Fat

"So, when are you due?"

"February, insya Allah"

"Ooh... I thought you are already in your full term..."

I know, I know - this time around I've really put on lots and lots of weight. I've added more than 15kg, and still counting. Jue said that it could be a sign that it's going to be a girl. "You look different too," or so Jue claimed. Well, I guess I do look chubbier...

Two ultra sound scans since October, but the baby simply refused to disclose its gender to us. I am more than aware how strong the "male force" is in hubby's family (his eldest sister, second eldest sister, and younger brother, all had to wait for baby number 5 to get their first daughter), so I've learned not to put much hope on getting a girl. (But of course it would be nice to get a girl after two lasak boys)

Anyway, despite putting on lots of weight, some same old problems still recurred - the low count of hemoglobin in my blood for example. And the blood pressure being on the low side making it easy for me to feel tired (and almost fainted once).

I need to increase my calcium, iron, folic acid and fibre intake.
And lessen my sugar intake.

But why do I crave for sweets and ice cream more and more now?

Selamat Tahun Baru?

In Turkey;

Istanbul cancels New Year party due to Israeli
attacks

ANKARA, Dec. 29 - Turkey on Monday canceled the planned New Year celebrations in its famous Taksim Square in the largest Turkish city of Istanbul amid the deadly Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, local newspaper Hurriyet reported. A statement issued by the Istanbul municipality said "The New Year celebrations program organized by Istanbul municipality in Taksim Square on Dec. 31, 2008 has been cancelled due to the latest developments in our region."
Turkey's leaders have been condemning Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, urging it to end its violence immediately. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has described the move was a crime against humanity.
Israel unleashed on Saturday a massive air campaign against Hamas targets in retaliation for ongoing rocket fire from its Gaza Strip stronghold, one of the most densely populated places on earth.
At least 51 civilians are among the victims of the Israeli blitz on Hamas-run Gaza that has so far killed more than 310 people, the United Nations said.

In Malaysia???
Personally, I think Malaysia should cancel big New Year celebration the way we did it in 2005, not long after the tsunami incident in South East Asia. Just to show support and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine...

By the way, if you're thinking of donating for Palestinians, Aman Palestin can help you do so. Funds could be transferred to the following:

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad
A/C No: 12029010047880; or

MayBank
A/C No: 562263010787

4our things...

As tagged by Kit.

Four things about me that you may or may not know…..

Four jobs I have had in my life
1. Babysitter - for my cousins during balik kampung time, and for children of post-graduate students when I was an undergraduate...
2. Cleaner - part-time job as an undergraduate
3. Bakery assistant - another part time job during my days in Leeds (and later Manchester, a couple of months before returning to Malaysia. It was during recession period 1998, so Mak advised me to make as much money as possible even if it was just by doing 'kerja kilang')
4. Writer for a research company

Four movies/ TV series I could watch over and over
1. Star Wars
2. Bujang Lapok
3.While You Were Sleeping
4. Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (this is because I have no choice when Huzaifah insisted "nak Thomas")

Four places I've lived in
1. Kelang Lama, Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia
2. Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
3. Leeds, UK
4. Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

Four places I have been to
1. Mount Kinabalu
2. Mount Fuji (although I didn't get to climb it)
3. Not far from Swiss Alps
4. Siem Reap

Four main sources of e-mail
1. Those on ex-schoolmate's mailing list
2. Geng usrah
3. Friendsters/FB's notifications
4. Air Asia on promotions

Four of my favourite food
1. Laksa, especially made by Mak Tam
2. Chicken rice
3. Cheesecake
4. Ice cream

Four places I would rather be right now
1. At home with hubby and the kids
2. At a nice beach with hubby and the kids
3. Enjoying a chit chat at a nice restaurant with close girl friends
3. Discussing good books with fellow book lover in a bookstore

Four people kena tag
1. Dakwanie
2. Faizly aka Sabah
3. Ahkak Zurr
4. Zarin

Selamat Hari Raya Korban

Wishing all Muslim readers, wherever you are, a happy and blessed Eidul Adha.

Here's praying that those on hajj will get haji mabrur,
while the rest of us will ponder upon the significance of Prophet Ibrahim's sacrifice...
He was not merely asked to sacrifice his son, but his most beloved son - as noted in the way he addressed Prophet Ismail, "ya bunayya" (my beloved son) and not "ya ibni" (my son)...

#####
Hubby had been asked to lead the solat raya Eidul Adha in Seremban this year (after two consecutive years of being the imam in Tokyo). Hopefully Allah will guide him to produce (or at least edit) a khutbah that will give lasting impression on the jemaah this year...

#####
Note to Che Lee - our stuff (and the car) from Tokyo finally arrived at Port Klang yesterday, alhamdulillah. We've already gotten the AP - so if all goes as planned, we might get the stuff out from the port tomorrow and the car by next week or the week after. Please pray that everything will go smoothly and the tax bearable...

Note to Basya, Hiday, Emi and all who had left a message for me through FB - I have not been able to access FB lately, so feel free to email me; aezack.at.gmail.dot.com.

Semalam di Singapura - the photos

Some photos from our Singapore trip...

Ujai & Akif during breakfast at Syafiq's house

Syafiq & Ujai

With Syafiq & Syafiq's mom

Syafiq's house (painted blue with nice blue sky in the background)

Maqam Habib Noh

After breakfast at Abang Mouri's place

With Abang Mouri, Kak Bedah & two of their kids, just before we left for Fort Canning

Welcome to Sentosa

Sentosa Express monorail...

... the beach tram

... the bus

Who's afraid of shark? He he he...

Fascinated by the colourful sea creatures - subhanallah!

The large oceanarium with the travelator

Akif refused to put his hand inside the interactive feeding pool

Palawan Beach - with the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia islet in the background

White sandy beach... happy! happy!

Ujai refusing to budge from the beach when the time came to go to Dolphin Lagoon

Semalam di Singapura

(The title should be read as 'one night in Singapore' rather than 'yesterday in Singapore')

Went to Singapore for the first time in my life recently.

Big thanks to Syafiq & his family in Bandar Baru Uda, JB for accepting us (our family, my BIL and hubby's Singaporean uncle, Pak Long Majid) as their guests for a night. The same goes to Abang Mouri, Kak Bedah and family for taking us in the next night.
Jazakumullahu khairan kathira and may Allah bless...

#####

Friday/Saturday (21/22 Nov)- arrived at Syafiq's place at around midnight. Syafiq just went to visit us in Kampung Tunku a few days before, so it was a "kunjung balas" of sort, but Syafiq went a step further by providing us a place to spend the night. Initially we thought of spending the night in Kota Tinggi, at one SIL's place. Turned out, MIL and FIL also decided to spend the weekend visiting SIL, so we changed our plan and only visited SIL after we returned from Singapore. Syafiq bought "the best otak-otak in JB" especially for us, so we cleaned one plateful of otak-otak that midnight before we hit the sack. Or at least when most of us hit the sack - hubby and Syafiq chit-chatted until around 3.00 a.m.

###
Saturday (22 Nov) - right after breakfast, left for Kampung Melayu Majidee. Allahyarham Ustaz Dato' Ali just passed away the day before, so hubby and BIL wanted to visit his family and made some doa for him at his house.

