Usher the New Year

Dear friends and followers,

Sembang@Kay's wishes everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

May 2011 be a year we unfold new horizons, realize new dreams, rediscover the strength and faith within us.

Let's rejoice in simple pleasures & gear up for new challenges.

Wishing you a truly fulfilling 2011.....

Holiday Music

My iPod is shoved into my drawer and buried under the piles of work. It's not like I have forgotten about it, just that I have not been listening to music from it much. You know those of Ms Knowles, Mr Pitbull, Mr Usher - songs my children have religiously downloaded for Mommy. As they too share Mommy's iPod like all the time, it is no surprise you don't find Jamal Abdillah, Man at Work or Chicago and the rest of the 80s gang in any of the playlists.

Trust me, their songs can put you to so much embarrassment. There's just so much to read between the lines, there's just too much tuttt...tuttt....tuttt!!!

Oh yes, I do have my concerns when the nine year old innocent sista goes round the house humming a line of JustinB's - You Smile which sounds like this "you smile I smile.....whoaah....cause whenever..... you smile I smile.... hey, hey hey.... your lips....my biggest weakness..."

Ohhh...tak dak nak terpengsan ke Mommy??

Anyway, this Mommy has had her equal share of stress that came in different tunes of various octaves. And this Mommy wants to go take a break (like really bad...).

It's Christmas eve and tomorrow our Christian friends will be celebrating Christmas. Like always Christmas brings back fond memories of those crispy cold days when the daily highs lingered around 20 - 25degF. On midday, scattered flurries would make the surroundings glistering white, giving that magical feeling of festive joy. And when night came more snow would fall, enough to cause anxiety over travel advisory and road closures.

Those were the days; the good old days in the cold, cold Mid West. Unfortunately, we are not heading to any cold country this holidays (would love to go golek-golek in the snow for a change....sigh).

Closer to home, looks like it's going to be a wet, wet Christmas. I see dark clouds looming out my window now and just like yesterday and the day before, the sky is going to cry. Little rain is fine with me, just nice to make it less hot and humid for our travel.

Yes, I'll be off from work for a few days. Kenapa? Tak percaya? Will be traveling south again this Christmas. The plan is to drive down to JB and spend a night there before we cross into Singapore on Boxing Day. We'll see lah how things go, playing it by the ear this time.

Maybe we'll do some shopping, maybe we'll set out bird watching (huhhh...biar betul??) Eat , rest, sleep - that we must do and being with the family definitely makes the holiday special :)

This is what Mommy calls music to the ears!! Can it be in my Xmas list (err...playlist) please??

Merry Christmas and enjoy your holidays!!

Sweetie's Story - Part 5

Just after completing her studies at college, Sweetie flew off to Dubai. Some friends of hers were already based there and they have been asking her to join them. Sweetie just could not wait to leave the country; in her mind she wanted to move on, close the chapter on sadness enveloping her life here and begin fresh in the desert country.

Sweetie shared none of her plans with her family. No one knew she was leaving. She only told Sue and left a short note for her father. No explanations – just a simple good bye message. No matter how painful or troublesome, her journey would continue.

Sue was all alone after Sweetie left. She gave her blessings anyway, though she knew that didn’t mean much to Sweetie. Not a day passed without Sue’s prayers for Sweetie’s wellbeing. Sweetie was the only someone who was close to her in this world. Never mind if Sweetie never realized it.

Sue moved on too. She found a job in a retail outlet in town. Starting as a store hand, she slowly moved up in the company. In two years she was made assistant manager and often became exemplary employee for her thrust wordiness and commitment at work.

Worlds apart now, both girls kept in touch via emails and occasional phone calls. They shared their ups and downs, updates on local gossips but never a single mention about family.

Sue also learnt that Sweetie had started work at a hotel in Dubai. Work was challenging and that kept her occupied. From their chats, Sue gathered that Sweetie was very happy with her new life in the foreign country.

Each time when Sue asked Sweetie about her family back home, Sweetie would change topic and talk about something else. Every time when Sue reminded her to call her parents, Sweetie would get upset and keep her distance. Sue tried to reach beyond the emptiness of Sweetie’s heart but she had put a tight lock on the door.

"She is still your mother, Sweetie," advised Sue as she spoke softly to Sweetie from her end of the line.

"She's still your mother....no matter what. Dunia akhirat dia mak you Sweetie...."

Then there was silence. Sue knew that Sweetie was holding back her emotions. Sue could sense behind that happy front Sweetie was putting, her soul was empty. The warmth in her heart could no longer be felt. The past had hardened her; and her nasty and ugly relationship with her mother was turning her into a cold creature.

