Tangkap leleh

Aduh, sengsaranya jiwa raga ku. pedih sepedih-pedihnya....ummmm, kedua mata ku. mengapakah ku disiksa begini!!!!!!

Hehehehe... mana tidaknya bila kena kopek bawang 1 kg !!!!!!

Itu laa dia diantara aktiviti bersantai di pagi ahad lol. selalunye i would check out the 'bawang yg telah siap berkopek' at the sayur stall first tapi pagi tadi it didnt look all that fresh so, back to the 'air mata berbaldi' laa, what to do.

I even used Abe safety googles but*snif snif* to no avail lol even that petua of mek's, cucuk satu biji bawang kat hujung pisau sebelum mula kopek mengopek didnt work. bawangnya potent sangat kot lol next, 1 kg of garlic and i'm done.... basuh bersih2, sumbat dalam fridge dan kisar kemudian.

Oh and of course i had the stereo on full blast while i was leaking buckets. glad to see that malique is back with joe.... they're about the only local rap group i listen to (apart from the dikir barat lol) and they sure have matured some. guess malique did some growing up when he was away. yang lain tu letih laa dengar..... especially when its done in bahasa, draggy giler. bukannya tak boleh tapi kena laa fast & crisp for it to be effective.

Food R&R
Petang skit ah baru masuk dapur. bought ayam kampung at the wet market this morning... nanti goreng panas2 for the hubs & kids elok gak. as for me i have that terubuk i bought when mak wanted to shop at TESCO a while ago. bakar pas tu cicah air assam kau2 punya, nanti nasi habis seperiuk pun tak sedar lol

Penyeri Ramadhan.
Finishing up on Surah AlBaqarah - taking a little longer by looking up on tafsir ibnu katsier as well.

* Running Log *
Heh, terlena skit after subuh but still in time to catch the tail end of the morning coolness. couldnt get Abe to leave the coziness of our bed so, i went alone as usual. sad to report there arent as many people out taking morning walks at the tasik this ramadhan. last year there were quite a number of families doing just that after subuh & munajat at the state mosque. i wonder why?

1 lap= about 4 km= 35 mins

God, thank you for teaming me up with my new nike. i could have made the wrong choice and suffered the consequences, but instead, its making me bounce about merrily and gone are the ache to my knees and heel.... syukur alhamdulillah :)

The first of many.

My hubby's family are mostly scattered all over Shah Alam and its vicinity, even his mom !!!! we're in section 9, an elder bro is in section 8 and living right across is his mom and elder sis (recently widowed) and a younger bro in section 7. also nearby, a niece in TTDI Jaya, eldest bro in Subang Jaya and another elder bro in Kelana Jaya.

Being in close proximity makes family gatherings a frequent occurence. usually the whole lot of us would end up at mek's (my MIL) place for weekend get togethers, regardless of how small or sempit it can get being just a 2 bedroom apartment lol. no matter that bro Joe's comfortable & spacious bungalow is just a stone's throw away but kat rumah mek jugak yang best !!

Today's the first in the series of berbuka bersama mek. it's a pot luck affair and again i've escaped cooking heheh (last nite was ramadhan buffet at KSAS... a treat from Abe for washing his car). Abe wanted kelate fare and so we bought enough stuff at Sri TTDI Jaya to feed an army (albeit a small one lol)! as usual, when we pooled the food together, there wasnt an empty spot left at mek's table (overspilled to the floor in fact) and there was barely enough room to park all our butts lol. imagine laa all the anaks, cucus & cicits of 5 families, not including tuan rumah - the grand old lady herself lol..... bersempit2 sakan tapi syioook!!

In all that controlled chaos, getting everyone to do their solat maghrib is a test of great ingenuity.... pakai sistem shift and kena cepat2 cekup spot yg sesuai. but for an anak tunggal like me, being part of a big family have always been something i'd dream of so i look forward to such gatherings. lepas tu everyone would then adjourn to the nearby surau for tarawih and return for 2nd rounds before dgn liatnya, one family after the other would slowly take their leave.... leaving behind a happy mek in our wake.

But we had to leave early last nite. AF's bus for SP was at 12.15 am and we had to get his stuff ready. sigh... hate to have the brood broken up this way but such is life. semoga selamat AF.

oh btw, meet my irresistable snooze partners lol

A birds eye view of chewie on his kusyen putera diraja

And nico... note the slightly open mouth, indication of a really deep slumber lol!! and guess who was right beside him cuddling away before the existence of this pic hehehe !!!!! and yes thats my bed hes sleeping in the brat lol.

