Blood. Friday, tak dak. Saturday pun hampeh. Then Sunday, 9.oo NCIS. So with the arrival of BBCE, there is always something nice on the telly !!

It was just like university days. Dan and I were watching Home Invaders one day around 12 pm when he suddenly nudged me and asked, " Kelas you pukul berapa ? " and I instinctively terus malas nak pi kelas... ha ha. Well yes, one thing returned with the arrival of BBCE, my feeling of guilt because I am watching telly and should have been studying. That dissapeared like last year with sporadic returns but now it is back inside my gut again.

Anyway, you can hear roars of laughter from our room now when last time it was more subdued. Thank you My Family, Absolutely Fabolous, My Life in Film, As Time Goes By and many more for entertaining me. And now !! Now... I am further entertained by the arrival of The Vicar of Dibley. It is really hilarious about a lady vicar with her small parish of varying degrees of stupidity. He he.... The vicar is played by Dawn French who with Jennifer Saunders ( from Absolutely Fabolous or Ab Fab ) owns French Saunders Production and produced these two lovely comedies. They are really lovely. Ab Fab is a favourite of mine and Dan's too.

More reason to snuggle up at night while our eyes are glued to the telly, devoid of intelligent conversations ( that is a very cynical way to mention the downside of good telly ).

I wonder if I have the will power the actually detach myself from it and continue reading bed time stories with my babies. I mean I have never been a tv buff anyway. While Dan watches tv I will be reading and my kids will be reading and then we will read together. But now... well I just bought 4 fabulous books from Times sales yesterday and will I ever read them on bed anymore ? He he... I foresee that after awhile I will get bored too and only watch the best programme Channel 26 can offer. But which one ? Hmmm....

Air sirap

I love air sirap. Sirap limau, plain sirap. Well rose syrup le... Sirap bandung not really though. Kadang-kadang macam nak rasa tapi bila dah minum rasa mual lak. I think a nice sirap bandung that doesn't make me feel like regurgitating it is sirap bandung with a hint of ice-cream soda in it. Maybe...

Anyway, when I worked in Ampang, Janet the Accounts Clerk, once remarked that Malays like to drink sirap. I said really ? And for me at least, it is quite true ( can't speak for the rest of the Malay population ). However my dream sirap had always been sirap org kawin... Emmm..... I don't know why tapi siraps at kenduri kawin are the best. My own kenduri kawin's sirap was quite good actually and I had always look forward to testing the afore-mentioned beverage when there are weddings to attend.

I don't like homemade ones that letak jintan ( for whatever reason it is required I don't know ) and I have forgotten the taste of F&N Rose syrup because it is in my boycott list.

Sirap... hmmmm..... DeliFrance have added new drinks in their menu. They have green apple, passion fruit and grapefruit ( I think ) syrop diluted with soda water, served in a very nice big martini-like glasses. They tasted marvellous and gave me an idea of drinking my own very malay sirap with soda water... Tapi since I am not a big fan of carbonated water... well we'll see..

Hmm...

The perils of bowling

What is the hazard of bowling ? So far, I haven’t had any except once in Nottingham, this bowling alley ( I have forgotten the name of the alley ) had a promotion of Buy 5 for 1 quid each. Meaning that we have to bowl 5 games and each game costs 1 quid as oppose to like 3 Pounds per game. Wee haa…. ! What a bargain ! So we did, hubby, Ashraf, Tasren, Zul and I. After the 3rd game, our weary hands threatened to dislodged itself from our bodies. So that was one occupational ( or recreational ) hazard of bowling that I experienced.

I seriously haven’t heard of others ( if there are any, please tell me ) until last Saturday. I think my husband had a ( or 2 ) slipped disc through bowling. He can’t move and had to be still most of the time. Sudden movements hurt and simple actions too can cause so much ache. He so wants to steal my thunder !!

It is true !! Everytime I demam, he will feel feverish too. If I have the flu, he will start sneezing in a matter of minutes. I can’t even have my monthly menses without his participation. Everytime I am about to get my monthly flow, he will get a zit first, as if to announce that I will be needing sanitary pads soon. I hardly ever need to calculate my due time. I just go by the condition of his skin.

