Of birthday & Mother's day

"Keluarga abang tak biasa sambut-sambut birthday ke apa day ke."

That was what hubby told me long time ago, when we were newly married.
It was a warning of sort - not to expect much from him regarding birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
I told him that in my family, it's a tradition to have some makan-makan to sort of celebrate our birthdays. I said "sort of" because it's not necessarily held on the birthday itself, but still it was called "rai birthday". Since Ayah's birthday is on the 5th, Mak's on the 12th and mine on the 10th, May is one month we seldom miss having at least one makan-makan session (usually it is just one makan-makan session, anyway).

This year, my younger brother Abang decided to play host for the family makan-makan session to celebrate Ayah's, Mak's and my birthday - on a day that happened to be Ayah's birthday. Since I was already at my parents' house in Kampung Tunku, just finished attending a short course in Bukit Kiara, we decided to just go some place in PJ although initially Abang was thinking of giving a treat of Nasi Arab at Saba restaurant in Cyberjaya. Mak and Ayah are big fans of Nasi Arab aka Nasi Mandy lately, and Mak prefers Saba in Cyberjaya than going to the famous Al Rawsha in KL. Besides we had some bad experience there - really bad service and an incident involving Huzaifah and a little girl with a rude father. Anyway, there's another Middle Eastern restaurant that Mak recommended to us - Al Diafah in Seri Petaling (note to self: maybe should take my parents there as my treat), but that night, since we did not make any reservation ahead in time, we decided to just belasah ajelah any suitable place in Sunway Pyramid.

We ended up having dinner at Thai Thai. Abang, who was in Cyberjaya for a metting, picked hubby in Putrajaya, and his wife and kid in Kelana Jaya before meeting the rest of the family - Mak, Ayah, Adik, my kids and I - at Sunway Pyramid. What can I say about Thai Thai? Good food, not bad service, reasonable price with staff who are quite friendly and patient with hyperactive kids. Ayah really enjoyed his meal, Mak had some complaint about the staff who started cleaning up the area (the shop was already closed, we were the last to leave the place) even before we finished eating, but all in all it was a good makan-makan session.

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Since my birthday this year is on the second Sunday of May, it was also Mother's day.

Mak never taught me to celebrate Mother's day.
"A mother should be celebrated everyday, all year long. Not merely on one day, every year," or so Mak claimed.
And I couldn't agree more.

Mak too said that one should not be too keen on celebrating his or her own birthday.
"What right do you have to celebrate your own birthday? You just happened to be born on that day. It was your mother who went through all the pain of bringing you to the world," or so Mak would repeat the words of Sheikh Yusof Estes.

Hubby thought of taking me out - just the two of us - for a birthday treat. I had to take a rain cheque on that because on my birthday, he was in Seremban while the kids and I were with my parents in Pontian. My aunt's husband, Pakcik Me'at was admitted to the hospital for diabetes, so when Mak invited me to go balik kampung to visit him, I agreed. It's the weekend off for our bibik, so I thought being with Mak and her helper is a better option than having to care for all three kids on my own, and hubby reluctantly agreed.

I thought of a few things on my birthday, among others, to call my biological mother to thank her for going through the pain to bring me to this world.
Unfortunately, I left my handphone in the office, so that had to be postponed.
I asked Huzaifah to sing "happy birthday yu yu" to Ibu, but everytime I prompted with singing "happy birthday to you...", he smiled cheekily and started singing "A B C D E F G..." instead.
Bertuah punya anak.

We ended up having an even bigger makan-makan on the night of my birthday.
Two retired teachers who used to teach in Sungai Batu identified my uncle Ayah Jang as the grandson of Che Uda, the Penghulu of Sungai Batu back when they were teaching there. They contacted Ayah Jang, who still remember them and then held a family gathering in Putrajaya Lake Club. A jejak kasih reunion of sort for the teachers (with their respected family), my grand uncle, Tok Lang, Ayah and his siblings. The younger generation - my cousins and I- merely enjoyed a makan-makan session with the family. I left the kids with Mak's helper at home, otherwise I don't think any of us could eat in peace at the Lake Club. Ayah Jang ordered lots of dishes to go with rice, but I opted to sit at the far back, the assigned a la carte area, and had Cantonese Kuey Teow as per Mak's recommendation. Although the makan-makan was not held to celebrate my birthday, it was one I really enjoyed. Away from the kids for a while, able to sit back, relax, chit-chat with aunts, uncles, cousins on various matters. I found it quite amusing to notice that none of my aunts got my age right when I told them that it was my birthday - all of them thought I'm younger. Hmm, I wonder if that is because perhaps they think if their niece hasn't age that much, then they too could not have aged that much...

I used to think that age is just a number. But not anymore. Age is something that happens only once. Like Mak always point out to me if she's not happy with the way I take care of the kids, "They are only 3 year old once in their life". The same goes whether one reaches 10, 20 or 30 years old. At any particular age, we must try to achieve something so that it counts; age is a blessing that must not be wasted on too much lying around doing nothing. Or too much sleeping.
Which means I have to start doing something because I don't think I have achieve something significant yet this year. And that might start with losing some weight, since I really need to lose those baby fat I've accumulated when I was pregnant with Haniyya...