If only she could help bring back mother and daughter together again, she would be the most happy person alive. But she knew that, no matter how noble was the effort, a reunion of Sweetie and her mommy would never happen.

“There was still one last hope,” Sue said to herself.


Pray……and pray she did.

Sweetie's Story - Part 4

That day at school, students were buzzing about the surprise checks done on them. Amongst those sent to the Principal's office was Sweetie – a misfortune many had anticipated. In fact that wasn't the first time she was caught. Teachers found a pack of cigarettes in her school bag this time. She had been lucky all these while, but that day, there was no escape.

And as a result of that offence, Sweetie was sent for counseling sessions. She spent some hours with counselors, listening to words which were all too familiar to her.

"Great...just like at home when Mummy goes bla bla bla...." she thought to herself.

"What's the big deal about cigarettes anyway? Others smoke, even my father smokes!"

Sweetie was bored during these dragging sessions but she still sat religiously till they ended. She didn't want to pick a fight with her teachers. There were already enough problems at home and she just wanted to get over with school and then proceed with her own plans.

And it was at counseling session Sweetie met Sue.

Sweetie wasn't too sure why Sue was there, and she never bothered asking. But she liked Sue. There was something about this timid round faced girl that made her want to be friends.

That was the start of a beautiful friendship of this obverse pair. One was lost in life's bright lights and the other was groping in its darkness.

Academically, Sweetie and Sue performed average – sometimes they’d fail miserably and at times if they strived hard, they’d stay afloat. Sweetie never bothered much about her studies. She knew how to sweet talk her father on sending her to college once she finished her secondary education. Sue however had to work really, really hard if she wanted to pursue her college education. The orphanage couldn't possibly fork up money for her, not when they themselves were struggling to keep operating.

Sweetie once told Sue that she wanted to run away from her family. After her SPM exams, she got a part-time job in a boutique and was paid pretty handsomely.

“Aku nak lari lah Sue,” said Sweetie when they met after work that evening.

“Ishhh…jangan, nanti kau jugak yang susah. Mana kau nak tinggal Sweetie?”

“Ahhh…aku tau lah mana aku nak gi….”

Sue prayed hard before she went to sleep that night. She prayed that Sweetie would change her mind and would have some compassion for her parents.

“Ya Allah Ya Tuhan….tunjukkan lah jalan yang benar bagi rakan ku ini. Bukakan lah hatinya. Berikan lah ia hidayah dan petunjuk Mu Ya Rahman…..”

Those were Sue’s plea to God. In between sobs, during her sujud , she asked God’s guidance for her good friend. All she wanted was for her friend to be shown the right path by God Almighty. She could give nothing to Sweetie – money and wealth was beyond her means. It was only to God she could turn begging for mercy and compassion.

Maybe it was her prayers; maybe it was something else that happened, Sue wasn’t too sure. But Sweetie changed her mind many weeks later.

“Mummy aku tak sihat lah Sue. Kesian pulak….” explained Sweetie.

“Bagus lah tu. Kau berbaiklah dengan Mummy kau. Syurga dibawah tapak kaki ibu tau,” advised Sue.

“Hah…nak jadi ustazah lah pulak kau ni. Tell me about it, but if you have a rotten Mummy, where is the Heaven going to appear from?”

Sue kept silent. She could only pray for Sweetie to change. InshaAllah…one day God would lead her the way.

When they finally received their SPM results, as predicted, they both did average. Sue fared slightly better than Sweetie. Both applied to the same college and they finally managed to get in and then completed their diploma in three years.

Sue studied retail management while Sweetie did culinary arts. Sue was very surprised when Sweetie opted to venture the food industry. Never in her wildest dream that she would see Sweetie slogging in the kitchen, and much to her surprise, Sweetie did pretty well in college.

During the three years in college, Sweetie hardly spent time with her family. She seldom went back to that big house. Even during breaks she would work on campus and save money for room rental and food. Sweetie’s father would send her money, but obviously with her lifestyle, the money disappeared in blink. Sweetie had then become a chain smoker and had started frequenting clubs in the city.

There were times when they met Sue would ask Sweetie about her family. But Sweetie never had anything nice to say about them. Obviously her heart was still like an erupting volcano and she said she could never forgive her Mummy.

Later Sue learnt from Sweetie’s aunt that Sweetie’s dad had a stroke and was paralyzed waist down. Sue could tell that Sweetie wanted to be with her father, but she was still not at peace with herself and her hatred towards her mother, kept her from heading to the big house.

to be continued…..

