Minggu akhir Syawal

Yang beraya sampai sebulan ni sebenarnya kita je di Malaysia (kadang2 tak cukup sebulan..terpaksa carry fwd to the first weekend of the following month).

Good and bad.Bad first:

Terlalu banyak makan.Not good for health.Better to puasa 6.Alternatively open house buat malam so sapa2 yang puasa 6 can berbuka free sambil beramah mesra dgn kawan2 and relatives.

Good: kalau niat sedekah, byk pahala.Also mengeratkan silrahturrahim (bukan mcm kawan I yang nakal kata: mengeratkan saloran rahim!)

Today I was at Uni of Liverpool's Raya Open House, held by a pool at Changkat Bukit Utama.Delesh sponsored meja/kerusi (baiknya dia ni..walhal hariraya orang melayu, kan?).I sponsored magician (I memang baik.Hahaha). Datin Noorkumalasari pun ada (her hubby alum Liverpool). Kita sempat le bergambar2 dgn dia.

Lepas tu I dah janji Epah nak pi open house dia.Nik dah tak larat so he balik tidur (memang...dia boleh jadi anti-social kadang2 esp. bila mengantuk).I ingat the NZ people (Hamilton's) would be there.Tengok2 punya la besar open house Epah/Malik ni.A garden party practically.A banquet to be exact.I dtg sorang pulak.Takda sapa I kenal except Malik and Epah.Buat tebal muka je..what to do..dah masuk compound rumah.Meja pulak dah penuh..duduk je dgn sapa2 dan buat muka tebal.Dua American ladies ni mula2 mcm sombong.I sat in the middle of the group's conversation.Buat je muka tebal menyampuk.From the conversation mcm orang putih tu dari LA. I pun buka cerita LA (walhal pi sana umur Z 4 tahun). Akhirnya I dapat kawan baru satu meja.Hahaha.One by one, depa kata I looked familiar..I kata I cikgu biasa...after so many dok kata yang sama..I kata ohh..I'm also a writer..maybe you guys saw me in newspapers/TV ke (dah mcm riak tu).Hahaha.

You'd think orang2 kita tak kenal ni (dan kaya raya) sombong but actually, mereka normal je.Tapi topik perbualan mereka tidak la begitu normal : my Porche...we don't keep our cars more than 5 years, I'm a Bimmer, I'm holidaying in LA with the family in Dec, anak2 I kat Kolej Tunku Jaafar, etc etc.Malas la I nak kata I pi Hong Kong je kan for my holiday and anak I kat Kolej UEM je ..itupun on scholarship, kan? But I'm happy there are so many Malays who are doing well.Kita tompang gembiralah.Dan mereka bercakap topik2 ni sebab inilah dunia mereka.Bukan nak eksyen.

Yang sorang tu cerita dia sempat habiskan puasa 6 dia (I still have 3 days to go).Yang sorang tu walaupun merokok (dan anaknya tidak) was very pleasant to chat with.

Yang nyata, I suka kuay teow Epah and kangkong sotong dia.Sedap giler.Lupa nak tanya caterer mana.Shangri-la ke, Hilton ke.

Pasaraya Blok M

Kalau nak shopping selesa di Jakarta, antara malls yang OK ialah Pasaraya Blok M di Jakarta Selatan.You go to Tanah Abang, Cempaka Mas, ITC ke Ambassador ke to buy cheap souvenirs and kain telekong yang cantik2 (chances are apa yang dijual di tempat2 ini akan dijual 3X mahal di mall2 mcm Blok M)

But I like Blok M sebab quality barangannya ( a bit like Sarinah but Sarinah tu bangunannya burok..dalamnya je cantik).

I've got practically what I wanted (lots of buku2 penulis Indonesia and SEAsian writers) and I'm ready to go home.

Tadi ada suicide bombing (kat tempat kita org pi semalam.Allah telah lindungi kami).Malam tadi got earthquake in some parts of Indonesia.Haiyo...very active energy kat sini.

The closing of our event was so-so.Tahun ni everyone looked tired and rushed.I pun tak larat sebab kena cirit birit since last nite (jgn makan salad tempat orang.Eat cooked meals).

See you guys in KL.I kena pi mengadap JPJ sebab langgar traffic light kat UIA tu.Siap suruh bawak geran kereta.Sigh.Malaysia negara ku...

Not Jakarta Jam

I'm beginning to have second thoughts on Jakarta as an exciting cultural city.The jam is baaadddd here.

We worked late so there was no time to shop at nice places cos' you'd get trapped in Jakarta's traffic jam anyway.What would have taken 20 mins became close to 2 hours.The people at the Embassy told us to do our shopping at the Ambassador, a mall not that far from our hotel.But try doing that after office hours.It's crazy!

So we went to ITC next to the Ambassador.Barang2 mcm kat Rantau Panjang.By the time we went over to Ambassador (sebelah tu je) the stores were closing.KL is betterlah kalau nak shop2 ni. :)

Ibu Yayok and Pak Hassan came all the way from Bogor to take us around (this is what the couple does everytime kita datang) Yesterday also they came.Sweet, kan? But we also bought things from Ibu Yayok.She's so good at selling health products (she's with an O&G company or used to be).Sekali jual RM500, you.But it's Japanese nanotech.We were all sold! Habis duit allowance aku yang juta2 rupiah tu. :)

Besok last day meeting.I tak sabar nak balik dah.I got my telekong sulam (3 times cheaper than it is in KL!) That's a comfort.

Kamilah pembawa obor keamanan

Last day of my conference.My paper was after lunch.I thought it went well.Got a few nice questions from sidang hadirin and was sharing a panel (I was in the plenary session) with someone from KOMPAS dan someone from the publishing industry (wough...depa so advanced....promo novels mcm buat filem!)

Malamnya I was invited by Dato KP to join his team to a dinner hosted by one Deputy Minister (the Kedutaan Malaysia people also came).Nama restoran tu Nona Bola..Malaysian and Indian cuisine with an Indonesian touch.We had a nice time.I sat to this very strong lady who works at the Msian Embassy in Jakarta who's just lost her eldest son in a motor accident malam 27 Ramadan yang baru ni...he's a student at MCKK.My..so tough...may Allah grant her greater iman and may her son be placed in jannah.

Anyway, it was a business dinner.Kami bincang how to eratkan hubungan erat dua-hala Msia-Indonesia through budaya dan sastera.Nov. ini mungkin sesuatu besar akan dianjurkan bersama antara group Riau dan DBP.I harap UIA akan tompang semangkok. I dah offered IIUM hospitality. Kami ingin bersama membawa obor keamanan! :)

While I say nice things about the literary scene in Indonesia, our counterparts think we are so much better than them.

I enjoyed the sessions presented by non-native speakers from France, Holland and China today.Yang sorang tu presented a paper on ideologi sastra bugis.Katanya, orang bugis ini ada 3 teras falsafah dalam budayanya demi untuk meraih kemenangan (see how C4 fits in here)

ujung pisau (guna kekerasan)
ujung lidah (if kekerasan fails, guna diplomasi)
ujung penis (if all fails, guna perkahwinan untuk meraih cita-cita)

Satu bentuk sastera Bugis ialah elong.Bunyinya begini:

Lebbae paleq pawawa
patiwiq temmassengeq
mau ni sagala

maksudnya

sebab kecewa
aku tak rindu
sekalipun ia cantik

(elong ada 3 baris dgn sukukata 8-7-6...a bit like haiku, dak? cuma haiku ada bunyi alam)

Oh malam tadi we had another dinner (hosted by Pusat Bahasa).Semua pekerja mereka pandai nyanyi..jazz you..ada juga lagu2 rakyat/local.Group Malaysia ni buta music.Puan Salmiah malu2...walhal she can sing very well (I was willing to be backup gal with the others kalau dia nak nyanyi lagu raya.Hahaha).

I dah homesick ni (sebab sehingga ini, belum ada kesempatan nak keluar membeli telekong bersulam).Besok bermula pulak mesyuarat kami (another event yang berbeza from the conference).

Greetings from Jakarta

at Santika Hotel, Jakarta

Bulan ni byk pulak I kena travel.Anyway salam dari Jakarta yang lebih bertenaga dan berbudaya dari KL.Dari atas plane, nampak seperti Indonesia jauh lebih mewah dari KL...ekonomi mereka lebih mantap.Ini kelihatan dari udara lagi!

Hotel saya sangat nyaman walaupun budak kaunter itu agak lembab (tak jumpa nama saya dan SM Zakir dan kami tunggu lama...dia tak nampak kunci dah di depan matanya.Hissh!) Lain-lain saya puas hati.Hotel ini very quiet and nice.Nak pi swim tapi Zakir's room next to mine (menghadap swimming pool..takut pulak Zakir mati terkejut tengok I in swimsuit walaupun Muslim swimsuit)

The gals and I walked to this Padang restaurant.Enak.Tunggu Francis call.Besok dia dah balik Spore.Mungkin tak sempat cos' the gals nak keluar pi kedai buku kejap lagi.

I am very sleepy.Semalam punya marathon gila betul.But we enjoyed foods at Rector's and time at Azura's was really riang.Had a great fun teasing OLD friends.Makanan pun sedap.We visited her mom.Dah byk improvementnya.

Malam punya open house at Rawang was really crazy.Jam kat Rawang mcm nak gila.Got home late.I main campak je my clothes into the suitcase.Pagi jam 5.30 am dah bangun.The meeting and conference better be good!

If Abam! is reading this: thank you for waking up so early on Sunday to see me off at Sentral.

IIUM Pagoh?