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Oh and i had a greeeeeaaaaaat run this morning!!!!!!!! it had rained in the nite and i wasnt about to let a beautiful morning go to waste. leaving snoring hubby & kids, i sneaked out and took it real slow and easy... the steady bouncy kinda jog i was doing left me feeling sooo much like tigger that with every passing bush/tree, i was expecting a boo from either winnie the poo or eyore lol .... and i also stopped for a little xi gong along the way to cool down :)

** Running Log **

1 lap plus= about 4.5 km= 40 minutes

Reading up on the AlQuran

Right on cue my niece handed me a brand new copy of Terjemahan AlQuran Mushaf Malaysia just a few days before ramadhan. she works with Yayasan Restu at Kompleks Taman Seni Islam Selangor situated right across the selangor state mosque. they are the people responsible for creating malaysia's very own mushaf alquran - from the elaborate motif design to the intricate caligraphic writing itself. click HERE for more info.

Knowing how teruja i can get with crisp new books (especially beautiful copies of the AlQuran), she left me to 'belek membelek hidu menghidu' in peace lol. now i'm extremely motivated to read up on my quran translation :)

As usual, i started at the very beginning:

Surah AlFatihah: makiyyah, 7 ayat.
- pembuka al quran
- "Umm AlQuran" walaupun pendek merangkumi segala pengertian, objektif & perbedaharaan al quran secara umum... aqidah & soal keimanan (ayat 1-5), ibadah melalui doa dan memohon pertolongan (ayat 6) dan minhaj kehidupan (ayat 7).

Surah AlBaqarah: madaniyyah, 286 ayat.
- surah yang terpanjang.
- selepas penghijrahan rasulullah ke madinah dan menjadi asa pembentukan ummah.
- lebih menekan aspek pensyariatan (hukum hakam) & persoalan kehidupan seperti .. pemurniaan akhlak ..sistem pentadbiran rumahtangga ..sistem pentadbiran negara & alam sejagat ..siasah perkahwinan & perceraian ..aspek muamalat termasuk jualbeli, hutang, riba dll.
- mendedahkan konflik diantara mukminin , musyrikin, munafikin, yahudi & nasrani.

I'm only halfway thru, a little slow perhaps but i am trying my best not to succumb to the zzzZZzzzzZZZzzz lol

I'm supposed to set up an appointment for AF to see the 'knee' specialist (what do we call those bone people again?) but he's been having late nites and isnt functional till noon.. so looks we'll only be doing the visit next time he comes home. better yet, during the long term break.

Ooh and btw, i'm estatic to report that he recently took up somebody's dare and has been off the cigs for almost 3 weeks now. yay *doing a double jiggly* hope he's serious about it bcoz it does mean finally giving his poor lungs a better chance while putting a stop to the burning of his pockets (and with the price hike the holes will definitely be getting bigger). syukur.

Its sad that i still havent been able to squeeze in any running as yet during this ramadhan. from experience i know it has to be the mornings coz evenings can get a little too hectic especially this year with public servants leaving the office at 5 pm just like any other 9 to 5'er. a little more lintang pukang than the previous years. i did manage to run at least 2 mornings during the weekday last ramadhan followed by either sat or sunday or both. really hope to be doing the same but so far no go :(

But tomorrow's saturday already so my chances are certainly better.

Food R&R

Early sahur: heh, yours truly mengelat habis this morning.. because of the leftovers from AI's birthday berbuka, i didnt do much in the way of sahur preparation. just fried some ramly's beef nugget (his tempura chicken nugget is also one of the kids fav), heated up the soup and stirred in a beaten egg just to jazz it up a bit. yang lain tu as is... and i could see Abe macam tak sampai hati nak kata apa2 (he was very satisfied with last nite's berbuka... nasi habih seperiuk between the lot of them lol). pheeew, lega with a capital 'L' :)

Berbuka: as of right now i havent an inkling. i'll just let the 'ilham' flow naturally lol

Muh No. 2 dahleeng's birthday

Happy 17th birthday AI - mama sentiasa mendoakan yang terbaik untuk dahleeng2 mama semua dan semoga ijat mama ni berjaya & bahagia dunia akhirat.

Luvya always kiddo.

First thing AI & i did this morning was to round up the furry ones. i'd postponed the vet visit long enough.... time to get the kitties vaccinated & dewormed. still on the pmr break, AI was more than willing to help out (AF & AH was still sound asleep.. they'd all ko'ed after subuh). so after dealing with my immediate correspondences, i headed back home.