After that we made our way to Tuas, using the SecondLink expressway as advised by Pak Long Majid. Although Tambak Johor is nearer to Kampung Melayu Majidee, Pak Long anticipated a longer queue there, and since it was almost mid-day, it could be quite a torture for the kids to wait under the hot sun. The queue in Tuas area was not that long - I guess most users could possibly be turned off by the high rate of tolls charged for SecondLink users. The immigration and custom checks were not that long, but the immigration officer reminded me to change my and Humaidi's old-fashioned passports (issued by the Malaysian Embassy in Tokyo) to new ones with chips.

Pak Long Majid helped with the car registration, making Autopass card and all once we passed the immigration check in Singapore. Not a lengthy process if one brought along all the necessary documents - copies of geran kereta, proof of car insurance, and I'm glad that Pak Long Majid had advised us in advance.

Our first stop in Singapore was Makam Habib Noh. Just as hubby & Pak Long finished making doa for the reknown ulamak, the azan for Zohor was called out, so we prayed jama' Zohor and Asar there. The masjid is rather small, but its toilets were very clean and the telekongs provided in the ladies section were clean too, which is a lot more than I can say for many small masjids in Malaysia.

Next - makan time! Pak Long took us to near Arab Street/Masjid Sultan area, where we had our lunch at Sabar Menanti Nasi Padang restaurant. Pak Long Majid's treat because the rest of us - hubby, BIL and I - had not yet changed our money into Singapore dollar. When Pak Long ordered 'nasi tambah' for us and the girl who brought the rice to our place asked for "50 cent", we all looked at each other before BIL asked the girl to claim the payment from "Pak Aji" (Pak Long had his lunch at another table because ours were already full). It was an awkward moment - not that we did not have any money, but we did not have any in Singaporean currency yet, not even 50 cent. "50 sen Malaysia adalah. Nak RM1 pun boleh. Nak RM2 pun boleh, tapi 50 cent Singapore tak ada..."

Spent some moment relaxing around Istana Kampung Gelam after lunch - Huzaifah and Humaidi had fun chasing each other around the water fountain in front of the Istana despite me calling after them not to run there since it was rather slippery and I was afraid that they might fall and hurt themselves. Good thing we didn't spend very long there.

Next, Pak Long took us (or at least acted as a tourist guide of sort as it was BIL who drove the Myvi, since Singaporeans are prohibited from driving Malaysian-registered car in Singapore ) sightseeing around Marina area, Changi, Bedok and I don't know where else. One thing that amazed me was the realization that there are so many masjids/suraus in Singapore. My guess is - it's easier to find a masjid in Singapore than in KL. Seriously!

We then visited another family friend in Tempinis, but turned out Mak Rahmah was not in, so we were entertained by her daughter and grand-daughter instead. There was a cultural performance going on the next apartment block. Hubby went to sneak a peek and found out that there was a kuda kepang show going on right then. And it was viewed by all kind of races - not mainly Malays as is the norms in Malaysia. Hmm... interesting.

It was already Asar by then, so Pak Long Majid guided us to Masjid Kassim, where Abang Mouri waited for us. From there, using his bike, Abang Mouri guided us to his apartment not far from Hou Gang Mall.

It was my first time meeting up with Abang Mouri, Kak Bedah and their children, or at least the first time I'm aware of meeting them up. (They came to our kenduri in Seremban, but there were so many guests at the kenduri that I couldn't remember). Kak Bedah told me that they have first met hubby when he acted as their tourist guide in Egypt/Syria many years ago, back when he was still a student of Al-Azhar University and their kids were still small (Helwa, the eldest is already 20 this year, Mas'ud 19 and their youngest son is about 16 if I'm not mistaken). They seemed genuinely pleased to receive us as their guests - providing yummy dinner and breakfast and taking us out for the night to view the light show along Orchard Road. The christmas lights and decorations remind me of similar presentations in Leeds, but according to Kak Bedah and Abang Mouri, this year, the christmas lights and decorations are not that spectacular due to economic downturn in Singapore.

We passed by China town, the Esplanade, the Merlion, the Singapore Flyer (a ferris wheel not that much different from Eye on Malaysia), and Abang Mouri pointed out the up and coming project of a'la Las Vegas casino in the Marina area. There is another similar project going on in Sentosa area, developed by the Genting group, but according to Abang Mouri, the one in Marina area is going slower than projected due to some financial problem/bankcruptcy of their branch in Macau.

Kak Bedah wanted to take us to Mustafa Singapore, a shopping bazaar, but by then hubby was already snoring and both Huzaifah and Humaidi too had already dozed off, so we returned back to their apartment. "Mustafa is for Singaporean what Mydin is for Malaysian, or sort of," explained Kak Bedah. Except that it is open 24/7, and grander in term of variety of stocks and the shop itself. Still, it is a lot cheaper to shop there than elsewhere in Singapore, that is why Kak Bedah thought I might want to go there and check things out for myself. By then, we already had some Singaporean dollar in hand (changed the money after lunch in Arab Street area), but since hubby was already fast asleep, maybe next time...

###
Sunday (23 Nov) - Kak Bedah told me after subuh that we almost got fined for not displaying a parking ticket in the car last night. Abang Mouri wanted to buy one midnight parking ticket, but after we returned from makan angin the previous night he forgot all about it.

Their son, Mas'ud alerted them about the presence of some 'parking offence inspectors', as he saw them upon returning home (after his shift as part-time worker at Coffee Bean was over). "Kereta Abang Amin yang mana satu? Ada tiket tak?"

Abang Mouri quickly made use of some readily available parking tickets to cover a few hours parking. Once it's Sunday morning, the parking is free in that area. Alhamdulillah we were saved from getting fined... (Singapore indeed is a 'fine' city...)

After breakfast - all of us left the house, the Malaysian rombongan to explore Singapore a bit more while the host family wanted to visit a respected tok guru who had been admitted in Seremban Specialist Hospital. The drivers exchanged notes on how to get to their respective destinations.

First stop after we left Hou Gang was Fort Canning Park. Personally I think it's a far more interesting park compared to any public park found in KL (like Lake Garden or Titiwangsa), what with its educational signboards along the 14th Century walk. It's green, it's peaceful, kids and adults get to learn some interesting botanical and historical stuff along the walk. Oh - and there's a tomb right inside the park - said to belong to Raja Iskandar Syah, a Malay ruler who might or might not have been Parameswara, the 'founder' of Melaka.

Next - Sentosa!
We decided to "cross over" to Sentosa island by taking the Sentosa Express monorail, which is sort of a treat for Huzaifah who's been missing his 'densya' a lot since we returned to Malaysia. Parked the car at HarbourFront (previously known as World Trade Center), walked to VivoCity, currently the largest shopping mall in Singapore and boarded the monorail at the Sentosa station located on L3 of VivoCity.

Stopped at Beach Station - the whole train trip took less than 5 minutes - and then took a Blue Line bus to Underwater World. We had a quick brunch (our breakfast's left over plus some biscuits) before entering the oceanarium.

Our verdict of Underwater World?
Interesting in that it offered interactive feeding pool, interactive stingray pool and it has a travelator.
But it's waaaay too pricey.
We had to pay S$22.90 for entry to both the oceanarium and dolphin lagoon. But having been to Kamogawa Sea World, I can testify that the Underwater World was more 'indah khabar dari rupa'. (Sabah - if I'd said Hakkejima Sea Paradise was a let down - this one was a bigger let down) We finished touring the whole oceanarium in about an hour, and found ourselves asking "eh, ini je ke?". Kamogawa Sea World offers better and more variety of exhibits. Oh, and more sealife shows too.

