Blogey oh blogey

I miss unloading to my blog every morning before work. it feels like i'm starting the day with less focus and loaded with unnecessary baggage aka perkara2 yg terbuku di dada. *sigh* wish the administrators didnt have to limit access to the net. wish i'd gotten the matter of the home puter settled eons ago. wish i had a more aggressive attitude towards solving my problems. yeah, its not just the puter, theres also the matter of the broken down aircond. its been leaking for months and i cant begin to count the number of times i've had to throw away those pails and pails of collected aircond 'water' lol. now it has progressed one step further..... it has refused to respond thru the remote and no, its not the batteries cos i've checked. so we still managed to get it going by switching to manual but now it's just blowing out air. as in an air blower and nothing with conditioning and cooling the air.

Hmmm.... i must get someone over to fix it, yes i must. but i've done nothing so far... and still doing nothing. its not about the money nor the 'leceh'ness of getting an aircond man over. *sigh* i dunno, its just weariness i suppose bcos we've had it fixed before, a couple of time in fact but still in the end i'm stuck with those pails and pails of water (yea i have this big unsightly red pail stationed permanently under said aircond unit). maybe its time we got ourselves a new unit? probably. in the meantime, its the fan in full blast and we stripped to the barest minimum. the heat is pretty unbearable these days. makes you sorta question about all the flooding we've been having. macam tak percaya plak with such drastic changes.

I never realised 2007 was going to start in such high high gear. so much work already and with just these pair of hands and single brain at my disposal. but come to think of it, its probly for the best bcos it helps in keeping me from pining for my man. my kids are starting to fully appreciate that old people still go thru the throes and agonies of 'loove'.... lol, the lovin' doesnt stop till the fat lady sings babes. but hey wait a minute, a lot of fat ladies sing well laa, so its not all that improbable now is it?!! so probly till pigs fly is more likely then lol.

Ahh this is what i mean about unloading my thoughts somewhere.. its just not as cluttered anymore and yeah, ringan skit rasa kepala ni. honestly, thats how it feels :) clutter, clutter, clutter... my ancient old brain's all cobwebby as it is. its feeels good to get rid of some.

AH was early today so i managed to squeeze in a 3k run this morning. now thats another feel good activity. i've been so busy lately my running has suffered but really, i'm not going to give in without a fight. lol the running stays!!!! but on the side, i dunno if its because of my increasing workload but i kinda feel i get pooped a lot easier & faster these days and not as energetic as last year. dare i blame the increasing years? is it really because i'm getting older or is it just an excuse i'm latching on to, like grabbing at straws? not that i'm not admitting to changes caused by age, like shrinking muscles, lost of tone blah blah blah i'm well aware of all that..... i just dont wanna use age as an excuse not to utilise my body to its fullest. gotta have more time to figure this one out tho. try out a couple of things before i can know for sure. but can one be really sure of anything? well, at least sure enough to be satisfied.

Ok enough time taken from work. we'll see if my new strategy of blogging works for me i.e. unload my thoughts to my redkebaya gmail addy every morning or whenever i feel the need, access the email whenever the kids are home with their laptops (or when i finally decide on which puter to buy), copy & paste the postings to my blog. it'll be updated in batches but its better than nothing i guess :)

Sheesh why cant i get this Full House tune outta my head. yea i think korean women are generally prettier than japanese (a personal opinion, no offense intended - just like i find body shop's spring orchid more pleasing to my senses than moonflower) while japanese actors are hotter. put 'em together and i guess the fireworks should be more spectacular. but whats with all these 'chaste' kissing from the koreans/japanese!?! its like watching 2 pursed lips being put together, takde feel langsung lol.

Yeah i feel good n life's great, syukur. and i dont need no valentines day to remind me of the ones i love. i love them every single day of the year and i make sure they have no doubts about that.

With every breath do i love thee :)

Rediscovering His Roots

Yup thats what he did when we took off on a short family vacation back to the east coast.

