Still counting the days..

Work goes on as usual, though half-heartedly.. Tomorrow, I shall be able to resolve this... Tomorrow will mark the start of the next step; either I leave or stay...

Till tomorrow, I am 'zombieing' while doing my tasks...tsk, tsk...

Isnin yang bosan dan kerja yang bosan

Well, that's what you get when you are tired with you stagnant job, and a lousy management...

Time to move on... I am giving myself another 4 months maximum to establish my own dream.. Watch out, world!! hahahahaha!

Afif Harith's Birthday Party

We went to Afif's birthday party today in McD*n*lds Pandan Mewah. The party was great. Met *rt and Hubby, M*s (lamanya tak jumpa) and *t* with her toddler daughter..

The cake siap ada gambar Afif lagi as topping! Sungguh kagum and jakun kejap I tengok! haha.. Sedap pulak tu! The games and the kids playing the games were hilarious. Totally enjoyed the party. Congrats CK*y and Hubby!

Here are some of the photos taken during the party. Daniel pun enjoyed the ballons and other chaotic kids around him.

Sebenarnya mengantuk..


Yeay! Dapat balloon and party pack!


Argghhh! Takutttt!!!




Daniel giving Abang Afif a wet kiss..Muackkk!!!



I told you the cake had Afif's face on it!


I am the king of the day!!!



Beratur nak salam dengan King Afif

Some people...

I came across people whom, to my thinking, are too stubborn and rigid when it comes to accepting other people's opinions or as a matter-of-fact, advice. Talking specifically about religious thinking here, especially bab mentekedarah or, dalam bahasa yang lebih lembut, bab makan..hehe...

I am not that well-versed in bab agama ni...Sikit-sikit untuk amalan sendiri tu boleh lah. Things that I am unsure, I won't go and pandai-pandai jatuhkan hukum. Let's leave it to the people who know better kan? But, in general, bab halal haram ni memang kena take extra cautions and prihatin lebih lah sikit. Kalau rasa was-was tu, baiklah djauhkan saja. Jadi darah daging beb. Siapa nak tanggung tu? Diri sendiri lah kan?

Some people, especially non-muslims, and some muslims yang kurang faham, thought that as long as there is no pork involved, the food is halal. Ada je statement NO PORK tu, kira halal lah. What about, if the chicken or beef or mutton etc which was used for the cooking tak disembelih? Atau pun disembelih oleh orang yang tak cukup syarat menyembelih? Orang yang menyembelih tu bukan Islam yang baligh etc? Or masa sembelih dia tak baca Bismillah atau tak menutup aurat? Adakah makanan yang dihidangkan daripada sumber tersebut di atas halal?

And what if the cooking utensils used to prepare the food were once used to cook bacon or ham etc?

It's not that simple, people. It's not as simple as "As long as the restaurant is clean and no pork is used, I can eat it" Not especially if you reside in Malaysia! There a hundreds and thousands of food outlets that you can frequent when you are sure that the food served is REALLY halal. Why must you go to places yang terang dan nyata doubtful?

Overseas, I can understand. But, even now, people are more educated and aware about halal haram, even in non-Islamic countries. Bukannya tak ada food outlets yang halal, kan? Rare yes, but not non-existent! But in Malaysia? No excuse, baby!

And, why must you condemn people who are nice and sincere enough to remind you of this matter? Worst, you unintentionally (or not) form up a gang to condemn that sincere souls for wanting to remind you as brothers/sisters in Islam, especially if you are a known figure and have the ability to influence people.

I don't know. I feel less respect to people whom couldn't tolerate teguran ikhlas.. Especially if you are not so well-versed in it, religion-wise.. Fikir-fikirkan ya? Tegur-menegur untuk kebaikan... InsyaAllah pahalanya berpanjangan, kan?

Apa ada pada Kate?

I accidentally read the chronology of the courtship in MSN the other week and couldn't help but be amazed about it. Wow! It must be hard for her to have her privacy and life exposed by the paparazzi and the media. And it seemed funny at some points of time; what with busy bodies who seemed like they have not better things to do or think of.

She is beautiful, no doubt. And her poised look and charisma so very much matched the beau's late mother. And she looked matured also although she is just 25!

Any search engine on the www would return all sorts of stories and information about her. So the glamor one! Wikipedia pun ada! And what with the biography of some dude recounting his 'stolen moment of exquisite bliss' when he kissed the lady on her elbow which was 'a bit chapped and sort of wrinkly' when he was 7 and the lady was 6 on a playground? So want to tumpang glamer gitu! Cheap pub! Itu pun boleh buat biography okay?

And then the part when some tabloids paid $50,000 for a photo of her throwing away her garbage, and another tabloid paid $100,000 for the garbage itself to find clues about her preferred ice cream and concluded that she might be out of orange juice? Then, a consortium of tabloids launced a reconnaisance satellite that enabled them to read her lips from 280 miles above earth?

Once, a few dozen shoppers were taken to hospital after they were crushed by journalists a.k.a paparazzi in their attempts to photograph her as she was trying to buy some lipsticks! Then, some tabloid people also had filed official complaints to the press commission, whom they think were deliberately delaying the engagement, which in turn, according to them had made the situation 'intolerable' Quote "If this goes on much longer, we would not be responsible for the consequences" Unquote.

Up to date, she has got about 18 biography published and an upcoming mini series. And it is said that the couple is now officially engaged with a 2.4 carat diamond engagement ring published on the front pages of many tabloids. And they wish to lead a 'normal' life... Somehow or rather, I think that is quite impossible..haha...

