Earth Hour

And how did you do with the Earth Hour campaign? I supposed I myself have failed. My mum was staying with me and she was not aware about it. So after the news I quickly made everyone come to the dinner table and switched off the lights in other parts of the house.

I wanted to go outside and see how the neighbours responded to save the earth call. And then maybe drive through the city to see the dark (?) city.

But I just stayed home and layan sembang bonda some more. Hope you had done better than me on this.

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The Bulb That Blew

Do you like, ever had the greatest idea in the dark of the night?

And then you woke up in the morning and then reality sets in. Then you remembered what your idea was the night before and then thought what a bunch of rubbish that was. How could you have ever thought of it in the first place? It wasnt an IDEA, it was the whimsiest dream ever!

Yeah, and so now I am feeling foolish, letdown, silly, immature, etc etc.

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Soup For The Soul

I am currently on leave - my mum is here for a visit and had told my sis she's coming over to my place. Despite being on leave for the school hols last week, I went ahead and apply for a couple more days off this week. Semestinya hasrat bonda lebih penting dari the wrath of the bosses in the office..

I planned to take her to Ikea today. Bukan apa, she'll be on her wheel chair and Ikea has got a lot of space to manouver. At the last minute she said no - perut meragam sebab makan sedap sangat pagi tadi she later told my sister. When asked what I had cooked for breakfast I said kodok pisang!

So I am staying home & doing nothing but melayan sembang bonda these couple of days. She has deep affection for Umno so I sat with her through the daily reports of Perhimpunan Umno (unfortunately - or is that fortunately? - politics do nothing for me). She cant wait for the Bukit Gantang elections - kampung dia / kami. After dinner today we went down memeory lane looking through some black and white photos I have on my laptop - we had lots of laughs.. this was my granddad.


These are my parents from the old days.


And this is us (minus one).

This posting will go under the label 'soul' - for obvious reasons. I wonder how many more ocassions like this I might have with mum anyway?

Note - I changed the label to memoir today (Dec 2011).

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The School Break

We deliberately chose somewhere close to spend the last school break. It is supposed to be a get-away but nothing too exhaustive; it is an exam year after all.

The older boys got classes so it is only Eirfan with Iman entertaining themselves. And things must be so dull - they slept after the morning swim. Kalau ada abang2 Eirfan will not leave the pool / sea till I had to drag him out.

Teluk Kemang is over-commercialized if you ask me. With the food stalls and gift outlets. Not to mention the pelampung tayar and banana boat and jet ski and small payungs with recliners that you can rent for RM15 for the day. In fact, I cant even find space to spread my own tikar to sit on.

It was more fun to find quiet piers and isolated pondok to wonder about.. we love the "club remaja lupa usia" wall that we found. And the ikan masin drying out in the sun. And the pier where folks await for the nelayan to arrive.

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Less Than Peachy

Is it me or is it extraordinarily hot and clammy today? The sky looked gloomy in the morning and I go yeay, it's going to rain. But it didnt and the sun was extra hot till late evening. I should know because I was beading outside and I still had good light even after 7.

The heat was unbearable even after Maghrib. I asked everyone if we should eat out. I cant bear the thought of cooking, setting the table and then the cleaning up later. We ate in. But with everybody helping the chore wasnt such a big deal.

I escaped to the aircond room and wondered if these are hot flushes / flashes aka the pre-menopause things, you know.

Which reminded me that 5 years ago I thought I was having the same symptoms. I bought a pre-menopause book and went to see the GPs. They gave me unsatisfactory answers so I went to see an ObGyn at Ampang Puteri after that.

The specialist, a lady (of course, I cant bear to see a male gynaecologist anyway), told me I am an over-indulged person who is spoilt enough to see a specialist even though I cant exactly say what is wrong with me. More or less like that. I was astounded. But didnt she get it? The reason I went to see her is because I hoped SHE might have some answers for me!

A couple of months later I heard she is no longer working at the hospital. Not surprising.