Golfman has never really been enthusiastic over the subject of balik kampung be it mine or his. but thats fine since both of us have made shah alam our 'kampung' anyway. Its been even more workable since our parents have also moved here. Years ago the hubby and his siblings (who are all working in Klang valley) had somehow convinced his parents to leave temangan and become city folks instead. together they bought an apartment for mek & cek and even after cek died mek is still staying there within easy reach of all her children. As for mak, she's been staying with me ever since i gave birth to my second child. so like i said there isnt much cause to be going back to kampung except perhaps to visit relatives once in a long while.

So you can imagine my surprise when he suggested going back to kelantan!! gawd, i've been trying to drag him there for ages. kelantan is a great place to visit... apart from his makciks, pakciks & cousins, i could also squeeze in a lot of cheap shopping sprees hehe. anyway without wasting any time i quickly applied for leave and rounded up the children, warning them to
be ready for anything. first of all it was the rainy season and since johor was already having floods, it was just a matter of time before it hits the east coast. next, even if it was right into the school hols we didnt believe in making reservations so we might very well just end up as backpackers. and to their credit the kids were very cool about everything. probably because they were bored out of their skull and cant wait to leave lol.

Abe was in a great mood all the time we were travelling and that certainly bode well for the trip, after all grumps was his second name. we took the gua musang route on our way down and made our way home via the coastal road. lucky for us the rain was manageable and according to the locals the possibility of flooding was still rather slim since it was raining intermittently and wasnt heavy either so it was quite a blessing for us since that made for really cool windy weather.

It certainly was a trip down memory lane for the hubby because we covered all his fav old joints and the places where he grew up.... home, school, park, the stretch of river where he'd once saved his younger brother from drowning, rail tracks, bendang, the office where he had his first job, his favourite nasi dage place, rumah sewa and loads others. coincidentally, we were also married in kelantan because back then my dad just happened to be the CO of the army camp there.... so memang banyak memories.

We've been back before but never as thorough as this so my theory is, the hubby, after travelling far & wide and becoming decidedly more jaded and cynical had
decided that before he lost sight of whats really important, it was time for him to
rediscover his roots and in the process, rediscover himself.

After 2 nites in KB and all that behind us, we we were all set were all set for the next phase of
our trip, a little beachcombing interlude. and where else if not at awana kijal?! there were
signs of swollen rivers as we crossed over from kelantan into trengganu but it still wasnt too
bad. while at awana we were blessed with sunny weather but the seas were a little too violent
for comfort. but we didnt really mind because the pool was good enough for us. whenever he's
around as chaperone the hubby has always encouraged me to swim so there i was donning on
my old swimsuit & tights along with my daughter. surprisingly, even the boys joined in. as
they grew older the boys had always avoided the pool but not this time, no excuses were cooked up. it certainly turned out to be a real 'family holiday'!!

Another 2 nites in awana and it was time to leave. the hubby had a game lined up sunday
morning but we couldnt ask for more because he had given his all during the short holiday together... yup, absolutely no golf whatsoever and that for him was a great 'sacrifice' indeed.

Mak didnt want to come along and even though i was worried i didnt want to force her. where she was concerned, she does what she wants. thank god she had my cousin stay over all the time we were gone otherwise i wouldnt have been able to enjoy myself as much as i did.

And after all thats been said and done, its still good to be back.

Snow in December

Guess where yours truly & kiddoes were freezin' our butts off this school hols?


Well........


Certainly not the US,


nor the UK,


or russia,


Neither was it turkmenistan.... after all tis no big deal to be having snow there in december.


BUT believe it or not, we were all frolicking about in the snow just beyond our back yard - at the 4 season house in Taman Cahaya Sri Alam, Bukit Cerakah. yeah it was still a lot of fun even if it was only man made snow lol

Week ending 17/12/06

YES... me darlin's home this weekend yay yay yippeee yay. ETA - KLIA, Saturday 12.15 pm :)

Forget the fact that i've been up to my nose with paperwork these past weeks and
forget also that the bosses as well as contractors have all conspired to hound me for payments and such. after years on the job, all the ruckus and madness that comes with the year's end doesnt affect me as much as it used to. yeah its an important time before they close the accounts for the year and you do the best you can to help out but pls, we need to be realistic about the whole thing.

if the other depts decide to take their own sweet time in preparing the documents but later expect us to check and approve the stuff at the snap of their fingers, well, they better think again. concede to the pressure and one's liable to end up in deep shite. when it comes to public money, better safe than sorry is what i say.

