My weekend again

My good friend Yasmin enlisted our help to support a move by her daughter’s kindie to collect money for charity. The kindie organized a sale carnival (or something like that), setting up booths for a small fee, which will be donated.

Yasmin, Melia and myself decided to take two stalls. One, predictably to sell food (what else ?) and the other one, a brainchild of Amelia, a games’ booth. For a small fee, children would have the opportunity to play 3 games.

Luckily I still have the Pin The Tail On The Donkey kit from Arif’s last birthday. I also confirmed that I have a dart set. Amelia said she will bring Amir’s Make And Break.

Friday, posters were printed and lists for groceries were made. But all of us working mum’s were busy. Min said she could only nip to Tesco’s after work. I went to Giant earlier to start the shopping but only came home with tomatoes and sausages. Giant was out of minced beef and I have forgotten the pasta. And the sticks for the sausages.

Went home in search for a chocolate pudding recipe. I promised Min that I would come out with desserts too. Couldn’t find it. In truth, I have lost a quite significant amount of much treasured recipe books and talking bout it still hurts. Not finding a recipe while I need it most hurts even more.

Min came to my house at 10 pm. “Semua nak buat tapi masanya tak dak…” She complained. He he… so true, Min but we try our best, kan ? You get A for effort, Min…

I started the Bolognese immediately. Done by 11.30, woke up my partner who was sprawled on the sofa waiting for me and slept as soon as my head touched the pillows. Woke up early morning to find errrmm… I couldn’t find the darts !! Macamana ni ?

Put my biggest pot on the stove for the pasta and heated up the sauce. Grabbed Zingo to replace the darts and gave the whole lot to Min and Farid. Unfortunately my big pot could only fit 1 ½ packets of spaghetti. Could squeeze in more, but pasta has to be cooked in loads of boiling water so no deal.

Neti helped me to stick the err…. satay sticks in the sausages, wrapped them up nicely and we sped on to Pusat Islam. We were already 30 minutes late. The table looked so empty with just 2 items and a quick look at other tables confirmed my worry.

Went to check on Amelia. She and Atirah were still setting up the table and everything looked okay. Managed to persuade a girl to try the games but after she left and I started walking to Min’s I wondered if she actually paid. He he…

Noticed that apart from a booth selling blended coffee and mineral water, there were no other beverages on offer. Discussed with Min and so after I sent my kiddies to piano class, nipped to Giant and bought air kotak. Since Shah Alam Mall is just across the street to the Pusat Islam, I walked the distance. Dropped the air kotak twice. Ha ha…

Met with a harried and tensed Yasmin. Not enough supply !! Demand too high. I walked back to Shah Alam Mall quickly. Yasmin called en-route. Apparently Farid saw me walking and Min was horrified. After explaining the situation she calmed down. Deposited my kids to their art class and raced home. Cooked another 1 ½ packs of spaghetti and cleared the kitchen. Received an sms from Yasmin saying all the pastas were gone and people actually placed orders !! That was when I despaired why I didn’t have bigger pots.

Raced back to Pusat Islam and the food was gone under 45 minutes.



Went to check on Amelia and Atirah and what a sight to behold !! They were swarmed with kids !! I had to help out some !! Amelia said she wasn’t sure all the participants made payments but she accepted them none-the-less. It was excellent. Some parents left their children with her to shop and she had to console a wailing little girl because she wanted to play again !!


At the end I was glad because both of our booths were a success. This was our first time so it was a bit disorganized but we aim to do better next year with careful planning !!

Yeah !!

I remember when

Lately when we were stumped for what to eat, Babah and I would settle for a simple fare of fried egg sandwiches. We started this faze about 3 months ago, after not having it at all for a good few years. Seriously I don’t remember eating it altogether during my adult years ! Hmmm…..

Therefore I was rather surprised how comforting the first bite was to me. It made me feel safe.

I suppose it is because my family is also rather fond of this dish. Usually a favourite if Mummy was too tired too cook. My mother would fry huge amounts of eggs, one after another. Her eggs are always perfect. Soft yolk, bubbly whites with browned edges. I though fry a flat one because I use a frying pan instead of a wok. I’d better invest in a small one soon, just like my mom’s.

Anyway, this food always reminded me of an incident years ago, when I was still safe in family’s fold. The story happened when the whole family was sick except for me, putting the burden of feeding the sheer number of them on my shoulders. The order of the day was of course the mouth-watering sarnie.

I toasted the bread, fried the eggs, cut the cucumbers and pour either tomato or chillie sauce on them, depending on personal preference of course.

I went back and forth between the kitchen and our family room upstairs, delivering the food and beverages and what nots. When everybody was settled, I came down to make my own sarnie, with the very last egg.

Started the stove, got the egg ready in my hand while waiting for the oil to heat up. However when I cracked the egg, the most horrible pong escaped and instead of a sunny yellow and white egg, out slid a black and brown mucus.

I got a bad one. Telur busuk.