The people of shah alam (and its vicinity) are lucky in that they also have the choice of going to a public veterinary clinic nearby. vets can cost a bomb and a public clinic is a cheaper alternative. situated right across yeo's in section 15, it shares the grounds of jabatan perkhidmatan haiwan selangor. i was surprised to find the clinic in good condition ... lol, i mean i expected an old government building of sorts but everything looked clean, well maintained & well staffed. i also expected a crowd but turned out i was the only one there!!! well, its a facility & service that the public is not taking full advantage of i think. its comparable to the private vet i was seeing in section 6, shah alam. and of course the rates are definately much cheaper. vaccination @ RM21.00 and deworming @ RM 5.00 - RM 7.00 and consultation @ RM 10.00 - RM 15.00.

It was all settled within an hour and i only paid RM 70.00 for both the kitties :)

The only down side is its opening hours: Mondays to Thursdays - 8.30 to 12.30. yup, right slap bang in the middle of office hours. but then thats the way it is - you gain some, you lose some.

Food R&R

Early morning sahur was:
fried cuttlefish with long beans (i shouldnt have put in the oyster sauce - turned out a little too sweet even with all that chilli api), chicken burger (patties only), campbells mushroom soup (straight from the can) and leftover sambal sardine from last nite's supper (we'd eaten it with lempeng).

I stopped by the wet market on the way back from the vets so today's berbuka would probably be:
soup tulang rusuk, sambal petai something or other (ikan bilis? udang?), fried kulat with scrambled eggs.... and i'm stopping over at either long john silver for fish & chips or KFC for the new mixed bucket - AI's choice. also a short pitstop at the bakery for his b/day cake :)



And hopefully we'll make it to the masjid/surau for solat jemaah tonite.

First of Ramadhan

Due to PMR, AI & AH were both home for the first day of puasa.... which is a blessing bcoz its definitely easier on just about anyone to be at home right now. AF's also back earlier than usual on a 'menyambut ramadhan' break so its full house for us this week. i love it when everyone's home :) kalau tak, makan pun kekadang tercekik teringatkan yang tak ada, especially when i'm eating something they happen to like.

Now, i love ramadhan for all the obvious reasons and much more.. but theres one thing about it that really weighs heavy on my mind; the dilemma that haunts most wives/moms - what to cook !!!!!!!! in just under a week that question becomes the soalan cepu emas.

I've stopped trying to please everyone simultaneously a long time ago (we'd just end up with a mejafull of unfinished lauk, kids who mysteriously turn into bloated ular sawas and rendered immobile, and later a long and ardous battle to complete tarawih). they now take turns and i rotate each of their choices accordingly... which should settle my 'what to cook' problem. unfortunately, it doesnt take long for them to start running out of choices and its back to moi to get creative. sigh - its tough bcoz i also have to think about sahur choices. Abe who is otherwise very flexible, is extremely picky about his food during ramadhan, especially for sahur. not only must it be different from that of berbuka, it must also be something he fancies. otherwise, he'll just make himself a bowl of oats which he will then doggedly finish and all the while eyeing me with those accusing eyes of his!!!! alahai, geram ada, kesian pun ada especially when he'll melepek giler the next day *double sigh*

I hate the fact that food has become such an important factor in ramadhan - its about fasting, abstaining & making sacrifices, so shouldn't it be the least of our considerations? but the fact remains that Abe looks forward to having a good breaking of fast & sahur, so who am i to say otherwise? all that one can do is to try create some sort of balance and avoid going overboard, but its not that simple when theres food, food and more food everywhere you turn during ramadhan.... pasar ramadhan, korner ramadhan, pesta ramadhan, macam2 ramadhan.

So back to the soalan cepu emas - what to churn out of the wok next?!! probably the best way to deal with all this brain clutter is to unload my cooking blues here - dah masak apa, boleh masak apa, nak masak apa. hmmm, after all this is a place for me to rant n rave lol so... what if i had my own Food R (rave) & R (rant) corner for ramadhan ;)

Food R&R

Okey dokey. About early morning sahur - we had lotsa telur masin, some fried cocktail sausages, hot & sour soup with fresh cendawan and leftover fried beef from dinner.

