Unlucky?

I guess after years & years of driving (i started experimenting with cars and landrovers since i was 10.. growing up as an army brat cocooned in the safety of a secluded army camp had its perks lol), it was something long overdue.

My very first police report!

At 6.45 pm, right under the porch of sunway pyramid's main entrance (that busy drop off area) while i was down to 20 km/h dutifully following the hand-signals of the guard on duty, a taxi hell-bent on getting as many passengers as he could on merdeka's eve, rammed right into the left side of my car, severely grazing and denting my back passenger door!!!

He really got me fuming mad!!! what is it with these taxis? and where did he think he was huh, in a demolition derby or something? of course la kereta penuh sesak but that doesnt give him the license to simply bang into people just because he wanted to get off the drop off zone!! stupid moron, suka2 hati je nak langgar orang. lucky thing the guard who witnessed everything was extremely helpful and sorta intimidated the taximan to provide me with his particulars. thank you mr. guardman, you were a great help indeed sir.

And guess what, the taximan's an ex-cop (he even had a pdrm address on his IC)!! yeah... you would have thought he'd have known better aight? sheeeesh!

Which then brings me to the wild goose chase part of the story. after taking his particulars, i was told to go make a report at the pj police station, the one near the mppj building bcos sunway was under their jurisdiction. and like a stoopid fool (my brains were close to meltdown) i made my way there even tho i had this niggling thought at the back of my head, why was a place that was so close to subang jaya under pj?! true enough once i got there the officers told me they couldnt process my report bcos the pyramid was under the sj police!!

Arghh i was so pissed... this was supposed to be just a simple pick-up of AH and her friends!! but there i was still wandering about with 4 increasingly hungry kids in tow and with night fast descending upon us. when i asked the policeman for directions he was kind enough to sketch it out but for the life of me, i could hardly make out what he drew. so i asked him for the address but unfortunately he didnt know that, neither did he know what area it was in.. an indication of SS something or other would've helped but all he could tell me was, its near petronas & the fire-station. and like a true shah alam native who knew squat about other places bcos she had all she needed where she was, i didnt know where the hell that was either.

After a couple of failed attempts and a u turn later, we finally made it to the traffic section of the sj police dept. he, the taximan who banged me, was also there (haish rasa nak piuh2 je telinga tu)!! and after a long long wait for the computer to start functioning properly so that my report could be processed, all that was needed were some pics of the car and all would be done.

But... upon speaking to the officers and catching that look in their eyes, i eventually realised it wasnt going to be as easy as i had thought. the truth might not always prevail. it was a huge chunk of reality here, where everyone's out for themselves and people can actually lie thru their teeth to get themselves out of trouble.

And telling the truth means shit because how were the officers to know who's telling the truth? they deal with all kinds of people and in all probability the taximan might've even fabricated his report; he did after all have the experience to twist the facts around in his favour. he might even be their friend, who knows. and just bcos i'm a dutiful makcik doesnt mean they see me as one, since they must have met loads & loads of conniving makciks in their lifetime.

I hate the wariness i see in their eyes.

And i'm not so sure about anything anymore... the truth might just be washed down the toilet in this case.

We reached home after 9 pm and all i could do for the poor kids were to feed them with a whole load of pizza. i wasnt in the right frame of mind to be cooking dinner. gawd, i had a full day for sure - i had my bros & sis coming over for lunch & tea, my son appearing for a weekend break, and my hubs arriving back from jakarta.

Oh and the stooopid sunway fiasco of course.

What a way to celebrate merdeka's eve. but at least the kids had fun at the merdeka countdown, watching the fireworks.

WTF?!??

.. the last time was an incessant rattling and it took the toyota people a couple of days to figure out what was wrong AND another couple of days to have it fixed because the flywheel wasnt in stock and had to be ordered from elsewhere.

It was 2 weeks of being 'wheel-less'.. an absolute inconvenience!!

To our dismay the avanza's been acting up again. it's been stalling and dying out on us at every turn, taking its own sweet time to warm up and run as normal. after a while we soon realised it was time to bring in the 'experts' but alas, the same thing happened all over again. when we sent it over, the toyota service people in shah alam couldnt quite figure out the cause of the problem and my son had to drive the problematic car back to kulim (where he's currently teaching) and have the toyota people in penang investigate further (apparently with 'technology' they can access the previous history of our car you see, thus the passing of baton, eheh).

And now they tell us its the gearbox and replacing it would cost us about RM 31,000.00.. WT friggin F?! kereta tu pun baru RM40,000 plus when we bought it, being the 1st batch ever to hit the malaysian shores. ni nak repair at about 75% of its initial cost? come on laaa... wheres the logic la kan? baik cari 2nd hand parts or trade it in for a brand new car!!!

Adoi... macam2. i think the 1st generation avanza was somehow jinxed and toyota isnt doing too good a job of handling it.

Sambutan

.. apart from our own personal physical & spiritual preparation, there are many ways to usher in ramadhan.

Ada yang belanja makan satu ofis la, yang organize group flings kat sunway lagoon/genting park la, yang plan weekend get-away la, macam2. in the case of my golfman pulak how else if not by going on a MEGA golf trip where the itinerary consist of nothing but 3 solid days of golf, golf and more golf!! pulun habis2an la katakan sebab once the fasting starts, prestasi pun nanti kureng skit la kan ;)

So i'll be dropping him off at KLIA around 1 pm today, ETD jakarta 4 pm (rasanye la).. which is going to be quite tight considering AH's classes ends at 2. but my enterprising lil gal has already alerted her bf about it and in all likelihood he'll be there at the schoolgate to teman her in case i'm late. ada la sedikit kelegaan di situ :)

Lately i've been seriously thinking of enrolling AH into one of the self-defense classes around here. considering the current state of madness in our country, maybe its the least i can do in equipping her with a little more confidence & self-empowerment (and peace of mind for me). if the fee's reasonable i might even be tempted to join in, at the very least the workouts would keep me fit :)

She has mentioned kick-boxing but the nearest for that is in subang jaya.. malas la plak.

Hmmm i'd better start scouting around for options.

Sempurna

.. its fascinating how our views on certain things can evolve & change with the passage of time and where feelings are concerned, for me these 2 songs show it best :)

During the early stages of a relationship, we romantically cling to the idea that perfection still exist..
Sempurna
Kau begitu sempurna
Di mataku kau begitu indah
Kau membuat diriku akan selalu memujamu
Di setiap langkahku ku kan selalu memikirkan dirimu
Tak bisa ku bayangkan hidupku tanpa cintamu

Janganlah kau tinggalkan diriku
Tak kan mampu menghadapi semua
Hanya bersamamu ku akan bisa

Kau adalah darahku
Kau adalah jantungku
Kau adlah hidup ku lengkapi diriku
Oh sayang engkau begitu sempurna .. sempurna

Kau genggam tanganku
Saat diriku lemah dan terjatuh
Kau bisikkan dan hapus semua sesalku

Kau adalah darahku
Kau adalah jantungku
Kau adalah hidup ku lengkapi diriku
Oh sayang engkau begitu sempurna .. sempurna
Sayangku engkau begitu sempurna.. sempurna.. sempurna..
(by Andra And The Backbone).

Then as we move along and our feelings mature & deepen, we begin to realise & appreciate the fact that its the imperfections thats keeping the love real...
Sempurna
Akan ku berterusan
Mencari pengertian
Hatimu terhadap aku
Biarku menghapuskan
Sangsi yang berterusan
Darimu terhadapku
Kau mahukan segalanya sempurna
Mungkinkah kau bercanda
Kerna tiada yang sempurna
Fahamilah...

Kau dan aku pasti begini
Menempuhi onak dan duri
Suka duka bersamamu
Dan yang pasti aku kan di sini
Kau dan aku harus begini
Menempuhi setiap hari
Senyum tawa airmata
Dan baru kan sempurna

Kan ku berterusan
Ku cuba memuaskan
Hatimu terhadapku
Kau mahukan segalanya sempunrna
Mungkin kah kau bercanda
Kerna tiada yang sempurna
Fahamilah..

Kau dan aku pasti begini
Menempuhi onak dan duri
Suka duka bersamamu
Dan yang pasti aku kan di sini
Kau dan aku harus begini
Menempuhi setiap hari
Senyum tawa airmata
Dan baru kan sempurna

Berkali ku katakan
Yang aku milikmu
Berkali juga kau bertanya
“Memang aku pernah begitu
Namun dah berlalu”

Kau dan aku
Suka duka bersamamu
Dan yang pasti aku kan di sini
Kau dan aku... Ohh…
Senyum tawa air mata
Dan baru kan sempurna
(by faizal tahir).

Btw have a peek at these short but interesting videos on relationship issues, a refresher perhaps hehe..
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-have-a-harmonious-relationship
http://www.videojug.com/interview/the-life-cycle-of-a-relationship
http://www.videojug.com/interview/communicating-in-a-relationship
http://www.videojug.com/interview/the-relationship-stress-test

A glimpse

.. i was given a glimpse of what's to come and it's an interesting picture indeed ;)

The day started out as any other. t'was the weekend, as per normal Abe was off golfing and the kiddoes already had their day mapped out for themselves (AF was again going to upsi with his gf, AI was meeting up with friends in kl and AH was accompanying her bf to the dentist before proceeding to klcc). though i was tempted to run i didnt bcos having the house all to myself (with mak & her cats in the background somewhere) meant the perfect opportunity to settle all of my tertunggak chores.

