Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie Fifth Birthday tickers Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie First Birthday tickers

Friday, June 30, 2006

Farewell Ummi and Baba!!




Today is Daniel's last day with Ummi as his babysitter. Ummi and Baba had requested for Daniel to stay overnight with them today. Ummi is sad to part with Daniel, although baru 2 months she took care of him. And, without my knowing, Ummi and Baba had secretly created a webpage for Daniel! I was so touched by their thoughtfulness. You guys can check it out at www.freewebs.com/princedaniel. Well, actually the site is not fully compeleted yet, as they need me to input some details there. Since Daniel won't be home tonight, boleh la Mummy stay back late at office to put something there..hehe..

Intan SMS'ed me this morning, saying that there would be a warehouse clearance sale at Anakku from June 29th to July 2nd 2006. Time 10am to 7pm. Thanks, buddy!! Macam tau-tau jek..hehe..Knowing that I won't have a good chance to go there this weekends, I went there just now. Menuang ler katekan...It was great!! Memang sale habis-habisan, but you have to pilih betul-betul lah. Ada yang reject sebab koyak, kotor, silap jahit etc. Tapi, mana nak cari baju Anakku RM3 sehelai. Korek punya korek, dapat ler beberapa belas helai...kekeke...Abis gak ler dalam RM80. Tapi, panas yang amat. Tadi tak ramai sangat orang lagi. But I think it will be very crowded this weekends. Quite good buys ler. Prams, walkers, blankets, feeding stuffs, toys pun ada. Pendek kata all baby-related stuffs ada lah with good bargains. Thought of buying another stroller for Daniel, but I think I need to survey other brands and designs first. That will be the next item I am going to purchase for my darling.

Here's Daniel wearing his Atuk's kopiah (Mummy punya kerja..hehe...)

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Two weddings....

We were invited to two weddings last Sunday, June 25th 2006. One was my housemate during my uni years and the other one was my ex-schoolmate. Two different venues, two different stories.

My uni housemate decided to bersanding with the lil' bro and his wife. So, there were 2 couples on the dais that day. It was such a joyous occassions and many of our friends turned up for her wedding. It was like a small reunion for us uni mates. The most interesting thing was to see so many strollers aka prams with babies inside them! Well, most of us who attended were married and at least have a baby. I think ours is the most junior of them all. But not the smallest and lightest, mind you...hehe... CKay's baby topped the chart lah, with his yummy thigh...Rasa nak gigit-gigit jer. Enaknya dimakan begitu saja! Afif is 2 months older than Daniel. Hanim's Batrisya is 7 months, but I think she is the smallest... Baby girl la pulak kan...Sure kena maintain weight...keke... Rosham's, Sabrina's, Aty's and Yus' babies had all became toddlers already (and Yus is carrying another one in her invisible tummy- wei you better gain some weight, dear...sian anak ko dalam perut tu..) Eda was also counting the days. Dec 2006 nanti welcome to the club lah. Mala and Engku Intan are next in the list of getting hitched, I hope...hehe...Jangan lupa jemput makan kenduri yer?

Daniel slept thoughout most of the ceremony lepas mengamuk when we had just reached the hall. Mummy was having sore left eye (jangkit dari Daniel la tu). Art looked pretty in red (and also skinny, babe!) All in all, a nice wedding, but I think the chairman screwed up big time...hehe....kelakar sungguh! Mana ko angkut mamat tu Art. Patut kena afundi out tuh!! It ended earlier than scheduled, so we left for the other wedding earlier than planned.

I want to share my thoughts aka dissatisfaction here. Well, I shouldn't have attended this other wedding, actually. Nyesal lak rasanya. Why, you ask? Here's the story:

This ex-schoolmate attended my wedding, so I thought I wanted to return the favor when she finally got married. She invited me to her side's wedding, in Perlis, mind you! When I received the invitation card, I SMS'ed her, thanking her for the invitation, but said that I couldn't possibly attend, given the time and venue of her wedding. I asked her, where is her hubby from, so that I might be able to attend if the venue was closer to home. She replied something like "Bakal hubby orang KL tapi segan nak mintak seat for you kat kenduri belah dia nanti. Kalau tak datang pun takpe. Janji doakan untuk saya, sure sampai punya."

