Merdeka oh merdeka

To malaysians one and all....

HAPPY MERDEKA DAY !!!

Of Weddings

Its the time for weddings.

Of course there was the media explosion of cik siti's wedding (just a wee bit more and it would've turned into a circus) but on a more personal level, there was also the wedding of sweet sweet shirly, beloved daughter of Dato' S & Datin R.

Oh they didnt use to be dato's & datins, just your regular hardworking couple trying to find a niche and make a name for themselves. going through the earlier years with them, i was in the previleged position to witness firsthand the struggles they had to go through to be where they are right now. it wasnt easy. people can always say , "alah, they're just lucky enough to be at the right place at the time". probably, but to achieve and maintain a certain level of success, you also have to be tenacious, persisitent & very hardworking. and hardworking is certainly their middle name. abang D is the kind of 'waraq' man that i admire. a very patient & loving husband & father, you will usually find him at the masjid in the wee hours waiting for subuh to descend. come ramadhan and you will see him personally monitoring the children to at least try khatamkan quran before month's end. but he is also not a stranger to the fast-track business world. calm & suave with the highly creative & versatile kak R as the driving force behind their businesses, they have succeeded beyond expectation indeed.

Alhamdulillah, bertambah lagi la kebahagian keluarga ini dengan adanya menantu budiman. congratulations shirly & imran.... semoga dilimpahi sejahteraan dunia akhirat.

Stopping the slide

'Slack' baru sebulan dah terasa padahnya.... rupanya bila dah selalu aktif dan tiba2 je relek memanjang, it doesnt take long to become semput & extremely bloated ya. yuckity yuk i so hate this heavy, kembong & kembang feeling!!

I've probably put on a kg or two meneman cik Abe mengunyah malam2 (his hobby) but what irks me the most is this 'tak lepas' breathing, cukup tak puas. apa2pun kena la usahakan untuk get back on track kan.

Alahai better not slide next time cik tipah ooi!!

Workout Log:
Treadmill - 30 mins/3.5km/260kj @ average speed of 7-8km per hour

Wrapping up

Its been a week since Abe left and there still hasnt been a single 'meraung' episod as yet...... phew legaaaa bebudak!! they had the shock of their lives when mama, the so called "superwoman" tetiba broke down in a crying fit satu ketika dulu (nak wat camane kan bila rindu yang teramat tiba2 je datang melanda). hehehe terkejut bagak diorang, maklum la mama diorang ni selalunya nampak brutal je kan. and they've been 'monitoring' me ever since!! terasa diri ni menjadi perhatian, scrutinised gitu lol, pastu tergelak pun ada bila terdengar si abang long menanya si adik, "mama ada nampak macam nak buat hal tak?".

Jawapannya wahai anak2, mama ni ok je. this sort of thing bukannya boleh anticipate... it just happens. sometimes, our feelings take over and you need to express it, thats all. so relax la, mama nangis pun setakat nak release all my pent up emotions je... and you all know i dont do things halfway kan - dah nangis tu baik meraung hehehe. just because i'm old doesnt mean i'm devoid of all romantic feelings.... orang tua2 pun di buai perasaan gak la bebudak weh!!! setakat ni everythings under control :)

Ok moving on to another one of my passions - a quick run down of my running this week :)

Weekly Exercise Log
Thurs 24/08/06
- 9km

Fri 25/08/06
- 4km

Sun 27/08/06
- 1 hr aerobics + 4km

This week's tally - 17 km (heheh kasut baru punya pasal)

When the children are all grown

"Ma, dont get into a frenzy or anything.. (silence) tapi kan... (another silence) hari tu kepala ijat terkena kipas"

Aduh la weh... tersirap darah mama ni sampai i thought i'd pop a vein!! macamana laa boleh jadi camtu anak, kan mama dah pesan dan pesan lagi, taking utmost care of your head is numero uno on your priority list. takkan laa senang sangat lupa your own medical history sayang ooi!!!!

I have a septate uterus or uterus subseptae - its a condition where the uterus has a midline septum. fortunately for me the division stops about halfway through (there are people with their uterus totally divided into two) but the area that makes up the abnomality is almost a no man's land i.e. tak subur. a fetus unfortunate enough to be growing from that area will not be getting much in the way of nutrients from the mother. that is exactly what happened to my second baby.... weighing at only 1.97kg AI could've easily passed off as a preemie except that he was carried full term. very delicate inside out, he somehow had an infarct at 8 months and was rendered half-paralysed. syukur alhamdulillah he regained full mobility after 2 weeks and has been alright ever since. but the traumatic incident has left me very very very cautious & sensitive about anything to do with his head.

Haaa... now imagine my reaction upon hearing news of his fan accident!!!! dah seminggu yang lalu pulak tu, budak bertuah!!! memang hati ni dah berdetik, gusar, bila tenguk low ceiling kat bilik bebudak tu dulu. most definitely doubledecker beds, low ceilings and ceiling mounted fans do not mix tapi dah memang macam tu kat asrama tu. ish, terus nak terbang je kat dia tapi since tak boleh, was already making plans to drive down to melaka first thing the next morning - but he wouldnt let me. dia kata ada feskem or something (dunno but i'm guessing 'feskem' is 'festival kemerdekaan' kot) and students semua busy dengan pre-merdeka preparations. memang at the time we were having the conversation dia tengah sibuk berlatih boria. he'd already seen the campus doc and treated for external cut/wound. nothing to worry about ma he said.

Hmmphhh.

After consulting with his abah, i finally agreed to wait until he came home for semester break (in a weeks time tapi aduh lamanya rasa!!). we'll then see what the family doctor has to say about all this.

Tu lah ek... bila anak2 masih kecik2 lagi apa2 pun terjadi masih di depan mata and to a certain extent within our control tapi bila dah besar panjang.... yang termampu hanyalah iringan doa yang berpanjangan.

Please please please take care of yourselves kiddoes. mama sayang sangat kat korang.

Water bash

What do you do when you're on school break and have nothing better lined up?

You have a water bash!!!!

