Re visit, 10 years later

On my 64th birthday celebrated a few days ago, my daughter-in-law, Aissa, asked if its true that once i had a blog. Apparently Ikram mentioned it to her, since she is also an ardent writer. The inquiry prompted me to take a peek back at my dusty blog which I started 15 years ago. I notice lives were so simple then, I had plenty of fun raising my 4 young kids and a not so grumpy still young husband :) It was an era when there were no smartphone yet, no Facebook, no twitter, no youtube. Comments were kind, no nasty netizen, no internet cyber troopers... I pondered over deleting the account, or edit some, but decided to leave it be. It is as it was, my views and the way I saw things way back when. I enabled it for public viewing, in case in another 10 years, who knows, it is still here and my grandchildren get to read what I wrote about their parents. It's fortunate that Aissa asked me about my blog when I can still remember its name, account and password. And in 10 years since I last made a posting, so much has changed........

Maldives

Malaysia Airlines is currently running a promotion, half price fare on Business Class to a few travel destinations, one of which is to 'Male', the capital city of Maldives.

I took the opportunity to book in advance, 2 airtickets for the soon-to-be-married kids to go for their honeymoon in beautiful Maldives.

I asked papa's opinion if it's alright to spend a week on one of the resort islands. Papa said that if it's for the kid's honeymoon, it's wonderful and exciting. However, if it's for us, it's going to be a bit too long, we will most likely end up looking at each other until we turn blue on the face and can't wait to get home to our cats.

Dilla and Azmi, prepare to go and enjoy your honeymoon trip without the guilt, cos 30 years down the long and winding road, you would most probably be like us! :'(

Merisik Kabar

A merisik ceremony was held at my house last weekend.

Thank you to my future besan for making it so easy and a pleasant session, it was just like meeting old friends....

Dilla and I, we are in gear to prepare for a December 7th engagement. She has chosen butterscotch sea breeze (whatever that is!) as the theme.....Orang Kualo Pilah tau ko tu?? I know my little sister, Nor, has bought a tudung in that hue, the colour of sea water off Redang Island..

I am so looking forward to have fun being chaotic, assisting my daughter who happens to be my best friend, on the special day of her life!

a temporary goodbye

Ikram left on MH002 late last night.

I hugged him goodbye and then I hugged him goodbye again.

When I wake up this morning, Imran left for college, Dilla left for work and papa took the morning flight back to Miri....

I found myself a.l.o.n.e., blinking, blinking...
(shish, I should have more kids, but was too lazy to be pregnant when I was younger).....

Later, I went to the office. The moment I entered the reception area, my staff Ita asked: How was Ikram's flight last night, Puan?

Then the dam broke and the floodgate opened.....boo-hoo.....:'(
I miss him already!!!



Selamat tinggal, MakTok, maafkan semua kesilapan Ikram!

Du'a for you, Ikram!

My son, Ikram, will be leaving the nest next week to pursue his studies in United Kingdom.

We held a small kenduri to put up du'a for his safe journey. Semoga anakku pulang dengan dada dipenuhi ilmu yang boleh dimanafaatkan, insyaAllah......



Allahumma yassir wa la tu'assir

Salam

My mother's entire clan consisting of 4 generations, berhari raya di tanah pusako in Kuala Pilah, N.Sembilan.

Next year, insyaAllah, we'll welcome 2 more additional new members of cucu menantu to her HUGE family.

Having said that, it looks like I am going to be quite occupied with preparing for a wedding, soon.

Alhamdulillah.

Aidilfitri Gifts

For this year, my ever so creative Kak Kay, who supplies gifts to my company, creates these beautiful baskets for my muslim loyal customers.

Inside, she places a box of traditional kuih makmor.

They are suitable for wedding gifts, too! It resembles our Negeri Sembilan traditional 'boko', gifts we bring to visit our elders in the 'bertandang' ceremony after our wedding. Usually the box will be filled with homemade dodol or wajik, and our uncles and aunties will return our empty 'boko' with some cash inside.

Nostalgic. Children nowadays don't do that anymore, they'll probably just sms a thank you note to us, if they even care to remember .....

Ground Zero

This is the source of my neighbour's utter misery!!

She must be grinding her teeth everyday at the noise from my contractors' drilling and hacking activities!!!..and dare I mention the dust?