Well, if you were me, what do you feel? I was quite dumbfounded jugak initially, but I thought maybe the hubby's side wedding nanti buat kat hotel etc with limited guests, so I thought, nevermind lah. Tak payah attend lagi senang.

When I finally received her invitation for her hubby's side punya kenduri, it became sort of an obligation for me to attend pulak. So, I attended, though initially my Hubby didn't want to go.

We reached there at about 3.30pm (the invitation stated jamuan makan 12-4pm). I had called her the day before to confirm whether her kenduri had scheduled events like bersanding, potong kek etc but she said tak ada. Just makan-makan saja. We were greeted by her and the mum-in-law, I think at the entrance of the hall. After apologizing for being late because of the other wedding that we attended, we were ushered by the Mum-In-Law to eat.

Guests dah tak ramai masa tu. Banyak empty tables, so we chose one vacant table at the centre of the hall. We took turns to eat, bacause I was holding the sleeping Daniel. The funny thing was, the bride and groom never came to greet us at the table. I saw my groom friend shifting from table to table to chat with the other guests. But they never reached us! Kecik ati ayam den.

Lepas makan, kitorang pun nak blah lah. Sekali lagi tak dipedulikan oleh sesiapa pun. Apa daa.... Out of courtesy, I went to my friend, saying that we were about to leave. She just shook my hand Arab-style. Tapi rasa hambar je...Macam tak happy je jumpa kawan lama. So, apa lagi? Cepat-cepatlah we blah dari situ. Dalam history of me attending friends' weddings, this was the first time that I regret attending.

So, Intan. Tu le citernya...Boring aku thinking back about it.

Look at the pictures. Daniel at both weddings. Yang satu tu anak Rosham tengah ushar baaaik punya!!! hehe...



Friday, June 23, 2006

Nyaris!!!

I went to a baby shop in a shopping complex during lunch today. Well, it was actually my second time going there this week...hehe... Tak puas-puas shopping for baby stuffs nih...

I took a few items and placed them on the counter. Then, I went to have a look at the sling-type baby carrier.. There were quite a number of different brands and prices there. Ada tu, the models in the picture of 2 different brands baby carriers were exactly the same, but the prices differed at about 50% from each other! Pelik betul and if you don't look carefully, you might have switched between the two brands! And I had thought to buy the more expensive one the last time I went there this week, sebab masa tu yang cheaper model tu tak ada pun on display. Nasib baik tak jadi beli that time. Kalau tak, ruginya!! But anyway, I bought another completely different brand of the carrier with quite a reasonable price.

When I was about to pay for my purchase, I accidentally saw a bin filled with baby stuffs, but they had slashed the prices. Some of the items were discounted 40% while other were discounted 50%. I saw a baby's neck support pillow, exactly the same as what I had placed on the counter for my purchase earlier. Saja lah belek lagi, sebab ada banyak different designs. Yang I ambik kat the other part of the store tadi tak banyak sangat design choices. After picking up a favourite design, I asked the cashier at the counter, "Are these the same?" showing both designs that I have picked. She asked a lady sitting next to her. I assumed she was the tauke lah. "Oh, tak sama. Yang ini (pointing to the one I picked up at the bin) ada discount 40%. Yang satu lagi ni harga asal, tak ada discount" I pointed to her, both of them were exactly the same!! Brand name sama, packaging sama, tag prices pun sama. Cuma the one inside the bin ada mark 40% on the price tag while the other one tak ada. She immediately pulled the one without the discount from my hand, pushed the one with discount at the cashier and said "Yang ini kita punya harga store lah" Whatever that meant lah..