The waterworks came. I sniffed and heaved while I threw it away, washing the wok and finally throwing the garbage out because the smell was too suffocating. I was hungry, tired beyond belief. My disappointment was too gargantuan because I wanted every egg that was cracked, fried and turned into a sandwich. I was salivating after every sarnie that I gave to each and everyone of my family. I was imagining sinking my teeth into it and when my turn finally came, to get it taken away from me so forcefully and unexpectedly was cruel.

And the rotten smell didn’t help either. I wept harder when I saw the already toasted bread, the cut cucumbers and the chillie sauce still on the table, waiting for the anticipated egg.

But to whom shall I spend my anger too ?

I went upstairs desolately. My dad asked about my sandwich. When I told him, he tried to give me his but I refused. I lied and told him I ate Maggie Mee instead. I went without any food that day.

Funny yeah ? Merajuk dengan telur ?

Part 3 - Monday

MONDAY

Monday was painful. I woke up with a sore throat and tender waist. Gelek lebih sangat probably. Ha ha ! Babah lectured that I should have been more careful. Felt a bit dizzy and all around uncomfortable.

Luckily Cik Ta bought us nasi goreng from Tony’s (I will tell you bout Tony later) the night before (Mamu Il and Cik Yin ada hati ajak kita org keluar for dinner after the karaoke. We were ready for bed by then, too tired from the day’s toil) so we heated that up and lazed around for awhile.

Mid morning I asked Babah if he fancied buying more plants for the garden but we went until Bukit Jelutong only because the rain was horrific. Stopped by Shah Alam Mall and sedar-sedar dah pukul 11. Babah almost wept because half the day was already gone.

Went home and got ready for Maulidur Muhammad B Sheik Mazrul yang pertama. One of the first ones to arrive so had a very relaxed meal while talking to the birthday boy’s grandma and mum. Then slowly guests trickled in so had a very nice chat with everybody.

Had a lovely piece of orange cake and tried the hosts' massage chair. It was good at first but after bout 10 minutes it was rather painful so I stopped halfway… he he. Went home at about 4 and at 6 after the clouds stopped it’s drizzling of rain, tackled the jogging track near the courthouse with my family.

My kids were horrified. As we entered the bushy grows, Adik claimed that we were already lost. Abang whimpered if there were any dangerous things lurking behind the trees. Baru nak masuk tu…. Said the person who shared the same feelings not 2 days ago…. He he…. Berlagak…

Alas, we only managed to go ¾ of the way because the sky opened up again.

I started dinner when we got home as it was already near 7 o’clock. Took out the required flours to start on puri. Enlisted the kids to help while I deal with the curry. Even though had delicious roti jala and kari daging at Kamalia’s house but since I had already planned the dinner, I just had to go on. Two curries in 1 day. Call the doctor !!!

.

The kids had fun and I had help, so it was a win-win situation for everybody involved.


And we ate, and cleared up the mess. I bathed after dinner and felt so nice and comfy after washing the grimes of the day off me. I put my tired feet up, opened up my Harry Potter and enjoyed the remaining of my holiday. It was tiring true, but it was a happy one.

.

Bliss….

Part 2 - Sunday

SUNDAY

Sunday was an early one, too. Went to Pasar Tani and again in my head I planned a very easy one, strolling lazily, looking at stuffs without actually buying any, eating keropok lekor and kuih peneram, sipping air tebu, licking ice-cream potong… well you get my drift.

But Babah spoilt it by going around in record time, asking me over and over again what I wanted to buy and it was over in half an hour. He then went to work and I tried my hand at making chocolate pie or pastry. Mum and Marlin came to install a very cheap water filter (very good, the water has no chlorine what-so-ever and so easy to install. Very cheap too at RM 600) and they tried my pie. Mummy repaired my chocolate filling so it turned out very yummy indeed.

Babah came home and we got ready to go to Amelia’s house for sort of bertandang for the newly-weds, Shazmi and Nadia. The food was really good. Kari kepala ikan and my favourite black pepper beef. The bendi in the kari was soooo huge, puas hati… Ha ha ! Then we rushed to pick up Marlin and Mail for karaoke in Sunway Pyramid.

It was soooo much fun. We had oodles and oodles of good time, partying like mad. There were only the 3 of us really (Babah and Abang was more subdued. Adik was crazy like us but she got tired in the end), dancing and singing to Britney Spears’ song especially.

“Tak yah pegi disco macam ni….” Marlin announced. I can’t agree more. It was really cheap because for RM 25 each (for 5 people) we get to be there for 3 and a half hours, were given 5 plates of nibbles and 2 drinks each and 5 plates of food. Even though we are in Malaysia, Halal food is still an issue so we ordered fish and chips, fish nuggets and breaded prawns.

Abang and Adik were very enthusiastic at first, conquering 2 of the 4 mikes we were given. They sang every song, enjoying them selves immensely. Being kids though, they whined for home when the novelty wore off. Abang pleaded exhaustion so Mummy and Babah asked him to lie down on the huge sofa.

It was awesome. Can’t imagine if I go with my entire siblings (that includes my siblings-in-law).

The kids had sausages and chicken soup for dinner and Mummy and Babah had fried egg sandwiches. Sleep came so easy.

To be continued.

My busy weekend - Saturday

Oh man… The weekend was busy !! I hardly ever rested and therefore today I am yawning at my desk.