The DPM had just announced that an IIUM Pagoh should be set up soonest possible.I guess we should feel grateful but Engineering and Modern Languages Kulliyyah there? Maybe Engineering is befitting but Languages? In the middle of nowhere? I hope DELL would not be affected.I think I'd quit if we have to move.Jauh sangat meh.Many of my colleagues are saying the same thing.Well, it had happened before I'm sure (masa Kuantan campus was set up).IIUM will survive (in fact will be better).New people would always be better.More energy.More creativity.

While we are here, we gotta give our best and groom the young ones to take over.

Puasa 6

My HK friend, Agnes, with the family at dinner

Tahun ini Allah dorongkan hati saya untuk melakukan ibadah puasa sunat.Mungkin semakin kita tua, semakin kita merasa segala nikmat dunia ini amat sedikit dan sementara dan kita tidak apa-apa untuk menolak juadah dan santapan di sekeliling kita.

Tetapi ini tidak bermakna keimanan saya tidak dicabar.

Pagi2 lagi suami ajak teman pergi breakfast.Dia cakap hari ni ada jiran buat kenduri kawin, mungkin saya patut tangguhkan puasa sunat saya.Masa dia usulkan cadangan itu, dia sedang makan nasi lemak dengan sambal sotong dan sedang meng-order roti canai untuk dibungkus pulang.Wough! Tough! 50-50 nak berbuka. Naik 80-20.Diconggak2 kalau berbuka hari ni, week days lagi susah nak puasa...

Akhirnya saya ambik keputusan meneruskan puasa saya kerana berfikir, sedap makanan hanya sementara tapi pahala puasa kekal ke akhirat. :)

Dan semasa suami siap sedia nak ke majlis kawin anak jiran (dibuat di Taman Tun), dia checked kad kawin.Bukan hari ni..but 2 weeks lagi.Nasib baik tak berbuka!

Fadilat puasa 6: www.saujanautama3.com/?p=461

I'm home

Z said the lady behind me looks like me

(topi ni bagussss..dia tutup aurat)

Salam,

Flight kami sampai around 6.30 pm tadi. Lepas sembahyang jamak, kita balik terus ke rumah.Taxi driver masih bercerita pasal kes pembunuhan Sosilawati dan 3 yang lain.I think pembunuh mereka ni ada mental problem.Mungkin masa kecik kena abused...kena baling kat dinding dan pecah kepala gamaknya.How can any heart have so much hatred or greed?

My mother has also moved out from my house to my sister's.Bukan pasal isu I tak balik raya (thank God not!). Dialysis centre dia tak da machine for her cos' she has Hep C now (from one of her blood transfusions..either the ones done at HUKM or the last one done at Tropicana Hosp. which is a private uni) How could they be so careless tak screen betul2? I pity her...just how much more she needs to suffer.Besok I'll visit her (I called her on the phone tadi..she seems to be so strong and coping well). Her new dialysis centre lebih Islamic..tiap2 Friday ada baca Yassin and ada kuliah agama.Maybe Allah knows better what is good for her.On days she takda dialysis, I'll bring her back to my home.Kenalah bergilir2 jaga.

Anyway, for those who wish to go for a short holiday, Hong Kong and Seoul would make a good choice atas sebab2 di bawah ni:

1.journey not too long : about 3.5 to 4 hours.Compare this to going to the US/Europe.

2.shopping is good in these two cities.I didn't want to go to Seoul sebab I dah 3x pi situ. :)

3. a lot of things to do and see in HK.If you have young kids, ada Disney World, Ocean Park etc.Memang seronoklah budak2.We didn't go sebab Z dah besar dan dah pergi tempat2 mcm tu kat US/Australia/NZ.Kat KL pun best juga aqua world kita tu.

4.Makanan halal no prob. kat HK.Kat airport pun ada ..Popeye tu halal (dia mcm KFC lah)

5.Lawatan ke HK tak sah kalau tak pi Victoria Harbour tengok HK skyline.Org HK kalau nak berpacaran dan propose nak kawin, kat sinilah.Agak romantik tempatnya. :) Kalau nak go across ke HK Island from Kowloon, boleh juga naik feri (which kami tak sempat nak buat)

6.Lady of Leisure tanya pasal hotels in HK: mahal ke tak.Mahal memang mahal tapi book online via web yang buat offer (I think iklan dia ada dalam the Star...list hotels yang reasonable kat Kowloon...khas utk pi shopping bukan nak tidur sedap.Yang the first 2 days tu kita sengaja pilih yang selesa sebab nak rehat..masa tu memang no shopping on our list.Hotel tu kat New Territories, a resort tepi pantai. Memang jauh dari Kowloon or Hong Kong (1 hour from both.Naik taxi lebih HK200. The last 2 days tu yang kita masuk gear 5 pulun habis sebab nak qada shopping so it does not matter what hotel we stay in.Janji dekat dengan MTR dan senang nak pi Tsim Sha Tsui, Admiralty, Harbour City dan street markets.Hahaha).

Kesimpulanya: we have to respect our body and mind.Jgn kerja sampai badan dan otak penat.Not good.Kumpul duit and pi lah holiday with your family.If not luar negara, dalam negara pun OK.Next trip insyaAllah I nak pi Tioman or Redang or Kapaslah.Tak pernah pergi! I think pantai and pulau kita jauh lagi cantik.Cuma...takda tempat nak shopping! (for this reason, Langkawi remains my best island in Malaysia).

Hong Kong as we know it

Agnes and me by the harbour

Kat HK,makcik2 tua suka pakai topi.Here's one at Wan Chai's mosque
(kat Level 2 ada canteen halal)

Look at the cloud! Me at Stanley

HK skyline.Z melaram depan Vic Harbour

Z by the harbour where they put up giant lanterns

Jumbo, floating restaurant at Tai Pak or
Aberdeen Fishing Village

The harbour, from our vegetarian restaurant

boatview of Aberdeen Fishing Village

OK folks, I'm gonna share you my impressions of Hong Kong as I know it through my day activities today.Quite full and very exciting actually.

Lepas buat mee kari in the hotel room for breakfast(mee maggie direndam dgn air panas dan
dicampurkan rendang kari ayam Brahim), kita bersiap2 nak pi Aberdeen Fishing Village.If we took the tour, it would cost us HKD490 per head.6 jam pulak.We would not have time to shop.So kita naik MTR dan bas ke Aberdeen (kat Hong Kong Island across the harbour.Kita duduk kat Kowloon seberang HK Island.Train that went across sebenarnya lalu tunnel bawah laut, constructed in the 70s).We found out org2 HK very helpful kalau kita sesat.Kalau dia tak boleh cakap English, dia akan call anak dia dan suruh dia tunjuk jalan.Baik, kan? Kalau tak tau jalan, dia akan google map kat ipod.Lain benar dgn penduduk Kowloon yang lebih kasar dan tak da masa nak layan sapa2.

We found the fishing village.Nama Cinanya ialah Tai Pak.Jgn tanya the locals where Aberdeen Fishing Village is.Memang mereka tak tau.Itu commercial name dia.

Kat situ you can sewa sampan.Org tu akan minta HK60 per head tapi you mesti berani tawar.We got HK100 for half an hour.Seronok naik sampan tengok boathouses and floating restaurant terbesar di Asia dan marina boat org kaya2.

From there we went to Wan Chai kawasan Muslim.Nak cari Muslim Centre.Punya susah nak cari and when we found it, tutup pulak.Nasib the masjid wasn't far from there so we walked again (about 5 mins).Kat situ ada canteen jual makanan Chinese Muslim yang halal.Haiyooo...very2 nice.Next time you nak senang, just stay at Charter House which is berdepan dgn masjid ni/canteen halal.We had dim sum, and segala chinese food/s you can think of.Syukur alhamdulillah.Kat sini byk maid from Indonesia having their day off (once a week and they will kumpul kat masjid).

From Wan Chai, kita naik taxi pi Stanley Market yang famous tu.Stanley Market terletak di kawasan mahal di atas bukit.Tambang taxi dekat HKD100.Ingat taxi driver tu ikut jalan jauh tapi I asked around, memang harganya begitu..sometimes up to HKD150! Tak jauh dari Stanley Plaza yang canggih tu (byk bungalows and apartments mewah up the hills).Along the beach byk pubs and ramai mat salleh minum2 kat sini.Stanley Market ni jauh lebih mahal dari Ladies Market (payung HK 30 jadi HK 130 di sini) Berhati2.Walaupun kedai2nya jauh lebih sophisticated, org2 sini suka kerat kepala dari Ladies Market.

From Stanley, we took a bus to Causeway Bay to catch a train to Admiralty to catch another train to Tsim Sha Tsui to meet my good friend Agnes (academic and writer friend).Kami 15 mins lebih awal but she was already there.She has such a generous heart.Dia bawak kita dine kat a vegetarian restaurant yang mahal , overlooking the harbour.Wahhh...very da cantik.

Lepas tu kita walked to the harbour and walked past malls yang canggih manggih.Semua designers.

Balik hotel naik MTR rasa macam nak tercabut kaki penatnya. But we experienced Hong Kong/Kowloon at a cheaper rate than what we would have paid a tour agent (and would not see as much as we did today)

Sekian wassalam. :))

Makanan halal di Hong Kong

Halal Chinese cuisine kat restaurant masjid Wan Chai

Z with Dad at a vegetarian restaurant near
Victoria Harbour (what's supposed to be fake chicken, fake eel, sayor tu betul)

bryani and kebab (halal)

Tidak susah mencari makanan halal di Hong Kong kerana penduduk Muslimnya pelbagai: dari Cina Muslim ke India Muslim ke Mesir Muslim ke Turki Muslim dan sebagainya.Ada satu rangkaian makanan Muslim yang begitu mudah didapati (jika anda tau website makanan halal di HK..hahaha..bagi saya, kawan saya Mark yang berasal dari Canada tapi kawin dgn org sini dan menetap di sini..dialah yang bagi saya tau hal2 begini.Begitu juga kawan saya Agnes..org sini..dia juga beritau mana nak shopping, mana nak makan...).