~Sent from my iPad~

Sweetie's Story - Part 3

It was the day after that Sweetie always dreaded. Her body felt weak, her movements were sluggish and her head pounding.

But this wasn't the first time her body being abused so violently. She'd been punched before, kicked from side to side and even strangled by the woman whom she has no place in her heart. Sweetie had thought that age would have slowed the woman down. But no...she was still as forceful as ever.

And that woman was her own mother.

The bruises from their violent brawl had started to show. Her arms were blue black from the stick her mother had used on her. Had it not been for Sue, there would have been blood shed.

"She's in pain too, I know. Should have punched her a few more times. That would have given her a real good lesson," Sweetie explained to Sue.

"She's your mother Sweetie. How could you pick a fight with someone who's weaker." Sue spoke in so much disbelieve.

But she knew Sweetie - hard headed and always charging, one who would retaliate on the word "go". All these years she had seen enough. She could have just strayed away from Sweetie, but something in her heart said that she must try and save this poor lost girl.

"Kenapa kau gaduh dengan dia?" asked Sue.

"Kalau dengan perempuan tu, pasal apa lagi?"

"Pasal duit ke?"

"Tak...aku tak puas hati pasal rumah. Pasal apartment yang sepatutnya aku yang dapat. Tiba-tiba I got to know from my aunt that she dropped my name from her will!" yelled Sweetie.

Sue knew that Sweetie could never be at ease with her old woman, her own flesh and blood, but one whom she despise with all her might. Sweetie claimed that their feud had started a long time ago. She just couldn't see eye to eye with her mother. And to her mother, Sweetie was just another disappointment and embarrassment to the family.


Unlike her, Sweetie was born to a wealthy family. Her father was a top ranked government officer. The place they have outside the city was beautiful and huge. Sue had been to Sweetie's place a few times. When she was younger, she always felt that what Sweetie had was heaven. But now, she knew that behind all that glitter, there was no pot of gold.


Sweetie once said that her father, though he had loads of money, never enjoyed sharing it with the family. Sweetie could talk for days about her stingy father. They laughed at times on the jokes Sweetie made about her father and her plans on stealing her father's money.

"Banyaknya duit bapak kau Sweetie!" claimed Sue during one of their "happy hours".

"Alah...mana tah dia dapat duit tu. Aku rasa duit tu tak halal. Selalu je aku peratikan ada orang datang jumpa dia. Pas tu cakap bisik-bisik. Pas tu ada envelope they all bagi kat father aku."

"Dia ingat aku ni bodoh, dia tak tau yang aku ni buat-buat bodoh je...." replied Sweetie.

"Mak kau tak tau ke?"

"Alah...dia tau. But she's not bothered about my father lah. They all tu dah lama go separate ways."

"Hah? Parents kau dah bercerai? Elok je aku tengok bapak dengan Mak kau tu."

"Entah lah Sue....aku pun tak tau. Cerai ke....tak ke, tu they all punya pasal lah. Malas aku nak masuk campur dah. "

"But they are your family, don't you care?

"NO!!" shouted Sweetie to Sue again.

It was then Sue knew that Sweetie's safe heaven was only a glass menagerie. There was no warmth in the house. There was no love. Everyone was too busy with themselves - going their own separate ways.

Sweetie was as cold as her house and that explained the episodes of her traumatic life.

Unlike Sweetie, Sue's life growing up in an orphanage was no match. She was with pittance but she was never without love. She had no blood relations but everyone in the home was family.

Sue never knew who her father was. She once asked her Ibu at the orphanage of the family's whereabouts. Ibu said that they didn't know who her parents were. Sue was found on the steps of the surau near the home on a Friday morning when folks were about to perform their Subuh solat.

"Life can be such a mystery," Sue thought to herself.

"Sweetie has everything she could ever wanted in this world, but she's so alone. And I don't have anyone either in this world. Literally, I am all alone too...."

to be continued....

Related stories:

Sue's Sufferings

Sweetie's Story - Part 1

Sweetie's Story - Part 2

~Sent from my iPad~

Letting Go.....

It's hard letting go
But I must
Change doesn't happen

Hope is hopeless
Hurt is unbearable
Misery grows deep
Loneliness wraps the soul

Purple arms
Pathetic scars
Heart without husk

This small heart can't take no more
This small mind can't forget no more
Accept I must
Move on I will....

Que Sera, Sera....
Whatever Will Be, Will Be....

She's gone....
Whatever Will Be, Will Be....

