M for mystery, M for mom

My mom is back in the hospital.3 days today.She looks like she's getting worse.So they transferred her to CCU for close monitoring.The thing is we can't sleepover. I spent all morning with her at the hospital, sempat baca 3x yassin.Then I had to leave for work.Itupun Dr H helped cover KBM meeting. I text-ed my ustaz and asked if he could offer a special prayer for my mom.He said OK.Not long after that, Kak Ngah (who dropped by at lunch hours) rang to say mak went into a deep sleep sampai 7 org kejutkan dia tak sedar2.By now her readings of everything were normal.When she finally woke up, she said ada orang bawak dia jalan2..turun and naik bukit, bawak pi sungai hitam berlumpur, got kala jengking and left her in a boat..she knew she would not find her way back and would have drowned.Then the mysterious thing was the conversation she heard of two creatures:

A: ni semua bencana 2 orang tu.

B: Yang mana?

A: Dia dah pergi kerja

B: Yang mana?

A: Yang sakit tulang belakang tu

Funny right? No one sakit tulang belakang in the family except me.Did I save my mom cos' I baca Yassin before I left for work? Was it ustaz's special prayer that brought her back? But the two creatures tried again 4 times throughout the day..trying to take my mom on a longgggg journey.Everytime there would be someone who would wake her up again. Tonight we worry cos' it's no entry at CCU after 7.30pm.I just pray to Allah our Mom will be OK.I can only visit in the morning.

And we pray it's not her time to go...yet.

Lat the Musical

Lat and my family

Roti dua! Bumped into Dr Ruzy and hubby Dr Imran, seated behind us! (best friends of NZ days and now) kita 'membesar' bersama Z donning a Yuna styled tudung

pernah jadi top model...sekarang..peh!

the great cast

I never wept at a musical but at Lat the Musical, I did.

Maybe I reconnected with my childhood.Lat was part of my childhood.We all grew up on Keluarga si Mamat and Lat the Kampong Boy.As a young fan (I was in my primary or lower secondary then) I wrote to him, hoping for a response but did not really expect one.But Lat wrote back...sent me a pic of a flying pig that said You were the talk of town and inside it: even pigs could fly and he also drew a naked Epit (his youngest caricature of a kampong boy who I loved so much then).

So when we bumped into him as we were exiting the theatre...(the crowds were not there yet)..I just could not believe my luck.He came fwd and tegor kita (I had my MIL conveniently seated on a wheelchair to attract his attention!haha..wasn't planned)

Lat: datang dari mana?

Me (laughing): dari Kota Damansara (maybe he thought we were from IJN seberang jalan tu)

Lat: lagu2 sedap ya?

Me: ha'ah tapi it's quite sad actually

Lat: memanglah..kalau cerita betul.

I wanted to tell him I was the flying pig card gal..I wanted to give him my book..I wanted to say so many things..tapi teringat dalam play tu he said hidup dia dah takda privacy, dia malu nak jumpa peminat etc etc..so I walked away, leaving many things unsaid.Out of respect for him and respect for other fans queueing to take pics with him!

Fantastic storyline, bad costuming (except scenes in London and abroad), great cast (loved the kids), great music.

I'd go again.Show is on till April 5.Don't miss it!

Pics at CERDAS-Bank Muamalat Launch

Some pics at the event:

Rector kita

The MoU between IiBF and Bank Muamalat

Prof. Dato Azmi macam menteri

Yours truly semasa pertukaran cenderahati

the people at lunch sponsored by Bank Muamalat

teka sapa ikat reben ni?

(jawaban: Dr Haslina)

Yours truly dgn lawyer (syariah) Hafiz yang lawak

Yours truly di meja VVIP (rose yang mekar)

Dr Badri, my dean

MoU signing

The two CEOs

Yours truly menerangkan pasal hadiah

kpd CEO Bank Muamalat (personalised gift)

Brothers in Islam from Persatuan Cina Muslim

Some from Persatuan India Muslim

sudah-sudahlah tu

these days a lot of things make me angry but the latest shot on Anwar Ibrahim really make me wanna puke.Most fbookers (who will vote) asked, "takda modal lain ke?"

When less than 20% of the nation's population have university qualifications, inilah jadinya.
Hey bodos, sudah2lah tu...last GE 5 states sudah kantoi, mahu kantoi 5 lagi in the next GE?? We want REAL deliveries, not scandals in the papers.

Start working, stupid! Malaysia needs a lot of saving.

the power of making swift decision

I learnt something from today's event: the early bird catches the fattest worm.