I am conveniently overstaying at my office right now, to avoid the muddle.

This morning, the maid told me that my little girlcat, Arwen, has developed rashes on her skin. I knew it was coming, since I've seen her wallowing in the cement dust in the evenings after the contractors left the site. She was so beyond control, I thought I'd let her enjoy herself a bit since it appeared as if it's the highlight of her day. Now, she is facing the consequences.

The Public Loo.

It's a genetically inherited trait from my Kuala Pilah bloodline, that once our child announces that she is ready to get married, we scurried to do a house renovation!!!!

As for me, it was an ambitious feat at first, working out the design with the architect, to knock down here, and to extend out there, even an addition of a third floor attic!!

Then, the contractor dropped a bombshell: 'Kak, you have to move out lah'!!!!!

NO!!!! errr....actually,we can, my other house at Taman Tun Dr. Ismail is currently vacant. However, how are my cats going to relocate? I mean, they are so used to their playing field here in Mutiara Damansara!!!!!


Look at how peaceful Bella is, resting on the top of my orchid house, enjoying the view.....I can't rob him of his routine, can I?

I took a deep breath, gave it a huge thought, and decided to scrap the whole original idea and settle with only a small extension of the front part of the hall!

Since I have decided to stay put, I become temporarily deft from the noise of the hacking and the drilling, and my garden compound has turned into the cats' public loo!

Every morning I'd catch either Cheewah or Arwen doing their business at the mound of sand placed infront of the gate. The moment they see me, they'd run in and hide, frightened that I'd make them wash their feet 'OR ELSE YOU CAN'T ENTER MY BEDROOM!'

Here's a picture of the public loo, I managed to catch Arwen's hind as an evidence that she did the digging there, this morning!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I caught this picture of a double rainbow from the balcony of my bedroom, using only my handphone camera.

I was so excited, and called out to my son, Imran.

mama: Imran!!!! Go to the end of that rainbow and find the pot of gold for me!!!

Imran: I don't have the energy to fight with the leprechaun, mama! Besides, it's SYIRIK!!

:'(

Throwing rm0.5m into the deep blue sea

So my son, Imran, is offered a Government scholarship to study medicine at Melaka-Manipal College.

Red-faced Imran went something like: Wwhat?? I am so not going to graduate from an Indian Uni!!

-silence-


-silence-



Weeks later, I got a phone call from JPA.

JPA: Puan Ibu kepada Azzim Emir Imran?

me: Ya

JPA: Kami perlu jawapan kepada tawaran biasiswa JPA keluar negeri, nak terima ke tidak?

me: errrr...boleh appeal tak?

JPA: Nak appeal apa tu?

me: Boleh minta tukar tempat belajar?

JPA: Kalau tak dapat tawaran saja boleh appeal, kalau dah ditawarkan negara, kami tak layan, terima saja lah apa yang diberi!

me: hmmmmm...(trying to still hang on there by a thin thread..)

JPA: So?????? Tolak ke?

me: errrrr...(why do I have to do this!)nampaknya,...terpaksa...tolak..lah...kot, terima kasih ya..

(BOMB!! There goes rm0.5m worth of $$$$$ sponsorship money down the Indian Ocean!)

And with that decision, Imran has signed his own warrant to strap himself to the study table. He has to continue getting excellent exam results on his own terms in order to get into the University that he aspires to graduate from. It will have to be mum-sponsored then, with a lifetime contract....



Been there, done that!!!! Snapshots of Imran in India (during our holidays last December).The experience and what he saw there must have scarred him for life.

Dilla's Dream

We went to visit the projectsite of Dilla's house last weekend.
Her dream house is now about 70% completed.



I would like to think that the progress is synonymous to the relationship with someone special in her life right now ;)

Building the foundation, brick by brick...and hopefully it will blossom into a beautiful happy home to share with everyone who means so much to her.

I pray for Dilla's happiness, always.

Double birthday

Today, my 2 daughters celebrate their birthdays, born on the same day 2 years apart.

What are the odds? Same birthday but different destiny, living in 2 separate continents.

All I wish is for my daughters to be happy and successful in life, wherever and whenever......

Happy birthday, girls!!!


An old picture of Natasya and Ardilla, blowing candles on a shared cake on a shared birthday, 25 years ago on the 25th of May......