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This morning, as I walked in the office and checked on my phone, I found 3 text messages wishing me happy birthday and a few others wishing happy mother's day.
I found myself praying that all those prayers and wishes sent my way will come true, insya Allah.

Does it hurt to be polite on the phone?

Say you get a call from someone within the same organization.
But the organization is huge and you don't quite know everybody.
The caller introduced herself as so-and-so, and you scratched your head, trying to recall who she really is. As in - which department and her position.
You don't know her, you can't remember her name, she's asking about something very trivial and she sounds young.
So, does it hurt to be polite to her on the phone?
Just because you don't know her it does not mean that she's more junior than you and you can treat her lightly.
She happens to be your senior - in age, and in rank.
But she knows better than to start pulling rank, only that she hopes that you will learn one day.
That it won't hurt to be polite on the phone to a stranger.
If the caller is in fact your senior, then it is only expected for you to be polite to her
But even if the caller is (so-called) beneath you in terms of rank, it'll earn you extra cookie points.
Because being polite and gentle won't kill.
Sometimes, it's proof that one is well brought up, not merely well educated or well promoted.

It's all in the family...

Mak has started writing her own blog.
Her thoughts, opinions, musings etc can now be read at Inspirasi Mawaddah

And my cousin Ain aka Seri, (actually she's my cousin Syahril's wife, but she does feel like a real cousin instead of merely a cousin's wife, if you get what I mean) has an online shop selling lovely hijab called (what else?) Lovely Hijab Shop.

Pesanan khidmat masyarakat dibawakan untuk anda semoga dapat memberi dan berkongsi manfaat (ehcheh!)

Notes from a seminar on leadership

On being useful

"Mengaji biar pandai
Perangai biar berjurus
Hidup biar orang boleh tumpang"

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6M principles in changing for the better

1. Musyarotah
2. Mu'atabah
3. Mu'aqobah
4. Muroqabah
5. Muhasabah
6. Mujahadah

Musyarotah - meeting the pre-requisite of a successful person

Mu'atabah - getting rid of negative stuff, practising self-restraint

Mu'aqobah - doing the right thing consistently, self-educating with integrity

Muroqabah - God consciousness

Muhasabah - self evaluation

Mujahadah - perseverance

Making the first move

Dear C,

You asked me if it's wrong for a girl to make the first move, and if it's not, why then we have the peribahasa "perigi cari timba".

My answer - no, it's not wrong for a girl to make the first move. And the 'perigi cari timba' is a cultural thing, not Islamic, so I guess we are not strictly bound by that.

Having said that, it does not mean that one could sesuka hati make the first move. Saidatina Khadijah made the first move in proposing marriage to Rasulullah, but it was done discreetly, in a way that would not dishonor any party had the proposal been turned down.

The main point is - it must be done in a way that is discreet and honorable.
Meaning - the girl might want to try using a trusted middle person.
Preferably someone more mature, married and trustworthy.

And I'm talking about making the first move towards matrimony - not for "nak kawan-kawan" or "nak kenal-kenal" without any plan for marriage.

If it's just for "saja suka-suka", then you'd better go ask others in dating sites.

I guess many of us still believe that the burden of expressing an interest lies heavily on the guy's side rather than the girls. Yup, the good old-fashioned way. In fact many girls are afraid of being labeled "tak tahu malu" if they were to make the first move, like it's a huge turn off or something. This is where the importance of discreet execution comes in...

"Making a move is like submitting a tender", or so my former boss, Encik Dollah claimed.

"Before one submits a tender, the company would study 'the project' thouroughly - to know the cost, the expectation, preparing the budget and all.If 'the project' is beyond the company's capability, then it would not submit any tender at all.

However if the tenderee is actually interested in the tenderer, then the tenderee could invite the tenderer for direct negotiation, and they might be able to work things out after all."

Similarly, after studying a particular girl he might be interested in, a guy might not make the first move if he thinks that this girl is out of his league. However, should the girl make it known that she actually has interest in him, that the interest is mutual and that she is not actually out of his league, things might be different.

"If the girl is brave enough to make the first move, we don't think of her as being bold or agressive. I believe the guy would be grateful for her to ease some pressure off his shoulder. Who said that guys are not afraid of rejection? Sometimes guys are more affected by rejection compared to girls. Seriously"

So there C, my answer to your question.

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with a girl making the first move.

Only that it must be done in a way that would not cause any party to lose face.

After all, shyness is part of faith.

It's right to be shy, but it's also not wrong to take the first step.

If you have performed istikharah and the sign is positive, then you go girl!

If your nawaitu is right, insya Allah, Allah will guide you towards Him.

Have faith and be strong.

A trip to Cameron Highlands

This should be treated as an entry that complements Kit's post.

