Writing

AH writes to clear her head off these 'avalanches' of ideas... and like avalanches it comes n goes without warning. this means most of her writings do not have a plot and usually do not have an ending either.

Although writing is a major part of her life (she has always been scribbling away as far back as i can remember), she doesnt write for an audience. kekadang dia marah kalau kita baca. now this short piece is something i'd found tucked away in a remote little corner of my laptop. till i figure out my password for the K2A warehouse (place where i store whatever i can scrounge of the kiddoes' meanderings), i'll just 'park' it here :)


UNTITLED (it almost always is untitled hehehe) - by AH 2007

KFC or McDonalds?
How could someone choose between those two franchises? It was like asking a mother to choose between her beloved children. It just couldn’t be done. It indeed wasn’t possible for a bachelor out for dinner alone, it was completely impossible for a 15 year old girl with triplets hanging onto both her arms and hugging onto her legs to decide. The girls were all scared of letting go of her. Sara looked like she was about to burst into tears and her sister Fara was glancing around the mall uneasily. Even tough little Zara looked worried. Elliya didn’t blame any of them. She was 10 years their senior and was trying hard not to break down in tears.
She could not have believed it when Ezri Zhafran, her so called brother, parked by the road to drop off the kids and her, promised to come back in half an hour, told her to decide what to buy for lunch and had driven off, all the while seeming to have completely lost his mind. It was amazing how irresponsible her high-school graduate brother could be. She could just imagine herself delivering a perfect kick to his groin for all the trouble he was giving her. The little girl holding onto her right hand, Zara, the ‘eldest’, tugged at her so strongly it hurt. Obviously she wanted a little attention from the person in charge of the situation. Elliya turned her attention to her, all of a sudden weary.
How was she going to survive this outing, she wondered.
“I need to go shee-shee.”
Zara’s ‘shee-shee’ chanting increased in volume when Elliya sighed, catching a few of the passerbys' attention. Only a couple of seconds afterwards, Fara, the middle kid, began tugging at her other hand, pointing at the ice-cream kiosk perched outside McDonalds. Sensing the commotion and most probably growing more uneasy, Sara, the baby, started to quietly sob. Between the chanting, and the tugging, and the sobbing, Elliya felt like throwing up.
Instead she gathered what was left of her sanity and told Fara, who was usually the calmest, to sit on a bench near them with her baby sister and stay put. When the girl grabbed hold of her sister’s hand and did as she was told, Elliya took Zara’s hand and had only begun to advance a few steps backwards when Fara realised what was going on and yelled at her to stop. Looking into the girl’s flashing eyes, she realised she had no chance of leaving them behind.
It was a dumb idea anyway, she tried convincing herself, sighing.
When she took a step forward in the bench’s direction, Zara gave her hand a sharp tug, her small feet planted firmly on the floor. It wasn’t hard to understand that Zara’s needs were urgent. Nothing could stop her from going to the toilet, not even if her mother asked her to wait for a second. Desperate, Elliya pulled her along, determined to convince Fara before heading to the toilet that it was going to be alright.
Then Zara started shrieking.
This added to her already pulsing headache, and she looked at Fara, hoping she could understand the desperation in her eyes. But Fara wasn’t going to let it go. She shook her head over and over, her eyes already welling with angry tears. Elliya turned, scooped Zara into her arms and slumped on the bench, cursing everyone who stared at them. It was bad enough they didn’t hide their amused stares, they didn’t bother asking if she needed any help either.
She was already beginning to give up on humanity’s kindness when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
“Need some help?”
At first she thought it was some kind young woman who understood what kind of situation she was in. A kind young woman who looked as if she could be trusted with two scared little girls. Instead, it was an innocent-looking girl that stood in front of her who looked her age and who seemed completely unaware of the situation which she was offering to help with. She introduced herself as Sharifah Alya Dayana Syed Mukhriz, and flashed her a pretty smile.
“I’ll stay with them if you want.” She offered kindly after Elliya had finished filling her in. She didn’t look as if she could handle a kid in the toilet so Elliya hastily agreed, even though there was a nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach, warning her not to leave the girls with this stranger. But Fara and Sara didn’t seem to feel threatened. They were looking at this Alya girl curiously, in silent awe.
As much as she trusted kid’s intuition, she didn’t want to take a chance. She could just imagine what her mom would say if she lost them. Probably along the lines of how stupid she was. After Zara had relieved herself (without any incidents, alhamdulillah), she took the little girl’s hand and rushed back to the bench were she had left her other chargers. She almost expected to see Fara screaming her name at the top of her lungs with sobbing Sara by her side. Instead, Fara was enjoying an ice-cream cone, chatting happily to Alya. Sara on the other hand, was perched on a young man’s leg, smiling innocently up at him as she silently ate hers.
When she walked up to them, Alya gave her pretty smile while the boy only glanced at her, acknowledging her with his cold eyes. At first it was the eyes which got to her. His eyes were captivating, icy and mysterious, reminding her of an owl’s watchful gaze. Then it was his sharp features that captured her attention. At first she didn’t think he was malaysian, but his skin tone made her think twice about her conclusion.
Zara, blinded by the ice-cream, released her hand and rushed to Fara, who reluctantly shared hers. Alya was still smiling at her when she took a seat between her and the silent boy. At first she didn’t know how to react, what to say. Alya seemed too good-natured to be real.
“I’ll pay you back for the ice cream.” she said cautiously, eyeing the ice cream cone then glancing at Alya. The girl shook her head and pointed at the boy beside Elliya, grinning.
“I didn’t buy it. Syed practically melted when Sara smiled at him.” She explained, giggling. When Elliya turned towards him, he avoided her eyes. There was a slight flush in his cheeks which made him look a lot younger. She was suddenly unsure of his age. His eyes hinted that he was older than her brother, but his appearance told her otherwise.
“It was nothing.” He said quietly, looking up at her only when Sara climbed onto her lap. As the baby, Sara was the clingiest. The one who loved to cuddle the most. For unknown reasons, Sara had stuck to her. Tomboy Zara had stuck herself onto Zhafran, following him around everywhere he went. Fara, the serious one, had stuck herself onto her parents. She was always around when they were talking, sometimes looking as if she understood every word they said.
She gave the little girl a quick peck on the cheek, to which Sara responded by giggling. When Elliya looked up to glance at Fara and Zara, she noticed ‘Syed’ staring at her and Sara. She gave him a smile before making sure Zara and Fara were getting along alright. Thankfully, they were.
Then Syed got up, clearing his throat pointedly. Alya followed suit, glancing at her with that smile of hers.
“I guess I better go.” She glanced at Syed then glanced back at her. “He’s Syed Farhan Akira Syed Mustapha by the way. Call him whatever you want. I just call him Syed. Well, as long as you don’t call him Akira.” She added with a small laugh.
Elliya stood up too, holding onto Sara’s hand as she did. She hadn’t introduced herself, she realised. “I’m Elliya Balkis Muhd Azri. Everyone calls me Balkis. So you can too if you want. Thanks a lot for your help.” She extended her hand, which Alya took almost instantly.
“It was nothing, really. Nice meeting you. See you later, Balkis. Bye girls.”
She nodded and watched them go, smiling at the guy with the weird name when he gave her a sideway glance. With that, they were gone. She was only aware of the butterflies in her stomach when they ceased. It was a confusing feeling, both nice and uncomfortable at the same time. She had had the feeling before, once.
And that was the moment Orlando Bloom appeared on the cinema screen as Legolas.
“Elliya, I’m hungry.”
Back to more pressing matters.
KFC or McDonalds?

**

She woke up the next morning by the ruckus her brother was making on her door. He was banging on it as if there was no tomorrow. Her first reaction after yawning was to scream at him to go away but realizing her mother was probably waiting at the foot of the stairs to see if she was going to start a fight, she decided against it.
Instead, she unlocked her door, took the hand phone offered by Ezri and held it to her ear, shutting her door as quietly as possible, careful not to wake Sara, who had rushed to her room after being woken up by a nightmare sometime in the middle of the night. It was Hayati, and she was excited. Last night she had told her all about Syed Farhan and Sharifah Alya. Turns out both of them were popular but for different reasons.
Farhan was popular because of his looks, as expected, and his cousin Alya was popular because of her long list of boyfriends. Elliya couldn’t have stopped smiling when she found out they were related. After all, they were together at the mall, and they did look rather intimate. Well, in a way. She couldn’t imagine Farhan, as little as she knew him anyway, to be truly intimate with someone. Or rather she didn’t want to.
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Hayati, or Hayat, sang and she could just imagine her friend grinning on the other line. “There’re rumors saying he HATES girls.” At that statement, Elliya, who was brushing her teeth, paused for a moment at the absurdity of it.
How could a guy hate girls?
It just didn’t seem possible.
Sara appeared at the door of the bathroom, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She groggily said good morning and headed towards the sink, taking her toothbrush from Elliya and squeezing lemon-flavored toothpaste on it. As Elliya continued listening to Hayat’s steady stream of chatter, Sara eyed her curiously.
“Run the tap in the bathtub, sayang.”
Sara obediently did as she was told, pausing from eyeing her to put her plastic turtle in the tub.
“Thanks, Hayat. Talk to you later.”
“Sure. Anything for my poor, love-sick Aqish.”
She hung up the phone and slid it on the sink counter, stifling another yawn as she helped Sara out of her clothes. The small girl stepped into the bathtub, reluctantly letting Elliya wash her back. Sara had always wanted to try doing everything herself. Elliya, on the other hand, enjoyed doing small things for her. It was a source for her to feel good.
“I had a dream about mama yesterday.”
The little girl told her silently, glancing up at her as she played with her plastic turtle. Her eyes were clouded with fear and uncertainty, as if the topic she was about to discuss was a bad thing. Elliya told herself not to flinch as she gently splashed warm water on Sara’s back.
“Your mama will be back for you and for Zara and Sara too. She promised didn’t she?”
Sara nodded quietly, refusing to elaborate on the subject. She couldn’t magine how her baby cousin was feeling. Her father had died in a car crash a year earlier, and her mother had accepted a job in Egypt to gather herself to face her babies. For now, her cousins were staying with them. Elliya had only begun to search for things to talk about when Fara came barreling into the bathroom, Zara running after her. Fara was holding her teddy bear, or Mr. Black, and Zara was holding onto hers, Mr. Strip. Both of them were laughing, happily throwing their beloved bears at one another.
Elliya stifled a small smile
At least she didn’t have to think about ideas for conversations.
“Along, Angah, hurry up and take your pajamas off. We don’t have all morning!”

