Sebelas Budak Hitam - Tag

Since no one tagged me (again!), and I'm so the very lazy to work this morning, I guess I'll do this seeing how funny it turned out for olab and roti.

Can you name 11 people you can think of right off the top of your head?

1. Ayisha - sebab semalam baru kena marah dengan aku and pagi ni dah sengih balik.
2. MrGart. Do I have to have a reason to think of him?
3. Miss H. Yang begitu rakus membuat kerja sekarang ni.
4. CikDay. Dah habis ke makan biscottiI tu ?
5. Aliya. Hopefully esok dia lepas her Cross-Country esok.
6. Faizul. Who I rain-checked him and rain-checked me back for lunch for the past 3 months.
7. Mark. Cutesy swimming instructor for the girls. He's really tanned and has such a cute face.
8. Heath Ledger. Well, dead now, obviously.
9. Arjun@. Immediate boss for whom I'm reserving my comments. A great restraint, really! Grrr!
10. Sobrie. WOnder if still reads ymy blog?
11. Nitin. Suddenly I'm reminded of this friend who dated my roomate back in Manchester. Dunno where he is now. Searched for him but never realy gotten a feedback. Tall, dark and handsome. My kinda guy. Err soo does MrGart. *Is this gonna get me into trouble?*

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How did you meet 10?
We used to work on a work-related matter together. We clicked REALLY well. He's now an eS-Gie-eM but he's still the same. Tabik sama lu!

What would you do if you had never met 6?
I would be 2% saner today. He's unusual and unconventional in his thinking. Bizarre and crazy. Everyone needs a Faizul in their lives. A Faizul a day keeps a stressed mind healthy!

What would you do if 6 and 2 dated?
Hmm.. For one they'd have to be gay. Pretty sure No2 is NOT! No6 aha?

Have you ever seen 4 cry?
Once when she's volcanically, crazily angry at the BigKahuna last year. That was a blast!

Do you think 1 is cute?
Cute? She's be-yootiful! My gene, of course!

Tell me something about number 11
He has gorgeous eyes. Used to have a crush on him, but one-off ajela. Short-lived.

How do you know 8?
Movies, papers. Now I'd never get a chance to see him in person. Darn!

Would you ever go on a date with number 5?
Yup, we need to go talk girly-stuff.

What's 7's favourite colour?
Thinking sea-blue.

What would you do if 6 confessed they liked you?
He'd better be getting a brain-scan.

Fact about 9.
Does nothing, looks important and thinks nothing. Pretty much useless.

Who is 4 going out with?
At the moment, Uncle Lee, virtually.

Who is number 5 to you?
My firstborn gorgeous 10 year old daughter.

Would you ever live with 11?
Nope. He's too of a casanova.

Is 2 single?
He'd better not be! Kalau tidak, aku silat-silatkan dia.

Where does 7 live?
Dunno. Somewhere in Shah Alam la kot since he coaches here.

What do you think about number 3?
Sangat teruja dengan Uncle Lee again.

What do you like about number 10?
He's humble, funny and conspiratorially fun.

Favourite memory with 2?
Walking down at Nene River, Peterborough on 7th September 1991. The rest is history.

Today Is Not Monday

Then how come I feel so L-A-Z-Y !

Must be from the mid-of-the-week public holiday semalam. In fact I think last week pun we had a mid-week public holiday too and a colleague called on Friday morning, demanding why wasn't I in the meeting room when it's supposed to be on Monday morning. Duh!

Anyways.

Yesterday's a huge relief to MrGart since we, KLites now get to enjoy Thaipusam too, along with the rest of the world. I booked a full-body spa at 4pm only to cancel it in the morning due to the errr not ideal situation to berendam in a milk bath. Go figure!

We were at Subang Par@de yesterday morning and nothing extraordinary happened actually. Nothing fancy. Just a great day out with the kids.