I should just go to sleep. Maybe it is just a bug that is going round that is getting to me. Or maybe it is just the thought of going to work tomorrow (in that dreadful shade of orange - I have a good tale to tell about this) after a long wekend that's getting to me..

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Books, Books And More Books Part 13

And I finished this a couple of weeks ago.

The title seem nice but the story unravelled too slowly. I almost gave up halfway. But I didnt. And actually I prefer her 'ps I love you' much, much better. I suppose if you like Alice in Wonderland, you might like this. It is a story in wonderland - where all things lost can be found.

ps - just to clarify the matter, I never did read Alice..

And also I am currently reading this.. (macam tengok wayang gitu; next change)

And no, this book is not totally unlike me.. I have actually read all the rich dad books by Robert Kiyosaki. Not that the dad in the house is any richer, mind you. Maybe I should be reading rich mum, if there is such a book(s). That might do the trick..

I'll tell you how I like this book (or not) once I have finished it.

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Of Words

You-know-who came back from her three day training this evening. So I told my husband, you cant do that anymore you know. He looked blank and asked, what? Run naked around the house - that's what! said I. LOL. He resignedly shrugged his shoulders (the poor man - I'll truly drive him nuts one of these days..) My daughter went like, what the..??

On the first evening when we were alone in the house and things were very, very quiet at dinner, I told my husband that if he were to run naked around the house, no one would even raise an eyebrow. He had laughed. But of course he hadnt done that.. (I just thought I should make that clear in case your imagination is running wild at this point..)

Anyway, back to this story. So Iman said, in Malaysia there are three types of personalities. You are either passive (nah, not me I said), assertive (yeah, I am assertive I declared). No ma she said, you are aggressive - that's the third type. And I thought yeah, I could be aggressive. Just observe how I drive and you would agree with that.

But then I thought some more and said no, I am beyond aggressive I am 'cruel' and my middle name should be Cruella (of the 101 Dalmations).

So I looked up in Merriam-Webster and it says:
Passive ~ lacking in energy or will
Assertive ~ charaterized by boldness or confidence
Aggressive ~ marked by combative readiness, forceful energy or readiness

And cruel? According to the on-line dictionary its synonym is fierce which means aggressive temperament, unrestrained zeal / vehemence, furiously active or determined.

So yeah, I guess you can call me Cruella anytime!

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Mencari Menantu Part 2

At the table sat 7 sisters.

The eldest is the kakak hajjah. She has 4 daughters (all at marriagable age, but none are - any mother's nightmare if you ask me..) and a son still in college. Then the high flyer sister - because she gets free tickets to fly anywhere yearly - who has two sons both too young to marry. The CNN-sister aka the family broadcaster has 3 daughters of which one is married and a son whom we dread if he is ever getting married. He told his atok that he is married to his bola.

The lecturer-sister has two daughters, both married (and so she sighed with relief) and two sons, who are too busy at college. Next is the sister with the thick wallet. She has four daughters and fears they do not meet enough guys of their own age. The sister who gossips (we all agreed on this) do not have these issues yet as both children are freshmen at college. And last but not least, the youngest sister with a daughter who is going steady with some guy.

We have never sat down and talk about calun menantu and the children getting married like this before. It was enlightening to hear others do have same issues like you do. It is nice to hear other opinions on the matter. It is good to listen to different views on children, marriage, menantu, and matters yang sama waktu dengannya.

We exchange tips. Exchange books. Exchange doas. And we all unanimously agree that one fine day, one way or another, we will see the ustaz minta penawar untuk anak-anak nie..

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Welcome To The Classics

And while the quiet is mine (with ref to the previous post), I google a bit here and you-tube a bit there and then blurk around some.

This is something I like to hear. It has been a fave for sometime. It is smooth and flowing and very pleasing to the ears. It is the London Symphony Orchestra playing Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. Johann Pachelbel (1653 – 1706) was a German composer.

But you should listen to this version if you want to hear the same composition with a modern twist.

So enjoy.

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Maulud Nabi Long Weekend

It is a quiet evening at the end of a long weekend. Eirfan is at tuition, it being a Monday. We sent Iman to Bangi earlier - she has a 3 day training there and the participants are expected to spend days and nights there.