We had to catch a Red Line bus to the Dolphin Lagoon, but we arrived there about an hour before the next show was scheduled to begin, so hubby took Huzaifah and Humaidi to play on Palawan beach right next to it. BIL walked further down, crossing a suspension bridge to a small islet said to be the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia (well, at least Malaysia has Tanjung Piai, the Southernmost Point of Mainland Asia).

It was obvious that both Huzaifah and Humaidi had fun playing at Palawan beach, even when I did not let them wet themselves. I guess there's something magical about white sandy beach and salty air, inviting all to frolic in the beach...

Next - the show in Dolphin Lagoon. The difference from the dolphin shows in Kamogawa and Hakkejima? The dolphins were pink and gray, rather than black and white or gray and white. The only pink dolphin show in the world, or so claimed the commentator at the show. I would rate the show as so-so, but it's kind of difference because it was held in a 'lagoon', not in a stadium. Oh, by the way, Huzaifah was busy paying more attention to the white sand in the lagoon than the dolphins.

We decided to snap some photos at the giant Merlion, so we boarded a beach tram to the Beach Station and took the monorail to Imbiah Station. There are several attractions near Imbiah Station, with additional fees, so we just took some photos and by then Huzaifah and Humaidi both had started to get cranky and I knew they needed their nap. Thus we headed back to VivoCity.

Just as we arrived in VivoCity, hubby realised that he had forgotten his glasses, back in Imbiah Station. So he returned to look for it while the rest of us had a rest in VivoCity. Hubby approached us emptyhanded, so Pak Long Majid took him to a Sentosa management office next to the monorail station, where hubby filled up a lost-and-found form. We were asked to wait for a while, but after waiting for about 30 minutes, the guy in charge came to us and informed that there was no glasses of hubby's description found near or in any of the gents in Imbiah Station. But they will let us know if anything came up.

By then it was raining and almost 6.00 p.m., so we decided to stop and pray jamak Zohor/Asar at Masjid Teluk Blangah, which is just a stone throw away from VivoCity. After praying, we started to head back to Tuas. We crossed over to Malaysia just after Maghrib - prayed jamak Maghrib/Isyak at Gelang Patah R&R and had a quick meal there. (By then I had problem with too much 'angin', which caused me to 'sendawa' non-stop)

Stopped by at Syafiq's place to retrieve my Swatch and then we started our journey to Kota Tinggi, to visit SIL, as we earlier promised. It was Pak Long Majid's first visit to SIL's house too. Pak Long Majid insisted on going back the very night since he has to send Mak Long to the airport the next day. He said it's okay if the rest of us want to spend the night at SIL's house while he returns to Seremban by bus. But MIL already gave a stern warning to both hubby and BIL - not to, in any circumstances, let Pak Long return to Seremban by bus. Even without MIL's warning, we did not have the heart to go separate way with Pak Long after all his help in Singapore, thus we returned to Seremban that very midnight (this time around, it was my turn falling asleep on the couch before we started our journey back).

We had a good time in Singapore, alhamdulillah. It would probably be better if I get to meet up with Lina, Rudy and their lovely kids. Unfortunately Lina didn't reply my email, so we could not make plan to see each other then. Maybe next time, insya Allah...

Yon nen me no kinenbi

"I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you."
- Spike to Buffy, in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

This morning, after Subuh, I made sujud syukur.
Thanking Allah for blessing me with a good husband and beautiful children.
Thanking Allah for strenghtening the relationship and love between hubby and I.

It has been four years.

1 plus 1 now equals 4 and a half.

I still remember Mak calling me while I was driving back home from Jalan TAR. It was near 6.00 p.m. and the majlis akad nikah was scheduled after Isyak that night. I had to go out and buy matching tudung and selendang for my wedding outfits as two of the pairs given by the tailor, the purple and the blue ones, did not really match the respective baju*

"Kak, where are you?"
"On the way, on the way..." I hadn't prayed Asar yet, but by then I was already in Section 16, PJ. Not that far from home
"It's almost 6.00 p.m."
"I know, I know..."
"Jangan sampai pengantin perempuan pula yang tak ada bila pengantin laki sampai..."
I smiled.
Allah willing, I would not turn my back on the solemn ceremony for no good reasons.
And I had no good reason to do so.

The truth? I was scared. I had doubts - mostly at myself. I've seen how Ummi failed at maintaining her marriages - both to Ayah and Pakcik. Other people told me that I should not worry too much - I could learn from Mak and Ayah. But no matter how close I am to Mak, it's Ummi's blood that flow in my vein, so the worry was (still is) there all along. I've said this before and I'm saying this again because for me it's true - children from broken homes try harder at making their marriages work because they have first hand experiences of the pain brought by failed marriages.

So I knew I must give it a try first. And pray for the best.

*****

"You have not known him for long - are you sure that you're not rushing things?," a concerned friend asked.

We were engaged a month after we first met. The wedding was less than three months after we were engaged. So yes, it might seemed like we were rushing things. But this thing called 'jodoh' works differently for different people. Some have known their partner for ages, but their marriage didn't last that long. Some took ages before marrying a person they've known all along to be their soul mates. And some, like us, didn't take that long before marrying each other.

Alhamdulillah, Allah has arranged it in such a way that we met when we were both ready to make commitment. We were both aware that by agreeing to marry each other, we were doing it to "complete our deen", to fufill a sunnah as Muslims, as there's a hadith which states clearly that marriage is part of the sunnah of Rasulullah and whoever turns away from the sunnah does not belong to him.

Despite initially not feeling all the "chemistry thingy" with hubby, I was also ready to love and fall in love with one man that deserves it all - my husband. I'm a bit traditional in that I've never said "I love you" to another guy. I'm sure I must have said words like "I care for", or "I like", or some words to that effect to those who had my affection before, but I've never said "I love you". I've been reserving the "three little words" all along for my husband, as I wished to whisper them not only into his ear, but also into his heart. And for the words to have meaning that deep, they have to come from the very bottom of my heart.

Oh, but I've also known all along that love does not mean everything is going to be fine all the time. We have had our shares of disagreements. We may not always get along all the time. We may not always share the same perspectives all the time. But we are also willing to apologize, to forgive, to compromise, to listen to each other, to make changes - all for the better, for ourselves, and for each other.

And so today I thank Allah, for uniting us as husband and wife, for blessing us with rahmah and mawaddah, and for making me feel comfortable with my beloved hubby, but still getting weak knees upon seeing him smiling at me from afar.

During our kenduri in Kampung Tunku

4 years later (in an attempt to sorok my large perut, he he)

(Note: The guy in charge of my wedding outfits bad-mouthed me in the office when I returned a borrowed samping with a stain after the wedding. Hubby was unsure if the stain was there all along or if it was there after he used it. But whatever it was - I'm quite sure that the amount I paid the guy for the outfits was more than enough to cover for dry cleaning.
Besides;
* He never gave me a quotation of his service, otherwise I might have considered using other "andaman" service. I wanted to help him supplement his income as he was a support staff in the office. I kept asking for a quotation in advance, but he never gave me even an estimate and only when it was already fait accompli, he asked for the payment which, if I had used another andaman house, might cover not only the outfits, but also wedding photography and videography services.
* Apart from giving me two sets of tudung and selendang that did not match the wedding outfits, he 'lent' me some make-up stuff that screamed cheap and might passed their expiry dates, when he earlier promised to loan some good make-up kit for my wedding, as part of his service. I had to buy my own make-up, and borrowed some from my aunt, Nyah.
* Later on, when he was supposed to be in charge of a farewell party for me in the old office, he neither invited nor informed me of the party. Imagine - I was not even invited to a farewell party which was supposed to be held in my honor. His excuse was - I was in my late pregnancy stage and 'takut meletup kat ofis'. Shouldn't I be the one to decide whether or not to attend the party? It was held 3 days before I gave birth to Huzaifah, so I'm pretty sure if I'd been informed beforehand, I would make it a point to attend it.
* He collected some money from colleagues in the old office to buy a farewell gift for me before I gave birth to Huzaifah and went to Japan. The gift, if he even bought one, never reach me.)