***

That afternoon, as usual, Ezri had lost his mind and had left them at the Sri Desa Mall to pass the time. Her mother had gone to visit a sick relative, taking Fara with her. Zara, who had no interest in roaming around the mall, had talked her way into hanging out with Ezri and his college buddies. So that left Sara and her, with no money (Elliya was flat out broke) and no idea of what to do.
The mall was equivalent to their home, practically their second home. They had already gone to every shop there was. The only place worth going to again was the library situated on the fifth floor. It was also a Cyber Café but it was impossible to get a computer. It was almost always full. Since Elliya loved to read, and Sara loved listening to her read out loud, she decided it was the best place to go. So she took the girl’s hand and led her to the elevator. She had never gone to the library alone before. She usually went with Ezri or her mother. But deciding it was either the library or a bench somewhere, she told herself to grow up. After all, Sara was a good girl. It wouldn’t be hard to control her. She didn’t have to worry about that.
But when she got to the elevator lobby, she started to think twice about getting on it. There were a group of mean-looking boys who sneered at her when she uncertainly stood behind them. Sara, oblivious to her discomfort, hurried onto the elevator, pulling her along. The boys stepped in, crowding around them. When one of them bumped into her and flashed her a naughtly grin, she realized they were doing it on purpose. They tightened their circle around her, and she had the sudden shock of panic when the elevator door started to close. One of the boys stood near the buttons, and he had on a devious smile. Her grip on Sara’s hand tightened and she stepped forward, trying to break the boys’ circle around her. When they snickered and refused to let her pass, she could only stare at the doors close in horror.
“Bang, hold it!”
A hand shot through the small gap between the doors and pushed them back open. At one point, she could’ve fainted with relief. At least, even though the newcomer was also a boy, he wasn’t one of them. At first when he called her name and shoved through the boys in front of her to stand between Sara and her and them, she didn’t recognize him. Then she looked into his eyes and recognized their intensity.
“Why didn’t you turn when I called you, sayang?”
She wasn’t sure how to react. She could only stare at him in confusion, noticing how he was blocking the boys from them with his frame. There were beads of sweat by the side of his face, and he was panting slightly. She pulled Sara protectively in between them, her heart still hammering from her previous horror.
“Hi Abang Farhan!” Sara cried out happily, grasping his jeans as she gazed up at him in awe. Elliya wasn’t sure if she completely understood the situation they had been in, but Sara looked as if she had at least felt her panic. Her baby-ish tone and volume was what no longer made them the center of attention. In fact, the boys looked as if they had done nothing.
Farhan gave her shoulder a little pat and glanced up at Elliya, giving her a small smile. At such close proximity, she found out that it was hard for her to breath. In fact, every breath she took intoxicated her with his cologne.

Closer to home

So far we've been spared the suffering caused by natural disasters of magnitudes beyond imagining... kalau ada pun setakat banjir and still under control.

But with the earth stirring rather frequently up in sumatera, i'm wondering if our buildings will be up to withstanding the gegaran yang berjangkit dan berkait, after all we're neighbours and the affected areas are practically out in our backyard.

Already some buildings are experiencing cracks.... and itu yang nampak, yang tak nampak macamane? even the selangor state secretariat building isnt an exclusion. right after punching in we were instructed to evacuate. and only after about 15-20 minutes of inspection by relevant autorities baru kitorang was allowed to return to our offices at respective floors. tak rasa pun apa2 gegaran probably because we're down at the podium. its the people up in he tower block yang kena, mesti seriau giler, nak naik balik pun mesti cuak punya la.

Susah juga ek.... kalau the earth movement keep getting closer or the ripple effect keep getting stronger, our buildings yang tak pernah designed with earthquake in mind mesti levelled out in an instant. kalau dah memang tau and is an accepted fact macam kat jepun tu lain la pulak.... semuanya dah ready and accounted for (tu pun kekadang habis hancus gak). tapi kita ni yang boleh dianggap lucky tahap dewa memang tak bersedia.... ntah la ek.

Just hope the twin towers was designed with say a teeny weeny mini quake in mind.... walaupun macam impossible je bunyi nya (cost implications kan) mana la tau kan. i worry about my darling when hes there :(

Well quite an interesting way to usher in the 1st of ramadhan.... enough to wake up the sleep induced braincells still struggling to adjust to waking up seawal 4am.

Thank you

Thank you Lord for letting me experience another ramadhan...

Selamat Mengindahkan Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.... semoga segala usaha diterima Nya.

Parents

The wheel of life turns as we move heedlessly on towards our final destination.

Inevitably the kids grow up, we get older and the old becomes the elderly. Its a promised thing and no one is spared.... not unless they die before their time.

And parents.... well now, they are a breed apart. in the minds of their children, they're almost invincible. parents are always there, strong & dependable.... and when you're younger, the thought of them being sick and needy never even cross your mind for how could it? they are after all our superduper heroes.

But of course with maturity comes the realization that they're only human after all.

Now the time has come to extend the same love & protection that they had once lavished upon us..... along with generous dollops of patience. just like the young, orang tua2 bila buat perangai boleh tahan la jugak. but our parents are our responsibility however difficult it may be. without them we wouldnt even be here so tis only right we be there for them when they need us.

For Abe and me, both our dad's have passed on but we still have our moms with us, though neither of them is in the best of health. this morning abe brought mek to the clinic for purging (she also suffers from hypertension & diabetes) while i stayed home keeping mak company (she still gets this on and off fevers). the passing years has certainly taken its toll on them, but i pray that god in his infinite mercy would grant them a relatively calm & peaceful existence. kesian sangat bila tenguk orang tua2 suffer...

Berbakti la kepada orang tua mu selagi peluang masih terbuka luas kerana sesalan itu tiada gunanya.

Workout Log
50 mins HiLo aerobics @ dataran shah alam

Assumptions..

Assuming is such a dangerous thing dontcha think? usually our asssumptions have the tendency of turning out horribly wrong. tenguk something tu kita selalunya assume sesuka hati. bila spouse kita senyap je doesnt mean dia suka, bila anak2 nampak ok je tak semestinya takde masalah, bila jiran kita happy je tak bermakna tak berantakan. eerrmmmm.... macam2 ah lagi.

And 'encik' just because people dont take formal guitar lessons dont mean they cant strum a decent tune ok!! even when shes just a 15 year old girl, if she says that she wants her guitar re-strung and tuned the way SHE wants it, she does know what shes talking about!!

Cant take the easy way out la... hafta always go through life with our eyes wide open because the possibilities are endless. (kalau nak terkatup gak kekadang tu kena tongkat dengan mancis la kot hehehe). jangan cepat assume.

Sunyi pulak rasa the boys sorang pun tak balik. AI memang jarang balik tp AF yang muncul tiap2 minggu tu pun takde, banyak kerja katanya. si daro pulak must be missing her bros sbb out of the blue nak hang out dengan her classmates kat sports planet seksyen 16 - diorang ada lawan futsal to celebrate the birthday of an old friend yang dah moved to indonesia tp balik bercuti. apa2 la daro so long as you know what you're doing. periksa semakin dekat.


Workout Log
5K - am run, tasik

Camni camtu

Letih melayan indecisive bosses. sekejap macam ni sekejap macam tu... ish ish.

Ask any woman and they'd probably tell you its tougher handling lady bosses as compared to men. you would think there'd be greater empathy & understanding at work here but more often than not, the demands and expectations are way higher. maybe women still feel we hafta prove ourselves, maybe lady bosses fear being accused of gender bias. i dunno.

Or maybe she just thinks, i go through the same shit you do so get a grip. i dunno.

But through my own work experience, i have certainly found it much tougher going. and when you factor in 'indecisiveness' along with 'demanding', well, you're in for a joy ride baby!!

*sigh* and off i go to a long and winding (also boring) negotiation meeting. gawd how i wish i was out running instead.

Young love

Aahh... it has finally happened. my little girl has turned into a young woman :)

In an age where budak hingusan pun sakan bercinta, cupid's arrow has found another mark... and this time its not unrequited but equally reciprocated. she has been surprisingly choosy. not for her any tom, dick or harry (or ali, mat or dollah to be more appropriate). in fact she has turned down quite a few 'advances' made by keen 'young men'... when her friends have been changing 'partners' as often as they've been changing clothes (and where kissing is fast becoming a norm in the 'couple' culture), she has been holding back (thank god). selalunya ada je la yang tak kena... she seem to prefer having crushes on hot but obviously unattainable guys.

Somehow through all her goofiness, she's still carrying the torch for this guy yang dia suka since primary school!! alahai such is puppy love or cinta monyet hehehe... he must have made quite an impression on her la (cempedak head hik hik). and i suppose patience has its rewards bcos suddenly out of nowhere, he seem to have developed feelings for her too. how did it happen? ntah, i guess anything is possible with these kids. is it actually love as we know it? probably not but i really cant say for sure. i'm more than a little skeptical of course but we're talking about teenagers here.... they're still kids after all, struggling to grow up as best they can while dealing with all the conflicting and confusing issues that comes with it.

Wanting to love and be loved is part of growing up so lets just bersangka baik and let nature take its course. apapun i'll be watching over her like a hawk even more so bcos she IS my ONLY daughter. and being a mother as well as a woman, i am more than aware of the pitfalls ahead. its so easy to get burned but i also know of the innocence & beauty of first love.

No, i will certainly not begrudge her the experience but...... if only i can protect her from the hurt & pain *sigh*

Enjoy the roller coaster ride baby :) tapi jangan ANGAU... pmr is just round the corner.