Ilyas came back for dinner yesterday and then went off again, citing tight final project schedule. Luqman didnt come back, didnt call. It is always me chasing after them, these kids - they never do call as often as I feel they should. Kaia had came home for the weekend had also went off again.

We sat for a quiet dinner, just the two of us. It is leftover night (it is always leftover night when the children arent around). In fact I only had some kurma and some milk. Macam dah letih tengok makanan after 3 days of cooking (I only seriously cook whenever the children are around). Kalau Eirfan & Iman je nak makan, burger pun jadi (homemade burger meat patties, that is. We dont do Ramly burger at home.. ).

I did a lot of beading - finished a couple of my sister's kurungs. I dont have photos of that yet. Iman went on a holiday with friends and managed to break my camera. She said the wind blew the tripod over that's how it got broken. But I have here the beading I did on my kurung much earlier.

Oh, and by the way do you know that Rabiul Awal is the month where trees start flowering, it seems like spring to me - when the Prophet saw was born (ada yang kata 9 ada yang kata 12th Rabiul Awal).

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In Awe

I got this in an email from someone..

performed 11 angiograms today.
5 successful angioplasties, 4 complex
4 more to end under the surgeon's knife, one urgent this saturday, insyaallah.
1 normal
1 mildly diseased arteries.

bread and butter stuff.

but what interesting was,
2 policeman as patients. (both had stents inserted, of course)
one 50+ year old, ex police, simple but mindful
"doktor, i've seen many doctors before, but they cant make me stop smoking. but you could, with two words: rokok and yahudi. i managed to stop immediately"

. all praise to god.

the other one, 42 year old, heart attack last june. bodoh sombong, typical (beep) constable:
cant stop smoking because he'll gain weight (obese fellow, never exercise)
wanted to go home if he has to wait too long (he feels that he's the sultan) ...

I am always left amazed whenever he writes something. There is something to be learnt. Something to be in awe of. Something that would touch the heart. Something to be envy about.

Something.. almost surreal in a way about him. That makes me feel so small and almost like insignificant at times..

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Support Local Industries

We went to see the movie because so many told us they've seen it and they like it. My brother did. My sister did. And my niece who hails from MMU said story line bagus, gambar cantik.

My daughter went to get the tickets and when asked nak ticket untuk movie apa, title pun tak tau.. My elder son said, do we have to? I said yes, if you are so eager to see some of the Hollywood movies you did see, why cant you do this?

Eirfan kata seronok. I like it. It's funny, the script is spontaneous tak macam skrip drama Melayu. I like the part where anak ayam tu ketawa sampai terbalik. And when the bus and the lorry skidded. Seronok la. Lepas ni nak beli CD nak tengok lagi.

Pergi la tengok, support the local products while enjoying yourself.

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A Jammed evening

I havent been too excited about blogging lately, if you noticed. And it is only water that poured down from the sky and the consequent horrendous traffic this evening that could compel me to write..

I suppose almost everyone in the city got caught in the traffic jam this evening - well I hope everyone, envious I am of anyone who says no. Traffic stood still on my route - Mahameru, Jln Sultan Hishamuddin, Jalan Kuching, Jalan Pekeliling and so on.

I was about to scream after an hour and a half in the car when I noticed many people were waiting looking frustrated, angry, worried, resigned for their bus to arrive - which is nowhere in sight, unfortunately. That made me realise that I have no reason to get mad. Instead I recited Alhamdulillah, I am blessed - over and over (almost like when a child is being punished and was made to write I will not... again next time - over and over again.)

Things got even better when the swinging 80s station played You Are The One That I Want by Olivia Newton John and John Travolta from the movie Grease (my fave) and Dream Lover by Mariah.

I hate bad traffic because it always, without fail, makes me impatient, angry, unreasonable, moody, rude, start cursing (and cursing and cursing), mad, stressed, freak out and --- (fill in any of the negative words you can think of in the blank and they'll fit, I assure you).

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