Pandai gak bebudak ni, tak yah nak bazir2 duit gi wet world ke sunway lagoon ke (but given the choice mesti nak gak tu hehehe tapi nak wat camane kalau mak bapak tak brape nak melayan). last year the kids organised quite a big do - padang multipurpose kat seksyen 8 tu jadi sasaran, open to all their friends and siap kutip duit utk bayar air yang supplied by one of the residents. this year AH & her classmates are putting up their very own personal water bash.... and this time kat dalam kawasan rumah one of them je.

Earlier AH had already gotten herself 2 water guns, untuk tembak kiri kanan ala2 cowboy gitu. hajat hati dia tu nak that huge whopper of a gun yang ada kat toy-r-us, yang boleh pegang macam M16 tu, tapi mama dia malas nak ke subang jaya so beli je la toy gun yang banyak bergantungan kat aisle2 supermarket. hari tu kitorang beli kat cold storage SACC rasanya. semalam masa mandi punya la berjam2 ingat ke kenapa rupa2nya dok praktis dalam bilik air tu!!

Masa pick her and a few of her friends yang nak tumpang balik (around 6 pm), dah kecut, kedut dah bebudak tu nampaknya tapi you should have seen the huge grins they had on their faces!!! priceless hehehe!!! mesti seronok agaknya ek... kita kat tropics ni macam tu la kan, suka sangat main air. ingat lagi masa dolu2, pantang hujan, mesti menyelinap cari peluang nak mandi hujan. mana teringat pun kat kilat ke apa ke, main belasah aje tapi sekarang tak leh dah nak wat camtu... kat bandar hujan pun tak sebersih mana.

Later when i was doing the laundry baru ler tau dema tu bukan saja dok tembak air rupanya, main tepung n colour2 bagai!!!! jenuh gak la menggonyoh baju dia tu (dalam hati ni dok terpikir creative gak ek bebudak ni... dah jadi macam paint ball war lak tapi at minimum cost hehehe).

Nampaknya my baby girl's happy lagi!!

Esok my adik2 nak datang bertandang.... turn mama dia lak nak happy2 :)

p.s. Abe oh Abe we're doing whatever we can to fill the void that you've left behind.

Breaking in session

You know you havent been running in a while when:

1. you suddenly feel short, heavy and very close to the ground - as if you're a 45 yr old midget scurrying about, setiap langkah berat, weighted down. not for you that "i'm running on winged feet" feeling!!

2. you start having that hot, prickly, itchy, sensation spreading over the skin of your thighs and butt. masa tu kalau dapat selak (kat toilet mana-mana la of course... hehe kalau kat track mesti ramai yang cabut lari!!), you'll see that area of skin merah2 macam kena rashes and merenyut2 gatal.

3. your usually dependable pace & rhythm seem out of whack - dah masuk 1 km pun rasa macam your breathing just aint your own (help who's body is this?!)

But of course after some time, things start falling into place and you're back into that rythmic pace... thump, thump, thump; feet pounding, heart pumping, lungs expanding; you feel 100% alive. and just like everything else, once you achieve that state of 'flow', you're functioning at your optimum level and you just wish you can hang on to that great feeling!!! tapi of course everyone has their limitations so kena la hati2 tak ter'over'.... tua2 ni padah jadinya kalau kurang peka. you gotta know your limits - not so much of what's expected of you but more from your own personal experimentation & findings.

For the breaking-in session (for both my new shoes & my semi-sedentary self) I had planned a nice, easy run; warm up, followed by a slow & steady 4km, cool down. heh turns out.. it couldnt have deviated any further from the original plan because i ended up with a 9km run instead lol. see, i was pretty excited with my new nikes but it started out quite horribly (sepertimana catatan teratas). there i was struggling to find my pace, km after km and sadly, by the time i finished 1 lap round the tasik (4km), i didnt seem to be getting any 2nd wind either. as i was contemplating my cooling options, i spied the taichi gang finishing off their session with the pochong2 (indon dance) and decided to join in. wah enjoy gak menari-nari gitu lepas penat berlari and funnily enough after that, i found myself fully recharged!! heh apa lagi, boyed up by the great feeling i decided to run an extra km.. and whadaya know, lepas tu terus sambung another lap round the tasik!!!!! best giler!!!!!

And thats how i ended up with a 9km breaking-in session :)

Nasib baik la steady jer lepas tu sebab we had all kinds of plans lined up for the day.

Lepas lari, singgah pasar sat beli barang2 basah (especially ikan kembong for the kitties otherwise mom would have my hide sbb dah takde stock), then it was a visit to the vet. nico's been unwell for ever so long... kira berbulan gak la dia asyik tidoq je, tak wander jauh2 kat rumah tu. turns out dia kena jaundice, would you believe that!!!!! ha ah, kucing pun ada sakit kuning gak and kena laa injection and a weeks supply of meds for his liver. i was to bring him in for another jab after that. ish, macam2kan?!

By noon we were ready for the next thing on our list - melepak kat midvalley. kesian AH cuti sekolah tak kemana, so when she said she wanted to hang out with me at the malls, just the 2 of us, i immediately agreed and took leave from work. best gak la pusing2 tanpa hala tujuan gitu lol.... and AH got what she wanted - a mean looking punkish bracelet yang jenis hitam with besi tajam2 tu, and a new wallet/purse. of course we made the usual looong stop kat burger king for their to die for double cheese swiss mushroom (or is it double swiss cheese mushroom?) and sebenornya lepas tu nak tenguk wayang, tapi because we didnt want to get stuck in the 'after work' exodus, we decided to sambung kat jusco bukit raja (which is somewhat 'in our back yard' so to speak).

Maka bersambung la sessi melepak dua beranak nih. solat isnt a problem since malls these days, alhamdulillah, are equiped with ruang solat yang agak selesa so duduk seharian kat situ pun tak jadi hal. mula2 kitorang nak tengok 'beneath the water' tapi rating 18 something or other so tak jadi. nak tengok snakes in the plane just for an excuse to scream our hearts out, lambat sangat pulak the next show so we ended up with click. not too bad, ada gak la unsur2 pengajaran (tapi kalau kita selalu make a point to look for good, kat poop pile pun kita akan nampak potential gak lol). lepas dapat sandals yang dia nak and a cute little skirt to complete her ensemble for the water bash she was having tomorrow, AH was finally ready to call it a day (phew... nasib baik sbb mama dia dah mula terasa the effects of the 9km run plus pusing2 mall tak henti2 hehehe). last stop - warung kat seksyen 11 for some kungfu kueh teow to tapaw back for dinner (osso as peace offering for mom).

