Our doa for yr happiness always

When yr children were young kids, we were their world. The happiest of moments when they come running to you, hug you when they see yr face when u fetched them at the baby sitter’s. It was like the 10 hours of absence made them Missed u so much, the face of relief and happiness.  

Well, not anymore. they r now have grown to become adults. They have minds of their own. We r no longer their reference point, we r unable to express our point. we r just....irrelevant. We cannot offer advise coz if they want some they will ask.

We have somehow become their enemy. We have become ignorant coz we just don’t understand them. That is what they said...

Im not fortunate like most to be able to spend time with their parents until they r old and grey. Im not fortunate to be able to talk to them like friends, to be able to cook for them, to take them for holidays of places they only see on tv.  To celebrate their birthdays, to pamper them. 

Im only able to miss them, to wonder what wd  be their favourite food, colours, places they wd want to go. Wonder hw wd it be like to have long conversations with them to talk about life, about their grandchildren, seeking advice....

Well...they r my children after all. I will forgive them again. 

We will forgive them again...and again...and again...coz we will always doa for their happiness always

that turning point

they left us 40 years ago, on 5th July 1976.  from that point on, life was uncertain.  at 12 years old, how could u possibly figure to carry on with your life without yr parents.  when is the next meal coming from, where do we get money to survive?  can we afford school?   all i know then was i have to go to school.  i have skipped too many days of school.  

why do i still write about this?  i dont know.  i suppose that was the turning point in my life.  from being too contented for having yr parents around to ended up with nothing but the mere few stuff in the house.  Even that we had to leave.   

from that point on wards, your perspective changed too.  however, during that trying time, we were blessed with good relatives.  they did not abandon us.  they helped us settle down wt Mak Yah...(Al-Fatihah).

i sometimes wonder, if that fateful day did not happen, and life goes on as usual, will i be here, doing what i do now or wd i still be in Kuala Kangsar going on with my life?

i was in Kuala Kangsar a few weeks ago.  not much difference to the town...seems the same.  i know i wont get lost there.  the main road in town, the town's tower clock, those shops by Sg Perak, the friendly people.  the look and feel are still the same.  

there i was cruising around town, i could feel like there is that loss feeling...like u are missing someone, something.... went also to the house, or rather the spot where our house was...there is a new house on that tiny land... the neighbourhood although more houses now, i could still recognise some of them.  my best childhood days were spent here.  most of my good memories were collected from here.  my friends and i wd be playing from morning till Maghrib... 

although we dont have much, i was a happy child.

it was a nostalgic trip.  

Rindu......Al Fatihah Mak, Bapak, Kak Chik...

Super Mak

hari raya lagi lima hari...will be busy with the usual preparation like previous hari rayas ..the menu, the house, the cookies, the kerepeks....the whole thing.

when i was way younger...well...when Mak was still around, during hari raya season, mak will be busy with the many orders of baju raya of her clients.  she was a tailor. so, busy la with the orders. must complete before hari raya.  normal la tu.

we dont go for baju raya shopping like kids these days.  those days, do not understand the concept of raya shopping.  what's that?  mak is busy with orders....kakak and kak chik busy with their own stuff. abang too and ayub...well...kecik sangat lagi masa tu.  bapak?...hmmmmm...dont see him much at home anyway.  must have been a busy too.

raya season, mak would be working till late at night.

esok nk raya, mak was still at the shop.  no rendang, no baju raya, nothing.  tak raya ke esok kita ni? or kita beraya rumah jiran? tak pe la....yang penting round kampung with friends. boleh minum air sirap, makan kek, biskut raya. kalau nasib baik, dapat duit raya....hmmmmm......niceeeee, so excited about raya with friends esok.

aarrgghh...tidor la!  esok nak raya, eeee.....seronoknyer......cepat tidor, cepat sikit sampai esok...

pagi raya...bangun, tenyeh-tenyeh mata....cari Mak.

"Tu kat terusi", Mak was addressing me while focusing on her cooking.

so off i went to the 'kerusi' and there i saw a new dress for me...pastel flowery dress for raya....with a matching panties.. hehehehe....I was a happy girl....yup, so easy to please me.

mothers are super woman kan? wonder woman, power rangers, who else yg power....?

i dont think Mak slept that nite...coz breakfast was lemang and rendang...

it rhymes...ngeeeeee...