Twenty One Today

The crown prince I waited for 6 years to conceive turns 21 today!

Ikram: wow, I can vote already
mama: sure, do not vote for the opposition!
Ikram: well, it depends on what policy they have for the rakyat.


Happy Birthday, Ikram. Grow up and do not be childish anymore.
I am going to miss our daily banters when you leave to pursue your education in UK soon.
Enjoy your $$$ birthday present, don't blow it all on Gundam!


Love you lots, lembu tenusu!.
From:

Your financial planner created by God.

Anugerah cemerlang

A subtitle from a Korean program reads:
"I am happiest when you do your best"!

Eye of a tiger.

Nobody in my family has faith in this building!

It has been there, abandoned, since Imran was in kindergarten. It is located near a traffic light junction at one corner of Datuk Sulaiman area in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, bordering kg. Sg. Penchala.
My children grew up in our first house, 2 roads across from the forlorn towers.

Last week, a friend told me that the project, which is commonly referred to as 'the abandoned project of TTDI' has been revived. It's going to be completed in July/August this year.

I went to take a look at the site and given a briefing by the staff there. I like what I saw and signed up for a unit. I asked if papa wants one and his answer was:

'Tak nak lah! Nanti abandoned lagi, habis duit aku!!'

Dilla said:

'mama, rumah tu dah berantu lah!!!'

Imran said:

'rumah yang dah reput tu mama nak beli???'

Aigoo..(korean expression for aiyo), you people don't see things the way I do. I can only smell one thing about the project which is now renamed Mas Kiara Residences, it's location, location, location!!!

Program pendedahan kerjaya sebagai Doktor.

This morning and for the next 4 days, we'll be braving the morning traffic jams towards Sg. Buloh. Imran has been selected to participate in the "program pendedahan kerjaya sebagai Doktor' at the Sg. Buloh Hospital. He applied for a scholarship to study medicine and this programme is arranged by JPA as a part of the interview process, for them to gauge whether the applicant has what it takes to be a doctor in the future.

Imran looks forward to this programme since he personally wants to know if he really has the interest in the field, not because mama said so, not because he has been watching too much of Grey's Anatomy on TV....
Even if he is not offered the scholarship, the week's exposure of life as a doctor would benefit Imran. He should be able to make a decision whether to still study medicine with parent's scholarship, or to choose a career in other fields instead...

Kudos to JPA. When I was an officer in-charged of scholarship way back when, we did not have such initiative.

Semoga berjaya, Imran, insyaAllah.

Why You Shouldn't Send Your Child To Study Law!

We made a grave mistake by letting Ikram pursue his studies in the field of Law.

Why?

Because it turns out that he became overzealous, he actually makes it a habit to transform every discussion we have into a moot!!!!!
With any wrong remark I made, he'll routinely analyse it with a vengeance and put me on trial!!

The only way to win is for me to resort to: I may not be right, but, as your mother who pays for your (Law) education, I have the right!!

Alas, with his father it's another story altogether. There was a time in the car, while driving to the airport, they got into a heated 'discussion'. I remember it started innocent enough with: 'so, pa, what do you think of this Allah word which the court has now allowed to also be used by the christians'?
By the time I realised it, they were already screaming at each other, with papa about to disown Ikram as his son!.
I was so worried that the car would crash as a result of hand gestures, taken off the steering wheel, to prove a point, with me presiding as the court interpreter cum passenger at the backseat!

Mothers, please do not say that you have not been warned!!!! Encourage your son to become a Veterinarian, instead.


Ikram, squatting, wearing red tie, at one of his Moot Competitions held in HCMC.

moot: mock on trial

SPM Results

I am tremendously happy for Imran today, for he managed to score A in all 13 subjects which he sat for in his SPM examination end of last year.

Out of the 13, 9 are A+(super distinction) and 4 A(distinction).

Congratulations Imran. Your hard work really pays.
Thank you for making me one proud mummy today!!!!!!


Imran and the headmistress of his school




Congratulations to all the top performers of SMKTTDI! Between them, they collected many many strings of As...........

Du'a untuk Afzal

Suddenly I thought of an old friend, Inchun.

I sent her a short message: 'Salam Inchun, how are you doing'?