I'm glad my baby's happy :)

Kasut oh kasut

Now that the man's gone its back to my regular running schedule. takde excuse dah nak ngelat2.. especially with the runs coming in september. lagi pun sekarang ni bernafas pun tak brape sedap. tak sepuas dan selapang selalu akibat tak berlari as per normal.

One of the main reasons i've been slacking - my regular running shoes yang ada 'air' tu dah terpancit. yea literally!! ntah macamana ntah bila berlari berdesir desir bunyinya sbb dah terbelubang tapak tu. tapi bila pikir2 memang patut la pun sbb dah setahun lebih tak tukar2. a new one has long been overdue.

Syukur alhamdulillah la skarang tengah banyak merdeka sale..... so masa round2 ngan cek abe tu dulu dah tahu la lebih kurang mana nak tuju. tadi masa lunch break menonong je la ke jusco bukit raja, berbekalkan tekad & semangat untuk beli gak kasut baru no matter what (bukan apa i need time to break in the shoes for the runs). mahal pun mahal lah nak wat camane sbb dah tua2 ni one just cannot risk compromising on proper support & comfort. tak berani nak try brand lain selain nike sbb dah terbiasa so i headed straight for the slam dunk shop at the ground floor. from my earlier meanderings i knew they were also participating in the sale and that the air pegasus/pegasus air that i was eyeing was on a 30% discount. tinggal nak cari size (selalunya kecik skit drp UK saiz 4) dan bayar tu aje. actual price about RM 349.00 and kalau takde discount memang tak sanggup nak beli tapi after less 30% tu dapat la around RM 244.00. tak la rasa bersalah sangat bubuh kat kaki beratus-ratus bila dah ada discount gitu. anyway i really need good shoes with all the pounding that i was subjecting my ol joints to and osso lessen the risk of injury somewhat. dah tua2 ni tinggi lak maintenance ya lol!

Tak sabar nak cuba la weh. i'll probably go out on an early morning run tomorow since i've taken 2 days leave.... hajatnya nak jalan2 temankan si daro yang tengah cuti sekolah tu. kesian lak dia sebab tak kemana-mana.

Strategy

Semalam abahnya berlepas jauh ke awan biru (at time of writing dah sampai pun ke bumi tandus turkmenistan), pagi tadi pulak anaknya bertolak balik ke menara gading - bringing the avanza along with him. janjinya bila babah takde dirumah boleh la dia pakai kereta mama... after all tanjung malim tu tak la sejauh mana dan memudahkan dia pegi balik bilamana perlu. bertambah2 lagi la sunyinya kat rumah tu with all the men gone, unless you counted the male kitties as a viable 'male' persence lol.

Formula mengatasi kesunyian hari pertama:
1. berpuasa untuk merawat hati nan lara.
2. sibukkan diri dengan paperwork yang sememang tak pernah2 nak surut.
3. berbuka ala kadar so that maghrib can be settled at home thus allowing you to dine out; preferably where there'll be lots of people & lots of noise.
4. buy an assortment of dvds for variety.... lucu macam RV & menakutkan macam Black nite.
5. allow yourself to be scared to death, so that sleep takes over without you giving it a tough fight.

Alone again.. unnaturally

*SIGH*

Time flies.... sebulan berlalu macam tu je. pejam celik tau2 dah pun sampai ke last weekend untuk together-gether.

Saturday passed in a whirlwind of activities. as usual cik Abe tu last minute baru nak settle macam2; bank la, celcom la, saman la.... eeeh, memang memacam!! tu pun nasib baik masa cuti khamis lalu ada gak la bill2 yang dah dilangsaikan kalau idak lagi FENING sbb you know what happens with loose ends?! haaa, makcik ni gak la yang kena terhegeh2 meny'ettle'nya nanti!! first thing in the morning kitorang serbu celcom seksyen 9 sbb dek kerana isu roaming meroaming, line dah kena bar. sunday pulak dah nak fly off so kena gak la settle one way or the other. cek abe tu ngamuk sebenarnya sbb dia dah batal certain oversea services earlier tapi masih lagi kena caj (nak citer panjang2 pun tak faham sgt lol) and celcom promised to look into it tapi akhirnya ntah apa yang jadi terus bar je line. hard luck for us, it was the 3rd saturday of the month so counter tak buka. nak bayar kat deposit machine, tak sure final figure so kena KIV (read: makcik kena settle).

Pastu njenguk lak kat balai polis seksyen 11 sbb nak semak saman tapi adik guard tu kata, pukul 10 baru counter buka so patah balik kat syedina seksyen 9 for tosei and apom (weh sambal tosei kat situ sedap giler... not the one yg putih kelapa tu but one that's tomato base & spicy). as usual cek abe pekena daging ketul2 besar masak hitam yang dia suka tu, also ikan goreng (yea with tosei... pelik tapi benar lol). pastu tak cukup... tambah capati lak, makan kaw kaw punya hehe, maklum la lepas ni susah skit nak makan best2 (according to him masakan turkmen kurang berperisa). dah sampai nak bangun pun kena sodok baru la kitorang made our way back to the police station. dah masuk pun kawasan balai tenguk2 counter tutup jugak sbb 'offline'. sayup2 terdengar rungutan cek abe... rupa2nya dia dah cek dah 2-3 hari sebelum ni tapi dok 'offline' memanjang. alahai apo nak dikato dah nasib makcik ni agaknya. kalau idak kan senang, bila dah semak tu boleh la dia terus merayu untuk kurangkan skit saman tu, pastu bayar. now its back to me.