Next, today's berbuka. its been my practise to cook as well as buy ready made food for berbuka so that even with the limited time afforded to me as a working woman, there'd still be variety. and to make sure i didnt go wrong this first day, i made a family favourite - grilled chicken wings with garlic, chilli api, soy sauce and a touch of honey. also kangkung goreng belacan with those big prawns peeking through lol.

From hatinie, i had earlier bought some akok (Abe's favourite kueh and a must throughout ramadhan), sweet sago in santan and tapai pulut. since the queue for the lauk was horendously long there, i moved on to another restaurant where i bought a little of siput sedut, terung berchilli and kerabu mangga each, just enough to tantalize the tastebuds. but turned out tak sedap pun so that means i wont be returning for a second time.

Abe arrived home just in time for berbuka in a black mood. seems the poor guy left his office around 4 and was stuck in the jam forever (an accident). also unfortunate that his diabetic meds were wrecking havoc with his digestive system and had him purging right after. which also meant we couldnt make it to the masjid for tarawih... instead Abe led the maghrib, isya' & tarawih prayers in jemaah at home.

Ooh to be able to hang on to the very soul & spirit of ramadhan would be such a blessing indeed !!!!

Ramadhan Al Mubarak

Selamat berpuasa dan menghiasi Ramadhan ini seindah mungkin.

Mak's date.

Mak had a 'menyambut ramadhan' date with her long time friend Aunty M. knowing how her mind works, i'd decided to take leave from work so that she can really enjoy her outing.

See, she can never really handle loose ends and since she'll be leaving in the morning, there's AH to think about... her school stuff, lunch, getting ready in time etc etc. in her mind the kiddos (even me sometimes) are still too young to handle stuff on their own, so she always have to be there to make sure everythings ok. i know she'll worry no matter what i say, and if staying home in her place makes her feel better, so be it. i want her to socialize, go out more, meet up with her old friends. that way she gets to loosen up, enjoy herself and be less affected by the little things that seem to bug her.

AH and me, we had fun lol. after a heavy nasi lemak lauk ayam goreng/kerang/sambal sotong breakfast, we dropped by the hairdressers and had her hair cut short, really short, with bangs and options to spike it up in a punkish kinda way when the need arise. the weather's been a bit hot & humid lately and AH's longish hair was getting to smell a wee bit everytime she took off her tudung, so it was probably a good time to try something else.

I thought it was a great idea, and hair does grow back if it didnt really work out for her. it did turn out rather ok although the hairdresser shouldnt have made it that boyish!! its taken years off her (comel sangat) but of course she now thinks she looks like 'kanak2 riang'. so to sorta stay with the punkish look instead, AH decided to colour her hair purple which we did right after school (but it isnt as bad as it sounds since its a DIY thing and theres no bleaching involved). the purplish hue kinda suits her as well as the new 'tulang ikan' earring... thank god she didnt go for the skull & bone thing. it would've been a bit much and i'd have to say no lol.

Abe obligingly picked AF up from the jalan duta bus terminal right after work so that i could concentrate on cooking a 'good last dinner' before ramadhan. but AF's bus was a little late and we didnt make it to the 1st tarawikh at the surau. and the 1st sahur? i already had that covered... i'd bought enough telor masin to feed an army lol (one of the staples for Abe's sahur).

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With mak on her date, AH at school and AI at tuition, i managed to sneak in a little pounding time for me at the KSAS gym.

** Treadmill Log **

Time: 40 mins
Speed: avg 8- 8.5 km/hr
Incline: 1
Distance: 5 km
Calories burned: 370 kj

A beautiful start.

I love it when it rains and you wake up to a fresh, clear, beautiful morning !!!!

Cant help but feel rejuvenated as you gulp in lungful after lungful of cool air. its as close as one can get to clean, fresh air here in Klang valley, and i certainly wasnt going to waste it. bundled up a change of clothes, put on my running gear, hustled AI over to school as fast as i could and made my way to the tasik :)

It was a great run and a beautiful start to my day. didnt matter how it turned out after that.

Thank God for small mercies.

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** Running Log **

1 lap= 4km= 30 mins

Sunday at home.

The usual.

Abe's already out of the house. with 2 tourneys back to back, he has nothing but golf on his mind. and with ramadhan fast approaching and turkmenistan looming ahead, he's in a frenzy of golf, golf and more golf. *sigh* hasnt it sunk in yet that his friends are not the only ones who's gonna be missing him!?!

The kids usually sleep in, mak wont be coming out of her room till much later and i have my morning run before stopping over at the wet market to stock up for the week. and then theres the chores.

Sometimes the sunshine is a little harder to make.