.................... try as much as possible to remain positive and motivated regardless of how i am being negatively perceived. perhaps i did not explain myself clearly.  perhaps.....aaarrgghhh...so frustrating...!!!! when i'm seen as doing something terrible of which i did not do, it cuts deep. it would be more victorious if i had actually done whatever i'm being accused of, but unfortunately that was not the case.

usually when i try to explain, im seen as being defensive.  when i dont, i am easily misunderstood. either way...cannot win.

so......rule of thumb, do not fight fire with fire coz the the risk of fatality is higher...(heeeyyy....it rhymes...fire...higher....ngeeeee)

...............................................................................................................

well you know...it is that age thingy...

i know i can't be a travel writer.  sucks at details and planning.  if i dont have my dear friend cik gee with me, i wd surely die on foreign soil!  highly dependable on her on all the planning and places to visit.  i paid what was due to get me there and i know i wont starve as we have all the meals included.  in fact all my trips with her was due to her careful planning of places to visit and most importantly within the budget.

we were in china, southern China.  Guangdong and Hunan from 26th April - 1st May 2013.  there were 6 of us including cik gee and i.  visited many places...mountain tracking most of it.  no prior preparation and my fitness level was very poor so i ended up looking at the asses of my other group members cos i was always the one left behind.  they are a lot younger and well.... i need to justify for being left behind and age factor works every time..hehehehehe

BM 101

arif does not speak malay that well.  he can speak malay but i suppose he needs to think of the words to express himself....perhaps he might be translating it.  i do not understand what happen but he doesn't seem to have a grasp of the malay language.  daddy works with dewan bahasa, mama was with dewan bahasa for good 6 years and malay language is after all our mother tongue.  yet, arif...hmmm...he expresses himself better in english...

BM 101 a few days ago....

arif  :  Ma...what does 'menguap' means?  does it mean...when u like someone?

mama :  nothing of that sort. No arif....menguap means...yawn...when u r sleepy or tired... and where do u get the idea that 'menguap' is when u like someone...?

arif  :  dont know...just learn about the word

hai la arif wei....

BM 101 2 weeks ago....

Arif  :  Ma...what is  the malay word for 'nerd'?  is it 'Nerda'?

Mama  :  Nerda?   nerda?   seriously?   not nerda arif...(errmmmm...honestly mama turned blank....)...sheesh,,,,arif....perhaps it is...lurus bendul..

Arif  ;  blink...blinkkk......

mama equally blink...blink....

Hello again

it is March 2016.  my last entry was in 2014.  how time flies when you are having fun.  having fun? who...me? yeah there were some fun...if you really look for it.

i was busy with work for the past 2 years.  new boss with new ideas and new approaches and of coz, new and different expectations.  enjoyed the challenges given to me. im blessed with a supportive and energetic team, an understanding family (although there were many complaints and rants along the way, but an understanding loved ones. coz mama had to work....love you to bits).

i have been neglecting this space too long.  just cant find the passion. shelving it not shutting it down though...

will continue to jot down my entries here.  will make it a point to do that as often as i can.  who knows, when im old and getting senile...this wd be a good reference point for me (if i can still remember the password...)

oh btw, arif will turn 12 this year...  will sit for his UPSR in september (i think).  haih...still trying to make him do his homework on daily basis.  so much to share about him.  he is now taller that Marsya...(my dotter....his elder sister...you know...).

Marsya is in UiTM Alor Gajah studying mass comm. Atikah is in Shah Alam continuing her degree. yeah...in mass comm too.  Afiq...is a salaried man...with flexi working hours...working for a company in subang jaya.  Still passionate with hip hop music and performs with his crew on the side line.  has his own tshirt label 'Top Notch'.  the father of my children.... is well with occasional hiccups here and there (health wise) and ever so supportive of me.

there you go...2 years in a nutshell...

Confession ....I fear the water

took up swimming recently. free style swimming class.  taking up 8 classes.  yup,  i cant swim.  facing my fear of the water.  have been avoiding it.  always joked about if i'm thrown into the water, do not fret, i will float eventually....a few hours later.  all these years the children wanted me to join them in the pool.  well, wanted to join them but...i cant swim...see???   finally, they stopped asking.  it was daddy's task to be with them all these while and mama was there to get the food ready after the swim.  

why all of the sudden urge?  dont know...perhaps the timing was just right.  i also have an accomplice to do this.  so it is a little bit easier to take the 1st step. the 1st class was....well...full of fear.  kept on holding on to the edge of the pool.  other students are progressing to other lessons and i was  still struggling to float.  i was afraid that i could drown.  was angry at myself for being such an idiot.  let go...let go....i can't!!  was angry at myself...intensely.  the coach did not force.  at my own pace. finally....she taught me how to paddle and hey...i can float and moving away from the edge of the pool...paddling slowly....going for my 5th class next week.  Became a 'pelajar contoh' last week.  A new student....similar problem with me.  kept on holding the edge of the pool....the coach said to her..."she was also like u...takut...(both of them looking at me) but look at her now...can float and swim a little.  U can do that too."  "Yup that's me", i said.  Dont know whether that is a good thing or not.   