Where to start ? Why, with Saturday of course…

SATURDAY

I had to keep my help this particular Saturday because Babah was working the whole day and I have my Escapers gathering so I needed her to mind the kids. Drove to Cili Merah, then piano class but skipped the art class for today because Abang had a birthday invitation to fulfill. Bought the pressies at the book store next to Yamaha school and wrapped the goodies while waiting for my babies. Neti laughed when she saw me took out the tape and scissors from my bag. A mummy has to be ready !

Sent my kids and Neti to 6/2B for Hazim and Haziq’s party.

Went home and mom called me to follow her to see this professor, who could read the state of our eyes for health diagnosis. Waited and waited at the good professor’s office at Worlwide (it was okay as I had all my siblings and my nieces with me as well) but left at 12.45 to pick the kiddies up as the party ended at 1 pm. Went back to Worldwide for my turn. After taking a picture of my eye, studying it for a bit, the professor shook his head. Hmm……

Anyway, left his office immediately afterwards with Esya and Anna in tow because Kamalia was to pick me up at 2.30. Raced home with my mind racing bout what the professor said. Stopped by Baker’s Cottage first to buy snack for my 4 children and the help, resumed my journey home, took 2 steps at a time to my room and got ready in record time, conforming to the theme, blue jeans and white top.

Kamalia came with Jubei and off we went to Subang Parade to meet our high school partners in crime, the Escapers. Went to Secret Recipe to Azlin’s annoyance because she said Setiawan pun ada Secret Recipe !! He heh… sorry, aaa.. Lin.

Lin came with Jaja and Chris. All around tight hugs were exchanged. Chris who managed to keep her svelte figure commented on our weight. We only just… just, mind you, managed to stop Jaja from buying shoes to fling at her. Then Nani came with oddly enough, a shopping bag which contained an almost identical baju she was wearing, She must have really, really like that particular design.

We ordered food aplenty. I ordered Curried Cornish which made the waitress blinked rapidly as it turned out to be called Spicy Cornish and not curried. It was not properly heated so I abandoned it, looking at Lin eating her normal Cornish pie. There were plates and plates of cakes and cheesy fries and potato crackers. Nani was reluctant to share her brownie ala mode and Nani again revealing stuffs that made us dizzy. Chris moaned about the No Smoking sign and showed us her tattoos.

Then Cheet showed up, looking like she didn’t age one bit and finally Shazleen turned up with her kiddies. We exchanged stories about our kids, fought on who got the worse job and debated on breast feeding. We laughed, and joked, and confided and reminisced and were so glad that we made this effort to be there.

Every little thing made us laugh, and I had to extend our apology to Chris, the most happening person at the table. “We hardly ever go out and have fun like this, Chris… so forgive us…” Chris loves us, so she didn’t mind our giggly selves.

Thank you ladies for wanting to be there, for still wanting to be friends. A special thank you to Azlin because her journey to this gathering was a long one indeed. Our thoughts were for Cho and Azlinda who can't be there.

We left the gathering at 5.30 as I have another engagement to fill. As Kamalia turned the corner to my house, we saw Amelia’s car whizzed by. Hurry !! That was my 6 pm appointment !! Amelia and Noreen waited in the car while I changed to a more appropriate attire, chatting with Kamalia and Jubei. When I came out again, this time in my trainers, t-shirt and track bottom, Jubei gave a loud laugh.

Went inside Amelia’s car and off we went to the very hilly track next to the court house. I was scared because I went there once and only for a mere minute before I made Babah turned back. I stopped to read a sign near the entrance you see, the normal sign about the dos and don’ts of a public park when I saw another sign warning us of monkeys and snakes. I would have been okay I suppose if they had used a regular picture of a snake in a coil but since they made the effort to use a picture of a cobra… well, that was that.

So I was nervous and cleverly walked in the middle, between my two friends. Then somehow I wasn’t anymore and so walked ahead, staying the middle of the track. Despite my trepidation, it was beautiful and peaceful and somehow fresh, a pocket of very clean air in the middle of the city. Lovely. The track was very challenging, too and I was glad I came. I was panting even though we only did 1 round.

Amelia sent me home and the kids swarmed me, pleading hunger. I was sooo tired but a mother I am so after bathing and sending Neti to her aunt’s, took the kiddies for a meal. No way is Mummy cooking tonight. Endured a very noisy, messy but happy dinner. Sent Esya and Anna home and I climbed the bed gratefully. My head cleared out of any stressful thoughts, just like what the professor ordered….

Tomorrow is another long day, Mummy !!

To be continued…

Oh Mummy....

I am soooooo terrible.

Yesterday my brother Mail finally came home for good. He was expected to arrive at 7 am and therefore before I went to work, I swung by Mum’s house to see him.

I was fasting, my second day actually. I sahur at 11.30 pm (while I watched Ghost Hunter…. Seram gila, tukar channel halfway… he he) with kari ikan made by my mom, timun and kuah kacang. Heaven.

So what has that got to do with my brother or my terrible-ness ? Well… if you are at your mom’s house, where you grew up eating her food, and you know there will always be food somewhere…. Well the inevitable happened.