Malam was spent on poring over worksheets with the girls. Mid-way I raised my voice to Asha but redeemed myself minutes later. *Gulp* This reminds me of CikDay's constant struggle with her Muhaimin's school work. Sama saja!

Ingat senang ke nak jadi mak orang. Kena masak, kena breastfeed. Lepas tu kena basuh berak, kencing and then jaga tak bagi terhantuk kepala, jatuh sana jatuh sini. Jaga jangan kena buli dengan anak orang, jaga jangan diorang pulak yang buli anak orang. Lepas tu, kena tunggu kat sekolah berhari-hari masa masuk tadika. Lepas tu beli berbotol-botol water bottle yang pakai 3 kali, hilang.

Then dok risau apasal anak aku baca tak lepas -lepas lagi. Mula la pikir yang bukan-bukan. Lepas kindy, masuk sekolah. Pening kepala risau duduk dengan siapa kat sekolah. Balik dengan siapa. Dia okay ke? Make sure dia tunggu Uncle Masi kat mana. Kena menjalin persahabatan dengan driver van sekolah, driver KAFA, driver kindy sebab nanti diorang ada sedikit lebih prihatin dengan anak-anak yang maknya diorang kenal. Kena maintain vogue.

Lepas tu, kena jadik cikgu pulak. So, macamana suara nak manis sentiasa. Saya masih mencuba.

Opps! Sorry folks. I rambled.

Haggled Out

It has become a pleasant routine for me every Sunday to leave the house before the sun comes out (err maybe a bit later like 7:45am) heading out to the Pasar Tani at the Stadium. I dunno. Used to think it was a chore, now it's just a routine, complimented with my reward of ice-blended cappucino while blitzing the rows of stalls looking out for bargains, AFTER I stashed the haiwans and dauns in the car boots.

Anyways.

I'm a bad haggler. I just don't haggle hard enough. I just don't have a heart to do so.

So, last Sunday, I was shocked by this lady who's designer-designed hair and sunglasses defeats her demeanor. Lets call her LadyVogue. She looks like she drives nothing less than a see-Arr-Vee.

LadyVogue: "Berapa ni Pakcik?" *shoves her basketful of dauns*
PakcikTua : "RM 8.30"
LadyVogue: "RM 8 tak boleh ke pakcik?"
PakcikTua: "Tak boleh la nak. Tak banyak untung jual sayur ni."
LadyVogue: "Kalau macam tu, saya nak RM8 jugak la pakcik." *grabs the bag and pushes over RM8 genap and left the scene*
PakcikTua: *grins at me, obviously attracted by my terkejut eyes* "Manusia ni berbagai-bagai. Ada jugak macam ni"

Uish! Amenda la minah ni? 30 sen pun berkira ke ? Kalau beli ikan dekat RM50.30 tu lain la nak mintak 30 sen discount. Ni sayur la babe! Come on la. Geram betul aku! I betcha 30sen ain't gonna make that pakcik tua any richer and it sure won't make the LadyVogue any poorer. And I thought that's akin to STEALING. Man! She owes him 30sen. And that man looked at peace at such unfairly treatment.

Anyways.

My point is that. We can haggle but please pick your battle. What's the prize? 30sen?

So, I've affirmed my belief that i just suck at haggling and that's not because I'm not strong enough, nor am I argumentative enough and certainly not because of I-have-no-balls (err I don't), it's just that I don't believe in getting profits for someone else's misery. Especially if that's someone is being cornered to a wall.

Biarlah. Maybe they'll make a fortune out of me. Maybe not. But aku reda with what I pay for. Kalau orang nak tipu, orang tipu jugak. That's not my problem.

And there's another feature at the Pasar Tani. Vagrants and beggars. Oh! My! God! They look like the ones lining the streets leading to Chatuchak Market at Bangkok! I swear they do. Gosh! It's heart-breaking though to see these men and women with no legs, dragging themselves on a sheet of rubber. Children asleep on their mothers' lap and old men reading Quranic verses with hands held up and music from tuneless blind musicians. These days, I see a lot of more boxes for donations for MrY's eye operation at Hospital K, and for brothers and sons studying in Mesir and for building hostels and schools for the orphans.