Happy Birthday, Abah!

Abah turned 55 this year... Still awet muda (from who elese would I take after? hahahaha)..

We celebrated his birthday with a makan-makan session at Bangi.. Hubby not around, so tak cukup geng... Boring!

Baby Daniel has started experimenting with the gadgets inside my Picca.. Dah pandai high beam orang, switch on the wiper and spray the windscreen with water from the washer... Stereo pun dah pandai switch on... Gear dah pandai nak engage (nasib baik he's not strong enough to engage it)

Work-wise, had a product training in the afternoon.. Met with old colleagues from the previous company and some other acquaintances from the same field whom I meet occassionally at clients' premises. Like most of the time, I would be the only Female (and sometimes) only Malay during these kind of sessions... Boohoo!

Time bomb...

The clock is ticking...Tick tock tick tock...

Will I stay or will I leave?

Time to reassess my career path..

Not a good weekend also...

Selamat bertunang, M!

Akhirnya, saudari M kita menamatkan spekulasi dan gosip hangat yang melanda diri beliau selama ini dengan melangsungkan majlis pertunangannya hari ini. heheh! Went there with Hubby and Baby, and met *ty, B*d*h, *rt there.. Sampai-sampai je terus buat muka tak malu and buat macam rumah sendiri. Ambik pinggan, ceduk nasi kat periuk, gulai, sayur, sambal, ikan kering, duduk bersila and terus mencekik..hehe..Kitorang sampai awal sebenarnya, so makanan belum hidang lagi.. Lapar punya pasal, belasah je la apa yang ada dulu..hihi..

Bukan main lagi Cik M kita bersiap bagai... Macam dah nak nikah gitu! Ala, suka hati kamu la Cik M ye! Janji bahagia and semuanya berjalan lancar sampai ler hari nikah nanti ok?

Didn't stay until the party was over.. Anyway, hope everything went great and cepat-cepatla nikah yang oii!

Anyway, managed to borak-borak with Hana, *ty's 3.1 years old daughter while her Mummy sibuk mengadap bakal pengantin..

Me: Hana minum air apa tu?

Hana: Air Bina!

Me: Ooo...Sedap ke air bina tu?

Hana: Sedap!

Me: Hana dah school kan? Kat school teacher bagi makan tak?

Hana: Makcik M*l*h hantar pergi school.. (Muka innocent jer)

Me: Ooo, Makcik M*l*h hantar ye? Kat school ramai kawan tak? Girl ke boy?

Hana: Ramai.. Girl ramai..

Me: Girl yang ramai?

Hana: GIRL AND BOY!

Me: (Oh, salah dengar..hihi...) Teacher bagi makan tak?

Hana: Bagi!

Me: Hana makan banyak tak?

Hana: Banyak! Shish Hana makan banyak!

Me: Fish?

Hana: Shish!

Me: (Muka blur campur pening) Alamak, Aunty tak faham la...Fish?

Hana: Shish! (Muka dah nak frust sebab Aunty tak faham)

Me: (Thought deeply a bit longer) Oh, CHEESE??

Hana: (Angguk kepala) Ha!!!

Boy! I need to brush up on my baby talk! heheh! Nanti when Daniel learns to speak, he would become frustrated pulak that I could not understand him...hihi..

Round and round I went..

Was supposed to meet a lecturer at *KR*M Uni College today...After numerous calls to his office number that he left in our website enquiry but to no avail, I tried emailing him. He used his personal y*h** account, so I was not counting that he would reply. But he replied, anyway, saying that he would be free today from 8am to 12 noon. Replied his email, asking for his mobile number and his department, but he did not reply.

So, just now I redah je lah. Reached there at about 11am. Asked the security guard how to go to his office, armed with only his name and extension number. The guard showed me the direction, and I went there. Missed the first junction to turn into the said building, so made a U-turn and went there. After tercangak-cangak for a while, I asked a student where is the lecturer's room. She asked me which department? I just assumed that it was engineering, and told the girl. "Engineering? Oh, building belakang sana! Jauh lagi dari sini. Sini Business" Mangkuk punya security guard!

I then walked halfway across the next building, then I decided that I was lost. So, I turned back to pickup my car, and then round and round I drove across the campus. Managed to get through his office number once, but he was not around. Further attempts later to get through the telephone operator failed. Wahai Cik Telefonis. Kalau rasa selalu takde kat tempat duduk and/or malas nak pickup calls, letakla automatic answering machine mode! Or better still, don't be a telephonist and get somebody else who is more dedicated to sit in your place, demmit!

Asked a couple more people of the directions, tapi masih gagal menemui tempat yang dicari. It was already 12.15pm at that time, so I thought of giving up already. Don't know where is the receptionist area pun! More detailed signboards, please!!

I took a different route before calling it quit, and voila! I finally found the engineering department area. But, various engineering fields la pulak! So, I teka-teka myself, then I hit the electrical engineering department. Alhamdulillah betul! Tapi he was not around pulak! But at least I got a handphone number this time. So, after a call, we finally met. Phew!

Nasib baik la dah biasa pusing-pusing cari tempat client...hehe...

Thank You...

To all whom had conveyed their wishes and prayers for me today... Semoga Allah makbulkan doa kalian...Amiin...

