Adreena didn’t sleep well last night. That of course means, I had a bad night. I should really be sleeping right now, now that she’s asleep. Tapi tak boleh pulak. O well.

It’s already day 37! How time flies. 23 days left until I have to return to work. :( And it’s only 7 days until my confinement period is officially over. If confinement is 44 days lah. Some says it’s 40 days. Which one is right eh? Not that it matters sgt pun to be honest. I HAVE sneaked out a few times, hehe. With Shahril of course. Partner in crime. :D

On the 30th day of confinement, we went out for my post natal checkup at which I was told that I still have “byk masa lagi” to have another one before I turn 38 – the recommended age of stopping ‘production’. Hehe. Adreena had her checkup with her pediatrician too at which we were told she is doing superb. She cried her lungs out kena cucuk, sampaikan the doctor commented, “Mama, your baby nangis memang volume 5 terus ye?” That’s my girl alright. :).

Guess where we went after the checkup? Vacuum cleaner shopping. Haha. At Harvey Norman @ Ikano no less. :) I’ve been eyeing the Ergorapido since I saw one at Ngah’s house. Didn’t feel the urgent need for it until I become a stay-at-home-mom (albeit for only 60 days). The thing I hate the most about vacuuming is plugging the power you see, so Ergorapido is really the solution for me. Mengada2 I know, but I really hate the cables and all.

So I’m a vacuum cleaner freak now. That makes me a much happier person. :D

And kelmarin, we sneaked out again. This time to Jusco Cheras Selatan. It was our engagement anniversary. (At this point, any reason to celebrate can and will bring me out of the house, really. :) ). Looking back, if anyone were to tell me during my engagement that 6 years from then I’ll be having 3 kids of my own, I don’t think I would believe it, or know what to DO with 3 kids. But alhamdulillah, I am truly blessed to kinda know now what to do with 3 kids. ;). Most of the times, at least.

Here’s a photo of Adreena on her 18th day on Earth. :). More will come soon, I promise.

 

Finally...

[caption id="attachment_184" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Her stats. :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_185" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Adreena Hariessa Shahril"][/caption]

Officially a mother of THREE! :D

The due date is today. And I’m still waiting. :) If the baby decides to make her appearance today, then she’ll be following Mariessa’s footstep in coming out on the EDD day itself. If she decides not to come out today, she’ll be the first overdue baby among my children. :) Not that the date matters, as long as she comes out healthy, and hopefully it’ll be a smooth delivery. InsyaAllah. Amin.

My last checkup was yesterday (Saturday). Again, the gynae said it’s going to a big baby. At least 3.6kg was his exact words. And according to him, there was already a 1.5cm opening. So if it doesn’t happen today, I’ll be seeing him again tomorrow.

I’m getting more nervous by the minute, needless to say. I’ve been walking a lot lately, konon2 to encourage labor to happen. :) Went ‘ngeteh’ with Akak on Friday. First at Giant, later at Jusco Cheras Selatan. Walking is not entirely effortless on my part, so I can safely say I’ve been working out hard. ;) On Saturday after the checkup, we went (sans Afiq) looking for Raspberry leaf tea (thanks Rina for the reminder, I’ve totally forgotten about that. I did drink that while waiting for Mariessa to come out dulu. ;) ). We went high and low looking for it. First at Tesco because that was where I found it last time. Or so I thought, because I could not find it anymore there. Then we went all the way to Mydin USJ to look for it. Not there either. After making a quick stop at a friend’s house in Casa Subang, we went to Summit pulak, thinking Cold Storage might has it. Tapi al-kisah, Cold Storagenya pun dah tutup!!!!!  So, we came home empty handed. Well, not exactly empty handed, but without raspberry leaf tea lah. O well…

Afiq is with Aunty Mas and Aunty Pet this weekend, in (I think the place is called) Jeram. He’s having loads of fun, from the sound of it. Mariessa when asked whether or not she wants to go along, smiled sheepishly and geleng kepala. Heheh. Dia ni lain sikit clingynya. :)

But I’ve never realized how attached she really is to Afiq. She was OK in the beginning, didn’t really ask about Afiq. But lama2 nampak she’s bored. No one to gaduh with in the car while strapped on her carseat. :). Malam tadi she began asking about Afiq almost non-stop. “Abang kat mana?” “Kenapa Abang tak balik?” Bila dapat cakap ngan Afiq on the phone, muka nya berseri2! Kesian pun ada bila tengok mcm tu. :)

The first thing she asked this morning when she woke up was… “Mama, abang mana?” Lepas tu, every other word was… “Abang?”.. :)It’s touching.

It’s almost lunch time now. Chef Shahril has taken over my kitchen since last night. :) It was daging salai masak lomak cili api for dinner last night, and it’s going to be Tom Yam Ayam for lunch sekejap lagi. :) Ohh yummss.

Early this morning, I really thought labor is going to happen today after a small ‘sign’ that makes me really nervous. But now I’m not so sure anymore. InsyaAllah I’ll be announcing it to the world soon. InsyaAllah. Please keep on praying for us, ye? :)

Still waiting..

1. Am already resting at home on doctor’s advice. I am in my 38th week now. On Monday, I was really glad I didn’t have to go to work. Tuesday I was OK. Wednesday, I was feeling bored. Today? I have no idea what I want to do with my day. :) Am not complaining though. I’m enjoying spending time with myself, watching TV.. doing nothing. It’s just that I still need to find something to do. I don’t think it’s good for me to just sit on the sofa all day, kan.

2. I never thought I’ll say this… but hmm… for the past one month or so.. i find folding clothes, well.. enjoyable. Almost therapeutic actually. I am happy with this change of course, because nak tak nak, I still have to do it. And it’s so much easier to do it now, that I actually enjoy doing it. So, yay me! :D. I still hate putting the clothes into the wardrobe though.. so I pass that task to Shahril still. Heheh…

3. We registered Afiq to a kindy already. He starts on January 3rd next year. That’s a day before my 32nd birthday. :) I am excited, and nervous for him. He’s very excited about it. The only thing I’m worried about is how Mariessa is going to cope not having Afiq at the nursery in the morning. I hope when the time comes, she’ll adjust. :) They always do, kan? Kan? :)

4. I’ve started feeling nervous thinking about labor. :) My gynae estimated baby besar this time. That doesn’t help lah kan? :) Last Saturday during checkup he estimated the baby to be around 3.4kg. That was last week… this week tak tau la pulak. Afiq was 3.0kg at birth… Mariessa was 3.1kg. Apa2 pun.. please pray for our safe delivery, ye?

Waiting…

I was at the pasar malam near my house last night, trying to figure out what to buy for dinner. Of late, I just can’t make myself cook anymore. Malas + tak larat.