But theres always the books... just lose oneself in the books. it never fails.

I can see guilt in his eyes but he needs the golf to get the stress & tension out of his system. i'm thinking better golf than wine & women but sometimes it gets a little too much. even with the cash vouchers, the airpot (latest achievement) and the dinner we had last nite (japanese again since i let the kids choose even though it was to celebrate the 'successful' completion of my 1oK run the other day), i still feel bereft. is it wrong to wanna have more time spent with him?

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** Running Log **

1 lap plus = about 5 km= 40 mins.

Mykad

Mak's the last one to have her mykad done but we finally did it thank god.

She wanted us to go through the whole process first so that we'd know what we were doing when it was her turn (she also actually hates going out with the whole brood) but things had somehow gotten worst this year when everyone else have started to realise, the year's gonna end soon!! so its the usual mad rush and the pendaftaran office at shah alam mall is always overcrowded. mak has kept postponing and i've started to wonder if we'll ever make the dateline.

Until a friend told me the crowd isnt too bad on saturdays. which surprised me coz i thought it'd be close since the govt announced the 5 day work week. hmmm.. goes to show how little i know of such things (and kinda reinforce the katak bawah tempurung persona that i am lol). my plan was to get the running number for mak first before returning home for her. and true enough when i got there at 7.30 am the lobby was still dark and there was just another chinese guy there reading a novel (there was a seating area of sorts at the back and the area was lighted). we got to talk and he told me he was there to pick up his mykad and when he heard about mak, he suggested i might as well go back and get her since there wasnt likely to be a crowd just yet and i did live a stone's throw away. he also pointed out there was a special counter for warga emas, a fact that i completely forgot about !!!

Well, off i went tra-lala-lala but i didnt bank on mak having to go to the loo 3 times before we could actually leave the house and by then there was already 2 long lines!!! where did all those people spring from!!!! but i got mak a seat at the back and got in line anyway... and if not for the warga emas thing it would have taken a whole morning. instead she was the first one at the special counter and we were out of the place by 8.30 am. thank you god :)

2 months till pick up time. Have you gotten your mykad yet?

Hari Jamuan Se Malaysia

Today's probably the hari jamuan semalaysia since most offices are having some sort of jamuan to usher in the fasting month/ramadhan. we're having ours as pot luck - so as AF would've said, it's 'susuhaha' time lol (read: suka suka hati hang). i was toying with the idea of bringing a pasta dish of some sort but when i had to 'rescue' Abe who was out nite golfing at sri selangor (the guy had accidentally left his carkeys in the boot thus locking himself out and subsequently needed rescuing) and got back very late... well, i had to kiss that idea goodbye (too pooped).

So, since theres such an abundance of ready made food here in shah alam anyway, yours truly just went and got herself 6 packs of really hot nasi goreng kampung and 2 bursting plasticpacks full of sambal sotong. hah... senang kerja, sedap lak tu heheheh.

My clicker was in the car so no pics of the smorgasboard of yummies we ended up with when we finally pooled everything together. suffice to say, not much work was carried out after the jamuan because everyone turned into ular sawas lol.

Unfortunately i didnt get to really really stuff my face bcoz there was a joint valuation already lined up for me at 9.30 am. another istana thing... we were to determine and agree upon the perimeter of the buildings within the istana's compound, to be used as a basis for the costing of termite control.

*sigh* it was sooo hard saying goodbye to all that lovely food ;)

Istana Kayangan main entrance.

Out back where the swimming pool is located.

Centricon - a means of controlling termites & eliminating particular colonies one at a time, planted along the perimeter of buildings.

Anyway, back at the site i let the pest control operator do all the work, muahahaha. i wasnt about to get down & dirty no sirree lol. for one, i wasnt actually dressed for measuring perimeters with the kebaya, courtesy of the jamuan. but osso, perut tersangatlah sengkak lol.

Roller coaster

Today has been a roller coaster ride alright. 5 negotiations set for the morning (3 of it being mine) and our dato' pengarah went MIA !!! aduh, dealing with restless and irate contractors is definitely not one of my favourite duties but dealt with them i did (saya yg menurut perintah), until the old man finally emerged close to 11 am. seems that he was summoned by one of the higher offices. well, in the hierarchy of power theres always someone higher we have to answer to i guess.