I see this one forlorn looking midget (for lack of a better politically correct word) boy for the past 2 weeks and I saw that he was looking at a father with his son. I was saddened to think what he must be thinking. How different life was for him compared to that priviledged boy!

Are they for real? Should I give money to them and encourage them? Should I refrain to discourage them?

Who knows? I don't. But they sure play the emotion card well. They have my pity alright. So, I give them a ringgit or two and gets a smile. That's alright I thought, considering that ringgit is only 1/5 of the price of the iceblended in my hand.

Anyways. This is life. One day you're up there, maybe tomorrow you'll be kissing the floor instead. Who knows?

A Walking History Ensyclopedia

Much has been said about Adl@n Benan Omar in the blogs, instead of the mainstream media. I guess that's the price one pays for being in the opposition. No, I don't talk politics, just a mere and keen observer.

I never met the larger-than-life person personally before. This was the time when I was speaking with "loike" and "awroite". But he was pointed out to me by a friend while I was shovelling nasi lemak at the MSD's canteen one blustery and wintry afternoon. I didn't think a lot about him. I saw a bloke who's rather fat but very down-to-earth like. He looked bery humble and likeable too. But I guess until you speak to him, you're yet to be blown away. Never had that chance,

That friend went on about him and UKEC (which I was a member of) and how he founded the movement and yada yada yada. I was a first-year in UMIST then, up north in Manchester and Londoners were not particularly my best buddies, except a few. 2 years earlier, when I was a wide-eyed teenager at Peterborough, I think someone mentioned his name about him becoming the first foreigner HeadBoy in a British public school, but never took notice.

I don't travel down to London unneccesarily unless I was summoned by the Powers-That-Be or feel the need for some serious shopping therapy at Oxford Road. It didn't help that my batch of scholars didn't get to mingle with the JPA scholars, otherwise we'd be buddies. Prolly not considering we'd have so little in common. And of course, I didn't go to boarding schools, so I didn't recognise him and all.

Anyway. The name stuck with me. One because of the reputation. Two, it's not your everyday name.

Last week, I chanced upon a site mentioning that he's severely ill and that people should visit him fast. I was shocked. I dug the Net for news and plenty came up. Most of them sang praises for him. For his articulateness, for his sharpness. Some lambasted him for his work in some chronicles with a K. He's been touted as the largest intellectual asset for the nation and I fully believe that, even when he's on the OTHER side.

But now he's now fighting for his life. Diabetes, I read and the complications from his 2nd bypass. This is life, I guess. For such a bright young man, a mind so sharp he would've shaped the future nation we all love, he may leave us at such prime age.

I pray for Allah to ease his suffering, for now and the Thereafter. I pray for his family and relatives to be strong for him. Insyallah.

p/s RotiKacangMerah runs his status updates whenever she can. And Aris Riz@l Christopher Fernando passed away yesterday. Al-Fatihah.

My Friendly Neighbour Totoro

I was bitten by the Gh1ilbi bug maybe 5 years ago with the Spirited Away, when Aliya was just 3-4. It was just amazing. Simple storyline, but a heck of lot exquisite detailing and phenomenal graphics.

Anyway. I bought the whole set of Ghibl1's collection wanting to watch the Graveyard of the Fireflies. I cried and I cried and I cried. Aliya & Asha cried too. It's just too harrowing and sobbingly sad. I still see the sores at the back of the sister's body before she died.

Well, during the school holidays, since we're travelling a lot, MrGart ransacked the house for DVDs we haven't watched in a while to entertain the kids on the road. So, Totoro & Pompoko were chosen. Aren't we glad he did?

I watched Pompoko before but these animes are really long, so I never get to watch it in full. So, during the trips up North and down South and everywhere in between, I managed to catch the whole movie and it's just refreshing. Shapeshifting racoon who transform to save their forests.