I miss (interesting) Japanese TV shows

(Yet another entry on what I miss about Japan. Heh)

Reading Hanny's entry on Warratte Koraete made me kind of miss some Japanese TV shows.

When I first arrived in Tokyo, I found Japanese TV variety shows to be rather boring. "IQ-reducing stuff" was how Amy, my half-Japanese dorm-mate used to describe it. Lots of too plastic acting, slapstick jokes and too many shows seem to concentrate on food, food, food.

Still, after a while (and because we didn't have that many choice anyway with free-to-air TV showing almost 90 percent local content), I've grown accustomed to and begin to enjoy some interesting programs.

Compared to Malaysian TV which seems to be producing more 'new talents' through entertainment shows, Japanese TV more often made use of the available 'talents' (usually comedians - they have no shortage of these) in various game shows. IQ Sapuri, NepuLeague, Q sama and Hexagon came to mind - in which participants have to answer general knowledge questions, solve IQ puzzles and test their knowledge of kanji. Viewers get to laugh at some 'stupid answers' given by the (usually cute, or at least seen to answer with cute expression) participants while increasing general knowledge and sharpening own minds by attempting to simultaneously solve the IQ puzzles as it was shown on air.

Then, there are shows like "Terebi Champion", "The Best House 123" and "Nani Kore" - in which viewers get to learn about some amazing facts and figures in and outside Japan. "Terebi Champion" tries to crown one "King" of a particular ability by challenging short-listed competitors in an array of tasks. The episode on shinkansen (bullet train) for example, tested the participants on the speed, sound and feel of the seats (while blind-folded) in different kind of shinkansens. In "The Best House 123" guests introduce the best/worst 3 of a particular subject, such as the most spectacular sea creatures, strongest fibre, hottest place in the world, etc. Once, Malaysian program "Cabaran Teh Tarik" was featured as one of the 3 most interesting TV programs in the world. "Nani Kore" features strange and interesting sights from around Japan - stuff like a pony born in Hokkaido with a Hokkaido map on its body, or a shop selling ramen filled with shaved ice, or a monkey that works as a shop assistant, and the nearest convenience store to an operating rail line.

Also, there are shows like "Million Kazoku", hubby's all-time favorite. This show brings the traditional hide-and-seek game to a new height. Each week, two regular hosts plus one celebrity guest would try to search for 3 persons (from the same family - it could range from 80 year plus grandpa to a 4 year old daughter) in their house within 30 minutes. If at least one of the 3-persons team could stay hidden during these 30 minutes, then the family win 1 million yen. The families are encouraged to build up traps to make things more difficult for the seekers - in the past such traps include mazes from polystyrene, room filled with large boxes (which could be possible hiding place), room filled with air-filled balloons, a water-filled kiddy pool covered with empty PET bottles and all sort of balls falling down from all sort of places. Creative and innovative hiding places include a make-shift pillar attached to a room's wall, an old tv set, a large teddy bear, an aquarium, the bottom of an oven and inside a piano. No kidding.

(I won't discuss "AiNori" and Smap x Smap (aka as SmaSma) because I'd been partial to them right from the very beginning, when I thought of most Japanese TV shows being boring.)

Now, if only Malaysian viewers can learn more through Malaysian-produced variety shows...

Fish head curry

"This fish head curry is really something. It's a loss not to eat it,"
Ayah tried to tempt me. Last time, it was always Ayah who cook the best curry in the house, but after almost 25 years of marriage, Mak has learned enough tips from Ayah and can now cook better curries than Ayah.

I could tell that it was good. Adik ate more than usual. Since he's been frequenting a gym nearby, he's been quite fussy with his meal, so a second helping was a good indicator that he just could not help himself.

I looked at my own plate - ikan goreng, sayur pucuk paku and pucuk labu masak lemak.

I looked back at the main dish, purposely put in the centre of the table - kari kepala ikan jenahak. Or was it ikan kerapu?

"Best ni kak..." Ayah said as Mak looked at him scrapping all the best part of the fish head. (It is funny how Mak would always let Ayah scrap all the good part and then complain right after it that Ayah "tak ingat bini". She could have easily told him to leave some of her favorite part (the eyeballs for example) while looking on...)

I have never been a big fan of curry, but I usually make some exception for Ayah's (or Mak's) fish head curry. Not this time though.

My gut feeling told me that I would not be able to stomach the curry.
Just like I could not eat mutton/lamb now.
The baby inside would reject it.
And I would have to pay for it.

Vomiting could not only be very messy but also cause one to be very exhausted...

"Takpelah Ayah, I'll pass. Next time, insya Allah"

I miss being a SAHM

"I quit last year. I cannot handle being able to spend time with my son like, what, only half hour a day?"

Well, at least she and her husband have the resources, and enough savings to afford her quitting her job. She has travelled all over the world. She has pretty much went through all kind of "been there done that" experiences.

It's not like I want to quit my job or anything, but I admit that I do envy stay-at-home/working-at-home mothers.

Having spent the last 1 year and a half 24/7 with Humaidi and Huzaifah, I wish I can spend more hours with my kids now. I leave for work in the morning before they are awake. By the time I return home, usually they have already been fed and bathed, leaving me to just spend time watching "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" or "Pocoyo" or whatever else that suits Huzaifah's fancy. Mak has scolded me a few times for letting Huzaifah becoming 'obssessed' with Thomas. He insists on watching Thomas everyday, even hummed Thomas's opening song in his dream, and if he gets his way, he would be wearing Thomas t-shirt everyday...

As for Humaidi - he is a "seniman jalanan" of sort. He loves singing - or tries singing- nursery rhymes. And now he has learned to chant some simple zikr like "Ya Latif", "Lailahaillallah" and sing the nasyid "Allah hu Akbar, Allah hu Akbar, Allah, Allah hu Akbar" (with loud emphasis on the last "..barrr" part). He hasn't speak any proper word except for "nak syusyu", but he's good at singing. I think apart from inheriting his Tok Ayah's hair, he has also inherited the "bakat terpendam" of my brother, Adik. Humaidi's Pak Ang (we tried asking Huzaifah to call his uncle Ayah Lang or Paman, and he ended up calling my brother Pak Ang) used to be lead vocal in several nasyid competitions (and won) during his student days. (Adik once asked me if it is alright for him to join the showbiz as a mainstream nasyid singer - I answered him by raising my eyebrow, naayyyy...)

Anyway, I guess another thing that I miss about Japan is I miss being a SAHM...

The "seniman jalanan" in the family

What I miss about Japan

Been back for 2 months and I still get the question "do you miss Japan?".
So here's a shortlist of what I miss about Japan, in no particular order. Mind you - there's another list of what I don't miss about Japan, and trust me, hubby would have a big say in that list *winks*

1. Clean (free) public toilet, especially those shower toilets, with built-in bidet.

2. The exemplary customer service. If one waits for long at a restaurant - chances are, we would be offered free drinks as apology for not being able to serve us quicker. Service is always with lots of smiles and greetings. Staff are ever helpful, and even when I had on a herot tudung and non-branded jeans, I still got 1st class service at classy departmental stores such as Mitsukoshi or Takashimaya. (No looking down on potential customer a'la treatment received by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman...)