She replied almost instantly telling me of her whereabout and that her son, Afzal, will be fetching her later, somewhere.

mama: Afzal is back here in Malaysia??

Inchun texted briefly how Afzal is taken ill and decided that its best for him to be home right now rather than in the UK.

Inchun: I suggest you read his blog, he tells it all there .

Needless to say, I spent the following hours reading Afzal's blog with a HUGE lump in my throat.
The little boy I knew from 1987 is now a doctor but he is very ill with cancer. Inchun is indeed a very tough and brave mum. May Allah make things easy for my friend and her family.

Afzal's story makes me guilty of whining for the littlest pain and discomfort I may encounter. I wish my own children could emulate Afzal's love and concern for his mother.

Please remember Afzal in your prayers. May you get well soon, son.

Shivering, shivering...

Try saying the above words in the way that our Wii Fit does for 'measuring, measuring' and it will bring the desired fear factor.....

Within days from now, the SPM examination results will be announced.

I asked Imran today, 'so how are we feeling? When the day arrives, I'm so gonna just leave you at the school gate and you please inform your results to me later via sms'!!!

Imran said 'It's OK, mama. I've tried my best, just like in a racing car, I've driven through gear 6 and there was no reverse. The rest of it, whatever the outcome, just leave to Allah'!..

Alright then, my son. Meanwhile, lets shiver, and pray (a lot).....

Stumbling on a milestone.

We woke up early last Saturday morning. After breakfast, for lack of anything to do, I was already facing the laptop, searching for a good Korean drama to watch online. (yeah, yeah, what a life!!)

Dilla greeted me as soon as she came downstairs and told me that she had to be at work. I casually asked if she wanted to go and see a new housing development, about 20minutes drive from our house.

mama: Dill, kawan mama ada beli rumah kat Denai Alam, dia kata cantik tau, and its on freehold land.

dilla: Dilla sebok lah mama, ni nak kena pergi client's office!

mama: alaaa, jom lah! Nanti mama minta papa drive kan kita ke sana.

Dilla quietly had breakfast and 5 minutes later decided to go and informed her team that she would be slightly late for work on that Saturday morning.

I googled the location and 20 minutes later was at the sales gallery of the housing project. We were impressed with the location, designs and the helpfulness of the sales person who attended to our inquiries. He even drove us in their 4WD to the site to view a particular recommended 45% completed house.

By the time we left the construction site, back to the sales gallery, we already convinced Dilla to say yes to a corner unit, which was available that we liked.

mama: Dill, belilah rumah kat sini. Nanti bila mama dah tua dan jatuh sakit, you'll be within 20mins drive to see me before I'm driven away in the ambulance to the hospital!

Giler emotional blackmail, kan? Denai Alam ought to pay me a commission!

The whole episode (arrived at gallery - looked at the developer's area plan - drove to site - signed relevant papers - paid deposit for the unit) took less than 2hours. Dilla is now the proud owner of this house in Denai Alam, Shah Alam.



As the saying goes, if it's fated to be yours, it's yours. It's just there waiting for you to glance over and pick it up. I wonder if its the same as choosing a life partner, I'm sure he is out there somewhere and Dilla has not met the right one yet!

Imran's metaphor

I handed to Imran his weekly allowance. The amount has increased twofold now that he is in College.

He thanked me and put the cash carefully in his wallet. Then I heard him said to himself:

'Wang itu umpama iman, terkadang banyak terkadang susut'.....


???

Anak Mami (not the movie)

When I became a "ponnu" (a bride, mami-penangspeak) in 1980, I called my mother-in-law 'mummy'.

My mummy is such a generous soul, very concern and caring, but not isolated from the familiar problems created by her anak, menantu, cucu and cicit....

It has been some 30 years now that I've tried to be a friend and a good listener to all her joys and sorrows....

Eversince papa is based in Miri, my visits to her house has been less frequent. She has been calling to ask when will we come to visit her.

mummy: 'Dah setaun hangpa tak mai!!

mama:'ya lah mummy, taun ni baru dok ada 20 hari!!'

mummy:'Jangan sebab takdak duit, tak datang jenguk mami! Mami bukan nak duit, datang tengok mami pun cukup dah!'

mama:'Eh, tak mummy, ceq tak pernah pikiaq lagu tu!!! Nanti hujung minggu ni, papa ada diKL, kami datang!!!'...

mummy:'Tu nanti, nak makan apa??'

mama:'Tak payah sedia apa-apa mummy, toksah susah-susah'...

