Life

It has been the dullest week ever - despite the fact that I just came back from a week-long leave. Problem management aka solution operations aka customer support is not what fun is made of, dear friends; let me tell you that (Gosh, where is that bespoken passion? But oh wait, have I ever had it in the first place..?)

There was a makan-makan in the office yesterday; celebrating nothing actually; just for the fun of it. And although I was in the office this morning I decided to take the rest of the day off after all citing my poor teeth as the culprit.

I did pay the dentist a visit and had a couple of fillings done. The dentist as previously, hid his face behind the mask. I am glad; it is a bit unsettling to be staring up into his eyes while he prod into my cavity (ha-ha.. sempat jugak tu) and worked on the filling. Most of the time the pain made me close my eyes anyway (psst.. I hate dentists; it's nothing personal - it's just their profession..)

If PW were in my place, she might get into a fit over the dentist I'd guess.

Oh, and I did some raya shopping actually. And I wondered what is it about raya that makes us (me?) go into the overdrive about shopping.

Ustaz kata we must learn to celebrate the Ramadhan more instead of Syawal.. And yeah, I went to the ceramah the other day. The ustaz was nice (nice? cant find a more befitting vocab in this instance and too lazy to bother with the thesaurus etc), enligtening, fun. He was most gentle when quoting the gentler gender. He made us laugh with his examples (no dumb jokes from him) and his doa brought tears to the eyes.

Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan al-Mubarrak. Maaf zahir & batin.

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Paradise In The Backyard

And while we were in Taiping, we went up the Maxwell Hills (not that I dont like the name Bukit Larut, but the hills have always been Maxwell Hills since I was small. Even my mum who is English-illiterate calls it Bukit Maxwell). The last time I was there was maybe like thirty or so years ago.. (which is ages ago; even for someone my age). The top photos were taken at the foot of the hills while we waited for our ride.

We had the tickets and sped (sped? We couldnt have sped - the road is worse than ular kena patuk - the turns are sharp and up-climbing.) You cant drive up in your own vehicle - you have to take the jeeps in service (it has to be a four-wheeler. The standard sedans wont be able to go up the hill without the extra traction). We stopped at 1036 m above sea level. You can only go further up if you have reservations for any of the chalet up the hill.

I love the weather at the top. Cool and yet sunny and hot too at times when the clouds move out of the sun. That day it was a bit cloudy and windy so it was very cool. Cooler than Cameron I would think. The plants are beautiful. It is a shame though that plants / flowers are not abundant. It would have been more gorgeous.

We had tea and sandwiches at one of the cafes. It is where tulips are found when in season. Unfortunately it is not in season now. If you want to see the tulips you should go in Nov and Dec. But I wonder if it is the rainy season then - because watch out, the roads would be slippery and traction would be a challenge.

Going down was scary or thrilling; depending on your perspective. Mine told me it was scary. It made us a bit dizzy too. So if you are susceptible to mabuk kereta, make sure you come well prepared.

It was a nice trip - we are thinking we should make reservations in time for the tulips..

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Books, Books And More Books Part 2 - Catching Up With 'Ilm

At times I managed to convince myself that I do need to read some serious books and in fact this time, I even managed to finish a more serious book as such.

Do you find that sometimes you read with your heart and at other times only with your head (if you know what I mean..) ? And that sometimes facts could be staring straight into your eyes but you arent ready for them and therefore you just dont get them ? Do you uh, get me here?

I actually find this subject difficult but subhanallah, I do admire his mind, his knowledge, his kesedaran and himself for writing this book.

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Mummy Dearest

So I am back in town - since last night actually. I spent the last 5 days with my mum - I am supposed to be mum-sitting. But seem like my mum "sits" me too. Planning meals etc for us although much of the cooking was done by us.

It was a bliss going on a week-long leave.. although the boss' reprimand "make sure you answer your phone when I call you!" made me jump and grabbed the phone everytime it rang. Fortunately, none of the calls were from him.