Anyway, check out rangkaian makanan halal Ebeneezer.Tadi kita pi kat Knutsford Terrace (turun MTR di station Tsim Sha Tsui dan jalan keluar Exit 2B dan jalan cari Knutsford Terrace along Jalan Kimberley) di mana ada satu restoran fusion Malaysia, Thai dan India.Namanya Spice.Yo..mahal giler dan eja rendang kambing pun salah dalam menu: randang kambling. Tapi sebab restoran tu halal dan kita pun sgt lapar, kita order sahaja.Pengaruh India sgt kuat sebab b/ground music dia pun music India.Jadi kita nak create suasana Malaysia, kita pasang lagu dari phone kita lagu Ungu, Iklim dan lagu koleksi raya.Nasib towkay kedai tu tak halau kita keluar.Tapi kat HK semua org cakap kuat2. Nak makan pun terganggu.Cakap kuat dan jerit2 ni dah budaya mereka I guess.Kat Macau sampai ada poster peringatan supaya cakap perlahan2 dan sila bungkus kahak anda dalam tisu dan jgn berludah merata2.Yewl! Getik!

Tadi kita pi Ladies' Market.Penatlah nak bargain harga.I usually tawar sampai 50% w/pun my HK friend kata tawar about 20% je tapi I'm good..byk kali dapat harga yang diturunkan lebih dari 50% (buat2 je nak blah..nanti dia panggil balik). Tapi ada juga penjual mcm nak katuk I sebab mintak tawar byk sgt (dan mereka tak mau layan).

Lusa dah nak balik KL...waaaa...belum puas ku membeli belah di sini...

Greetings from Hong Kong

also from our hotel window

Z spotted a siput babi in Hong Kong

(at our resort)

Vela Latina, Portuguese Restaurant in Macau

you wake up to this view every morning

from our hotel window.Look at that hanging cloud over the mountain/hill

We touched down HKIA yesterday petang.As we were approaching the island, the flight got to be really bumpy.Takut oh.But alhamdulillah selamat sampai.

Thanks to the advice and info given by a friend, Mark Malby (who had to attend his brother's wedding in California and could not meet us in this trip), we decided to be as far away from the busy city as possible so took up a room in the Gold Coast (where HKies run away for retreats).Everywhere is view of the sea.Very da pretty.I fell in love with the place so fast.Then a posh2 mall was just within a walk.We wanted to go for something safe (like Thai cuisine where there's fish/seafood dishes) but dgn izin Allah, there's a halal middle eastern bistro and we had lamb bryani, tandoori and whatever eastern and halal you could think of.And a decent supermarket was also there.Beli fruits and drinks.Kat hotel mahal giler.

Oh by the way, if you ever get to HK, kat Airport tu ada tempat sembahyang (siap dengan tempat berwuduk) Tingkat 7 of the Airport building OK?

This morning we took a walk by the beach (Z forgot to bring our Muslim swimwear so there went our opportunity for a swim)...when we get connected with the earth (walking bare foot on the sand), memang rasa lain macam.Stress hilang.

Lepas tu we decided to go to Macau (1 hour by ferry). Pi shopping cos' nak buat apa lagi? Sightseeing semua nengok sisa2 penjajah (churches, museums). The casinos macam huge shopping malls (sometimes you can't tell the difference!)

We had lunch at this very nice restaurant (Vela Latina).It's a fusion of Portuguese and Macau cuisine.We went for seafood and veges. And ice creams. :)

I think I can live in HK.Shopping bagussss.

Raya drama

the only raya pic left (yang lain my niece, Tasniem, dah deleted.

She's 4 years old).This with my in laws

OK this year, the raya drama award goes to me and my mom.

Thursday mak I found that my family and I would not balik Raub to spend raya there.Dia naik angin.The rendang, satay goreng, baju raya I gave, semua dia tak mau (walhal before she found out, sikit punya excited nak bawak balik.Nasi impit pun dah packed siap2).The reason why we decided we'd stay put in KL was because she balik Raub Thursday ptg after her dialysis.Raya belah malam (besoknya on Friday) she has to travel back to KL for Saturday dialysis.We didn't want to tire ourselves running up and down Karak highway (balik ari) cos' Nik would want to spend raya in KL with his mom too.Nak travel Thursday evening too early for us...paip air nak kena ganti, pump kolam rosak..everything nak buat Thursday tu.Habis kalau balik Friday? Kena rush juga nak raya with Nik's family kan? It's her first raya without my father in law.

So...high drama.
I was very hurt but Nik said let my mom cool first.Nanti balik dari holiday, we'd see her and raya and minta maaf.

Friday my sis was supposed to drive her to KL.I knew they would not stop at my place.Saturday tu she had her dialysis (the centre is near my place).I thought I should drop by and salam raya.But my mom can be very difficult bila dia merajuk.Nik kata biar dia cool off dulu.

I dah janji nak invite Swabri (from Kenya) and Ali (Central Africa) to lunch so I masak bryani and prepared salad and all.Chicken I bought at Rasa Mas (Ayam Kasturi dia sedap).Meanwhile Sal and I were text-ing about masalah semasa ni. She said go and see our mom at the Centre since my house was so close-by.We are flying off for our hols besok..she said tak baik if I didn't see her first.I thought so too.Tak nak la nanti kena telan dek bumi.We went to the Centre.They had just left.So we went to pick up Swabri at the LRT station.Ali takda.Dalam perjalanan, my sis kata kalau nak jumpa juga mom, go to Pizza Hut.So another chase.By now Swabri was with us.I pakat dgn Swabri..can you enter Pizza Hut tu dulu...sweet talk my mom (my mom suka dia) and get her mood right..then I'd come and salam her while she's still smiling at him.Swabri thought oh this is so funny but he agreed.Kita gelak2 juga sambil tu.Memang funny.Dramalah kata kan.

It worked (I owe Swabri my lifetime gratitude) Haha.So I kissed my mom's hand and said sorry.Although she was not terribly excited, she took my salam.

You think it's easy huh? Both of us (like mother, like daughter/s) are all strong-headed, ego maniacs.But I knew my place...

During my 2 days plus ordeal (Thursday and Friday and part of Sat) I had online and sms support from friends and students (they didn't know I was upset but their kindness and love cheered me up) Francis esp. was a big comfort.He and his family are also going through a tough time.We kinda connect on this.He says I'm his spiritual teacher.I think it's the other way round.He has more patience and generosity than I have.

Anyway, nasi bryani I buat memang sedap (pastenya paste Brahim..tapi kalau tak betul ikut instructions..tak sedap juga kan?) My in laws and good neighbours (Tim and family) pun datang.Mini open house.

Need to pack now.Flight kita besok noon.Pray that it goes well.

Hariraya yang sederhana

I'm still at the office, trying to finish up a conference paper.Everyone has gone on leave.Initially I wanted to stay another day to finish up the paper tomorrow but it's so quiet here.I don't feel safe. :))

Sharifah and kids came to iftar last night.It's been a while since I last saw them. They live in Makkah. Sharifah told me she went to Rosmah's place the evening before, witnessing her khatam Quran. Something you cannot reconcile with, kan? But it kinda puts her in a different perspective. Nak juga dia khatam Quran. :)

This year's raya betul-betul low key.Is it age or just circumstances?

My only consolation is biskut raya yang I beli online tu ternyata tersangat sedap. Aku tidak tertipu seperti selalu.

Z is at home marinating satay meat.Besok kita start buat rendang.I'll check Cold Storage for another round to see if Rendang Brahim is available (short cut to rendang making..you just throw in your rendang meat with pati rendang Brahim and there you go, sedap macam buat sendiri! Sayangnya, hypermarkets tak support Brahim.Limited stock, susah nak dapat).

Langsir I pun siap lepas Raya (sebab lambat hantar...no time).

Malam-malam terakhir Ramadan

Mak I bilang I lagi banyak tak puasa dari dia! (she will not puasa on days she does her dialysis which is 3 kali seminggu). Sudah tentu nyata dia exaggerates, kan? :))

Anyway, Z pun tak puasa lagi hari ni.Ahhh...we will miss our lailatulqada but hopefully jumpa dalam kami berbuat baik dgn orang2 yang berpuasa.We should start puasa balik besok. :))

Hari ni we went to dine with my friend's daughter from New Zealand.She brought another friend (also from NZ but they are both migrating to Australia).Kita makan Japanese at Shangri-la.Mula2 depa ajak I pi makan kat KL Tower...malas..tak sedap dan mahal although Nik kata Shang lagi mahal.Anyway tak kisah..we have money to spend (Najib bagi RM500 extra, remember? Haha)

Budak2 ni cerita how depa balik kampong mak dia kat Belawai, 3 jam naik bot dari Kuching.Betul2 kampong...kata Natalie yang first time pi tempat2 gitu..ayam berkokok all hours..dia tak leh nak tidur.Pelik pulak ayam Belawai ni..biasanya ayam cuma berkokok bila dah Subuh...ni malam2 pun dia berkokok.Apa kena??

Sarinah ni maknya org Sarawak, bapak org putih NZ so dia tak tau cakap apa2 local pun kecuali "makan" dan "panas" tapi sejak akhir2 ni kerap juga dia balik ke kampong maknya.Very decent personality.

I ni rasa loya lepas makan pregnant fish kat restaurant Jepun ni.My daughterlah kata sedap (kawan dia recommended).Ikan kecik yang bunting dgn telor.Hiss...