In my defence, it was morning and I was… well…. I wasn’t even hungry.

Okay, my legs was on automatic, it just took me to the dining table… as you know that was what they usually do when the entered the house. I announced that if there were food, I was going to break my fast. I of course was joking… I didn’t mean that. Marlin however shouted, “You’d better not, A…. Nanti ko mesti bukak puasa punya…”

It was too late. And I was in euphoric mood. You know my brother being home (not a convincing argument at all), and out of habit I lifted the tudung saji and lo and behold, there were rows and rows and rows of beefy French toast. They shone and were mesmerizing that I stared and stared and stared.

I didn’t think, I grabbed one, break a small piece, dipped it in the kuah cuka and put it in my mouth. Then I chewed, closed my eyes in ecstasy and swallowed. Then I took another bite. Mail came to join me and we both ate like there was no tomorrow. “I don’t believe aku bukak puasa…” I muttered over and over again.

Mail who had been living on a diet of Indian food could not answer.

Marlin was right, I shouldn’t have ventured into the dining room.

Ya Allah, I couldn’t believe I wasted my sahur !! Forgive me….

So today, I am fasting and didn’t go anywhere near my mom’s.

Scarlet lips

I went to pasar malam on Tuesday and bumped into my cousin Jimmy whose wife, Kak Lin was buying fish.

I was fasting that day and therefore as usual when my Mum found out (I deliberately told her he heh), she cooked delicious food for my buka. Therefore when I saw abang Jimmy I graciously furnished him with the inside information that I had.

“Pergi rumah Mummy !” I said, “Ada rendang and kari ikan… dah siap…. Pergi makan….” His eyes bulged at the though of food that he knows Mum would serve in record time. He could be experiencing gastronomical delight in mere minutes.

But how did he re-pay me ?

By telling me I need to wear lispstick.

It didn’t help either when I got home, as I was putting the groceries away, Abang who came to hug me suddenly said, “Mummy, are you sick ?” His face contorted with worry.

“No, I am not….”

He forehead creased, giving me a once over.

“Well… you looked sick….” He said, grabbed a keropok leko and resumed his telly watching.

Cess ! So for two days now I went to work with coloured lips and earned surprised looks from my colleagues.

Aku malas aaa pakai lipstick !!

Adik, please don’t read this entry. Move to the next one….

Today don’t know why I was reminded of an incident that happened years ago while I was still in school (it makes you feel old doesn’t it, being in school yeaaaarsss ago ?)

Anyway it was the days of the Bosnian war. Maybe the concert to support war victims trend was started then because a concert for the Bosnian war was organized. I don’t remember whether it was to collect money or just raise awareness but a concert was organized and we took that excuse to show support for the Bosnians, by partying…. Hmmm…. Seriously I don’t remember what the concert was for.

I am sure all Malay girls my age share my predicament. We aren’t allowed to be out of the house after Maghrib, apatah lagi nak pegi nengok concert malam-malam. I begged and begged my parents for the opportunity to go and after quizzing details of the people that is making up the party and what nots, my parents finally relented.

Bahagianya hidup. It is not easy for me to gain permission to be out after hours !! Isa came to pick me up and in the car was Babah, of course and sadly, that is all I remember. Maybe Shazmi went. Or maybe Anu too.

Anyway the concert was at Stadium Negara. The field was decorated with mock Christian and Muslim headstones, depicting victims from both sides. Wars are sad affairs yeah and I was saddened by the fates of the victims who were still being slaughtered at that time.

Moving on, I can’t remember the concert very much and the memory I want to tell is not about the concert, but afterwards when the show was over, after we had late night dinner in Bangsar and Isa finally dropping me off at 2 am. What a coup indeed for me.

I was very nervous of course especially when I caught a glimpse of my father pacing the living room. I knew I had to release the weapon that I have since I was born, the ability to twist my father around my finger. I knew his weakness and I have to use it.

At the sound of my footsteps, Ayah threw open the door but before he could say anything I said, “Wow ! I had the best night ever !! It was fun, Ayah !” I then quickly hugged him and said, “Thank you for letting me go…” kissing him soundly on the cheek.

Then I offered to make him toasts. Over toasts I regaled him stories on the going ons at the concert and he was so glad that I had a good time, he forgot to be angry.

My arse was saved.

PS : This reminded me of another night that I was allowed to go out. I don’t know how (I am very sure via lying through my teeth) I managed to go to Subang Parade with Babah at night. Our friend Shah was working at Toys R’ Us and we decided to visit him. He was stocking shelves at that time and at the sight of me, he looked at Babah and asked, “Macamana boleh terlepas ni ?” while jerking his head at my direction. Cess…

Pak Boleh Belah

My blood boiled yesterday when I inadvertently saw the news, during MB Selangor talking about the repairs of his car issue.

Macam ni lah, bear in mind that I am not partial to any parties in Malaysia, but for BN to make such a big deal out of this is unforgivable. Especially when we the rakyat know that there are bigger swindlers hiding behind the political masks, that there are bigger pengabih duit rakyat.