Its absolutely wonderful to have the man back where he belongs.... and even if i already foresee great missing chunks from my running schedule it just doesnt compare to being with my man lol

Weekly exercise log
Mon 11/12/06
- 4K morning run @ Tasik SA

Thurs 14/12/06
- 3K morning run @ Tasik SA

Week ending 10/12/06

Its a sad sad time for the family.

After weeks of being sick, despite frequent visits to the vet, chewy aka chewbaka OGB
passed on to that special place all animals go to when their time has come. i've been told more than once that cats usually go away to die, but not chewy...

He died on on mak's bed surrounded by all of us who loved him dearly. the kiddoes were quite stricken to see him nazak up till the moment he drew his last breath - 12.10 am, thursday 07/12/06. immediately after subuh, we buried him at the foot of the hill right in front of the house.

Chewy leaves behind cartloads of wonderful memories. Its just Nico now.... and right now, nico seems just as bereft as we are. but life goes on and the kiddoes are taking it not quite as badly as i had dreaded, thank god. death in any form is never easy but a life lesson nevertheless.

Weekly exercise log
Tues 05/12/06
- 30 mins aerobics @ SUK lobby

Sat 09/12/06
- 2 laps total 8K @ Tasik SA

Sun 10/12/06
- 30 mins aerobic @ Dataran SA followed by 4K @ Tasik SA

Week ending 03/12/06

It was a busy week.

How would you react when your friend's wife confides in you of her suspicions that he (your friend) is two timing her? Especially when you know in your hearts of hearts that he's the type
of person who could be capable of such a thing, and thus the absence of an immediate denial? How do you douse that sympathetic light from your gaze when you're telling her to give him the benefit of the doubt? And how do you deal with the loyalty bound by friendship to your friend and the sympathy you feel over the wife's plight?

*sigh* right now, this is certainly not a good place to be. infidelity kills a relationship, indiscretion maims it.

Weekly Exercise Log
Mon 27/11/06 - Rest

Tues 28/11/06 - 30 mins aerobics @ SUK lobby

Wed 29/11/06 - 2km easy run @ Seksyen 7 beaten down track (MBSA do something!!)

Thur 30/11/06 - Rest

Fri 01/12/06 - Rest, yet again

Sat 02/12/06 - 8 km run @ tasik SA track, hours of mindless walking @ pikom, klcc convention centre.

Sun 03/12/06 - 4 km run @ tasik SA.

Week ending 26/11/2006

I hate it that the PTB (powers that be) have suddenly decided to ban blogspot and most of the other blogging web providers. i find that my thoughts seem to be flowing that wee bit better in the mornings.... bila dah malam timbul rasa nak releks je and any thoughts of venting or ranting just seem too tiring and energy consuming lol.

I still havent gotten back to the activity level that i want to be. of course ramadhan brought along with it an anticipated break in rhythm but the almost never ending fiesta that inevitably follows in ts wake is something most of us can do without. i dunno, we humans somehow have this natural talent for corrupting and desecrating anything thats remotely beautiful. take ramadhan for example, for one solid month we tout the virtues & wonders of fasting, abstinence and empathy with the poor & those less fortunate than us. then comes syawal and we're suddenly struck by a frenzy of eating, drinking and being merry and it goes on, with a vengeance, for the rest of the month. in some twisted & convoluted way we seem to be declaring to one and all, to hell with the fasting, the abstinence & the poor. that was just for ramadhan and this is reality.

Sigh. i've always wanted to vent about how syawal should stay as bulan ber'maaf2an' instead of evolving into bulan ber'makan2an' (such a word doesnt exist but you know what i mean). i think one of the major culprit is the newly adapted phenomenon of 'open houses'. out of convenience rather than necessity, city folks who had previously returned to their hometowns for eid, 'open' their houses so to speak at a certain date and time so that the joyous occasion can also be shared with neighbours & friends. the logic being, instead of having people drop by unexpectedly, it only made sense to invite them all in one go..... and of course once you invite people over you do the decent thing and provide them with enough food & drinks.