Kecut perut

I think its an affliction thats been passed down from mother to daughter. for both AH n me, we're constantly going thru this irritating state of being.

Kecut perut.... people looking at us would never really guess. not unless they go beyond the muka selamba kodok and the sometimes relaxed sometimes aggressive stance to the slight breathlessness, cold n clammy hands and sudden greenish tinge lol. see, we present to the world this confident, independent facade but in reality, kitorang senang sangat kecut perut. and we're both not really a people sort of person - we're easily overwhelmed by large crowds, we develope 2 left feet at social functions, we cringe at any sign of conflict and we kinda lose our tongues in public.

Today AH came home with that tell-tale greenish tinge. yup its a sure sign of a kecut perut session in progress.

"Ok girl spill it all out, what happened?"

Throwing me a desperate look, "ma.. mati la ma... ", a long suspenseful silence and... "echa kena jadi emcee bulan ni!!!!!", another desperate look and she was getting progressively greener by the minute.

AH's been a school prefect since form 1 and has so far been able to maneuvre her way around becoming the emcee, a duty thats rotated monthly. well, seems that her luck's run out and she starts tomorrow.... and boy, is she flustered!! mana tak nye since it involves speaking in front of the whole school, every day, for a whole month. i would be too bcos neither of us like being thrust into the limelight, major kecut perut!!!

So i took her aside and sat her down. my rather vast experience on kecut perut has taught me that the best thing to do is to nip the feeling in the bud bcos dwelling on it will only make it worse. first thing to establish was...

"Can you wiggle your way out of this one?" i asked and dengan penuh tidak bersemangatnya sidaro pun menggeleng.

Yours truly pulak dengan penuh bersemangatnya menjawab, "then of course, what we need is to formulate a plan of action". i knew that would at least get her out of the vicious kecut perut loop and afford her some sense of control. if she took the bait that is.

Alhmdulillah, after talking it thru with her for awhile, she was already calling up her friends for tips and pointers on the matter lol. thats my girl :)

Public speaking.... sheesh, it can make even a grown woman cry (well this woman anyways lol).

Workout Log
2K - pm, neighbourhood route

Shah Alam 10K

Sunday morning up with the lark
I think i'll take a walk in the park
Hey hey hey its a beautiful day!!!

Heheh... i think i'm showing my age here bcos no one out of my age bracket would know this lil' oldie :)


(T-shirt still damp & smelly... even the tomcat's staying far away lol)

Yup beautiful sunday indeed bcos despite my fear of terpukang tepi jalan I DID IT!!! hehehe.. this makcik managed to finish her 10K up and running. sure, it was tough going at times especially around km 7... for a minute there i thought i was going to pancit for sure. but thank god after cresting the hill alongside the MB's residence (section 6 - section 7 boundary) i had my 2nd wind and it was just peachy after that. well my kinda peachy laa, still slow but feeling good. and thats actually what running is about for me; pushing myself that little bit more but never hard enough to lose the joy that running gives me... that freedom of body and spirit :)

Tapi tahun ni ada slow skit laa... last year i did it in 55 mins, this year around 65 mins. ramai betul kenyans tahun ni sampai ramai yang merungut, habis diorang sapu semua. not that it has much to do with back-of-the-packs like me. its never about speed with me, its more of settling into a consistent pace and maintaining it to the end.

I did get a medal out of the 40 alotted for category D (they were still holding a handful when they handed mine over so not too bad la i suppose heheh) but the bonus for me was..... this time i had not only my no. 2 & no. 3 kid waiting to greet me at the finishing line but the hubby as well!!! wah thats almost like winning the lottery la. kebetulan cek abe tak main golf so first time dia tenguk yours truly huffing n puffing to the finish, basah kuyup with sweat and water from the sponges; prove enough that i'm pretty serious about what i'm doing (maybe now he wont jump so much when he sees how much HE's paying for the shoes hehehe).


(Golfman with a low 5... avoided a hug sebab me busuk heheh)

But that was just the tip of the iceberg because it turned out to be quite a loooong day for me. more of that later :)

Workout Log
10K - am, shah alam run

Merdeka eve.

Merdeka oh merdeka.

Shah alam's in a flurry of activity this morning. roads running into dataran merdeka (between museum & theater selangor) and dataran shah alam (between MBSA & PAS) have been closed and that created a minor jam with the majority of people trying to get to work... especially those with offices within the immediate vicinity of said areas.

Adding to the confusion are the recently installed traffic lights (so many of them) at the istana kayangan roundabout. so far it doesnt look as if its improving the traffic situation but instead seems to be making it even worse. for people of shah alam, that particular roundabout is shrouded in certain infamy.... it holds the title of being the most oft upgraded piece of land throughout the city of shah alam. and not only have the upgrades been outrageously frequent but also totally ridiculous... i recall a time when the ground level was lowered and colourful plants were planted, then the level was raised and orchids were then seen adorning the area, next platforms were created and it was the look of a green nusantara garden (well at least thats what i thought it was supposed to be lol), once the pihak berkuasa even had this hideous looking, obviously very fake plastic palm trees that lit up in red and yellow come nightfall!! and most recently in a fit of patriotism i suppose, they erected numerous flag poles displaying the state and national flags. macam2 kan? and not one i consider as worth all the trouble (or the hefty cukai pintu that must've been utilised).

Now sometime during all those makeovers, they also made a rather drastic physical change to the roundabout itself.... one that had a direct effect on the traffic flow. to cater for the traffic volume during peak hours, they somehow managed to shrink the size of the roundabout to make way for an extra lane. it was a smart move then because the jams were pretty massive during peak times. but lately, even with the help of our friendly traffic policemen, the lines of vehicles have been steadily growing longer and longer in the mornings and late afternoons. in fact on certain days it can get quite horrendous.... and i guess thats what got the smart alecs into thinking "hey...why dont we put up some traffic lights tra-la-la-la-la?"

Yeah right... it might've worked fine if you all hadnt shrunk the roundabout in the first place!!!! now imagine about 6-8 traffic lights placed at whats supposed to be strategic points in the not so big roundabout!!!! tak ke ridiculous namanye?!! bila roundabout tu tak sebesar mana theres just no room for vehicles to enter and exit, much less manuevre their way around. its worse when you're amongst those who have to be using the stupid thing 2-3 times a day. sakit jiwa betul laa. now i'm just wondering how long this latest fiasco in planning is going to last.

Merdeka eve and merdeka nanti mesti jam. better avoid taking that route but its easier said than done because its part of that which makes up shah alam's main trunk roads.

T-Shirt Pick up

If u want the right sizes u hafta be an early t-shirt n bib 'collect'or.

When i asked about the tshirt during registration, they told me it might be red. so i was already berangan-angan about running in red la hehe. but turns out only the sleeves are red, otherwise its just ur basic white tee (with the usual shah alam 10K run logo up front). agak nipis tahun ni berbanding dengan the previous years.... escalating costs agaknya.

Anyways, i was at MBSA bahagian korporat around 2pm and there wasnt as large a crowd as i'd expected. usually the schools and other group categories are there early and you'd be seeing the cikgu's mengelek beg plastic berbondot-bondot. also of course same thing towards the end la. malaysians are basically a breed of last minute people after all kan hehehe.

So i'm all set, and my alcatraz no is D 0520 :) tinggal nak lari je, harap2 tahun ni with all thats been happening masih larat lagi nak make it within 40. diorang ni pun satu, apa la salahnya banyakkan skit jumlah medal untuk kategori makcik2 veteran ni. terasa macam di 'anak tiri'kan pun ada sbb kategori lain (except OKU) kesemuanya disediakan medal from 1-100. i understand that the participants for this particular group tak ramai mana tp kalau sediakan separuh, 1-50, pun takpe la jugak. syiook dapat medal ni... at least dapat jugak motivate n galakkan lagi makcik2 ni untuk sama2 beraksi kan. in the long run the community benefits when all its warga tak kira tua or muda semuanya sihat walafiat.

Workout Log
2K - am, tasik
3K - pm, section 9 neighbourhood

Panjat pagar

Weh, talk about adrenalin rush.... and it is at its most potent when you mix a little fear along with it hehe.

AH has tuition every weekday and her schedule goes like this:
Mon : 5pm - 7pm (BM - cikgu soraya, section 2).
Tues : 5.30pm - 7pm (Maths - cikgu intan, section 8)
Wed : 5pm - 7pm (Sejarah - cikgu soraya, section 2)
Thurs : 5.30pm - 7pm (Science - cikgu intan, section 8)
Fri : 3pm - 5pm (Geography - cikgu hashimah, section 9)
(Note: from that tuition list i only insisted on 3 subjects; BM, Maths & Science... the rest was by her own request).

So, it was after one of her tuition classes that we made our way into our driveway and saw that the windows were still opened wide. this was a sure sign that nico THE cat wasnt home yet (read: belum dikurung for the nite... mak insists on this and she gets extremely edgy when he's still on the loose). looking at each other we both agreed to scour the nearby area for any signs of his sorry or rather hairy little ass.

We were barely a metre away from our gates when we spied a strange looking dog prowling the street below (our place is on a hill parallel to the section 9 main road). i have nothing against dogs in general except probably for this recent fear of being chased when i run. but this particular doggie looked kinda weird... he wasnt foaming at the mouth or anything but was very jumpy and hyper. "eh sya.. tenguk tu macam anjing giler ek" i said in passing, all the while feeling rather safe because he was way down there and we were way up here. we went about our business of peeking and poking under familiar bush/nook/crany (places nico has been known to hide in n thus frustrate our search efforts lol). suddenly, there were loud scufffling n shuffling sounds and as we both turned around, we simultenously saw a blur hairy shadow of what looked like a cat running for dear life (turned out to be nico) and the jumpy snorty vision of a rather out of control doggie!!!