3. The drivers make use of their signal lights.

4. Not that many motorbikes on road.

5. Koyou (autum leaves). And come Spring, it would be Sakura, then tulips, daffodils.

6. Fresh, sweet and tasty fruits and veggies. A lot of people seem to agree that fruits and veggies taste better in Japan than in Malaysia - sweeter, crispier, etc

7. Efficient public transport. Had to take public transport to work the other day, and it was such a hassle. Try comparing the two situations below:
Taking public transport from home to school in Tokyo would be;
Bike to Asakusa eki (7 minutes) -
Ginza line subway to Nihombashi (13 minutes) -
(5 minutes transfer time)
Change to Tozai line subway to Waseda (13 minutes) -
Walk to University (10 minutes)

Taking "public" transport from home in PJ to office in Putrajaya would be;
Asked Adik to drive me to Taman Paramount LRT station (5 minutes) -
Putra LRT to KL Sentral (15 minutes) -
(30 minutes transfer time)
KLIA Transit ERL to Putrajaya (25 minutes)
(20 minutes waiting time)
Asked cousin/aunt to pick me up at ERL station and drive me to office (15 minutes)

8. The automatic queue - no pushing, no cutting in

9. No smoking in public area, and even on the road too.

10. Play area for children in most public offices, shopping malls, etc. Diaper changing stations and nursing rooms included.

11. 100/99 yen shop.

Rampai Raya 1429H

Yet another belated entry - some pictures from Eidul Fitr 1429H.
Morning of 1st Raya was spent in Kampung Tunku, before we rushed back to Seremban right after Zohor (hubby was quite unhappy since I earlier promised to leave Kampung Tunku before Zohor - but relatives kept coming and there were all the omiyage's to be distributed and all...)

2nd day of Raya was spent visiting relatives all over Seremban and nearby areas - we went to 12 houses that day!

3rd day of Raya we travelled up north (from PJ) to Penang, to visit allahyarham Tok Ayah's youngest sister, Tok Chu Teh. (It also marked the first time I met up with Abang, Sarah and their newborn Uwais since returning from Tokyo). Ayah Jang made arrangement for his family, our family, and three other cousins to spend the night in one "rumah hinggap" in Penang that belongs to Mak Jang's uncle.

4th day of Raya we visited Ummi and my half brother Karim in Sungai Petani. Meera, my half-sister did not balik kampung this year. Then we went to visit my grand uncles, two of allahyarham Tok's younger brothers in Sungai Batu (not far from Gunung Bongsu, the setting of Azizi Abdullah's "Seorang Tua di Kaki Gunung"). Ayah gave us a treat that night- paying for 4 rooms in Hotel Continental, Penang - one each for Abang's and my family, one for Ayah, Mak & Adik and another for my MIL and Neni, the helper.

5th day of Raya, we jalan-jalan around Penang a bit in the morning before started our journey home. One of the longest journey home ever - left Penang at around 2.00 p.m. and arrived in Kampung Tunku at almost 11 p.m. with a one-hour stop in Ipoh. (It usually takes only 4 hours to drive from Penang to PJ) I advised Adik to stop for petrol in Ipoh rather than in any of the petrol stations at R&R because the queues were frighteningly long. Hubby later on drove all the way back to Seremban because MIL had promised to take care of one SIL's daughter the next day, and we finally reached Seremban at around 2.30 a.m.

Makan-makan after Solat Sunat Eid. Teh's family was the first to arrive

Teh's daughters - Izzah, Syahidah & Atiqah with the 'kung-fu panda' (as called by Huzaifah) that I received as a birthday present from hubby a few years ago.

With Iman (Nyah's grand daughter), Nyah, Teh and Ijan (Nyah's youngest son)

We forgot to take a proper Raya picture of the family. This was taken just before we left for Seremban. This year family's sedondon outfit were courtesy of Faizly a.k.a Sabah's Mama. Thank you Auntie - the picture is proof that we fulfilled our promise to wear your gift!

Another family picture - yes Sabah, you can save this and show to your Mama :-) I tried to find a matching tudung, but it was very difficult to find a tudung in this color, so I ended up wearing just black tudung... Ok lah, kan?

With my cousin Syahril and his daughter Iman, who is only two weeks older than Humaidi.

The Hj Baharom's Clan, The Hj Alayuddin's Clan with two of Teh's kids and Ayah Tam's eldest son Imad, in Penang.

The Hj Baharom's clan - so far...

Sarah, Uwais, Mak, Humaidi & I

Huzaifah had already 'lari berjabu' before we could say "chiii-zu"...

With MIL and Ummi in Sungai Petani

Hubby with Karim

Ummi with four of her children, her son-in-law, her besan, two of her grandsons and one cucu angkat

Voluntary...

Once upon a long time ago - before marriage, children, Japan - I signed up as a volunteer for OMBAK (Women Against Violence Organisation). Went for a one-day crash course (mostly talks) organised by Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. About a year or 6 months after that, I received an invitation letter to join as a registered volunteer for All Women's Action Society (AWAM) which is located not that far from my parents residence but by then I was busy with wedding preparations and the rest, as they said, is history...

Nevertheless I still want to become a volunteer. I've seen Mak voluntarily working with orang Asli, with the masjid and all, and I know I want to become a volunteer even before I reach retirement age. I feel like I haven't been giving back to the society enough and I want to play what small part I can to make this world a better place (yes - blame it on all the Chicken Soup books I've read)

Mak told me over breakfast this morning, of her friend Auntie Shidah who volunteers as a Masjid guide for foreign visitors at Masjid Negara.

"I told her that you can speak Japanese, and she said they are looking for volunteers who can speak other languages than English"

"Uh-huh"

"You should go there and offer your help. It doesn't have to be on weekly basis. Once a fortnight or once a month is good enough"

"Ok"

A chance to introduce Islam and to practice (improve) my nihongo - double yay! Alhamdulillah...
Will discuss this with hubby and simply can't wait for his green light...

Change...

* I should learn to do things faster, and now that I am a mother of two (soon three, insya Allah), I need to allow for more "masa kecederaan" too.

* I should learn things faster at work. Should decrease answering queries with hesitant "err... jab ye, saya check"

* I need to eat more iron-rich food. Already, been twice 'gently advised' by the nurse at the clinic to do so in order to improve the hemoglobin content in my blood.

* I need to exercise - get so easily tired nowaday, and sleepy early (and I know it's unfair to Mak and Neni the helper, because they have to look after Huzaifah and Humaidi all day long, and I should be looking after them after work but sometimes I fell asleep first before putting them to sleep)

* I'm not the only one who need to change... but for things to change, I guess I might as well start changing first...

Sotsugyou shiki

I know, this entry is long overdue. Sorry.

It was a simple ceremony - no graduation robe, pesta konvo and what nots

But it was special in its simplicity - at least for me, since I got to bring Huzaifah on stage to accept the degree with me. (I wanted to take both Huzaifah and Humaidi on stage, but there was some 'miscommunication' problem with hubby, ending with me just taking Huzaifah)

Here are some pictures taken on the not-quite-big-but-significant-anyway day.