Or so i thought.

The unexpected flat tyre of his gf's car saw a change in AF's plans and instead of driving down to tg malim, they lepak-ed at home watching anime after anime. i wasnt planning on having company so we ended up having a very simple lunch of roasted chicken (which i had bought earlier at tesco), fresh salad, tuna sandwiches and fried spaghetty-o. feeling more than a little guilty for not being a better host, i slowly sneaked back to the kitchen and decided to make some hot-from-the-oven cream puffs for tea!!!

Hehehe... there i was baking away when food was probably the last thing on their minds!! they were obviously enjoying their little get together with AF guffawing away every 5 seconds and his gf giggling along, eyes glued to his laptop (AF has an endless supply of downloaded anime stashed in there). they were also biding time as there was a class reunion they were going to later in the evening.

Anyway, AI came home from his outing with a coursemate in tow (a girl of course) just in time for my first batch of puffs, while AH got back shortly after. and as they all sat eating and goofing around, i had that little glimpse of what the future might have in store for me... a home filled with laughing, loving, happy people (and little ones too hehehe). provided yours truly dipanjangkan umur of course ;)

Ooh but it didnt just end there.. not by a long short.

We were actually left with a lot of uneaten food when golfman, out of the blue, took us out for dinner at VS, taipan (he wanted to entertain a visiting friend from turkmenistan). luckily the food surplus no longer became a problem when AH's bf graciously agreed to stop by after his bout of nite futsal. and his presence at the house completed the picture quite nicely i would say ;) nothing beats the warmth of having a house filled with the sounds of laughter throughout the day.. and nite heheh!!

AF came back from his reunion dinner a little while later and we finally made our way upstairs roundabout 1.30 in the morning. a little tired perhaps but very very happy.

Yup.. the kiddoes, their significant others and lots & lots of little ones hik hik!!

Sweet dreams are made of these ;)

Gawking & Hopping

... are 2 of my fav activities when i'm down with the 2B's, boredom & blues.

I was out food gawking & blog hopping when i chanced upon these tips for couples, married or otherwise. and yes, with 25 years of marriage under my belt, i am in total agreement with all of them.

1.Never both be angry at the same time.
- it was the first marital advice my MIL gave me and has stood me in good stead over the years.
2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.
3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.
- somehow whenever i concede, he relaxes, becomes all tender & open to suggestion.
4. If you must criticize, do it lovingly.
5. Never bring up mistakes of the past .
6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.
- my personal favourite :)
7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.
- what drives me to settle any dispute is the regret & guilt i'd surely be carrying if he never wakes up the next morning.
8. At least once every day say a kind or complimentary word to your life partner.
9. When you have done something wrong, admit to it and ask for forgiveness.
10. Remember it takes two to make a quarrel.

(many thanks to: http://www.snippetsofmylife.com)

Macro, makro?

... one gets your brains in a twist, the other's been swallowed whole by tesco xtra.

Day 2 of excel-2 saw me spacing out into my own world a couple of times. the thing is, whenever my ole & outdated 'cpu' ni dah tak boleh nak proses data yang berlebihan... it 'hangs' or automatically 'shuts down' suka2hati dia je eheheh.

Tapi walaupun it got tougher but it also got fun-ner (the custom buttons with the encrypted macros was really kewl yall). from the 10 odd topics that was covered today, the most relevant to my work were:

- database stats function
- data consolidation
- macros
- calculation with multiple worksheets

All this new stuff (to me la) got me pretty worked up by day's end, macam2 rasa nak buat, but i know the excitement wont last and i also know that if i dont put it to use soonest, all the know-how would just quietly disappear.

Especially semenjak dua menjak ni. senang je nak lupa, susah je nak ingat.

Anyhoo... me & muh gurlie gal decided we deserved a break from all our 'hard' work (its also her exam week) and had us some mighty fine creamed ice at the mall ;) personally i prefer haagan daz but baskin has made itself pretty much at home here, so baskin it is. i dont really mind, as long as its cool, smooth, deliciously creamy.. and has lotsa lotsa chunky nuts!!!! surprisingly AH passed on the green tea (still holding on to the memory of her bday cake i guess hik hik) and had that cheesecake n strawberry/ raspberry/ i-dont-remember-what-berry thingy, while i couldnt help but be seduced by the fat, almond bits that was all over the greenish pistachio ice cream (i actually hate the funny aftertaste that pistachio leaves in the cream but wth, lets live a little).

Refreshed and armed with fresh supply of crunchy seaweed (i'm a sucker for all things crunchy), i'm all set for another nite of channel hopping around beijing. just hope i didnt misplace the remote!!

Berasap

.... weh dah lama tak kursus berasap giler otak!!!!

I'm not a career woman. i've long realised that for me to be totally happy & content, family must come first. so, i maintain a low profile and work enough to keep my brainmatter clear of cobwebs. biar la golfman je yang climb as high as he wants... kita ni jadi his reliable 'support system' cukup la ;)

True to form i normally also mengelat berseminar or berkursus tapi sesekali tu terkena la jugak. and to be honest, berasap-asap pun seronok jugak sebenarnya.

MS Excel 2 - atas skit daripada Excel for beginner la kot heheh...

1. Refresher on Default settings and shortcuts.
2. Custom List - aargh!!
(apa tadi ek.. for the life of me nothing is coming to mind *_*)
3. Abstracting data - using max, min, sum, avg, count, if.
4. Conditional formating - coloured text etc
5. Range, Define - to name range of cells

Eeeeek... lost again!! kejap2 -_-'

6. Formula auditing - to manage & control formulas
7. Watch windows - to identify & isolate existing formulas.
8. Sub-Totals - grouping of data & computing subtotals
(function ni best tapi for me tak brape relevant bcos its restricted to repeated single words)
9. Auto Filter & Advance Filter - manipulating data (very very useful!!)
10. Importing data from Excel into Words and producing multiple letters.
11. Data Validation & circling/identifying invalid data.

Hah... memang berasap hehehe and tomorrow's another day. should i call 'bomba' in advance?

Sea of blue

This morning the streets of shah alam was hit by wave upon wave of runners mostly clad in light blue.

I was feeling a bit masochistic so i drove along the designated routes torturing myself and salivating over the adidas singlets (if only i had myself one of those i would be soooo happy). being on the outside of things felt really different tho and the impatience of the drivers when asked to stop at junctions were almost palpable. yes, sadly there are those out there who dont care a f**k in hell about the rights & the safety of the runners!!

Sabor la sikit kalau ya pun, kan ramai bebudak tu!! its ok if its not your kinda thang mister but puh-leeze, these are PEOPLE running not kambing for gods sake.

Sedih kan camtu?!!

Dah la tak dapat lari..... double sedih jadinye.

Learn to love yall.

AI's gone back to Lendu with his coursemate. looks like he's able to manage his little 'crisis' for now but i still worry over him. sigh.. all relationships carry with it uncertainty & risks but involvement with an older woman brings it to another level altogether.

You ready kah?

You sanggup kah?

This is so dejavu-ish and my mind keeps going back to jireen.

Look, i wish it didnt have to be this way but you know i'm here for you anyway. you're my baby and i love you. just promise me you wont be doing anything stupid k bcos you have to go thru this with your mind clear and eyes WIDE open. theres nothing wrong in pursuing love & happiness but my darling, you must never lose sight of the big picture.

And becoming autonomous is a major part of it.

Inspired

What does a makcik do after spending a good 4 hrs glued to the idiot box, transfixed by an artistic and deeply inspiring display of harmonious creativity & unity?

She gets inspired and runs 8km first thing the next morning :)

I carried the beautiful artistic images with me as i ran. yup the chinese did good... i was especially captivated by the agile & flexible dancers, who used their bodies as paint brushes while they moved to the music. i managed to complete my 2 big loops round the tasik even though i felt close to terpukang by the 7th km. olympic punye pasal ku gagahi jua hehehe!!

Didnt stop me from feeling frustrated over the adidas kotr though. its tomorrow but bcos yours truly missed out on the registration, kena la tenguk je from the sidelines. its actually a great opportunity for old wannabes like me to be a part of the racing community, even if its just for that short period of time. and whats even more frustrating is that the distance for the veteran women's category is just 7km. quite doable for a makcik who hasnt been running consistently since last year.

Tapi nak buat camane kan. nak saje2 lari rasa macam tak sanggup la pulak, without the bib and all. mana la tau kalau2 terpukang menyusahkan orang je or worst kena halau ke apa ke, so duduk je la diam2 kat rumah or just run round the neighbourhood.

Apapun it was great to be out running again today.

Workout Log
AM/tasik - 8km/60 mins
(horrendous timing even for a makcik but at least i kept on running to the finish eheh)

The Olympics

... its 08/08/08 yaaay!!

And making me doubly happy is AH's speedy recovery & AI's unexpected return late last nite :)

I was getting pretty worried over how listless & pale AH was still looking bcos she did take all her meds (walaupun liat). rupa2nye on top of the nausea & fever, she was also missing her bf!!! ish ish ish macam2 la pulak si daro kite ni. lucky thing her bf took the time to drop by right after his exams yesterday so ok la skit kot. at least i could hear her giggling again all the way to the kitchen hehehe.

Thx AZ and good luck with your next paper :)

And who would have thought i'd have my other baby back home again so soon!! selalunye si mamat sorang ni payah sangat nak balik... kali ni its 2 weekends in a row so thats why i'm feeling like i just won the lottery!