It was also a day of extremes. my first negotiation meeting dragged on for about an hour and a half, while the second lasted barely 10 minutes and the 3rd was postponed till we could agree to at least the basic quantities. argghhh.... we didnt even break for lunch and all that 'haggling' has made me even more tired than running the 10K !! on top of being suddenly brain dead *SIGH*

AH was released from school early today, about 4 pm. they're having a majlis perasmian surau baru sekolah. 'cept the surau isnt all that baru (its been in use for over a year now) and i'm wondering what ever happened? agaknye silap perancangan or something, or just that time really does fly especially for busy people. and AH's & AI's school does seem to have lots of activities lined up. if i wasnt so dead tired i wouldnt mind dropping by after work and meramaikan lagi majlis. oh but they didnt actually send out invites for the occasion now did they? or the kiddos just forgot about passing it on to me? surely not the both of them? ah well... i'd better go sweat it out instead of giving in to this lethargy anyway. even if its drizzling outside, its still gym day :)

Gawd... penat sungguh.

Oh and i'm also in the process of getting to know my new cell phone. not really new new but a hand me down to be exact. still its a whole lot better than my old faithful (yg dah longgar battery and renggang sana sini). Abe has just gotten himself a new samsung (one that has 'coroured' lights and blinking2 summore hehe) and his dumping his old one to yours truly. me, i'll stick to nokia. i'm too old, oops.. too set in my ways to go with a different system. nanti bila tekan2 asyik tersilap jer lol. hmmm, nampak stylish n got camera osso (nokia 7610) but i'm finding out that the design somehow compromises the functionality. tapi biasa laa, some people focus kat bab lawa jer, kan abe? ;) i mean, even i am 'lusting' after a phone (nokia 8800) that looks all sleek & sexy *drool*

But in the meantime, i'll just make do laa (and it might even take forever lol). love the echoing tones though.

Heh.. now its time to go shake some butt and release the endorphins :)

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** Treadmill Log **

Time: 40 mins
Speed: 8 - 8.5 km
Incline: 1
Distance: 5.3 km
Calories burned: 350 kj

Form 5 Graduation Ceremony

What would they think of next?

AI's graduation ceremony this morning was a grand occasion indeed. a ceremony to signify the end of the syllabus and school as we know it. but wow, there was never such a thing during my time !!!!!!

Previously when AF completed Form 5, he went through a similar ceremony... the boys were all dressed in black baju melayu, the school samping and songkok while the girls had on yellow baju kurung, the school sarung and marroon scarf. and they took turns on stage taking the certs presented to them.

This year, the school went one up by providing the kids with convocation robes/jubahs the teachers had made themselves!!! kudos to the teachers for all the effort in making the students feel special. i had to remind myself i wasnt in some college attending a convo lol.

Its quite normal practice these days for the mrsms and probably other boarding school to put up such a thing, but i think for a day school, its quite an achievement. the school authorities, teachers, PIBG have certainly done their utmost to boost the morale of the students. now its up to the kids to do the best possible in the coming SPM exams.

Syabas SMK seksyen 9, Shah Alam.


And GOOD LUCK kids.

Accepting the dirt.

When the office cleaners come a-mopping the floors, they're not really cleaning the place up are they? coz it sure looks more like spreading the dirt around instead. yes, they go about their work diligently enough by mopping every square inch of the say, 20 feet by 20 feet of office space... but with what? usually just a pail of water plus whatever cleaning solvent of choice which is already blackish in the first place.

So who's to blame? the cleaners? they're probably just following orders and if the operator who obtained the contract choose to cut corners so be it. the supervisors? they should make sure that even the mopping is done properly but could it be possible that they're overworked and underpaid to start with? the operator? they probably got the contract through the skin of their teeth and also at the lowest price possible so can we really blame them for juggling about so that they can actually see some profit. the client? who's probably expecting quality in exchange for a pittance... but since they're not really bothered to check beyond the flurry of cleaning activities, ends up with semi dirty floors anyway.

A small matter in the big scheme of things i suppose. but i'm thinking if we start off with fair tendering practices as well as operators and contractors who arent so ready to cut each other down just to get jobs, fair prices would be a reality. or is it another case of 'mimpi di siang hari'?

First ever.