Commencement ceremony for Graduate School of Asia Pasific Studies, Waseda University sign board. Next to me is Piseth, who upon arrival at Narita Airport in September 2005, thought I was "orang kurang upaya" since I was using the wheelchair (it was 11 days after I gave birth to Huzaifah, so JAL arranged for me to use the wheelchair from the moment I checked-in at KLIA until just before I left Narita airport).

Hien and I donned our respective traditional costumes. I had already bought a new knee length knit dress and matching long-sleeved top, but couldn't find any suitable pants, so ended up wearing last year's baju raya. Which is not bad - it matched Huzaifah's and Humaidi's identical blue shirt. Managed to wear a new pair of shoes though - a black leather Made-in-Japan pair. In the past three years, I had only bought sneakers in Japan because trying to find a decent pair of shoes in my size often made me feel like Cindrella's step sister - all the nice ones did not fit and those which fit were not that nice.

Returning my student ID card. The graduation day also commemorated the fact that the graduates are no longer 'students' of Waseda

With Alice, the President of GSAPS Student Association 2007/08. One of the nicest girls in our school. Picture was taken right after I returned my student ID Card back to the school.

It's been a kind of tradition to have at least one Malaysian among the Dean's List recipients (in fact last year, my sempai Daud was also the valedictorian). Here is a picture of hubby with Amin, who gave quite a memorable 'performance' upon getting the Dean's List conferment (he shook the paper with a'la Oscar-recipient pose, and the paper flew away on the stage which drew a roar of laughter from the audience)

With Ali, a brilliant Afghan from whom I learned a lot about the real situation in Afghanistan...

Jess, the valedictorian, likened getting our Master to climbing Mount Fuji. "At one point of time, we asked ourselves - what are we doing here? Why are we putting ourselves through all these pain and trouble? But getting to the end, being at the peak - we all realized that it's worth it. All the pain, the trouble, the sacrifices..."

Accepting the degree from Professor Amako, Dean of GSAPS, with Huzaifah right next to me. (The round of loud applause we got was akin to those usually reserved for Dean's List students.)

Right after the ceremony, in the auditorium.

With Emi and Yuko - part of my 'support system' during the critical moments of finishing my thesis.

Class of Fall 2008. Hien and I opted to be at the back during the group photo session - so that it'll be easier to locate us among all the graduates and professors.

With Mega and Hien - both Hien and I got our respective bouquet not from our husband, but from thoughtful friend (Thanks Basharan and Hadyan for coming to the ceremony and for the nice bouquet - really meant a lot to me). I was hoping that hubby would give in and bought one for me - after all, I don't usually ask for much, not even for flowers on my birthday, but hubby just shrugged and gave the usual reply, "bunga bukan boleh makan pun..."

With Siyi, my zemi-mate, who's also on my 'support system' list during thesis writing. We usually found ourselves seated opposite each other in the computer lab - ocassionally checking on each other's progress. Siyi once complimented my 'slim, long fingers' (her words, not mine), that as a piano player, how envious she was of those with fingers like mine. "I don't play piano," I told her. "Then you should learn how to - you are born with piano player fingers..." Oh well...

Jealousy in moderation

"You might want to be careful. There are a lot of ustazs out there who marry their students or someone related to their students... Kalau dah berkenan, ada saja makcik pakcik nak offer anak dia lah, anak buah dia lah, apa lah..."

To be honest, yes, I sometimes worry about hubby receiving all these 'offers'.
But the fear of 'exposing' him to others have to be balanced with the acceptance that I must share him with others. It is one of his responsibilities to spread the message of Islam, to share his knowledge with others, thus it is my responsibility to give him my full support. And with that I have to put my trust in him too.

Anyway, I admit that I do not trust him 100% - a lot, but never 100%. Been advised by others to keep being a little suspicious all the time, not to the extend of ruining the relationship, but enough to be aware of 'unwanted possibilities', because one can never be too trusting... And yes, I've read/heard of so many stories of wives being surprised by their trusted-to-be-faithful husbands' "unsangkarable acts"... Nasty surprises.

Ok, so maybe one have to be careful and be a little 'jealous' (cautious) all the times, but sometimes I wonder - what ratio of trust:jealousy is 'balanced' enough?

Change, eh?

Ken (I know you read my blog even if only ocassionally) must be very happy with the US Presidential election result. Oh, maybe not just happy - overjoyed is more like it. He has never been too happy with having 'an idiot' (his word, not mine) as president.

Barack Hussein Obama's speech gave goosebumps not just to Americans but million, if not billion, others all around the world, as the hunger for a change in American leadership is as strong outside the US as in it.

#####

Change was what Blair promised with the New Labour's landslide victory in 1997.

Change was also what people hoped for when Pak Lah led BN to a big win in this country's election in 2004.

Well, it's my hope that Obama (and others who called for "change") learn some lesson from others' mistakes...

Having said that, this blog remains an apolitical one...

#####

I'm glad that Lewis Hamilton won the F1 World Champion, while hubby has to be satisfied with Ferrari winning this year's constructors championship. He would be even more delighted if Massa had won the driver's championship. I admit that Massa is a good driver, but I feel more for Kimi Raikonnen...

F1 is one of the things I have started to enjoy after marriage - one of hubby's likes that I have grown to like too. He also enjoys watching EPL matches, which is not a difficult thing for me to appreciate, since I used to watch (and discussed) EPL back when I was in Leeds.

But we do not have to agree on everything - he supports Ferrari, while I prefer McLaren (Raikonnen used to drive for McLaren before he joined Ferrari, so that explains me having a soft spot for the Iceman) Hubby is a big fan of Manchester United, while I would support any other team but MU (with exception of Chelsea). Both my brothers too are fans of the Red Devils, and in fact I'd had to buy a lot of souvenirs from Old Trafford for them and my younger cousins before I returned home from UK.

I have nothing againts MU - only that I think that they are over rated.
Just like Ferrari team is over rated in F1.
Or roses are over rated among flowers.

On doctors...

When I had trouble to pee a few months back, I went to Asakusa Hospital. I must had been the youngest patient of the day that particular day because all around me, I only saw obaachan and ojiichan in their golden- if not platinum- years.


I didn't have to wait that long to see the doctor. Answered several questions and the doctor told me that I was suffering from "chi". I knew that chi is blood in nihongo, but I didn't quite understand this other "chi" the doctor was talking about. The nurse who was assisting him quickly went in search of an English-Japanese dictionary while the doctor began to explain 'chi' in greater details, using a small anatomical model to help make things clearer for me.


It wasn't long before the nurse returned with a dictionary and she showed me the word "hemorrhoids". At the time I was not familiar with the word, but thanks to the doctor's explanation using the anatomical model, I understood that I was having trouble due to poor muscle tone in the southern region, which might be due to increased straining during bowel movements, and that this is rather common for pregnant women. I was given some cream, and advised to drink more fluids, eat more fiber and practise Kegel exercise.


Later, when I consulted Ailin (a doctor who is on unpaid leave, accompanying her husband doing his Master in Tokyo) I learned that hemorrhoids is what we call buasir in Malay, also often referred to as 'piles' in Malaysia.


Despite language barrier, the doctor went to great length to explain the symptoms and causes of piles to me, until he was satisfied that I understood his explanation. Although I am sure that he must had been rather frustrated that I did not immediately grasp the meaning of his explanation, he never once raised his voice to me. He treated me with respect, and I found comfort in knowing that the doctor cared enough to explain things in details, that he is well qualified to properly identify and respond to my specific needs.