And the start of the olympics summore!!

*doing the jiggly*

Just hope our 'cikgu' is doing well back in kulim. ganbatte AF!!! love you n miss you dude.

Enuff yall

.. i aint that stoopid so enuff is enuff ok. enuff with the squabbling, namecalling, backstabbing, blackmailing, coverups. whatever are we teaching the next generation of leaders huh? even if YOU people dont especially care, stop embarrassing the rest of us will ya? its august already and with it the anniversary of our independence. please, dont make a mockery of it.

So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone?
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong?
In this world that we livin' in, people keep on givin' in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love.

Where's the love, y'all, come on
Where's the truth, y'all, come on
Where's the love?

Whatever happened to the values of humanity?
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality?
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found.

(courtesy of BEP)

Finally out

Yay, Bini Muda Wendy is finally out of the workshop yall!!

- no more sweating bcos of the sekejap ada sekejap takde aircond
- no more rushing in the morning
- no more guilt over golfman taking the jampacked lrt & coming home pooped outta his boots.

But euphoria aside, AH's suddenly down with some kind of 'gastro' bug and i honestly dont know where it came from. one minute she's fine next minute she's bent almost double.

Initially i thought it was just penat or stress or something bcos she was looking a little pale after her tuition & outing, but the tummy aches got pretty physical after maghrib and she even vomited her guts out. of course all i wanted to do was haul her over to the clinic ASAP but things settled down a bit after that and mek esoh insisted on resting. i only relented because she promised to see the doc first thing tomorrow morning.

But if the fever & pain persist i'm still bundling her over to the doc's tonite.

Cant help it, i'm a worrywart :(

I wonder how the boys are doing?

Looking forward

In just 2 days we'll be seeing the start of the beijing olympics and in less than a month we'll be graced by ramadhan.

Aah the irony of ramadhan.

Ramadhan encompasses 1001 blessings but we, always on a quest to simplify matters, have conveniently categorized it as a fasting month and viewed as such. this generally means no eating, which also means shoving all thoughts of it to the back of our minds. but believe you me, that aint gonna happen bcos the focus will definitely be on FOOD!! food, food and more food, the rest is almost an afterthought. yup, at some point or other it'll creep up to the top of our priority list and call it home.

"makan apa ek sahur nanti?"

"jom beli lauk jom!!"

"berbuka nanti mesti masak best2 tau!"

"teringin la plak nak makan kueh lompat tikam, akok, popia, badak berendam..."

"alaaa.. nak masak apa aah?"

"laa beli la lebih skit kuih tu lepas tarawih kan bole makan lagi!!"

"eh ada bazaar baru tau, singgah petang ni nak?"

"kat rumah dah masak tapi saja je nak tambah2 biar meriah skit!!"

"ling, you nak ayam percik ke ayam panggang biasa ke?"

"hari ni buffet kat concorde, esok kat seri melayu, lusa kat saujana.."

See what i mean? one of those things that is good & pure but in the hands of mankind has evolved into something superficial.

So dengan ini saya mengingatkan diri saya sendiri seawal mungkin to CHILL and focus focus focus on the true essence of ramadhan and not be swayed by the onslaught nor drowned in the avalanche of food that will be coming this way very very soon.

Insyallah.

Cukup2 la tu.

Have faith

.. and stop banging your head against the wall.

You have a love worth keeping
You have a love thats true
Her heart's not prone to wandering
Her heart has only you.

Though its natural to wonder
Doubt can wreck one's soul
So have faith in one another
And let the love unfold.

Sincerely,
Aunty

Plans gone awry

.. again kita hanya merancang.

The day started out well. AH suddenly decided to ditch her tennis lessons (ha tido lambat kan dah susah nak bangun) which meant i could go have some mad fun with the other aerobically inclined makciks & pakciks at the dataran, yay!! and who did i find waiting to start off the session this morning? none other than the funky instructor they nicknamed 'too phat' bcos his speciality was hip-hop aerobics. yo man... i was grinning even before the music started. why? bcos it was my kinda workout yall :)

One thing about being in a large group of people.. you can just let yourself go without worrying too much about looking stupid bcos everyone else would be looking just as stupid hahaha. yup it was fun hip-hopping about like a crazed cow yeehaa ;)

It was then that things started getting a lil skewed.

I wanted to run round the tasik but couldnt bcos AH's girlfrens were coming over for some girly-girl time and also some cookie baking while they're at it. so maid-less me had to settle all the chores as well as spruce the place up a bit before they arrived.... which in the end they never did bcos turns out most couldnt make it so the plan was scraped.

Aah well.

I wanted to attend the wedding reception of my old old friend megan (we go way back to primary school) but couldnt bcos the other car was still in the workshop and golfman was using the only wheels available. then there was also the matter of dropping son no. 2 off to melaka so it was another plan down the drain.

Aaaah weeell.

And something's not too right with my hp either. reception? battery? dunno but it sure is acting up.

Aaaaaaaahhh!!

So what happened was we ended up..
1) baking the choc chip cookies ourselves (yummy but the calories ooh the calories)
2) shoving the uncooperative hp into the deepest darkest corner of my handbag
3) leaving for lendu after maghrib (after much dilly dallying)
4) arriving back home around 11pm totally pooped and not at all ready to face another week of daily grind :(

Heck where did the weekend go? I am soooo not looking forward to going thru the whole 'drop-AH-to-school-then-drop-golfman-to-lrt kelana jaya-before-going-to-work' routine tomorrow morning. the kereta panas giler sbb compressor rosak doesnt even sound that bad now.

Cant we just skip the suburbian madness somehow?

Workout Log
AM - 50 mins moderate aerobics

'K' who?

You 'K'? who's K? you ok, me not ok.

Everyone knows about Datuk 'K' (who doesnt aight?), he has after all become a household name no less. but howzabout Uncle 'K' ? have you heard of him?

Anyone?

Well, we had the misfortune of coming in contact with Uncle 'K' tonite and we're all regretting it already.

Both the kiddoes had their own plans for the day but were back in the roost by maghrib. and since AI was returning to lendu tomorrow it was time for our customary 'makan luar'. so with nandos on our minds, we made our way to sacc not knowing that it would be overcrowded due to some sort of promotional event. i had an inkling it was going to be hardgoing when we had problems finding a parking space so the nightmarish waiting line at nandos didnt really come as a total surprise.

Undecided we just stood there.. we were at secret recipe only recently and asiari can sometimes be a bit too bland so it was a toss between the nachos place or the kopitiam place. and since AH was as hungry as a horse (not really la but its fun pulling her leg eheh), we made our way to the kopitiam because it would have a bigger variety of choices.

Hmmphh. if only we knew what we were in for.

Uncle 'K' kopitiam is where dave deli used to be. and while we were waiting for someone, anyone, to realise we were seated and ready to order, i had the sneaking suspicion that it was actually a 'mamak' shop in disguise.

Gawd the service was horrendous. the waitresses were too busy being busy and nobody wanted to catch our eyes let alone smile!! tau la customer ramai but you're in the service industry and it comes with the territory babes... havent you heard of 'service with a smile'? nobody kept track of the comings & goings of the customers and people were being served suke2 hati je, which would have been tolerable if the place was really teeming with people tapi walaupun ramai, the crowd was manageable. yes business was brisk but not completely out of control.

Which is why i cannot understand nor comprehend the total chaos.

The wait was long, the food was lousy, the service abysmal. in fact it was the most unsatisfying RM100+ meal we'd had for a very long time.

Thank you Uncle 'K', you certainly wouldnt be seeing the likes of us again. and maybe you really should do away with the kopitiam facade and just be yourself.

Cut off

.. from the world.

Argghh.

Something is wrong with the internet connection... with the one at home.

Something's very very wrong.

Its been 2 days now.

Aaarrrrrgghhhh.

Surprise!!

.. my lil gal turned 16 today and i hope she liked her birthday 'present' ;)

AH has always been a rather straightforward person so when i asked her what it was that she wanted for her birthday, the cheeky lil smartass replied "nak asyraf bole?". haish, now how on earth was i going to do that? conjure up her bf from thin air complete with ribbons? hehehe a magician i certainly wasnt so we had to settle for the next best thing.... have him over for the day.
And thats exactly what he did. AZ was extremely sporting about the whole thing and made himself available for his gf... even though it also meant being 'bullied' in the bargain (by me & mak heheh)!!!! thanks a whole bunch dear, you certainly made AH's 16th birthday a memorable one. she went completely gaga over the gorgeous green tea ice-cream cake, among other things ;)

Yup she's a big girl now (but hey masih underage ok so rules still apply, except maybe not so strict la).

HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN my darling... wishing you a blessed lifetime ahead!!

Today's the day I've waited for
Because you're not a baby anymore
You've turned into the prettiest girl I've ever seen
Happy birthday sweet sixteen

What happened to that funny face
My little tomboy now wears satin and lace
I can't believe my eyes you're a teenage dream
Happy birthday sweet sixteen
(a real oldie by Neil Sedaka. its sooo old that the young people probably never even heard of it hehehe)

Oh and not to be outdone, i too had a surprise waiting for me at day's end. AI called out of the blue and said he'd be home before midnite... something about classes being cancelled. YAY!! terubat rindu :)

And just for the record our 'cikgu' is doing quite well in kulim and is relieved he got thru his 1st observation without too much 'bloodshed' eheh..way to go AF!!