Our first instinct was to run and save nico but then the next thought was, what about our own dear lives?!!! i certainly didnt relish the thought of us both being chased and maybe even bitten by the dog. since it was barking and actually turning round and round and round madly right in front of our wide open gates, it was obviously foolhardy for us to be going home that way. so next best thing was via our next door neighbour. his gates were also thankfully flunged wide so we made a dash for it, climbed the low concrete fence that separated our homes and yelled at mak to close our gates!!! we must've made quite a sight... 2 grown women (AH n me just have a couple of kgs between us) yelling madly while straddling the fence!!! hehehe and to top it all, a school bus passed by right at that moment and AH recognized juniors from school. hehehe that must have changed their perpective somewhat... the usually calm, collected & almost dour prefect acting like a monkey at home.

Really... uncontrollable and misbehaving dogs shouldnt be allowed to roam free in residential areas. full stop.

But reliving the story to her dad later.... we both admitted that it was kinda fun... now that we were safe and huddling together-gether in bed hehehe.

Workout Log
2K - am, tasik.

Morning to remember

Eh, bunyi macam 'a walk to remember' pulak ek hehe!!

Weekends and the hubby usually has either am or pm (or both) golf lined up. but on the rare occasion that he doesnt, i'd be in a certain quandry especially in the mornings.... leave him alone in bed while i get on with my running OR stay and keep him company, makan breakfast sama2 like the loving n dutiful wife i'm expected to be?!! but sometimes when i'm lucky and the stars are properly aligned lol, we'd end up meeting each other halfway and spend some time burning up calories together (not talking about the 'behind closed doors' kind laa here heheh). usually its a mixture of walk, jog, lenggang tapi tak kisah la kan asal bahagia :)

Oooh and he was so very obliging this morning! he not only agreed to tag along but also let me have free reign in choosing the route we would be taking. i've always wanted to run along that very straight road connecting section 9, 8 and 7.... especially at nite when the trees by the roadside are all lit up looking so bright n pretty (tp tak pernah kesampaian sbb takde yang sanggup meneman)!! and today that was the direction we took... although only to section 8. we were going to surprise his mom with pre-packed breakfast (beli kat kedai makcik soto).

We started out walking together but i guess he sensed my restlessness and let me run. while i kept checking back on him, i could make out a figure in red happily swinging his iron 5 as he walked (his golf club - dia kata just in case ada anjing liar hehe). the weather was cool (felt almost springlike) and it felt really good being out. we were both smiling when we finally met up again at makcik soto, and with breakfast in tow we made our way to my MIL's.

She was pretty shocked when she heard we didnt take the car and had walked all the way. ye lah selama ni tak pernah2 buat... she probably thought kitorang buang tabiat or something. and cik Abe had apparently worked up a most healthy appetite by finishing a heaped plateful of nasi dage!!! hehehe... tergelak mak dia tenguk, berselera tahap dewa. i reminded him, ingat2 skit... we still had another half of the journey to cover lol.

Since i was selfish enough to leave him walking on his own during the 1st half, i kept him company on the way back. he had on him a stomachful of nasi dage remember, so apa lagi there he was melenggang away mengalahkan orang pencen and found myself having to check my pace every so often. glad to say we made it back alright, full tummy or not lol. now all i have to do is check the distance we'd covered.

And darling, thank you so much for being such a sport and not even grumbling a wee bit when i also: 1. dragged you to that wedding reception (i know such things make you sooo uncomfortable) AND 2. making that trip to melaka when you saw how much that phone call had affected me..... dapat la lepaskan rindu kat anak kita yang sorang tu.

Luvya to bits :)

Workout Log
- am, easy run from section 9 to section 8
- am, brisk walk from section 8 back to section 9
*will input the distance when i remember to check the odometer lol)

Test run

Finally... against all odds (berdrama la skit pepagi ni kan hehe) i managed a test run with my adistar this morning.

Everything was going my way. got up at 6, had breakfast on the table by 6.20 and was at the gate with the man breathing in the cool morning air 10 mins later. he's having a marathon golf session with his bros and olim was picking him up at 6.30. but olim was late and i should've known right off that it was some sort of sign lol.

The moment cik Abe left, i got into hyper mode and settled whatever chores i could including tenggek air (1 whistling kettle plus 1 big periuk worth of air masak - kitorang kuat minum air kosong). and with that i ran upstairs and got ready... yup i was sooo looking forward to a good long run (for me 30 mins tu kira long la dah tu lol). exactly at 7 i was back downstairs, almost ready to leave except for the air masak. usually mak's out of her room by this time but not so this morning. alahai, i just couldnt leave the damn air masak, yang tak masak2, without anyone tending to it!! i was folding the laundry when the whistling kettle finally gave a loud blast. my first thought, yee haaaa, i could now leave but then i completely forgot about the other periuk. sigh.. why'd we have to use air masak again? oh yes i almost forgot... mak didnt believe in the filtered/mineral water options... air nak minum kena masak dulu.

So, there i was literally on my toes, just raring to go but instead found myself rooted to a spot right beside the pot, willing it to boil.... ish boil la you!!! betul kata orang penantian tu satu penyiksaan, yang amat memeritkan. dalam dok berkata2 dgn periuk tak bernyawa tu mak muncul tetiba. alhamdulillah somebody to take over finally :)

I was out on the pavement by 7.28 and even though i knew i was cutting it rather close (i had to leave by 7.45 to punch in before 8 am), i still started out on my first lap. with this sort of timing i would only be doing 2K tapi takpe.... at least i got to try out muh new shoes kan heheh.

Glad to say, altho it was a short run but it was still a good one. so far the shoes suit me fine. maybe i could squeeze in summore petang ni nanti.

Workout Log
2K - am, jog round the tasik.

Mistake

Silap.... silap..... i shouldnt have continued with the aerobic moves the moment i felt that slight twinge in my right knee again. see now i think i've aggravated whatever it is thats happening at that part of my body. my greatest fear... another 'condition' to set me back. i should just stick to running but i need to cross-train gak. what is it they say... dont strain the same muscle group? sheeesh, kena la start briskwalk kot tp alahai tak puas laa. swimming pulak takes too much time; nak kena salin dua tiga kali, shower dua tiga kali.... and time is not something i have in abundance. not with mak being dependent on me as well.

I got carried away with the kemeriahan of last sunday's senamrobik and i think i kinda jarred my right knee a bit. nothing serious, just a slight twinge of pain and i forgot all about it. semalam pulak i felt it again when i was melompat2 macam kera at the gym. it has become an ache now and that means i have to be xtra careful about it. susah kalau jadi full blown problem nanti. *sigh* ni la nasib orang yg dah senja.... kena tersangatlah berhati2 dengan segalanya. senang sangat nak jadi apa2 especially when my gene pool aint that good too start with - theres arthritis & joint problems thru my maternal side (my grandma, my mom are all of the 'muda2 dah senget2 joints' stock), as well as diabetes n hypertension from my dad's side (the kind that requires insulin shots). setakat ni i've still been able to put the diabetes n hypertension at bay.... tak tau la sampai bila and hopefully not within my lifespan la :)

Nampaknya kena la take it easy skit. but the weather also seems to be conspiring in keeping me on my butt. dah siap2 nak lari pagi ni keluar je rumah tetiba hujan lebat la pulak!!! i did stay in my car deliberating my next move while staring longingly at the track (i was already in my fave parking space at the tasik) but getting wet was just too much hassle if i had to later punch in for work. so pushing my frustrations aside i headed for the office instead.

*huge sigh* its work as usual.

Ooh by the way i dropped in at the new bank islam branch (they actually relocated from pkns complex to wisma pkps... the building opposite bgn umno/grand blue wave). everything is spanking new, brilliantly berkilat and had that luxurious 'hotel'ly feel about it. memang time for an upgrade pun bcos the old venue was totally bursting its seams and selekeh giler. apparently they had the opening ceremony on monday by some dignitary or other (the red carpet was still there and its been .. what? 3 days already). didnt have time to check out the actual banking area bcos i was just using the cash deposit machine (AF needed a cash top-up for some fee or other). but i can vouch that the autotellers have increased in number and boasts of a much bigger area (the one in pkns complex sempit n tak selesa langsung). i just hope the service is up to par.

Hmmm... the man mentioned petai again last nite. too late for me to check out the pasar so maybe drag AH to tesco or giant after work today? mana tau kot ada those pre-packed petai yang dah berkopek. boleh gak masak sambal tumis something or other. oh n ikan kembung. tru blue kelantanese that he is suka sangat those pre-rebus ikan kembung tapi banyak songel pulak, kena homemade. so kena simmer in garam n lotsa asam keping and later goreng garing2. lawan dengan petai rebus and budu with chili api n seketul fresh durian thrown in, guarantee habis nasi seperiuk hehe.

Spin 0ff

One of the benefits of keeping fit is weight maintenance, usually the prerequisite of looking n feeling goooooood :) so lets check out the calories...


How many calories would you burn walking, jogging or running?
Here is a useful reference table. Just note that these figures are for a 150 pound / 70 kilograms athlete but, because the amount of calories burned depends on the athlete's weight, these numbers change according to different individuals. The more one weighs, the more calories are burned.

To find the number of calories you would burn in any of these listed physical activities, divide your weight by 150 and multiply that result by the number of calories indicated in the table. For example, to find out how much a 100 pound athlete would burn in 1 hour of walking at 2 mph / 3.2 kmh, divide 100 by 150, then multiply the result (0.67) by 250. That equals approximately 165 calories (a 200 pound athlete would instead burn approximately 330 calories, which is 200 divided 150 and multiplied by 250)


Calories Burned while Walking, Jogging and Running.

Walking
2 mph 3.2 kmh 250 calories per hour
3 mph 4.8 kmh 300 calories per hour
4 mph 6.4 kmh 350 calories per hour

Jogging
5 mph 8.0 kmh 700 calories per hour
6 mph 9.7 kmh 800 calories per hour
7 mph 11.3 kmh 900 calories per hour

Running
8 mph 12.9 kmh 850 calories per hour
9 mph 14.5 kmh 1050 calories per hour
10 mph 16.1 kmh 1250 calories per hour


Off the chart - Hiking with 20 pound / 10 kilograms backpack at a 4 mph / 6.4 kmh speed would burn 450 calories per hour, while running in place for one hour would burn 650 calories.

