Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Panas

Don't ask me what crazy notions I had that led to having a date with my not-yet-5-year-old son, Huzaifah to the KL International Book Fair. I thought of the trip as a reward for him - since he has shown more signs of being a responsible brother notwithstanding all the fumble-tumble sessions with Humaidi since he started kindie. At home, as I got him ready for our 'date', it seemed like a good idea. He was in good mood, all smiling, chattering excitedly.

But turned out, it might not be that great of an idea after all...

1. It was extremely hot on that Saturday.
Traffic from Putrajaya to KL was rather smooth, but the queue for parking space in Hentian Putra terminal was exteremely long - it took longer to park than to drive from Putrajaya to KL. Not something that one would welcome under the scorching sun. Especially since Huzaifah kept 'meratib', "Ibu, nak pergi pesta buku", "Ibu, jom pergi pesta buku", "Ibu, cepatlah pergi pesta buku," to which I had to patiently response, "Nanti lepas parking kereta, kita pergilah." Again and again and again...

2. It was extremely crowded that Saturday.
In fact - PWTC was more crowded on Saturday than on Sunday, when I made my solo trip. Or at least, it certainly felt that way. I know, it's only to be expected - what with the lure of good discounts, great bargains, meet-the-fan sessions, various performances (no, not by pop artists - more towards literature/books/comics related stuff) and all.

3. Over-zealous Grolier and (other similar companies) promoters who simply don't understand the word 'no' could really spoil one's moods.
They resort to whatever tactics possible to make sure your child stop at their booth and the parents had no choice but to sit down too. It's just bad luck that I have a five-year-old-son who could not resist normal-shaped mouth-blown balloon, what more bright, shiny, floating balloons of various shapes and designs. And more bad luck that Huzaifah is a fan of Mickey and his friends, making him an even more easy 'prey'. Arghhh!!!

4. There were moments when I felt my own tempers rising...
When Huzaifah said he wanted a Thomas (the Tank Engine) book, he really insisted on finding it, never mind that we had already gotten so many other books for him. We searched for it high and low, but could not find even a single Thomas book. At one stall, he saw the advertisement for a set of Thomas books at the back of an old copy of a British magazine.
"Ibu, ini buku Thomas!" he hurled the magazine at me excitedly.
"Ini bukan buku Thomas, ini iklan saja," I took the magazine and put it back in the box marked 3-for-RM10.
"Ujai nak buku Thomas! Ujai nak buku Thomas!," he grabbed the magazine back.
"Okay, okay, let's look for Thomas book, but this is not a Thomas book, so let's put it back in the box."
He grabbed it again.
I grabbed the magazine one final time, put it back in the box, and dragged him away from the stall.
"Over there, we might find a Thomas book over there, come on, let's go..."
But Huzaifah had already started throwing tantrums.
Wailing, shrieking, almost biting my hand, he struggled to get away from me.
I held his hand tighly and kept walking. Embarrassed but grimly ignored the stares thrown our way by passers-by.
Once or twice another parent would try to calm Huzaifah down too, but to no avail.
I picked him up, put his slippers in one of the plastic bags (the slippers were already thrown on the floor and a woman picked them up and passed them over to me, who was grateful for the help) and carried him as I ascended the escalator to the next floor.
I walked all over the exhibition hall, while carrying him and it was not until he grew confused by all the different booths on the different levels when I dared to put him back on the ground, and he stayed close to me voluntarily.