There are many who, like me, still prefer to leave the invitation open but judging from the number of invitations that i get come syawal, open houses have certainly come into its own and is a resounding success. the hosts are happy, the friends are happy, everybody's happy happy and its certainly a good thing. its just unfortunate that during the unfolding of this phenomenon, too much importance have been placed onto the merry making, the eating & drinking; so much so that it's somehow become the main focus. the shift has been gradual but unmistakable. tell me, what's the first thing that comes into your head when a friend calls that he/she's coming over? surely its 'la apa nak jamu diorang ni ya?' or something to that same effect isnt it? because societal expectation has been raised and the situation has evolved beyond the customary 'kueh raya' into the realms of providing something 'heavier' and more substantial. It shouldnt be our first consideration. both sides should focus on the 'bermaaf2an' part and propogating friendship & ukhwah. if by chance there's also fried mee or currypuffs then alhamdulillah syukur nikmat Allah :)

Now back to discussing my running.... certainly a long and winding road lol. midlife brings with it a certain tendency to be easily distracted. yes its been 2 months and sadly, i'm slowly moosying on back to my regular schedule. i have to squeeze in more of the morning runs because in the evenings, i've started taking my litlle girl briskwalking along the track. yup, taking full advantage of the school holidays and her burgeoning awareness of the state of her own body. heh, before long i'll be getting meself a new running buddy ( i hope).

Blame it on the hormones

I'm a feminists' nightmare... at least the western idea of one and probably dianggap kuno, archaic, old pesen tapi tak kisah la kan. i just dont believe in absolute equality between gender, not the 'everything you do i can do equally well' kind. no definitely not everything sbb in the first place, we were made different and to take on different roles. hakikatnya kita memang telah dijadikan untuk saling lengkap melengkapkan. half of a complete whole... like ying & yang kot. kalau lelaki sinonim dengan 'brute strength' perempuan pulak sinonim dengan 'endurance', that sorta thing.

Like running for example. lets not talk about the professionals since they've reached the level of 'lean mean running machines' lol tapi kita yang biasa2 ni. kalau nak di ikutkan, kaum hawa sikit sebanyak akan dipengaruhi oleh cycle bulanan yang dihadapi mereka maklum la menstruation brings about fluctuations in our hormone levels. so ada masa things are ok dan ada masa not so ok. nasib la kalau ada pulak important event lined up masa tengah dok senak2 tu kan?! tapi something i read previously made me feel i actually had an advantage and that the fluctuating hormones i'm stuck with aint so bad after all :)

Performance VS Menstrual Cycle (i've summarized it for my own convenience).

Day 1 to 13: Follicular Phase
- low estrogen level
- encourages breakdown of CARBS therefore quick energy bursts.
- will generally feel active & energetic
Phase more suitable for:
- activities related to speed & intensity
- tempo workouts
- interval training

Day 14: Ovulation

Day 15 to 28: Luteal Phase
- high/stable estrogen level
- encourages breakdown of FATS therefore slower, more sustained energy.
- will generally feel sluggish, tired, lethargic
Phase more suitable for:
- activities that are slow & consistent
- long distance workouts
- low intensity training

Hmmmm.. apa2 pun during the first few days of the period, i usually just do light exercises. at my age i dont really want to aggravate anything... but i find that running really helps reduce the uncomfortably bloated feeling that one usually gets a week prior to it. understanding ones body helps in lessening the burden we tend to put on it.

Workout Log.
4 small laps= 4km = 40 minutes.
i hate running in the late afternoons.... the heat just zaps at my energy tapi for now i cant seem to be able to squeeze in anything before punching in for work. its the late nites; its making me wake up all groggy in the mornings. gotta do something i guess.

Scary

Ooops I did it again...

Its actually quite scary when you get these friendly little reminders from the AlMighty telling you that you're not really as in control as you'd like to think. when i attended that wedding reception the other day.... i found out i'd left the window on the passenger's side wide open!!! and that was after a long and enjoyable eating and socialising session of course, plus the fact that i'd earlier had to park quite a distance away at some godforsaken corner. berderau darah bcos anything could have happened the worst surely being finding an empty spot where my avanza should've been!!! alhamdulillah Allah masih sayang... except for the great gaping window, everything was as it should have been, intact. even though i was quite sure i had secured everything before leaving, i didnt even notice the window. maybe i was getting a little cocky and He wanted me to be on my toes again.

