Sembang at Kay's

Tiada Kata

2012-02-02T00:12:00.000+08:00

tiada peluang nak berkata
langsung tak sempat nak bercerita
asyik kerja...kerja...kerja
dah sebulan masih tak reda

berkejar ke atas berlumba ke kanan
hampir tersadung kaki di jalan
hati gulana mata lagi lah tak berkenan
segala idea banyak bangkangan

ehhh...apa mimpi nak berpantun?
cerita macam biasa je lah kot ia pun
hajat nak buat posting yang penuh santun
tapi mata dah ngantuk nak titunnnnn......

Many, many stories to share but......

Till I get back to my old blogging routine (and when will that be???), hope this picture will suffice for now.

Kick Start 2012

2012-01-09T13:50:00.006+08:00

It is down to just four of us in the house now. The two elder kids have gone back to college and with school back in session, Nissa's schedule is pack to the brim again. She's now in Year 5. My oh my....my little baby no more this girl. She has grown so much – bigger and already as tall as I am (but Mommy is petite (ohh yeah??), so I guess this does not make a good height comparison). When we went to buy her school stuffs late last year, it shocked me seeing the size of her school uniform. Even more shocking was her school shoes - those size 8 looked so gigantic on her feet.

We also have a maid now. After those many months of slogging and struggling with the house chores, Alhamdulillah, it was God sent when this Bibik came to us. It's kinda a long story how Bibik ended up at our place. Nonetheless, I am glad that there is someone helping out in that department. I am so relieved that someone will be home waiting for Nissa and ensuring she takes her lunch properly after school.

Bibik being new into our household, has quite a bit of catching up. I wouldn't say she's at par with my super duper Bibik Ton, but so far things are pretty much under control and the house is back to normal. Laundry is cleared daily and there are no more clothes bundled in the basket waiting to be ironed. The lawn is nicely swept and my work clothes are neatly pressed every morning.

I almost forgot how good it felt being the Ma'am again. Just like the other maids we've had, I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping that this one will work out for us. If in the last 8 months, I have been going against the odds shouting out of frustration that we don't need a maid in the house, ohhhh now...I hate to gulp the truth that in actual fact YES WE DO!!

Sad....but true......and left with no choice I am.

Drags of the Heart

2012-01-03T01:06:00.007+08:00

It is always difficult to get back to the old routine after a long break. I'm pretty sure most of us experience the drag, yes? Well, this was precisely how I felt once I woke up this morning.

WORK!!! Urgghhh.......must I?

This question has been on my mind for quite sometime. To go or not go; que sera sera...what will be will be.... Every time I was like adamant with a YES, like YES, make that exit, there is always a BUT that comes trailing along. Many BUTs in fact and as much as I try to shove them aside, they kept coming back.

I told folks at work - bosses et all that I was gonna be doing some "soul searching" during my absence from work. But they know me too well that upon my return that soul of mine is going to be recharged and all ready to be running the marathon@work. However, this time around, the feeling is different. Can't really pin point what is not right with this new deal, but......I just don't have a good feeling about everything. From the work place set up to the persons we are dealing with.

But as much as I'd like to disengage myself, there's the team that I am concern about. Who would take charge leading them? Who would hold defense from all those bantering? My heart goes out to them. On the other hand, i do not want to go through the laborious project cycle all over again. Not with this particular client - period.

And this deliberation is taking much too long......
Ohhh how unsettled the heart and mind are!

Sent from my iPad

Ushering 2012

2012-01-01T07:00:00.002+08:00

Alhamdulillah for another bright, new day. Complete with 24 hours of opportunities, choices, and attitudes…a perfectly matched set of 1440 minutes. This unique gift, this one day, cannot be exchanged, replaced or refunded.

Handle with care. Make the most of it.

Have a great year ahead!

Kenangan Terindah

2011-12-31T23:26:00.006+08:00

The happiest memories are of moments that ended when they should have ~ Robert Brault

Happy New Year to all.

Undisturbed and Unmoved

2011-12-24T21:23:00.008+08:00

Hello everyone!! We are back from the town famous with gorgeous townsfolk on the grey coast of Siam, where the Andaman Sea spreads beyond your eyes.

Krabi - what a stunning vacation it was. Undisturbed and unmoved; only filled with natural glory of white sandy beaches, coral reefs, mesmerizing islands, and forests with caves and waterfalls.

More stories soon.... :))

Not forgetting.....

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and may this festival bring abundant joy and happiness!

Vacation Time

2011-12-18T11:15:00.005+08:00

Greetings....from a Johor Baru :))

It's a rather wet day here down south. Both Nissa and I are on a short break in JB. Drove down from Shah Alam on Friday and it's our second day here today.

We did Universal Studios Singapore yesterday. It being a Saturday, the park was packed with visitors. It took us quite a long time to get to our rides; the new Transformers 3D ride was the longest. Nonetheless kids (ohhh I'm here with my sister and her kids too) were extremely excited.

Well, gotta go now. Going into the island again in a while. Today's program is Mommy's agenda - Orchard Road (grin ear to ear..)

Hope to post more Singapore stories in next posting :))

Have a good weekend folks :))

The Call

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000+08:00

speaking out
words are cold
turning away
desperate lone lingers

mulling over
wicked memories muster
thinking through
hard logic defies

giving up
heart bleeds sorrow
opting out
sanity regains

Could this be the choice
Must call my shots soon....

Ceaseless Efforts

2011-12-08T13:38:00.002+08:00

It's been more than a month since I last posted an entry in Sembang; too long that I now do not know how to initiate my efforts. Lost in my own words, entrapped in my unleashed imaginations. I feel terrible, but time just didn't permit my penning down my thoughts.

The past month was extremely hectic. It was work...work...work and more work. It was as if other things in my life were paused, and only work was going on fast forward. On the average I must have clocked between 14 – 16 hours in the office daily. My weekends were not spared either. Saturdays felt like Mondays and Sunday was another work day. And if I wasn't physically working, the mind was constantly put to task. It was really crazy, and I am so not proud of it.

The home front was a mess. Laundry kept piling and ironing left untouched. My cleaning was done late in the night after I returned from work. Folks at home had to make do with their own meal arrangements and mine was mostly whatever I could grab on the go. I felt like an overworked machine in an old run down mill. And the situation I was in was not only tearing me apart, but also others in the house.

Busy in the front, but deep down there was so much loneliness. A couple of times, I tried to reach beyond the emptiness and asked myself what's my purpose in life. Am I going to let work rule my life? And simply let others dictate my happiness? Work till I am crippled? Yes, the money is good but the 24/7 work ethic adoption, working tirelessly is certainly not the kind of deal I was game for.

Thank God, there's little calm now. But it won't be long till the storm hits again. And personally speaking, I am tired fronting the strong winds and holding the fort.

The outlook for 2012 will somewhat be similar. The mode is to push towards achieving tremendous accomplishments. And the recipe to this is none other than rigorous schedules, long nights and giving incredible amounts of sheer energy, focus, and time. Everyone will be counting on each other's hard work and commitment to achieve that competitive advantage.

It's time for me to think hard now and question the nuggets of my wisdom. Seek solace and decide the journey to embark, I must.

Kay-wRAPPing

2011-11-10T13:28:00.002+08:00

Hiatus again.....

Been extremely busy - Eidul Adha, office work, house work....well what else is new kannnn??

Been wanting to blog. Banyak nak cerita, but tak de time nak menceritakan. Macam biasa dengar je excuses gini kan?

Anyway, heard this new number while driving home last night. Whada-u-know-it, she has turned to rap!! Just like me....wRAPPING (up???) too, jangan bungkus terus sudah kannn... :))

Doesn't this number, kinda remind you of the good disco days?

Shooting Strays

2011-10-23T19:48:00.007+08:00

It all started when I saw a picture of a relative getting married on FB. Well, there was nothing wrong with the ceremony. In fact in my heart I was saying, "Bagus lah....dia pun dah duda lama..."

Ajal, maut, jodoh pertemuan are all in the hands of God Almighty. We can't fight it - not a minute late or early. That's how death is, we believe. And we also believe that it's already written in us who our life partners are and how long would the partnership last. Till death do us part or till "others" split us apart - cliche, but true kan!

Coming back to this relative who got married. Fate had it that he was to lose his wife to the big C. About a year ago, just after Christmas, Kak J succumbed to her sufferings. She died of lung cancer. She was very, very nice lady and I am sure she is missed dearly by her children and other members in the family.

Upon seeing the FB posting, I told Abe about the wedding, even forwarded the picture on BBM. Can't quite recall what was his response. But biasa lah Abe being Abe...benda-benda like this dia tak ambik port sangat. Oh well...that's what I thought.....

That night I threw a question at Nissa. Asked her if I passed on and if her dad wanted to remarry, what would her reaction be. Her reply was, "okay".

Huh??? Lame as it may sound, but okay??? Just plain OKAY??? You mean you wouldn't even going to question who your new mom is, can she scrub bathrooms like I do, would she be able to spot that small stain on the dinner plate and have it cleaned again etc etc. Most importantly are you really, really sure you didn't mind a step mom???

What was earlier an uncomplicated line of questioning has become an I-wanna-hear-my-kind-of-answer type of inquiry. Great....now the poor girl was confused. And the dad was some what furious over my picking on Nissa for an answer that was to be music to my own ears. And I was not happy not getting those words from her (perhaps she was also picking on me, who knows!).

Duhh.....just what was wrong with me?? Why was I so "angry bird" like?? Or was it that PMS thingy that is almost due? But then if it was just PMS, I wouldn't have mentioned writing of a will to my sister, would it?

I know...I know I need to go dunk that EPO to keep those straying hormones back in order....sigh.

Sent from my iPad

Patience of a Saint

2011-10-21T13:32:00.005+08:00

Haven't been writing in a while. There's a lot to say, but just too little time to do so. I feel I am running like one headless chicken. Work is crazier than before. And the client is the craziest I've ever had so far.

Have been subjected to lots of verbal abuse by the BigBadOldWolf, a name we gave to this client. It's not just me. No one is spared. My team members and even my Boss have had their fair share of these verbal attacks.

I hate confrontations. During meetings I try so hard controlling myself and my professionalism to not go off guard. Words like "stupid", "hopeless", "crap" and many others which I don't wish to elaborate have been barraged at us as if we have only been in the business just yesterday.

Seriously, I have worked with many people - politicians, corporate figures, government officials but none as crazy as this one. It's so depressing attending meetings and being bombed left, right, front and centre for blunders which are not caused by us. The dark side of me is sending provoke messages like - "screw being civil, let's bang on tables and shout profanities till we run out of them all."

But, I don't want to do that and most importantly, nothing will be solved when anger takes control. Plus, getting mad is tiring and I certainly don't want to make a fool out of myself.

Touch wood, I have managed to defuse these roiling emotions. But the question is, until when? Each time after my solats I ask guidance from Almighty to help me cripple these bad, bad vibes and show me light at the end of the tunnel.

Message in my head for BigBadOldWolf...grrr

Each day I constantly remind myself of these words by Sunil Mangwani - have patience of a saint and the discipline of a soldier.

Insha'Allah (إن شاء الله) God willing, I try.

Wedding Karaoke

2011-10-01T00:20:00.013+08:00

A neighbor across the road is holding a wedding reception tonight. The pretty decorated tents have attracted many passers-by since yesterday. The reception surely looked very grand.

It rained earlier in the afternoon. Saw the caterers running halter skelter saving the chairs from getting soaked during the downpour. Anyway, I bet the family must be very relieved with the clear skies tonight. As I write this posting I see guests are queueing at the buffet line for the nasi minyak and lauk pauk that come as company.

Like most weddings these days, there is light entertainment to give the occasion a more festive feeling. From our living room, we could hear the different voices taking turns passing the mike around karaoke-ing to the available minus1 music. Live singing, well, I am okay with that. Sounds pretty nice, even though some sounded really, really pitchy. It's okay lah I guess...nyanyi suka-suka to keep the bride and groom happy and entertained.

But what I noticed was the selection of songs. Ohhhh.....they were such old numbers. Some yang I have never heard before pun ada. If I hadn't heard of them, I bet the guests who are much, much younger had been astounded listening to them as well!

With that I tell myself to make this mental note - to start compiling my own list of songs - retro, contemporary, oldies but not moldies for such occasions. A wise thing to start working on, don't you think so? You'll never know when it's gonna come handy kannnn.....

Sent from my iPad

Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi

2011-09-29T20:17:00.004+08:00

It was a popular hang out place for students after school; well at least for those who loved music - yours truly included. On days when I had extra classes, I'd gobble down lunch, the usual nyonya curry laksa as fast as I could. Once done, with my two best friends, we would happily walk out the school compound, cross the busy streets, braved the blazing afternoon sun to get to Kedai Music Harmony. Our SPM exam was only months away. There were loads of revisions to get started on and a quick escapade was extremely essential (for the soul...he he) before we loath ourselves with those we-cannot-relate-to-Physics/Chemistry/Bio-topics. Arghhh...torture!!

Had it been my choice, I would be the first to sign up to be in the Arts Stream. But at that time, Arts was a big no-no! Not when the teachers saw you as the “science material”.

Anyway, I digress. Now back to my main story....the music shop.

Ten minutes - that was enough lepak time we needed before we headed back to doing the laborious exam revisions. Once we walked into the shop, Benjy – this lower six guy who manned the music console would wave friendlily at us.

My usual greetings was, “Aihh...your Mama not here ah?”

He shook his head, signaling that the coast was clear for us to be up with our routine antics. Benjy always looked timid whenever his mama was around. He would keep his distance from us if she was in sight. We later knew reasons to his inconsistent hot and cold treatment towards us. Benjy was an orphan and he was adopted by the fierce nyonya boss.

“Lagu apa? Only five minutes ah.” shouted Benjy from behind the music console.

The multisonous Mandarin number easily drowned his voice. I winked at him and shouted back, “Ahhh...yang biasa lahh.”

Dee, my friend would give me a friendly punch and meekly say this to me, “Kau kawin je lah dengan Benjy ni. Asyik nak dengar lagu tu bila datang sini, bosan aku!!”