“Ooppss… there you go, a big zit on your nose, hubby. I’ll go buy my Kotex now….” His skin could even detect when my flow is irregular. Once he sported a spot 2 weeks after my period. “Are you spotting for your girlfriend husband dearest, as I just had mine.” We had a monstrous row with him protesting and me accusing. And then, 2 – 3 days after that I was menstruating. He he… sorry…..

Anyway, maybe because we are already old. The bones are creaking and the muscles are groaning due to Father Time. Dah, nanti I beli Panadol for body ache to ye...

Discussion of Dialects

My colleagues and I had a very lively and fun discussion today on dialects and telor.....

It all came about when I asked Su who hailed from Terengganu if our new Agong speaks Terengganu-ish at all.

" Beta hukum mung kerak kepala.... "

Ye ke ? Or maybe Sultan Kedah will say

" Beta tak bagi hampa pi KL la ni. Hampa dok diam-diam tang ni. Besok lusa baru hampa pi... na.." He he....

I went to have breakfast with my boss yesterday. I was still busy choosing food when my boss said something to the lady at the cash register. When I went to join him, this lady addressed me but I couldn't understand a word she said. I went "huh ?" and leaned closer. Pekak ke aku ?

She repeated and for some reason I couldn't decipher what she said. Orang mana ni ? I looked inquisitively at my boss and he asked me what was my beverage of choice. Laa... tanya nak minum apa ke ?

For some reason I got annoyed. I know the Malays are enriched with all the different and wonderful dialects, but it is understood that in the name of getting our messages loud and clear, we have to speak in a language that is understood by all. Speak in Bahasa Malaysia if the person whom you were talking to in your mother tongue, screwed her face in incomprehension. That is a clear message that she/he doesn't speak your dialect !!

I would not dream of speaking in Penang-ish ( ye ke ... he he ) to Su because she would definitely retaliate by answering in Terenganu-ish ( if she could actually get what I said ), which I found very foreign apart from the easy ones like mung or ikang or spoong ( ha ha ha ... jangan marah ).

My friends

Went to Manila last week and it was great. The people we met were helpful and friendly. The hotel room was marvelous and the food good. Well the food dekat hotel lah sebab halal food was non-existent.

As I entered the plane to go home, a very familiar face greeted me. I looked at him, my face screwed in recognition and he said, “ Macam kenal je..,” It was our friend Amir Hamzah. He has been a steward for about 3 years and this is the first time of my traveling experience that a friend of mine was working on board the plane that I was on.

That was what I told Amir. He laughed and said it was my lucky day… He he… We exchanged numbers and hopefully will be in contact at least once a year.

I like collecting my friends. I like to turn acquaintances into friends and keep on a friendly basis with everyone. Sure I was not close to Amir at all during school time but I already know him and how can I un-know him ?

Friends are great. And I rely not on just my family in time of need, but I depend on my buddies too.

Take last week. Last Friday, my eyes hurt like there is no tomorrow. Called my husband and he was in Puchong with a client. Can’t abandon client just like that. So, whom did I call after Dan ? Good ol’ Shazmi. He said to wait for him as he was in a meeting and he will rush me to the hospital as soon as he can. After half an hour he regretfully told me that he would be stuck in the meeting for another hour.

As I was about to call Anu, Aik Peng ( a colleague ) came up to the surau area where I was and saw me sitting there with one hand covering my left eye. “Aiyoo, what is wrong Myra ?” When I explained, she abandoned everything she was doing and dragged me to the hospital without me asking for it. In the car I called Anu and when I arrived at Gleneagles, the doctor was waiting for me. Thank you Anu !! And thank you very, very much Peng. Really appreciate it.

Once I was scheduled to arrive in KL about 11 pm after a meeting in Kuala Terengganu. Dan too was out-stationed and whom did I call ? Shazmi. He went to catch a movie while waiting for me and at 10 pm when I arrived in KL, he was there to send me home.

Nice huh ? I can’t tell all the good deeds my buddies did for me, as they will be long and the work will be labourous, but you know who you are, my friends who have made my life easier and more manageable. I am truly blessed.

Thank you. ( Emotional lah pulak )

At the movies

I had a date with my husband yesterday. We went to watch Casino Royale. It was terrible because we sat 2 rows away from the screen. Had to change positions many, many times.

