Took leave on Monday & Tuesday. Thought I’d get connected to my baking side after soooo long abandoning it.

Hasilnya…

Ok ok.. one more..

If you think these look good, wait until you taste them!

If you think they don’t look all that good, do NOT let the looks deceive you! Hehe

Either way.. Yumms! ;)

On Tuesday.. still all excited about baking… made these pulak:

;)

The miraculous sausage bun that made Edrick.. err.. was it 90% again Ngah? He was not feeling well.. only 10% (well) according to him. ;)

Copied from Ziah’s blog; (I think this turns out really cool,yo!)

1 – Go to “Wikipedia.” Hit “Random Article”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

* I got this: WV24 – Tomb WV24 is an Ancient Egyptian tomb located in the western arm of the Valley of the Kings.

2 – Go to “Random quotations”
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or six words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

** I got: Toughness doesn't have to come in a pinstriped suit.

3 – Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 – Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together

I love this!

... feeling very happy

1. There’s just something about going to a kem askar, for me. Tak kira lah darat ke… udara ke… laut ke. To me.. a ‘kem’ is a ‘kem’. :D When I go to one, which I rarely get the opportunity to these days, I would feel so calm & melancholic. They’re always so shady. Lots of big trees. Makes me wish I could just go and sit under one and daydream.

You see.. I was here, earlier today.

the entrance

  

The last time I came here was in 2007. I was probably 3 months pregnant with Mariessa then. A lot of things can happen in 3 years apparently. Like adding yet another child :D, losing someone you love, changing boss, changing jobscope altogether etc.

Oh well.

2. There’s just something about Pokok Semambu. Penang sure has a lot of them. You see, eversince the kiddos caught chicken pox and I read a lot about how pokok semambu could probably help with the gatal2.. I have become somewhat obsessed with the tree. From not knowing how it looks like at all, to now being able to recognize it at a glance. When I do see one, I feel safe. I feel reassured that nothing can go wrong, or something like that. Funny eh?

So, judging from all the pokok semambu I see along the road today, I am definitely safe here. :)

3. There’s just something about an apology. Someone very very unlikely apologizes today, when I least expected it. And I find it…. hmm for lack of a better word… sexy. Somehow. That puzzles me. But yes. Sexy. Definitely sexy. Not in a sexual way of sexy, but sexy.

4. There’s just something about going on a trip. You get to know your colleagues in a whole different manner. Some people are not as serious as you think. Some may not be as nice. Some are not as bad. Some people just light up when they mention their families… and kids. That made them seem more… human. :D , more approachable. Some don’t talk about that at all.  Some are too quiet, it’s awkward. Some can go on and on and on for hours, it’s MORE awkward. You get my drift.

5. There’s just something about this picture

I’m just putting this here with an intent to make a dear friend goes green with envy. Provided I get the right kedai that is. Is this the one, ber? Heheheh

6. There’s just something about Thursday. – It’s the day I get to go home! Weeeeeeee!!!

There's just something about

It’s only 24 hours I know, since I left but I honestly think I’m already going nuts. A little.

Couldn’t sleep… til about 3.30 am.

Woke up at 6.30am, a little disoriented. Wondered why Adreena didn’t wake up for her feeds throughout the night. Then it hit me. I am not at home! Huarghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

This is much much worse than any kid’s separation anxiety, I tell you!

But…..

On the other hand… I finished this at half past midnight…

And already on page 308 of this (started reading after I woke up this morning)

Oh well…

Just feel like putting some more pictures of them who conquer my heart, my thoughts.. and apparently my sleep too…

The charming one…

The goofy one…

The cheeky one

 

p/s… of course lah a certain Nogorian too kan. Bubuh gambar dia kang.. dia sogan! ;). Huarghhhhh… I miss you so!

After a long, sleepless night for both Adreena & me, as if she knew I was going away (albeit for ‘only’ 4 days), the much dreaded Monday came anyway.

Oh, if only I can describe how I felt. I might seem exaggerating to some, but leaving my kids overnight was never easy.