See also Run The Planet's Calorie Counter.

*sigh* i still havent had the opportunity to run in my new adiStar.... tersibuk la pulak :(

Workout Log
45 mins hi-lo aerobics @ MAL gym, stadium shah alam
Was looking forward to an hour of vigourous hiphop dancing (its the music that gets me) tp rupanya sibudak too-phat the instructor pegi jerantut la pulak!!!! the substitute was ok tp setakat aerobics biasa... i wanted to sweat it out to good music.

Muh new shoes

Its august..... and time for a new pair of running shoes of course lol

Why august?

1. its when i last bought the other pair. nak buat macamane, i can only afford one good pair at a time and i change annually bcos they kinda lose their bounce by then (almost like run down tyres la.... tak syok flat je rasa lol).

2. it coincides with the malaysia megasales.

3. like the procrastinator that i am, its the LAST month of the megasales (its now or never hehe).

I was all set for another nike... my 3 nikes had served me well and i've always been a little predisposed towards brand loyalty ntah kenapa ntah (even when it comes to the butcher and mamat ikan). when my otaku son wanted to shop for his friend's laptop at low yat on saturday, i jumped at the chance to numpang and pusing2 at berjaya time square (he likes to park at berjaya whenever he goes to low yat). the nike outlet there is reasonably sized so i thought i'd check it out. humphh.... rupanya besar je boleh harap, it seems that they dont carry anything under UK size 5... and i am a size 4!!!! nyampah betul, diskriminasi terhadap makhluk2 berkaki kecil!! even the smaller nike outlet kat bukit raja, klang cater for all sizes (thats where i bought my last pair but the design/models there are kinda limited). i was told to try out the curve but the cek abe, who was also with us, tak nak pegi... asyik nak balik aje mcm bebudak (take note: bila anak2 dah besar its the spouse yang sibuk nak balik hehehe).

Sunday was golfing day for the man.... and after he left (with 2 wedding receptions already under our belt), i made a beeline for bukit raja (malas nak pegi jauh2). unfortunately, the moment i made that illegal u-turn from shah alam (jalan dalam thru seksyen 7), there was already a massive jam into the jaya jusco entrance!!! ish memang cari pasal la if i insisted on continuing ... so, i made the only viable choice at that instant... head back home.

Sarat dengan bengang and frustration, i made my way to sacc... maklum la warga shah alam sejati (read: easiest alternative). and without thinking my feet brought me straight to the adidas outlet!!! hehehe.... frust punya pasal, i made the semi-concious decision to take the plunge into unchartered waters and flush loyalty down the drain. turns out the sales person was VERY attentive to this makcik (some just dont take me seriously).... not to mention being hot, siap dgn lip piercing lagi heheh (and AH would've have agreed with me 100% lol).

I tried on quite a few but thru his patience, i was able to comfortably decide which pair best suited my orang tua needs. also the moment i put on the adidas adistar, i knew i had found the right one.... the only setback being ... the price!!!! alamak.... retailed at RM500+ it would be the most expensive pair i'd be purchasing to date!!! that much RM would translate into almost a month of groceries from giant or tesco!!! but considering my poor ole joints that seem to be getting creakier as the years pile up.... and the almost heavenly feel of it on my feet, i got to thinking it'd be money well spent. and nasib baik jugak la ada sale... 10% discount is still savings and not to be laughed at.

So thats how a nike die-hard ended up with an adidas adiStar cushion 6W priced at RM529.90 but purchased at RM476.91 (hmmmmmm baru RM1.30/day hehe), with a free t-shirt and a 28 day test run guarantee (shoes returnable n exchangeable but not refundable). now lets see if it'll really work for me when i start pounding the pavement.


yang lama (dalam kenangan)...
2006

2005

2004
dont be fooled... they may still look good but dont feel so good anymore, (flat macam tyre pancit). and makciks need all the bounce they can get ;)

yang baru (untuk dihentam hehehe)...
2007

check it out HERE :)

Ooh and i was obviously more than eager to test it out this morning.... BUT it was raining so maybe petang ni la kot. maybe i'll drag sidaro along, after all its cuti sekolah n spending some time away from the puter is always a good idea. hmmmm... i wonder how that 'fren' of hers is doing in phuket? but then thats another long n berbelit2 story.

Senamrobik MBSA

Who would have guessed that i would not only be getting a good workout, but free goodies as well?




Most of the shah alam senamrobik 'loyals' were pleasantly surprised this morning when they discovered MBSA and co-sponsors were giving away t-shirts n other stuff for the active people of shah alam lol. there were goody bags containing free mags/ mineral water/buns, free med check-ups, fresh fruit give aways and some other stuff that i'd forgotten (read: didnt really pay all that much attention). after the senamrobik session they were also launching the cabaran jelajah merdeka 50 jam for the bikers and had several popular artistes lined up for the entertainment of the general public (i actually also forgot who they were lol).

It was fun and certainly a much welcomed break.... and i'm sure everyone who was there would attest to that. oh n to the smiling videoman who generously aimed his cam my way - so sorry i didnt cooperate by sportingly acknowledging ur efforts... bukan perasan tp i'm just very very camera-shy and extremely conscious of how horrible a makcik who was jumping about like a mad monkey would look like lol (i usually take my workouts seriously n melompat sakan hehe).

I hope the people in mbsa teruskan usaha mereka... macam ni la baru ramai yang terpanggil to live out fitter n healthier lifestyles :)

Workout Log
1 solid hour hi-lo aerobics ... would've liked to stay on for the pocong-pocong session but had me some sunday morning marketing to take care of.

PMR Short Course

AH brought back a brochure she got from her teachers regarding a short course in UM for PMR students. she n a couple of her friends were interested and wanted to go... a 2 day course from 8.30am to 6.00pm @ RM95. i agreed altho i had my doubts about its effectiveness. do you blame me when the brochure itself read - the road to excellent - lol? aduh kan sepatutnya -the road to excellence- but being the person that i am so sangka baik la that its just a spelling error (but definitely a major boo boo on the part of the organizers).

The parents were taking turns. since there were 4 girls that meant we had a turn each in sending and fetching them. i was to start it off and had to make sure we left early and in time for registration. everyone congregated at my place and we managed to leave by 7.30am and was there within 15 mins. would u believe there wasnt any sign of activity at all at the designated place (dewan kuliah F, fakulti sastera, UM - according to the brochure)? of course we were early (we were the first to arrive) but the organizers should have already been there at least setting up the registration table/booth, or something. takkan registration pukul 8 datang pun pukul 8? but thats exactly what happened. they arrived at 8am and set themselves up at a slightly different venue.... jenuh la pulak kita yang datang awal ni nak terkocoh2 turun from the designated dewan to another area. nasib baik moi was in full gear and managed to still be the first in line, without having to shove n push but by just being faster than everybody else lol.

Hopefully the course content is better than all the present hiccups. bersangka baik. but i have this niggling feeling i'm going to be proven wrong.

After lunch the man and i decided to follow AF to his fave place in kl... low yat plaza, the otakus heaven. armed with RM2300.00, he was to buy a laptop for his housemate. takes a certain kind of person to let someone else make such an important purchase on their behalf. i dont think i would be able to do such a thing.... mesti nak tenguk2 n pegang2 sendiri before i spend so much money. agaknya terpaksa kot or diorang dah bincang habis2 sebelum ni.

Anyway, AF managed to get him a pretty good bargain at that big IT mart kat tingkat atas tu (i forgot the name of the place). a compaq @ RM2199.00 with everything as advertised as well as freebies thrown in by the store (which includes a mouse n thumbrive). he was so happy for his friend... and himself too bcos dia dapat bahan baru utk buat review (he does freelance online reviews and surprise, surprise.. gets paid for it lol).

I ended up a little pissed bcos my main mission for tagging along was to get a new pair of running shoes.... and that mission tak kesampaian. who would have thought a big nike outlet such as the one in berjaya time square only carry shoe sizes UK 5 and up? now what about smaller size feet hmmmmm? n nasib tak baik cek abe didnt want to go anywhere else but home. that dashed my hopes of doing the rounds in kl :( sedey tau tp kena la ikut cakap boss man kan.

Takpe theres always tomorrow.... he's playing golf and i will be on my own to shop n deliberate all i want lol.

Malam Sekalung Budi

The dinner was a sucess. everywhere i turned, there were grins and happy faces
- maybe it was the free flow of food & drinks (macam2 ada)
- maybe it was the top notch entertainment; artistes like ramli sarip, kathy, reshmonu, dayang nurfaizah, david arumugam... even mawi (who incidentally seems to be the fave of the wife of the oil co's president. hehe siapa sangka)
- maybe it was the special appearance n performance of all the MC members on stage belting out a couple of evergreens (sama2 mengejar mimpi... teringat pulak kat arwah seha)
- or maybe it was just the comraderie of all the oil men gathered together and toasted on that one particular nite.

Dunno. but like i said, the dinner was a success indeed :)

Confused..

Is age making me adled? hehe... i wouldnt be that surprised :)

Abe has a big function lined up today n tomorrow and its actually one of the main reasons he's back home. it has something to do with the oil company's recognition of their employees' loyalty & commitment... and for the hubby its been 15 years with the big 'P'. basing on his age, friends n colleagues have expressed their surprise that he hasnt been in the company for a longer period. the thing is he didnt actually start out with oil & gas but somehow found his way there thru several career moves. i never thought he'd turn out to be an 'orang minyak' hehehe.

Anyway, he informed me that there was a formal dinner involved and that i was to get myself ready for it (read: get something decent to wear will ya lol!!). both of us arent too big on the 'trendy' wardrobe part and both of us shy away from fancy boutiques n branded stuff (cant really fathom why so many are so willing to part with their hard earned RMs just for clothes) so formal functions give us both a big headache lol.

Turns out i was not only to get something for me, i was to get something for him as well!!! aduh mak.... nak beli baju sendiri pun pening ni kan pulak nak belikan baju dia!! problem with me is.... whenever i go out shopping for clothes the indecision will always steer me to the shoe shop and i end up buying shoes instead.... i love to run so i take good care of my feet (plus the man has a foot fetish but shushh now ok lol).