Saw a stall selling kuih2. Then i spotted some kuih lopes, and i quickly looked away.

Thought nothing  of it until I was in bed.

It got me thinking. Why did I look away? What made it such a ‘tindakan refleks’?

It made me think about grieving. I mean.. what did me looking away from kuih lopes means? Among the last requests Ummi made in HUKM was for kuih lopes and laksa, you see. That was in Ramadhan. And as much as I love kuih lopes, I cannot make myself to even look at it now.

Since Ummi left, I haven’t had a breakdown. Yet. I don’t know if I will ever have one. I don’t know if I need one. I don’t know what it means either. I did cry a few times during the first few days after Ummi left. But not as much as I thought I should. I cried a few times in the car while driving back from work for no reason at all. Tapi entah, rasa macam ada yang tak lepas lagi. Kadang2.

So last night, there I was, in bed… thinking about grieving. Am i done with grieving? Will I ever? Or am I in the middle of it? More importantly, is it possible that I have not even started yet?

Bila Ummi dah takde, thoughts of her are stronger everyday. Banyakkkkkk sgt benda2 yang remind me of Ummi. When I’m on the road, for example, I looked away from signage to ‘Cheras’… because in my mind, Cheras leads to HUKM… and HUKM holds memories of Ummi. I shudder at the thought of going to HUKM ever again. I hope I won’t have to.

I look away from kari daging too. That was the last lauk I cooked for her. Every little thing seems to remind me of her. Kuah singgang, that bottled orange juice from koperasi HUKM, kacang kuda rebus, the list goes on and on.

Kat rumah, ada flask Ummi yang selalunya Ummi bawak ke HUKM when she was warded there. Kat tutup flask tu, ada tulis “Ummi”, in her handwriting. Ummi suka tulis nama kat barang2 dia. And it’s always “Ummi” and not her real name. She’s Ummi. Ada satu tumbler Ummi punya, pun ada tulis nama Ummi kat tutup dia.

Every Wednesday… like today, I’ll remember Ummi more. I was born on a Wednesday. Ummi left on a Wednesday too. Wednesdays will never be the same again.

Ummi pergi dengan tenang tanggal 7 Oktober 2009 bersamaan 18 Syawal 1430  @ 1.34 p.m., surrounded by people who loves her and whom she had loved unconditionally.

Semoga rohnya ditempatkan di kalangan orang-orang beriman. Amin.

You live in our hearts, Mi…

Al-Fatihah

 

What I’ve written about Ummi:

http://serenerene.blogspot.com/2008/07/at-hospital.html

http://serenerene.blogspot.com/2008/08/ummi.html

http://serenerene.blogspot.com/2008/08/ummi-update.html

http://serenerene.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-it-is.html

http://serenerene.blogspot.com/2009/01/remembrance.html

http://serenerene.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/ummi/

http://serenerene.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/ummi-eid-09/

So my wish for Eid was granted. One and a half day before Eid, Ummi was discharged from HUKM. She wasn’t really that well. But ‘well’ is not what ‘well’ used to be for her anyway.

Friday night, Akak took Ummi home to 443 together with Fikri, my 18 year-old youngest brother.

I went back to 443 on Saturday morning. Left Kajang at 6.30 and reached 443 at 10 am. The journey usually takes only 2 hours or so, but the traffic was heavy as everyone was rushing balik kampung. We had to stop once – Afiq’s first experience peeing kat tepi jalan. Itu pun sebab 10 minutes prior to stopping tu, Afiq  was chanting ‘Ayah, tak ta-an… Ayah tak ta-an” non-stop.

As soon as we reached 443, Akak and I get down to business. Menu for raya was Rendang Daging, Sup Tulang and Kuah Kacang along with Ketupat Nona of course. Oh and also Nasi Tomato and Ayam masak Merah which we cooked on Eid morning itself.

When the boys (except Afiq) went for Eid prayers, Akak and I mandikan Ummi. She was not able to walk except for a step or 2, so we had to help her bangun from her bed, then sit her down on the wheelchair, up again from the wheelchair walked a few steps into the bathroom and sit her on a chair and mandikan Ummi while she was sitting down.

Mandikan Ummi is a very humbling experience. It wasn’t my first time, but the feeling is the same every time, intensified on that day, maybe because it was Eid.

We had to choose one of her bigger baju kurungs since her tummy was so bloated. Put some bedak on her face, and lipstick too. Put on her new tudung and by the time the boys came back, she’s all ready on the wheelchair.

In the afternoon, Akak decided that we all should pay a visit to Kokya’s (my cousin) house. She lives only a few minutes drive away but for no reason whatsoever, I’ve never been to her house. Kokya’s mom – Mokde has been living with her for years. Mokde is Ummi’s elder sister. Akak thought it would be good for Ummi to see her sister. So off we went. I’m glad we did that.

So that was generally how our first day of Raya went like.

On Monday the 2nd day of Raya, we (Shahril, myself, Afiq and Mariessa) left 443 for Jelebu.

That night Amel (bro no 5), Dikki (bro no 6) and Alang (bro no 7) left for Manjung.

The next morning, Ummi got really weak. Once she asked Fikri to ambilkan wudhu’ for her. That Maghrib, when Akak was feeding her, she suddenly said ‘lima’. Akak asked ‘lima apa?’ She said, ‘lima waktu’.

The next morning (Wednesday), she was so weak that Akak decided to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. She was taken to Hospital Temerloh and to cut the long story short, was admitted.

On Thursday, I went back to Kajang via Temerloh.

On Saturday morning, a doctor called Akak and said somebody needs to sign a letter of consent for the hospital to masukkan darah. Abah later signed that letter which also stated that she is in a critical condition and that she might pass on anytime. I didn’t even know such letter existed!

Ngah (after a longgggg story of how she got there) arrived that afternoon in KLIA with Edrick and Kitreena. Akak and Ngah (together with the kids of course) left for Temerloh right after Ngah arrived. Shahril and I (with kids) left Kajang for Temerloh that night.

We decided to come back to Kajang on Sunday.

At times like these, deciding to go back to Kajang, or Temerloh is really tough. I mean, If I could, I would just take the whole month off and stay at 443. But life has to go on, right? Balik Kajang pun susah hati… balik Temerloh pun tak senang hati jugak. So I tell myself to just do what my heart says at that very moment. Ikut je gerak hati. Bila rasa boleh balik Temerloh, balik je. Bila rasa kena balik Kajang semula, balik je la. Thank God Shahril has been very, very supportive. Afiq ngan Mariessa je la melantun tak abis2. Diorg pun heran, sampai Afiq tanya, “Mama kenapa kita balik Kampung Atok (443), lepas tu Kampung Wan (jelebu), lepas tu Kampung Atok, lepas tu rumah Uncle Teh (bro no 4 in Temerloh), lepas tu Kampung Atok?”