**Ok iklan kejap. What’s with TV1’s news tonight? Dua2 pembaca berita tu asyik terover lap suara je. Reading the same lines. Not once or twice. Byk kali, enough to distract me from writing-lah. Aiyo. **

Hmm.. where was I. Hilang sudah flow syahdu2.

 

It was drizzling when we were supposed to take off, on time. But 7 funny people apparently checked-in with their checked-in baggage only not to show up for boarding. I don’t travel often enough to know how that can happen, but we had to wait for 30 minutes for those baggage to be taken out before taking off. If you ask me, AA should not have bothered. Bawak je la luggage diorang.. pandai2 la korang cari kat destination airport. Sapa suruh menyusahkan orang lain?

Although deep down, sebenarnya I didn’t mind. I was happily reading this:

Once we were cleared for take off, the pilot buat ‘kelakar’ pulak. Errr.. why do all pilots sound sleepy when they were greeting passengers? Not only this one sounds sleepy, cakap melerettttt je kan.. (Orang Temerloh kata, leweh, tau tak leweh?), dengan bestnya dia announce “Selamat datang ke penerbangan AK lima-dua-tujuh-satu”. Hoiiii menyirap darah ok? Dah nak bangun dah, punya la nervous… pastu dia tukar english pulak kan… “Welcome to flight AK five-three-five-four” Nasib baik!! Ingatkan dah salah flight tadi. Have to send this pilot to Afiq’s Little Caliphs to learn his numbers again lah.

So instead of 0935.. we took off at at 1000.

Rasa nak nangis when I saw this. This is called the Apron Tower and this is where I used to do some system maintenance work between 2003-2008. Didn’t realize how much I miss it until I saw it.

There too. That’s the main tower.

Well… 50 minutes and 131 pages later… sampai sudah.

Spent the whole day working.

Let me just say, I am so happy to be surrounded by Utara-speaking colleagues. Sgt2 best. :). Ada masa ghasa nak tekeluaq jugaklah, cakap utagha kita ni pun! :). I don’t know why or how, but I feel I can most connect to the dialects of Utagha and Nogori the best. Rasa macam the dialects come naturally gitu. I can understand dialects Temerloh well, (my siblings joke about it all the time), but I can never speak it well. Takat ‘awok nok koner” “kaki koi kohot”, tu boleh la. But more than that, tak terkeluar dari mulut rasanya. If you guys have seen my siblings writing in this dialect on FB, I bet you guys won’t understand even half of it. Hehe.

I spent the first 10 years of my life in Taiping Perak. Maybe that explains why utara-dialect is so close to my heart. That short period of kami-hang in primary school apparently stuck with me. And maybe, just maybe that 5 years spent in a certain boarding school in Seremban had a bigger influence on me than I thought because when I married a certain Nogorian, I just feel at home whenever we go balik kampung. My in laws still find it amusing whenever they say any words I don’t understand though, like ceneke (pronounced cher-ney-kay).

------------

Ahhh… I just spent 19 minutes and 34 seconds skyping with the noisy lots at home.

  Oh I can almost her them screaming, and wailing, and laughing here.

Huarghhhhhh….

Ok.. suddenly I don’t feel like writing anymore. :(

360km away from home (that’s what Mr Google said).

where I am now. Purposely asked for 2 beds. A colleague is joining on the 3rd night.

According to http://www.ipersonic.com/ , I am an Engaged Idealist.

Let’s see

Engaged Idealists are extroverted and helpful (ehem!). Others find them to be very congenial and inspiring (whoa!) - especially as they are always willing to see the best in the other person. Their humour, their energy and their optimism attract other people (awwww! shy lah).

So far so good! ;)

Engaged Idealists are very good at communicating and are good at convincing and firing on others. (Firing??? Sure or not??) That is why it is a matter of course that they often take over the leading role in groups. This personality type often produces very charismatic persons. (Ok-lah.. since charismatics kan.. I can take-lah the firing part)

Still good.. go on please.