5. And then, there was the scalding hot tea...
Before we moved on to the exhibition hall across the river, Huzaifah asked for some food and drinks. All the walking and browsing not to mention the shrieking and struggling must had made him hungry. We went queueing for some juice and sandwich (for him) and mineral water (for me). All the make-shift cafes were operated by staff from Riverside Restaurant (if I'm not mistaken), so the price was a bit high. Which is rather disappointing - I would have thought the owner of PWTC could rise to the occasion and open up opportunities for small entrepreneurs to set up F&B stalls during KLIBF, you know, in line with the 1 Malaysia tagline - "people first". If you want to put the people first, (and we all know that the visitors to KLIBF are not sought after by lobbyist unlike visitors during a certain party's General Assembly season and hence could afford the high F&B prices) then the people should be given the choice to buy cheaper F&B from a few competiting providers. Not 'forced' to buy from a single provider that offer food at high price. Overheard were complaints and grumbles on "mahalnya makanan kat sini...", especially from those who looked like they have travelled far to come to the book fair (not locals of Klang Valley who are used to simiar prices at restaurants they frequent) RM3 for nasi lemak kosong or a glass of teh tarik, RM5 for diluted orange juice, RM6 for a plate of cold nasi goreng (which remind me of those selling for RM1.50 at pasar malam). Yes, food was rather expensive...

Anyway, I digressed.
After Huzaifah finished his cheese sandwiches and juice, he asked for more juice. I queued up to get another glass of juice.
Suddenly "PRAANNNGGG!"
One tea pot on the electric tea pot warmer containing teh tarik exploded, shattered to smithereens.
Part of the scalding hot tea spilled over to the customers in line, including yours truly.
I checked on Huzaifah who was standing right next to me and was horrified to see his t-shirt smeared with a large splotch of teh tarik.
I went down, to further inspect if any debris from the broken pot hit him, but alhamdulillah none did. But Huzaifah rubbed on his chest like he was in pain, just like I rubbed on my left hand where part of the hot water spilled.

I remember reading that a cup of hot liquid spilled over a toddler is equivalent to a bucket of hot water being spilled over an adult. Granted, Huzaifah is no longer a toddler, but the pain must be greater for him, the large stain bearing witness that at least a quarter of a cup of hot tea spilled over him.

Not one word of apology was uttered by the girl behind the counter.
Not one word of apology was uttered by the girl who cleaned up the mess in front of the counter, as she picked up the shattered pieces of the tea pot, a mug and all.
Nobody checked on the customer to see if everybody was all right.
Nobody apologized.
No one.

I was so mad that when I paid for Huzaifah's juice, I lashed out at the cashier, "Adik, tadi masa teko pecah, teh panas tu terkena anak akak. Habis basah baju dia. Ni, tengok ni...(pointing at the large darkened splotch) Tapi, tak ada seorang pun minta maaf..."
The cashier was flabbergasted.
"Akak pun terkena air panas juga. Tengok ni tangan akak..." I showed her the back of my left palm which had turned all red due to the hot tea spill.
"Akak tak kisah bayar makanan kat sini mahal, tapi customer jagalah betul-betul... Mana manager kalau nak komplen? Siapa pun tak minta maaf. Tak ada seorang pun minta maaf masa tu. Macam mana ni?"
I knew people were staring.
Peduli!

"Sorry kak. Sorry... Minta maaf..."
The cashier found her voice again.
I saw a well-dressed man emerged from the 'kitchen' and immediately turned my attention to him. Told him what happened and asked him, "Macam mana bila jadi macam tu, tak ada siapa pun yang minta maaf?"
Aren't the staff well-trained to react and response by putting the customers first above all else?
The tea pot might have exploded on its own, an honest-to-goodness accident, but its content had spilled over to some customers - so, can't the staff at least say sorry to the customers?
What is so difficult about that?

If such incident had happened in Japan, the girl behind the counter would immediately said sorry, "Moshi wake arimasen".
And the girl who cleaned up after the mess would also apologized.
Profusely.
Repeatedly.
And they would in fact checked on the customer's safety.
And those who would've gotten even a single spill of the hot tea would be compensated - maybe by an offer of free food or drinks or even more.
Customers always come first.

Yes, I have left Japan 18 months ago, but sometimes, it's incidents like this that made me wish I'm back in Japan...
Duh!