Rock Request

Pat Benatar, Joan Jett or Ella? Who do I go as? And how would my attire look like?

That's the big question playing on our minds now ;)

Alahhh...bukan apa nya. It's our annual dinner coming up soon. Theme this time around is R.O.C.K with STARS. Who's gonna be rockin' - we shall wait and see. The STARS?? Ohh...we all are; some 800 plus employees of the company, such bright stars shinning..he he perasan nya lah kan!

We spent our last hour at work today, joking about how we are going to dress on the dinner night. Ada yang kata nak pakai old pair of jeans - yang dah faded, with a big tear on the knee. Ada yang wanting to come with leather jackets and boots. Wah...what an effort. Tak boleh jadi ni....I got to put some thoughts on what I shall have on me too. Maybe I'll get Farah to Google something suitable for Mommy's ensemble.

Specific requirements would be "cari yang depict rock suci" boleh? Wah....ni dah boleh buat ala-ala project runway ni! We shall see what the outcome is going to look like. Tunggguuuuu.........

~Sent from my iPad~

Sakit Lagi.....

"Ini touch screen kena tukar. Sudah teruk."

That was what my BB repair guy told me today. Just an hour before that my BB died on me. Whole screen went blank! My first respond was "I'm gonna be as dead as my phone!" It's the weekend and no phone?? Woo....that's gonna be tough!

"Kenapa jadi itu macam eh?" I asked the young fella. I pretty much can expect what his answer was going to be. Just checking...mana lah tau kot he'd give a different answer than what I suspect it was.

"Haiya...banyak guna, memang ini macam larr... FB, BBM summa guna. Jadi ini macam....biasa larr!"

Ishhh...kena lecture pulak dah.

"So bila bole ready?" I asked him.

"Selalu ah mau angkat SATU MINGGU bole siap. Tapi u punya pasal ah...Monday siap lah... U jumpa saya."

Well...what else can I say?? Pasrah je lah and wait patiently till Monday (urgghhhhhhhh......sufferrrrr!!!) It's almost 12 hours with no BB in hand.

Tau dah macamana rasa mamat / minah gian........ Adeiiiii.....:((

FiF - Finally It's FRIDAY

It's been a tough week. But I’m glad it’s almost over and I’m looking forward to feeling more positive next week!

So looking forward to the weekend. No plans nothing yet. Just gonna be chillin' and relaxin' with the kids. Perhaps we'll go for a spin in our lil' red....he he never mind *wink*

Have a good weekend people :)

Payback Time

The house is so quiet now. Everyone is deep in their slumber. Even the cats are wisely snoring away. Time now is 3.50am; unfortunately yours truly here is still wide awake. I have not managed to close my eyes - not even for a single second, albeit the screaming signs from this old body telling me to unwind and join the rest in slumber. There's just so, so much going on in my mind. Guess it's true when they say only when your mind is at ease; your body is ready to shut down. My mind however is still spinning so fast as if it could fall of its own axis.

So how on earth could I possibly close my eyes?

Yesterday wasn't a virtuous day at work. It started well but ended as if the world had crumbled on me. What a mess it is now and it was never meant to be so. A good intent had gone misinterpreted. I hate it when things are all jumbled up. I loath doing fire fighting and now the brain is working extra hard to find solutions to resolve the so much confusion.

And I for one does not like being in that state of mind. Unfortunately, free my mind I can't :((

My last two hours was spent BBMing a fellow colleague, trying to make sense of what is happening. Questions in our mind were similar - could trust the people around us or could they just be pure opportunist, putting up a multiple faced front and leading us to the pits? This is so, so difficult - trying to sort the right from the wrong, trying to establish friend from foe.

Well, as if being put in this terrible limbo isn't enough, another blow came later in the day. Another set back was brought to my attention; a project manager's worst nightmare. The disturbing news was conveyed to me - apparently "some people" are still not pleased with the service we provide them. Despite the coaching we've been giving, despite the patience and tolerance we've been showing to their not so smart team, despite the longggggg hours of laborious efforts to ensure our deliverables are satisfactory, they say that we have not met their expectations, contradicting the endorsement on the SLA. Awww....come on, stop being pretentious!! It’s a personal thing for it is a fact that they can't gobble my guts and my wits. And that's why they are now the sorriest two legged souls walking around. I may not be confrontational but I am certainly not blind.

Well, it's just too bad then if "some people" do not know how to behave professionally. It's just so pathetic if they do not know when and where to draw the line that separates personal from professionalism. They may be enjoying their triumph for now, but little did they know that the joke is on them. We shall wait and see who has the last laugh at the end of this long episode of nonsense.