Anyway, as we were waiting for tickets, I heard a familiar baby's cries and lo and behold, there was the prop for Colic. I pointed it to Dan. My hubby smiled and looked away. Okay, so I thought he was unimpressed. Suddenly, he said, " I should've been there when Umar ran from that thing," I looked at him, very surprised indeed. He smiled and looked at me. " How terrified was him ? " I told him again ( plus a few exeggeration I am sure ) and he lapped it up like a hungry boy, coolly I might add... ( he.. he.. he was cool but I could see his eagerness ).

After paying for the tickets, I took him there to view the prop but it didn't make any sound. So I nudged it a bit and the cries racked the lobby. " Tang ni lah Umar lari, " I said. He smiled and looked away. Maybe he misses his son.

Dan has been working very hard. He works weekdays and some weekends, but since Raya, he has been working every weekends. It is quite okay if he only works 1 weekend day and rest on the other 1, but he has been working both weekend days for 3 weeks in a row. My poor baby.

That is why I have been actively taking my children out and about. At least the outside surrounding is helping me to make up for their daddy's big presence. At least their attention is diverted to many places and many things.

Last week Titi woke up when Dan had already left for work. She looked around and exclaimed, " Oh, Abah dah pegi work, ". Maybe she wanted her pre-requisite morning kisses.

I especially emphatise with my husband just before he needs to leave. He would look at us and then ask me what are my plans today. I have to make it as much fun as possible for them but I think it hurts him.

But he is usually home by 4 o'clock. He would rest awhile then we will go out. Usually after dinner we look for cds, something that all of us could watch. However it is hard to please the princess. After awhile she would go to her room, switch on her telly and watch Barbies or Pokemon.... Ada aje si kecik tu.

Hmm....

A leaf out of my ayah's book

Yesterday as usual, Umar and Titi had a fight. Titi cried and would not stop until a punishment is meted out to her brother. I whispered to Umar that " Mummy tipu je okay, " and said loudly for Titi's benefit that I will pok Umar for daring to fight with Princess Titi. Then, I added

" Mummy nanti pok Umar dengan rotan. Rotan tu I will cut ( lengthways ) 4 times so that everytime Mummy pok Umar ada 4 bekas. And then I will put paku and duri so that nanti berdarah Umar. Lepas tu I will perah air limau so that it will sting......, "

I could have gone on and on but stopped when I heard my son whisper , " Mummy tipu je kan ? Sure kan ? " He he... Yup I got that from my childhood, from my very descriptive father.... Although we would always laugh it out, it was a nervous laugh until we hear his own laughter or saw him stuck out his tongue.

One of his favourite method to scare us into goodness is when he talked about Titian Siratul Mustaqim,

" Akhirat nanti kita kena lalu satu titi ni. It is thinner than hair, in fact, it is hair cut into seven and they took 1 strand out of that 7 as a titi. Bawah tu, haa.... are horrors of all horrors. Snakes and kala jengking and api and hantu and jembalang. Everybody has to lalu this titi. If you are good, like me and Mummy, senang aje lalu. *Jeng je jeng ! Jeng je jeng ( in a sing songy voice, dancing ) nari - nari pun boleh, sure tak jatuh punya. Ha... tapi kalau orang jahat, *Jeng je jeng ! Jeng je jeng ( in a horror song, sometimes lagu darth vader ) Heee takut..., takut.... ( fingers in mouth, body shaking to show extreme fear ) jalan 2 -3 langkah bomm..... jatuh. You ( to the org yang bersalah ) I suggest you just jump straight into the hole ..... ".

Takut tau.... All of us had that imagined and it is rather scary. Everytime he narrated that, all the scenes will be played in our heads on cue. The fear, us trembling before the big fiery hole and looking enviously at Mummy and Ayah who were dancing on the hair to Jannah.

Believe it or not, that picture is always on my head whenever I am concious that I am up to no good. I would say it worked. Of course there are times ( numerous ) when I am doing something bad, and the picture reel is somehow missing on that movie or I was not concious that I was doing something terrible. However, the point is, thank you Bapak for managing to save me from half of my dosas......