Israk Mikraj

... by maghrib, it will be israk mikraj again and time to commemorate our beloved prophet's journey & ascension to the heavens.

When we mention israk mikraj to the kids they seem to view it almost like a fairy tale (they also treat stories of their parents childhood the same way but thats beside the point eheh). i'm sure they're not taking our prophet lightly but maybe because it happened so long ago and in such an incredible way. which is rather unfortunate because by doing so they miss the significance of the event.

Maybe we shouldnt approach the subject in the usual manner by reciting the event per se. maybe we should spark their interest by injecting a little bit of science into it.

Quoting from a forum:

Apa yang perlu dan penting sekali bagi umat Islam perpanjangkan kisah realiti ini ialah pengaplikasiannya dan pengadaptasian pengetahuan hasil anugerah terhadap Nabi SAW ini dalam aspek sains dan teknologi, sains angkasa, kosmologi dan sebagainya yang akhirnya boleh menyumbang kepada kemajuan tamadun Manusia. Sekadar menyebut beberapa contoh sahaja sebagaimana di bawah.

Burak - adalah suatu perlambangan kenderaan terpantas meneroka angkasa lepas. Orang Barat menggunakan kenderaan angkasa untuk meneroka planet Marikh contohnya, mengambi masa beberapa tahun untuk pergi dan kembali.

Masa - masa di sisi Tuhan adalah panjang berbanding masa dunia. Rasulullah SAW meneroka 7 lapisan langit hingga menemui Tuhannya dalam masa satu malam sahaja.

Alam - adalah 'ma siwallah-apa atau sesuatu selain Allah keluasannya tidak terkira. ' ... ketika baginda melihat dengan mata batin dari sidrat al-muntaha ke alam ini. (Husein Haikal, 1989, hlm.157). Hal ini sudah pasti pada masa itu boleh melihat keseluruhan bumi ini yang bulat bentuknya.

Aspek-aspek sains dan teknologi - serta keilmuan lain seperti aspek perubatan, kisah-kisah masa depan, hirarki sesebuah kerajaan dan sebagainya

Cukuplah sekadar membayangkan beberapa contoh sahaja panduan ketamadunan hasil dari reality peristiwa israk dan mikraj ini kepada kemajuan ilmu serta sains dan teknologi. Sebenarnya banyak lagi panduan ketamadunan yang boleh diambil dari kisah israk dan mikraj ini dalam banyak aspek ilmu pengetahuan. Kalau kita meneliti banyak pembikinan filem Hollywood sebagai contoh lain, sebenarnya jika diselidiki akan menyerlahkan suatu pengadaptasian dari kisah israk dan mikraj ini. Orang Barat juga begitu maju dalam bidang sains angkasa, sedangkan cetusan mengenai sains angkasa dan penerokaan angkasa lepas itu telah dicetuskan sedemikian lama oleh baginda SAW melalui peristiwa Israk dan Mikraj.

Sebagai kesimpulannya peristiwa Israk Mikraj adalah suatu kejadian yang benar-benar berlaku dalam sejarah kehidupan Nabi SAW yang menjadi suatu anugerah kebesaran baginda SAW sebagai kekasih Allah dan nabi Akhir zaman. Peristiwa ini banyak mendatangkan kesan kepada kehidupan beribadat, bermasyarakat dan kehidupan keilmuan umat Islam dan manusia keseluruhannya.

Dalam kehidupan beribadat, Solat contohnya, adalah ibadat terpenting yang diterima oleh baginda SAW secara terus dari Allah SWT. Dalam kehidupan bermasyarakat pula, segala peristiwa yang disaksikan oleh Nabi SAW mengenai keburukan mengumpat, riba, perbuatan zina dan sebagainya adalah mampu membentuk masyarakat berperadaban dan berharmoni. Akhir sekali peristiwa ini banyak mencetuskan dan membuka jalan kearah penerokaan pelbagai ilmu sains dan teknologi seperti kemajuan sains angkasa dan seterusnya menjadi panduan kepada ketamadunan manusia.

Wallahu a'lam

----------------------------------------------------------

... and by mid-night tonite, my sweet sentimental baby will be turning 16!! gawd where did the time go? dah besar rupanya dara mama ni ek ;)

Ooh and to the thousands of chelsea fans (go ballack go hikhik) who'll be thronging the shah alam stadium tonite, do take a minute to reflect on the myriad of experiences that our prophet (saw) went through that memorable night so many many years ago.

Semoga kita sama-sama mendapat berkat & rahmat yang berterusan dariNYA, insyallah.

Tertinggal boat

Sheesh, how could i have not realised it sooner?

Its almost august and for me it usually means getting myself ready for the shah alam 10k run. for the past couple of years september's the time that mbsa would usually be putting up the event (maybe even late august bcos of ramadhan)... or so i thought but it sure looks like i've been proven wrong!!

Shit-e!!

Damn!!

I checked at the pacesetters events calender and theres no shah alam 10k listed!! correct me if i'm wrong but looks like they're only focussing on the adidas KOTR this year. and i thought it was just another race....

Damn!

Double damn!!

I should've checked sooner. why didnt i check sooner? why? and the closing date for entries was the 25th of july!!!! that was just 3 days ago... just 3 days!! alaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

(can i start crying now?)

Dah la i've gotten FAT... now any motivation that i might have dah gone up in smoke. tahun ni betul2 slack about my running, in fact almost non-existent and i'm paying dearly for it. my brains must've also turned to mush lately bcos i completely failed to make the connection - takkan mbsa nak put up 2 major events back to back kan, bukannya diorang tu rajin sangat pun kan.

I do know it takes a lot of effort organising this sorta thing.... tapi saja tak nak acknowledge sebab tengah frust sangat sangat sangat :(

I have to get out and run today.

I just hafta!!

Sayang oh sayang

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight its only you and me
(Here without you - 3 doors down)

Flicking through my cookbook, i smile as i hear them playing this song at yahoo music. it instantly reminds me of my sweet sentimental AH.... to think that she's still missing her bf even though they get to meet almost everyday! heh and even with webcam! nampak je cool tapi ehem, whats with the tissues darling? kalau tak dapat jumpa agaknye bengkak je la mata tu ek!!

Teringat pulak masa zaman AF dulu. i remember us snickering to his whispered phone conversations "sayang sayang sayang? sayang sayang sayang!!" (translated it means "u sayang i? i sayang u!")

Hehehe... macam2 la bebudak ni :)

Abe's off to JB tomorrow on a day trip and going to klcc to pick up his avis rented car was a horror. tak suka la bila these guys that we love start being grumpy!! asyik moyok je nak cakap pun macam malas and after a while it gets tiring sebab nak tolong pun tak tau camane kan. ntah pape la yang ruffle their feathers and all we can do is pretend that everything is ok.. buat selamba pok pek sana pok pek sini usik sana usik sini. which actually works jugak la after a while tapi letih la nak pujuk2 ni... especially when it isnt our fault pun in the first place.

Tapi bila dah sayang nak buat camane kan?

Sayang sayang sayang!!

Tinkering about

Been at the pc most of the day (mata pun naik berbinar dah ni) updating my blogs and generally tinkering about.

Put up a new one to house my recipes and toyed with the idea of changing templates for the others. luckily for me sanity returned and i just left well alone (how could i have forgotten the horror of the lost widgets so easily?).

Ooh but i did find a new problem though. the links to the blog archive dont seem to be working. if i click at the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 all i get are blank pages. hmmm.. i need time to figure this one out or probably what would be more realistic is... i need HELP!!! dont think i'll ever figure it out on my own eheh.

Anyway i can still read the old posts if i want to but via the slooooow way i.e. by clicking at 'older posts'.

If only html made more sense to me.

AF - probably having his hands full juggling between classes and eva eheheh but its ok i guess bcos where he is concern, no news usually mean good news.
AI - might be coming home next weekend to recharge. seems that he's going through a break-up. you gotta be strong sayang mama, no ones worth wrecking your body & soul over. just hang in there k, the right one will come along insyallah.
AH - is pretty impressed by the soccer prowess of her 'hotstup' bf. she's a happy gal alright but a rather tired one (dah terlena pun.. and with her specs on tsk tsk!).

Comel

Oooooh... i'm so gonna get it from AH but what the heck hehehe.

I was clearing up my messy desktop, rearranging icons and updating folders, when i came across a couple of AH's pics. nak wat camane kan dah ada tu tenguk je la *wink wink*


Syhhhhhh.... diam2 tau dia marah sangat kaco bf dia but you know me memang kaki mengusik :)

And why am i so chummy with this one? mainly bcos he's in the unique position of being not only AH's bf but also AI's friend. i dunno, once they fall into the category of friends to my boys they sorta become macam anak2 jugak so cepat je mesra... tapi kesian gak la sebab selalu kena 'buli' ;)

Clearing cobwebs

Heh time to close up some of my old unused email accounts. menyemak je bukannye pakai pun.

But what i didnt realise was its not that simple to close an account; compared to creating one that is. kalau nak create senang je just follow the step-by-step instructions tapi kalau nak tutup, kena meraba2 sendiri or get some help from 'help' (obviously lol).

It wasnt necessary pun to close unused accounts bior je la kan tapi semak otak la dibuatnye so, raba meraba rupanye ada kat edit service.

i.e. click setting>>account tab>>google account>>edit service>>delete gmail/close account

Hah... puas. tapi harap2 tak la effect pulak yang lain, mana la tau kan.