“Ishhh ada pulak kau ni. Kau ingat dia nak "potong" ker??!!” and we burst into loud laughter afterwards. Benjy would turn at us. I suspected he knew what caused us the chuckles. But he played along, such a spot that fella was.

Sal, the shy one amongst us was already cringing at one far corner in the shop. We always said that she'd one day marry an Ustaz and live in Egypt with her trailer of kids. Sal knew us too well to take our remarks to the heart. Her usual response was, “Tak baik kau orang. Buatnya aku kawin dengan si footballer tu...hah...kau orang sure jealous kan...”

“Tak habis-habis berangan kau ni, si footballer tu dah ada girlfriend lah,” I reminded Sal each time her fancies of the neighbouring all boys school lead striker went astray.

“Dah, dah, dengar je lah lagu yang kau suruh Benjy mainkan tu. Class is starting jap lagi and we better leave before Mak dia balik from lunch jap lagi.” A stern cry came from Dee and next came David and Loga's crispy clear voice from that Bose audio system.

“Jika kau bercinta lagiiiii.........”

Ahh...Alleycatssssssss......simply awesome, awe-inspiring and heart melting – always have been and always will be.

Sent from my iPad

The Waves and Her

2011-09-17T20:20:00.001+08:00

I was doing house keeping onto my external hard disk when I found these pictures of Nissa during our trip to Kuantan in May. Being a newbie with Abe's DSLR, I thought I had accidentally deleted these pictures when I meddled with its memory card.

Perhaps I did fumble with the camera somehow, but I must have forgotten that I made back ups onto my hard disk as well.

Yeahhh...so happy I found them :)

Mom...can i go in?

Waves were big...and that got her a bit scared to venture further

Testing her footing

Waves treading...and she liked it

I'm all wet...don't mind me please

But, I'm having so much fun...

coz I have company....

I am all soaked!!

Oppss...more waves coming my way...

Scrammmm....

Nissa's wish list - how I wish my Mommy would allow me to be beach bummers like these.....

Justifying to her dad why she was all wet!!

Whatever it was.....peace y'all :))

Raya Reflections

2011-09-15T20:05:00.004+08:00

Like previous years, this year's Raya celebration wasn't any different. Went home to my mother's place in Seremban on the eve of Eid, visited my in laws and went back on the second day to visit relatives in our kampung in Kuala Pilah. Hectic but enough fun for the children - catching up with their cousins and relatives from near and far.

During my Raya visits, as we traveled the long winding road to where kampung really is - Kuala Pilah, as the serene and calm atmosphere of life in the village came into view, I got to thinking – what if there was a swap? Instead of me visiting relatives in the kampung, it was me they were visiting. It was me tucked in the traditional kampung house. How different would life be? Instead of attending to clients in corporate office, I was now tending to chickens and ducks.

If I lived here, what would I look like? And how is my lifestyle?

Funny that some of these thoughts came in to mind at this juncture in my life. It had been a rough month in a couple of ways. So many challenges I am faced both at work and home front brought me to thinking of the what if's. These events occur – causing me to stop, reflect and re-evaluate the many facets in my life that I have comprised.

As we visited one relative's house to the next, I felt a bit sad. Although the old kampung house looked the same, but as faith had it, we had lost a number of our dear ones. An aunt spoke very dearly of her husband who had passed on two years ago. I recall those early days in my marriage when the couple used to fuss over lemang and rendang during our Raya visit and how they insisted that we had enough to feast ourselves plus packed some home later. They were simple folks but they sure had such a big heart.

Then we met another aunt who has been providing loyal care to her ill husband. The old man who is almost 80 now, suffers from diabetes and selective amnesia. It isn't easy she said but she is left with no other choice. Tempers would flare once in a while but one could see that she's not going anywhere but be with her man – in sickness or in health till death do them part, remember?

I wonder had it been me – would I be able do it? Would I be as loyal as my aunt? Would I be willing to sacrifice my own physical and emotional needs? Will there be feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, isolation, exhaustion? And how would I deal with it?

Now, reflecting back on all the choices I made in life, I hoped these choices will help make bring happiness and contentment. I know some have and some not – well maybe not yet. I tell myself that occasionally, events will occur. And during these periods I may need to re-evaluate and re-prioritize things, abandon what does not belong or is making life difficult and stressful, and seek out what truly matters.

If we didn't give it a try we would never know, would we?

Kids@Raya

2011-09-12T13:07:00.000+08:00

Kids are the happiest at Raya - always. They get to meet up, play, sleep, eat together and the occasional sibling fights don't bother them much. Year in year out, I'm glad we still have the youngins running around, bemusing us at Raya. But this won't be long till they catch up with gadgets whatnots and soon forget about their creative play.

Kidnapping in progress - "guns" included

Kidnappers on the loose

Emergency call....ambulance drivers and "doctors" on call

The duo whose ambitions are scientist and egyptologist - treating the poor boy who was down with measles.

Duhh....this must have been a real crisis....

Let's see what happens when we dress up lil cousin....

Oopsss...wardrobe failure!!

The imaginative stock market....buy, buy, buy!!

Lipton ice tea advert...take 21!

Roll the camera.....

We are tired...let's see if the iPad allows us to order pizza

"Don't I simply love raya??" must be on his mind

I love you bro so let me help u with your baju....

Sent via Kay's Berry

Tiada Tiga Kata

2011-09-09T20:48:00.001+08:00

When you notice a colleague's BB status with disturbing lines, you can't help but wonder about what was going on. Just before Raya, she had this as her status – HELL Raya. And then two days ago, she changed it to this – Too Much Hatred. Early yesterday, these two words appeared on her profile status – Nervous Breakdown.

I normally do not like to interfere with things like these. But as a close friend, I felt I should check on how she was doing. And I did.....and the story wasn't pleasant.

Dee (not her real name) was a colleague from my previous work place. When I left, she was the one who took over my responsibilities. Her diligence, strong and yet pleasant personality had help pushed her to the position where she is right now in the company. Obviously with the more money she brings home, she had more responsibilities to look into.

Dee's reply to my BBM last night didn't come in right away. I assumed she was okay and there was nothing very alarming with what I saw on her BB status. Again, I was wrong.

A call came in about an hour later and it was Dee on the other line. She was gasping for air and I could hardly hear her. Her usual happy voice was no longer distinct and all I heard was her in between sobs saying “It's over...”

I had suspected it was matters of the heart that is bugging her. Unfortunately, I guessed it right this time.

“Is it Raz?” I asked her. And she replied, “Yes.”

I questioned her, “He left?”

“Yes....he's gone. He left the house a while ago. And he took his stuff with him too.” said Dee.

“Perhaps he's off for work out station?" I probed further.

“No....he's really, really gone this time. He told me so.” said Dee in between sobs.

I paused for a while. Didn't know what to think and how to react. Dee wasn't the first of my friends whose marriage has succumbed to a no-go-grid-lock. Last December a school mate lost her husband for 25 years to a younger woman. Sigh....

There wasn't much I could offer Dee since it was already late. I promised her to meet up with her later today. It's so sad to see a once happy family falling apart.

What's becoming of us......double sigh......

Mungkinkah kerna kita dah terlalu selesa
Keintiman seolah semakin hambar
Dari gerak gaya
Hingga ke tutur kata
Tak menggambarkan cinta

Unsettled Heart

2011-09-09T06:07:00.003+08:00

Someone told me last night that her heart was unsettled. I told her to let the feeling pass - accept the truth, bite the bitter facts. Not easy but why worry so much. It will only hurt her more.

She said it felt like there was a pit in her stomach. There was something that need to be said and some things shouldn't have been said. She shared that there is something yet to be done, a problem to solve, a situation to clean up.

Now, there is guilt and shame. And anger has set in....

Dear friend.....be strong. HE will watch over you. HE will not let the sun harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Have faith. HE will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Post Holiday Blues

2011-09-05T13:10:00.001+08:00

As always, it was a scram this morning; but there was a bit more chaos than usual. My parking card was missing, the shoes was not in the car, Nissa's hair clip was no where on the dressing table, her school tie was still loose and flimsy. The last blow was, after I had locked the doors, I realised that my BB was left on the bed. Urghhh....how to survive the day without BB??? That left me with no choice but to unlock the doors and enter the house again to get my BB. A good 5 minutes delay that was. Thank God there was gas in the car. Else I would have screamed my lungs and this angry bird would have started tweeting in caps and bold to someone's BB.

Hence, everything spelt s.t.r.e.s.s - sprinkled with Monday blues, equating to zero tolerance level.

The drive to work was however a bliss. Roads were still clear and parking was empty too. I hesitated for a couple of seconds in the lift – trying to recall which floor I was to get out at. Ever since the move to this new office, the pressing of the number in the lift is no longer automatic (ummppp...I just wonder why is that so?)

As expected the office is still empty; many are still on extended Raya leave with the majority only returning to work on Wednesday. Wahhh...so long leave ka?? I had wanted to say my peace about my staff taking long raya leave, but I took a step back and thought again and finally I decided to just let it be. I may not have the need to balik kampung over such a long stretch (like some of them do) as kampung is only 45 mins drive from my base and balik kampung is just mild effort after all for me. But others whose kampungs are so far away, they may want to spend a longer time with the family. Noted on that.

But a while ago, after going through the emails, I thought again - perhaps, perhaps I should have relook at resource allocation again. Too late now, anyway.

Suddenly a cacophony of lines from P.Ramlee's movie came clattering, “Aikkk marah??? Kalau marah nanti kena jual.....”

So boss ni marah?? Takkkkk tak marahhhh......cuti laaaa...tak pe cuti laaaa.....

Tak pe lah since staff cuti, boss kerja lahh (sekuat-kuat hati....)

Eid Mubarak

2011-08-29T22:00:00.002+08:00

Wishing all a blessed Eid.
Stay safe and have a good celebration.

S.I.C.K

2011-08-23T18:26:00.007+08:00

Apa yang dilafaz itu adalah doa - yes, I believe in this. Bukan apa, tu lah semalam tulis lagi comments kat FB - “sick to the bones”. Hah...today, dapat cash...sick terus!

I couldn't for the life of me open my eyes this morning. Plain exhaustion plus pure annoyance too. Annoyed bukan dengan sesiapa pun. Annoyed with myself was more like it. I over looked my checklist and missed preparing one document for an important meeting. Yikessss.....sungguh lah tak seronok being put in a difficult situation. It wasn't like I was careless or anything. How else could I remind myself? I remembered saving my tasks and appointments in BB, but this particular one, adeiiii....it just slipped my mind! Anyway, thank God I didn't get into much trouble and boleh nego deadline lagi tu. Ha ha ha...siapa boss ni? Me or the client? I guess when they saw this pitiful face they just didn't have the heart to push too much...kot...kot lah eh.

Exhaustion + Annoyance = SICK = today work from home (yeahhhhh suka...coz no need to drive that 38km to CJ)

So who says being sick has no rewards?

Actually I forgot doing a few other tasks over the weekend too. Err correction, paraphrase that – I selectively did what I liked doing and left what I didn't fancy doing aside. Guess that's the leeway one has when one is both the maid and the maam. Tapi yang tak boleh ampun was when Abe came back and said, “You forgot to get the cat food. Pi shopping benda lain ingat...” Adei....that hurts!! Actually I did ask Nissa to remind me about food for them furry kiddos. Tapi Nissa pun sama naik thrilled mall hopping (and having scrumptious food spread at iftar) that she forgot to remind me. Anyway, the little ones had to puasa a little longer than us coz we only got food for them after terawih. Merajuk dah they all sampai ada yang ran up the roof. Nasib baik she came down, if not nak kena call the firemen to help.

Ohhh no need lah that unnecessary attention and excitement for both tuan kucing and kucing di bulan yang mulia ini kannn....and if sick tu better buat cara sick. Put the BB aside and let the emails bertubi-tubi masuk and later later lah baru reply, betul tak??

Then again after much deliberation, ada berani nak response late to those emails??

One More Week

2011-08-22T13:51:00.001+08:00

It's the 22nd Ramadan today. It seemed like just yesterday I was preparing the family to gear up for fasting. Time flies like an arrow, for sure. More so when you have a mad, mad schedule like the one I presently have. There is hardly time to get cozy, relax and smell the roses these days....sigh. In fact there is hardly time to smell the good food during this Ramadan....another long sigh. I feel like a robot, serious!

In less than a week, it will be Hari Raya. I gave a tearful glance at my kitchen before I left for work this morning. Whooaaaa.....it sure needs cleaning and some touching ups. The windows could do a good scrub and some re-organizing would give it back its shine and glitter like those days when Bibik manned the home.

Sob...sob...sob.....

Live from New Office

2011-08-11T07:47:00.004+08:00

Salam Ramadan to all. May we be rewarded the best of health in carrying our ibadah in this holy month.

Just a quick one this posting. Am making my first posting mark from the new office in CyberJaya. So far so good and have managed to clock in early every morning since the first day being assigned here. Doing that is not easy of course; RUSH is the word.

I leave the house by 7.05am everyday, drop Nissa off at her school and sprint all that 38kms to CJ. The traffic has been good so far. Phewwww.....I am so blessed.

Will be based in CJ for the next 18months. It's going to be interesting I bet. The project timeline is already out and I see my name all over the sheet. Have started itemizing plans for the team and looking forward to ensuring all deliverables are met.

Okay...gotta go now.

Am gonna miss my lunch here after Ramadan......hu hu

YouTube It

2011-08-04T16:58:00.000+08:00

It's a few more minutes before office hours is over. Then there is the rush home to be with the family for the breaking of fast. These days, I hardly have time to cook. Much thanks to the sellers at the Ramadan Bazaar, the dishes for my berbuka do would come from those frequent stalls I visit. My selection criteria would of course be cleanliness first. Price wise....umppp, rata-rata juadah-juadah has increased between 20-30%.

"Nak buat macamana harga barang mahal kak. Minyak naik." that would be the stall owners' cry whenever I give a grim look at those tiny curry puffs sold.

Today however, I have that crave for something different. Getting pretty tired of kueh ketayap, putu kacang and friends. The mind is thinking of those very thin pancakes - crêpe, spread with a thick layer of chocolaty nutty Nutella and with banana nicely tucked in it.