And today right after work, as i was reversing my car like i've always done a 1000 times before, i found myself ramming into the back of my officemate's daihatsu!!!!! omg, now where did he suddenly spring from?!! i really had the shock of my life bcos i was so very sure there wasnt anything back there. now talk about ngangok!!!!! driving is almost second nature to me and for me to be so careless is almost incomprehensible..... but thank god neither of our vehicles were actually damaged and the poor guy was nice enough not to be mad at me either. i'm thinking of getting him something - maybe a cake with a great big 'i'm sorry' written across it.

Thank you for the gentle jolts oh Lord, i'll be more careful in the future and more mindful of what age is probably doing to my concentration and focus.

I'm feeling a little bloated and this time it has nothing to do with my period. its this non stop eating marathon that seems to associated with syawal. today alone has been declared 'jamuan day' by many - we had the state jkr's jamuan HR from 11 am to 2 pm and the SUK's 'open house' from 12 noon to 5 pm. talk about free flow of food!!! when is enough enough? another day or two and it should be comfortable enough for me to start running again. eewwww... i so hate this bloatey distended feeling. rimas giler.

Back again

Alhamdulillah we were finally able to put the puter woes behind us :) RK can now rave & rant all she wants again thank god!!

Just got back from almost an hour of sunday morning aerobics at the dataran SA. really needed to sweat it out, loosen the ole joints a bit and also be with people. no polite exchanges or talks about the weather, no... but to just be amongst living breathing people. you see, as of this morning, right after subuh to be exact, yours truly is again, missing her other half. he's off galivanting across part ocean part land, in his role as the 'orang minyak' again but beggars cant be chosers i guess... getting him back within the folds of the family for 3 whole weeks aint too bad. to be honest, i was steeling myself for a really really short break.. a couple of days before raya and a couple of days after so complaining is certainly the furthest from my mind lol. and at least we were all spared of the posibility of seeing him making sad little raya wishes through any of the media as is the norm with the perantauan people. we'd have had a miserable raya indeed without him - main reason being sbb tak pernah hayat something like that ever happened to us. dah termanja kot. my heart goes out to all those people who cant be with family during eid. must be tough... double triple tough.

So in all my smelly sweaty glory i sit here mensyukuri segala nikmat yang telah dilimpahkan oleh NYA. semoga di panjangkan umur dalam keimanan yang teguh, kesejahteraan yang tak berpenghujung dan kesihatan yang terbaik... amin.

Thing to do today:
1. Switch the old road tax for the new before taking the avanza anywhere... otherwise deal with the law.

2. Wedding reception of SZ's kid in ampang/keramat.... 1st wedding from my absm gang. needless to say i will be attending the reception even though crossing over to the other side of KL fills me with trepidation. seriau nak venture across the great divide hehehe (speaking like a true daughter of shah alam yg malas nak pegi mana2).

3. Avoid moping about like a sick pussy. opps, that didnt come out quite right now did it even if i am a true blue cat lover.... so its sick puppy then i guess lol.

MIA

Its been a month since my last entry..... dari tak posa dah seminggu lebih pun kita msuk kebulan ramadhan almubarak. namun RK ni masih lagi la tangguh2 nak baiki pc. unless and until i do something about my home puter, i'm at the mercy of the kiddoes & their laptops. kat ofis tu memang sah tak boleh nak berblog lagi dah semenjak dua menjak ni (we have restricted internet access now) so harapkan bebudak tu aje lah. tapi almaklum la student, walaupun si AF is home almost every weekend tapi sibuk buat assignment so nak kacau pun tak sanggup. thus the almost abandoned blog.

Rasa macam banyak nak citer tapi dah dapat ngadap puter ni otak tetiba beku la pulak hehehe!!!!