When I wrote to numerous banks for a smart partnership with my Centre (a business wing of my Kulliyyah), Bank Muamalat made the swiftest decision and we moved into very swift move on a community programme.Other banks came 3 months late (but we still accepted their generous cheques...hahaha..but for other projects).Oh what a wonderful world when corporations are so involved in community services!

The product launch went extremely well.The bank sponsored a very nice lunch for students of the prog. they sponsored.We worked all day yesterday to do final touch ups...a lot of last min. improvisations esp the launching gimmick but hey! It was worth it.The gimmick was not your typical touch the button or ribbon cutting thingy ~ the audience loved it,said it was very clever (thankyouthankyou...pls hire Dr Haslina and me if you want nice storytellers/storyboard artists)

Yang penting we have something good going for the next 6 months and I hope many more after that.We want to see changes in the society.CSR rocks! The new Bank Muamalat CEO is a very intelligent man who has done well in re-branding Bank Muamalat.His b/ground isn't Finance/Banking per se.He's a businessman..see the difference? An articulate businessman recognises opportunities and makes smart decisions. :)) I think all Bank CEOS should know how to do business and not just be related to the Prime Minister.

Rehearsal

I never believed in rehearsals since I left school but IIUM suka sgt buat rehearsal.Mcm budak sekolah.

But after today's experience, I understand why better! Hoboy! Things can really go wrong if you do not rehearse.Suruh budak2 KAED buat launching gimmick but KAED kids are always busy.Suruh datang, tak datang.Suruh buat tu, lain yang keluar.In the end, Dr Haslina and I terpaksa buat cerita launching gimmick depa ni...but when you pay peanuts..what can you expect, kan? Budak2 pulak tahun 2...but I think they learn a lot from working with us (and team from the Bank).Dr H and I memang demanding. :))

But at the rehearsal, things didn't match at all..puas kita fikir how to solve the prob.Budak2 tu nampak tensi habis..mana nak fikir assignments due..and our project besok..but we gave them some suggestions.Hopefully things will go well besok.

My mom did her 3rd prosedure on her fistula hand.I went kejap but the surgery ptg baru boleh buat.Prof Hanafiah told his team of docs how lovely a lady my mom was (my sisters and I were like looking at each other and signalling iya la tu..hahaha.But memang the docs at HUKM love my mom sebab dia kinky.Hahaha).

Sal and Kak Ngah were the only ones who could hang around for the surgery (mcm biasalah.I pray that Allah reward them with the best).I'll visit besok after my event, InsyaAllah.

High drama pagi ni

It poured like mad this morn.Hubby warned me NOT to keluar early (flash flood in Kota Damansara, city of sin).I had to call Tan and say I'd drop by after work to sign a few docos.

Pagi ni was busy trying to persuade the big boss to attend our event/s on Saturday.Busy sms-es back and forth dalam kekalutan hujan pagi.Not easy to negotiate with your Boss.Takda sapa berani nak beritau dia apa2.Akhirnya I ambik keputusan berani mati and text-ed him what I thought.Hahaha.But I put it like I was trained in PR work (I do it better than my husband sometimes!).Phew..bukan senang weh! But alhamdulillah Dato Seri said OK to our plans on Saturday.I'm sure Dato' Azmi did his bit as well.I know my Dean did his best too.

Let's hope the other Dato CEO is OK with time.Kat Msia, people always arrive late, kan? It gives me the jitters.

By this time next year, folks, I want a new job.A job that will give me ocean view and lots of spa time.

Overheard...

It's my mom's month.She refused to go to her dialysis centre a couple of days ago.Sal was frantic.I made it worse.No one has the energy to go on another long ER trip.

But our mom would always win.So no dialysis for her that Saturday.Sal went off for her holiday and put mak in my care (which I didn't mind.Sal was in a dire need for a break).

Malam tu I dengar mak mcm ada symptoms of drowning but she buat2 control macho.I slept early.Kak Ngah was still text-ing me past midnite.I told her I was on valium and must have dozed off (I took something lesser than valium, though and woke up again at half past 1 in the morning.Went to check my mom's room.Alamak, she locked it.no way of knowing if she's OK or not)

By 6 am, I saw lights from her room.OKlah tu.Didn't want to disturb her.If she's not well, she would usually knock on my door.

Yang kelakar was Mek's ph conversation with her.Mak kata she wanted to balik Raub and live alone.Mek was like what? Who's going to take care of you.

Mak: Sedangkan ulat dalam batu boleh hidup (yeah..that ibu si Tanggang tone)
Mek: But the problem is...you are not ulat.