Another year older (yes, I realized that another year and I'll be hitting the BIG Three-Oh). I think I am wiser now, with all that had been happening around me.. I am really grateful and bersyukur kepada Allah for all that He has bestowed upon me for the past 28 years. Good and bad experiences got me thinking and then reaccess my goals in life.. I have a loving and understanding family that stick together through thicks and thins (although we lost a dear member in 2001), a wonderful Hubby, an amazing Baby, a good career, great friends.. What more could I ask for? (I could use more money, though..hehe..) Alhamdulillah...

Mak, thank you for enduring the hours of pains to bring me out to this world at 12.06 noon, 29 years ago.. And then, Mak and Abah nurtured me until I become the person I am today. Semoga Allah mencucurkan rahmatNya kepada mereka di dunia dan akhirat..Amiiin...

Semalam Boss announce bonus for 2006... It was the best so far in the history of the company. And I consider it as an early birthday gift for me.. Alhamdulillah...

Here's hope for more delightful birthdays to come! InsyaAllah...

Apa kena mengena?

A conversation that took place a couple of weeks back in a tyre workshop:

Me: Bang! Kalau saya nak ke K*s*s Highway dari sini macamana ek?

Him: K*s*s? Senang je.. Traffic light depan ni awak belok kiri, pastu terus je. Jumpa roundabout nanti pun terus je.. Nanti jumpa la K*s*s.

Me: Oh! OK.. Thanks!

Him: Awak duduk mana?

Me: P*rt Kl*ng. Tapi saya datang sini tadi dari F*d*r*l Highway.

Him: Oh ya lah! Kalau nak ikut situ sekarang ni, jem. Sendiri mau ingatlah...hehe..

Me: Lama betul nak tunggu tayar ni settle! Abang memang biasa datang sini ke?

Him: Ada lah 2,3 kali jugak. Awak datang pukul 2 tadi kan? Sama lah...Sekarang dah pukul 5.30 tak siap lagi ni!

Me: Tu lah! Saya datang sini sebab tadi pergi service kereta, dorang rekemen tempat ni..Memang dia kata kena tunggu lama sikit, tapi tak sangka lah sampai dekat 3 jam! Ermm... Abang keje M*ts*sh*t* mana ni? (judging from the uniform he was wearing)

Him: Electronic. Yang kat tepi F*d*r*l Highway tu..

Me: M*LC*M ya? Oh, saya biasa jugak ke situ dulu.. Saya actually vendor kat sana...Ramai gak kenal orang kat sana..Tapi semua dah ambik VSS. Lepas dorang blah, saya dah tak ke sana...Lama dah...Ada dalam 2 tahun dah tak pergi..

Him: Awak dah kahwin ke belum?

Me: (huh?) Dah. Anak sorang..

Him: Oh..

Macam tak related je persoalan tu dengan conversation kita? What was he thinking huh?

2 bad mornings back-to-back?

Is it the older we get, the less patience we become? I thought it was the other way round? I know that I will turn 29 in 2 days time, but I had 2 bad mornings back-to-back and my patience is getting thinner and may snap any time soon! Or is it PMS? heheh!

This morning, when I sent baby Daniel to the babysitter's house, the babysitter was not in. Her son greeted me on the door. I think he had just finished his SPM exams.

Me: Ummi takde?

He: Takde

Me: Dia pergi kedai ke hantar adik pergi tadika?

He: Dia pergi klinik

Me: (huh?) Pukul berapa dia balik?

He: Tak tau

Me: Sofea ada? (Sofea is the other baby the babysitter is babysitting. She's 3 months older than Daniel)

He: Ada. Kat dalam tengah tidur

Daniel, on the other hand, refused to be handed over to 'Abang'. He kept hugging me instead

Me: Baby pergi kat Abang ya? Mummy nak work ni!

He still refused. I put him on the floor, and he refused to crawl inside. Picked him up again and passed him over to Abang although he protested.

Abang quickly brought him inside and closed the door.

Inside the car, I was debating, whether to leave the house and go to office or wait there until the babysitter comes back. Was beginning to get angry and worried. Suddenly all images and bad stories about babysitters came to taunt me. What if Abang was busy doing something else and neglects Daniel? What if Daniel was accidentally locked in a room or bathroom? What if both Daniel and Sofea throw tantrums? Can Abang handles both of them at the same time? Scary! Scary!

Called Hubby. Hubby asked me to leave her house and go to office. He asked me to call the babysitter to check whether she has come home when I reach office.

I called, and called, and called, but nobody answered the phone. And Hubby kept calling me to check on updates. By 11am, I was panicking! It didn't help that I had an appointment in UM! Half-hearted je jumpa client.

I finally got to speak to the babysitter at about 12 noon! My goodness! Was relieved that she had come back. I thought of getting Abah to go back earlier and pick Daniel up from her house already if she hadn't come home. She said, when she arrived home from the clinic, Daniel cried seeing her. Out of missing her or lapar or terrified of Abang, I didn't know. But I was angry because she didn't inform me earlier that she was going. If she had, I could have come to office a little bit later. Argghh!! I felt drained out of worrying man! Is this another sign of getting old? erk!

Kenapa lah kau ni tak faham bahasa?

Sebuah entry yang penuh perasaan amarah dan bahasa x#$*... Readers, be forewarned!!

Last Week's Wednesday:
Orang Yang Tak Faham Bahasa (OYTFB): Hani, bila barang yang saya order boleh sampai ha? I need to get the thing here by tomorrow or latest Friday. If not, I won't get the payment.

Me: Eh, itu Customs forms baru semalam sent to my HQ la..Today will reach there. Impossible to have it cleared from Customs by today.