Time to shed some: 1 Month Progress Report

Remember me talking about joining "Klinik Citra Sihat" at the office?
After a month of the watching what we eat & sticking to regular exercise routine, yesterday was the weigh-in day for us, and guess what?
Alhamdulillah, I've lost 2kg!

Some of us lost more, and one clerk actually put on an additional kilogram. "Fear not," Sham, the 'instructor' said, "it happened because Kak Su inhaled steroid for her asthma treatment. Taking steroid can bring about the side effect of putting on weight."

My CC lost 1kg - a feat for someone who is 54 and hasn't been on a regular exercise routine for ages. I almost could not believe that I've lost 2kg because previously when I was conscious about shedding some kilograms off, it went off one week and I gained the weight back the following week. I haven't checked my weight for some time, but I knew that I'd lost some because last Sunday I could put on my old pair of jeans again. It's still a bit tight on some areas, but since it's not made from stretchable materials, I knew that I've lost some inches...

I believe losing 2kg in 1 month by exercising and watching what I eat is a lot more satisfying than losing 6 - 10 kg by going to slimming centers or taking expensive slimming products. I thought of losing 5kg in 3 months (10kg in 6 months) - a realistic goal which is achievable, insya Allah. Losing 2kg in the first month certainly helped boosting my spirit up to strive for more, more, more...

No, I don't do crash diets. I eat like I normally do - only I am more aware of what I'm eating right now. I try to avoid taking deep fried stuff for breakfast, I drink a whole lot more of plain water these days and I exercise at least every other day for 15 - 50 minutes... Some days - like on Mondays and Thursday - I do it in groups. Otherwise - it's at home, doing light exercises, lunges, sit-ups and stuff on my own. I may not push myself too much (compared to how Sham drill us every Monday & Thursday) but at least I make a conscious effort to 'keluarkan tenaga' tak kisahlah kalau tak keluar peluh pun

I like the 'lighter' feel - and I try not to sit down in front of the PC all day long at the office - taking a walk every hour or two when it's okay to do so. I do feel more energetic around my kids now - not as energetic as they are, but at least I can keep up with them better, alhamdulillah...

It's true - it's easier to stay motivated when we do it in a group - the 'competition' to lose more, the support and encouragement we give each other and all. Alhamdulillah, I'm happy with the progress so far and looking forward to losing more and more, insya Allah!

Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Meet-the-writers session

I went to the KL International Book Fair 2010 twice - on Saturday, March 27 for a mother-son date with Huzaifah and then made a solo trip on the last day of the fair.

Alhamdulillah, managed to meet some writers while I was there.

1. Zakaria Sungib
I've been a big fan of Chicken Soup for the Soul series. So, when I heard passed by Galeri Ilmu's stall and heard the promotion about a new "100 kisah kehidupan", I grabbed a copy of "Secubit Halwa Penawar Jiwa". A quick glance through the book confirmed my hunch that, like Chicken Soup of the Soul, it's a collection of stories by ordinary people, but with an Islamic breath.

I asked for an autograph by the writer. Zakaria Sungib may not be as well known as Ustaz Hasrizal or Pahrol Mohd Juoi, (I also bought books by both of them) but he's a distant relative of mine, on Mak's side. He didn't recognize me when he asked me for my name before signing the book. I didn't actually expect him to anyway, since our meeting was very brief - he and his family were about to leave Mak's place when my family and I arrived in Kampung Tunku during Raya. Upon noticing the many kids (almost 10?), I asked Mak if she had given them any 'duit raya', and Mak replied that she had ran out of small changes, so I offered to give them some. Rushed upstairs to get the duit raya but by the time I alighted the stairs, the MPV they were in had already went out of Mak's gate. I had to run and knocked on it to make them stop. "Ni, ada duit raya sikit..." I smilingly handed over the green packet to one of his girls.
I remember that vividly because it is very rare for me (or anybody else, I think) to chase after someone to hand over some 'duit raya'. Usually, it's the kids who wouldn't leave the house until after they were given some 'duit raya', kan?