No matter how nice kampung is, it is always a relief to get back to our very own home, dont you agree? And yet I am always exasperated when my own mum insists that she wants to return home whenever she is in town. Our usual argument is ada apa kat kampung? We are all here (well most of us anyway) And mum will always say; but that is my house. And she always win these arguments anyway.

On this visit she looks cheerful and happy. Although complains that the prescription the orthopaedics gave her made her sleepy and lethargic.. pause.. I actually cannot put my feelings about mum into words.

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For The World, For Us

I went to Gardens to get a save the earth tshirt for Eirfan. I looked all over the place but cant find what I am looking for. The sales assistant wasnt too sure what I was asking for at first. After more digging up on her part I found that the particular promotion didnt start until the end of the week (so eager was I to support the Isetan's green campaign..)

Needless to say that I went back again to Gardens to get the tshirt. When I gave it to Eirfan I told him what it is all about. I hope he gets the picture and that sense of responsibility I hope to inculcate.

I recycle my cans, bottles, plastics and paper. It made some mess in the kitchen with all the stuff - but I tell everyone we have to live with that. So far everyone's with me (like they have a choice in the matter, right?)

I decline plastic bags whenever possible and I take my loyal raga (which amuses Zarina so much) to the pasar tani. When my celphone battery went kaput, I asked how I should dispose of it - and was laughed at by a colleague.. I used bio-degradable detergent (but since the latest price hike, I dont think I can afford that anymore.. sigh..) And I prefer paper plates from foams.

So on occassions, you might say I am like Maya Karin.. ehem.. (claps and wolf whistles are welcomed at this point..) who is an ambassador for the green / save the environment campaign.

So dear friends, do you recycle?

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At The Olympics

Well, I'm not about to bore you with the medal counts. You can get that from anywhere.

I caught Blake vs Gonzalez in the tennis men's singles semis - which turned out great despite the loss to Blake. I said to no one in particular that the men looked smart in their attires whereas the women players are a bit dress-ier (over-dressed?). But someone said, they look cantik. Ok...

We watched badminton later and the girls were wearing skirts - they look good actually instead of the shorts like some of the other girls do wear. And we caught women's soccer too. Ugh pleeeaazze.. their uniforms are terrible; and with their hair, you cant tell if it is the women's or men's soccer.

And the swimmers have got more clothes than before - with the previous trends from small to minute bikinis, I'd expect them to go into g-strings this year.. ha-ha.. But apparently not; their bottoms are even longer this year; the same goes to the male swimmers (how unfortunate, I said loudly; and got unbelievable stares for my effort..)

But did you notice the women runners / athletics? The size of their numbers on the chest are even bigger than that of their track bottom..

Tennis, swimming (minus the synchronised swimming though), gymnastics are among my favorites events. I think synchronised swimming is silly; put there to attract attention. The same goes with beach volleyball too, with their skimpy bikinis.

But anyway I think the opening was spectacular although our team could do without the garish yellow outfits.. (we look like we are from Africa or something..)

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Here, Now

I am currently engrossed in a 'finding purpose in work' kind of book. I suppose I havent found (or have lost?) the purpose in work - ha-ha..

"We are here to learn lessons, and the world is our teacher - when we fail to learn a lesson, we get to take it again and again. But once we've learned the lesson, we move on to the next one".

"Your life is a perfect reflection of your beliefs - when you change your deepest beliefs about the world, your life changes accordingly".

My personal quote of the day : "To be happy is to be content and to embrace life as it is here and now".

I'll put up more stuff once I'm done with the book. ps - at this moment in time, the world looks like a bright rainbow; full of color and promise..

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Baffled, Frustrated, Redha

I was told I was being honest at the wrong time and the wrong place. I dont understand at all how being honest could be wrong at any time, any place. Do you?

I am actually venting my frustration because I was told I failed the interview because I was - you guessed it - being honest!

My interviewers should have seen that as a virtue and if they dont, I dont think I should work with them anyway.. (and work where I am now..? Allah help me please!)