Prior to going to Cameron Highlands, we worried about how to get up there. There was some problem with the car's air-cond system. Adik spent one whole Wednesday trying looking for a place where the air-cond could be repaired. Unfortunately, since it was during the CNY holiday season, most mechanics asked Adik to return the following Monday, since there was no sparepart and most Chinese-owned sparepart shops would only re-open on Monday. And we were supposed to leave for Cameron on Friday, three days before 'next Monday'... Asked my brother Abang, if we could borrow one of his cars for the weekend, but he was not able to loan us any - the Satria was used by his office staff, the Perdana was in the workshop, he needed to use the Merc and his wife needed the Kancil to entertain her mother who came all the way from Kedah.

Thursday evening we tried our luck by sending the car to a Malay workshop in Seri Serdang. After about an hour or so of godek-godek here and there, the car's air-cond worked! Alhamdulillah... But the workshop owner took a look at our tyres (snow tyres actually) and advised hubby to change the tyres before we depart for Cameron Highlands, and hubby promised to do so the next day. He did - and so the car problem was solved.

Then, on Thursday too, Ayah suddenly announced that he intended to bring Huzaifah to see a specialist to take a look at Huzaifah's asthma/skin problem the next day. The specialist is actually based in Sarawak and only visits KL/PJ area once every 2 month. Thus, there were 3 options - whether to take Huzaifah to CH and wait for another two months before seeing the specialist, or to wait until after Huzaifah's meeting with the specialist is over before leaving for CH or not to take Huzaifah to CH. Option 1 was not really a viable option, so we had to weight option 2 against option 3. We finally decided to choose Option 3. Which meant there were just hubby, Humaidi, Yati the bibik and I who went to Cameron Highlands that Friday.

What we did in Cameron Highlands

# Steamboat night
Having steamboat at night in the highland is better if not as good as having steamboat in a tree house at Yankee's Hut. Hot food enjoyed in a cool background - sort of yin and yang, I guess. Kit brought lots of mini cupcakes too - which were especially enjoyed by Humaidi



# Went to a workshop
No, there was no more air-cond trouble, just a flat tyre. Which was remedied in almost no time at all at the workshop which was situated in a road less travelled by tourists.

# Tea plantation visit
I was still pregnant with Haniyya back then, so Kit and Althie insisted on sparing me from having to walk quite a distance in Sungai Palas, so we went to Boh Tea Plantation in Bharat. I've been to Sg Palas before anyway - back in 2001 during DPA course. I would say that Sg Palas made a better visit than Bharat, and don't get easily fooled by the milestones on the way to the tea plantation. With the narrow and winding path, it was a lot longer to reach the tea factory than we initially thought upon seeing the first milestone.

We also stopped by Cameron Valley tea plantation which was just next to the main road.



# Tea and scone
Kit wanted to try scone at T-Cafe in Tanah Rata, but alas it was closed on Sundays. But we got to taste some at Boh Tea House in Bharat. Scones are more expensive in Boh tea house compared to the ones sold in Cameron Valley tea house. Anyway, having scone with tea in the highland reminded me a lot of the good old days when I used to buy scones at Morrison's and shared them with Chloe in our apartment in Leeds.


# Picnic at the waterfall
We brought rice cooker, rice, lots of canned lauk and had a picnic under a gazebo in Sungai Bisik waterfall. Compared to Lata Iskandar, this is just a mini waterfall. The place is quite nice but not well kept. There were litters everywhere, and the garbage bins were overflowed with litters of all kinds. The place could do better with improved maintenance


# Strawberry, strawberry, strawberry
Our bangalow is just next to Healthy Strawberry Farm (which also housed lots of cactus, varieties of flowers and organic vegetables), so we did not have to travel far for a visit to one. But Kit took us to KHM Strawberry farm and I must say that their milkshake is really to die for. Their home made jam is good and so is the strawberry topping. Their home-made ice-cream and the fresh strawberries are so-so. I prefer larger, sweeter varieties than the ones we bought there. Still it was an eye opener trip for me to realize that there are so many Bumiputera operated strawberry farms/rose gardens in existence at Taman Sedia. (They even offer Homestay services in Taman Sedia, which is not that far from Tanah Rata town)



# Nuts over Veggies
Be it at the night market in Brinchang or at the market in Kea Farm or near Kea Farm, veggies are really cheap in Cameron Highlands. And they offer a lot more varieties of veggies than we usually see in the normal supermarket or wet market near home. There were houren-so - a spinach variety I've gotten used to in Japan, putik lili, fresh red cabbage, pucuk labu with lots of soft umbut, mini kailan, fresh cherry tomatoes etc. Hubby and I bought about RM50 of veggies but they could easily cost double or more of that amount in the lowland wet market. We got lots of 'free' veggies too - be it from Malay or non-Malay sellers. "A gift for the child in your tummy," one seller claimed.

#Flowers and cactuses photo snapping
Be it at the road side, various 'markets', farms or gardens, hubby had a great time snapping photos of all different kinds of flowers and cactuses...