So after work yesterday, i did the shah alam 'shopping triangle' of pkns complex, sacc (shah alam convention centre) & pas (plaza alam sentral). pusing punya pusing i had no choice but to call him up and tell him NO, i couldnt do it... i wasnt going to burn RM200+ on a formal/batik shirt that he just might not like. HE was going to have to choose!! and from my ronda2 i managed to zero in on a couple of shops offering what we wanted. one small problem tho ... the particular shop i was targetting closes at 8pm (most business establishments in pkns complex close early). he reluctantly agreed to balik awal skit. walaupun for one moment there i thought he wasnt going to make it back in time (selalunya lepas maghrib baru nak drive out of the twin towers), lucky for me (bcos i wouldnt be stuck in the dreaded position of forced buying lol) he was at the gate of the house by 7.55pm and we made it to the shop at exactly 8pm!!!! phew mamat tu baru tengah berkemas2 nak tutup so maka sempat la cek abe memilih2 & men'try'2 hehehe. thank god... one down (his baju) just one more to go (mine). i can so easily do the 'cari baju agak2 matching' after work today.

And the other great LEGA thing for me?!! i honestly thought the dinner was tonite... malam jumaat, thus the desperation. rupa2nya its tomorrow nite.... jumaat malam lol. ntah macamana boleh ter'confuse' but at least tonite i'll be free for AH's solat hajat at her school in conjunction with PMR. alhamdulillah.

The boyz? AF is probably bz chasing after some new conquest or still pening over his 'on again off again' GF... ntah la. nanti tau la latest update when he turns up as he always does each weekend. and AI... hmmmm, sibudak sorang tu plak last i knew seemed to have gotten himself tangled up in a 'tak sampai hati nak reject' kind of situation, which i have strongly cautioned him against sbb sympathy does not make a good relationship and sometimes you have to be a little cruel to be kind. tapi... thats another ntah la. as a mom, again all i can actively do is doakan yang terbaik untuk anak2. oh, and we're scraping plans of visiting AI in alor gajah this weekend. seems that he's involved in some campus activity or other... kalau tak silap camping kot.

*sigh* rindu la kat anak2 mama.

Workout Log.
3K morning run - a little hard going. had to cool down at the office sbb agak terlambat skit.

Jom laaaaaaari

Got me my borang today..... will be filling it up and registering sooooon :)

Date: 02 September 2007
Venue: Dataran Shah Alam
Register: 6 am
Start: 7 am
Closing Date: 31 August 2007
T-shirt pick-up: 28 August - 01 September 2007

Bring out those shoes dusty or not and jom la kita gegarkan bersama hehehe!! insyallah my 3rd shah alam run.... and to think it all started that merdeka month of 2004, the month i got myself out of that comfy (but killer) couch lol... and attempting my first race in 2005 @ 44yrs !!

On your marks....

... get set...... GO!!!

Hehehe yang pasti 'go' nya tak la selaju mana, ala2 penguin gitu :) more important, i've started running again, and hopefully getting into better shape to attempt the 10K in september. agak liat la jugak sbb dah lama tak hunggar tp it feels good as always. lega, lapang n the bounce is back in my walk lol.

Pagi tadi AH had to contend with just sandwich telur for breakfast n not nasi goreng. sidaro tu peminat nasi goreng tapi hari ni mama dia mengelat sbb takut tak sempat. i had big plans lol.... to put in at least 3K n still make it in time for work.

Vroom hantar AH kat sekolah, vroom cari fave parking kat perkarangan masjid negeri. terkocoh2 pakai kasut (keluar rumah sarung selipar je.. tak sempat), warm up ala kadar n started off in a controlled easy pace (read: slow giler). i completely forgot to check out the time tapi i finished off my first 1K by 7.33am. after that i kept track..... finished 2K by 7.41am and 3k by 7.48am. this means its a slow 7-8 mins per km. well, i never was one for speed so kira boleh la tu hehehe.

To make it in time i had to skip cooling down. drove into the office carpark with 7 minutes to spare, kepit handbag, briefcase n backpack of workclothes, redah into a crowded lift pretending not to know where the sweaty smells were coming from (orang lain semua wangi2 je maklum la nak masuk kerja kan heheh) and ta-daaaa, got my little finger scanned in at 7:57 am.

Pheeew... lega. esok kena make sure AH siap cepat n boleh keluar rumah awal skit. surely terkejar2 sangat macam ni and the anxiety isnt too good for my ole heart lol.


Workout Log
3K morning run - tasik shah alam.
1 hr nonstop hip hop aerobics - 6pm to 7pm with 'too phatt' the instructor @ MAL Gym & Fitness Centre, Stadium Shah Alam.

Getting in shape

Its almost september, sweet september, my birth month according to the gregorian calendar. but lately it also heralds an event that has become quite important to me, the penguin incarnate; the waddling wobbling huffing puffing terkedek2 makcik who has somehow developed this love for pounding the pavement hehehe.... apa lagi kalau tak the shah alam 10K run?

Over the years, i've had these grand dreams of participating in all the klang valley runs... pj, klang, putrajaya, n all the other myriad runs held in KL. tapi... i always end up with only the shah alam run under my belt. i come up with all kinds of elaborate reasons n excuses for not running in the races, all pretty justifiable at the time, but in the end thats just what they are... excuses. malas nak bersusah2 sebenarnye... also tak dok geng, also theres this fear of the unknown and the underlying thought running thru my mind has always been "kalau pengsan camane? bukan ada orang kenal pun!!"

So its been the shah alam 10K without fail. this year it'll be on Sunday, 2nd sept 2007, a week or two before ramadhan. with all the recent happenings in my life, i'm pretty out of shape.... so kenalah do something about it kalau masih nak medal utk kenangan. and thank god this year pun tak coincide with that time of the month... kalau tidak agak messy la skit lol. but then this year, i have to contend with a new 'afliction'.... heel pain or planta fasciitis to be exact. sheesh, dah tua2 ni memacam la plak. before this it was my right shoulder (tendonitis that later developed into cold shoulder), now its my left heel (i strongly suspect its plantar fasciitis but i havent been to the doc's to confirm anything).

Pain beneath the heel

Plantar fasciitis (subcalcaneal pain): Doing too much running or jumping can inflame the tissue band (fascia) connecting the heel bone to the base of the toes. The pain is centered under your heel and may be mild at first but flares up when you take your first steps after resting overnight. You may need to do special exercises, take medication to reduce swelling and wear a heel pad in your shoe.

Heel spur: When plantar fasciitis continues for a long time, a heel spur (calcium deposit) may form where the fascia tissue band connects to your heel bone. Your doctor may take an X-ray to see the bony protrusion, which can vary in size. Treatment is usually the same as for plantar fasciitis: rest until the pain subsides, do special stretching exercises and wear heel pad shoe inserts.

Yelah nak buat camane.... lebih kurang kereta lama la jugak... care & maintenance has to be made a priority.

Similar wavelengths

Saturday
AF came back last nite with one of his housemates. seems that a bunch of them was going off to enjoy 'mandi2' either at the beach (PD being the nearest) or at any of the mini waterfalls/latar (along the karak highway). diorang berdua sampai dulu naik bas and 3 others arrived much later in the nite naik kancil. the plan was to switch said kancil with my avanza, which was actually more suited to 5 'anak2 gajah' hehehe.

Berbekalkan sebekas besar spaghetti bolognese, sebekas durian yg telah berkopek & 3 bantal roti/tuna sandwiches (courtesey of moi) and another bekas besar pudding mixed fruit (which the boys prepared themselves kelentong kelentang tgh malam semalam lol), they left quite early (by their standards of course) .... around 10 am. they decided to make for the latar instead of the beach, which had me worrying over slippery wet rocks and floating debris (i'm a mom so i worry ok lol). it turned out into a good trip and they had fun i guess, but one of them ended up with some sort of stomach ache due to a longstanding ulcer problem. so considering it was a picnic, they were back rather early.

At first i thought i had just one son on the road to worry about.... but sometime during the morning AI pulak call to let me know that he was chilling out with friends at the A farmosa wet-world!!!! aduh.... again i was bombarded with images of wet slippery decks n surfaces!! gawd, risau betul takut kepala bebudak2 ni terpelangkung or something like that. walaupun dah besar panjang tapi risau tu tetap risau. tinggal kena control je la supaya bebudak tu tak rimas sangat dengan perangai mama diorang yang sorang ni hehehe.

And if i thought that was it, huh i was wrong, a couple of hours later i received an sms plak from AI, informing me that in all probability, they were going to proceed to PD next. alahai anak weh... tak cukup ke kecut segala macam kulit berendam kat wet-world tu sampai nak sambung plak kat PD?!! i just didnt see the need to pulun everything in one day but since he's with friends and hundreds of kms away from me, what could i do except doa je for their safety. dalam dok risau2 (mujur jugak masa tu AF dah balik so at least i could stop worrying about him lol), i received another sms, this time bearing good news (for me la) that diorang tak jadi nak ke PD and was now back in masjid tanah having an early dinner. *sigh* lega betul rasanya, maklum la walaupun dah 19 tapi bukannya experienced sangat bab2 driving ni. at least masjid tanah and alor gajah tak la jauh mana... before long he and his friends would be safely back in campus :)

Alhamdulillah sidaro is here with me and i have my 'eagle' eyes on her lol

Workout Log
30 mins halfhearted hip hop dance - vcd at home (sambil main dgn nico, my post op tomcat)


Sunday
Cik Abe ended up with a marathon golf session (36 holes). he wanted out of the 2nd game tapi tak sanggup plak nak kecewakan abang, adik n his cousin who had waited patiently since he got back to play with him. by evening he was beyond tired but since he promised, he had to send AF off to tanjong malim.... and in time to have dinner at sidaro's fave restaurant (garden restaurant, tanjong malim) where they serve tasty halal chinese food. i couldnt go bcos since her op and subsequent chemo, mak gets this 'takut kena tinggal sorang2' thingy everytime nite falls. so kena la jadi mommysitter. of course i made good use of the free time...... update blogs, goof around with my 'teman2 maya' and cleared my emails :)

Lets not think about tomorrow n work shall we?!!