Anyway, I digressed. When I thanked Zakaria for the autograph, I mentioned Mak's name and his face immediately lighted up. Murmured something about reading Mak's blog and that he would like to discuss it further with Mak. Hah - and Mak didn't know that he, an editor for a publication company, actually reads Mak's blog and probably sees a future blook out of Mak's entries so far...

2. Sis Zabrina a.k.a Zabrina A. Bakar
When "Life is an Open Secret" was first published, I was still in Tokyo and asked Kit to get one for me. She bought two - one as a gift for me, another for herself and asked me to inform her of more such books should I come across them. Kit loves it. I do too, to my delight, since at first I only wanted to have a copy of the first book because I know Sis Zabrina (or Kak Bina as we, her juniors in school call her) personally.

I knew that she already had a meet-the-fans session during KLIBF 2010 earlier, on March 21 , and I was not aware that she was going to have a second similar session on March 27. So I was pleasantly suprised to see her at Pustaka Yamien's stall. Went to her booth. She took a look at me and confirmed that she knows me, but could not recall from where or which era of her life...

"I'm your junior from Smap Labu lah" and I told her my name.
"Oh ya!! Now, I remember... Masya Allah, when did you grow to be so tall?"
"Alah Kak Bina, I've been this tall since I was 18 - but you've last seen me when I was 14, so I supposed I had grown since then..." (both vertically and horizontally, but I digressed)

The first meeting was kept short because Huzaifah was agitated, and I had to follow after him in his quest to find "Thomas" (the Tank Engine) book. I returned to see her with a calmed down Huzaifah who by then had already gotten a sword-shaped balloon courtesy of Grolier.

Chatted for a while hah, who would have thought that I would end up having someone from her batch as my SIL and bought her second book, "Life is an Open Secret - You, Me and We" and asked for her autograph.

Her autograph include a line that said "Stay cute & cun forever"
"Only for my juniors," she almost winked as she handed the book to me.
"And do poke me on FB, okay, so that we can keep in touch..."
Ha ha ha. Yes, my senior in school can be cute like that...

3. Nazri M Annuar
I first learned about "Karipap-Karipap Cinta" from one of Nisah's entries on KLIBF 2010. Bloghopped to Dunia Vovinska and found myself attracted to sample this particular "karipap". I didn't manage to get any PTS book during my first trip to KLIBF with Huzaifah so I made it up on Sunday. My haul at PTS alone would've totaled up to more than RM200 if not for the 30% discount (I got two "PTS 10 Tahun" woven bags and two gift wrapping papers as gifts for my purchases)

As I browsed through the Novel section of the PTS booth, I saw a copy of "Karipap-Karipap Cinta" so I casually picked it up. Little did I know that it was the last copy available in the booth until I heard the announcement, "Buku "Karipap-Karipap Cinta" yang terakhir telahpun dibeli! Sudah HABIS DIJUAL!" followed by a hullabaloo of clappings and whistling and what-nots. One of the two girls near me who earlier on picked up the novel and put it back on the table asked "Eh, buku tu dah habis ke?," to which a guy in PTS uniform replied, "Dah habis lah. Hah, kan dah menyesal letak balik buku tu...". I grinned at them, mumbling "Sorry ye" to which the girls quickly replied, "Eh, takpe..."

A guy in PTS red uniform came up to me, informing me that the writer was around should I wish to have the book autographed. I nodded, walked up to the writer and asked if it would be okay with him to wait a little while until after I paid for the book(s). He nodded, almost shyly.

Turned out the writer had another 'last copy' with him - so mine was not exactly the 'last copy' of the day, still, I think the hullabaloo is kind of a good promotion for both the book and the writer. A sign of "good job!" to the writer, to keep the writer's spirit up as well as to make others who haven't gotten a copy to wonder what was all the excitement about and might motivate them to get a copy available elsewhere.