Perhaps I should start turning a deaf ear from now on and stop entertaining ridiculous requests starting this very moment. So...we'll see what happens after this when no responses towards the text messages sent at those ungodly hours. Hence from now business will strictly adhere to my official office hours - too bad if they had to wait hours for the reply. No way I’m gonna get up from my slumber and entertain your 3.45am request anymore. Wait…just like the rest have to!!

So that’s it folks, Kay is cutting off the life line from now on. If you can’t get her, it means she is deep in her slumber.

It’s payback time, so you wait lah….

¤Sent from my iPad¤

Fry Day

It's Friday today. Everyone loves Friday, yes? The weekend upcoming celebrative feeling is obvious in each corner of the office. Everyone is elated, nak-nak kalau awal bulan masa bank account masih cantik. Semuanya hati berbunga-bunga planning activities for the Saturday and Sunday.

For some of us, on Fridays we enjoy that bit of little luxury at work – a longer lunch break. Longer break means the opportunity to go grab quick lunch, followed by some stress reliever activities at fave malls or outlets afterwards. And this quickie RT works like magic; trust me, coz' some two hours later one would see all smiling faces jay walking back to their work stations. Someone once told me that on Fridays you could even see kakak-kakak from Putrajaya thronging Nilai 3. Macam-macamlah yang boleh membantu jiwa kacau jadi reda agaknya ada di sana.

I guess for ladies who work in the city, Friday lunch break RT is fun. In that 2 hour 45 mins there are many outlets to go check out – dari KLCC to GE Mall to the everyone's shoppers paradise – Jalan TAR.

Tapi itu cerita kakak-kakak and adik-adik yang work in the city lah kan. Bagi yang work in the city outskirt (like me…like me!!!) tak de lah hebat gitu. Oh yes there are malls within a few minutes drive to go check out. But the thought of having to drive out, then fussing for a parking space and bad luck may just strike – a traffic crawl back to the office!! Urgghhh…stress yang tak pasal-pasal. And then masuk office terpaksa buat muka sedih lalu depan boss.

Kalau tunjuk muka dua puluh sen tu menjadi tak pe lah. Buat nya tak menjadi harus Friday bertukar menjadi Fry Day (as Pi Bani puts it my FB comments)

Sufferin' succotash!!! Ohhh….tidakkkkkk!!!

Sent from my iPad

The Star Online: Long queue to buy Apple’s wonder tablet

KUALA LUMPUR:

Hundreds of buyers queued up for hours for the launch of the Apple iPad at the Mid Valley Megamall yesterday.

They arrived as early as 8am before the official launch at 10am, so as to be among the first to buy the tablet in Malaysia.

Many employees were deployed to maintain order as long queues formed outside Apple's authorised reseller, Machines, at the mall here.

The iPad is designed to browse the web, read email, listen to music, browse photo albums, watch videos and read eBooks.
Eager beavers: There was a huge crowd at the launching of the Apple iPad at the Mid Valley Megamall in KL yesterday.

It features a large 24.6cm LED-backlit multi-touch screen and allows users to navigate through the Internet easily with specially programmed applications.

First in line was Kelvin Goh, 30, who took half a day off and rushed from his office after reading of the launch in The Star yesterday.

"I do not mind waiting as long as I get the iPad today. It is a Christmas present for a friend," said Kelvin who was initially supposed to go to Singapore to get the product.

Lecturer Mayudia Mohtar, 30, laughed hysterically after unwrapping the box containing her new iPad.

She said she had "run away" from work for fear that the stock of iPad would run out if she waited until after office hours.

Retired worker Lee Kian Toon, 55, however said the price of the iPad was a little too high.

"I have to admit it is a very good product but mass production should be able to bring the price down in the future," said Lee.

Communications officer Nataskia van Dam, 26, from the Netherlands. found the iPad very intuitive.

"Even my mum can use it. This is a Christmas present for my mum from my dad. She is going to love this one as she can read books on it," said Nataskia, who is visiting her family in Malaysia.

Mark Mcqueen, 46, said he could now use the iPad during flights.

"A 17-inch screen is just too big for me, especially in the airplane,"

"However, my wife is a bigger Apple fan and she is waiting at home to confiscate the iPad," said Mcqueen.

This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

Copyright © 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited.

My comment:

Queue? There was none when I got mine yesterday!

People must have not known that there is an Apple outlet - Machine in Sunway Pyramid.

But of course, I was there much, much earlier...he he he :)