Engaged Idealists have an unusually strong ability to empathise. They are tolerant and generous towards others; they sometimes tend to idealise their friends. They always try to suit everybody and want their relationships to be harmonious and satisfactory. To achieve this, they are prepared to invest a great deal and to put their requirements last. (Errrr…… )

Aaaaa ok. Not as good as the previous 2.. but can-lah. Moving on…

As Engaged Idealists are very considerate, (note the VERY, please) there is the danger of them sacrificing and overexerting themselves for others. In their job, they therefore have to be very careful not to develop a burnout syndrome. (Burnt I am, then, too late)

That’s more like it!

Engaged Idealists are reliable, well organised and love structuring complicated situations. (True, true, true) They have difficulty accepting criticism (Errr.. VERY True.. ); they quickly feel hurt and misunderstood. Their perfectionism also influences their love life - they look for the perfect relationship for life. Once they have made their decision, they are faithful, well-balanced and loving partners. (Yey Me!) However, should they get involved with the wrong person, it can happen that they allow themselves to be exploited for a long time before they end the relationship. (God forbids)

Adjectives which describe your type: extroverted, theoretical, emotional (this should explain the water works, hehe), planning (no wonder i have all those lists… movies-to-watch list, places-to-go-to list, what-to-buy-if-durian-runtuh list, hehe) idealistic, committed, likable (je??), enthusiastic, responsible, helpful, loyal, diplomatic, friendly, inspiring, caring, solicitous, optimistic, effusive, adaptable, communicative, articulate, convincing, energetic, optimistic, open, vulnerable

the likeable, inspiring, loyal, caring.... (can see why modest is not in the list... hahahahah)

I am scheduled to be in Penang for FOUR days next 2 weeks for work. Am already losing sleep thinking about it!

Tak tau la kenapa.. tapi all morning rasa nak maaaaaaaaaaarah aje. No specific reason, no specific person.

Lady driver kat MRR2 tak reti signal tiba2 menyelit, rasa nak je saya turun kereta, pegi kat kereta dia, sekeh kepala! Tau la kereta kecik.. tapi tak payah la otak pun kecik ikut saiz kereta! (kalau kereta besar ayat marah jadi lain… Kereta je besar, otak kecik!)

Gi breakfast kat kafe, tak nampak apa2 yang berkenan di hati.. Rasa nakkkkk je marah kakak kafe tu.. tak boleh ke tukar menu sekali sekala? Padahal, sendiri pun tak tau nak makan apa.

Naik kat ofis, on computer… tengok status someone on YM, 2 words, tapi still salah grammar, tu pun rasa nak marah!

Tak bagus ni mcm ni. Nak kena cari kerja lain hari ni jugak. <- Conclusion nampak sgt takde kena mengena langsung, tapi tak kisah lah.

Ni bukan Premenstrual Syndrome lagi dah ni. Ni Postmenstrual pulak.

obviously not so today

1. During lunch, when asked by Ayah to pass the jug of water near her, tried to lift the jug, couldn’t and said:

“ Bewat lah Ayah. Nanti patah tangan kakak!”

2. After every bedtime story session with Afiq & Mariessa, Mariessa will always want to look at the picture at the back of the book. An illustration of some animals.

Mama: Ni apa.. Eyy…?

Afiq & Mariessa : lephant!!!

Mama: This one? Gi…?

Afiq & Mariessa: raffe!!!!!

Mama: Good job! What about this one? (pointing to the duck)

Afiq: Duck!

Mariessa: Bukan duck lah Abang! Duck Quack Quack!!

Mama: Ok.. last one. This is a mon…..?

Mariessa: ga!!!!!

Afiq: Ahahahaha.. Bukan mangga la kakak! Monkey lah!

Ibatlah Ibat! = Mariessa’s for Hebatlah! Hebat!

I received a call at exactly 6.45 p.m. yesterday. There are a few disturbing facts about that call that still annoy me until this morning.