That Sunday, I wore a black 'muslimah' t-shirt with red sleeves with a pair of jeans and a matching red tudung. Having learned about Nazri's fondness for 'amoi' from his blog, I teased him about it - which resulted in me getting the word 'amoi' as part of the autograph. One day, should he become a bestseller writer like many believe he would, the book may fetch a high bid for it when it goes for auction on E-bay...

"Nanti dah habis baca, tinggalkanlah komen dekat blog..."
"Insya Allah"
Heh, I might even post an entry on the book itself...

Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Eh! Eh!

Photo taken from here

A bit surprised to see the faces of Huzaifah and I among the pictures posted on this blog this morning. (Please don't mind the shiny oily face - it had been one very long afternoon, taking Huzaifah for a mother-son 'date' at the KL International Book Fair 2010)



But then again, Huzaifah tore the plastic wrapping to two of his new wooden puzzles right there in Ameen Publishing stall while the writer was having his meet-the-readers/autograph session. The photographer even took a picture of Huzaifah playing with the puzzle right there on the floor of Ameen Publishing stall. If you think I am a terrible mother for not discplining him to play with stuff at home - well, I figured having a calm and quiet Huzaifah is a lot better than a shrieking Huzaifah rolling on the floor to protest against me not accomodating his wishes.



Anyway, it was nice finally meeting Faisal Tehrani in person. OK - I was happy to get his autograph, I even got the two newly-bought "Ingin Jadi Nasrallah" t-shirts autographed too. Yes, I am nerdy that way . But he is a favorite writer of mine after all. In fact, I even bought a copy of "Manikam Kalbu" and "Bedar Sukma Bisu" from Ujana Ilmu while I was still in Tokyo, and received them via my parents-in-law when they visited in spring of 2008. (And I can never thank Nisah enough for agreeing to let me postpone making the payment until I was back home months later.)



So yes, while I am way past the adolescent stage of feeling oh-so-excited to meet up with a celebrity writer - it was nice meeting the author whose words I have devoured and enjoyed. Mak observed that Faisal Tehrani blogs like an 'angry young man' - up to some extent his other writing could be interpreted as the voice of an 'angry young man' too. But reading them, one knows that the writer had gone into extensive research and I like that. I really appreciate how some writers put in a lot of homework so they end up writing fictions that are educating, and not merely entertaining.



Hopefully, panjang umur, murah rezeki, we''ll meet again insya Allah...

Siapa ituuuuu?

Ibu had nothing better to do (while the two elder boys were sleeping), so she snapped some photos of her youngest - in hijab...

No, he's not usually dressed up in hijab. No way!

This is just a one-off thingy that Ibu did when her hormones were not so stable yeah, blame it on PMS and Ayah was away for a 3d/2n meeting in KL so there was no one to stop Ibu from acting on a crazy impulse

Redang - even more pics

Follow this way to Redang Reef Resort/Scuba Diving Center

The discovery scuba area, right in front of Reef Resort

The Scuba Center

Hmmm...

The Scuba Fish: "You don't have to know how to swim to try scuba diving"

just like you don't have to know how to swim to try snorkeling

Part of the Redang Reef Resort, I presumed

Aptly named after the reefy beach?

But they are beautiful...

Laguna Redang Resort as viewed from Reef Resort

Laguna beach at dusk

Front of Laguna at dusk

Mo Mo Cha Gift shop all lighted up

The Recreational center (which provide the normal carrom, board games and even rent out mahjong set)

Redang - more pics

Typical lost-in-the-ocean-island as found in cartoons

Crystal clear water - as viewed from the Marine Park jetty

Very close to cemetery (click on pic for better view)

Swimming pool right in front of our room

Gorgeous pool with slide at the kiddie pool, jacuzzi and what nots. Plus it was school holiday so the guards on duty did not mind people not 'properly attired' jumping in the pool penat nak tegur ramai-ramai kot

View from Seri Suria Buffet restaurant

The Redang Reef Resort as seen from Laguna

Near the beach bar - which served delicious ice kacang

Akif having fun with the smooth white sand under the clear blue skies

Waiting for the ice kacang on the orange invasion day

Posing ganazzz

Ayah Lang: Tu apesal nak kena angkat-angkat kaki pulak?