Sedap nya kan... Musim-musim puasa ni semua benda pun sedap lah kan.

Let's hope I get home early enough to make this for Nissa. Just to be doubly sure I don't mess up later, this You Tube video would be my aid. Tapi rasanya tau dah how to make it (and pretty easy to lah kan....)

You Tube to save the day....always

Girls at a crêpe stall when we were in Paris that day.....yummy crêpes dia.

Ramadan Day 2

2011-08-02T17:08:00.000+08:00

Syukur kehadrat Nya kerana dipanjangkan usia untuk berjumpa semula Ramadan tahun ini. It's our second day of fasting today. Puasa ke? Alhamdulillah, I am. It is my hope dapat menjalankan ibadah rukun Islam yang ketiga ini dengan sebaik sempurnanya. Same goes to all Sembang readers, family and friends. May you be rewarded the pinkest of health untuk melakukan yang terbaik di bulan yang penuh barakah ini.

I was at the clinic this morning. Huh? Visit to the doctors again? Apa cerita lah kan? Just for the record, I also had doctor's appointment last week. In fact I was on MC for two days, even No 1 Boss was worried and No 2 Boss sent a BBM asking of about me. Don't worry lar Boss, I'm not pregnant, if that's your concern although I am so green with envy upon discovering that we are entitled to 300days of maternity leave sepanjang our service in the organization.

Anyway to cut the story short, there was nothing major, major wrong with me, well that's what the doctors concluded after the test results were out. I must say I did cause some panic in Abe (ohhh bila eh last he accompanied me to the docs?? Masa deliver Nissa?? Nahh...I'm just being cruel) when I told him that I received a call from the doctor wanting to discuss results of the tests done so much so that he took half day today. So sweet lah kan.....tapi if ikut kan I (read: the egoistic me) ....tak de masalah nak sorang-sorang je jumpa doctor tu.

These days one can never be too complacent - with the kind of life style we lead and stress level that we have to put up with, jadi kena lah buat segala tests yang perlu. But it was somewhat an anti climax pun ada. There I was thinking of all the probable cause to my sick spell, and it was concluded that some strong antibiotics would do to help. Nonetheless, syukur, syukur sangat-sangat. Alhamdulillah.

After the clinic, I drove all the way to Cyberjaya for a meeting. Looks like there will be more trips to this city in the future. It's almost official now that I will be assigned to a new project which is based in Cyberjaya. Mixed feelings about this actually. Excited about this new assignment but at the same time sedih nak leave colleagues in the present office. We've been together though thick and thin and now some of us will be heading separate directions. It feels so like a family now, but we just have to make this sacrifice. Tak pe lah...it's for the good of the team
jugak.

Someone sent out this SMS yesterday. "Sedih and happi if combine jadi apa?" I replied, "Tak tau nak kata." She wrote back, "Sepi."

Ohhh that's gonna be so, so true........

Ramadan Kareem

2011-07-31T23:55:00.003+08:00

May the spirit of Ramadan illuminate the world and show us the way to peace and harmony.

May Allah shower his blessings on us all during this Ramadan and always, InshaAllah.

Selamat Menyambut Ramadan to all Sembang readers, family and friends.

Sent from my iPad

Bot Chat

2011-07-22T18:56:00.006+08:00

This morning a colleague introduced me to this chat tool. I went right on chatting and the following exchanges took place.

Me: Selamat pagi.

Cleverbot: Selamat pagi kat awak juga sayang :).

Me: Awak sayang saya?

Cleverbot: Saya sayang awak :).

Me: Dah makan?

Cleverbot: Makan apa?

Me: Dah sarapan pagi ke?

Cleverbot: Dah makan juga.

Me: Kelakar lah awak!

Cleverbot: Di sekolah la.awak belajar dekat mana?

Me: Kenapa jawap macam tu?

Cleverbot: X la.

Me: Awak marah ke?

Cleverbot: Tak sayang.

User: Awak tak rindu saya?

Cleverbot: Tak.

Me: Kenapa tak rindu?

Cleverbot: Saya cakap saya sayang awak.

Me: Polis cari awak lah.

Cleverbot: No, isn't true.

Me: You have committed a crime.

Cleverbot: Love is never a crime.

Me: But I don't love you anymore.

Cleverbot: Not you and I.

Me: I have found a better person in my life.

Cleverbot: You don't have a life.

Me: There's so much happiness in me now.

Cleverbot: I know how Tuning died.

Me: How did he die?

Cleverbot: He died of age.

Me: How old was he?

Cleverbot: How old was Gary, are you asking?

Me: No how old was Betty Ford?

Cleverbot: I don't know, girls think I am ugly.

Me: Are you a girl or a guy?

Cleverbot: Girl.

Me: Not a guy?

Cleverbot: Me not a gamer? Really?

Me: What music do u like?

Cleverbot: Rap, Hip-Hop, Rock, R&B. You?

Me: Jazz.

Cleverbot: Are you lame?

Me: No, I'm a dame!

Cleverbot: Yes.

Me: Do u think I am pretty?

Cleverbot: Yes because I said so.

Me: Thank you sayang.

Cleverbot: You are welcome.

Me: I gotta go. We chat again later.

Cleverbot: So are you nice?

Me: Bye.

Cleverbot: Say it like you mean it.

Me: Bye bye darlin <3

Cleverbot: Hello hello hello.

Me: Over and out.

Cleverbot: Roger.

If you went on reading the conversation trail and thinking what on earth was I doing "flirting" online with Mr Cleverbot....waittttt a minute!! Hang on to your horses before you go tazkirah-ing me.

My chat partner was a computer program called Chatterbots, okay. This latest chatting AI was designed to have conversations with humans. They use some form of artificial intelligence to learn how to generate better dialogue over time.

Its developer Rollo Carpenter has developed this chatterbot which learns from the most chaotic and difficult conversationalists: internet users.

My verdict - talking to Cleverbot is a little like talking with the collective community of the internet. And it’s just as horrific, funny and is definitely a boredom buster during those dry days when not a single drop of brain juice insight.

So, is the bot clever? Try it at Cleverbot.com

Supir Yang Setia

2011-07-21T19:05:00.001+08:00

A couple of years back when a few of us girls visited Bandung, we got little adventurous and moved around town in the public transport called Angkutan Kota. The school van like transport was not only cheap, but also in abundance. We never had to wait long for one.

We were couple of years younger than and keen to explore and experience life just like the locals. This trip however, we - both Muni and I decided we should do our trip in a santai manner. We wanted to rest and relax and enjoy the three days we were there. Hence, a supir (driver) was necessary.

I have been recommending family and friends if they ever needed transport arrangements when in Bandung or even Jakarta, do try out this guy - Pak Termizi. It was through my sister that I got to know him. She has used his transport services and had no complaints on him.

About two weeks to our departure, I texted Pak Termizi asking if he was able to make transport arrangements for us. He responded in less than two minutes saying that he was more than happy to oblige our request. A quote was given and we agreed on the rates. Package was for hotel and transport during our entire stay in Bandung.

Happy....got that settled.

There was a short wait for our supir after arrived at the Bandung airport last Sunday. I texted Pak Termizi and he said his supir was on his way. In less than 5 mins our young supir was in sight. He took care of our luggage and he drove us to our hotel in Cihampelas.

When we arrived at the hotel, I spotted Pak Termizi as he came running to greet us. Wahhhh the old guy whom we saw in kurta like attire last time is now all so smart looking in pressed shirt and tailored slacks!! A certainly more corporate look now, and both Muni and I were impressed. And he carries a Black Berry too!!!

We checked in and did our solat and in no time we were all set to hit the shops. It was then Pak Termizi told us that HE will be our chauffeur for the day and he would be driving us around in his own BMW. Fuhhhlamakkkkk....how lucky can one get ya!!

Jadi tante-tante sangat lah suka hati nya.

"Mau ke mana Ibuk, " asked Pak Termizi.
"Pasar Baru..." cried both Muni and I simultaneously.

And the rest of the story??? Alhamdulillah, everything went fine. Agenda nya apa lagi lah kan.....shop.eat.shop :))

Our appreciation goes to those behind the scene who helped make this trip possible - our families, the financiers (ehemmm u know who u are lah kan), and not forgetting our supirs who obligated to our needs and requests during our trip.

Enjoy bangetttt deh!!!

This beemer of Pak Termizi's - leather seats with very dark shades all around. That night when he dropped us off at the hotel, other guests (Malaysians...he he) gave us this "wow" look yang memberi maksud "wahhhh...siapa kah mereka ini??? Datins???"

Heh...heh....kasi chance lah kami perasan yea!!

This bus carried tour groups from Malaysia. There were like 3 of them lined along the road. Bandung was packed with Malaysians and Singaporeans doing pre Ramadan shopping that weekend.

Kebayas...so many of these in Pasar Baru, a favourite and very famous (amongst Malaysians) shopping place in Bandung. We, however had to leave the kebayas only for the feasting of our eyes. Mana boleh pakai kebaya dah....obscene and akan mengganggu ketenteraman awam lah if we did kannn...*wink*

Too pretty to resist...so we got juga lah for friends yang berpesan.

Other stuffs that we got.....

More stuffs.....adeiii tak larat nak angkat dah. Sila di panggil-in Pak Supir nya!!

Tired...so we checked into this spa....bliss after being kneaded by expert hands of the masseuses. But not before some gentle reminder from our supir.

"Pak...kami mau spa ya."
"Bisa ibuk..."
"Tapi ibuk sudah solat?"
"Ohh...kami solat jamak aja pakkk..."

You see our supir was also concerned over us melaksanakan tuntutan agama. Alhamdulillah....

Our favourite...the nasi padang with its spread of dishes yang penuh whole table. Soooooo.....sedappppp the ayam panggang and daging dendeng!!!

Makan lagi.....the rice was wrapped in banana leave giving that ahhhhhh aroma.

Rumah Mode - an all time favourite FO of visitors to Bandung. We arrived here early but place was not opened yet.

Our supir, Pak Dadang said this to us. "Masih awal ibuk. Lagi foto-foto ya di luar. Saya mau dhuha sana dekat musolla." Ohhhh.......terkedu sebentar ibuk-ibuk nya!!! We all so gung ho nak ber-shopping, supir nya lagi gung ho nak menambah saham akhirat.

In the end, we ended up having latte at the cafe while waiting for the FO to open.

At the end of our trip, our juta-juta rupiah was reduced to only hundreds. Our luggage was pack to the max, but didn't exceed the 30kg limit...fuhhhh what a relief!!

One beautiful lady distributed this little pamphlet on our way out. She was promoting her slimming parlor. Ummpppp very interesting kan....next trip bisa di coba ya. Mana tahu, pergi nya ber-blouse longgar tapi pulang nya ber-kebaya ketat!!! (read: dream on...)

Sent via Kay's Berry

Tumirah On Leave

2011-07-17T03:47:00.000+08:00

Someone asked me one day, "Who is this Tumirah? I've been hearing so much about her. Tumirah this...Tumirah that....etc." I won't say who asked, but gosh, Mister, you sure are one ignorant soul.

Okay, for purpose of setting the record straight, Tumirah is ME lahhhh. Me - the person who doubles as the maid the moment I arrive home after tugging and battling deadlines in the office. And Tumirah has been around since the whom-I-thought-tali-silaturahim-akan-berkekalan-selama-lamanya-maid left like 2 (or was it 3??) months ago.

And now after the many dreaded weeks of washing, cleaning, scrubbing, ironing, Tumirah is taking a break. Tumirah nak gi berehat (laaa gi lagi, bukan ke baru hari tu dok go jalan-jalan??) Penat tau and urat-urat dah bersimpul-simpul.

So, where is she heading??

Puasa is approaching, raya will follow suit. Jadi agak-agak where is Tumirah's so called nak berehat venue?

Mana lagi....sini lah :)

RT, RT, RT....that's what's gonna occupy Tumirah for the next couple of days. Coming together with her is Sutinah, an equally industrious corporate dame.

Let's hope there is no repeat of this lah kan.
But didn't someone cite this quote last time "Shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist".
So how??

Keep Calm

2011-07-16T02:09:00.001+08:00

"Aku menanti kamu setiap hari
Aku menunggu dari Isnin, Selasa, Rabu, Khamis setiap hari.............."

Yes, the weekend is here. Am gonna try to keep calm, just as instructed *wink*
But.......ahhh tak pe, tunggguuuuuu....... *big grin*

Aksi di McD

2011-07-15T18:51:00.005+08:00

Ku perhatikan cara berjalannya. Adapnya amat tertib sekali. Pakaiannya kemas - color coordinated dari tudung hinggalah ke sepatu yang tersarung di kaki kecilnya itu. Dari pakaian yang dikenakan, agak tidak silap jika membuat tekaan beliau pernah menjadi wargakerja samada di sektor awam atau korporat.

Jangka ku umurnya agak lewat sudah, mungkin sekitar 50an. Kulit sawo matangnya sudah agak dimakan usia dan garis-garis umur kelihatan di bahagian leher dan mukanya. Tapi saiz badannya teramatlah comel - boleh saja ku melebelkannya "petite". Mesti awet muda, itulah tekaan ku.

Buat beberapa ketika dia menoleh ke belakang seolah-olah mencari seseorang. Siapa agaknya yang ditunggu? Apakah teman atau saudara terdekat? Segala gerak gerinya hanya ku perhatikan dari jauh, dari meja makan ku yang tersorok di belakang patung Ronald McDonald itu. Aku pasti dia tidak langsung perasan perbuatan ku itu. Kata orang "it's rude to stare" tapi kali ini aku memang tidak dapat mengalih fokus dari wanita yang sedang kusyuk tercegat di tepi pintu masuk restoren makanan segera popular ini.

Tiba-tiba sahaja wajah muram beliau bertukar menjadi ceria. Senyuman terukir di wajahnya. Sambil berjalan pantas, beliau bergerak ke pintu masuk restoren. Ku lihat berjalan ke arahnya, seorang pemuda berbadan sasa, kelihatan six packs nya dibawah t-shirt ketat yang dipakai.