#####


Fast forward two months later.

I found myself in PPUM's Paediatric Emergency room, being talked to as if I was daft for bringing Humaidi to get stitched up.


Well, Humaidi accidentally hit the edge of the bed last week, causing a rather nasty cut on his left eye. Our first response was to clean the cut on his left upper eyelid with minyak gamat and cover it with a band-aid. Hubby and I took him to see Dr Johari, my family's trusted GP right after his clinic was opened, at about 9 a.m.


Dr Johari cleaned the cut and changed the band-aid with a more proper dressing. He advised us to go to the hospital if we want the cut to be stitched up, so that there'll be less chances of infection, but he doubted that Humaidi would be stitched up since the cut is on the upper eyelid and needed very fine needle which is often reserved for plastic surgeon and Humaidi's case is not an emergency. He tried to connect the cut together with a tissue glue plaster - which Humaidi managed to take off as soon as we reached home.


Mak and Ayah did not want to take any chances - Humaidi hit his eye on the edge of the bed, and for all that we know, that might cause some delayed effect on his vision. We called up some relatives, and one of my uncles got a recommendation from an expert paediatric to call up Dr Razak, a paediatric surgeon in Damansara Specialist Hospital. Called up Dr Razak's clinic and we were advised to bring in the child to the hospital's ER, where they could call up Dr Razak on his handphone to attend to Humaidi.


But by the end of that day I was not feeling well, and hubby too was suffering from toothache, so we postponed taking Humaidi to the clinic.

First thing the next morning, I went to see Dr Jo again - this time because I was down with flu. Right after that, Ayah drove me and Humaidi to see Dr Razak in Damansara. Dr Razak checked the dressing on Humaidi's eye, and already there was some whitish infection on the cut. It was quite a struggle for the doctor to check on my son's eye, but he managed it despite Humaidi's gelupur.

The doctor's advise - to minimise risk of further infection, it would be better to get the cut stitched up. But in order to do that, the doctor would have to make another cut, clean the current wound and only then stitch it up. They will need to put Humaidi to sleep for about 45 minutes using anaesthetic, thus will need the operation theatre to perform the surgery. The doctor was even willing to circumcise Humaidi for no extra charge too, but they need to get the boy admitted for the surgery.

The cost?
Dr Razak estimated it to be around Rm4000 - RM5000.

Ayah and I looked at each other. That's a big amount for us. Ayah thanked the doctor and told him that we need to discuss this with the boy's dad first. I knew that hubby would never agree to pay that much for a 'minor' surgery, so I suggested to Ayah to try going to a government hospital. Ayah agreed, but by then it was nearly Zohor, so Ayah brought us back home first, for lunch and prayer.

It wasn't long after Ayah sent me back home when Mak returned from Huzaifah's playschool and asked me to quickly accompany her to the hospital. Huzaifah had an asthma attack!

On the way to PPUM, Mak briefed me that the playschool management had called her up to come and pick Huzaifah since he was wheezing. Probably from eating too much rambutan. There's a rambutan tree in the playschool's backyard and Huzaifah has been asking the teachers there to get him "buah mbutan" all the time. (The first time, my jakun boy actually ate the whole fruit, pit and all - to his teacher's amazement. They quickly pitted the fruit for him first after that). Huzaifah has no problem with eating watermelon or ice, but I forgot that eating too much rambutan could trigger an asthma attack, so not only I did not warn the teachers at his school, my parents and I in fact bought him a lot of rambutan over the weekend after seeing how much he enjoyed eating the fruit (and Huzaifah has always been a fussy eater). Only after he got the asthma attack that we remember how hazardous rambutan could be to an asthmatic child (and since then we have substituted rambutan with canned longan)

Mak left Huzaifah and I at the PPUM's Paediatric Emergency area, at which he was quickly attended to. I didn't have to wait at all as the doctor in charge quickly asked the nurse to prepare the nebulizer. For the first time, Huzaifah was very cooperative in using the nebulizer. Probably because he couldn't wait to 'attack' the playhouse available in the waiting area. (Which he did even before the gas was not quite finished but he has stopped wheezing, leaving my lap, insisting to be allowed to go "main-main")

Mak returned back with Ayah and Humaidi - to let the doctor take a look at Humaidi's eye. By then I managed to perform my Zohor solat, but hadn't pick Huzaifah's prescribed medicine yet. Turned out Mak had already briefed the doctor in charge (a different doctor, not the one who attended to Huzaifah, I guess his shift was already over by then) , so the doctor wanted to check on some details with me.

I was far from happy with the tone that the doctor used.
Apart from repeating "awak faham tak..." as if I was daft, he was not keen to listen to what I have to say. But I said it anyway

"Look, I know that my son is not in dire emergency need. I know that his cut might already started healing. But I also know that there are chances of infection happening. It already happened earlier but a doctor cleaned his cut this morning. And I am worried that such infection could occur again and somehow affect my son's vision. It is not so much the scar that I'm worried about - it is his vision that I'm most concerned about"

The doctor went quiet for a while.
"Okay, let me consult some eye specialist then," he said.

When I returned to the waiting area after getting Humaidi's registration process completed, Mak told me that already there were two doctors who came to check on Humaidi. They were away to consult an even more senior doctor.

The eye specialist that I met was firm and kind. He explained that since Humaidi's cut was already more than 24 hour old, the healing process has started so it would be difficult to stitch the cut unless they make another cut on top of the current one. But it would be more a plastic surgery rather than a necessary one and they would need to use the operation theatre to do that and well we all know how the operation theatre is needed for more urgent cases. Even a tissue glue could not do the trick because the eye would be bunched up weirdly.

"He will be okay, the cut will heal on its own, but there will be a scar" the doctor assured me.

"I'm okay with the scar. After all, he's a boy" (Boys and scars - inseparable)

The doctor smiled.

"What about chances of infection?," I queried

"We will prescribe an ointment for the eyelid to help prevent infection."

I nodded my head.

"And if you are not happy with the progress, I can arrange for an appointment in the eye clinic next week," he said further.

#####

A week has passed.
Humaidi seems to be healing well.
Huzaifah too is back to his old jumping-there-climbing-here self

But the memory of being treated like I was daft by a doctor lingers on...

7 facts about me

Ahkak Zurr tagged me last month. I'm supposed to share 7 facts about myself, some random, some weird. Here goes...

• Perceived differently by different people

Some told me I'm one of the most kelakar persons they've ever known while others have asked me to be less serious. Personally, I think I am usually more on the merapu meraban side than serious because those who told me that I'm funny (ha ha, not funny weird) usually are those I consider to be rather close to me and know me better...

• Hate folding and ironing clothes

A mountain of laundry waiting to be attended to was nothing extraordinary in my household (and Mak's household too, when we do not have any helper around) I suspect that a lot of people shares my sentiment about folding and ironing clothes. I mean, I've heard a lot of people declare their love for cooking, baking even vacuuming, but I have yet to hear someone enthuses, "Oh, I just looovvvveee ironing. It's so soothing/relaxing/calming..." Back in Japan, the iron was rarely used - only for hubby's jubah (for Friday prayer), baju raya and on several 'special ocassions'.

• Used to have a diary named Ricky Alden Chan

Ricky - from Richard Dean Anderson (of MacGyver), Alden is the middle name of Tommy Page (yeah, yeah, so I used to like Tommy Page, so what?) and Chan is after Jackie Chan.