My father is also the reason why I would look for my family members when it rained. Here is his story,

" Nanti ayah dah tua, Mummy dah tua... duduk rumah buruk. Hampa semua dah besaq, tapi tak mau ingat dah orang tua ni. Sombong. Duduklah ayah dengan Mummy kat pondok buruk tang mana ntah. Satu hari hujan... Keboom ! Kilat sambung menyambung. Angin dah tak sepoi - sepoi bahasa dah. Kencang... ooooooooo ( suara angin ). Hujan pun masuk sebab bumbung pun dah bocoq. Basah.... Mummy nak ambik makan. Ayah lapaq ( Us : Ayah memang selalu lapaq .... Ayah : Ish... dengaq lah dulu... ) tapi tak boleh jalan dah. Sebab lantai licin, cung... Mummy jatuh, pengsan. Ayah pulak dok lapaq, pun pengsan sebab sejuk pulak tu, basah lagi...... Bila orang jumpa, tak tau dah apa jadi..... Bila org bagitau hampa, ( he will stand up ) Biar padan muka org tua tu... Pegi aku tak kenal dia org.... "

Some will cry, others yg older ( like me and my brother ) dah selalu dengar, buat muka boring, tapi sebek kat dalam. That is why, bila hujan je, I have to call my family to ensure their driness and awakeness. That is why I find rain distressing as really, the picture my Daddy painted, is true to some very unfortunate parents in this world.

That is why, I relate the same stories ( with my own up-graded version of course ) to my kids, as it served as a good reminder to me on my duty towards my family and hopefully will serve as a reminder to them too.

And Dan asked me why I must make my children crazy ? Because it is family tradition, that is why !!

Wayang in Kuching

I just returned this morning from Kuching after 4 days there. I went with my boss En Azman on rounds of meetings and dinners. However we found 2 slots during the 4 days that were empty and so what did we do ? We watched Casino Royale and De-javu.

Both movies were excellent. I am in love with Daniel Craig. Though he doesn't carry the normal epitome of Bond's suaveness and debonair attitude but boy is he dishy. He has this part good and part bad boy look that I found totally appealing. They have chosen the right person to play the part of Bond when he was just given his 00 and on his first assignment.

De-javu was mind boggling. It was interesting and exciting and the suspence was just the right amount. It had me and En Azman talking and discussing about it for hours. Of course I had always been a big fan of Mr Washington and seeing him on the big screen gave me the funny sense of familiarity. Why ?

I recommend going to the movies when you are in Kuching. The cinema was not full eventhough it was cuti sekolah. There were only 6 people watching De-javu and to me it was a novelty. Although the cinema is not as canggih as our cineplexes here but I welcome the ability to buy tickets without queueing up 2 minutes before the movie starts. Free sitting, at that !!

Ambil report card

One thing we have to do as parents is to attend the Parents-Teachers-Day to collect our children's report card and listen to what the teacher has to say about our babies. You will either like it or you don't. I have mixed feelings. I really want to know how my son have progressed but am afraid to hear negative things, keep a straight face ( instead of crumbling to cry ) and find the right/appropriate response.

So there I was, with Dan, Umar and Titi in tow, to see Mrs Devi again. We bumped into Mrs Mala ( Umar's pre-1 teacher ) and she said she is hoping to see Umar's little sister in her class next year. Titi in response, hid behind Dan.

We waited for our turn. 1 girl went inside with her parents and Umar said, behind her retreating back, that that girl doesn't know anything. I asked what does he mean by that and he said she just doesn't know anything and she could not do anything. That is one thing I have to teach my son. Not to say anything bad about other people, especially in a judgmental tone. I wonder what other children has to say about my son. How can I protect him from these kind of things as he has entered into a bigger world, where people are different and hypercritical. We might be of the same race, but we built differently in our little own world called family. The gap is wider with people of different races. I really have to teach my son to accept people as who they are, to accept the things we find peculiar but normal to them, as what is more wonderful than the opposite of monotony ?

Anyway, Mrs Devi told me stuffs that I do not know about my son. She told me that Umar is the class clown and how he would eagerly raise his hand to answer questions, not caring if his answer is right or wrong. He will just bellow a laughter if he is wrong. He also is not shy of arguing if he thinks his answer is right.

His writings are big though, she said and Dan replied there is nothing anybody could do about that as that is how his momma's writings are.

My son is the class clown ? I know he is funny. I know he likes a good laugh and understand jokes. I love his roaring laughter when the telly tickled his funny bone. But a class clown ? Really baby ?