Semoga hari-hari terakhir Ramadan membawa bahagia.

Merdeka Blues

This year apa pasal tak rasa merdeka pun? What is going on??

Pagi-pagi I got an email saying well-written.Aku dah agak..mesti ada issue race.Kawan-kawan Cina aku ramai macam ni (yang betul-betul luhur pun ramai). Yang segelintir ni suka sangat hantar emails yang berbau perkauman.Aku benci! Dah berapa puluh tahun merdeka, still harping on kami rakyat kelas kedua? rakyat anak tiri? orang melayu ada hak istimewa.Kalau tak bulan ramadan..dah lama nak kena hamput ni!

Macamana pun I voiced my 'resistance'.Pi check kat Penang tu..PKR rule kaa DAP rule.My friend (we are still friends..hahaha) kata check dulu la kau punya fakta..open tender ada pun, Melayu juga dapat projek.He said pi talk to the people.Masalahnya I spoke to orang-orang miskin Penanglah aku berani cakap mcm tu! (unless taxi drivers tu orang2 UMNO??) I habag kat my fren, nak tanya Melayu mana? Semua dah tak mampu nak duduk kat island..habeh lari ke mainland.

Tak habis dok kalut with this email, tiba lagi satu kawan bagi email on merdeka (tajuk well-written).Dok cerita pasal Cina-Melayu lagi..haiya..this is not how I want to spend the rest of my life as a Malaysian (dok cerita ungkit melayu dapat ni..Cina terpinggir) Come on! anak aku pun tak dapat government scholarship OK? Kita pun duduk rumah teres lagi OK? Privilege apa, cuba habag maii!

I told my friends (supposedly to be educated people) tukarlah skrip..jangan dok main the same song.Aku bosan! Tukarlah skrip kepada yang ini (dan ajar anak-anak dan cucu-cucu sekali):

We do not care how others make us feel.We are Malaysians.Let's build this country together and assist each other..work with the rich to help the poor.

See? Takda ill-feelings against any group based on race, class, religion.Take the venoms out.Be happy!

Happy merdeka day, anyway.You may not like your politicians but they don't own this country.It is ours to keep and take care of.

Busy days ahead

It's almost raya now ha? I have a series of conferences to attend between now and Nov.Tensi, dong! Konon nak unwind kat tempat buat facial and urut kaki..sakit bahu pulak jadinya..muka naik gerutu! (ini akibat coupon murah la ni..patut harga RM380 jadi RM98..inilah padahnya!)

Anyway, I thought of flying to Brunei to collect my data for the conference in Jakarta..suntuklah masa! Mana nak raya..mana nak pi holiday raya...and my writers from Indonesia semua I call je on the phone.Mana I faks, I faks, mana ada emel I emel.Kerja gila mcm ni! There's this Kiai on my list ..susah nak connect.I hope he'll respond.Nampak mcm interesting je orangnya.

Bagi yang tak berpuasa, how do you cope? Makan sorok2 ke?

Nur Ramadan Talk Series

We'd like to announce our series of talk this Ramadan.For those keen on life-long learning, this is the time.

Tomorrow Aug 20, 2010 (11 am -12.30 pm) at CERDAS room

1.Dr Meriam (clinical psychologist with years of experience) talking on Memahami Keperluan Warga Emas (we'll get there sooner or later!)

Fee RM30; students RM10

2.Puan Nina Abdullah (certified marriage counselor who ran a practice in USA before moving to Malaysia) speaking on Menyuburkan kasihsayang di dalam rumahtangga

CERDAS room August 26, 2010 (same time, same fee)

3. Prof Dr. Alini (Board Trustee Member of Khalifah Institute, Prof of Pharmacy, UKM) speaking on Memahami Keperluan Remaja

CERDAS room Sept 3, 2010 (same time, same fee)

Make time for knowledge.RM30 is sooooo cheap cos' the professional rate is RM250 an hour with the psychologists.

See you tmrw!

Dari Golden Lounge

Greetings from Penang.I'm writing from the airport's golden lounge..hai..seronok betul travel business class nih...rasa relaxed and unrushed sikit..surau kat sini, toilet bersih dan tak berbau...rahmah Allah sangat besar bagi yang berpuasa...hahaha (cuma tak leh makan)

I was at USM to examine a thesis (viva).Sempat jumpa beberapa rakan seperjuangan.Mcm2 idea dapat bila dah berbual2.

I suka Penang.Green, clean, accessible.Dulu tak mcm ni.Dulu byk motosikal dan agak tak teratur.Kalau tak jadi cuti ke Seoul or Hong Kong or Australia, nak suruh Nik datang sinilah cuti Raya nanti.Duduk tepi pantai macam orang putih...

Saturday baru ni we had a family event (buka puasa plus kenduri doa selamat : for Z and for Nik..long overdue.Also for my mother: for coming through her toughest ordeal last Feb). I catered but caterer baru ni not so goodlah.But anak2 angkat yang kita ambik last 2 rayas came.My mom was so happy (Ali led the prayers/doa..dia punya doa boleh buat org menangis..so sayu..style masjid Madinah where he studied for his undergrad days).Makram pun I invited (maklum he just came from Jordan/Saudi.A pelarian Palestine.A bit lost takda kawan but with the 4 boys, ada la kawan dia nak cakap Arab..Ala budak Palestin tu pun ada..from Engineering Sch.Dia ni tertib.Mak bapak duduk Dubai.Nampak mcm kaya but humble je).Nik ajak budak2 ni makan durian (my nephew bawak dari Raub).Ya Allah...macam pesta! ( I don't like durian..busuk..hahaha..gue mcm oreng putih kulit hitam)

But it's nice kasi makan students.Ali was saying semayang kat masjid UIA tu mcm kat Makkah musim puasa ni.Orang luar pun will come to pray there.One of these days I pun nak pi lah.Dah teringat kat Masjidil Haram...harap2 ada lambaian pi umrah soon.

Unnecessary fear that impedes...

I hate it when it happens.Unfortunately in this country, it happens a lot.

2 years ago I got some small research grant.In my busy-ness and excitement that I completed the project, I submitted whatever I got and moved on to other reserach projects (and completed..some with slight delay).

Now that the whole uni is or will be audited, many offices are over-cautious about their spendings to the extent of impeding other people's progress.Arghhhs!!! Benci betul. I could not trace RM400 RA money spent (budak tu dah balik Nigeria I think).I wrote a letter saying my work was submitted and published the same year (2008).How come the file isn't close yet.Selagi tak close tak leh apply another project (although between 2008 and 2010 I got other grants..cuma now in their spring-cleaning, they just discovered ada doco I tak cukup). Truly leceh.If it's RM4 million I can faham the kecoh (and esp if work is not done).

Oh well.

Happy Ramadan

My fav month is almost here. I wish to wish everyone selamat menyambut bulan yang penuh berkat ini.

We shopped early for Ramadan sebab Sat afternoon I had IEEP at Genting till Sunday.Malam tu pulak nak pi tengok Z punya Culture Show (dia jadi pompuan mengandung...good acting but I asked apa pasal tak pilih langsung watak lakonan tu.She said it was given.But the kids pandai...they did everything within a week : from writing the play to setting up props, belajar tarian, etc.We were impressed but masa 20 mins intermission, we all cabut.Z's scene pun dah lepas.Had to pick up my mom from Sal's.Dia baru keluar Tropicana, masuk balik HUKM besoknya.Sigh..but now stable and discharged).

I feel that I need a holiday.The mind, body and spiritual a bit battered.May Ramadan energise me.

paling maksima

Hari ini ujian cukup besar.Paling Maksima.Macam nak buat cerpen pulak.

I had to uruskan my mom keluar hospital seorang diri. Can you imagine I mengangkat kerusi roda besi tu sorang2? Ya right..tak terbayangkan yah? Memang tak terangkatkan! Hari ni I tak pi valet parking sebab nak save duit.So I kena hangkut besi tu from carpark kat bawah tu..bukanlah hangkut sampai atas but from my car boot to keluar.It was impossible.Then I just doa: Ya Allah permudahkanlah...and like magic, benda tu jadi ringan and MUDAH keluar.I have seen byk magic since I take care of my mom, folks.Truly!

But I got tired. I bukan malaikat yang tak tidur, tak lapar, tak marah.By the time I got to work (separuh hari nak settle mcm2 kat hospital tu > it's not a one-stop centre nak mengeluarkan pesakit ni.I wish you can just do it at the ward's counter) I rasa mcm nak pengsan.I sms-ed all my siblings, reminding them hey look, we gotta share this responsibility.Yang sorang tu byk ckp pulak..reminding betapa byk pahala kalau buat kerja dgn ikhlas (my eyes roll up here)...and that it's all destiny that I should do more and even quoted the story of anak mithali yang pikul mak dia kat bahu ...haiyo...never quote anything to a tired caregiver...I told her jgn guna destiny as an excuse but ask how much extra mileage are we willing to do for an aged parent.

Anyway, we sorted out some kinda arrangement: kena bergilir2.There are times my work would not permit me to be this flexible with my time..so they better be prepared.

And kesian the aged patient next to my mom's bed.Dia mcm dah nyanyuk.Only her sons rajin tunggu but they are easily chased away by the nurses sebab tu ward pompuan.Tadi pagi nenek tu duduk tak bergerak2.Anak2 jantan dia tak datang lagi. My mom kata dia pengsan (sebenarnya tidak).I asked her upon seeing her meal tak dimakan."Makcik tak lapar ke?"

She mouthed me : "lapar."

"Makcik nak makan ke?" I asked trying to be civil.Idak I tau makcik tu nak kata iya.