Now, as far as I know he didn’t have a government issue car. He is using his own car, and therefore since he is making a huge savings already, why begrudge him the maintenance cost ? After all he is entitled to it, as all MBs and big corporate figures are. There got to be some perks for high positions, isn't it ? Other menteris have bigger perks than that I am sure... 2-3 extra houses, cars for wife, second and third wife, children, tok nenek, mak and pak menakan... well the list goes on and on..

Pak Lah to me has failed again. I do not know why he is letting this happening. This petty accusations are not endearing him more to the rakyat because we know the truth, and the truth is, please see paragraph 2.

Pak Lah should rise to the occasion by asking this matter to be closed. He should let MB Selangor do his job because at the end of the day if you truly are berjiwa rakyat, you would want Selangor to be governed efficiently. He should have issued a challenge instead to MB Selangor to make Selangor prosper under his governance.

He should have said, well that is his mistake, don’t do it again so let us see if he can make Selangor better. Then, we would probably have to admit “Hey… Pak Lah is actually quite all right…..”

Instead it has turned into this hugely embarrassing political melee.

Opportunity came and Pak Lah didn’t know how to take it and twist it to his advantage. Accusing Khalid of that charges is like pot calling the kettle black. Pak lah should stop thinking that the rakyat is stupid. We know better…

Duh… !!

Saturday and Sunday

My Saturday was BUSY !!

It started of with normal Saturday routine. Cili Merah, piano then art. Everybody was home by 1.30 to eat Beef and Mushroom pie Mummy prepared while she had the house all on her own. Babah and kiddies, take note that Mummy wasn’t lazing around, she made lunch !

2.30 off to Subang Parade to buy a birthday present for Abang Kamal. Babah dropped me off at Amelia’s house close to 4 pm and at 4.30 we were already at Kakiku, SACC Mall for a massage. Noreen joined us at 5.

Hang out at Secret Recipe until 6.30 after which Amelia sent me to Babah’s sister Wawa’s house for her husband Kamal’s birthday party or… more appropriately get-together. It wasn’t a party. Much more sedate than that.

Stayed there until 9 before we made a move to Yasmin’s housewarming pulak.

Made it home by 11, I think all sweaty and sticky… belengas kata orang Penang.

Before sleep claimed me, I groaned when I remember bout the tennis class on Sunday.. at 7.30 am !! Contemplated my attendance, decided to be absent because the class was to be held at sek 21 Matsushita sports complex since ITM is renovating their courts. Don’t know where it is so sms-ed coach to say that Umar will be there at 8.30.

Sleep……

The busyness of Saturday was offset by the laziness of Sunday, exacerbated by the rain. Since Astro’s reception goes wonky when it pours, we sat on our ugly patio to watch the rain.

Lazy, lazy Sunday.

Itu aje ?

Babah and I usually decides our dinner menu around 4 pm because it depends on what he eats for lunch (I usually have boring stuffs like bread or fruits so there is no danger of repeats for dinner in my case).

I suggested nasi lemak from Makcik Soto at Seksyen 8 and Babah readily agreed because we hadn’t been there for while. When we got home, Abang’s face was flushed. Demam. He complained in the morning of dizziness but since he didn’t whine or made a big fuss about it he still went to school.

With that we discovered that we have quite a number of places to go to that night since I have to go to the bank and lack of ubat demam at home means a trip to the pharmacist. Discussed again and the first order of the night was nasi lemak. Bought 2 delicious looking nasi lemak to go, please.

Then the pharmacist at Sek 9, next to Shell. No pharmacist pulak. Entered the car and the smell of nasi lemak wafted through the air. Yummm….

Drove to the one near Secret Recipe and when we entered the car again, the vehicle smelt strongly of it. Our stomachs growled.

Raced to the bank because at that point we were half crazed with the aroma already, me especially so since I only had fruit salad for lunch ! Again when we entered the car the scent was so overwhelming, we half contemplated wolfing it down that very minute. It was the longest 3 minute ride home.

We entered the house with one, sole purpose; to eat. We should have eaten 20 minutes ago.

10 minutes after that, we were satiated, and watched American Idol. 5 minutes watching I turned to Babah and said, “I feel empty somehow. All those waiting and it was over in 10 minutes… What a let down….”

Ha ha…

Boleh berkenalan ?

I have requests to write an entry of my journey with my husband. I do not know how to start really….. My apologies if I missed out anything or if my friends remember it differently.. HA HA !

Hmm….

Babah and I were school mates. I think I was aware of his presence when we were in form 1. A friend of mine had a crush on him and I was entrusted to take his photo. So we called him to our class, asked him to stand there at the corridor, I crouched and clicked. Girls….

Years later after the camera clicking incident we joined the same extra co-curricular club and somewhat re-newed our acquaintance. We somehow managed to not talk to each other before that. However I hated him. I wondered why my friend could have a crush on him because he was loud mouthed, opiniated and I hated his glasses… he he.. Our feelings were mutual. We passionately hated each other.

How did we make our peace ? Well it was very weird. It was during one of the club meetings and I recounted a story to my dimpled friend of a dream I had the night before. I was on a London bus, and when I got off it, he…(the guy that I hate, Babah le tu) came down the bus with me !