He once lead the class to sing 'Old Macdonald', a song he used to fondly call as Lagu Tok Mi because Tok Mi taught him that song. I do not know all this. Do I have to be his teacher to get another glimpse of my son ? In all truth, I am starting to envy all the people around him when I am not around. They get to be with this boy that means so much to me.

Then I will start to envy Titi's teachers and friends too. Ha ha.... what a life I am going to lead. It is just that, the 2 people that love them the most, get to spend such a small amount of time with them. But it is okay. But I have devised a plan. They have to hand me my grandchildren !! yelah, I won't be working at that time ( hopefully ) and now have time for my children's offspring !!

My Favourite Book

I am an avid reader. I could go to a bookstore ( decent or otherwise ) and snap like 5 books in 1 go. My darling hubby is more scared of accompanying me to a bookstore than to a shoe store. I would say that my priorities are books, because I could ho and hum over shoes, clothes and bags for days, but I could never with books.

I went through books like water when I was a public transport user. I read on the KTM train, then on the Monorail then repeat prodecure after 6 pm. Therefore, a book could only last 1 week. A very good book would take 3 days. Last time, I had a commuter book and an on-the-john book.

Now, I only have the on-the-john book. I could not read in bed nowadays as I am only allowed thin books with very large letterings. We are currenlty reading ' Naughty Amelia Jane ' in bed and I am re-reading an okay piece by..... I can't remember the name of the writer at this moment... Anyway....

I find that I read books differently now. I think I read them more carefully and books that I don't get last time, I will comprehend now. Books that I raved and raved about its beauty, I find rather bland now and books that I hated, turned out to be okay after all.

My favourite book has always been " To Kill A Mockingbird " by Harper Lee. I loved it when I first read it and now, I think it is the most brilliant thing ever. I understood the plot better and could fantasize and appreciate their situation more. I suppose I was vaguely aware of the troubles in the US during the slave era, but now since I am better informed of that period, that is why I fell in love all over again, but in a bigger capacity this time.

Eva Ibbotson is another wonderful writer. I read " The Song For Summer " and " Madensky Square " and got the message first time. Cleverly written but with a simple plot, I rue the day when I stopped myself from buying her " Dutchess Under The Stairs " for another book. I was in London and was at Waterstones, just off Oxford Street. I figured I could always buy her books in Malaysia. It turned out I can't. Kinokuniya only carries her children books. Those I read with relish and found that a certain warlock was loosely based on her " Which Witch ? " and " Platform 3 and 3/4 ".

But I find, one thing that doesn't change is my need to cool down from a book. I have resting time for certain books, when the plots are too unbearable for me to take. 1 good example was " Dawn ", by Virginia Andrews, the author that so favours incestuous relationship storylines. I had to put that one away for awhile, due to that very reason and didn't pick it up again....

I have grown out of Virginia Andrews, Sidney Sheldon and most Avon Romance books.... emmm... except for Julia Quinn. I am impatiently waiting for her next book on the Bridgeton family...

Slipped Disc ?

Since first Raya, I have been plagued with back pain. Come third Raya, it was rather bad. Then it went away. Then it came again. It was Wednesday. Coincidently, during our lunch trip on Thursday, Kak Maz wanted to see our doctor. So off we went after lunch. Kak Maz told me that since we were at the doctor's office, why don't I go in as well ? I was reluctant as I have no cash on my person. En Azman said he has some and Kak Maz said she has some left, so after Kak Maz went in, I pun masuk.

She asked me to rukuk, I can only manage about 30 degrees. It was about 10 degrees yesterday, I told Dr Zalina. She asked me to lie down and lift up my leg. Left leg no problem, right leg upright caused some pain.

Early symptoms of slipped disc, she told me. Really ? I don't remember ever falling, I protested. Did you lift anything heavy recently ? No, the heaviest thing I ever carry is my very small and very thin daughter ( the paying up scene was rather humiliating. As I mentioned before, I haven't any money at that time and the bill was RM 65. None of us went to the bank and En Azman and Kak Maz had to pool money between them to pay and only managed to raise RM 60 !! Nasib baik dah biasa dengan Dr Zalina tu..... Tapi ada banyak orang keliling.....)