"Iya." she said and looked at me with this pleading look.Plez O plez.

Halamak! Terpaksa la I jadi misi dia kejap.Kasi makan...(betul2 macam baby.. lap2 mulut dia when makanan tu jatuh atas bib dia).Nak ketawa pun ada, nak menangis pun ada (I felt kiri kanan I had to serve)

Tapi di sinilah agama amat penting.Sedang setan dok kipas I, I teringat hadis Rasulullah "tidak dari golonganku jika dia tidak mengasihi yang kecil dan menyayangi yang tua" or something like that lah.And you actually feel good helping others....

And balasan serta merta Allah hari ni buat I?
Diana Wong sent me an email and gave me her tel no!!!!!

This is the friend I have been looking for for over 10 years!! (dia pun cari I) Hatinya sangat mulia walaupun dia bukan orang Islam.Masa I susah sebatang kara in Adelaide, sapa yang cheered me up (tolong share sewa rumah..tolong jaga anak I..tolong kasi I moral support when Z had to go back to Malaysia cos' I could not afford childcare expenses and could not cope between writing a thesis and caring for an infant...) Memang kalau Diana Wong takda, I dah lama biul.

Itulah balasan Allah utk mengangkat besi berat hari ini.Syukur alhamdulillah!

Events of the month

Men in uniform (Doc Zul and friends)


Role playing

Dr Ng and Delesh at UoL dinner


Stuart at UoL cocktails

Stuart and Malaysian Mona Lisa
(kah kah kah)

guests at the registration counter

The gala dinner with Uni of Liverpool at KL Sentral's Hilton went well.Met a few interesting people: Dr Khan who flew all the way from Dhaka for the dinner (trained as a doctor at the Uni of Liverpool) and ada Mat Salleh berumur (was a lawyer) yang I suka berbual.The group who came (the VC and wife included) were not your typical English yang sombong.They also thought we were a bunch of friendly people. :)) And I met Datuk Zakaria (ingatkan dia ni Chinese convert..dok cerita dgn dia pasal budak2 Melayu cerdik yang tak dapat scholarship..aleh2 bila nak pi cari nama dia kat VVIP table, wife dia kata look for his name: Paul Chan..halamak! But I think he was representing someone else..these days tak tau who is who..muka semua sama! I remember meeting with Datuk Z when HELP gave Z an award and scholarship for High Achievers..dia la yang gave away the award.Baik sgt mereka suami isteri)

I had a great evening sitting with Dr Kassim and wife, Kwan and wife, Delesh (bujang) and Dr Ng.

On Sunday kita tukar hospital mak kita dari private ke uni hospital.The meter stopped at close to RM12K (2 days je).But mak kita dah stabil so alhamdulillah.

Monday ada closing ceremony for our peacekeepers.Syok oh talking and mingling with uniformed men/women. :)) Kita tak pernah tau dunia mereka.Mereka pun tak pernah tau dunia uni.kami.We all hope there would be other opportunities to work together again.And I hope our newly found friends will email us pics from wherever they are (takleh beritau lokasi mission mereka but they go as peacekeepers)

And now, back to examining theses.

Lagi kisah hospital

Everything had to come to a standstill as my mom was admitted to ICU late Thursday evening.My appointments with students, a guest from Conakry (Africa), my dinner with friends from Liverpool, semua kena kensel.We didn't have time to send my mom to HUKM cos' she had bad internal bleeding so my sisters sent her to a private hospital near my place.We would not be able to handle the traffic jam, long waits at HUKM's emergency.Not at 6 pm.Not after a long day's work.I was the last to arrive at the hospital.Lepas tu after Maghrib bergegas to Kg Melayu Subang with Nik.Was told by my PA ada satu ustaz boleh buat air penawar (I wanted anything to stop the bleeding).Rang him up.Dia tak mengubat org on malam Jumaat, he said.I said plez O plez (not exactly in that manner) but Ustaz tu kata datanglah lepas Maghrib.We were lucky mlm tu dia tak sihat and ada di rumah and not malam org berubat (if not, long queue).

Dgn izin Allah, selepas minum air doa tu, the bleeding stopped.Doc kata ada 2 je kemungkinan where the blood came from: stomach or colon.Anything could spell tumor/cancer.Haiyo...

Mlm tu endoscopy showed my mom's stomach cantik.No pendarahan.Besok kena buat colonscopy (today).Doc didn't find anything but suspected luka2 lama (typical in aged people) caused the bleeding.Blood will stop sendiri if it happens again.Haiyo...itupun she had to transfuse blood.Darah hilang mesti diganti.

Typical of private hospitals, doc kasi masuk Operation Room.Dia tunjuk isi dalam colon my mom (my sisters tak berani and pushed me to be the one rep from the family to find out what the prob was).Like I berani sangat! Ada satu part tu, I just shut my eyes.I think Dr Gan sensed my fear (bilik tu gelap).He asked do you want to stay to watch or wait outside.I told him I didn't want to watch.Dia kata OK, tunggu je at luar.Nanti dia explain je.

This is NOT something anyone can handle alone.My sisters semua datang and becos' ICU visiting hours are strict, sempat juga I cabut buat facial! (I was exhausted...kalau buat facial rasa segar sikit) The beauty of the hospital being so close to home and my facial place.

Besok tengok hospital bill, semua pengsan.I wish gomen hospitals are this efficient, this friendly and this nicely located.

Rivals

I had meant to write this earlier.but i forgot.

Last Sunday, I asked if Nik could take me to this place said to be so famous for breakfast.
Kita pun pergi.We saw a signage that said,"Although our competitor offers cheaper prices, they know their real worth."

After eating our breakfast, we thought the cheaper competitor ni patut put up this signage,"Although our competitor offers higher prices, they should know they are over-rated."

Hampaih betul the place we went to.Ikannya mentah, karinya masin...I miss Banana Leaf in Little India in Spore.Yang itu memang takda tolok banding.If you are in Spore, check it out.It's always penuh with people from all over the world, from all walks of life.Karinya memang outa this world.

I puasa Syaaban ni folks (malam ni Nisfu Syaaban).Tu sebab thinking food now...

Workshop and food testing

Full day today,folks.

The team had to seludup air and gula2 for our thesis workshop di satu tempat yang tak dapat kami sebutkan di sini (food and drink are prohibited).It's amazing how doas worked (I was praying the place's guardian would not see me carrying this suspicious bag and later Dr Zura, with this suspicious box going past the entrance).Dengan izin Allah, masa kami lalu tu, the guardian terjatuh sesuatu di lantai and was bending down to pick it. :))

My lit review session was alive with participants' contributions.They sounded so pro when critiquing others' works.Baguslah...I think budak2 UIA ni Allah dah jadikan sedia cerdik sejak azali.Haha.

Anyway, I had to rush to KL Sentral's Hilton for the food testing soonest after my workshop.The whole gang were there except for Amin (he came a bit late).Hilton's foods have always been superb.We had seafood, sesame seeded chicken, fish, nasi goreng cina and recipe paling pelik was this sugarcane juice with snow fungus.We joked about that being served to our mat salleh guests later..nanti depa akan kata orgh..fungus! they serve us fungus! We had been warned of this! and look at how green the water is (air tebu)!

But we all agreed this dessert would be most appropriately served during Ramadan.
The gang had fun talking about old days at Liverpool.I tak tau pun dorms for the engineering students lagi canggih than my Mulberry Court (Amin pun pernah tinggal kat Mulberry.He was a law student.I thought they had different housing for law students)

Anyway, my mom dah pecat the new maid.Sigh...apa pasallah my sister layankan (I was not home when they decided)..nanti tak terkejar if we have only one maid.I hope we'll get a replacement soon.

Setengah hari di Hulu Langat

Kerja. Went to check the prog.cantik lah tempat ni.Will come back with the family for a weekend getaway.Air sungai jernih.Tidur tak payah air-con.We had wasted our lives pi shopping kat malls every weekend all these years!

Now we have found a place to unwind...Hulu Langat Batu 18 (or is it 14?) Went with Dr Haslina (dia ni very da cekap bab2 cari route...but she knew short cuts to the place cos' husband dia selalu cycle kat kawasan ni...from KL, OK? Bike yang jenis harga belas2 ribu tu...We rather drive...tak sakit lutut...)

Berhenti beli rambutan and manggis tepi jalan.Satu macam manisnya...I think yang jual tu bekas2 Indon maids yang lari dari rumah majikan..sign bakso di kiri kanan jalan...wough..seikat rambutan RM4.

The prog berjalan baik.Daryl is so committed mengajar budak2 tu.Dr H went back for the cert giving (I nak attend sufi poetry reading at ISTAC conference).May Allah bless her!

a crazy day

Z's registration day at a private college 40 mins from KL.We went around 10 am.Tempat jin bertendang and there are only two categories of students here: children of rich parents and creme de la creme government/GLC/MNC scholars.Syukur alhadullilah Z got to study at her dream college.Ini betul2 rahmah Allah.We would not be able (or not willing?) to spend that much money to finance her A Level (habis2 kita hantar dia ke HELP...3 kali lebih murah dari college ni...RM63K for 2 years and yet, so many parents are willing to pay cos' kolej ni ada 100% passes for A Level except one year cikgu besar dia kata ada budak failed.I tanya sebab apa budak tu fail.Dia kata masalah budak tu sendiri).