So, yesterday we paid her a visit. A spread of roti jala, curry ayam and the likes awaited us. She used to cook very nice Penang dishes before, but now that she is on the wheelchair, she just ordered them.

Before we left, I salam and hugged and kissed her. She held my hand and with tears in her eyes she told me:

'Teh bukan menantu mami, Teh anak mami, dunia sampai akhirat!...




I love you too, mummy, dunia sampai akhirat.....

Beginning of a new era.

Today, my morning destination changed from Mutiara Damansara-SMK Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, to Mutiara Damansara-Taylor's College, Sri Hartamas!

It took only 15 minutes to arrive there.Thank-you-very-much to the clever guys who came out with the idea of building the Penchala Link just for me, and the tunnel linking the two locations is awesome!!!! It felt like I was driving in Paris!!!!he,he,he...

Morning drive suddenly became a pleasure if not for the rm4.00 toll incurred while sending my son and another rm4.00 when picking him up later in the evening:P

I no longer have a school going child. Another reminder that I am actually, really, truly, growing old.....

Namashkar, India......

RM20,000.00 question: How was your trip to India?

Dilla: ".........." (blank)
Imran: ".........." (trauma)
Ikram: "I'm never ever going back there, unless it's a matter of life and death!"

Mama: "A splendid opportunity to expose my children to what hardcore poverty really means....it's a university of life."

Those schoolboy days....

Congratulations to my son, Imran, who has just completed his SPM examination yesterday. That was to be the last time he was a schoolboy donning the school uniform.

Imran has been working so hard and sacrificed a lot this entire year. He just knew that this examination result is the ticket to his future and doing well in it is the ultimate choice.

With successful older siblings as mentors, it wasn't difficult to motivate him. I was just trailing behind, sending and picking him up for tuitions and making everything and anything available just to ensure that he was comfortable.

Right after the last paper, I asked how he felt. Imran said he has given his utmost best and he could not have done any better, there's no regrets at all.

Alhamdulillah, now the tawakkal part comes in.

Based on his excellent trial examination results, Imran has been offered The Pricipal's Award by Taylor's University College and will start his Cambridge 'A' levels there in January.

Thank you Imran for making it relatively easy for me to carry out one of my responsibilities as a mother....

Going to visit....

The Taj Mahal!!!

Dilla and I decided that we are going to take our much needed year-end break, and we are heading towards Agra to see for ourselves one of the seven wonders of the world, The Taj Mahal.

We have had a few round-kitchen-table meetings with other members of the family, and 'if-you-don't-agree-with-the-destination,-please-suggest-another!!!' sessions. It looks like everyone will have to tow and brave the journey too, since we have, sort of, run out of place to go for holidays..

Papa is quite annoyed with this last minute decision, however, the kids and I are determined to go somewhere nevertheless. We have been struggling 'like the weeds on the field' throughout this year, and for that, we are giving ourselves a treat by witnessing the epitome of love!.

We'll be back on the new year. May it bring us lots of joy and happiness....

Skill sharpening

It is said that Amateurs Rely on Luck, Professional Traders Use CANDLESTICKS!

I decided to check out a workshop to see if I could benefit from the technical tools which the Japanese had beeen using since 1600s.

So, last Sunday, I went back to classroom and learnt about the works of Evening and Morning Star, Bearish and Bullish Doji, Hammer and Hanging Man, Spinning Top and Marubozu, Dark Cloud and Bullish Kicker.. etc,etc,etc.........

I am 72 candlestick patterns wiser, how I may benefit from them will be shown from how successful my trades will be executed, using the charts, from now onwards.

Thanks, Conrad. He even autographed my reference cards, he,he,he.




Happy Hunting, always.

A family celebration.

Remember Arwen?



She is now a happy young lady, having been nursed to health and be a member of our family for the past 5 months.We took this picture of Arwen last week during a photography session held in conjunction with Dilla's CPA graduation.


This is Dilla in her robe with her beloved putih.
 


Dilla and Bella at the balcony.














Dilla and her supportive brothers.




Parents happen to also be important members in our family.






Congratulations, Dilla!!!!