This was during their training. Obviously the middles racoon just couldn't transform accordingly, regardless how many times he tosses and turns. Kelakar giler!

My favourite is the Grandmother Racoon who chafed at the Gonta, the Red Army and the Blue Army for fighting against each other, instead of fighting together to save the racoon as a whole. It was really, really good. And the scene when the racoon went to spook the people, especially the part where whatever-his-name is transforms into a face-less sexy woman, crying by a roadside, spooking this policeman who in the end just plonked on the floor, out of sheer fear. That was so funny and these racoons have little discipline, not unlike us too. The go-green, save the forest message is very apt too, I thought.

Anyway.


Totoro fishing with Mai & Satsuki. A picture of calm. Don't we all wanna run to the countryside and stay there? Maybe not here?

Totoro on the other hand is just calming and just feeds the imagination of children. It was uplifting to travel with Mai and her sister, to explore the mysterious camphor tree. It wasn't one without incidents tho. The ailing mother and Main went missing, thumped one's heart but it was enriching.

Ariz LOVES Totora big-time. He knows the music and even if I tried to play other movies, it wouldn't do.

Anyway. Any new anime worth watching these days ? Am dying for more.

Phone Tag

Hey you guys! How come no one tags me? *pout*

But since I'm feeling slightly floaty airy today, I guess I'll do it, even if no one reads this. *pout* *pout* *pout*

1. What color is your phone?
Silver and purplish-blackish. Not mine, tho. Nicked this off MrGart. Or rather hand-me-downs. *sob*

2. Who's the first person who comes up under the letter M?
Mac Dr. A loverboy who has a crush on me wayyyy back in Peterborough.

3. Who's the last person you called?
Mosh Tino. At lunch telling me, MrGart was already outside picking me up for our Executive COuncil sitting.

4. Who was your last missed call from?
Clipperseep.

who's just the coolest preggy woman around these days.

5. Who's the 2nd person who comes up under D?
Danial. Call him Doing. A great, guy, Lollies knows him too.

6. Who's speed dial 2?
MrGart.

7. Who's the 3rd person who comes up under Z?
Aha! Zainab. The big kahuna who just got a vee-pee title. Think I;mm in her good book, but it's anybody's game. *prays* I have a habit of running into her in the toilet and gets assignments. Sheesh!

8. Who was your last received call?
Roslina. That's my department's head. She calls a lot though. Err.. Hope I'm in her good books too. *prays more*

9. Who's speed dial number 4?
Nobita. My twin.

10. What is your background?
Some phychedelic illusion. Theme number 3 or something.

11. How many text messages do u have?
109! Uish banyaknya!

12. Who's in your speed dial ?
MrGart, Home, Mum, Twin.

13. What's the 5th message say in your inbox?
ok. on the way. From a consultant coming for a briefing.

14. Who's the 1st person who comes up under B?
Butterflutter

15. Who was your last text message from?
Nobita to say that appoitment's full so she slotted me some other day.

16. Name every person you have text messages from:
Are you out of your blinking mind? *over-dramatic*

17. Have you seen the 101 Chuck Norris facts?
101 what?

18. Who's the 9th person on your missed calls?
MrGart. He's stalking me alright.

19. What does the 3rd message in your Outbox say?
0.8 million. * Hmm .. don't I wish I have that much dough.

20. Who is the first name in your Phonebook?
Aam. Ish kena tukar ni. Tak personal langsung.

Okayla. Tak nak baca pun takpe. Tak menariks pun.

p/s kidding babes and babettes.

Asha's MisAdventure : An Update

Note: You need to read the "Aghast" post to be able to understand this one.

Came home and Asha just arrived and waited for me, smiling ever so sweetly. MrGart told me that he called earlier to ask Asha about the RM100 incident but she said "taktau" to all his questions.