Mariessa pulak one morning when we were in Kajang, pagi2 lagi dah mintak nak makan ‘nacik kocong’ (Yes, that’s her staple food – nasik kosong as in sekosong2 nya, no kicap no nothing. Just nasik putih). When I told her nasi tak masak lagi, terus je dia jawab… “Mama, jom la kita balik Kampung Wan. Kampung Wan ada nacik kocong”. It’s true tapinya, sebab kat Jelebu… my MIL mmg sentiasa masak nasik lebih2.. sebab leftover tu nak kasik ayam makan then next day nya. Tu la sentiasa je ada nasi kosong.

Laaaa… I digress.

Since Tuesday, the doctor in Hospital Temerloh has been implying that they might discharge Ummi as there was nothing more they can do. But before they release her, they need to stabilize her first. I don’t know what stabilizing means here. I mean, she’s very weak and I just don’t know what that means.

Mmg seriau and kesian tengok Ummi kat hospital. Her hands are so swollen that they leak. Leak as in, keluar air from her skin. Lebam sebab byk sgt kena cucuk here and there. Sometimes it takes hours for the doctors to cucuk jarum nak masukkan darah or ambik darah. Twice they had to cucuk her kat pangkal peha and that one last time, they even had to stitch the needle to her skin to make sure the needle stays there.

Yesterday (Wednesday), they finally decided that they’re finally really letting her go home.

I asked my brother if the doctor can give some sort of estimation on how much time left for Ummi. Fikri said, when the doctors talked to Ngah, they talked about ‘weeks’.

At this time, I’m taking things as it is. Take one step at a time. I don’t want to analyse, or think too far ahead. I think between me and my family, we’ve accepted the fact that Ummi IS leaving. Weeks can turn into months… as much as weeks can be shortened to days.

So since yesterday, Ummi has been at home. She was so weak that she has to be taken home by an ambulance.

I’m writing this as quickly as I could, sebab kalau tangguh2 lama2 mmg tak kan terpublish lah this entry. As it is pun, I started this entry yesterday (Wednesday) and sambung sikit lagi today. I have never been good in writing about something I possibly be very emotional about, so whatever I write in here is what I’m feeling right now. And  I am trying not to feel so much. It will just make it harder if I let myself ‘feel’ when I’m this far away from her.

I’m going back to her on Saturday.

Yesterday.

Was a bad day. Although it was Tuesday, it was my first day back at work after a rather long break for Eid. Why it was longer than intended will be for another entry. Reasons for yesterday being a bad day:

1. Just before I went out for work, I discovered that one of Waja’s tyres pancit. Nasib baik mmg dah plan nak bawak kereta lagi satu to work. Nasib baik jugak Shahril memang tak kerja and dah plan nak bawak Waja gi workshop. So tak la rasa nasib malang sgt kan.

2. Had breakfast kat Cafe ofis. Bihun tak sedap, terasa macam banyakkkkk sgt white pepper.

3. Sampai2 ofis… called receptionist to ask whether there’s any packages for me. I ordered a book on Ebay before raya hari tu and I was hoping the book will be waiting for me lah kan. Nope no packages or anything for me. Emailed the seller and asked for the reference number for Pos Ekspres. Checked and discovered they had indeed delivered it on Monday (yesterday). Went down to receptionist to confirm. Checked with guards at the guardhouse too. Nope, no packages for me.

Called Pos Ekspres. Dengan confidentnya I was told that they delivered the package to a post box. Yang bestnya, tidak lah wujud post box kat kawasan ofis ni! Dah guardhouse sebesar2 alam tu, gi letak dalam post box buat apa ye tak? Kenapalah tak hantar kat receptionist je? So, buat la satu report with Pos Ekspres, and was told that it will take them MINIMUM 6 days to investigate. Kechiwa tau!

4. Was told by my brother that doctor kat Hospital Temerloh kata, there’s nothing else they can do pasal Umi. Doctor tanya apa plan family. Nak keep her in the hospital ke… nak bawak balik rumah? Details in another entry lepas ni lah ye.

Today.

Is a better day. Sebabnya:

1. Saw a rainbow on my way to work. Not that it means anything. Tapi just rasa macam best je.

2. Bangun pagi, goreng nasi & bawa bekal for breakfast. Kalau tak sedap pun, lidah sendiri kata sedap je. At least takde rasa white pepper. Sedap, sedap!

3. Orang Post Ekspres called. Tersangatla sopan dan cheerful nya suara pakcik itu. Pakcik, sebab he sounded rather old. Tak tau la kalau suara je tua kan. Hehe. He said, the postman kata dia deliver kat guardhouse. I asked balik, guardhouse mana? Ofis ni ada 2 guardhouse. Plus the guard kat main guardhouse kata takde pun. And kalau ada, tentulah diorg dah kasik kat receptionist, kan? The cheerful pakcik said, he’ll investigate further. Disebabkan pakcik yg sgt sopan itu, rasa kurang sikit marah dan kuchiwa. Tq pakcik Pos Ekspres.

Pukul 11 pagi, receptionist called. “Ada one package just arrived for you”

Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

4. Unfortunately, no good news pasal Umi. In fact no ‘new’ news. Although at this point, no news MAY be good news actually.

Dalam ofis right now, berkumandang lagu2 raya, like…. ‘baaaaalik kampuuuuungggggg’, or… ‘assalamuuuuualaikummmm’ <- dgn suara Jamal yg macho itu, or DJ Dave’s ‘Selamatttt Hari Raaayaaa”… How to do work like this?

It’s my last day of work before the long break. Tapi the whole week dah takde mood nak buat kerja pun sebenarnya.

We’re hoping to celebrate Raya in Temerloh this year. Hoping, because Ummi is still in HUKM right now. She’s due for a ‘procedure’ this morning. So hopefully she’ll be fit enough to be discharged tomorrow the latest so we can bring her home and thus bring Eid home.

I find it difficult to answer when people ask me on her condition. Most of the time, it’s pretty much same ol’ same ol’ condition. Kejap dia OK, Kejap tak OK. OK means she can walk on her own, go to the toilet on her own, eat on her own and does not talk merepek-repek. Not OK can vary from the opposite of all the above or just one or two, or it can be as bad as not even able to open her eyes, or talk. Sometimes she’ll be sooo disoriented that she says she has only 4 kids (in actual there’s 8 of us), or she’ll say she’s been in the hospital for 4 long months although she’s only been there for a week. This time around, she can’t eat on her own, has difficulty breathing at times. And something that has never happened before: her blood level keeps on dropping.

I hope we will be able to beraya in Temerloh, nonetheless.

