My Saturday

It has been a quiet but hectic day.

Quiet because the older boys arent home this weekend. Ilyas went on a what he called lawatan sambil berehat - LOL - to Langkawi with his instructor and mates from the studio. He sent sms full of ha-ha - so I guess he is having fun.

Kaia has futsal matches so not home either this weekend. We had sent Eirfan to school early morning as he had classes today. Then we sent Iman for her PTD exams. She threw tantrum-like arguments about it - she didnt want to go but she knew I want her to go and that's why she went. Mothers always know what's best for their children. So there's nothing more to say about that..

There is a gotong-royong on our street. So the men are busy with that. That leaves me alone going in and out of the house. First to the pasar tani for the usual stuff. Then to Bagus for some cheese. A friend had requested for a tray of baked lasagna as she had some people over for lunch. I got home later than I had planned and almost freaked out in case the lasagna wouldnt be ready on time with no one to help me after all. Thankfully I managed to put it in the oven only a little bit later than planned.

While that is cooking I slipped out again to fetch Eirfan from school at noon. Once home he immediately changed and went to join his gotong-royong friends. I left the house again to send the lasagna - and chatted for a short while about the daughter who's flying to Australia and the other daughter who's getting married in March.

I served lunch but no Eirfan. I went out again to look for him but he said he had eaten with his friends the food that were served for the gotong-royong volunteers. Urgh! I bead, took a nap. No Eirfan. I left home to fetch Iman pulak. When we arrived home Eirfan is still in the padang.

Tonite during dinner Eirfan said ma, I cant taste a thing. Dia sakit tekak. I said main lagi tengah panas satu hari.

I hope tomorrow wont be as busy as today but actually we do have chocolate chip orders to make. And we have to send those to Kedah via post. Jangan berderai jadi sebuk bila sampai Kedah sudah lah.

Today we did our Maghrib prayers at the surau. I said sembahyang sekali tapi macam sembahyang 27 kali sebab sembahyang jemaah pahala 27 kali ganda. Iman pun bergegas ikut. It was a good day despite sibuk bukan main.

*****

Life

Life is passing me by..

I've been very busy in the office.

And I wonder if life is meant to be like this.

*****

Thought I Knew Better

A friend loves the phrase "make my day." It is make my day this and make my day that with her. Everytime she said the words I go like, what is it she's really trying to express?

I know these words were made popular by Clint Eastwood aka Dirty Harry years ago. And it means.. it means.. err it means...? Actually come to think of it I dont know exactly what it means. Maybe that's why I dont use the phrase..

So here I share with you exactly what it is supposed to mean..

Meaning

Carry on with what you are doing - it will give me an excuse to behave badly.

Origin

This line was made famous by the Clint Eastwood character Inspector (Dirty) Harry Callahan in the 1983 film Sudden Impact - the fourth film of the Dirty Harry series. Callahan encouraged felons to commit crimes so that he would have an excuse to shoot them. In Sudden Impact he dares a crook to shoot his hostage with the line "Go on punk, make my day".

ps - I thought the way the girl was using it was wrong. And I was right (nak cakap jugak tu..).

*****

Books, Books And More Books Part 12

No, this is not a mistake. I know I did a post on this book previously. But after talking to Zana about it previously I decided to read it again. Even Zana mentioned she had read the book more than once.

So yeah, last night when Eirfan was at tuition I lie down in bed and finished the book again. I find it most humbling every time I read it. Buatkan hati terbuka untuk berdoa dan mendekati Allah. Sesiapa yang belum baca tu, bacalah. It is not really a book pasal haji sangat, tapi lebih kepada mengingati Allah dan ibadah kepada Allah.

I hear there is a sequel to this, Travelog Da'wah kalau tak silap. I am thinking of getting that too but as usual I still have a backlog of books I have to finish first. I have Travels of ibn Batuta, riwayat Imam Shafi'e and that book called Haji Muda still waiting to be opened..