Furthermore, they shouldnt see that as a weakness and in fact together with my other strengths viewed me as the most suitable candidate! But if it was not meant to be, then it is not meant to be. That's all there is to it.

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Reminiscing The Weekend

Sat dawned bright and sunny and I wondered if I would attend the wedding in Kajang. It seemed like a long way to go and traffic is always predictably messy in MRR2 and Kajang on Sat. But we went nevertheless thinking that well, thinking that we should. Whilst eating, my hubby asked how old is the host as he seemed too young to have a daughter who's getting married. What a compliment I said although I dont know his age.

We took a detour to Ulu Langat (yeah I know - again - we went there like a couple of weeks ago) to get durians, of course. We specifically looked for durian tembaga at a stall by the river this time. And what scrumptious durians we found! We ate some by the river and took more home. Pulasan and cempedak and rambutan found their way to the car boot too. The children simply love the fruits.

I went to the tailor and said help! I need a couple of baju raya. And she said, why so late lah? But she accepted anyway. I also went to get the tiebacks made for the curtains and a couple of cushions (raya is round the corner, kan?)

I tried a brand new recipe I learnt recently, the cheese tartlets. It didnt look too pretty although tasted really tasty. And it didnt turn out too nicely too once I've freezed it. And - I had bought 2kg of cream cheese (because the cheese doesnt come in smaller packaging). Now what would I do with the rest of that cheese?

We went to Ikea on Sun. But there were too many small kids there - they sort of spoiled the trip somewhat - they screamed and ran around with the small trolleys.. But I got new dishes - its blue color simply mesmerised me into taking them home.

That darn hill I always walked up seem ever challenging than before last weekend. I almost gave up but I preservered and made it to the top nevertheless (with chopping breaths, mind you).

After dinner I asked my hubby if I could have a cup of coffee. Eirfan said, kesian kat bapak. I told him he is a chauvinist, he never pity me slaving over the pans and hot stove..

That night Eirfan said ma I need to go get my hair cut. His abang always take him to these trips and he always ended up with hair not short enough to satisfy his teachers. Abang said when too short his hair would look like Abu Bakar Yalla (if you remember who he is). When I took him to the bathroom to snip off his hair he said mama tau ke nak potong rambut ni? When we finished he said mama tau rupanya. I said of course la, I am a mother.

I simply adore weekends when they turn out adorable.

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Books, Books And More Books Part 1

I finished this book most recently. & I absolutely love it. I've been reading Janet Dailey's books for a very long time and I wouldnt miss any of them actually.

She writes about romances with no frills or silly scenes nor sexy scenes (well, sexy is personal intepretation anyway.. ) Her heroines are matured (and I dont mean old or middle-aged) and down to earth. And her heroes are rugged, solid guys who arent swayed by the pretty face - & they come with serious intentions too.

And to all the men in my life who smirked and put on that silly grin whenever they find my books - I doubt I'll ever give up on these books - so I guess I'll keep you entertained for a long, long time..

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Keeping Up With Time

My daughter was walking out the front door on Fri morn when she said, why dont we go to the movies this Sat ma? I was harrassed that morning - I was late and was getting the last of the laundry done - movie? I asked. What movie? We already went to the movies last weekend.

She wanted to see Journey to the center of the earth - because friends said it was fun, you got to wear the 3D goggles (glasses?) etc etc. But me, I dont need movies that often - I dont really care about gorgeous hunks on the silver screen (err.. except Brad and George, of course..) or 3D effects. And fun? Hey I get my share of that at the pasar tani, mind you..

Anyway.

She called me late Fri afternoon at the office and told me the ticket guy gave her the wrong tickets and now we had to watch the movie late Fri evening. I said - what can I say? So I said ok.
The movie was quite enjoyable actually. But we had some maybe mid-eastern / African bunch of hooligans in theatre with us and they made stupid noises during semi-hot scenes and sad scenes and other scenes in between - at least two people shouted shut up at them during the movie - and uhmm.. one of them was me - mannn.. much to my hubby's and daughter's delight.. Yeah, I fight battles for oppressed fellow mankind..

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