• Could take ages to decide whether or not to accept someone as a friend on FB

Partly due to the fact that Facebook is banned in the office, but sometimes I do take my own sweet time deliberating on whether to accept or ignore some invitations. Like that guy from high school who caused a terrible heartache when I was 16 (who was finally accepted because a girlfriend said that his asking to be on my list might be deemed as an apology of some sort - besides we are both married with kids now) or a senior from college who deemed I was not 'good enough' to be 'introduced' to her hubby's anak usrah (who happened to be my ex). Despite being forgiven, that was a little harder to forget, so her request was finally ignored. By the way, I can be bad at remembering names and faces, so usually invitations with some introduction messages get the clearing faster than those with none.

• Love trying out new dishes.

So long as they are halal, of course. Been trained by Mak to develop an adventurous tastebud - so food is seldom a problem for me if I need to travel overseas since I am not a masakan melayu-reliant person.

• Not a fan of shoes or handbags

I know, I know, if they can afford it, most women are expected to like and owe several pair of shoes and handbags. Preferably branded ones. I 'owe' some nice ones on FB, but am not really 'into' them in real life. (Yeah, yeah, hubby is indeed one lucky fella, hehehe...)

• Not quite as quick at adapting back to the job scene

I wish I could pick things up faster, or get the hang of things more easily - but after 3 years of study leave and was more like a stay-at-home mother than a studious graduate student - I found myself not as quick at learning stuff at the office as I expected. And I miss being able to spend all day long with my boys... (I know I should be grateful for having a stable job and all, alhamdulillah, but oh well...)

Should I tag others? Most seem to have already done this tag, but in case they haven't, I am passing this on to Theta, Hanny, Ina, Faizly, Zarin, Kit and Kakaq.

Been awarded...

Received this cute "award" from Faizly.

Maybe it's not a big award that comes with the title Datuk like the one Shah Rukh Khan received from the government of Melaka, (One 2 Ka 4, filmed in Melaka was not even a hit, ye tak Masni?), I'm still touched by the sincerity of this dear brother of mine. Excerpt of his "award conferment speech" read:

So,I hereby to give away the award to the person I find them very supportive,encouraging,charismatic and the utmost to whom I often share my ups & downs and in some exorbitant grim circumstances throughout my student-life-journey.

* Kak Azra aka my beloved Kakak angkat

Thank you dik!

I hereby pass this "award" on to:

* Kit
* Ahkak Zurr
* Kakaq
* Jaja
* Kak Lela
* Kak Ita & Che Lee

Hope this will help bringing a smile and brighten your day the way Faizly's did mine...

Contoh jawapan...

(Based on actual answers in Pendidikan Islam Tingkatan 4's final exam...)

Nyatakan contoh nikmat kurniaan Allah...
* Sumber air dari sungai yang mengalir dan roti telur

Nyatakan cara lain untuk mendapatkan petunjuk dari Allah selain daripada berdoa
* Berdoa

Hikmah Allah memberi dosa dan pahala pada manusia berdasarkan amalan masing-masing
* Berani buat berani tanggung

Bahagian kefahaman tulisan jawi
* Golongan yang tidak beragama digelar mahar/malahad
* Allah sayang mereka yang menzalimi qiamullail

"Brother, you should be behind me..."

He suddenly cut in the line.
Not right in front of me, but in front the girl who was standing in front of me.
“Hey!,” I almost blurted out loudly, but I turned back instead and looked for hubby. Hubby had just found a table for us, sitting down while attending to our purchases that night.
The guy was an Arab, so I motioned to hubby, pleading him in sign language to ask the guy in front to follow the queue. Hubby shrugged and pointed at the shopping bags instead. Yes, this is Malaysia – we can’t leave our belongings unattended simply like that, and it would be quite a hassle for hubby to come up to me with all the bags and finding another table after that.

I asked the girl in front of me – did the guy in front of her returned to his original position or did he just jump the queue. The girl clarified that it was the latter.

“Why don’t you ask him to follow the queue then?” I suggested.

“Ish, takutlah akak, dia besar…”

“Eh, apa pulak nak takut. Bukan kita yang salah, dia yang salah. Tegur je,” I further encouraged her.

“Takutlah... ”

She was right. The guy was over 6 feet tall, and looked “gagah perkasa”. In contrast, the girl in front of me was rather petite, and could easily pass for a high school student.

“Takpe dik, kita berani sebab kita betul, bukan kita yang salah,” I said just before I tapped on the guy’s shoulder.

He turned back.
“Brother, you should be behind me. There’s a line here in case you didn’t notice, so you should be behind me,” I said firmly.

He did not apologize, but quickly muttered “Okay, okay, okay”. While he did not move from his position, he made way for the petite girl and me to get our respective orders before him.

I looked at the girl, “See, it’s okay. We’re only asking for what is right and we should not be afraid of asking for our right...”

The girl was afraid of creating a scene - she had this image of this guy barking at her or something equally bad if she was to ask him to follow the queue properly. To be honest, I too was rather intimidated by the guy's size. But I guess I could not quell the part in me which simply wanted to shout out "Hey, that's not right!".

Well, at least the Arab guy did not create a scene by arguing back.
At least he did not pretend to be ignorant of the queue and acted bodoh sombong.
At least he made way for us to be ahead of him.
But I have a feeling that this kind of incident would never ever happen in Japan…

Am back...

Sorry for not blogging for so long.
Hope my Muslim readers had had a great Ramadhan and Eid this year.
Been back in Malaysia since 26th September 2008, 4 days before Eid. After 3 years of spending Raya abroad, we really did Raya sakan this year. Mak and Ayah were especially excited to spend their first Raya with three grandchildren - Huzaifah, Humaidi and Uwais, my brother's first born.

Am now posted in Putrajaya, while hubby too gets to be posted in Putrajaya, alhamdulillah. It's not easy for a teacher to get posted in Putrajaya, but as it happened, one ustazah was about to accompany her husband who has been posted overseas, so it was a timely opening for hubby to fill in her vacant post. Besides, male teachers are in great demand everywhere now, thus he got his posting even earlier than I got mine.

Huzaifah is attending Babah and Ummi playschool, not far from Mak's place. Mak said that while he seems to be getting along fine with his schoolmates, he hasn't been communicating with them the way some of his peers are doing. Other three year olds have been asking questions like "what's your name" and "where do you live", which Huzaifah just shrugged off as he continued on playing with whatever toy he got in his clutch then. Huzaifah is so active playing there that not only has his skin turns darker (even berkilat a bit) but the other day, his teacher also reported to Mak that Huzaifah was caught climbing on the small fences separating the classes - which nobody ever attempted before. Well, anyway he seems so happy to be able to jump around after years of staying in a small place like our home back in Asakusa. The day after we were back in Kampung Tunku - both Huzaifah and Humaidi went 'tawaf'ing around their grandparents' place a few times, in a few sessions. It might seem like a jakun thing to do - but understandably so after being confined to a place so far smaller than their current residence...

Humaidi is getting spoiled a lot now - asking to be picked up and 'dukung'ed all the time. His Ayah Lang, my youngest brother Amirul, is a favorite 'victim'. I still do not know what exactly to say when people remarked that Humaidi does not seem to take after neither me nor hubby but looks more like a Japanese kid. Most of the time I jokingly say that he might take after Kimura sensei who helped delivered him.

Been more than a month since my graduation day - will try to post some pics of the memorable day, a few of those taken before we left Japan and some Raya pics later, insya Allah. Can't promise to write often now I'm already back in office and all, but will try to update this blog at least once a week...