On a happier note, we had Iftar at Akak’s house last Saturday. The highlight of the ‘event’ is the arrival of Baby Aqilah to the house. :) Aqilah is my brother Aidil’s first born. She was born on June 22nd this year, weighing only 2.22 kg! I’m guessing 2 will be her favorite number. :D

Aqilah Musfeerah Aidil Sufqy

Chak! Rambut cacak cacak tu, just like my bro when he was small. :D

 

Ni 2 beradik needs no introduction kan? That’s them in a rare moment where they sit still for about 30 seconds… maybe less

 

This morning, Mariessa woke up while we were having sahur. Lepas tu dah segar bugar, macam dah puas tidur. In my attempts to get her to go to her own room:

First attempt:

Me: Mariessa, pegi la tido kat bilik sana. (She refers to her room (shared with Afiq) as bilik ‘sana’)

Her: Biarla kita tido kat bilik Mamaaaaaaaaaaa…..

Me: Kenapa Mariessa tak nak tido kat bilik sana?

Her: Biarlaaaa.. Kita kan kecik lagiiiiiii.

Me: Hmmmm

Mariessa’s signature senyum lentok

2nd attempt:

Me: Kakak… pegi tido kat bilik kakak ye?

Her: Tak nak lah!

Me: Kenapa?

Her: Bilik Mama kan besaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!

Me: Aduhai….

Then i pretended sleeping (she wanted to talk – Kenapa Mama nak pegi kerja? Kenapa Mama tak bawak kita pegi kerja? Kenapa dah malam? Kenapa Mama makan malam malam?) . I heard her going down from the bed, so I thought somehow our small talk worked lah. She went to her room. Yey.

She came back in less than 2 minutes. Oh well. Better luck next time, maybe. :)

Afiq on the other hand has been asking me bila nak balik kampung! :) He is, very excited about his new songkok. new baju melayu and most of all new kasut Ben10. Ada lampu2 some more. His choice. :)

Afiq, giving a sexy look during haircut. He insisted on it, for Raya. :D

A shout out to my beloved Sistah.. you KNOW we are missing you. And that we will be thinking of you more and more on Hari Raya. You are in our thoughts, Ngah. Always.

Last but not least, to all my friends…

Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin.

From All of us:

(gambar lama ni.. 2 tahun lepas punya Raya. Hehe)

Scene 1

Last week I bought one of those instant, ready-to-bake mixture for chocolate cake. Add water, some eggs, corn oil, mix mix mix and bake. Walla, moist chocolate cake siap! I don’t really fancy anything chocolate, but Afiq loves chocolate very much, and since it has been a while since I last baked anything, I baked him one 2 days ago.

The morning after, bukak2 mata je he asked:

Him: Mama, mama dah letak tak kek dalam beg sekolah Abang?

Me: Dah. Nanti makan sama2 dengan kawan2 k?

Him: Ok ma! Saaaayang mama. Mama pegi kerja elok2 k?

That’s him. He’s always the one yang pesan to ‘pergi kerja elok2’ or ‘drive elok2’. Sejuuuk hati.

Later that day, coming back from school, the moment he saw me, terus je merungut:

Him: Mama, habis semua dia makan. Semua semua semua dia makan! Afiq tak rasa pun!

Me: Makan apa? Siapa yg makan?

Him: Kek tu la. Kawan2 Afiq makan semua semua!

Me: Oh… takpelah. Ada lagi sikit kat rumah.

Him: Ada lagi? Yey!!!!

Scene 2

I was doing ironing last night, when Afiq remembered to show me one of his colouring work from school.

Afiq: Mama, look. Kerja sekolah Afiq. Cantik tak ma?

Me: Cantik sayang. Good job Afiq!

Mariessa: Mama! Mama! Tadi kat kolahhhhhh kita pun ada tulisssssssss!!

Me: Mariessa pun ada colour2 jugak? Very good! Kenapa tak bawak balik?

Mariessa: Tak payah la bawak balik….

Me: Kenapa?

Mariessa: Nanti mama ambik!!

Me: Huh?

This is my first time writing from Windows Live Writer. I had NO idea this thing exists, until momster mentioned it. Ketinggalan zaman sungguh! Thanks, you!

Today is already the 11th day of Ramadhan. How time flies. Baru je lagi rasa nervous2 thinking about fasting, not knowing whether I am fit enough to do it or not. Alhamdulillah, setakat ni, puasa penuh lagi. Syukurrr sgt2.

This week is also my 28th week into this pregnancy. Lagiiiii terasa cepatnya! Dah habis 2nd trimester. Tup2 nanti, bersalin je kan? :) Baby is doing great, alhamdulillah. Kicking strongly tak mengira siang atau malam. :) We have also known the gender during the last checkup. (Shahril la, x sabo nak tunggu nak tau. Tak jadik nak buat surprise untuk diri sendiri. Heheh).

Updates on Afiq: Well, he loves kurma. He first thought it’s a kind of chocolate! He recently asked whether he can join us for puasa. I asked him whether he knows what puasa is. He said, “Yes! Tak boleh makan, tak boleh minum”. Then I said, “Nini (susu) pun tak boleh tau?” Terdiam kejap dia. Hehe. “Sikit pun tak boleh ke Ma?”. I think that would be his biggest obstacle kalau nak puasa. Susu tu! :) Maybe I’ll let him try to ‘puasa’ for a few hours on weekends if he really wants to. See how it goes! :)

Mariessa… Well, where do I begin? :). I belatedly realized that she’s in the Terrible Two Phase. How I forgot about it, I have NO idea. I mean, of course I did not forget that she’s two, it’s just that I did not remember that they call it the Terrible Two for a reason (or many!). Had I remembered, I wouldn’t be wondering so much, why she behaves the way she does.

Kesimpulannya, memang tengah nakal la si Shirley Temple yang sorang ni. Strong headed, strong hearted, semua lah! If she says she wants Milo, tak payah la susah2 nak offer orange juice ke, vitagen ke. Milo lah jugak2. Tak kira la siang ke, malam ke. Kalau dia kata nak mandi, she won’t accept “not now” for an answer even though dia baruuuuu je lepas mandi 20 minutes ago! If I say No (or anything yang sewaktu dengannya), makanya terdengar lah jeritan budak ala2 kena dera! Seriously. And yang best tu, baruuuu je dia kerut muka nak nangis, air mata dah turun mencurah2 ok? Drama Queen tak ingat punya!

She talks non-stop too. I think she’s quite advanced in talking, in comparison with her cousins and friends yang sebaya. Kadang tu, sampai tak laratttt nak jawab! “Mama, mama nak matak (masak) ke?… Kenapa mama nak matak? Mama matak dengan bawang ke? Mama tak matak tayu(sayur)? Mama matak pedas tak? Kenapa mama tak matak tup (sup)?” She can go on and on and on. Kalau tak jawab, dia akan panggil “Mamaaaaaaa!” sampaiiiii la dijawab!