OYTFB: Aiyah! Why so late one (marah lah konon?) I also don't know what to do already.

Me: You Invoice first lah. You can chop-sign yourself what? I will give you the serial number.

OYTFB: OK lah, OK lah...See what I can do. You fax me the serial number.

Me: I SMS you lah?

OYTFB: You fax, better

Me: How to fax lah? I am now driving, on the way to Melaka. Won't go in to the office.

OYTFB: You get your HQ people to help you to fax lah.

Me: (Dalam hati) B*ng*p betul lah kau ni... Menyusahkan orang je..

Me: OK, I will get my HQ people to fax you the serial number. You invoice customer first

Lepas tu I kena bebel with HQ people sebab menyusahkan dia with such a stupid task. SMS pun boleh maaa?

Last week's Friday:
Pagi-pagi buta I received an SMS from OYTFB, asking "Hani, what is the status?" to which I replied by a phone call.

Me: Your stuff is out from Penang Airport already. We are now arranging to ship it down to you via N*t**nw*d*

OYTFB: So, when can I receive it?

Me: By right, tomorrow. But I am not working tomorrow. So, Monday lah.

OYTFB: I can arrange for somebody to wait at the premise and receive the shipment tomorrow

Me: But I won't be there what? I need to inspect and check that everything is ok and I also need to collect the payment from you

OYTFB: Do you know what time will they reach the premise? I can arrange for someone to wait

Me: (duh?) I don't know what time will they reach there. Normally they follow specific routes and we won't know the exact time they will reach your place for the delivery

OYTFB: Can you call and check?

Me: (Dalam hati) Apesal b*ng*p sangat mamat ni? Tak reti bahasa ke?

Me: No point for me to call and check also because they won't inform the handphone numbers of the courier man, so we still won't know what time they will arrive.

OYTFB: Like that kah? I think ah, you need to change courier service lah. Your's seemed to be unreliable

Me: (duh?) (Dalam hati) Suka hati m*k b*p*k ko je nak suruh orang tukar courier service ye? Kitorang takde problem pun dengan diorang?

Me: Monday lah.. I will see you there when the thing arrive (and quickly hang up)

Last Week's Saturday:
Pagi-pagi buta lagi dah dapat SMS: Hani, what time do you think the goods will arrive at my office? I need to arrange for my friend to come and bring the cheque

Aku tak kerja la hari ni b*ng*ng!
To which I replied: I do not know what time will it arrive. You just inform your people there to accept on behalf of you and then let you know once it arrives in the office. Then, you call me and I will go there to inspect with you and collect the cheque from you

Last Monday:
Pagi-pagi buta dapat SMS lagi: Hani, what time is the goods arriving? I need to arrange with my friend so that he can bring over the cheque
(adus! Berapa kali nak tanya ni????????????)

My reply: I don't know what time it will arrive. Takkan you expect me to wait at your place the whole day? Just inform me when the thing arrive, then I will go there. Just get the cheque ready!

When I reached my office, he called,
OYTFB: Eh Hani! Don't be angry ah? I just want to know when the thing will arrive.

Me: (By now, I was practically screaming my head off!) I DON'T KNOW WHEN THE COURIER MAN WILL ARRIVE AT YOUR OFFICE!

OYTFB: But my friend won't release the cheque to me until the goods reach here!

Me: THEN, YOU GET YOUR FRIEND TO WAIT THERE AT YOUR OFFICE UNTIL THE GOODS ARRIVES! THEN, YOU INFORM ME AND I WILL COME OVER. TAKKAN YOU WANT ME TO WAIT FOR THE COURIER MAN AT YOUR OFFICE THE WHOLE DAY (Dalam Hati: MACAM LAH AKU TAKDE KEJE AND CUSTOMER LAIN SELAIN NAK MENGADAP KO JE?)

OYTFB: Can you call the courier man and check?

Me: WHY DON'T YOU CALL THEM AND CHECK FOR YOURSELF?

OYTFB: OK, OK, you SMS me the reference number and the phone number of the courier company

Me: OK (hang up) x*%x%#@**##$! G* m*mp*s!

Sunday outing

Without proper planning, we went out after lunch. Drive punya drive, last-last sampai kat D*g*t*l M*ll, PJ.. Saja nak survey apa yang menarik kat situ. Not bad lah... A substitute for L*w Y*tt Plaza minus the kesesakan, kepadatan dan kesusahan untuk mencari parking space.

On the way back, we suddenly found ourselves at N*z* Auto Mall. Nampak from Fed Highway macam ada pesta, kitorang pun terus singgah lah. Konon nak beli Ferrari ke sebijik...hehe...

The mall was HUGE and filled to the brims with cars familiar and not familiar on the road. Tapi, kereta nasional tak ada lah. I saw a M*s*rat* selling off at RM7 Million. Any takers? Ferrari ada jugak yang murah (cheh! Murah?) at RM1.4 Million... Tengok je la yang termampu.. No photos, though. Not allowed in the showroom. Daniel merasalah naik a Mercedez SLK200 Sports dengan ayah dia...Berangan je bolehlah... hehe...

On the way back, we stopped by S*CC Mall, Shah Alam. Ingatkan nak beli pants for my birthday present, tapi thought better of it, sebab the CNY sales is coming by the end of the month. So bolehlah beli 2,3 pasang sekali as my present from Hubby..hehe..Got myself a new pair of Sch*ll slippers... Baru best nak jalan lama-lama... 'Comfort with style' bak kata depa... Harga dia boleh beli 2,3 pairs of normal working sandals for me..hehe.. Hopefully this pair can last long, long time..Kalau tak, memang tak berbaloi!