# Brinchang Night Market
Not the usual night market. Lots of food and household items yes, but also a place to go shopping for souvenirs. Bought souvenir t-shirts, big pencils, fridge magnets and strawberry candies here. Tried the pearl corn (jagung mutiara) - a short and whitish corn compared to the normal ones. They may not look too good, but they tasted really yummy.


All in all, we had lots of fun in Cameron Highlands.
The bangalow was spacious, and all of us got along fine with each other, even Humaidi and Kit's Manja. And I'd even forgotten how good it felt to lounge lazily on the couch and watch chick flicks with girlfriends (and supportive husbands, ha ha). I must also not forget to thank Raven's cousin Me*na - a talented masseur.

Oh, there was one scary moment when I felt strong contractions Saturday night after we got back from the night market, but it turned out to be mere false alarms. Hubby and I already identified where the nearest hospital was, just in case, but I'm glad that Haniyya waited. Otherwise, Kit suggested naming the kid Seroja, after the bangalow that we rented.
Oh no...

So?

"It seems like you give in a lot to your husband"

"Huh?"

"I think you are very patient, that's why you don't mind giving in to your husband"

I smiled. What my room-mate (in the office) said reminded me of two dialogues I had ages ago. One when I just started working after finishing DPA course; the other with a close friend not long after I got married.

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"You know A.Z., there were a few guys who initially have interest in you during DPA. But then, everyone thought it's too risky to have a relationship with you. Mesti you kuat bengkeng, kuat melawan punya."

I gasped. What did I do that make them think so?

"You have a very strong personality. You always asked, no, you demanded for explanations. And you were good at whatever you attempted, it gets a bit intimidating. Most guys do not like being intimidated..."

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"You never said "so?" to Amin?"

"Huh?"

"You have always asked "so?" when ever you want further explanation. Or clarification. In fact, my husband had gotten so used to you asking "so?" that he sometimes do impersonation of you when he wants further explanation"

"Owh..."

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For the record, I think I have never asked hubby "so?" in that certain way that could be mimicked by my close buddy's husband.
I don't have to demand explanation from him - he knows better to fully explain himself.
And I don't think hubby has ever been intimidated by me.
And I do admit that I give in a lot.
Just as he does too.

After all, that's what marriage is all about - giving in and giving back.

If Ibu says no...

...ask Mbah.

And that's exactly what Huzaifah is fond of doing nowadays.
Mak and Ayah brought him to see a specialist for his skin problem and were told that Huzaifah should stay away from food with 3Ps - Pewarna, Perasa Tiruan & Pengawet (Artificial coloring, flavor and preservative). This of course includes lots of Huzaifah's favorites such as ice cream.

But at the end of the day - even when Mak and Ayah keep reminding hubby and I not to let Huzaifah eat anything with the 3Ps - they always give in to his request.

The other day, Huzaifah saw somebody having ice cream.
"Ibu, ais kelim tak boleh. Nanti sakit"
"Ha ah, Ujai tak boleh makan ais krim, nanti gatal"
"Ibu, nak ais kelim"
"Tak boleh, nanti gatal"
"Ibu, nak ais kelim"
"Tak boleh, nanti Ujai sakit"
"Ooh, tak boleh. Nanti sakit..."

The next thing I knew, he held a glass filled with ice cream, taking it with him to watch the cartoons in the living area.
I was about to ask our bibik who gave Huzaifah the ice cream, but I saw Mak at the dining table.
Having ice cream.
Grinning sheepishly.
"Mak lupa la..."

Yes, I guess it's true after all.
If mommy says no, ask grandma.

A Be Ke

In Humaidi's dictionary - abeke is elephant.
Show him a photo of elephant or whenever an elephant (or mammoth in Ice Age) appears on the tv, he'll quickly point it out, "abeke".
The other day, as I showed him a flash card of elephant, I tried to make him follow after me.
"Elephant"
"Abeke"
"Elephant"
"Abeke"
"E-Le-Phant"
"A-Be-Ke"
He actually tried to teach me back, no kidding.
So there.
Other favorite words are "ballu" which refers to lion or tiger, "ballai" which refers to horse or zebra and "ika" which refers to fish and other sea animals.

So, okay, at two, he still does the baby talk.
There are certain words which are clear, like "nak syusyu", "nak, nak", "abis", "jatuh" but most of the times even though he seems keen in explaining and telling, they came out as gibberish to the adults.
Oh, he would chant "ayah dah balik" when hubby returns.
But don't be surprised if during chanting, it'll come out as "abah yah dalik" or "ayah bah dalik"
And he is still unsure whether he should be calling me "ibu" or "abu" or "bu-i"

Not that I believe in numerology - but someone told me that Humaidi's birth root number is 9, indicating that he's very creative and might be more interested in arts than science. For now, it seems like he is one natural entertainer. He loves singing and humming - though the 'songs' are mostly in his own language. He's good at zikir too - "Ya Latiff" and "Lailahaillallah" being his favorite.