Pastu suka menyakat Afiq. Yang paling kerap skrg ni, just because she knows Afiq doesn’t like it, she’ll call Abg Afiq – Apik Kakudin! (Afiq Naqiuddeen). Pastu dia suka mengajuk Afiq. Sampai naik merah2 muka Abg Afiqnya, sebab geram! She drives him nuts, that’s for sure!

She has started to accept that she’s going to be a kakak soon. :). No more slaps to my tummy whenever i mention the baby. And although by default dia panggil diri dia adik (or kita), she’s learning to call herself kakak. Kadang2 redundant lagi.. Kakak adik mamicha! :D Dah kakak, adik pulak. But still, it’s an improvement. Oh, she likes to sing too. Dah pandai buat lirik sendiri. “mama x mandi lagiiii.. ayah tak mandi lagi… abang tak mandi lagi… kita dah mandi!” tu salah satu lirik rekaan dia.

Another 25 minutes to go home, yey! We fnish work at 4.30 during Ramadhan. Kalau throughout the year mcm ni kan best? :)

Walaupun dah masuk hari ke-11 ni, I’d like to wish everyone Selamat berpuasa & beribadah. Semoga Ramadhan kali ni lebih baik dari yang sebelum2nya.

Ok la... some more pictures, before I reveal the name of the place k?

 

[caption id="attachment_138" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="These two were practically grinning like this allllll the way there!"][/caption]

 

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[caption id="attachment_146" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tatttaaaraaaaaa"][/caption]

 

We were here last week. It was, for lack of better words... heavenly!

My first time answering a tag. :D

1. Bekas kekasih saya adalah:

Salah seorang yang mungkin baca blog saya. Hehehehe...

2. Saya sedang mendengar:

Lagu My Best Friend oleh Tim McGraw. Hari ni hari ke3 berturut2 saya dgr lagu ni tak henti2. Saya jatuh hati kat lagu ni.

3. Mungkin saya patut:

Sambung kerja yang saya buat tadi. Tapi penat lah! Take 5 kejap. :)

4. Saya suka:

Warna biru. Dari dulu sampai skrg. And smiley face. Sgt comel!

5. Sahabat-sahabat baik saya:

Jarang2 saya jumpa atau telefon, tapi bila jumpa boleh aje continue where we left off.

6. Saya tak faham:

Kenapa ada seorang manusia ni boleh memandu 40km/j di pagi hari Isnin untuk pegi kerja di jalan yang tak sesibuk mana.  Mungkin kah dia keluar rumah pukul 6 pagi untuk sampai ke pejabat pukul 8.30 pagi sebab dia sukaaaaaaaa memandu tersangatlah perlahannya mcm tu? Hari ni hari Selasa, tapi saya masih marah kepada orang yang memandu perlahan itu semalam!

7. Saya kehilangan:

Cincin pertunangan & cincin perkahwinan saya baru2 ni. Sedih sangat2 sebenarnya. Perempuan yang curi barang2 tu mmg keji.

8. Ramai yang berkata:

Kulit muka saya makin smooth sejak saya mengandung. Saya rasa itu tanda2 yang it's going to be a boy! Sebab masa saya mengandungkan Afiq pun ramai yang kata mcm tu... tapi masa saya mengandungkan Mariessa kulit muka saya tersgtla kasarnya. Kita tunggguuuuuuuu.....

9. Makna nama saya:

Kalau ainil tu diambil dari ainun (in arabic).. maksudnya mata. Sufreena pulak, kalau diambil dari root word nya Safaro maksudnya perjalanan. Mungkin mata saya suka berjalan2. Ahaks. I'd like to think of it as the journey of my eyes. Whatever that means.

10. Cinta itu adalah:

Bila saya tengok perkataan cinta... saya teringat lagu C.I.N.T.A. K.I.T.A.... sampai bilaaaaaaa.....? Nasib baik dia tak eja seluruh lagu tu... mesti penat!

11. Di suatu tempat, seseorang sedang:

Meraikan hari jadinya. Masa zaman2 menulis surat dulu, saya pernah tulis surat sepanjang 24 mukasurat (saiz A4) kepada dia. Kesiannnn dia kena baca surat saya. Tapi dia pun balas panjang juga. Lagi kesian kat saya kena baca surat dia... sebab tulisan dia berbelit2.! Happy Birthday Doc!!!

12. Saya akan cuba:

Untuk menguruskan badan selepas bersalin nanti. Itu lah azam saya sejak 10 tahun yg lepas (and 3 pregnancies). Tapi takpe... ada masa2 nya it's the thought that counts. Saya takkan putus asa. :)

13. Ayat SELAMANYA membawa maksud

Lama jugak lah patutnya kan?.

14. Telefon bimbit saya:

Tak pernah dari jenama lain kecuali Nokia. Oh, ada sekali saya beli telefon LG sebab masa tu nak cari telefon yang paling murah. Lepas tu saya beli Nokia juga. Telefon LG tu saya simpan untuk emergency. Tapi dicuri juga oleh perempuan keji itu akhirnya!

15. Bila saya terjaga dari tidur:

Selalunya Mariessa ada di tepi katil saya... dengan  muka sedih.. sambil berkata " Mama... nak ng ng" (ng ng dalam kamus Mariessa = susu. Ntah kenapa anak2 saya sgt kreatif when it comes to nicknaming susu. Ng ng for Mariessa, nini  for Afiq).

16. Saya paling meluat apabila:

Bila seseorang dalam ofis ni sukaaaaaaaaa bercakap kuat2 dalam ofis yang senyap sunyi. Cakap pulak dengan bahasa inggeris yang accentnya sukar saya tentukan dari mana asalnya. Kejap2 american accent, kejap british accent. Ada masa australian accent pun terselit. Saya jadi kesian atas kekeliruan dia. Tapi bila dia asyik selitkan perkataan 'fucking' dalam ayatnya.. saya bertambah meluat pula. It's not fucking easy konon... cakap je lah it's not easy... or it's hard.. or it's difficult... apa yang susah sgt?

17. Pesta/Parti adalah:

Masa untuk berhoyeh2 dengan keluarga & rakan2. Tapi saya tak suka sgt party2 ni.

18. Haiwan yang paling comel yang saya pernah temui ialah:

Ducky... anak patung itik saya. Kakak saya belikan untuk saya masa saya di TKC. Saya simpan sampai saya habis belajar dia UIA. Tapi lepas tu, saya tak ingat apa dah jadi pada Ducky. Kalau saya jumpa lagi itik mcm tu, saya pasti akan beli!