Nampaknya sekadar mengucapkan to one and all - selamat mengindahkan ramadhan almubarak ini bersama. semoga dilimpahi nikmat & rahmat NYA.


p.s. Abe, cant wait to have you home for posa & raya :)

Wedding Triology

Last nite was the final episode of the S & I wedding triology. waduh waduh meriah sungguh majlis yang telah diadakan di Sheraton subang jaya tu!!! graced by the presence of the MB as well as other state dignitaries, it was an occasion laced with protocol but luckily not accessively so. you know how that sorta thing can turn 'boring' in the split of a second kan.

Oh but the bride, the bride!! clad in sweet pink, shirly was resplendent and a vision indeed. not that the groom wasnt handsome or anything... imran too was splendid, tall (6 footer for sure), handsome, ever smiling but, it was shirly's nite. she just 'glowed'!!!!! memang jelas terpancar kebahagian diwajah kedua2 mempelai.

And the 'surprise' that both the father & mother of the bride had in store for the young couple & all the guests surely topped it all. guess who they had serenading away, to the absolute delight of all that were present? ANITA the Diva no less!!!!!!! i almost dropped off my seat when she hit her first few notes lol. anita singing at a wedding reception?! wow... tabik la kak R & abang D, wa respek la sama lu heheh!!!! in fact anita later admitted it was her first such experience... and semata-mata untuk memenuhi hajat tuan rumah agar anakanda tersayang serta semua yang hadir terhibur and thus making it truly, a wedding to remember!!!

Again Shirly & Imran semoga bahagia & tawa mu berkekalan.

p.s. anita looking as she does at 54... aduh kita yang muda2 sikit ni terasa malu bila membandingkan diri. yea sure she's an entertainer & wajah mulusnya kurniaan tuhan tapi semangatnya, kesungguhannya and the passion that she seems to radiate - itu boleh diusahakan sepatutnya, tinggalkan nak ke tak nak, malas ke rajin. sooooo, what are you waiting for RK, go for it (even if you die in the process hehehehe) !!


Updates:
Putarajaya International Marathon
Date : 10 September, 2006 (Sunday)
Venue : Start / Finish – Dataran Putrajaya, Precinct 3, Putrajaya
Time : 5.30 am
Further details @ http://www.putrajayamarathon.com/rules.cfm

Shah Alam 10km Run
Date: 17 September, 2006 (Sunday)
Venue : Start/ Finish - Dataran Shah Alam, Shah Alam
Time : 6.00 am
Further details @ http://www.mbsa.gov.my/10km_run/indeks.htm

Penambah semangat

The boys are back for a week's break and its almost full house!!!!!!!

Almost but not quite..... wish you were here Abe.

Workout Log
Fri 01/09/2006
4 km tasik run - in the hot, swealtering, energy zapping late afternoon. gruelling... when will i ever learn!!

Sat 02/09/2006
4 km tasik run - in da morning as usual.

Sun 03/09/2006
4 km tasik run - thought of firing up my day with some aerobics at dataran shah alam, followed by a leisurely jog round the tasik, but one look at the boringly kelam kabut instructor (instructors have a rotational schedule of sorts.. and this particular guy sucks), i just kept right on running lol.

Reminder - Proper breathing

What is the importance of proper breathing to the the runner?
- taken from the Marathon Project @ http://www.advinc.com/~slik1/table.of.contents.htm

Well, now that you know how your respiratory system works, I can explain the importance of breathing techinique for a runner. You may notice that most world-class marathoners have a consistent breathing pattern. They don't look like they're working hard to breathe. That is because they have trained there bodies so that they can have a high rate of oxygen use by using as little exertion as possible. You're goal is to have a breathing pattern that can accomplish the same task, albeit at a lower-level.

If you were to try to eratically breathe through a marathon you could finish, but you would have wasted an incredible amount of energy breathing. Heavy breathing as explained in the above paragraph uses up a lot of energy, so you want to find a suitable and controlled breathing pattern. Most runners use a 2/2, 2/3, or 3/3 breathing pattern. This means that you breath in after two steps and breathe out after two steps. When you find a breathing pattern you should always train using the pattern so that it becomes second nature. You don't want to be thinking about breathing for an entire 26.2 miles. The breathing pattern will save energy and it will delay the time it takes for your body to burn up those carbohydrates (Higdon).

- just a personal reminder. gotta check on my breathing pattern the next time i'm out running... rasanya 2/2 kot not so sure.

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.