When Mek related the story to me, I was like bergulong2 ketawa.She's so funny!
Mak I yang tak pernah mau mengalah retorted: itulah sebab mak hantar kau orang belajar tinggi2..supaya kaorang boleh pandai menjawab balik...

Kelakar, kan? :)
Tadi pagi she gave me RM50 suruh beli pizza.I asked Z to order.

Z rang me later to ask if she could order another piece.I said kongsi je dgn wan.She said but wan said she wanted a small piece je and tak mau order yang besar. :))

Yup, my mom dah masuk ke alam kanak2 dia.Sometimes we forget that.

a deal which is no deal?

Sigh..I don't know what to say.
Are people not serious about anything at all these days?? (i'm just re-acting to a situation in which I may have to call off one of our progs at CERDAS.I cannot risk speakers turning up late.Not when people are paying to hear them speak on integrity, responsibility, maybe punctuality!

Lesson learnt: do not rush into organising a prog unless you know the people you invite, personally.
However, I pray to God things will go accordingly.There would always be hiccups, right?

This is another short story material.

nice lazy weekend

Z was home over the weekend.You know what it means...$$ and more $$ to cater to her needs, kan?
So we went to dine at Bangsar Shopping Centre. Semua eateries mcm dah bosan nak masuk but hey, we hadn't been to the Pressroom.So we went.

Makanannya sedap, price reasonable.Ramai mat salleh but many looked like wood choppers (Z's aside to me.Hahaha).And why do Malaysians dine and talk so loud at the same time? Macam pasar ikan! I like a quiet environment when I eat.Kalau tak, rasa nak tercekik menelan! I think if there's something we need to improve on, it is our dining etiquette.Kalau kat rumah, takpalah so casual.

Z had her do at the Turkish School. We bought a variety of foreign goodies (foods and drinks): from South Korea (kim chi); Iran (goat drink dia masin!); baklava from Turkiye (hmm nice!) and some chicken rice from Central Asia (yang ada tan-tan kat belakang nama negara dia).Met some of Z's turkish teachers and of cos', the amiable Principal of the school.Lama dah tak jumpa mereka. Berpeluk2 mesra.

We also visited Pak Din.Every time, there would be new surprises.Kali ni with Nabihah. :)

Effective Dawah Workshop

This is a short notice but my biz partner just alerted me of her guest coming mid March.Introducing..ta-ra..Bro. Idris Tawfiq, former British Catholic priest who converted to Islam and now travels round the world to share with his audience about what Islam is.

CERDAS being CERDAS will host his workshop on Effective Dawah at only RM200 per head (it's now or never, folks.Jangan kedekut when it comes to menuntut ilmu).

Here's our details:
Date: March 28, 2011 (Monday)
Venue: IIUM Gombak (will confirm the room later)
Contact person: Prof Faridah 013 353 3342

Itinerary:
9 - 10 am What is dawah? Why is it important?
10 -10-30 am Coffee break
10.30 - 12 noon Tips on effective dawah
12 - 2.00 pm Lunch and prayer break
2 - 3 pm Experience sharing ( participants share what work/what not in their dawah work)
3 - 4 pm Conclusion (Where do we go from here)
4 pm Coffee break and adjourn

Please spread the info esp to your orang2 surau and masjid.This is a speaker you will not want to miss!
See you at CERDAS!

Benefits of charity/sadaqah

A friend whose home was broken into a couple of weeks ago is traumatised.She rang me up for support (I was in my power meeting.Can I call you back soonest I'm done, I asked.Poor thing).

When I rang her (hours after I got home and remembered), I spoke of my experience being tested with ailment. It is God's way of reminding us to remember Him.First, feel grateful that Allah reminded us. She told me what I knew myself cos' I went through it: dah lama tak baca Quran, dah lama tak buat amalan2 sunat, etc.

And I shared with her fadilat sadaqah.Four things:

1. Sadaqah memanjangkan usia
2.Sadaqah meluaskan rezeki
3.Sadaqah menghindarkan kita dari penyakit
4.Sadaqah menghindarkan kita dari bala/musibah

But do it kerana Allah (not becos' we want all fours stated above).Do it cos' you mean it (ikhlas...sehingga tangan kiri tidak tahu tangan kanan memberi). Sadaqah is not only monetary.A smile is a sadaqah.A kindness done is a sadaqah.Sadaqah is something you give consistently.Biar sedikit.

As we talked on the phone, we both felt comforted.I didn't counsel her.I counselled myself.

Sometimes you need a friend on the other end.To understand what you go through.