"Fuhhh....macam model mamat nih," Itu lah yang mula-mula datang ke fikiran ku. "But, tak kan lah kot.....macam anak dia je budak lelaki tu...issshhh tak mungkin!!" Dengan pantas ku tepis tanggapan yang menusuk minda apabila ku lihat si pemuda memberikan kucupan mesra di pipi wanita tersebut. Mereka kemudian intim berpimpin tangan menuju ke meja yang berada di sebelah belakang.

Ku cubit lengan ku untuk mempastikan aku tidak bermimpi. Tapi memang betul apa yang ku lihat tadi kerana ku perhatikan banyak mata lain yang turut terpukau menyaksikan brief interlude mereka berdua tadi.

Fikiran ku mula ligat meneka apakah yang sebenarnya berlaku. Reality check ku mengatakan - ini Malaysia kan, bukan New York.

Ohhh sungguh tak tercapai akal ku, jika apa yang berkecamuk di minda adalah benar.

Apakah....??
Bagaimanakah....??

Ku perhatikan mereka berdua buat seketika lagi. Perasaan curious ku pada awalnya bertukar kepada rasa mual. "Chiss sia-sia je puasa siang tadi dan malamnya tertengok pulak.....!!" Sudahlah, tak kuasa ku meneruskan tontonan perilaku mereka lagi. Dengan pantas, ku capai tas tangan ku dan angkat kaki untuk beredar dari situ.

Ohhh apa nak jadi pada bangsa ku???

My YELLOW Weekend

2011-07-12T13:59:00.004+08:00

Yellow it was, the color of our t-shirt for the group's last weekend retreat in Cherating. Like there was no other safer color, yes? Guess if our event was held in the KL area, all 40 odd plus of us would be hauled onto a police truck.

Thank God it was an away event.

We have planned for this retreat some time back. However, work commitments came in the way. Tender submissions, deadlines and others pretty much had the committee revising the event details several times. Upon much deliberation, we finally came to an agreement that the retreat to be held from the 8th - 10th July (which so happen to coincide which the big rally in KL).

I almost didn't make it. No thanks to the horrible migraine I suffered the night before. Faris had to drive me to the office that day while Mommy washed down painkillers that worked miraculously at keeping my head from banging over the weekend.

Tried the famous ikan patin during lunch at Temerloh R&R

A few of us, the committee members went in Boss' car, whilst the rest sat with equal comfort in the 40 seater cruise bus. Our destination was Holiday Villa Cherating.

To sum it all up, we had a great time - lots of fun carrying out planned activities games with the whole team. We also got down to some serious business - strategizing ways on getting the company striving towards greater excellence.

A pose just after arrival at Holiday Villa Cherating....work was obviously away from my mind :)

The beautiful Cherating beach

At sunset Mommy had that tad guilt tangle in her for not being with Nissa over the weekend :(

My group - the YELLOW BEES and we came out the best group overall...yeahhhh. Tengok lah siapa yg in the group kan...ehemmmm

The YELLOW ladies...imagine if we had gone out in the streets of KL in this color tee!!

Kat Cherating boleh lah posing pakai like this.....

Where we had our lunch on the last day....Warung Aziz Satar in Kuala Kemaman. Good food!!!

And cheap too....

Sent via Kay's Berry

July

2011-07-01T19:20:00.004+08:00

July wishlist
*come home early from work
*catch up with house work
*try new bake recipes
*finish reading the Twilight series
*more time to myself -spa, facial etc
*prepare for Ramadhan
*and go for a quick RT maybe.....

Wishes, Plans and Hopes

2011-06-29T13:55:00.003+08:00

If wishes worked like magic
And plans walked the intent
If grants were immediately accorded
And hopes did not feather away

Heart would be fulfilled
Spirits would meander happily
Prayers would be answered
Life would be complete

Sebak dadaku
Retak hatiku
Luka jiwaku
Dihiris pilu

Beribu sesalanku.......

To Flag Off

2011-06-26T07:20:00.000+08:00

I am walking to the flag off area as I type this entry. The Dataran Merdeka area is packed with "green" people. Everyone looks so happy, and so "gung ho" too.

Nervous? Yes, a little bit. I feel I have not trained enough. Should have started training earlier and go to the gym to work out more often.

Duhhh....what if I tak larat later?? Malu je kan.....Tak pe lah - this is my first time. I'm gonna be running alone.....sob...sob. When I signed up, I checked if anyone else in the house wanted to come along. Unfortunately, no one was game. And ada juga yang doubt if I could ever get to the finish line.

It's ok, we shall see what happens later. Wish me luck ya :)

Almost there dah..I could see the flag off stage already. And I could feel my heart beating much faster now.

Mobile toilets and folks queuing for that morning ease

Flag off area...look towards the blue arch like balloons.

Sent via Kay's Berry

It's THE Day

2011-06-26T06:40:00.002+08:00

It's a very early start on Sunday for me. Woke up at 5am and was out of the house by 6. Am already in the lrt. Destination - Masjid Jamek stop. From there on, I'll have to walk a bit to the flag off area which is near the Tugu Negara.

Ohhh...yes, I am all set for this - the Standard Charted KL Marathon. Signed up for this event sometime back. I'll be taking part in the 5km Fun Run. Excited dah ni!!

More folks in green have boarded the train now. It was announced in the SCKLM website that 22,000 people have signed up for this event. Woootsssss.....and I'm one of them. Simply cool, isn't it?

The train is almost approaching KL Sentral station. One more stop and next will be Masjid Jamek. Gotta go now. Will try to post more stories later.

My outfit all color coordinated - shades of green :)

Sent via Kay's Berry

When I am Stressed....

2011-06-22T13:05:00.000+08:00

I bake.....

I cook.....

I scrub the floor.....

Tumirah, for hire anyone???

Sent via Kay's Berry

Father's Day...Almost

2011-06-20T13:32:00.001+08:00

So yesterday was Father’s Day. Err…not quite for us. The father was away and so were the kids. He had to attend an important program organized by the office. No way I could compete with that lah kan……

The kids, well, one was busy helping a friend’s sister’s wedding and the other was so absorbed with his car – working round the clock to improve its performance. So, tinggal lah Mommy, Nissa and the cats. Poor us :(

Anyway, Mommy was in the mood to bake. The work related stress must have given the sudden urge to slog in the kitchen. It was ages since my last baking project. And with no maid, it felt like a real chore to get my hands and kitchen extra messy.

So there we were, the Mommy and dotter team – working on our “throw all in” carrot cupcakes concoction. It was tiring of course, having to prepare everything ourselves. No bibik to get the baking stuffs out and do the cleaning once we were done. However, contrary to how I felt earlier and very much to my surprise, the baking worked wonders to my all my stressed up system. Baked with loads of passion, and the result was super cool!!

Cuppies were gone in no time, and by the time the father came home later that evening adalah beberapa ketul left for him to savor. Guess it’s better late than no show and better beberapa ketul yang inggal than nampak kesan or tinggal hanya bau, betul tak??

Our cuppies turnout so gebu, moist and heavenly (err…puji diri sendiri lah pulak kannn…)

Sent via Kay's Berry

To the River

2011-06-18T04:41:00.002+08:00

Never mind if you didn't speak each other's language; when there is a will, there will always be a way. During our recent trip to Guilin, my creative methods in communication was put to test to the max.

We had wanted to purchase boat tickets to a city located to the south of Guilin. From my research, it was highly recommended that one took the river way to this place called Yangshou. The five hour boat ride would feast the eyes to one of the most scenic nature look outs.

We stopped by at an agent who sold the river cruise tickets for our ticket purchase. Two very important tasks I had to execute in the most successful manner. One was to get the right river cruise (to choose from a menu of cruise options which was written in Mandarin!!!) and the other was to bargain for better price (ohhh yesss...price varies a lot from one agent to the other).

It was tough work communicating with the bubbly auntie. First she showed me a different cruise from the one I had in mind. And next, she didn't want to compromise the price. After many minutes of sign language to make known my intentions and punching numbers on the calculator for a good price, I finally managed to get tickets for the Li River Cruise at a price almost 50% less than the initial price she quoted me.

Fuhhh....what a challenge that was!!

At the boat peer, all ready to board the cruise. I paid CNY240 per person for the cruise. Others paid more...especially the Mat Salls. Don't ask me why.

It takes about 5 hours on the river to get to Yangshou. Folks buying snacks ammunition to keep themselves busy on board.

Since there were many, many boats, one had to really look for the right one to board. Pier was like one big Puduraya for boats.

Boat about to start cruising

83-km-long waterway from Guilin to Yangshuo is like an artist's masterpiece.

Small islet in the middle of the river

Awesome looks of the piked limestome mountains

Simply breath taking was the view

The landscape is decorated with rolling hills, steep cliffs, fantastic caves, leisurely boats and is lined with bamboo.

A poem described view in this manner..... "The river is a green silk ribbon, and the hills are jade hair-pins".

Fresh air on the upper deck

Small bamboo rafts are used by the locals in carrying out their daily routines.

Small towns by the river

Caves in the mountain

Kitchen is at the back of the boat. Place your order and lunch is served sizzling hot!!

This man tried his level best to sell food and little trinkets to the cruise boat passengers.

Very scenic indeed

Awesome kan??

Another breath taking view

Small villages along the river. The people have become entrepreneurial and started their own cruise business.

Free and easy at the river village

As we approaches our destination Yangshou

Cruise finally coming to a stop.

Long Way Still

2011-06-18T00:40:00.004+08:00

Hiatus again, yes I am aware of that. There's so much still of our travel stories that I would like to share. But time, these days, I never seem to have much.

Work load is piling and so are the clothes to be ironed. Ever since the disappearance of the maid, yours truly Mrs Ma'am a.k.a Tumirah has not much choice but get herself comot at completing the house chores.

Exhausted yang tidak boleh nak di describe!!

It's less than two months to Ramadhan. I dread thinking about what will happen then.

Sigh......

Kuatagh Chillex

2011-06-07T18:30:00.001+08:00

When I told Nissa that we were heading to Kuantan last Sunday, she made funny faces at me. Cynically, she asked me, “Where is that?” Ohh…too much of cuti-cuti di luar Malaysia this girl!!

I shared with her why she may like the place, but she wasn’t very convinced. Before I ended our conversation, I told her that I once went to school there. Her reply was oh yeah..??

It was an easy drive to Kuantan. In slightly less than 3 hours, we were already exiting the highway at the Gambang toll and heading towards the town centre. Told Abe that I wanted to make a quick stop to get stuffs for Nissa’s fun in the sun. We headed to Berjaya Mega Mall and I made one quick dash into Parkson.

Kuantan - a town on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, about 200km northeast from Kuala Lumpur, is not at all an untrodden path. Was there for about a year in 1977 during my brief stint in MRSM Kuantan and have come back a couple of times on work assignments. When Abe informed that he was heading there for work, I was all hands up wanting to tag along.

Swiss Garden Resort near Pantai Balok where we stayed for the night. Most hotels in Kuantan and Cherating were fully booked!!

Sea was calm and beach was not too packed

Father & dotter beach bummers of the day

Saw many of these "intricate" patterns in the sand

Really tiny hideout

Occupant of the hideout...si ketam angin

Kelapa yang dah bertunas

The three beach bummers

Fun in the pool

Wished I had more time to visit the spa....

Keropok galore

Sata yang sangat sedappppp

from gerai Pak Soh...rupa tempat tiada lah sangat, but the sata & kepok were really, really yummy

Passed by my old college. Nissa was impressed to know that I once went to a boarding school.

The tennis court and girls hostel in the background. This place still looks the same!!

The dining hall

Time to go back KL, Nissa....

Sent via Kay's Berry

Bersama Ombak Itu..

2011-06-06T15:38:00.002+08:00

The beach looks pretty much the same when I left this town many, many years ago. It's a beautiful beach this Teluk Cempedak is.

It is so peaceful here. As the waves break and hit the shore, I am reminded of that unsettled girl. She was only thirteen then...

Sent via Kay's Berry

As Evening Envelops

2011-06-05T19:30:00.003+08:00

It's almost dark. We are in Kuantan today. Just sneaking away from the busy city. But it's short trip though.

We are putting up at Swiss Garden Resort Kuantan. It feels good to be back and reminisce my early teen days when I went to school in Alor Akar.

Sent via Kay's Berry

To the Caves

2011-06-01T22:11:00.018+08:00

Our guide Lynn suggested that we visit one very famous cave in Guilin. According to her the rock pillars and rock formations have existed for hundreds of years. Like most tourist sites in Guilin, to enter one must purchase tickets. We paid about CNY90 per ticket to enter the caves.

The Reed Flute Cave is a brilliant cave which got its name from the verdant reeds growing outside it, with which people make flutes.

Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition.

These caves were discovered by a farmer. His reward was only 1yuan.

It is a Chinese habit to give each formation a legendary or poetic name such as Crystal Palace, Dragon Pagoda, Virgin Forest, Flower and Fruit Mountain and other interesting names.

For some of these names, one has to use much imagination, to visualize the formations.

Lynn said this formation looks like the chandelier. Emmmmppppp.....entah larrr......

Can you spot a face in the rock formation?

Some 70 inscriptions on the cave wall are said to be travelogues and poems derived from the Tang Dynasty

Both the stories and the lighting add mystery to the scene. This one for example is known as the snow castle. Reflections of the rock formations on the water was really, really a beauty!!

To the Mountain

2011-06-01T19:09:00.017+08:00

The cable car ride up Yao mountain reminded me the one I took up Bukit Nanas in KL when I was a little girl. The cars were very much similar, the only difference was - ride up Bukit Nanas was just a short one.

Once we arrived at the top, the view was simply stunning. Lines of the limestone mountain range piked up into the sky, looking like giant custodians of the rivers and valleys. Our tour guide, Lynn explained to us about the mountains and the history of the place.

On a clear day, one should be able to spot a mountain range that looks like a sleeping Buddha. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day that time we went up.

Follow the path and it takes you right to the cloud......

And it was cloudy alright......

Lynn was explaining to us what characters the mountains look like. Ada yang looked like elephants, Buddha, dragons and others.