Sarat

... hari yang sarat dengan peristiwa.

Awal2 lagi i checked cik Abe's weekend schedule and confirmed that he had a golf game lined up this morning. that would mean him lepak-ing with his buddies from 7am till around 3pm. that would also mean i myself would be free to lepak if i choose to.

So since EXSAS was having their annual bowling tournament today it was the sunway megalanes for me. not to bowl (semenjak my shoulder problems dulu dah give up) but to cheer my mates on. batch spm '78 was going to be in the thick of things, right where the action would be!! hehehe tak kira la boleh main ke tak janji ada wakil. and since the guys were taking the trouble to play (walaupun setahun sekali je pegang bowling ball tu) takkan kita tak pegi support kot.

No we didnt win.... wasnt even in top 10.... but the guys were great sports. way to go wer, wan husni, wabswa & nor!!!!! it was fun rah rah rah-ing for yall and i would do it again in a heartbeat.

Oh and i had with me not 1 but 3 bodyguards!!

Come to think of it, maybe AH's not really bodyguard material tapi kira ok la tu (bodyguard semut bole la kan hik hik). i dont usually attend any of the EXSAS meets without someone in tow. bukan apa, especially when the hubs was away in turkmenistan risau gak la orang kata kita ni macam terlepas bebas. nak kena jaga la jugak his reputasi sebagai suami kan.

AH plak dengan bijaknye telah meng'optimise'kan the situation & telah mengheret her bf (and his bro) along. so while i was lepak-ing with my friends, she lepak-ed with hers... win-win both ways :)

Lepas tu since the boys were free kitorang pun 'kidnapped' them all the way home!!! oh pls nothing sinister here... just that the battery to AH's laptop was acting up and she wanted her bf to have a look. one thing let to another and before we knew it the boys stayed for dinner and had jemaah maghrib with AH's abah.

Heheh... talk about 'bonding' eh?!!

Another of life's surprises namun perjalanan masih jauh. we'll wait and see :)

*sigh* rindu la pulak kat AF & AI.

(AH confessed it was truly a touching experience to be praying together in jemaah... hmmm).


Workout Log
AM/Dataran Shah Alam - 50 mins moderate aerobics

Bersangka baik

... i have always believed in it and always will.

Bersangka baik in God's will, His infinite Wisdom and Benevolence. then it all becomes so much simpler and less stressful.

- if you're coveting that lucrative post but dont think you'll make the cut - berusaha & bersangka baik la, if its the best for you the job will be yours. if it turns out otherwise, redha je la maybe it would've turned you into a rich snob.

- if you're enjoying a good relationship but dont think it'll last the long haul - stick with it & bersangka baik la, if he's the best one for you jodoh tu tak ke mane. if it turns out otherwise, redha sebab who knows maybe he could've turned into a wife-beater.

The list goes on.

And try not to be too ready to believe the worse. humanity needs a second chance. its a cold & lonely existence when we're always suspecting the worse from everyone and everything.

Life has to be lived to fullest, berwaspada tapi jangan takut pada bayang2. just hold on to the belief that whatever happens, God knows best.

Oh and today walaupun penat tapi tetap puas. setelah seharian berpusing2 di low yat bersama AF & frens, janji pada AH tertunai la sudah - she's finally the esctatic owner of a brand new laptop!!!! asus something or other the specs of which telah membuatkan abang2 dia kecor liur dan jeles giler hehehe.

Sorry it took us soooooooo long darling (dah berselang purnama selepas pmr) and thank you for being soooooo patient.

We love you babe and enjoyz the lappy onkes hehe :)

A student of life

... become one and you'll see growth til the very end.

Its sad that we usually need something disastrous to happen before we take stock of what we're doing or where we're at.

Why?

I guess because its so much easier not to change. we just keep on doing whatever it is that we're doing until we hit a brick wall.

Quoting Andrew Matthews (he says it in such a simple & effective way) :

The only time most of us ever learn anything is when we get hit over the back of the head!

Take our health for example. When do we change diets & start exercising? When our body is falling apart - when the doctor says: "If you dont change your life style, you'll kill yourself!". Suddenly we're motivated.

In relationships - when do we usually tell each other how much we care? When the marriage is falling apart, when the family is falling apart!

In school - when do we finally knuckle down and study? When we're about to fail.

In business - when do we try new ideas and make the tough decisions? When we cant pay our bills. When do we finally learn about customer service? After the customers have left.

When do we usually pray? When our life is falling apart, "Dear Lord, i know i havent spoken to you since the last time the yoghurt hit the fan..."

We learn our biggest lessons when things get rough. When have you made the most important decisions in your life? When you were on your knees - after disasters, after knock-backs, when you've been kicked in the head. Thats when we say to ourselves: "I'm sick of being broke, sick of being kicked around. I'm tired of being mediocre. I'm going to do something". Success we celebrate, but we dont learn too much. Failure hurts and thats when we get educated. In retrospect, we usually notice 'disasters' were turning points.

Effective people (now thats who we want to be la heheh) dont go looking for problems, but when they get smacked in the mouth, they ask themselves: "How do i need to change what i'm thinking and what i'm doing? How can i be better than i am now?" Losers ignore all the warning signs. When the roof falls in they ask: "Why does everything happen to me?"

We are creatures of habit. We keep doing what we are doing until we are forced to change. So is life a series of painful 'disasters'? Not necessarily. The universe is always nudging us with gentle signals. When we ignore the signals, it nudges us with a sledgehammer.

Growth is most painful when we resist it.

In a nutshell
We are not here to be punished. We are here to be EDUCATED. Every event has the potential to transform us, and disasters have the greatest potential to change our thinking. Act as if every event has a purpose and your life WILL have a purpose. Figure out why (muhasabah la ni) you needed an experience, conquer it, and you wont need it again.

Oh my!!

I just never learn :(

Everytime i feel adventurous and change my template, i buy myself a truckload of new problems.

*sigh*

Tu la, takde penyakit cari penyakit. tapi... ceria sungguh la template baru ni. something that i stumbled upon by chance, and being sumtimes irrepressibly impulsive i just took it on tanpa berfikir panjang.

Adeh.

Now i lost mah widgets yall, along with it some of mah ole links.

*sigh*

Itu la dia RK, the unpredictably predictable person. huh? or is it the predictably unpredictable person? heish, pape je la ;)

Sumtimes she surprises even herself.

(tapi memang ceria sungguh blog ku kini hehehe.... but RED on a daily basis??!!! we'll see)

Strong emotions

.. can be destructive but when harnessed properly can generate a world of good.

Eh bunyi macam something from x-men plak ek. mutants learning to control and utilise their powers to their best advantage. tersangat la sci-fi je bunyinya..... tapi sebenarnya kita pun camtu gak skit2. strong feelings and emotions usually arise from a deep concern over the things we care about. kalau kita tak ambil peduli kita biarkan aje kan. and to be passionate about something is to be alive.

Really?

Yes, really.

Kalau kita terlalu 'tak kisah' semuanya akan menjadi hambar, nothing to really push us out of our comfort zones. terlalu comfortable nanti jadi macam kucing kena kasi plak.

So, if you're angry about something or jealous about something... its not necessarily a bad thing. in fact i read somewhere that "to not feel entirely sure of 'possessing' someone or something is what keeps desire alive". you just hafta teach yourself a little restrain, a little balance so that the strong feelings doesnt cloud your mind or your judgement. its a skill worth cultivating, even if it takes your whole lifetime. i'm still at it myself -_-

I was discussing it with the kids the other day. its normal to have jealous bfs & gfs... romantic jealousy is a common emotion when you love someone. freud said something like " if a person doesnt experience jealousy when an important relationship is threatened, something is not altogether right. it is akin to not feeling grief when someone you care deeply about dies. such a response most probably means that the person is working hard to supress jealousy and hiding it from self and others".

Also "jealousy is motivated by the need to protect a valued relationship".

Jadi bagus la kan when a bf or gf jeles sebab it only means they place a certain value to the relationship. all they want to do is to protect it from potential threat usually in the form of other people. tapi i understand, sikit2 takpe, yang tak larat tu is when it gets disturbingly out of hand sampai rasa lemas & rimas. we've all experienced jealousy at some point in our lives but its especially strong with young people. mungkin kerana orang muda masih kurang pengalaman dalam menangani masalah kehidupan terutama yang berkisar sekitar hati & perasaan.

Whatever the cause may be, we cant let jealousy consume us. it can get out of hand and many a case of violent abuse finds its roots in jealousy. how can we hurt the very people we profess to love? so, take a step back, reexamine our reaction and reestablish our feelings of love & affection. apapun dalam hidup kita ni, biarlah berpada-pada.

Its all about coping, about finding a way that works best for us. talking things out usually works tapi feelings must first be brought under control... kalau idak akhirnya kelahi jugak.

Dont let jealousy kill the love that's been tended to so carefully. rugi..... especially when its groundless.

Timely

God loves us.... HE never gives up on us and keeps sending timely reminders. its up to us whether to seize it or ignore it.

Yesterday was another one of those instances. Abe's rude awakening totally blindsided him... out of nowhere (or it seems that way tapi sebenarnya the signs were there but we just didnt see it, dumb blind fools that we are) the belly that he took for granted became the focus of his life. what if something was really really wrong with it?