I chose not to broach the topic so soon especially when the little brother and sisters were coming home from the park and controversial issues catch on very fast with kids. Once MrGart got home, we all got into the car to get to D1ncy's Store (the store right next to her KAFA). Asha initially refused to go, which was unusual and very suspicious but we managed to make her go, no drama.

I went straight to the store while the rest were in Myd1n. Now the story.

Asha's friend came in with 2 notes of RM50 and brought a big Barbie stationery set to the counter and in fact has asked to pay for goodies for a big bunch of other girls. The shopkeeper was suspicious and asked whose money that was, the friend ratted on Asha who was outside.

When asked, Asha said that it was her money. By this time, the counter was full of goodies Asha's friends had gathered and wide-eyedly expecting to grab and go. The shopkeeper then told Asha that if she wanted to get the Barbie set, to ask Mummy to come along. She then asked Asha to choose a sweets treat. The funniest part was that she had to break up the party of expecting kids to a huge grunts. MrGart was chuckling when he heard this. My daughter, the generous girl, though good intention's gone slightly wrong.

I thanked her profusely for spotting this and to watch out for Asha in future. The KAFA's been very personal in their treatment of the children and I appreciate it.

Home. I told Asha that I know what happened as the Teacher had informed me. But I need to know where the money came from. She said she didn't know and that Daddy gave that to her. I didn't want to prolong this and told her that it's wrong to take something which isn't yours, even if it's Mummy or Daddy's. If her friends were giving her gifts, please tell Mummy & Daddy first before accepting. I asked if she understood what I said which she nodded, averting my stares.

Gosh! This is so hard. I didn't know if I said too much or too little. So, I thought of having a little chat at night before bedtime. Except that during the homework time, she had a meltdown session with MrGart with her Maths work, after which only sleep would cure, snoot and tears all around. Maybe tomorrow, I said.

So, today, after the emergency Executive Council meeting held during lunch at the Jalan Istana Ikan Bakar Table 2, the COO and the CEO have :

1. Identified root of the problem. Lack of discipline and lack of understanding of what is right and what is wrong.

2. Resolution / Action Plan.

a) All persons above the age of 7 must pray 5 times a day. We have been rather lax with Aliya and obviously this is not such a great example to others.

b) Friday night's Maghrib prayers wil be followed by a small usrah/meeting. COO (me!) will come up with script and CEO (MrGart) will deliver. Need to remind them what we expect of them and in return what do they expect from us. A family meeting, a regular instead of ad-hocly basis.

c) You-and-me time for each one of the children. Targetting Mummy & Asha time this Saturday while I send her to school.

Hokey. We'll see about tonight's progress. I'll try to talk to her again about this. I really wanna understand this. MrGart thought she took the money from his wallet. I thought it was mine. Shows how we both manages our finances eh?

Well. To all of you who have confessed in your comments, you made me feel better and to those with advices on how to proceed with this, I truly adore you.

One Day Bragging Rights Won

Life sure is unpredictable.

One hour you're on the verge of your seat, face green from disbelief of what the kids have been up to.

The second, you're gloating like no one's business.

Alright. I should warn you guys that should you choose to trudge ahead, there are smugness and gloatiness abound. So, thread carefully and so aim that puke elsewhere and avoid your keyboards.

Anyway.

Letter came yesterday.

".. congratulations .. University Senate awarded the MSc Degree in Engineering Business Management."

"Whilst you did not quite reach the high standard required for the award of MSc with Distinction, the Examination Board wishes to place on record its recognition of the OUTSTANDING marks that you achieved in the project component of the Degree."

There!

As you can see, I can no longer walk out of the room without turning sideways to make room for enlarged and kembang-ed butts. And heck, I'm so pleased with myself.

Alright alright. They didn't have to rub in the fact that I didn't make the Distinction list. But I am so happy that I was recognised for the project.

The 3 years was not hellish but rather a whirlwind. My nights and days were unrecognisable and I was in a constant state of studying, one way or the other. But I'm so glad that it's all behind me now and I can say now that all the hard work, it's all worth it now that I see these words in front of me. Phew!!