Lynn asked us to pass through this wooden door. One door was for wealth, the other was or happiness and the other one....errr I can't recall.

And both Nissa and I chose the door to happiness.

On the other side of the door, we found locks with messages on them. Couples and loved ones placed their bonding messages and had them tight locked up high in the clouds.

Lynn teaching us how to calculate birth age associated to our animal characters.

On our way out, we passed this wall with writings.

These words are actually the listing of family names and their meanings.

Panda handbags...really cute

It was too cloudy to see the background....

As more tourists arrived, we got ready to head our way down.

Wandering About Guilin

2011-05-31T23:39:00.021+08:00

What’s your secret?

Secret? None. Well, patience and perseverance maybe, but no secrets.

Friends often asked me how I managed to secure bargain air-fare tickets each time Air Asia launches its campaigns. My reply would be, “Try and keep trying.” Sounds so corny, kan? But if I were to tell you that I paid a little under RM130 for each return ticket to Guilin recently, wouldn’t you too want to go flocking AA's cyberspace trying your luck?

And that’s my story with the red and white website. Sometimes I get lucky; at times efforts can be hopelessly futile. Well, you can’t win all the time.

Anyhow, flying on Air Asia can be a headache at times. Rescheduling of flights is pretty common these days. Off late some flights are even canceled. No reasons given, only a notification email. So be prepared to have your plans adjusted. In fact that was what happened to this trip to Guilin; we were warranted another day as the return flight was rescheduled. What was only a 5 day trip has changed to a 6 day holiday. Okay jugak lah kan……

That morning on 16th May 2011, Faris drove us to LCCT at around 3.30am. I had done the web check-in but we didn’t want to take any chances, of course. Had light breakfast at McDonalds (one question..why must the same pancake at the airport cost much, much more than pancakes at the non-airport McD outlets?? Haa...cer citer...cer citer...) After breakfast, we walked to our departure gate. Unfortunately, the gate assigned to our flight was a temporary one and the departure area was not equipped with any form of amenities. There was no toilet and neither was there a surau. Argghhhhh....ohhh….why larr?? That morning we did our solat Subuh from our seats in the departure waiting area minutes before we boarded – early morning flights, that's how it is lah.

Guilin is a city in Guangxi Region, China.

Flight to Guilin was slightly more than 4 hours. Later when I looked around in the aircraft, I discovered that we were the only non Chinese on board!! One uncle asked why we were going to Guilin. According to him, most Malays would tour the other famous Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai. I told him we’ve been to those places, and now it was time to go have some adventure. I couldn’t tell if he was at all impressed by my reply. But when I told him we didn’t not engage any tour agencies from back home to arrange for our trip he only had this to say, “Whoaaaa….u banyakkk pandai oooo!!”

I wanted to reply him this way, “Unker….got Google mahhh!!” But instead I chose to just show him my confident smile. And that was how we managed pretty much the next five days, communicating like ducks and chics; putting to use all creative means and methods we could possibly think of.

Sharing here story of our trip….enjoy :)

Very close proximity to many picturesque limestone mountains and formations, Guilin is a scenic town and one of the best-known tourist destinations in China.

Nissa and our guide for the city tour. Got the tour from the info desk at the airport. Pretty reasonable rate - CNY200 for the afternoon tour of the city.

First excitement of the day - the cable car ride up the Yao Mountains. Yao Mountain lies only about 12 kilometres from downtown Guilin. At a shade over 900 metres high it is the highest peak in the vicinity of Guilin. Brave heart Nissa..(before the ride...)

The 1400 metre cable car ride was completed in 1996 using Austrian technology. This provides easy access to the summit as well as wonderful views on the way up.
View from our cable car....by now knees were wobbling.

These covered cars are only used during rainy days.

The cars came very close to these tall trees on the mountain slopes.

Pine and bamboo trees that came into view

Mommy trying to look cool for the camera while Nissa was all cold feet and hands.

Err...when was maintenance checks done on these?? A question that was probably running in everyone's mind. It was on mine all along the way up.

Not for the faint hearted - you can even slide you way down!!!

Yao Mountain got its name from a Yao emperor temple and boasting all natural beauty in its surroundings.

Auntie's Back

2011-05-21T23:09:00.003+08:00

Been to the river, peeked into the caves, climbed the mountain and cycled to the country side - this holiday was indeed different.

Got home this afternoon. Still sorting out the laundry while FBing. Will have more stories of our trip to captivating Guilin.

Sent via Kay's Berry

Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

2011-05-16T04:58:00.000+08:00

Nope the title has got nothing to do with this post. But then come to think again, may be it does!!

This tweety bird is going away for a couple of days. She's gonna be chirping away in some outback country side with two others.

The next few days this will be her motto.....

Have a good week folks :)

Toi Mon Amour, Mon Ami

2011-05-11T21:33:00.000+08:00

Obviously, there is still a longggg way to go at completing our Paris & London travel stories. I've completed our adventures of the first day in Paris - still many, many more days to go.

Celebrating my accomplished effort with this song.

Toi mon amour, mon ami
Quand je rêve c'est de toi
Mon amour, mon ami
Quand je chante c'est pour toi
Mon amour, mon ami
Je ne peux vivre sans toi
Mon amour, mon ami
Et je ne sais pas pourquoi
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

My love my friend

You my love, my friend
When I dream, it's about you
My love, my friend
When I sing, it's for you
My love, my friend
I can't live without you
My love, my friend
And I don't know why
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

Notre Dame de Paris

2011-05-11T18:18:00.000+08:00

There were already storms of people waiting in line to go up the Eiffel Tower. Both girls were not bothered about making the climb up the tower.

What fascinated us most was the street sellers making their dominant presence at selling the replicas of the tower. Abe befriended one of these young enterprising chaps and later walked away happily with a few replicas of the tower as souvenirs. (ye lah kan...orang hari-hari dok eat, sleep, study, ~~love~~, tengok tower...kena lah bawak pulang bagi kat kawan-kawan)

Us girls, we went around taking pictures while he haggled for the best deal he could get for his purchase.

Once done, we hurdled back to HOHO stop.

Our next stop was a Gothic masterpiece located on the Île de la Cité, a small island in the heart of Paris.

Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and in Europe.

Seen from the exterior, the building appears to be High Gothic. Notable features include the profusion of colonnettes and tracery screens, the horizontal and vertical ordering of the facades

The Portal of Saint Anne is the portal on the west façade on the right. Its tympanum is an earlier Romanesque work, taken from the former St. Stephen's Cathedral and dating from about 1150.

In its centre, there is a magnificent Virgin with Child in the Romanesque style, with all of the elegant and serene characteristics of majestic Virgins.

A painting in the Notre Dame.

The South Rose Window was a gift from the king Saint Louis. It was designed by Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil.

It would days, just to view all the windows and learn what they are illustrating. Each window is divided into panels, which are usually read from left to right, bottom to top (earth to heaven). The number of figures or abstract shapes used is symbolic; three stands for the Church, squares and the number four symbolize the material world of the four elements, circles for eternal life.

Silence...prayers in session.

Statue of St. Joan of Arc inside Notre Dame

We followed the flow of crowd making one full round in the cathedral. Upon our exit, we saw the dark skies looming over the area. And we were hungry again by then.

Coffee and food aroma from the sidewalk cafes got us walking across the street. We found a seller on the corner selling crêpe!!

Break time.....and we had our own choice crêpe (a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour. Abe said...macam lempeng lah) with different fillings. In the end, we all agreed that the best crêpe was the one with Nutella, banana and coconut filling. Yummmmssssss......

As we strolled around the Notre Dame area, we spotted these power machines..........

And Mommy obviously had to do damage here.......

The Iron Lady

2011-05-11T13:25:00.004+08:00

It was a very long wait for our HOHO bus at the Concorde stop. We were the first ones there and not long after we were joined by a few more. One foreign couple paced up and down the sidewalk, clearly making their dissatisfaction noticed over the tiresome wait in the cold.

Both Abe and Farah had gone to the luxury 5 star Hôtel de Crillon to do what they needed to do. "Toilet dia...berkilat-kilat silau," reported Farah. Well....what would you expect?? This is after all Paris!!

I checked the list of stops and coming up next was the Eiffel Tower. Everyone was excited and when the bus finally came (like after a good 40 mins wait....) we quickly hopped in and climbed onto the upper deck for better views.

As the HOHO bus slowly approached the area of Champs de Mars, we understood then why this steel lady was so popular.

La dame de fer, the iron lady - you couldn't possibly visit Paris without seeing her. The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

Full view from Trocadero area.
The tower stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building.

The structure was built as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution.

Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets. Nissa being given some quick facts about steel structures by Daddy - who is no stranger to such structures. (check out her must-I-listen- to-this-tech-stuff-stories look....)

It was named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel.

It took more than two years to complete the structure. To date, it is the most-visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year.

My personal favourite view of the lady......
Paree....Je t'aime

Place de la Concorde

2011-05-10T20:30:00.000+08:00

Place de la Concorde is an area situated between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées. Octagonal in shape and it is about 20 acres big.

In 1792, during the French revolution, the square was called Place de la Révolution. A guillotine was installed at the center of the square and in a time span of only a couple of years, 1119 people were beheaded here.

Amongst them many famous people like King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, evolutionary Robespierre, just to name a few. After the revolution the square was renamed several times until 1830, when it was given the current name 'Place de la Concorde'.

Trying to pose and keep warm at the same time

Brrrrr....cold....

This 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes was installed in the 19th century at the center of the Place de la Concorde.

It is a 23 meters (75 ft) tall monolith in pink granite and weighs approximately 230 tons. In 1831, it was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt to Louis Philippe. Three obelisks were offered by the Viceroy, but only one was transported to Paris.

The obelisk - sometimes dubbed 'L'aiguille de Cléopâtre' or Cleopatra's Needle - is covered with hieroglyphs picturing the reign of pharaohs Ramses II & Ramses III.

Giving lil sister an uplift for better look of the bronze fountain

'La fontaine des Mers' was added to the square in 1836 Jacob Ignaz Hittorf.

It got even colder as we continued our walking tour

Berkerut-kerut menahan sejuk....

In the background is Hôtel de Crillon - a masterpiece of French 18th-century architecture.
Okay that's it...let's take the HOHO bus now!!

Grand & Petit Palais

2011-05-10T18:56:00.004+08:00

It is actually very difficult to walk the streets of Paris and not go in amazement with what you see. There is always something that'd capture your eyes. Hence, walking is the best way to appreciate the beautiful city. But there were times these old and worn out knees couldn't carry off the passionate wishes of the heart.

We rested for a short while after feasting our eyes on the ornate Pont Alexandre III. Got our packed sandwiches out and wiped clean those tuna mayo slices. Sejukkk....jadi perut pun lapar lah.

Across our resting place, came in view two historic buildings in Paris. One is the Grand Palais (Grand Palace) and the other is Petit Palais. Both places house excellent collections of art work from various centuries.

The Grand Palais listed as a historic monument. Its glass domed roof can be spotted from a distance.

The structure was built in the style of Beaux-Arts architecture as taught by the École des Beaux-Arts of Paris. The building reflects the movement's taste for ornate decoration through its stone facades.

For more than 100 years, the Grand Palais has been a public exhibition hall and host to a variety of grand events.

Just accross the Grand Palais - the Petite Palais. It was built for the Universal Exposition in the year 1900. Originally meant to be just a temporary structure to host a large exposition of French art. This magnificent Beaux Arts-style building was designed by Charles Girault. Now it serves as a museum of art.

It combines Greek and Roman forms but also includes plenty of ornamentation, making it rather eclectic in style. Seen a big statue of Winston Churchill.

A statue standing tall in the gardens of Petite Palais

Pont Alexandre III

2011-05-10T13:16:00.030+08:00

As we walked out the gates of les Invalides, a wide public esplanade greeted us with a display unobstructed view of the city. This grand open spaces in the heart of Paris - Esplanade des Invalides extends to the River Seine.

The Avenue du Maréchal Gallieni divides the esplanade into two halves; running from the north and south through the Esplanade. Three other streets cross it from east to west before it reaches Quai d'Orsay at the river's edge.

We took our time strolling the esplanade, trying to absorb as much that we could about Paris on that breezy morning.

Huge streets opposite Les Invalides (in the background)

We then came towards Pont Alexandre III, an arch bridge spanning the Seine; built between 1896 and 1900. It was designed by architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin. Pont Alexandre III spans across 107m of the River Seine, connecting pedestrian and auto traffic between Esplanade de Invalides in the 7th arrondissement and the Champs-Élysées quarter in the 8th arrondissement.

The bridge displayed exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end.

Numerous sculptors are featured prominently in the bridge. Four gilt-bronze statues of Fames watch over the bridge, supported on massive 17-meter socles - providing stabilizing counterweight for the arch. A gilded sculpture of Pegasus on the Right Bank, Renommée des Sciences ("Fame of the Sciences") by Emmanuel Frémiet.

One of the Fames - couldn't tell which is which. They all looked the same to this bare eyes.

Nymphs of the Seine

Seine River cruise boat

One of the nymphs of the Seine

Nymphs lagiiiii.....

Nissa getting really tired of the nymphs.....

And another nymph......

This one had pad locks on him...something to do with "love lock down" I think.

Lion à l'enfant by Georges Gardet.

And where to next???

HOHO 1st Stop - Les Invalides

2011-05-05T13:26:00.002+08:00

The fastest and easiest way to do Paris when you have limited time is to go on the hop on hop off bus. At the circle near the Luxembourg gardens, we boarded the Orange Route on the L'Open Tour. It was a cold day, but that didn't stop us from going on the upper deck for better viewing of the city.

Streets of Paris....daily activities just starting to pick up.

Watch for the stops with the L'Open Tour call sign - boarding place of the tour buses.

Braving the cold winds on the upper deck

Parisian residence

A mix of old and new architecture standing harmoniously next to one another

Building on the Montparnasse. At the beginning of the 20th century, Montparnasse was the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris.

The area is also known for cafes and bars.