Now, our mutual friend overheard the story and said something to the effect of “Hey very funny, Babah told me of his dream of you and him in London, too !” So this guy called him over and we were forced to talk politely to each other about the dream out of curiosity. However during the course of that conversation I was relaxed and my talons were in check voluntarily. We exchanged stories peacefully.

That was very weird. Weirder still, I had a good look at him for the first time and thought, “Hmmm…. He wouldn’t look so bad without those wretched glasses…” He he…. We somehow made our peace that day and gradually our warring days were over.

He then started to give me attention which I found bizarre. You know… suddenly appearing at my side when I walk or actually caring about what I said without mocking me. Calling me at home….. Hmmm…. I am never quick into thinking that a guy has interests in me. To me the most embarrassing thing people can call me are perasan and mengada-ngada. Therefore I always am very careful to avoid that kind of label. Hence, I didn’t want to think that he was interested. I don’t want to be perasan…. Or perah santan as we used to call it (for what reason I don’t know, our own attempt to be Cockney probably).

At that time my love life was rather busy anyway. I was flirting with this younger guy (he is gorgeous but sometimes accidentally added kakak in front of my name and that could dampen any notion of romance in a jiffy) and was fending off attentions from a friend in the same club (let’s call him A to avoid confusion) and now him ? I cannot be that hot… ha ha. Jangan perasan, jangan perasan….. I told myself.

However at that point I cannot say that I didn’t like his attention, but because I hated him so much before, the sudden affection he was showing me was rather overwhelming when I was just getting used to like him as a person. It was all very confusing.

To make matters worse this other guy A, was giving me hints so crystal clear all our mutual friends could see it and kept laughing at us ! But… at the same time they liked to create opportunities for us to be left alone (for their amusement I think…. the seniors memang naughty). Whenever these impromptu ‘time alone’ with A happened, I always looked around to see Babah’s reactions. It is safe to say I was rather smitten by Mr Babah at that point.

My husband, luckily was very persistent. He kept plying me with attentions and he succeeded in making me think of him day and night. You would too if you have this guy who kept asking “Hai, boleh berkenalan ?” Everytime he saw you ? Tergelak aku sekarang…. Hai, boleh berkenalan ? Hai, boleh berkenalan….

One day during raya a group of us went to visit Shazleen’s house. Isa brought his car but since there were so many of us and I happened to live nearby, I decided to walk home, to lighten Isa’s burden. Guess who followed me home ?

He made his feelings known that day (first day of raya okay… I was lucky my parents decided to raya in Shah Alam that year instead of going back to Penang as we usually did) and although I was giddy with happiness, I kept it all inside. I just can’t believe it, it was hari raya, the best day of the year and now this, a guy who by then I found to be gorgeous beyond belief (he changed his glasses) professing his undying love for me ? I could still remember the way he looked when he described my honkers as 'button nose'. People usually commented on its invisibility so I was duly flattered. He had me at "your button nose..." Haii......

However I played it cool because I did not want to show how happy I was (jaga maruah sikit) and secondly because A is one of his closest friends.

He however had no such compunctions and held my hand. And I let him. Gatal... He he... Unfortunately, our mutual best friend Shazmi’s father saw us from the height of his house, informed his son and Shazmi came down to laugh at us. Uncle waved at us from his balcony. Sigh…. I can still blush when I think of that moment.

On the 13th of April 1993, I finally decided okay, I do want to be with him. People started asking me why they always see us together and those who didn’t ask made the correct conclusions. Zaki (a guy in school that people loved to hate but whom I like very much) informed me while we were drinking near the canteen that he doesn’t understand why all our girl friends could fall for the Malay boys in school. He went on to inform me that most of those boys were ugly (I think Zaki is half Pakistani… well he doesn’t look Malay and is rather cute… or was…. I haven’t seen him in ages) and that “The only Malay guy whom I find is good looking is Babah…” he concluded, without looking at me, then smiled. I take that as his approval of my choice.

Well 6 years after that we got married. And 10 years after that we are still here. How much do I love him ? Well my parents took the same stance as most Asian parents at that time in the daughter-boyfriend issue, which is basically Hell, No ! but my feelings for him was so gargantuan, I bravely took him home. My parents said nothing. They can’t I think because although I could be naughty, my parents trust me. That was what my father told me when I came home during my first summer holidays. He said that he trusts me and that was huge and something that I appreciate until now.

We have never been apart. We somehow managed to be with each other throughout the course of our lives. I don’t think we could bear being apart, so we somehow made sacrifices just to be together.

Seriously, I don’t know how long this will last because we never had the chance to properly look around, but I hope that there will always be the two of together, forever.

PS : Despite our dream, I have never been on a London bus with him. I did with my parents and he got on one with Razif (while I was in Manchester visiting Nani with Cho) but never together. We did take the Nottingham double decker loads of time, though… but they were green and beige and not red. Hmmm.......

Babah

Hai lah…

I met up my husband for lunch. We agreed yesterday that I make fish and chips for dinner tonight and since the we couldn’t find any tartare sauce to go with the fish last night, after lunch we headed straight for Cold Storage at Ikano Power Center.