Well, I dedicate this to MrGart who patiently (well at least half the time) took over some of the roles I left in pursuit of a degree. And to Aliya, Ayisha and Adani who spent weekends by themselves without Mummy dearest and also to Ariz who joined me in my lectures in-vitro for the whole 9 months. You'd better exhibit what you've leart, kiddo!

Anyway. YES!!!

Aghast and Horrified

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Received a phonecall from Ayisha's KAFA a while ago. Very disturbing. Teacher Hayati explained that the Ayisha before class has asked a friend to buy her some stuff and giving the friend about RM100. I nearly choked on my saliva.

What?

Where did she RM100?

What's on today?

Fees? Can't be. We always pay by cheques, never cash.

Did she get the money from a friend?

Did she get it from US?

Did I lose some money in wallet? Hmm .. I thought my wallet's thinner these days and I just couldn't put my finger on it. But surely, she didn't get it off my wallet. The thin wallet could be the normal state of my wallet.

Could this be because last Saturday we refused to get her the bling-bling bracelet which was only RM15.90 but I said that there're too many bracelets in the house and I ain't buying more?

Why?

Why her?

Why me ?

Does it has any relation to the incident on Monday when I found somebody's pencil case in her bag which she claimed that her friend gave to her? I did talk to her about not taking other people's stuff EVEN if they're giving it to her. Did she get my point?

Oh no! This is an anti-social behaviour, surely it is.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

*Googles for tips to deal with this*

Taken from ParenTips
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The process is simple and straightforward with only three steps.

1) Don't ask the child for explanations, forget about all the "why did" and "how could" you do this. Merely state that you know the theft occurred.

2) Say that stealing is wrong. Use simple explanations. "Stealing is wrong. You would not want anyone to take your doll. So it's wrong for you to take this doll." The child does not need a lecture or sermon on the starving children of ripped-off store owners. Never imply that your child is bad, just that he or she did a bad thing.

3) Establish restitution. See to it that the child takes the object back to the friend or store. Tell the child to apologize and say he or she will never do it again. Accompany the child but don't tell the owner of the object to be cruel or unduly harsh. It's OK for the child to feel ashamed but the child should not feel devastated by the parent or the shop owner.

You see, there is such a thing as a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we overdo it in our parental zeal to be sure we nip future delinquency in the bud, the child may internalize the feeling that he or she is bad. The child may think it's hopeless to even try to be good -- "my parents think I'm a terrible child." Instead you want your child to internalize that THE BEHAVIOR OF STEALING IS WRONG.

Ariz's Chants

My little prince, Ariz who didn't talk a lot a year ago now is a chatterbox. These days we hear these 2 phrases a LOT. Not once or twice a day. ore like every hour or more.

1. "Ayiz tak tit tot"
This we hear everytime he's in the shower, getting dressed, getting undressed and every occasion which required him to be stark nekkid. Translation is "Ariz tak sakit bontot". Remember 3 weeks ago when we were both struck by a food poisoning bout, I was puking and he's been purging like anything. Since he's still in diapers (*malu*), pursging resulted into very very sore and raw butts.

Now, luckily Eco-na-zine worked wonders and cured the butts and now everytime he's about to show off his butts, he'll chant this phrase. Aliya is forever amused bu the "tak tit tot" and asks him to say it again and again and again. And the little boy complies to a gaggle of giggling girls all the time. Sheesh!

2. "Ayiz an-nak a-lik u-mah"
Now this would normally be said with droppy eyes and pouty lips. And without fail will be said in the car whenever we are nearing the entrance to Bukit Jelutong. It simply means "Ariz taknak balik rumah".

It used to be "Iz n-nak l-lik mmah". Now he's adding the second letter. So, it wont be long before we hear the full sentence. Speaking does come gradually. I wonder when he's gonna start saying Ariz instead of Ayiz or Iz.