Aiyoh! Nyaris nak ter'rugi' times 2 tadi. Bukan sikit price different tu! Hmm... Got to be extra alert next time when I go shopping for baby stuffs at this particular store lah...Or better, shop at different store lah..hmmm....

Monday, June 19, 2006

DANIEL MENGAMUKKKK!!!!!




I took Daniel to his paed for his 3rd month immunization on Friday morning. Well, I had actually informed him that he was going to be jabbed last Wednesday. The next day, he became uneasy and started his tantrums. He cried like someone was torturing him and nothing could console him! Usually he would cry until he was tired and fell asleep, and would start again when he woke up from his short nap (usually about 10-15 minutes only).

We took turns to console him everytime he mengamuk. On the actual day, he did not cry when the Paed jabbed him, but I think he must have moved his thigh a bit hard. I saw the needles moved up, bringing his meaty thigh along. Ouch...must be very painful. It made his thigh swollen at the jab place. Kesian dia. After we came out of the clinic, he started roaring. It was very hot outside, and I had wanted to buy him replacement teats for his feeding bottles at a baby shop next to the clinic. I had to console him inside the shop instead because the clinic was closed for Friday mass players. Aiyoh!! Nasib baik takde orang lain dalam kedai tu. Dengan selambanya, I duduk kat satu kerusi tu, tried to feed him milk but he rejected, so I gave him plain water. Pujuk punya pujuk sampailah dia tertidur on my lap. Berpeluh-peluh I walaupun kedai tu ada aircond.. hehe...

After my sister paid our purchases, I started for my car, but he woke up suddenly and started crying some more. Adus, macam mana nak drive ni? My sister pulak kena backache that day, so couldn't get her to hold Daniel (Daniel dah 7.4kg at 3 months..hehe...) Dia pulak tak boleh drive. Nak tak nak, I kenalah pujuk dia sambil henjut-henjut badan dalam kereta until he felt asleep again. Dari cuaca panas terik sampai hujan turun punya lah lebat, we stayed kat dalam kereta until Daniel slept. Punyalah lama, adalah dekat dua jam.

Then we stopped for lunch and proceeded to another clinic to get some medicine for my sister's back pain. This time, Daniel was such a good boy. He was very calm and played with his toys in his car seat next to Mummy. Since it was late for me to go to office, I called my officemate, saying that I had to go on EL.

Came weekends, Baby Daniel was feverish. Must be because of the jab. Maybe he is teething also, because he kept rubbing his tongue to his gums. Tak taulah which one was the cause of his fever. Bila dah fever tu apa lagi? Mengamuk dia makin menjadi-jadilah.

His Ummi (next door babysitter) was having a little party for her hubby's birthday. I was about to give up with consoling Daniel when his Ummi knocked on our door. Failing to console him, she took him to her house, which was still full with her guests (relatives). Alamak, malunya... That showed how hard Daniel cried, sampai Ummi nak berparty pun tak senang hati...hehe...

Anyway, Ummi managed to calm him. After Maghrib prayer, I went to her house to pick him up. Ummi was holding and rocking him, and he was slowly drifting into sleep. Borak punya borak, both Ummi and Baba asked me to leave Daniel with them at least for that night so that we could take our much needed rest. I was reluctant at first, but after much persuasion, I left Daniel with them, after I made them promise to call me if Daniel started his tantrums again in the middle of the night, no matter what time it was. Alhamdulillah, he slept peacefully, and only woke up for his feeds. Mummy yang tak boleh tidur sebenarnya...hehe... I ended up tidying his clothing baskets and toy boxes.

The fever was off and on yesterday and still lingered until today. Dahsyat betul jab kali ni...Lamanya anak Mummy demam. Kesian betul. The swell in his thigh dah tak merah, cuma keras je lagi. I called Daniel's Ummi during lunchtime just now, and she said the fever was slowly receding. Alhamdulillah. Tak sabarnya nak balik jumpa Baby Daniel!!!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Danger!!!

I was in Ampang Park, KL a couple of weeks back. Was just strolling around the area and I had my lunch there after paying my chettiar, Mr Citibank.