I love the Cold Storage there. Ingredients for western cooking are in abundance, you are spoilt for choice.

Found the tartare sauce, bought some mushrooms for mushroom soup, paid and walked back to his office. Before he closed the door to my car (on our last lunch date, a car knocked my shoulder – sakit woooo – so now he saw me to my car, making sure no drama unfolded when his shoulders are turned away from me.. he he) he asked me, “Hey… what are we having for dinner ?”

Laa…. What were we talking about during lunch, not half an hour ago ? Why the rush to buy the tartare sauce ?

Itu le… saya dah cakap awak tu dah tua… tak caya…..

PS : This entry was written yesterday but didn’t post it due to a more important news….

PPS : Pagi tadi while we were still in between sleep and wakeness, he asked, “Today (13/02/09) we have been together 15 years and 10 months ?”

I was still clouded with sleep and struggled to answer him. “Kita dah kawin berapa tahun ha ?”

“Sepuluh…” He answered and I went “Well yeah kalau sepuluh tahun then yes this April 16 tahun…”

“Whoaa…” That came from him.

“Kenapa ? Lama sangat ke ?” Biasa lah orang perempuan, senang kecik hati…

“No… I was thinking why didn’t I meet you earlier…”

Aww…. (kalau dia kelentong baik punya pun bukan nya aku tahu kan.... baik AWwwww.... je...)

The oh very disturbing news

Okay this is very disturbing, yeah ?

I just read that Paris Hilton have the hots for Robert Pattinson a.k.a the dreamy albeit pasty Edward Cullen from Twlight.

My advice, “Run, love. Run for your life !! Do not even turn back to look !! She is soooo not worth it. Go on then, run !! Bugger off quick !”

Hmm…. I have done my part. The rest is up to him.

Ohh.... Babah

Aku nak tergelak ni ha…

As a rule, I will usually buy stuffs from the street peddlers. Makcik kerepek, anak-anak sekolah yang sepatutnya pegi sekolah tapi pukul 11 malam pun aku nampak masih menjaja calendar and sekarang ubat …

Aku kesian.

Don’t think I would be heading for the poorhouse if I give them my RM 10.

Anyway, yesterday we went to fetch our children from their class, Babah and I. When I got in the car, I saw a keropok seller talking to my husband, talking in his Terengganu accent.

“You nak ke keropok ?” He asked.

“Ambik je….” Was my answer.

So my husband felt around for money and when he paid, he asked “Dari terengganuNG ya….”

And terbahak-bahak le aku ketawa.

I looked at my obviously embarrassed husband.

“Babah… Terengganung ? Sejak bila ?”

“I don’t know……” I can still see him laughing with sheer embarrassment when he said that, head almost touching the steering wheel...

Ha ha !!

Apa Saja...

Recently Babah was rooting around our CD collections and found some old CDs… he he… segan jugak nak cakap… but he found Best of KRU album that we both still enjoy.

We were driving to KL that night and so he put on the CD and the car was filled with songs that took us back, waaaayyy back when we were younger. 16 years ago to be precise, when he still had moustache (which he fondly refers to as kumis… uweekk…..) and I was with very oily T-Zone and angry red spots… he he…

The songs evoked so many memories that I let one secret out. With the 3 brothers singing Apa Saja in the background I said, “You know… dulu… whenever our day ended and you were going home, I always, always felt like I wanted to go with you…..”

“Ha ?” He asked, looking at me with nose scrunched. It is not cute, his nose scrunching because the sheer size of the beak.. he heh…

“Well yeah… I had separation issues… I didn’t like that we have to be separated at the end of the day…. So I nak ikut you balik…”

Gosh, it didn’t come out right, did it ? Instead of sounding so bloody in love I just can’t be without him kind of thing, I sounded like perempuan paling gatal dalam Shah Alam… he he…

Perak kat mane ?

I try not to be political..

No... that is not true.

I DO NOT want to be political. I hate politics because that is when I will find people who get pissed off if anybody dared to not share their views. I have to say during the elections is when all the hideous people decided to come out of their 5 years reasonable and lovable personality façade. Who is this know-it-all is the question I always ask.

So I shy away from discussing politics… I do discuss them when it is brought up, but only participate when I am in polite company. And I do not take the word polite lightly.

Anyway, I do not support anybody. After Pak Lah, I look at politicians wearily and take everything they say not with a pinch of salt, but with a whole 30 sen packet ( is it still 30 sen nowadays ? ). Money politics is evident and even after what has transpired during the last election, it still failed to jolt these people out of their crimes.

I know of a Menteri whose second wife drove an old CRV before the election and after was seen zipping around town in a CX9. His second father in-law (he heh) drove a Vios and now drives a new CRV. That is the second family, I shudder to think what upgrades he gave to his first one.

Now, the situation in Perak to me is shameful. Next election do not vote for these frogs because in my observation I believe the voters voted for the party, not the candidates. They just want BN out and do not give a rat’s ass who represented the opposition.

The people of Perak voted for PKR and I believe another small election at the respective frogs’ seat would be the fair course of action.

Allow the rakyat to vote again.