19. Peringkat umur yang paling menyeronokkan bagi saya ialah:

Saya rasa, masa saya di TKC (12-17). Macam2 saya dapat buat masa tu... menyanyi on stage... menari sampai ke Jepun (orang lain belajar sampai negeri china... saya lain sikit).... berkawad sampai hitam legam... panjat gunung tanpa rasa semput ya amat... main hoki walaupun saya tak sebagus mana...

20. Hari ini:

Kawan2 saya di ofis akan makan durian beramai ramai pada pukul 5. Mereka tersangatlah teruja menunggu pukul 5. Saya tak makan durian jadi saya cuma teruja untuk tunggu pukul 6, nak balik rumah. :D

21. Malam ini saya akan:

Makan ikan tongsan masak tempoyak. Ye, saya tak makan durian, tapi saya suka tempoyak! Salah satu keajaiban dunia.

22. Esok pula saya akan:

Datang ofis dengan harapan takkan ada bau durian di kawasan ofis saya. Oh tidak!

23. Saya betul-betul inginkan:

Kamera digital yang baru. Kamera digital kesayangan saya telah dicuri oleh perempuan keji sama yang mencuri cincin2 saya. Kalau kita ni boleh menyumpah orang... dah lama saya sumpah dia jadi.... entahla... takde apa yang sekeji dia! Ada sapa2 nak belikan saya digital kamera? Birthday saya lambat lagi.. tapi advanced gifts sgt dialu2kan.

24. Ketika saya lihat wajah saya di hadapan cermin pagi ini:

saya terfikir... siapakah wanita yang berkulit cantik ini? Muahahahaaaaa.. tak lah! saya tak sempat nak fikir apa2... sebab dah lambat. :D

25. Pusat membeli-belah atau arked permainan:

Pusat membeli belah lah pilihan saya.. sebab  kalau arked permainan, saya pandang sebelah mata pun tak minat.

26. Makanan Barat atau Jepun:

Dua2 pun saya suka. Tapi sekarang ni saya sgt teringin nak makan unagi. Oh yummsss!

27. Bilik yang terang atau gelap:

Terang, boleh baca buku!

28. Makanan segera adalah:

Maggi mee, cepat dimasak, sedap dimakan. Dulu saya suka IndoMie. Tapi sekarang saya dah tak jumpa IndoMie di pasar raya. Ada yang packaging serupa.. tapi IbuMie. Kenapa Indo jadi Ibu? Saya pun tak berani nak cuba.

29. Ayat terakhir yang anda katakan pada seseorang?

"tak makan durian lah". - Kawan2 saya ajak pegi makan durian dan ramai yang tak percaya wujud juga orang yang betul2 tak makan durian macam saya.

30. Siapa yang anda mahu tag?

Hmm.. momster, ziah, sandra dan juga sapa2 yang rajin nak buat!

Thanks Ngah for tagging!

My Best Friend - Tim McGraw

I never had no one
I could count on
I've been let down so many times
I was tired of hurtin
So tired of searchin
til you walked into my life
It was a feelin
Id never known
And for the first time
I didnt feel alone

Youre more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
I don't know where I'd be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
Youre my best friend
Youre my best friend, oh yeah

You stand by me
And you believe in me
Like nobody ever has
When my world goes crazy
You're right there to save me
You make me see how much I have
And I still tremble
When we touch
And oh the look in your eyes
When we make love

You're more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
And I don't know where I'd be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
You're my best friend
You're my best friend

You're more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
And I don't know where Id be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
You're my best friend
You're my best friend (my best friend)
Youre my best friend (my best friend)

I accidentally found this song in my playlist while I was at the office today. I don't remember how it got there. I don't know how long I've had it, but the moment I listened to this song, I was hooked! The whole day I was listening to this song. Only this song.

Such a simple song, but boy... I can never say it better.

Kebetulannya, I have not been feeling well. Penat tak tentu pasal. Perut rasa sebu, pening kepala, loya, penat... semua lah. When we got home from work tadi, I straight away went to the kitchen to prepare us dinner. I thought, ayam masak kicap will do for the night. Easy peasy. But then he said, "let me make dinner tonight".

He then cooked his signature dish... Ayam masak lomak cili api. :).  It has been a longggg time since he cooked. It was really good. Takes a true Nogori-an to make a mean ayam masak lomak I guess.

And after dinner, when I said, I'd like to rest for a while sambil tengok TV.. he volunteered to put the kids to bed.. and let me watch TV in peace. Bila naik atas, tengok2 all 3 of them are fast asleep.

And suddenly teringat balik kat lagu ni. So I thought, while I'm feeling lovey dovey ni, I might as well write about this.. and him. My best friend.

"life with you makes perfect sense"

It's only Thursday I know, a little too early still to summarize the week, but really...

1. The thing with Mariessa...
We went to JB on Saturday for lil' Aqilah Musfeerah's (my new niece and she's literally very little) cukur jambul and came back to Kajang on Sunday. On our way back, Mariessa refused to talk, eat or drink. It didn't bother us in the beginning, thinking maybe she's just a little too overtired from the trip. It was hot, the drive was long etc. And we thought, once we're home, she'll be herself again. She is usually like that, does not adapt to changes as quickly as everyone else. Always need the comfort of our home.

So when she continued not talking on Sunday night, first we thought she was just teething. The only clue we had was that she was drooling. Monday morning, brought her to the clinic, and was told that she has a FEW ulcers in her mouth!!! Kesiannnn dia.

Took the day off yesterday to stay home with her. She still refused to eat. Only surviving on her susu. So, akibatnya... kena pulakkkkk cirit birit. :(. Today, she's doing much better alhamdulillah. Was told by the nursery owner that she has asked for roti for breakfast. What a relief!

I need to ask, is it normal though, for mothers to be so paranoid like I am? I say mothers because, well, Shahril is always so cool and calm. Like, when Mariessa refuses to talk... on the 2nd day I got so paranoid thinking, what if she doesn't want to talk anymore, even after her ulcers are gone? Because she seemed sooooo content expressing herself by pointing her finger, and nodding and shaking her head. Then of course I started to try my best to make her talk, just to prove myself wrong. And of course she refused even more. Then I get more paranoid. Get what I mean?

Please somebody tell me, this is normal. Kan? Tak ke?

2. The thing with Harry Potter
I watched Harry Potter on Monday (after sending the kids to clinic and to the nursery later). It was good, tapi rasa macam tak puas tengok. I feel like there's a lot more in the book (of course). And Ziah, you said it's 180 minutes kan.. how come it's only 150 minutes eh when I watched? Pleaseeeeeee don't tell me they have a longer version of it! Huarghhh... I was counting on 180 minutes you see... so when they opened the door at 2pm (movie started at 11.30), I was surprised and annoyed! Dah la bukak pintu tu masa movie tak habis pun lagi, sakit tak hati?? Anti climax tau!!