I was dissatisfied and contacted Dan's uncle, Pakcik Basir, an orthopaedic surgeon in Kuching. Alhamdullilah, he is actualy flying down ( or up ) to KL that very night with Mak Nina ( she is a GP by the way. They are so clever, both of them, they skipped one year of medical school ).

Friday, met my boss at KLCC for a very early meeting. He saw me with my heavy lap top and took it from me. He luggged it around during our meeting. I was mortified as he is my CEO. I can't imagine working like this.

Saturday, Pakci Basir came and we discussed and he said well yes, 80% sure I have slipped disc. So he advised me that I have to manage this well. Banyakkan berehat sementara tengah sakit ni. Only 10% of slipped disc sufferer required surgery. He also showed me how to lift things, blah, blah, blah... " Ummm pakcik... " I said, " Boleh ke mandikan anak and kemas katil ? " Pakcik said no lah. Not for awhile at least.

Ha ha..... Smugly, I told Dan, " Sayang ku, I was advised by the good doctor, which happens to be your uncle, to refrain myself from making the bed and bathing the children," Dan said it's okay, we will adjust. So Saturday and Sunday, Babah bathed them alone. It has always been a team effort by us. This Monday morning, Umar was ready for school at 7 am. Kesiannya dia. Frankly, I missed washing his cute tooshie. And seriously, boys really don't know how to make the bed nicely.....

Kebun Bunga

I have always loved Kebun Bunga a.k.a Botanical Garden in Penang. The monkeys were a real treat. Were because where I live now, monkeys are aplenty and bountiful and they have become quite a menace actually.

Anyway, since it is a must when we were little, I want to pass on the tradition to my children. So, off we went. It was a treat because we saw other animals apart from monkeys.

First

The usual monkeys. They are the brown ones okay.

Then

Biawak. For the love of me, I can't think of biawak in English. Lizard ? Ye ke ?

Lepas tu,

Butterflies. I took their pictures because I am amazed by their size. They are huge. Bigger than the normal all white or all yellow I selalu nampak.

And finally

This very cute squirrel. Again, we were struck by the size and the colour. My colleague said maybe he is the result of an unhealthy liason between a squirrel and a monkey. I cannot le fitnah mak bapak squirrel ni kan.... But I love the colour. It is rater docile as we stared and stared and pointed at it for quite some time but he kept on nibbling on the tree bark, ignoring us.

I haven't been to Kebun Bunga for a long time. I couldn't even remember the last time I was there with my family. But Mail, he he ... he hated it when we go. The story is like this,

I was maybe 13 or 14. We went to Kebun Bunga as usual, this time with arwah Tok Cik in tow. Had a great time, blah , blah, blah and went back into the van to go to the jetty and naik ferry balik Bagan. You have to understand the sheer number of us and I take it as my responsibility to make sure that no one is left behind. Nobody ever told me to do this. I just appointed myself as the Offical Head Counter. I counted and counted and the numbers don't add up. We were missing one. But still I was quiet as I paling malas create panic. I started to call names in the order of age, when I couldn't see my chubby little brother. I remember shouting " Mana Mail ? " and I saw my parents head snapped back to look behind. Sure enough, Mail was not with us. My grandmother frantically looked around ( Mail is her favourite because he is named after my Tok Wan ) and Syafiq was already pushing us around, to make sure Mail is not beneath anybody I suppose. Confirm ! We have left Mail, our 7 of 8, our 5 - 6 year old family member behind.

Ayah made an illegal U-turn and we raced back to Kebun Bunga. Everybody was quiet. We could hear Tok's sobs but all of us had our eyes on the road. Syafiq jumped out of the van before it even stopped. We saw a crowd was already formed at the entrance and my dad were stuck at his seat, unable to move. All of us finally breathed again when we saw Syafiq carrying the very fat, chubby Mail while kissing him and hugging him at the same time.

Nobody remembered this hero ( aku le tuh ). Whenever I recounted the story to my family, they always asked " Hang ka ? " Cess......

I remember when he was enconsed again in my Mum's embrace, Mummy asked Ayah what would he have done if we were already on the ferry. Ayah said he would swim back to Penang. I pulak keep on imagining the van in the water.

That is why Mail paling menyampah pi situ. My dad would always attempt to leave him behind again.. ha ha....