On the way back to office, my Hubby called. He had called me prior to my going to the bank and I had informed him of my whereabouts. So, was quite surprised when he called me again shortly after that and asked me where was I?

Apparently, his old friend saw me there, so he SMSed Hubby and asked him whether he was with me? That's why Hubby called me to confirm.

I thought about the matter seriously while driving back to office. Lucky that Hubby's friend saw me walking/eating alone. What if I was with somebody else? Sure kantoi. Yang mamat tu pun tak tegur I dulu, terus je sms Hubby. Bukannya tak kenal (we were Uni mates dulu and I went to his grand wedding to a certain Dato's daughter). Agaknya sebab ni lah banyak couples yang berperang kan? Misunderstanding la tu dengan perkhabaran dari orang yang salah faham...Isy bahaya betul... Gotta be extra careful after this. Nanti pergi makan dengan clients pun kena kantoi ingat kita curang etc....Dangerous!!!!

Oh ya...This morning, my office mate nyaris nak jadi mangsa snatch theft...Dua orang mamat bermotorsikal tried to snatch his handphone kat area Gazebo kat SS15 Subang Jaya tu... In broad daylight and he is a man!!! Bahaya betul!!! Nasib baik the attempt failed sebab dia sempat mengelak. Selamba and nekad betul mamat-mamat tu... Apa nak jadi with our society sekarang ha? Makin lama makin hancus....So, be extra careful, ok?

On another note, Daniel is becoming more active as days passed by. He doesn't wake up so many times at night now. But he is constantly hungry when he is awake. Kejap-kejap nak susu. Kalau lambat sikit je merajuk and nangis kuat-kuat. Sekarang Daniel suka hisap tangan (bukan hisap jari ok?) Kalau tak dapat masukkan satu penumbuk dia dalam mulut dia akan nangis sampai boleh masuk. Sabo je la anak Mummy sorang ni tau... I love playing with his small hands... Kecik, cute and chubby sangat...hehe...Tengok la his fingers dalam gambar ni...Geramnya Mummy tengok!!



Oh ya... Before you guys who are reading my blog (ada ke pun?) think that I harbour any feelings toward Mr XX, thus I wrote about him, PUHLEAAZEEEE!!! The only reason that I wrote what I wrote was just because I wanted to get rid of my bad feelings for cutting ties with him. Any special feelings that I had for him had vanished the day we confessed to each other when both of us have got somebody else in our lives already. I had hoped that we would stay friends till we die, tapi apa nak buat...Ini yang terjadi... So, our friendship would always remain a bittersweet memory for me (and his as well, I hope). Tu je...Jangan salah faham ok?

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Moody yesterday, not-so-moody today (although problems are still not solved)

I was having a very bad day yesterday. The pressure was so intense that I decided to switch off my notebook pc and both mobiles at about 1pm and stormed out of the office (and secretly vowed never to come back...hehe) The idea of driving far, far away for unknown days was so tempting that I filled up my car full tank and was all geared up to go when I made a wise decision by calling my Mum to confide. Of course, I cancelled the earlier plan, but I switched off the mobiles again and went to a place where I used to go to everytime I was feeling down...

After a few hours there, I went to grab a quick lunch at McDs. Then, I headed straight home. When I reached home, my Dad was so relieved to see me and said that he had been calling my mobiles so many times! Sorry Abah and Mak...Didn't mean to worry you both... If it were not because of you both, I would surely have gone with the earlier plan...Although tak sampai hati nak tinggalkan Baby Daniel, I would have gone, too because I really couldn't take it yesterday.

Anyway, it is really true that children are Allah's gifts to parents. Jumpa je Baby Daniel kat rumah, terus hilang semua kesedihan dan tekanan...Semua tolak tepi... Daniel pulak macam tau je Mummy dia tengah resah gelisah...Dia tak meragam and asyik senyum and gelak-gelak je....Terhibur hati Mummy. I love you Baby!!