1. First of all, who in the right mind would call a potential client at 6.45 p.m.? I mean, isn’t it one of the worst times to call, if not THE worst time to call someone, like ever? What more a potential client. I don’t know about the rest of the population on planet Earth, but at 6.45 p.m. on a weekday I would either be:

• a. In the office still, doing some very urgent tasks that need to completed like yesterday (otherwise at 5.59 I’ll be at the edge of my chair, all ready to go home), in which case I will not be in the mood to entertain any calls whatsoever, much less from someone promoting something. OR

 

• b. Driving home like I was yesterday stuck in the jam, listening to songs as loud as my ears could possibly tolerate, thinking about what to cook for dinner, in which case I will not be in the mood to entertain any calls whatsoever, much less from someone promoting something. OR

 

• c. Already home, doing 1 million tasks (dinner to prepare, baby to breastfeed, “Mamaaaaa…. nak Milo dalam cawan!” “Mamaaaaa… nak nini!!” Mamaaaa…. kakak nak nasik dengan sup boleh tak Mama??” “Mamaaaaaa… kakak ambik toy Abangggg” “Mamaaa… tolong bukak lampu bilik air.. kakak nak ‘chin’’..)  all at the same time with my magical pair of hands, in which case I will not be in the mood to entertain any calls whatsoever, much less from someone promoting something.

2. Secondly, the caller told me she got my name from a friend of mine and told me who the friend is. Now, I don’t know what benefits this friend could get by giving out my FULL name and my phone number, but isn’t it common sense to ask for the person’s permission to give out her details before you do? Or at the very least, inform her after you do so. She won’t like it like I don’t like it, but at least you have the heart to inform her. ESPECIALLY if that friend of yours is someone you haven’t seen for 6 years, and only speak to like once a year, kot kalau ada once a year! Gosh!

3. Third of all, before calling up someone to promote something, can’t you just ‘study’ the name of the person first? I hate it when a person had to pause before saying my name. Pause, is no good because that means my name will surely, surely be pronounced wrong. I don’t have a difficult name, at least that’s what I think. Unique (ehem) maybe. But not difficult. How difficult is it to prounounce an L after AINI? There’s no such thing as silent L in my name ok? And double ‘E’ is pronounced as ‘iii” not ‘eii”, nor “eyy”. And why the heck did you just ignore the F in my name? I don’t know who Surina is, or Surena or worse, Surin. Isy!

4. Fourth and the last (for now)… When I told the caller that I was driving and I can’t talk (well, I can if I want to, loudspeaker and all, but I didn’t want to lah kan), she sounded so irritated that I could imagine her rolling her eyes when she said “Oh okaylah. Takpelah mcm tu. Terima kasih” dengan penuh sarcasticnya. Ehhhh… engkau yang telefon orang tak kena masa, nak sakit2 hati pulak! Pigidah!

Ahhhh… lega sudah. PMS? Agaknya lah. Haha..

Didn’t realize it has been 21 days since my last entry.

Oh boy, it was probably the most “interesting” 21 days I’ve ever had!

First it was Mariessa having fever, and ulcer in her mouth.

Then it was Mariessa having chicken pox… or in Mariessa’s words.. chicken POKE!

When we visited the Doctor to confirm that it really was chicken pox.. the Doctor warned us: “Chicken pox ni kalau berjangkit pun bukan sekarang tau… 2 minggu lagi baru berjangkit”

Exactly 14 days later… lo and behold! More chicken “pokes”!!!

This time around.. Adreena & Afiq pulak. 2 serentak… and twice as bad!

 

Adreena, on the 1st day of being poked.

3 days later.. :(

Don’t have any pictures of Afiq though, he is VERY sensitive about it. Understandably, he is actually upset about not being able to go to Little Caliphs. Having waited sixteen(!) days (“sikteen days Mama! Lamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) for Little Caliphs to re-open only to be ‘poked’ on the very 16th day, hadui.. it would make ANY boy upset.

Let’s just hope the only person left in the house who hasn’t caught chicken pox won’t be poked anytime soon.. Although that would be an excellent excuse to stay away from the office, no? :D

The reason why i’m at home today, and partially yesterday. Mariessa demam & ada ulcer dalam mulut. Heartbreaking to see her moyokkkk like this. :(

 

 

How I wish I can just stay home all day. Everyday.

 

 

Afiq at 6 months – October 2005

 

Mariessa at 6 months – October 2007

 

Adreena 6 months  – this morning. :)

.