Rasa macam nak tengok lagi. Maybe I should just buy the DVD. For the next few days after watching the movie.. I still terbayang2 the movie. Re-read the 7th book over and over again at night before going to bed. Macam angau apa je. Hahaha..

3. The thing about our 2nd car.
Yesterday, masa Shahril nak pegi kerja, Savvy tak boleh nak start. Nasib baik I've decided to stay at home with Mariessa anyway.. so Shahril took Waja to work. Mechanics came to fix it, managed to start the engine after 30 minutes.. and brought it back to their workshop to fix. Caused a BIG hole in our pocket and a BIGGER sakit hati when this morning, bila nak pegi kerja, eh stillllllll tak boleh nak start???!!!

Terpaksa la ambik half day off pulak. Panggil mechanics lagi... and this time it took them TWO hours to just start the engine. Shahril asked them to keep Savvy in their workshop until Saturday. Fix whatever they need to.

Why is it (through my experience lah kan).. as bizarre as it might sound... when we start talking about getting a new car, your (current) car will start giving problems? Have you guys experienced this? A few years back, when we wanted to change our old car to Waja, suddenly the car started rosak sana sini. Fix ribu2 only to sell it later. Now, when we've only started talking about getting a new car (and it's not even serious talk pun, baru masuk phase angan2).. dahhhhh Savvy buat hal pulak! Am i the only one? Or do I happen to own funny cars?

4. The thing about 'mean' boss/company.
Not my boss, let me stress that. Not the company I'm working for either. This is even more bizarre and mind-boggling than my Savvy story. Have you ever heard of a company whose owner can choose siapa yang dia nak bayar.. and siapa yang dia tak nak! I'm talking about salary tau. Bukan bonus.. bukan increment! GAAAAAJIIIII!!!!! The company isn't so small either. Not 10, not 100... but at least 1000 employees tau! And he can single-handedly choose a FEW yang dia tak nak bayar. I can understand if those chosen are high-ranking people like.. CEO ke.. SGM ke.. kan... but executives??? The worst thing is, he expects these 'chosen' people to come mengadap dia and THEN baru dia bagi cheque! He thinks he's god. He's thinks rezeki comes from him! I'll wait for the day when after all these people yang teraniaya leave the company... kita tengok 'rezeki' datang ke tak kat dia! We'll see. Oh, I will wait for the day!

"Wahai tuhan kami berilah kami kenikmatan pendengaran, penglihatan dan kekuatan tubuh badan selama hidup kami dan jadikanlah dia mewarisi kami dan berilah pembalasan kepada orang yang menzalimi kami. Dan tolonglah kami terhadap orang yang memusuhi kami.Dan janganlah engkau jadikan bencana bagi kami dalam ugama kami dan janganlah jadikan keduniaan sebesar-besar cita-citanya kami dan tidak sampai batasan ilmu kami. Dan janganlah Engkau biarkan orang yang tidak menaruh kasihan balas terhadap kami, dapat menguasai ke atas kami.”

Amin...

First of all, do we still use the sengkang (-) for words like macam-macam or sama-sama?

The day started redup weather-wise, but I cannot express how bright my world becomes when a meeting (in which I am supposed to present on the study I've done on the thing I don't like doing) has to be cancelled due to clashing schedules. Yeyyyyyy!! Terus rasa semangat berkobar-kobar (again, patut ada sengkang ke?) nak bekerja hari ni (on different task, obviously).

I finally get to eat Crab Salted Egg yesterday at Cheng Ho with Ngah. Yey me. If Akak could join us yesterday, it would have been perfectly perfect. I heard so much about it (Cheng Ho and it's Crab Salted Egg) that I got to a point yang mengidam. Ada ke orang mengidam nak makan benda yang dia tak pernah rasa pun? But anyway... semalam, puas hati!!

(Jaja & I-dee if you guys are reading this, the taste of the Crab Salted Egg is very much similar to the Butter Milk Crab I-dee bought us in Labuan, except that kat Cheng Ho, dia tambah Salted Egg into the sauce making it more pekat... other wise, samaaaaa sedap dengan kat Labuan punya. :D)

Ngah is leaving tonight for Moscow. And I must say (although it really goes without saying), that nothing, nothing can brighten my spirit on that. We'll miss you Ngah, you know we will. Let's pray I get to save enough for 5 of us to go to Moscow next year k?

Here are some pictures of my little ones, especially dedicated to their Aunty Nid, cousin 'kakak Kitina (Kitreena) and cousin 'Edwik" (Edrick) and also Unker Karl Concen (Johnson).

Pictures are taken with my phone (to justify on the quality) last Saturday as we were getting ready for a kenduri (at which I had sambal daun tempoyak (it's that what it's called??)) a specialty of them Nogori lots.

[caption id="attachment_99" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Gaya2 model baju kebangsaan"][/caption]

Believe it or not, I bought the baju kurung Mariessa is wearing for Raya back in 2007 when she was only... hmmm 6-7 months old.

[caption id="attachment_100" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Same person, same baju. 20 months different."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_101" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Thank you Aunty Nid, for the baju!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_95" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mariessa came back from 'school' with 5 'toncets'... and she's very happy with it!"][/caption]

Today, 2 of my colleagues are confirmed with H1N1. I don't know Guy No.1 since he's from the Accounts Department. But Guy No. 2 is from the QRM (Quality Risk Management) Department, and he's from the same floor.

Guy No. 2 came back from Jakarta last week. He came to the office until Wednesday when the symptoms appeared. He had a lengthy discussion with Girl A on on Tuesday. On Thursday, I had a lengthy discussion pulak dengan Girl A. Guy No.2 was supposed to be there too, but he was already on quarantine. Today Guy No.2 is a confirmed case of H1N1 and Girl A is complaining of sore throats.

And I am freaking out!

The company has provided everyone with a mask, and now everyone in the office is wearing it. It's a scary sight. And no one dares to sneeze or cough, sebab nanti the whole office would want to know, siapa yang batuk/bersin tuh. Hehe. The mask is  extremely uncomfortable though, my glasses asyik2 berkabusssss je.

Let's keep on praying k?

I really have to jot this down.

Last week I felt so helpless, and lost. I was asked to complete something at work, which was difficult because 1. I'm new in this 'project' and this work is of 'higher' level. 2. The task was supposedly done by another team, but since nothing seem to come out of it, I am to 'take over' the task. So, in one way or another, I feel like I'm invading someone's territory. 3. The people who are supposed to be the 'expert' on this thing, are not co-operative lot, making my task way tedious than it should be.

Naturally (at least to me), when everyone i 'turned' to does not seem to be able to help me, I turned to God. Sometimes it's funny (not in a funny way) how I can forget the essential of things, really.