So things turned out ok and now he feels he's been given a 2nd chance. alhamdulillah, it was a great opportunity to sit back and reconsider options.

Now he's excited about taking charge and caring for his body again, something he should've been doing but was oh, waylaid somehow (arent we all?). and he's not the only who's excited because i am too. rugi orang yang tak ambil iqtibal daripada pengalaman orang lain. dah tua2 ni macam2 can go wrong and whatever happened to him can so easily happen to me.

But i also know that we need to keep this momentum going.... because otherwise it would slowly fizzle off like that partly finished can of sprite you leave on the table. flat, unexciting and undesirable (nobody likes a flat fizzy).

Gotta start with a return to better eating habits. Abe's penchant for supper was never a good thing and that's the first thing to go.

No suppers.

At least not the heavy kind that he adores. the ones that come in the form of a full blown maggi goreng complete with perencah udang/daging/ayam/sayur or lempeng eaten with freshly made sambal mackerel. all this after dinner & dessert of course. maklum la the only time he gets to eat homecook meals is after he comes back from a hard days work. which usually means after the sun goes down.

Makan malam especially well into the nite puts a heavy strain on the body. our system needs to rest so we need to taper off slowly. tapi ni terbalik pulak, we're on full throttle.

Ok next will be the type of food to be made available. ni susah la sikit. Abe's favourite dishes involve frying, frying and more frying. to make this work he needs a mind shift and start enjoying soups, grilled and steamed stuff.

Hmmmmmm... rasanya macam gelap je masa depan sebab i've tried this many many times before and so far have never been successful, but who knows ya? theres a time for everything.... maybe this time the timing is right, kot terbuka pulak minda cik Abe kite ni.

Then its allevating the fitness level. hmmmmm, i have to somehow convince the man swinging that club every weekend is not enough, and being carted around in that buggy isnt the same as walking the greens and lugging his golfbag around on his own steam. i will also have to sell him the idea that working out at the gym and pounding the pavements with me will not only result in a fitter body but will also improve his golfing stamina.

Not an easy task... but i'm trying to ride on this wave of awareness i sense in him and hope that the momentum will carry it thru.

As for me, its also time to take charge and deal with these additional kgs seriously. i'm starting to be really gooooood at making excuses these days.

No more.

Thank you lord.

My dahleeeng

... isnt well. nothing that could be pinpointed but he's not feeling 100%.

Abe's turkmenistan posting had turned him into a much greater eater than he already was. the lack of food that he favoured and the horror of having to cook his own meals had traumatized him somewhat. now he doesnt let anything go to waste and voraciously devours everything that gets into his path.... sedap je semua!!

Anyway, with all that eating under his belt (ugh, dah tak boleh nak belt up his pants pun heheh), he's tummy has doubled in size!! gawd, buncit and tersangat la tegang. and of course he has developed symptons similar to that of a pregnant woman hehehe... sakit pinggang and extreme discomfort due to his extended belly.

But after a while, the discomfort increased to such a level that started us into thinking, hey maybe its more than overeating.... maybe it wasnt just the extra food but something else, something more sinister.

A preliminary check-up led him to a referral to sjmc, where he ended up doing both an endoscopy (oral invasion) and a colonoscopy (anal invasion), as well as an ultra sound thrown in for good measure. you know, stuff that needed done to see whats going on inside that belly of his.

The nite prior to the procedures, Abe had to ingest quite a substantial amount of prescribed fluid to ensure that his 'internal plumbing' is cleared of all waste, toxic or otherwise. everything was to be nice and clean. i could just imagine a perky young nurse saying "squeaky clean bowels ready for inspection, doc" lol. oh and let me tell ya, i was pretty darn tempted to abandon my post beside him that nite. you just wouldnt believe the amount of toxic gases that were released into the surrounding atmosphere (gasp GASP.... need i say more?).

Alhamdulillah according to the results this morning, his esophagus, stomach and intestines are fine... no signs of the big C or anything like that (thank god). just a decrease in certain hormones that's causing the slowing down of contractions aiding in digestion. the ultrasound on the other hand, shows a slight swelling of his liver (old story actually), due to too much fatty deposit.

So its meds, lotsa meds... and a change towards a healthier lifestyle (and no Abe, golf is NOT considered as 'working out' keh keh) and hopefully things will be under control.

Just another month

..... to the OLYMPICS, yay!!

08/08/08

Great numbers, especially for the chinese, so its pretty fitting that its being held in beijing.

Oh oh and i believe it has become quite meaningful for AH too.... part of it at least heheh ;)

Staying up

.... till the wee hours.

It always starts with Abe's plan to stay up for something or other... be it the golf masters, or pga tour, or uefa cup, or euro finals. latest is the wimbledon and since it started, its been tennis almost every night, reaching its most feverish pitch last nite, or should i say this morning?!

The thing is he'll be sleeping like a baby halfway thru and i'm the one left blinking away, too caught up in whatever it is that he started to even consider getting some shut-eye!!

I was the one watching the williams battling it out, blood against blood, sister against sister. frankly its always been venus for me. serena is a little too bulky, a little too graceless and she moves about like a tractor.. me, i like to see a little grace in court when it comes to the ladies.

Same thing with nadal & federer. the dream match as the commentators call it and what does my other half do? he snores thru the exciting returns hehehe..... of course the intermittent waits for the rain to clear up didnt really help but gawd, it was nadal vs federer, hellooo!!! tertido jugak dia ish ish... but it was about 4 in the wee hours till it was finally over. he never could handle late late nites :)

Maybe the spaniard deserve to win.... persistence should be rewarded i guess, but its such a joy to see federer play. the killer combination of strength & grace. only in tennis (and the replays) can you actually get to appreciate the full range of muscle play; controlled power rippling thru the body with each hit.

It makes me wanna go out and get me a toned body myself (a near impossible task but what the heck..... makciks can dream too cant they hehe).

But first *yawn* i've got to get thru the day at least in half functional mode *yawn*

Oooh.. just for the record, i did put in a slow 4k run sunday morning followed by a nice looong stretching session. not much in getting toned la but something is better than nothing ;)

Sakit pinggang

Wheeeeeeeee.... Abe didnt have any golf scheduled and i had him all to myself the whole freakin day :)

Apa lagi, i didnt want to miss the chance and managed to coerce him into jogging with me first thing. pretending not to hear his half-hearted 'sakit pinggang la' excuses, we set out with a stern note from him "dekat je tau... tak nak pegi jauh2".

Alhamdulillah the cool breezy morning must've gotten to him because he relented halfway and took a much further route than first agreed upon; we passed the sec 9 shop lots right up to the concorde intersection, onto pusat seni islam and state mosque, cruised the dividing road between sec 10 & 11, then crossed back over to sec 9.

Maybe we did 3-4km.

Maybe.

But it was my jog against his brisk-walk and at some point or other i had to leave him dawdling somewhere behind since his pace kept getting slower and slower. of course i made my way back to him again and again. unfortunately if i didnt run, i wouldnt sweat and really felt like it wasnt doing me any good otherwise.

Apapun he's on the roads again... yay. before long he'll be back to the slow jog that he had previously progressed to (before he became lay-zeeee and gave up hehe).

Of course after the session the 'sakit pinggang' came back. oh and especially after he downed a heaped helping of nasi dage stacked with daging goreng, sotong and ikan (his own) & half bowl of laksam (mine) at sri TTDI *___*

First weekend without the boys. they should be well settled in by now, at least i hope so. i'm just happy that AI took the lower bunk at my request even tho i know he feels my reasons are the silliest on earth, considering that he's almost 20.. but the upper bunk fills me with nothing but nightmares; 1. he'd accidentally jatuh katil in his sleep 2. he'd accidentally bang his head on the overhead fan (like he did once before). i just cant help it bcos the guy does have a medical history concerning head trauma.

Insyallah, all will be well.

These days AH doesnt seem too desperate to go out. maybe its the webcam, courtesy of her bf. aaaah.... technology ;)


Workout Log
AM : 3-4km jog round the neighbourhood

Rejab

Rejab is back.... its time to prepare the body & soul for more vigorous days ahead.

The wildness in my heart needs taming and the pounds on my body needs shedding soooo, its indeed a timely reminder.

Lord, give me the will to stay committed.


AF has found a rented house suited to his immediate needs and will be starting his practical next week. all he needs is more funds.
AI is safely back in lendu but i know its going to be sometime before he's settled down enough to be fully functional. long breaks can actually weaken resolve.
AH is finding out love can be both simple & complicated at the same time. fairytales dont exist and while awareness is better than oblivion, it can be quite painful.

Sick

AH's down with flu and i'm having this familiar sick feeling at the pit of my stomach.

Its that time again...... by thursday nite both my boys will be back in college.

*sigh*

Long semester breaks wreck havoc with my feelings because i'm lulled into this blissful state when all my 'babies' are home and then wham!! time's up and i lose them all over again.

Rindu. nasib baik la i still have AH with me.... for now.

Kg Kundang

Never heard of the place prior to the 'bertunang' ceremony thus the blurrness & confusion.

Abg J didnt really explain much about the whereabouts of kg kundang, most probably because having a wife from banting didnt make him a stranger to the area. i guess it never occured to him that the majority of us tagging along wasnt at all familiar with the kampungs of selangor.