Reached home at about 9.30pm. Daniel was tired and not long after that, he fell asleep and woke up quite later than usual for his dose of milk. Letih sangat la tu berjalan (padahal Ayah and Mummy lagi penat sebab kena carry dia around..hehe..)

Tershopping pulak...

Ala, tengah-tengah bulan ni tershopping la pulak...hehe...Got myself a new handbag...Sorry no photo, nanti orang kenal pulak handbag I...kakaka... Anyway, love it because it is quite spacious and lembik, so that I can stuff in everything I need without the need to arrange and rearrange the stuffs inside to make room for everything to go in. Ha...ambik ko! Diapers and wet tissues pun boleh masuk sekali! Barulah puas hati... It doesn't look huge macam beg balik kampung, though, and that is why I was 'obliged' to purchase it....hahahaha....

My present handbag was about the same size, but it was hard and rigid. So, everytime I took something out, I had to rearrange the stuffs inside so that I can fit it back in...Very the leceh one! (Wah! Mentang-mentang dah dapat handbag baru, handbag lama kena complaint pulak....kakaka...) Anyway, the old bag is still quite new... So, I still love it long, long time...Once in a while, I will bring you around, my old handbag! hehe...

No comment...

NJ, this post is again dedicated to you...

Chewwah...Macam berbalas pantun la pulak! kekeke....

Sorry lah aku tak boleh nak comment dalam blog mu sebab aku sudah lupa fr*nst*r account ku punya login name and password...

Anyway, thanks dude for the entry and aku serius, let's be friends till we die...

Love,
Hani

I 'found' back my old compadre...

After a few years silence, finally the other day, my long-lost bestfriend called me! It started a few months back with an emails. Then, we thought of having a group outing but it was cancelled. And then, she called!

I recognized her voice right from the instance that she said "Hello" Well, we WERE very close before. Went through a couple of thicks and thins together. We were even close to each other's families. Then, something happened, and our friendship soured. Closest friends know what happened, and I am thankful to have these few bunch of great ladies who never sided to any one of us and treated us the same, although there were no more group hangouts together with everyone of us.

During the painful silence, I waited and waited until she is ready to resume our friendship. Always check out her updates from the other friends. I became the silent observer.

I know that she also got updates about me from the same friends. We were 'near but far.'

I couldn't say how happy I was when she finally contacted me back. And I was thrilled when she called. I believe that she has 'returned'

NJ, thanks for the friendship. I really believe that ours is a true friendship because it stood through the tests of time. Hope to be able to get together again, like before, very soon! Praying for the best for you and may you get all your wishes fulfilled...

Respek la sama lu!!!

I have an inspiring story to share.. It made me terkagum, terkesima, terkujat, terperanjat, hairan bin ajaib, tabik spring dll.

A friend of mine (we used to be housemates during Uni time) got married a couple of years ago, well before I got married. It was quite a drama actually, which I don't want to elaborate. Suffice to say that she is sharing the Hubby with somebody else. Anyway, dah jodoh kan??? And I refuse to elaborate more..

It used to be that the Hubby was almost always around during the earlier stage of the marriage. It's understandably hard to be here and there, because of logistic problems (one in East Coast and one in KL) Well, when you are sharing, you have to make do, kan? But it's great when you are having the bigger piece of the time!

A baby boy unexpectedly came. Dah rezeki Allah nak bagi, kan? At least my friend got someone else to accompany her. Then, after more than 2 years, suddenly, the Hubby got a job somewhere far away (but nearer to the other party), in another state in the East Coast.

By this time, my friend was expecting her second baby. The Hubby would only come home once a month (again because of logistic). I really admire her courage, though. Raising a toddler (and a boy, also) in a pregnant state, alone. She has a day career also, which is equally as stressing and demanding as raising a toddler while being pregnant!

But, she prevailed! She gave birth to another baby boy in her hometown (also in the East Coast). After the maternity leave was over, she came back to resume her duty here, alone to continue raising her children. Adding to that, she had enrolled for a part-time Masters course in Civil Engineering in a local U which is not quite near her house nor her workplace. The classes are during weekdays after her work session finishes and last until about 8 or 9pm.

I was astounded to hear this from herself (I already got her permission to write about her in my blog, by the way) during our YM session recently. Tu yang segala macam TER as per my opening line for this entry keluar tu..

With my current situation (Hubby is away most of the time, Baby Daniel is getting more active and very demanding, my career stress and demands) I am feeling too overwhelmed already. I don't think I will be able to do a part time course (although I really want to do my Masters). Well, if I do also, it won't give me good results anyway, hence a waste of time. I got my parents and siblings to help me take care of Daniel, but I am very much drained by the time I fall asleep everyday.

But her! I memang tabik spring kat dia. The only thing is, I hope the babies won't be neglected lah...What with the scary babysitters' stories nowadays.. And, I hope she stays well and healthy. With 2 mouths to take care of, she'd better be. And, I do pray that the Hubby would be more responsible (to both families that he has). Anyway, sendiri yang cari pasal, so kenalah adil dan saksama kan?

To SuperY, I really admire your strength! Be strong for yourself and the kids and take the greatest care of the bunch! All the best, buddy!

I found it strange...

While driving back home yesterday, I saw an interesting sight... Or should I say a strange sight?