Today, my superior called me for a brief discussion. He told me that due to the urgency of another task, instead of pursuing on this matter, I am to complete my findings and come out with a report on it this week. After that, this task will be handed back to the 'original' team since they were the ones who should be working on this, in the first place. And I'll be given that other task to work on, one which I've been looking forward to.

Never had I thought the answer to my prayers would come so quickly and so brilliantly. . Miracles do happen, kan?

Alhamdulillah...

After a week of training away from the office, totally away from work (except reading & replying one or two 'urgent' emails during break), I am a little surprised to find out that I actually missed coming to work. Didn't even know that I LIKED coming to work, what more to miss it. Hehe. Absence makes hearts grow fonder eh?

Ok, so maybe training sucks a little. Ok, not so little if I want to be honest. First day was OK. 2nd day was Oookay-lah. On the 5th day of training, every other sentence was: "It should have worked, by the way. This is the problem with Microsoft bla bla bla" Yeah right, when you can't get it right, blame Microsoft. To think that he has like 5 or 6 certifications from Microsoft? MCT konon!  (That's Microsoft Certified Trainer by the way).

It didn't help that he sometimes writes A and says B. Seriously. Like one time he said the number was three thousand eighty FOUR but he wrote 3082! Or the other time, after doing some calculation he said the answer was thirteen. I spent 2 minutes scratching my head trying to figure out why I had calculated differently, and I was very sure I got the right answer. (Best pulak buat Maths masa tu, haha... nothing complicated, hence explains why I enjoyed it).  So I asked, how did he get his answers, and you know what... apparently THIRTEEN = 30!!! Betula la my calculation. Penat garu kepala 2 minit tau!

Or the other time... he said press TAPE bla bla bla...  I wondered, bila pulak guna TAPE ni? Even if it's for backing up purpose (which was not included in the syllabus), bila pulak masuk topic ni ni? It turns out, he meant press TAB as in the TAB key on your keyboard. Aiyo maaaaa. Somebody in my class actually said.. Press TAB?? Stressing on the TAB word. The trainer answered.. "Yes, yes.. press TAPE!" Tak makan dek ajar betul lah!

At the end of the training, after distributing the evaluation forms, he shamelessly insisted that we should rate him 'excellent' . I gave him Fair. I was tempted to give him Poor actually. But the first 2 days were OK... so Fair lah. Nangis pulak dia nanti, kesiannnnn.

Now I'm faced with a lil problem though. My boss now expects me to be an expert of the subject, which I can't say I am yet. I should probably go get one of those "For Dummy" books eh?

MCT... Not.... (yet).

I'm sure many others agree with her. Our sentiment is obviously the same. Just that I am apparently more pissed off than her right now, or so it sounds. Maybe she's just being polite since it's a published article. Maybe the editor had made her sound polite.  Hehe.

Haaaa.. baru je semalam (in my comment in the previous entry) I said this:

Tu la kan, mmg very double standard. Just because majikan tak kena dera curah2 air panas segala, it does not mean diorg tu baik sgt.

Dahhhh today ada maid bergusti dah! See? See? Bak kata my  mom.. 'tak patah tiat!" (Baruuu sebut je, dah jadi - something like that).

Okay, first the govt wants to impose a 'mandatory day off in a week for maids, then last night on Berita TV3, I heard that employers must return the passport at maid's request.

Isn't that just AWESOME?? I mean, first they're saying, "Go and socialise and mix around, and find yourselves boyfriends and do whatever you want (God knows what people can do in 24 hours, seriously)"

Then, nak lagi syok, they say, "If you want to run away, ask for your passport and larilah! Lariiiii, tak de sapaaaaaa nak marah!!!! Lari dengan pak guard kat depan rumah tu yang dah kawin tu pun ok apa? Haaa Nah passport, gi Siam, kawin kat sana!"

And where does that leave us, the employers? When the maid doesn't return, you go to police station and will be charged RM2 for filing report. (Hey, RM2 is still money). Then you go to immigration department and Walla!! Another RM250 fine. Why? Because the maid  ran off and YOU are guilty, proven or not. Isn't that great? Tu belum masuk barang2 dia curi lagi tu. Ye lah, I don't have 4 Million, kalau bawak lari dengan rumah2 sekali pun, tak sampai 4M, but still! kalau 4-5 ribu pun, duit jugak tu. Ada sesapa nak bagi free??

And what the heck is I-Kad for then? For those yang tak tau, I-Kad is a similar version to our MyKad for foreign workers. Dah sah sah it's for identification purpose kan, so if they ask for their passports before going out, tak ke tu dah terang lagi bersuluh menunjukkan diorg tu nak lari? And how are we supposed to react? Buat2 bodoh, bagiii je la passport tu.. kot2 la maid tu nak balik negara dia for one day and come back the next day kan. (Tak bersyak wasangka, podachit!)

And then, dah la bagi cuti sehari dalam seminggu, that totals up to 52x2 = 104 days in 2 years, bila contract diorg dah habis, who's going to pay for the tickets for them to go back to their country? Diorang bayar sendiri? Haha. Sangat kelakar kalau ada maid yang bayar sendiri.

Let's see nanti statistics maid lari dari rumah naik mcm mana hebatnya. Lepas tu nanti, baru terhegeh hegeh nak amend law sana sini. Usik sikit, melatah. Ni lah dia!

Who's going to protect OUR rights?

Yes, I am bitter. Not without reason though, kan? Sakit hati tau bila dah terkena!

Sangat marah!

Someone commented that ever since I moved to wordpress, I have not uploaded any pictures. So, just so I can say I have pictures on my blog, here they are. Nothing too recent though, since my camera kan dah kena curi oleh orang yang keji itu, maka nya recent pictures are gone with it.

[caption id="attachment_60" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Taken at MidValley Komuter Station sometime in January 09. It was a practice session in our preparation for our trip to Labuan & KK later that month. :D"][/caption]

Nothing much has changed since January actually. Except that maybe Afiq has gotten even thinner and a few inches taller (obviously that's Shahril's gene, hehe) and Mariessa's hair is now shorter and somehow a LOT curlier! I honestly don't know who she gets that from, but since her hair is sooooo much similar to Kitreena's, we (Ngah and myself) are forced to assume that it's from our side of the family. Although I don't know how that is possible, since our hair is as straight as.... errrrr... lidi? Hehe


[caption id="attachment_57" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="My life, my heart, my soul."][/caption]
This is the most recent picture that I have. Probably 2-3 weeks ago. We took the children jalan2 @ Putrajaya. Note how curly Mariessa's hair has become (especially time berpeluh - they had a great time lompat sana sini at the playground)

[caption id="attachment_62" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The reason Shahril had to hold them like that is because 1. They were afraid of the fountain kat belakang tu. :) 2. They wanted to run around some more."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_65" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Kitreena back in 2006. See the similarity of the hair to Mariessa\'s?"][/caption]