I believe he understands most of what we tell him - but sometimes he simply ignore them, preferring to do things out of free will. Sometimes when we ask him to salam or kiss us on the cheeks, he would just ignore us and carry on doing his own stuff. At other times, he would come to one of us, and surprised us with a kiss and then he would grin cheekily when we praised him for it.

He throws a tantrum when Ayah or Ibu leaves for work, and really loves a ride in the car.
He throws a tantrum when it's time to take a shower but he loves playing in the pool.
He also loves climbing, exploring and chocolates.
The other day in Cameron Highland, he climbed up the dining table, opened a box of mini cupcakes, and picked out all the M&Ms on top of the cakes, leaving the cupcakes alone as he ate the M&Ms.

Humaidi turned 2 on 5th April 2009.
Here's praying that he'll keep on being our qurratun ain (delight of the eye) for many years to come.

Baby pics

Introducing Baby Haniyya...

Re: Orang Baru, Rumah Baru

Again, sorry for not posting any entry for so long, and for not responding to the comments left. So take this entry as my reply for the comments left in the previous entry

Thank you for all the congratulatory notes and messages. Terima kasih. Arigatou gozaimashita.

The name
Muhammad Asim Hanniya was what was written in the application form for birth certificate.
Muhammad Asim Haniyya was written in the birth certificate.
And I only realised that when we applied for his insurance (takaful).
(Prior to that I thought it was just a common mistake when the nurse(s) at the clinic/hospital registered my baby's name with Haniyya instead of Hanniya...)
My colleague Azhan commented that it is yet another difficult name for my kid.
My reply? Blame it on having an ustaz-who-spent-8-years-in-Egypt as a father
By the way - Asim is spelt 'ain alif sod mim in arabic.
So, it is way different than the sound of a sneeze...

Making adjustments
Huzaifah is adapting well to having another brother in the house.
Like he knows Ibu won't be able to grab the extra chocolate he's having while the baby brother is being breastfed.

Humaidi is still making adjustment.
When he feels like it, he still insists on sitting on Ibu's lap even while the baby needs to be fed.
So sometimes Ibu has to make up by straightening her feet on the recliner seat and let Humaidi sits on her thighs while she breastfeed.
And lets not begin discussing who gets to sleep next to Ibu at night.
By the way Kak D, Humaidi just turned 2 on the 5th of April.
But yes, it does seem like only yesterday when I was talking about my newborn in Japan...

The all boys club
Edot - there's you, there's Gee, there's Aidil and now me...
I can't complain - it runs in hubby's family.
To date, with the exception of one sister, all of his married siblings only gotten their first daughter after the fifth try.
So there.

Maternity leave
I enjoyed being away from work.
There was not much pampering due to moving into my own house and other familial stuff, but I got more res this time around compared to the previous confinement periods.
(Which is not necessarily a good thing if weight is an issue because I gained less and lost a lot more during the previous confinement period than this time around)
I managed to finish a lot of books that I'd been wanting to read though.
It's true that breastfeeding hours could also be best reading hours.
And I must thank hubby for being very supportive.
He brought me to MPH Stock Clearance sale when I was still in my confinement period, and refrained from making any comment on my purchases.
In fact he was the one who pointed out that there was a book clearance sale in Carrefour Alamanda and recommended some titles as I tried to spot some treasure in the bargain bin.

There were two weddings that I attended during the confinement period - one of hubby's close friend when Haniyya was about a month old in Seremban; and my half-sister Meera got married in Langkawi when Asim was 39 days old.
I know that mothers in confinement period are supposed to stay at home unless it's really necessary for them to go out, but I wouldn't miss these two weddings just because of my confinement.
We'd waited ages for Abil to get married.
And after missing my brother Azrul's wedding in 2007, I really did not want to miss another sibling's wedding. Besides, Meera is the only blood-related sister I have.

The new home
By now, I am probably on the home maintenance contractor's list of frequent callers. It's been about two months, but there have been numerous complaints - leakages, blocked drainage, stucked doors, doors that could not be locked, cracked tiles, etc.
It really makes me wonder about the quality of building materials used in the first place...
Nevertheless, alhamdulillah, I'm grateful for having friendly immediate neighbors.
And really glad to have a spacious home for the boys.
With kids their age in the vicinity.
And a playground nearby.
(Funny how the absence of physical gates and fences could sometimes seem to be replaced by a harder-to-penetrate 'invisible' gates and fences)
Anira - the kemas mengemas thingy?
It's still work-in-progress

Orang baru, Rumah baru...

Our third son will turn one month old tomorrow, insya Allah.
Sorry for not writing for so long.
The truth is - a lot of things had happened and I was either too busy/tired/sick to blog or did not have internet access when I felt up to it.
Anyway, here's a quickie ( with apology to Jue, who had sent me numerous email which I have yet to reply...)