Alongside the road, an Indian mother walked with his son. She was carrying his schoolbag.. Well, that's common nowadays kan? Tapi, yang peliknya, the son is already in high school! He was wearing a dark green trousers.. Tak tau la kalau sekarang budak sekolah rendah pun pakai dark green trousers! He seemed small for a high school student.. Maybe a first former.. Tapi, takkan suruh emak angkat beg sekolah lagi???

But then again, maybe perempuan tu maid dia kan? hehe.... Entahlah...

Satu lagi analisa sebab takde kerja....hehe...

Let's Do Some Mathematics

2006
-----
RM1.50 x 2 times x 20 days = RM60.00

2007
-----
RM2.20 x 2 times x 20 days = RM88.00

88-60 / 88 x 100% = 31.82% Mak aiii!!!!

You should know what I'm calculating, right? And yet they said:

"Kadar tol di negara kita masih di antara yang terendah di dunia walaupun selepas kenaikan ini. Dengan kenaikan ini, kita dapat mengurangkan beban subsidi, dan dengan wang ini kita bolah melakukan pelbagai perkara lain untuk membangunkan negara bla..bla..bla..." (Skrip sama juga digunakan apabila harga petrol and diesel naik.. Pendek kata, bila apa-apa pun naik, skrip yang sama akan digunakan. Hey you people! Why don't you ask your test writer to find new script?)

Tak sabarnya nak tunggu perkara-perkara yang dibangunkan tu!

Immediate chain effects:
1) Semalam I pergi pasar malam, laksa yang dulunya berharga RM2.50 sepaket, sekarang berharga RM3 sepaket (Ya ampun!!)

2) The queues at the toll booths are getting longer and longer...Agaknya toll gate girls/boys tu susah sikit nak cari change sebab belum biasa lagi dengan harga tol baru..

3) My purse is getting thinner...Bonus last year pun tak announce lagi ni? Boss!!! Bila????

Last batch of CH photos that I want to share

Let's do more of Cuti-Cuti Malaysia this year!! Yeahaaaa!!!

Cameron Trip's Photo Continued...

Post accident

Woke up quite early and still couln't believe that my first long journey with an express bus turned out disastrous. I thought of going for a checkup.. Takut-takut ada internal injury ke..cheh! But, I was feeling fine except for the swelling on my chin and left leg.. So, after contemplating for a couple of times, we decided against going for checkup. Instead, I just rested at home and didn't go to the office.

Hubby also took the day off. Great! We could spend a long weekend together. An acquaintance suggested that I seek compensation from the bus company. Said I should ask for refund, claim medical expenses and charge back the travelling back own my own to them. It sounded like a good idea- hey! I could use some more $$ here! My insurance agent also ask me to get medical report so that I could claim the charges and also RM50 per day for my MC. hmmm...tempting!

But, I was so lazy to go to a clinic for checkup. The injury seemed very minor. Furthermore, the accident didn't even appear in the news (hehe..), so maybe not that convincing also to claim insurance. There goes my chance of '30 seconds to fame'...keke... Ada hati lagi tu!

Anyway, malas lah nak claim. So, today I'm on MC a.k.a ponteng kerja..heh..

Start the new year with a bang!!

Well, I must say, literally, I started the new year with a bang! Not that I partied the whole night through or what not, but I was actually involved in an accident today!

It started when I needed to book a bus ticket to go to JB yesterday night. A call came from a client in JB, insisting that I come over there today for a discussion. The call came at about 5.30pm due to miscommunication between the 2 persons in-charged on who was supposed to contact me and arrange the meeting, so I was left with less than 24 hours, which made it quite impossible for me to book a flight ticket unless I go and check the counters myself. So, with the client's recommendation, and since it was the most sane alternative (apart from driving, which was quite insane for a daytrip alone to JB), I went to book a bus ticket.

Took Tr*nsn*t**n*l Express bus at 9am. It was quite comfy, and overall, the trip was quite smooth, except for a few pitstops. It was my first long travel using express bus. I used to take bus during high school days, but only Seremban-KL or Seremban-Klang. I was quite panicky during lunch sto[ (30 minutes) because while I was still trying to finish my chicken chop, I couldn't see anybody else from the same bus around. So, I walloped everything and rushed outside to board the bus. Rupa-rupanya depa habis makan cepat sebab nak asapkan paru-paru! Cheh! Tapi, Hubby kata, "Ingat-ingatla sikit..Dah tau naik bas ekpres, makan ala kadar sudah la..Ni siap order chicken chop lagi!" hihi...

Reached JB at about 2.30pm, and my cousin brother came and fetched me from the Skudai bustop. The meeting was great and full of potential. My cousin brother then came again and send me back to the bustop and waited for me until I boarded the bus home. It was C**s*w*y L*nk Express, which was late for almost 1 hour. Understandable because it rained and the traffic was bad.

Again got a single seater seat. Great! I thought to myself, "This is good. Next time, if I need to travel far and within short notice, I don't mind using the bus again because of the convenience. Not as tiring as driving. After about half an hour, I dozed off. The seat was quite comfy, with leg rest so that my feet didn't touch the bus floor. It was very chilling inside the bus, what with the rain and the blasting air-conditioner.

I woke up some time later. It was very dark inside the bus, but since I didn't draw my curtain down, I could see traffic on the highway. The bus was travelling at high speed, with occasional braking and swerving to the left and right, maybe to avoid whatever was blocking it's way. I was seated on the 6th row, so I couldn't see in front of the bus. We then stop for pee break at Kg Bemban rest area.