Today I pretended like nothing had happened yesterday. Buat bodoh je and continue doing what I was doing. Surprisingly, yesterday's problems were remedied by themselves... Alhamdulillah...

Have been meaning to upload some photos, but seemed like blogger is having some problems. Entah bila nak settle entah?

Monday, June 12, 2006

Mr XX (continued)

I have been meaning to continue my ramblings about Mr XX since last week, but Streamyx had been acting up very frequently lately. Nak keje pun susah, apatah lagi nak blog.

Today takde mende sangat nak buat, so boleh la continue citer Mr XX. Ok, where was I? Oh, back to Uni days. Ok, we still maintained our long distance friendship when I went to Uni. He visited me once in a while when time permitted. By this time, my housemates had already suspected that we were having a special relationship. It was in this period of confusing time that I 'experimented' with love (cheh konon). Mr XX always hinted something in his letters, but he had never really open up about his feelings. Semuanya kabur belaka. Until it was time when I was 'forced' to make a decision about my love life.

A few good men (chewwah) tried to unlock the keys to my heart. It was 1997 when I was in my first year of studying engineering (patutlah lulus cukup makan je...awal-awal study dah start berchenta...hehe..) By giving my heart to somebody else, meaning that I would always treat Mr XX as my special guy friend only. Yelah, I was not sure of his feelings for me although I know until that period of time, he still did not have any other girl friends, and he was really close to me. Tapi, it was never said clearly, so I chose someone else who had really opened up about his feelings for me.

I had my fair share of hurt in my love life. My long relationship with Mr ZZ didn't end as what we have expected although we were together for more than 5 years. It was my longest love relationship, tapi apa nak buat, tak ada jodoh and it was fated that we weren't meant for each other. I was in a few other short flings after it ended, before I got married to my dearest darling hubby last year.

All these while, Mr XX was always there. We never stopped communicating. He attended our tahlil when my dearest, only, Abang passed away. By this time, he knew that I was already in a special relationship, and one day, after he got transferred from Kota Bharu to KL, he told me that he wanted to start a relationship with a lady army officer in his camp. I was thrilled for him. But, there was a problem because the lady was someone else's fiancee. He confided in me, telling me all his frustations etc in his love tug-of-war.

At this point of time, I have just ended my relationship with Mr ZZ. Mr XX had also ended his relationship with his girlfriend. He told me about it when I asked how come that cute pooh bear was no more inside his car (hehe).

We went out a few times during this period, and our last outing was when I was invited to attend his alumni's open day at his former secondary school. It was my best outing with him and it was filled with the warmest memories. Well, it was an army school ok? I had my first experience shooting an M16 (I can still remember the pain in my shoulders after I shot the target) I then followed him with his friends to their hostel, where they 'bullied' the juniors staying there. It was totally overwhelming and totally a new experience to me seeing how these adults were trained (and bullied) during their schooldays. Well, the tradition continued la konon. We had lunch at their dining hall (I couldn't recall what they call it...Was it mass? dunno lah) and proceeded with games after that where I became a docile spectator of those robust adults who acted like kids on the fields hehe... I watch my first game of rugby that day...Mengerikan!! Mr XX played hockey and rugby that day, if I'm not mistaken.

It was after this outing that Mr XX opened up about his feelings for me. By this time, I had already moved forward, and have got someone else in my heart already. At least we knew what was inside our hearts after the confession. It was at a wrong time, but at least we could move forward with our own separate lives after that. No more doubts...

A few months later, I was about to get engaged to my darling hubby. One day, I called him to share the joyous news.. When I broke the news to him, he became silent. He didn't want to continue the conversation and just informed me that he was going back to his hometown that afternoon and will call me back later. Of course, he never called back.

After my engagement ceremony was over, I called him to share my happiness. He told me that he was in Perak that day. Puzzled (I knew that his ex-girlfriend was a Perakian), I jokingly asked him whether he was visiting his future mother-in-law? He was silent for a moment, and suddenly the bomb exploded in my ears when he told me that he was already married to the girl just the day before.