Alhamdulillah, Muhammad Asim Hanniya was safely delivered at 10.34 p.m. on 17th February 2009 in Universiti Malaya Medical Center. My third boy is named after one Qiraat scholar and the current president of Hamas - a combination tribute to the past and the contemporary. He weighed 3692 gm at birth - the biggest one for me so far since both Huzaifah and Humaidi only weighed about 3 kg at birth. Hanniya also made the record for causing the longest wait in the hospital - I was admitted at about 10.00 a.m., and gave birth more than 12 hours later. And quite a dramatic delivery too - which was described as 'combustion expulsion' by Dr Stefanie, who was in charge in the labor room. I had quite a bad experience in UMMC, but not as bad as the one I went through in Putrajaya Hospital more than 3 years ago. So, I must admit that giving birth in Tokyo was the 'most pleasant' experience I've had so far - if one could call it 'pleasant' anyway...

We have moved to Putrajaya. Exhausting process it was - to get the house key (which by the way is a government staff quarters) I had to finish a list of tasks involving paying utilities installment fees, getting head of department's signatures and all. Then, the moving of stuff from my parents' place - by stuff, I am referring to stuff we brought back from Japan, stuff we left there before we went to Japan and stuff we've been accumulating since we came back from Japan. We rented a 3 ton truck to move the stuff - and the truck was nearly full when we were done with it.

Next, the purchase of furniture and electrical appliances. It takes a lot of money to furnish a new home and I'm glad, alhamdulillah, that we do have some savings. We spent quite a small fortune but I must say that our new place does feel homey right now. It feels good to finally being able to put a lot of our wedding presents to good use. (Electrical appliances like rice cooker, toaster, kettle, table fan and bed linens definitely make better wedding gifts than glass wares...) We still need new curtains, but for the time being we just use old curtains that we brought back from Tokyo.

I'm on maternity leave - my first maternity leave, actually since I gave birth to Huzaifah just 11 days before I left for Tokyo and Humaidi was born during my study leave - until 17th April. Am enjoying my exclusive time with Hanniya to the max. And Jue - for the record, I went for traditional massage, eating jamu, mandi daun, wearing barut, bengkung and the works, so don't worry okay? You take good care of Man, Husna and yourself - seems like it's going to be quite a tough semester this time around...

This and that...

Just came back from a 2-day course in PD. Now that I've attended a crash course on discplinary action for government servant, I'll be on the speaker list next.

After the baby is born, insya Allah.

#####

Used to be a keen follower of the latest on Gaza on Al-Jazeera - both online and on Astro - while the war was on. Mak is a volunteer for Aman Palestin, and she was among the thousands Malaysians who walked from Tabung Haji to US Embassy one Friday afternoon to show their protest. Mak and Adik were among the thousands who joined Aman Palestin's rally for Gaza in Stadium Malawati and until now, Mak has yet to take off the "Save Gaza" sticker on her CRV's driver's door.

Ayah and Mak worked hard on getting contribution - and alhamdulillah, the qariah of Masjid Kampung Tunku contributed RM17,000 for Aman Palestin on the day before the rally at Stadium Malawati. Mak made me pass around an Aman Palestin 'tabung' at the office - and with some Administrative officers' assistance, the 'tabung' was passed around on 4 different floors. Mak said that the content of the tabung amounted to almost RM4,000, alhamdulillah. Not that it all came from the office - the tabung was already half full before Mak asked me to pass it around in the office, but still...

And it came out in the paper yesterday that over RM800,000 in the forms of an ICU-facilities- equipped ambulance , 3 generators for the hospital and food item had been sent to Palestine by Aman Palestin... Mak said that they are still working on getting more ambulances, generators, medical supplies and food item to be sent over. Based on their track record so far, I guess I have faith in Aman Palestin to deliver what they promise - that each sen we contribute insya Allah will reach the needy ones in Palestine. That's a lot more than can be said for some 'tabung kemanusiaan'...

#####

Hubby already warned me that attending the Alumni of my former school ex-students may lead to me being chosen as a member of the committee.

"Rubbish! I'm sure there better candidates in presence than a heavily pregnant mother...," was how I dismissed his warning.

Ira and I were the only two representatives from our batch in the AGM. Zarin, the main 'otai' in organizing meet-ups for our batch could not attend it because he just returned from his kampung that day. I thought I was safe since I was sure that Ira would not be nominating me just like I wouldn't nominate her to hold any post in the committee...

How wrong was I.
Zaki, the former president of the alumni nominated my name.
And Kak Zu from SPM 1986 batch just had to announce that I am working in J*A when my name was announced as a candidate - to which a lot of people responded by saying "Oh bagus kalau ada orang J*A ni..." Yeah, right. Kak Zu should have explained further that I'm with the disciplinary unit - not in units responsible for scholarship or pension or emolument...
Anyway, I ended up garnering highest count of votes (luckily not as the main committee member though).

I asked Zaki during lunch, what made him mad enough to nominate me when obviously there were more able candidates in presence - he smiled and said that it's good to have a committee made up of various batches than one monopolized by a certain era. He had a valid point there - the main committee members were already mostly filled up by those from 1980's batches...