Dah dua benda tersangkut ni takut gak la 'mood' cik Abe tu bertukar dari 'lovey dovey' kepada 'grumpy mumpy'... maklum la fuse tu kekadang pendek la gak tapi alhamdulillah, bersemangat lak dia nak tunjukkan branch southern bank yg keluarkan pinjaman avanza kitorang. road tax mati by early november so kena la bersedia awal, lebih2 lagi sbb makcik ni tak brape sure kat mana hala tuju tempatnya (selalunya dia yang uruskan, kita menemankan je tu pun baru sekali). heh, nasib baik gak la pegi round2 kat ss2 tu, memang tak ingat pun the long & winding jalan langsung lol. as usual sambil round2 sambil borak2.... rupanya ada lagi hasrat cik Abe yang dipendamkan untuk saat2 akhir. dia nak cari paraphanelia mobile phone yang kengkawan turkmen dia kirim!!! laaaaa ingat ke semua dah ready!!! so singgah la kat umah sekejap to pick up our lil gal (yang sebelum nih tak nak ikut sbb asyik mengadun tahi mata lol) sebelum merayap kat PAS (plaza alam sentral).

Sementara nak nunggu si daro siap, bertukar pulak plan asal. tak jadi bershopping dulu tapi melencong makan lunch sbb takut tak jumpa barang yang dicari terus tersasar sampai kepetang. sebenornya cik Abe tu dah mula trauma teringatkan peritnya nak dapat makanan yang dia suka kat turkmenistan tu so walaupun kenyang tadi pun tak hilang lagi, ikut je la rentak dia. maklum la orang nak pegi jauh kan. so kitorang pun bertandang la kat restoran kegemaran dia kat area seksyen 13 tu. restoran hassan, kedai kelantan yang agak fames gak la kat taipan subang jaya dah buka branch kat situ. their speciality - ayam kampung goreng panas2. apa lagi cik Abe pun makan la dengan penuh berselera sekali... between the 3 of us habis la 6 ketul chicken halves, siput sedut, sambal petai, masak darat - weh dahsyat gak la. sengkak perut ni tak terkira tapi tenguk yang tersayang tersengeh gumbira maka tanggung aje la kan ;)

Gendang gendut tali kecapi kenyang perut memang senang hati (tapi kalau terlajak boleh terbodoh hik hik). from there kitorang terus tuju ke PAS where the whole of its 3rd floor is dedicated to barang2 telekomunikasi & komputer. wah heaven la pakcik tu macam2 ada tapi turns out, bila dah banyak choice tu lain lak jadinya... kejap2 dok tepon anak jantan sulung dia (yg pakar mende2 camni) untuk advice sampai bengkerk gak la mat/minah yang menjual tu. dan dalam dok singgah sana, singgah sini, tanya tu, tenguk ni, tup tup member siap trade in handphone lagik you!!! dulu masa he got himself a new hp dia pass down to me his nokia 'daun' (tak ingat la model) tapi lately macam bermasalah la skit hp daun tu. rupanya sambil dok beli memory stick/card/whatever yang orang kirim, cek abe tu dok merisik pasal razr baru yg v3i tu. ingat ke memain je tapi siap tanya daun tu laku brape kalau trade in yada yada yada and to make a long story short, bayar RM330.00 dapat motorolla razr v3i baru!!!! heheh hebat gak la sidia tu buat magik.... tapi jangan silap sangka, bukan dapat kat kita pun hp baru tu, dia gak yang guna. kita ni biasa la dapat hand me down lagi, kali ni samsung slide ntah apa ntah. weh la weh samsung pun samsung la, asalkan boleh pakai.... tipah 'tak kisah' (mengikut nada fames si budak aiman hehehe).

Boyed up by his successful bargaining, ringan je la cik Abe tu melayan kami... siap window shopping kat SACC. its something that he hates doing (his usual reaction - amende la you all ni, pusing2 tak gak beli2, sheesh) and normally avoids it like the plaque. seronok anak dara dia dapat merayap ngan her dad, selalunya ngan mama je sbb daddy seringkali MIA main golf (tapi bab tu bebudak dah faham sangat). in fact kitorang tak beli apa2 pun tapi dalam pusing2 tu abahnya yang beli kasut ala2 mocassin kat primavera. mula2 dia teragak2 gak tapi atas desakan his 'women' maka bertambah la koleksi kasut dia. no worries, memang lawa pun kasut tu. last stop was the cold storage where he wanted to get, of all things, aji-no-moto. msg, thats the one thing that i just cant seem to wean him off - "takde maggi (in this case aji-no-moto) tak jadik mak". ish ish dia tak nak cuba pun nak kurang2kan penggunaan benda tu so nak wat camane kan... bukan bebudak nak ditegur lelebih. sidaro lak cepat je tangan tu mencapai sepeket 'fresh strawberries' yang bukan saja segar tapi gemuk2 betui. apa lagi kalau bukan pengaruh pasangan bahagia CT ngan Dato K lol. ya lah nak dip2 in chocolate gitu. akhirnya untuk kitorang yang basically lemah skit bab shopping2 ni kira sakan gak la hari tu.

Sengaja pun bagi peluang & ruang untuk anak beranak tu berbonding sbb i'm not the only one who'll be missing him. daddy's girl dalam senyap2 makan hati dok merindu; the boys pun macam tu gak sbb we're a close-knit family. so the spirit of together-getherness tu kekal sampai ke malam and as usual the last nite saw us all camping reramai sambil temankan babah packing barang2 dia - termasuk la abang long yang balik dari tanjong malim petang tu. as for AI kat alor gajah tu walaupun tak balik, he's only a phone call away and always close to our hearts.

Of course sunday morning tiba jua and by 7.30 am dah sampai pun kat KLIA. walaupun i'd rather stay till the very last moment to see him off tapi respecting his wishes, kitorang dengan berat hatinya just dropped him kat departure area tu je ("tak yah la tunggu sbb sedap skit hati abah bila dengar you all selamat sampai kat rumah sebelum abah bertolak"). masa dia nak sarongkan jacket ke badan, baru la kitorang perasan yang kasut baru cik Abe tu matching habis ngan leather jacket dia. wah tersengeh panjang abahnya dapat pujian (hensem ala2 hero hindustan gitu) tapi sidaro tu awal2 lagi siap warning, jangan ngorat2!! heheh dah tua2 ni tak payah nak bising2 sbb dah ada orang take over - in fact lagi brutal dari mama dia nampaknya. sempat la sedapkan hati yang tersayang sebelum dia berlepas bila kitorang 3 beranak sampai kat shah alam dengan selamat. lepas tapow breakfast terus balik rumah sambung tido.