On the hop on hop off bus, you get to listen to audio commentary in 8 different languages - just to ensure you do not miss a thing. A few minutes on the HOHO bus, we came to our first stop - complex of buildings - Les Invalides. Visible from far is this royal chapel, better known as the Dôme des Invalides, gold-domed building now used as a burial site for a number of the country's war heroes.

Les Invalides sits in Paris's 7th arrondissement and consists of museums and monuments related to the military history of France.

The front facade faces the Seine river. Whole complex features 15 courtyards, the largest being the cour d'honneur (court of honor). This courtyard was used for military parades.

The building was completed in 1676. It was also a home for "invalids" - disabled and impoverished war veterans. Les Invalides was designed by Libéral Bruant.

High doors with fine carvings

Standing tall statue of Napoleon at Les Invalides

Long shot of Napolean

Ornament at the Invalides

On the walls of the Invalides

Elaborations on the gates of the Invalides

Cold....brrrrr but pic shot a must :)

Girls at pic stop at the Gates.

His favourite spot - by the artillery at the Invalides....

AMoT Launch

2011-05-05T08:20:00.001+08:00

Once upon time not that long ago, while doing a research on Terengganu, Google brought me to a blog called “Kecek-Kecek”. I scanned through the writings in Kecek-Kecek and book-marked it for easy access later. The blog world was still so foreign to me then.

I continued being a silent reader, never dared leaving any cyber foot prints due to my limited knowledge on the subject matter itself. But I continued to follow postings of blog. Later when I started Sembang, “Kecek-Kecek” was permanently linked in my blog.

So that was how it started, my trailing of Awang Goneng - the blog owner and writer of Kecek-Kecek.

When I received the invite from Kak Teh (the very beautiful wife of Wan Ahmad Hulaimi aka Awang Goneng) to the launch of A Map of Terengganu AMoT, I was elated. AMoT is AG’s latest book after his brilliant success on Growing Up in Terengganu GUiT.

The event was held at RA Fine Arts Gallery in Solaris Dutamas (yes….like many others we got lost too!) last Sunday. It was a wonderful do – a delightful event attended by so many who’s who in the industry.

AG reading a short chapter from AMoT

Moi with Andre Goh!! He mentioned that he was the Bakat TV Champion in 1972. I told him I was only 8 then....

The man needs no introduction. Dato Jimmy Choo was at the AMoT launch too.

Book signing by AG

Congratulations to AG :)) and Kak Teh and all the great people of AMoT

Sent via Kay's Berry

Park Visit

2011-04-28T19:08:00.002+08:00

With the recent development in the home front, thoughts and ideas on a travel blog of our last vacation got temporarily interrupted. Ideas just simple didn't flow and the body was most of the time exhausted to even write a line.

However, I am determined to have it completed - never mind if it takes ages.

In this entry, I am featuring the Jardin du Luxembourg, a park located near the Sorbonne University.

Jardin du Luxembourg or the Luxembourg Gardens is about 55 acres large. Originally owned by the duke of Luxembourg, hence the name.

The gardens were laid out in Italian style on request of Marie de' Medici, the queen consort of France. She was the second wife of King Henry IV of France. Blooms are not out yet, hence the barren look.

In Paris parks or gardens are like art. They exhibit paintings of tree and watercolor of fountains. Adorning the park there are many statues and one famous statue is Statue of Saint-Geneviève - the patroness of Paris.

Nissa and Statue of Pan in the background. Pan in Greek religion and mythology, is the companion of the nymphs, god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music.

Greens of the garden

Spring colours out in the garden

Top - Greek mythological figure - Polyphemus.
Bottom - sea nymph Galatea and Acis - a shepherd and the son of Pan.

Polyphemus loved Galatea, but Galatea loved Acis. Galatea and Acis mocked the love songs that Polyphemus sang to Galatea. When Polyphemus caught Acis and Galatea sleeping, he killed Acis by crushing him with a rock.

Threesome - Polyphemus, Galatea & Acis

Threesome - us

Statue of Pan & Palais du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace) in the background

Nissa fascinated by....

.......Pan, of course :)

Nissa & Daddy. In the background Fontaine de Medicis, a romantic baroque fountain designed in 1624.

The park allows one to get hold of one of the many chairs and take it to the exact spot where you want to sit, just like this someone did.

NO Thanks

2011-04-28T13:22:00.000+08:00

It is almost hopeless trying to keep the eyes opened – even for another extra hour to do some blogging or reading these days. By the time I finished putting away the dishes and have the kitchen sweet smelling from the scent of Lysol, after mopping away the grease and spills from earlier dinner preparations, I’m almost ready to drop flat.

I can’t call the day off yet, however. There’s Nissa’s next day school attire to press and laundry to fold. (why can’t the kids just go off in normal day clothes???) Ohhhh….housework – it is just never ending.

That has been the story of my life for the past week since the disappearance of the maid. I am extremely exhausted from these after office hours extra laborious assignment of a home consultant.

Sometimes I wonder – why did the maid run away? Was it due to all the hard labour she had to carry out or was it due to external influence (read: boyfriend, lover, or more pay) that made her not look back that day when she left.

Last weekend, when both Abe and I resumed the role as cleaners we discovered that the maid was not worthy as we saw her. After running a quick inspection of the house, we discovered the short cuts she’d been taking. Her job was shoddy – kids rooms were not cleaned as how she was instructed to do so. Dust accumulated under the beds, behind the closet areas and in places where were not visible to the eyes.

I was extremely upset with the discovery. It was not like there was so much to do in our house. We do not have little children and we are out most of the time and on weekends.

So the question was – what has she been up too all this time??

As I recall the many days when she was home alone - during weekends, during our vacations, and we thought she was resting and recuperating for the hard work, I wonder now what really went on in the house. I shudder at the thoughts that she could have been up to no good right under our nose!! Nauzubillah….

So…it is somewhat good riddance that the maid’s gone. My back aches like crazy now from all chores I take up. But…..the mind is crystal clear and there is none what so ever remorse feeling inside about not having her in the house.

So what, now that she’s gone……life goes on. Coffee is still brewing, laundry is still done, clothes are still neatly pressed, dishes are all well kept and the house is still clean, perhaps cleaner than before!!

So....am I going to look for a replacement at this point in time? With a going rate of almost 8k in agency fees, plus no warrantees that they will stay and undertake the job with honesty and integrity, no kidding lah.....I don't need one, no thanks!!

Well, maybe later...but for now - NO.

Bumpy Roads Ahead

2011-04-25T08:39:00.001+08:00

Haven't been able to blog anything since the last posting. Many things happened in the last week. The maid ran away last Monday and this caused our schedules and plans turn topsy turvy. I want to scream…I want to cry…I want to kick someone. Well, for those who have been in my shoes, you kinda know the feeling, yes?

I’m already in the office – half way finishing my coffee and all set to brave the day today; both in the office and home front. InshaAllah, I’ll manage to withstand the challenges.

My matra since last week.

But..tears welled my eyes when I saw this text message in Nissa's BB - "bibik balik la..."
Ohhh...God give me strength.

Sent via Kay Berry

Paris Wake Up!!

2011-04-15T19:11:00.000+08:00

Paris s'éveille……Paris wake up!!

It must have been jet lag that caused Abe to be wide awake by 3.00am Paris time. Me?? I am not a morning person, sleepy head, like always - regardless Paris or KL.

But the noise and smell of food from the kitchen rolled me out from my slumber. Abe was already making breakfast and the aroma of 3 in 1 coffee filled the space of the tiny apartment.

My watch, still on Malaysian time showed that it was 10.00am. No wonder lah dah terjaga.

That morning breakfast was simple - tuna sandwiches and instant noodles. We didn't manage to go get groceries the night before, so we had to make do with ration we brought from home. Tapi dah lapar kan.....semua pun sedap.

Paris streets - still early and quiet

Magazine and news stand were the earliest to start business for the day

Where to we go from here now??

After breakfast, we prepared our first big day in Paris. We have only 2 full days in Paris, and to cover all the many interesting places may not be possible if we did a tour of our own. Hence, the best alternative was to do a hop on hop off (HOHO) tour round the city. I checked quite a number of companies that offered the HOHO package online. Checked out the different packages and finally settled with one from Insago L'Open Tour. Paid for my bookings online and got the confirmation printed.

It was still early when we hit the Paris streets. Side walk cafes have not opened but the smell of coffee brewing was enough to get our nostrils cracking. Right across our apartment there was dainty a porcelain shop, told myself to go take a peek if time permits.

Decide where to.....

Street leads to Institute Curie

Upon seeing the name "Curie" teringat mata pelajaran tawarikh in primary school. Google helped refresh these details about Curie - he was pioneer in the study about radioactivity, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 was married Marie Curie.

Hospital close to Institute Curie

Hardly 10 minutes walk from our base, a fantastic architectural sight came to view – the Pantheon.

The Pantheon - in Greek it means "every god"

It was originally built as a church

Now it serves as a temple to the great intellectuals of France

Gothic decorations

Its architect, Jacques-Germain Soufflot died before his work was completed

One of the few family pictures we managed to snap.
Pantheon - located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève.

Adjacent to the Pantheon

University Paris 1 Panthéon- Sorbonne - famous for its Faculty of Law and Economics

Église St-Etienne-du-Mont - a church located very close to the Pantheon

Moi asking for directions. Luckily the lady understood English.

Cold....burrrrr

A blimp spotted near the Pantheon

Letters to mail out, anyone?

Errr...new way of parking your bike?

What Inez said about Rue Monge being close to many attractions in Paris was very true. So where to next?

The Joys of Present

2011-04-11T19:00:00.000+08:00

“Here's my love, take it. Here's my soul, use it. Here's my heart, don't break it. Here's my hand, hold it and together we will make it forever.”

Errr…those weren’t quite his words. No poetic ammo, just straight to the heart kind of question he asked me.

Early in the relationship, making sense with scents was perhaps easier to him, L'Air du Temps - Air of Time.

Today we celebrate our 24 years of each other - 2 + 3 makes 5; one big happy family (but if you add the many years when the eyes first exchanged glances, we’ve been an item for almost 29 years!!)

Today we celebrate the memories of yesterday, the joys of present and the hopes of tomorrow.

I thank God for everything - my family and my life and all the wonderful blessings He's bestowed upon us.

Alhamdulillah….syukur.

Paris s'éveille

2011-03-31T20:21:00.004+08:00

Have been extremely occupied in the office today. Hence, no opportunity to update blog with stories of Paree. I don't want to lose my update momentum, however. So....here's a song for you :))

Paris s'éveille - think it means "Paris wake up"

110 Rue Monge - Latin Quarter

2011-03-30T18:15:00.006+08:00

Location, location, location!! That’s most important when you are looking for a place to stay while in Paris. You wouldn’t want to be spending too much time traveling to places of attraction; hence, a place too out of the city, although cheaper, should make you reconsider.

I must have sent so many emails to inquire about my accommodation in Paris. It was quite frustrating at a point actually when most of the places that I asked were already taken up. Those available ones were way, way out in the 18th or 20th Arrondissement, which I’d consider too far for us. Didn’t quite fancy the idea of staying in a Paris suburb – so it was a no go.

Then one day an email respond came from an agent in Paris and they verified that they have an apartment available at the Latin Quarter during those dates that I wanted. Now why Latin Quarter?

You'll see this the moment you emerge from the metro station

The Latin Quarter is an area in the 5th and parts of the 6th Arrondissement of Paris. (There are 20 arrondissements all together in Paris.) Situated on the left bank of the River Seine, it has a lot to offer to tourist and locals; some even within walking distance. The whole area is alive with cacophony of sounds sights and a menagerie of people and personalities; very thriving at any time.

Dalam erti kata lain – very the happening lah kan….

Rue Monge - street outside the apartment

After a few exchanges of emails, I finally confirmed the apartment at 110, *Rue Monge in Paris’ Latin Quarter. Once the confirmation was done, I was to pay a deposit to secure the unit. Balance was to be paid in cash when I check in later. There was also a contract that was sent to me (written in both French and English). I signed it and sent it back to the agent. The Parisians are very strict with security deposits. Before leaving for Paris, I paid another 500Euros as security deposit and upon checkout, if everything is in order the deposit will be returned.

Okay…got that settled before we left.

The moment we landed at Orly, I sent a text message to the owner of the apartment, just as instructed in the email from the agent. A few seconds later, there was a notification saying that my text message didn’t get through as the person on the other line was not available or contactable. Urgghhhh….???

Okay, let’s try calling pulak. Same thing – number not available. Okay, what now?? Let’s try sending an email to the agent lah. Email went through but there was no reply.

Okay…tak pe lah tawakkal je lah and follow the directions given and go to the apartment as initially planned.

Metro stop just behind us

When we got out from the Metro station, I decided to give it one more try at calling the owner. A guy came on to the line and informed me that there was already someone waiting for us in the apartment. Alhamdulillah….syukur. Thank God it wasn’t a scam or anything. Tak berani nak fikir what would have happened if was the otherwise. Sujud syukur sekejap lepas solat malam tu.

The lift takes you up to the 5th floor. See how tiny it is. Only two people can go in at one time. With luggage?? Just one - person and bag.....

The apartment located only two blocks from the Censier Daubenton metro station was on the 5th floor. It was very tiny - only 30m²; nonetheless it had all the facilities. TV, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, and sofa beds for the two girls. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to snap pictures of the place (coz excited nak bergambar di luar and not di dalam).

Inez, this Alegerian – Tunisian mixed young lady greeted us when we walked into the unit. Her sharp features, very pretty complexion and her dark curly long hair couldn’t get my eyes off her. Cantik nya lah budak ni….(eat your heart out RWC....cheh dalam pada nak bayar rental tu sempat teringat ke RCW….urggghhh…nitemare!!)

Starbucks around the corner

Street view of rue Monge

I paid her the balance of the payment and chit chatted with her for a while. In that few exchanges she told me that she’s a muslim, the apartment belongs to her dad, she’s still studying, and her family have stayed in Paris for more than 20 years. Then she explained a little bit about the street where we were staying – there are plenty of restaurants but they are not halal, STARBUCKS just down the corner, very close to tourist spots and very easy excess to places on the bus or Metro. Inez spoke enough English to get the message across and I had no trouble understanding her.