I was like, what the he** happened? There I was, wanting to share my happiness after those painful breakups and after finally meeting my life partner. I chose him to share my happiness with. But he secretly got married!! What happened to 11 years of friendship? I was puzzled...Why would he want to hide his marriage? I don't know why, but I felt betrayed by him that day. I didn't know his reason that day, and I still don't know his reason until today. Of course, I was never invited to attend his wedding (although my family and I attended his brother's wedding a few years back).

I was so hurtful that I decided to end our friendship that day. I deleted all meanings of contact with him after telling him how frustrated I was by his actions. We drifted very, very far apart after that and continued with our own separate lives. I never heard of him after that.

It was not until recently when I have given birth to Baby Daniel that the thought of MrXX entered my mind. Maybe I was too consumed by pain (and betrayal)when I took the drastic action by ending our friendships. I guess by now Mr XX must be very happy and contented with his life. Maybe he had already been blessed with a few kids. It would be nice if we could once again communicate and share our happiness with each other. Tapi, entahlah. Maybe it was meant to be this way. Either way, I have always known that our friendship would never be more than it was, but it was really great to have him as a friend.

To Mr XX, I pray that he would have a good life ahead. Somehow, I want him to understand why I did what I did, and hopefully Allah spares me for disrupting a silaturrahim. Maybe he was happy with my decision, that was why he never bothered to contact me after that to say that he was sorry for everything that happened (I would surely forgive him for whatever reasons he had). Well, I dedicate this song to Mr XX:

Kerana Rindu Ini-Freedom

Musim-musim berlalu
Ku masih menantimu
Walau lama terpisah
Tiada khabar berita
Kau tetap jua di hati ini bertakhta

Ku ingin melupakan
Pahitnya pengalaman
Tetapi hati ini amat degil sekali
Wajahmu jua yang datang menghampiri

Semenjak terjadinya perselisihan
Engkau pergi tanpa sepatahpun perkataan
Kerana bimbang diri hilangmu tak kucari
Sekalipun aku merinduimu tiap hari

Bila pemergianku tak kau peduli
Sangkaku kau senangi perpisahan ini
Kerana harga diri ku tak bertanya lagi
Sekalipun kau tetap ku sayangi

Kerana rindu ini
Sombongku terketepi
Mengatasi segala ialah cinta kita
Terpelihara dengan restu Yang Esa

Well, Mr XX, you will always have a special place in my heart. With this entry, I have burned the hatchet and I can move forward with my blessed life.

And Ya Allah, I am so thankful for my Hubby, my Baby and my Family. They are the best treasure that You have bestowed upon me. Alhamdulillah....

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Of toys and diapers...


I have got myself a new hobby: collecting a.k.a. buying toys and diapers, obviously for Baby Daniel. Cannot seem to stop myself lah.... I always buy jumbo packs of diapers, everytime I get myself into a shopping centre. And then, the toys (and storybooks), which Daniel is not yet interested in playing/seeing. But he liked it when I read him stories from the storybooks that I bought for him. Cannot wait for him to grow up a little bit more so that I can play along with him.

Daniel had been sleeping with his Acik for the past 2 nights. Mummy had to attend exams early those two mornings, so Mummy had to wake up early. I think Daniel is attached more to his Acik, Atuk and Nenek than me.... Sedihnya...

Monday, June 05, 2006

One year, and (Allah willing) more years to come...










3rd June 2005. It was that fateful day that I signed those papers that make me a wife to a special someone. It was that same day that I changed my status from a Miss to a Missus, and it was the very same day that my life has changed forever....

3rd June 2006 marked our first wedding anniversary...phew... At last, we managed to hit one year, B... It surely felt like a century already to me..heheh..

Thank you for an eventful one year, my Darling Hubby. Let's pray for more anniversaries to come and may all our dreams and hopes be granted by Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Now that we have been blessed with Muhammad Daniel Hafiz, I sure hope that our marriage will be filled with more love and happiness, and may Him enable us to be more responsible, and have more tolerance, respect and forgiveness for each other.