Yeeee haaaaaaaa!!! i just completed my 1st ever run..... at 44 !!!! *menyengih giler* 10K in 1 hr 10 mins. i finished within the 40 and got me a medal *menyengih lagi* hehehe

The medal & yet to be named cert :)

My first foray into this running thingy was supposed to be at the putrajaya half mara. i was soo excited about it but couldnt make it in the end. how appropriate that my 1st run turned out to be the Shah Alam 10K.. especially since i've been a resident of shah alam since '86 (not counting the 3 years i spent doing dip in q. surveying at ITM)... and never once teringin pun nak masuk, until now that is lol. late developer laa kot ;)

I was so damn worried i wouldnt make it to the finish (cos i've never done 10K) but i'm glad to report i didnt succumb to temptation and kept running the whole way (albeit in spurts of high/low energy lol). i was especially motivated to run my ass off when i noticed this little kid (she was probably just 9-10 or something) wearing a nike pacesetter 15K run 2004 (yea 15K !!!) tee shirt, steadily gaining on me. fuyooo sikit pun tak berkerut muka dia and there i was huffing & puffing tak ingat punye lol.

All in all it wasnt as bad as i feared :) but i was intially nervous enough to have forgotten my old clicker. so tak dapat laa nak bergambar sakan kat sana. 'cept i unexpectedly ran into a cousin who was there to cheer her hubby on and we did snap a pic or two. just hope she remembers to email me.

I didnt stay for the lucky draw and stuff. i'd promised AI a McD big breakfast if he tagged along and since our rumbling tummies were making itself heard, we made a hasty retreat to the section 3 outlet (or is it section 2?). balik je plak mak asked me to attend a neighbour's cukur jambul for her cucu. phew.. getting myself ready for the occasion was tough, from running mode to social mode in 10 mins flat lol.

Now all i want is to get upstairs and relish this tired but satisfied feeling in the comfort & privacy of my room, heh.

Another accident

I was on my way to the tasik when i heard a loud noise and from my rear view mirror i could see that a motorbike had just ploughed into a kancil, or vice versa, i dunno. didnt get to see much bcoz i was moving away but it looked bad. any accident involving a two wheeler is bad. i used to ride a passola myself when i first worked in shah alam (even up to 7 months of pregnancy with my 2nd child) and believe me, its not a very safe existence. just a slight nudge can get you off course in a second. and not every motorcyclist is a mat/minah rempit bend on destruction so have a care when you see a motorcyclist anywhere in your vicinity k bcoz most just want to get on with their daily business.

Poor fella, whoever he/she is.... and to think its still so early in the morning.

AF if you're reading this, ingat pesan mama k, if you really have to, then dont forget to snap on the safety catch of the helmet. same goes to mat, zul and the rest of the gang!!!

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** Running Log **

1 lap= about 4 km= 30 mins

Feeling sluggish. its almost that time of the month and i'm beyond bloated... even a beached whale comes nowhere close.

TGIF or TGIT

Come thursday and the guyz at the office will be going round smirking and making a general nuisance of themselves. i honestly dunno what the fuss is all about 'cept for the fact its 'malam jumaat' and sunnat to be doing certain acts.

Ibadah malam jumaat... berbagai penyeri malam yg ada like yassin recitation, solat jemaah and the myriad of solat2 sunnat which is usually given the backseat. most just focus on the sexual act which is an ibadah of sorts, thus the knowing looks & innuendos. muak dengan pe'el bebudak tu, i've done my share of 'menyimbah minyak ke api yg marak'.

Me: "Eh, keciannye korang, nak kena tunggu jumaat..... akak biasa laa every nite is friday nite" (thursday to be exact but then i'll be out of context, sorta lol) .

Neeways, guyz in general (note the emphasis ya) memang minat dgn anything to do with sex. introduce an x rated topic and see the enthusiasm & excitement on their faces lol. i guess its back to their God given 'default' of having to make sure manusia tak pupus kot. but then the ladies pun sama gak and have their own on-going 'hot' forums and where yours truly, ever the mischief maker suka throw in 'absurd' ideas.

Midway through a discussion on poligamy (topik amat popular para isteri2),

Me: "Kekadang rasanye kita kena act like whores la in bed".

But before i continue..... KIDDOS: if you're reading this, we may need to talk, k.

OoOOoo... semua suddenly diam je and you could almost hear a pin drop. bear in mind my officemates are nowhere near as outspoken or echi hentai as me lol.

Ok ok ok. maybe not just any old run of the mill whore but high class ones, like geishas ;)

Why? because then we'll have to make sure we're giving our best coz 'customer' satisfaction comes first....... and the hubby will certainly be getting himself a nite he's not likely to forget in a while lol. but on the other hand tak boleh selalu sangat coz then we'll be setting a certain standard here and with kids and a household to run, we might not be able to live up to expectations. but once in a blue moon is good :) the element of surprise, unpredictability... all necessary ingredients in keeping the excitement alive. specially when you've been stuck with each other for god knows how long lol

Heh... mengarut2 lak makcik ni ya. anyway, have a good nite of beribadah people *smirking osso*

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** Treadmill Log **

Time: 40 mins
Speed: avg. 8 - 8.5
Incline: 1
Distance: 5.2 km
Calories burned: 360 kj

Not a mind reader

Car signals are there for a reason mister.