SUNYI sesunyi2nya.

Legaa

Hah, ringan rasa otak bila dah tahu sikit sebanyak whats wrong with my right shoulder.... maklum saja la macam2 penyakit dah timbul zaman millenium ni. sometimes the unexpected happens so kena laa ready2kan minda untuk apa saja kan. kang terkejut badak kang susah pulak kan lol.

Semalam pepagi lagi golfman and I dah bertandang kat SJMC's imaging dept. walaupun my appointment was set at 11 am tapi i was advised by the nurses to try my luck by coming early. selalunya kalau yg sepatutnya datang tu lambat, they always slot in saper je yang ada kat situ. and memang betul pun... i heard my name called around 9.30 am and after a brief wait at the MRI lounge, i was already being asked politely to strip and don the std hospital garbs - alaaa the kind with lots of ribbons tu. with my bad arm siksa gak la nak ikat2 kat belakang tu, nasib baik just the top part je (i got to keep my skirt on lol) kalau idak lagi susah nak make sure terikat sampai kebawah.

Walaupun MRI ni sebenarnya takde apa2 pun tapi for a first timer suspen gak la. The operator (or what is it you call the person manning the machine ek?) was a very nice lady... friendly & reassuring. agaknya dia nampak kot makcik nih dah mula cemas & kecut perut, walaupun i honestly thought the cool & unconcerned air i was putting on was working lol. she explained about the intermittent loud noises that i would be experiencing and that it was during such times that she needed me to keep absolutely still. weh risau gak la tak boleh duduk diam2 sbb i was still having this rather gerrulous sore throat that brought on coughing fits right out of the blue. and before she pushed the button that was to slip me into the cavenous depths of the machine, she armed me with 1. a buzzer in case i needed to catch her attention 2. huge headphones (then playing soft sentimental music) to cut off the noise. heh but i tell ya theres nothing that can stop the assault to your eardrums once the twanging starts lol.

Once i was in there, the only thing that stopped me from feeling like i was locked up in a coffin was the fact that the cavity was lighted. whew, for people who are claustrophobic, its definately not a place you'd want to be in. sempit gak laa... got me to wondering kalau jenis badan betui2 huge tu kot tersengkang ke bila masuk? And all through the half hour 'ordeal' (which actually wasnt all that bad cept for the fact that towards the end, my muscles started to cramp up from the all the inactivity lol), i kept thinking about how it must have been for my 2nd son when he had to go through the same experience 2x. he was so young that first time, barely 1 year old when they wanted to check out his infarcts - it must have been awfully scary for him all alone in there poor kid. and the second time was around 10 years old when he kept complaining about headaches. turn out he just needed specs, thank god.

I was dressed and back at the waiting area within 30 mins. the worse part was actually in the 'waiting' that came after that. surprisingly, it took them about an hour to come up with the report. nak buat macamane ramai sangat pesakit yang perlukan 'imaging', so masa tu dengan serta mertanya maka ranap la segala angan2 nak balik awal melepak kat rumah. sbb bukan setakat itu je, lepas tu nak kena gi ngadap specialist lak so bertapa je la kat hospital tu nampaknye.

Dapat je report terus we sneaked a peek..... macam la terra sangat tapi i was reassured gak la sbb the words that kept jumping out at us was 'unremarkable' which we gather must mean 'biasa je' la kot. And true enough the good doctor later informed us, i just had imflammed tendons and takde la yang terkoyak ke terhimpit ke atau berbagai2 'ter' lain yang lebih menakutkan. alhamdulillah. she lined out a game plan which was quite acceptable to me. the main objective - get rid of the imflammation. i was to continue taking the anti swelling/pain/inflammation meds for the next 3 weeks and i was to abstain from putting my shoulder through any kind of exertion. kalau masih sakit then its the steroid jab and kalau tak baik gak then its surgery to cuci2 kat joint tu. shessh... of course i'll be good doc. this time i promise not to 'cheat' and sneak in an aerobic session or three lol and i'll try my utmost best not to aggravate the tendons because i definitely do not want to go anywhere near the 3rd option - surgery!!

Alas, all this means absolutely no aerobics or weights for 3 whole weeks and now for me that's certainly a very long time. tapi...... nasib baik la gak i'm still allowed to run!!!!!!! the doc thinks the arm swinging that comes with the running shouldnt cause any problems so woo hooo, ada harapan la tak terus jadi sedentary gitu. with my oh so healthy appetite and no outlet, seriau gak tetiba jadi tong lak nanti hehehe.

The gist of MRI report :

Moderate signal hyperintensity is seen in the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons. No loss in the continuity of these tendons are demonstarted.
There is mild surrounding pertendinous free fluid.
The rest of the rotator cuff tendon appears unremarkable.
The shoulder joint is normal in allignment.
No obvious marginal osteophytosis or labral tear.
The acromio-clavicular joint appears unremarkable.

Impressions Supra and infraspinatus tendonitis.
No obvious osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint seen.


Heheh... tu la kata, legaaaaaaaaa :)

Setback

Baru jer seronok2 nak kembali berblog dah terkena pulak serangan virus-virus yang tengah ganas melanda my little corner of the world. cadangnye nak balik menjenguk pakngah & makngah osso abg din (who's actually another uncle but he's been my 'abang din' since i was a wee kid) kat sitiawan and i've even applied for leave from work midweek tapi lain lak jadinye. terdampar layu like a fat cow tak jumpa rumput seminggu, high on meds & cough syrup lol. bukak mulut je suara bukan setakat serak2 minah rock (that would have been pretty kewl) tapi lebih teruk dari bapokz siam lagik you!! and the coughs that racked my poor ole tired body... nak terjojol biji mata dibuatnya. but, the worse is over thank god, tinggal this very the degil phlegm that's plaguing my anak tekak.. nak buang tak boleh nak telan tak pergi. ish, rimas betul.