You still owe me an anniversary dinner, B!!! heheh!!!

Friday, June 02, 2006

Daniel oh Daniel...



Baby Daniel has been acting strange these past few days. He refused to drink his milk. Instead, he would settle for plain water. This had been going on for at least 3 days. For someone with his size, I would surely think that he would be very hungry. He would cry out loud if someone try to feed him milk, as is you are torturing him. His tummy has been bloated by drinking lots of plain water everytime he cried. Pelik tak? Why is my son acting like this? Dah boring minum susu ke? Kalau nak bagi susu jugak, kena buat susu yang TERSANGAT cair, so that it became tasteless kut macam plain water. Kalau pekat sikit je, terus reject.

Kalau lah ada orang with the same experience would share their remedies for this problem, alangkah baiknya......

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Mr XX

I have been thinking about Mr XX lately. Well, not in a bad way lah. Bukannya nak curang etc. It's just that Mr XX used to be my very 'closed but distant' friend. .hehe.. Our friendship started way back in 1994 when both of us were in Form 4. Both of us went to non co-ed boarding schools; he was in KL while I was in Seremban.

We kept in touch via letters. Well, we were penpals. We talked on the phone occassionally. I think our first meet was after we finished school (or was it during one of the school holidays when we were in Form 5?). I couldn't recall. We used to write long letters to each other, and I remember there was once, we challenged each other to see who could write the longest letter. He wrote to me first that time, with many of his friends 'tumpang sekaki' writing inside the letter to make it longer. When I replied him, I made a few of my friends write, too, but I wrote most of the letter's content. It came to 20 pages of A4 papers, front and back, with my small writing (his writing was BIG)! So, eventually I won the challenge. No prizes, but it showed them boys GIRLPOWER...konon...keke....

Our friendship continued to bloom after that. This time, less letters but we talked on the phone every single day, and a few times each day. I was back in Klang, and he was back in PD, so you could imagine the telephone bills, but normally he was the one who would call me using public phones. We shared secrets, problems etc and we became the best of friends. He sent me gifts for my birthdays, and we would meet up once in a while (mana boleh selalu, masa tu mana ada duit) hehe..

I went on to do my matriculations, but he refused to further his education. We continued our friendship through phones. One night, when I called him from hostel's public phone, his father answered the call. Somehow or other, he knew who I was (apparently Mr XX didn't have any other girl friends). So, his father asked me to advise Mr XX to at least try to join the army if he really didn't want to further his education. He was worried because Mr XX always 'lepak' and came home late everyday. I was shocked at that time, but was quite honored that Pakcik XX trusted me to advise his son. So, I talked to Mr XX. Of course I didn't tell him that it was his father who asked me to advise him!

I don't know how, but suddenly one day, when Mr XX called me, he said he had already applied to join the Malaysian Army. Well, it was a special training course, where he would become an army officer if he successfully finish the course. I was happy for him (and secretly pride myself to have successfully talked some sense into him).

He was successful in his application and was admitted to an army camp in Johor, then. It was for a short time only for he was then chosen to further his training in Singapore. By this, it meant that he would be bonded by Malaysian Army to serve the country until he retires. We never failed to keep in touch back then. He would come to visit me at the hostel when he came back to Malaysia for holidays. Call it coincidence or what, but I could almost sense that his letters were coming a few days before they actually reached me. Back then, I believed the old folk's saying that if your eyelash dropped, it meant that someone was missing you..hehe... When my eyelash dropped that time, I would surely receive his letter or phone call, either on the same day or the next day..hehe...

When he finished his training, I has already attended university, taking the course that I have always wanted even before I know what that course was really about (tracing way back when I was in primary school). Both of us achieved what we wanted in life (education-wise) and our friendship continued to grow stronger, although we were once again separated very far apart when he was stationed in a camp in Kelantan, while I attended university in Bangi.

(to be continued)