We initially thought it was in klang.... then we heard it was in banting... and we finally realised it was even further up the morib area!! yikes it was so much further than we'd earlier anticipated and the journey itself took us about an hour and a half, travelling made painfully slow by the convoy of almost 10 cars. abg J must've been daydreaming when he said it would probably take 45 minutes tsk tsk. gedebuk gedebak we overshot the agreed time by almost 2 hours!! nasib baik orang sebelah sana baik2 belaka :)

Gawd if an engagement was this grand, involving a rombongan cik kiah of this magnitude, macamane la wedding tu esok2 ek?!!

Apa2pun my nephew sure looked like a cat who got all the cream :) why? he's managed to ikat the girl that he wants obviously heheh.... and also because the occasion was heavily sponsored by the parents!! the lucky dude. orang muda baru nak mulakan hidup, nasib baik ada understanding & supportive parents.

My dear dear jireen & sara... CONGRATULATIONS!!

Oooh and wonder of wonders, turns out its the same kampung as the grandma of AH's bf and to make matters even more coincidental, he & his family were there visiting at the same time. talk about fate & coincidence?!

Okee, now its time to settle down and wait for the euro finals -__- hey wheres my nachos ?

Oo Oooooh

AF's coming home tonite and we've only just realised we completely forgot about downloading his stuff from the net!!! he has this bit-torrent thing running and 2 weeks would have meant a lot of downloads.

Ooooh, he's gonna be so freakin' mad.

Should i put the blame on the erratic & unreliable broadband connection? or pretend selangor dilanda massive power shortage? ish susah la asyik terlupa ni. tapi nak wat camane kan, dia bukannya nak tinggalkan kitorang his password (alasaaaaan hik hik... macam la tak leh call dia kan). tu laaa nak jaga sangat privacy password sana password sini kan dah susah!!!

Yup, AI and me, we're both kecut perut now... AI bcos they share the same room (AF's laptop is just an arm's length away) and me bcos i'm generally the caretaker of everything. not that he'll do anything pun, with all his gruff & huff he's actually a pussycat. its just that he was depending on us to help out and we didnt. guilty sebenarnya bukan apa. lets hope the trip went REALLY well and he's mellow enuff not to be too affected.

AF mesti serabut giler, balik je malam ni dah nak kena siap2 untuk terus balik ke maktab. what with his 3 month practicum kat kulim, nak kena cari bilik sewa lagi. problem is when he's in a tizzy, mama dia pun turut la kelamkabut nk siapkan barang2 dia. hai, sabor je la.

And what is it with the kiddoes and their exes? si AF ni has an ex who still cares for him and she doesnt hide the fact, even from me. he's a little bit uncomfortable with the situation but since they're coursemates he's had to deal with it. me, i keep an open mind and i'm ok with any of my children's friends. orang berbudi kita berbahasa and she's friendly enough to send me sms's off and on. now the interesting thing is, she's also part of the sarawak gang!! weeeell, 2 weeks together..... seronok jugak la nak tau berita terkini dari bumi kenyalang.

No sayang... ma tak nak apa2 from sarawak thanks. just get ur ass back here in one piece -_-

Hati & perasaan.

I hate conflict. if i cant avoid it, i run from it.

Now that i've put on more years it seems to be getting worse not better. thankfully my life's quite problem free right now so real life conflict is almost non-existent (the relentless/ heartbreaking kind... yg kecik2 tu biasa laa). i say its bad because i find myself slowly leaving the room the moment a movie starts moving from an 'ok' phase to a more dramatic one.

Tembak2 tikam2 bunuh2 takpe.... even hantu, jembalang, ju onn type horror pun ok lagi. that kind of drama doesnt affect me. in fact syok je duduk dalam gelap berpeluk2 bawah selimut dengan bebudak tu. what i cant stand is emotional drama, the kind that plays with your feelings and screws with your head. especially when it deals with betrayal.

I dunno... i guess we're at our most vulnerable as children. i've long since moved on from the heartbreak i experienced coming from a broken family and thank god i've even been blessed with a good loving family of my own. its just that somehow deep inside, whenever theres any sign of conflict, i still feel the resounding echoes of loneliness & uncertainty of my childhood. its a disturbing, uncomfortable, sometimes unbearable feeling.

I'm not really an emotional person. i dont cry at movies or weddings (well not normally la heheh)... i just hate getting my feathers ruffled i guess. not in that way.

My heart goes out to those kids who have to deal with divorce in the family. however amicable the situation, life can never really be the same for them. so if you have a storm brewing in your marriage try weathering it out first before taking any drastic steps. theres no quick fix when it comes to love and loved ones.

My daughter's having some problems with the past too, but of a different kind. her bf, unfortunately, seems to be fixated on her ex. i guess young people can get insecure sumtimes but its such a waste of time & emotion sebenarnya. yes, we've all been there.. who hasnt been plagued by thoughts of the 'other' person? but to keep bringing him up isnt such a great idea. better to have it all out once and for all, and move on. after all the past is past, digging it up would only be hurtful and its not like we can really change anything. kan lagi baik kalau focus je on making each other deliriously happy :)

I like the guy and i somehow wish he'd realise he's actually letting the ex take centre stage again when its obvious the ex has been out of the picture for quite awhile now. from what i see, AH has moved on and is now pretty much into him, not the ex. if only he can see that too.

Young love..... like i said before, kita tunggu & lihat.

Workout Log.
PM aerobics - 35 mins/ med pace/suk clubhouse.
PM run - slow jog/ 3x round the suk's football field.

He's home

.. my darling is back from visiting the turkmen :)

Life's more fun when theres someone to kacau again, not to mention scratch, bite, squeeze and tickle at my leisure & pleasure.

Heh.

Heheh.

AF's now in miri..... he seems to be enjoying his great sarawak adventure in more ways than one!!
AI's getting cuak and more cuak by the minute. will he be getting the car before the sem reopens... or not?!!
AH's learning about life, love....... and skating ;)

And who would have thought i'd be meeting her bf's mom today eheh.

Jodoh

Makngah can now tarik nafas selega-lega mungkin.... now that her only daughter is safely married to a guy whom no one should really have anything to grouse about.

And whats there to complaint anyway? hasnt everyone been so bising that she's getting on in her years and that she shouldnt be so picky? wasnt everyone so concerned that she'd end up and old maid? and anyway jodoh kan ditangan tuhan kan? the fact that he's as old as my uncle shouldnt really be a factor now should it?

Can never please everyone..... ever. yang penting yang empunya badan know what they're doing bcos in the end they're the ones facing the consequences good or bad.

For me even though its my cousin's wedding, i had to go as a 'guest'. one would expect a close family member to put up at least an overnite stay just to help out... but mak wasnt up to travelling what more spending the nite (i know she was also thinking of her cats even tho she wasnt saying) so it had to be a daytrip. in the end it was just the 3 of us making our way to sri manjong.

AH had already bawled her eyes out the previous nite when she first heard about the trip and realised she had to go.... this was one occasion she couldnt wriggle her way out of. she'd been planning to spend the day with her bf since it's his 20th birthday. well it cant be helped darling.... some decisions have to be followed however painful.

I was actually having my own problems to deal with. walaupun pelik tapi i wasnt too sure about the way back!!! yup memang benar. being a true soldier's daughter where merantau was the name of the game, i didnt really get that many a chance to balik kampung, either kuala pilah nor sitiawan. and having divorced parents just made it worse.... i didnt have any roots. to me shah alam is my kampung bcos its where my heart is. so balik kampung really really is a rare occurence for me and my family.

As far as i can remember i had driven back on my own only once and that was many many years ago... so it's not a wonder why i was more than cuak about the idea. but with directions that i had googled and contact numbers on standby i knew i'd be ok laa, paling2 pun instead of the usual 3 hrs i'd take longer. and having AI beside me radiating trust & support was indeed a big help (AH on the other hand was lost in her own world, dozing off and on, in the backseat lol).

Thank god that apart from a missed junction (or three haha) we made it there in good time. turns out finding the dewan was more of a hassle than the drive down...... dah lama sangat tak balik i just couldnt figure the place out.... everything's so different!!!! i guess thats progress for ya :)

Anyway alhamdulillah semuanya selamat.

SELAMAT PENGANTIN BARU TUTI & CIKGU..... semoga dirahmatiNYA dunia akhirat.

Slow day.

As usual abg J pulled another last minute arrangement on us 'younger siblings'.

Just the one call and we're all expected to make room for his plans. admittedly its an occasion that would benefit all..... having yassin recital ramai2 on malam jumaat pulak tu insyallah membawa seribu satu rahmat & berkat.

But a little bit of planning beforehand would've made it so much easier for everyone especially since its potluck and done at mek's.

As it is, i ended up going alone. with Abe away and AF in sarawak, theres only AI but he had already made prior arrangements with his old friends and it just wasnt fair to expect him to suddenly cancel. mak was already hot on his heels trying to emotionally blackmail him into not going but i had no choice but to stand firm; he had already promised his friends. of course family came first but not when its done this way.. with such blatant disregard to other people's time and planning. must have a little more consideration for other people la after all it IS a weekday.

AH had to stay home and temankan her opah even though she was kinda looking forward to meeting up with her cousins.

It was havoc as usual (what do you expect when you squeeze in 2-3 generation of people in a teeny weeny apartment lol) and again Abe was sorely missed especially by his mom. he's the only son who frequently leaves the 'nest' and have this long stints abroad. mek worries about her jetsetting ajis but fact is he's also the one she depends on for emotional support. mek doesnt really have daughters she can depend on (just lots of DILs including moi) so i guess abe fits the bill because he's more metrosexual than the rest of his brothers. hehehe memang he's very in tune with his feminine side pun and i have those pics in pd to prove it hikhik (he was one of them who had to dress up in drag during a particular team building session).