We switched driver after the pitstop. This Chinese Uncle was very friendly right from the beginning. Then, they started to air 'Casino Royale' on the TV. Poor sound system and very small translation wordings, but since I got nothing else to do, tengok sajalah. I called Hubby and he was having his dinner. Said he would call me back after he paid for his meal. Asked me where I was, and looking out of the window, I informed him that I could see the signboard that stated 'Alor Gajah, Tampin,'

Just a few minutes after I cut off the line with Hubby, the bus skidded, hit something, emergency braked and swerved to the right, banging more things. It went to a halt soon after, engine stopped, TV stopped, lights off. In that split second, I banged to the seat in front of me and held on to it for my dear live. The bus was quite full, and everybody moved forward in havoc. I could hear sound of baby/kid crying, but the bus was in total darkness. Somebody shouted "Buka lampu!" and after a while, the lights were switched on.

I grabbed my laptop bag, and rushed forward. I felt pain here and there, and while decsending the bus stairs, I felt blood oozing from my nose. Alamak! When everybody was out of the bus, we were standing right in the middle of the highway. It was the centre lanes, which are yet to be opened due to the road widening projects. It was dark! Suddenly, I saw sparks of fire, a loud bang and a screeching sound of tyres. Another fast-driven car hit the same thing the bus hit, or it hit something that the bus left after the crash, causing it's front wheels to break apart from the car. A few more cars followed suit, with crashing sounds here and there until I couldn't dare to look some more.

A Singaporean mother with her son approached me to borrow my handphone to call their relative in Shah Alam. Another Chinese girl asked me where were we. I was pretty sure that we were somewhere near Alor Gajah, but I was not sure whether we had passed the Alor Gajah toll exit or not. The Chinese girl claimed that her chest was very painful. I told her to find some place to sit down. By this time, my bleeding nose had already stopped, and I only felt pain in my left leg.

The highway contractor's trucks came first (yeah, the bus hit their construction area la pulak kan?). Then, came the Pl*s R*nd* truck, followed by Police Patrol Car, 911 Ambulance and various TONTO trucks. Tiba-tiba macam ada pesta! One lane had to be closed, although the bus and the various cars were not obstructing traffic, for safety reasons. Vehicles were practically 'flying' across the road sebab malam kan? So, it was quite dangerous for us to be in the middle of the road.

I asked one of the Bangladeshi worker for the construction company who was diverting the traffic and asked him where was Alor Gajah. He said we have passed it about 3km before. Great! I called Hubby and informed him of what happened and my location. I was so lucky, Alhamdulillah! Apart from the minor injury and the trauma that I faced, the accident occured quite close to Hubby's work place (although he had to come out to the highway in search of me). And the bus didn't topple over because it crashed the divider at a completed stretch of the highway. Just another kilometere, we would have crashed and toppled over inside the drainage, and Allah knows, what injuries or casualties would we face. And thank Allah for the second divider. It stopped the bus from crossing over to the opposite lanes of the highway, which might cause crashes with oncoming vehicles. Alhamdulillah!

I was told to sit inside the ambulance for inspection because the Chinese girl told the paramedics that my nose bled. That was when Hubby arrived at the place and was surprised to find me inside the ambulance! Then, we were told to board the bus for safety reasons. I was told that the driver was trying to hitch hike any other bus with empty seats, so that they could transport us to a bus terminal first, before a replacement bus come to take us to Klang. It was already 11pm at that time, and Allah knows when would I be able to reach Klang. Thus, Hubby decided to send me home. Alhamdulillah!

Stopped by Seremban R&R for my quick dinner while Hubby took a nap. Poor thing! While recalling the incident, I couldn't even recall what else happened to me, where I hit or how was my condition during the crash. Guess it was trauma plus the fact that the accident happened so swiftly, I lost concentration on what actually happened. Surprisingly, nobody else was hurt or bleeding! hihi..

Safely reached home at around 2am. Performed my prayers and thanking Allah again, then I dozed off. As Hubby put it to baby Daniel the next morning, "Nasib baik Mummy tak mati semalam tau kena accident!" Ches!!

Daniel is 10 months old!

Today marked baby Daniel's 10th month on earth (the 9 months dalam perut Mummy tak kira, ok?). At 10 months, Baby Daniel:

1)Have mastered the art of crawling. He couldn't sit still for more than 10 seconds.

2)Is experiencing a serious case of separation anxiety. I couldn't pass by him without picking him up. I couldn't leave the room without him. I couldn't be out of the room when he wakes up from sleep. Mere talking or a kiss won't do if I pass by him. Must pick him up. I can't pass him to somebody else even if I seriously need to do big or small 'businesses.'I can't say "Bye! Bye!" or "Tata!" to him. All of the above will result in he screaming his lungs out. The cries and tears will immediately stop (like you switch off the ON button) once I get him in my arms. He will be all smile and laugh and tatatatata at once!

3)Will try to stand up using any object available to pull himself up; be it people, basket, chair, anything! If he gets assistance from people to get up, he will push that person's hand as if to say "Please lah! I can stand on my own, ok?"

4)Weigh more than 10kg (yet to get exact kg and cm on the next paed visit)

5)Hates to sit in his stroller

6)Loves throwing out all balls from inside of his plastic pool (resulting in Atuk and Nenek mengutip bola yang bertaburan dalam rumah everyday)

7)Loves eating and refuses plain water and fruit juices. Formula milk sahaja! But feeding him is very tedious! He just can't sit still, be it in his dining chair or on the floor or on people's laps.