Hopefully Z will do well here.Terngiang2 I pesanan ringkas Dr Wee (Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran) yang beritau budak2 Shell at the Award ceremony, "Jgn pandai interview sahaja..nanti belajar tak habis." Hahaha..Z has many funny stories about her journey here.Masa nak buat medical check up, satu Dr. India kata..you have to do drugs test (which is RM100 more and not that necesary). Z argued kata tak payah.He said budak2 MARA byk fail this test and that if she tak nak buat, he would not sign. :)) Sometimes I wonder if that trace of racism is imagined or real...why single out budak2 MARA? budak2 lain tak fail ke? Z bukan budak MARA.He just assumed Z budak MARA. Just becos' dia Melayu dan dapat scholarship pi one of the prestigious colleges in the region.

Z lives in a 4-roomed chalet like accommodation, 2 baths.I thought ada dapor but it makes sense takda dapor.Nanti terbakar pulak chalet mereka ni or they will quarrel kalau ada room mate dia dok memasak je.

Masa briefing kat parents and students, I noticed that ibubapa yang datang pun hebat2.One lady sitting on my right nampak je simpoi...but she is an engineer (hubby bizness man educated in the US).Di sebelah kiri I, a couple who had ringgit sign all over them.Z's grandma pun came to hantar (Nik's mom.My mom buat dialysis kat HUKM today) and next to her were other grandmoms juga (sorang tu isteri hakim, sorang lagi tu tak sempat nak tanya tapi tengok baju dia...amboi...glamour dari cucu).In a way, it's nice to know we have 3 successful generations.In another...wah...where do these people come from! Kereta pun menjalar-jalar.

I punya conf started 3.30 pm at the other end of the city.Masa I masuk hall termengah2, they were waiting for me.My turn was on.Punya tergopoh gapah (power point tak sempat nak hantar and so there was some awkward moment as we tried to set up the power point thingy).Nasib baik topik tu memang makanan aku...I received many questions (nasib none too specific) and had raised enough interest for a follow-up conf on the topic and also a possible book project, also on the topic (biasala kan semangat conf.Hangat2 taik ayam but it'll be good to see some of the stuffs come into reality).

Sat. ada satu lagi workshop which I have to handle.Dunia O dunia..boleh tunggu sekejap?Kau berpusing terlalu laju.

Al fatihah

My aunty passed away today.My sister sms-ed me the news sekitar Subuh.I was hesitant to inform my mom.She would go hysterical (her only sister left) and then force me to drive back to Raub (which I was not so keen if Nik tak mau balik.Remember my bad spine? I don't drive long distance anymore.Kebetulan this week is our craziest week).Another sister rang and asked if I would be breaking the news to Mom.I said No (they would not be there to pick the pieces).

Then I heard the ph in my Mom's room rang.Someone would break the news to her.True enough, I heard my mom's hysteria...she came knocking on my door, crying.

Lepas tu dia merajuk cos' my reaction didn't match her expectation.
Then I heard another sister make plans to drive her back to Raub.I was outside the Chalk Circle (I'm tired OK folks.These days it's only me and Sal taking turns caring for her and I have new realities in my life to cope with: child leaving home, new job which is so demanding, papers to write, papers to present...all happening this week!)

But in the end, Nik said we'd go back to pay our last respect but a bit later.He had to sort out urgent matters at the office first and cancelled a few things.I would drive my mom over to my sis' place who would leave earlier than us.So my mom was comforted. :))

We zoomed back (Nik naik angin cos' he was going round and round in a circle at IIUM..I tak dengar my ph.Dekat sejam dia tunggu.Fuming mad.Dah satu drama lain pulak!)
Sampai di kampong, I saw some relatives (my only uncle left, his kids and cousins from various dead uncles and aunties).Mak De died in Kuantan at her youngest son's house who we fondly call Busu (his real name is Nazri).Kesian Busu.He told me he was still feeding her at 5 am this morning, still talking to his mom...Busu duduk flat (dia polis).Flat ni cuma ada lift sampai tingkat 4.I asked Sal (I had not been to his place.Sal had the week we were in Kuantan for our niece's wedding) how they brought down the jenazah.Sal said they carried her down.Kesian I dengar.Inilah nasib rakyat marhaen...rumah pun takda lift sampai ke bawah.

I gave Busu money for the kenduri aruah I would not have the kesempatan to attend (Nik was rushing back to work..I got class at 4 to 7 pm.I wish I could just cancel je my class but besok nak hantar Z to her new college pulak and I have a conference paper to present at 3.30pm).
Such is life.Mengejar dunia yang tidak pernah berhenti untuk kita.

I read Yassin twice and got the boys who visited her teratak every Raya to sedekahkan Al Fatihah for her too.The boys (from Bosnia, Kenya, Mozambique, Yemen, Palestine, Uzbek, Central Africa) all loved their time at her place.

Semoga Mak De ditempatkan di syurga firdaus and may Busu be rewarded by Allah for not turning his mom away di saat2 ibunya uzur dan memerlukan.

Hindi movies

This empty nest syndrome can do you a lot of things, you know.Of late, I have been glued to watching Hindi movies on dvds.

Whoa..Hindi movies have grown so much now..kalah Hollywood! You must watch these two movies : My name is Khan (I'm not a terrorist).Canggih habis! No more dances gedik2 or nyanyi keliling pokok. Shahrukh Khan tries to be the Indian Forrest Gump.Kadang2 menjadi,kadang2 over.Kajol is so pretty in this one. This one is so global, ada African American community, scenes with redneck mat salleh.It captures the present day racism and bigotry encountered by Muslims in the West.I like.

The second movie is the 3 idiots...another intelligent movie...but masih ada menari gedik2 (atas scooter and dalam tong deram somemore! Hahaha...I don't mind.For single women..hati2...byk male butt scenes in this movie). But don't show this movie to your kids if you have managed to convince them to do courses you like which they don't like.It might give them ideas (to follow their passion/heart.Hahaha.Nak sorok dari Z! Just kidding.Z made her own mind to switch from Law to Finance/Econs.We just highlighted the pros and cons)

Ah yes, another movie: homebred.'Pisau Cukur' by Bernice Chauly.Kelakar gila! Bernice is a real talent.Lama dah I tak jumpa dia.Must be doing very well as a movie maker.

Boiferen (Nik) ajak tengok Hugh Grant malam ni.I dah tak kuasa.Hugh Grant dah tua. :)
Any good movies you'd like to suggest us?

Congrats IIUM!

IIUM is rated one of 18 excellent unis in Malaysia (neck and neck with offshore Curtin Tech..we are 2nd of 18 unis in Tier 5, beating other offshores like Monash, Nottingham and of cos' the public unis, we are first...jangan marah...).SETARA rating (or ranking) is more reliable cos' assessors turun padang checked all documents/claims.Not like Times Higher..they rank according to claims on paper.

I wish Rector does another press release on IIUM's achievement.

Anyway, I took leave today.Mula2 to accompany my mom to HUKM.Then 2 or 3 days ago Z said Shell buat award giving pulak at Sime Darby Convention.I thought event tu pagi, sempat la nak bergegas to HUKM.Sampai2..rupa2 rehearsal for the kids, event starts noon.

So I balik dulu, drove my maw to my younger sis' place.She'd send her after sch.I would pick her up after my event.

Nak tau? Shell gave 10 places je for overseas' s/ships (out of beratus who applied).Z also competed with those already in university (like this gal who went on fama s/ship...father/mother.. in Melbourne..she is in year 2 dah.One of the 10 also) Phuiyooo..very competitive.Syukurlah..akhirnya Z dapat juga something for her hardwork.I like what Shell Chairman (muda, pintar, tawaduk) said in his speech: Having all As isn't everything...Shell assesses its candidates on other merits: sports/extra curriculum, critical and creative thinking skills, etc etc.

And er..my letter to the editor came out in the Star today.On the same topic. Someone sms me pagi2 buta and asked "did you write to the star?" I gelak je.I tanya keluar ke? Walhal I used pseudonym.Hahaha.Mana dia tau?Am I that transparent?

Anyway..masa dalam hall tu..I felt it was really 1Malaysia...parents yang ada bukan dari kalangan org yang berada...(I think yang parents kaya cuma ada 2-3 couples je).Semua bangsa were represented (tapi ramai Melayu..melayu miskin tapi cerdik.Yang bangsa lain pun miskin tapi cerdik). Shell announced next year there would be another category: for the disabled (tapi pintar).Gomen tak da la nak memikir mcm ni..dia nak sokong satu puak je.Puak 9A+.Terkencek la puak2 kita nak pulun.They should read Lily Zubaidah's book on meritocracy vs parentocracy (Oxford Uni. Press).Lily is Sporean economist, now living in Australia (her book is banned by Spore government).I met her at one conference.Full of wisdom.

Sekitar Flower Arrangement Workshop

my office looked nice

my kerastangan (very professional looking arrangement!)


yang ini student kasi


participants of the workshop
at work (IP sent 3 staff, baiknya boss)

menerima tempahan perkahwinan

(my gubahan in progress)

The whole workshop was simply exciting.Mula2 macam biasa, I felt so stressful (the trauma of my cake decorating workshop came back at this point).My friends from Law Faculty said the same thing. "I came here to de-stress tapi jadi stressful sangat!" She could not even tie the ribbon (which Angelyn said was the easiest). We all laughed at our clumsiness.

But at the end of the workshop, kita semua happy.There's a certain kind of chi we got outa playing with the roses.

This Raya we vowed we'd make our own flower arrangements.Ada yang dah sanggup menerima tempahan kawin.Hahaha.

Congrats, Z!