*****

Mencari Menantu

When my niece was getting married, her mother said that the father of the bride-to-be is not ready. I said to my sister, oh please - it is his daughter's wedding, why is he the one having jitters? It's fine for me to say that as I am just an outsider witnessing things from the sidelines.

And what is this all about you'd ask.

I invited 'kawan' Iman for lunch today. They have been going steady for some time so I think I should give him a tiny push towards the next course of action. So we met. We talked. Maybe it seemed like an interview to him. On second thoughts I guess it was an interview. I'd find it pretty daunting if I were in his shoes. But he looked cool. At least I dont see sweat on his face..

I'd like to think I am ready for whatever may be. Would love to think that I have no jitters about this. BUT I definitely have concerns about it. I pray that I would love this stranger as my own son. I pray I can accept him seadanya. I pray that he is the perfect choice for us. Regardless what I may think as a daughter-in-law when you marry, you do marry the family too.

At a certain point in life we truly discover that what goes round will come around. And mum's words like 'hangpa tak tau lagi' has a whole new meaning. (And today I have a new label called 'menantu' on the blog - note: later for logistics purposes I have changes this category again..).

*****

Yikes, Life In The Slow Lane

And I went to see the orthopedic again last week at Gleneagles. The specialist was highly recommended by someone - so I decided to see Dr Chin.

After consultation he said the ailment is actually due to my lifestyle. Lifestyle? I thought. I have a life, sure . But no style.. So how come I have a lifestyle-related back-shoulder-neck pain? (I so have to get the image of the life style of the rich and famous out of my head) Dr Chin explained..

It could be posture related - like slouching too long over the monitor - blogging.. or working, of course. So take short breaks to stretch out, walk to the water dispenser ie short reprieve from being locked in that same position.

It could be due to overworking of the muscles. Raising 5 children and working full time cant be easy (I wonder what my mother would have to say about this..). Take things easy he said. In other words dont overdo things (uh, honey - are the laundry done, lunch prepared, house cleaned, bathroom scrubbed, furniture dusted, plants watered?) I wonder how much could be deemed as over doing things (honey, you think we should get a maid to help around a bit?)

It could be due lack of exercise. (silence..)

He also said, you need time to yourself. To take things easy and relax a bit (I just know that there is something about the doctor that I love!)

And lastly he said, if you could lose some weight it would help your condition a lot (and I also know that this would be coming.. which reminds me of the other orthopedic at Ampang Puteri)

So I have taken long walks up and over the Daim hills (the Daim lives in a sprawling mansion up on the hills behind Melawati) twice since the visit to the doctor. The dining table and fridge is overflowing with fruits. Healthy eating, people. Let's see how long this will last pulak. And I refrain from sitting in the same position for too long.

In a way I do agree with the doctor - I do sit too long without moving sometimes. I think I overdo things, especially when the boys are around, when I bead (yeah, bending and concentrating on the thread and needle cant improve the condition a bit), when I am in the office workng. (.. what's that chopper doing flying overhead - it has been doing that since last night.. the last time we have this was when a plane went down in the jungles near Genting / Bentong..)

So I am taking things a bit easy from now on (I can say that now because I finished - finally - the beads on my kurung last night. I'll show that some time after I have photos of it. So no more beading till these muscles are better).

*****

The Office Today

I had the pleasure (yes pleasure, not pressure..) to sit in an interview where my anak buah were being interviewed. It was the interview for a special allowance.

The way that they answered the questions made me feel so proud. Preening gitu. Like a mother hen (is that a correct analogy?) Like Jennifer Aniston when she said 'Oh, I am going to cry..' LOL


Over the many, many, MANY years of working there are people I hate losing working with. Some you just cant wait to get away from (or for them to get away from you). Peers you just cant understand and peers you'd miss forever. Some bosses you just cant come to terms with (I can name at least one from the top of my head), bosses you just adore (at least two and I wish them all the happiness, rahmat, health for now and for eternity..).

Kata dek Dr Kamil tu, kalau kita muliakan seseorang, tentunya Allah akan balaskan kebaikan itu pula.

*****