Anyway. This is understandbly. He's the only member of the family who has nowhere to go on a daily basis. Everybody else has work or school. He's been pining to o to school but I don't think he's ready. next year, definitely but not this year.

So, everytime I come home, he'd be climbing into the car and I have to take him for a spin or an ice-cream and everytime he asks "NN-na?" and gets a "Balik rumah" answer, he'd pout and says his favourite chant.

That aside, been thinking to take Ayisha & Adani off their English class as their favourite Teacher Claire's no longer there. Maybe even ALiya's off her Mental Arithmetic cos I think she's getting bored. That earns us free Saturday mornings. Maybe Tae-Kwon-Do ?

And I think I'm putting Adani into English Kum0n, succumbing to her persistent request since the past one year. I think she's more than ready and we're financially ready too. Heh!

Anyway, to those of you in Shah Alam, need suggestions of what to do with them on Saturday mornings? The girls wanna do ballet, but it's a bit far. Need suggestions.

Happy 10th Birhday To ALIYA !!

Dear Aliya,

Happy 10th Birthday to you, sayang! We all love you very very much and we're all very proud of you.

10 years old is a BIG, BIG deal! I'm still amazed how big you've grown from that little tiny cute baby girl whom I held in Mummy's arms, afraid that I'd do you wrong. I was so unsure of how to go about raising a baby into this cold, cruel world. But you looked into my eyes and instinctively I knew, it didn't matter if I knew nothing then, what matters is that we're in this together. We'll take one day at a time.

You've been a real big help in our family. I know things may get a little hectic these days, what with Adani forever bickering with Ariz. And Ayisha is constantly copying what you do and of course, Mummy and Daddy's contant "Aliya, do this" and "Aliya do that". If you geta little annoyed with us, you do know you can tell me. I can promise anything but what I can say is that, time flies and before you know it, your little brother and sisters will all look up in awe at you, instead of climbing on your backs.

You're their inspiration. A big one too! They look up to you in everythin that you do, and that is why I want you to be the best that you can in whatever that you choose to do. I promise to support you wholeheartedly.

You're responsible and you're loving and so caring. Little wonder when Ariz prefers you than anyone else (err except maybe Mummy) in the whole house. You're like Mummy's little helper, in person too. And I'm so proud of you for playing that role.

I know I can be a very annoying Mummy. I yell, I scream and I nag a lot. But surely you know I only do that because I love each and everyone of you so very much. I care and I show that I care. I hope you can see that.






Anyway. I hope the little party we had with your consins and relatives were fun. I watched your pretty little face blossoming and your posture reminds me of myself. You're such a lanky, pretty tall girl and you'll grow into a beautiful young woman, I know. It's all my gene!

I do have a little wish that you would be a little more open and brave to venture into worlds that's not too comfortable for you. Just open yourself to the possibilities and learn to relax. Take each day one day at a time and savour every moment and enjoy, Aliya.

Lastly, I hope that you would work harder this year at school and play even harder in everything else. I love you, Aliya. With all my heart.


Love,
Mummy

Not Anywhere Far .. Just Been Quiet

Hmm let's see. Last entry was on the 24th Dec 2007. Foohhh! That's a long time for me to not be blogging,

Reasons? Hmmm.. M Disease I guess, coupled with the hectic pace of life in the recent weeks. To compensate, I actually posted a long entry about a week ago, sumamrising a 2-weeks period of the last shcool holidays. Then, the efx2 went a bit haywire and I found out that I lost that one post.

Anyway. This is my very first entry in 2008 and I'll start anew.

Aliya turned 10 last week, the 9th January 2008. My baby girl! What happened between the days I held the cute-sy smallish baby girl in my arms, afraid if I'd do her wrong and the tall, lanky girl with a ready-smile, feet as long as mine, I wouldn't know.

And to have a daughter aged 10 years to me is mind-blowing. Well, since Wednesday was a schoolday, I planned a little family get-together on Thursday, the 10th January. It was a Awal Muharram and the whole gang came over. I'll post pictures once I get back to the office.