Oh well...

#####

Kit already told me about "that nice book store which sell books oh so cheaply" in Amcorp Mall. Ina, who was recently back in Malaysia, also mentioned in passing that she would like to visit one "kedai buku murah" in Amcorp Mall. So when I found myself free from hubby and the kids for a while after the alumni AGM was over, I asked Ira if she would mind going to Amcorp Mall. Hubby ok'ed it over the phone, so long as I return home by Asar because our friend Ridzuan and his family would be coming over after Asar...

So I discovered Bookxcess for the first time and it was hard not to fall in love with it. All brand new books being sold at unbelievable prices. Harry Potter 7 hardcover for an instance was on sale for less than RM35. Most paperback - fiction, crime, romances - at RM17.90 - RM19.90. Children books at RM3.00 - RM9.90. The books are all arranged nicely and appropriately in a well-lit spacious store with helpful staff who obviously love to read.

And to think that at first I was thinking of only going to Payless (which by the way, is no longer in existence there...)

#####

"Laa, beli buku lagi? Buku yang dah ada ni pun tak habis baca lagi," hubby complained upon finding out that I bought more books (2 Dean Koontz novel at RM9.90 each, Meg Cabot's "Size 14 is not fat either" at RM17.90 and I can't remember another one, also at RM9.90) at Amcorp Mall

Heh, I know, I still have plenty of books yet unread.
But at least I'm spending my own money on books.
Books.
Not shoes.
Or purses.
Or perfumes, cosmetics and what nots.
And they are really good, hard-to-resist bargains.

So okay, they are novels, not 'buku ilmiah'.
Hubby said that I should be reading more 'buku ilmiah'.
I know too that I should probably invest in books on leadership and management and stuff now that I'm back in the office.
But I need my dose of novels the way some people need their coffee...

#####

Congratulations to Kit on passing her PTK.
I'm so proud of you dear, alhamdulillah!
And can't wait to go cuti-cuti Malaysia in Cameron with you and Manja too...

Now, please make doa for me (and Zyrin) for us to pass ours.
Being the ever procrastinator that I am, my individual paper was among the last four received by the urus setia in The Mines at almost 5.00 p.m. on the day it was due.
I wanted to write it ages before, but it was not until the day before it was due when I really got into the mood to start writing and I finished writing at about 3.30 p.m.
Yan, my office room-mate, was amazed to find out that I was writing a paper that was due that very evening as she entered the office (by the way, that was the only day I missed checking on the latest in Gaza on Aljazeera online).

"Orang genius je boleh buat kerja last minute macam you, tau," Yan commented.
Oh, how I wish!

Simple pleasures in life

I owe Kit two tags and Anira one.
Let me begin my 2009 entry by answering "Kit's Simple Pleasures in Life" tag.
I'd written a similar entry sometime back in 2004, so this is more like my additional list...

Here goes - in no particular order:

- watching Huzaifah and Humaidi sleeping - the only time they look calm & oh so at peace
- a kiss on my bulging tummy by Huzaifah, Humaidi, their Ayah or a combination of all three
- waking up early and found out that I could still sleep for another hour
- unexpected hug/kiss from the kids
- being pampered by hubby
- 'seeing' baby for the first time through ultra sound scan
- mental-stimulating discussion over meals with Mak and Ayah
- finding long lost stuff I thought never to be found again
- smell of crisp pages of a book I would like to devour
- dog eared pages of favorite books that had been re-read countless times
- great service by a Sales Assistant
- short queue at service counter
- elevators working efficiently during the rush hour
- unexpected phone call from long lost friend
- unexpected compliment
- unexpected gift
- rhythm of falling rain, especially when one can afford to nap
- sound of waves hitting the beach, coupled with kids' squeals of glee and delight
- breathtaking sunrise/ sunset
- smell of yummy favorite food/drinks
- perfect dessert - especially ice cream or cheese cake - after a good meal

So there Kit, hope it has been of help in your attempt to dig deeper in my (sometimes "weng") head... hehehe

Anira - I'm passing this tag on to you... (Faizly & Ahkak Zurr, feel free to do this if you are up to it...)

Rezeki kita lain-lain...

"Tahun lepas masa kawan-kawan batch saya ramai ambil PTK3, saya masih sibuk dengan baby saya. Tak apa lah lambat sikit kak, rezeki kita lain-lain"

And I couldn't help agreeing with her.
So, I'm late in attending PTK3, hence late in getting my confirmation. So what?

Allah has provided my family and I with ample sustenance, alhamdulillah.
I might have earned less than colleagues from the same batch in terms of monthly salary - but in the past three years Allah has given my family enough to:

- assist FIL in paying his debts of quite a substantial amount;
- buy a Toyota Wish, a Sony Vaio laptop (and got Dell XPS as a gift), a Canon Digital Kiss camera
- save enough to pay for the car's freight, tax, and what nots without having to take a Bank Rakyat loan; and
- go travel/sightsee a little bit while we were in Japan.