After she left, we unpacked. Girls were excited with this new living arrangement. Next thing was to start dinner and get cleaned up.

Enjoying her hot Milo by the heater (the gray panel behind her)

Dinner was ayam masak merah (from Chef Wan’s canned food) and rice., serunding from home and instant noodles for the hungry ghosts (err girls…)

As the bathroom was really, really, really small, we had to carefully negotiate ourselves in it. Each one took turns taking bath, feeling so happy coz dah kenyang and dapat mandi hot shower.

Like always, Mommy would be the last at everything lah kan. So bila nak shower…..oooppsss sesuatu telah berlaku!!!

Apakah???

No more hot waterrrrrrrrr!!!! All the stored hot water in the little storage tank had been used up for the cooking and washing. Ohhhh…..tak kan nak shower with the fear factor icy cold water??? OMG…OMG….OMG…of coz lah tidak akan!! (Sedangkan kat Msia tengah hari buta pun guna hot shower, ini lah pulak in the freezing cold Paree???)

So that night, Mommy skipped the shower. Took ablution and solat and went straight to bed…..(nasib lah if got bau kan…) But we were so exhausted, my sleeping partner didn’t (dare) complain.

And that was it our first day - long flight, metro rides and apartment hunting. What a day!!!

*rue is French for road/street

Ride the Paris Metro

2011-03-30T06:38:00.021+08:00

At approximately 4.00pm local time we landed safely at Orly – a relatively smaller airport, compared to Charles de Gaulle. It is located about 13km south of Paris and the fastest mode of transport to our apartment in the Paris’ 5th Arrondissement was by bus and the Metro.

The AAX crew waiting for their luggage

So were the rest of the passengers

There was a bit of a wait for our luggage. Nissa came to me and reported what she overheard from AA crew. Apparently there was an oversize luggage stuck somewhere on the conveyor belt causing the system to jam up. Haaa…tu dia!! Siapa lah yang punya angkara??

While I waited, I caught a glimpse of a couple who was already in argument about how they were going to the city. The wife said to take the bus whilst the hubby preferred the Metro – just like a scene one would encounter in the reality tv show the Amazing Race. I reminded myself to be extra careful over potential arguments like these. Penat lah kan if awal-awal lagi dah caught in such exhausting exchanges. Buat spoilt mood je nanti…..

Our choice the Orly Bus to Denfert-Rochereau

Anyway, we were pretty set about our travel arrangements. From my research on the Paris public transport network, the best way to get to our apartment was to ride on the airport bus to a metro exchange station first; and from then on the Metro itself.

Both Abe and I went to inquire about the bus tickets. Ohhh…suspence juga. What if the person at the counter spoke no English? How? Anyway, I decided to just give it a try with the only one liner of French I knew.

Pardon, parlez vous Anglais? (Excuse me, do you speak English?)

“Yes,” answered the big guy behind the counter.

Fuhhhh…..lega!!!

The black guy explained to us where to wait for the bus and told us that tickets could be purchased at the ticket counter next to the stop.

I smiled and said merci beaucoup to him. We then gathered the girls and started walking, luggage et all to the bus stop.

Big bikes parked along the airport exit road - the BMWs, Hondas, Ducatis

Trying to figure out what's gonna happen next after the bus ride

Rush home crawl on Paris highway

You'll see a lot of wall murals in Paris. Every available wall space is creatively scribbled

It was almost 5.00pm local time when we hit the highway on the bus and it was Paris rush hour too. Cars started to line the highway. Boleh tahan panjang juga lah queue nya, though not as bad as the end day traffic crawl like in KL.

Outside the Denfert-Rochereau station

Denfert-Rochereau metro platform

The bus dropped us at our Metro stop Denfert-Rochereau. It was time to hit the Metro from then on. Ahaaaa…that was when the challenge started - making our ticket purchase in French!! Truth be told, I didn’t bother pun making myself heard in French. Spoke in English asking for four tickets to the Censier Daubenton stop. Again luck was with us, the man at the ticket counter responded in English. He gave us our tickets and handed our change and directed us to entrance to the Metro line.

Metro wait is not long - on the average there's a metro in every 3 minutes.

We have to change lines at Palace d’ Itallie, however and then hop onto Line 7 to go to Censier Daubenton. The switching lines was trivia; we could manage that no problem. But the REAL challenge was having to lug our luggage up and down the steps at the Metro stations!!! Dahlah luggage berat, kena angkat turun naik tangga!!!!

I read about this in a Tripadvisor forum. But I didn’t expect such high flight of stairs. Ada yang kena naik sampai dua tiga lapis tangga!!!! Ohhh…I could hear my knees making cracking sounds from the luggage lifting exertion. Even Nissa had to carry a bag. Nasib baik the one she had was not as heavy as the rest.

Sortie - way out

But the Parisians were helpful. When this one guy helped me with mine, this aunty went merci, merci thanking him. Then when we arrived at our Metro exit (Sortie in French) we had another tough time bull dozing our luggage out at the turnstile. Orangnya dah out, luggage masih stuck, and that somewhat held the people flow at the exit. Nasib baik again, our struggles were spotted by the Metro authorities. They opened the larger exits for us.

Fuhhh…what a break!!! Thank God.

First sights of Parisian architechture

We emerged on the streets at the Censier Daubenton stop after being underground on the Metro. So now…where to? Turn left or turn right to our apartment? By then we were so, so exhausted. We have been on our feet for almost 24 hours and fatigue has started to wear us down.

Opppssss.....I forgot one thing - Paris was freezing cold that day when we arrived!!

Five Hours to Paree

2011-03-29T20:48:00.005+08:00

Rant # 1

There’s hardly any announcements via the cabin PA system on our whereabouts. I overheard the stewardess saying to a passenger that there's another four hours till we reach Orly.

Yes, that is how basic AA can go. Not a tweet about anything. Even the pilot's voice is not heard. Err...he did say a few words just after takeoff from LCCT. But that was like 8 hours ago! Urghhh...guess these cabin crew have adopted the "minimization approach" now that they hail from a low budget carrier. Drives you mad crazy, don’t they?

Just a bit of a wait till we get to see this Lady

And these sweets too.....

Are we heading for the right airport? (Of course we are lah kan, flight system now runs on auto - key in coordinates and in no time - 14 hours for us today, we'll arrive at our destination). How long more is the journey? For heaven's sake Mr Pilot or Ms Senior Stewardess could you please let us know whose air space are we flying above now!!! No news can at times be not good news! (Ignore me please…the hours in this confined space has obviously gotten to me and the iPad has become my poking pad.)

Rant # 2

Again this could be the result of my not so worldly travel insight. Unlike the other flights I have taken, the cabin crew would usually distribute the immigrations embarkation cards - you know those you need to fill out your travel details and pass them to the Immigrations check point at the airport later.

Well not in this flight. None distributed since we took off. So I asked one of these tight-fitted-slit-in-the-front cabin ladies. Her reply was, "oh you didn't get it ah just now?" and she gave me that puzzled look. I said NO. So she asked one of her colleagues to go get those cards for us. Told her I needed four and then she said to the colleague, "Get 5 just in case". I thanked her and she disappeared.

Not long after that the guy came back. He said this to me, "No need card. All done oral." Ayohhh...son, aunty here ah got problem when you put your message across like that one lah.... Aunty's imagination can go a wee bit too imaginative! You mean VERBAL, izzit?? Pergghhh...jiwa kacau Aunty when you like to abuse this "oral" thingy....err word, I mean.

Choice of words was one thing. Back to the immigration disembarkation card, now which is which? No card or yes card? Me no like surprises when me land later. And in French, a language me hardly speak??

Helppppp....!!!

Gotta just keep calm...

p/s Mr TF.....can we put some immediate attention on improving the communication skills of your ladies in red and guys in black? I can turn deaf ears on a two hour flight to Jakarta. But on a 14 hour flight??? Spoil Aunty's mood to be lomantik in Paree lorr!!

17th March 2011 at 11.30am Paris time
Sent from my iPad

Three Hours and Counting

2011-03-29T13:15:00.002+08:00

It was a morning flight out of LCCT. Like usual, I would always have difficulties sleeping before my trips. The same happened to this one too. By the time I completed packing, it was almost 4am and airport pickup was at 6.30.

Fearing that I may not wake up later if I dozed off, I spent of my awake hours, rearranging the handbag section of my closet!! Quietly, I took each one out and reorganized the entire area. Perhaps I was nervous, or maybe I was too excited...I don't know.

Checking in at LCCT went smooth as I had done a web check in for everyone. We did the luggage drop off and went straight in the boarding gates.

Went through the airport security checks followed by a quick bite at one of the cafes in LCCT boarding area and not long after that came our boarding call.

I hit slumber even before take off and next thing I knew food was on its way down the aircraft aisle.

It was a longgggg flight - 14 hours from LCCT to Paris Orly. We left slightly after 9am on Thursday 17/3/2011.

These were my earlier accounts written onboard AAX flight D72014 LCCT - Orly.

Three Hours and Counting

This is our third hour onboard this flight to Paris. We still have a long way to go - like another 11 more in this just-about-my-size airplane seat.

Can't recall when I last took a long haul flight. Perhaps it was that trip to San Francisco couple of years back.

The question is now, other than sleep, how else could we entertain ourselves?

Nissa is now doing word search. Farah has drowned her system with music from the iPad. Abe is flicking through the pages of the itinerary I had drawn up. Fifteen pages long - complete with metro stop guides and street directions courtesy from Mr Google map.

These last two days I intensified my research on this trip - burning the midnight oil trying to understand the complexity of Paris metro and treading Tripadvisor hints on the dos and don'ts about this city. The result from this research we will know once we get on the ground.

I am just a bit disappointed, however as I didn't get to prepare much on the tech bit. Had wanted to transfer some movies from my external hard disk to the iPad. Unfortunately, I didn't get to. Else I'd be grinning watching Hantu Kak Limah 35,000 feet above sea level. That would be just great entertainment, wouldn't it? Cer citer cer citer...

The cabin lights are now dimmed. We have just had lunch and looks like it's snooze time coming right up. But how long can one doze off?

I remember my very first ride on an airplane. It was when I flew to the US to further my studies. The forever like journey was 14 hours long - from KL to London and then another 12 or so from London to Chicago. I was bored and I was restless. And I was so much missing a dear person in KL. During that flight I did nothing else but descriptively penned my journey. Not a single little info was left out. I wanted that dear person to share my experience during that important milestone in my life.

Looking back now, ohh how ancient ago that was. And how so naive I was too. Now seated in row 22 next to Nissa, what happened then never did have much significance.

This is my life now...and I am so blessed.

17th March 2011 at 1.00pm
Sent from my iPad

We Are Home

2011-03-27T20:42:00.017+08:00

Home sweet home!! Yes, we are back in good ole Shah Alam after our slightly more than a week break in Paris and London. Encountered minor hick ups here and there but nonetheless, it was a wonderful trip.

Jardin du Luxembourg - located on the 22.5hecters public park in the 6th arrondissement in Paris - a palace built by Marie de Medicis, widow of King Henry IV.

A beautiful statue located on the square opposite Les Invalides with The Eiffel Tower in the background.

The Panthéon - very close to our apartment in the Latin Quarter.

We loved both the cities. Nissa loved London more than Paris for reasons she'd rather keep to herself (but deep down I know she likes Paris too...if she knew French!).

Our apartment in Paris 110, Rue Monge - the one with dark brown doors

Statue of Winston Churchill on the grounds the Grand Palais (Great Palace) which is now a museum.

Took lots of pictures, will upload them later - hopefully time permits me to blog about the trip. Must now go organize my notes from the iPad. Looks like it will be a bit of a wait till that happens. But here are some pictures first of the two lovely cities :)

Busy London streets

In the background the National Art Gallery in London. It overlooks the Trafalgar's Square.

Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace and the Big Ben - view from River Thames.

Am all set for work tomorrow. I am not expecting a grand welcome home reception, but I do wish for a calm couple of hours to settle down before I battle any (possible??) storms brewing during the time I was away.

Ahhhh...the London Tower Bridge

Paris, je t'aime

2011-03-17T06:05:00.003+08:00

It was her favourite TV series on Disney Playhouse. Watching that little redhead Madeline getting in and out of trouble got her all in chuckles and eyes glued to the screen. That was Nissa when she was three and since then she has never stopped talking that one day she’ll visit Paris.

Nissa's travel wish list. Did HK a few years back. Tokyo may have to wait slightly longer.

For as long as I could remember, if there was one place Nissa wanted to go visit, it has consistently been Paris. Documentaries on Travel channel about Paris’ monuments, museums, parks and gardens, squares, bridges created so much curiosity in her.

When I was choosing destinations for our family holiday this year, she was adamant about Paris. And many thanks to Uncle TF for the promotional fare tickets, both Nissa and Mommy managed to secure 4 tickets to Paris (rate was pretty da*n good, if compared to the other carriers).

We are all packed and set to go. I’ve got my itinerary ready to attempt the city. I’m very sure there will be lots of “moments of truth” during our upcoming stay.

Wish us luck and till next time au revoir.

Time Out

2011-03-16T17:59:00.003+08:00

It's almost time for me to log off from the computer and do my thumb-print sign off at the exit door. I’ve had a lot going on these last few months. And there will be more coming up in the next few months.

Work had me on the go so much; always in a hurry with practically no time to laze around and relax. I am so, so dead tired (and mind you this is only March!!).

This old girl needs a break.

It’s time to go smell the roses and allow myself to be awe-struck at the splendour of the sun as it rises, and appreciate its magnificence as it sets, InshaAllah.

But there’s a pinch of sadness in me that I don’t know how to explain. It feels like there is something hurting but I can’t figure out what it is.

So…I’m going away for a couple of days – taking time off to spend some quality time with the family.

Life is precious…we only have this moment…the next is not a guarantee.

Sent via Kay's Berry

Ivory Turns Ten

2011-03-11T19:38:00.002+08:00

She flaunts a striking exhibition of unlikeness from her other siblings. If both her abang and kakak are mocha ice blended; Nissa, I'd say is Yeoh's soya milk. I recall that morning of March 11, 2001 when Doc Harris put her in my arms moments after she was born. My thoughts were, "Ohh...okay...my color scheme".