Workout Log
1 hr hi-lo aerobics - dataran shah alam

Latest Pics....


AF/Aie - 22


AI/Ijat - 19


AH/Echa - 15


Nico/Nicolei - 2+

PMR trials

AH is finally feeling the heat... this blur n extremely 'relaxed' daughter of mine is finally grasping the fact that PMR is just round the corner. tapi kesian la pulak sebab she hasnt quite triumphed over the marauding viruses that suddenly decided to invade her fertile young body. masih dok pening2, masih kelihatan agak pucat, masih tak berapa bermaya.

The PMR trials starts today and the first paper is pengetahuan islam... not really one of her strong fortes especially this year. why? sebab for one, its a mugging subject, macam sejarah and the likes, and AH's not much of a mugger thats for sure lol. and altho i've always cautioned her against equating a subject to the teacher, it's been sort of 'diabaikan' bcos she cant stand the self-righteous attitude of the ustazah. rugi la camtu sbb her inability to be objective sebenarnya memakan diri but i guess such objectivity is gained thru experience n maturity. AI pun went thru the same thing during his first semester. logic over emotion... not an easy thing to do even at my age.

Next trial paper.... Bahasa Melayu on monday.

Entah laa with the boys all grown up and tinggal si bongsu, i find myself not as strict and driven as i used to be in matters concerning education & discipline. kalau dulu2 tak pegang rotan tak sah even if it served more as a deterrent than anything else. sekarang ni bayang rotan pun takde!! i'm not too sure its altogether for the better but thats just the way it is. one mellows as one gets older. tu pasal grandparents manjakan cucu. its not so much the titles of atok & nenek that makes them so, its more the age. u get maudlinly sentimental over even the littlest things.... and nak marah2 sangat pun tak sampai hati. perhatikan la parents yang dapat anak masa middle age... the ones you didnt expect to have (but which dont necessarily mean didnt want). you'll see them doting on their child just as grandparents would... maybe just a mite less in degree of kemanjaan tapi manja la jugak. kemungkinan anak2 jadi spoilt lil brats agak tinggi so kena la cuba2 keep such tendencies in check (self reminder lol).

Apapun cik echa sayang mama... kalau susah2 sangat kan, mama kahwinkan cepat aje nanti hehehe ;)

Allergy

Balik kerja semalam terus masuk dapur capai my faithful old wok. give me a wok and i'll be happy, tak payah periuk2 canggih pun takpe (tapi kalau ada lagi la bagus kan heheh). when the kids were younger, and our vacations were usually at apartments where cooking was permissible, 'have wok will travel' was my mantra lol.

Anyways where was i? oh ok, balik rumah je dengan penuh semangatnye masuk dapur nak masak la untuk cek abe. one of my adik2 kat ofis suka sangat memancing (dan aktiviti yang 'sewaktu' dengannya) and kerana terlalu kerap maka terjadilah lebihan supply. kali ni it was udang galah... i jumped at the opportunity of helping him 'get rid' of it hehehe. banyak la jugak for RM15, dapat la dua kali masak. so kelentung kelentang siap la masak lemak udang galah, sambal sotong petai n daging goreng.

Cik Abe isnt back untuk bercuti so balik2 terus masuk kerja. tak sangka pulak first day dah kena overtime.. tunggu punya tunggu akhirnya terpaksa la makan dulu sbb sidaro "perut dah berlubang la mama" (her words exactly lol). bila abah dia eventually balik n ready for makan kami mengadap je la just to temankan dia sambil pok pek pok pek of course. such a peaceful domestic picture kan and who would've thought he would be suffering come morning?

Rupanya bila meningkat umur ni badan kita turut berubah in a myriad of mysterious ways. selama ni dah berkilo kilo udang yang di digest tetiba dah nak masuk 50 ni timbul lak allergy udang!!!! tengah malam buta (around 3 am) i woke up to his thrashing and turning in bed... dok garu2 macam our little zoo friend yang satu tu hehe. bila tenguk betul2 baru nampak yang his underlip pun macam bengkak2 skit and slight rash over most parts of his body. of course my first thought pegi clinic tapi dia tak nak. lebih rela bergaru sbb penat sangat. many garu mengaru moments later akhirnya dapat gak la sambung tido... tapi groggy sampai la kini.

So take notice, our body goes thru these changes all the time tak kira bila. kena la sentiasa peka n prihatin especially bila dah semakin senja.


Workout Log.
*sigh* still on a running break.... weekend ni la kot.

New bosses

When u've reached the level of 'senior' whatever, its usually an indication that u've been doing whatever it is u do long enough lol. u've probably seen people come n go like the tide, beating away at the sands, changing its contours but never really making any damn difference in the long run.

But its fun observing this stream of people coming n going... macam2 jenis, rupa dan ragam. its especially interesting when it comes to this breed that we call 'boss(es)'. theres just no end to the types of management styles employed and the creativity (or absurdity) involved in its implementation. its like those times when u get this 'rajin' attacks and start moving the furniture around. to start with its all the same old furniture... n the same old limited space. but u have this burst of inspiration and after some huffing n puffing, walllaaaa... the place has a refreshingly different look n feel about it. u then spend the next couple of weeks or maybe even months satisfied with the change. that is UNTIL you get that itch again... and again... and again, and before you know it ur back where u started!!! pusing kot tu pusing kot ni if the resources remain the same akhirnya sama gak.

So macam2 la cara dan method kerja yang telah di implementasi di pejabat ni namun akhirnya hasil nya tidak la sehebat mana. except that NOW keadaan memang berbeza sikit dari biasa.... from just 3 QS utk handle segala macam projek dan karenah di selangor ni dah bertambah menjadi 5, so maybe this time we can finally expect to see some improvement. tapi tu pun kalau present management bijak utilize and maximise pertambahan tersebut. kita tunggu dan lihat... apapun, bagi yang dah lama (read:berkulat) disini, kena la pandai2 sesuaikan diri n going with the flow is usually the name of the game.

Lunchbreak was a bz bz time indeed. vrooom ke kompleks pkns to bank in the boys' weekly allowance, vrooom ke TM to pay off the monthly utilities... and yes, also cukai pintu. surprise, suprise, i was able to settle my cukai pintu MBSA at TM. talk about being consumer friendly ya (its almost end of august so have u settled yours yet?). and last but not least, a short visit to the vet bcos today nico's eye stitches (the one involving his 3rd eyelid) comes off. seriau jugak tenguk tapi it was a very quick n i suppose painless procedure sbb si nico tu senyap je. now the hole caused by the ulcer dah covered up (tho it still looks pretty damn messy to me ... ugghh) and with his eye meds the healing process should continue without a hitch (i dearly hope so). tak larat rasanya nak ngadap cleaning his eyes bebanyak kali sehari tapi what to do... sayang punya pasal!!

AH's pretty excited about her spanking new katil. tenguk ah mesti cari excuse je nak duduk dalam bilik tu nanti... anak daro pingitan la katakan hehehe. i know you prefer your own room sayang tapi ni je la yang termampu buat masa ni... n thank you for being such a good sport about EVERYTHING mwaaaaaaah.

Oh and yes, not forgetting an important part of the day... i also get to be a 'luurving' wife again. nak masak apa ek balik keje ni? hehe :)

The other half.

HE's BACK .... enough said ;)

Dependables

Its tough when you always hafta be the strong one.... regardless of whether ur actually up to it or not. you know that question we often find ourselves asking "why was i put on this earth oh lord"? well for me its probably to serve as the human version of the 'big ben' hehehe... always there rain or shine; big, strong, dependable (and also frequently taken for granted).

It was a flurry of activity:
..make sure mak's comfortable, relatively happy, n taken all her meds.
..make sure AH's also comfortable, relatively happy n taken all her meds.
..make sure the cat is fed, walked and taken all his meds (yea semenjak surgery n subsequent perintah berkurung by the vet i've been taking him outside on a leash for his nature calls).
..make sure AF is up on time, packed and ready to be send off to t. malim (with his dad back i would be needing my avanza)
..make sure the home is spic n span for the arrival of HRH Abe aka golfman.

Thought everything was accounted for when we left for t. malim but nooooo.... AF still had to get some struff at tesco. was quite stressed knowing mak is now very susceptible to anxiety attacks when left alone towards petang n malam..... so lucky thing walaupun petang baru bertolak, we were already back home by maghrib.

Loteh den..... tp HAPPY.... esok cik Abe ku saye balik :)

Workout Log
1 hr aerobics @ dataran shah alam... good high intensity session almost equivalent to non stop jogging. and thank god it didnt rain like it did last week.

First bed

Been out with si daro the whole week hunting for a bed - her 1st ever!!! yup growing up she's been sharing either opah's queen size bed or in her father's absence, mine. sidaro ni shares a room with opah mainly bcos her grandma is scared of sleeping in the room thats been designated for her downstairs. when we renovated the house a couple of years ago, i extended the room downstairs to suit mak's needs (bilik air sebelah, dapur dekat, terrace just outside) and also to make sure she didnt have to climb anymore staircases. unfortunately her fertile imagination kept conjuring up desperate men who were forever waiting to break in and pounce on her/us. forget about the grill or any other security measures that i've taken lol. apa nak buat orang tua2 camtu la. i'm thinking when her aches n pains overide the fear she will finally appreciate the room downstairs... till then AH will just hafta share.

So pusing2 shah alam, she fell in love with a metal bed in ..... guess where? hehe, shah alam mall seksyen 9, belakang rumah je. but before i could put in an order i had to make sure the room was ready for the bed - that meant switching the queen size bed with the single bed downstairs n rearranging the existing furniture to now accomodate 2 twin beds. no way could i do all that alone; there are times when we need a helping hand and this is one of them lol. thank god mak's nephew turned up as promised n together we managed to dismantle n reassemble mak's old bed in no time at all. and he carried the existing single bed upstairs quite effortlessly. aahh to have a handyman in the house.... beres je keje no problem.