I guess there is more to life than merely earning a lot. And I'm not even comparing myself to friends from the corporate world - it goes without saying that many of them are earning a lot more. Still, I believe in the concept of barakah and I always pray that Allah gives me and my family rezeki with barakah.

We might not earn as much as others do - but we find our earning enough. Our children are in good health, there is not much trouble with the car, nor much trouble with the house.

We might not earn as much as others do - but we do not find ourselves terribly burdened by debts. Apart from my housing loan, we do not have to pay for study loans or personal loans or even credit card debts. So, we spend according to our limited capability, but we don't feel belittled by the little that we earn.

"Sikit tapi mencukupi", alhamdulillah.
And to me, that is a sign of barakah, insya Allah...

PTK 3

Dear Jue,

Thanks for your vote of confidence in me to excel in my PTK3.

To tell you the truth - I've felt a bit uncomfortable on the first day of the course since I could not detect even one familiar face from our batch. The participants were mostly from 2004 batch - and that somehow made me feel a bit old... (Later, I found out that the most senior among us was a guy from 1996 batch. He joked that while his friends had already sat for PTK4, he had taken PTK (1) 4 times) Anyway, me being the extrovert me, I've felt better and already made some new friends by the end of the first day.

Public speaking - as you had guessed - was not a big problem for me. I think I did okay in both BM and English sessions. Not great - just okay. But that's okay with me, given that I only woke up at 4 a.m. on the morning of the BM public speaking session day and 3 a.m. on the English public speaking session day to prepare my speech. FYI, I chose to talk about healthcare for pregnant mothers in BM, and homestay and strenghtening cultural identity was the topic for my English public speaking. Out of 10, I guess I would self-rate myself to be around 7 - 8. Not great, but not too bad, right?

I was among the few in my group to finish my individual presentation - on Malaysia's challenges and strategies to become a global halal hub - within the 10 minutes allocated for us. In fact, I was the first in my group to do that. I guess that explained why the panelist didn't complain too much about my simple slides - since one of them had just commented on how we should keep to the given 10 minutes not too long before I started mine. I would self-rate my presentation to be around 7 - 7.5. My slides were not wordy - I presented valid points, gave a lot of explanation, but my slides were not self-explanatory. And you know how some panelist prefer slides to be self-explanatory...

I think my group didn't do too bad for group presentation. And in a way, I'm glad that we were not bombarded with lots and lots of questions from the panelist. Some groups had to stand up for ages - to answer queries from the panelists until the panelists were satisfied with the answers given. What with my current state of fatness, I must admit that I could not afford to stand up for too long. (Good thing that the organizer took this into consideration and let the 3 preggie mommies to sit together with other panelist, penghulu and group leaders when we took the group photo).

It might sound like all okay - but Jue, I honestly think I did poorly for the exam. Yes, I managed to answer 5 questions in the exam, but I am not confident of making good marks in even one of the questions. It was THAT bad.

Still, I hope and I pray that I will pass the exam. It would be a hassle to sit for the exam again. Thanks for your vote of confidence in me anyway - and I hope your prayer that I will pass this PTK will come true, insya Allah

Do unto others...

"There are no longer any lauk but beef, and they cannot eat beef. Kesian...", Farizan noted as she sat down.

We were at PICC, attending PTK 3 course. By "they", Farizan was referring to Suresh, Subes and Kumar, three Hindu guys in our group. Compared to other groups, we were late in taking our lunch that day, which explained the lack of 'lauk' refill.

My head immediately turned to the main table reserved for the panelists. Seemed like they had finished their lunch, leaving just one of the organizer chatting to one of the panelists. I walked towards them and my hunch was right - there were still plenty of chicken and fish among the leftover lauk at the main table.

"There're not much lauk at the buffet line except for beef, and those guys over there cannot eat beef. Would it be okay if they help themselves with the chicken and fish here?"

"Oh, yes, sure!"

So I called out for the boys - Suresh, Subes and Kumar - who initially were malu-malu kucing to come to the main table, but came anyway, and seemed glad to have other lauk in their plate apart from some limp veggies.

"It's good to have someone from JPA in our group, after all", Farizan said when I returned to my seat. I smiled. Being from the same department with the organizer of the course had nothing to do with me trying to look for alternatives for the boys. I think being somewhat more senior than them - in terms of batch and age - somehow automatically put me in a "kakak" position, and it's a duty of an elder sister to look after the younger ones, right?

I guess, being part of the minority in Japan has taught me to be more sensitive and aware of the needs for minority. I had been touched by non Muslim friends who checked with me first on the suitability of a particular makan place before we go out together. I had been touched by Hien who took extra effort to prepare seafood based spring rolls especially for me when she prepared meat based ones for the rest of our Nihongo Ichi class. I had been touched by a zemi-mate who ordered sea food pizza just because she did not want to offend me since we were sitting opposite each other in the restaurant when most of the gang ordered steak.

The least I could do is to do unto others as what others have done unto me before.

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"