I still had a go at my aerobics class yesterday and alhamdulillah masa terkinja-kinja tu idak pulak terbatuk hehehe. kira ok ler tu so i'm slowly easing my way back into my workouts. if i'm to run in september i must start doing something soon nanti belum pun halfway through dah terpancit!!!! now that cannot happen laa must keep the 'makcik' spirit up lol

Oh and my shoulder isnt getting any better sad to say. masa flu tengah at its peak, habis satu badan sengal2 and my right shoulder ni apa lagi...... nak bergerak lebih skit pun sakit giler siot!!! to the extent that my old man kinda seret me for another check up (long overdue i might add) at SJMC last friday and since the pain seem pretty persistent, the doc wants to investigate further before deciding on a line of action. so i'm slotted for an MRI tomorrow. seriau gak ntah apa yang happening kat dalam tu kan tapi better to know then to have it all samar2 je gitu. takkan asyik nak kena steroid jab je ya tak?! doakan k. susah gak going around with a half functional right shoulder ni. paling terasa masa nak bayar toll or masa nak hulur smart tag. tangan ni tak dapat nak extend fully, terasa macam makcik berlagak hulur tangan acuh tak acuh laks heheh. dan kekadang terasa pulak macam orang cacat. aduh siksa sungguh rupanya ya.

Setiap hari sentiasa bersyukur keatas segala nikmat & rahmatNya.

Runs

I embrace august with fondness for it not only marks the independence of my tanah tumpah darah but 2 years ago, it was this month that i'd put my foot down and told myself firmly, "enough is enough"!!!!! it was time i stopped abusing my body and started taking full responsibility over the state of my own health. now the miracle was not in my realisation of that fact because i was after all well over 40. noooo... it was that i actually listened to myself for a change lol (any hardcore procrastinator would appreciate what that really means)!!!!

I'm consistently active now compared to the couch potato makcik i was back then. and like a potato i only rolled when i was pushed lol or when i panicked everytime there was the slightest hint of chestpain. now i get restless if i dont sweat like a hog ... ugh, horse i mean, a couple of times a week (not including the nightly romps when the man is home). alaaaa... bukan macam professional runner gitu, gilerrr dah ganyut lol tapi saja seronok-seronok set simple targets and pushing the body to meet them. cukup la sekadar a 3-4 km run 2-3 times a week or 5-8km on a good day. selangseli pulak dengan 1 hr 'fun' aerobics 3 times a week. yeah, these days i'm feeling so much better with myself and memang betul la, we mellow with age and you get to enjoy a lot more inner peace then before. its like you gradually leave behind whatever remaining angst or excess emotional baggage you'd been lugging around once you cross that 40's threshold. at least its that way for me, thank god. in fact theres so so much to be thankful for - syukur alhamdulillah.

Walaupun i'm not really up to running races tapi seronok gak check up on the upcoming runs and from the many that's listed, there's 2 that somehow tickles my fancy: the putrajaya international marathon & the larian shah alam. putrajaya bcos theres always lots and lots of categories & prizes up for grabs (including veterans like me) and shah alam bcos i'm a resident (duh!!!) lol. unfortunately these 2 runs are always scheduled pretty close together and to top it all, this year, its on the same date - september 10th!!!!! alahai... i'm gonna miss out on the putrajaya thingy again laaa nampak nya!!!

I'm back

Its been a while. in fact its been a looooooooooooooooooong while lol.

Pejam celik pejam celik dah pun Ogos. bulan merdeka. a month to regale in our country's independence (our 49th right?). to appreciate the courage & sacrifice made by our forefathers. to remind ourselves just how lucky we are to be free. yeah. beautiful thoughts indeed but in the end, the extent of our patriotism would mainly consist of putting up multiple flags on our multiple cars and multiple properties. even the colourful independence day parade sometimes garners just a cursory interest. ya memang ramai yang, dengan penuh semangatnya, akan keluar dinihari lagi untuk menyaksikan perarakan kemerdekaan, tetapi ramai juga yang, dengan penuh semangatnya, akan mengambil kesempatan untuk 'sleep in' dan tidak menghiraukan pun tayangan secara langsung yang diadakan di kaca tv.

Oh and did i forget to mention the merdeka sale frenzy... and our unflailing support for it?!!

Tapi nak buat macamana? the further away we are from that historic event the tougher it seems to 'feel' any of its impact. especially with our freshly bred 'instant gratification' generation.... it has as much effect as a fairy tale or a folk tale or whatever. even the escalating zionist atrocity isnt getting us out of our seats longer than the initial outrage.

Ntah la. Nak betulkan pun tak tau where to start. And so life goes 'merrily' on.

On autopilot

Yeah i'm still alive and for the most of it, doing quite ok.

Its just that on a more personal level, i seem to be on some sort of autopilot right now. dunno, probably the body's reaction to this ever growing ache that has started from the depths of my soul and is slowly spreading.

I'm in limbo...... just existing. almost a shadow lurking through this passage of time that has suddenly turn thick, murky and motionless on me. the thing is, if i was a single entity to begin with i would manage just fine but i'm part of a whole and i'm missing the half that completes me.

Its been almost 3 months, I need my man with me.

Bomb scare

At around 10 - 10.15 am today all the 'warga kerja' of the selangor state secretariat were shocked by news of a bomb in the building. like lambs ready for slaughter everyone followed the instructions to vacate the premise. all very calm, very regimented with almost no hint of panic, and it somehow struck me that we were either a breed of very brave souls or too insulated by a false sense of security that the possibility of being blown to bits was just beyond our comprehension. i'm a little scared to admit that its probably the latter... scared because being in a state of denial doesnt auger well for a well prepared reaction in the face of such an event.

Just look at security. like most things around here it has fallen into the blow hot n blow cold category. sometimes security is tighter than a friggin a--hole but then there are also days you could sashay your way pass the gates, like a prostitute strutting her wares, without eliciting even a protesting blink from the guards. if one really pondered at what could've gotten through those gates, i dont think we could be sitting at our desks as serenely as we're doing now, almost without a care in the world. but we've always been this easily lulled by our peaceful environment plus the fact that violence has never been a way of life around these parts.

But is all that going to change soon?

Sigh.... dunno.