.

.

.

A few days ago…

 

  

Entah kenapa fikiran saya tidak fokus hari ini. Sebagai contoh (ini adalah kisah benar):

Cuba bayangkan:

A-------------------B---C----------D (Skala 1 ‘-‘ = 1 langkah)

A = cubicle saya

B = pantry

C = tandas

D = water dispenser (dalam BM apa ye? pengeluar air?? ahaks)

Saya bawa botol air dari cubicle saya hendak ke water dispenser. Dalam perjalanan tu, saya letak dulu botol air di pantry, sebab saya perlu ke tandas dulu. Selesai di tandas, saya terus pulang ke cubicle saya. Sampai di cubicle saya, baru saya teringat. Hajat sebenar-benar saya tadi adalah untuk mengambil air. Saya pun terus ke water dispenser. Sampai di water dispenser baru saya terfikir. Macam mana nak ambil air, botol kan di pantry? Saya pun pergi semula ke pantry, ambil botol air saya dan pergi ke water dispenser. Selepas itu baru lah saya pulang ke cubicle saya. Perjalanan yang pendek, dah panjang jadinya.

Ibaratnya macam nak makan Mee Bandung Muor di Johor. Dari KL nak ke Johor, tapi singgah Seremban dulu, lepas tu ke Melaka, pulang ke KL, pergi semula ke Johor tapi duit tertinggal pula di Seremban. Patah semula ke Seremban baru la pegi Johor dan dapat makan Mee Bandung. Nasib baik dari cubicle saya nak ke water dispenser takde tol macam dari KL nak ke Johor! Kalau tak, habis duit bayar tol aje, tak sempat nak makan Mee Bandung.

Kan saya dah kata saya tak boleh fokus?

 

Rombongan kenderaan2 Afiq. Bumper to bumper!

Mother’s Day this year was… hmm, different. It’s my 5th year being a mother and my 1st being ‘motherless’. We have never really celebrated it, and this year I silently hoped that the day would go faster. Afiq upon seeing some advertisements on TV about Mother’s Day said “Haaa Afiq tau, hari ni Mother Day kan Mama? Happy Mother Day Mama!” … Syahdu! Last week he brought back a Mother’s Day card that he had created at school. Must remember to take a picture of it soon.

Then my brother Amel sent me a text, wishing me Happy Mother’s Day which was surprising sebab dalam ramai2 my siblings, dia lah yang paling jarang nak wish any of us anything. :P Blame it on his extremely-extreme schedule, him being tuan inspektor. Mula2 terkejut… then rasa macam kelakar pulak he wished me, pastu tiba2 rasa sedihhhh sgt2. Maybe he wished me because Ummi’s not here to be wished any more. And Ngah’s far away in Moscow. Maybe lah, kan. Saya kan memang selalu over analyze mcm ni. Hehe.

Lepas tu pulak, last night:

Mariessa: Mama, Uncle Fik sekolah kat mana?

Mama: Uncle Fik sekolah kat Melaka.

Mariessa: Kakak pun nak sekolah kat ‘Menaka’ lah.

Mama: Boleh. Tapi sekarang ni Uncle Fik cuti. Uncle Fik balik kampung.

Mariessa: Uncle Fik balik kampung Atok ke?

Mama: Iye, balik kampung Atok.

Mariessa: Dulu kan Mama, kita balik kampung kan, Opah masuk dalam kubur, Mama!

Tersentakkkkk dengar statement dia. It’s amazing how sometimes our thoughts are aligned to each other kan? She must have ‘felt’ that I was missing Ummi so badly. This happens all the time among my siblings too.

This picture was taken in June 2008. We brought Ummi to Kajang to seek better treatment after she had prolonged fever. 4 months, 2 hospitals, one major surgery and countless ‘pokes’ later, she was confirmed with Multiple Myeloma. A year after she was disgnosed, Ummi’s battle came to an end. And today, 216 days after she left, to me it still feels like yesterday.

Happy Mother’s Day Mi. Uda rindu sangat2 kat Ummi.