Came home to a sad & disturbed AH..... theres a lil storm brewing up in her corner of the world. she & her bf will have to iron things out as best they can, they're still so young.

Being in love is the easy part. there has to be a certain willingness to commit for it to grow stronger.

Kita tunggu dan lihat.


Workout Log
AM run - 4k/tasik

Sangap

Bored out of my skull.

Takde orang sebelah nak kaco. ada anak2 pun semuanya preoccupied with their respective 'sweethearts'.... maklum la orang dah beso panjang, bukannya nak layan sangat kita ni kan.

sigh.

I miss you darling.

Oooh yess.... guess what i was doing before this soul deadening sangap descended upon me again? i did nico's 'hair'. hehehehe the poor cat is now sporting a bright orange 'hairdo' (will get pic soon). it was henna time again and now he's ready to set the neighbourhood pussycats a-swooning -__-

Now i wonder if they're done with the texting (not bloody likely but what the heck) ?

"Ooooh ijaaaaaat!!!!! ooooh echaaaaa!!! "


Workout Log
PM aerobics - 30 mins bouncing about on the exercise ball -__-'
(gawd give me the usual hard thumping aerobics anytime... the kind that makes me sweat rivers).

Perhimpunan

The 2nd perhimpunan for the SUK staff, under the new 'management'.

It was the usual blah blah blah but i'm wondering why hasan ali and some of the excos tak angkat tangan pun masa berikrar. even if its a civil servant's oath diorang tak terikat ke dengan such things? or maybe they have their own ikrar to stand by?

Apa2pun rasa pelek pulak when everyone else dengan serious & bersungguh2nya (tok sah kira la whether they really mean it or its just for show) berikrar, awak sebagai pemimpin berdiri je kat depan as if berkecuali.

It disturbs me. i'm not actively for or against anyone or anything in particular, but somehow the sight of it just disturbs me.

On a brighter note, i managed to squeeze in some huffing & puffing again today and it was goooood. better than yesterday. i could feel the chi flowing & was into the zone :) heheh.. cutting out the jargon, what it means is that i was just enjoying it.

Ooh and glad to say that AF is safely in kucing, while golfman is already in dubai and will be flying out to istanbul soon. so for now AI is the man of the house :)


Workout Log
AM run - 4k
PM aerobics - 30 mins/moderate

Burn

Abe's leaving tonite but he was still out with the birds at dawn to pace the greens. he's a golf nut, enuff said.

I took the oppurtunity to hit the pavement after dropping AH off at the UiTM sports centre. she's starting tennis lessons with her friend mly, which is a good thing because i've always wanted her to move that butt of hers a lil bit more but unfortunately i'll have to miss my fav sunday morning aerobics at the dataran!!!!!

Problem is, the aerobics is scheduled at 7.30 am (which is almost never ever on time but still) and AH's tennis session starts at 8.00 am so theres somewhat of a clash here. unless and until i can come up with some other suitable arrangement, nampak gaya tak beraerobik la den!!

Anyway, i made my way to the tasik yet again (yes i like repetition and am totally devoid of creativity).

After a rather long warm-up (maklum la dah lama tak pekena), i started out counter clockwise to the recomended direction. hajat hati tu nak buat 2 big loops which would roughly amount to 8 km but i sure was fooled by the weather.

There i was huffing & puffing into my 2nd lap when it started to drizzle. huh? i was more than a little surprised..... isnt that the sun thats shining ever so brightly? ni hujan apa lak ni ? (duh, hujan panas la makcik hehehe but i digress). i kept on running while my mind was whirring with options - do i stop, do i continue as planned, do i detour - after all it could turn out to be a false alarm but almost instantly, mendung la pulak. hey i wasnt scared of a little rain tapi i started thinking about AH. she was supposed to finish by 10- 10.30 but surely the rain would affect the timing.

So hendak tak nak kena la buat u turn and i consoled myself 6 km pun jadi laa pada tak buat langsung kan. chicken feed for serious runners tapi for a makcik runner-wannabe-yang-dah-lama-tak-lari like me it was quite an achievement la, semput-semput pun heheh. nak jadi cerita elok into the last 500m or so, the sun shone brightly once again and the drizzle stopped completely.

It went away as suddenly as it came.. and left me tercengang-cengang, undecided on what to do next. since 'malas' pun dah mula timbul i opted for a long cooling down session until it was time to pick up AH.

All in all it was a good start :)

Now if i can only keep the momentum going.


Workout Log
AM run - 6km/tasik

Nico oh nico

My most favourite favourite feline in the whole wide world......

nicolei da gangsta

Apart from the fact that i raised him from a wee lil kitty small enuff to fit into the palm of my hand to this huge garfield wannabe, he also loves me enuff to let me get away with almost anything........ including colouring the fur at the top of his head with henna (he kinda looks like aznil sumtimes hehehe) and dressing him up any way i wanna -________-

Mummy luvs u too u giant furball u !!

Arrghh

UTI is not a dirty word.

But it can be insanely uncomfortable!!!!

Aaarrgh.

Its one of those things the older age group gets to 'enjoy' as they progress further and further into life... you know, the start of that slow downward spiral which you cant really stop even if you wanted to.

Sabor je la.

Oooh and its friday the 13th... muahahahaha *cueing in the scarier than scary music*

Fact is both day (friday) & date (13) is actually considered auspicious by a muslim :)

Music

I have a weakness for it.

And just like the majority of us sharing good ole planet earth, it can so easily influence my mood.. sad songs bring in the melancholy, slow numbers set 'da mood', upbeat ones just make me wanna get up & dance - the urge of which i must sometimes control bearing in mind how awful and scary the sight of an old fart jiggling about might be for some people lmao!!

(but honestly i do so love dancing)

Now it seems that music is also what brought AH & her new beau closer together.

Anyone who knows her know that she and her beloved black guitar are quite inseparable. its the first thing she reaches for when shes stressed out (which is often, school being the war zone it is these days), and if she could, she'd probably lug the thing around with her wherever she goes. maybe it has become more meaningful to her because she's had to go about it the hard way - i.e belajar sendiri. i wasnt predisposed to sending her for formal lessons (i have my own reasons). she's good at it because she wants to be.



So the 'nerdish prefect' has another side to her; she's also a self-taught guitarist, albeit amateur, who has her own acoustic as well as her bro's electric guitar (micro-cube included) at her disposal. oh and since she's slowly coming out of her 'introvert' shell, shes also singing quite openly now (she didnt use to).

And somewhere along the way, she has ended up being a sensei to her bf. yup, a sensei as in sifu/cikgu. kinda cool eh when you consider the deviation from the usual 'guy teach girl' thing?! they have guitar sessions twice a week and i heard progress is quite good. but i'm guessing thats not the only area of progress. fact is, if we frequently meet up with the person we like, we create strong feelings of intimacy - pergaulan memupuk kemesraan memupuk kasih sayang.

Oooh oh, i better keep my eagle eyes on the kiddoes!!!! but just for the record, i like her new bf. he's older, more matured but more importantly, him & me, we've had our 'lil talk and have come to a certain understanding :)

Well enuff about missy echa hanis.

My boys? now those 2 have decided to hole up in their room and i can assure you its an absolute MESS in there and i stay weeell away!!!!!! they surface when their stomachs start grumbling or when they get whiffs of whatever it is thats bubbling on my stove. sheeessh, thats guys for ya. but i guess they deserve to be bums.... results are coming in and AI's back on the DL again. at least the nightmare of last semester didnt repeat itself thank god. upsi's a bit slow in releasing results so AF might still be in suspence when he leaves for sarawak this weekend.

And golfman? come sunday and he'll be leaving for another week in turkmenistan. a couple of short stints before he resumes his duties there and it could mean another year or two of merantau-ing. maybe, possibly, probably... you cant really say for sure with these oil men.

As for me, i sure am NOT looking forward to manning the ship in his absence even tho i know i'll have to anyway.

Hmmmm... AF's flying off in the AM and golfman's flight will be in the PM. adeh, sunyi la nanti!!

Its silver

Weeeeell whadaya know......... its been 25 years already!!!!!!!



And my dearest darling, you're still THE one.

Borrowing heavily from my daughter AH, who seem to be floating in & out of cloud 9 these days... (and yes, she has moved on from the ruins of her first love thank god), seni çok seviyorum Abe.

Looking forward to many many more years to come :)

Crossroads

At my age i've come to lotsa lotsa crossroads... tapi semakin berumur semakin slow nak buat pilihan. bukan tak tau arah tuju, the general direction tu kalau tak tau tau gak lagi memang lebih dari bengap la. just that sumtimes its easier to go with the current flow, walaupun kekadang dah terasa agak menyongsang.

Growth.. will still happen if you allow it

Continuous improvement.. without which you stagnate, obviously ;)

Wisdom.. tersangat covetted tapi also tersangat elusive

Susah la nak jadi warga emas contoh but to become a warga emas haprak is NOT an option, not if you want the kids to make something of their lives. dah la role models yang boleh emulate semakin pupus so whats a parent to do but to at least try.

Passion.. necessary to crawl out of this comfort zone.

Omg and its june already!!!!!!