But at least for now, it turned out to be just another bomb scare. but then again, one can also get used to such scares..... and be lulled deeper and deeper into that false sense of security. until one not-so-fine day, kabooooooom!!!

Such gory scenarios belong to the movie screens and lets keep it that way. i dont think i much fancy having my grey matter splattered all over the rubble.

Mini domestic glitches

I woke up this morning to a leaking kitchen sink. sunday, when most plumbers are claiming their day of rest and prone to charging double if roused from it in any way. now whats a woman to do? she surely cant just let the already messy wet kitchen become any messier can she?

But first things first. its that customary morning run for her to put things in its proper perspective lol. i'd made a pact earlier with AH that we'd have McD's big breakfast if she'd trade her sunday snooze-in for some communal aerobic fun at the dataran shah alam. we even stopped over to pick up an 'anak buah' cum officemate who wanted to tag along.

After sweating it out and then filling up to the brim at McD's (sorta counter productive eh - exercise giler2 pastu makan sakan2 lol but hey, one's gotta eat kan), its back to the leaky sink for me. adeh.... susah takde handyman around nih. the boys pulak awal2 lagi dah lari sebatu when it comes to this sorta thing. problem computer or any of the techie stuff takpe but nope, nothing to do with the kitchen or bathroom. sheeeesh!!

A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do!!

The problem: leak, leak, leak.

The solution: lots of silicone glue to act as sealant at the joints and caulking thread to tighten up the dripping cleaning outlet. should work till somebody who knows whatever hell he's doing takes over lol


The Week in a Flash

Mon 15/05/06
- Buzy with the upcoming SOC. once done with the candles and stuff, its packing all manners of krepek2 into cute little goodie bags - pisang, ubi, bawang, kuih bangkit etc. tak tumpah macam assembly line kat kilang lol

Tues 16/05/06
- paperwork & more krepek-merepek heheh.
- 1 hr aerobics with malik yeehaaa, 20 mins treadmill/2km/150kj

Wed 17/05/06
-AI is now the proud owner of a driver's license yay!!!!!!!!

Thurs 18/05/06
- AF's trial run at paparoti alam sentral: 12 noon - 10 pm @ 2.50/hr. if he pass muster then its a month's partime job for him. when he's on a 'project' and needs to earn some xtra cash its mostly the food outlets for him. he says he likes food preparation and the feeling of going back to basics.
- had to forgo the teh tarik session with my semsas78 gang @ awan besar.
- 1 hr aerobics, again with malik but a rather mild session this time, probably targetted to the more sedentary members.

Fri 19/05/06
- AH had a friend's birthday party to attend and after picking her up we went straight to TGV bukit raja for the midnite screening of Da vinci code & MI3. the original plan was to leave her home with opah bcos of the adult rating for da vinci tapi tak sampai hati la plak so the boys went on ahead to breaking codes while we settled for the more predictable tom cruise.
- didnt really push myself yesterday so made up with an early morning run just before work
25 mins/3 x 1km lap

Sat 20/05/06
- theres nothing more mundane then chores and weekly marketing. fish, meat, poultry - into the freezer. garlics & onions - sessi kopek-mengopek sampai jadi calon pelakon airmata lol.
- was so happy when AH & AF decided to hit some tennis balls while i headed for the gym (AI paling mengelat when it comes to any form of physical activity - he chose to stay home and 'teman' opah, sheesh) @ KSAS. but at least its 2 out of 3 and they're moving their butts along with me lol.
35 mins treadmill/4km/300kj

Sun 21/05/06
- 1 hr aerobics plus 2 x 1km lap at the tasik

A blessed day

Happy Birthday Abe
Happy Birthday Abe
Happy Birthday Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Abe !!!!!!

Its the man's 48th and the first spent away from home but the kids doas & mine will be with him wherever he goes. Semoga Rahmat & Nikmat Nya milik mu senantiasa Abe ku saye :)

It's also AI's day of surprises..
i. he passed his driving test at first go (he was so certain he wouldnt make it thru the 'on the road' portion sbb asyik mati engine je sebelum ni - mat gabra hehehe)
ii. with the release of the UPU results today, by noon he was most happy to report he did get the course he had so wanted!!!!! he's pretty adamant about taking it up and letting go of the matrix offer. apa2lah anak, asalkan terus berusaha.

Seribu syukur. thank you for such a blessed day Lord!!

As for me i was fully occupied with more SOC related activities. mujur AF's home for term break so at least he's around to take over some of my 'supir' duties... otherwise its the taxi for AH. early morning saw myself and 3 others in banting (yea banting of all places) for the fitting of a 2 piece suit assigned to all ajks involved with 'protocol' duty. prior to this we were already given uniformed baju kurungs (nothing to get excited about since baju kurung was never a fav... but heck its free lol). then it was back to juggling work with more and more cenderahati preparation. the office is really starting to look like a bazaar!!!!

Didnt know AF was fasting and it was a good thing he had the foresight to get enough nando's chicken to go round. Sorry la ma sempat such a cincai breaking fast je yang. its one of those days.

Workout Update
Tues 09/05/06
- 1 hr utterly satisfying aerobics session with malik. berpeluh sakan and with his interesting moves, there was no room for boredom to set in.

Wed 10/05/06
- morning run 3 x 1km lap in 20 mins.

Thurs 11/05/06
- 30 mins aerobics abandoned halfway due to a boring instructor. continued at gym.
- treadmill work: 30 mins/3.8km/speed 9/250 kj followed by 5 mins/0.3km/speed6.5/30kj

On Procrastinating

Kita jadi tak bermaya bila banyak yang tertunggak.

Its easy for people like me to get into such situations. talk to another procrastinator and they'll know exactly what i mean. you let things pile up one after another and before you know it you're overwhelmed. its suddenly all too much and you just want to run away and hide while pretending you have everything under control. and its not like its something new... time and time again, you let it happen. and when you're heavy on the years like me, you sort of run out of excuses. for better for worse, you're a procrastinator and you learn to deal with it, somehow.