Syukur alhamdulillah, Z got Shell award to read Econs overseas! No Malaysian government agency awards her anything (JPA shortlisted her but she tak dapat atas sebab tak cukup A...straight As pun tak cukup lagi? 4A+, 4A and 2A-.Kalau A- takda nilai, why bother introducing it?.I wrote to TPM, PM...semua takda responses...ada pun keluar TPM's statement saying how transparent they are in their selection.Well..if excellence is measured solely on no of As..then I have nothing to say...personality/critical thinking/creative checks which one can access through interviews and co-curricular activities are worth 5-10% je.Padan lah we get leaders yang suka duduk je dari rolling up their sleeves to work with rakyat on the ground.Or ramai officers yang tak aktif in gomen agencies.Then kerja tak jadi cepat mana pun!)

They should learn from Shell how Shell makes its selection (gruelling! but I think they got the best.Not becos' anak I dapat award from Shell but masa lepas interviews tu..berlapis2 interviewnya OK? we told ourselves..kalau Z tak dapat pun kami puas hati.She was fully tested).

Well now..it's up to Z.Dia dah nampak selesa buat Law at IIUM.I told her buat both Econs and Law kalau sayang sangat ke law nya tu.

PNB sampai sekarang no news (dah dekat berapa bukan ni).PNB kasi buat Law overseas.Kalau anak sendiri tak kasi susu dan berok2 di hutan tu didulukan...apa nak buat.The gomen seems not to have strategic mind to groom future leaders.Asyik2 nak favour medicine, science-based applications..there should be a nice balance, really!

wedding talks and other stories

Aren't you curious with what people talk about at wedding receptions? (where old friends meet after so long or new ones make new ties).

I was at one yesterday.Met up with a couple I enjoy meeting (young, vibrant, cosmopolitan and yet rooted).Both had worked in London for many years.LSE grads somemore.Tapi tak sombong OK? The guy had told me about his trip to West Africa at another wedding we went to a couple of years back.This year, that episode continued.I told him about my experience.We had fun exchanging stories.I tengok other guests at the table tompang semangkok ketawa over some of the funny entries I had.

Anyway, after the wedding I rushed to Azhar's for our supposedly final meeting on the UoL Gala Dinner (but the team decided we might need another final one just a week before the event).Annie masak bagus as usual.Dr Cassim is always fun to be with (he would diagnose just about anything and had strong opinions against paracetamol, cough syrup, antibiotics).Amin pun dah pandai nak prescribe drugs (he mentioned something which he said kalau makan, kena marah dgn judge pun tak rasa apa.Hahaha) It's a cool group.

Pagi tu I was busy working with SMU interns at Krash Pad.The kids had started painting their clay items.I made myself a pair of ear -rings (terompah biru).I love my keras tangan work. :)) Lupa nak ambik gambar.The kids were lovable.I suka Yunos budak Mynmar tu.Reza is very talented.Atiqah is affectionate.Rozana tak datang...demam.They looked pretty motivated.I hope they will produce more saleable items.We have decided to get Siti Nurhaliza to launch the big sale nanti.If not her, maybe Miss Malaysia tu.If things go as planned...

Getting in touch with your femininity

After years of study on feminist ideals and ideas, it sounds bizarre that I shoud be organising a workshop on flower arrangement.So anti-intellectual, so feminine. So female.

I wish NOT to be apologetic about it.
Women like me have been short-changed in life.We do not know how to cook, sew, wear nice make-up, do up our hair, arrange flowers etc.Success means being equal with men.

Pah..I'm done with all these, folks.I wanna be a woman now.And still think like a man. :)
My early responses from some of my female academic friends were, "don't like cooking, sewing or arranging flowers."

Some said it with a sense of pride.Some with disgust (at the thought of being associated with homemakers)
There were a couple who jumped at the idea and shared my sentiment.That we had lost out to the rat race in a man's world.

I'm glad I'm not alone. :)

I look forward to the workshop.Join me if you can.July 9, 2010 jam 12.30 to 1.30 pm. RM130 per head.Materials are provided.

news

Too many things, too many dramas!

My mom's maid ran away about 3 days ago.Haiyo...just when all of us were doing OK..my mom started to cook, enjoyed her trips to her dialysis centre, started to laugh again.

Tiba2 budak dari Jawa buat hal pulak (her hubby is here, dok pressure her to leave..I had suspected that it would be just a matter of time.Dia datang dah ada handphone ....rancangan sulit untuk lari pasti sudah diatur lebih awal...)

But still, it upset me.My mom pun tak sabar langsung with her maid....
Anyway...high dramas since then...the second maid ~my maid pulak tak beradab..suka melawan my mom (often when they are left on their own)

Hanya Allah give me strength to handle all this!

Things picking up quite a bit at CERDAS.Dah nampak cara nak buat duit.Can you imagine I exploit everyone I come across. Budak Cina mualaf yang jual photocopied books from table to table at the cafeteria I frequent tu pun I tangkap.He writes about his conversion to Islam so I ajak buat biz where we share 50-50 profit. Cina jual bunga kat rumah I pun I ajak buat biz (profit kongsi). And my project managers pun semua mcm fun juga and gila2 like me (except maybe Dr Azman, an expert on Islamic Finance tapi dia sporting juga).

Saya yakin, we'll have fun raising money.InsyaAllah. Hahaha..nak kata apa lagi? NLP mah.

Z balik tiap2 minggu and Nik and I akan tunggu nak dengar cerita2 campus dia.So kelakar!

My guppies died 3 ekor today.Bibik said the plants I put in the small aquarium killed them .My koi pun mati 3 ekor.Tak cukup oksigen.

Think before you litter

Think before you litter....

how long our act of foolishness will remain on earth.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DECOMPOSE ?
Banana Peel- 3-4 weeks
Orange peels- 6 months
Apple Core- 2 months
Paper Bag- 1 month
Cardboard- 2 months
Milk Cartons- 5 years
Newspaper- 6 weeks
Paper Towel- 2-4 weeks
Cotton Glove- 3 months
Tinned Steel Can- 50 years
Aluminum Can- 200-500 years
Disposable Diapers- 550 years
Plastic Bags- 20-1000 years
Glass- 1-2 million years
Cigarette Butts- 10-12 years
Leather shoes- 25-40 years
Rubber-Boot Sole- 50-80 years
Plastic containers- 50-80 years
Monofilament Fishing Line- 600 years
Foamed Plastic Cups- 50 years
Wool Sock- 1-5 years
Plywood- 1-3 years
Plastic Bottles- 450 years

I request you all please share this piece of information in your network as much as you can.

Beliung in Kota Damansara

It was on Sunday, June 13 around 6 pm I think.I just got home from my meeting in Taman Tun with my alums of Uni of Liverpool. Nik and Z just got home from shopping at One Utama (Nik tengah semayang) I was downstairs with Bibik, watching the rain.Mula2 renyai (I love watching rain) then the kilat and petir came.Fuiyoo..ngeri.Then the taufan/storm came...memang sah angin lintang cos I saw it melintang (past my street!) the rain became like snow sebab laju sangat hujan turun tapi melintang! The trees bergoyang2.I bimbang my pergola runtuh or my hanging plants jatuh.I was going apa ni Bik? apa ni Bik? and started my zikir.I asked Bibik biasa ke berlaku ni Bik (she and my Mom selalu kata hujan ribut waktu petang sampai mereka takut..I balik lewat and by then things would have calmed down)

Bibik kata biasa! biasa!

But when Nik and I keluar malam tu kita tengok pokok2 tumbang dan tercabut dgn akar2 nya sekali dan rumah jiran about 2 doors away pokoknya tercabut dgn akar2 sekali dan hempap their gate...wough! Hubby kata mana biasa macam ni! (this is the same Bibik who said she felt the earth tremor jam 12 noon when the whole of Lembah Klang rasa at 5 or 6 pm....but I took her report seriously and reported her 12 noon tremor to Jabatan Meteorology)

I didn't expect this:

http://komuniti.malaysiakini.com/news/kota-damansara-dilanda-puting-beliung3-minit

seasons in the sun

We left for Kuantan to attend my niece's nikah, done after Isyak.Quite an odd time to nikah but her family was facilitating her in laws from the East Coast (Friday is a weekend).

Quite kalut but we made it.Stayed at MS Garden where things seemed to fall apart: lampu rosak, iron rosak (in my mom's room, my room OK) but the hotel's fully booked, still. MELTA conference was on.Bumped into some familiar faces.They knew me, I blur,blur.Then I recalled. :)

The foods were delicious (masak sendiri).We left early.It was only on the way back to KL, listening to Terry Jacks' seasons in the sun that I felt I should have been more forgiving and hence, should have been more involved in this wedding...for the love of my aruah sister ("seasons in the sun" was her favourite song...and if you read the lyrics...it's a song sang by a dying person...)

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun
but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time

and I particularly love this piece:

but the stars we could reach were just starfish on the beach


Waaaa...I remember her..I remember her in her rolled up checkered shirt with bobbed hairdo...she was close to everyone...(Tam died in a car accident when she was only 34, leaving behind her young kids aged between 2 and 12 then.I had blogged on this before)

Tam, your gal got married today.I know if you were around, the majlis would have been grander, better organised and the gals in our family, trying to outdo each other with our new jewellery/new baju kurung, new handbag...for the fun of it! We would have been there a day earlier and stayed all night, gossipping, teasing every member in the family (I missed it this time...they did..but I stayed at the hotel...too tired of the long journey, too hard pressed by the heat and space)

Your kids had handled life well and we wait for Baraqah's happy mo. maybe in 4-5 years and I hope she too would marry well like Hidayah and Taufiq.

Al fatihah in fond memory of you on your gal's wedding day.

My first!

without Louis Vuitton

Jangan marah, I got my first Louis Vuitton from my sugar daddy (Nik.Haha) Verona PM Damier.That's the cutest, most chic and feminine handbag we both agreed on: for price and style.