That shouldn't be the first thoughts crossing a mom's mind I know. But after a whole hour of huffin' and puffin' in the labour room, seeing this a bundle of joy whose complexion is closest to my (side of the family...he he) color scheme, I was extra elated. Of course, the tiny fingers, toes and eyes that squint opened whenever she got hungry or wet got us gu-gu ga-ga later on.

Ebony & Ivory

Today that 3.98kg baby girl turns TEN. This morning on the way to school, she said this to me, "I'm 10 Mom, no surprises on my birthday please." My baby is growing up so, so fast! I miss that little bouncy girl in dragging diapers that used to stir her from slumber.

In some distorted part of myself I wanted her to be crying; longing to spend lazy mornings with me, clinging onto my pants as I head out for work.

Hu hu....how fast time flies.

So Nissa...

Today you are 10
What more can we say,
You're becoming more special
Each and every day.
Blow out your candles
One by one
Enjoy your birthday
Have lots of fun.

Be proud of who you are and strive to be the best. Follow your dreams, put forth your efforts to achieve your goals and let God do the rest.

Sent via Kay's Berry

Scent of a Man

2011-03-10T00:06:00.006+08:00

Whenever we pass each other, I'd breathe deep. So masculine, extremely powerful and yet refreshing. Ahhhhhh.......he smells just great. There were times I felt like turning the opposite direction and follow closely from the back, just so that I could get a whiff of him again.

Of course, I never had the guts to do that. A smile that was the most I offered him.

And who is this person? Who am I stalking?

No, I'm not stalking anyone. HE is a guy I'd cross path with during my morning walk. And HE always smells great!! Just when others on the walk track look like they have just rolled off their beds, this 60 sumthin', good built Uncle is all coordinated from head to toe. There is something about him. My wild guess is that he must have served a branch of the Armed Forces. Perhaps he was a Navy men, I don't know. But from his looks one could guess that he was trained to act in accordance with rules.

Every time we pass, his scent haunts me. That exceptional blends of herbs, tobacco, spices and lavender transport me back to the 80s - to my UW days. I kept guessing but what is it?? What is that scent? I know it but I can't make out what it really is.

I have rulled out Brut, Old Spice, Aramis, Polo, Giorgio - just to name a few. Mind boggling, this really is but seriously...what is that scent??

I know I know it......but what is it??!! Maybe it'll be easier if I asked him tomorrow at walk.....

February in March

2011-03-04T20:28:00.001+08:00

It would make a good movie title this "February in March". Gosh...this hiatus is a long one; Sembang is so, so neglected. I have been extremely occupied with work, work and more work. It sounds so cliche, I know, but that's how my life has been these last few weeks.

To tell you the truth, I am exasperated. On the work front, as projects are merrily coming in, I just don't want to be accountable for anymore deliverables and I want to throw away my project manager hat. I just want to sit and do nothing for a change......

But boleh ke?? Perhaps I could, but I know for sure I'll be bored to death just not doing anything. So, never complain lah kan.....

Anyway, I have digressed. Guess that's what happens to you when you haven't been writing long - you tend to pour your heart, never mind if it makes no sense to anyone else.

Okay...back to the title.

February....it was such a short month. The 28 days went flying unnoticed. Many good things happened to me in February but I can't recollect all for this blog. Pathetic kan.....

There were two birthdays that fell in February, one was Faris' and the other was mine. Both days came and went in a blink. There was a brief celebration - nothing either one of us would shout about. Went out for makan and cake pun baked sendiri. Creative? Err...call it doing things different from the previous years.

There were no pictures. Semua orang pun dah malas nak gi snap, snap away. Go eat, catch up on things, dah kenyang, back home and rest. Sounds really ordinary kan?

And yes, just before my birthday it was Valentine's day yang none of us felt like celebrating. Ada yang kata, V-day has got to do with Christianity and ada yang refute. Had I written this piece in February itself, I would have said more. But now, almost a month later...??? Biar je lah senyap ...biar je lah berlalu.....

And it was in February that I started my morning walk routine - more serious this time around. Doing between 3.0 to 3.5 kms per day, gave me the extra push to get myself going. Must continue doing this and must not let work get in the way.

In February, a few of us at work kicked start our Wednesday aerobics class. Haaaa.....THIS was a killer!! But we all knew this was the kind of "kick" we needed and sweat it out we did! (tapi tak gak kurus-kurus...hu hu)

So these were some significant milestones in February. That's two months down and another 10 to go in the year. At the rate we are going, December will be just round the corner and 2011 will draw its curtains.

Jadi...itu lah cerita nya with February. Rather mundane, don't you thing so?

Now the big question which I know many are asking - how old this year?
Okay lah yang ni tak perlu nak berahsia.....anak lelaki is 22 and mak budak lelaki tu 47 dah ni!!

Hahh...the cat is out dah!!

Prezzies pulak??

Got myself this toy to replace the cranky ole STORM.

Sent by Kay's Berry

BeriBeri BiBiks

2011-02-18T18:45:00.002+08:00

“Triii……ini ada balas nya mesej kamuuu!!!”

That shrieking, high pitched crackle really did it this time. I had managed to ignore the unbecoming annoyance since morning when I started my work. But this last shrills really struck my anger octave.

My maid Lastri was busy catching up with her morning chores at the back area of our home. The easy access to passers by had obviously made her very popular with the other maids in the neighbourhood. I was later informed that the call had come from one of her best friends. The immediate concern was - how many friends does she have?

I raced upstairs to get a better look at what’s happening at the area behind my house. By then, I could hear voices; and it seemed like there was already a congregation of domestic helpers, intrigued by the earlier uproar.

The excited crowd gathered around Lastri and they fussed over something which looked like a handphone from afar. I later shifted my radar eyes on the other maids, wondering what could possibly be in their possession.

All sweaty from my cat and mouse lurking conduct, I decided to get to the bottom of things pronto – after all Lastri is my maid, and I have the right to know what she was up too. Raced downstairs and I went straight to where everyone was.

My coming into sight caught the group by surprise. There was silence….each one turned towards me and me to them…..or rather what they had in their possession. Hahhhhh….and guess what I saw???

Each maid had in their possession a gleaming Blackberry!!! What the #$$%&@#$%%^????

And then Lastri prompted me a question, “Nomor pin Ibuk apa ya??”

“Wahhhh….kamu SEMUA ada BB?”

“Iya…Ibuk bikin komunikasi sama keluarga di kampong senang.”

I suddenly felt blood rushed to my face, I see bright lights all around me. And vision of these maids aggressively approaching me for my BB pin number made me gasp for air, my breathing became difficult…..

Then there was silence again……
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Suddenly I hear the calling of the Azan. Where was I?? Where were all the bibiks?? Pin number?? What pin number???

Urghhhhh……it was a dream rupanya!!! It sounds kinda slapstick but WHAT a scare it was!!!

Tu lah…tidur lagi time dekat-dekat nak maghrib.......kan dah!!!

Maulidul Rasul 2011

2011-02-15T10:54:00.005+08:00

Salam Maulidur Rasul.

Maulidur Rasul (dalam bahasa Arab bermaksud kelahiran Rasul) adalah hari bersejarah keputeraan Nabi Muhammad Shallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wa sallam, iaitu pada hari ke-12 bulan Rabiul Awal. Baginda adalah nabi terakhir yang diutus oleh Allah Subhanahu Wataala.

Rumah Maulid (gambar di atas) merupakan rumah Abdullah Ibn AbdulMuththalib dan Aminah, tempat kelahiran junjungan kita Nabi Muhammad Shallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wa sallam. Terletak di Makkah Al-Mukarramah, kini rumah bersejarah itu menjadi perpustakaan umum kota Makkah. Sebagaimana kesederhanaan beliau saat hidupnya, demikianlah rumah itu kini berdiri.

Tala'al-Badru 'alayna,
min thaniyyatil-Wada'
wajaba al-shukru 'alayna,
ma da'a lillahi da'

Ayyuha al-mab'uthu fina
ji'ta bi-al-amri al-muta'
Ji'ta sharrafta al-Madinah
marhaban ya khayra da'

Ayyuha al-mab'uthu fina

ji'ta bi-al-amri al-muta'
Ji'ta sharrafta al-Madinah
marhaban ya khayra da'

Mari menghidupkan kembali segala sunnah baginda serta melaksanakan segala suruhan yang ditetapkan di dalam Al-Quran dan Sunnah. InshaAllah.

Sent from my iPad

Sepi Sunyi

2011-02-11T17:19:00.005+08:00

Sembang : Kenapa lama tak update?
Kay : Tak de masa lah...

Sembang : Tak de masa or tak de idea?
Kay : Both lah...

Sembang : Vitamin M(alas) lebih ni!
Kay : Kata lah apa-apa...

Sembang : Apalah nak jadi dengan Sembang ni??
Kay : Jadi macam tu lah....

Sembang : I give up
Kay : Ikut you lah....

Stop the eyebrows raising...go have some chocolates :)

Kay's TARA - China 3

2011-01-31T23:45:00.000+08:00

Next stop : The Bund - Shanghai.

After walking more than a kilometer along Nanjing Road East and tirelessly saying "bu yao" (don’t want) to street hawkers shouting "Hey mister, hey lady, wanna buy a watch?" we arrived at a large pedestrian walkway bordering the Huangpu River.

The Bund (which means the Embankment) is Shanghai's famous waterfront running along the west shore of the Huangpu River, forming the eastern boundary of old downtown Shanghai. It is one of the most recognizable architectural symbols of Shanghai.

For an excellent view of buildings at the Bund, it is recommended that one go through an underground walkway and then look back at the area from which you came.

The elegant row of European colonial buildings will make you think you're back in the 1920s; all were constructed in western-inspired style - classical, Gothic, renaissance, eclectic and modern.

The Bund is sometimes referred as the 'museum of international architecture,' and indeed it was and still is.

The Customs House (building with clock tower) was built in 1927. The clock has four sides and chimes the hour. It was made in London and shipped for an earlier version of the Customs House.

No. 27 - Jardine Matheson and Co., Ltd. Building; built 1920. Today it is the Chinese Exterior Commerce Ministry.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank built this building in 1923 to replace their previous home on the Bund.

Another strong hold at the Bund which houses AIA operations in Shanghai.

Street view of the Bund

Unfortunately, during our visit the pedestrian walkway along the Huangpu River embankment was closed for renovations. The Bund area was given a face lift in preparation for the 2010 World Expo.

The Bund over looking Pudong. Ten years ago Pudong was swampland but today is a showcase for some of the most modern architecture in the world. Seen in the picture the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Kay's TARA - China 2

2011-01-28T23:28:00.001+08:00

Next destination Shanghai's Nanjing Road.

Back in 1839 - 1842, after the Opium War, Shanghai became a treaty port. Nanjing Road, a famous street in Shanghai became the first British Concession, and then turned the International Settlement for the Westerners. It was the hub for the import of large quantities of foreign goods.

Nanjin Road now - the premier shopping street in Shanghai, stretching 3.4-mile-long. Rows of shops house latest couture in Chinese fashion.

A signature call sign in this fashion district

Over 600 businesses on Nanjing road offer countless famous brands, superior quality, and new fashions.

Over time, Nanjing Road has been restructured, undergoing significant change.

A local brand with a western sound alike name

Locals queuing for food at lunch time

While others take some time to read the local dailies

Spotted a domestic squabble, ooppsss...who spilled the chestnuts??

More up market stores, all packed with customers.

Fashion adverts on big billboards attracting thousands of fashion-seeking shoppers from all over the world

Specialty stores, theaters and international hotels have mushroomed on Nanjin Road.

Youngor?? Perasannnnnn..........

After walking the entire block, we finally reached the east end of the famous street.

Kay's TARA - China 1

2011-01-25T13:37:00.012+08:00

The hour long reality show ended sometime last November. It was one show that everyone in the family never wanted to miss. No matter how late we were, we’d rush home to catch the thrilling weekly episodes together. Of course each one of us had our own favourite teams and there were those which we collectively disliked.

I remember posting harsh status on my FB about the unbecoming behaviour of a member in a team which we wanted so much to be eliminated. And I wasn’t alone, there were others who felt the same as I did. Reading the status trails now puts me in chuckles as I look back at our occasional silliness and over imaginative comments.

Well, that was how much impact of this reality show – the Amazing Race Asia (TARA) Season 4 had on us. At season finale, our favourite team, the Richards – team from the Philippines claimed top spot and confidently walked home with the US$100,000 prize reward.

During TARA season 4, we saw similar places where we had tracked during our own previous travels. And it was kind of exciting seeing teams going at logger heads trying to solve clues and asking for directions in places which were so foreign to them. Of course this was all familiar to us during our travels!! And how very well we could relate to the challenges the teams faced.

The non speaking English countries were the most grappling. Try giving an instruction like “I want to get to the airport” to a Mandarin speaking cab driver in Hangzhou China for example. Tough…tough but one can never under estimate one’s creativeness at desperate times. I must have used all my might to get that what I thought a simple message across. Thank God someone understood my octopus like arms waving gestures and helped decode into plain Mandarin to the waiting cab driver. Fuhhhh…..talk about luck!!

In the next few postings, I will feature our amazing race like encounters and adventures similar to those of TARA teams.

My TARA flag off is travel from Hangzhou to Shanghai, October 2009

View of down town Hangzhou from Hangzhou Cheng Zhan Railway Station located in the downtown district at 1, Huan Cheng Dong Lu, Shangcheng District.

Still early, volume of cars was manageable

Since Shanghai is only two hours by train from Hangzhou many locals commute daily.

Make sure you know which platform to take. One wrong step may take you to another city in China.

Ticket from Hangzhou to Shanghai on the fast train cost 64Yuan (about RM30. You can buy train tickets 3 days in advance.

Mentelaah lah map tu....all in Mandarin yar!!

Just a short wait for the train

Average speed of the train 160km/hour. Everyday, over 100 high-speed trains run between these two cities from early morning at 06:32 to around 21:00.

Already in Shanghai....in less than 2 hours