In between all that activity my brother dropped by to show off his new baby. ooooh cute giler.... baru dalam 50 hari je n baik sangat. but cute baby or not mak pah still had to come up with lunch so apa lagi kelam kelibut la masuk dapur.... tapi sesak2 pun sempat jugak la makan by 1.30pm :) sorry guyz tersibuk plak dengan kes tukar menukar katil. trpaksa kena settle sebab dah ada imported handyman. apa2pun after lunch puas jugak la main2 ngan baby cyahir n kak bree. ish rindu plak kat bebudak tu.

After cepul left it was back to clearing up the rooms in ernest. tolak console keluar tolak study table masuk n a dusty hour later baru la ada rupa bilik 'Da Daros' hehehe (dara tua n dara muda). And after parting with only RM271 echa's dream bed will be installed tuesday at the very latest. kenapa lambat sangat?! bcos 1.they dont deliver on sundays n 2.monday's delivery schedule dah full... so since daro dah berkenan sangat kena la bersabor. btw katil pun tak dapat lagi tp comforter n bedsheet set (akemi) dah pun beli... kebetulan ada sale kat living quarters n sidaro terjumpa plak design ala2 nippon @ 80% off. apa lagi rembat je la :)

Seronok punya pasal demam pun trlupa.... daro oh daro!!

Workout Log
1 big lap (4K) plus 1 mini lap (1K)= 5K .. and i took my own (sweet) time lol
Alhamdulillah pagi2 sebelum bermula segala macam madness sempat gak la moi round tasik. kasi tekan skit sebab dah lama tak lari (last was 4K on tuesday morning).

Tumbang

They say when its durian season (eh sekarang ni bukan ke durian dah tak ikut musim?) then its also 'demam' season.

Started out with my eldest who's in UPSI tanjong malim, then my 2nd who's in UiTM alor gajah and now my youngest who's at home..... semua tgh in various stages of 'demam'. nak kata berjangkit, semuanya duduk berasingan, jauh plak tu. so it must be true, mmg tgh musim demam.

Semalam masa balik sekolah dari jauh dah nampak kemoyokkan yg amat terserlah pd wajah si daro. ingat ke pergeselan personaliti (read: PMS), or ketidakpuasan hati dgn pentadbiran sekolah (read: rebel) or percanggahan pendapat (read: gaduh)... rupa2nya non of the above tapi demam. bila disentuh terasa berbahang sampai terpanggil jugak la mama ni utk terus ke klinik tanpa berlengah2. she should've just called me to pick her up early but i have to respect her decision to finish off the day. after the good doc reassured her that it wasnt anything terminal (form 3 science syllabus pasal the body n diseases has somehow made her a little paranoid about her health) , she headed straight for bed and slept till maghrib!!!! cian baby mama penat giler.

Weell, she's pretty worried about her PMR trials which starts on thursday, less than a week from now but i'm thinking, better now than later. more importantly, she stays healthy in september :)

Mak n nico, my 2 'invalids', seem to be progressing well. at least i can focus on AH who is now holding the 'most needy' title. in this family, age (senior or junior) or status (sulung or bongsu) dont really count when it comes to getting immediate attention & TLC..... yg di dulukan adalah yg paling memerlukan at any one time. kalau yg bongsu je yg asyik dapat attention ngamuk pulak abang2.... so kena la tentukan siapa yg paling memerlukan dan orang tu la yg akan di dulukan :)

Aaaahhh... TGIF. soo much to do, so very little time.

Woo hooo

With the new puter comes another unexpected pleasure..... somehow these new breeds manage to navigate their way around the internet restrictions put up by the ICT administrator/moderator (or whatever they're called)!!! hehe i get to blog again first thing before work. now how cool is that :)

Semenjak jaga mak i've sorta put aside my running, leaving my schedule in a state of sorry neglect. nak kata tak lari langsung tak la tp as p.ramlee is often quoted... kadang2, jarang2 etc. now i'm giving myself till the end of the week to adjust to working again then its back to squeezing at least a 3K first thing in the morning. takes a little planning but well worth the effort. sekarang ni nak solat pun agak mengah sheesh. tp yelah... umur pun semakin meningkat so kena get real :)

Slept kinda late last nite (to be honest mmg selalu tido lambat pun hehe... penyakit nite person, pagi plak blur giler). elok mak dah nak beransur pulih, my tomcat si nicolei plak buat hal. a couple of weeks ago he had eye infection. as usual moi brought him to the veterinary clinic in seksyen 15, n gave him his meds n drops diligently as instructed. lepas seminggu dok mcm tu jugak so bawa lagi, same thing, tukar eye cream plak. it got even worse after another week n when i saw them yet again, they suddenly inform me nico dah kena eye ulcer. quite serious and i needed to take him to the head office (or maybe head clinic is more appropriate kot) near upm bangi. weh bangi..... i got to thinking jauh tu n i didnt like leaving mak home alone for too long. so i decided to take him to a nearer (and not so outrageously expensive) vet in seksyen 13, tadisma business centre. the vet was actually recommended to me by the jabatan haiwan personnel themselves bcos of an ongoing dicounted rate for neutering cats.

I liked the place the first instant i set foot there.... n the young people in charge were not only passionate about their work, but warm & friendly as well. upon examination they recomended surgery for nico in an effort to save his eye. seems that cats have a 3rd eyelid and by pulling it across the ulcered eye for a certain period of time, it would encourage the distribution of nutrient over the the damaged area and hopefully mend it. yeah sounds kinda complicated... i have till the 6th to see if it works or not; thats when they take out the stitches to expose the actual eye.

So, in the end, moi is left with taking care of 2 'invalids' recovering from surgery lol. nico was ordered 2 weeks rest (read: kena kurung) and mak plak setiap kali nico showed any sign of distress dia jadi lagi distress. *sigh* jenuh jugak la nak handle.... kekadang pening dibuatnya. so back to last nite.... si nico tu tetiba demam plak n the whole of yesterday tak mengiau, tak makan, tak minum, tido je. mak dah mula pusing2 tak keruan expecting the worse "dah nak mati ke kucing tu?" that sort of thing. and me, i will always hold on fast to something the vet once said to me, "saya tak setuju kalau owner cakap kat saya kucing dia sakit, tak nak makan tak nak minum... sbb kita tak boleh biarkan aje, kena la usahakan, force feed if necessary". so mmg i take time to sumbatkan air dengan syringe every so often... n feed a concoction of gooey cornflour paste mixed with grinded cat biscuits. that was what kept me up late last nite.... tending n feeding a sick manja tomcat lol.

Alhamdulillah he's so much better this morning.... and could be heard meowing away wanting to get out of the house as usual. nasib baik sempat punch in work bcos kesian punya pasal i took him outside on a leash just so he could stretch his legs n smell the morning air. kita pun kalau kena kurung dah nak masuk 2 minggu giler jugak dibuatnya ni kan pulak a horny tomcat hehehe. oh n btw, i got him neutered as well... senang sekali bius dapat selesaikan 2 masalah sekaligus. didnt want it done too early sbb biarlah dia dapat panjangkan generasi dia dulu. but after almost 2 years i think nico has sired enough furry monsters to make sure theres a continuation of the species :)

Ok time for work.

Back to work

A couple of 'pejam celiks' and its 2 months already?!!! sheesh cepat giler masa berlalu.... at this rate, next thing i know rambut dah beruban semua, gigi dah rongak belaka hehehe!!!!

Its with mixed feelings that i leave for work this morning. glad to be amongst workmates tackling problems & paperwork, feeling myself part of the movers & shakers of this nation again (tak kisah la that the moving n shaking isnt all that much... but at least the input is still there kan). but on the other hand, hati ni bimbang & gundah leaving mak alone at home to fend for herself. the boys are back in college, AH has school in the mornings and i can only peek in during my coffee break (alhamdulillah my office is just 10 mins drive so jenguk-menjenguk isnt much of a problem). still, she's so much better now especially after making up her mind to STOP chemo completely. seems like a burden's been lifted from her shoulders (personally i think she should at least attempt another session or two just to make sure its as bad as the first time but well... mana boleh nak paksa2. not with mak anyway).

Once at the office rupanya i had a surprise waiting for me.... a most pleasant surprise indeed. who would have thought that in my absence, there were still people around who were caring & concerned enough to 1. realise just how totally ancient my computer was and 2. replace it with a brand new spanking HP!!!!!! wooo hoooo.... darleeengs thank you so much from the bottom of my heart mwaaaaah3x.

So... till the next post (which would be tomorrow god willing hehe) heres moi signing off from my oh so new n shiny puter :)

Its been AGES

"Dah give up on RedKebaya ke?" someone asked me and i suddenly realised it really has been AGES since i last put in an entry!!!!!!!!!!

Well what can i say, life has a way of suddenly making certain priorities your entire focus sometimes. its as if everything else is put on hold and day in, day out you are completely absorbed by it.

For me its my mom..... after a very long deliberation and delay on her part, she finally agreed to having a mastectomy done end of may. alhamdulillah the surgery went well and i was happy to see her bouncing back so rapidly. she seem quite content with her lot in life. unfortunately chemotherapy is a totally different ball game and seem to be undoing the previous progress. since undergoing treatment 3 weeks ago mak has become quite weak n more than a little depressed. i wont go into details but suffice to say her recovery is very very slow.

I have taken 2 months off work just to be there for her.... at least some peace of mind that her needs will be met without questions asked. i'm all she has actually, for better for worse and sometimes i think she has the shorter end of the bargain poor soul. the price you pay for having only one child i guess.... kalau ada yang tak kena kena telan la juga. takde pilihan lain nak wat camane.

In a couple of days she will be facing her 2nd chemo..... and already she is talking of giving it a skip. she's definitely not very receptive to the idea of nausea, nausea and more nausea; and to a world that doesnt seem to stop spinning. in all honesty, i cant say i blame her.

Mak is not someone you can push around, she does what she wants and dont anyone say otherwise. and i am not someone who makes decision for others.... so we'll just see how the wind blows.