Moi: Kasi nampak kurus sikit (sorok kaki gemuk la konon)

Akif pondering on his future yeah right

Business can be conducted anywhere, anytime...

Same goes to playing games...

"Sikit aje tau..."

Redang - family pics

*This entry is especially dedicated to 'jauh di mata, dekat di hati' cousins - Adik Hafiz in Australia, Adik Farid & Syifa' in Egypt

The big boys comparing gadgets

A'in with 'Queen' aka 'Baby' Iman (who is getting a sibling in June insya Allah)

Iffah and Fadhilah Kamsah

Fatin (Aminah) & Farah (Sa'idah) - both named after the granny, paternal and maternal respectively

Firdhaus, my first female cousin (who's 11 years younger than me) with Mak Jang

Mak Tam & Ayah Tam (the CEO) - cool isn't it , to have the CEO taking the bus, just like the staff (who mostly board the other two buses however)

Ujai insisted on sleeping with Embah and Tok Ayah

Mak confessed that both Mak & Ayah are addicted to Ujai. I believe the feeling is mutual...

My cousins and kids playing together (Akif was there although he's not in the picture)

The 'fancy dress' competition - which was won by Teh's team albeit Teh's t-shirt became the victim of quick snaps of the scissors

Ayah Lang, Mak Lang with two of their 10 kids. My cousin Zulfa, 1 1/2 year, had just recently undergone a surgery in IJN

With the mak-mak dara (aunts & cousins)

The 'boys' - uncles & nephews - enjoyed a game of beach volleyball

Chik (COO) & Teh (CFO) - on the day they got married, Pak Chik almost mistaken Teh (who just got married a month ahead of Chik) to be Chik, hihihi

I remember when I was in my late teen/early twenties, I heard Ayah Tam made a remark along the line of Mak Tam looking like she's 28 forever. Sweet!

Faiz Sparrow and Amin Crockett

Azrul Sparrow & a more believable Faiz Crockett

Ijah Sparrow & Shahidah Crockett

Inspired by the characters from "Summer Holiday" starring Sammi Cheng & Richie Ren. They keep re-playing the movie on Channel 6 24/7. I never watched the movie from start to finish, merely watching snippets of it from time to time until I finally watched the whole movie (different shots at different times)

Another 'prop' which could be seen in the HK movie 'Summer Holiday'

The gift shop, inspired by the Mo Mo Cha a.k.a More More Tea Inn in "Summer Holiday"

With cousins - Hanim, Ijah, Tikah, Khairin, Shidah dan 3 hantu lilin

I wanted to take a pic of just three of us - Abang, Adik & I - but never succeeded

Rectangular Table Discussion among the senior members of the clan

While the young ones enjoying looking at the Koi's

Among the female cousins

We really look like 1 Malaysia Family kan? some looking like amoi, some like anak mami and all

With my SIL, Sarah

My cousin Syahril, Iman & A'in - boarding the 'tram' (pulled by a mini tractor?) to the jetty

I love dressing the boys in similar outfits while they still haven't insisted on wearing clothes of their own preference

Apparently I'm not the only one who loves doing so - Mak Su does the same for her boys Amar & Aiman

Chik's (as well as Ayah Lang's and Teh's) family boarded a different boat on the way back - to Merang, where they parked their cars while the rest of us went to Kuala Terengganu

With the honeymooners - Imad & Atie duh, I really looked so makcik Indon in this one, short of putting on the kain batik gendongan

Plastic bags on demand - "Seringgit satu, seringgit satu... Oh tinggal sikit! Sepuluh ringgit satu, sepuluh ringgit satu..."