Top on my list was a story i'd promise some good people for a good cause. but try as i might, i just couldnt come up with anything remotely decent and i dilly dallied till the promised datelines came and went so many times that i wanted to puke!! heavy of heart i forced myself to face it no matter what and thankfully i finally did get it done walaupun tak sebaik mana. oh tersangat la lega nya sekarang and to my wonderful friend/s, thank you for being so patient with me and the best of luck in your endeavours!! anyway, now i can blog again instead of being ravaged by either guilt or remorse for merepek'ing when in actual fact, i should be keeping my promise :)

Next was setting up an appointment with the toyota car service. the avanza was due for its 22,000 km checkup and i kept postponing making that call. kononnya takut nak commit - maybe nak pakai la, susah nak arrange la, macam2 and i kept mum till the very last moment. AF needed the car to cart back all the stuff he'd accumulated during his 3 year stay in sg petani. and of course i wanted the car in tip top condition for him so that was what finally pushed me into action. shessh..... ngarut betui kan!!

Then there're those few bills that still need settling and for the life of me i cant understand why i'm shirking from it. susah sangat ke nak sumbat cheque into an envelope and pay off that cukai pintu hmmm? i guess a great part of my problem lies in my inability to make & stick to a decision. now indecision, in case you hadn't noticed, is a killer to action - "eh kirim je la payment tu - hmmm tapi kalau gi sendiri lagi cepat tapi kat mana pulak majlis daerah kuala selangor tu ek?!!? - ish kirim je la tapi where's that white envelope again? - eeek, dah lambat sangat ni kena pegi sendiri tapi bila?". By the time i decide to really act on it, the house kat bkt cerakah mesti dah kena sitta or something.

Dah 40 lebih pun tak tau2 jugak lagi?! its not that i dont bask in the the enormous relief or the heavenly bliss i get when i've acccomplised all my tasks, dreaded or otherwise!!!!!! tapi entah la ye.... maybe i secretly get off from all this head bashing but somehow forgot to clue myself in on it kot lol?!!!?


The Week in A Flash (01/05/06 - 07/05/06)

1st May - Labour Day.
- Meronda klcc with the 2 kiddos. mainly to cash out some leftover isetan vouchers Abe won for golfing which we spent mostly on japanese foodstuff... balik buat sendiri sushi etc. we then parked our butts @ kinokuniya, where we bumped into ikelah & dr in the house. memang tak sangka dan walaupun sekejap tapi best dapat jumpa kengkawan!!
- Didnt know they'd be closing down KSAS for labour's day so instead of the gym i detoured to the good ole tasik even though it was getting pretty late. had time only for a short run of 2 x 1km lap in 20 mins since it was almost maghrib and wasnt really a good idea to be huffing & puffing when the azan sounded.

02/05/05
- Tuesdays have always been something i loooked forward to bcos it would mean malik's rousing aerobic sessions. unfortunately this was the 2nd week we'd had to contend ourselves with another 'not so hebat' instructor.
1 hr of mild 'my-heart-isnt-really-in-this' aerobics.

03/05/06
- Buzy buzy day at the big O, no fooling around whatsoever. in between the never ending paperwork, persistent contractors and demanding bosses, there was also preparations for the up and coming SOC (senior officers conference) that selangor will be hosting this year. adeh... ponat den.

04/05/06
- Got the avanza serviced in the nick of time. the office driver was supposed to pick me up immediately after drop off at 8.30 but there was a misunderstanding or rather, miscommunication of sorts and i ended up waiting at the customers lobby till my car was ready round about 10.30 am. weeell, this things happen i guess but i would've taken a taxi if i'd known earlier.
- Aerobics scraped due to the DYMM Agong's visit so its the gym for me. Treadmill - 30 mins/4km/300kj @ steady jog speed of 8-9km and 10 mins/1km/80 kj @ brisk walking speed of 6-6.5.

05/05/06
- You just cant please everyone, can you?!!? I was to attend the tahlil of mak's close friend by maghrib, one which she herself couldnt (or wouldnt) attend. And i also had specific instructions to get a W800 sony ericsson for Abe's friend by day's end, for reasons best known only to him. Factor in the fact that i usually leave the office around 6-6.30 pm and and that i've AH to pick up from school by 7 pm - it didnt actually leave me much room to manuevre and a sure fire formula for turning up late... and late i was for the tahlil (but so were half of those who eventually turned up). i did try my best mak and considering the circumstances, believe me when i say i really really did.

06/05/06
- AF's back for the car and all my 3 children are with me this weekend, alhamdulillah. its a good feeling.
- Tasik morning run: 2 laps x 2km/40 mins plus another 10 mins stretching thrown in.

07/05/06
- AF's down with flu but still very determine to stick to plan and drive back to sg petani with GF & her sister in tow. Colleges are all generally having term break and coincidentally his GF is from sg petani so he has them for company all the way up north. and 3 of his mates will be hitching a ride on the trip back tomorrow. Tak kira la macamana pun, at least he wont be driving alone during both rides.
- AI was in one of his rare 'lazy dont wanna go anywhere' mood so it was female bonding time for AH & me lol. we got ourselves identical heartshaped silver pendants (wish it was platinum but it'll have to do for now lol) at alam central and basically just hung out at shah alam's main shopping triad - SACC, Alam Central & PKNS complex. and we lamented on the absence of a family based cinema in shah alam yet again. like AH was saying, teens her age still went about doing whatever it is they were accused of doing in cinemas, only now they venture further out like midvalley, one utama or klcc. so why not have it closer to home where its easier for parents to monitor their children's activities (if they really wanted to that is). couldnt agree with her more on that one.

Keeping Busy - HIS

The ways of keeping busy are many and varied... but for each their own lol

HIS: Work hard, play hard(er) - seems to be the motto for these men :)
There's nothing like a little healthy competition to ease away the boredom and to work off some of that accumulated stress. so the guys have football, snooker, bowling, ping pong etc all lined up.

The 'premier' semi-turkmen football team.... posing maut heheh

And theres also the more dignified & refined social functions such as get togethers, kenduris, tahlils and other activities, both diurnal and nocturnal!!


Oh, i know all you see are men but rest assured there are plenty of pretty ladies out there in ashgabat. tapi of course la golfman wouldnt want to push that fact into my face by sending me such pics kan lol?!!