I'm at home now, while Ayisha is napping and MrGart took Aliya, Adani & Ariz to our apartment in Tr0picana to jegil-mata to our tenants. It's 6:45pm and I should really get dinner started, but yesterday I had a really tense moment with the maid, with a lot of yellings and since the house is rather quiet, I don't feel like going downstairs and face her.

There really isn't anything wrong with our helper. After all, she's just human, so am I. But it's really hard to 'tegur' her at all. Last week, I said to her that I thought it was too much that she took almost every weekend off to visit her relative since she came back from last Raya. Especially when I'm already giving her 2 trips home every year. I wasn't angry or anything, just matter-of-factly only. That earned me a cold week.

Yesterday, while I was steaming apams, she asked why I was being cruel to her. I got annoyed and I wanted to explain to her my position, except that she kept interjecting here and there. So I asked her to keep quiet while I talk and then she it's her turn, I'll listen. Nope. Then my emotions got the better of me when she couldn't stop peppering every word I said with her defensive words. I screamed and yelled myself hoarse at her, trying to keep her quiet.

So yesterday, I said it's up to her. My primary concern was to give her a job so she can support her family. If she wants to leave, the I have to choice but to let her go. But she can only leave empty-handed in April, since she at the moment owes me RM1300.

She locked herself in her room last night and this morning when I left for the pasar too. I came home around 9am to a quiet house and went about dealing with the wet haiwans and once the kids were down, Andes was still locking herself in her room. Aliya opened her door and she's not there!!

Damn! We thought she'd run away. I really thought so. But her clothes were all there. The back door's keys were missing too. But I refused to believe that she'd run away. She wouldn't do that to us.

True enough, she came home around 10am through the back door, eyes swollen and went straight to her room. Foooohh!

About 5pm, I received her SMS apologising for yesterday and asking to continue work with me. I replied telling her that I want her to work, but she needs to be able to take criticism when she' wrong.

Alhamdulillah this episode ended on a good note. I was very very worried about having to get a new one right now and worse if I needed to get one like for tomorrow. But I still feel quesy about facing her while cooking, Nak buat camana, I ain't the touchy-feely kind of person and I don't deal with emotions well at all. MoshTino would be great at dealing with this. I suck greatly. I run away from it and refuse to get involved. So cold-hearted, I am.

Opps. Terpanjang pulak. Gotta go.

Before I end, for the 2008, blogging-wise, I pledge to blog more often and more intelligently, I hope. I hope to blog for more earth-shattering issues and world-changing views rathet than the bickerings I have with my helper or what Ariz puked at dinner or which part of Adani that Ayisha has pinched blue-black.

And of course, I hope to tingkatkan amal, ilmu dan iman. Psstt that's straight from InaAli (boleh pinjam tak?), I borrowed that quip from her in one of her posts on UKS. I thought it's aptly perfect. That's what I aim to do in the year 1429 (betul ke ?).

Amal. I will usaha to lipat-gandakan my amal from now on. Senyum itu adalah sedekah juga dan if I think I'm sengkek, there are sengkek-er people than me. If I think I'm tired, there are other people who have relentlessly sacrifice themselves for others.

Ilmu. I aim to increase my knowledge about Islam and particularly of our beloved Prophet Muhammad. I've been such an avid fan of books of all genres but have never really read up on Islamic scholar. Will strive for that this year. Will also listen more to the airings of little kuliahs on ikimfm. Little nuggets of information works wonders.

Iman. Kalau dunia, kita kena tengok orang yang dibawah kita. Tapi kalau hal-hal iman dah akhirat, tengokla orang yang diatas kita. I aim to lipat-gandakan my iman this year, to perbanyakan sembahyang, zikir dan puasa. Insyallah. Ya Allah, bantulah aku untuk mengingatiMu, mensyukuri nimkatMu dan memperbaiki ibadatku kepadaMu.

Insyallah.