Its to let the other drivers know whats on your f**cking mind so that necessary action/precaution can be taken. we're not renegade or rebel soldiers on a death mission, weaving about in demented frenzy. we're all hauling precious cargo here - school bound kids !!!!!!!!!

Shah alam, as in most surburban community, have loads and loads of 'concerned' parents/adults who send their kids/charges to school instead of using the services of a van/bus operator. i am one of them. this means instead of 1 van loading up to say about 20 kids, the roads are clogged up with 20 odd cars. of course this also means 20 individuals in a rush to go to work or whatever it is they do in the morning. it's very unfortunate that tempers do not have any regard for time nor place and flares easily. thus we find ourselves in a very volatile situation of our own making.

You'd think a bunch of adults would have clear thinking at their disposal so early in the morning, right? i mean after all, we've just had a good nite's sleep, right? sigh .... wrong. we have hectic days followed by restless nights and nearly all of us end up with frayed nerves instead. nerves so frayed that we even forget the important things in life - like our precious cargo, manners & our sense of humanity. should we deny our 'interdependence' ?

Can we?

We're all in this together, for better for worse... so lets look out for each other shall we?!!

10K pick up

I'm so excited. my very first run. went to pick up the tshirt during lunchbreak & my no. is D (women vet category but feeling more like a war vet lol) 0381. woo hooo... the ball has started rolling here *doing the jiggly*

At first i took the size 'L' tee coz when they hung the samples on the wall 'M' looked pretty small and i didnt want to wind up looking like a nangka laa. but when i sarung'ed the thing over me in the car, AI was guffawing away, the brat !!! dia kata gedabaknye... so back i went to the Bahagian Korporat, MBSA and asked to have it exchanged. well, after i got what i wanted ms klutz here made quite a scene in her haste to get away. praaang... i banged into the ' queue guides' that they normally have at most counters and almost toppled along with it !!!! huh, nasib baik laa 1st day for the tshirts & nos pick up, tak laa ramai sangat org otherwise lagi embarrassing!!!

Dok terfikir gak, ngape laa category women vet nih medals hanya untuk 1-40 jer walhal category lain semua 1-100. ish ish ish... mana aci camni. kelam harapan nak bermedal. patutnye utk warga 'senja' macam kitorang ni bagi jer pada semua yg masuk as an incentive. baru laa ramai skit my age group nak cuba2. seronok per dapat medal :) tak kira laa klu plastic sekalipun heheh.

Still worried if i've bitten more than i can chew though.

But what the heck, you only live once lol.

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In my attempt to increase the mileage on my new shoes, i ran again this morning :) this can never be a long term arrangement though. too hectic, with getting to work on time and all. oh and i osso managed to squeeze in another km cruising the neighbourhood before picking AH up from school.

** Running Log **

1 lap= about 4 km= 30 mins.
1 x Route A (hilly)= 1 km plus= 10 mins

Cant seem to trim the bloody time to below 25 mins for the tasik run, not even on a good day.... but this soldier's daughter will keep on trying, heh.

Fuyooo

"FUYOOO.... kasut baru gue BEST GILER SIOOOOT !!!! "

Borrowing heavily from selambakodok, i sms'ed the hubby.

"Laju ke?" he sms'ed right back. that got me laughing my head off, and i couldnt help but reply "Like d wind babe, like d wind!!!!!!!!!!"

Sebenornye its not about speed lol. at my age, level of fitness & kemampuan mana ada lajunye (compared to the younger uns 'crawl baby crawl' tu lebih tepat lol) tapi what a big difference the right shoes make. and its a huge relief that after all the indecision and deliberation, i did make the right choice!!! it wouldnt have mattered so much if i had the cash to spare, but since i dont, i had to make each RM count. so now borrowing from kamdar plak... memang berbaloi !!!!! *smirking*

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Lari jgn tak lari.... i even skipped the 'perhimpunan isnin' (terlambat masuk skit) coz i just had to find out if we'd 'click' and we sure did.

** Running Log **

1 lap= about 4 km= 25 mins.