8)Loves dancing. Will henjut-henjut shoulders and body when he listens to music. His feet memang tak boleh duduk diam. Mesti nak hentak-hentak ikut rentak muzik.

9)Shook his head to "Lailahaillallah," nodded his head to "Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar," and clap his hand to "Pok Amai-Amai." His clapping is soundless as yet because he has yet to learn how to fully open the palms while clapping. But it's so much better from when he started to learn to clap his hands. It looked like he was doing a 'silat pulut' session! Berterabur! hehe..

10)Babbles loudly most of the time, but even more seriously when he was about to fall asleep.

11)If he bites your finger, and you scream in pain, he would look at you rather sheepishly, then put a finger in his mouth and bite it, with a look that say something like "See? I bite my own finger. Tak sakit pun? Why are you being such a sissy?"

12)Will climb you like he is climbing a tree when you hold him in your arms. If he doesn't do that, he would become a superman flying in your arms. Tu yang tak larat nak dukung tu!

13)Has a special interest in $$. Pantang tengok orang pegang $$, terus serbu orang tu and rampas duit dia. Once, Abah gave him a bundle of RM1 notes. He threw it aside, and instead aimed for Abah's RM50's bundle.

14)Also has interest in computers. Pantang tengok orang menghadap PC, dia pun datanglah and starts wailing until you put him in your laps, facing the monitor.

That are some of the traits that I can recall offhand. He makes me crazy, he makes me laugh, he makes me scream, he makes me panic, he makes me angry, he makes me tired, he makes me smile, he makes me miss him right at this instance while I'm typing this at the office. I love you so much Baby!! Be a good boy always, ok? Mummy will always pray for you..

Jalan-jalan lagi...

Today we spent the afternoon jalan-jalan at G**nt USJ, Subang (I buy their mineral water very, very often for baby Daniel's consumption), then we adjourned to the famous S*nw*y Pyr*m*d. By about 8pm, Ayah sudah tak larat mau carry itu baby Daniel, and baby was getting cranky because of lack of sleep, so we headed home for a good rest. Ayah returned to Melaka early in the morning...sob..sob..

Anyway, here are more of the photos taken during the Cameron trip..

Sayounara 2006, Ahlan Wa Sahlan 2007!

Happy New Year, everybody! Praying for a prosperous, healthy and exciting new year for the whole bunch of family and friends, InsyaAllah...Ameen..

We started the day quite early. Woke up at about 6am. Siap-siap, and at about 9am, we started our journey to Cameron Highlands..Yup, 2 hills back-to-back in a span of 2 weeks. First Genting, then Cameron..Saja nak rasa angin gunung. The whole clan went up, together with Razif's (my bro-in-law) Mum, sister and brother.

The road up, as expected, masih berbelit-belit macam lingkaran ubat nyamuk F*m*k*ll* and very narrow. We went up once when I was still a little girl, so this trip after more than 20 years, is still the same like I remembered it last time. Only last time, I took pills to prevent the nausea. Didn't take any for this trip, though (konon dah kebal lah..hehe..) Lucky that I didn't puke my way up and down the hill, although I was seriously dizzy and my tummy felt queasy (and lapar) all the time up there.

Daniel couldn't seem to open up his eyes from his sleep. Maybe he was feeling nauseous also, tapi tak tahu nak buat apa..So, although he cried a little here and there, his eyes were shut throughout the journey up, and he only opened them when we safely reached Brinchang.

All I can say about the way up was, too long and nerve-wrecking! We took the Tapah way. Was counting down the kilometres, tapi tak sampai-sampai jugak! Letih betul! We reached Brinchang at about 12.30pm. Thought of continuing up to Tringkep, tapi the road was jam-packed and we were all exhausted from the long journey, so we stopped there. Had our pre-packed lunch in front of the police station in Brinchang (boleh?) because we couldn't find other free spaces to park the 2 vehicles.

We then continued to B*g R*d Strawberry Farm. We spent about 2 hours here. Mak and Abah took the opportunities to become farm workers and plucked strawberries to be brought home..hehe..Not cheap also, geng! RM40 per kg if you pluck your own strawberries. Only 2 pax allowed inside the farm per purchase. We also bought hydrophonic lettuces berbeg-beg and a few other veges and fruits that are not very commonly found on the lower ground.

We then descended to Tanah Rata, where we planned to visit the tea farm. By this time, the sky has turned a bit dark. We were about to enter the tea farm, when the rain started pouring. It became so heavy in just a couple of minutes, that we had to cancel the plan. Just grabbed a few boxes of teas, then dashed back inside the vehicle.

Our next plan to stop by the Lata Iskandar waterfall also went down the waterfall because the rain was so heavy. Patutlah hujan, ada orang tak mandi pagi tadi...heheh! Who, you might ask? Encik Muhammad Daniel Hafiz lah...kekeke....Ingatkan nak mandi kat waterfall je..

The journey back home was disastrous! Traffic on the highway was so heavy! We stopped by Tapah R&R for solat and then continued the journey at about 7.30pm. It was drizzling all the way home, but none of us except Abah was awake (obviously, because Abah was driving all the way). Berapa kali daa tidur, bangun, tidur balik, bangun balik pun tak sampai-sampai jugak rumah. We finally reached home at about 11pm. Everyone was battered, so after a simple dinner of some sandwiches, semua orang flat.

Got loads of photos taken during the trip, and here are the first two. Couldn't seem to upload more photos currently, so i will try again later.


Rupa orang-orang yang lapar dan letih