Teka who smiled from ear to ear? :))

Anyway, Z came back early this week so we bond2 alsolah.Then continued shopping for her stuffs (sejak she pakai tudung, mcm2lah dia nak beli..in the end, she looks like a Turkish/Iranian young woman.

Oh, nak tunjuk baju kurung batik June buat.OK juga kan?

First day at work

June 1, 2010.

First day at a new place.
Scary.Macam baru masuk sekolah.Here, I have to raise some RM500K a year.At the old office, my job was to spend money (and raise some).

But at least, I have my own car park and my own toilet/shower room. :)
But a lotttttttttt to be done and being in kull, tough job to get people to work WITH you.I really have to be creative in finding ways to generate income in a fun way.

I sent my mom to her dialysis centre today.Terasa kasihan yang amat.When I was young, it was her who dropped me off at school gate or my tuition centre.Now I do that to her.Dropping her off.Sedihlah.I helped pack her lunch...sedih sangat.

May Allah give me strength to go through the new challenges in my life.May God drop me a million ringgit and more from the sky.

Change again

By now I should know that change is my middle name.

After 2 days' leaves (flu and satu hari temankan Z pi second round Shell interview dia) I was informed that I was needed to serve elsewhere.A place so challenging.I thought if the new post was a face-saving position, I do not need it.I am fine going back to my Kull and continue teaching (and meet my undergrads again...yahoo!) and 1001 things I put on hold for 2+ years.But Dr. Badri was persistent (and Rector being a Communication person, was convincing).

So guys, watch this page as a new life unfolds.I just go with the flow.

I have no regrets with my time at ACSD.I know I had given my best.Colleagues/staff at ACSD will take care of themselves.They have enough exposure and experience to know what hard work and excellence is.I have faith in them.I think they came out stronger and more united than when I first came in.I learned a lot too from my stint there.

For sure, loads of fun as any Alumni Office would have around the world (Alum Office around the world is often called the 'party people' office)

And now, to plan a different kinda party at my Kulliyyah....

New experiences

The past few days had been incredible.It started with the 6th World Islamic Economic Forum where I met influential Muslim world leaders (both of the past and current ones) and talented young Muslims.Took home (IIUM) 2 of the artists to talk to students and show their short films and play their music.IIUM.fm also interviewed them.Some 50 students turned up at the talk/screening of the short films/musical performance held at Career Resource Room (thanks to Tanja and Sheena who assisted me in my absence.Everything was short notice but one has to be clever in seizing opportunities and my two colleagues saw that.Some people would complain,saying it's short notice.Due to Sheena's and Tanja's far-sightedness, our kids benefitted from such a rare opportunity to listen to two Muslim artists from New York City). Mohsin the younger brother was a Fulbright scholar who did some work with street kids in Morocco, empowering them through film production (the kids wrote, acted and directed their life stories and the short films were later screened to some 400 people ~ rich and poor who ended up respecting the kids and stopped spitting at them).

I hope IIUM kids will be inspired to do the same with our street kids/stateless kids in the city.

The whole office had an IEEP retreat in Kelantan and while we were there, the Industrial Networking team worked on internship opportunities as well and the Alumni team organised a reunion dinner for alums in Kota Bharu.Prof Kamal was the speaker for the dinner talk.We got 7 pioneer alums (first batch) Mahal tu! We have made plans for the future.Prof Kamal spoke in Kelantanese most of the time.Truly hilarious but his students missed him so much.One lawyer macam nak nangis as he was leaving, punya sayangnya dia kat bekas cikgunya.Quite touching.

Yang scary was our NLP experience.Everyone seems to embrace this NLP culture.I told Faisal (our coordinator) one has to integrate Islamic values in the prog.Silap2 boleh syirik cos' the prog trains you to believe in your power of mind.Pernah one Puan Sri who had problem sleeping said, after the success of NLP, "Saya dah buat semua, baca yassin, baca Quran, semua tak jadi tetapi selepas buat NLP, baru saya dapat tidur." Sepatutnya she added, "Dengan izin Allah."

It's a dangerous prog, easily subject to abuse.Maybe that's how I lost my RM50K to a therapist! He had NLP-ed me.Baik memang baik but I think he over-charged.

Likewise in KB, we were shown the power of our mind as we passed our energy to a bulb and this bulb was dropped on a thick glass.The glass broke! A colleague who visualised driving her dream car in 2012 could not lift her leg to return to 2010 cos' she had gone to live in 2012! Two other colleagues had to lift her back to the 2010 station, baru dia sedar.Really scary!

I'd say be careful with NLPers (Obama is said to be one of them)

Young Muslim leaders and enterpreneurs

I was a bit skeptical about the lineup of speakers at the 6th World Islamic Econ Forum which KL hosts this year but the pre-forum introduced us to so many young talents of the Muslim world and beyond.Truly inspiring and some talk sessions moved me so much esp. of this young lady from Manila who converted to Islam and became champion of the poor.It started with her love for horses (she is an equestrian who has won many medals in many world events).Met her mom at the Forum and congratulated her for having such a wonderful daughter, so sensitive to things spiritual.When asked if she had no prob with her conversion, she said not at all.Being the busy body I am, I asked "what about her dad?" She said the father yang converted dulu but it was her Arab equestrian friends who introduced Islam to her daughter and Toni said she went home to read more and the more she read, the more convinced she was that she was a Muslim.Toni was raised as a Catholic)

Anyway, I heard Nazir Razak spoke as a young CEO.Pretty impressive.And Aziz from Paris is a young millionaire.He started a taxi biz (out of social revenge he said) As a child of an immigrant, he didn't like the racism, marginalisation he encountered so he set to create wealth to be treated equally.His taxi biz slogan was " faster than a bird, cheaper than a taxi." Kelakar kan?

Jacques Chirac came to his biz launch.

Someone in the audience asked (also a French Muslim chap but he lives in KL) how these successful CEOs and enterpreneurs kept their faith cos usually when wealth increases, faith decreases, he said. The young leaders/enterpreneurs said they didn't think abt it but just did what had to be done.But Toni referred a lot to her faith in Allah as something motivational for her.

That rep from Air Asia came across as arrogant.I thot it was a cheap shot promoting Air Asia when they did not even sponsor the event (MAS did). Bak kata the moderator (so funny guy who spoke in thick British accent tapi rupa mcm Msian Indian.I loved him though.So witty) is he courageous or plain stupid? (in ref to stg else)

Rosmah Mansor spoke at lunch.Sah dialah PM kita sebenarnya! She is more composed and poised than Najib.In fact, she speaks better!

Z's 18th bday party

Teenagers are hard to manage.We arrived later than our caterer and magician.I'm a freak with time but my daughter usually is not good at managing it.So she creates stress for me, unnessarily.Geram juga.

Anyway, the food, magic show and live band by Krash Pad boys semua went well.I just wish ada orang baca doa.The place sounded more like a pub than a shelter home (orang tua punya impression).But the kids (esp. younger kids) had fun.Z also had fun with her friends (they will go separate ways soon) so we left her to have fun after the party.Balik dekat pukul 11 pm.While her dad ni jenis cool ("biarlah dia have fun dgn kawan2 dia"), I bising dia balik lewat. I wasn't raised like that, see. :))

Anyway, your kids will leave the nest one day, whether you like it or not.You must learn how to let go.I have to learn to let go.

The Muse Died

It was murdered by admin work.I miss writing short stories.Poems not so much. :)
I write all the time in my head.A beginning of a story.A leading character.

Just the other day, I had something like this written in my head:

Kilat dan petir di dalam kepala.Sabung menyabung.
I actually saw them.

Then blank.

If you have been a writer and writing easily, this is indeed a tragedy.

Lily says think of it as something that makes me happy at least every 2 or 3 hours for 15 mins.
Not the kilat or petir.My writing.

She says we need to recharge every 2-3 hours by closing our eyes for a good 15 mins and think of happy things.A person.An event.A hobby.Anything.

Try it and see if you can remember having been so happy in your life.Quite tricky if you have been busy with work and have not been on a good holiday with your loved ones for so long!

But my happy image is this: my family going on a vacation.Sometimes in Brunei.Others in NZ, Oman, Ritz Calton, KL and Putrajaya.Putrajaya! Hahaha (remember fishing in a lake without bait? I loved those moments)

2010 Mother's Day

We had lunch at my mom's in law (lunch was prepared by my in laws ~ roast chicken, spaghetti, desserts, etc. Nik and I just bought her a black forest cake and a bouquet of roses and orchids.Mama loved the flowers.They cheered her up.Still in mourning, remember.4 months 10 days tak leh keluar rumah.In eddah)

I had to leave early for my weight management hypnotherapy session (hahaha..Nik quit smoking through this treatment.He had one session only.So don't think it's a crazy idea.Just watch me lose my ugly 10 kg in a non-intrusive way, ok? I'll tell you how it's done after I've lost my 10 kg.I now keep a healthy lifestyle diary: part of this treatment.This includes walking after dinner for 15-30 mins with my family.We did it last nite.It felt really good cos' it gave us time to communicate as a family.Bonding lah kiranya)

After an hour with Lily (my hynotherapist) I rushed to HUKM to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom and some siblings.Sal arrived late.Mek was already there cos' she slept over.Kak Ngah was also there.

So we gave her the Mom's Day cake, a bouquet of flowers and Mek gave her a new jacket.I'll upload pics later.

For all moms, happy mom's day! Insist on being served! :)) (at our lunch, we had 6 moms and we insisted that the guys and our kids serve us).I think we'll do this as a Mother's Day tradition.It felt so good.

In the news

This came out yesterday (gambar lama so if I look younger, you know why)

Thanks to Nurul and Nora who took the trouble to scan the pic. :)