Kesian

Ada cerita sedih ni…. Really sad.

On Monday my sister Ita called me up at 4. She is sooo like my mother who loves to create suspense when she has something important to tell.

“A, aku rasa something happened kat akwasan rumah ko ni lah…..”

Eh ? What ?

“I think something bad happened here….. Ko tahu tak nak masuk rumah ko….”

Ya Rabbi !! Tell me the story already !! Don’t mind the location first lah !

“Tak… ada van forensic, polis and krew TV3 kat sini….”

Okay now you tell me where exactly this is happening already !

I was scared. Because it is a house just across the street, 3 houses away to the left. Basically a neighbour. I raced home because I was scared for my family’s safety. In my head I expected the same thing that happened to that poor lady in Sek 13.

When I got home, the street was empty. It didn’t look like anything had happened. It was peaceful. I rang the bell of a neighbour but no answer. As I was about to go back home, I saw Aunty Intan who lives a door away parked her car near the scene.

I waved at her and she waited for me. My question of apa jadi, aunty was promptly answered and it was sad indeed.

Apparently Aunty Katherine (I think) who lived alone had died. The thing is she had passed away for 2-3 days before her next door neighbour smelt something foul from her house. She dared not break the door so she called the cops and they made the sad discovery.

Her husband passed away years ago and her only child is in the States. She only has her stepchildren from her husband’s first wife in Malaysia.

It is not just the fact that she died alone and remained undiscovered for a few days that saddens me, also the fact that the house is quiet, devoid from any activity. Aunty Intan said probably her stepchildren are handling it from where they live but the thing is we don’t even know where she is buried or more distressingly if her body was even claimed.

I have been looking at the house, waiting for any sign of her relatives and friends but there is none. Hopefully they came while I was at work.

The question people asked was how come the neighbours didn’t know ? Well.. because she is a recluse. She did go to the surau once in a while but she kept much to herself. Maybe that is the culture of mat sallehs, I don’t know. Maybe neighbours pun tak perasan that they haven’t seen her for a few days already. Maybe she preferred to stay indoors so her neighbours thought all is normal.

She did come for my kenduri though when we first moved in. My husband and I went knocking at all the houses on our street to extend our invititation for the kenduri. When we called on her, there was no answer but when we were about to leave I saw her peering from a window upstairs. I waited but she didn’t come out, neither did she when I called again.

But she came to grace our kenduri with apologies. She explained that since she lives alone, she is scared of strangers, something that I readily accept. Kesian dia.

Al-Fatihah for her.

Tasik

Saturday we went walking again but this time we decided to walk around the tasik near Kompleks PKNS. We had always walked there last time, but the sorry state of the tasik made us prefer the one near the mosque.

Well, our absence hadn’t made the tasik any better. It is dirty and unkempt. End of story. No flowers to enhance the beauty, nothing that could actually make it memorable.

It is also in a state of disrepair, most of the wooden bridges looked frail. We passed behind Wet World and I do not have to discourage my children from going. Umar didn’t want to go because the place smelt bad.

Even the playground looked old. It is definitely newer than the KLCC ones but why does it looked so….blah ? The KLCC ones were shining and clean and looked inviting. I know. We went last month.

The bird island that used to enthrall us with the promises of bird sightings, even from afar was empty and messy, with broken fences. Abang then saw what promises to be a lovely spot with a nice bridge, near the defunct Taman Orkid. I answered his questions of what is that and why is it like that with a “Hangat-hangat taik ayam” answer. The idea is there but no will to carry it through.

Let me tell you about St. James Park in London. Year after year, the park remained a delight. Birds of various types wandered freely with the humans. The last year we where there, they build a low fence along the lake to keep the birds out but the long legged ones and of course the determined ones got out anyway. One even greeted the chubby 2 year old Abang and the gurgling and bubbling Umar followed him home !!

We see gardeners tending the flowers all the time. The gardener’s hut was hidden but was awashed with flowers, beautifully maintained. Nothing was done halfway and if there were any, they took all its evidence away from our eyes. I want to be proud of the tasik. I love the trees and the breeze… but that is not enough, is it ?

Lepak dengan Alhady

Received a message Tuesday night from my friend, Tini - ‘tt with alhady after maghrib”. Discussed with Babah and I confirmed our attendance. Amelia then called to ask if we were going and arranged to pick her up.

Come Wednesday, off we went to pick Amelia up and went straight to the chosen venue.

We saw only Usop and after 20 minutes, the rest of the party trickled in. Nikman and Ami, Tini and hubby, then the man of the hour himself, Alhady with Eldin and lastly Ain.

Effiezal joined in via telephone, well not really because he only talked to Babah.

It was very merry, the gathering. Talking and laughing and teasing.

Sadly we had to go home early and left at 9.20 pm.

As we aged, we need our friends. Although some on the table were not close friends, we are okay now, you know what I mean ?

PS : Found out that tt is a universally (well in Malaysia…) accepted abbreviation of the tarik. How come Amelia, Babah and I myself don’t know that ?

PPS : I need to watch more telly because I do not know who in the world is Dang Suria and her ex-husband whom apparently married my classmate.