Well....still the slowest among the students.  Must be that age factor...

37 years ago, today

Al-Fatihah untuk mak, bapak.  Passed away today, 5 July 1976.  semoga roh mereka dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan di kalangan mereka yang soleh dan solehah.

Agaknya...how old wd they be if they were alive today?  Mak was 46 and bapak was 50...kot, not sure.  So they wd be 83 for mak and 87 for bapak.  perhaps our lives wd also be different if they did not die on that fateful day.  perhaps they wd come back 3 days after sending kak chik to ITM.  Kak chik wd continue to study interior design, graduate and be working 3 or 4 years after that.  how old wd she be?  she wd be 55...wow!  retirement age already...  mak will continue with her business.  she was a tailor and business was picking up then and was doing quite well.  Bapak will continue to teach. he was a primary school teacher.  i wd go to school the next day and all of us will go on with our lives...


but that did not happen.  we lost mak and bapak and a few days after, we lost kak chik too.

the rest of us tried to survive without them.  we survived in our own way.  all of us are now with families.  mak dan bapak ada 15 cucu sekarang tau.....and 1 cicit.  Not bad kan?

"Alhamdulillah, kami semua ok, mak...bapak....kak chik.  Jangan risau apa-apa.  Kakak ada dan masih jaga kami walaupun dah tua macam ni...sama macam pesan mak masa mak nak pergi KL hantar Kak Chik hari tu....Biasala Mak, kakak tu garang juga kadang-kadang...apa orang kata...'tegas'.  tapi kami tau dia sayang kami semua.   walau susah macam mana pun, dia tetap ada dengan kami.  Kami tak tau macam mana nak balas semua budi dia kat kami adik-adik...tapi kami cuba tak mau bagi dia marah.  Mak, kakak masak mee goreng mamak paling best dalam dunia.  Anak-anak pun suka.  Dia dah ada cucu sekarang, ye la cicit mak le tu."

Semoga mak, bapak dan kak chik tenang di sana.  Al-Fatihah.

lets vote for peace and harmony

the election is near.  everybody seems to have something to say about it.  the disease of always blaming one another.  the recent x-rated video footage of 1 leader from the opposition party...what an evil bunch of people who set this up in that hotel room.  yeah, i saw part of the video and no, i did not forward it.  all these are bunch of idiots really.  and we the people have to chose amongst these idiots!

i for one do not appreaciate any hard sell on anything be it a product or political party.  we knw what we know and we know what we need.  who are they to tell me what i need or dont need.  and please...please stop putting up the faces of leaders on lamp post buntings, billboards or on anything they can print on.  he is not the only one managing and ruling the country.  we the people also contribute.  the government staff, the ketua2 kampung, D.O., teachers, and all the unsung heroes including u and I.  we have our own way of contributing towards the nation, like not organising another riot.  we should, u know...organise some kind of demo or something.  the budget tabled does not favour the middle income grp (so called).  we r not entitled for BR1M, the smart phones subsidy, and other subsidies given to the people.  we pay our income tax every year yet we get nothing in return being the people of this nation.  oh yes, received (with thanks) the RM100 subsidy for student for 2 of my kids.  next year only eligible for 1.  that's it!  petrol subsidy?  yeah...the rich are also getting it!  what do we get?  nothing much....yet we are still here obeserving and tolerating all u politicians passing judgement and blaming one another. 

the oppositions are not promising too.  PKR is the loudest of the 3.  screaming and yelling, while PAS is NATO and DAP is quiet...u better be careful when someone is being quiet.

aarrggghhh....who cares what i think?  i do.

i want rebates for my income tax, i want the government to lower the cost of houses.  by the time my children start to earn a living, the cost of a decent house could reach RM1.0 million!  Isn't that insane???  i want the government to lower the cost of consumer products, i want the political parties to respect one another.  i do not want to read in the newspapers...party workers being attacked by the another party for hanging flags and buntings.  Why????   the one causing hurt...malays and the one who got hurt are malays too.  Idiots!!